WHO'S WHO

THE TERRORISTS.
In 2005, President Bill Clinton designated Hamas to be a terrorist organization.  Born out of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas' stated goal is to have an Islamic state in Palestine...and then the world.

We remember that a global Islamic state is also the goal of ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Al Qaeda.  We also remember that Hamas passed out candy to their children and danced in the streets after 9/11.

THE SUBLIME.
Nancy Pelosi says Hamas is a humanitarian organization...or so she's been told by the Qataris.  LINK

Ms. Pelosi, in your effort to come down in favor of all sides (therefore saying nothing), you might have mentioned that the Qataris are Hamas supporters.  They say they give money "to our Palestinian brothers"...but the concrete for infrastructure is siphoned off to make tunnels.

THE LAND.
Has there ever been a Palestinian state?  No.  There have been Palestinians in the area since ancient times, but there have also been Israelis.  Both the ancient nation of Israel and the modern state of Israel  demonstrate Israel's nation-building ability.

THE AGGRESSOR. 
If your children fight, do you figure out which one to put in the corner by determining the one who started it?

The answer here is Hamas.  And Hamas will not quit fighting.

Twice as many Americans blame Hamas for the violence.  LINK

THE OUTRAGEOUS.
What real man fights from behind women and children?

And what military organization uses children to dig tunnels?  LINK  A reported 160 children have died in that enterprise.


THE PECULIAR.
The United States has given $7 billion to the Palestinians since 2007.  We try to tailor it so it doesn't go to Hamas.  But if all that money got to the people, Gaza would look very different.

Here is a report from July, 2014  about our financial involvement.  LINK

THE PEACE.  
The world longs for peace as the stage is being set for the Prince of Peace.  In the meantime, peacemakers come and go.

There are actually politicians who care more about BEING the one who makes Middle East peace...than about BROKERING a just peace.  That brings us to John Kerry and his phony hot mic.  Although not summoned, he says "we gotta get over there".

KERRY'S DEAL.
What was wrong with his deal?
He tunneled under the allies.

What?  Israel has allies?

THE ALLIES.
Egypt agrees that Israel has a right to defend herself and cooperates with Israel to get rid of tunnels along their common border with Gaza.

Moderate Arabs such as Egypt, the Emirates, the Saudis, etc. see an Islamic state as harmful.  Egypt brokered a peace deal that Hamas blew off, but Kerry's peace deal blew up.

KERRY'S STINKER.
We negotiated against ourselves and our allies.  No small wonder the Knesset voted 19-0 against it.  The proposal came after Kerry met in Paris with two Hamas supporters (Turkey and Qatar) and structured a sweet deal to strengthen Hamas.  And Israel should buy off on such a deal that would let Hamas keep their rockets?  A ceasefire for Hamas is time to reload.

Hamas does not play nicely.  Take her toys (her rockets and tunnels) and hope this woodshed will cause the Palestinian Authority to realize that although they elected Hamas, their interests are not well served by Hamas.

BOTTOM LINE.
In the same year that Hamas was put on the terrorist list (2005), Israel withdrew from Gaza.  You may remember the painful extractions of Jewish settlers by Israel's own army.  Then humanitarian aid poured in from all over the world to help Gaza rebuild and help their people become a state.  Instead, their money has gone for rockets and tunnels.  They want to destroy Israelis more than they want a sovereign state or a good life.

Israel sits precariously on the front line between barbarians and civilization.  The Islamists come today for Israel, but one day it is for the WHOLE WORLD.

We should be all about thanking/praying/supporting/supplying Israel because she helps protect the world from savages.  While Israel calls to ask people to leave the area before they bomb, this picture shows how Hamas' terrorist allies in Syria have just acted.  Apparently killing was not enough for ISIS.  What depth of godlessness and depravity does such a thing?  LINK

BARBARIANS AT THE GATE

In the first half of the 8th century BC, the prophet Jonah crossed the fertile plains of Assyria and arrived at the capital city of Nineveh, which is modern-day Iraq.  He was carrying the gospel to a barbaric people who struck terror into the hearts of neighboring nations.

The cruel Assyrians were famous for skinning their enemies and stretching the skin on conquered city walls, as well as impaling heads on stakes by the city gates.  It's no small wonder Jonah needed coaxing to be obedient to God's task.

The prophet straightened his back and went into Nineveh to proclaim God's generous offer of peace with Him.  It is said that the kindness of God leads to repentance...and it was true in Nineveh as all the people (from the king on down) put on sackcloth and ashes to show they were sorry for their sin.

