Violence Breeds Violence : Why Donald Trump's Rhetoric Is Not The Real Problem

The mainstream media had recently accused U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump of inciting violence against Muslims in the United States by demanding that all new Muslim immigrants, especially from war torn Syria be properly screened or even temporarily stopped from entering the country until this latest bout of extremist violence there is brought under control.

Now, I am not a supporter or fan of Donald Trump, but I don't think this is such a bad idea given the amount of ISIS led or inspired violence taking place around the world, and I don't think that Trump's comments are to blame for the recent attack against a local Imam in New York either. Attacks against Muslims in United States are still very isolated incidents committed by mentally unstable people who witness violence committed in the name of Islam almost daily now all over the media and even more on the Web, and I think that they are the real reason for the New York attack, which was deplorable. But it just shows how violence only breeds more violence, and until this cycle is broken, nothing will change.

I think that peaceful Muslims must clearly in public and in private take a strong stand against Islamic extremism, and take responsibility for their anti Western rhetoric in the Mosques that fuels it.  But instead of demanding that the media makes people believe that Islam  has nothing to do with it and accuses everyone who dares to criticize anyone in the Muslim community of hate and bigotry. This will not take us anywhere. One cannot win any war, especially an ideological one without recognizing what the enemy is and its tactics. Facts must be faced. There is more violence committed in the name of Islam than in the name of any other religion right now and it must change.

The politicians and media should not manipulate facts for political purposes, but they are routinely doing it. It was seen during the  2015 elections in Canada as well when the preferred (liberal) candidate was always shown in positive light while the other ones were constantly being attacked, their words often taken out of context and twisted. They are doing the same to Mr. Trump and unfortunately he is playing into their hands by picking verbal fights with them instead of focusing on real issues.

Many people are losing any shreds of faith they had in the fairness of political process and this is the beginning of the end of a democratic system. And no wonder, when a head of as powerful nation as Russia is warning that the world is on the brink of World War III and it  even does not make any news on main stream media. You can see it for yourself below.

 No one really trusts those media nor the governments anymore and it is not good for democracy.

 How can we believe in democracy when entire social groups such as Christians are being effectively eliminated from political  process because they hold on to the values that are not politically correct. Any open debate of issues are being shut down and more  and more people are feeling increasingly more isolated, which is a breeding ground for hateful cults and ideologies to emerge.

Politicians are not taking any responsibility for their wrong ideologically driven decisions, such as Barack Obama's support for "moderate" rebel groups in Syria out of which ISIS emerged. Instead they are going into denial and continue making the same mistakes over and over again, which only can breed more violence and instability in the world. I am afraid that despite all his faults, Donald Trump, might be still a better choice for Americans. Let us pray that God will give him wisdom or raise up someone else who could stop America from plunging the world into the greatest war this world has ever seen to date.

Could it all be the beginning of this "great delusion" that was predicted in the Bible? I am convinced that it is so.

Prayers For ISIS Fighters Being Answered

Nearly a year ago, I called the readers of this blog to prayer not only for the persecuted Christians, especially in the Middle East, but also for their oppressors, the ISIS fighters.

The reason why they are staging now more terrorist attacks around the world is because they are losing ground in the Middle East, not only militarily, but most of all spiritually.

Many Islamic fighters were deeply moved by the love showed to them by many Christians even as they were being murdered, they cannot shake off the peace that they saw in their eyes, and they cannot forget their courage.

But most of all, many of them are seeing visions of Jesus Himself, who comes to them in their dreams showing them His scars( Islam teaches that Jesus was never really crucified) and calling them to live for Him instead of killing others.

Last week, one of my Arabic speaking friends shared with me some testimonies of ISIS fighters becoming followers of Jesus and asking Christians to forgive them and to pray for them. I cannot share too many details of those very supernatural conversions here as to not identify them, but I am sharing this with you to encourage you to continue to pray for them. God is answering our prayers.

In this context, I understand more and more why the Lord told us to "bless those who curse us and pray for those who persecute us." We must remember that our battle as apostle Paul taught us, is not against flesh and blood. Do not look at people who mistreat you as your enemies, the real enemy is that evil spiritual  force that keeps them in bondage and uses them to hurt us and hurting them as well in the process.

