April 8th, 2011 by Dave Kubal
As Joshua was finalizing all of the details of Israel’s conquest of Canaan, we find a remarkable verse: “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:45). Every promise the Lord had made to the Israelites concerning captivity in Egypt, plagues, wandering in the wilderness, conquest, and the peaceful new land, etc. was fulfilled. Hundreds of years of history came to pass in perfect alignment with the Lord’s will!
Almost as an exclamation point to His sovereign will, this chapter gives a special glimpse into God’s heart for a nation. The Lord disperses his priests to serve the people in every part of the country. The Lord is very specific about which of the priestly clans were to go to each of the 48 “cities of refuge” listed in Scripture. These priests would later set up synagogues and act as mediators and intercessors for God’s people.
As the final ingredients of the Jewish nation, these safe havens were places of mercy and justice; mercy for the one who unintentionally killed a fellow Jew, and justice for the family of the deceased. It is here that we find that not one of the Lord’s “promises to Israel failed.”
As we intercede for our country, we as the dispersed priests in the land must remember God’s promises for our nation, praying that every one of them would be fulfilled. Our lives as intercessors are evidence of His “special possession” (1 Peter 2:9-10) as we declare His praises and watch for unfolding answers. What a privilege to glimpse firsthand the Lord’s heart to administer justice and mercy for His people here in America!
Do you think our Founding Fathers knew that they would set in motion a country that would send more missionaries and more relief dollars to foreign countries than any other nation in the history of the world? No. These men of prayer could not have known, but their conviction and obedience worked hand-in-hand with God’s faithfulness to pave the way for far-reaching promise.
Ask our Lord, what is it that You still desire to accomplish? By faith, let’s continue to intercede that our nation’s leaders would not derail the Lord’s promises for this country.
Tags: 1 Peter, Canaan, conquest, Jews, Joshua, justice, mercy, nation, priestly clans, Promised Land, promises, Scripture, sovereign
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March 15th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
CONTINUING RESOLUTION BILL WOULD SLASH $6 BILLION
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., released a proposed three week Continuing Resolution early Friday afternoon. This bill would slash $6 billion and would keep the government operating past March 19 – the end of the current Continuing Resolution — and into early April. The cuts will include unused census money, earmarks, and terminations of programs to which the White House previously agreed. There will also be a cut to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. When asked about concerns from freshmen who say they won’t vote for another CR and want a fight now, Rogers says “We’re listening to everyone and trying to understand their concerns.” (Capitol Hill Prayer Partners)
SEE ALSO: “Obama’s Social Security Hoax” (National Review Online)
UPDATE: PENCE AMENDMENT REJECTED BY SENATE
The Senate rejected, on a 44-56 vote, the House-approved long-term budget bill that contains the Pence Amendment de-funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business. Lawmakers needed 60 votes to pass the bill under the rules of the Senate and did not come close to the number needed to do so.
The senate voted on H.R. 1, the long-term Continuing Resolution the House approved in February that contains the Pence Amendment and pro-life riders that reinstates the Mexico City Policy, stops abortion funding in the District of Columbia, and de-funds the pro-abortion UNFPA, which works hand-in-hand with Chinese population control officials who use forced abortions to enforce the one-child policy. . . (Christian Coalition of America)
Thank God for even incremental progress in fixing our spending problem as we inch closer to a final spending plan for fiscal year 2011. Pray for increasing boldness of our leaders to genuinely fix our fiscal problems. May our leaders not see this as a matter of meeting half-way between party spending plans, but meeting at least half way between where we are now and where we need to be to fix our problem. Pray that the Lord will teach us how to not be a debtor society, but a people owing nothing but our love. Thank God for the great work of the House before President’s Day. May that be the beginning of the pruning of our United States budget for HIS honor and glory. Pray that the work would be sealed and made effective in this nation.
“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength.” (Psalm 24:3-5)
Tags: budget, Capitol Hill Prayer Partners, Chinese Population Control, Christian Coalition of America, Continuing Resolution, De-funding abortion, government spending, Hal Rogers, House Appropriations Committee, Mike Pence, One-Child Policy, Pence Amendment, Planned Parenthood, pro-life, Public Broadcasting
Posted in Business & Economics, Government & Law, Obama & Biden, Washington, DC |
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March 15th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
The five members of the Israeli family stabbed to death at Itamar on the West Bank, Friday night, March 11, have been identified as Udi Vogel, 38, the father; his wife Ruth Vogel, 35, their sons Yoav, 11 and Elad, 3 and their four-month old daughter Hadas. The three children who survived are Roi, 8, Yishai, 2 and their sister Tamar, aged 12, who found the victims when she arrived home later that night. The crime was easier to perpetrate against Jews living in the West Bank town as several IDF checkpoints have been disbanded, allowing terrorists to attack Jews more easily. Hamas Websites hailed the murder as a “heroic operation,” without taking responsibility. (DEBKAfile Special Report)
Intercede that many will be saved through this tragedy that is speculated to begin perhaps the next Intifada among Arabs, specifically those of the Wahhabbi, Hamas and Fatah (former PLO). Pray that Benjamin Netanyahu will have God’s wisdom to deal with this offense against his people, and that Mahmoud Abbas will have shame that he is using this to double speak to Israelis that Fatah is sorry this family was murdered, while telling Hamas they did a good job. Pray for little Tamar, the twelve-year old daughter who found the bodies of her parents, Udi and Ruth and her 11-year old brother Yoav, three-year old brother Elad and four-month old sister, Hadas. May she be a comfort and big sister to her siblings Roi and Yishai who also survived the killings. May the blood that is on the hands of their murderers never wash out and may it convict them to ask the LORD for forgiveness while there is still time. May this turn the nation of Israel to God for their Hope and Salvation.