In those days Nineveh was a sprawling capital on the eastern bank of the Tigris River.  The city was powerful and rich and 60 miles in circumference, but she also was full of idol worship.  Her founder was Nimrod, the builder of the Tower of Babel which represented rebellion against God.  The Ever-Gracious Lord was giving them another chance.

Less than 150 years later, Ninevites were back to their old ways.  Their self-confidence precluded the need for God.  And they NEVER thought their powerhouse city could ever be headed for destruction.  But in 612BC, this Bible prophecy of Nineveh's destruction was fulfilled.

The people went across the river and built another city, Mosul, which has since had a Christian presence for 2,000 years.

Until now.

Now "modern" barbarians have come into Mosul and have blown up  Jonah's tomb. LINK  

And while Jonah's message offered a way to peace with God, the ISIS loudspeakers broadcast a hateful message throughout Mosul.  
Their ultimatum called Christians to choose: either they could convert to Islam, pay an impossible tax in gold, leave, or die.  

ISIS took the cross down from cathedrals and from the Syriac Orthodox archdiocese, and replaced the cross with their black flag.  

The ISIS darkness that has enveloped Iraq has smothered freedom and ushered in punishing oppression.    

The beheadings and crucifixions reveal a complete lack of respect for life.  There is no mercy or justice in summary executions or the chopping off of a hand. They wage a REAL war on women as they subjugate through beatings, genital mutilations, and rapes...and a real war on homosexuals by hanging them from a crane in the public square.

Civilization strains under ISIS as they bring terror just as their fathers did so long ago.

Have you heard the expression "First they come for the Saturday people, then for the Sunday people"?  

The Saturday people (the Jews) are now in a fight for their lives in Gaza as anti-Semitism also rises in Europe.  At the same time, there is a growing exodus of the Sunday people (the Christians) from the Middle East.  

The world watched as the Syrian Christians fled the mountains around Damascus for their lives. That people-group had spoken Aramaic since Jesus' day.

The Copts in Egypt (who could trace their lineage back to the apostle Mark) have suffered church bombings and killings.  

Now we see 10,000 Iraqi Christians come flooding out of their country, only to be stopped at roadblocks and robbed of all they have.

It is heartbreaking to watch this "religious cleansing" as the Arab Spring empties the cradle of Christendom.  Who will speak for these persecuted Christians in the Middle East?  

Is there ANYONE in authority to speak up for them and declare the moral high ground?

America was at one time that voice for right.  But on page 261 of his book, THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, President Obama writes "I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."  The winds are shifting, all right.  While his office has offered much in the defense of Muslims...the crickets are chirping where the defense of Christians is concerned.

What does this conflict teach us?

*GOD IS MERCIFUL.  Before Christ, I used to think of all the reasons God should be enamored with me.  That was pretty bodacious, but God's truth says "none are righteous".  There was nothing good in me that drew Him to me, but only His sovereign choice.  And just as He kindly gave the barbarian Ninevites a chance...in the same way He also gave this poor sinner a chance.    

*OLD BARBARIANS, NEW BARBARIANS.  There's nothing new under the sun.  Men without God rail for control over their own lives and the power to rule over others.  That usurps God's place and will not end well (see Nineveh).  

*GOD'S OFFER HAS A SHELF LIFE.  It's not that God has limited mercy...or His patience runs thin.  He IS mercy.  He IS long-suffering.  But He's also omniscient, reading hearts and knowing that if He waited into eternity, the person would not turn to Him.  Moses wrote down what God said in Deuteronomy 30:19:  "Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you.  Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!"

*MEN CHANGE, BUT GOD DOESN'T.  Last week we've seen demonstrations in the streets of London and Paris against the Jews; perhaps Europe's population of Muslims can account for that.  But SHOCKINGLY there were 10,000 in the streets of Chicago and thousands more on NYC streets protesting against Israel.  What happened to America's whole heart for Israel?  Men can turn on a dime, but God remains steadfast and true to His promises.

*GOD PROMISES HIS KINGDOM TO THE ONES PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.  If all else is stripped away (as it has been for the Christians of the Middle East), what will you have?  The Christians from the Middle East have assurance and comfort from God's Word.... "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  

George Orwell said "The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it."  The barbarians may be at the gates of civilization, but we remember Nineveh.  It is the Sovereign God who will accomplish every word He has spoken; it is He who stands at the end of time.




