Reminder!
This Monday, March 23, at 8:00 p.m.
we will host another nationwide
COVID-19 conference call.
Come join us!
Call 712-775-7465
Access code: 410584#
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
info@capitolhillprayer.org
The Daily Brief:
Legislative Snapshot
Saturday, March 21, 2020
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15)
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How to Subscribe:
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners welcomes all who wish to pray for our leaders to join us in prayer for our nation. You may sign up to receive our alerts by sending an email to us at:
info@capitolhillprayer.org requesting that your name be added to our list of subscribers.
WELCOME!
Bulletin!
Tonight, we will publish a Special Alert:
"Confronting COVID-19 Through Prayer"
Thank you all for joining me in prayer that the technology at Constant Contact WILL work so that we can get this information out to you! AMEN!
(P.S. If it can't go out tonight, please watch for it in the morning tomorrow.)
The Daily Jot
Thursday, March 19, 2020
God is in Control?
"God is in control" is a cliché that is common among Christians these days. This means different things to different people. On one side of the spectrum, people believe that no matter what happens, great or small, God is in control of every small detail. On the other side of the spectrum, people believe that God is in control, but there is free will to make decisions and experience the consequences of those decisions-good, bad, or indifferent. Overall, I believe God is in control in that he allows us to make decisions and he will intervene according to His will. I bring this up because some Christians say they will not abide by China coronavirus restrictions because God is in control and anybody who does take precaution lacks faith.
There are at least two problematic issues with this position. One is of faith and the other is of testing God, and they are interrelated. Satan brought Christ to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, urging him to cast himself down, saying in Luke 4:10-11, "For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you to keep you: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone." Jesus answered in verse 12, "It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Those who emphatically state that God is in control might see this example, if told to them without the mention of Satan and Jesus, as someone who lacks faith.
Faith as defined in Hebrews 11:1 is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him [God]: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." James writes in 2:18, "Yea, a man may say, You have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." He goes on to write in verse 26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." There is much written in the Bible about faith. It is based in trust and should result in wisdom, not foolishness. With respect to coronavirus faith with wisdom might look like what Martin Luther wrote in a letter during the time of the Black Death Plague.
In Luther's Works, Volume 43, page 132, he wrote: "I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. This I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God."
Godly faith is not foolish, nor does it tempt God. Those who question others' faith because they subscribe to best practices of science and health in dealing with coronavirus are both foolish and risk tempting God. Christ arguably had more faith than any human, but he refused to tempt God by making a foolish decision. Christians, who make foolish proclamations of faith that belie good sense and risk tempting the Creator, cause those who are seeking answers during this crisis to question the very credibility of God. We are God's representatives on earth. Let's not allow ignorance of sound doctrine to get in the way of what God wants to accomplish during these times. If you believe God is in Control, show your faith with wisdom and love.
Messsage for Americans
At the White House press briefing on the coronavirus Friday, reporters asked, "Do you have a message for Americans who are scared?" Multiple times, multiple reporters, asking multiple people that same question.
People's fears are two-fold. They fear the virus itself, and they fear its economic consequences.
There's a lot of uncertainty. Things upon which many relied have now become uncertain, at all levels with all magnitudes. A sense of dependency has invaded every corner across the land.
The truth is, our dependency is not new. Life has always been fragile, and our way of life, economy, income, and daily routines have always been subject to speedy removal and disruption.
Every good thing we have enjoyed in this country has been a blessing from God. In return He asks for our thanks. That price has been too high for some. Pride has kept our culture from giving Him credit, and we have kept the glory for ourselves.
Why would God continue to bless a people who reject Him?
I don't see signs we're finished rejecting Him either. We've barely come to realize the scope of the challenge. We're still dependent on what lingers of our old way of life and expecting things to get back to the way they were shortly. The essentials are still available at the grocery store, even if not quite as continuously as they were three months ago.
None of us chose or would have chosen our current circumstances. Nonetheless, God has chosen to give them to us. The question for us, then, is How will we use them? Will we use this time to seek Him?
