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IFA 35th
 
 
ISRAEL | MIDDLE EAST
FRIDAY WATCH FIRE
 

September 5, 2008

In this issue:

Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is on the Chopping Block

Israel and the Church: Parallel Restoration

Hurricane and Tropical Storms threaten U.S.

Prayer and Fasting Focus for September

War in Iraq | Afghanistan | Pakistan

Muslims Find Jesus at High Cost

In Iraq, Muslims Hope for Calm During Ramadan

Terror Subs Prowl Carribean

President Proclaims National Days of Prayer and Remembrance

Prayer Calendar

Cry Out America

eBookstore Specials!

40 DAYS USA

 

". . . and give Him no rest until He establishes and
till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth."
- Isaiah 62:7

 

DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

Sunday, October 5

 

Sunday, October 5, has been designated as the global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.  This day of prayer is not at a single location, but rather a worldwide event uniting believers in prayer for Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6, Isaiah 62:6). This year's event is supported by co-chairman Robert Stearns, co-chairman Jack Hayford, Kay Arthur, John Hagee, Ravi Zacharias, Michael W. Smith and many others. 

 

All Christians have a spiritual heritage and responsibility to pray for the city over which Jesus wept; the city to where He will soon return.  The current crisis over Jerusalem has global ramifications and impact, and will only be fully resolved by God working through the prayers of His people. To get involved or for to receive resources visit www.daytopray.com.

Jerusalem Prayer

 

REPORT: JERUSALEM IS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

 

Please PRAY for ongoing ministry in Israel of indigenous evangelism, planting Messianic congregations, discipleship training centers, prophetic praise and prayer watches in Hebrew, and financial aid for the needy.

 

According to top diplomatic sources, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visited the region last week, pressed Israel to sign a document by the end of the year that would include Jerusalem by offering the Palestinians a state in Israel's capital city as well as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

 

Most Israelis and Americans, including the influential U.S. Jewish community, are in the dark about the Jerusalem negotiations, allowing the Israeli government to continue the virtual chopping up of Israel's capital city without any major protest or distraction.

 

The U.S. government is heavily involved in the Jerusalem negotiation process, offering the Israeli and Palestinian teams staged proposals on how to split the holy city and pressing Israel to include pledges to evacuate parts of Jerusalem in a document expected to be released before January outlining a Palestinian state.

 

According to informed sources, Jerusalem talks are being held under secretive conditions, with a small number of Israelis and Palestinians on each negotiating team. The Israeli team is led by Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni, a front-runner for this month's leadership primary in Olmert's Kadima Party. (WorldNetDaily, Aaron Klein 9/3/08)

 

ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH: PARALLEL RESTORATION

By Derek Prince

 

Scripture reveals that Jesus will not return until there's a season, a period, which is called "times of restoration of all things. (Acts 3:19-21)  My theme is that a double process of restoration has been taking place with Israel and the Church since the beginning of the twentieth century.

 

Some "replacement" theologians say that God has reneged on His covenant with Israel and that, now, where we read Israel we should substitute the Church. I believe the truth the Bible teaches is that Israel is Israel and the Church is the Church. I believe that this "replacement theory" is a source of endless confusion and has been used of Satan to spawn pride, anti-Semitism, and hatred for the Jewish people-to this day.

 

The confusion about Israel is that theologians, God help them, turn the Bible into a system. I don't think any system adequately expresses the truth of the Bible. Let me say that I'm not a theologian, I'm a teacher of the Bible. I'm content to teach what I find as God reveals it and leave the unrevealed part to the Lord. But there has been a system of theology which has prevailed for probably 17 centuries which has said that God has given up on Israel. They've proved unfaithful, and so God has reneged on His covenant and His commitment and He's transferred all of that from Israel to the Church. They say that, now, where you read Israel you should substitute the Church. I believe that this is a source of endless confusion. In fact, I believe as long as people think that way, they cannot ever have a clear picture of God's program to close this age.

 

Read more at the IFA website

See the January and February 2008 issues of the First Friday Newsletter

 

  

 ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH: PARALLEL RESTORATION
Derek Prince

New and recommended IFA release!The above was excerpted from an IFA transcription of a Derek Prince audio series, "Israel: Past, Present and Future." Derek's books on this important theme are presently out of print. It is important that we intercede with biblical understanding.

Order IFA Item #CD041, $4.95 + $3.00 shipping. Credit card orders toll-free 1-800-872-7729 or via IFA eBookstore at www.ifabooks.com.

 

_____________________ 

A hurricane and two tropical storms are threatening the

Caribbean and the United States as the death toll in Haiti

from tropical storm Gustav continues to rise.

