· The Daily Brief
· The Middle East in Focus
· Pray for the Persecuted Church
· The Cost of Fighting Jihad
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The Daily Brief Tuesday, September 16, 2008
"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36)
The Daily Brief
1. Ike Remnants Blamed For Midwest Deaths, Blackouts - AP and The Weather Channel
Midwest residents cleared debris from their yards Monday as crews worked to restore electricity to millions of customers left without power by a weekend of violent storms caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ike. The storm was reported to be 200 miles wide, and ran an upwards of 1600 miles to the Northeast through the United States. Wind gusts of 69 mph were felt as far north as Rochester, New York.The storms, the latest in a brutal summer that has slammed parts of the region with severe flooding, brought Ike's total death toll to at least 39, in 10 states, from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley and into New York State.
· Father of the Wind and Waves, we ask that You be glorified in this storm that continues its destructive path through America. May You be turned to as the only hope for restoration and may many be saved. Comfort those who have suffered the loss of loved ones and earthly treasures. Sustain emergency workers and officials who are working tirelessly to help in the storm's wake. May all involved know that their true help lies in Your Hands and in Your Salvation. We pray this in faith and in Your Name. Amen.
· "For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." (Galatians 5: 5-6 NKJV)
2. Israel Slated To Buy US Smart Bombs - The Jerusalem Post
The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a $77M potential sale to Israel of 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating underground bunkers, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The bomb that Israel wants is the GBU-39, developed by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in recent years as a small-diameter bomb for low-cost, high-precision and low-collateral damage strikes.Bunker-buster missiles would be a fundamental component of an air strike against Iran, since many of the nuclear facilities, such as the Natanz uranium enrichment complex, have been built in underground, heavily fortified bunkers. During the Second Lebanon War, Israel reportedly received an emergency shipment of bunker-buster missiles from the US to use against underground Hizbullah facilities.
· Lord Sabaoth, the Lord of the Heavenly Host. We humbly come before You to ask Your guidance in the sale of bunker buster bombs to Your Sovereign Nation of Israel. We ask that America walk with Israel, and that if this armament sale is of Your doing, You will allow it to proceed. We ask that Israel and America inquire of You what You would have them to do for their protection and safety. May all involved, ask You how to proceed in this time of need for the immediate nuclear disarmament of Iran and any other nation that means to destroy others for power and gain. May Israel and her allies be saved. In Your Holy Name we pray these things and ask for Your Holy Spirit to intervene for these needs. Amen.
· "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear." (Isaiah 59: 1 NKJV)
3. Meltdown In US Finance System Pummels Stock Market - ABC News
On Monday, the upheaval in the American financial system sent shock waves through the stock market, producing the worst day on Wall Street in seven years as investors digested the failure of one of its most venerable banks. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 500 points, more than 4 percent, its steepest point drop since the day the stock market reopened after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. About $700 billion evaporated from retirement plans, government pension funds and other investment portfolios.The financial carnage capped a tumultuous 24-hours that redrew U.S. finance. Lehman Brothers, an investment bank that predates the Civil War and weathered the Great Depression, filed the largest bankruptcy in American history. A second storied bank, Merrill Lynch, fled into the arms of Bank of America.
· Again, we ask Heavenly Father, that the financial industry will turn to You as a child turns to the helping arms of their Daddy. We ask that they will seek You with all their hearts, and cry "help," to their Abba, their only "Daddy" that can help them, before global banking and stock markets crash. May they, and we, cry out to You before it is too late. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
· "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because we are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!' (Galatians 4: 3-6 NKJV)
4. Fed Adds Most Reserves Since 9/11 As Banks Hoard Cash - Bloomberg
The Federal Reserve added $70 billion in reserves to the banking system, the most since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, to reverse a surge in borrowing costs sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.The central bank uses repurchase agreements, or repos, to buy or sell Treasury, mortgage-backed and so-called agency debt for a set period, to help maintain enough money in the system to keep overnight interest rates close to the target. The Fed added $50 billion in temporary reserves to the banking system when it arranged overnight repurchase agreements, or repos, at 11:50 a.m., after providing $20 billion earlier. "It is rare that overnight operations exceed $15 billion," Tony Crescenzi, chief bond market strategist for New York-based Miller Tabak & Co., wrote. "There is a longstanding pattern in which the funds rate falls in the afternoon, as banks scramble to unload their excess monies onto other banks, lest they get stuck with excesses earning nothing."
· We pray, Father, that the U.S. Banking system will remain intact for Your glory. And, we pray that people throughout the world will find hope through knowing and trusting in Your Son, Jesus Christ as their Savior. In Your Name we pray. Amen.
·"For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." (Ephesians 2: 14, 17 & 18 NKJV)
5. Banks Roll Out $70B Loan Program - USA Today and News Max
Amid speculation of a 100 more bank closures, a group of global banks and securities firms announced Sunday a $70 billion loan program that financial companies can tap to help ease a credit shortage that threatens global financial markets. The banks made the announcement to try to head off market disruptions after the failure of investment bank Lehman Brothers.Ten banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS; are committing $7 billion each for the pool, that would act as a signal to the marketplace that banks, brokerages, and other financial companies can lean on the fund to take care of borrowing needs. All participating banks intend to use this facility beginning this week.
