Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief Friday, March 8, 2013
"Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." (I John 4:4)
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The Daily Brief
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1. Brennan confirmed to lead CIA - Fox News
John Brennan has won U.S. Senate confirmation to head the CIA after a late struggle that had more to do with presidential power to order drone strikes than with the nominee's credentials to lead the spy agency. The vote Thursday was 63-34. Brennan will replace Mike Morrell, the acting CIA director since November.
- Father, we thank You that the filibuster was successful in exposing these policies concerning using drones to strike American citizens within our borders. We thank You that You are exposing that which is done in secret, and ask for more accountability from our government concerning this issue.
We thank You for John Brennan, and his confirmation as the head of the CIA. We ask that here, again, You would expose any devious plots against our nation, both from without and within. May he, himself be open to scrutiny, as well as all in our nation's government, we pray. Amen.
- "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." (Psalm 51:6)
2. U.S. economy adds 236,000 jobs in February - AP
A burst of hiring last month added 236,000 U.S. jobs and reduced the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in January. The robust gains suggested that the economy can strengthen further, despite higher taxes and government spending cuts. The February jobs report issued Friday provided encouraging details.
- Abba, we thank You for this little piece of good news concerning our economy, and we pray that this will create a positive momentum in both the job market, and in the area of fiscal responsibility of our government. We continue to ask for Your wisdom to be given to our Congress, and the President, concerning the financial priorities for our nation. May we, as a nation, learn to live within our budget, we pray. Amen.
- "A ruler without wisdom will be cruel, but the one who refuses to take dishonest money will rule a long time." (Proverbs 28:16)
3. Justice Kennedy notes power shift - Fox News
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said Wednesday that congressional lawmakers need to maintain the nation's balance of power by being able to compromise. He expressed concerns that the high court is increasingly the venue for deciding politically charged issues such as gay marriage, health care and immigration. He acknowledged the delicate tightrope judges walk when they take on matters many believe are more properly left to legislators. Calling it a "serious problem," Kennedy lamented, "a democracy should not be dependent for its major decisions on what nine unelected people -- from a fairly narrow background, a legal background -- have to say."
- Lord, we sympathize with Justice Kennedy's frustration. These nine justices are appointed by Presidents who choose them in accordance with their own political views, hoping to influence future policies. The Congress is the Legislative body, but the justices are expected to know and interpret those laws, in accordance with our Constitution, and the intents of our founding fathers. We pray for Your wisdom for them...may You grant them the wisdom You gave to Solomon in judging cases. Amen.
- "Be honest in your judgment and do not decide at a glance (superficially and by appearances); but judge fairly and righteously." (John 7:24)
4. New gun-buying restrictions pass Senate panel - Washington Times
Amid deep party-line divisions, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved Congress' first post-Newtown gun control bill -- a proposal to crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases meant to circumvent the law -- but the panel pushed the toughest work off until next week. Meanwhile, gun maker Smith & Wesson said their third quarter earnings more than tripled from the previous year as Americans hurried to purchase firearms in anticipation of tighter laws controlling the sale of guns and ammunition.
- Lord, we understand that there is a big difference of opinion concerning guns and their role in violence. Human nature of the violent will cause them to use whatever weapons are available to them, legal or illegal; and we, as potential victims, must also have the option to defend ourselves and our property, according to the second amendment of our Constitution. We pray for cool heads to prevail. Law-abiding citizens will not misuse guns; but if banned, will be at a disadvantage in confronting a criminal who does not care about the law. So, Lord, we ask You to give Your wisdom to our members of Congress, and ask that our Constitutional rights will be upheld. Amen.
- "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house." (Matthew 12:29)
5. Russians Conduct Huge Nuke Drill - Washington Free Beacon
Russian nuclear forces conducted a major exercise last month that tested the transport of both strategic and tactical nuclear weapons near Europe, according to United States officials. The exercise raised concerns inside the Pentagon and with the U.S. European Command because it was the largest exercise of its kind in 20 years and involved heightened alert status of Russian nuclear forces. However, a U.S. official said the exercise was a concern within the U.S. national security community because of the scale of the exercise and the number of weapons being moved. "Certainly it's a concern when you have this kind of exercise going on," this official said.
The official said another worry is that Russia appears to be increasing the readiness of its nuclear forces at a time when the U.S. nuclear complex is in urgent need of upgrading and the military is facing sharp automatic defense cuts that could affect U.S. nuclear forces readiness in the future.
- O Lord of Hosts, we come to You as our Commander-in-Chief, asking for Your wisdom and strategies to be given to our Defense Department, Pentagon, Intelligence networks, and our President and Congress. We are concerned that our nuclear complex is in "urgent need of upgrading, and our military is facing defense cuts that could affect our readiness in the future." Father, this is surely a budgetary priority to upgrade our defenses and strengthen our military in this very real situation. We ask that our President and Congress recognize this need, and do all within their power to make the necessary upgrades and financial expenditures to protect our nation and its citizens. We ask this in Your mighty Name, Amen.
