In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Not Dead Yet
• IPT Terror Alert #1
• IPT Terror Alert #2
• IPT Terror Alert #3
• IPT Terror Alert #4
• The Good News Corner
• Worship with Us Today!
Greetings!
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The Daily Brief - Monday, December 13, 2010
"May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. (2 Thess. 3:16))
UPDATE: TEN DOLLARS
Many thanks to all of you who have so quickly and so generously responded to last night's message. We have learned that some of our readers have not been able to use the link provided to make an online offering.
Here is the actual link. If needed, please paste this into your browser and then follow the directions provided.
https://www.egsnetwork.com/gift/gift.php?giftid=3B77E058-983E-4415-AA4E-2F82ED1A4DEA#
Thank you again, and God bless you.
The Daily Brief
1. Judge Deals Blow to New Health Care Law - Fox News
Rules Against Mandatory Coverage
Casting an unmistakable and perhaps permanent pockmark on the face of the Obama administration, a federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday that a major component of the new health care reform law is unconstitutional. Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled Monday for the state's claim that the requirement for people to purchase health care exceeds the power of Congress under the Constitution's Commerce Clause. Read more.
Update: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the successful challenge to health care law marks a 'great day for the Constitution,' yet admits the fight will likely go to Supreme Court
- As the Attorney General has stated, this case is far from over, for this argument must now most surely be heard next before the Supreme Court. Begin to pray now for the legal team that will be assembled as they will prepare both oral and written arguments to demonstrate that this component of the new health care reform law is, indeed, unconstitutional. Rejoice, but pray!
- "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34)
2. Tax Deal Crosses Key Senate Hurdle, Still Faces Rough Road - Fox News
Senate passes a sweeping package of tax breaks and unemployment aid with a vote of 83-15, though the bill is expected to face a tougher time in the House, where Democrats have raised concerns about tax breaks for wealthy Americans.
- Once again we ask prayer for WISDOM for all in authority as they work to pass a tax bill that will provide much-needed breaks for our people, while stripping away any hidden clauses that would be to our detriment. This is not over yet; and a huge battle awaits us in the House. Remain in prayer over this contentious issue until it is fully resolved.
- "For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Rom. 8:26)
SEE ALSO: Rep. Bachmann on tax deal "No Dice"
Tea Party Voices Opposition to Deal Extending Tax Rates. Go here.
3. U.S. Diplomat Holbrooke Dies at 69 After Heart Surgery - AP
Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has died at 69 after undergoing surgery to repair a tear in his aorta.
- Tonight we lift up the family of Richard Holbrooke in prayer, that they will be comforted in their time of sorrow. May the sweet and tender presence of our Savior be felt by all who gather to mourn his life, leading to their salvation.
- "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)
4. Federal Reserve Chairman Defends Bond Buybacks, Citing At-Risk Economy - AP
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is stepping up his defense of the Fed's $600 billion Treasury bond-purchase plan, saying the economy is still struggling to become "self-sustaining" without government help. In a taped interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night, Bernanke also argued that Congress shouldn't cut spending or boost taxes given how fragile the economy remains. The Fed chairman said he thinks another recession is unlikely. But he warned that the economy could suffer a slowdown if persistently high unemployment dampens consumer spending.
• By saying that government help is needed, Bernanke brings Americans' money under the control of the federal government and the Federal Reserve Board, which is accountable to no one, not even Congress. Praise the Lord that Bernanke is right about one aspect: "unemployment dampens consumer spending." Hard work and ingenuity in thinking have built the American economy. Pray the Lord will block any attempts by the government to take money from the people.
• "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? " (Matthew 7: 11)
5. Oil Nears $89 a Barrel As U.S. Dollar Weakens - AP
Oil prices rose to near $89 a barrel Thursday in Asia as a weaker U.S. dollar made crude cheaper for investors with other currencies. Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 55 cents to $88.83 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 41 cents to settle at $88.28 on Wednesday. Oil has hovered in the upper-$80s this week -- touching a two-year high of $90.76 on Tuesday -- as traders mull how much global crude demand may grow in 2011. In the absence of any strong catalyst from oil market or economic data, crude prices often follow currency and stock markets. The euro rose to $1.3308 on Thursday from $1.3261 late Wednesday while the dollar dropped to 83.70 yen from 84.00 yen.
• Ask the Lord to help our economy by causing the value of our dollar to rise. The beacon of freedom must not be dimmed by our lack of a strong economy. The world, led possibly by our president, has been working hard to bring down a strong America. Continue in repentance for our weaknesses as a nation.
