News for Prayer!• The Daily Brief
• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• Supreme Court Issues Two Rulings on Prayer
• Texas Meeting
• About that Ship . . .
• Israel Cancels Joint Excercises with U.S.
• 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
• The Daily Jot
• Supreme Court Issues Two Rulings on Prayer
• Texas Meeting
• About that Ship . . .
• Israel Cancels Joint Excercises with U.S.
• 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 - Tuesday, January 17, 2012
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
The Daily Brief
1. Iran warns of consequences if Arabs back oil sanctions - Reuters
Iran warned Gulf Arab neighbors they would suffer consequences if they raised oil output to replace Iranian crude facing an international ban.
- Lord, You know what Iran is doing, and You have provided a way of salvation and provision for all nations. You are also the one who can cut off provision to nations. We pray wisdom for the leaders dealing with the oil situation. The oil belongs to You, Lord. In the name of Jesus, our Savior and Provider we pray. Amen.
- "And He shall divide the spoil with the strong." (Psalm 53:12)
2. S&P defends mass downgrade across Europe - Globe and Mail
Amid a wave of criticism, Standard & Poor's defended its decision to downgrade nine European countries and insisted Saturday that the region's leaders aren't doing enough to solve their debt crises.
- Lord, we pray for the nations of Europe and their leaders. May they turn to You in their time of need. We pray for Your truth and life to invade Europe and show them the Way. We pray this crisis would be used to turn people to You. Teach them biblical ways of finance. In the name of Jesus we stand in the gap for Europe. Amen.
- "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you." (Psalm 50:15)
3. Obama Seeks New Power to Merge Agencies, Pledges Some Action 'With or Without Congress' - CNS News
Hussein Obama wants more power to reorganize the executive branch, powers he says will only be used to make government more efficient.
- Lord, we ask that President Obama not have more power, but that his power - outside of that which is prescribed by the Constitution - be broken. We thank You that Congress is questioning this move, and is carrying out its own responsibilities in providing oversight over the actions of the Executive Branch, as needed. In Your Name, amen.
- "Righteousness exalts a nation" (Proverbs 14:34)
4. Eleven states, D.C. back Obama on health law - Washington Times
Eleven states and the District of Columbia are siding with the Obama administration in the legal battle over the constitutionality of the new health care law, as more than half the states prepare to challenge the law before the Supreme Court.
- Lord, according to this report - more than half of the states - and probably more than half of the country do not want Obamacare. Lord, we pray that the will of the people be honored, and that the majority of states be victorious in their challenge before the Supreme Court. We pray for wisdom for their attorneys and favor before the Supreme Court. We pray that the Supreme Court makes the right decision, and they not be deceived.
There is nothing in the Constitution that says the Government should have control over our health care and our medical decisions. Give guidance about the health problems in this country. May there be revelation of and from our Healer, Jesus, in whose name we pray and give honor and thanks. Amen.
- He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!" Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country." (Luke 4:23)
5. Bethlehem to Host Church Conference Which Demonizes Israel
Next March, Bethlehem Bible College will host dozens of US theologians, activists and ministries for the "Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 Conference". It is to be a major religious and political event meant to demonize Israel and to support the Palestinian Intifada against the "ethnocentric" Jewish State. The impressive range of Christian theologians and pastors from many churches located in the United States make the gravity of the upcoming conference clear. (Read more.) - Many intercessors are expecting war to break out momentarily in Israel. Could it be that MARCH would be the time for that to happen . . . even as this delusional group gathers for this meeting?
Pray for the souls of these church leaders, named in this article, and ask God to (somehow) forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. In teaching these lies about the sovereignty of the nation of Israel, they are coming against the apple of God's eye. Pray!
- "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." (Matthew 7:15)
6. Christians in New York Arrested for Protesting Church Ban - WORLD Magazine
Churches that have been meeting in schools there will have to find new places of worship by Feb. 12, when a new law banning the churches from public school facilities goes into effect. The new ban will affect about 150 churches.
So when Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave his State of the City Address on Thursday, more than 200 pastors and lay people gathered outside the Bronx school where he gave the speech to pray. Police arrested 43 of the praying protesters.
- Pray that these arrests would be appealed in a court of law and overruled. Come before our Great High Priest in the Throne Room of heaven, making intercession for the saints in these perilous times. Pray!
