Possible war clouds are darkening the skies over North Korea at this time and we need to pray for the USA and the surrounding nations, especially China and Russia, to be restrained and careful in their responses so that dangerous miscalculations are avoided. Please keep this situation in your earnest prayers for the coming weeks and also that the wicked regime of Kim Jong Un would be removed as quickly and peacefully as possible so that liberation can come to the long-suffering North Korean people who have lived under the oppressive boot of his family’s government for 70 years.
Here are three views with prayer concerns from a South Korean perspective:
- Of course the big news in South Korea from this past month is the Constitutional Court's decision to uphold the impeachment of, now, former President Park Geun Hye andher arreston corruption charges as an ordinary citizen. What is particularly interesting to us is the way this is being played and perceived in the North. It is stirring up a lot of conversation and comparisons between North and South. The government's spin on the matter is not as powerful as the object lesson in free democracy. People are asking questions...
Speaking of which, the other hot topic in international news, North Korea's nuclear weapon's program and Kim Jong Eun's bellicose pronouncements are also raising a lot of questions in the North. New rocket tech tests could fill a lot of hungry mouths and the people are starting to speak out about it. Also the routine mobilizations in the face of South Korea and US's annual Foal Eagle exercises are generating less and less enthusiasm among the North's military, especially when soldiers would rather be out foraging for food. At the same time continuing crackdowns, arrests and executions of various officials and border guards is increasing the discontent and infighting among the leadership. To finance the nuclear program and other government priorities, the North is constantly looking for sources of hard currency income including such things as sending more workers to Russia and elsewhere, imposing taxes on entrepreneurs, trying to entice foreign investment in casinos and resorting to out-right cyber-theft against foreign banks. And then, there are all the other illegal activities of NK agents abroad, including assassinations. The ongoing and newly-threatened international sanctions also increase the North's desperation as well as having tragic ripple effects. We also pray that the latest increase in sanctions will not prevent humanitarian assistance by Christian and other organizations.
People are also speaking out against influence that protects some from the true administration of justice such as a 19-year-old who escaped a murder charge because of his high-level connections.
In economic news, we have government claims of fertilizer production being belied by what farmers actually get while the illicit import of South Korean goods and styles increases despite efforts to curb it. Along with this is an upswing in North Korea's (illegal) dating culture including couples accessories and "standby lodges."
Please remember all who suffer in this nation in your prayers.
Ben Torrey
The Fourth River Project, Inc.
www.thefourthriver.org
- The Korean Peninsula, A Similar SituationBeforethe Korean War
"Come, let us return to the Lord." (Hos. 6:1)
The United States, that supported the war in Korea, is a spiritual ally of Korea. "Since the impeachment of the formal president Park Geun-hye, the situation of Korean politics is unpredictable. We must strengthen our spiritual alliance between Republic of Korea and USA."
Dr. Jeon, Ho-jin, the director of the Indochina Institute and the dean of Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Myanmar said in a recent email interview with The Mission News. "From a Christian point of view, China can never be our ally. China has invaded us. The United State of America is our spiritual ally."
"Dr. Billy Graham, who was a remarkable evangelist at that time, emphasized that the Korean War was not just a war between nations but a spiritual war against Satan, and cried out for US to take a part in the war and support South Korea." Dr. Graham visited Korea in December 1952 and proclaimed that Korea should hear the gospel and become a nation for missions." But today, Korea is returning back to such a spiritual war again.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jeon in his article titled, The relationship between South Korea and the United States since the fall of Park Geun-hye, in March 10th, quoted the News Week Magazine reporting that "Seoul seems to be moving away from Washington and moving toward Beijing." According to the article, "The increase of Military forces of North Korea, China and the United States makes a situation difficult more and more for the next President of the Republic of Korea." He said, "Korea is more likely to come closer to China than the West."
(Hs 6:1) "Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
Prayer
“Heavenly Father, the Republic of Korea that was built in the center of world missions has received Your wonderful grace. The political views and positions which are now divided more than ever are reaching the extreme. These conflicts and chaos are so unsettling that they resemble to the situation happened just before the Korean War. Lord, You are the only One who can solve this conflict. Heal and bind our hearts, and let Your justice and righteousness flow in this land.”
