Syria: Lebanese Hizbollah leading al-Assad offensive
A major attack by the Syrian regime on a town west of Homs is being led by the Lebanese Shia militia Hizbollah, according to the opposition Syrian National Coalition and activists. The area is a key supply route to rebel forces in and around Homs and also on the main road from Damascus to pro-regime Alawite districts further north. Hizbollah fighters are better trained in guerrilla warfare than the regime’s and have taken over from regime forces on the ground and are leading the battle in Qusayr, with its elite forces. It’s not necessarily fighters coming from Lebanon. It’s Hizbollah fighters from Shiite villages on the Syrian side which are inhabited by Lebanese. The war has put great pressure on Lebanon’s fragile internal politics, with Hizbollah supporting the Assad regime and Sunni Muslims supporting the rebels, in some cases with arms and money. The Omar Farouq Brigade, a prominent rebel militia, admitted shelling Shia villages inside Lebanon, a move condemned by Human Rights Watch on Monday. See item 7 below.
Pray: against groups in Lebanon getting further involved in the Syrian conflict, pray for protection for the civilians increasingly paying the price of indiscriminate attacks.
Israel: Syria used chemical weapons several times
A senior Israeli military intelligence official said on Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons last month in his battle against insurgent groups. It was the first time that Israel has accused the embattled Syrian leader of using his stockpile of non-conventional weapons. The assessment could raise pressure on the US and other Western countries to intervene in the Syrian conflict. Britain and France recently announced they had evidence that al-Assad's government had used chemical weapons. Although the US says it has not been able to verify these claims, President Obama has warned that the introduction of chemical weapons by al-Assad would be a ‘game changer.’ Israel borders southwestern Syria, although al-Assad is a bitter enemy, Israel has been careful not to take sides - the border with Israel has been quiet for 40 years. Israeli officials are concerned al-Assad's stockpile of chemical weapons and other advanced arms could reach the hands of al-Assad's ally, the Hizbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon. See item 6 above.
Pray: Against sophisticated arsenals of weapons being used, and continued peace on the Syria Israeli border. (Jdg.3:11)
More: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57580879/israel-syria-used-chemical-weapons-several-times/
NIGERIA: Christians threaten retaliation
Christian militants MEND (The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ) threatened to attack Muslim targets in response to bombings carried out by Boko Haram. Targets would be mosques, hajj camps, Islamic institutions, large congregations in Islamic events and assassinations of clerics that propagate doctrines of hate. However Mend has appeared increasingly fragmented in recent months. The group behind the current threats is believed to comprise disgruntled militants who have turned against the amnesty agreed between Mend and the Nigerian government in 2009. ‘We are on the cusp of something imaginable happening.’ said Tolu Ogunies a journalist and witness to attacks on Muslims in southern Nigeria. This new round of proposed violence is codenamed Operation Barbarossa. (Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union)
Pray: for threats of murder and violence to be replaced by peaceful stability and helpful diplomacy. (Ps.43:1-4)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/16/nigerian-christian-retaliation-islamist-attacks
USA: Boston Marathon
A grieving Boston community filled a park late Tuesday where 8 year old Martin Ruchard, a local boy and the youngest victim killed in the Boston Marathon bombings, once played. They prayed for the family and neighborhood as they held candles and sang ‘God Bless America.’ Martin was by the finish line when the explosion killed him and two others and injured 176. Richard's mother Denise suffered brain injury and his 6-year-old sister Jane lost a leg. We are asked to pray for Bill the family’s father. President Barack Obama vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Christians have taken to Twitter to express their sympathies and ask for prayers with the hashtags #prayforboston and #BostonMarathon Mars Hill Church Pastor said, ‘The most powerful weapon at our disposal against evil is the hope-filled prayer of God's people.’ See also: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/prayers.after.boston.marathon.explosions/32145.htm
Pray: for medical personnel and counselors treating the victims. May God give these men and women helpful words for hurting people. (Ps.40:17)
Thank you for your partnership with us. I am charged with making sure interested partners have the full partnership pack, and the ability to put the EXPOSED Global Call tool on their website. The partner pack is at https://www.box.com/exposedpartnerpack, and I attach the Leaflet and Partner Actions for you here too. Let’s be in prayer for this important global campaign to expose corruption that affects the poor and all of us.
