Change Can Come

Acts 9:36-43 tells us a most incredible story of Dorcas, the godly saint, that had died but had resurrected unto life after being prayed for by Peter. This miracle not only led many to believe but also kept Peter many days.

In Acts 10:9-16 – Peter’s trance allows him to see unclean animals which,  although hungry,  he refuses to eat believing he is being pious. His creator however through the vision and personal dealing with Peter let him know he was not right in his attitude toward the Gentile.

It was through Peter’s change of heart that he would then be able to minister to the Gentiles and the rest is history!

From Acts 10:24-48 we see Gentile converts to Christianity, the revelation of an impartial G-d , and yet another outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter in his post Pentecost days shows us that we never have it all together regardless of who we might think we are.

Acts 10 is a wonderful story of a man changing when being brought to a confrontation with G-d and submitting to the point of change. One can’t help but wonder just how much more G-d could do in more lives were He given the chance.

Men like Peter continue to change and show us what true discipleship really is.

Israel is not the Problem

Turkey and Kazakhstan had been targeted by terror group Hezbollah for attacks attempting to destabilize the region until Israeli intelligence provided information preempting their evil deeds.

Iranian backed operatives are causing disruption in both Iraq and Afghanistan, again causing death and destabilization.

Of course,  Israel understands all too well Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas and all of their rocket and mortar attacks and suicide bombers that have plagued the Jewish State’s civilian populace and military, again disrupting the peace process.

It is against this violent backdrop we are seeing the plight of a nation seeking true freedom within their society,  receiving threats from the ruling religious party as the struggle continues. Certainly the world must stand in utter confusion as American leaders have been snubbed, and even verbally attacked as they have reached out the hand of negotiation.

The backdrop of death, destruction, and disruption of life threatening any and all nations is not the tiny Jewish State,  but is Iran.

Modern history has been cloaked with a burden of proof that is not reconciled, either not realizing the threat of megalomanias, or trying to negotiate,  believing for the best. Tragically,  history continues to repeat itself with devastating results!

He Was Right a Generation Ago

An Egyptian immigrant once said, “America worshiped at the altars of applied science and productivity while shunning universal truths.”

Further evaluation made by Sayyid Qutb was that America’s moral account would not have any significant contribution in the coming decades and that our nation’s greatness might not balance with the quality of its people. In fact Qutb’s cynical speculation went as far as saying eventually America’s moral standards would be indistinguishable between human, animal , or object.

The backdrop of Sayyid Qutb’s evaluation was based on his tenure in America’s College Campuses, attending church service and interacting with American citizens in the late 40’s and 50’s when our nation was in the “Leave it to Beaver,” “I Like Ike,” and the “McCarthy” Era.

When his article was republished in 1993 a portrait of Qutb was taken with the Statue of Liberty behind him standing on a pole of skulls, the tablet was transformed into a short fuse bomb and her torch reconfigured as a incendiary device.

Sad to say the assessment of Sayyid Qutb could have been predicted so accurately. And it  let’s us know as a nation we have failed G-d.

Especially on holidays such as our Independence Day we need to reevaluate where we are morally, ethically, and spiritually in our nation and turn back to G-d.

Will Change Be Change?

The civil unrest being experienced in Iran would lead us to want these people to have the freedoms we all enjoy and cherish. However, there are a few points relevant to the scenario that should be considered as this drama continues to play out.

While the world as a whole does not want a man like Ahmadinejad in power , his opposition in the contested election needs to be evaluated as well. Mir Hossein Mousavi played a pivotal part in starting the nuclear program that has been such a volatile topic the past three years.

In the best cast scenario even if the current president were to be removed it is doubtful that the ruling clerics would truly allow any freedom. If Ahmadinejad is by definition an extremist, then it will take an absolute diametric replacement to affect change in a theocratic nation like Iran.

Prior to the revolution Shah Pahlavi,  while friendly to the U.S. , drew a line in the sand with Jimmy Carter when it came to Jerusalem and Israel.

In the end, if Iran is going to cease being a threat to Israel and the west, a more drastic turn of events need to take place.

Whose Plan?

The Royal Saudi family made it clear that their intentions were to assume control of the world.

In 1974 Just months after Israel’s hard fought war with Egypt and Syria the desert monarchs stated they wanted to see a one world currency based on the Arab petrol dollar. Without a doubt we have seen that reality coming to pass according to their desire but also according to the scriptures.

Second, the Royal family stated if they could control England, they could control the world and thirty-five years later the truth is England is in the grasp of Islamic control.

As we speak Britain’s culture has changed in a most dramatic way and the Judeo-Christian values and system of government are being obscured even eliminated by Shariah law.

While the Saudi royal family night think things are falling into place for their agenda they are actually coming together according to G-d’s word.

England was the home of Bunyan, the Wesley’s and Spurgeon but that gave way to the Beatles, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. America always follows Britain when it comes to clothes, music and other cultural aspects and if the future is like the past, we are already doing the same

Irony

When a two hundred kilogram bomb intended for former President Jimmy Carter which had been placed by an al Qaeda cell was defused, death was certainly avoided.

