In This Issue9/11: Then and Now
30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World
The Good News Corner
Visit our Blog!
Who We Are
A Note to New Subscribers
We Welcome Your Gifts!
Greetings!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief - Friday, September 11, 2009
SPECIAL 9/11 EDITION
"When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19)
Dear Friends,
This morning, as we all remember what we were doing at this time eight years ago, we recall the day that changed all of oru lives . . .
This SPECIAL EDITION of the Daily Brief is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives during the attacks of September 11, 2001. Our regular edition of The Daily Brief will be posted before midnight, tonight . .
As we recall that day in history, and as those who have found salvation and new life through thte Blood of the Lamb, let us now remember that our true calling is to pray for our enemies, for we war not against "flesh and blood" but against the powers that hold the captive in chains.
Today, let us each take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and pray for those who persecute us that they, too, might find the One who sets all of us free.
In the Name of Jesus,
Amen
9/11: Then and Now
"Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended," spoke President Bush, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, after Islamic terrorists hijacked passenger jets, flying two into New York's World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and one which crashed in Pennsylvania. That evening President Bush stated: "Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
Pictures of planes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger." President Bush continued: "America was targeted . . . because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world . . . I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve . . . I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me.'"
On September 13, 2001, President Bush stated: "Scripture says: 'Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.' I call on every American . . . to observe a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance . . . In the face of all this evil, we remain strong and united, 'One Nation Under God.'"
9/11 in HISTORY:
In 1683, over 138,000 Muslim Ottoman Turks surrounded Vienna, Austria. For two months they starved the 11,000 Hapsburg-Austrian defenders. Sultan Mehmed IV sent a message to Austrian King, Leopold I: "Await us in your residence . . . so we can decapitate you."
Secretly, Polish King Jan Sobieski, gathered 81,000 Polish, Austrian and German troops and on SEPTEMBER 11, 1683, led a surprise attack causing the Turks to flee in confusion. Upon entering the abandonded Turkish tents, they found bags of beans - coffee beans - revealing how Turks could fight day and night. Shortly thereafter, Polish General Kulczycki opened one of Vienna's first coffeehouses and coffee quickly spread across Europe.
Whereas the Pope and European leaders hailed Jan Sobieski as the "Savior of Western Civilization," the humiliated Muslim army beheaded their general, Mustafa Pasha, and sent his head back to Sultan Mehmed IV in a velvet bag.
President Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his 1916 book, "Fear God and Take Your Own Part": "From the hammer of Charles Martel to the sword of Jan Sobieski, Christianity owed its safety in Europe to the fact it . . . could and would fight as well as the Mohammedan aggressor."
(Source: The American Minute, Sept. 11, 2009, by William Federer)
30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World
Covering RAMADAN in prayer - August 22 - September 20
During these 30 days when the people of Islam observe Ramadan, we encourage you to visit this site in order to view daily prayers. May we raise up the people of the Muslim world in prayer that they will come to salvation in Christ Jesus.
Prayer For Friday, 11 September, Ramadan 2009
"Loving Muslims Through Prayer"
Badakhshan and the Ismaili sect in the Pamir Mountains
Badakshan is the one part of the world where the Muslim Ismaili sect makes up the majority of the population. The Agha Khan, their spiritual leader, has become like a god to them. To quote a Badakshani: "The Agha Khan is like a living Koran for us. He shows us the way and how to live. Our religion is not stuck in history. We have a modern Imam to show us how to live in the 21st Century. We see the light of Mohammed on him." Most other Muslims consider the Ismailis to be heretics.
There are few believers in Badakshan and no known believing communities. However, many Badakshanis are coming to faith elsewhere. There are believers in Dushanbe - the capital of Tajikistan - and in Moscow, where many Tajik Badakshanis become migrant labourers. Pray for believers living in other places, that they might wisely proclaim Jesus in their communities.
Prayer Starters:
- Meditate on Jeremiah 16:19-21 and use it in prayer.
- Pray for those who worship the Agha Khan as a god, and that they may come to a realisation that he is just a man.
- Spiritual blindness and the spirit of deception seem to be two major strongholds in Badakshan. Pray for these barriers to the Gospel to be removed.
