Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
"A National Prayer Alliance"
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
chpp@patriot.net
The Daily Brief:
"Praying for All in Authority"
Thursday, February 19, 2015
DAY NINE
"Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me." (Psalm 31:2)
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The Daily Brief
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1. Libyan Terrorists Take Dozens of Egyptians Hostage as Revenge for Airstrikes - The Gateway Pundit
There are reports that at least 35 Egyptians have been kidnapped in what appears to be a round-up at various locations in areas controlled by Ansar Al-Sharia and IS.
The Libya Herald has been told that starting this morning (Wed.), in the wake of the attack on Derna by warplanes from Egypt, Egyptian nationals, many of them it seems farm workers, have been picked up by gunmen. The first reports were that seven men had been seized, but by mid-afternoon, it was being said that at least 35 had been reported missing. (Read more)
- Father we pray for Your mercy over these men. We ask for deliverance and peace for them, and comfort for their families in this time of great darkness.
- "Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; seek out his wickedness until You find none." (Psalm 9:15)
2. Obama says world should address 'grievances' that terrorists exploit
- Fox News
President Obama defended his administration's approach to the terror threat at a White House summit Wednesday, standing by claims that groups like the Islamic State do not represent Islam -- as well as assertions that job creation could help combat extremism.
Obama, addressing the Washington audience on the second day of the summit, said the international community needs to address "grievances" that terrorists exploit, including economic and political issues.
He stressed that poverty alone doesn't cause terrorism, but "resentments fester" and extremism grows when millions of people are impoverished. (Read more)
- Father as it seems that this President has lost his mind, we pray the You will turn his heart as you turned the heart of Nebuchadnezzar.
- "And at the end of time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever." (Daniel 4:34)
3. Oliver North: Obama Refused to Help Jordan, Egypt With Intelligence on ISIS Targets - Fox News
In an appearance on On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Monday night, Lt. Col Oliver North (Ret.) claimed that the Egyptian government asked the US for targeting intelligence on ISIS targets in Libya after ISIS beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians, but the Obama Administration refused the request. North went on to claim that the Regime also refused to give Jordan intelligence on ISIS targets in Syria after their pilot was burned alive in a cage. (View here)
- Lord we pray that if our President will not help them, that You will. Let rivers of revelation come to those who fight against the murderers. Let them know that it is You, so that their hearts will be changed.
- "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament. . ." (Daniel 12:3a)
4. Emails reveal sensitive info left exposed after US pullout from Yemen
- Fox News
Internal State Department emails reviewed by Fox News reveal that as security unraveled in Yemen, U.S. personnel were scrambling to finalize their exit plan and were so uncertain about what would happen that procedures for safeguarding sensitive information were bypassed -- with permission from Washington.
The unclassified emails reveal staff on the ground in Yemen, as well as senior department executives in Washington, were concerned the evacuation might go bad and left a communication network running at the embassy in case staff had to return. The emails point to uncertainty on the ground amid fast-moving developments, even as the Obama administration downplayed any irregularities.(Read more)
- Father we pray that You will cover this information with Your power and with blinders so that the terrorists will not be able to understand it.
- "And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door." (Genesis 19:11)
5. Valerie Jarrett: Obama's actual war advisor pushing for Gitmo closing
- The Examiner
News regarding one of the Taliban detainees released in exchange for suspected deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has revealed the lengths to which President Barack Obama's top advisor is allowed to go in dictating how the U.S. will fight -- or not fight -- Islamic terrorism. While Obama and his subordinates practically swore an oath that the five Guantanamo terrorists turned over to Qatar didn't pose a threat to the homeland or U.S. interests overseas, news of one of those released terrorists having contact with suspected jihadists had the White House playing verbal gymnastics on Thursday and Friday.
"None of these individuals has returned to the battlefield. None of them is allowed to travel outside Qatar. And none has engaged in physical violence," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
However, according to an inside source in the nation's capital, the trade for an Army deserter, the hesitancy to take stronger action against the Iranians, and the refusal to use the term Islamic terrorists are but three of the issues upon which Obama's political mentor Valerie Jarrett has the final word, despite her never being elected by the American people and never being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. According to the Examiner's inside, anonymous source, a top law enforcement official, Jarrett doesn't even have a job title nor does she possess a written job description. Yet, the entire federal defense and law enforcement agencies are working hard to shut down the U.S. terrorist detention center known as Gitmo because she's offended by its existence. (Read more)
- Father we take authority over this shadow government that exists in the White House. We loose Your power against it, and pray that every plan of the enemy will fall.