Satan is real and he hates humanity, but Jesus came, died, and rose again to save those who are lost, even those who you might consider an enemy. No matter who is it that causes you pain, a nasty coworker, your in-laws, whoever it is. Bless them, show them kindness, pray for them instead of returning evil for evil, and see how God will change the situation you are in for the better of both you and them. This is the gospel in action and the power of God. This is what those ISIS fighters do not have and when they experience it, they will be changed forever. The Gospel of Jesus Christ won over many hateful ideologies before and will win over this one as well. The victory is on our side already.

Keep Praying!

ISIS Declares War On Europe

No one is actually calling it this way, but by the wave of recent suicide bombings in Turkey,

France, and today in Belgium, the infamous Islamic terror group known as ISIS, ISIL, or DAESH effectively declared war on Europe, thus spilling the violence from Middle East to the Western world.

It is clear that the politically correct approach to the problem of Islamic violence is not working. It would be wrong to go from this  into another extreme of penalizing all Muslim people for this like the American Presidential hopeful, Donald Trump, suggested when he stated that he would "ban all the Muslims from entering America," but it is clear that the authorities need to be more vigilant and the hateful ideology that is feeding this violence must be confronted, otherwise these attacks will increase in frequency and severity.

These people clearly are attacking the Western way of life and want us all to live in fear. America and Canada are not immune to this either. Both Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau need to step up the security, or North America will sooner or later suffer the same problems as Europe now does. ISIS is losing in Middle East and will try to appear stronger than it really is by attempting more attacks around the world.

As Christians, we need to in turn step up our prayers for the Muslim people. We need to pray that God would reveal the Truth to them and set them free from satanic ideas that cause them to commit these murderous acts, even if it is just one minute of your time everyday, make sure that you pray. It is an ever intensifying spiritual war that manifests itself in physical violence. Satan knows that he doesn't have much time left, so he causes unstable and desperate people to wreak havoc around the world. Pray also for wisdom for our political leaders, so that their actions or the lack of it would not make the problem worse.

The Hour of Darkness : Paris Attacks Open New Chapter In War With ISIS

We were all rocked to our core by the recent terror attacks that killed more than 100 people in Paris last week. The question on most people's minds is, "Where will they hit next?"

Others are wondering why God is allowing this madness and how can people do such things in the name of God. Those were the very questions on the minds of Jesus' disciples when they witnessed Him being arrested like some criminal in the garden of Gethsemane over 2000 years ago.

He explained this by saying to those who were arresting Him, "When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched not forth your hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness."(Luke 22:53)

It looked like the evil was having an upper hand when Jesus was arrested, brought to false trials, tortured, and executed. And so it does today when we see people, most of them innocent civilians including women and children being tortured, raped, and killed in the name of Islam by ISIS fighters.

Even though it is easier for us to identify with the victims of Paris attacks, we still realize that much greater carnage is going on everyday in Middle East with no end in sight.

The conflict is intensifying with more world powers being drawn into it and more fanatics, as many as 30, 000 fighters recently, are being recruited by ISIS militants from around the world. It is the hour  and  power of darkness.

But we know the end from the beginning already. We know from the Bible that this hour will not last. There will be those who will resist and who are already resisting and overcoming this evil by the blood of the lamb ( Jesus), by the word of their testimony, and by laying down their lives  for their faith if they have to.

It is midnight on the prophetic clock. It is dark, but there is a call going out for all the virgins ( Christians) to wake up because the bridegroom is coming. So, it is time for us to trim our lamps, fill them with oil and shine in the midst of this darkness.

It is not right to hate or worse to attack the Muslims now because majority of them are not fanatics at all. We have the opportunity now to reach them with the Gospel, which now contrasts more than ever with the hate of the fanatics.

We are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. While we condemn the violence of ISIS and expose Islam for what it really is, we must still share the love of God with Muslims, we must reach them with the Gospel before the fanatics reach them with their message of violence and hate. And we must pray against more of those attacks and pray for our political leaders to be wise, vigilant, and not to underestimate the enemy.

After Paris attacks, we know that the new chapter in war with ISIS had just opened. It is no more  a far away Middle East problem. It could happen anywhere, but we cannot give in to fear. It is time to shine  our light forth brighter than ever before.

Radical Islam vs. Radical Christianity

 
 












Many people around the world, including the Muslim people are horrified today when they are learning about the atrocities that radical Islamists are perpetrating on Jews, Christians, and even fellow Muslims who are not as radical as they are. It filled many people with disgust, horror, and some even with fear.

