Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief
Praying the Word of God . . .
in the Will of God . . .
over the Issues of the Day
(Isaiah 55:11)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
. . . He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
(Hebrews 13:5)
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The Daily Brief
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1. 'State' of Palestine casts its first UN ballot - Times of Israel
Palestine's UN delegation cast its first General Assembly ballot Monday to a warm round of applause, which its ambassador called a symbolic step toward full membership in the world body.
Read More
- Father, we intercede over this shift of nations which has elevated Palestine to non member status within the UN, which allows them to vote on limited issues. We pray You continue to block Palestine from ever gaining full UN membership. There is sin in the camp and we call forth angels to block the way of wickedness in the U.N. Open the eyes of the blind and reveal that which is evil in order to bring forth righteousness. In Jesus' Name.
- "Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" (I Corinthians 5:6)
2. Ancient Jewish Altar Found in Shilo - Arutz Sheva
An ongoing archaeological dig in the ancient Jewish village of Shilo in Samaria (Shomron) has turned up a stone altar dating back thousands of years.
- Lord God, from the days of Noah, You have told the Jewish people to erect altars unto God, upon which they were to offer animal sacrifices and pray unto the Lord God of Israel. Thus, there are ancient altars all over the land of Israel that the Jewish people built unto the Lord their God. Praise the Lord that this altar has been found as a profound remembrance of Jewish altars. In Jesus' Name.
- "And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before the twelve tribes of Jacob. And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord: and there Joshua divided the land of Israel unto the children of Israel according to their family groups." (Joshua 18:1,10)
3. State-By-State Look at Midwest Tornado Outbreak - Weather Channel
A tornado outbreak in the Midwest on Sunday leveled entire city blocks and tore a path of destruction across 12 states. It was an unusually large and strong storm system for November and it will take months to clean up the damage.
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- Father, we lift up the people in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee. Bring hope and healing to these people. Restore property, jobs, and lost power that occurred in many of these states. May they rebuild bigger and better than before this destruction. Send them help from Your sanctuary. In Jesus Name.
- 2) May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. 3) May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. "Selah" 4) May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5) We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. 6) Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. 7) Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:2-7)
4. Supreme Court refuses to block Texas abortion restrictions - Fox News
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to block controversial Texas abortion restrictions that have been called some of the strictest in the country and have led a dozen abortion clinics in the state to stop performing the procedure.
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- We praise the Lord God of heaven for this tremendous victory. Thank you Father that many millions of babies shall come to birth and live because of this momentous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The babies' blood shall no more be spilt on the ground in Texas. We pray that all the abortion clinics in Texas will forever be closed. We pray in the powerful name of Jesus.
- "That we may approve things that are excellent; that we may be sincere and without offense and sin till the day of Christ." (Philippians 1:10)
5. Congress will investigate report of faked pre-election jobs data - Washington Examiner
Congress may soon investigate a media report claiming the Labor Department falsified the nation's jobless numbers a month before the 2012 election.
- Father, may truth abound in the investigation of this fabricated pre-election jobs data report. This is a serious issue, and we pray all will come to the light. May those individuals and departments be held accountable if the data was fabricated. We pray for integrity among our officials. Remove those men and women who deceive and manipulate. In Jesus Name.
- Lying lips [are] abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly [are] his delight.(Proverbs 12:22)
6. Administration Official: Obamacare Payment Systems Still Need to Be Built - National Review
The information-technology systems of Obamacare are still anywhere from 30 to 70 percent unfinished, an administration official testified today.
- Father God, We thank You for intervening in this matter. We pray the people will hold onto their current insurance policies that have worked in the past. In Jesus' Name.
-"And that because of false brethren secretly brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage." (Galatians 2:4)
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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:
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)
1. If Israel strikes Iran, Dempsey says U.S. 'would meet' obligations - CNN
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said Monday that if Israel were to strike Iran in an effort to damage the country's nuclear program, the United States would meet "some defined obligations" it has to the Middle East nation.
2. Ancient city discovered beneath Biblical-era ruins in Israel - Fox News
Archaeologists have unearthed traces of a previously unknown, 14th-century Canaanite city buried underneath the ruins of another city in Israel.
3. US envoy confirms upcoming massive Israel-US air drill - Times of Israel
The US, Greek, Polish and Italian air forces will participate in an Israeli Air Force combat exercise later this month, American Ambassador Dan Shapiro confirmed. The Times of Israel reported earlier this month that this will be the largest international air drill ever held in Israel, and it comes amid high tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
4. U.S.-Israel rift over Iran nukes now in the open - CNN
What had been speculated before is now very public -- the United States and Israel differ on how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions.
5. Palestinians, settlers clash in West Bank - AFP
Jewish settlers and Palestinian villagers clashed in the northern West Bank on Monday before Israeli troops intervened, with 10 people treated for rubber bullet wounds, medical sources said.
