ATTENTION: SCROLL DOWN to get TODAY'S article entitled in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. And PLEASE be sure to note the various PRAYER REQUESTS listed BEFORE and AFTER the posted article. (NOTE the list of DAILY prayer requests for the persecuted church.) They ALL deserve your intercession.
"WHAT THE US SHOULD DO AS PROTESTS ESCALATE IN IRAN AGAINST THE ISALMIST REGIME" - James Phillips / Jan. 01, 2018 / http://dailysignal.com/2018/01/01/iranian-protests-escalate-against-the-regime-in-tehran [AS I SEE IT: America SHOULD be vocal in supporting democratic movements around the world. The silence of the Obama administration was shameful and should not be repeated. May we see these protests lead to the kind of changes we saw finally emerge in Eastern Europe and throughout the late Soviet Union in the late 1980's. - Stan]
Iran has been rocked by a wave of protests against the Islamist regime since Dec. 28. Popular demonstrations ignited by smoldering resentment about Iran’s mismanaged economy quickly escalated to political denunciations of Tehran’s rulers.
President Donald Trump was quick to offer support to the protesters in a series of tweets. At 7:44 a.m. New Year’s Day, he tweeted: Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!
Early chants about price hikes have given way to increasingly bold criticisms of what the protesters see as a corrupt and repressive government that fails to meet their needs. Their demands varied. Some chanted, “We don’t want an Islamic Republic” and “Death to the dictator,” the latter being a reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Economic Resentments Amplify Political Revulsion
The protests apparently were triggered by a surge in prices of basic food supplies, which also had contributed to early Arab Spring protests six years ago. Protests spread quickly, sparked by social-media posts, as state-controlled media blocked press coverage. These are the largest protests since millions of Iranians flooded the streets in 2009 to protest against then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s rigged re-election. But the regime crushed those protests in a brutal crackdown in which at least 30 people were killed and thousands were arrested, tortured, and imprisoned.
So far, the ongoing protests have not reached the size of the 2009 Green Movement demonstrations, when millions of Iranians took to the streets in protest. Twelve people have been killed in demonstrations, with 10 of the deaths inflicted amid intensifying clashes on Sunday night.
Some of the early protests in Mashhad reportedly were organized by ultra-hard-line regime supporters opposed to Rouhani, and may have been designed to undermine his authority.
Pro-regime demonstrations denouncing the 2009 Green Movement leaders also may have provoked a political backlash.
Unemployment remains high at more than 12 percent, and inflation has resurged to 10 percent. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 percent, which a government spokesman blamed on a cull over avian-flu fears, appears to have been the spark for the economic protests.
Hundreds of students and others joined a new economic protest at Tehran University, a hotbed of prior student protests against the regime. Iranian students historically have played a leading role in several revolutionary movements, including the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The tense situation at Tehran University will be a litmus test for the strength of the protest movement and of the regime’s ability to contain, suffocate, or crush the protests.
The Revolutionary Guards, which crushed protests in 2009 and take the lead in exporting Iran’s Islamic revolution and terrorism, remain a strong repressive force that is likely to crush the student rebellion if the local police prove to be inadequate.
Trump’s Rapid Response
Trump tweeted out his support for the protests Saturday morning: @realDonaldTrump
Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests
Trump is right that simmering resentment over the costs of Iran’s aggressive foreign policy have led protesters to call for more spending at home and less on support of radical groups abroad.
Some of the new protests have specifically denounced the regime’s extensive corruption and its costly involvement in regional conflicts, such as those in Syria and Iraq. In Mashhad, some chanted, “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran,” a reference to what protesters say is the regime’s focus on exporting the revolution, rather than responding to domestic needs.
They also denounced Iran’s theocratic leaders: “The people are begging; the clerics act like God.”
Washington must continue to drive up the long-term political, economic, and military costs of Iran’s military interventions in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. It should underscore that the regime’s economic mismanagement, corruption, and support for terrorism and Islamic revolution, which provoked sanctions, have exacerbated Iran’s economic problems.
