News for Prayer!• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• New Navy Budget Threatens Carriers
• Focus: Congressional Record for 2011
• Impact of Supreme Court Ruling on Prayer
• Norma McCorvey on Roe v. Wade
• The Good News Corner
• Worship with Us Today!
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
• New Navy Budget Threatens Carriers
• Focus: Congressional Record for 2011
• Impact of Supreme Court Ruling on Prayer
• Norma McCorvey on Roe v. Wade
• The Good News Corner
• Worship with Us Today!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
"Partners in Prayer for Our Nation"
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief - Monday, January 23, 2012
"You must be born again . . ." (John 3:7)
The Daily Brief
1. Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to resign from Congress - Fox News
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced Sunday that she has "more work to do" on her recovery after an assassination attempt and will resign from her congressional seat this week. In a video release posted on her website and tweeted from her Twitter handle, the congresswoman said that she is getting better but wants to do what's right for her constituents.
News of Giffords' decision spread quickly. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying that Giffords "has been a true bright star." "Gabby's message of bipartisanship and civility is one that all in Washington and the nation should honor and emulate," said Pelosi, who was informed of the decision ahead of the announcement.
Republicans also expressed their appreciation for Giffords. "We salute Rep. Giffords for her service, & for the courage & perseverance she has shown in the face of tragedy. She will be missed," tweeted House Speaker John Boehner.
As one of her last acts as a member of Congress, Giffords will attend the State of the Union speech Tuesday evening at the Capitol. Read more.
- Offer praise to the Lord for the amazing process of survival and recovery that Rep. Giffords has shown this past year. Our God surely answers prayer.
- "The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous." (Proverbs 15:29)
2. Arizona to Hold Special Election to Fill Gifford's Seat - Fox News
Giffords will submit her letter of resignation later this week to Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. Brewer will set the date for a special primary and general elections within 72 hours of Giffords' resignation. Both votes will likely be held by the end of June. Another regularly scheduled general election will be held in November.
- Begin to pray now for the voters in this district in Arizona, that they will know the man or woman of God's choosing to fill Ms. Gifford's seat in this special election.
- "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (James 1:5)
3. Countdown to State of the Union - CNN
Obama is "very engaged" in preparing his Tuesday State of the Union address, but "not at a stage yet where he's practicing," according to White House spokesman Jay Carney. Carney told reporters Friday that the president continued to work with his chief speechwriter, Jon Favreau, on his remarks. The Constitution requires the president ". . . shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union. . ."
- The State of the Union Address will begin at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24th. We continue to ask prayer for protection for all who are gathered in the Capitol Building that night.
These officials will include: Obama, and Vice- President and natural born citizen and, every member of the House and the Senate, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of every cabinet agency, and the nine Justices of the United States Supreme Court. [One cabinet director will be asked to stand down as a security precaution.] Pray!
4. Boehner: Obama State of the Union proposals sound 'pathetic' - Fox News
House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday insisted that the next year will be spent on policy, not politics, but said it's "pathetic" if President Obama tries to offer the "same old" ideas at Tuesday's State of the Union that he's been offering in the past three years.
The speaker, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," said those policies haven't helped the economy. "They made it worse," he said. "And if that's what the president is going to talk about Tuesday night, I think it's pathetic. I think it's time for the president to listen to his own jobs council. It's time to go in a new direction."
Read more.
- Lift up all discussion related to this year's State of the Union address, on both sides of the aisle, so that facts can be separated from conjecture, and truth will prevail in this politically-charged year.
- "Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment." (Proverbs 23:23 NLT)
5. U.S. mulls closing Damascus embassy as security worsens - Yahoo News
The United States warned on Friday that it may soon close its embassy in Syria due to the worsening security situation, a move that could exacerbate tensions between Washington and Damascus over its bloody crackdown on protests.
- Pray for protection for all American citizens still living in the nation of Syria.
- " . . . for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee . . ." (Luke 4:10)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"But the Lord your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies." (II Kings 17:39)
1. US Navy: 'Iran can't do a damn thing' - ICEJ News
China urges Iran to resume talks
The US Navy sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf on Sunday, a day after Iranian officials tried to save face by telling reporters that the presence of the US military in the region was a long established fact and not a threat to all the people living in the region that the Islamic Republic would vigorously resist, as they have repeatedly said in recent months. Warships from Britain and France, as well as the carrier's usual escorts, accompanied the Lincoln, with no resistance whatsoever from Iranian forces. . . Read more
2. Assad regime angrily rejects Arab League 'interference' - ICEJ News
Iran sends Hezbollah to guard assets in Syria
The regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad angrily rejected an Arab League proposal on Monday that would have seen Assad step down and be replaced by his deputy, declaring the idea to be "flagrant interference" in Syria's "internal affairs." The plan was hammered out during an Arab League meeting on Sunday in Cairo. Read more.