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The Persecuted Church
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Today's Focus: The Persecuted Church
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)
US Congressional Subcommittee Calls for Turkey to Re-Open Christian Seminary - Daily News
A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee has unanimously approved an advisory resolution to call on the Turkish government to re-open the Heybeliada Halki Seminary without conditions or further delay.
The bill approved by sub-committee on Nov. 19 still has to pass the House Committee on Foreign Affairs before it can be put to the House floor for a full vote. However, even if it would be passed by the House, it does not have binding enforcement power and only has significance as an advisory decision.
"The Justice and Development Party [AKP] raised the hopes of Orthodox Christians all around the world when they announced they would re-open the seminary and a proposed democratization package seemed to be an appropriate channel for this change," said Bill Keating, a ranking member on the subcommittee, after approval of the resolution on Nov. 19.
The escalated expectations for the inclusion of the Greek Orthodox school on Istanbul's Heybeliada Island into a package of reforms, so-called democracy package, announced by the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had come to naught, as no steps have been announced.
In addition to this, Erdoğan said the re-opening decision was subject to Greece's response to Ankara's demands regarding the election of muftis in Western Thrace, highlighting the opening was not difficult for the government.
Noting his surprise with the exclusion of the opening, Keating also expressed his concern over the prime minister's recent remarks that requested conditions for the re-opening.
"Since then, Prime Minister Erdoğan's rhetoric on Halki has taken a turn, and conditions and reciprocity demands are now attached to the re-opening of the school. I fear that this type of rhetoric threatens to undo much of the progress that's been made in Turkey. Further, it may have a negative impact of dividing Turks, as well as stalling long-awaited progress on the Halki issue and other issues concerning Turkish minority groups," he said.
The re-opening of the school has been postponed due to a lack of clarity over its status, as well as the principle of reciprocity with Greece, which has refused to allow Turkish minorities to elect their own religious officials.
For more news about the Persecuted Church, and how you can be more involved in intercession for these precious saints, go here.
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The Madison Report
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The Madison Report
www.MadisonProject.com
THE MADISONIAN
Minimum Wage Increase
Later in the week, the Senate might consider yet another minimum wage increase bill, S. 460. The bill would raise the minimum from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 after two years, indexing future increases to the rate of inflation. Obamacare has already successfully trimmed back workers to part-time and eliminated a number of jobs. Minimum wage laws accomplish nothing but cropping out part-time jobs for teenagers and slow economic growth. If raising the standard of living was as easy as the federal government waving a magic wand, why not raise the minimum wage to a more respectable $15 per hour? As with every other liberal idea, Democrats will start out with 55 votes, and have a number of Republican options to reach 60 votes.
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Obama and God
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Obama and God
Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Filmmaker Ken Burns videotaped 61 noted Americans reading the famous words. One of them of course was President Obama, who you can watch here. You will notice that the President does something in his recitation that no one else does. At the point in the speech when Lincoln said, "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom," Obama leaves out "under God."
This isn't the first time Obama has given God the boot. Repeatedly in the early years of his presidency, Obama did a similar edit of another key historical U.S. document, The Declaration of Independence, leaving out "endowed by their Creator," from the second paragraph. I am guessing that God is not amused. (Gary Bauer)
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Obama and Common Core
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Obama and Common Core
If You Like ObamaCare, You'll Love ObamaCore!
Is it even possible these days to name a U.S. Cabinet head not embroiled in a messy public scandal or controversy? The Treasury (IRS targeting), HHS (ObamaCare), Justice (the list is long enough to culminate in possible impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Eric Holder), Defense (anti-Christian extremism), State (Benghazi), and Energy (Solyndra) Departments were already fighting off the negative PR when Education Secretary Arne Duncan joined the party. In what may be a finalist for the most ridiculous things this administration has said, Duncan told a gathering of state education experts that the people opposed to his Common Core State Standards were mostly "white suburban moms who -- all of the sudden -- [discovered that] their child isn't as bright as they thought they were, and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were."
The careless remarks only threw gasoline on an already explosive debate over the government takeover of education. Although Duncan later apologized for his "clumsy" phrasing, his comments reflect the absolute arrogance of Washington-- that government knows best. As the research shows, family structure and parental presence and involvement drive educational outcomes -- not D.C. bureaucrats. Most parents want better educational outcomes, but those outcomes aren't limited to passing a government-imposed test. Increasingly, parents are realizing that the very moral foundation that provides the opportunity for success in life is being undermined by the very educational system that claims to be the key to it.
I spoke to parents yesterday that participated in the "National Don't Send Your Child To School Day" aimed at a local school in Louisiana, which happens to be in the top three for academic performance in the state. (By the way, all of the top performing schools are independent or community schools where the parents and community are involved.) But these parents' growing concern is not over the educational outcomes -- as important as they are -- it's over the increasingly liberal, un-American, anti-Christian propaganda that's masquerading as curriculum.