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Mexican drug cartels whose operatives once rarely ventured beyond the U.S. border are dispatching some of their most trusted agents to live and work deep inside the United States -- an emboldened presence that experts believe is meant to tighten their grip on the world's most lucrative narcotics market and maximize profits.
If left unchecked, authorities say, the cartels' move into the American interior could render the syndicates harder than ever to dislodge and pave the way for them to expand into other criminal enterprises such as prostitution, kidnapping-and-extortion rackets and money laundering.
A wide-ranging Associated Press review of federal court cases and government drug-enforcement data, plus interviews with many top law enforcement officials, indicate the groups have begun deploying agents from their inner circles to the U.S. Cartel operatives are suspected of running drug-distribution networks in at least nine non-border states, often in middle-class suburbs in the Midwest, South and Northeast.
"It's probably the most serious threat the United States has faced from organized crime," said Jack Riley, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Chicago office.
Border states from Texas to California have long grappled with a cartel presence. But cases involving cartel members have now emerged in the suburbs of Chicago and Atlanta, as well as Columbus, Ohio, Louisville, Ky., and rural North Carolina. Suspects have also surfaced in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
Statistics from the DEA suggest a heightened cartel presence in more U.S. cities. In 2008, around 230 American communities reported some level of cartel presence. That number climbed to more than 1,200 in 2011, the most recent year for which information is available, though the increase is partly due to better reporting.
Danny Porter, chief prosecutor in Gwinnett County, Ga., said he has tried to entice dozens of suspected cartel members to cooperate with American authorities. Nearly all declined. Some laughed in his face. "They say, `We are more scared of them (the cartels) than we are of you. We talk and they'll boil our families in acid,"' Porter said. "Their families are essentially hostages."
Proverbs 11:1 (MSG) GOD hates cheating (dishonest and unrighteous dealings) in the marketplace; he loves it when business is aboveboard.
PRAY:
1. For the exposure of all illegal activities and the eminent capture of all TCO cartel operatives functioning inside the USA. (Prov. 28:1)
2. For leads and evidence leading to the capture and conviction of all cartel operatives and members, and the dismantling of all TCO cartel activities in the USA. (Luke 8:17)
3. For protection of all law enforcement as they investigate these illegal activities as well as for the protection of their families. (Rom. 13: 1-4)
4. That as the cartels attempt to set up businesses in the USA (even legitimate businesses to sell marijuana in states that have made this lucrative drug legal) that their money laundering operations will be exposed and shut down. Prov.11:1
5. Associated Press. "Mexican Drug Cartels Reportedly Dispatching Agents Deep inside US." Fox News. IFOX News Network, 01 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2013.
North Korea: Hidden truths
The Panorama program reporting on North Korea this week showed poverty and greyness - a bottling factory with no bottling going on; a collective farm with no crops or animals; a smart new hospital with no patients ; but most of this is already known. Real insights come from escapees over the border in South Korea and from experts and analysts. North Korea is a secretive, dangerous place, with brainwashed people - often in the dark because the lights don't work. What we don’t hear in the media is the 200,000+ North Korean citizens, including many of our Christian brothers and sisters, suffering under brutal conditions in six confirmed labour camps for political prisoners. Three examples are:- Camp 14 - where 50,000 prisoners will work until death. Camp 22 - the size of Los Angeles used for human experiments. It also holds about 50,000 prisoners. Camp 25 - controlled by secret police and believed to hold felons, religious leaders and spies and their families. Very few North Koreans survive detention camps. See: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june152012/korea-religion-pk.php
Pray: for God in His mercy to touch the lives of North Korean people, for His protection to be over believers and God's workers in the underground church. (Ps.64:9-10)
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/apr/15/panorama-inside-north-korea-review
Canada: March for life May 9th,
Canadians are the only western nation with no protection for the unborn. Each year at the National March For Life thousands gather to demand protection for children before and after birth. Last year almost 20,000 pro-lifers assembled on Parliament Hill and marched through downtown Ottawa to inform Canadians how they treat the unborn. This year Provincial Marches For Life will also take place simultaneously across Canada, drawing thousands more. Since 1969 over 4 million children have been killed by abortion in Canada. This year another 100,000 babies will be put to death at taxpayer expense while society turns a blind eye. This event is an opportunity for people of all ages to join in the civil rights movement of our day. We are asked to pray during the coming weeks many will make the decision to add their voices to the cry on behalf of the unborn Canadians.