 

Hanna & Ike

  

Map of the Caribbean and southern United States showing the expected

paths of Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike. (AFP)

 

 

Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to reach the Carolina coast early Saturday and bring very heavy rainfall to the mid-Atlantic and New England over the weekend. A second storm, the small but impressive Hurricane Ike, could land in southern Florida as a Category 3 storm by Tuesday night. Ike poses a serious threat to lives and property across the Bahamas later in the weekend into early next week. Rain and wind from Ike may impact South Florida on Tuesday. Forecasters are also keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Josephine, far out in the Atlantic. Josephine had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and is too far off for any predictions of landfall. (CNN)

_____________________ 

 

Louisiana is the poorest state in the U.S., home to nearly 4 million people,

with per capita income of around $16,000 per year.  Haiti is the poorest

country in the Western Hemisphere, home to nearly 9 million people,

with a per capita income of less than $400 per year.

 

FROM HAITI TO LOUISIANA:

GUSTAV'S PATH OF DESTRUCTION

 

Hurricane Gustav killed 18 people in Louisiana and displaced 1.9 million. 

Over 800,000 homes are without electricity, nearly half the state, and some

will not see power for up to a month. 

 

Corpses surfaced in the muddy wreckage of the sodden Haitian city of Gonaives on

Friday as flood waters receded after Tropical Storm Hanna.

 

Reports from community organizations in Haiti say people have not eaten since Monday. 
 
Hurricane Ike, now a category-three storm, could sideswipe Haiti this weekend, even as international aid groups struggle to reach thousands of victims marooned without

food or drinking water.

 

In Haiti, Gustav killed 77 with another 8 missing and damaged nearly 15,000 homes.  Tropical storm Hanna, which closely followed Gustav, killed at least another 60 people.  Tens of thousands of people have sought safety on rooftops and temporary shelters.  Rotting cows drift

in the flood waters. 
 
In Louisiana, gas and water are scarce.  On Thursday (9/4/08), authorities reported a 3 mile line of people waiting for food and water outside of New Orleans.  The evacuation of 1.9 million people in Louisiana went relatively smoothly.  The return has been much more difficult. 
 

 

Haiti storms

 

Photo: People wade through flooded streets after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

 

Melinda Miles from Konpay, Haiti reported: "Twenty four hours of rain drenching the huts of the poor, perched on the cliffs, and drowning the slums, huddled on the edge of the sea. Homes were washed away by overflowing rivers, and others had flash floods tear through their walls. Fields of plantain trees are now stagnant puddles - breeding ground for mosquitoes - and agricultural fields were destroyed throughout the region. Almond trees floated into the sea and coconut trees were uprooted."
 
Tens of thousands of people in Louisiana remain displaced.  A thousand people in one shelter reported there were no bathing facilities at all.  People washed up in a bucket.  Another shelter reported 30 people arrested outside a nearby convenience store.  Buses will start bringing people back on Friday.   

 

Haiti death toll

 

Haiti was in deep trouble before being hit by a series of storms.  Hunger is widespread.  Sky high food prices sparked riots and turmoil as people could not afford to purchase enough food.  
 

"There is no food, no water, no clothes," the pastor of a church in Gonaives, Arnaud Dumas told the Associated Press.  "I want to know what I'm supposed to do. ... We haven't found anything to eat in two, three days.  Nothing at all."

 

President Rene Preval of Haiti told Reuters, "We are in a really catastrophic situation.  There are a lot of people on rooftops and there are prisoners we cannot guard."   In Gonaives, a city of 160,000, half the homes remain flooded, according to UN troops.  People begged for food and water outside the UN troop base.

 

Louisiana had not yet recovered from Hurricane Katrina, three years ago.  New Orleans still has over 65,000 vacant and abandoned homes and over 100,000 fewer people since Katrina.  Many of the elderly, disabled and African-American working poor remain displaced.  

 

 

 PRAYER & FASTING FOCUS FOR SEPTEMBER

 TOP U.S. OFFICIALS - Use the IFA Top 120 Officials bookmark (available on the  "Current Prayer Guides" page at IFA's Web site:  Prayer Calendars) and intercede as the Lord leads for President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the Cabinet and Administration, the Supreme Court, and the 110th Congress as it reconvenes after Labor Day.

 

Intercede for wisdom and a biblical posture regarding foreign policy toward Israel and the Middle East. Intercede for cooperation between the Bush Administration and Congress to pass God-appointed and necessary legislation in the midst of national elections.

