In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• Congress Moves on Iran Sanctions
• Turkey's Actions a "Historic Shift"
• About Elena Kagan
• The Emperor's New DISCLOSE
• White House Hosts GLBT Party Tonight
• The Good News Corner CALL2FALL
• Worship with Us Today!
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The Daily Brief - June 22, 2010
"I AM with you always, even unto the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
The Daily Brief
1. Federal Judge Blocks Offshore Drilling Ban - AP
A federal judge struck down the Obama Administration 6 month ban on deep water oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico simply saying that the Administration assumed that because one rig exploded, the others pose an immediate danger too.
- Offer a chorus of praise over this decision, which is clearly an answer to prayer!
- "My whole being will exclaim "Who is like you oh Lord?" You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them." (Psalm 35:10)
2. Gulf Spill Fund to Speed Up Payouts - Washington Times
The administrator of a $20 billion fund to compensate Gulf oil spill victims pledged Monday to speed payment of claims as a federal judge considered whether to lift a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling. BP has paid out more than $100 million so far. Various estimates place total claims so far in excess of $600 million.
• Lord, we pray these lawsuits will not add to the confusion of capping this oil spill. We pray the courts will lift the moratorium on the oil drilling, so that our oil resources will not be depleted, but only if lessons have been learned from this catastrophe.
• Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)
3. Times Square Plotter Pleads Guilty, Warns of 'War' - USA Today
Faisal Shahzad, a Connecticut father of two, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to plotting to blow up Times Square and warned more such attacks would come unless the U.S. leaves Muslim countries.
Federal agents say Shahzad, of Bridgeport, Conn., attempted on May 1 to explode bombs stashed in an SUV he had parked near a Broadway theater. The bombs, which included a gun cabinet packed with fertilizer fuel and propane tanks and gas canisters rigged with fireworks, failed to ignite properly. A vendor who noticed smoke coming from the SUV called police, who evacuated Times Square.
• Lord, we thank you for your protection and your mercy. This attack was thwarted by you, and we are grateful. Let other would-be bombers and terrorists be stopped before they can do any harm.
• Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them. (Psalms 17:7)
4. Fannie, Freddie Could Cost $389 Billion - NewsMax
For all the focus on the historic federal rescue of the banking industry, it is the government's decision to seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 that reportedly is likely to cost taxpayers the most money. On average, they recoup less than 60 percent of the amount borrowers failed to pay.
• Heavenly Father, the time has come to put an end to these expenditures that are draining our finances greatly. Put godly business people and patriots in place to bring solutions, and turn our nation around in our finances.
• The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, But the words of the pure are pleasant. He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. (Proverbs 15:26, 27)
5. Gay Workers to Get Family Leave - ABC News
The Labor Department is ready to tell employers they must give gay workers the same opportunity as heterosexual ones to take unpaid time off to care for their partners' newborns or loved ones.
Last year, Obama gave federal workers' same-sex partners a first round of benefits including visitation and dependent-care rights. He also authorized child-care services and subsidies; more flexibility to use family leave to attend to the needs of domestic partners and their children; relocation benefits; giving domestic partners the same status as family members when federal appointments are made; and access to credit union and other memberships when those are provided to federal workers.
• Lord, while we know that you love the sinner but hate the sin, we know that the gay lifestyle is an abomination to you. We pray that you remove immediately all those in favor of redefining marriage between a man and a woman. We pray for their salvation. Let them abhor their sin!
• But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands, but the man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear. " (2 Samuel 23:6, 7)
6. Report: California on 'Verge of System Failure' - NewsMax
The government spent so far beyond its means that mass layoffs, welfare reductions that leave a million children and the poor and elderly without needed services and failing infrastructure are now the norm.
Budget analysts say Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has no choice but to ask Washington for bailout funds, and that Washington has no choice but to agree because not bailing out the Golden State could put the entire U.S. economy at risk. It seems that California - which at one time had the third-largest economy in the world - is like the biggest U.S. banks: Too big to fail.