U.S. policy should also highlight and denounce the regime’s repression and human rights abuses. But the protests might soon be quelled, dissolve into competing camps led by rival leaders, or be hijacked by hostile anti-Western forces, as many of the Arab Spring revolts were hijacked.
Washington should support the right of Iranians to challenge the heavy-handed repression and corruption of a tyrannical regime, but it should hold off on endorsing specific opposition leaders or movements until their character and goals are assessed.
Until then, the Trump administration should do its best to publicize and promote the legitimate political and economic grievances of frustrated Iranians and support their efforts to recover freedom from an Islamist dictatorship that depends on thugs to suppress its own people.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
James Phillips is the senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He has written extensively on Middle Eastern issues and international terrorism since 1978. Read his research.
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World-Wide Prayer Requests:
1/1 - PRAISE GOD for the continuing recent successes against ISIS! Pray that coalition forces will be able to fully destroy the leadership and infrastructure of ISIS.
*For believers in Syria and in this region as they navigate so much uncertainty. May they remain faithful to God through these most difficult times as He sustains them with peace and endurance.
THANK YOU.
Heavenly Father,
I pray that you will guide President Trump to seek you with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength in the New Year.
May he act with wisdom and strength against those whose actions would bring harm to this nation and the world now and for generations to come.
I pray that you would strengthen his marriage and deepen the love he and his wife Melania share. Pray that you give them wisdom to speak into the lift of their son Barron.
Please protect him and his family and others in our leadership from physical harm that any might seek to do against them.
May all that our President does bring honor and glory to YOU and cause him to draw in closer relationship with you.
I ask this in the powerful name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
1/2 - (from Intercessors For America) Pray for the President and others in leadership (I Tim. 2:1-3) - As the Lord Leads, please pray:
I pray that you will guide President Trump to seek you with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength in the New Year.
May he act with wisdom and strength against those whose actions would bring harm to this nation and the world now and for generations to come.
I pray that you would strengthen his marriage and deepen the love he and his wife Melania share. Pray that you give them wisdom to speak into the lift of their son Barron.
Please protect him and his family and others in our leadership from physical harm that any might seek to do against them.
May all that our President does bring honor and glory to YOU and cause him to draw in closer relationship with you.
I ask this in the powerful name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
1/2 - (from Intercessors For America) Pray for the President and others in leadership (I Tim. 2:1-3) - As the Lord Leads, please pray:
President Trump proclaimed January 2018 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In his proclamation, the president said, “human trafficking is a modern form of the oldest and most barbaric type of exploitation. It has no place in our world.” He also pledged “to do all in our power to end the horrific practice of human trafficking that plagues innocent victims around the world.
*For discernment as to what the best steps are to end human trafficking.
*For freedom for the countless people still in slavery in our modern world.
* For wisdom as the president he begins 2018 and works on the many issues for this year.
BE Prepared TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST ABORTION
(...because ALL Babies Matter! - http://www.lifenews.com/2017/03/01/why-do-unborn-babies-matter-just-because-they-are/ : Go to: LIFE Training Institute - http://prolifetraining.com/resources/five-minute-11/
Be Prepared TO ENGAGE WITH THE PC CULTURE:Go to:"Tactics" -
http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeadams/2016/04/29/tactics-n2154983
"Don't Argue the Exceptions - Beating Bad Arguments For Abortion and Transgenderism" - by John Stonestreet, Breakpoint.org, May 25, 2017; http://breakpoint.org/2017/05/breakpoint-dont-argue-exceptions/
American Pastor Andrew Brunson PRAY that the pastor will finally be released./ https://aclj.org/persecuted-church/new-false-charges-levied-at-american-pastor-andrew-brunson-as-unjust-imprisonment-in-turkey-grows-more-dangerous He still languishes in a Turkish prison [since last Oct. 7th]. He’s one of 19 prisoners in a 10-person cell. He is the only Christian. Pastor Andrew has been falsely charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organization.” He has served and loved the people ofTurkey U.S. Turkey
NORTH KOREAN THREAT: Let's be praying that our leaders will LET’S be led by Godly wisdom in responding.