3. Christians in Iran and Syria under intense persecution - ICEJ News
Various Christian media reports have shown a sharp rise in attacks against churches and pastors in Iran and Syria over the last month. Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who has become a symbol of government brutality against Christians, is on death row and has refused to renounce his faith and convert to Islam in exchange for release.
"After the ethnic cleansing of Jews in 1948 from the Arab countries, Islamic fundamentalism is now trying to push away the Christians from the region" Giulio Meotti, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio told the Jerusalem Post. "They want to establish a pure Islamic environment and the mass exodus already began under our noses. In Syria Christians will be persecuted after Assad's eventual fall, since they were the most loyal allies of the Baathist regime. Christians will be slaughtered or squeezed. From Cairo to Damascus, Arab Christian era is near to its end everywhere."
4. Israel vigilantly guarding against Iranian attacks - ICEJ News
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz reportedly discussed the "transatlantic smuggling" of military equipment from Iran to its terrorist proxies in the region with US Chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey during the latter's recent visit.
Gantz expressed Israel's desire to increase international cooperation against the phenomenon, building on earlier discussions he'd had with his European counterparts during a recent NATO summit in Brussels. "This is extremely complicated since it requires intelligence to know which boat is carrying what, as well as new maritime laws to enable navies to board and seize ships," a senior defense official explained.
Meanwhile, an Iranian official made an emotional statement at a memorial service to assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists on Friday, declaring that "the Zionist regime should be punished in a way that it can't play such games with our country again."
NEW NAVY BUDGET THREATENS CARRIERS
As Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta prepares to introduce the strategy's first budget next month, the Navy has been in a furious fight behind the scenes to protect only 10 carriers, sources familiar with the issue told The Washington Times.
The sources say that, while the fiscal 2013 budget may well continue 11 carriers, the Navy will be down to 10 or even nine carriers within in the next five years.
Under Mr. Panetta, the Pentagon has clamped down on the release of any details about the budget - following the model of predecessor Robert M. Gates, who forced senior officials to sign nondisclosure forms.
But sources say a $488 billion in mandated savings will come from two principal sources: cutting the Army and Marine Corps ground forces by more than 100,000 troops combined and reducing the purchase and delaying the procurement of big weapons systems, such as the F-35 fighter. (Source: Intercessors for America) Read more.
- Ask the Lord to give wisdom to our national defense planners. Ask the Lord to grant a deep understanding of our nations needs for defense in the years ahead. Pray that our leaders will look to the Lord for insight and strength rather than relying upon man's wisdom and strength.
- "'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.'" (Leviticus 26:3-8)
Focus: Congressional Record for 2011
CONGRESS: 2011 MOST FUTILE LEGISLATIVE YEAR ON RECORD
It's official: Congress ended its least-productive year in modern history after passing 80 bills - fewer than during any other session since year-end records began being kept in 1947.
Furthermore, an analysis by The Washington Times of the scope of such activities as time spent in debate, number of conference reports produced and votes taken on the House and Senate floors found that Congress set a record for legislative futility by accomplishing less in 2011 than any other year in history.
The Senate's record was weakest by a huge margin, according to the futility index, and the House had its 10th-worst session on record.
Of the bills the 112th Congress did pass, the majority were housekeeping measures, such as naming post office buildings or extending existing laws. Sometimes, it was too difficult for the two chambers to hammer out agreements. More often, the Senate failed to reach agreement within the chamber.
That left much of the machinery of the federal government on autopilot, with the exception of spending, where monumental clashes dominated the legislative session.
"Absent unified party control with a bolstered Senate majority, I think it's just very hard to get things done, particularly in a period when revenues aren't growing and the decisions are how to cut, and how to cut in the long term," said Sarah Binder, who studies Congress as a Brookings Institution scholar and professor at George Washington University. "Congress just isn't very good at solving long-term problems." (Washington Times) Read more.
- Pray that our 2012 legislative sessions will reflect the heart of God's will for this nation. The Lord desires to bless the nation that honors Him. Pray that our legislators will be sensitive to the needs of our populous and that they be granted wisdom for how best to address those needs with the stressed 2012 budget. Pray for reconciliation between the House and the Senate on the important issues which include the economy and national defense.
- "Come behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth: He breaks the bows and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariot in the fire." (Psalm 46: 8, 9) [Reported by: Intercessors for America]
Impact of Supreme Court Ruling on Prayer
Supreme Court's denial of legislative prayer case results in uncertainty
and altered prayer policies
Last week, the Supreme Court declined to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Forsyth County v. Joyner, which held that a North Carolina county commission's practice of opening meetings with prayer was unconstitutional. The Fourth Circuit reasoned that although the prayer policy was neutral on its face, it violated the Establishment Clause because it resulted in prayers that too often mentioned "Jesus." The Supreme Court's decision this week allows the Fourth Circuit's decision to stand, meaning the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners can open meetings in prayer only if it monitors the content of the prayers to ensure that they are not "too sectarian." However, "several commissioners said prayer may not be brought back since a specific deity can no longer be mentioned."