- "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." (Isaiah 54:17)
6. U.S. Expects to Quadruple the Number of Syrian Refugees Brought Here - CNSNews.com
The United States has "a long tradition of welcoming refugees," and it expects to welcome thousands more of them from Syria in 2015 and 2016, despite concerns about foreign fighters, the State Department said. "The United States has admitted 524 Syrians since 2011. We're likely to admit 1,000 to 2,000 Syrian refugees for permanent resettlement in Fiscal Year 2015 and a somewhat higher number, though still in the low thousands, in Fiscal Year 2016," spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.
But at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee last week, Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said it would be a "huge mistake" to bring refugees from Syria and Turkey into the United States where they "could potentially be radicalized." At the Feb. 11 hearing, McCaul said he's written a letter to National Security Adviser Susan Rice expressing his concern about refugees from Syria and Turkey:
"I've been over there and I've seen them. Yeah, most of them are women and children, but there are male actors that concern me. I think this would be a huge mistake if we bring in these (refugees) into the United States that could potentially be radicalized...We're not only trying to keep these guys, the foreign fighters, out, but under this would be a -- a federally sanctioned welcome party, if you will, to potential terrorists in the United States."
Nicholas Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told McCaul that the Syrian refugees are "clearly a population of concern." Rasmussen and two other witnesses told the committee that a rigorous vetting and screening process is applied to all refugees in an attempt to identify possible connections to foreign terrorist groups. (Read more)
- Lord this administration is allowing a flood of Moslems into our nation. We ask that You either convert their hearts immediately, or stop them from coming here.
- "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19b)
7. Pols warn of DHS shutdown doomsday - but most would stay on the job - Fox News
With those charges come sky-is-falling predictions about the dire consequences of a funding lapse. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., in blaming Republicans for the predicament, warned there are "ghoulish, grim predators out there who would love to kill us or do us harm." She said "we should not be dilly-dallying and playing parliamentary ping pong with national security." Mikulski suggested a shutdown would "close down ports up and down the East Coast," because funding for the Coast Guard would be frozen.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., warns a partial DHS shutdown imperils the security of the entire country at a time of rising terrorism.
But the rhetoric doesn't quite match the reality. If the department loses funding at the end of the month because Congress fails to pass a budget bill, most DHS employees actually would continue to report to work, because they are considered "essential" employees. (Read more)
- Lord give your people the discernment to know what is true and what is not, that we will refuse to listen to foolish rhetoric. We pray that You will stand guard over America, for we do not depend on man's economies, but Yours.
- "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7)
8. Lying in the military is common, Army War College study says
- Washington Post
A new study by Army War College professors found that not only is lying common in the military, the armed forces themselves may be inadvertently encouraging it. The study, released Tuesday, was conducted by retired Army officers and current War College professors Leonard Wong and Stephen J. Gerras. They found that untruthfulness is "surprisingly common in the U.S. military even though members of the profession are loath to admit it." (Read more)
- Father we pray that You will have mercy on our military, and create conviction in their hearts for lying.
- "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8b)
9. UCLA says 179 people were exposed to 'superbug', 7 infected - Fox News
A total of 179 patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center were exposed to antibiotic-resistant carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, during endoscopic procedures between October and January, the university said in a statement. The patients who may have been infected are being sent home-testing kits, which the university will analyze. Similar outbreaks of CRE have been reported around the nation. They are difficult to treat because some varieties are resistant to most known antibiotics. (Read more)
- Father we bind this "superbug" and in the name of Jesus Christ, and we command it to cease from its encroachment. We apply the Blood of Jesus, the Cross of Christ against this sickness.
- " . . . whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)
10. Obama Appoints Terrorist Supporter to Head Up Counterterrorism Messaging - FrontPage Magazine
The Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, a component of the U.S. State Department, will spearhead the new campaign to fight the ISIS propaganda machine.
Rashad Hussain will replace Alberto Fernandez, the center's director, according to The Times.
In September 2004, Hussain played a role in the Muslim Students Association's annual conference, which was founded by Muslim Brotherhood in 1963 and is also listed as one the group's fronts in its own documents. Since then, many of its nearly 600 college chapters have engaged in extremism and the group closely collaborates with the other Brotherhood fronts . . .
