In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The First 100 Days
• Good News Corner
Greetings!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief - Thursday, March 26, 2009
"The LORD loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. They will be protected forever." (Psalm 37:28)
The Daily Brief
1. Global Recession, Security, Tests Obama's Popularity Among World Leaders - Fox News
Only nine months ago, when he addressed an estimated 200,000 people in Germany, Barack Obama was heralded as "president of the world."
But now that he's president of the United States, the world doesn't appear to be following up on its endorsement.
From France to Poland, from the Czech Republic to China, many nations are rebuffing the president and offering little wiggle room for him to negotiate economic and security policies.
Obama faces his first major international test next week when the world's largest economies meet at the G20 summit in London.
• Father, as the world begins to see difficulties with this administration's policies; we thank You that our trust is in You and not the plans of men. None of the issues facing the world today are "popularity contests." They are real problems that face real people worldwide. We need You, Holy Lord, to bring wisdom and insight to the troubled times we are in. We ask that these difficulties be an opportunity for the people of the world to seek Your Face and call out to You.
• "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me; for my soul trusteth in thee; yea in the shadow of Thy wings I will make my refuge until these calamities be overpast." (Psalm 57:1)
2. EU Presidency: US Stimulus Is 'The Road to Hell' - ABC News
The head of the European Union slammed President Barack Obama's plan to spend nearly $2 trillion to push the U.S. economy out of recession as "the road to hell" that EU governments must avoid.
• Lord, as anger and fear plummet the world towards a one world government, we ask for You to intervene to "slow down the train." Let all things be done "decently and in order" according to Your will and not out of Your timeline.
• "And David answered Gad, 'I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord's hands because His mercies are great, but don't let me fall into human hands." (2 Samuel 24:14) HCSB
3. North Korea looks set to launch missile - MSNBC
North Korea has positioned a Taepodong-2 missile on the launch pad at its facility in Musudan in the east of the country, U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday.
• Lord, reveal the agenda behind this current move to deploy a long range ballistic missile. We ask that You rise up to protect Japan and any other nation from debris, deliberate or otherwise. We pray that this test will fail in whatever intent lies beneath the surface, whether political or military in nature.
• "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." (Isaiah 54:17)
4. Tapping AIG Furor, Regulators Seek Power to Seize Nonbanks - Wall Street Journal
The government's top financial regulators are channeling widespread outrage over retention bonuses at American International Group Inc., to quickly win authority they have sought for much of the past year to seize non-bank companies and freeze their contracts.
• Father, we take authority over this uncontrolled anger and bind it in the name of Jesus. We pray that You will stop the constant ramming through of new legislation without review and debate, especially legislation which grants even more power to the federal government.
• "Beware that there not be a thought in thy wicked mind" (Deut. 15:9a)
5. Pentagon Questions Growing Chinese Military Power - Newsmax
The Pentagon is questioning how China intends to use its rapidly expanding military power, including what it calls some "disruptive military technologies."
• Lord, at a time when we have called on China to buy up our toxic assets, and continue to basically buy our problems, here we have created our own vulnerability. Grant our leaders wisdom Lord. and grant them a way out.
• "He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure." (1 Cor 10:13b) NLT
6. Obama Watch Central- White House Night Life under Investigation - WND
An organization that serves as a watchdog on the U.S. government for American taxpayers has launched a campaign to uncover exactly how much tax money is being spent on parties at the Obama White House.
As WND reported this week, Freedom Watch is seeking information from the federal government on who had input into bailout legislation and whether they got anything in return.
• Father, we fully understand the excitement of the President and his family at being in the White House and being able to host events. But we ask, dear Lord, for truth to be revealed if any of these events are favors for political activity, or if the level of partying is not in keeping with Your will for our leader. May You grant our President a heart of understanding that his actions be in keeping with the history and honor of the office of President of the United States.
• "Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thess 5:22)
7. Family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, Owner of the Nation's Largest Privately Owned Abortion Chain, Dies in Montana Plane Crash --] Christian Newswire
The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation; although Feldkamp is not an abortionist, he reaps profits of blood money from the tens of thousands of babies that are killed through abortions performed every year at the clinics he owns. His business in the abortion industry was what enabled him to afford the private plane that was carrying his family to their week-long vacation at The Yellowstone Club, a millionaires-only ski resort.