- "The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous . . " (Psalm 125:3)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake. Why should the nations say, Where is their God? But our God is in the heavens. He has done whatever He has pleased." (Psalm 115:1-3)
1. Israel 'waging covert war on Iran' - ABC
A report released this week claims agents from Israel's spy agency Mossad posed as CIA officers in 2008 in order to recruit people to carry out attacks and assassinations against Iranian officials.
2. Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza - Haaretz
Armed Hamas men broke into a gathering of some 30 Shi'ite worshippers in the Gaza Strip last Friday and brutally attacked them, Haaretz has learned. The assault was part of a broader crackdown on Shi'ite organizations, including charities, that has been sparked in part by Hamas' fear of growing Iranian influence in Gaza.
3. Egypt's next parliament to be led by Islamist - Washington Post
Liberals and Islamists in Egypt announced a temporary agreement Monday on a power-sharing plan that would install a Moslem Brotherhood leader as speaker of the country's newly elected parliament. The agreement among six political parties all but guarantees that the Moslem Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party will lead Egypt's first elected parliament since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February, with the Islamist party expected to control as many as half the seats.
4. Terror Attack Foiled as Court Sentences Fogel Murderer
Alert IDF soldiers staved off a terror attack that was intended to take place inside the military court at Salem, in Samaria, on Monday. The soldiers neutralized and arrested two armed terrorists who tried to enter the court in an attack planned to coincide with the sentencing of Amjad Awad, who butchered five members of the Fogel family in Itamar last year.
The court deliberations were not disturbed and the court sentenced Awad to five life sentences Monday.
The Daily Jot
The prophetic Middle East leap created by the White House
The man who occupies the Oval Office has created a game changing prophetic leap in the Middle East that may well have set America's course in prophetic eschatology. Christian and Jewish eschatology speak of the Day of the Lord where the Bible plainly prophesies that Arab/Islamic nations attack Israel and Israel is saved by the Messiah, the Christ, in an end time battle that ushers in the Millennial Reign of Christ. There are many current events that point to this eschatology being set up by the actions of leaders of many nations. The support and acceptance by the White House of the Moslem Brotherhood is a major prophetic and eschatological step that has tremendous consequences.
The Moslem Brotherhood's advance to establish a worldwide Sharia-based caliphate has been catalyzed by the White House. The Administration throwing its support behind the Moslem Brotherhood in what was called the Arab Spring has resulted in Islamists using democracy to take over Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen. Additionally, there is strife in Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia that is either a direct or a collateral affect of advancing the Moslem Brotherhood plan. This destabilization of the Middle East has created an even more hostile environment for Israel by legitimizing Islamic control through democracy and by energizing Islamic terror groups in Israel--Hamas, al Qaeda, Hezbollah and others.
It is well known that Moslem Brotherhood operatives hold positions at the highest levels of US government. Starting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top aide Huma Abedin, whose ties to the Moslem Brotherhood are undeniable, and continuing with Islamic appointments within the departments of Defense and Homeland Security. The Administration apparently is banking on a theory that the Moslem Brotherhood will help isolate Iran, as the Moslem Brotherhood is Sunni and Iran is largely Shiite. The Moslem Brotherhood plan as revealed in the Holy Land Foundation terror trial in Texas, however, indicates that it will unify all Moslems under a worldwide Caliphate, similar to the Ottoman Empire.
Islamic eschatology has its Mahdi returning to earth to establish a seven year worldwide rule of Islamic peace. Islam's version of Jesus (Isa) is to be the Mahdi's prophet in leading Jews and Christians to Islam. Islam's eschatology is strikingly similar to the Biblical antichrist. Indeed, Islam denies the deity of Christ. 2 John 7 says, "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." And Zechariah 12:9 speaks of the day of the Lord, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." America has played the eschatological catalyst with its Middle East policy. Its final place in prophecy is yet to be determined.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
At the Supreme Court, All Work and No Pray
Supreme Court Turns Away Prayer Case
Pray before public meetings if you like - just don't dare mention the name "Jesus."
For the time being, that's the law for states falling under the jurisdiction of the 4th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals, as the U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a case arising from North Carolina. (CitizenLink) Read more.
