Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
"A National Prayer Alliance"
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
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The Daily Brief:
"Praying for All in Authority"
Thursday, April 21, 2016
"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided." (Exodus 14:21)
Celebrate Passover:
"Messiah in Passover" . . .
including wonderful Hebraic worship! Go here!!
Happy Passover (Pesach) Tomorrow Night!
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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. Police finalize security preparations for Passover in Jerusalem's Old City - Jerusalem Post
Two days after an unsolved bus explosion in Jerusalem, and amid protracted tensions over what many are deeming a third intifada, police said on Wednesday that nothing is being left to chance when tens of thousands of Jews and Christians gather in the Old City for Passover.
Over 3,500 police officers from a range of units - including Counterterrorism, Undercover, and Special Patrol - will be deployed throughout the capital, with an emphasis on the Old City, where large-scale ceremonies will be held. (Read more)
2. Netanyahu to Putin: Golan Heights is a red line, must remain a part of Israel - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated in Moscow alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday what he said on the Golan Heights on Sunday: the strategic plateau will always remain part of Israel.
Netanyahu, who flew for the day to Moscow for a meeting with Putin, said during statements in the Kremlin beforehand that "we we cannot return to the days and times when our villages were shot at from the Golan Heights, therefore, whether within the framework of an agreement or without one, the Golan Heights will remain part of [Israeli] sovereign territory."
Netanyahu said earlier this week that his comments about the Golan Heights were necessary following a draft for a Syrian peace agreement circulated by the UN special envoy which called, in its very first clause, for Israel to return the Golan to Syria. The premier said that he had come to Moscow with one central goal: "to strengthen the security coordination between us to prevent mistakes, misunderstandings and unnecessary accidents" between Israeli and Russian forces operating in Syria. (Read more)
3. PA continues to advance UNSC resolution against Israel - Jerusalem Post
The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday denied that it has postponed its effort to seek a UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to construction in the settlements.
The PA said that it was going ahead with its plan to obtain the resolution, but did not say when it would do so.
The PA Foreign Ministry said that the Palestinians were containing their consultations with Arab and "friendly" countries, as well as regional parties, about the proposed resolution. (Read more)
4. PM: IDF to keep operating in West Bank areas under full PA control - Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the IDF would continue to operate in Area A of the West Bank, which is officially under full Palestinian Authority security and civilian control.
The majority of Palestinians live in Area A, mostly within city centers, which has been under complete PA administration as per the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Netanyahu said Wednesday after discussing the issue with the security cabinet that the IDF would maintain the right to operate in Area A according to "operational needs." (Read more)
5. Shin Bet apprehends Jewish terror cell targeting Palestinians - Israel Hayom
The Shin Bet security agency, together with the Israel Police, has exposed a cell of Jewish terrorists who committed acts of violence against Palestinians across Judea and Samaria in 2015, the agency announced Wednesday. The cell's exposure prevented a number of serious attacks that could have resulted in murder, the Shin Bet said.
In a statement issued after a gag order placed on the investigation was lifted, the Shin Bet said that during the second half of 2015, six members of the cell committed a number of attacks, chiefly arson against Palestinian homes and vehicles. Two of the attacks involved setting fire to Palestinian homes while their inhabitants were inside. (Read more)
6. Comparing Israel to Nazis, Arab MK refuses to attend Holocaust memorial - Times of Israel
Arab Israeli lawmaker MK Hanin Zoabi of the Joint (Arab) List on Wednesday declined an invitation to participate in a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony, citing the "alarming similarities" between Nazi Germany and current Israeli policies toward Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.
In a letter to event organizers, the firebrand politician said though she respects the memory of Holocaust victims, Israel's teaching and memorializing of the Jewish genocide is "selective and manipulative." (Read more)
7. PM threatens to fire Education Minister Bennett - YNET News
An unprecedented confrontation broke out in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning between the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the chairman of Bayit Yehudi, Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
The minister became angry at the fact that IDF soldiers entering Area A was not on the meeting's agenda. He asked Netanyahu for clarification on this, and he claimed that it had been agreed that the item would be discussed in the cabinet meeting.
According to sources present at the event, he prime minister chided Bennett, "You don't set anything here," at the peak of their disagreement. Netanyahu then allegedly threatened to fire Bennett. (Read more)
8. Israel provides intelligence to Jordan and Egypt for fight against Islamic State - JNS.org
Israel is providing intelligence assistance to Jordan and Egypt in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, a senior Israeli military officer said on Wednesday.