The plane went down on Sunday, killing two of Feldkamp's daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren along with the pilot and four family friends.
• Lord, in this terribly tragic accident, we pray that Your Holy Spirit will touch the heart of Mr Feldkamp and grant him repentance. We ask for Your comfort and Presence, that You would reveal to the remainder of this family the depths of Your love for them. May they understand the shedding of innocent blood, and the forgiveness made for them by the Blood of Jesus, so that the abortion activities of this company will cease.
• "When they heard these things they held their peace, and glorified God saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Keep not silence, O God. Hold not your peace. Be not still, O God. For, behold, Your enemies make a huge noise. They that hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, consulted against Your hidden ones. They have said, Come, let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For . . . they are confederate against You:" (Psalms 83:1-5)
1. Anthrax experiments on IDF soldiers unethical, report finds - Jerusalem Post
IDF soldiers were not informed of the risks when agreeing to participate in a secret experiment testing a trial vaccine against anthrax earlier this decade, according to a report approved for release by the Supreme Court on Wednesday evening.
2. Assad says Syria-Israel talks depend on clear U.S. position - Ha'aretz
A clear position by the United States on Israel-Syria peace negotiations is essential to progress in the talks, Syrian President Bashar Assad told a Lebanese daily in an interview published Wednesday.
3. Top UN official calls for cease-fire between Israel, Hamas in Gaza - Jerusalem Post
UN Under-Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe was quoted on Wednesday as calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
4. Over 100,000 US Christians back Israel with petition - Jerusalem Post
More than 100,000 American Christians have signed a petition expressing solidarity with Israel.
5. Netanyahu: Will Push for Israel-Palestinian Peace - ABC News
Israel's incoming prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says his government will seek a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
The First 100 Days
DAY 66
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." (Proverbs 21:1)
1. House GOP Releases Budget Blueprint
House Republicans have released their response to President Obama's deficit-laden budget, but their glossy pamphlet little beyond campaign-style talking points.
One of the few hard bits of information is a promise to simplify the tax code and cut income tax rates to 10 percent for people making $100,000 or less down. They also promise to cut domestic spending below current levels but don't say whether they are exempting Social Security. It's impossible to determine the projected deficit based on their offering.
2. Biden Announces One-Time Extra $250 to Social Security Recipients
People who collect Social Security or disability benefits will share $13 billion in federal money, each receiving a one-time, $250 payment beginning in May, Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday.
3. U.S. Threatens N. Korea With Harsh Consequences Ahead of Banned Rocket Launch
The State Department said Thursday that North Korean threats to restart its nuclear weapons program are a threat to peace on the peninsula, calling its pursuit a 'real and immediate' danger.
4. Ambassador Nominee Urges More Cash, Troops to Afghanistan
Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry told the Senate on Thursday that the United States and international community must do more to build institutions and infrastructure and make greater strides against the drug trade.
5. Charities Skeptical About Obama's Proposed Tax Change
Charitable groups continue to warn that reducing the charitable tax deduction, as President Obama proposes, would hurt organizations already struggling to drum up funding in a recession.
6. Official: Obama's Half-Brother in Kenya Hospitalized, Tested for Cholera
Malik Obama, a 51-year-old businessman, was taken to Siaya District Hospital in western Kenya on Tuesday evening, according to an official.
Good News Corner
Missouri House Passes Stricter Abortion Bill
The Missouri House passed a bill Friday, March 13, 115-43, that bans coercing pregnant women into getting abortions. The bill also enhances the state's informed-consent laws by providing women with information about the pain their baby may feel during an abortion and allowing women to view their ultrasound images prior to an abortion.
Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life (AUL), said she was pleased by the House's actions. "No woman should be forced into getting an abortion by a husband, boyfriend, or employer," she was quoted as saying on AUL's blog. "Too many times in our country, pregnant women do not have adequate recourse when they are being coerced."
The bill now heads to the Senate. (Source: Citizen Link)