"Lord, it hurts us to see the Holy Land turned into killing fields, yet that must be part of what Jesus saw as He looked down at Jerusalem and wept.  We remember what You have said the end will be like when it comes. We thank You that You are a sanctuary for Your people and You will take us home.  We pray for the peace of Jerusalem because You've asked us to do that.  We ask that you would raise up a voice of influence to speak for Christians in trouble.  Help us to focus in prayer for our brothers and sisters in need and reach into our pockets for them.  We lean back on You in confidence that Your power will ultimately bring You glory both in Jerusalem and around the world.  Maranatha!"  

BORDER PATHOS

Americans are concerned about our southern border because we understand the border makes our country vulnerable.  But it's also complicated.

Ever heard of "the vine that ate the South"?  That vine is kudzu.  This border issue also has far-reaching tentacles like kudzu that threaten to gobble up our country.

The border is a sieve for Salvadorian MS-13 gangbangers, terrorists who could pack dirty bombs, unhealthy folks who aren't properly medically screened, and the threat of a welfare system meltdown which will explode our schools and hospitals.  Shall we allow compassion to trump national security and invite an even larger tsunami of people?

Here are some points on which most might agree:

1.  SOVEREIGNTY.  We are a sovereign nation with the right to protect our borders.  Here's a LINK to other nations who deport or imprison people who cross their borders.

Without borders we are just a land mass with no identity or sovereignty or purpose.  Nancy Pelosi may be enamored with open borders because she said "Whether you're from North America or South America, we are all Americans".   To that we say "No, Ma'am!"  Clearly America is different because people risk their lives to come here.  How ironic that the "blame America" people miss that.

2.  REASONABLE PLAN.  We have been overrun by contrived chaos.  The remedy?  A tardy plan offered funds for transportation to distribute folks all around the country, build processing centers on the border, and hire lawyers for immigration hearings (which according to ICE stats have a more than 80% no-show rate).

SURELY there is a better plan than that!

Hire lawyers and build buildings?  Is there no plan to stem the tide?  Shall we continue to be overrun?  Our president ran on the promise to fix the border.

We do realize that we cannot support everyone who wants to come here, RIGHT?  Our southern neighbors are not the only ones who want to come.  The world is FULL of places without order and safety.  Shall we try to put the world inside our borders...and in the process destroy our country?

3.  CITIZEN PROTECTION.  We are blessed to live in an orderly society made safe by laws, including immigration laws.  Our southern neighbors who are overrun with gang violence YEARN for the stability we enjoy from our laws, including immigration laws.  This president (and any president) is tasked to protect Americans and execute the laws.

Yet federal agents have been ordered NOT to keep the law (but to catch and release illegals), deportations have been severely reduced since 2008 (although the White House massages those stats), convicted illegal felons were incomprehensibly released into the population, and the presidential pen has written a  troublesome memo known as DACA.

4.  IMMIGRATION MOTIVATION.  Initially the administration said illegals were coming because of violence in their home country.  That's a piece of truth, but not the whole truth.  Later they had to admit that rumors of amnesty drove hope, and DACA is a piece of that rumor.

The "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" was written by the presidential pen in June of 2012, cutting illegal children slack by temporarily pledging not to deport them.  It made people think if children could get here, they would not be sent back.

A year later (June, 2013) the Congress voted to defund DACA.  Is that because Republicans are obstructionists?  Here was the reasoned objection:  Congress said Americans were not in favor of amnesty, we didn't need a flood of unskilled workers with our current joblessness problem, and we can't even print enough money to keep ourselves afloat just now.  Three Democrats joined the Republicans in that vote.

This LINK goes to a long list of non-enforcement immigration instances by the Obama administration.  They are doing a Saul Alinsky end-run to force their plan...by flooding the border and overwhelming the system.  This "emergency" has been several years in the making.

5.  TRUTH IN ADVERTISING.  
The administration lost veracity when they claimed surprise at this influx, but a Homeland Security bid (LINK) surfaced from last January.  It was a vendor contract asking for escorts for 65,000 minors.

Americans have been told over and over by the President and his people that the border was secure.  Only YESTERDAY Harry Reid repeated the claim (LINK), which led Charles Krauthammer to muse "When you get Harry Reid saying the border is secure, you've got to wonder whether he's really on his medication or not."

If we don't know who's coming through the border, it's not secure.  If the Border Patrol is busy changing diapers, they're not on the border.  Oh, we should have listened to the southern border governors; all along they pleaded the border was NOT secure.

You might be saying "Yes, but these are CHILDREN fleeing danger!"  That's true and that's what makes this complicated issue so hard to address.  Not everyone agrees on what to do next:

1.  CARROT REMOVAL.  Take away the freebies.  Cancel the birthright citizenship/anchor babies.  Enforce penalty for companies who hire illegals.

