Later, Mr. Obama will meet separately with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss health care reform.

The president will also meet with Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the Oval Office on immigration reform. He will also meet separately with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior advisers in the Oval Office.

In the evening, the president and the first lady will host a preview screening of HBO’s new series, “The Pacific,” in the White House Movie Theater. Expected attendees include: Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Steven Spielberg, and HBO President Richard Plepler, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Adviser General Jim Jones, members of Congress, members of the VFW and the Women in the Military Service for America Memorial.

Here’s the Full Schedule from the White House (all times Eastern):

10:00AM: President Obama receives the Presidential Daily Briefing

10:30AM: President Obama receives the Economic Daily Briefing

11:15AM: President Obama address the Export-Import Bank’s Annual Conference

1:45PM: President Obama meets with members of the Congressional Black Caucus

3:00PM: President Obama meets with Senator Schumer and Senator Graham

3:45PM: President Obama meets with Secretary of State Clinton

4:15PM: President Obama meets with senior advisers

5:05PM: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host screening of “The Pacific”

6:20PM: President Obama meets with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.  Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?  Up to seven times?  When you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

As God’s chosen people, clothe y ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Include in your prayers today Eric Holder, the Attorney General, and members of his staff, to have wisdom in determinations of legal charges.

Scripture references:  Eph. 4:26; Matt. 18:15, 21,22.  Mark 11:25; Col. 3:12-13; Eph. 4:32; Luke 17:5.

Iranian President Ahmadinejad has accused the U.S. of playing a “double role” in Afghanistan after the U.S. used the same term to condemn Iran’s role in giving support to the Taliban.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised the 800-soldier unit in Southern Afghanistan, and stated that in the coming fight toward securing Kandahar they will again be “the tip of the spear” against the Taliban.

Pray for our troops in Afghanistan and for their leadership. Pray also for Afghan President Karzai to be resolute.

TERRORISM

As many as 500 people were killed Sunday in Nigeria, in violence that pitted Muslims against Christians farmers in the volatile city of JOS (an acronym that stands for “Jesus Our Savior”).

Islamic militants attacked and killed six at a World Vision aid station in Northwestern Pakistan.  Taliban are expected to have carried out this and other similar attacks, although they have not yet claimed responsibility.

Pray for the safety of Christians and against the evil of Islamic extremists worldwide.

THE ECONOMY

The Senate passed a $140 billion extension of the expiring unemployment aid and tax provisions, calling the package a necessary step during the economic recovery. It also extends the current rate of Medicare payments to doctors.

The 10-year outlook released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the proposed Obama Administration budget would add more than $9.7 trillion to the national debt, due mostly to middle class tax cuts.

Pray for the recovery of the nation’s economy, and the sustaining of the many impacted by the recession.

ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Vice President Joe Biden, after meeting with Palestinian Authority President Abbas, again condemned Israel over its controversial announced plans for more settlements to be built in East Jerusalem.

This week the Iranian Navy successfully test-fired a new missile from its first Iranian-built destroyer in the Persian Gulf, with a 100-kilometer range, announcing plans to upgrade the missile to a 300-kilometer surface-to-surface range.

Pray for the nation of Israel who are beset on every side with those who would destroy them.

HEALTH CARE

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (California) suggested Tuesday that there were enough votes to pass healthcare reform if taken up at that time. Senate Majority Whip Jon Kyl (Arizona) stated there are enough Senate votes to stop some health bill fixes.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case regarding the right of parents to sue manufacturers of vaccines alleged to give their children serious medical conditions.

Pray your own conscience over the matter of healthcare reform legislation.

Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my sighing,
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God.
Psalm  5:2

Rep. Jeff Flake (Arizona) has asked the House Ethics Committee to prove that it did more than a light review of the pay-to-play earmark scandal under investigation by the FBI, as it relates to the PMA Group lobbying firm.

In a rare 100-0 roll call vote, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (Oklahoma) to tell the public when it isn’t paying for new spending or tax cuts. Coburn said it is about being transparent and honest.

Pray for the numerous members of our legislature who are involved in ethics or other scandals.

God and the Founders: Madison, Washington, and Jefferson

By Vincent Phillip Muñoz

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Did the Founding Fathers intend to build a “wall of separation” between church and state? Are public Ten Commandments displays or the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance consistent with the Founders’ understandings of religious freedom? In God and the Founders, Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz answers these questions by providing new, comprehensive interpretations of James Madison, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. By analyzing Madison’s, Washington’s, and Jefferson’s public documents, private writings, and political actions, Muñoz explains the Founders’ competing church-state political philosophies. Muñoz explores how Madison, Washington, and Jefferson agreed and disagreed by showing how their different principles of religious freedom would decide the Supreme Court’s most important First Amendment religion cases. God and the Founders answers the question, “What would the Founders do?” for the most pressing church-state issues of our time, including prayer in public schools, government support of religion, and legal burdens on individual’s religious conscience.

The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case involving Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA on whether “low risk” employees should be required to undergo extensive background checks, where employees object.

The high-emotion case involving funeral protests at services and burials for U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and carried out by a Kansas church, has been accepted by the Supreme Court, under the First Amendment.

Pray for those who will bring their arguments before the Court, and for the Court’s wisdom in its deliberations.

There is a lot of disagreement and debate in America over the meaning and value of the separation of church and state. Some hold it to be inviolate while others deny that it does or should exist. In the arguments over Jefferson’s metaphor of a “wall of separation,” however, the concerns of James Madison, who wrote the First Amendment, tend to be lost. His Memorial and Remonstrance is a clear explanation of Madison’s thoughts on religious freedom and the meaning of the First Amendment. He makes it clear that an ‘establishment of religion’ means much more than simply creating a national church or denomination.

Madison believed that, under the Constitution, “there is not a shadow of right in the general government to intermeddle with religion” and that “this subject is, for the honor of America, perfectly free and unshackled. The Government has no jurisdiction over it….” At no point is Madison more unrelenting than in his opposition to state support or aid for religion. Not even ‘three pence’ contribution was to be taken from any citizen for such a purpose. “If it were lawful to impose a small tax for religion the admission would pave the way for oppressive levies.” Not the amount but “the principle of assessment” itself was wrong.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, born March 15, 1933, is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.  She was appointed by President Bill Clinton with the support of Senator Orin Hatch (Utah), confirmed, and sworn into office in August, 1993.  She is the second female Justice, with Sandra Day O’Connor being the first.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Justice Ginsburg spent a considerable portion of her career as an advocate for the equal citizenship status of women and men as a constitutional principle.  She engaged in advocacy as a volunteer lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, and was a member of its board of directors and one of its general counsel in the 1970s.  She also taught at law schools for both Newark and Columbia.  In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Justice Ginsburg, who generally votes with the liberal wing of the Court, characterizes her performance there as taking a cautious approach to adjudication.  She has urged that the Court allow for dialogue with elected branches, while others argue that would inevitably lead to politicizing the Court.

In 2009, she was hospitalized and underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer, which had been found at an early stage, and from which she has recovered.

Justice Ginsburg and her husband, Martin, have two children and several grandchildren.