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• Petition to Save the Internet
• Updates: Religious Freedom Act
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Greetings!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
"Partners in Prayer for Our Nation"
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• Petition to Save the Internet
• Updates: Religious Freedom Act
• Focus on the Supreme Court
• The Good News Corner
• Worship with Us Today!
Greetings!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
"Partners in Prayer for Our Nation"
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief - Thursday, December 15, 2011
"Unto us a Son is given . . ." (Isaiah 9:6)
The Daily Brief
1. Dems Drop Millionaires Tax in Year-End Dispute - AP
Democrats backed away from their demand for higher taxes on millionaires as part of legislation to extend Social Security tax cuts for most Americans on Wednesday as Congress struggled to clear critical year-end bills without triggering a partial government shutdown.
Republicans, too, signaled an eagerness to avoid gridlock and adjourn for the holidays. With a bipartisan $1 trillion funding bill blocked at the last minute by Democrats, GOP lawmakers and aides floated the possibility of a backup measure to run the government for as long as two months after the money runs out Friday at midnight.
- Lord, in all these "negotiations" over the Federal government and tax cuts, may our legislators find Your wisdom. May You overcome the constant bickering and opposition to what needs to be accomplished in Congress.
- "In the world you have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." [John 16:33]
2. Satellite Takes Picture of Chinese Carrier on the Move - Fox News
DigitalGlobe Inc., a commercial satellite company, said Wednesday that it took a photograph of China's first aircraft carrier during a sea trial in the Yellow Sea, off the Chinese coast.
The Pentagon did not confirm the image, but Stephen Wood, the satellite company's director, said he's confident about the Dec. 8 photograph due to the carrier's location.
Although China insists the carrier is intended for research and training, its use has raised concern about the country's military strength and its increasingly assertive claims over disputed territory.
Read more:
- Lord, is this carrier a new weapon platform hidden in plain view? We pray that any nefarious plans of China be dispelled and that all hidden agendas be revealed.
- "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." [ Isaiah 54:17]
3. Ex-Iran Guard commander visits White House with Iraq leader - Washington Times
A former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the FBI says played a role in a 1996 terrorist attack that killed 19 U.S. servicemen, accompanied Iraq's prime minister to the White House on Monday, attending an event at which President Obama trumpeted the end of the Iraq War.
- For all the bashing against President Bush for his "mission accomplished" statement- this is just as bad- as the administration "celebrates" the end of the war in Iraq. Pray that Iraq doesn't fall into the hands of terrorists.
- "They have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying Peace, peace; when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 6:14)
4. China set to tax US-made car imports - Financial Times
China will impose retaliatory duties on US car imports in the latest sign of trade friction between the world's two largest economies.
- Pray for the Lord to intervene in this trade war. At a time when the economies of both nations are rocky, tariffs can cause sweeping disaster to the auto industry and consumers.
- "He shall send from Heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up." {Psalm 57:3a}
5. George W Bush: Italian Police Say Extremists Targeted Former President - NewsMax
Five suspected terrorists arrested Wednesday in Italy had targeted former President George W. Bush, reports the New York Post.
The suspects, members of the Rome-based extremist group Militia, are charged with plotting a "revolutionary war" and "a series of violent actions" against Bush, Italian politicians who included Rome's mayor, and a Jewish leader.
- Father, we often fail to pray for our former Presidents. We pray forgiveness for that oversight. We pray for your power and protection over President Bush.
- "Fret not yourself because of evil-doers, neither be envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." [Psalm 37:1-2]
6. Issa: Web Proposal Gives Holder Too Much Clout to Police Internet - Newsmax
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa warns that a proposed Internet anti-piracy bill would give Attorney General Eric Holder widespread power to police the Web.
The proposal retains "the fundamental flaws of its predecessor by blocking Americans' ability to access websites, imposing costly regulation on Web companies, and giving Attorney General Eric Holder's Department of Justice broad new powers to police the Internet," the California Republican said, as reported at DailyCaller.com.