If you've ever ridden with someone who alternately stomps the gas and brake, you know it makes for an unsteady ride.  The freebies have urged folks on and now the president hits the brakes.  It's a little late to say "don't come".

It would be a terrifying thing to stand in judgment for having given faux hope out like popsicles and put children in harm's way.

2.  BUILD THE FENCE.   It works for Israel.  Even if we have to run it down the middle of the Rio Grande River, we have to have a fence.  Let some smart entrepreneur figure out how.

And the Guard has to be there with the authority to detain and repatriate.  Their job is to come to the state's aid and the states need them to do that.  Illegals deserve compassion treatment, but they must be sent home.

3.  WWJD?  Didn't Jesus have a lot to say about His heart for the poor, the helpless, and the children?   YES! And He is grieved about all of the corruption on this planet, including the mistreatment of these Central American children.  Some of them clung to the "Death Train" and received brutal treatment by the bottom-feeding coyotes, human- traffickers, drug cartels, and gangsters along the way.

This week a heartbreaking picture (above) of Palestinian boys in Gaza showed dread on their faces about what might fall out of the sky.  It reminds us that the world is FULL of children who are in a HARD place by no fault of their own.  Our hearts ache for the hundreds of girls kidnapped by Boco Haram and the children everywhere who suffer at the hands of adults.  We can help some, but some things are larger than our ability to solve.  So we pray and ask God to show us ways to help where we can.

Americans have always proven compassionate, and one way the nation shows her compassion is in writing the immigration laws that admit people to our country.  Further, we make exceptions for refugees.  But there is no way to assimilate the wave that will come if we do not repatriate.

Jesus teaches us to show compassion one-on-one.  Ms. Pelosi said she wished she could take home all the children she saw.  Just help one, Ms. Pelosi.

4.  WHY WOO?  Only the man in charge knows why he wrote DACA and enacted policies that sent the wrong impression.  Those policies may appear compassionate on the surface, but they are impossible to accomodate without "taking our country down a notch".

Meanwhile, citizens are replaced in the labor force with folks less-skilled, less-educated, and hampered with a language barrier who can be better "managed".

5.  SURPRISE!   When those sleek, new buses with blackened windows in Murietta, CA were met by angry people, the media was all over it.

Similar responses happened this week when Maryland, Nebraska, California, Iowa, Arizona and Michigan said "Don't send illegals to our state!"  Chicago blacks are furious that their president is sending billions to illegals and not helping the gang violence in their inner city.

The media didn't make as much over those stories.  Perhaps the media is surprised that Americans are rising up rather than go on a guilt trip.

I don't think those people of Murietta were mad at the immigrants.  Probably if you asked each protestor (except the deranged guy who spit in someone's face)...they are mad at the government for the surprise illegal-dumping on them.

They also are not in favor of spending money on illegals when the military goes lacking...the schools are straining...the jobs are scarce...the healthcare system is about to burst wide open when Obamacare's employer mandate kicks in (January 1, 2015)...and the welfare system is already swollen with new disability beneficiaries and food stamp/unemployment recipients.

Those protestors are not haters, nor are most Americans.  It was just the straw that broke the camel's back.  They have been lied to and manipulated in sneaky ways by their government and they've had enough.

@DAYS END.
Did you know that if you take two African countries out of the top ten countries with the highest murder rates...it will leave eight South/Central American countries?  Honduras is number one.  This breakup of civilization is due to drug cartels and gangs.

If the Cruse kids were in danger in the southern hemisphere, I'd be first to chance a ride on the Death Train to America.  And I'd be challenging others with Jesus' words to welcome the alien and stranger.

On the other hand, the Bible calls us to be subject to governing authorities.  Our authority in this country are her laws which have protected us and kept us these 238 years.  God says He is a God of order and things should be done decently and in order.

The border crisis is a conundrum, but we do know that when our structure and order unravels, we will come apart at the seams just like the five countries with the highest murder rate (Honduras, Venezuela, Belize, El Salvador,  and Guatemala).

Just like everything in life, it's all a balance.  We need help from above to find balance.

Lord, we confess that this situation baffles us.  But we also confess that we know it is not beyond your arc of justice and mercy and understanding.  We believe you gave us this country to be a beacon to help others and now it is America who needs help.  Would You give each of us a small way to help?  And would you kindly give SOMEONE a brilliant compromise that reflects Your justice?  We thank you, Father, that You are more than able.