"Egypt fights the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula. Jordan is terrified by the presence of the Islamic State in Jordan's cities and towns. And we try to work with them in order to contribute something to their security," Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan, deputy commander of the IDF, told reporters from Israel's Foreign Press Association on Wednesday. (Read more)
9. Jordanian MPs urge government to recall ambassador to Israel - Jerusalem Post
A group of Jordanian MPs signed Tuesday a petition demanding that the government return the ambassador to Tel Aviv, in protest of Israel's ''boorish policy against Palestinians."
The petition, addressed to Jordanian Speaker of Parliament, Atef Tarawneh, was signed by 14 members of parliament. (Read more)
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The Daily Brief
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1. Russian envoy to NATO warns US over Baltic Sea incident involving destroyer - Fox News
Russia's ambassador to NATO accused the U.S. Wednesday of trying to intimidate Moscow by sailing a Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea, and vowed Russia would respond to future incidents with "all necessary measures."
Alexander Grushko spoke following a meeting of the NATO-Russia council in Brussels, the first in nearly two years. The meeting, which involved Grushko and ambassadors from NATO's 28 member states, ran over its allotted time by about 90 minutes, but produced no major breakthroughs.
"It's better to talk than not to talk," Grushko told reporters, before adding that relationships between NATO and Russia would not improve "without real steps on NATO's side to downgrade military activity in the area adjacent to the Russian Federation." (Read more)
- Lord God, there is a saying that goes . . . "consider the source." With this report, we do consider the source, and find it to be most suspicious. Lord God, we ask that You grant our leaders in the White House and the Pentagon unusual wisdom and skill in dealing with Russia - a nation that has not always been our friend. Lord, we pray that You will protect Your people against any action by Russia in this tense situation. We plead the Blood of Jesus over our military..
- "I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war." (Psalm 120:7)
2. NATO security chiefs warn of ISIS plan for nuclear attack on Europe- Jerusalem Post
Islamic State terrorists are plotting to carry out biological and nuclear attack on Europe warned NATO security experts on Wednesday according to reports by the Telegraph. NATO security chiefs told participants of the Security and Counter Terror Conference in London that there is a 'justified concern' that Islamic State militants are actively working to obtain nuclear, radiological and biological materials. (Read more)
- Lord as the threat of Islamic terror attacks continues across the earth, we pray the You will rise up against them to not only protect the people, but that You would reveal yourself as the one true Living God.
- "Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 38:23)
3. U.S. top court rules Iran bank must pay 1983 bomb victims - Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.
The court's 6-2 ruling dealt a setback to Iran's central bank, finding that the U.S. Congress did not usurp the authority of American courts by passing a 2012 law stating that the frozen funds should go toward satisfying a $2.65 billion judgment won by the families against Iran in U.S. federal court in 2007. (Read more)
- Father God, we rejoice at this good news! Praise the Lord for this just decision in Jesus' name, amen and amen.
- "It is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity." (Proverbs 21:15)
4. Rep. Joe Pitts on Fetal Tissue Industry: 'This Is the Amazon.com of Baby Body Parts' - CNS News
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) expressed outrage Wednesday at an "absolutely repulsive" industry that allowed abortion clinics to profit from the sale of aborted baby body parts to fetal tissue procurement businesses. (Read more)
- Father we can only repent in dust and ashes for this shedding of innocent blood. We ask that You stop the fetal tissue industry in its tracks - especially after the government has attacked and tried to destroy those who filmed it.
- "O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and heart, let me see Your vengeance upon them." (Jeremiah 11:20a,b)
5a. New Elizabethkingia cluster found in Illinois - CNN
A new cluster of Elizabethkingia infection, previously rarely seen in humans, has been found in Illinois, health officials said Wednesday. Testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the Elizabethkingia anophelis infection in 10 Illinois residents . . . Six of those individuals have died. (Read more)
5b. Zika threatens TWO BILLION people across the world - Daily Mail
More than two billion people are at risk of Zika virus, experts warn, as they reveal a new map that indicates those areas at greatest risk. The southeastern US, including much of Texas to Florida, have ideal conditions for the virus to spread. (Read more)
- Lord as these newly discovered diseases begin to spread, we bind them and command them to stop in the Name of Jesus. We loose the Blood of Jesus against them and say this far and no farther!