- Thank you so much for your love and prayers for this nation. These days I think the current situation of Korean peninsula looks like the one where were the Israelites when the Red Sea was in front of them while Pharaoh’s army was chasing after them. The Republic of Korea is now under the threat of war as everyone senses, as well as the crisis that the most leftist regime in history can take power. One of the most prominent presidential candidates is the one who at the heart of the previous government that supported nuclear weapons development of North Korea through so called Sunshine Policy. We need His grace. We need a supernatural protection. Many of us think this is the last chance for us to repent before a miserable disaster. A nationwide repentance is needed. At the same time, this is an opportunity that we can see His glorious power as the Israelites saw how glorious our Lord’s power is when they crossed the Red Sea. Many people are fasting in prayers crying to the Lord and asking His mercy. We also have prayed day and night for many months expecting true reformation and revival of this nation.
Please pray for us. Pray for a peaceful reunification of Korea. Pray for the presidential election which will be on 9th of May so that we can have a new president who has a strong and godly leadership prepared by the Lord.
http://www.dw.com/en/tensions-stoke-fears-of-a-first-strike-against-north-korea/a-38301344
Youngchae Song
All Nations Intercessors
In a matter of days now, 120 prayer and mission leaders will come from around the world joined by 30-40 local and European prayer and mission people to encounter the Lord and pray for His breakthroughs in reaching the remaining Unreached Peoples of the world, the raising up of children and youth for the unique callings the Lord has for them, and going deeper in authoritative prayer that transforms our world. It will be a potentially combustible, explosive gathering as we meet in this historic place of revival where the Holy Spirit came upon the Moravian community three centuries ago, leading to the sending out of the first Protestant missionaries. Children and youth were used by God to ignite that revival of 1727 with their persistent praying and worship during the night hours. Some of them who had participated in the 1727 revival also helped to sustain the 100 plus year 24/7 prayer chain that came out of that outpouring. Hundreds of them went to the ends of the earth, taking their coffins with them and never returning home in order to follow the Lamb to the end, being fully persuaded that because of His sufferings, He is worthy of our full giving of ourselves in sacrificial love and service.
During the consultation, we will pray with some of the descendants of the Moravians and their children and hear what God is doing to raise up the Next Generation in prayer and mission through significant coordinators of Children and Youth prayer movements around the world.
We will also adopt up to 300 unengaged and underserviced Unreached People Groups for prayer leading to mission engagement as the Lord enables us.
Award-winning videographer, Michael Lienau, will be there to capture key interviews with the cutting-edge prayer and mission leaders who are present as well as important moments from the consultation. He will prepare a documentary film on the Moravians and others who have combined prayer, revival and mission to change our world for Jesus Christ. If you want to see what he has in mind, check out this link Linking Prayer and Missions to Transform our World or his website at LifeNet Media Resources.
Would you please pray with us for this crucial time for the prayer and mission movements that we will be successful in achieving a real convergence between them for the benefit of both movements towards the accomplishment of His Great Commission? Here are some updated prayer concerns for the coming 12 days.
12 Days of Prayer for Transformational Revival and Mission Breakthrough
May 1-May 12, 2017
Seeking God together for the International Prayer Leaders’ Consultation in Herrnhut, Germany, May 8-12, 2017
We want to invite you to partner with us in 12 days of prayer, May 1- May 12, to pray for the upcoming gathering, “The International Prayer and Mission Leaders Consultation: Uniting in Prayer for Transformational Revival and Mission Breakthrough.” It will be held in the historic village Herrnhut, Germany, site of the Moravian prayer revival that sent out the first Protestant missionaries to reach the unreached with the Gospel! 120 international prayer and mission leaders plus about 30 local mission and prayer ministry people are convening in this tiny Germany village to cry out to the Lord as the Moravians did before them: “May the Lamb who was slain receive due reward of his sufferings!” Along with cutting-edge mission leaders, participants will pray and strategize that the unreached peoples of our day be reached as the prayer movement focuses more intentionally on the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission, still so much on His heart!
Prayer, revival and mission have always gone together since the book of Acts. It’s our desire to see a massive, prayer-based revival erupt throughout the nations of the earth! During these 21 days of prayer we are asking for another historic move of the Holy Spirit to sweep across the nations and awaken a whole new generation to wholehearted love and surrender to Jesus in His mission to those who have never heard of His love and truth!
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14).
During this gathering, we want to more closely and effectively connect the prayer and mission movements for the final push to the accomplishment of Matthew 24:14, that everyone may hear and respond to the glorious gospel of the kingdom in these last days!
