What’s happening in China right now is downright frightening. In the past few days, the following startling developments have come to light:
• China’s air force just staged its largest-ever drill. The exercise involved more than 100 pilots engaging in dog fights and electronic warfare.
• Beijing has banned U.S. regulators from auditing nine Chinese companies, putting all American companies that do business in China at great risk.
• And amid out-of-control corruption scandals, China’s new leadership is attempting to reinvent its global image, but intelligence suggests there is unlikely to be any substantive reform.
• Clearly, there is a growing mistrust between the United States and China as tensions continue to escalate.
The special intelligence panel was led by Gen. Michael Hayden and Gov. Jon Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China. Both agree the level of corruption in China is a deep and endemic problem that could have a major economic impact on America.
Hayden: “I stand back in awe about the Chinese espionage efforts against the United States.”
Huntsman: “They have manipulated their currency. There is no doubt about that.”
During the LIGNET briefing, the panel also addressed:
1. The implications surrounding China's erratic changes in leadership
2. China's "unprecedented" skill at economic espionage
3. How some Americans are being tricked into investing in fraudulent Chinese companies
4. Why the U.S. had better keep a "close eye" on the Chinese military
5. How China plans to "stride the world" and surpass the U.S. as the global economic superpower
6. The impact of China's sudden military expansion and cyber-warfare capabilities
7. The possibility China will move to seize control of the South China Sea and why
8. The impact of China's worldwide currency manipulation
9. The immense investment opportunities in China
10. Why China's access to raw materials is a major issue
What transpires between the U.S. and China could have dire consequences for America and unimaginable economic implications.
Please keep China, its growing Christian movement in the tens of millions, and its relationship with the USA in your prayers. Pray for a strong friendship between these two leading countries and that conflict will be averted.
From the American Center for Law and Justice http://aclj.org/iran/pastor-nadarkhani-what-prayers-did-for-me
Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani recently spoke at an international human rights conference in London about his imprisonment in Iran for his faith.
He thanked everyone who prayed for him and his family as he faced execution for apostasy before he was finally released in September of this year.
The Christian Post reports:
"It is the opportunity for me to share about what the Lord did for me and to thank you because you supported me by your prayers, you supported my family in a very difficult time," Nadarkhani, 35, told those in attendance at the persecution watchdog group Christian Solidarity Worldwide's National Conference in London in early November.
"My prayer is I ask the Lord to bless you for what you did for me as a small member of the Body of Christ. Today my presence here is the will of God and the result of what your prayers did for me," Nadarkhani added…”
Pastor Youcef was released after an immense international push for his freedom. For more than a year, hundreds of thousands of ACLJ members signed petitions demanding his freedom, ACLJ attorneys worked daily with U.S. and international leaders to increase international pressure on Iran for his release, and the ACLJ’s Tweet for Youcef (http://aclj.org/nadarkhani) campaign reached millions daily with updates about his case.
While Pastor Youcef is now free, his Iranian attorney has been imprisoned for more than two months. Iran imprisoned Mohammad Ali Dadkhah for defending people like Pastor Youcef - those persecuted by the Iranian government. Our Tweet for Youcef campaign continues to reach more than 2 million Twitter accounts each day with updates about Pastor Youcef’s attorney.
As ACLJ International Legal Director Tiffany Barrans told the Christian Post, “As the world awakened to the realities of religious persecution in Iran when the masses fought for Pastor Youcef's freedom, we must now shift our attention to defend those who defend the persecuted.”