• " And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required " (Luke 12:48)
6. Poll: Education Backed, But Not New School Taxes - AP
The public verdict is in and overwhelming: The better the education people get, the stronger the U.S. economy will be, a poll shows. But don't count on folks to support higher taxes to improve schools. Eighty-eight percent say a country's education system has a major effect on its economic health. Nearly as many - 79 percent - say the U.S. economy would improve if all Americans had at least a two-year college degree, according to an Associated Press-Stanford University poll. Yet when it comes to financing public school improvements, people tilt slightly against raising taxes to do so, with 47 percent opposing and 42 percent in support. The findings underscore the tensions confronting federal and local officials across the country balancing the competing pressures of strengthening education while not overburdening taxpayers at a time of economic weakness and huge federal and state budget deficits.
• This poll reflects what every good parent and teacher knows: it is not money that builds a good education but supportive parents, good discipline of students, and good study habits. We should not throw money on programs that do not work, and that take students away from their educational time. Pray that America does what David Barton showed : prayer in the public schools is good for all! Home schooling is outstanding! Our schools need a canopy of God's blessings over them. Pray that committed Christians become teachers and administrators.
• "And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David, his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left." (2 Chronicles 34:2)
7. Navy Sets World Record With Incredible, Sci-Fi Weapon - FoxNews
A theoretical dream for decades, the railgun is unlike any other weapon used in warfare. And it's quite real too, as the U.S. Navy has proven in a record-setting test today in Dahlgren, VA. Rather than relying on a explosion to fire a projectile, the technology uses an electromagnetic current to accelerate a non-explosive bullet at several times the speed of sound. The conductive projectile zips along a set of electrically charged parallel rails and out of the barrel at speeds up to Mach 7. The result: a weapon that can hit a target 100 miles or more away within minutes.
• Blessed be the name of the Lord, for He has given America the ability to develop this weapon rather than a country like Iran or N. Korea. Pray that the details of this weapon are kept secret, that no one will have any access to steal the plans and sell them to our enemies. Pray also that we will never have the occasion to use such a weapon, because the Lord's canopy of blessings covers our nation. Continue to pray for the Lord's protection of our nation.
• "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear " (Isaiah 59: 1)
8. US Eases Military Pressure on Iran, Tries concessions - DEBKAfile
USS Truman is distanced from Iranian waters
Shortly before the Six Power talks with Iran resumed this week, Obama ordered the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to withdraw from Guff waters opposite Iran and redeploy in the Aegean Sea. This action signaled Washington's switch to the search for middle ground on the nuclear controversy through diplomatic engagement - just six weeks after he opted for a build-up of military pressure on Tehran, debkafile's military sources report.
- The only way to address an enemy is to treat him as your enemy. Pray that Obama will study and learn the lessons of Neville Chamberlain during World War II, who tried to bring peace to England by appeasing Adolf Hitler. History has now recorded the error of his ways. It is time to call a spade a spade, and to treat Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the enemy that he is. Pray!
- "For when they say Peace and Safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." (I Thess. 5:3)
9. Iran Bent on Punishing CIA, M16, Mossad Accused of Attacking its Scientists - DEBKAfile
Two nuclear scientists targeted in Tehran
US, British and Israeli secret services are getting set for Iran to retaliate for the attacks of which they are accused on its top nuclear physicists. debkafile's Iranian sources report that the last straw were the Nov. 29 attacks on two scientists in central Tehran. The Iranians are publicly fingering the US, Israel and the UK in unfolding blasts of vilification to warn them they have crossed red lines and will face the consequences.
- Our answer to this threat, in prayer, is REPENTANCE. An enemy can only strike when he finds ground to do so. Let's remain on our faces before the Lord for the sins of our nation, lest disaster befall us. Pray!
- "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it . . ." (Ezek. 22:30)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance." (I Kings 8:35,36)
1. Visiting U.S. envoy Mitchell to push Israel for stance on core Mideast issues - Ha'aretz
U.S. special envoy George Mitchell will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday evening to put forth U.S. ideas for moving the peace process forward.
2. Israel Will Not Share Jerusalem, Netanyahu Says - Fox News
Israel's leader on Sunday dismissed a call from a key government partner to share the holy city of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, a reminder of the obstacles facing already troubled peacemaking efforts.
3. Former EU leaders challenge Ashton on Israel - EU Observer
A large group of former EU leaders and commissioners, including Catherine Ashton's predecessor Javier Solana, has urged the Union to take sanctions against Israel on settlements. But Ms Ashton's reply indicates the plea will go unheard.
4. Heavy rain and strong winds batter the Middle East - AFP
Heavy rain and fierce winds pummeled countries across the Middle East on Sunday, killing a woman in Lebanon, sinking a ship off Israel's coast and prompting Egypt to close its largest Mediterranean port.
5. Israeli official: Barak's vision of dividing Jerusalem is not government policy - Ha'aretz
Defense Minister Ehud Barak's expressed support for partitioning Jerusalem along Jewish and Arab lines according to an initiative presented by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000 is not official Israeli policy, an official in Jerusalem said Sunday.