In response to the Supreme Court's decision, reports indicate that the ACLU plans to contact between twenty-five and thirty other local government bodies across North Carolina to direct them to alter their prayer policies. One city council has already modified its policy, completely removing prayer and replacing it with a moment of silence. The city attorney "said the ACLU had sent them an email shortly after the [Supreme Court's ruling], saying they would potentially consider legal action on behalf of local citizens to end sectarian prayer." Other public deliberative bodies are also concerned about the legality of their prayer policies. According to an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund-the religious liberty law firm that defended Forsyth County-the Supreme Court's decision to refrain from clarifying the law on this issue "means that, for the time being, the standard for prayer policies in the 4th Circuit will be different from the standard held by the rest of the country."
In November 2011, Members of the Prayer Caucus joined the Family Research Council in submitting an amicus curiae brief asking the Supreme Court to take up the case and reverse the Fourth Circuit's decision. Members of the Prayer Caucus will continue working to preserve the freedom of deliberative bodies across the nation to engage in the important tradition of opening sessions with prayer. (Congressional Prayer Caucus) Read more.
Norma McCorvey on Roe v. Wade
THE AMERICAN MINUTE
January 22 - Norma McCorvey:
"I think abortion's wrong . . ."
JANUARY 22, 1973, the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton allowed abortion in all nine months of pregnancy.
23 years later, Norma McCorvey, who was the "Jane Roe" in the Roe v. Wade suit, was interviewed by USA Today. She stated that once, while employed at a clinic when no one was in:
"I went into the procedure room and laid down on the table . . . trying to imagine what it would be like having an abortion . . .I broke down and cried."
On ABC's World News Tonight, Norma McCorvey said: "I think abortion's wrong. I think what I did with Roe v. Wade was wrong."
On November 3, 2005, former Democrat President Jimmy Carter stated to reporters at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC, regarding his book, Our Enduring Values -America's Moral Crisis:
"I never have felt that any abortion should be committed-I think each abortion is the result of a series of errors . . . I've never been convinced, if you let me inject my Christianity into it, that Jesus Christ would approve abortion."
Jimmy Carter concluded:
"I have always thought it was not in the mainstream of the American public to be extremely liberal on many issues. I think our party's leaders -some of them- are overemphasizing the abortion issue." (Source: American Minute with Bill Federer)
PLEASE NOTE:
The 39th Anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that ruled abortion to be legal in America, "Roe v. Wade," was yesterday, Sunday, January 22, 2012.
The Annual March for Life will take place TODAY in Washington, D.C.
The Good News Corner
Arab IDF soldier: Proud to serve my country
Muslim soldier serving as medic on IAF's special airborne search and rescue unit is candidate to become airborne medic
While many Jewish youngsters evade military service, 20-year-old Shirin Shlian of Galilee encourages high school students to join combat units. 'It's part of the good education I received at home,' she explains.
Can a person be both Arab and Zionist? The answer appears to be yes.
Ask Shirin Shlian, a 20-year-old IDF soldier from one of the Galilee's Arab villages, whose job in the Israeli army is to encourage high school students to enlist - and better yet, to join combat units.
While many Jewish youngsters are doing their best to evade military service, the story of the Shlian family sounds pretty unbelievable: Shirin isn't the only one serving in the IDF - her brother is a major in a combat unit and another brother served in the Border Guard.
"Many Arabs and Jews ask me why I joined the IDF," Shirin tells her friends in the northern city of Nazareth Illit. "Especially Jews who hear that I'm an Arab and don't understand what business I have in the army and why I enlisted.
"It must be the good education I received at home. I smile to everyone and don't argue with anyone."
Shirin was drafted several months ago and underwent a youth instructors' course. As part of her job, the visits high schools in Nazareth Illit and talks to with 11th and 12th graders about enlisting in the army.
"I give the students a lesson about the first draft notice, IDF enlistment and the jobs the army has to offer. In addition, I hold personal conversations with each student with the aim of encouraging them to have a significant and contributing service.
"The students applaud me for my decision to volunteer, enlist - and make a contribution to the State."
Nonetheless, to be on the safe side, Shirin slips out of her uniform and wears plain clothes instead as she heads home, in order to prevent any harassment from those who may disapprove of her service. She says, however, "I'm not afraid of anyone. I have not received any threats."
Shirin concludes, "I am very proud of my military service. I have always dreamed of joining the IDF and making a contribution to my country."
She says her boyfriend supports her decision to serve in the army as well.
Nazareth Illit Mayor Shimon Gapso has only good things to say about her: "Soldier Shirin serves as a positive example. There are many more like her in Nazareth Illit, a city which symbolizes coexistence between all of its parts." (Israel National News) Read more.
Worship with Us Today!
"Blessings" by Laura Story
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
[Continued here . . .]