- Lord, we pray against every plan of the enemy to use Mr. Holder to exercise power over the internet. We ask that You guard the computer systems of America and all their pathways against evil men who want to use it for their own devices.
- "A man's pride shall bring him low." [Proverbs 29:23a]
7. Rare H1N2 virus found in Minnesota Infant - WeatherTech
Disease specialists are carefully monitoring the case of a Minnesota infant who developed a unique type of H1N1.
It's called the H1N2 virus and it's only the second case ever detected anywhere.
The Minnesota Department of Health is minimizing the threat but at the same time, they are saying this is an example of how difficult the flu virus is to pin down. That is also why the threat is always there that a new deadly strain can always emerge.
- Lord, we pray against any dissemination of this virus into the general population. We cover this infant with the Blood of Jesus, and surround the entire area with a hedge of the Holy Spirit and fire.
- "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night; or for the arrow that flies by day; or for the pestilence that walks in darkness; or for the destruction that wastes at noonday." [Psalm 91:5-6]
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him." (Psalm 68:4)
1. Quartet again calls for resumption of direct talks - Jerusalem Post
The Quartet issued yet another call for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks "without delay or preconditions" following separate meetings its envoys had Wednesday in Jerusalem with Palestinian and Israeli officials.
2. Abbas: EU should support Palestinian UN statehood bid - Ha'aretz
The European Union should support the Palestinians' recognition bid at the United Nations, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday, a day after the Palestinian flag was raised at UN cultural agency UNESCO in Paris.
3. Israeli officials say Syria's Bashar al-Assad is doomed - Washington Post
In a shift, Israeli officials are welcoming the prospect that Syria's embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, will be overthrown, an event Defense Minister Ehud Barak says could be weeks away.
The Daily Jot
When marriage is replaced with homosexuality as government policy
We have told our children as they became young adults that there are two decisions that are more important than any other. One is for eternity, the other is for life. The first and foremost important decision is the one of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In John 3:16 Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." If you make any decision in life, the most life changing is this one because it lasts for eternity. The other most important decision is who you choose for your spouse. This decision will make you or break you here on earth.
Marriage is the social contract that is imperative to a healthy society. Family is society's core strength. When marriage, and subsequently family, are preserved, protected, nourished and encouraged, society will be healthy. The strength of America traditionally has been found in its families. But today, this revered institution is faltering. Pew Research has released poll data reflecting that only 51% of adults 18 years and older are married--a record low for America. The Washington Post reports that "In 1960, for example, when most baby boomers were children, 72 percent of all adults were married. The median age for brides was barely 20, and the grooms were just a couple of years older."
In 1963, Florida Congressman A. S. Herlong, Jr submitted for the Congressional Record the "Current Communist Goals" excerpted from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen. Goal 40 was: "Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce." Goals 25 and 26 were: "Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." Goal 27: "Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social"religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch."
The Pew study indicates that Americans are choosing to live together rather than marry; The US State Department is using foreign aid to promote homosexuality. The federal government is no longer defending "The Defense of Marriage Act" in the courts. Divorce is easier than ever. Homosexuality is being promoted in public schools and the military--it is essentially official government policy. The socialists and Marxists in America have nearly succeeded in destroying our society--as planned as early as 1963 by the Communist Party. Ephesians 5:25 instructs: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." This is a sovereign spiritual principle for a healthy and happy society. Our decisions matter, make them well.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
Petition to Save the Internet
Sen. Paul Starts Petition to Save the Internet
Kill SOPA. In light of the recent legislative attacks on internet freedom, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has launched a website petition opposing the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Senator Paul's petition page, featured on dontcensorthenet.com, states: America has had enough of Washington's Big Government meddling and over-regulation.
Yet some in Congress are pushing two dangerous and unconstitutional bills to regulate the one sector of our economy that's creating jobs: the Internet.
