In This Issue• Today's Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• PRAY FOR HAITI!
• Supreme Court Rules on Free Speech
• Celebrating Life
• The Daily Jot
• The War on Error
• "Massachusetts Miracle" - Conference Call
• The Good News Corner
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The Daily Brief - Friday, January 22, 2010
"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." (Prov. 29:2)
Today's Daily Brief
1. A. To survive after quake, the desperate target Haiti's orphanages - CNN
Haiti's orphanages have become targets for people desperate for food, water and medical supplies in the aftermath of the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake. On Wednesday night, Maison de Lumiere, an orphanage caring for 50 orphans, came under attack from a group of 20 armed men, aid workers told the Joint Council on International Children's Services. A neighboring orphanage sheltering about 135 children has been robbed several times over the past few days, they said.
B. Call for halt to Haiti adoptions over traffickers - London Times
Thousands of children unaccounted for since Haiti's earthquake are at risk of falling prey to child traffickers, aid agencies have warned, as fears were raised over at least 15 children who have vanished from hospitals within the past few days. Unicef, the UN children's agency, warned that "traffickers fish in pools of vulnerability. We know from past experience that trafficking happens in the chaos that usually follows emergencies." A Unicef adviser, Jean Luc Legrand, said he knew of at least 15 cases of children disappearing from hospitals. Save the Children, World Vision and the British Red Cross have called for an immediate halt to adoptions of Haitian children not approved before the earthquake, warning that child traffickers could exploit the lack of regulation. There has been a surge in offers from well-meaning foreigners.
- Lord, these attacks on children are incomprehensible. We pray that You will bring protectors in to be Your arms in sheltering these innocents. May the nation of Haiti be given eyes to see the value in the lives around them and may the move toward mob violence be stopped.
- "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings." (Psalm 36:7)
2. Gay-Marriage Backers See Hostile Intent in Ban - Wall Street Journal
Proponents of same-sex marriage argued in federal court Thursday that a California ban on gay marriage was motivated by hostility toward gays and lesbians, rendering the law unconstitutional.
- We know that Your plan for marriage is the basis of all human institutions, and we pray that this understanding will spread. We pray that we will be given hearts that are soft toward those who are caught in an evil lifestyle so that they will feel Your love from us and get strength to break free.
- "Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge." (Hebrews 13:4)
3. Ex-Pentagon worker sentenced for espionage - UPI
A former U.S. Defense Department official was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for spying and lying to the FBI, the Justice Department said. James Wilbur Fondren Jr. was convicted last September of unlawful communication of classified information by a government employee and two counts of making false statements, Justice officials said in a news release. Fondren was accused of providing classified information to Tai Shen Kuo, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Taiwan, for about 40 months, who then passed it along to a Chinese government official. Prosecutors said Fondren proffered the information under the guise of consulting services, incorporating the material into "opinion papers" he sold to Kuo.
- Thank You that this spy has been caught. We pray that others who are undercover will be brought into the light and exposed.
- "His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice." (1 Samuel 8:3)
4. Dead air: Air America pulls plug - Washington Times
Air America is going silent. The progressive talk radio network will cease live broadcasts immediately, a victim of an uncertain economy, a fragmented audience and dwindling advertising revenues in a crowded media marketplace.
- You are to be praised that the citizens of this country are wise enough to reject this attempt at brainwashing. We pray that they will be alerted to the more subtle ways that Your way is being trivialized through the world's media.
- "Transgressing and denying the LORD, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words." (Isaiah 59:13)
5. US firm to remove Biblical references on gunsights - BBC
A US military contractor has said it will stop engraving Biblical references on rifles used by the US army. The markings, in the form of coded references, have been appearing on products made by the US firm Trijicon, based in Michigan, for decades. But on Thursday, US military chief Gen David Petraeus, said the practice of scripture references was "disturbing" and "a serious concern". The firm also sells the gunsights to Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The inscriptions - which include "2COR4:6" and "JN8:12", relating to verses in the books of II Corinthians and John - appear in raised lettering at the end of the stock number.
