In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• A Bad Day for Conservatives
• Pro-Life Defeat in House
• The Daily Jot
• Repentance: Step Three
• The Good News Corner
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The Daily Brief - Thursday, July 9, 2009
"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way." (2 Thess. 3:16)
The Daily Brief
1. Obama Broadens Push for Climate Change Pact - Fox News
President faces same old problem in drive to "halt" climate change: Neither the wealthy nor the developing countries think the other side is doing enough.
• Lord, as the furor over "climate change" rams its way through the nations, we ask that the truth be revealed in a way that halts the fear and falsehoods that are at its core. We pray that You will work on China and other nations who are the worst polluters to revamp their practices, while saving America from a socialist program of control that will destroy America's system of capitalism.
• "The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the faithless." (Proverbs 22:12)
2. G8 unanimously express 'serious concern' on Iran: US - AFP
The Group of Eight leaders meeting here unanimously expressed "serious concern" about Iran's post-election crackdown and its suspect nuclear program, the White House said Wednesday.
• Lord, we thank You for a general consensus among the G8 against the Iranian nuclear program. We pray that it will translate into action that is in keeping with Your will and protection for Your people.
• "Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught." (Proverbs 3:25,26)
3. Emerging settlement deal will let both US, Israel claim victory - Jerusalem Post
Israel and the US are moving toward a compromise solution on the settlement issue that might allow both sides to claim "victory," The Jerusalem Post has learned.
• Lord, as pressure has mounted strongly against Mr. Netanyahu to compromise on the Jewish settlements, we remind You of Your promise to protect the land You gave them. We ask that You move to block any plan to divide the nation of Israel, or give back land that belongs to You.
• "I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God." (Amos 9:15)
4. Dems Eye 'Surtax' on Top Earners for Healthcare - AP
An income tax surcharge on highly paid Americans emerged as the leading option Wednesday night as House Democrats sought ways to pay for healthcare legislation that President Barack Obama favors, several officials said.
As discussed in the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, the surtax would apply to individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $200,000 and couples over $250,000, they added. In addition, key lawmakers are expected to call for a tax or fee equal to a percentage of a worker's salary on employers who do not offer health benefits.
• Father, with this plan to make taxes on Americans even more burdensome, we see that this new idea would likely cut businesses, and cause even more job losses. We pray for Your mercy over us and deliverance from the spirit of Pharoah, who makes all tasks heavy, and gives no joy in return.
• "Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders." (Deut 26:7,8)
5. Democratic Leader Laughs at Idea That House Members Would Actually Read Health-Care Bill Before Voting On It - CNS News
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D.-Md.) laughed on Tuesday at the idea that members of Congress should pledge to actually read the entirety of a health-care reform bill before voting on it.
• Lord, we are incensed that any elected representative would refuse to read the bills that come before them, and mock the idea before the people. We pray that You will adjust the attitudes of our legislators to be the government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
• "Now therefore, do not be mockers, lest your bonds be made strong;" (Isaiah 28:22a)
6. Ford Motor Company--Never Bailed Out by Government--Beats Government-Owned General Motors in June Sales - CNS News
Ford Motor Company outsold government-owned GM ("Government Motors") in North America in June, edging out the GM core brands in the U.S. and topping Canadian sales for the first time in 50 years.
• Thank You Lord for sanity in the midst of government bailouts! We ask Your mighty blessing on Ford Motor Company, that their example would convict hearts and bring truth to bear on the problem of government control.
• "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land." (Isaiah 1:19)
7. Unlike Predecessors, Clinton Left Behind on Presidential Foreign Travel - Fox News
When the president travels out of country, his secretary of state customarily follows. Not so with Hillary Clinton. More and more, President Obama is ditching his top diplomat when he travels abroad. By the time Obama returns from Ghana on Sunday, the last stop on his latest three-country tour, he will have visited nine countries without Clinton.
That's highly unusual for a new secretary of state. Though Clinton has accompanied Obama on several key international visits this year, including Egypt and Trinidad and Tobago, Obama has spent far more time than his predecessors without his foreign policy point person.
• Lord, is there is some hidden motive or "bad blood" between Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton, we ask that you reveal it and deal with it. Your Word is clear that disunity is a work of the flesh, so we pray Your Holy Spirit would intervene to bring Your truth and clarity to both of these people.