Ironic, Carter who was in Gaza holding sympathetic talks with Hamas would be targeted by a radical terror group. Carter is said to have wept over the deplorable living conditions in Gaza and stated he held Israel wholly responsible for the problem.

The Palestinian autonomous security guards were unable to provide adequate security for the Carter entourage as they are engaged in an escalating civil war with Hamas.

So, is it ironic that these terror groups never operated in Gaza at this level until Israel gave back the Sinai then Israel relinquished Gaza to the Palestinians for peace?

Does it seem ironic that Carter wants to hold the Jewish State responsible for living conditions in Gaza after the billions that have been spent by the Palestinians attempting to destroy her rather than create a healthy living environment for their people?

Can we find irony in that the Palestinian government placed in Gaza by the west is being uprooted and having a war waged against it by Hamas and al Qaeda?

Carter over the past few years has asserted his expertise in Middle East affairs, however, it is ironic that everything he put into place is now in its fourth decade of futility and his last visit in the name of peace nearly cost him his life. The irony continues.

Through Hell and High Water

Genesis 5:32 tells us Noah was five hundred years old when he became a father and in Genesis 6:14 the command was given to build the Ark.

He was commanded to gather two of every kind of animal, Genesis 6:19, and prepare for the flood that would come in seven days, Genesis 7:4. We are told Noah was six hundred years old when he entered in the Ark so he was faithful to warn the world for a century of impending doom.

The rain came for forty days and nights in the second month on the seventeenth day as the fountains of the deep and floodgates were opened. Genesis 7:20 tells us the water covered fifteen cubits higher than the mountains so we know that world was submerged just as G-d said it would be.

Then the Ark rested on Mt. Ararat the seventh month and on the seventeenth day.

Finally we are told the ground was dry in the 601^st year of Noah in the first month and in the second month on the twenty-seventh day the earth was dry, Genesis 8:14-15.

One hundred years of warning, seven days of preparation , the water covering over a 17,000 ft mountain range, the length of the flood and the time it took to dry out all laid out in G-d’s commandments.

Noah was not without blemish but he was faithful and obedient. G-d preserved him through the worst and will do the same for us if we let Him.

Good or Bad Guys?… Gals?

As the world continues to push Israel to make peace with the Palestinians consider these incidents that have unfolded recently.

Three female Hamas operatives were captured, one was wearing a bomb vest that was on her way to kill Palestinian authority officers in Qalqilya. Within the same week Hamas, Jihad Islami al Fattah al-Aqsa brigades attacked an Israeli patrol with machine gun and mortar fire. Now it has been discovered that 500 Palestinian women in Nablus have allowed Hamas to use their bank accounts to whitewash revenues for the terror group.

As Israel gives up more land the unrest within the Palestinian community grows and as the Jewish state struggles to keep its national sovereignty intact the Palestinians are subverting and killing each other day by day.

These incidents are not new in nature and show a consistent pattern of corruption and blood shed perpetuating among the Palestinians without Israel being involved.

A durable lasting peace involving Israel and her Palestinian neighbors cannot become reality when the world holds Israel responsible for a violent scenario that many times they are not involved in.

Holy Cause, Holy Effect

I can appreciate the entourage that shuttle from one nation to the next in an effort to end mistrust and find resolution. But along comes Osama bin Laden who lets America know they need to prepare to receive the consequences of both the Obama and Bush Administrations.

Bin Laden’s deputy Ayman Zawahiri called on the Egyptians to confront the “criminal” Barack Obama and eluded to the President’s public relations campaign as theatrical visits and polished words that can’t erase his “bloody messages” to Muslims.

This hate filled rhetoric that instills paranoia and incites hatred is not just dangerous it also leads to the undermining of peace prospects.

The speeches delivered by President Obama were intended to remove the mistrust and fear that separate nations however the Osama bin Ladens not only hate America but also nations that are aligned with her.

Hebrews 12:14 tells us “to pursue peace with all men” but goes on to focus on the need for sanctification in our lives to make that possible.

That is why the British failed to deescalate Hitler in 1938 and why man’s peace efforts fail today.Because not all parties are consecrated to the right cause the conflict continues.

Two-State Solution?

We keep hearing about the need to create a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Of course we could look at the British/Irish two nation system and have serious questions or look at the Pakistani/Indian conflict and know the concept doesn’t work.

Gaza had an appointed President and elected leaders with a police force and established borders only to be removed forcibly by Hamas terrorists.

The deposed Abbas government now residing in Ramallah is to be the target of sniper and missile attacks as well as car bombs and roadside bombs. Orders emanating from Hamas leaders in Damascus are commanding the operatives to set their sights on all Palestinian Authority leaders including President Mahmoud Abbas himself.

Should these aggressive tactics become successful and the Palestinian Authority be removed again, where do they go?

If there is any chance at all for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to be resolved into a two-nation agreement terrorism will have to be eliminated.

How easy to say a two state solution is the answer.  However, the Gaza issue hasn’t been resolved and Ramallah now is compromised, so very soon we could see a three state existence within Israel two of them being Hamas controlled.