Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
The Daily Brief Wednesday, March 20, 2013
"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
(Matthew 19:6)
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The Daily Brief
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1. Cyprus considers zero tax on smaller bank deposits - BBC
The Cyprus finance ministry suggests savers holding less than 20,000 euros (£17,000) would be exempt from a bank levy which has caused much alarm. The plan was changed following outrage that ordinary savers would be forced to pay a levy of 6.75%. The new plan would keep that levy on deposits over 20,000 euros, with those over 100,000 euros charged at 9.9%.
- Father, we continue to lift up this situation to you. Give wisdom to the leaders of Cyprus to devise a different plan. Protect the rights of the people to save money without being taxed on their savings.
- No one calls for justice nor does any plead for truth. (Isaiah: 59:4)
2. Syria state media: Rebels used chemical weapons, killing 15 - jpost
Syria's state news agency accused rebels on Tuesday of using chemical weapons in an attack in the northern province of Aleppo which it said killed 15 people. "Terrorists fired a rocket containing chemical substances in the Khan al-Assal area of rural Aleppo and initial reports indicate that around 15 people were killed, most of them civilians," SANA news agency said.
- Father in heaven, these terrorists have an appetite for shedding blood and torturing people just as the Assyrians had centuries ago. We call out to Almighty God that these terrorists either repent of their sins or they will fall under the hand of holy God. Bind and break their power and their wickedness by the Blood of Jesus. Show them Your power, O God, and their hearts fail them for fear of Your righteous acts. In the Name of Jesus we pray."
- "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)
3. Colorado sheriffs rebel against new gun-control laws - Human events.com
Fox News reports that local sheriffs are announcing they won't enforce the new laws. Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said "they're feel-good, knee-jerk reactions that are unenforceable," and they give citizens "a false sense of security." Cooke said the proposed firearms transfer requirement would not keep guns out of the hands of criminals, according to the GreeleyTribune.com report
- Father, this exposes the truth of the new gun-control laws - they would not keep guns out of the hands of criminals, and they would give citizens a false sense of security. This is the truth. So Lord God, we trust You to block the enforcement of the new gun laws and expose the sham to all the sheriffs in America, so that those who are law-abiding can keep their guns for proper use as has been their practice through the years. Thank you, Lord, for Your protection for those who follow the good and the right way. In Jesus' Name.
- "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not." (Jonah 3:10)
4. Empire State counties, towns revolt against Cuomo gun ban - Human Events.com
One by one, counties and towns across New York State are launching resolutions denouncing the state's new gun ban, the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, as egregious and unconstitutional. "The issue boils down to property rights," said Hempel, who is also a Clermont Town Board member. "What right does the government have to tell citizens what they can or cannot purchase?" he asked.
- Lord God, we thank You for strengthening these men around the country to stand up for the good laws that have remained stable over the years in allowing Americans to purchase and own guns. We pray for God's intervention in defeating the new ban on gun possession by law-abiding American citizens. The new gun-control laws are conspicuously bad and flagrant. We put our trust in You, Lord, to nullify and cancel out the new gun-control laws. In the Name of Jesus.
- "Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. The righteous also shall hold on his way; and he that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger." (Job 17:8-9)
5. Assault weapons ban dropped from Senate gun control bill - Fox News
The leader of the Democrat-controlled Senate on Tuesday dropped a proposed assault weapons ban from the chamber's gun-control package - dealing a blow to supporters of the ban, though it could still come up for a vote.
The sponsor of the measure, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., revealed that Reid told her the proposed ban would not be in the initial package. Feinstein said she's "disappointed" with the decision, and is expected to nevertheless offer it as an amendment.
But the move by Reid to cut it from the main bill signals a lack of congressional support for a proposal that would not only revive, but strengthen, the decade-long ban that expired in 2004.
- The removal of this ban from the proposed gun control legislation is the first step in an ongoing process that, in the end, will allow all of us to retain our rights under the Second Amendment -- the right to bear arms. Continue to press in, in prayer and in action, until all gun control measures are dropped from the congressional agenda. Let's defend our freedoms . . . let's pray!
- "Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there- so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured." (Isaiah 28:13)
6. Obama's limo, 'The Beast,' breaks down in Israel after being filled with diesel - The Daily Caller
One of President Obama's specially-designed armored Cadillac limos - called "The Beast" - broke down in Israel after it was filled with diesel fuel by mistake. The eight-ton vehicle "stalled shortly after the American president landed in Israel," according to News 2, an Israeli news service. News 2 emphasized that the mistake was the "result of incorrect refueling conducted by U.S. personnel accompany[ing] Obama during his visit here."
According to the Times of Israel, the vehicle was parked at Ben-Gurion Airport and failed to start. A replacement limo was flown from a U.S. facility in Jordan to Israel via transport plane, according to the Times. Photos of the broken-down Beast on the back of a tow truck have moved like a speeding motorcade across the Internet . . . The tank-like vehicles are estimated to be worth at least $300,000 each.
