"I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
| The Daily Brief | |
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1. Des Moines Evacuation Ordered - AP
Officials on Friday issued a voluntary evacuation order for much of downtown Des Moines and other areas bordering the river. Officials recommended that downtown residents and businesses evacuate parts of downtown on either side of the Des Moines River by 6 p.m. Friday. Included are all areas in Des Moines' 500 year floodplain.
The order came as rising water from the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital Friday after residents of more than 3,000 homes fled for higher ground. A railroad bridge collapsed, and 400 city blocks were under water.
· As the people of Iowa watch helplessly while these floodwaters crest, ask our Lord to bring them His peace . . . which passeth all understanding. Continue to pray for the safety of all who are now in the path of these floods.
· "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry . . ." (Psalm 10:17)
2. Boy Scouts praised for being prepared after tornado flattens camp in Iowa, kills 4 - AP
When the howling winds finally died down, the Boy Scouts - true to their motto, "Be Prepared" - sprang into action. Putting their first-aid training to use, they applied tourniquets and gauze to the injured. Some began digging victims from the rubble of a collapsed chimney. And others broke into an equipment shed, seized chainsaws and other tools, and started clearing fallen trees from a road.
Dozens of the Scouts, ages 13 to 18, were hailed for their bravery and resourcefulness Thursday, the morning after a twister flattened their camp in Iowa and killed four boys. "There were some real heroes at this Scout camp," Gov. Chet Culver said, adding that he believes the Scouts saved lives while they waited for paramedics to cut through the trees and reach the camp a mile into the woods.
· Thank You, Lord for these boys and the bravery they exemplified. We ask Your hand of blessing upon them as they recover from this traumatic experience. Comfort the family and friends of those who lost their lives
· "These things I have spoken unto you that in me, ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
3. CDC: Salmonella-tainted tomato illnesses reach 228 - Reuters
The toll from salmonella-tainted tomatoes jumped to 228 illnesses Thursday as the government learned of five dozen previously unknown cases and said it is possible the food poisoning contributed to a cancer patient's death. Representatives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said they are continuing to search for the source of the Salmonella outbreak, which has been reported in 17 states, hitting New Mexico and Texas the hardest.
· Lord Jesus, You came to heal and we pray healing over all 228 people sick from this food poisoning. We ask You to direct the US Food and Drug Administration and the CDC to the source of this contaminated food. Cleanse our food from disease causing bacteria.
· "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sickesses." (Matt.8:17)
4. Southern Baptists target political arena - Reuters
America's largest evangelical denomination adopted a resolution on political engagement on Wednesday signaling its intention to flex its muscles in the November presidential election. "Christians should seek to apply their spiritual and moral values to the political process," read the resolution, adopted on the second and final day of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting.
"We plead with all Christians to exercise vigorously their responsibilities to participate in the political process by registering to vote, educating themselves about the issues, and voting according to their biblical beliefs, convictions and values," read the resolution.
· Father God, bless this resolution to go forth in power. As Christians take their rightful place of responsibility to stand on Your word, prosper them with a voice of influence to make changes that bless Your name.
· "So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." (Ps.58:11)
5. China's Drilling for Oil in America's Backyard, Republicans Say - CNS News
House Republicans want the American people to know that right now - around 60 miles off the coast of Key West, Fla. - China is drilling for oil, thanks to a lease issued by Cuba. But 1,200 miles north of Key West, Democrats in Washington are blocking the United States from conducting its own environmentally-safe oil and gas exploration in similar U.S. coastal areas, said a news release from House Republican leader John Boehner's office.
"By prohibiting the United States from taking part in the same type of energy exploration that the Chinese are conducting just miles off our shores, the Democratic Majority on Capitol Hill continues to prove itself complicit in an energy crisis that has saddled American families and small businesses with gas prices that have reached $4.05 per gallon today," the news release said.
"Do congressional Democrats actually believe China has more ingenuity and more concern for the environment than the United States?" Republicans asked.
· Father, we are in desperate need for a breakthrough in this energy crisis. We ask You to cause Congress to release the way to safely explore for oil and gas that will bring relief to America. We put our trust in You to supply all our need according to Your riches in glory.
· "He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed." (Ps.1115, Joel 2:26)
6. "Sons Of Iraq" Patrolling Sadr City - The Washington Post
Young men armed and paid by the U.S. military took to the streets of the Iraqi capital's Sadr City area for the first time Wednesday to guard their neighborhoods, part of a new strategy designed to recruit former Shiite militiamen to American-created security groups, U.S. officials said. The Americans have renamed the program "Neighborhood Guard." Eifler said the Iraqis told him the phrase "Neighborhood Watch" made them sound like spies. But the Shiite men on patrol Wednesday said they call themselves "Sons of Iraq," despite the possible Sunni connotations. "Why would I be embarrassed by this name?"one said. "Sunnis or Shiites, we are all the sons of Iraq."
· Thank You, Lord for this step in a strategy for Iraq to guard and protect their cities from terrorists. Draw Iraqis to You, the one true God. We ask You to move upon the hearts of the Iraqi people to seize this moment, in freedom, to root out every terrorist cell in their nation. We continue to pray for our troops that all their work and sacrifices will be blessed unto victory.
· "But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." (Prov. 1:33)
| The Middle East in Focus | |
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The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:3)
1. Quakes in Lebanon shake Israel - Ynet News
Four separate earthquakes shook Israel on Thursday. Ynet received calls from residents living in the northern and central areas of the country who said they felt the quakes. No injuries or damage have been reported, however.