LATEST PERSONAL UPDATE of 1/1/2018: Please check the right side of this blog page for the JOURNAL section, scrolling down for any past entries you might have missed. And THANK YOU for your continued PRAYERS.
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"Don't Argue the Exceptions - Beating Bad Arguments For Abortion and Transgenderism" - by John Stonestreet, Breakpoint.org, May 25, 2017; http://breakpoint.org/2017/05/breakpoint-dont-argue-exceptions/
Oct. 2nd - U.S. SUPREME COURT: The Court reconvenes today to make decisions on some very crucial issues.
As the Lord Leads, please pray:
As the Lord Leads, please pray:
*For the Supreme Court as they hear arguments from each side and make judgements that have massive consequences for the future of the nation.
*For each justice as they do their best to interpret the law and use that to rule on the given cases.
*For President Trump as he interacts with the Supreme Court on these monumental issues.
American Pastor Andrew Brunson PRAY that the pastor will finally be released./ https://aclj.org/persecuted-church/new-false-charges-levied-at-american-pastor-andrew-brunson-as-unjust-imprisonment-in-turkey-grows-more-dangerous He still languishes in a Turkish prison [since last Oct. 7th]. He’s one of 19 prisoners in a 10-person cell. He is the only Christian. Pastor Andrew has been falsely charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organization.” He has served and loved the people of
NORTH KOREAN THREAT: Let's be praying that our leaders will LET’S be led by Godly wisdom in responding.
LATEST PERSONAL UPDATE of 1/1/2018: Please check the right side of this blog page for the JOURNAL section, scrolling down for any past entries you might have missed. And THANK YOU for your continued PRAYERS.
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"WHAT THE US SHOULD DO AS PROTESTS ESCALATE IN IRAN AGAINST THE ISALMIST REGIME" - James Phillips / Jan. 01, 2018 / http://dailysignal.com/2018/01/01/iranian-protests-escalate-against-the-regime-in-tehran [AS I SEE IT: America SHOULD be vocal in supporting democratic movements around the world. The silence of the Obama administration was shameful and should not be repeated. May we see these protests lead to the kind of changes we saw finally emerge in Eastern Europe and throughout the late Soviet Union in the late 1980's. - Stan]
Unrest unfolds on the streets of central Tehran Dec. 30 as protesters express resentment about Iran’s mismanaged economy. (Photo: Kyodo/Newscom)
Iran has been rocked by a wave of protests against the Islamist regime since Dec. 28. Popular demonstrations ignited by smoldering resentment about Iran’s mismanaged economy quickly escalated to political denunciations of Tehran’s rulers.
President Donald Trump was quick to offer support to the protesters in a series of tweets. At 7:44 a.m. New Year’s Day, he tweeted: Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!
Early chants about price hikes have given way to increasingly bold criticisms of what the protesters see as a corrupt and repressive government that fails to meet their needs. Their demands varied. Some chanted, “We don’t want an Islamic Republic” and “Death to the dictator,” the latter being a reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Economic Resentments Amplify Political Revulsion
The protests apparently were triggered by a surge in prices of basic food supplies, which also had contributed to early Arab Spring protests six years ago. Protests spread quickly, sparked by social-media posts, as state-controlled media blocked press coverage. These are the largest protests since millions of Iranians flooded the streets in 2009 to protest against then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s rigged re-election. But the regime crushed those protests in a brutal crackdown in which at least 30 people were killed and thousands were arrested, tortured, and imprisoned.
So far, the ongoing protests have not reached the size of the 2009 Green Movement demonstrations, when millions of Iranians took to the streets in protest. Twelve people have been killed in demonstrations, with 10 of the deaths inflicted amid intensifying clashes on Sunday night.
Some of the early protests in Mashhad reportedly were organized by ultra-hard-line regime supporters opposed to Rouhani, and may have been designed to undermine his authority.