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
During the run-up to the Consultation and continuing through it, please be praying with us for these specific outcomes:
- For traveling mercies as well as physical and spiritual protection over every participant as he or she prepares to journey to Herrnhut. Some are experiencing attacks on their health now.
- That those prayer and mission leaders coming would deeply connect with the Lord and one another, experiencing the reviving work of the Holy Spirit in this historic place of prayer, revival and mission.
- For a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the glory of Jesus Christ! Acts 1:8, 2:17-2:21 that will start at Herrnhut again and flow out to the nations!
- That the participants will prayerfully discern together how the international prayer and mission movements can be better integrated for their mutual benefit and for the sake of those still unreached with His Gospel (Matt. 24:14).
- For God’s empowering of the Next Generation youth and children’s prayer movements, both during and following this gathering, and that every nation will have a thriving Next Gen prayer movement in the coming 10 years.
- For canopies of united, strategic and sustainable prayer to be raised up in every nation and city across the earth.
- For a Great Awakening and New Reformation to erupt in Germany and across Europe.
- For a ‘Spirit of Unity’ during the gathering, that we would come together ‘in one accord’ loving and supporting one another in the diverse missions He has called us to as members of His Body (John 17 and Psalm 133).
- For a mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit to rest upon each one presenting and leading us in prayer and for His prophetic insight to flow among us!
- That we will develop valuable, ongoing relationships and friendships that advance His Kingdom.
- For key moments and inspiring stories to be captured via video and distributed effectively to the prayer, revival and mission movements around the world.
- For favor with authorities, the granting of visas, and safe, peaceful travel arrangements for all those coming to Herrnhut.
- For protection from the evil one and all the forces of darkness (Psalm 91).
- For the Lord of the Harvest to thrust forth missionaries to the ends of the earth and that every unreached people group will have a viable movement of Christ followers within the coming decade (Matt. 9:37-38).
Thanks so much for partnering with us in prayer for this historic gathering. In His hands, your prayers will make all the difference!
For the Supremacy of Christ in all things,
Jason Hubbard and John Robb
Oct 31st 2017 marks the 500yr anniversary of the Reformation when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the Wittenberg door! This year we want to pray for a Lamb’s Reformation to help shift the church back to honoring the sacrifice of Christ! A reformation is the action or process of reforming an institution or practice. It’s our desire to see the church reformed, fully alive to the Supremacy of Christ in all things! Let’s cry out for a God-breathed, Christ-awakening movement where God’s Spirit uses God’s Word to re-awaken God’s people back to God’s Son for all that He is! As Paul writes in Philippians 3:8,
Philippians 3:8 (AMP) “I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly”
We are longing for a Gospel Explosion for the glory of the Lamb! We desire to see a tsunami of revival come crashing in on the nations of the earth, for the spread of his fame, for the extension of his reign, for the increase of his gain and for the honor of his claim! May the Lamb who was slain receive the due reward of his sufferings.
Habakkuk. 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Son of the Father, reigning at His right hand forever and ever. He is the Triumphant Victor over every foe-satan, sin, death, and Hades. He is the Glorious Conqueror, the dominating personality for all ages to come! He is the Unequivocal Commander of heaven’s hosts! He is the Indisputable Judge of peoples and nations, to whom all must give an account. He is the Undeniable Rule of history, overseeing its path and its outcome from beginning to end! He is the Incomparable King of an empire that will ultimately fill creation with His power and piety. He is the Irreplaceable Head and Heart of a people whom He has bought with His own blood. He is the Reigning Redeemer of a church universal, militant and triumphant, sending His salvation to the ends of the earth! He is the Supreme Lord in this moment just as fully as He will be Supreme Lord at the end of time!
I believe one of the keys that God will use to unlock the hearts of his people is the revelation of the cross of Christ! In the contemplation of the cross, there is a profound revelation of the love of God. This disclosure comes to the hearts of those who desire to understand this pivotal point in human history. It is a well-spring of extravagant love that awaits the seeker who will linger at the foot of the cross long enough with an open and expectant heart. It is given to all who seek Him with a whole heart, and whose desire is accompanied by a measure of determination. As the apostle Paul wrote,
1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
1 Corinthians 1:17-18, “ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
It is the cross of Christ that brings down all barriers, and unites us together in love, for His glory! As Jesus said,
John 12:32-33 “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”
Revelation 21:23 “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb”
I believe it is time for the church to return to Christ as the Lamb of Love, the Lamb of Glory. As we approach the end of the age, we must see and encounter the face of Jesus as the Lamb! Twenty-eight times in the book of revelation, Jesus is revealed as the Worthy Lamb! We need to bury our hearts in his wounds until our lives are transformed from glory to glory, for indeed ‘every wound bleed’s glory.’