The Supreme Court giveth, and the Supreme Court taketh away. Just days after handing down one of the biggest victories for religious freedom in a half-century, the justices are back to ignoring the principles they upheld. Unlike last week, when it told the government to keep its nose out of church business, the Court sent the exact opposite message this morning to anti-religion opportunists by rejecting a case on public prayer. The decision blindsided religious groups, who thought the suit had a reasonable chance of appeal. Instead, the battle over prayer at government meetings came to a sudden end, leaving in place a ridiculous decision by the Fourth Circuit Court to limit the number of "Jesus" references in every petition offered.
The suit kicked off five years ago, when two women from Forsyth County, North Carolina challenged the policy allowing prayers in Jesus's name. Although opponents said the policy violated the Establishment Clause, FRC and others disagreed. Everyone in town, regardless of their religion, had an open invitation to pray at county meetings. The schedule was decided on a first-come, first-served basis, and leaders even advertised the number for the clerk's office so that churches from as many faiths as possible could volunteer. Until 2007, when the board eliminated prayers altogether, everyone from imams to rabbis had offered invocations. That didn't matter to the Fourth Circuit Court, who seemed to object to the religious make-up of the County. Since Forsyth is overwhelmingly Christian, a majority of the prayers were in Jesus's name. To combat that, the Appeals Court decided that local governments would have to start monitoring any "excessive" mentions of Jesus.
By not hearing the case, the Supreme Court agreed--meaning that it is now law, not just in Forsyth County, but every state under the Fourth Circuit's jurisdiction (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina), that every government body use this "Jesus-counting approach" in public prayers. When the decision takes effect, it will be illegal for pastors in any government assembly to mention Jesus except once or twice at the end of their prayers--or make any statements about who Jesus is and what He's done for us. FRC and 15 members of the U.S. House of Representatives Prayer Caucus had weighed in with an amicus brief in hopes that the Court would step in and stop this wave of anti-religious censorship. Unfortunately for people (like FRC staff!) who live in these states, our prayers will have to be answered before they can truly be offered. For more on the case and its fallout, you can read our brief here. (Family Research Council)
Texas Meeting
You may have read by now about a weekend meeting of pro-family, pro-life conservatives that took place in Houston, Texas. I, and more than 125 other leaders, attended the meeting to see if we could reach a consensus on which GOP presidential contender to unite around. After hours of discussion and three separate ballots the overwhelming majority of attendees selected Rick Santorum, with a significant minority backing Newt Gingrich.
Media descriptions of the event were often inaccurate and, not surprisingly, in some cases seemed intended to sow divisions. Here are the facts. This was not a "stop Romney" meeting. As I repeatedly told reporters, it was a "stop Obama" meeting!
There were individuals supporting each of the candidates. Our conclusion to support Santorum was a positive statement in favor of him -- NOT a negative statement about the other good conservatives in the race. We realize that reasonable conservatives can reach different conclusions about the best "horse" to ride.
Finally, talking to my colleagues, I found a unanimous view that November 2012 will be the most important election of our lives. America, as a constitutional republic, cannot survive another four years of Obama.
Whomever the GOP nominates, within reason, will receive, in my view, the support of a united conservative movement. Disagreements among conservatives pale in comparison to our disagreements with Barack Obama. Our movement will gain nothing and risks losing everything if Obama is reelected.
We continue to urge all the GOP contenders to stop savaging one another and instead aim their fire at the disaster currently sitting in the Oval Office. (Gary Bauer)
- Lord, we ask that President Obama not have more power, but that his power - outside of that which is prescribed by the Constitution - be broken. We thank You that Congress is questioning this move, and is carrying out its own responsibilities in providing oversight over the actions of the Executive Branch, as needed. In Your Name, amen.
- "Righteousness exalts a nation" (Proverbs 14:34)
4. Eleven states, D.C. back Obama on health law - Washington Times
Eleven states and the District of Columbia are siding with the Obama administration in the legal battle over the constitutionality of the new health care law, as more than half the states prepare to challenge the law before the Supreme Court.