- "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)
6. Japan faces fresh earthquake panic as 6.1 magnitude tremor hits coast near Fukushima nuclear plant - Mirror UK
Japan was plunged into fresh panic today as a 6.1 magnitude tremor hit the northern coast - the third major earthquake within a week. The tremors struck near the northern island on Honshu around 60 miles southeast on Sendai. To the dismay of rattled survivors, the latest quake happened close to the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster - which saw 15,000 killed in March 2011. (Read more)
- Lord, we ask for mercy over Japan, Ecuador, and all of the places where these major quakes have been occurring. Father, please use this as an opportunity to turn hearts toward You. We pray protection over the Fukushima site, and ask that no further contamination occur in that area.
- "All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:8)
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The Daily Jot
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Thursday, April 21, 2016
Rights and leadership of a prophetic people
In the days of Samson, there was no king in Israel. There arose idolatry, sexual promiscuity, murder, rape, famine, and war. These accounts in Judges 16-21 demonstrate what a lack of leadership brings to a nation. No moral compass, no commitment to law-God's or man's, reaps the results that we are seeing in our society today. Judges 17:6 says, "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." This is repeated in Judges 21:25, "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." When there is a moral vacuum of leadership in a nation, a state, a community, people do what is right in their own eyes.
A lot is found in the Holy Scriptures about man doing his own thing and thinking it is just and right. Proverbs has many verses about it. Here are some: Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death"; Proverbs 12:15 says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkens unto counsel is wise"; Proverbs 21:12, says, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD ponders the hearts" meaning that men think their way is right, but God weighs their very motives. In a vacuum of moral leadership, everybody does what is right in their own eyes. Fast forward to today, everybody thinks they have the right to do what they want.
In Deuteronomy 12, the Lord is explaining to the people that they must keep His judgments and statutes, go into the land and "utterly destroy" the altars and high places of the pagan gods, and establish one place of worship to the "Lord your God." Verse 12:8 says, "You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes." And He instructs them to follow his statutes. Verse 28 says, "Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when you do that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God."
Some would argue that this is only for the children of Israel. These, however, are the laws of nature and of nature's God, which are the Laws of God. In natural law, there are consequences to every action. An object will fall to the ground when dropped because of gravity. Similarly, there are consequences for breaking the natural laws that cannot be seen, but are established by God. A vacuum of moral leadership allows for man to grant rights, which are right in his own eyes based on his own mortal standard. But how are they just, if they are man-made? Only the rights to man granted by God can meet a just standard. And only by following God's laws will it go right for people and nations. We need moral leadership, that holds accountability to God's standards. This begins in the House of God. Let us repent and so begin anew.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
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A Passover Message from AIPAC
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A Passover Message from AIPAC
Tomorrow evening, Jews around the world will celebrate Passover by gathering with friends and family to retell the liberation and exodus of ancient Israelites from Egypt.
Recalling this journey of the Jewish people from slavery to redemption also offers an opportunity to recognize the enormous privileges we all share as free Americans-in particular, our freedoms to freely exercise religious convictions, peaceably assemble, and petition our government.
By working with AIPAC, you help strengthen two countries that support the very values celebrated each Passover season.
At this joyous time, we also are reminded of the forces which threaten those values and endanger our future.
When our ally, Israel, faces threats from above, your work with AIPAC and Congress helps secure funding for air defense systems like Iron Dome, Arrow and David's Sling. These vital programs also benefit us here at home, as we saw just this week when the U.S. Army tested an Iron Dome missile on American soil for the first time.
When Israel faces threats underground, like the Hamas terror tunnel discovered only days ago in southern Israel, your work helps secure funding for technologies that detect them.
FOCUS ON CONGRESS
Today, a growing number of senators has signed a bipartisan letter supporting a new, long-term commitment to Israel's security. That letter is still circulating, and we expect it to close next week with even more signatures.
Today, 90% of the House has pledged bipartisan support for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, through a letter sent to the president last week encouraging direct talks rather than imposed solutions.
Today, Congress maintains vigilance on Iran's dangerous behavior. Just yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld a key provision of an important law enacted in 2012, which supports victims of Iranian terrorism. As a result, the law AIPAC lobbied strongly for-and which passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress-will enable some 1,300 American victims to receive long overdue justice.
These positive developments don't just happen incidentally.
They are the result of hard work to garner strong, bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.