 

ELECTIONS - In 69 days U.S. voters will elect a President and Vice President, an entire House of Representatives, one third of the Senate, scores of state and local officials, and vote on important marriage and other referenda. Intercede for mercy and good government, and that Christians take time to examine candidates, positions and issues on the basis of biblical truth, virtue, and character.

 

Affirm the sovereignty of Christ (Ps 75:7; Col 1:9-20; Rev 1:5) over all candidates, debates, and campaigns. Intercede that godly local, state and national pro-life, and traditional family candidates be granted resources, workers, media exposure, and favor with voters.

 

EVANGELISM  - Offer thanksgiving to the Lord for exhibiting mercy, grace, and redemption in the midst of natural disasters, economic hardships, and political turmoil. Intercede that the Lord use the severity and judgments in this season to open and prepare hearts for the gospel and the reception of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Intercede for anointing upon all who are called as evangelists and upon all forms of local church and mass evangelism underway across the U.S. and worldwide. Pray for fruitful Internet evangelism, Bible study, and discipleship.

 

WISDOM OF GOD - Offer thanksgiving that in Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Col 2:3) Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit across America which will release the "wisdom from above" and the instruction that we and our leaders so desperately need in this time of division, confusion, and crisis. (James 3:17) Pray that all men, women, children, and young adults across America will come to "fear God" and desire to "gain a heart of wisdom." (Ps 111:10, 90:12)

 

WAR IN IRAQ | WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

U.S. TROOPS CROSS PAKISTAN BORDER

Pakistani leaders furious as U.S. launches another border raid.

The arrival of U.S. helicopters deep in undisputed Pakistani

territory constitutes a new tactic.

 

Helicopters carried U.S. and Afghan commandos many miles into Pakistan on Wednesday to stage the first U.S. ground attack against a Taliban target inside the country, Pakistani officials said. At least 20 local people died in the raid, according to the officials.

 

U.S. forces based in Afghanistan have periodically conducted air and artillery strikes against insurgents across the border in Pakistani territory, and new hot-pursuit rules provide some room for American troops to maneuver during battle. But the arrival of U.S. helicopters in the village of Musa Nika, deep in undisputed Pakistani territory, would constitute a new tactic.

 

Pakistan filed a formal protest with the U.S. government, which had no comment on what appeared to be a new escalation of U.S. pressure on Taliban and al-Qaeda sanctuaries in Pakistan's mountainous border regions. As the Taliban insurgency escalates in Afghanistan, U.S. officials have increasingly turned their attention to those havens. Pakistan has committed to securing the borders, but has been beset with rising violence, both in the frontier region and in its cities.

 

In another example of eroding security, the limousine of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was ambushed Wednesday in the capital, Islamabad. Two bullets struck the side window of his black Mercedes-Benz as it sped toward an airport. Gillani was not in the vehicle at the time. (ABC News, VOA.com, Reuters)


 U.S. TROOPS COULD LEAVE BAGHDAD SOON

Pray that wisdom and strategy be granted to U.S. commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan. Intercede for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Afghan government,  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (Kurdish), Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (Shiite Muslim), the Parliament, and all officials that a form of good government representative of all Iraqi and Afghan socio-religious ethnic groups is established and maintained. Intercede for all troops deployed and their families for protection, good health, and morale. Pray for a hedge of protection over all Christians and churches in both countries. (1 Tim 2:2) 

General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said declining violence in Baghdad raised the possibility that American combat troops could leave the capital by next summer.

His comments come as the U.S. and Iraq hammer out the final details of a long-term security agreement that reportedly outlines a potential timeline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraqi cities by next summer, and the country by 2011.

 

"The number of attacks in Baghdad lately has been . . . less than five [a day] on average, and that's a city of seven million people," said Gen Petraeus. While declining to comment on the details of the security agreement, Gen Petraeus said U.S. combat forces had already pulled back from cities in 13 of Iraq's 18 provinces. The sight of U.S. soldiers exiting Baghdad would be highly symbolic given the scale of violence that gripped the city in 2006 and 2007.