- Lord, according to this report - more than half of the states - and probably more than half of the country do not want Obamacare. Lord, we pray that the will of the people be honored, and that the majority of states be victorious in their challenge before the Supreme Court. We pray for wisdom for their attorneys and favor before the Supreme Court. We pray that the Supreme Court makes the right decision, and they not be deceived.
There is nothing in the Constitution that says the Government should have control over our health care and our medical decisions. Give guidance about the health problems in this country. May there be revelation of and from our Healer, Jesus, in whose name we pray and give honor and thanks. Amen.
- He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!" Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country." (Luke 4:23)
5. Bethlehem to Host Church Conference Which Demonizes Israel
Next March, Bethlehem Bible College will host dozens of US theologians, activists and ministries for the "Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 Conference". It is to be a major religious and political event meant to demonize Israel and to support the Palestinian Intifada against the "ethnocentric" Jewish State. The impressive range of Christian theologians and pastors from many churches located in the United States make the gravity of the upcoming conference clear. (Read more.) - Many intercessors are expecting war to break out momentarily in Israel. Could it be that MARCH would be the time for that to happen . . . even as this delusional group gathers for this meeting?
Pray for the souls of these church leaders, named in this article, and ask God to (somehow) forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. In teaching these lies about the sovereignty of the nation of Israel, they are coming against the apple of God's eye. Pray!
- "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." (Matthew 7:15)
6. Christians in New York Arrested for Protesting Church Ban - WORLD Magazine
Churches that have been meeting in schools there will have to find new places of worship by Feb. 12, when a new law banning the churches from public school facilities goes into effect. The new ban will affect about 150 churches.
So when Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave his State of the City Address on Thursday, more than 200 pastors and lay people gathered outside the Bronx school where he gave the speech to pray. Police arrested 43 of the praying protesters.
- Pray that these arrests would be appealed in a court of law and overruled. Come before our Great High Priest in the Throne Room of heaven, making intercession for the saints in these perilous times. Pray!
- "The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous . . " (Psalm 125:3)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake. Why should the nations say, Where is their God? But our God is in the heavens. He has done whatever He has pleased." (Psalm 115:1-3)
1. Israel 'waging covert war on Iran' - ABC
A report released this week claims agents from Israel's spy agency Mossad posed as CIA officers in 2008 in order to recruit people to carry out attacks and assassinations against Iranian officials.
2. Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza - Haaretz
Armed Hamas men broke into a gathering of some 30 Shi'ite worshippers in the Gaza Strip last Friday and brutally attacked them, Haaretz has learned. The assault was part of a broader crackdown on Shi'ite organizations, including charities, that has been sparked in part by Hamas' fear of growing Iranian influence in Gaza.
3. Egypt's next parliament to be led by Islamist - Washington Post
Liberals and Islamists in Egypt announced a temporary agreement Monday on a power-sharing plan that would install a Moslem Brotherhood leader as speaker of the country's newly elected parliament. The agreement among six political parties all but guarantees that the Moslem Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party will lead Egypt's first elected parliament since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February, with the Islamist party expected to control as many as half the seats.
4. Terror Attack Foiled as Court Sentences Fogel Murderer
Alert IDF soldiers staved off a terror attack that was intended to take place inside the military court at Salem, in Samaria, on Monday. The soldiers neutralized and arrested two armed terrorists who tried to enter the court in an attack planned to coincide with the sentencing of Amjad Awad, who butchered five members of the Fogel family in Itamar last year.
The court deliberations were not disturbed and the court sentenced Awad to five life sentences Monday.
The Daily Jot
The prophetic Middle East leap created by the White House
The man who occupies the Oval Office has created a game changing prophetic leap in the Middle East that may well have set America's course in prophetic eschatology. Christian and Jewish eschatology speak of the Day of the Lord where the Bible plainly prophesies that Arab/Islamic nations attack Israel and Israel is saved by the Messiah, the Christ, in an end time battle that ushers in the Millennial Reign of Christ. There are many current events that point to this eschatology being set up by the actions of leaders of many nations. The support and acceptance by the White House of the Moslem Brotherhood is a major prophetic and eschatological step that has tremendous consequences.
