"Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?"

I’m a boomer.  Not the Cold War submarine or Islamic terrorist type, but a post–World War II baby boom person -- born between the years 1946 and 1964 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Growing up as a boomer, the adults in our lives used the assassination of JFK as an event that no one could forget where they were when they first got the news.

For boomers, that unforgettable event was 9/11.  Sadly, many of the boomers saw the second plane slam into the second tower on live TV.  Of course, that wasn’t the end of it -- the twin towers were followed by the Pentagon and Flight 93 plowing into that Pennsylvania field.

Georgia-native and country music artist, Alan Jackson wrote a great song shortly after the tragic events of that day – musically asking the question, “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?"

Well, it’s been 15 years and I’m certain that for those of us of a “certain age” we can still clearly recall the answer to Alan’s question.  Yes, the incidents of that day, brought to our shores by Islamic terrorists were terrible, but what makes the day so memorable?  Why can we remember where we were?

Was it the fact that well-educated, Muslim men, most from Saudi Arabia, took objects of America’s global prominence, i.e. large passenger aircraft, turned them into flying torpedoes, and used them to destroy other objects of our global prominence, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon?  What kind of sick religion can produce adherents that attain martyrdom in destroying buildings packed with peaceful employees?  

Was it the sheer senselessness of the events of that day?  People forced to decide between leaping to their death and being incinerated in their own office.  Massive buildings reduced to rubble. 

Was it the courage of the first-responders that selflessly went into those burning buildings to try to help?  They took their training and their chances as they went to the aid of their fellow man.  Compare that to the terrorists who took flight training so they could visit tragedy on the twin towers.   

It has been 15 years since the events of that day and our Nation’s ability to attain moral clarity is more muddled than ever.  We now have a president who sees us (conservatives and this country) as the problem.  There is confusion about the meaning of marriage and the inability to distinguish between man and woman.  When it comes to college, our dear leaders think illegal aliens deserve in-state tuition rates – charging a fellow citizen from a neighboring state more than a student that illegally came from another country.  No wonder they hate us – we’re stupid.

Let’s quickly take stock of the last 15 years and look forward to the next 15 years.  Our nation is at a crossroads.  Fifteen years of war and nothing to show for it but monuments of marble, mentally and physically scarred veterans, a mountain of debt, and a bitterly divided nation.  Most recently, we’ve seen multi-million dollar football players who will not even stand for the national anthem.

Twenty-five percent of Americans alive today aren’t even old enough to remember the events of 9/11.  The liberals aren’t smart enough to remember what happened on 9/11.  Obama may want to empty GTMO, bail from Afghanistan and blame America, but the ideology of radical Islam is anything but done.  

If the radical Islamic terrorists had complete freedom, there’d be one-hundred more 9/11s.  If ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab or countless other radical Islamic groups had their way, there’d be dirty bombs and disaster delivered on our nation daily.  If Islam had its way, every American infidel would be forced to convert, pay tribute (jizya), or die.

What if Jesus Christ had His way?  His desire is for people to find salvation and eternal life in Him.  In the Gospel of John Jesus put it this way, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…”  Jesus offers an entirely different program than jizya or jihad.

That Alan Jackson song that asked, “Where were you” eventually topped the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart for five weeks and earned Jackson a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.  The chorus to that song reminds us of the only enduring hope there is:  

“I'm just a singer of simple songs.  I'm not a real political man.

 I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran.  

But I know Jesus and I talk to God, and I remember this from when I was young. 

Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us, and the greatest is love.”

What Nerve -- Part Two

The last column addressed three things that struck a nerve.  This is about some people who’ve got some nerve.  The past week, I dutifully listened to the Democratic National Convention – being water boarded would’ve been better. The parade of military members to bolster the party’s patriotic bona fides was unbearable.  Perhaps it is time to create a new Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) entitled “useful idiot.”  

Just before retired USMC General John Allen began ranting about what an awesome and macho warmonger Hillary Clinton would be, we were treated to a sickening display of numerical absurdity.  The mathematical misleading made use of two Muslims – tokenism to try to discredit the Republican nominee’s plan to ban temporarily migration from terrorist plagued nations.  I’ll get to the abhorrent math in a minute.

In a duel of retired General officers, LTG Michael Flynn commented the next day on Allen’s rant, providing some perspective.  “General Allen, as a retired officer, was in charge of our current strategy for well over a year, maybe closer to two years, and during that period of time the rise of radical Islamism and ISIS, you know, it exponentially grew…frankly, I honestly don't know how General Allen can look at himself in the mirror and say that he supports an individual who placed our national security at high risk.”  