Pro-regime demonstrations denouncing the 2009 Green Movement leaders also may have provoked a political backlash.
Unemployment remains high at more than 12 percent, and inflation has resurged to 10 percent. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 percent, which a government spokesman blamed on a cull over avian-flu fears, appears to have been the spark for the economic protests.
Hundreds of students and others joined a new economic protest at Tehran University, a hotbed of prior student protests against the regime. Iranian students historically have played a leading role in several revolutionary movements, including the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The tense situation at Tehran University will be a litmus test for the strength of the protest movement and of the regime’s ability to contain, suffocate, or crush the protests.
The Revolutionary Guards, which crushed protests in 2009 and take the lead in exporting Iran’s Islamic revolution and terrorism, remain a strong repressive force that is likely to crush the student rebellion if the local police prove to be inadequate.
Trump’s Rapid Response
Trump tweeted out his support for the protests Saturday morning: @realDonaldTrump
Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests
Trump is right that simmering resentment over the costs of Iran’s aggressive foreign policy have led protesters to call for more spending at home and less on support of radical groups abroad.
Some of the new protests have specifically denounced the regime’s extensive corruption and its costly involvement in regional conflicts, such as those in Syria and Iraq. In Mashhad, some chanted, “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran,” a reference to what protesters say is the regime’s focus on exporting the revolution, rather than responding to domestic needs.
They also denounced Iran’s theocratic leaders: “The people are begging; the clerics act like God.”
Washington must continue to drive up the long-term political, economic, and military costs of Iran’s military interventions in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. It should underscore that the regime’s economic mismanagement, corruption, and support for terrorism and Islamic revolution, which provoked sanctions, have exacerbated Iran’s economic problems.
U.S. policy should also highlight and denounce the regime’s repression and human rights abuses. But the protests might soon be quelled, dissolve into competing camps led by rival leaders, or be hijacked by hostile anti-Western forces, as many of the Arab Spring revolts were hijacked.
Washington should support the right of Iranians to challenge the heavy-handed repression and corruption of a tyrannical regime, but it should hold off on endorsing specific opposition leaders or movements until their character and goals are assessed.
Until then, the Trump administration should do its best to publicize and promote the legitimate political and economic grievances of frustrated Iranians and support their efforts to recover freedom from an Islamist dictatorship that depends on thugs to suppress its own people.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
James Phillips is the senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. He has written extensively on Middle Eastern issues and international terrorism since 1978. Read his research.
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PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the greatest privilege and responsibility for EVERY believer." - Stan
“INTERCESSORS ARE THE RUDDER” – A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT - Wanda Alger, June 28th, 2017; https://www.getamericapraying.com/blog/
I was recently given a word by my good friend, Bill Yount. His word greatly encouraged me as an intercessor. Working for Intercessors for America, I soon realized it was not just a word for me, but for all who have been praying for our nation, wondering if their prayers are truly making any difference. Bill told me, “I kept seeing you as a small rudder on a huge ship. Hidden, but giving guidance. Although it seemed slow it was turning the whole ship. Patience was needed to see the impact of your…ministry. I sense the Lord saying, ‘Don’t jump ship! I’ve made you the rudder!’ ” I was immediately touched in my spirit by this encouragement, knowing that our seemingly small place in prayer was having a great impact.
James 3:4 talks about the power of a small rudder to steer a large ship. In this scripture about the power of our tongue, consider the power of prophetic intercession! In the Forerunner Commentary on this verse we read, “…rudders manipulate the course of immense ocean vessels with a slight movement of a pilot’s hand. Since it is underwater and aft, the rudder of a ship does its work UNSEEN. A passenger is ignorant of its movements most of the time. Yet, when it is in proper working order, the rudder holds more power over the ship than the wind. The wind will blow, toss, even destroy the ship’s rigging, but the rudder guides the ship exactly where it directs.”