- May others find a way to bring Your light and Your word to the hands of those in the military who need it in times of conflict and pain.
- "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." (Joshua 1:8)
6. U.K. terror threat raised to 'severe' - UPI
Britain raised its terrorism threat level Friday to "severe" -- meaning an attack is considered "highly likely." The Times of London reported the government raised the level because intelligence suggests the increased possibility of a "spectacular" attack by an al-Qaida- affiliated group as foreign ministers prepare to meet in London next week for a conference focusing on terrorism in Afghanistan and Yemen. The threat level had been at "substantial"-- meaning a "strong possibility of attack" -- since July.
- Lord, in this time of uncertainty and renewed attacks, we pray to You for shelter and guidance. May those in the intelligence community be blessed with renewed focus and supernatural insight.
- "They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 1:19)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Behold, He that keeps/guards Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." (Psalms 121:4)
1. US Envoy Launches New Mideast Peace Mission - VOA
Obama's point man in the Middle East is back in the region, trying to jump-start the peace process.
2. UN Chief: Mideast conflict worsening amid stalled talks - Ha'aretz
United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on Thursday urged Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace negotiations, declaring that failure to do so could destroy any chances of progress.
3. Obama: I misjudged the will for peace - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met US Mideast envoy George Mitchell Thursday night, a few hours after Time magazine published an interview with Obama in which he admitted that he erred during his first year in office by raising too high expectations of a Middle East breakthrough.
4. Israel hopes NIE will pressure Iran - Jerusalem Post
Israel is anxiously awaiting the publication of an updated United States National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, with defense officials hoping it will finally prompt toughened sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
5. Al-Qaida may use Sudanese refugee influx to infiltrate Israel - Jerusalem Post
If the border with Egypt is not closed, then al-Qaida may use Sudanese refugees making their way into the country as cover to infiltrate and set up terrorist cells in Israel, senior IDF officials told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during a tour on Thursday of two observation posts along the Sinai border.
6. Russia says to start Iran nuclear plant in 2010 - Ynet News
Russia will this year start up the reactor at Iran's long- delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation said on Thursday.
PRAY FOR HAITI!
Israel's 'Disproportionate' Response: CNN, CBS, LA Times Praise Israeli Rescue Efforts
ICEJ presents 50,000 Shekels to ZAKA Relief Team Founder in Jerusalem
The various Israeli medical and search-and-rescue teams dispatched last week to the earthquake stricken country of Haiti continue to draw praise for their effectiveness and compassionate response in the face of widespread death and devastation.
In an article in the Los Angeles Times entitled "Sending Soldiers of Peace to Haiti," the reporter notes the rapid response by Israeli emergency workers, who quickly set up the most advanced field hospital operating in the disaster zone. CBS News called the Israeli army hospital the "Rolls Royce" of Medicine in Haiti, while other media outlets touted the heroic efforts of the rescue teams from ZAKA, IsraAID and the IDF.
Watch Israeli rescue teams pull a survivor from the rubble.
An article in The American Thinker, chastised the "the international agencies that condemn Israel for its 'disproportionate response' when it is attacked," for not mentioning "Israel's disproportionate response to human suffering," while a dramatic CNN report highlighted Israel's field hospital as the only properly equipped facility on the island.
Meantime, an Israeli search team on Monday rescued two female students who had been trapped for six days under the wreckage of a university in Port-au-Prince. Another international team called on the Israeli unit to help pull out a female student trapped in the wreckage, and they used special equipment to create an opening without collapsing the structure.
Watch the CNN report: 'No one but the Israelis have come to help'
That means of the roughly 72 quakes victims extracted alive by international rescue teams during the critical first six days, eleven were saved by Israelis - most of those by the ICEJ-sponsored ZAKA emergency response team.