Allen’s ringing endorsement of Hillary had a “hope and change” theme that displayed the thoughtlessness reminiscent of the mistake that brought us Obamacare.  In what can only be described as a, you’ve got to elect her "to find out what’s in it” moment, Allen provided personal testimony to the powers in Hillary: 

“With Hillary Clinton as our commander-in-chief, the United States will continue to be that indispensable, transformational power in the world.  To our allies, our friends, and our partners, listen closely.  We are with you.  America will not abandon you…And to our enemies – to our enemies – we will pursue you as only America can.  You will fear us.  And to ISIS and others: We will defeat you.”

Allow me to summarize General Allen’s foray into the world of political endorsements.  “If you like your national military strategy – you can keep your national military strategy.”

Now to the misleading math.  American Muslim and former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told us about “Captain Humayan Khan who was one of 14 American Muslim soldiers who have died in combat serving the United States since 9/11.”  The point was later made that Khan’s “family immigrated to the United States from the United Arab Emirates, where Captain Khan was born” and that if Donald Trump had his way, Khan (and presumably the others), would not have been allowed to serve at all.   

Newsflash for Kareem and the DNC – first, those 14 American Muslim soldiers were all killed by Muslims, and secondly, but more to the point, the number of American servicemen killed by fellow US soldiers who are Muslim is even greater than the 14 cited by Abdul-Jabbar.  In 2003, US Army Sergeant Hasan Karim Akbar threw four hand grenades and fired his rifle at fellow soldiers, killing Air Force Major Gregory Stone with a grenade and Army Captain Christopher Seifert who was fatally shot in the back.  Then there was US Army Major Nidal Hasan who killed 13 at Fort Hood, Texas.  By my math, they’re ahead by one. Not to mention that virtually all of the 6,800 American service members that have been killed since 9/11, have been killed by Muslims.  

Finally, Kareem told us that the first place the Khan family visited upon coming to America was the Jefferson Memorial.  In the carefully choreographed convention, Kareem was followed by the father of the fallen soldier, lecturing us that Jefferson’s views on religious liberty and the Constitution do not comport with Trump’s position. 

 

Perhaps Kareem and Khan’s father should read Thomas Jefferson’s 1786 letter written after he and John Adams met with Tripoli’s ambassador to Great Britain.  They asked the Muslim ambassador why the Muslim Barbary Pirates, “make war upon Nations who had done them no Injury?” 

The letter records, “The Ambassador answered us that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Muslim who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”

Jefferson knew what the problem is.

Never Heard It Coming

For a multitude of reasons, I listen to the radio a lot.  There were three things that I’ve heard in the last three weeks that struck a nerve.  This neurological incident should not be confused with the thrill that ran up Chris Matthews’s leg when he heard Obama back in 2008.

   - The first was uttered by a survivor of the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, France -- it is a perfect metaphor the Obama administration’s response to radical Islamic terrorism.

   - The second was during an NPR interview with the US Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter and Renee Montagne on topics that ranged from Afghanistan, to ISIS, to Turkey.

   - The third was from Obama himself, specifically on the topic of Turkey, in which he declared our ignorance as a badge of honor. 

Which one is the worst?  Like the old sports show used to say, “You make the call.”

The first disturbing statement was from a French girl -- she was giving her firsthand account as a survivor of the radical-Islamic truck driver, Mohamed Bouhlel’s deadly jihadist joyride.  Mohamed drove a 19-ton truck though throngs of Bastille Day revelers – not stopping until police bullets ended his life.  His personal contribution to the holy war -- 84 people dead and more than 200 injured.  The rampage only ended when Bouhlel was shot dead by police.  The young woman said with the music, the fireworks, and all of the revelry – “they never heard it coming.”

The second, and absolutely infuriating statement, was when Renee Montagne of NPR was setting up a question about Afghanistan to Ash Carter.  Thousands of lives, billions upon billions of dollars have now come to this – four minutes and forty seconds into the seven-minute interview Montagne says, “The UN estimates the Taliban holds more ground in Afghanistan now, then since the US led invasion in 2001.”  What a pathetic point we’ve come to.

The third one, as previously pointed out, pertains to Turkey.  In the same aforementioned interview with Carter, Montagne asked him, “How much of a problem for the fight against ISIS is this situation with the coup in Turkey?”  Carter’s response is baffling, “Well, we didn't know this was coming and so it did come as a surprise to us, but I don't think it's going to affect our campaign against ISIL... the Turkish military is a very large, very professional organization.  They are a NATO ally, we've worked with them for decades, and I expect our relationship there to continue.”  One might hope so, since there are at least two thousand American military and thousands more US citizens living there.   