The Good News Corner
A Muslim lady's Journey from Islam to Christ
Throughout our world today, thousands of the people of Islam are finding new life in Christ Jesus.
Here is the beautiful testimony of one Islamic woman , ZamZam, who, after searching and comparing the Scriptures carefully, did exactly that.
As you view this video, please continue to lift up, by faith, the multitudes who, like Zam Zam, must come to know Jesus Christ as their own Savior and Lord. Now is the time . . . today is the day.
Thank you . . .
Part Two
• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
The Daily Brief
1. Census Bureau Severs Ties With ACORN - FOX News
The Census Director has sent a letter to the National Headquarters of ACORN notifying the group that it will no longer have a role in conducting the 2010 census. ACORN had previously been tapped to help with low level data gathering.
- You are a God that brings all secret plans to light and we praise You that this organization has been exposed and punished. We pray that those who work with the poor will be mindful of their responsibility and not take advantage of the less fortunate. Lord, we ask for strength for all of the volunteers who are seeking to feed and clothe the poor in Your name.
- "But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." (2 Corinthians 4:2)
2. Senate Confirms Harvard Professor to Oversee Regulatory Affairs - Bloomberg News
Cass Sunstein won Senate confirmation Thursday as President Obama's director of regulatory affairs, taking on the role of chief arbiter of debates on whether federal regulations are worth the cost. The Senate approved Sunstein's nomination by a vote of 57 to 40. The choice of Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor and friend of Obama's, concerned some environmentalists because of his support for cost- benefit analysis -- a system of weighing the cost of proposed rules against the benefits to health and safety. "We hope that he won't be an impediment, based on his past emphasis on cost-benefit analysis to the exclusion of other values," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washington-based environmental group. "We hope he will look at other values, such as protecting the environment." Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said that Sunstein's writings are "outside the mainstream" and suggest that he supports giving animals lawyers to defend their rights, as well as public policies that value younger people over senior citizens.
- We know that You have placed man in dominion over the animals and that You value the wisdom of elders, and we pray that this attitude will begin to spread throughout this administration. Let all who are being placed into power be subject to scrutiny that will expose their true views.
- "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called." (Ephesians 4:1)
3. Organizers Predict Thousands of Tea Party Activists Will Attend Saturday's March on Washington - CNS News
Hell hath no fury like an angry taxpayer ignored -- and thousands of angry taxpayers are expected to come to the nation's capital Saturday, Sept. 12, to march on the National Mall.
- We thank You that we live in a nation where we can speak directly to our government and express our frustrations and hopes. We pray that these demonstrators will be thoughtful about their actions and may the gathering be peaceful.
- "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;" (Luke 12:11)
4. Coast Guard drill on Potomac panics D.C. - Washington Times
The Coast Guard said Friday it will conduct a review on how a routine training exercise on the Potomac River turned into a terrorist-attack scare on the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. "We will conduct a top- to-bottom review," Vice Adm. John P. Currier said at a press conference outside a Coast Guard station in Washington, D.C. "We will back through our procedures and see what happened here today." The incident unfolded at about 10 a.m. when at least one news-gathering organization reported a Coast Guard vessel fired 10 shots at a boat.
- Lord, we pray that this will awaken the news channels to their responsibility to balance alerting the public against causing unnecessary fear. We thank You that there are service members who train every day to keep us safe.
- "He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is trustworthy conceals a matter." (Proverbs 11:13)
5. Tim Pawlenty advocates state sovereignty - Politico.com
Minnesota Republican Tim Pawlenty urged fellow governors on Thursday to more frequently assert state sovereignty over the federal government and suggested that the country may increasingly see states suing the federal government. Asked by a caller about the option of asserting the Tenth Amendment as a tactic to reject a successful health care overhaul by President Barack Obama during a tele-town hall organized by the Republican Governors Association, Pawlenty said, "that's a possibility." Speaking generally about the tenth amendment, Pawlenty said the country has not had "a proper federalism debate since Ronald Reagan raised the issue in the 1980s." "Asserting the tenth amendment may be a viable option," Pawlenty said, adding that there may be "more of those claims and maybe even lawsuits if need be."
- As the federal government begins to overreach, we pray that government officials will be respecters of the law and that they begin to consider the source of all authority.
