In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• Obama Releases Birth Certificate
• More on Planned Parenthood
• In Iraq: A Resurrection of Violence
• The Good News Corner
• Worship with Us Today!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief - Thursday, April 28, 2011
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," saith your God. (Isaiah 40:1)
The Daily Brief
1. Storms, Tornadoes Ravage South; at least 213 Dead - MSNBC
Dozens of tornadoes spawned by a powerful storm system wiped out entire towns across a wide swath of the U.S. South, killing at least 213 people in the deadliest outbreak in nearly 40 years, and officials said Thursday they expected the death toll to rise.
- Father, we bow before You in repentance and expectancy. We plead for Your mercy over America and ask that Your forgiveness and redemption come to our land.
- "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." (James 4:8)
2. Special Prayer Request for the Wife of David Wilkerson - CHPP
As we reported last night, David Wilkerson was killed yesterday in a car crash; his wife Gwen is in serious condition--please pray that she recovers. To learn more about the details of this crash and the need now for prayer, visit the CBN website by going here.
- Father, we lift Gwen before You and ask that You touch her body with Your healing power.
- "and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all." (Matthew 12:15b)
3. Dollar stung as Fed signals no rush to remove stimulus - Reuters
The dollar sank to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it would end its bond-buying program in June as planned and appeared in no rush to tighten monetary policy further.
- Father, we once again pray for Your provision and help as our leaders pursue foolish fiscal policies. We continue to plead for wisdom for them.
- "For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever." (Psalm 9:18)
4. Obama sending Panetta to Pentagon, Petraeus to CIA - AP
Obama plans to name CIA Director Leon Panetta as the next secretary of defense and move Gen. David Petraeus, now running the war in Afghanistan, into the CIA chief's job in a major shuffle of the U.S. national security leadership, senior administration officials and other sources said Wednesday.
- Lord, as this administration continues to lurch through its personnel in an effort to fix their own disasters, we pray that You will help the men who take over new jobs, find Your wisdom to be effective in the days to come.
-"Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake." (Psalms 6:4)
5. America's Third War- Is the US Government Arming Mexican Drug Cartels? - Fox News
If you ever watch video or look at pictures of the drug war in Mexico, you'll notice some pretty heavy weapons. This is a war being waged with rockets and plastic explosives, not pea shooters and Saturday Night Specials - You can't buy this stuff at a U.S. gun store. So where do the cartels get it? According to leaked diplomatic cables, there are three sources.
1. U.S. Defense Department shipments to Latin America, known and tracked by the U.S. State Department as "foreign military sales."
2. Weapons ordered by the Mexican government, tracked by the State Department as "direct commercial sales."
3. Aging, but plentiful arsenals of military weapon stores in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Even though these facts were well-known by the Obama administration, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder, it blamed much of the violence in Mexico on U.S. gun stores.
"More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States, many from gun shops that line our border," President Obama said in February 2009.
- Lord, we pray against lies that cover up the truth regarding our government's involvement in Mexican drug violence. We ask for Your intervention against policies which cause the drug wars to increase in violence and death.
- "A faithful witness will not lie; but a false witness will utter lies." (Proverbs 14:5)
6. a) UN Fails to Condemn Syrian Violence - VOA News
The United Nations Security Council has rejected a resolution condemning the ongoing violence in Syria that has resulted in hundreds of deaths. Russia and China have blocked the statement proposed by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal.
b) Britain Revokes Wedding Invite for Syrian Envoy U.K. revokes royal wedding invitation to Syrian ambassador due to the country's violent attacks on protesters.
- Lord, while we understand that there are evil influences in the Middle East violence, one small voice against death in the form of a revoked wedding invitation speaks volumes.
-"The Lord tries the righteous; but the wicked and him that loves violence, His soul hates." (Psalm 11:5)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together: a great company shall return here. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them - for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn. (Jeremiah 31:8-9)
1. PM: Palestinian state -- only through peace deal - Ynet News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Wednesday with US senators and stressed that Palestinian statehood would only be achieved through an agreement with Israel.
2. Hamas: We won't negotiate peace with Israel - Ynet News
The Palestinian factions have reconciled in the hopes of establishing an independent state, they said in a press conference on Wednesday. Fatah Central Committee Member and chief negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed said, "The agreement is the beginning and we shall take quick steps to end the occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state."
