David Cameron and IS funding
Former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown suggests David Cameron has failed to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop 'rich businessmen' from funding jihadists because of the 'closeness' between the Tories and wealthy Arabs. Speaking on the Radio 4 Today programme, he said there was a failure by the government to put pressure on Saudi and Qatar to stop funding the Salafists and the Wahhabists and also to remind them they need to play a larger military part in this campaign against Daesh. The last Saudi plane seen flying as part of the coalition over Syria was three months ago; the last Qatari plane was nearly a year ago.He also said, ‘The Government has refused to have a proper inquiry into the funding of jihadism in Britain; this leads me to worry about the closeness between the Conservative Party and rich Arab Gulf individuals’. See also this week’s Prayer Alert World article no 1.
Brussels: Christians ‘the most persecuted’
In a high-level meeting on religious persecution in Brussels, the President of the European Parliament (EP) said that Europe cannot afford to continue ignoring the fate of Christians, who are clearly the most persecuted group in the world. EP President Martin Schulz said that the persecution of Christians is ‘undervalued’ and does not receive enough attention, which also means that it has not been properly addressed. For Islamists, Christians are the new ‘crusaders’ of Europe. Because of Islamic persecution in the Middle East, more than 70% of Christians have fled from Iraq since 2003, and a further 700,000 Christians have been forced to leave their homes in Syria since the outbreak of civil war.
Russia accuses Erdogan of buying oil from IS
Russia's deputy defence minister, Anatoly Antonov, has accused the family of Turkish President Erdogan of being directly involved in the trade of oil with IS. Mr. Antonov said Turkey was the biggest buyer of ‘stolen’ oil from Syria and Iraq. Mr Erdogan said Russia had no right to ‘slander’ Turkey. The Syrian conflict has given rise to an extensive war economy in which murky deals are struck between a host of partners, even including groups that are fighting each other on the battlefield (see also this week’s Prayer Alert World article no 1). ‘It is not possible to explain Russia's allegations by reason,’ said Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, rejecting Russia's claims at a meeting of businessmen in Ankara. US officials have previously said they have information suggesting Turkish ‘middlemen’ are involved in the illegal IS oil trade.
Finding new life in Croatia
Croatia typically makes headlines these days because of the 460,000 refugees that have passed through it to reach safe havens like Germany. Cold weather and stricter border controls are slowing down the mass movement of peoples, but refugees are still undeterred. Today, though, there is a different movement of people that is saving lives. It began last year when God put it on a woman’s heart to create a life giving ministry in Croatia. With prayer support and training from crisis pregnancy centres in neighbouring countries, she began ‘Choose Life Ministry’. Now desperate women learn about Christ’s forgiveness and redemption, find hope and new life in a crisis moment, and hear about the life-giving message of Jesus Christ as they choose life for their children and hope for their future.
Disfigured, disheartened - then he turned on his radio
Bharat held a good government job in India and lived a comfortable life. Then ugly white patches spread across his body. All his savings went on unsuccessful treatments. He lost his job and became bitter. The future looked bleak, he lost hope and quarrelled and fought with everyone. Then someone gave him a Trans World Radio programme guide and suggested he listen to The Word Today programme in his language. The man also prayed with him. Through the programme Bharat moved closer to Jesus Christ and pondered daily on what he had heard. His life changed, he had hope, he refrained from alcohol and stopped quarrelling with others. He said, ‘Peace trickled into my life and the lives of my family members. When prayers were said on the radio, our family prayed along. Now my whole family believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and have accepted him as our Saviour.’ God also removed 90% of the patches on his body.
Burundi: Outside Powers Warn Of Spiraling Conflict
November 13, 2015
The United Nations, African Union and European Union all warned on Nov. 12 that political violence in Burundi is threatening to spiral into a full-scale regional ethnic conflict, Reuters reported. The U.N. Security Council adopted a French-drafted resolution on contingency planning to enable an international response to any further escalation in Burundi, asking Sec. Gen. Ban Ki-moon to prepare options for boosting the U.N. and African Union presence in the country. On Nov. 13, the EU mission in Burundi began reducing staff and sending family members home, while Belgium advised its citizens in the country to leave. At least 240 people have reportedly been killed and tens of thousands more have fled the landlocked country since April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would run for another term.
Violence in Burundi Raises Fears of Ethnic Conflict Elsewhere
Violence is once again rising in Burundi, and as the death toll mounts, the country's neighbors are becoming increasingly concerned that the conflict could spill across their borders. Several international organizations have even expressed fears that Burundi's political turmoil could spark broader ethnic strife throughout an already restive region. But these dire predictions probably will not come to pass, since Burundi's leaders - and its watchful neighbors - have every incentive to keep the bloodshed in check.