6. US drops Palestinian-Israeli track, formulates new Turkey-Iran Deal - DEBKAfile
Hillary Clinton writes The End
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had the thankless task of writing finis on the Obama administration's two-year effort to persuade Israelis and Palestinians to talk peace. It was time "to grapple with the core issues of this conflict" - borders, refugees, settlements, water and Jerusalem - she said, without mentioning timetables. debkafile reports the administration has now turned to a new plan for employing Turkey - first to broker a deal with Iran, then an Israeli-Syrian accord.
The Daily Jot
Revelation Prophecy of Food Control Established By US Congress
On December 8, the House of Representatives passed the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act which is the vehicle for Fiscal Year 2011 continuing appropriations and food safety legislation. This legislation puts the federal government and the World Trade Organization in control the nation's food supply from growing your own food to selling or trading it among neighbors or friends to roadside stands to large processing plants that import or export food. This bill establishes a "Surveillance System" that can spy on farmers, gives the government authority to collect fees and requires reports from those growing food. This is essentially a food IRS putting the government between citizens and their ability to survive.
Sold as a mandate to protect the food supply from contamination, the bill contains in it the language which passed the Senate on November 30 by a 73-25 margin. It will be sent back to the Senate for approval because all appropriations bills must originate in the House. This is a lame duck tyrannical power grab by the very people Americans voted out of office on November 2. These people at the very least should be charged with high crimes and misdemeanors and tried for their insidious attempt to exercise federal and international control over the food supply of this nation. It is written as a measure of protection for the people, but language is open to absolute federal and international authority over the food supply.
Many wonder how Americans could be forced to take the mark of the beast as described in Revelation 13:16-17, which says of the antichrist: "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." This legislation sets the stage for the Revelation prophecy to be carried out legally in the United States. There will now be a system established that could incentivize turning in you neighbor for growing food, allows international authority over your land, and provides a fee system that can increase food costs at will.
Some Sources:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:1:./temp/~bdmL0m:@@@R|/home/LegislativeData.php --HR 3082
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c111:3:./temp/~c111cprnqr:e284790: --World Trade Organization language
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c111:3:./temp/~c111cprnqr:e170712: --Surveillance
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c111:3:./temp/~c111cprnqr:e71122: --Collection of fees
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Not Dead Yet
From Tony Perkins: Pray and Act Now to Protect our Military from an Ungodly Agenda
In the midst of your busy Christmas season, could I ask a favor on behalf of our men and women serving in the Armed Forces? Please pray that God would intervene and stop what is about to happen to them this week.
As you know we have twice repelled the efforts to overturn the ban on open homosexual behavior in our nation's military. The last attempt failed this past Thursday night when Senator Harry Reid was only able to get 57 votes to proceed to the Defense Authorization Bill, three votes short of the 60 needed. Following the vote, Senator John McCain, who has been leading the fight to prevent the overturning of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), called and was extremely worried.
Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have filed a stand alone bill to overturn DADT and Sen. Reid has promised he will bring it to the floor of the Senate before the Lame Duck session is over. Sen. McCain is very concerned that a few Republicans will yield to the pressure and vote for the bill in the final hours of the 111th Congress. The implications of this, as you know, are far reaching. The political reprieve that was won last month in the national elections will be shattered by this cultural and moral time bomb that will be activated by the Nancy Pelosi/Harry Reid Congress that the American people rejected.
Senator McCain has repeatedly made two statements to me in our frequent conversations over the last several months. First, he has said he has never seen anything like this. There is an obsession with trying to ram through a controversial social policy at the risk of so many other vital pieces of legislation. He has also asked me several times: "Where are all the religious leaders, where are the pastors?" The only voice that is being heard on Capitol Hill is that of the homosexual community who are attacking anyone and everyone who stands in opposition to their agenda.
What is that agenda? This is not just about the military; the military is a means to an end. The objective will be to force Christians and others who hold to traditional morality to confine those moral beliefs to the four walls of their churches or in the inner sanctums of their homes. In a recent op-ed in the LA Times entitled "Hate Under the Cloak of Religion," Tim Rutten appeared to allow his zeal to override his discretion by revealing too much about their true agenda when he stated: "So long as even the most objectionable religious dogma stays under the church roof, it's a constitutionally protected view. People's religious beliefs -- even when noxious -- are a private matter. However, when a group sets out to impose its views on the rest of society by lobbying for public policies or laws, it can no longer claim special protections or an exemption from the norms of civil discourse simply because its views are formed by religious beliefs."