At this conference, Hussain spoke alongside the daughter of Professor Sami Al-Arian, who was convicted of being a key leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group and later admitted to being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hussain also defended Al-Arian and described his prosecution as being a "politically-motivated persecution." (Read more)
- Father God, with our tax money and within this new division in our Department of State, we can see that only insanity can follow as this administration continues to call good evil, and evil good. The news is getting worse by the day, Abba, so we simply ask for grace to survive these perilous times. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen and amen.
- "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound . . ." (Romans 5:20)
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The Middle East in Focus
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"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you." (Isaiah 54:10)
1. Despite tensions, US-Israel defense relations stay solid - Times of Israel
WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week) - American-Israeli relations may be enduring a challenging period due to the political drama surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming speech to Congress, but you'd never know it from the recent confirmation hearing for defense secretary nominee Ashton Carter. Carter's appearance on February 4 before the Senate Armed Services Committee was free of the sharp exchanges over Israel featured in the confirmation hearing of the current defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, who as a Republican senator had been sharply critical of Israel and the pro-Israel lobby.
Carter, a former deputy secretary of defense whose views on Iran are believed to be more hawkish than those of President Barack Obama, mentioned Israel only once during the hearing - in response to a question from Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on the danger posed by a nuclear-armed Iran. "Well, if you take at face value what they say, they have the ambition to wipe off the map other states in the region, namely Israel," Carter said. "They have a long history of behaving in a disruptive way, of supporting terrorism, of trying to undermine other governments operating around the world. So I think they give abundant evidence that they're not the kind of people you want to have having nuclear weapons." (Read more)
2. Italy to vote on recognition of Palestinian state -Times of Israel
The Italian parliament was set to vote on a non-binding bill calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state, following similar initiatives last year by France, Britain, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The Swedish government formally recognized a Palestinian state in October.
Italian lawmakers may vote on the motion put forth by MPs from the Left Ecology Freedom and the Socialist Party as soon as Thursday. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party was reportedly ready to back the initiative, according to the International Business Times. The bill urges the government "to recognize the state of Palestine so that negotiations to reach a two-state solution are restarted." (Read more)
3. US admits withholding some Iran talks info from Israel -Times of Israel
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration said Wednesday it is withholding from Israel some sensitive details of its nuclear negotiations with Iran because it is worried that Israeli government officials have leaked information to try to scuttle the talks - and will continue to do so.
In extraordinary admissions that reflect increasingly strained ties between the US and Israel, the White House and State Department said they were not sharing everything from the negotiations with the Israelis and complained that Israeli officials had misrepresented what they had been told in the past. Meanwhile, senior US officials privately blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself for "changing the dynamic" of previously robust information-sharing by politicizing it. (Read more)
4. Anti-Semitism now 'fashionable' in the US, warn experts -Times of Israel
NEW YORK - Not a week seems to go by without an anti-Semitic attack in the United States - either verbal or violent - against Jews.
"Unfortunately anti-Semitism has become fashionable again," Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president for the New York Board of Rabbis, told The Times of Israel. "It's not a big deal to hate the Jews. The first group that gets attacked is the Jews." This week, a Boise woman attacked her Jewish neighbor and stood on her neck until she said she believes in Jesus. Also this week, swastikas were spray painted on some 30 homes in Madison, Wisconsin.
In January, pro-Palestinian protestors stormed a New York City Council meeting that was discussing a resolution commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. And later in the month in California, two swastikas were found spray painted onto the wall and at the doorstep of the Jewish Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity at UC Davis. (Read more)
5. Netanyahu rebuffs report Israel kept in dark on nuke talks -Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Israel is aware of the details of the negotiations between Iran and world powers on its nuclear program, as reports surfaced indicating that the US was leaving Jerusalem out of the loop on the ongoing talks.
European officials confirmed that the US State Department cautioned them against providing Israel with sensitive information on the current round of negotiations with Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program, The New York Times reported Tuesday. (Read more)
6. Biden to be in Latin America during PM's Congress speech -Times of Israel
Vice President Joe Biden will head to Latin America the first week of March, putting him out of the country while Israel's prime minister is to address Congress.
Biden's office disclosed the destination Wednesday. Biden and his wife, Jill, plan to attend the presidential inauguration in Uruguay and then head to Guatemala for meetings on the violence that forced Central American children to flee for US borders last year. (Read more)
7. UN 'alarmed' by Hamas rearming -Times of Israel
A senior UN official warned Wednesday that the lack of available funds for the reconstruction of Gaza and the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants could lead to a renewal of hostilities in the coastal enclave.
