Holy Land War

              Israel and Gaza are at war again. The ongoing conflict has guilt on both sides. Obviously the Palestinians, or Hamas, for lobbing rockets into Israel. On the other side Israel is causing great suffering by closing off Gaza from trade and imports. Israel demands Hamas stop shelling. Hamas demands Israel lift the ongoing boycott. Israel has a right to try to protect her citizens from shelling. Hamas is right in seeking to free Gaza from the boycott and mitigate the people’s suffering.

            Why does God allow this? Why doesn’t God step in and stop it? The obvious answer to me is that God has given mankind a free will. Humans have the ability to make choices and God allows us to make those choices even if they are wrong. The boycott was the idea of men and the shelling is likewise the idea of men. This war will end when men decide to seek a settlement of issues and restore the peace. God will help us when we make good choices and engage in positive action. He even comes to our rescue sometimes when we have gotten ourselves into trouble by making the wrong choice.

            God has not left us to blunder along when making choices. He has given believers the Holy Spirit.  As Jesus said “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:…”(John 16:13) But does the Holy Spirit speak to Jews and Moslem Palestinians? I am convinced that He does if they will listen.

 

Grace and peace.

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

                 I typed this on the evening of July 4^th, the birthday of our nation. Liz and I did not fight the traffic; carry our folding chairs, bug spray, radio and snacks to witness holiday fireworks in person. For the last couple of years we’ve been content to watch fireworks on our televisions. The last time we attended a fireworks display was with our grand boys. We also did not wait in a crowded restaurant to order the traditional bar-b-que and sweet tea. And I did not make the effort to grill outside. We had a celebrative dinner at home prepared in an air-conditioned kitchen.  These are symptoms of old age. As one grows older he begins to take the easiest path. Now if we had celebrated with family we  probably would have done these things, but none of our immediate family were in Birmingham today.

                Our relaxed observance of the day does not indicate a lesser appreciation of its importance. We feel a sense of pride and thankfulness as we put a US flag out front of our house. We have pride in the fact that the US, in our opinion, is the greatest nation on earth. It has its faults and problems, but it is the land of freedom and possibility. Millions of people around the world see us as the land of opportunity and seek to come here, even illegally.

And we are so thankful to live in this country. We are thankful that the bold experiment of democracy has endured these 238 years. This is a blessing from God. Our society is far from perfect, but we common people today live like the kings of former generations. So I give thanks to the founders of our nation and the generations which have preceded us. And most of all I give thanks to God. We sing, “God bless America” and God has already blessed America. I am confident He will continue to do so. The religious scene is rapidly changing, but the great majority of our citizens still believes in God and worships him. The Psalmist said, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12)

 

Grace  and peace.