Submitted by Helen Blackburn
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PRECIPITOUS MOVE TO CUT U.S. FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN A SERIOUS MISTAKE, WILL EMBOLDEN ENEMIES
Israel launches new drills to prepare for major regional war.
Israel launches new drills to prepare for major regional war.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., June 23, 2011) -- President Obama's plan to precipitously start drawing down U.S. military forces from Afghanistan before the war against Radical Islamic jihadists has truly been won -- and doing so against the advice of some of his field commanders -- is a serious mistake, misguided and dangerous. The move is a sign of White House fatigue. It will be perceived by our enemies as weakness. It will embolden the enemy and put more Americans, Israelis and other Mideast allies of ours at greater risk. We should be letting Gen. Petraeus and his team finish the job and only then bring the troops home.
Iran's political and religious leaders are not getting tired of preparing for their genocidal, apocalyptic war against the Judeo-Christian West. They continue talking about the End of Days and the coming of the Twelfth Imam. They are also accelerating the enrichment of uranium and development of ballistic missiles. In this context, increasingly unsure if they can depend on their American allies, Israeli leaders this week "launched a major five-day home front defence exercise intended to prepare its population and emergency services to respond to massive missile attacks," Agence France Presse reports. "Named 'Turning Point 5,' the exercise involves testing nationwide siren systems and the cellular network, distributing emergency kits, improving coordination and practising evacuation and shelter procedures….Among the scenarios being prepared for are sustained rocket attacks on the Tel Aviv region, the electrical grid or a geriatric hospital, local media reported….For the first time, lawmakers will also be called on to participate in response to a simulated attack on the parliament building in Jerusalem."
Such preparations are critically important. But much more is needed. Israeli leaders are not calling the nation to prayer, fasting and repentance, despite the Biblical admonition to do so. Indeed, few world leaders are calling their nations to their hearts to the Lord, including our own. Yet this is precisely the right moment. In a time when economic, religious and geopolitical threats are rising….a time when so much of the world is turning against God...a time when so many have forgotten God in their daily lives...a time when so many think the Church is irrelevant and/or hypocritical...and a time when many have turned against Israel and God's Chosen People, what we need are leaders at every level of society who are serious about crying out to the Lord for mercy and redemption. I'm not talking about a bunch of religious hot air -- slogans, bumper stickers or platitudes. What we desperately need is a bold and sincere and solid and revolutionary faith that moves us to action, that moves us to know God more deeply and serve Him more faithfully before the Day of the Lord arrives. As we read in the New Testament Book of James, "faith, if it has no works, is dead" and "faith without works is useless" (James 2:17 and 20).
This one of the reasons I love the Old Testament Book of Joel and why I'm grateful we studied it together at the 2011 Epicenter Conference -- because it is a powerful call to action. This week, I posted on my blog Part Four of my personal study notes on the Book of Joel, plus links to the latest headlines from the epicenter. I hope you'll find them helpful as you seek a faith that changes your life and moves you to serve the Lord with more passion and conviction than ever before.
>> For more details and links, please go to our English blog (http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/) or the Hebrew blog (www.joelrosenberg.co.il). Thanks.
>> To watch the Epicenter Conference messages online -- or to pre-order the full DVD set of messages -- please go to www.epicenterconference.com.
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