The Moslem Brotherhood's advance to establish a worldwide Sharia-based caliphate has been catalyzed by the White House. The Administration throwing its support behind the Moslem Brotherhood in what was called the Arab Spring has resulted in Islamists using democracy to take over Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen. Additionally, there is strife in Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia that is either a direct or a collateral affect of advancing the Moslem Brotherhood plan. This destabilization of the Middle East has created an even more hostile environment for Israel by legitimizing Islamic control through democracy and by energizing Islamic terror groups in Israel--Hamas, al Qaeda, Hezbollah and others.
It is well known that Moslem Brotherhood operatives hold positions at the highest levels of US government. Starting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top aide Huma Abedin, whose ties to the Moslem Brotherhood are undeniable, and continuing with Islamic appointments within the departments of Defense and Homeland Security. The Administration apparently is banking on a theory that the Moslem Brotherhood will help isolate Iran, as the Moslem Brotherhood is Sunni and Iran is largely Shiite. The Moslem Brotherhood plan as revealed in the Holy Land Foundation terror trial in Texas, however, indicates that it will unify all Moslems under a worldwide Caliphate, similar to the Ottoman Empire.
Islamic eschatology has its Mahdi returning to earth to establish a seven year worldwide rule of Islamic peace. Islam's version of Jesus (Isa) is to be the Mahdi's prophet in leading Jews and Christians to Islam. Islam's eschatology is strikingly similar to the Biblical antichrist. Indeed, Islam denies the deity of Christ. 2 John 7 says, "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." And Zechariah 12:9 speaks of the day of the Lord, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." America has played the eschatological catalyst with its Middle East policy. Its final place in prophecy is yet to be determined.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
At the Supreme Court, All Work and No Pray
Supreme Court Turns Away Prayer Case
Pray before public meetings if you like - just don't dare mention the name "Jesus."
For the time being, that's the law for states falling under the jurisdiction of the 4th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals, as the U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a case arising from North Carolina. (CitizenLink) Read more.
The Supreme Court giveth, and the Supreme Court taketh away. Just days after handing down one of the biggest victories for religious freedom in a half-century, the justices are back to ignoring the principles they upheld. Unlike last week, when it told the government to keep its nose out of church business, the Court sent the exact opposite message this morning to anti-religion opportunists by rejecting a case on public prayer. The decision blindsided religious groups, who thought the suit had a reasonable chance of appeal. Instead, the battle over prayer at government meetings came to a sudden end, leaving in place a ridiculous decision by the Fourth Circuit Court to limit the number of "Jesus" references in every petition offered.
The suit kicked off five years ago, when two women from Forsyth County, North Carolina challenged the policy allowing prayers in Jesus's name. Although opponents said the policy violated the Establishment Clause, FRC and others disagreed. Everyone in town, regardless of their religion, had an open invitation to pray at county meetings. The schedule was decided on a first-come, first-served basis, and leaders even advertised the number for the clerk's office so that churches from as many faiths as possible could volunteer. Until 2007, when the board eliminated prayers altogether, everyone from imams to rabbis had offered invocations. That didn't matter to the Fourth Circuit Court, who seemed to object to the religious make-up of the County. Since Forsyth is overwhelmingly Christian, a majority of the prayers were in Jesus's name. To combat that, the Appeals Court decided that local governments would have to start monitoring any "excessive" mentions of Jesus.
By not hearing the case, the Supreme Court agreed--meaning that it is now law, not just in Forsyth County, but every state under the Fourth Circuit's jurisdiction (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina), that every government body use this "Jesus-counting approach" in public prayers. When the decision takes effect, it will be illegal for pastors in any government assembly to mention Jesus except once or twice at the end of their prayers--or make any statements about who Jesus is and what He's done for us. FRC and 15 members of the U.S. House of Representatives Prayer Caucus had weighed in with an amicus brief in hopes that the Court would step in and stop this wave of anti-religious censorship. Unfortunately for people (like FRC staff!) who live in these states, our prayers will have to be answered before they can truly be offered. For more on the case and its fallout, you can read our brief here. (Family Research Council)
Texas Meeting
You may have read by now about a weekend meeting of pro-family, pro-life conservatives that took place in Houston, Texas. I, and more than 125 other leaders, attended the meeting to see if we could reach a consensus on which GOP presidential contender to unite around. After hours of discussion and three separate ballots the overwhelming majority of attendees selected Rick Santorum, with a significant minority backing Newt Gingrich.