When Jesus died, a centurion took a spear and pierced his side. Out of the riven side of the Passover Lamb flowed forth blood and water. It was a physical sign that his heart had ruptured. His heart was so full of love that it literally burst open, both in the natural and in the spiritual. Jesus literally died of a broken heart! And out of his heart flowed forth a river of God’s love for you and I. The crimson blood of the Lamb washes away our sin and makes us whiter than snow. His love was so strong, that even the grave couldn’t hold him back. On the third day he rose again, burst forth from the grave, alive forevermore!
I believe it’s time to behold the Lamb of Glory, until our hearts are wounded by the Wounded One! As Spurgeon writes, “When we see the Lord pierced, the piercing of our hearts begins.”[i]
Could the Holy Spirit be holding back the coming wave of glory until we are gripped with a passion for the Lamb, the One from whom Glory flows? Maybe God is waiting for our hearts to be scarred by the sacrifice of His Son as the Lamb?
Let’s Pray,
Father, we believe that the hour has come for your Son, the Lord Jesus to be honored, and treasured as the Worthy Lamb who was slain! Even as the Lamb is in the center of the throne in Heaven, we declare and decree that it’s time for the Lamb to become the center of the throne on the earth! Father, we know that you are always looking at the wounds of your Son and we ask for a Lamb’s Reformation in the church that would wake us up again to his cross, to bring your Son the reward he deserves for giving his life as a Lamb!
Father would you raise up and send forth messengers of the Lamb, prophetic voices like John the Baptist who will cry out, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”
Bring forth ones like Peter who will preach the gospel with such power that people will be cut to the heart- and say, “What must I do to be saved?”
Father, send forth ones like the apostle Paul who will resolve to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Father raise up ones like John the apostle who will look until they see the slain Lamb standing in the center of the throne in heaven, and then reveal him here on the earth!
Lord of the Harvest thrust forth ones like the Moravians who cried out, “May the Lamb who was slain receive his due reward!”
Jason Hubbard
An Excerpt from Lamb’s Reformation 2017
---Devotional
In a recent phonce call, a number of U.S. prayer network leaders met for an encouraging time of sharing and prayer together. We praised God for what He has done through the growing unity of the U.S. prayer movement the last couple of years, leading up to the “divine turnaround” during the national election. We had an agreed sense that we need to keep going together, coordinating our efforts as much as possible to see God’s greater purpose in national transformation and even a widespread revival fulfilled.
We acknowledged that we are still in a battle mode in this war that we still need to fight together for our nation. “For waging war you need guidance and for victory many advisers” Proverbs 24:6. That is why such an ongoing roundtable of prayer network leaders is so important since no war has been won without a good and agreed on strategy by the generals who are prosecuting it.
A few of the concerns that were shared for prayer:
- As the “swamp is drained” in Washington, D.C., creatures emerge and it is going to get more vicious so we need to mobilize united prayer for the federal government in support.
- Key leaders on the President’s team are in their 30s and do not have enough experience. They have possibly 12-18 months of political capital as foundations, policies, and precedents are being put in place.This requires our special prayer during the first 100 days (40 days left now) and beyond.
- Children and youth need to be mobilized to pray. They are ready and enthusiastic to engage along with the adults in an intergenerational manner, but it is hard to get this going in the USA with the prevailing mindset of separating the generations. Children and youth and their prayers have been used to bring about great revivals and change the history of nations so we need to tap into this amazing resource!
- Keep focused on the upward call of God to love Him and be transformed by Him in the Church. This precedes the outward call to evangelize our fellow Americans. Restoration of the Church will lead to national restoration.
- The USA has escaped like a bird from a trap (Psalm 124:7). Time for us to join forces in a continental and global initiative. We need further understanding about a strategy to confront the enemy.
- We feel a sense of urgency and that timing is a key issue. 2017 is a year to build the spiritual infrastructure of our nation. May 4, the National Day of Prayer, could be a landmark day for the USA with an emphasis on repentance for our national sins and exalting Jesus Christ as Lord.