Recent Floor Activity
Weekly Digest of the Congressional Record
Related Headlines
House Passes Revised Coronavirus Bill Guaranteeing Free Diagnostic Testing
• Hyde Amendment Survives in Virus Bill
• Bill harms independent doctors
• House Democrats tried adding benefits for anyone in "a committed relationship."
Senate clears $104B House coronavirus bill
• rejects Rand Paul's offset plan for $104B
Congress Last Week
National Security
Senate Approves 77-day Extension of FISA Court's Surveillance Powers
Foreign Policy
China's coronavirus cover-up was among worst in history, congressman says
Immigration
'Nonpeople': Rand Paul argues against federal tax credit for illegal immigrants
Federal Spending
McConnell outlines four-part stimulus plan
McConnell proposes $1,200 for every American in "Phase 3" coronavirus stimulus bill
Senate Republican proposal rejects grants for U.S. airlines, could get equity
Senate Republicans Introduce Trillion-Dollar COVID-19 Relief Plan
Senate Republicans, Democrats Propose Different Student Loan Relief Plans
CCP Virus Exploding Federal Deficit Even as Comptroller General Warns of 'Urgent' Need for Debt Reduction
Commerce Policy
New privacy bill would add 440 FTC employees
Congress
Despite Coronavirus Teleworking, Chaos Reigns Behind the Scenes on Hill as Dems, GOPers Jockeying on Relief, Stimulus Bills
First coronavirus cases in Congress spark push for remote voting
Senators Sold Stocks After Receiving Briefings on New Virus From China
Burr asks for ethics investigation into his $1.7 million stock sell-off before coronavirus market plunge
Lawmakers accused of stock dumping
Sen. Loeffler Says She Would Submit To Review Over Stocks That Were Sold
Pending Activity
Committee Activity
Safety concern prompts Senate to cancel critical coronavirus hearing
House Republicans press for hearing on 'threat' China poses to US pharmaceutical industry
Floor Outlook
The growing coronavirus stimulus packages
Pelosi, Schumer Respond to McConnell's 'Phase 3' CCP Virus Proposal
House only to reconvene when stimulus package vote ready
Senate Floor
Senate Committees
Senate Committee Meetings Schedule
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Armed Services
Hearings to examine the posture of the Department of the Army in review of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2021 and the Future Years Defense Program.
House Floor
House only to reconvene when stimulus package vote ready
The next Pro Forma session is scheduled for Monday. That could possibly become a full session if the Senate passes legislation for Phase III on Saturday.
No other items are on the House schedule at this time.
House Committees
House Committee Meetings Schedule
No House committee meetings are scheduled at this time.
Operation Restoration (Repentance)
Operation Restoration
BULLETIN!! PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW NUMBER AND ACCESS CODE:
712-770-5350
150411#
Once each week, on Sunday mornings and for 24 hours, join with others in OPERATION RESTORATION . . .
"Operation Restoration"
This initiative is based upon the Move of the Spirit that was launched last month during Operation Refiner's Fire. The LORD has shown us that He has used those fires to ignite the FIRE of the HOLY SPIRIT to visit our people, which He now yearns to keep burning among our people until the day of His return!
"Operation Restoration" is based on the promise of Scripture, recorded in
2 Chronicles 7:14,15.
It is written:
. . . "and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
"Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place."
This is a weekly Solemn Assembly, where saints can feel free to gather each Sunday, to offer prayers of repentance before our Lord, for the many sins our nation has committed before Him.
Abba so desires to hear our prayers . . . He is just waiting to heal us!
You can join us, any Sunday, beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST by calling:
712-770-5350
Access Code: 150411#
Each week, our conference line for Operation Restoration will remain open until Monday morning at 9:00 a.m.EST -- allowing for 24 hours of nonstop prayer before our King of Kings, that He might, indeed, "heal our land." Amen.
About Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
About Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
To learn more about our ministry, and to sign up to begin receiving our daily alerts, please go here.
Subscribe for our Alerts
Subscribe for our Alerts!
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners welcomes all who wish to pray for our leaders to join us in prayer for our nation. You may sign up to receive our alerts by sending an email to us at: info@capitolhillprayer.org
requesting that your name be added to our list of subscribers.
WELCOME!
NO FEAR!
“I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. - Jesus (John 14:27)