Media descriptions of the event were often inaccurate and, not surprisingly, in some cases seemed intended to sow divisions. Here are the facts. This was not a "stop Romney" meeting. As I repeatedly told reporters, it was a "stop Obama" meeting!
There were individuals supporting each of the candidates. Our conclusion to support Santorum was a positive statement in favor of him -- NOT a negative statement about the other good conservatives in the race. We realize that reasonable conservatives can reach different conclusions about the best "horse" to ride.
Finally, talking to my colleagues, I found a unanimous view that November 2012 will be the most important election of our lives. America, as a constitutional republic, cannot survive another four years of Obama.
Whomever the GOP nominates, within reason, will receive, in my view, the support of a united conservative movement. Disagreements among conservatives pale in comparison to our disagreements with Barack Obama. Our movement will gain nothing and risks losing everything if Obama is reelected.
We continue to urge all the GOP contenders to stop savaging one another and instead aim their fire at the disaster currently sitting in the Oval Office. (Gary Bauer)
About that Ship . . .
What happened on the doomed Italian cruise liner is a commentary on the division between values-oriented conservatives and pure libertarians. I'm hearing more and more libertarians arguing that we should support limited government and that anything involving morality is off limits. But I agree with the Founders who argued that only a virtuous people could remain free and that the purpose of the law is to uphold the values that promote virtuous lifestyles.
What does this have to do with a capsized cruise ship? The captain and some crewmen evidently lived by the motto "Every man for himself." They saved their own skins before lifting a finger to help the women and children on board. Some commentators today are contrasting their behavior to what happened on the Titanic.
One hundred years ago, the men on that ship were committed to the moral idea of saving women and children before they saved themselves. So much so in fact that proportionally more women in third class survived the Titanic's sinking then did men in first class. And they survived because the men with first class tickets stood on the decks helping women and children of all social ranks into the lifeboats.
Benjamin Guggenheim, one of the wealthiest men on board, didn't try to buy his way off the sinking ship. He helped load women and children into the lifeboats and then changed into a tuxedo when the last boat was gone so that he would "die like a gentleman." It was reported that he gave this message to a survivor, "Tell my wife . . . I played the game out straight to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward."
Let me make this observation: Before long there will be demands for new regulations of the cruise industry. Perhaps there will be regulations demanding that the captain and crew must remain on the ship. In other words, when morality fails big government grows to fill the gap. The breakdown of the mother/father family, for example, has spurred the growth of the welfare state. And vice versa.
Whether libertarians realize it or not, they have an inconsistent view of government. Their neutrality on issues of morality will guarantee the growth of big government, the very thing they despise most. (Gary Bauer)
Joint US-Israel drill called off by Netanyahu, to Washington's surprise
debkafile's sources disclose exclusively that, contrary to recent reports published in Washington, Jerusalem - and this site too - it was Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, not the Obama administration, who decided to call off the biggest ever joint US-Israeli military exercise Austere Challenge 12 scheduled for April 2012.
Washington was taken aback by the decision. It was perceived as a mark of Israel's disapproval for the administration's apparent hesitancy in going through with the only tough sanctions with any chance of working against Iran's nuclear weapon program: penalizing its central bank and blocking payments for its petroleum exports.
This was the first time Israel had ever postponed a joint military exercise; it generated a seismic moment in relations between the US and Israel at a time when Iran has never been so close to producing a nuclear weapon. . . (Click here) [Source: Unity Coalition for Israel; Debkafile]
The Good News Corner:
Millions Hear John 3:16 During Prime-Time Football Game
When Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow shocked the Pittsburgh Steelers by throwing for 316 yards in overtime to advance in the AFC Divisional playoffs on Jan. 8, it drove more than 94 million people to the Internet to find out what John 3:16 - one of Tebow's favorite verses - actually says.
So this weekend, Focus on the Family decided to simply tell them.
For Saturday's playoff game against the New England Patriots, the ministry conceived, shot, edited and delivered a 30-second ad showing children reciting the verse - a process which, ironically, took approximately 3.16 days from start to finish.
"It was a pretty tight deadline," Focus President Jim Daly said with a chuckle, "but to be fair, we were working with a great, inspired script."