3. Fatah, Hamas sign reconciliation agreement - Ynet News
Palestinian officials from the rival Fatah and Hamas movements say they have reached an initial agreement on ending a four-year-old rift that has left them divided between rival governments in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
4. Abbas reacts: PM must choose between peace, settlements - Jerusalem Post
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, dismissed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's warning to the PA that it must choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas on Wednesday .
The Daily Jot
Of Evil and Good: The faith of Founding Fathers
No small amount of controversy has been stirring among Christian circles over the faith of the Founding Fathers of America, their beliefs about Jesus Christ and how followers of "Dominion" or "Kingdom Now" theology are trying to use the Founders to get Christians involved in politics. Dominion theology is the belief that Christians must establish the Kingdom of God here on earth in order to prepare the way for the return of Jesus Christ. Those who believe in Dominion theology, therefore, believe Christians must be involved in high places of government in order to effectively establish this kingdom. It is wrong minded and bad theology in that Jesus himself will establish his kingdom when he returns.
There has been strong evidence provided by filmmaker Christian Pinto that many of the Founding Fathers, while accepting and following the moral code established in the Bible, did not believe in miracles, especially those regarding the virgin birth of Jesus and his resurrection. Thomas Paine, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are among those Pinto documents through their letters and books who did not believe that the Christ had come in the flesh. Pinto rightly claims that they are as described in 2 John 7, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist."
Many Christians are using these documentations to discredit the Founding Fathers completely as well as an excuse to shun any form of civic responsibility relating to good government. Another Founding Father John Jay, however, on October 12, 1816, said, "Providence 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 scriptures show that God judges nations as well as people. Irrespective of their imperfections, the Founders gave us a nation where Christians have the freedom and right to choose men of truth, who fear God and hate covetousness to govern this nation righteously.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
Obama Releases Birth Certificate; Bashes Conservatives
[This article by Gary Bauer was released on Wednesday, April 27.]
The controversy surrounding Obama's birth certificate hit a critical mass this week. Today the White House responded.
A USA Today/Gallup poll released yesterday found that "only 38% of Americans say Obama definitely was born in the USA." Note the word "Americans," not "conservatives," not "Republican primary voters" or "right-wing kooks." A serious poll by Gallup finding that just 38% of Americans are certain the president was born here means a lot of Americans -- Democrats and Independents included -- had doubts. Obama's unwillingness to put the issue to rest was creating a bigger problem for him as his reelection campaign neared.
At a press conference yesterday, CNN's Ed Henry asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney why Obama had not released his long form birth certificate, if for no other reason than to end the debate. When liberals lose CNN, it's time for Plan B.
This morning, the White House released Obama's long form birth certificate. Donald Trump quickly took credit for forcing Obama to act. The president then held a brief press conference to say that the issue had become a distraction from the important problems facing our country. It remains to be seen whether this ends the dispute. There are already calls for him to produce other documents, including his college transcripts.
But here's the line from Obama's speech that caught my attention: "We aren't going to be able to do it [solve problems], if we keep vilifying each other."
The performance was vintage Obama. While condemning vilification, he tried to blame conservatives for distracting him from serious issues. And when it comes to vilification, no one does it better than Obama.
Remember his recent deficit reduction speech? Instead of a serious policy address, we got a hyper-partisan stump speech. Obama accused Republicans of taking away "health insurance for 50 million Americans," kicking "someone's grandparents" out of their nursing home and telling children with Down syndrome to "fend for themselves."
In defending his plan to raise taxes, Obama accused wealthy Americans of being "takers" and said "we can't . . . tell the wealthiest among us, 'Well, you can just relax and go count your money.'" (When he's done "spreading the wealth around" they won't have much money left to count!)
When gas prices skyrocket in part because of his anti-business policies, he attacks energy companies, promising punitive tax hikes and task forces to investigate oil companies and "speculators" for price gouging. And whenever there is bad economic news, it's always George W. Bush's mess that he's trying to clean up.
By the way, after Obama told us that we have serious problems to deal with, he and Michelle left the White House for Chicago, where they will tape an appearance on Oprah's show. Then he's heading to New York for more fundraisers. It seems as though Obama believes the nation's most urgent problem is his own reelection.