During a Security Council briefing on the Middle East, Jeffery Feltman, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, also expressed "alarm" at reports of Hamas efforts to re-arm. He called the terror group's test-firing of rockets, and its attempts to smuggle in materials for potential weapons use, "dangerous developments." (Read more)
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The Daily Jot
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How the president sees it--no war with Islam
The president's propaganda summit on Countering Violent Extremism at least set the record straight on who we are not at war with--Islam. The "president" said in his summit-closing remarks: "So I want to be very clear about how I see it...And we are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam." He also lumps all violent extremists together by saying that "inexcusable acts of violence have been committed against people of different faiths, by people of different faiths--which is, of course, a betrayal of all our faiths. It's not unique to one group, or to one geography, or one period of time." Two "presidential" takeaways: Islam is misrepresented by terrorists and violence is not unique to Islam.
His basic premise from his own words is: "Al Qaeda and ISIL and groups like it are desperate for legitimacy. They try to portray themselves as religious leaders--holy warriors in defense of Islam. That's why ISIL presumes to declare itself the "Islamic State." And they propagate the notion that America--and the West, generally--is at war with Islam. That's how they recruit. That's how they try to radicalize young people. We must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie. Nor should we grant these terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek. They are not religious leaders--they're terrorists."
He then recognizes that while not all Muslims accept the violence of the Islamic State, most believe Islam is being picked on. He said, "The reality--which, again, many Muslim leaders have spoken to--is that there's a strain of thought that doesn't embrace ISIL's tactics, doesn't embrace violence, but does buy into the notion that the Muslim world has suffered historical grievances--sometimes that's accurate--does buy into the belief that so many of the ills in the Middle East flow from a history of colonialism or conspiracy; does buy into the idea that Islam is incompatible with modernity or tolerance, or that it's been polluted by Western values."
While the president's view of Islam is disconnected from reality--delusional--he makes a few valid points. A little bit of truth makes a better lie. American leaders like the Clintons, Bush's, and the "president" all seem to ignore the contextual verses of the Koran that instruct the beheading, burning to death, dismembering and torturing of those who either do not believe or will not follow Islam. The Islamic State is not perverting Islam. It is Islam. Islam's nearly 1,400 year history of violence proves itself. To think otherwise is foolhardy. Proverbs 14:8 says, "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit." In this case there is both the appearance of lack of understanding, and deceit.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
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News in Alabama
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Alabama Supreme Court to rule on same-sex marriage
Late Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that probate judges who have been issuing marriage licenses to gay couples must respond to an emergency petition brought by Liberty Counsel and two traditional-values groups.
Initial responses are due Wednesday, and additional briefs are due Friday, said the order.
The Alabama Policy Institute and Alabama Citizens Action Program want the state court to order the probate judges to cease and desist their issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"I am pleased that the Alabama Supreme Court has ordered an expedited briefing and is proceeding on a fast track," Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said Friday. (Washington Times, 2/15/15) Read more.
- Father God, we ask You to enter in with Your mighty arm and cause the law regarding same-sex marriage in the State of Alabama to be upheld. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen and amen.
- "For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones." (Proverbs 2:6-8)
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Obama's Losing The Debate
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Obama's Losing The Debate
If Obama's politically correct nonsense sounds idiotic to you, take heart. He is starting to lose folks on the left, too. We've told you about Bill Maher's recent comments on radical Islam. Now even some talking heads in the media are breaking ranks.
MSNBC's Chris Matthews says that we are being "morally humiliated" by Obama's weak response to ISIS.
Left-wing loud mouth Ed Schultz understands that "it's a religious war."
NBC's Chuck Todd said, "Look, it comes across as if they are trying to be so politically correct that they're losing focus on what the problem is."
And MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell dismissed the president's summit on violent extremism as "more of a dog and pony show." (Gary Bauer)
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The Good News Corner
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Despite Dreadful Persecution, Christians in Iran "Excited and Smiling" as the Nation Becomes One of the Fastest Growing Christian Populations in the World
"When I talk to them about Christ and tell them how God loves us, they become so excited and they just keep smiling. Pray that God will give us strength and power in our faith because Christian faith in Iran is not easy. It's difficult, dangerous and risky. And pray for salvation to come-that all Iranians will be saved." -Iranian Evangelist
(The Middle East)-[CBN News] Iran's new president has promised to protect the country's Christians, but attacks are intensifying.