- Ask the Lord for a new spiritual awakening for the nation, for greater unity in His Body and prayer movement, and for strategies from Heaven. Continue to pray for the President, Vice-President and their administration to be characterized by God’s wisdom and protection. Pray that the prayer army would be stirred to press in.
- Pray for the National Day of Prayer on May 4 and their team that is so busy for His special favor and help from above as they and their coordinators in every state arrange up to 45,000 prayer gatherings that God will use it to propel the prayer movement and a process of national transformation. Also, for the fire of revival to hit every class of people and part of the nation, burning up the darkness and bringing about a deep hunger for God in our society.
John Robb, National Prayer Assembly
Conservative groups were stuck in bureaucratic red tape
Documents obtained by a government watchdog show that the originator of the “After School Satan Club” received speedy tax-exempt status while conservative groups were stuck in bureaucratic red tape under the Obama administration.
Treasury Department files obtained by Judicial Watch last week show Reason Alliance in Somerville, Mass., was given nonprofit status within 10 days of its application in October 2014. The group operates the Satanic Temple out of Washington state and planned an “After School Satan Club” initiative in 2016.
“While the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) makes conservative groups wait years for tax-exempt status an ‘After School Satan Club‘ launched to hinder Christian-based counterparts got its nonprofit ranking in just ten days,” Judicial Watch said in a statement released March 16. “The classification is offered to charitable, religious and educational organizations that operate as nonprofits. Under the Obama administration, IRS political appointees illegally targeted conservative groups, either making them wait up to seven years for tax-exempt status or denying their application altogether.”
The watchdog said that Reason Alliance’s application turned up after Freedom of Information Act Requests related to the IRS’s approval process.
“The fact that a satanic cult got [its application] granted in a week when it took conservative groups seven years to get approved should be pretty illustrative of a deeper problem here,” Brian Morgenstern, vice president of the Manhattan Republican Party, told Fox News on Monday.
Reason Alliance, which was started by directors Malcolm Jarry and Douglas Mesner, says that its mission is to “encourage reason and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, promote justice, and advocate pragmatic common sense.”
The group’s idea for “After School Satan Club” was billed as an alternative to an evangelical Christian group’s after-school program known as the Good News Club.
“If Good News Clubs would operate in churches rather than public schools, that need would disappear. But our point is that if you let one religion into the public schools, you have to let others, otherwise, it’s an establishment of religion,” the group told The Washington Post on July 30, 2016. “We’ve moved well beyond being a simple political ploy and into being a very sincere movement that seeks to separate religion from superstition.”
JudicialWatch.org
Witches seek to attack President Trump
WASHINGTON – Among the angry liberals who refuse to accept the 2016 presidential election results that put Donald Trump in the Oval Office are witches who will be gathering at midnight on Sunday to cast spells.
Again.
They already tried last month to conjure up magic to remove him from office.
Witches, exorcists and occultists say they again will cast a “binding spell” designed to “bind Donald Trump and all who abet him.”
Anti-Trump occultists performed the “mass spell” against the president last month under the hashtag #BindTrump. Witches nationwide shared photos and videos on Twitter of them placing their hex on Trump.
They say they will repeat the ritual on March 26 and on every crescent moon “until Donald Trump is removed from office,” according to the group’s Facebook page.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/witches-to-cast-spell-on-trump-again/#UHVJeIpdm4AccFkv.99
Pray with His authority for the overthrow and closing down of all such “After School Satan Clubs” and of every occult incantation and curse directed against President Trump and his administration. Let the evil one be bound in the USA in all he continues to do to destabilize the new government and let those involved in the satanic realm be set free to love and serve Jesus Christ!
Here is the latest version of the chart focusing prayer for laborers on the areas with the most unreached people groups and least help from workers. It looks much better than it actually is, because 90% of mission workers do not go out to work among unreached groups, but help Christians in those areas (regardless of whether we are talking about Africa, Europe or Asia).
Many church mission committees unwittingly compound this problem by insisting that their workers only work where they can partner with local churches overseas!! This practice consistently leaves the least engaged without help. I hope that the problem of laborers can be highlighted at the Herrnhut meeting.