This Passover season, I hope you will join me in celebrating what it means to be American, what it means to stand with Israel, and what it means to work with AIPAC.
Sincerely,
Jeff Mendelsohn,
AIPAC National Outreach Director
[jmendelson@reply.aipac.org]
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The Persecuted Church
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Persecuted Christians Face More Than Just Terrorism in Pakistan
The Easter bombing in Lahore, Pakistan, that killed 70 last month is one of many recent attacks targeting Christians in the country, but terrorism is far from the only threat to the nation's oppressed minority.
A breakaway Taliban faction claimed responsibility for the March 27 attack on a park crowded with families. The group said it specifically targeted Pakistan's Christian community, although most of the victims ended up being Muslims. The same militants took credit for twin bombings of a Christian church in Lahore last year.
Read more
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Classic Hymns
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Songs Our Grandmothers Sang:
WHAT A GATHERING
"The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him." (2 Thessalonians 2:1)
Lyrics
On that bright and golden morning, when the Son of Man shall come, And the radiance of His glory we shall see; When from ev'ry clime and nation He shall call His people home, What a gath'ring of the ransomed that will be!
Refrain
What a gath'ring, what a gath'ring, What a gath'ring of the ransomed in the summer land of love! What a gath'ring, what a gath'ring, Of the ransomed in that happy home above
When the blest, who sleep in Jesus, at His bidding shall arise From the silence of the grave, and from the sea, And with bodies all celestial they shall meet Him in the skies, What a gath'ring and rejoicing there will be!
Refrain
When our eyes behold the city, with its many mansions bright, And its river, calm and restful, flowing free; When the friends that death hath parted shall in bliss again unite, What a gath'ring and a greeting there will be!
Refrain
O the King is surely coming, and the time is drawing nigh, When the blessèd day of promise we shall see; Then the changing "in a moment," "in the twinkling of an eye," And forever in His presence we shall be.
Refrain
Melody
Please go here.
About the Author:
Words: Fanny Crosby, 1887
Music: Ira D. Sankey
About Ira D. Sankey:
As a young man, Sankey served in the American Civil War. He often helped the unit chaplain and led his fellow soldiers in hymn singing. After the war, he joined the Internal Revenue Service, and also worked with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). He became well known as a Gospel singer, and eventually came to the attention of evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody. The two men met at a YMCA convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, in June, 1870. Some months later, Sankey attended his first evangelistic meeting with Moody, and resigned from government service shortly thereafter.
In October 1871, Sankey and Moody were in the middle of a revival meeting when the Great Chicago Fire began. The two men barely escaped the conflagration with their lives. Sankey ended up watching the city burn from a rowboat far out on Lake Michigan.
Sankey composed about 1,200 songs in his lifetime. He was blind from glaucoma the last five years of his life, and no doubt found a kindred spirit in his friend and music making partner, blind hymnist Fanny Crosby.
[Footnote from Sara Ballenger, President, Capitol Hill Prayer Partners]
Another little-known but true fact about the life of Ira D. Sankey is that my own great-grandfather, Rev. Matthew M. Parkhurst, traveled the world as a praise leader and an evangelist with Charles Moody and Ira Sankey during this time, and he, too, was in the midst of the Chicago fire!
It is said that Rev. Parkhurst was the first preacher to minister to the people of Chicago, just as the flames began to die. He preached from the back of a milk wagon, and exhorted each one to take courage, even as his own wife and four children had also perished in those flames!
I am very proud of the life of my own great-grandfather, and ask our Lord to enable me to continue sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ as he did, whenever and however I can. Amen!
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Signs and Wonders
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With Cyclone Fantala, the Indian Ocean experiences its strongest storm on record
"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea." (Luke 21:25)
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The Good News Corner
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Thousands Gather for Revival in the Heart of Egypt, Despite Threats
"By God's grace, I pray this event will serve to fan the flame of spiritual revival that is already occurring in this region." -Dr. Michael Youssef
(Egypt)-[ASSIST News] Despite the threat of government protests, thousands of people went to hear Dr. Michael Youssef preach at Kasr el Dobara Church in Cairo, Egypt, this past weekend, with hundreds of people giving their lives to Christ during this three-day evangelistic event.
Dr. Youssef, founder of global outreach ministry Leading The Way, was born in Egypt, and he returned to Kasr el Dobara Church, the largest evangelical church in Egypt, with the hope of encouraging a spiritual renewal there.
Read more