• Lord, all the wasteful programs and greed have caused California and the US. to lose fiscal restraint. We pray that unfavorable programs will be deleted, and only productive programs kept. Reverse our downward spiral.
• The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. A man will be commended according to his wisdom, but he who is of a perverse heart will be despised. (Proverbs 12:7,8)
7. Planned Parenthood's Missing millions - The Washington Times
Planned Parenthood Federation of America's (PPFA) audits show the organization spent just $657.1 million between 2002 and 2008 from federal government grants and programs, but the abortion behemoth's own annual reports show that it took in $2.3 billion from government grants and programs during the same time period.
Someone, then, needs to explain to all those people why $2.3 billion in tax dollars have been doled out to an organization that admits to systematically having killed more than 1.8 million pre-born babies between 2002 and 2008 and then reports it only spent $657.1 million in federal dollars.
• Heavenly Father, we pray for continued vigilance and wisdom- as to what we have to do- and what rules we need to initiate, in order to keep our country from those who would kill innocent children. We pray our nation will turn to You, and will stand strong to protect the unborn.
• In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:6-7)
8. Rahm Emanuel expected to quit White House - London Telegraph
Washington insiders say he will quit within six to eight months in frustration at their unwillingness to "bang heads together" to get policy pushed through.
- Begin to pray now for the one who will fill Emanuel's shoes when he leaves. Cry out to God to raise up a Chief of Staff for Obama who is PRO-ISRAEL. Ask for a miracle! Amen!
- "Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You." (Jeremiah 32:17)
9. HEADLINES HERALDING END-TIME NEWS
a. Russian President Shows "New World Currency" At G-8 Summit - Worthy News
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for a new global currency to replace the dollar as the World's Reserve Currency.
b. Pope Calls For "World Political Authority" - Worthy News
Pope Benedict XVI has urged the creation of a "true world political authority" to "guarantee the protection of the environment" and to manage the global economy, Worthy News learned on Monday, June 21.
- Almost daily now, headlines are emerging that point toward the fulfillment of all end-time prophecies recorded in the Word of God. Rejoice that His Word IS true; and rest in the promises of His Word for you. May we each find many opportunities to reach out to the lost with the Good News of Jesus Christ, while there is yet time. Amen.
- "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
" Show me your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths." (Psalm 25:4)
1. Report: Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran to discuss 'possible Israeli attack' - Ynet News
Palestinian sources say Hamas and Hezbollah are holding talks ahead of a possible meeting between their representatives and leaders of the Palestinian factions in Damascus, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anaba reported.
2. Hamas: Abbas needs our ok to visit Gaza - Jerusalem Post
Hamas said on Monday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas won't be able to visit the Gaza Strip unless he coordinates the visit in advance with the Islamist movement.
3. Moral Lapses in the Church Concerning Israel - Jerusalem Post
Both the Methodist Church of Britain and the Presbyterian Church (USA) have issued slanted reports on the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
4. Barak urges UN to shelve plan to probe Gaza flotilla raid - Ha'aretz
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to shelve plans for a UN-backed independent investigation of the deadly Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month.
5. UNRWA wants full blockade lift - Jerusalem Post
Only a complete lift of the Gaza blockade will satisfy UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees said to Reuters on Monday.
6. US issues travel warning against joining Gaza blockade runs - ICEJ News
The US State Department issued a travel warning on Sunday for any American citizens trying to engage in further efforts to breach the Gaza blockade by sea, joining Britain in warning away its citizens from joining aid flotillas bound for Gaza. "US citizens are advised against traveling to Gaza by any means, including via sea. Previous attempts to enter Gaza by sea have been stopped by Israeli naval vessels and resulted in the injury, death, arrest and deportation of US citizens," warned the US State Department. The warning follows Israel's request that countries issue such warnings to deter further attempts to break the blockade.