Thanks for your prayers for Pastor Youcef and please add your voice to the thousands who are calling for Iran to immediately release Pastor Youcef’s attorney here. (http://aclj.org/nadarkhani)
Greetings from Bundaberg city where we first established the vision for the 'House of Prayer.' In February 4th 2005 I met with the Mayor of this city and shared with her the vision to establish a 'Prayer Ministry' which will endeavour to unite the five Melanesian nations (Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia) and two western nations (Australia & New Zealand). In July 14th, 2005, the late Bishop of the South Sea Evangelical Church, Rev. Bishop Festus Suruma of the Solomon Islands with a team of 40 islanders engaged in the 'Ground breaking Ceremony' at the South Sea Islanders Complex on Johnston street in Bundaberg. In July 14th, 2006, Mayor Cr Kay McDuff and the late Bishop of the South Sea Evangelical Church officially launched the 'Bundaberg City House of Prayer.' Prayer meetings were held everyday from Monday to Friday in the morning at 5 am and Tuesday & Friday at 7 pm for the last 6 years by intercessor teams from Australia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. Four nations have been united with hundreds of intercessors connected with this 'Prayer Hub' called, 'Bundaberg City House of Prayer' and many denominations and missions agencies have become partners with this 'House of Prayer Vision.'
In the last six months of 2012, rich mission partnerships have been established and consolidated with churches and intercessors from Fiji and New Zealand. We have also established new connections with some world bodies in the whole area of prayer movements since May this year when we were invited to join the second 'World Prayer Assembly' held in Jakarta attended by some nine thousand delegates from around the world. The launching of the 'SECOND WAVE' on the 17th May at the national stadium in Jakarta which attracted 120,000 Christians has given us further boosts and mandated us to stay focus on the three aspects of this New Wave which are: Prayer, Worship and Mission. We are challenged to encourage the three generations of Children, Youth and Adults to have an equal engagement in the platforms of Prayer, Worship and Missions. We are looking forward to greater mission prayer partnerships with our two island nations, Fiji & New Zealand and the world bodies in this coming year 2013.
THE HOUSE OF PRAYER MINISTRY REFOCUS...
At our 5th Anniversary in July 14th, 2011, I shared a brief revised vision of the BCHOP which God gave Jezriel Graham and me. We were trapped in Egypt for almost three weeks when all our personal belongings were stolen in September 2009. We spent hours in our bedroom praying, crying and reading the scriptures trying to encourage ourselves in our helpless situation. God spoke very powerfully to us both from Zechariah 4 about the Gold Lampstand with 7 lights with its 7 channels. The whole chapter came to live, and we were challenged to develop a 'SEVENFOLD MINISTRY CHANNELS' namely:
-Channel One… House of Prayer Ministry
-Channel Two… Evangelism & Missions
-Channel Three… Awakening the Nations
-Channel Four… Administrations & Business
-Channel Five… Education & Training
-Channel Six… Building God’s Community (Church Plant)
-Channel Seven… God’s Channel
In the last 6 years of our operations, little did we realize that we have already done some work in the areas of Channels 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7. We have prayed consistently everyday for the last 6 years. We have led and organized evangelism and missions events locally, regionally and internationally. We have co-sponsored 3 annual “Awakening the Nations” events in three different nations. Our next one will be in Papua New Guinea in November 2013. We have trained 4 young men with Global Evangelism Training in the Kuala Lumpa. We are currently looking at sending several more of our young people in Melanesia to do “Student Mission Mobilizer Internship” with Student Volunteer Mission Training in Thailand next year. These were the things God Himself have accomplished in the last five years of our first phase.
In this second phase of development in the “International House of Prayer – Linking the Islands”, our focus will be on “Administrations & Business” and “Building God’s Community” to stand behind this vision. Of course, Prayer, Worship & Mission will become the life-blood of this vision of the IHOP on the Sunshine Coast.
Under the House of Prayer Channel One, we are also going to encourage and establish 'National Houses of Prayer' in the island nations. Our first one of these national Houses of Prayer will be launched in Honiara, Solomon Islands in July 10th - 14th, 2013. We believe that it is important to call our island nations to be united under the banner of the 'National House of Prayer' which will give us a strong Kingdom Base for the recruitment of the intercessor teams to come and help us man our International Base here in Australia.
Please stay in touch with us in this second phase of the developments of the vision of the HOUSE OF PRAYER in the region of the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit. God will work powerfully in transforming lives, families and nations. The 'New Wave of God's Glory' is breaking all around us. The challenge is for us to ride on the crest of God's wave TOGETHER in 'Prayer, Worship & Mission' giving equal opportunities to our Children, Youth and Adults as prophesied in Joel 2:28. The greatest days of the Church of God is just before us. Come join us for Prayer, Worship and Mission at our Buderim Base. We will advise you when we start.