Rebecca Lewis
Frontiers
Let’s pray the Lord of the Harvest to multiply and send forth adequate workers into this massive harvest in Asia so that movements of disciples who can share the Gospel within their own people groups will arise. May His salvation touch every people group on earth within the coming decade as we adopt these unreached peoples in prayer. The completion of the unfinished task of bearing witness to all the peoples of the earth is a key precursor to the return of Jesus Christ. For more good information about how to pray for unreached peoples and adopt them for the mission of your church or prayer group, please check out this website: https://joshuaproject.net
The world is facing its largest humanitarian crisis since 1945, according to the United Nations.
“We stand at a critical point in history. Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the UN,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien told the UN’s Security Council last week.
While many countries worldwide face food security crises, with large numbers of people hungry and unable to find enough food, only rarely do the conditions meet the humanitarian community’s formal criteria for a famine, says the UN. The UN declares a famine only when the following measures of mortality, malnutrition and hunger are met: at least 20 percent of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope; acute malnutrition rates exceed 30 percent; and the death rate exceeds two persons per day per 10,000 persons. Other factors that may be considered include large-scale displacement, widespread destitution, disease outbreaks and social collapse. Currently five countries are facing or are at risk of famine—Kenya, Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia. Here is what you should know about each of these countries:
Yemen
Number of people facing severe food insecurity: 14.1 million
Cause of crisis: Famine caused by armed conflict
What’s preventing aid: Continuing fighting, lack of rule of law, poor governance, and under-development. As the BBC notes, a naval embargo imposed by the Saudi-led coalition, fighting around the government-controlled port of Aden and air strikes on the rebel-held port of Hudaydah, have severely reduced imports since 2015.
UN assessment: “I continue to reiterate the same message to all: only a political solution will ultimately end human suffering and bring stability to the region,” said O’Brien. He also noted that with access and funding, humanitarians will do more, but cautioned that relief-workers were “not the long-term solution to the growing crisis.”
South Sudan
Number of people facing severe food insecurity: 4.9 million
Cause of crisis: Famine caused by armed UN officials have suggested the conflict that borders on genocide.
What’s preventing aid: Some South Sudan government is blocking food aid to certain areas and that humanitarian convoys and warehouses have been attacked and being looted, either by government or rebel forces. UN assessment: “The famine in the country is man-made. Parties to the conflict are parties to the famine – as are those not intervening to make the violence stop,” said Mr. O’Brien, who called on the South Sudanese authorities to translate their assurances of unconditional access into “action on the ground.”
Somalia
Number of people facing severe food insecurity: 2.9 million
Cause of crisis: Famine caused by armed conflict.
What’s preventing aid: According to BBC news reports, people are so busy trying to survive that they are unable to earn a living by going to work, farming or looking after their animals.
UN assessment: “The current indicators mirror the tragic picture of 2011, when Somalia last suffered a famine,” said O’Brian, who added that a famine could be averted with “strong national leadership and immediate and concerted support by the international community.”
Kenya
Number of people facing severe food insecurity: 2.7 million, but could soon increase to 4 million
Cause of crisis: Drought associated with the ongoing El Nino weather phenomena.
What’s preventing aid: Government incompetence and an inflow of refugees from Ethiopia. UN assessment: “In collaboration with the Government [of Kenya], the UN will soon launch an appeal of $200 million to provide timely life-saving assistance and protection,” said O’Brian. But he adds that about $1.5 billion is required to provide the assistance needed across the region.
Nigeria
Number of people facing severe food insecurity: The estimated number of affected children is now 450,000, with 14 million people needing humanitarian assistance across the region.
Cause of crisis: Famine caused by armed conflict.
What’s preventing aid: Terror attacks byBoko Haram, lack of rule of law, under-development, and possible widespread aid theft. UN assessment: The UN predicts Nigerians likely will suffer "catastrophic" famine-like conditions caused by Boko Haram's Islamic uprising.
The Weekly <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Please pray for the United Nations and its aid efforts for these nations undergoing enormous suffering. Pray for the over 30 million people in these nations who are affected by severe food insecurity and for His provision of funding for food as well as for long-term solutions
A letter sent Tuesday asked for a probe into how U.S. funds are being used by agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to back left-wing political groups in other countries.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, one of the co-signers, even said foreign officials and political leaders have come to him with "reports of U.S. activity in their respective countries."
He said in a statement: "This includes reports of diplomats playing political favorites, USAID funds supporting extreme and sometimes violent political activists, and the US Government working to marginalize the moderates and conservatives in leadership roles. ... This sort of political favoritism from our missions around the world is unacceptable.”