Pray: for God to use these events to shift public opinion across the nation. Pray for a softening of hearts and a true awareness of the need for the law to change in Canada. (Mat.10:29-30)
More: http://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=March_For_Life
Background
The ‘Deep Sea Canoe Vision’ was given to me in early 1986, in my nation of Solomon Islands. It was during a normal Elder’s prayer meeting on which the agenda was the opening up of a new congregation in a suburb of Honiara city. I began to receive this powerful impression on my mind. The impression was so strong that I could not suppress or ignore it. I called the attention of my colleagues and requested if they did not mind; allow me to share with them what I was seeing in my mind. This is the account of the vision I saw.
Solomon Islands
A great flood was coming down a valley in spite of the fact that it was not raining at all. Unlike any normal flood, the water was pure crystal clear with no dirt or object whatsoever in it. The flood then came to a dam. It began to fill up the valley forming a beautiful lake with greenish blue colour. As the water had completely filled up the valley, it began to flow over the bank of the dam. And as it did, it changed into a water spray of mist like a cloud. At that point the map of the world came onto the scene. From the map I could see that all this was taking place in the Solomon Islands.
South Pacific
Then this cloud began to float around towards Australia, turned north towards Papua New Guinea, and then it turned east and headed back toward the Solomon Islands. From the Solomon Islands, the cloud headed east for the second round toward the Eastern Pacific countries of Polynesia. From the east the cloud turned around and headed back west through New Zealand, then Australia, and finally back to Papua New Guinea again for the second time.
Americas
From Papua New Guinea, the cloud changed into what I can only describe as currents. It looked like the effect of a speedboat on water without the boat. There were actually three streams of this. These three-pronged currents headed east towards the west coast of the United States of America. When they hit the West Coast of America, they split up in three different directions. The left stream turned north and headed towards the North Pole, the right stream turned south and headed towards the South Pole, and the centre stream went on straight towards the East Coast of the United States. When the centre stream reached the East Coast, it took a 180-degree about turn. And as it did so it became a great big tidal wave, a tsunami linking up with the northern and the southern streams, from the North Pole all the way to the South Pole.
World
This great tsunami literally covered everything within its path. It rolled back over the Americas and then over the Pacific. The wave kept travelling in the westerly direction until the southern tip came to the Indian Ocean. From there the southern tip swung around and went around until it reached the Arabian Gulf and then it stopped. The northern tip kept rolling over Asia, the whole of Europe, and then from there it turned south and went around until it encircled the whole of the African continent. When it came around Cape Horn, the tip of South Africa, it swung around northeast and travelled up until it linked up with the southern tip of the wave that had been waiting all this time in the Arabian Gulf.
Israel
As the two ends met up, they formed a perfect circle with Jerusalem right at the centre of it. Then from all sides, the wave zoomed in on Jerusalem, and when it hit Jerusalem, it shot up into the sky like a great pillar of water. As this great pillar of water reached deep into the heavens, it opened up like a mushroom and then floated out into all directions in the most beautiful cloud formation one can ever imagine until it completely engulfed the whole earth. Then these words came out from heaven,
‘And the Glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea!’
