In This Issue• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• The Good News Corner
• Worship with Us Today!
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The Daily Brief - Friday, July 29, 2011
"Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)
The Daily Brief
1. Back to Square One? - Fox News
House GOP gets behind Speaker Boehner's debt ceiling plan, passing it without Democratic support, but it is quickly put on ice by Senate Dems as Majority Leader Reid tries to advance his own plan to avert default.
- Continue to offer a sacrifice of praise unto the Lord throughout this entire, tortuous process. Hidden agendas are clearly being revealed now, and voters are clearly seeing the differences between the two parties when it comes to the best economic plan for our nation. Pray for all in leadership on the Hill through this weekend, as they continue to struggle to write a bill that will satisfy all sides. Pray for a miracle!
Thank you for joining us on Monday as we observe a day of prayer, fasting and repentance, that we might bring this matter to the Lord and lay it on His altar. Praise God that we serve a God who hears and who answers our prayers.
- "And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)
2. US fails to halt slide towards debt default - UK Telegraph
Stock markets across the world tumbled and gold hit a fresh high as leaders in Washington failed to halt America's slide towards default.
Downgrade may now be unavoidable - Financial Post The principal risk emerging from the U.S. debt quagmire is not a cataclysmic default that many economists maintain is highly unlikely.
Much more realistic is a downgrade to the country's creditworthiness, which markets are beginning to register as distinctly possible, even if the debt ceiling is raised.
- Abba, Father, We thank you that the negotiations are becoming more intense as we near the deadline early next week. We thank you that our legislators are finally beginning to realize that they must come to an agreement now. We thank you for giving House Speaker Boehner the "piece of the puzzle" tying raising the debt ceiling to a constitutional ammendment requiring a balanced budget! We ask You to forgive the Senate for rejecting this bill; they know not what they do. We also ask that the American electorate will "hold their feet to the fire" of those who are willing to pass such an amendment, so that our nation will live within its means. We ask that the electorate will follow through by electing those Representatives and candidates who will seek to balance our budget. We thank You, Lord!! You are our Source! Amen!
- "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today.'" (Exodus 13:14)
3. Insiders Selling at Unusually Fast Pace - YahooNews.com
Bad news, stock-market bulls: Corporate insiders are selling their companies' shares at an abnormally fast pace.
In fact, one measure of that selling activity shows insiders of NYSE- and AMEX-listed companies recently were selling at the fastest rate since data began being collected in the early 1970s, four decades ago. On the theory that insiders know more about their companies' prospects than do the rest of us, this is an ominous sign. Read more.
- Men are doing the best they know how to rescue themselves, but we put on the mind of Christ. Bind the spirit of panic that is hitting the markets; and loose peace, wisdom, grace, and peace. Men may follow after men; but we follow after the Lord our God.
- "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God." (Psalm 20:7)
4. Judge Tosses Suit Seeking to Stop Gov. Perry's Sponsorship of Texas Prayer Rally - Fox News
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop Gov. Rick Perry from sponsoring a national day of Christian prayer and fasting, ruling Thursday that the group of atheists and agnostics did not have legal standing to sue.
- Father, we thank You for this ruling! We thank You that all those who desire to call upon Your name are free to do so, and not be harassed. We ask, Lord, that you will visit these "atheists and agnostics" and reveal the reality of Who You are, and Your great love for each of them. May their hard hearts become flesh and receive your love and salvation! We praise You for reaching the "unreachable". Amen.
- "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4)
5. House panel approves broadened ISP snooping bill - CNet
Internet providers would be forced to keep logs of their customers' activities for one year--in case police want to review them in the future--under legislation that a U.S. House of Representatives committee approved today.
- Father, we understand that there is a need to monitor the behavior of evil, subversive people, in order to protect the rest of us. However, we hold our constitutionally-protected right to privacy dear as well. We ask for Your wisdom to be exercised here in this regard, as this kind of technology can be used for both good and evil. Lord, we ask You to give these legislators wisdom to come up with a solution that will expose the evil-doers, and yet protect the righteous. In Your great name, as Judge of the universe, we ask it. Amen.
- "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)
6. U.S. threatens to stop sharing ballistic missiles intelligence with Turkey - PanArmenian
Ankara would have to operate without NATO's intelligence information on incoming ballistic missiles if it chooses to buy Chinese or Russian systems for its national air and missile defense program, officials of the Western alliance have warned Turkey, according to Hürriyet Daily News.-Many Western officials and experts say that since the Russian and the Chinese systems are not compatible with NATO systems, their potential eventual victory might provide them with access to classified NATO information, and as a result may compromise NATO's procedures.
- Lord, we thank You that these safeguards are being put into place to protect us from our potential enemies. We ask that the technological information available to us would be able to verify Turkey's compliance with not buying weapons systems from the Chinese or Russians. We pray, not only for our own protection, but for Israel's protection as well. Amen.
- "He will not let your foot slip-he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.The LORD watches over you-the LORD is your shade at your right hand." (Psalm 121:3-5)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
" Do not fear;
Zion, let not your hands be weak.
The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:16,17))
1. Radical Islamists Trying to Take Over Temple Mount - Arutz Sheva
On the 90th anniversary of the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the vast Islamic Caliphate regime which fell in 1921 after WWI, thousands of members of the Radical Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir rallied on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. They called for Muslims to unite and embrace the Caliphate rulership once more.