The Daily Jot
The prophetic example of how to change the condition of America
Upon hearing the news that the remnant in Jerusalem were under great affliction, the prophet Nehemiah prayed to the Lord. He confessed sins and reminded the Lord of the promise that "if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them . . . I will gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there." Nehemiah asked for mercy. The Lord made a way for Nehemiah to discuss his concern with the king that Jerusalem should be rebuilt. And that request was granted. But as the process of rebuilding began, those in Jerusalem were still not abiding in the word of God, which caused extraordinary problems.
Nehemiah Chapter 5 finds the people of Jerusalem in great distress. They began complaining against each other. Verses 5:3-5 say, "We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the famine. There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the kings tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards."
This oppression was the result of sin--because there was exploitation of misfortune, a lack of love for one another, as well as various other violations of God's word. The oppression stemmed from a system where the government over Jerusalem encouraged usury, and also partook of it. There was a famine, where just to eat the people mortgaged even their children, and could not redeem them. When society is tipped in the balance toward sinful ways, good people suffer along with the evil. And the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. America, with its debt and usury--both personal and national, may well be headed for a Nehemiah era if its people and its government do not repent from their wicked ways.
Nehemiah, however, also gives us an example of what to do about this. First, he called an assembly of the nobles and rulers and rebuked them and got them to agree to restore the usury and the food that was taken. And then, Nehemiah led by example. He writes that when he was appointed governor, "the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea even their servants bare rule over the people, but so did not I, because of the fear of God." A lesson for America before we get into such extreme condition--we need to repent, rebuke our rulers, and put those in place who fear God. Sooner than later.
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
Congress Moves on Iran Sanctions
US Congress settles on tougher Iran sanctions
Poll finds widespread support for military strikes on Iran's nuclear sites
After waiting for the Obama administration to secure another round of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran's renegade nuclear program, both Houses of the US Congress reached agreement on Monday on a compromise set of measures that would go well beyond the UN resolution by penalizing Iran's business partners for selling the country gasoline, investing in its refineries, or providing financial services to firms linked to its political and military elite.
The sanctions package now set for full congressional approval amounts to a more confrontational approach to Iran than that taken by the Obama administration. It would reinforce existing US sanctions, penalizing American companies for violations by foreign subsidiaries and barring some of Iran's financial partners from US financial markets. The bill would also target violators of human rights and increase criminal penalties of up to $1 million in fines or 20 years in jail for violators of any sanctions.
If applied forcefully by Obama, this act will bring strong new pressure to bear on Tehran in order to combat its proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, support for international terrorism, and gross human rights abuses," the legislation's co-sponsors said in a statement.
The pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC hailed the pending bill as "the toughest piece of Iran sanctions legislation ever passed by Congress." (ICEJ News)
Turkey's Actions a "Historic Shift"
Israeli Ambassador Oren: Turkey's actions mark 'historic' shift
Dr. Michael Oren, Israel's Ambassador to the US and a noted Middle East historian, said on Monday that Turkey's recent actions in support of the hostile Gaza aid flotilla mark a change of "historical proportions" which is cause "deepening discomfort" and "uneasiness" on Capitol Hill. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Oren said that Turkey is making a shift from being pro-West towards the East whose outcome is unpredictable.
"We are living in a sea of change," said Oren. "The change in Turkey's orientation - literally toward the Orient - is an event of historical proportions. Turkey's return to the Middle East after a hiatus of 90 years is huge, and nobody knows where this is going." Oren added there has also been a huge shift in US foreign policy with [sic] Obama in office and his efforts to reform both US domestic and foreign policies. Israeli policy has remained constant, while US and Turkish foreign policies are the ones changing, he assessed. Gilad Schalit was kidnapped by an Islamist terror cell through a cross-border tunnel attack on June 25, 2006 and handed over to Hamas in Gaza. (ICEJ News)
About Elena Kagan
Kagan Lacks Wisdom of Solomon
Last week Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) took to the Senate floor to defend [sic] Obama's Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's role in kicking military recruiters off of Harvard's campus while she was the law school dean. He might have wanted to wait to read the new documents released this weekend that show that not only was Elena Kagan key in kicking military recruiters off campus, directly violating U.S. law, she did so more or less independently--not even consulting the dean of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers.
