Islam is on the move because they have "the Eye of the Tiger." They are hungry. Hungry for victory. Hungry for glory for their God and their Faith.
Hunger is a great motivator. It drives a man to work who otherwise would not work. It causes men and women to be willing to sacrifice, scrape together resources, and move to new areas in order to achieve the goals for which they hunger.
They hunger for and crave vindication for their faith, and they lay themselves, their money and their children, on the line to achieve the goals in which they have been taught to believe.
AND THEY FAST IN UNISON. When they do that, they release tremendous spiritual power. It does not matter what/who the source of that spiritual power is. Their rich people fast. Their poor fast. The young and very old participate in the fast, and it sends shockwaves of spiritual power and influence and credibility throughout the earth, and gives spiritual life and energy to their causes, their evangelism efforts, and their discipling. Even when that discipling is in Wahabbism, a radical Islamic sect and doctrine that is being taught in many of their AMERICAN mosques. Al Quaeda is an offspring of the Wahabbist doctrine.
No system, or religion has ever elevated as many people and brought blessing to as large a number of people, as the worship, obedience and discipline of Jesus Christ. Islam hasn't.
Judaism didn't. It birthed Christianity and we owe them gratitude for our existence and for the foundation that they laid of the worship of God and of the Law and the Prophets upon which we base our faith.
We are not better, higher, smarter, or more loved by God than them.
We make mistakes, and we have our charletons who claim our banner and don't really practice it.
But America's system of thinking, our conviction that everyman is accountable for his own success or failure, and our willingness to let a man choose his own way AND either enjoy the consequences of his choices or suffer them, have brought tremendous blessing to more people than any other system in recorded history.
But we are in big trouble.
We have become victims of our own success. Many of us have come to value security more than freedom. Both as a nation and as followers of Jesus Christ, we have become soft because life is not as hard as it was even 30 years ago. We have lost our hunger and our thirst for victory, for sacrifice, and for the glory of our God, our nation and our cities.
We don't want victory, we want ease.
We don't want compassion, we want insurance against any kind of sacrifice and loss.
Our country, our churches, and our families are divided.
There is no national leader to stand up and say, "I am calling this nation to fasting and prayer for the success of our national and spiritual goals."
No one stands up and says "I will lead the charge in fasting and prayer. I don't have to fast, but I long for justice and compassion and for 'what is right' to prevail over wrong! So, I will be fasting and asking the help and guidance of almighty God, knowing that if He doesn't intervene, we don't have a chance at either national or personal success. Won't you join me in my quest?"
We have lost our "blessing," which was the source of our success in the past.
We think it was our education. It was not.
We think it was our superior philosophy, but the philosophies that did succeed, came from the teachings of Christ.
What "Blessing," you may ask?
Why, the "Blessing" that was promised by Jesus to those :
- who were poor in spirit, not haughty in spirit;
- who mourn(weep and fast) over the toll on humanity of crime, disease, disasters and unjust courts and governments;
- who were humble and meek, not the two-legged sharks;
- who hunger and thirst for justice, not those who glory in greed and injustice;
- who were merciful to their neighbors and family, not turning their back on those who are in need or suing them over minor or imaginary offences in a lust for unearned wealth ;
- who are pure in their motives, not having manipulative alterior motives;
- who are working for peace, not using the disadvantage of others to constantly stir up discord;
- who are making a stand in behalf of those who are being persecuted for doing and desiring what is right and just and fair.
THAT BLESSING is the blessing we have lost as a nation, and as a church. Jesus has the power and authority to bless those who pursue these desires, from any nation or background. The Scriptures say, in Colossians 1:15-17,
- "He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him were all things created: things in heaven and on earth, visible or invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
If our nation no longer seeks his help or his blessing, don't be surprised when our systems of government, of transportation, of financial operation, and education, begin to fall apart. What? What's that you say? They are already? Maybe we should humble ourselves, repent for our national condition and our personal sins, and begin to ask, seek and knock for a return to the place of His blessing. In the meantime, Islam offers an alternative "order" or system and many Americans are looking to them/it in spite of the authoritarianism.
Certainly there are those who see this and are praying and fasting and hungering and thirsting for an intervention by God.
A few folks are longing for a revival of the spiritual life of the nation that will once again birth social and political justice and equity. But for the most part, we have lost the hunger, the drive, that causes us to risk and if necessary, give our all, to see it achieved.
Our founding fathers, with all their human faults and failures, had the "eye of the tiger." They had a driving hunger for true political freedom and justice that would be equal under the law for rich or poor. They wanted it so badly, they declared their indepencence from Great Britain and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in their attempt to achieve it.
I am by no means a national leader, but I am going to humble myself to God. I'm going ask God to forgive us and send spiritual renewal to more than just a few churches. I know that without His help and blessing, our hope as a nation and our dreams for helping the poor, are lost.
Won't you join me?
Later.
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