In This IssueToday's Daily Brief
The Middle East in Focus
The Daily Jot
Pray to "Kill the Bill"
Terror Alert #1: Pakistan
Terror Alert #2: New York
Terror Alert #3: Atlanta
The Good News Corner
Greetings!
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The Daily Brief - Thursday, December 17, 2009
"Your people shall volunteer freely in the day of Your power . . ." (Psalm 110:3 NAS)
Today's Daily Brief
1. Gulf petro-powers to launch currency in latest threat to dollar hegemony - London Telegraph
The Arab states of the Gulf region have agreed to launch a single currency modeled on the euro, hoping to blaze a trail towards a pan-Arab monetary union swelling to the ancient borders of the Ummayad Caliphate.
- Lord, we pray Your mercy and protection over the fragile American economy in light of this new currency. As the world inches toward global currencies rather than individual national ones, we thank You for Your provision, that You are "God with us."
- "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)
2. Iran Tests New Version of Missile that Can Reach Europe, Israel - Wall Street Journal
Iranian state media reported Wednesday that Tehran successfully test-fired an enhanced version of a solid-fuel medium-range missile, as U.S. and Western powers prepare to push for new economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
- Father, we place our hope in You and thank You for Your promised protection against the missiles that fly by day.
- "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilences that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday." (Psalm 91:5-6)
3. Iranian-Backed Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones - Fox News
Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need to evade or monitor U.S. military operations.
- Lord, we thank You that this plan has been revealed, and ask that You raise up proficient technicians that can rebuff and prevent these attacks.
- "For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." (Psalm 37:9)
4. Liberals Ready to 'Fight' Over Concessions in Senate Health Bill - Fox News
Liberal outrage over the Senate's health care reform bill is reaching a boiling point, with a number of organizations, unions and House Democrats warning that the watered-down version they see creeping toward a vote will not survive in its current form.
- Thank You , Lord for the confusion in the camp, and the hope of this bill's defeat. We continue to pray that it will be dropped entirely.
- "They shall be ashamed and also disgraced, all of them; they shall go in confusion together," (Isaiah 45:16a)
5. Harry Reid Schedules Final Vote on Health Care Bill ON CHRISTMAS DAY - Fox News
The Senate is on course for a final vote on health care reform legislation Christmas day -- either gift-wrapping passage of President Obama's top domestic agenda item or sending him the legislative equivalent of a lump of coal. Getting to that point, however, will be no holiday.
Numerous Senate aides tell Fox News that the expected schedule through next week includes votes on a defense spending bill and an increase in the federal debt limit, some late-night sessions, the introduction of amendments that could take hours to be read aloud and three potentially decisive procedural votes requiring large majorities.
- This is the oppressive spirit of Pharoah . And this is the height of the atheistic takeover of our nation and of our governmental system. As in the days of the first Pharoah, every time he moved, God trumped him and overruled. Thank our Lord for overruling this Pharoah now, and may America celebrate THIS CHRISTMAS the way it is meant to be honored.
- "'This is what the LORD says: 'Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'" (Exodus 8:20)
6. The $100 Billion Carrot - Fox News
Secretary of State Clinton announces in Copenhagen that the U.S. is prepared to join other rich countries in raising $100B in yearly climate financing for poor countries.
- Father, as this new taxation plan to redistribute wealth is touted by our leadership, we ask that You intervene to stop it. We pray for the sovereignty of America, that You will protect us from UN intrusion or control over us. We pray for the souls of our leaders, that You will turn their hearts toward You and be granted Your wisdom.
- "I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden. Behold at that time I will deal with all who afflict you." (Zephaniah 3:18,19a)
7. U.S., Russia Unlikely to Sign Arms Treaty in Copenhagen - AP
The U.S. and Russian presidents are unlikely to sign a new arms reduction treaty this week, the Russian foreign minister said Thursday.Sergey Lavrov blamed the U.S. delegation at the arms control talks for slowing their efforts to reach a deal in the past few days. He said that the talks in Geneva have now resumed pace, but the deal is unlikely to be reached in time for Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev to sign it when they both attend an international climate summit in Copenhagen."It's unlikely to happen in Copenhagen," Lavrov said.
He urged the U.S. to agree to deeper cuts in the parties' nuclear arsenals and less intrusive verification and control measures. "Control measures must be adequate to a new treaty, not the old one," Lavrov said. "They must be lighter and less expensive."