As with so many things directly (and indirectly) related to Tebow, the commercial defied all odds before some 40 million people saw it this weekend.
First, there was the impossible time frame. At 10:05 p.m. on Jan. 9, Gary Schneeberger, the ministry's vice president of communications, e-mailed Chief Development Officer Ken Windebank a USA Today story about Tebow that mentioned the pro-life commercial he and his mom, Pam, shot for Focus that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl. At 8:05 a.m. the next morning, Windebank responded, saying, "Do we place an ad in the Broncos/New England game?"
From there, an entire creative team was off and running - almost simultaneously finding out that an ad spot actually was available, then securing funding, rounding up a cast of local children, getting approval from a television network (which had rejected a John 3:16 ad from another ministry for last year's Super Bowl), and editing the footage before a member of the films department took a red-eye flight from Denver to New York to hand-deliver the DVD to a CBS network executive Friday morning - just 10 minutes before the deadline.
"We've got some talented and passionate people working at Focus on the Family, but we know we're just not *that* good," Daly said. "God was in this from the beginning."
When the ad aired a few minutes into the second quarter, the Internet exploded.
Within minutes, as the YouTube video began going viral, both John 3:16 and Focus on the Family were trending worldwide as the top Internet search terms. By Monday morning, more than 5,600 people had opened a blog by Esther Fleece, Daly's assistant for millennial relations, about Tebow (see Tim Tebow's Good News), and the left-leaning group change.org had started a petition drive for people to force CBS to apologize for running the ad - a sort of backhanded compliment. Twelve hours later, "Focus on the Family" was the fifth most-searched-for term on Google, and "John 3:16" was fourteenth.
But the most important outcome was measured by feedback the ministry received shortly after the ad aired.
"Both my sons just saw your commercial and gave their lives to Christ as a result," one man wrote on Twitter. "Thank you. #John316."
Similarly, another woman said:
"Thanks for running the John 3:16 ad during the Broncos/Patriots game. My husband is not a believer, but he was so taken by those precious kids that he became emotional watching it. Thanks for reaching out in such a warm, compassionate way."
"The Bible says in Isaiah that God's Word does not come back void," Daly said. "That was our prayer going into this effort - to spotlight the Word of the Lord to bring people to the Lord. What a blessing to know that goal was accomplished."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
See Focus on the Family's John 3:16 commercial.
Let CBS know what you thought about the ad.
(by Karla Dial; CitizenLink) Read more.
Worship with Us Today!
"I Lift My Hands"
by Chris Tomlin
Be still, there is a healer
His love is deeper than the sea
His mercy, it is unfailing
His arms are fortress for the weak
Let faith arise
Let faith arise
What happened on the doomed Italian cruise liner is a commentary on the division between values-oriented conservatives and pure libertarians. I'm hearing more and more libertarians arguing that we should support limited government and that anything involving morality is off limits. But I agree with the Founders who argued that only a virtuous people could remain free and that the purpose of the law is to uphold the values that promote virtuous lifestyles.
What does this have to do with a capsized cruise ship? The captain and some crewmen evidently lived by the motto "Every man for himself." They saved their own skins before lifting a finger to help the women and children on board. Some commentators today are contrasting their behavior to what happened on the Titanic.
One hundred years ago, the men on that ship were committed to the moral idea of saving women and children before they saved themselves. So much so in fact that proportionally more women in third class survived the Titanic's sinking then did men in first class. And they survived because the men with first class tickets stood on the decks helping women and children of all social ranks into the lifeboats.
Benjamin Guggenheim, one of the wealthiest men on board, didn't try to buy his way off the sinking ship. He helped load women and children into the lifeboats and then changed into a tuxedo when the last boat was gone so that he would "die like a gentleman." It was reported that he gave this message to a survivor, "Tell my wife . . . I played the game out straight to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward."
Let me make this observation: Before long there will be demands for new regulations of the cruise industry. Perhaps there will be regulations demanding that the captain and crew must remain on the ship. In other words, when morality fails big government grows to fill the gap. The breakdown of the mother/father family, for example, has spurred the growth of the welfare state. And vice versa.