The aim of the Conference is to bring together the people of God, the holy priesthood, intercessors, worshipers - the five ministries - which led by the Holy Spirit, the release Brado Lion of Judah in the Church and in the areas of influence of society, the word prophetic for every season we pursue the revolutionary revival of the kingdom of God in Brazil and nations.
Our vision is to inspire and enable prophetically seeds of life, from strategic places in this generation and the next, redeeming the land and releasing the skies amid a revival revolutionary watered by worship, prophetic intercession in compassion for the great harvest.
An international wave of worship celebrating Jesus the Messiah will make its’ way around the globe on December 12th! Twenty-four hours of worship will begin as the clock strikes 7 PM at the International Date Line.
Global Day of Worship (GDW) is an annual call inviting everyone to lift up the name of Jesus Christ in unity. Last year, on November 11th, more than 200,000 people watched dozens of countries stream their expression on globaldayofworship.com. During those 24 hours, web visitors worshiped with people including a Polish house church, a large Virginian church and Indian children dancing.
“For more than a year the Lord has been laying it on my heart to have Jerusalem as the epicenter for the Global Day of Worship on 12.12.12,” shared Eunice Barruel, founder of GDW. “With oppositions surrounding this land, it is also a place of miracles, deliverance and salvation.”
Eunice continued, “You and I have been given an invitation to worship Jesus the Messiah. He is looking for worshipers willing to build a throne of praise, despite current circumstances. As in the battle with Jehosophat, I believe the victory strategy for this season is to worship and lift up our heads towards heaven, declare his Lordship and see the victory of our Lord!”
Individuals, ministries, churches and schools are invited to join GDW by:
1. Registering for free on www.globaldayofworship.com to tell GDW how you plan to worship on 12.12.12.
2. Streaming your expression of worship for free from 7-8 p.m. your time zone on GDW’s website. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Remember 12.12.12! One LORD. 24 Time Zones. Countless Worshipers.
“To pray unceasingly is to think, live and speak in the presence of God…Prayer is an outward, careful attentiveness to the One who invites us to unceasing conversation.” -Henri Nouwen
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, our partners in prayer throughout the world,
Hope you are experiencing a joyful and blessed New Year. It is time to update you on some key things that are happening in the international prayer movement and to ask if you could please intercede with us concerning these initiatives.
Here are a few prayer concerns for 2013 we would appreciate your keeping in mind. Will you join us in seeking the Lord for these things?:
1) God’s peace, reconciliation and healing for the Middle East region - Please continue to pray for His peace and healing of those Middle East nations that are now in conflict and turmoil. Over the last 100 years, there have been scores of conflicts in this region, a land of ancient cultures, beautiful peoples and their cultures, but tragically, so often torn by terrible divisions, hatreds and wars.
During the next three weeks, accompanied by a colleague or two here and there, I will be meeting with senior church leaders in four countries of that region about developing a regional strategic prayer focus that will connect people of prayer across the region and Christian traditions, with the support of those who can share this burden of concern from around the world. We will also confer with Middle Eastern leaders about the World Prayer Coalition described below. Please pray for hearts and doors to open and for His wisdom and guidance to know how best to carry out such a united prayer focus during 2013.
2) World Prayer Coalition - The Global Christian Forum as well as some Catholic and Orthodox leaders have been considering our proposal to unite praying believers of all traditions in prayer for our world and in answer to Jesus’ prayer of John 17 for the unity of His Body that will result in the world believing that the Father sent Him. This initiative was inspired by the World Prayer Assembly which saw Christians from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox backgrounds praying together for His Church and its mission and our world. It is such a daunting effort to bring together such diverse traditions and denominations to pray in one accord! How we need your prayer support! Pray that the Spirit of the Lord will touch these leaders and give them a heart to engage with us in the IPC and WPA. Such joint prayer, with increasingly united hearts among God’s people, could change the atmosphere of our world for great good, enabling many other Kingdom initiatives to go forward.