- "Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe." (Psalm 61:1-3)
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The Middle East in Focus
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The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" (Isaiah 52:7)
1. Hundreds of arrest warrants sent to draft-dodging ultra-Orthodox - Times of Israel
Hundreds of arrest warrants have been filed in recent days for ultra-Orthodox teenagers who failed to show up at military induction centers.
2. After Golan kidnappings, Israel wary UN forces might bolt - Times of Israel
Israel is wary about the possibility of United Nations observer forces in the Golan Heights withdrawing their peacekeepers in the wake of this week's kidnapping of 21 UN troops by Syrian rebels, government sources said Thursday.
3. 'Obama won't bring peace plan or even general framework' to Israel - Times of Israel
President Barack Obama will not be bringing any peace plan or even a "general framework" with him on his trip to Israel later this month, and he did not say he would in a briefing with Jewish leaders at the White House Thursday, according to sources in the administration and several participants in the meeting.
4. If Iran reaches critical point in nuke drive, Israel will attack - Times of Israel
In a little-noticed exchange Tuesday at the Senate Armed Services Committee, a top US general said he had no doubt Israel would attack Iran if the Islamic Republic reached a critical point in its nuclear weapons drive. Furthermore, said General James Mattis, Israel could so without the assistance of the United States.
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The Persecuted Church
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Today's Focus: The Persecuted Church
"Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living." (Psalm 27:12,13)
1. Christians Arrested at Prayer Service Face Trial Next Week in Iran - CP World
Recent reports indicate that five Christian members of the Church of Iran will soon be going on trial for their religion, facing multiple charges which include threatening national security and evangelism.
The five imprisoned men, Mohammad Roghangir, Surush Saraie, Eskandar Rezaie, Shahin Lahooti and Massoud Rezaie have been detained since October 2012, and are facing charges of disturbing public order, evangelizing, action against national security and an internet activity against the system, according to religious persecution watchdog group Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
2. Despite Persecution, Christians in Iraq Encouraged to Stay - ICN
The new leader of the largest Church in Iraq has told his dwindling faithful to stop emigrating, warning them that Christianity in the Middle East risks becoming "a distant memory".
Speaking yesterday, Wednesday, 6 March, at his installation as Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Louis Raphael I Sako said Christians in Iraq should overcome their fears and work together to build a new future.
3. Islamists Seek to Expel Religious Minorities in Bangladesh - AsiaNews
Strikes (hartal) and acts of violence continue across the country, especially against Hindus. Fears are growing among Buddhists, Christians and tribal communities. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party joins Jamaat-e-islami seeking the fall of the government. Islamist blogs provide instructions on how to sabotage railway lines, disrupt demonstrations and attack police.
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The Good News Corner
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The Good News Corner:
IDF Paramedics, Rescue Workers Save Injured Palestinian
IDF forces provided emergency treatment to an injured Palestinian man yesterday (Sunday, February 24), after the man had been shot in the stomach during a violent riot in Kfar Kutzra the previous day. The patient had first been evacuated to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, where he was found to be in critical condition. Then, in the framework of a complex rescue operation, the patient was transported by helicopter to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem for intensive care.
"Yesterday [Saturday] afternoon a Palestinian man participated in a riot in the area of Esh Kadosh and Kfar Kutzra, and was shot in his stomach-according to what we understand today, by Jewish residents," Lt. Col. Dr. P, Medical Officer of the Judea and Samaria Division, told the IDF Website. "From there, he was transported by the Red Crescent to Rafidia Hospital, where he arrived in extremely critical condition, with low blood pressure and in deep shock. When he arrived at intensive care, a Palestinian medical team conducted a number of surgical procedures, but his condition remained unstable."
"We arrived at Hadassah Hospital with the Palestinian [patient] in far better condition than when we arrived [in Nablus], where his blood pressure had risen and his pulse dropped, although he was still in grave condition," Lt. Col. Dr. P said.
Lt. Col. Dr. P noted that today, a third of the treatments carried out by Judea and Samaria Division medical teams are treatments of Palestinian casualties and patients, and that there exists a good connection with Palestinian medical teams. "We carry out many transfers of Palestinian casualties-from car accidents to heart attacks - into Israel," he said. Lt. Col. Dr. P emphasized the great importance of ongoing medical care in spite of the recent escalation of disturbances in the region. "To save a Palestinian life is something very meaningful [both] for us and in terms of what it does for the region," he added.
Source (By Yael Livnat, Israel Defense Forces, February 25, 2013)
[Reported by BFP: Bridges for Peace]
- Thank God that Israel has the ability to help the boy from Nablus. Pray that the care and treatment he receives will soften the hearts of his family and friends.
- ". . . and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 28:14b)
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Pray for the Harvest!
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Pray for the Harvest!
"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." (John 4:35)
Every day, in every nation on earth, tens of thousands of men and women are making decisions for Christ. Now, you can monitor this amazing fact online by literally "watching" as these souls are born again into the Kingdom.
Of course, the identities of those who are coming to the Lord are never revealed, but our God knows who they are!
Join us as we monitor these "names" daily, praying over each one to be mentored and to grow in his or her faith . . . even in these perilous times. You may visit either or both of the sites below, to pray for fields that are ripe for harvest.
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Worship With Us Today!
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Worship With Us Today!
Sweet Hour Of Prayer
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter's snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