ICEJ Update - Israeli Relief Aid to Haiti
Last week, Christians around the world swiftly responded to our appeal to help the Israeli relief efforts in the devastated island of Haiti. On Wednesday, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem hosted the founder of ZAKA, Yehudah Mesh-Zahav, at our Jerusalem headquarters and presented him a check for 50,000 Shekels (approx. $14,000) to help underwrite his team's life-saving efforts in Haiti.
According to ICEJ Executive Director Rev. Malcolm Hedding, "Yehuda's words were quite amazing and very inspiring and his warmth and friendship was tangible."
Thank you to all our faithful supporters that have made their contributions to assist with the Haitian disaster through Israel. Despite Wednesday's powerful aftershock, Haitians are still being miraculously pulled from the rubble. There is still a great need for funds.
Support Israeli Relief Efforts in Haiti
Supreme Court Rules on Free Speech
Court Cures U.S. Speech Impediment
After years of clamping down on free speech, Congress was finally overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court. Yesterday, the Justices decided (5-4) that the government cannot ban individuals from engaging in political speech--even if that "speech" originates with corporations or labor unions before a presidential or general election. The suit was launched back in 2008 when a conservative nonprofit group released a film called "Hillary: The Movie," yet wasn't permitted by the Federal Election Commission to show the film on cable "on demand" or air TV advertisements about it.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that he was not prepared to "embrace a theory of the First Amendment that would allow censorship not only of television and radio broadcasts, but of pamphlets, posters, the Internet and virtually any other medium . . " We agree. This is a victory for the right of corporate citizens to join the political process. If the court had not acted as it did yesterday, the U.S. would have continued down the path of over-regulating and impeding the expression of political speech. We applaud the Supreme Court for overturning an act of Congress that was clearly unconstitutional. (Family Research Council)
Celebrating Life
More than 150 years ago, the Supreme Court issued its horrible Dred Scott decision. That case concluded that a black man was mere property, the equivalent of a horse, and, if he escaped his slavery, he had to be returned to his owner. The evil decision nearly destroyed our nation.
Thirty-seven years ago, the Court again declared that some individuals, unborn children, have no rights we are bound to respect. Roe v. Wade is the progeny of Dred Scott.
I had the honor of speaking to the Kentucky Right to Life delegation this morning as they joined thousands of Americans who came to Washington to celebrate life. These good folks come to pray that our nation and our leaders would see Roe for what it is: a rejection of our nation's highest ideal - that liberty is a gift from God and that each of us has a right to life. It is my prayer that our nation's first black president, who undoubtedly recognizes the injustice of Dred Scott, will someday soon come to appreciate that the same injustice is inherent in Roe v. Wade. (Gary Bauer; End-of-Day; 1/22/10)
The Daily Jot
Massachusetts Lesson: Energy of Discontent in the Crucible of Freedom
The lesson learned by the Scott Brown senate victory in Massachusetts goes deep into the very soul of an American. In this day and age when cultural differences are celebrated and people are not required to adopt the culture of an American to become an American, there are still certain traits that can be attributed to an American. One of them was identified by the Founding Fathers in 1776 when they wrote "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Within every human being God has placed the burning desire to live free and pursue happiness.
True Americans seem to have a double portion of this desire. And true Christians even more so. Jesus said in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jesus goes on to explain in verses 34-36, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abides not in the house for ever: but the Son abides for ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." More than anybody, Christians should understand freedom from both its spiritual roots and its practicality on earth. America, founded by Christians, was the first truly free nation whose government was ruled by the people with guaranteed freedoms.
Even in the wake of the massive rejection of this government's tyrannical and tightening grip on every American by one of the most liberal states of the nation, the arrogance of the White House and Congress remains, begging for more lessons. The man who occupies the Oval Office has said through aides that his tactics might change but his agenda will remain the same. Undaunted by the clear message sent from Massachusetts, the Senate leadership moved to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion, a record increase that will grow the national debt to over $14.3 trillion. The portion of that debt owed by every American man, woman and child will be over $43,333.