2. Israel stays with truce talks despite Kassam barrage - ICEJ News
Hamas admits house blast part of 'martyrdom operation'
Israel has decided to continue pursuing an Egyptian- brokered cease-fire with Hamas despite a heavy rocket barrage from Gaza on Thursday that included 50 Kassam rockets and mortar shells, however IDF operations are expected to increase in response to the attacks.
3. Poll: Most Israelis against truce with Hamas - Jerusalem Newswire
The majority of Israelis oppose their government agreeing to a ceasefire with the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organization unless abducted IDF soldier Gilad Schalit is released as part of the deal. More than 50 percent are against a deal even if it includes Schalit.
This is the message sent by a poll, the results of which were published Thursday, shortly after news that the Olmert government is considering entering into such an agreement. According to a report in The Jerusalem Post, the survey showed that Israelis are increasingly wary that Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction, would only use a cease-fire to regroup and rearm. As far as these people are concerned, a truce would only postpone an inevitable confrontation.
4. Hamas to decide on lull by next week - Ynet News
Brigadier-General (Ret.) Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's Security-Diplomatic Bureau returned from Egypt Thursday night, where he and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman, held another round of talks regarding concerning a possible ceasefire between Israel and the militant groups in Gaza, despite the fact that some 40 mortar shells and 25 Qassam rockets, as well as several Grad rockets, were fired from northern Gaza on Thursday.
| Liberalism Gone Wild - Americans Will Die | |
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Liberalism Gone Wild - Americans Will Die
(A commentary by Gary Bauer; End-of-Day; Friday, June 13, 2008)
The shockingly bad 5-to-4 Supreme Court decision yesterday to award the right of "habeas corpus" to enemy combatants is a glimpse of what our future will look like if Barack Obama wins in November and if the political Left increases its majorities in Congress.
Habeas corpus is the right we have as American citizens to challenge detention by the government. The five justice liberal majority yesterday extended that right to jihadists captured abroad. The prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay will now be able to demand in federal court the same right that you have. The government will be required to present evidence to justify their continued detention.
What evidence? The battlefield is not a crime scene. Soldiers don't read the enemy their Miranda rights. Fingerprints are not taken in war. The court's liberal majority has written an absurd opinion that appears to be totally divorced from reality. Justice Scalia, one of the four dissenting conservatives, predicted that the majority's decision will result in Americans dying. He is right.
In World War II, we held 400,000 prisoners of war on U.S. soil. Even though they were held here, they were not given the right just awarded to the terrorist allies of the thugs who killed 3,000 of on 9/11. And if the Guantanamo prisoners have these rights, then it is only a matter of time before the jihadist prisoners being held in Iraq and Afghanistan will be granted them, too.
Our Founding Fathers would be shocked to see what has been done to the document they created. Notice that the decision was five-to-four. A narrow one-vote majority has turned our effort to defeat Islamic terror upside down. The Constitution our young men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan are defending can now be used as a weapon against them.
Of the five justices responsible for this fiasco, one, of them, Justice Stevens, is 88-years-old and another, Justice Ginsburg is 75. If a President McCain gets the opportunity to replace either of them, this obscene ruling could be overturned. If a President Barack Obama, after consulting with his friends at the ACLU and MoveOn.org, puts two new young liberals on the court to replace them, we will get more self-destructive rulings for decades. And don't forget that this isn't the only 5-to-4 vote we are facing on fundamental questions of values and national security.
I'd like to see President Bush fight back. Just say, "No," Mr. President. Send new legislation to Capitol Hill outlining how the jihadist thugs will be handled. Remind the court that the Constitution specifies only one commander-in-chief during war - you. And to my friend Senator McCain - Barack Obama embraced this decision yesterday with no hesitation. Take him on, and show the American people why this foolishness will endanger our country - and do it now!
| Foundation of Disasters In America | |
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Foundation of Death and Disasters In America:
Global Warming or Turning Away From God?
The deaths due to tornados, fires, floods, extreme heat and other disasters in California, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Maryland and other places across the nation are being blamed on global warming by leftist alarmists. They say that these types of harsh condition are exactly what global warming scientists have been predicting. And they question just how long will America ignore the scientific evidence that global warming is killing our planet and everyone on it. The four boy scouts in Iowa, for example, that were killed by a tornado, has been used as a ready photo opportunity for global warmists to exploit the deaths of young boys to demonstrate the devastating impact of global warming.
It takes a lot of faith to believe that global warming is causing all the disasters across the United States, especially when there are many scientists who say that global warming is just not the issue and that the general historic weather and climate cycles are at the root of these "natural" disasters. There are many who believe that the global warming fear factor is contrived by the communists and one world order people who wish to exercise financial and political control over entire populations. There are others who worship "mother earth." Still there are others who believe that humans cause such pollution and damage to the earth that global warming is just one of the consequences.
But what if the natural disasters were not caused by global warming at all? What if global warming is the farce that many scientists and politicians have claimed all along? What then would explain these natural disasters? It might even less faith based on historic evidence to suggest that a nation that turns its back on God will receive less protection, less blessing than it did when it sought after God. The Bible holds countless examples where when the people turned away from God, calamity awaited them-- often in the form of natural disasters.
If you look at the states currently experiencing deadly natural disasters, they have embraced homosexual marriage, Islam, abortion, pornography and other vile and evil things. The Lord says through Moses in Deuteronomy 28:15, "But it shall come to pass, if you will not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day; that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you." And he lists the curses which include natural disasters, famine, pestilence, floods, adultery, oppression and occupation by a nation that serves other gods. Global warming, maybe, but a nation that needs to repent and turn back to God, most likely.
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com