As they work to survive, CBN News was given an exclusive, rare view that few outsiders witness: a secret meeting of new Iranian Believers in a neighboring country, not far from the border.
The brand new followers of Christ received Bible teaching and participated in their very first communion.
After a few songs and prayers, several were baptized. Then they returned to more late-night Bible study and training before returning to Iran.
Secret Believers For the first time, these Christians learned how to look up and memorize Scripture. They're Kurds, former Muslims who converted to Christianity.
If their identities and location were revealed to secret police, Iranian agents would have come to arrest them. Some may have been killed for being apostates.
One former Muslim-we called Daoud-knows the dangers all too well. Before he became a Christian, Iranian police caught him eating a sandwich instead of fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
That violated Sharia law. A judge ordered him to receive 70 lashes, a punishment similar to that imposed by the Taliban.
"I was tied down. A mullah held the Koran in his hand and recited a verse and then a soldier beat my back with a cable," he explained.
"It made me feel deep hatred against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran. All I did was grab a sandwich and eat it. Why is that a sin?" he asked.
Read More
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Signs and Wonders
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Climatologist: 30-Year Cold Spell Strikes Earth
With nasty cold fronts thrusting an icy and early winter across the continental U.S. - along with last winter described by USA Today as "one of the snowiest, coldest, most miserable on record" - climatologist John L. Casey thinks the weather pattern is here to stay for decades to come. In fact, Casey, a former space shuttle engineer and NASA consultant, is out with the provocative book "Dark Winter: How the Sun Is Causing a 30-Year Cold Spell," which warns that a radical shift in global climate is underway, and that Al Gore and other environmentalists have it completely wrong. The earth, he says, is cooling, and cooling fast. And unless the scientific community and political leaders act soon, cold, dark days are ahead.
Casey says the evidence is clear that the earth is rapidly growing colder because of diminished solar activity. He says trends indicate we could be headed for colder temperatures similar to those seen in the late 1700s and early 1800s when the sun went into a "solar minimum" - a phenomenon with significantly reduced solar activity, including solar flares and sunspots. If he's right, that would be very bad news.
"Dark Winter" posits that a 30-year period of cold has already begun. Frigid temperatures, and food shortages that inevitably result, could lead to riots and chaos. Casey tells Newsmax, "All you have to do is trust natural cycles, and follow the facts; and that leads you to the inevitable conclusion that the sun controls the climate, and that a new cold era has begun." Casey is president of the Space and Science Research Corp., an Orlando, Fla., climate research firm. His new book debunks global warming orthodoxy. For over a decade, he reports, the planet's oceans have been cooling. And since 2007, the atmospheric temperature has been cooling as well. "The data is pretty solid," Casey says. "If you look at the 100-year global temperature chart, you look at the steep drop off we've had since 2007, it's the steepest drop in global temperatures in the last hundred years."
So how can the media and scientific elites make a case for global warming when it's actually cooling? Casey suggests climate-change theorists have simply wedded themselves to the wrong theory, namely, that global temperatures respond to the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Any scientist suggesting otherwise is castigated as a heretic, though there are other prominent scientists who support Casey. (Newsmax) Read full article here.
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Today's Birthdays
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Today's Birthdays on the Hill
Today we wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to:
Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY)
God bless you!
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Worship With Us Today!
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Worship With Us Today!
"In Christ Alone"
Worship Here
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Two Daily Conference Calls
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Two Daily Conference Calls
TO PRAY IN THE NIGHT:
Please note that the national prayer call continues every night with different leaders from different intercession ministries each night.
These prayer calls will be held nightly at 9PM EST. Please join us by calling 1-857-232-0156; access 377054. Please sign on 15 minutes early so we can be ready to pray at 9PM.
This call sponsored by Breaker of Dawn has been going on since Sept 9, 2014 and every night it is a Psalm 133 call with different ministries joining together and most every night there are intercessors that represent our entire nation.
For details, go here.
TO PRAY IN THE DAY:
A second conference call is now available daily (except on Sundays) at 11:30 a.m. EST. Sponsored by the Salt and Light Council, the focus of the daily "Repentance and Reformation" calls is to pray for all in authority.
You are cordially invited to join these calls by dialing 712-432-1699/ Access code 338083#
To learn more, please visit their website at:
http://randrprayer.org
> > > Day and night, in these perilous times, let's join forces on these calls to cry out unto God for His mercy to be shown to America and to Israel. Thank you!