Whether libertarians realize it or not, they have an inconsistent view of government. Their neutrality on issues of morality will guarantee the growth of big government, the very thing they despise most. (Gary Bauer)
Joint US-Israel drill called off by Netanyahu, to Washington's surprise
debkafile's sources disclose exclusively that, contrary to recent reports published in Washington, Jerusalem - and this site too - it was Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, not the Obama administration, who decided to call off the biggest ever joint US-Israeli military exercise Austere Challenge 12 scheduled for April 2012.
Washington was taken aback by the decision. It was perceived as a mark of Israel's disapproval for the administration's apparent hesitancy in going through with the only tough sanctions with any chance of working against Iran's nuclear weapon program: penalizing its central bank and blocking payments for its petroleum exports.
This was the first time Israel had ever postponed a joint military exercise; it generated a seismic moment in relations between the US and Israel at a time when Iran has never been so close to producing a nuclear weapon. . . (Click here) [Source: Unity Coalition for Israel; Debkafile]
The Good News Corner:
Millions Hear John 3:16 During Prime-Time Football Game
When Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow shocked the Pittsburgh Steelers by throwing for 316 yards in overtime to advance in the AFC Divisional playoffs on Jan. 8, it drove more than 94 million people to the Internet to find out what John 3:16 - one of Tebow's favorite verses - actually says.
So this weekend, Focus on the Family decided to simply tell them.
For Saturday's playoff game against the New England Patriots, the ministry conceived, shot, edited and delivered a 30-second ad showing children reciting the verse - a process which, ironically, took approximately 3.16 days from start to finish.
"It was a pretty tight deadline," Focus President Jim Daly said with a chuckle, "but to be fair, we were working with a great, inspired script."
As with so many things directly (and indirectly) related to Tebow, the commercial defied all odds before some 40 million people saw it this weekend.
First, there was the impossible time frame. At 10:05 p.m. on Jan. 9, Gary Schneeberger, the ministry's vice president of communications, e-mailed Chief Development Officer Ken Windebank a USA Today story about Tebow that mentioned the pro-life commercial he and his mom, Pam, shot for Focus that aired during the 2010 Super Bowl. At 8:05 a.m. the next morning, Windebank responded, saying, "Do we place an ad in the Broncos/New England game?"
From there, an entire creative team was off and running - almost simultaneously finding out that an ad spot actually was available, then securing funding, rounding up a cast of local children, getting approval from a television network (which had rejected a John 3:16 ad from another ministry for last year's Super Bowl), and editing the footage before a member of the films department took a red-eye flight from Denver to New York to hand-deliver the DVD to a CBS network executive Friday morning - just 10 minutes before the deadline.
"We've got some talented and passionate people working at Focus on the Family, but we know we're just not *that* good," Daly said. "God was in this from the beginning."
When the ad aired a few minutes into the second quarter, the Internet exploded.
Within minutes, as the YouTube video began going viral, both John 3:16 and Focus on the Family were trending worldwide as the top Internet search terms. By Monday morning, more than 5,600 people had opened a blog by Esther Fleece, Daly's assistant for millennial relations, about Tebow (see Tim Tebow's Good News), and the left-leaning group change.org had started a petition drive for people to force CBS to apologize for running the ad - a sort of backhanded compliment. Twelve hours later, "Focus on the Family" was the fifth most-searched-for term on Google, and "John 3:16" was fourteenth.
But the most important outcome was measured by feedback the ministry received shortly after the ad aired.
"Both my sons just saw your commercial and gave their lives to Christ as a result," one man wrote on Twitter. "Thank you. #John316."
Similarly, another woman said:
"Thanks for running the John 3:16 ad during the Broncos/Patriots game. My husband is not a believer, but he was so taken by those precious kids that he became emotional watching it. Thanks for reaching out in such a warm, compassionate way."
"The Bible says in Isaiah that God's Word does not come back void," Daly said. "That was our prayer going into this effort - to spotlight the Word of the Lord to bring people to the Lord. What a blessing to know that goal was accomplished."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
See Focus on the Family's John 3:16 commercial.
Let CBS know what you thought about the ad.
(by Karla Dial; CitizenLink) Read more.
Worship with Us Today!
"I Lift My Hands"
by Chris Tomlin
Be still, there is a healer
His love is deeper than the sea
His mercy, it is unfailing
His arms are fortress for the weak
Let faith arise
Let faith arise