The letter to Tillerson also was signed by Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla.; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; David Perdue, R-Ga.; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and Bill Cassidy, R-La. It followed a letter in February from GOP lawmakers asking about whether U.S. tax dollars have been used in recent years to fund Soros-backed projects in the small, conservative-led country of Macedonia.
In particular, USAID funding to Soro’s Open Society Foundations in Macedonia sparked concern that the U.S. Embassy has been taking sides in the country’s fiery political fights. The group's stated goal is “to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens” but critics claim it's a front for Soros’ political maneuverings.
The USAID website shows that between 2012 and 2016, USAID gave almost $5 million in taxpayer cash to FOSM for “The Civil Society Project,” which “aims to empower Macedonian citizens to hold government accountable.” USAID’s website links to www.soros.org.mk, and says the project trained hundreds of young Macedonians “in youth activism and the use of new media instruments.”
The State Department told lawmakers that in addition to that project, USAID has recently funded a new Civic Engagement Project which partners with four organizations, including FOSM. The cost is believed to be around $9.5 million.
A citizen’s initiative called “Stop Operation Soros” has also published a white paper alleging U.S. money has been funding violent riots in the streets, as well as a Macedonian version of Saul Alinsky’s far-left handbook “Rules for Radicals.”
After being dissatisfied with responses to letters sent to the U.S. ambassador, the senators wrote to Tillerson, noting not only the situation in Macedonia, but also what they describe as “a pattern of alarming activity in this volatile region” -- pointing in particular to the nearby country of Albania.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE LETTER
“Respected leaders from Albania have made similar claims of U.S. diplomats and Soros-backed organizations pushing for certain political outcomes in their country,” the letter said, citing a FOSM-backed push for Albanian judicial reform, which opponents say are aimed to give the socialist government full control over the country’s judiciary.
“The destabilizing effects of such actions in a NATO country are clear and the threat for further escalation eminent as Albania anticipates parliamentary elections later this year,” the letter said.
The senators went on to say that they are also concerned about reports coming in from countries in Africa and Latin America.
“We respectfully ask that you use your authority to investigate all funds associated with promoting democracy and governance and review the programs, accounts, and multiplicity of U.S. entities involved in such activities,” the letter said.
Conservative Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last month expressed concern about Soros meddling in his country’s political fights, and warned about Soros’ “trans-border empire.” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told Fox News last month that they hoped that with a change in administration in Washington, the Soros-led push against their government would decrease.
“I think it is no secret and everyone knows about the very close relationship between the Democrats and George Soros and his foundations. It is obvious that if Hillary Clinton had won then this pressure on us would be much stronger. With Donald Trump winning we have the hope that this pressure will be decreased on us,” he said.
Widely cited as an example of Soros’ influence during the Obama administration was a 2011 email (published by WikiLeaks) in which Soros urged Hillary Clinton to take action in Albania over recent demonstrations in the capital of Tirana.
Soros asked Clinton to “bring the full weight of the international community to bear on Prime Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama to forestall further public demonstrations and to tone down public pronouncements” and appoint a senior European official as mediator.
Within a few days, an envoy was dispatched.
Adam Shaw is a Politics Reporter and occasional Opinion writer for FoxNews.com. He can be reached here or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
Let us continue to pray that George Soros and the organizations he sponsored with his vast wealth will not to be able to carry on with their agenda of destabilizing nations. Pray that his wicked, megalomaniacal schemes will be uncovered and foiled.
There are four major forces at war with Christ for the future of Australia:
- Militant Islam
- Militant Homosexuality
- Militant Atheism
- Hedonism.
At the moment, the church is losing. It is fragmented, compromised with pornography, implicated in child sexual abuse, pervasively lukewarm and fearful of the politically correct.
While this does not reflect some of the great things that are happening in the wider church... only Jesus knows the full scale of the collapse of mainstream denominational Christianity in this nation as typified, for example, by decommissioned churches functioning as restaurants and many elderly congregations just hanging on.
Yet over the next three years we have to fight four major battles that cannot be avoided. The following battles will define the future of Australia for decades to come...
- (un)Safe Schools in the WA State election next weekend where a diabolical confluence of Islam, the Greens and Labor are seeking to defeat our Judeo/Christian based Australian way of life;
- A coming battle over Euthanasia in Victoria that will have serious national implications;
- (un)Safe Schools, Radical Gender Theory and police-state controls over home-schooling that will be at the front lines of the culture wars in the VIC, SA and QLD state elections in 2018;
- War against man-woman marriage and unsustainable national debt that will be fought tooth and nail in the 2019 Federal election (unless it comes earlier).