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me. That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45: 5-7)
(Source: Capitol Hill Prayer Partners)
Tags: Arabs, Hamas, IDF, Itamar, Jews, Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu, Vogel, West Bank
Posted in Israel & Middle East, Terrorism & Persecution |
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March 15th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
The first of Rep. Peter King’s (R-NY) hearings in the House Homeland Security Committee on radicalization within the American Muslim community is over. Liberty is still flourishing. There were no reports of Muslims being dragged from their homes or mosques by angry mobs incited to violence. There is no effort to restrict immigration from Muslim countries. No internment camps are being constructed. The Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus defended the hearing citing “the unavoidable fact is that, however much violent terror reflects a distortion of the tenets of Islam, it is not only practiced by adherents of the religion but practiced in its name.”
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) used part of his time during yesterday’s hearings to warn about the radicalization of young Muslims that is taking place in his northern Virginia district. Rep. Wolf recounted six examples, including: Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, the 1999 valedictorian of the Islamic Saudi Academy, now serving a life sentence for plotting the assassination of President George W. Bush; the arrest in Pakistan of five Muslim American teenagers from Fairfax County, Virginia, who attempted to join jihadist groups; and Zachary Chesser, a graduate of Oakton High School, who was arrested last year for trying to join a Somali-based jihadi group.
What happened to these young Muslim men? Melvin Bledsoe testified at yesterday’s hearings about the radicalization of his son Carlos, who converted to Islam, traveled to Yemen and then murdered a U.S. military recruiter in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2009. Mr. Bledsoe warned the committee, “This is a big elephant in the room and our society continues not to see it. Our children are in danger. Our country must stand up and do something about the problem. Tomorrow it could be your son, your daughter.”
The hearing offered an opportunity for moderate Muslims to speak up. Abdirizak Bihi of Minnesota recounted for the committee how his family was pressured by mosque leaders and others in the Somali Muslim community after he went to the FBI with concerns that his nephew and other young men had left the country to join jihadist groups. Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, a former Navy lieutenant commander, told the committee, “This needs to be a serious assessment of the threat posed to our national security. The course of Muslim radicalization in the United States over the past two years makes it exceedingly difficult for anyone to assert with a straight face that in America we Muslims do not have a radicalization problem.” Dr. Jasser went on to call for American Muslims who love liberty to wage an “an ideological counter-jihad” against political Islam and the forces of separatism and radicalization. (Gary Bauer, CHPP)
Pray that the U.S. would hear voices of truth like these more often. May more voices like these be heard from the White House and on the evening news across our land. Pray that the Lord would help the United States with problems concerning radicalization. May we become fervent in spirit for God’s Word and His truth. May it shine forth brightly, and may darkness not overtake our land. Intercede that our children may be firmly grounded in God’s Word and doctrine. May we live in Jesus’ name.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 11:15)
(Source: Capitol Hill Prayer Partners)
Tags: Abdirizak Bihi, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, American Muslim Community, Arkansas, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, Fairfax County, Frank Wolf, Gary Bauer, House Homeland Security Committee, ideological counter-jihad, Islamic Saudi Academy, Jihadist, Little Rock, Minnesota, Oakton High School, Peter King, President George W. Bush, radicalization, religion, Ruth Marcus, Somalia, Virginia, Washington Post, Yemen
Posted in Church & Religion, Government & Law, Israel & Middle East, Terrorism & Persecution, Washington, DC |
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March 15th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
Current law forbids an individual from receiving Social Security payments if they are here illegally, but their entire work history-even work done as an illegal alien-can count toward Social Security benefits if the individual later becomes a legal resident. Congressman Forbes cosponsored the No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act (H.R.787), which aims to correct that problem by forbidding work done as an illegal immigrant from being counted toward future benefits. (Office of Congressman Randy Forbes)
Pray for wisdom in the passage of this bill.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)
(Source: Capitol Hill Prayer Partners)
Tags: alien, H.R. 787, Illegal Immigrants Act, legal resident, Randy Forbes, social security
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March 15th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged the administration to consider imposing a moratorium on siting new nuclear reactors in seismically active areas until safety and emergency response reviews have been completed. He is also calling for a safety review of 31 reactors in the U.S. that are of the same design as those in Fukushima. Apart from natural catastrophes, he wrote in a letter to President Obama on Sunday, “a nuclear disaster could also come from terrorists: al-Qaeda considered crashing a plane into a nuclear reactor during the 9/11 attacks and a man was arrested on February 24, 2011 for planning to target reactors. The seriousness of this threat is beyond question.”
Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), said the committee would carefully assess the situation in Japan. “The details of this tragedy are still unfolding,” he said in a statement. “The head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee next week [on March 16], and we will use that opportunity to explore what is known in the early aftermath of the damage to Japanese nuclear facilities, as well as to reiterate our unwavering commitment to the safety of U.S. nuclear sites.” (CNSNews.com) Read more.
After the disaster in Japan, it is certainly wise to revisit the status of our reactors here in the continental United States. Pray that this committee will convene quickly, and that only true data (not “skewed” data) would be presented regarding the safety of our own reactors. The time to act on this is now.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8)
(Source: Capitol Hill Prayer Partners)
Tags: al-Qaeda, Capitol Hill Prayer Partners, CNS News, Edward J. Markey, Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton, Fukushima, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Japan, nuclear reactors, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Posted in Creation Care & Energy, Natural Disasters, Science & Bioethics |
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March 9th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is stirring the waters in Washington as he addresses lawmakers on “Safeguarding our Future: Building a Nationwide Network for First Responders.”
Fox News reports:
Battle lines are being drawn as Republican Rep. Peter King prepares to hold a high-profile hearing Thursday that will examine the threat posed by radical Islam in the United States. ”That’s where the danger is coming from,” he told Fox News. “It’s a small percentage. The overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding Americans. But the reality is that the threat is coming from within that community.”
King said that if he thought members of the Irish, Jewish or any other ethnic community were exhibiting threatening signs he would launch an investigation into them as well. But he said Al Qaeda is actively trying to radicalize American Muslims, with some success.
Tags: al-Qaeda, Building a Nationwide Network of First Responders, CAIR, homeland security, Muslims, radical Islam, Rep. Peter King
Posted in Government & Law, Israel & Middle East, Terrorism & Persecution |
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March 9th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
A leading think-tank warns that the global strategic map is taking new shape as emerging economies spend more on defense while the West makes drastic cuts. “In other regions – notably Asia and the Middle East – military spending and arms acquisitions are booming,” says John Chipman, the director general for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). “There is persuasive evidence that a global redistribution of military power is underway.” He reports that defense spending has ballooned in Asian Pacific nations, most notably China, and there are signs that the West is losing its “technological edge” in areas like stealth technology and cyber warfare. He predicts that China will reach military parity with the U.S. in half a generation (15-20 years).
According to Reuters, Chipman went on to highlight internal security threats within nations:
Exchanges of fire along the borders of Thailand and Cambodia as well as between North and South Korea showed that the risk of local state-on-state war was back on the map after a decade of focus on more fringe threats such as militancy, he said. “It had become conventional wisdom bordering on cliche that interstate conflict was a thing of the past and now that’s being called into question,” he said.
Tags: Asia, Cambodia, China, International Institute for Strategic Studies, John Chipman, local state-on-state war, military gap, North and South Korea, Pacific, Thailand
Posted in Military & Veterans |
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March 9th, 2011 by IFA STAFF
A bill passed on March 3 by the New York City Council requires that crisis pregnancy centers notify clients that they do not provide abortions or birth control services, making referrals to places that do. The legislation would only apply to organizations offering alternatives to abortion. Meanwhile, places that offer abortions would not be required to inform clients of pro-life options. The American Center for Law and Justice wrote a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg requesting a public hearing on the bill.
James Henderson, ACLJ Senior Counsel, said:
“The public has never had an opportunity for input on this measure. City council members rushed ahead with their vote, and now it looks like the mayor is ready to do the same thing…. The rule of law states that no local law can be approved by the mayor without a public hearing…. We are challenging Mayor Bloomberg to obey the law by giving the public a chance to respond to a bill which unfairly targets clinics that offer alternatives to abortion.”
Also in the news:
On February 18th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinded conscience regulations established during the Bush administration to protect health workers from being forced to perform procedures or dispense drugs against conscience. Health workers and organizations that refuse to prescribe Plan B, ella, or other abortifacient drugs will face sanctions. During the comment period over 187,000 people expressed opposition to the new rule. Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) has introduced H.R. 361, the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act. If passed, it will codify conscience rights for doctors and other health professionals. (Source: Family Research Council)
Tags: abortifacient drugs, abortion clinics, Abortion Non-Descrimination Act, American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Bush, Conscience, Department of Health and Human Services, ella, H.R. 361, James Henderson, John Fleming, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City, Plan B, Pregnancy centers
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