Please keep this little nation of East Africa and the wider region in prayer. In the 1990s, it and especially its neighboring nation of Rwanda experienced the full horror of ethnic conflict and genocide. Pray that such a thing will be kept from happening again and for God's peace to reign in Burundi and the whole region.
Thanks, many thanks indeed for your prayer support. The Royal Kids Of South Africa managed, by the Grace of God, to make it to Cape Town and hosted our first Children Prayer Conference with aplomb. A 2000 Seater Tent was full and overflowing with Children!!! There has never been such a gathering of Children in Cape Town before. The Churches were shell shocked. The Prayer Conference itself fulfilled its purpose. Several Bodies of Pastors' Networks came together for the first time and none of them had horns!!! We had bumper crowds from day one to the last day. Spiritually, it was highly successful.
Bishop Peter Sekhonyane
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One of the regional prayer strategies developed at the launch of the IPC in South Africa in 2002 has developed into a strong, annual assembly of prayer and ministry leaders from all eleven countries of Southeast Asia. This video records the wonderful things that have developed through this ongoing association. Praise God and enjoy!
Germans Opposed to Mass Migration are "Free to Leave"
by Soeren Kern • November 24, 2015
After factoring in family reunifications, the actual number of migrants could exceed 10 million, and some believe that Germany's Muslim population is on track to nearly quadruple to an astonishing 20 million by 2020.
N24 television news reports that up to 50% of the asylum seekers arriving in Germany have gone into hiding and their whereabouts are unknown by German authorities.
"It cannot be that offenders continue to fill the police files, hurt us physically... and there are no consequences. ... We are losing control of the streets." — Tania Kambouri, a German police officer.
"We are not excluding anyone, we are just trying to run a business. If we ignore the complaints of our female guests, we have to expect that many of our regular customers will stay away.... Financially, we do not know how long can we cope with this." — Thomas Greil, manager of the discotheque "Brucklyn," Bad Tölz, Bavaria.
"We are reproducing faster and faster. You Germans are not getting any children. In the best case you get two children. We make seven to eight children. Okay mate? And then we take four wives each, then we have 22 children. Maybe you Germans have one child and a dog. Huh? And that's it." — Video showing a Muslim threatening a German man openly on the street.
In Berlin, lawmakers are considering emergency legislation that would allow local authorities to seize private residences to accommodate asylum seekers. The proposal was kept secret from the public until November 9, when the leader of the Free Democrats (FDP) in Berlin warned the measure would violate the German Constitution. Berlin Mayor Michael Müller now wants to expand the scope for warrantless inspections to include "preventing homelessness."
"The same empathy we show for refugees we must show to our own people, the host society." — Mayor Ulrich Maly, Nuremberg.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left): "The Chancellor has the situation under control. I Have My Vision. I Will Fight For It."
Asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East are continuing to pour into Germany in record numbers, despite freezing temperatures and snow.
More than 180,000 migrants arrived during the first three weeks of November, on track to surpass the previous monthly record of 181,000 migrants recorded in October.
With 300 newcomers now arriving every hour, Germany is expected to receive more than one million asylum seekers in 2015, and at least as many in 2016. After factoring in family reunifications, the actual number of migrants could exceed 10 million, and some believe that Germany's Muslim population is on track to nearly quadruple to an astonishing 20 million by 2020.
Please pray for Europe and its leaders trying to cope with the huge migrant exodus happening from Syria, other Middle Eastern countries as well as those from Africa and even Central Asia trying to seek a better life. Pray for the Christians and churches to know how to serve and share the Good News with these desperate people. It is a huge opportunity but also one fraught with the risk of the further export of Islamic terrorism. Pray for His protection too over these nations.
Repentance is greatly under valued in the modern church world. Identificational repentance even more so and yet repentance was the message that laid the foundation for the operation of the power of God in the New Testament.
The message of John the Baptist was "repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand."Jesus message was the same, repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." Both of these messages were accompanied by open displays of the power of God.
Peter continued the call to repentance in the book of Acts chapter 2 when he said "Repent... and save yourselves from this perverse generation," hardly a message that would see him invited to speak in many modern day churches, and yet this message released the power of God for the salvation of 3,000 souls.
In the Book of Revelation Jesus Christ called five of the seven churches to repentance, which would indicate, looking at statistical odds, that you and I need to activate repentance in our lives 71% of the time. Certainly a sobering thought to say the least. Repentance literally means in the Greek to 'have a change of mind and turn around'. But it is not just a state of the mind but a state of the heart. It has a lot to do with humility.
Nowhere is this more exemplified than when the prophet Isaiah, who we understand was a righteous man, prophesying against the evil of his day, spoke out regarding his own state: "Woe is me for I am ruined, I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst a people with unclean lips." In doing so he at the least identified with sinfulness of the people of his own generation and asked God for cleansing.