This is the government's plan to place you in bondage to it. If you owe too much money, you will be leveraged to succumb to the bondage of debt and government control over your lives. Americans, especially Christian Americans because they know the truth, must rise to the level where your "energy of discontent" overflows into the crucible of freedom--a place where the unalienable right to life, liberty and happiness mixes with the energy of discontent to create an unstoppable force against this tyranny before us. Those who say 'I will let God take care of it' wrongly miss that God chooses to work through His people. With Christianity there is responsibility--both personal and civic. It is time to exercise both.
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
The War on Error
When a man with terrorist ties boarded a plane on Christmas Day with the intent to blow up hundreds of Americans, it became obvious that this administration didn't put the same priority on national security as seriously as its predecessor. Unfortunately, those mistakes are only mounting now that the Umar Abdulmutallab is in U.S. custody. Yesterday, during a shocking Senate hearing that exposed massive holes in the administration's security philosophy, Republicans grilled the intelligence community for failing to involve the appropriate counter-terrorism experts. Instead, officials at the Justice Department casually decided to try Umar in criminal court like they would an average street thug.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) was furious that a man committing an act of war against our country would be "given a Miranda warning and access to a defense lawyer," which, he said, "may have cost us crucial intelligence about current and future plots against our country." According to Sen. Sessions, "these failures are the product of efforts by the Obama administration to ignore the fact that we are at war." Instead, the White House is lavishing these terrorists with the same rights as the American citizens they're trying to kill. Interestingly enough, the President's national security shortcomings were a cornerstone of Scott Brown's Massachusetts campaign. Andrew McCarthy explained the strategy as part of a great column, "It's the Enemy, Stupid!" "[Scott Brown] said the United States needs to stop apologizing for defending itself," McCarthy writes, "And he won . . . in the bluest of blue states." (Family Research Council)
"Massachusetts Miracle" - Conference Call
PRAYERSURGENOW:
January 23, 2010
7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time
Joint Prayer Meeting Across America
Join PrayerSurgeNow Tomorrow Morning to Rejoiice with Intercessors from Massachusetts at "What God Hath Wrought" by the Hand of Prayer. AMEN!
Topics Included: "Complete Unity in Christ"
"Operation Prayer Surge Prayer Points"
"To Kenya with Love"
"Saving Lives: One Baby at a Time"
"The Massachusetts Miracle of 1.19.10"
Conference Call & Access Numbers:
712-432-9998
526338#
The Good News Corner
Norma McCorvey's Act of Repentance
"What I did with Roe v. Wade was wrong."
American Minute with Bill Federer
JANUARY 22, 1973, the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton allowed abortion in all nine months of pregnancy.
23 years later, Norma McCorvey, who was the Jane Roe in the Roe v. Wade suit, was interviewed by USA Today.
She stated that once, while employed at a clinic when no one was in: "I went into the procedure room and laid down on the table . . . trying to imagine what it would be like having an abortion . . . I broke down and cried."
On ABC s World News Tonight, Norma McCorvey said: "I think abortion s wrong. I think what I did with Roe v. Wade was wrong."
On November 3, 2005, former Democrat President Jimmy Carter stated to reporters at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC, regarding his book, Our Enduring Values - America's Moral Crisis: "I never have felt that any abortion should be committed- I think each abortion is the result of a series of errors . . . I've never been convinced, if you let me inject my Christianity into it, that Jesus Christ would approve abortion. . ."
Jimmy Carter concluded:
"I have always thought it was not in the mainstream of the American public to be extremely liberal on many issues. I think our party s leaders - some of them - are overemphasizing the abortion issue."
- We praise God for the new life that Norma McCorvey has found in Chirst, and we rejoice with her at her testimony. Have you, too, found His marvelous gift of salvation?
- "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