 

Gen Petraeus leaves Iraq later this month to become head of Central Command, which oversees U.S. operations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa. Before his departure, the four-star general will give President Bush his final recommendation for troop levels as commander in Iraq. He will continue to help shape policy on Iraq in his new role. Overall, Gen Petraeus said Iraq was a "dramatically changed country" from when he assumed command in February 2007. He said attacks had plummeted from a daily rate of 180 in June 2007 to about 25 recently. (FT.com 9/3/08)


 

JOINT PRAYER MEETING ACROSS AMERICA

Afghanistan & Iraq
Revival in America

Saturday Morning, September 6, 2008
8 a.m. Eastern, 7 a.m. Central, 6 a.m. Mountain, 5 a.m. Pacific 
 
Use the Conference Call Number & Access Code:
1-712-432-9998 & 526338#
(Alternate Number: 1-712-432-1690 & 399430#)

 

MUSLIMS FIND JESUS AT HIGH COST

 

Thousands of Muslim people across the world are having encounters with Jesus Christ through dreams, visions and personal visitations, according to British missionary Paul Tew, who works with Open Doors. Paul has told of a series of extraordinary meetings he has had with former Muslims who have converted to Christ through a supernatural revelation.

 

- When two sisters saw a note on a telegraph pole advertising a 'Christian meeting and healings', they went along and witnessed the blind seeing and the lame walking. Discovering that such miracles were authenticated in the Bible, they asked their family what the Koran said about them.

But they were threatened with sulphuric acid instead, and managed to escape to a 'safe-house' run by Christians. One of the women told of a subsequent encounter with Jesus himself.

 

- Another family who experienced the miraculous deliverance of their daughter from demon possession when they turned to Jesus (Isa in the Koran), subsequently found their house bathed in light even though the shutters were down to keep out the bright sun. "And when they opened the Bible, the room filled with light." Paul went on:

 

"God is revealing himself to Muslims in miraculous and dynamic ways. In one country there

are hundreds of mullahs who have turned to Christ. And the government is really afraid of the youth there because so many have turned to Jesus."

 

But new believers face terrible persecution.

 

- Paul also told of over 2,000 Christians in a North African country who are locked up in metal containers where they virtually cook by day and freeze by night. Many die in there rather than renounce their faith.

 

"The New Testament was written for persecuted Christians," said Paul. "They faced death every day. And it's just amazing to see the joy of Christians in the same position today. They expect to be persecuted." (Paul Tew, Open Doors)

 

Prayer points can be found on www.30-days.net or www.jwipn.com

IN IRAQ, MUSLIMS HOPE FOR CALM DURING RAMADAN

 

Car bombings and killings have cast a shadow on Ramadan in Baghdad since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. But now, with a decline in the bloodshed, Iraqis hope Islam's holiest month will be reminiscent of calmer times. This year, people are looking forward to more relaxed nights with families and friends. A total of 430 Iraqi civilians, soldiers and police officers were killed nationwide last month compared with 1,860 during the same period last year.

 

Ramadan began in Iraq on Monday for Sunni Arabs and Tuesday for the Shiite majority, determined by each sect's senior clerics receiving reports of the sighting of the crescent moon.

Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during Ramadan, when the "prophet" Muhammad is said to have received the first revelation of the Koran. The faithful mark the period by asking forgiveness for their sins, performing good deeds and helping the poor. (LA Times 9/3/08)

 

September 1 - September 30
30 Days - Loving Muslims through Prayer

Change the world through prayer!

Be active: Change your own perspective on Muslims.

www.30-day.net
 

TERROR SUBS PROWL CARIBBEAN; NAVY FEARS HEZBOLLAH BRINGING DRUGS, WEAPONS TO U.S.

 

The waters in the Caribbean and around Latin America for a long time have provided a path for illicit drugs to flow into the United States, but the U.S. Navy has increased its patrols in the region now looking for something else - Hezbollah terrorists.

 

The Navy, in trolling for mini-submarines sometimes used to transport drugs, has discovered that some of them apparently are being operated by Hezbollah. The U.S. is concerned elements of Hezbollah have begun using them for drug-running or smuggling weapons. 

 

Drug sub

 

Skimming just below the surface, they are extremely difficult to detect from surveillance aircraft or patrol boats. Their sleek design, up to 80 feet in length, can secretly carry several tons of cargo thousands of miles. These "semi-submersibles," which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses.

 

So far this year, the Coast Guard says it has encountered at least 27 such vessels headed toward the southern and western United States, more than in the previous six years combined, while far more are believed to have gone undetected.

 

Navy Admiral James Stavridis, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said there is concern about the "tri-border area (of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. It is, in my view, principally Hezbollah activity. There is clearly fund-raising, money laundering, drug trafficking. And, certainly a portion of the funds that are raised in that are making their way back to the Middle East."

 

The suspected Hezbollah activity is centered largely in the tri-border region, particularly Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, a focal point of Islamic fundamentalism to include the Sunni Hamas and Shiite Hezbollah. Now it has branched beyond the tri-border area into other regions of Latin America to include Venezuela.