No doubt under the Obama administration (which is repeatedly marked by comments like Duncan's), there's a distrust of anything that flows down the Potomac, but the opposition to Common Core goes deeper than almost anything I've seen. When I spoke in Louisiana about our recent trip to Israel and the issues surrounding the Middle East, a large portion of the questions were still focused on Common Core.
This past weekend, Baton Rouge's meeting on Common Core drew parents in opposition to the government program from across the state. According to attendees, the discussion was populated by an impressive group of professional women, doctors, lawyers, and others who were extremely concerned -- not about the high testing standards -- but the corresponding issues of curriculum, liberal reading lists, information collection, and so on. As parents, we cannot be reminded often enough that God gave us both the authority and the responsibility to train up our children. Moms and dads must not forget that we, not the local school district or the homeroom teacher, will be the ones God holds accountable that our children were not only taught how to make a living, but how to live (Deuteronomy 6).
** Just how disastrous is Common Core? FRC's Bob Morrison paints a frightening picture in his thoughtful analysis of the President's latest education push. Don't miss his piece, "Like ObamaCare? You'll Love ObamaCore," on the FRCBlog.
Tony Perkins, President
Family Research Council
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The Daily Jot!
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Time For a Change
The Ken Burns website is trying to say that there were five versions of the Gettysburg address and the president was just reading the version that didn't have the words "under God." According to news reports, a cached version of the Burns website from several days ago had no such reference. Poppycock! There was only one version of the speech and that would be the one Lincoln gave. But I do digress. The problem here is that he is a godless man. And under his godless leadership, he has accelerated American toward godlessness. Worse yet, the self indulgence and apathy of Americans--both in and out of the church--have allowed this downward spiral and continue to do so.
Socialism requires that government become the god of the people. In fact, the Communist Manifesto (from which socialism spawns) abolishes all religion and all traditional morality. Many would say that the president is a closet Islamist. Certainly, Jesus said in Matthew 7:20, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." So if the president is a closet Islamist and a devout socialist, the two are compatible. Islam is a political system that uses religion and force to control people. Socialism is a political system that uses government to control people. In both cases, Islam and Socialism there is no god, as "Allah" is not God; Allah is not YHVH.
So whether a socialist or an Islamist, there is still no god in either, but that one of the world. 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4 says, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Americans, believers and nonbelievers alike, are suffering the consequences of not only choosing a godless man to be president, but also a multitude of godless men and women to Congress. The same has happened on down the line in state and local governments. Separation of church and state, they hail it. Its obvious it isn't working. It is time for a change.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
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The Good News Corner
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The Good News Corner:
Sobriety, Spirituality Linked for Teens in Treatment
Study finds increased spirituality in teens associated with abstinence, increased positive social behaviors and reduced narcissism.
(Akron, OH)-If the spirit is truly willing, perhaps the flesh is not so weak, after all. Increased spirituality in teens undergoing substance abuse treatment is associated with greater likelihood of abstinence (as measured by toxicology screens), increased positive social behaviors, and reduced narcissism, according to a study by researchers from The University of Akron, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and Baylor University.
The study-part of CWRU's "Project SOS" and "Helping Others Live Sober" research initiatives, two ongoing studies of adolescent addiction-explored changes in daily spiritual experiences of 195 substance-dependent adolescents, ages 14-18, who were court-referred for treatment at New Directions, the largest adolescent residential treatment facility in Northeast Ohio.
New Directions provides a range of evidence-based therapies, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, group therapies, and relapse prevention and aftercare. New Directions uses the 12-step recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous, which does not require participants to hold any particular religious beliefs.
Researchers measured "daily spiritual experiences" independently of "religious beliefs and behaviors." Daily spiritual experiences are not bound to any particular religious tradition and include reported feelings of a divine presence, inner peace or harmony, and selflessness and benevolence toward others.
. . . "The key message is that changes in spiritual experiences are associated with better outcomes, including lower toxicology, reduced self-centeredness, and higher levels of helping others," Lee says. The study, one of the few involving teens participating in Alcoholics Anonymous, "supports the AA theory of addiction-which views self-centeredness as a root cause-and suggests that this approach would be helpful in designing treatment options for adolescents," Johnson adds.
The adolescents' capacity to become more spiritual, and overcome self-centeredness, evidences the malleability of personality and belief orientation, Lee says.
[Breaking Christian News]
To read the full report, please go here.
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Worship With Us Today!
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"Empty Me"
by Jeremy Camp
"Holy Fire burn away my desire anything that is not of You. I want more of You and less of me . . . .Fill me with You."
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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.
> > > OPTION ONE: AboutJesus.net
Go here!
> > > OPTION TWO: The Great Commission Map!
Go here!