• "Now the works of the flesh are ...hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions..." (Galatians 5: 19-21)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth." (Is. 62:6,7)
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth." (Is. 62:6,7)
1. Is Israel Already at War With Iran? - ABC News
Israel may have already started a war against Iran's nuclear program -- not with bunker busting bombs and cruise missiles, but with computers.
2. Minister: Barak-Mitchell talks 'huge flop' - Ynet News
"(Defense Minister Ehud) Barak returned with nothing from his talks with (special US Mideast envoy) George Mitchell; it appears that he offered the dismantling of illegal West Bank outposts in exchange for nothing," a senior minister said Tuesday.
3. Israel natural gas reserves greatly exceed expectations - Ha'aretz
The reserves of natural gas discovered at the "Tamar 2" drilling site off the coast of Haifa are estimated to be up to 30 percent greater than expected and may reach 180 billion cubic meters, TheMarker has learned.
4. Emerging settlement deal will let both US, Israel claim victory - Jerusalem Post
Israel and the US are moving toward a compromise solution on the settlement issue that might allow both sides to claim "victory," The Jerusalem Post has learned.
A Bad Day for Conservatives
Conservatives and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Tuesday was grueling for our allies in the House Appropriations Committee, as conservatives tried every possible avenue to stop the 2010 Financial Services bill from endorsing a radical social agenda that includes taxpayer-funded abortions in D.C., needle exchanges, limited school vouchers, and domestic partner benefits.
In a major break with tradition, members voted to overturn a 20-year ban on taxpayer-funded abortion in the nation's capital. As NARAL's Nancy Keenan points out, this is part of a quiet strategy to abolish the Hyde Amendment (which keeps the federal government from using our money to fund abortion on a national scale). In the interview I cited earlier, Keenan also talks about her plan to chip away at the other blockades to full-blown abortion funding. "Right now we're working on... the D.C. abortion ban [which] is also on the books. [There] is a possibility that we could actually remove that ban. . . Even though overturning Hyde is a long-term goal, we can have some wins in some other areas earlier."
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kans.) offered an amendment to keep the D.C. ban in place but lost the vote, 26-33. Five Democrats voted in favor of Tiahrt's amendment, but Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio)--who calls himself a pro-life Democrat--was noticeably on the pro-abortion funding side. Republicans also tried to preserve and expand school choice through the popular D.C. voucher program for some of the city's poorest residents but their amendment failed, 23-36. Other members tried to push back on the controversial decision to give benefits to the District's domestic partners. They were defeated, as were those who tried to ban needle exchange programs for illegal drug users from within 1,000 feet of schools and churches.
Depending on the rules, these amendments will probably be offered during the full House debate. So don't give up! Encourage your congressmen to preserve family values in the nation's capital and support measures that protect life, taxpayers, children, and marriage. (Family Research Council)
Pro-Life Defeat in House
Pro-Life Amendment Defeated in House Committee
A 13-year-old ban on federal funding for Washington D.C., abortions, called the Dornan Amendment, has failed to pass the full House Appropriations Committee, by a vote of 26-33.
"We now see taxpayer dollars going to fund abortions in the District of Columbia if this becomes law," said U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., who led in the effort to restore the amendment. "And it's very likely it will become law."
Any maybe not the only anti-life law. Life advocates expect pro-abortion Democrat members of the House to target other existing amendments such as the Hyde Amendment and the Dickey-Wicker Amendment. The Hyde Amendment prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or life of the mother; and the Dickey-Wicker amendment prohibits taxpayer funding of the destruction of human embryos for research.
"This is just another example of the relentless pushing of the pro-abortion agenda by the Obama White House," said Doug Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee. (CitizenLink)
The Daily Jot
Throwing America Under the Bus Foreign Policy
The man who occupies the Oval Office was likely eaten alive politically and diplomatically by the journeymen sharks of Russia's leadership. Its an easy conclusion to come to. Former KGB head and current "dictator behind the scenes" Vladimir Putin told the Russian news agency, TASS, "We had a very detailed and amicable meeting and found many points of contact." Among them were tentative agreements on US arms transit through Russia to Afghanistan, reduction in nuclear arms, and an agreement to work together in "responding to the challenge of ballistic missile proliferation"--meaning, the US caved on its missile defense system for Poland and the Czech Republic.
