In This Issue• Today's Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
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The Daily Brief - Thursday, June 4, 2009
"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28)
Today's Daily Brief
1. A) Barack Hussein Obama: US "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world" - London Telegraph
It is important to note that "if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world". So says President Barack Obama. Or I should say: Barack Hussein Obama.
B) Bin Laden Says Obama Has Inflamed Hatred Toward the U.S. - AP
Osama bin Laden threatened Americans in a new audio tape Wednesday, saying President Barack Obama inflamed hatred toward the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in Swat Valley and block Islamic law there.
• Father, we ask that You help Mr Obama understand that his words are offensive to the people of America, and to our allies and enemies alike. In his haste to make friends of our enemies, he is destroying the fabric of unity that has kept America strong. We ask that You prevent and delete any aftermath of this man's words.
• "Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came." (2 Kings 19:28)
2. Obama Renews Openness About His Muslim Roots Ahead of Egypt Speech - Fox News
President Obama has spoken proudly of American Muslims, even referencing his heritage as the son of a Muslim man, ahead of his highly anticipated speech Thursday in Cairo aimed at shoring up relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world.
Obama's openness about his own Muslim heritage may seem startling after his presidential campaign last year went to great lengths to debunk false rumors about his religion -- he is Christian -- but the president showed long ago that he is comfortable talking about his roots, which are addressed in his two biographical books, "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope."
• Lord, we take authority over the spirits of false religion that have blinded this man to the truth, and bind them in the Name of Jesus. We pray for his soul, and we pray that true conversion to the Kingdom of Christ would take place.
• "You shall have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:3)
3. Obama Overture to Hamas Suggests Inevitability of Terror Group's Dominance Among Palestinians - Fox News
In an apparent policy shift, President Obama on Thursday invited Hamas -- a designated terror organization -- to "play a role" in the future of the Palestinian people.
During his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on Thursday, the U.S. president bluntly recognized the group, which has called for the destruction of Israel, in a two-sentence passage that was part of a broader discussion about the terms for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
• "Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and your concubines, in that you love your enemies and hate your friends" (2 Samuel 19:5,6a)
4. A) Obama: U.S. won't turn its back on Palestinians - Ha'aretz
In his long-anticipated Cairo address to the Muslim world, U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed Washington's strong backing for a Palestinian state, using the term "Palestine" numerous times to highlight his administration's commitment to follow through on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
B) Jerusalem Protests Label Obama Anti-Semitic - Newsmax
An estimated 250 Israelis took to the streets in Jerusalem Wednesday, chanting "No you can't!" in protest of growing American pressure to halt expansion of West Bank settlements, on the eve of President Obama's major address to Muslims on Thursday.
The protests are but one indication of the strong political reaction in Israel to the settlement issue, as well as a growing unease over President Obama's support for the Arab nations vis-à-vis Israel.
• Lord, as Mr Obama distances himself from supporting Israel, we ask for Your mercy over America. We also stand firmly on the Word of God that You will take care of Israel, and we ask that these actions by America will bring about a deep heart-cry among the Jewish people to know their God. May You rise up and bring Israel to her God and Messiah.
• "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:26)
5. Obama Reverses Bush Rule: Illegals Now Get Lawyers - AP
The Obama administration has reversed a rule issued in the last days of the Bush administration that said immigrants facing deportation do not have an automatic right to an effective lawyer.
Attorney General Eric Holder says he is vacating the order, issued by predecessor Michael Mukasey, and instructing the Justice Department to study whether a new rule is needed.
• Lord, as tax payers will have to pay for automatic attorneys for illegals if this is reversed, the costs of this administration's choices will have continued to spiral out of control. We ask that the Justice Department's "study" go quickly, and find that administrative processes for deportation and appeal can be done without an increase in taxpayer commitments for "effective attorneys"
• "My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck me out of the net." (Psalm 25:15)
6. Senate Democratic Leader: 'If I'm Fortunate, I Won't Have To Read One' of Sotomayor's Judicial Opinions - CNS News
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that he has not read any of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's legal opinions, and that if her confirmation goes through, he hopes he will not have to read any of them.
• Lord, is this how our leaders make choices on Supreme Court nominees? By failing to read and consider carefully the decisions and written opinions of nominees, our leadership has become complacent and foolish. We ask that you begin to convict our leaders of their failure to stand as gatekeepers, and show them the way of truth.
• "For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life." (Prov 6:23)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"In that Day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem!" ( Zechariah 12)
1. Peres: Time is ripe to end conflict - Jerusalem Post
"The time is ripe to end the Israeli-Arab conflict" and US President Barack Obama's journey to the region could be a unique opportunity, President Shimon Peres wrote in an opinion piece published in the London Times Thursday. In the article, he suggested a twin-track approach to achieve peace in the Middle East - one that is based on a regional solution.
2. Obama: U.S. won't turn its back on Palestinians - Ha'aretz
In his long-anticipated Cairo address to the Muslim world, U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed Washington's strong backing for a Palestinian state, using the term "Palestine" numerous times to highlight his administration's commitment to follow through on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
3. Obama Settlement Demands Stir Rising Tensions in Israel - Fox News
With President Obama set to deliver a high-profile speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt, tensions are flaring in neighboring Israel over the U.S. president's latest demands on the Jewish state.