- Lord, thank You that this agreement will not be signed in Copenhagen. We pray for truth and revelation as Russia presses for less intrusive verification and control - that our leaders will see the dangers and act to protect America.
- "Lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength" (Psalm 31:4)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, behold, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says LORD [YHWH]." (Zechariah 2:10)
1. Hamas: PLO vote on Abbas 'illegal' - Jerusalem Post
The PLO Central Council on Wednesday approved a resolution calling on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to stay in power until new elections are held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
2. Brown: Livni welcome in UK any time - Jerusalem Post
Senior Israeli diplomatic officials told counterparts in the British Foreign Office Wednesday that Israel would issue directives to the country's political and military leaders to stop going to Britain if parliament did not take action to close the legal loophole that enabled an arrest warrant to be issued against Kadima head Tzipi Livni last weekend.
The Daily Jot
Exercising Your Christian Civic Duty or Losing Your Freedom
Jesus Christ said in John 8:31, 32, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Perfect liberty is found in Christ. A government of man cannot grant such freedom, although a Constitutional government guaranteeing freedom of speech and of religion as well as many other freedoms can come close. These freedoms, or rights as they are called in the United States Constitution, are derived from God Almighty. If, however, those who are the recipients of this Constitutional freedom inherited from Christ neither believe in Him, nor continue in His word, nor are His disciples, they will miss the blessing of this truth and its freedom.
Therein is the civic responsibility with Christ and His liberty. It was explained in very practical terms when Peter and the Apostles were preaching the gospel of Christ in Jerusalem and the political powers forbid them to do so. Knowing they would go to prison, Peter and John in Acts 4:19, 20 replied, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Indeed, they were later thrown in prison. Acts 5:29 recounts that Peter and the Apostles told the Saducees, "We ought to obey God rather than men."
Christians need to know the precepts of God and be able to hold them as standards of personal and public government. A nation of Christians, therefore, ought to be governed by the principles of God, especially when they have the choice of their leaders. Anything less could be considered spiritual adultery as exemplified by the Jews throughout the Old Testament. Evildoers will say that we are not to impose our beliefs on others, while at the same time they are forcing theirs upon us. But are we not called to "preach the gospel to every creature"? The gift of salvation in Christ is given freely upon acceptance of Jesus as savior. The responsibility thereon is to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
On my recent missions trip to Nicaragua, I witnessed first hand how the brainwashing of a predominately Christian people resulted in a communist government. Playing on the Christian themes of feeding the poor, having compassion for one another, and being your brother's keeper, the people believed a communist government could give their nation these Christ- endowed benefits. In reality, the poor are still needing to be fed, compassion is translated as corruption and favoritism, and the people are left to fend for themselves while the government and its supporters accumulate wealth and property. These things happen when Christians do not act on their civic duty as disciples of Christ. They lose their freedom.
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
Pray to "Kill the Bill"
A Message from Senator Sam Brownback
Dear Praying Friends,
Senator Brownback has sent an email saying: "ask people to pray against the health care bill because of it's stand on abortion."
I just got this word from a friend, Matt Locket, of Bound for life. He has work tirelessly to fight abortion. Here is what he said.
"If allowed to proceed, this Health Care Bill will mainstream abortion into the veins of America like never before. It will result in the greatest expansion of the abortion industry since Roe v Wade in 1973. The Lord showed me at the beginning of 2009 that we were facing a fundamental "cultural shift" to being one of "entitlement." Quite literally, "We're entitled to abortions because we're Americans."Those words have haunted me all year long as we've taken our stand both before the Supreme Court and Congress crying out, "Lord, restrain this great evil and lawlessness in the land."