Remember that if Daniel Andrews is re-elected in Victoria in 2018 he will make (un)Safe Schools compulsory - and remember that Bill Shorten will make Same Sex Marriage compulsory policy in the Labor Party from 2019.
So how do we successfully stand against evil?
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
While this is true on a personal level, it is also true in how we fight for values and how we vote in elections. We must be a well-informed, praying and influential united federation of Christians who use the gift of our democratic voice and vote to defend our values and our freedoms... otherwise we will lose the nation to the enemy in the culture wars over the next three years.
This is a true reflection of the current reality in which we live. I wish it were not so.
But we can win!
By praying and working together we won the fight against the Religious Exceptions Bill and the iniquitous Birth Certificate Bill in the Victorian Parliament last year. Already this year an outrageous abortion bill has been defeated in the Queensland Parliament. And over the last decade some 20 attempts to implement Same Sex marriage have been defeated in the nation's parliaments through the prayers and hard work of the true ecclesia of the Kingdom of God.
This message is a word of encouragement to our WA brothers and sisters to choose candidates and parties who stand for the values of the Kingdom of God in their elections this coming weekend.
In the coming elections of Governments and Councils we now have to reject Labor, the Greens and Independents whose policies are to:
- enforce unbiblical sexuality and radical gender theory on our children in our schools
- implement assisted suicide through proposed euthanasia laws
- break down God's way of marriage as between a man and a woman. Homosexuals are only around 1.5% of the population and they have the equality equivalent of civil unions. Marriage is purposely different. It celebrates the complementarity of men and women to produce children and raise families.
These are bedrock foundations of a civil society based on our identity in Christ. To deny God on these issues is as stupid as former follies such as a tax on windows and a tax on trees.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let this be our guiding light in all things - and especially how we fight for values and how we vote in the coming elections.
In His service,
Peter Kentley <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Please pray with our Australian brothers and sisters in Christ in their spiritual battle against the forces of Militant Islam, Homosexuality, and Atheism and also Hedonism and for the coming elections and councils to do what is right in the sight of God and for the nation.
Erdoğan’s Proposal for an Empowered Presidency
Turks will vote April 16 in a referendum on proposed constitutional amendments that would greatly enhance the power of the presidency and reinforce Turkey’s democratic decline.
“On April 16, the Turkish people will vote on a package of constitutional amendments passed by Turkey’s Parliament on January 21, 2017, that greatly expands the powers of the presidency.
If the package passes the nationwide referendum, it will broaden and deepen the de jure powers of the presidency, giving it authority over all executive branch institutions, including the military. It would give the president the power to appoint key senior-level judges and other judicial officials without parliamentary—or any other—review. It would abolish the post of prime minister, with the president assuming the powers of that office. And it would allow, under certain circumstances, the president to serve three terms totaling just short of 15 years.
In short, Turkey’s long-standing parliamentary political system would be transformed into something more appropriately called a presidential system, in which an “executive presidency”1 amasses unprecedented power in the hands of one man. The referendum will take place amid the ongoing erosion of Turkish democratic institutions, freedom of speech, and political rights. Moreover, the referendum campaign and the vote itself will be held under some of the least democratic circumstances imaginable—namely, emergency rule.
The following are among the other significant features of the proposed new presidential system that will be explored in the main body of this report:
On paper, the new structure would create a presidency with vast powers, but—depending particularly on whether the president’s party controls Parliament—it would be somewhat less powerful than the unfettered, one-man dictatorship widely expected by Erdoğan’s critics and possibly craved by Erdoğan himself.
Voters will go to the polls knowing that a “yes” vote will significantly increase the president’s already considerable power, fortify Turkey’s growing reputation for authoritarianism, and further alienate Turkey from its NATO allies.”
Alan Makovsky is a Senior Fellow on the National Security and International Policy team at the Center for American Progress.
Please keep the beautiful land of Turkey and her people in prayer as they go to the voting booth on April 16 that a just and good government will be the result that upholds religious freedom. Pray that the nation will be kept from religious and political tyranny and that many Turks will be able to have the freedom to come to faith in Jesus Christ. May the Gospel speed on, spreading everywhere as never before in this largely unreached nation!