· Gracious Lord, we humbly ask that You will stop the true nature of this global banking problem. Greed. We ask that all people will learn to depend upon You and know that You truly own all things. May the financial world somehow listen to You, and truly learn from You, what amount of treasure is enough to live and prosper on. And, may man realize, that without You, all is in vain. For Your glory we pray these things. Amen.
· "The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1: 8b-9 NKJV)
6. US And China In Secret Talks On North Korea After Kim Jong-il 'Stroke' - London Telegraph and Fox News
America and China are holding secret talks about their shared fear of instability in nuclear-armed North Korea. These come amidst US and South Korean intelligence reports that the country's dictator Kim Jong-il suffered a serious stroke last month triggered by his absence from a military parade marking the country's 60th anniversary. North Korea is thought to be heading for a succession crisis and in-fighting as veteran generals and party technocrats are expected to install one of Kim's sons or his brother-in-law as a figurehead if the ailing 66-year-old "Dear Leader" is incapacitated or dies.
A senior administration official said that the US and China, which have often been rivals over regional politics, were holding highly-sensitive talks about what to do if there is ensuing instability in North Korea. Although Beijing is regarded as an ally of Pyongyang, it does not want its impoverished neighbor to implode, potentially creating a wave of refugees trying to reach China.
· Father of Truth. We ask that You will reveal what is really happening inside North Korea and that one day soon, for Your Glory, it will be reunited as one country with South Korea. May their dictator, Kim Jong-il, who has been revered as a god; members of the North Korean Communist Party, and North Koreans come to know You as their only true Savior before death comes. May this impoverished country be restored and we pray that those who inflicted this travail upon this land "for a truceful peace" from the Korean War, be forgiven by You. In Your Name we pray. Amen.
· "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:b NKJV)
The Middle East in Focus
The Middle East in Focus This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE: Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. (Jeremiah 32:17)
1. Is Israel preparing an autumn surprise? - Gulf News
The clock is ticking. The demise of the aggressive "do-anything-for-Israel" Bush administration is nearing. The window of opportunity for a US-backed/tolerated Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities may be closing.
2. Palestinians revive idea of one-state solution - Toronto Star
According to this man's blueprint for the future, the Palestinian Authority that now holds a tenuous grip on power in the West Bank, should unilaterally dissolve itself, obliging Israel to take over civil administration in the territory, as used to be the case -- an arrangement that would blur the borders between Israelis and Palestinians.
Pray for the Persecuted Church
Pray for the Persecuted Church And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.(Matthew 25:40)
1. Hindu Militants Attack Nine Churches In India State
Suspected Hindu militants attacked nine churches in parts of India's southern state of Karnataka Sunday, September 14, as part of ongoing violent protests against the alleged conversion of Hindus into Christianity by missionaries, police said.
2. Kazakhstan Baptists Fined For Unregistered Worship
Several Baptist Churches in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan continue have been raided by police because they refuse state registration on principal grounds, BosNewsLife learned Monday, September 15.
3. Iran: Parliament votes in favour of punishing apostasy with death
The Iranian Parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of a bill stipulating the death penalty for apostasy. The bill was approved by 196 votes for, seven against, and two abstentions.
4. Iran: Martyr's Son Detained in Wave of Arrests
Five arrests in three cities across Iran in August suggest a continued crackdown on Iranian Christians by authorities, sources told Compass.
The Cost of Fighting Jihad
The Cost of Fighting Jihad and the Prophetic Vice Of Dividing Jerusalem
It's been seven years since Islam attacked and killed nearly 3,000 innocent civilians at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Since then, Fox News reports that there have been another 20 major terrorist attacks thwarted by the US government--that's nearly three a year. These are just the known attacks, meaning they are the only ones known to the public. There are many more. But it is difficult to imagine that without diligence by our government that another three attacks per year of similar or greater devastation to the 9/11/2001 attacks could have been perpetrated on American soil.
While the American media tries to downplay that those involved in these thwarted attacks are Moslem, the fact remains that it is Islam that is behind every major terrorist plot against the US. This is the modern Crusade in reverse and it is called Jihad. Since the 2001 murders of innocent people in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., some 3,745 American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over 15,000 have been severely wounded. And the total cost of both fronts has been $850 billion--that's about $332 million per day. In other words, every man, woman and child in America is paying over a dollar a day to support the war against Islam. The cost in oil dollars and to the economy is even greater.
Problem is, even though the war in Iraq is winding down, there is no sign that Islam is going to back off and peacefully return to their tents and goat herds. The Crusades lasted 196 years and the Moslems won. And Islam has gained a very potent ally in its war of terror--Russia. Russia is selling arms, providing technology, and global political support for some of the most ruthless terrorist states ever seen by mankind. China has also thrown in its lot with Islam. So long as Islam is willing to invest lives in the Jihad against the US and Israel, Russia and China will provide the munitions and support--both financially and politically through their positions on the United Nations Security Council.
Meanwhile, American leadership is divided. Some want to treat Islam and Russia with force. Others want to appease. Those in the appeasement ranks are pressuring Israel to give up land to the Palestinian terrorists in hope that the world will awaken out of this modern nightmare. The appeasers are pressuring Israel to divide the holy city of Jerusalem, a very dangerous tact with devastating consequences. Zechariah 12:3 says, "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces." Those who died on September 11, 2001 would know the true meaning of that verse, but do the living? And do we who are left have the courage and tenacity to prevail?
Bill Wilson
The Daily Jot
www.dailyjot.com