The prophet Daniel who is one of the few bible characters who had no known sin recorded against him took it one step further in identificational repentance when he prayed to God in Daniel 6:9, "I and my forefathers have sinned."
This was the thought at the forefront of my mind when I learned of the evil behaviour of Australian citizens in San Francisco who arguably laid the foundation of evil that San Francisco was built on in the early days of the gold rush in the 1850's. I learned this from two Australian prayer warriors Merv and Sharon Stevenson who had spent several weeks in July 2015 researching and repenting for Australia's contribution to organised crime, prostitution, sex trafficking, murder and mayhem in the early days of San Francisco.
The port area which was the hub of the city of San Francisco and the vice capital for the city was known as Sydney Town from 1850 -1865. It later became known as the Barbary Coast, but the continuing predominance of Australian immigrants in the criminal activities was a well known fact.
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Ducks
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Coast,_San_Francisco
In the book "The Barbary Coast - An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld", USA crime historian Herbert Asbury said "The villainous inhabitants of Sydney-Town were popularly called Sydney Ducks or Sydney Coves, but more often the former. It was a common saying in early San Francisco whenever a particularly atrocious crime was committed, that 'the Sydney Ducks were cackling in the pond'. Unquestionably, these foreign felons gave San Francisco's underworld its initial flavour; they were the pioneers in the viciousness and depravity for which the Barbary Coast became famous, and the echo of their unholy cackling was not stilled for more than half a century."
I was shocked, to say the least, as I had been one of those who had pointed my finger in judgement at San Francisco, but typically I now found three fingers of my hand pointing back at me and my forbears. I was born in Sydney Australia and I had always thought that Sydney, being a sister city of San Francisco since 1967, had influenced us in a bad way.
Imagine my surprise to learn that it was us in Australia that had laid the foundation for San Francisco to become the immorality capital of the world in the sixties and seventies. Knowing that we were on our way to speak at the World Congress of Families in Utah, Alison and I felt it was time to ask the people of San Francisco for forgiveness and repent on behalf of our fathers and say sorry for their sins, not to mention my own spiritual pride.
On 31st October another Australian, my wife Alison and I gathered with seven other local intercessors from the San Francisco House of Prayer, led by Anne Trumbo. We also had Ps Jeff Daly from the USA Day of Repentance and David Bereit the Director of 40 Days for Life representing Christian ministries from all over the USA.
We prayer-walked the downtown area and then met on the 11th floor of the Trans America Pyramid, overlooking San Francisco. A kind Christian businessman gave us access to an 'upper room'. We conducted a communion service together and we declared the forgiveness found in and through the blood of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God and jointly blessed San Francisco.
Our Australian brother, with Alison and I, washed an American brother's feet in heartfelt repentance and asked and received forgiveness from those present on behalf of Australia. We expected God to do something but we were truly caught by surprise by what God was about to do.
San Francisco, and California, has been gripped in a record breaking four year drought, but I did not have the faith to pray for an end to the drought. My belief in the unmerited favour found in the blood of Jesus Christ and the supernatural implication of true repentance was far too limited. Thankfully God's grace is bigger than my own judgemental attitudes.
We were to witness the first part of the miracle first hand when rain began to fall within 24 hours of our repentance service in what turned out to be the largest fall of rain in San Francisco for 9 months. The good news is that San Francisco has had several more showers of rain that would appear to herald the end of one of the worst droughts on record. 1.http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_29061079/autumn-storm-prelude-but-not-yet-el-nino
Even more amazing is that at exactly the same date we were having our combined repentance service in San Francisco, Saturday 31st October, rain began to fall at Barcaldine in central Queensland in the northern part of Australia. This area was also the centre of a record breaking four year drought which has gripped central Queensland.
1. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-02/weekend-storms-outback-queensland/6904972
2. http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/watl/rainfall/pme.jsp
Over the next two days Barcaldine recorded its greatest monthly rainfall on record. Better still more rain has fallen since and more is forecast in short term forecasts. The same is the case in northern California. It would seem that in both areas the weather patterns have changed and all things point to an end of the drought in both locations.
We cannot yet say the drought is over as we need 6-12 months of good soaking rain for that to occur. What we can say authoritatively is that both regional areas of our respective nations received an extraordinary outpouring of the grace of God within 24 hours of a combined Australian and USA repentance service being held in San Francisco. The scripture says that we serve a merciful God who sends the rain on the just and the unjust. God is Good!!!!!
It is our conviction that this rain is a miraculous display of the power of God's love released as a consequence of heartfelt repentance between our respective nations as found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 As the scripture says, "Where sin abounds there does much more Grace bound."
We pray that this natural rain is a sign of the supernatural rains of revival that the USA and Australia so desperately need. Let's continue to covenant together to pray for revival and reformation for the USA and Australia. Soli Deo Gloria!
Much love Warwick & Alison Marsh
Australia
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