The Prophet Rev. Michael Maeliau
Solomon Islands, Pacific Ocean, 1986
The Prayer Movement Behind the Deep Sea Canoe Vision
Background
A South Pacific Regional Missions Consultation was held in Suva, Fiji, in December 1989 under the umbrella of the World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF). Rev Michael Maeliau of the South Seas Evangelical Church of the Solomon Islands and Dr. Raymond Windsor of New Zealand who represented the Pacific on the World Evangelical Fellowship’s Mission Commission organised this event. The real purpose and challenge out of this meeting was to see more mission activity out of the Pacific region, especially from the Pacific Islands who had been very active in Christian Missions in the past.
One of the things that came out of this meeting was the need for a Regional Prayer movement which started two years later in the Solomon Islands,1991, under the name of the “South Pacific Prayer Assembly”. It became the “All Pacific Prayer Assembly” in Vanuatu, 2003. In Taiwan, 2011, it became the “All Peoples Prayer Assembly”. This Prayer Assembly has also been tracking the Deep Sea Canoe Vision, outlining the move of God’s glory from the ends of the earth back to Jerusalem, for its official launching to the world in 2017. The Glory Cloud from Jerusalem will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas, bringing forth the rain for the ‘Latter Rain Harvest’ before the end of the age, for the glory of God.
We also believe that the Deep Sea Canoe Vision revealed in the Solomon Islands (1986) and the Pacific Prayer Assembly that started in the Solomon Islands (1991) are both fruit of the 1st World Prayer Assembly (WPA) that was held in Seoul, South Korea, 1984.
The All Peoples Prayer Assembly (APPA):
2011 – 1st All Peoples Prayer Assembly (APPA) was hosted by the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan (29 April – 6 May 2011) during the 100-year anniversary of the Republic of China (ROC in Taiwan) since it was founded by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen in 1911. This was the first ‘Home Coming’ for Austronesia and the official Opening of the ‘Taiwan Gate’. The All Pacific Prayer Assembly became the All Peoples Prayer Assembly in Taiwan, 2011.
2012 – 2nd APPA joined the 2nd “World Prayer Assembly” in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 14-18 May 2012. This World Prayer Assembly under the International Prayer Council/Connect (IPC) was co-hosted by South Korea and Indonesia. Indonesia is the Gateway for the Pacific to the world, so the 2nd WPA 2012 became the gateway for the glory and APPA from the Pacific to the world.
2013 – 3rd APPA – East Coast, USA, American Continent
2014 – 4th APPA – Malaysia, Asia
2015 – 5th APPA – Europe?
2016 – 6th APPA – Africa?
2017 – 7th APPA. Israel will host in Jerusalem during Sukkot as the Deep sea Canoe finally arrives in Israel. 2017 will mark the 50th Anniversary or Jubilee for the City of Jerusalem since unification under the sovereignty of Israel. 2017 will also mark the 70th Anniversary for the UN Mandate for the rebirth of the nation of Israel.
2018 – The Glory Cloud/Sukkah/Tabernacle covering the nations from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth! This will be during the 70th Anniversary of Israel since their rebirth in 1948. The Glory Cloud will precipitate the rain for the Latter Rain Harvest for the whole world before the end of the age (James 5:7).
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” James 5:7-9.
Syria: Situation worsens for Christians
Reports are surfacing of alarming conditions facing those who remain in Syria. ‘When people leave their houses in the morning they say goodbye to their families in case they don’t come back. There are suicide bombers and car bombs going off all around. 70% to 80% of the Christian population has fled to Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt. Living conditions in Syria are extremely harsh and dangerous. Few people are employed. The infrastructure is in tatters. People are beheaded. Girls are raped and killed. The prices for gas and food are ten times what they were two years ago. But the situation is worse for Christians because they face persecution from all sides of the conflict. There is al-Qaeda, dissidents from the Syrian army, a Muslim group called Victory, and other factions. Before the revolution Christians enjoyed legal protection from the Assad government.
Pray: for God’s mercy to rest on all innocent victims still living in Syria. May those who know him also know his comfort and may those who do not yet know him be found by Him. (Ps.60:5)
More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2013/s13040071.htm