The law she violated was the Solomon amendment that insists that if your university accepts federal funds it should also accept military recruiters. She called the current policy of "Don't A sk Don't Tell," which was created by her future boss President Bill Clinton and supported by the Democratic Congress at the time, "a moral injustice of the first order." She was so outraged that she did not work with the Pentagon to find a solution, instead leaving that work to others, which was fine to Military leaders at the time who found her hostility to them prevalent.
If Ms. Kagan has such disdain for passed legislation she disagrees with that she is willing to violate the law instead of seeking a solution, does she really have the temperament to have a permanent seat on the U.S. Supreme Court? (Family Research Council)
The Emperor's New DISCLOSE
You can add the Obama's name to the list of supporters on the DISCLOSE Act, or as we like to call it, the 2010 Incumbency Protection Act." The White House issued a statement of endorsement this week, just as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to quash the rumors that the Senate wouldn't take up the bill if it passed the House. Despite outrage from his own side, Sen. Reid wrote, "We commit to working tirelessly for Senate consideration of the House-passed bill so it can be signed by the president in time to take effect for the 2010 elections." Considering the tough race the Majority Leader faces it is no surprise he wants to move quickly to silence the opposition.
Meanwhile, H.R. 5175 seems to be inching closer to a vote in the House as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tries to cobble her shaky coal ition back together after several Democrats stepped away from the bill. Once again, she resorted to some backroom wheeling and dealing to buy back her support, this time by protecting government contractors who might be banned from political speech during election season. As always, Speaker Pelosi is on the lookout for new ways to undermine democracy to get her legislation passed. In a great sound bite from the debate, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) described it as "auctioning off the First Amendment." Going once . . . going twice . . . (Family Research Council)
White House Hosts GLBT Party Tonight
At tonight's gay and lesbian pride bash, the White House won't be giving out party favors--but political favors. Before America's most prestigious residence is transformed into a festival of perversion, Obama got the celebration started early by altering a major federal policy. Yesterday, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it would order companies, including private businesses, to give 12 weeks of unpaid leave to homosexuals who want to care for their partner's sick child or loved one. The Department is expected to make a formal announcement about the changes tomorrow, giving the revelers plenty to toast tonight.
. . . As much as Obama may care about the upcoming elections, he is quietly building an Executive safety net that will more than cushion the blow if November 2nd wipes out his party's leadership. After all, why worry about losing the congressional majority if you can execute your policies without it? You've heard of activist judges. Well, meet the first activist man to occupy the White House. He has a pointed, under-the-radar strategy motivated by two things: mobilizing his affluent homosexual base to give more and work harder for victory this fall, while demoralizing the vast majority of America that disagrees with his radical agenda. This administration hopes that the more time conservatives spend wringing their hands about these changes, the less time they will spend doing something about them. (Family Research Council; excerpt) .
[Excerpt from full article titled; "Labor Strike: DOL Bombs away at DOMA." Go here to read more.]
The Good News Corner CALL2FALL
CALL2FALL
You can join 275,492 people and churches on JULY 4, 2010 as we bow our knees to God in humble repentance, so that He might forgive our sins and heal our land.
To learn how to join in this nationwide day of prayer and repentance, visit the Call2Fall website by going here.
And, please do spread the word to others, for surely it is time to FALL on our knees, and to beseech our Lord for His mercy and His grace to once again fall upon our land.
Thank you!
Worship with Us Today!
If My People . . .
In the midst of what has been deemed, one of the most trying times since the Great Depression of the early 20th Century, there is still HOPE! That's right, there's still HOPE in JESUS CHRIST! If the world wants to see a change in the current circumstances, plaguing even the wealthiest of nations, then the world must repent and turn their hearts back to GOD!
The Word of GOD declares, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2nd Chronicles 7:14)