- Please continue to lift up Mr. Obama, that he be kept safe throughout his journey to the Middle East this week. Offer praise that, although this vehicle failed to function, no one was hurt or injured in this incident.
- "Pray without ceasing . . ." (I Thessalonians 5:17)
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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:
"In this house, and in Jerusalem, which God has chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my Name forever; Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I, God, gave their fathers." (II Kings 21:7-8)
1. Barack Obama's timetable in Israel - Times of Israel
Barack Obama's first presidential visit to Israel kicks off with a ceremonial reception at Ben Gurion Airport early Wednesday afternoon. Some 51 hours later, a similar reception will bid him farewell on Friday afternoon.
2. Netanyahu's new security cabinet may hesitate on any Iran war - Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has streamlined his security cabinet but its crop of untested politicians and a member who has rankled at saber-rattling could hamper any decision to strike Iran.
3. The Secret of the Wonder Weapon That Israel Will Show Off to Obama - Time
No tour of Middle East conflict zones could be complete without a stop at Sderot, an Israeli town of 24,000 that stands uncomfortably close to the Gaza Strip. The rain of rockets out of the Palestinian enclave has made Sderot famous for two things: the thickness of its roofs (even bus stops have reinforced concrete tops); and the collection of crumpled missiles arrayed in racks behind the police station.
4. As Hamas rises, peace prospects sink, observers say - USA Today
The Palestinian terror group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has gained prominence since the Arab Spring uprisings that swept anti-Israeli and anti-Western Islamist movements into power.
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The Persecuted Church
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Today's Focus: The Persecuted Church
"The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive
to their cry . . ." (Psalm 34:15)
1. Christian Businesses Attacked by Muslim Mob in Upper Egypt - Associated Press
ASSIUT, Egypt - Hundreds of Muslim villagers in Egypt's south have attacked Christian-owned stores in search of a girl whose family claims was abducted.
The villagers assaulted the stores Tuesday and surrounded two churches in the city of al-Wasta in Bani Suef province in Egypt's south. Security forces guarded the churches. No casualties were reported.
The college-aged girl disappeared around one month ago. The crowd accused local Christian of kidnapping her.
2. Christian Girl Rescued from Abduction, Forced Marriage in Pakistan - The Vatican Today
The Christian teenager Ryan Stanton, victim of false accusations of blasphemy, was rescued and taken abroad with his family. A Christian girl, Rafia Mansha, 14, kidnapped by a Muslim and forced into an Islamic marriage and conversion, got justice from a court, which declared the marriage "false, illegal and void." The two cases reported to Fides Agency by the Christian community in Pakistan, again points its attention to the precarious condition that the Christian minorities in the country live.The 15 year old Ryan Stanton was accused of having sent a blasphemous text message to some Muslim peers regarding the Prophet Muhammad. For this reason, in October 2012, his home in the suburb of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, a bourgeois area of Karachi, a metropolis in the south of Pakistan, was looted and set on fire by Muslim radicals . The boy and his family escaped by a miracle and lived several months in hiding. Now the NGO "Rescue Christians" managed to transfer Ryan and all his family abroad, where he will begin a new life. The boy explained that some of his Muslim peers used his cell phone, sent the blasphemous text message in order to incriminate him.In another case, Rafia Mansha, a Christian girl, was abducted in December 2012 by two Muslims and then forced into a Muslim marriage to Imran and conversion. The family turned to the NGO LEAD which filed an appeal to the court of Pattoki. Rafia testified in court that she had been kidnapped and suffered marriage and forced conversion. Despite opposition from the Muslim counterpart, the Court declared the nullity of the marriage and returned Rafia to her family.
3. Anti-Christian Violence Evidences the Rising Islamization of Pakistan - CP World
A Christian ministry worker who encourages and equips believers and the local church inside Pakistan to face persecution, said that the recent rioting against a Christian colony in Lahore, in which 150 homes were burnt, was further evidence of increased Islamization in the country.
"The event did not come as a surprise to the residents of the area called Badami Bagh, in which there is a smaller colony called the Joseph Colony where Christians live," Hana, whose real name was not given for her protection, told The Christian Post earlier this week.
Even though Pakistan's National assembly condemned the action, Hana said it will take more than a proclamation by the government to help curb the problem.
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The Good News Corner
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The Good News Corner:
Federal Judge Rejects Challenge to Missouri Prayer Amendment
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Missouri's new religious liberty amendment. U.S District Judge Howard Sachs has ruled against a challenge filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two inmates incarcerated in state prisons.
The religious liberty language, placed on the ballot as Amendment 2, was approved by Missouri voters last August by a resounding vote of 83 to 17 percent. Commonly referred to as the Missouri Prayer Amendment, the measure spells out in considerable detail the free exercise rights of Missouri citizens and schoolchildren.
The lawsuit challenged a provision that declared that the new amendment did not expand the rights of prisoners beyond those afforded by the laws of the United States. The ACLU had contended that this section would somehow diminish the religious freedoms previously held by individuals incarcerated in Missouri prisons.
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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.