Do you see the implications of this? You can believe whatever you want as long as it does not reach beyond the walls of your church or the privacy of your home. That is not religious freedom! Religious freedom is the ability to live out one's Christian beliefs in such a way that it positively impacts the world around you. The goal is to prohibit in the arena of public policy or public discourse views that arise from or are associated with religious beliefs. This of course is exactly what Judge Vaughn Walker intends, stating in the so-called findings of facts in his written opinion in the California Prop 8 decision: "Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians."
Finally, I am asking that you pray and act: Pray that the Lord would intervene and bring this Lame Duck session of a Congress that the people rejected to a conclusion this week without another vote on DADT, leaving the current policy in place. Additionally, call on your church members to act now by calling their Senators and telling them enough time has been spent on trying to use our military to advance this radical social policy. Tell them do not vote to overturn DADT in the 11th hour of the Lame Duck Session of the 111th Congress.
Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators. Or visit www.FRC.org and click on Contact Officials. The time to pray and act is now.
Standing (Eph. 6:13),
Tony Perkins, President
Family Research Council www.frc.org
IPT Terror Alert #1
Supercomputers guarding nuclear arsenal lack disaster plan, study finds
The supercomputer systems used to assess the safety and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile do not have adequate contingency and disaster recovery plans in place to ensure availability following a disaster, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office. The systems are housed in three Energy Department national laboratories: Los Alamos, Sandia and Lawrence Livermore. The National Nuclear Security Administration oversees them. Although all of the labs have components of contingency planning in place, the plans have gaps and have not been regularly tested, threatening the ability of the labs to perform their missions, GAO found. "NNSA has not provided effective oversight to ensure that the laboratories have comprehensive and effective contingency and disaster recovery planning and testing" GAO concluded. "Further, due to lack of planning and analysis by NNSA and the laboratories, the impact of a system outage is unclear." (Government Computer News) Read more.
Please note:
All IPT Alerts are published by The Investigative Project, Steve Emerson, President.
To read more of their material, go here.
IPT Terror Alert #2
Terror plot suspect ordered held
A Baltimore man accused of plotting to blow up a military recruiting station was "grinning from ear-to-ear" and said "Allah Akbar" as he prepared to detonate what he thought was a powerful bomb, federal prosecutors said in court Monday. Antonio Martinez, 21, who recently converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Hussain, was determined to kill members of the military who he saw as a threat to Muslims, and he also tried to recruit others to participate, prosecutors said. Ultimately, the FBI learned of Martinez's intentions through an informant, joined the plot and supplied him with a fake car bomb that he tried to detonate. But defense attorney Joseph Balter said in court Monday that his client was "incapable" of carrying out an attack on his own and was caught in a "government sting operation. "They induced him to be involved in an act that was clearly the design of the government, Balter said. (Washington Post) Read more.
IPT Terror Alert #3
Accused Hezbollah cell leader in court
Mohamad Hammoud has spent 10 years behind bars for conspiring to aid Middle Eastern terrorists. The 37-year-old suspected leader of a Hezbollah cell in Charlotte has 145 years left on his sentence. But Hammoud is fighting to get out of prison now. His attorneys will try to persuade U.S. District Judge Graham Mullen at a hearing Wednesday to slash Hammoud's sentence to time served - or at least to no more than 15 years in prison. "The overwhelming evidence here is that Mr. Hammoud's original sentence is a miscarriage of justice," defense attorneys James McLoughlin of Charlotte and Stanley Cohen of New York argued in court documents. (Charlotte Observer) Read more.
IPT Terror Alert #4
Holder Calls Terrorism Sting Operations 'Essential'
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has defended the use of sting operations orchestrated by government informers, telling advocates for the civil rights of American Moslem cult members on Friday night that the tactic is an "essential law enforcement tool in uncovering and preventing terror attacks." On Saturday, Moslem cult community groups said they appreciated Mr. Holder's effort at outreach, but emphasized their opposition to the tactic he defended. The method involves building cases against Moslems by using undercover agents who suggest violent and nonviolent ways to help the cause of Islam. In recent cases, the suspects are accused of choosing the violent. In a 20-minute speech delivered in this suburb of San Francisco at the annual dinner of Moslem Advocates, a national legal advocacy and civil rights organization, Mr. Holder rejected criticism by such groups that sting operations amount to improper entrapment. Moslem cult leaders were unmoved. (NY Times) Read more.
The Good News Corner
The Story of Jonah as Told by The Cutest Little Girl
ABOUT THIS VIDEO
Truly a must-see! SO CUTE! This delightful little girl will bring a smile to your face as she tells the most enchanting, fascinating and educational story of Jonah ever told! :) What a blessing! Video from Corinth Baptist Church.
"And a little child shall lead them . . ." (Isaiah 11:6)
AMEN!
Worship with Us Today!
I could sing of Your love forever
YES, LORD!
I could sing of Your love forever!