More on Planned Parenthood
The Facts of Life
Considering the rap sheet on Planned Parenthood, most people would probably agree that we have plenty of reasons to defund Planned Parenthood. But here's another one for good measure. A Massachusetts affiliate of Planned Parenthood has launched a new website--paid for with state tax dollars--that promotes secret abortions to teenagers. The page promises teenagers that "getting an abortion is much easier than it sounds here" and then discourages adoption, saying it is "pretty rough on people." Further down, the website goes on to explain how kids can dodge state parental involvement laws. As if that weren't enough, the clinic talks about the fungibility of government funds--which means that federal law may b an Planned Parenthood from using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions, but thanks to that money, Planned Parenthood can free up other resources for its abortion business.
If you've followed the debate, you know that Planned Parenthood has thrown around some misleading statistics about what it does and doesn't do. To help make sense of the confusion, FRC put together a fact sheet with information that you can trust, including some basic details on the abortion giant with citations to back up our numbers. For example, did you know that in 2009, a baby was aborted in a U.S. Planned Parenthood clinic almost every 95 seconds? Or did you realize that according to its annual reports, this "tax-exempt, nonprofit" has made almost $500 million in profit over the past 10 years? In its own reports, the organization admits that out of its total services for pregnant women, abortion made up approximately 98 percent! For the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on Planned Parenthood, click here! (Family Research Council)
In Iraq: A Resurrection of Violence
On Easter, A Resurrection of Violence
Sunday was supposed to be a celebration of new life. Instead, it was a time for Iraqis to bury more dead. Four more of our Christian brothers were killed on Easter when a bomb, planted by Muslim militants, exploded outside a Baghdad church. It was the second deadly blast in six months, each one leaving believers more terrified than the last. "Our life in Iraq is full of fear," Father Hanna Saad Sirop told his congregation, "but we have to live in faith and trust . . .. We have to trust Almighty God."
About 800,000 Christians are doing their trusting outside the confines of Iraq. Since the war, Iraq's Christian community has been exposed, vulnerable, and--perhaps worst of all--shrinking. Half of the 1.5 million believers in the country have fled, many of them convinced that the help they need is not coming.
America promised to introduce more freedom to Iraq in the post-Saddam Hussein era. Instead, religious liberty seems to be worse off now than before we came. If the U.S. is financially responsible for rebuilding Iraq, why can't we get commitments to defend the church? Ours is a nation that oppressed people look to as a symbol of peace and refuge, yet our hands are seemingly tied.
In China, the church was under similar attack. Another 30 Christians were taken into police custody for observing the holiest day on the church's calendar. As in Iraq, American leaders have looked the other way. Could we speak out more forcefully in defense of Chinese religious liberty if we didn't owe trillions to the Chinese? Almost certainly. This is another reminder that our national debt is a moral issue--and until we resolve it, the worldwide church will be what suffers. (Family Research Council)
The Good News Corner
Kansas Gov. Brownback Aims to Cut Planned Parenthood Funding
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, wants to stop sending tax dollars to Planned Parenthood, beginning with the budget year that starts July 1. His proposed budget reportedly would redirect about $300,000 in federal family planning funds from Planned Parenthood to state and local heath clinics.
"Gov. Brownback, along with the overwhelming majority of Kansans, opposes taxpayer subsidy of abortions," said Brownback spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag.
"We oppose the taking of innocent human life," said Kathy Ostrowski, state legislative director of Kansans for Life.
And in Indiana, the Senate voted last week to cut funding of Planned Parenthood. (CitizenLink)
Worship with Us Today!
I WILL PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM by Casting Crowns
(To listen, go here.)
I was sure by now, God, that You would have reached down,
and wiped our tears away . . .
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen,
and it's still raining.
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you".
And as Your mercy falls,
I raise my hands and praise
the God, who gives and takes away.
And I'll praise you in this storm,
and I will lift my hands.
For You are who You are,
no matter where I am.
And every tear I've cried,
You hold in Your hand.
You never left my side.
And though my heart is torn,
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when I stumbled in the wind.
You heard my cry to You,
and raised me up again.
My strength is almost gone. How can I carry on,
if I can't find You?
And as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you".
And as Your mercy falls,
I raise my hands and praise
the God, who gives and takes away
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth
