of a hundred
circling camps,
They have
builded Him an altar
in the
evening dews and damps;
I can read
His righteous sentence
by the dim
and flaring lamps:
His day is
marching on.
He is coming like the glory
of the morning on the wave,
He is Wisdom to the mighty,
He is Succour to the brave,
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul
of Time His slave,
Our
God is marching on.
Excerpted from
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic",
Julia Ward Howe, 1862
Howe's lyrics, set to William Steffe's
already-existing music, was first published in the
Atlantic Monthly in 1862 and quickly became one of
the most popular songs of the Union during the
American Civil War.
__________________
JERUSALEM DAY
Monday, June 2, 2008
Jerusalem Day (Jerusalem
Unification Day) is an Israeli national holiday
commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and
the reestablishment of Jewish control over the
Old City in 1967. The day is marked by state
ceremonies, memorial services for soldiers who
died in the battle for Jerusalem and parades
through downtown Jerusalem.
(IsraelNN.com) The largest annual gathering of
Jews will be celebrating Jerusalem Unification
Day in a mammoth parade and concert in New York
on Sunday. The parade is the largest Jewish
community parade in the world, with more than
100,000 participants, one million spectators and
millions more on television.
Intercede for spiritual statesmen
and for adherence to biblical revelation and
principles in the formulation and execution of
foreign policy, especially toward Israel and
Jerusalem. Intercede for the revelation of Jesus
as Messiah in the Middle East and for "the peace
of Jerusalem." (Ps 122)
Intercede for our national leaders - that every
decision, action or plan to pressure Israel to
give up land or evacuate its people from any
territory would be frustrated and abandoned. May
God raise up leaders in the United States and
Israel who would support His end-time purposes
for the people of Israel.
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
December 5, 1949
"Twice in the history of our
nation were we driven out of Jerusalem, only
after being defeated in bitter wars by the larger,
stronger forces of Babylon and Rome.
"Our links with Jerusalem today are no less deep
than in the days of Nebuchadnezzar and Titus
Flavius, and when Jerusalem was attacked after the
fourteenth of May 1948, our valiant youngsters
risked their lives for our sacred capital no less
than our forefathers did in the time of the First
and Second Temples.
"A
nation that, for two thousand and five hundred
years, has faithfully adhered to the vow made by the
first exiles by the waters of Babylon not to forget
Jerusalem, will never agree to be separated from
Jerusalem. Jewish Jerusalem will never accept alien
rule after thousands of its youngsters liberated
their historic homeland for the third time,
redeeming Jerusalem from destruction and vandalism."
Excerpted from statements of the Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion
Regarding Moving the Capital of Israel to Jerusalem
December 5, 1949
CIA DIRECTOR
HAYDEN:
AL QAEDA DEFEATED IN IRAQ, SAUDI ARABIA
Pray that
wisdom and strategy be granted to U.S.
commanders in Iraq. Intercede for Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani (Kurdish), Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki (Shiite Muslim), the
Parliament, and all officials-that a form of
good government that is representative of all
Iraqi socio-religious ethnic groups be
established and maintained. Intercede for all
troops deployed and for their families-for
protection, good health and morale. Intercede
for all Christians and churches in Iraq. (1 Tim
2:2)
CIA Director Michael V.
Hayden, in an interview this week, portrayed al-Qaeda
as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia
and on the defensive throughout much of the rest
of the world, including in its presumed haven
along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
In a strikingly upbeat assessment, the CIA chief
cited major gains against al-Qaeda's allies in
the Middle East and an increasingly successful
campaign to destabilize the group's core
leadership. While cautioning that al-Qaeda
remains a serious threat, Hayden said Osama bin
Laden is losing the battle for hearts and minds
in the Islamic world and has largely forfeited
his ability to exploit the Iraq war to recruit
adherents.
Ticking down a list of accomplishments, he said:
"Near strategic defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Near
strategic defeat for al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.
Significant setbacks for al-Qaeda globally - and
here I'm going to use the word 'ideologically' -
as a lot of the Islamic world pushes back on
their form of Islam."
(Washington Post)
WHERE
IS GOD IN WARTIME?
By Chuck Colson
Where is God amidst the horrors of war? How
do soldiers keep their faith in Gods'
goodness amidst the suffering and slaughter
of battle?
Where is God in the midst of
war? Lieutenant Colonel Scott Barnes, a
doctor who treated hundreds of wounded
patients in Iraq, offered an answer to that
question in an email home to family and
friends.
"Some of my colleagues have
wondered out loud," he wrote, "how there can
be a God with all of this suffering. I just
remind them that He might just be right in
some of our hands and working right beside
us.
"Where is God? He is in the
O.R. guiding the hands of the surgeons, He
is in the will of the sergeants helping
organize a blood drive as only they can, He
is in the hearts of the soldiers who
immediately rolled up their sleeves to give
what they had to save a dying brother whom
they don't even know"-or even a captured
enemy. (Townhall 5/26/08)
DISPLACED IRAQIS NUMBER OVER 5
MILLION
Fifteen months after the
U.S. military poured reinforcements into
Iraq's worst battlefields to regain
control, 5.1 million Iraqis are still
uprooted from their homes. About 78,180
- less than 1 percent - had returned by
March 31, according to the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), an
intergovernmental humanitarian group
based in Switzerland.
Up to half of the
displaced are in neighboring countries,
chiefly Jordan and Syria. But these
countries, feeling overwhelmed, have
tightened visa restrictions. Meanwhile,
Iraqis who are refugees in their own
country are feeling the pinch of high
rents, lost jobs and the disruption of
their children's education.