This is God’s promise to the intercessors in this hour of national turbulence. Don’t stop praying! Your prayers have great power to turn the ship! Continue praying, interceding, and discerning the workings and movements of the Holy Spirit, being faithful to God’s commands. As we come together to declare God’s faithfulness, this nation will, once again, head in the direction that God intends. Don’t give up and don’t give in. Regardless of the winds of adversity and the fires of the enemy, God’s people have a power that cannot be matched. Let us join in faith and continue to pray and speak of God’s faithfulness in order to bring God’s people and this nation into the fullness of God’s plans. Note this additional encouragement from God’s word:
Colossians 2:15 – “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (ESV).
Psalm 33:8-11 – “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”
Wanda Alger, IFA Field Correspondent
PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14) Short of that, we should not be saying "God Bless America"but instead "God be merciful towards America!"
PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS: 1) Pray for President Trump and his advisers, that they would select Godly leaders at the federal level who will be accountable to do an excellent job (or be fired!) ; that he would seek God's wisdom and be enabled to lead our country effectively in the years ahead; and 2) Pray our leaders at every level of government will Spirit-filled, leading us with Godly wisdom and integrity; that they will only pass legislation and enact policies that will benefit Americans today as well as future generations and NOT do any lasting harm.
SUPREME COURT: PRAY that the justices will only hand down decisions that are Constitutionally sound and in the best interests of our country now and for future generations.
World-Wide Prayer Requests:
1/1 - PRAISE GOD for the continuing recent successes against ISIS! Pray that coalition forces will be able to fully destroy the leadership and infrastructure of ISIS.
*For believers in Syria and in this region as they navigate so much uncertainty. May they remain faithful to God through these most difficult times as He sustains them with peace and endurance.
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:
- https://www.opendoorsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/28385-PFA.pdf; To learn more, please go to -
*Names changed for security reasons.
- https://www.opendoorsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/28385-PFA.pdf; To learn more, please go to -
https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/ - to learn more.
January 2 | TAJIKISTAN - Pray for Tajik Muslim Background Believer Pastor Bahrom Kholmatov, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Even though it is not easy, he remains strong. Please keep this pastor and his wife and children in prayer. *Names changed for security reasons.
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STANDING STRONG THROUGH THE STORM - OpenDoorsUSA.org
At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 2 Tim.y 4:16
SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO SUFFER
The Apostle Paul knew exactly what it was like to be alone, to be deserted by all who called themselves “brothers” and “sisters.” A former colleague who has done considerable travel among the persecuted says, “It is hard to believe that Christians are the largest persecuted group in the world today. But it is even more difficult to believe that this is so seldom mentioned in our gatherings and church services. More Christians know the names of their favorite actors than their fellow believers who are in prison.”
He continues, “With every trip something in my heart breaks as I hear the echoes of suffering:
I remember the echoes of an Egyptian mother as she shared how her young boy was stuck in a haystack because she refused to deny Jesus.
I remember the sounds of weeping as fellow students in Indonesia shared how Sariman, their co-student, was hacked to death.
I remember the cries of anguish as we walked from church to church that was burned to the ground on the island of Lombok.
I remember the tears of Rebecca in Iran as she showed the picture of her father who was stabbed to death for sharing the gospel.
I remember the voice of Pastor Daniel in Vietnam as he shared how he was chained to the ground for six months.
I remember the fear of Grace from Sudan as she shared how her church was attacked and her friend was shot through the head.
Oh, I remember the cries of Caleb in Eritrea as he shared with tears how two dear friends were executed in front of him because of their faith.
And I remember the tears of Joy in the southern Philippines as she shared how her fiancé was shot to death in their church in Mindanao.
But, most all, I remember the deafening sounds of silence every time I return home.
RESPONSE
How can I be silent today? How can I not speak on behalf of those who suffer? How can I desert those that belong to the same body that I belong to and who desperately need the encouragement of my intervention on their behalf?
PRAYER
Lord, broaden my awareness of the needs of my suffering brothers and sisters. May I not be known for my silence
Lord, broaden my awareness of the needs of my suffering brothers and sisters. May I not be known for my silence
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