Turkey is not an insignificant nation and the repercussions of this attempted coup are not going away.  It is a nation of approximately eighty million, 99.8% of whom are Muslim (the majority of those Sunni).  It’s teeming with Syrian refugees – roughly three million.   The role Turkey will play in the ongoing crises is pivotal.  The US European Command reports, “As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.” 

Exactly what was the impetus for the coup is in dispute.  Many Turkish officials blame the United States for not immediately handing over a US-based Muslim cleric who they claim orchestrated the failed coup.  Whether that’s true, or just the Benghazi version of a YouTube video, remains to be determined. 

One thing’s for sure though – as Obama’s former Chief of Staff stated – Turkey is not going to let this crisis go to waste.  They have declared, “A three-month state of emergency and detaining or dismissing tens of thousands of people in the military and other state institutions.  In the latest measures, the government revoked nearly 11,000 passports and detained 283 members of the presidential guard” according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Obama, during a joint news conference with Mexico's President put it this way, "Any reports that we had any previous knowledge of a coup attempt, that there was any US involvement in it, that we were anything other than entirely supportive of Turkish democracy, are completely false, unequivocally false.”  Obama also said he had a phone call with Erdogan, the Turkish president, telling him that any reports about US knowledge of the coup plot "puts our people at risk on the ground in Turkey and it threatens what is a critical alliance and partnership between the United States and Turkey."

Never heard it coming.  Great -- it has finally come to the point that ignorance (whether feigned or actual) is our best defense. 

 

 

 

When the Lamb Becomes a Lion

Last month, my Men’s group looked at how the Israelites were instructed by the Lord to practice the Passover.  The ceremony is steeped with symbolism.  You know it’s always easy to celebrate a successful outcome.  It’s an entirely different situation when one has to trust one’s fate to an act of faith.  

The 4^th of July is typically a pretty big deal in modern-day America – Flags, BBQs, and fireworks are all commonplace.  The original 4^th – back in 1776, was arguably a bigger deal.  While the Declaration was bold, its ultimate outcome was anything but certain.  “Celebration” was certainly not the “word of the day” that frozen winter at Valley Forge.

Conversely, the Lord was so confident in the effectualness of His Passover program that the inaugural instructions to Moses and Aaron, while they were still in slavery in Egypt, included a provision to continue to practice it even after they’d passed into the Promised Land.  In fact, He directed it be performed into perpetuity.  Specifically saying,  

    “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.  And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”

The Patriots and Founders wrote the Constitution, not only to enshrine our liberties and enumerate our God given rights, but to also list the limitations placed upon the same government they’d conceived and fought for.  The right that protects all others, “…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”   This argument was made abundantly clear by the Father of our country:

     “Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.”  

With the Passover, the Lord prescribed a home protection process for His followers that prevented the death angel from delivering destruction.  “ Tell the whole community of Israel…each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household…The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect…Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.   Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs… it is the Lord’s Passover”

The Lord thwarted the original home-invasion with the blood of an innocent lamb.  “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. …When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”  

The same firearms that purchased freedom from an oppressive king continue to provide home protection today.  However, that was not the fundamental reason our founders wanted our right to bear arms to be uninfringed -- they intended our arms to serve as a check on government tyranny.  President Thomas Jefferson put it this way, “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”  

Thomas Paine, speaking of disarmament, described the likely outcome, “Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them ... the weak will become prey to the strong."  Like it or not, it is often a weapon in the hand of a lamb that enables him to become a lion.

Eventually, in the fullness of time, God instituted a new program – a plan that involved a different Lamb, but this time did not require a yearly renewal -- this was a lifetime plan.  John the Baptist, upon seeing Jesus coming toward him said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  Clearly, not everyone accepts the fact that the substitutionary death of the Son of God can protect him or her from the death angel.  Nor that the Blood of the Lamb can wash away sin.  That can only come through faith.

The author of the book of Hebrews looked back on both the Passover and the offering of the Christ.  Regarding animal sacrifice, the writer rightly points out, “those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins…  Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.”  Imagine that, the Lamb that was sacrificed is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for his followers and awaiting His final assignment.

The other day a friend of mine was alternately lamenting that the Church, the body of Christ, had not risen up en masse to stop the onslaught of evil and immorality overrunning our nation and the world – while yearning for the return of Christ to set things right. 

Friends, that day is coming soon, and on that day the Lamb will become a Lion.  The meek shall inherit the earth, and those in opposition, only wrath.  "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, chosen, and faithful."  Finally, the Lion of the tribe of Judah will assert Himself to set all things right.

 

In the meantime, this Fourth of July, celebrate the Patriots’ courage, celebrate the Passover, and celebrate the right to keep and bear arms, all while longing for the return of the Lion!