(Washington Times
5/28/08)
FIRST DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
IRAN IS INTO NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES,
URANIUM PROCESSING AND
MISSILE WARHEAD DESIGN
The International
Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna based
its damning new findings partly on
18 intelligence documents and now
accuses Tehran of willful lack of
cooperation. Iran dismissed the
documents as forged or fabricated.
DEBKAfile reports that the documents
came from materials contained in a
laptop stolen from one of the heads
of Iran's nuclear program in Tehran
in late 2006 by Iranian dissidents.
It was passed to the CIA. Despite
this evidence of an ongoing nuclear
weapons program, sixteen U.S.
intelligence agencies, including the
CIA, combined last year to announce
this program was suspended in 2003.
Even the nuclear watchdog's director
Mohammed ElBaradei, who often meets
the Iranians halfway, has concluded
that Iran's nuclear activities are
of "serious concern" and require
"substantial explanations." which
Tehran has refused to offer. (DEBKA
5/27/08)
SOLDIER SUICIDES HIT
HIGHEST RATE - 115 LAST YEAR
Since troubled
relationships rate as a main
trigger for suicides, the
chaplain corps is expanding its
"Strong Bonds" program to teach
troops and families how
to improve relationship-building
skills.
The majority who
committed suicide did not
have known histories of
mental disorders.
Army soldiers
committed suicide in 2007 at the
highest rate on record, and the
toll is climbing ever higher
this year as long war
deployments stretch on. At least
115 soldiers killed themselves
last year, up from 102 the
previous year, the Army said
Thursday.
Nearly a third of
them died at the battlefront -
32 in Iraq and four in
Afghanistan. But 26 percent had
never deployed to either
conflict.
Some common
factors among those who took
their own lives were trouble
with relationships, work
problems and legal and financial
difficulties, officials said.
"We see a lot of things that are
going on in the war which do
contribute - mainly the longtime
and multiple deployments away
from home, exposure to really
terrifying and horrifying
things, the easy availability of
loaded weapons and a force
that's very, very busy right
now," said Col. Elspeth Ritchie
psychiatric consultant to the
Army.
Increasing the
strain on the force last year
was the extension of deployments
to 15 months from 12 months, a
practice ending this year.
The suicide rate
for soldiers was 18.8 per
100,000 last year. The Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention said the suicide rate
for U.S. society overall was
about 11 per 100,000 in 2004.
The military's "Battlemind"
program helps troops and family
members on what to expect before
a deployment and identifies
problems to look for after
homecoming. Officials also
approved the hiring of more than
300 additional psychiatrists,
psychologists and other mental
health professionals.
CATASTROPHES IN CHINA,
BURMA
The number of dead and
missing from the China earthquake surpasses
88,000 and the aftershocks continue.
WORLD VISION, OTHER RELIEF GROUPS BATTLE
DISEASE, CARE FOR TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN
Pray for the staffs and
volunteers of World Vision and other religious,
governmental and non-governmental relief
agencies. They work tirelessly in difficult
conditions to help those who are suffering.
World Vision is continuing to provide urgent
care in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in
Myanmar and the destructive earthquakes that
continue to shake China. Millions of children
and families have been affected by these
devastating disasters. The organization's 600
local staff members continue to struggle to meet
the most urgent needs. Word Vision has already
delivered tons of rice, clean drinking water,
clothing, blankets and tarpaulins in areas hit
hardest by Cyclone Nargis
Their staff is also working to intervene against
another threat - the outbreak of infectious
diseases. In emergency situations, even a minor
illness can lead to widespread loss of life,
especially among the most vulnerable - young
children and the elderly.
"Tens of thousands of children have seen their
homes destroyed, family members die, seen dead
bodies, or are now simply trying to survive in a
terribly harsh post-disaster environment,"
shared a World Vision staffer.
SEVERE WEATHER LEAVES DEATH AND
DESTRUCTION
IN U.S. HEARTLAND
Weather experts say
there could be more destructive storms ahead
because of atmospheric conditions this year
that favor storm formation.
The 2008 hurricane
season starts Sunday
A band of storms stretching from the Texas
Panhandle to Wisconsin has caused death and
destruction in the central United States
during the past few days. At least 7 people
were killed in Iowa and Minnesota by
tornadoes on Sunday. This is the worst storm
season in a decade in the central plains
states.
The worst tornado Sunday hit the town of
Parkersburg, Iowa. Mayor Robert Haylock says
about a third of the town of about 1,000
residents was destroyed. Parkersburg has
been left uninhabitable for the moment.
According to the National Weather Service
more than 100 people have died in tornadoes
this year, the worst toll in a decade, and
there may be many more storms to come.
The U.S. National Weather Service Climate
Prediction Center forecasts six to nine
hurricanes-including as many as five major
hurricanes with wind speeds above 111 miles
(179 kilometers) per hour-this six-month
season in the Atlantic, which officially
begins on Sunday and ends November 30.
(VOA, Time, Scientific American)
________________ _ ________________
JERUSALEM:
THE COVENANT
CITY
by Lance Lambert / Hugh Kitson
Why do world leaders wage war for the Temple
Mount and rage over "the final status" of
Jerusalem? Part 1 of Jerusalem, the Covenant
City traces the prophetic history of the
Holy City. Part 2 explores what the Bible
has to say about Jerusalem's present and
future destiny.
We discover that, as we move into the third
millennium of the Christian Era, the destiny
of the whole world hinges upon the destiny
of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel.
This 108-minute
documentary will bring you a message of
challenge and hope that you will not easily
forget. Order IFA Item #DV046, $15.95 +
$3.50 shipping.
Credit card orders toll-free
1-800-872-7729
or via IFA's secure eBookstore
www.ifabooks.com