Thanks for praying,
Lonnie Berger, Intercessors' Liaison for Senator Sam Brownback
Terror Alert #1: Pakistan
Terrorist recruiters leverage the Web - From YouTube to Pakistan: N.Va. men allegedly drafted to fight U.S. troops abroad
Pakistani authorities on Saturday were searching for an insurgent figure believed to have aided five Northern Virginia men who allegedly tried to join al- Qaeda, saying the case could help unravel a growing network of terrorist recruiters who scour the Internet for radicalized young men. Investigators have identified the man, known as Saifullah, as a recruiter for the Pakistani Taliban and said he contacted one of the American men on YouTube, exchanged coded e-mails with the group, invited them to Pakistan and guided them once they arrived. But the men, all Muslims from the Alexandria area, failed to reach the remote tribal zone that is al- Qaeda's home because the terrorist network's commanders thought they were sent by the CIA to infiltrate al-Qaeda -- and Saifullah could not convince them otherwise, a Pakistani intelligence official said Saturday. "They were regarded as a sting operation. That's why they were rejected," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation. The five men disappeared just after Thanksgiving and were arrested near Lahore on Tuesday. They have not been charged with any crime. (Washington Post)
b. Pakistan police probe Americans in terror case
Pakistani police Monday seized luggage and a cell phone from a hotel where three of five Americans arrested on suspicion of militant links stayed, while a court ruled the men cannot be deported until judges review the case. Police allege the young Americans intended to join militants in the northwest tribal areas and then travel to Afghanistan before their arrest last week. The case has fanned fears that Americans and other Westerners are heading to Pakistan to link up with al-Qaida and other militant groups. Police searched the mid-range Saddam Hotel in the southern city of Karachi, the country's commercial hub, where some of the men stayed on Nov. 30 after their arrival in the country. They found five travel bags containing clothes, a cell phone and a book, police official Abdullah Sheikh said. Hotel manager Mohammed Farooq Khan said the three left the hotel without informing management after staying one night. The book was "The Pact," the best-selling true story of three young men from broken homes who pledged to support each other as they pursue academic dreams. (AP)
c. Pakistani court halts deportation of five American Muslims on jihad quest
A Pakistani court on Monday blocked the repatriation of five American Muslims arrested on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks last week, a lawyer said. The high court in the eastern city of Lahore asked the interior ministry and other relevant authorities to submit a report on the detentions on Dec 17, said attorney Khalid Khwaja, a rights activist who filed a petition on his own initiative. "We had requested in our petition that since these five men were detained in Pakistan under Pakistani law, so they should be tried under Pakistani laws and, if found guilty, must be given sentence in Pakistan," Khwaja said. The five men in their 20s from the US state of Virginia were arrested in Sargodha, about 160 km west of Lahore, days after they travelled to Pakistan in a group. One of the suspects left behind a videotape that appeared to be a farewell statement, accompanied by references to the conflict between the West and the Muslim world. Pakistani investigators alleged that the five university students were planning to participate in jihad in Afghanistan, and were trying to contact militant outfits for basic training in Pakistan's restive tribal region near the Afghan border. (Times of India)
Terror Alert #2: New York
Interagency rift cited by defense counsel in New York terror case
As summer was winding down, few New Yorkers were aware that F.B.I. agents and police detectives from the Joint Terrorism Task Force were working feverishly on an investigation into a bomb plot by Al Qaeda. Their focus was Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old Afghan-born airport shuttle bus driver who had arrived in Queens from Denver on the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Endeavoring to work covertly, they used wiretaps, surveillance and a secret court-ordered search in an effort to learn about what they feared was a plot for a new attack, according to court records and law enforcement officials.
. The task force agents and detectives, along with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, were also tracking several of Mr. Zazi's friends, some of whom had traveled with him to Pakistan last year. The investigation stretched from a Queens neighborhood where Mr. Zazi and his friends had gone to the same high school, to Denver, where he had moved early this year, and Pakistan, where, officials would later say, he received training in weapons and explosives in Peshawar.
But the covert inquiry burst into public view abruptly after an effort by the Police Department's Intelligence Division backfired. Apparently without consulting the task force, the Intelligence Division enlisted a Queens imam to help develop information about Mr. Zazi, according to police and federal law enforcement officials. (New York Times) Read more.
Terror Alert #3: Atlanta
Atlanta terrorist sentenced on Monday
A small group of FBI agents huddled outside a Home Depot in Atlanta in January 2006, watching a young man suspected of being linked to terrorists as he walked out the door with materials that could be used to make a bomb. They knew Syed Haris Ahmed had researched bomb-making techniques online and shaved his head, as some jihadis have done before an attack. However, they had to make a quick decision faced by other terror investigators across the country: They could swoop in and keep him from potentially building a bomb, which could leave them with a case too weak to win a conviction. Or they could keep building a stronger case - and risk a potential terror attack. "If we have a terrorist event, we could solve what happened. But that means we've lost," said Rick Maxwell, an assistant special agent in charge in Atlanta. "What we want to do is prevent them. It's much more difficult, but that's our goal. (ABC News) Read more.
The Good News Corner
"Drawing Heaven"
This is a video of a 12 year old prodigy, Akiane Kramarik, raised in an aethiest home, who began painting pictures of Jesus and heaven. Her family now believes in God.
To view this amazing video, go here.