2. Abbas tells Palestinians: Step up Arab Spring-style protests against Israel - Ha'aretz
President Mahmoud Abbas urged Palestinians on Wednesday to step up peaceful protests against Israel, urging "popular resistance" inspired by the Arab Spring to back a diplomatic offensive at the United Nations.
3. Pride parade is symbol of struggle for freedom in Jerusalem - Jerusalem Post
As the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade kicked off earlier Thursday, MK Nitzan Horowitz, one of the leaders of the parade, told marchers "the event is far beyond the gay community" and that "it is a symbol of the struggle for freedom in Jerusalem."
4. Erekat: Palestinian Authority cannot exist without independent state - Ha'aretz
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat vigorously condemned both Israel and the United States during a briefing to over 90 Palestinian envoys in Istanbul on Sunday, saying the Oslo process was on the verge of failure.
5. Palestinian forces raid Dahlan's Ramallah home - Jerusalem Post
Less than a week after his return to the West Bank, Palestinian Authority security forces on raided the home of ousted Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan Thursday morning and confiscated weapons and documents, sources in Ramallah said.
6. U.S. report recommends ending loan guarantees to Israel at end of 2011 - Ha'aretz
An internal report of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State recommends terminating the U.S. loan guarantee program to Israel at the end of 2011.
The Daily Jot
Dancing all night with no money to pay the fiddler
All the wrangling on Capitol Hill about the debt limit is an indicator of an old saying my folks used to bring up, "If you dance all night you have to pay the fiddler in the morning." Another one is "someday all the chickens will come home to roost." These types of old sayings are almost vanished from the American lexicon, but if they were used more, perhaps the common sense and integrity in electing good leaders would return to our citizenry. We as citizens have been willing to hire out our civic responsibility for so long that now we face economic disaster because of the malfeasance practiced by those who are running our government. And those trying to actually fix it are condemned by the media and others.
Republicans cannot agree how to proceed with the debt limit. Some want to kick the can down the road with the president's idea of cutting $2 trillion from the government budget over ten years. Anyone with any sense knows that will never happen. Every Congress and every president over the next ten years will have their fingers in the pie and ignoring the public relations promise they made. Most all the Republicans refuse to accept the president's thirst for raising taxes to pay for the debt problem, or creating "revenues" on a "balanced approach," as the president deceptively calls it. When he says revenue and balance that means taxes that you are going to pay.
So what happened to common sense? Did you know that with all the so-called stimulus spending by this president, something near a trillion dollars, the economy created more jobs on its own? That the jobs the so-called stimulus created cost you and me $278,000 per job? The economy since all the stimulus money was spent (and no one can document where all of it went) has created nearly 300,000 jobs on its own? This is proof positive that the government should not be involved in the economy aside from making sure the playing field is fair. It should also be a very strong indicator that the tax and spend mentality does not work and that we have to do something different.
Jesus said in John 10:12, 13, "But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep." The politicians in Washington have acted like hirelings for so long that they have forgotten how to be shepherds. And the wolves have scattered them with vain words and apocalyptic predictions. Their aim is not to save the sheep, but to fleece them before their time, leaving them with no defense but to submit. We have allowed this terror by ignoring the signs, now its time to pay the fiddler and there is no money left to do it.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
The Good News Corner:
A Joyful NASCAR Prayer Turns Heads
" . . . many of the folks at the race track that day would never have any interest in church. We wanted to present to them that living for Christ is fun; that being a Christian is not the end of living but the beginning of life." -Pastor Joe Nelms
When Pastor Joe Nelms of Family Baptist Church of Lebanon, TN, gave a pre-race prayer at the beginning of a NASCAR event last weekend, he had no idea the stir it would cause.
Starting in a fairly tradition way, Nelms then became more prayerfully specific, thanking God for "the Dodges and the Toyotas" and for "the Fords." He also praised the Lord for racing fuel and the "Goodyear tires." But, it was probably what came next that gave him national attention, as well as a cheer from the crowd . . .
" . . . and Lord I want to thank Ya for my 'smokin' hot wife, Lisa'; my two children Eli and Emma-or as we like to call them-the 'the little E's;' and Lord I pray You'd bless the drivers and use them tonight, may they put on a performance worthy of this great track, in Jesus' name-boogity, boogity, boogity-Amen!"
What did Pastor Nelms' wife, Lisa think about what he prayed? In a FOX and Friends interview Nelms said his wife "was fine with it. She said that if more men in this country were thankful for their wives we'd be in better shape."
To critics of his praying style, Pastor Nelms said, "What we were trying to accomplish that day was to reach out to a world that's lost and without Christ, and many of the folks at the race track that day would never have any interest in church. We wanted to present to them that living for Christ is fun; that being a Christian is not the end of living but the beginning of life. He wants our joy to be full and we wanted to show them how you can still have fun and be saved."
Watch the video of Pastor Nelms' prayer at the link provided. (Source: CBN, WGN, FOX News)
Reported by: Aimee Herd, Breaking Christian News
Worship with Us Today!
More of You and less of me
There's nothing like Your presence here in this place,
and there's nothing like the passion that steals my heart away . . .
There's nothing like Your glory falling on me,
more of You, and less of me.
I must have more of You.