Conservative Action Alerts has also been encouraging people to take action to stop these freedom-killing bills. The number of signers on CAA' petition to stop the E-Parasite Act (an alternate name for SOPA) has been consistently growing; and, in addition to gathering thousands of signatures, CAA has sent just under 5,000 electronic letters to Congress and thousands more in faxes relating to PIPA and SOPA.
Please take action to fax, call, and send free letters to Congress - also, continue to spread the word about our petition the dangers of these bills. (Source: Conservative Action Alerts) Read more.
Updates: Religious Freedom Act
SENATOR DURBIN TRIES TO KILL U.S. COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) wants the federal government to buy a bankrupt private prison in his home state of Illinois to "create jobs." To get the bucks for the deal he has put a hold on the funding for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the only body that spotlights abuses of religious minorities. The appointees of the USCIRF are not even paid! -- and it is about the most efficient body associated with the federal government. Please contact Senator Durbin and ask him to remove his hold for funding of the USCIRF. If you do not live in Illinois his email system rejects messages. Call his office at 202.224.2152 or send a fax to 202.228.0400.
SHUTDOWN OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?
Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will cease to operate if Congress does not pass and President Obama does not sign into law no later than Dec. 16, legislation either reauthorizing it or continuing its funding. USCIRF is currently funded in a spending bill that expires on that date. Human rights activist Faith McDonnell said, "Dissolution of USCIRF would send a message to tyrants and thug regimes around the world that the United States no longer considers religious freedom a priority." (Religious Freedom Coalition)
- Abba Father, we come before You in repentance for all our ways that are not of You and seek mercy, Lord. In this selfish destructive situation we are interceding that You would confront this man with Your Almighty Presence so he will have to face what he is doing or at least back off in fear of possible consequences, in Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen!
- "Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth." (Psalm 83:16-18)
Focus on the Supreme Court
SUPREME COURT: AN ISSUE FOR PRAYER
Supreme Court will not review Second Circuit decision preventing churches from using school facilities; churches denied access because of religious speech
The Supreme Court will not review a case that was decided by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year, in which the court held that New York City public schools can rent school facilities to community groups after-hours, while at the same time denying churches' requests to rent the space. The Second Circuit's decision approved the NYC Board of Education's policy of prohibiting the use of facilities for "religious worship services," saying the policy did not constitute viewpoint discrimination.
Because the Supreme Court declined to review the decision, the Second Circuit's ruling will stand. . . According to an Alliance Defense Fund attorney representing the church in the case, "Churches and other religious groups should be able to meet in public buildings on the same terms as other community groups. They should not be excluded simply because of the religious nature of their speech." (Alliance Defense Fund)
- When the highest court in our land rules against the freedom of churches to use public school facilities as places of worship, it is time to petition the Highest Court in Heaven for mercy. According to this report from the Alliance Defense Fund, 60 congregations now must move out of the school buildings in New York, seeking another site to meet. Ask the LORD to make an affordable way for these fellowship, and others like them, to gather unto Him and to continue to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. If the LORD moves upon your heart to ask Him to forgive our Supreme Court justices for this ruling, please do so.
- "I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries." (Proverbs 8:20,21)
The Good News Corner:
House Passes The Iran Threat Reduction Act
Today the House passed The Iran Threat Reduction Act by 410-11. This follows last week's 100-0 Senate vote to sanction Iran's Central Bank. Another strong showing of bipartisan unity from our US Congress to maintain the strength of the US-Israel relationship for the benefit of both nations. BRAVO for Congress and BRAVO for you, our AIPAC grass roots advocates!
BRAVO for Congress and BRAVO for you, our AIPAC grass roots advocates!
Signed,
A friend in AIPAC
Worship with Us Today!
JOY TO THE WORLD!!!
Joy to the world, the LORD is come!
Let earth receive her King! . . .