 

As far back as 2000, Iran had designated the Hezbollah to be its liaison to Hamas and the Sunni Palestinian Islamic Jihad throughout Latin America. Stravridis expressed concern over this linkage.

 

"(U.S. Southern Command) is concerned about linkage between the Iranian state and nascent Islamic radical terrorism in this region," Stravridis said. Now, Iran itself is showing a growing presence in the region, to which sources claim the administration has paid little attention. This presence includes diplomatic and intelligence not only in Venezuela but also Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador. (WorldNetDaily 9/4/08)(Boston Globe 8/17/08)

PRESIDENT PROCLAIMS NATIONAL DAYS OF PRAYER

AND REMEMBRANCE FOR THOSE KILLED ON 9/11/01

 

Friday, September 5 through Thursday, September 11

 

President Bush has proclaimed Friday, September 5 through Thursday, September 11 special days for prayer, remembrance and tribute to the thousands of innocent Americans who were killed in 2001, when Islamist terrorists took down both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, an airliner in Pennsylvania, and part of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Had terrorists had their way, experts believe the White House, the Capitol, or both would also have been hit.

 

The president wrote, "Our Nation honors the brave citizens, service members, police officers, and firefighters who heroically responded in the face of terror . . . we reflect on the terrible events

 . . .and lift the victims and their families in our prayers."

The president also asks us to "pray for the safety and success of the members of our Armed Forces now serving freedom's cause. We seek God's grace on their families, and commit to Heaven's care those brave men and women He has called home.

We ask the Almighty to watch over America and pray for His providence and continued blessings on our country. May He always guide the United States of America.

 

As we defend our country against its enemies, we pray for help in protecting the gift of freedom from those who seek to destroy it, and we ask the Almighty to strengthen all those securing liberty on distant shores." Click here to read the entire proclamation

  

Lord, may we remember what took place on September 11, 2001, the cost to our nation and to nearly 3000 families who lost loved ones. May neither we, nor our nation's leaders grow forgetful or complacent in estimating the threats posed against us. (Is 47:8-11; Ezek 33 Amos 6:1; Zeph 1:11-12; 1 Pet 5:8)

 

Above all, in this season of deciding who our next president and other leaders will be, may we choose those men and women who will draw us closer to you, who will honor your laws, so that Your hand of protection and blessing can remain upon our land and we can fulfill our God-given destiny in the earth. (Josh 24:15; 1 Sam 13:13-14; Ps 6:11-12; Acts 13:22)

 

PRAYER CALENDAR 

September 1 - September 30
30 Days - Loving Muslims through Prayer

Change the world through prayer!
Be active: Change your own perspecitive on Muslims.

www.30-day.net

September 11

Cry Out America
http://www.awakeningamerica.us/   

September 12-14

Family Research Council - Values Voter Summit
Register at 1-877-372-2808

 

September 24
See You at the Pole
http://www.syatp.com/home    

September 26-November 4
40-Day Prayer Vigil
www.40daysUSA.org

October 5, 2008
Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem
www.daytopray.com

November 2 (Sunday before elections)
National Prayer Force One
http://www.prayerforceone.com 


Ongoing

24-Hour Worship and Prayer

www.ihop.org|
www.Luke18Project.com
www.24-7prayer.us
www.campusamerica.org

Campus Renewal & Revival
www.campusrenewal.org
www.campustransformation.com

Praying Through The Window 9

Global terrorism, world religions, and lawless

regimes in the 10/40 Window.

www.win1040.com

Hollywood Prayer Network
http://www.hollywoodprayernetwork.org/
 

 CRY OUT AMERICA, SEPTEMBER 11


Every State, Every County, Every Heart


 Preparations for Cry Out America, a county by county prayer initiative scheduled for
September 11, 2008 are gaining momentum. The Cry Out America addition to the Awakening America website was recently launched. The Awakening America Alliance is currently taking applications of those interested in serving as a coordinator of this historic event in their county. If you have a heart to see this nation and your county experience a Christ awakening, please prayerfully consider participating in Cry Out America. 

Click here for more information.

 

eBOOKSTORE SPECIALS!  

New and recommended - all discounted

Recommended Daily Reading!

Set your heart on leading a life pleasing to God. Follw in Jesus' footsteps along the path of humility and obedience. Humble yourself daily beneath your sins and failings.  then you will have God's approval, which is all you need.  Then you can be sure of His love and care. You will know that your prayers will be answered, just as God has promised to those who 'keep his commandments and do what pleases him.'  1 John 3:22  

Excerpted with permission: M. Basilea Schlink, "More Precious Than Gold"  This beautiful devotional, recently published in English is now available from IFA.
 
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