On the issue of nuclear arms reduction, Russia also won a major concession. While both sides agreed to reduce the number of nuclear warheads, Putin cunningly got agreement that the US would reduce the number of delivery vehicles. This means, because US delivery vehicles are dual-use airplanes, submarines and ships, that Putin got OOO to agree to reducing our air and naval capabilities under the pretense of reducing nuclear arms. If the US actually follows through with the agreement, there will be a significant reduction in America's entire defense capabilities. Obama also promised Putin to reconsider Russia's position regarding Georgia and the Ukraine.
Whenever you enter discussions with a long-time enemy with statements like "America is not perfect" and "The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle or bury missiles in the ground" you are ceding the negotiator's high ground to your opponent. Presidents Nixon and George W Bush knew how to deal with the Russian mindset--a thump on the chest and a firm hand with strong words. Backing into discussions by admitting up front weaknesses is never a good negotiating position. But there is an even greater problem. Obama was eager to reset Russian relations and develop an era of cooperation.
Russia has consistently supported sponsors of terrorism such as Syria and Iran--both of which have Biblical end time roles against Israel. And Russia is commonly identified as Gog in the Ezekiel 38 prophecy of leading Iran and Northern Africa against Israel. Ezekiel 38:18 says, "And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face." Is it wise to strengthen Russia and show it favor knowing that it has been a traditional enemy of the United States and its weapons are aimed at America and its surrogates have taken aim against Israel?
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
Repentance: Step Three
"PREPARING OUR HEARTS TO ENTER IN"
Ten steps of Repentance, Redirection and Renewal in Christ
Step Three: CONNECT WITH CHRIST
You will need His grace and power, and you need to have life centered in Him. You might give up sinse and still fail to be a Christian. For the giving up of sins is not an end in itself; it is in order to get in saving touch with Christ. The way of God is not negative. You are not a Christian because you don't do this, that, and the other. You are a Christian when life is centered in Christ and not in yourself. You are emptying your hands to grasp a whole Christ.
Here you may miss your step by one of these things:
a) You may change but change toward the wrong ones. Judas changed; he "repented himself," went to the high priests . . . Judas repented in the wrong direction. Had he gone to Jesus, thrown down the money, and said, "I have sinned," we would have seen the most remarkable reconciliation and restoration in history. Some turn toward their sins and mourn in useless regret. No release comes from that.
b) You may connect with an institution and fail to get through to Christ. The Church is wonderful as a place of worship and spiritual cultivation, provided you go beyond it to Christ. If your relationship to it makes you stop in self-satisfaction this side of a personal, saving knowledge of Him, it is a stumbling block. It leaves you at a halfway house this side of the way of God.
c) You may stop at principles and miss the Person. You may say, "I'll live by Christian principles," and yet not get into a warm, living relationship with Him. Your spiritual life will be a tense striving to live principles instead of a trustful fellowship with a Person, issuing in relaxed spontaneity. Go beyond your sins, beyond the institution, beyond the principles to the Person. Then religion will be to you a long falling in love.
"O Christ, I see that I must not stop this side of Thee, for if I do, I stop this side of Life. Help me, then, to take the steps that lead to Thee. I come, with all my being, I come. In Thy Name, Amen."
[Today's teaching is drawn from a book by E. Stanley Jones, The Way, published in 1956 by Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, New York, pp. 72,73.]
The Good News Corner
70 Percent Say Capitalism Good for America
Seven in 10 Americans think capitalism is the economic system that's best for America, according to a recent poll.
The survey, conducted by Zogby International in conjunction with The O'Leary Report and World Net Daily, comes at a time when some conservative critics have said Obama is trying to institute a form of socialism through his policies.
The poll did not actually use the terms "capitalism" or "socialism," but definitions encapsulating the philosophies. "Socialism" was described as "A system in which the public or the state have ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." "Capitalism" was defined as "A system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are privately owned and controlled, rather than state-owned or controlled with the state regulating them."
One other significant finding of the poll was that 49 percent of people who voted for Obama supported the definition of capitalism.
Brad O'Leary, president of The O'Leary Report, said he was not surprised to find so many people in favor of a free-market society whether or not they supported the president.
"What we do see is people thinking that government has too much control on our lives today," he explained. "And they object to that."
The poll was conducted April 24-27 with a nationwide sample of 3,937 people.