- "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;" (Romans 3:19)
6. Girl Rejects Gardasil, Loses Path to Citizenship - ABC News
Born in Britain in 1992, Simone Davis got off to a rough start in life. At 3, Simone was adopted by her paternal grandmother, Jean Davis, who married an American in 2000 and moved them to Port St. Joe, Fla. But because the adoption was not recognized in the United States, Davis embarked on a near-decade quest to get Simone U.S. citizenship. Now 17 and an aspiring elementary school teacher and devout Christian, Simone has only one thing standing in the way of her goal -- the controversial vaccine Gardasil. Immigration law mandates that Simone get the vaccine to protect against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, which has been linked to cervical cancer. But Simone, who has taken a virginity pledge and is not sexually active, doesn't see why she should have to take the vaccine, especially since it's been under fire recently regarding its safety. And none of her American classmates is mandated by law to be vaccinated. "I am only 17 years old and planning to go to college and not have sex anytime soon," said Simone. "There is no chance of getting cervical cancer, so there's no point in getting the shot." Since 2008, the government has required that female immigrants between the ages of 11 through 26 applying for permanent resident or refugee status receive Gardasil, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006.
- Thank You Lord, for the heart of this young woman who is standing strong for Your standards. May there be a revival of purity in this nation that will confront the current culture of normalizing sexual sin.
- "Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering." (Psalm 26:1)
7. US says 6 nations accept Iran's offer to talk - AP
The United States and five partner countries have accepted Iran's new offer to hold talks, even though Iran insists it will not negotiate over its disputed nuclear program, the State Department said Friday. Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters that although Iran's proposal for international talks- presented to the six nations on Wednesday-was disappointing for sidestepping the nuclear issue, it represented a chance to begin a direct dialogue.
- As this administration begins to consider its role in the world, we pray they will be supportive of Israel and will not bow to the whims of the Iranian government. We also pray for the work of Christians in Iran who are bringing the Gospel to a thirsty nation.
- "For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day." (1 Samuel 24:19)
8. Lockerbie Bomber Receives Standing Ovation From African Union Officials - Fox News
Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi received a rousing welcome in his first public appearance -- as warm as the hero's welcome he enjoyed after returning to his native Libya.
- Lord, let reactions like this open the eyes of those across the world who want to believe that all viewpoints are equally valid. We pray this will be a warning to any nation that will seek to release murderers in the future.
- "They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, And their mind prepares deception." (Job 15:35)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise" (Isaiah 60:18)
1. Netanyahu: We won't be 'suckers' - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reached out to residents of Judea and Samaria in a pre-Rosh Hashana toast for Likud activists at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds on Thursday night.
2. Kremlin official confirms Natanyahu's trip - Jerusalem Post
A senior Kremlin official confirmed Wednesday to the Russian paper Kommersant that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did indeed make a clandestine trip to Russia on Monday.
3. US, Israel, Palestinian Summit in NY - Jerusalem Post
Israeli diplomatic officials are gearing up for a month of intensive diplomatic activity expected to culminate in a tripartite US, Israeli, Palestinian summit in New York before Yom Kippur, President Shimon Peres said Monday
The Daily Jot
A Word About Christians And Disrespect
Likewise 1 Peter 2:15-17 says, "For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Respect the king." This is telling the Christian, that while he is free in the liberty of Christ, he is not to use it as an excuse to treat anyone maliciously. So what to do when the unrighteous is in authority and the Word of God says to submit to and respect that authority? How did Jesus handle the Pharisees, the political and religious authority of the day? Did He disrespect them by telling the truth about them?
George Washington said in his 1796 farewell address "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." And the first Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay wrote in 1797, "Providence (meaning God) has given to our people the choice of their rulers. And it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." The Declaration of Independence says, "all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."
Our Constitution mandates freedom of speech and religion. It does so that Christians can stand for God's righteousness and be free to do so in the face of authority. So when Christians say it was wrong for Congressman Joe Wilson to disrespect the office of the President by calling him a liar in the House chamber, I say it is far worse for Christians to tolerate collective disregard for the word of God by elected leaders, especially the president. To disparage a man for telling the truth is far worse than exposing the unrighteous for what they are. Ephesians 5:11 says, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather rebuke them." Jesus is the example with the Pharisees.
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