3) Afghanistan-Pakistan Prayer Focus for 2013 - in 2014, the Coalition forces will pull out of Afghanistan. It is likely the violent Taliban rebel movement will be able to gain control of that nation and with other Islamic radicals also subvert Pakistan which has nuclear weapons that could threaten India, the West and other parts of our world. The IPC is launching a year-long prayer focus, asking many around the world to pray for the dissolving of the Taliban and the restoration of protection and peace for these two broken yet strategic nations. Please see the fuller article below and pray with us for a massive response by the Body of Christ and for His deliverance of both countries from the threat of the Taliban and radical Islam.
4) United Nations Prayer Initiative - Several organizations have been in talks about cooperating to put on another international prayer initiative for the UN, which dearly needs our prayers. We have decided to do this November 18-20 of this year and to focus on “Children and Youth: Investing in the Future” in connection with the UN Universal Children’s Day (Nov. 20). Venue will be the United Nations in New York City. Connected with the UN initiative, there will also be a third global Children in Prayer consultation in New York, November 16-18. The two will fit well together.
Please pray for His favor with UN officials and ambassadors as planning team colleagues begin to approach them now; for strong and wide international participation by Christian NGOs working with children and youth; as well as by prayer leaders and child and youth leaders worldwide; and for our planning team to work in a united and effective way together.
Thanks so much for your partnership in this way. Your support in prayer is a great blessing and help!
All His best for 2013
Today, a Christian leader from Jordan called to ask us to pray for his nation, which is being overwhelmed by 300,000 refugees from Syria. Iraqi and Palestinian refugees were already camped there for years. The new refugees need more food, clothing and heaters in the winter cold. Nearly 200,000 Syrian refugees are registered in Lebanon, more than 153,000 in Turkey, 69,300 in Iraq, 13,000 in Egypt, and upwards of 5,000 in North Africa, according to the United Nations, which expects their number to rise to 1.1 million by June if the war continues.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-17/202575-jordan-seeking-aid-boost-for-syrian-refugees.ashx#ixzz2IMAulMyb
(The Daily Star: Lebanon News: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Please pray for them and for the provision of these needs by the international community through the government, the U.N., humanitarian agencies. Pray also that many of them will come to the knowledge of the Lord during this difficult ordeal for them and their nation. May a just peace and order be restored to Syria soon!
The Middle East has a long history with Christianity as its birthplace. Now, many Christians are leaving the region due to the growing instability there. The five families of churches represent about 13 to 15 million Christians (approximately 9 million residing in the Middle East)*
1. The Oriental Orthodox churches, which includes the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, the Armenian Apostolic Church living in various Arab countries, and the Syrian Orthodox Church. Each is fully self-governing, though they are in communion with one another.
2. They Byzantine Orthodox churches, often referred to as the Byzantine Orthodox Churches or Eastern or Greek Orthodox. These churches are linked in doctrine, liturgy and canon law with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul (formerly Byzantium or Constantinople) and belong, therefore, to the wider family of Orthodox churches in Russia, eastern Europe and elsewhere.
3. The Catholic churches of the Middle East. These churches all accept the supreme ecclesiastical authority of the Pope and the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Only a small percentage of them are Roman or Latin Catholics. Most can be grouped together as Eastern-rite Catholic churches. The largest of these is the Maronite Church in Lebanon.
4. Assyrian Church of the East is one of the most self-contained of the Middle East churches. It is sometimes called the Church of the “East Syrians” or the Church of Persia. It exists in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
5. The Anglican, Lutheran, and Protestant churches. Like the Eastern-rite Catholic churches, these churches came into being as a result of Western missionary activitiy in the Middle east in modern history. Many new independent and denominational groups have joined this grouping of churches in the Middle East as recently as the 19th century.
*Information provided by Dr. Miltiades B. Efthimiou, Protopresbyter, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople care of Leonard Rodgers of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding.
Please pray our brothers and sisters in Christ to be strengthened and encouraged in their lives and in the fulfillment of the mission the Lord has given them to bear witness to the majority of their region who are from Islamic background and belief. It will take great courage, love and perseverance to do this.