But we must remember that these people are doing all this because they are taking the teachings of their religion, especially their holy book Koran, and the commandments of their founder literally.

But what radical Christianity would really look like? What would happen if billions of followers of Jesus took His teaching, His commandments, and His life example literally and actually practiced them in their everyday lives?

In my view, it would literally turn the world up side down, in a good way. Below are excerpts from the Koran of what the Islamists were being taught by their founder:

" Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued... O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you are asked to march forth in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad) you cling heavily to the earth? Are you pleased with the life of this world rather than the Hereafter? But little is the enjoyment of the life of this world as compared with the Hereafter.
 If you march not forth, He will punish you with a painful torment and will replace you by another people." ( Surah 9:29, 38-39)

Now contrast this with what Jesus had taught us as His followers:

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:32-36)

So, they were taught even threatened by their god to fight against, kill, and subdue those who are disobedient to him and this is what they are doing with unimaginable cruelty, but we were commanded to love our enemies and do good to those who hate and persecute us.

They are being guided by hatred, we must be guided by divine love, which is the only antidote to the hatred and our most powerful weapon. Radical Christianity is following the commandments of Jesus and His example of  not only not killing anyone, but being even willing to sacrifice His own life for all of us while we were still sinners.

What it would look like if we all did that? I believe that it would transform our families, communities, even entire countries For all those who wonder what it would look like in practice I recommend watching a very inspiring movie recently made by Pureflix titled, "Do you Believe?"

You can buy it on Amazon or rent it from your local movie rental store. Watch it with your family, friends, and church family and think of ways that you can all individually and together put your faith in practice, so together we can transform this world and win the battle over the souls of unbelievers around us.

The Long Term Consequences of Syrian Refugee Crisis

As Elul 29, which is today, also known as the last day of Shemitah draws to its end, the world is railing amid the Syrian refugee crisis, the greatest migration of displaced people since the second world war.

And I am sorry to say, but it will not get better. The world leaders are not dealing with the root cause of it, which is the rampage of so called Islamic State through Middle East and to be fair there isn't really that much that they can do as military options are limited due to the nature of this enemy.

ISIS militants are not any conventional army that can be fought out right and defeated by sheer military power, though western troops who are helping the Kurdish army in Iraq are keeping it from taking over all of Iraq, but it is not enough to defeat it.

The equally ruthless army of Syria's government under dictatorial regime of Bashar Assad despite of all the help they are getting from Iran and Russia are not succeeding either, barely keeping ISIS from taking over all of Syria and the fight is now that much harder since those terrorist fighters are also using chemical weapons that they either are making themselves or have stolen  from Syria.

Now enter Europe that was even before that facing economical challenges with EU countries such as Greece, Spain, and Italy being on a verge of economic collapse which were kept from the catastrophe thanks to the money flowing to them from Germany, who is now dealing with a flood of mainly Muslim refugees from the region, the number of which will probably reach close to one million by the end of this year as they are arriving at the rate of 2,000 persons a day in Greece and Turkey.

This will have huge economical and social implications because Germany alone simply does not have the money to take care of all the basic needs of these people. It will cost a lot to find them shelter, provide their food, clothing, and medical care.

Most of the refugees do not know any language other than Arabic, so it will take some time until they learn German and will be able to work and take care of themselves, and even then the jobs will not be easy to find.

And what happens when ISIS will get even stronger, with no one there to fight them? Many of those fleeing are able bodied men who could have been trained to fight, now there will be no one left to train.

What happens when countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia get attacked, and God forbid, their governments fall? Who will then take care of the next flood of millions of more refugees?

Then, there are social implications as well, as many Europeans are wary of accepting more Muslims into their country because of social unrest some of those who came as immigrants during the past decade or so are still causing, creating Sharia zones within European cities and harassing native nationals, sometimes even raping unveiled women and committing terrorist acts such as London subway bombing in England or Charlie Hebodo shooting in France, openly saying during public demonstrations that their aim is to take over Europe for Islam and subjugate all who live there under Islamic law.

We have already seen far right nationalists in Germany attacking refugee shelters and I am afraid there will be more violence, eventually from both sides. God only knows how it will all end, we do not know all the details, but we know from the Scripture that eventually Israel will be puled into it all and will be forced to confront the ISIS forces, especially if they attack Jordan with whom Israel has peaceful relations, which is the very reason that the terrorists want to attack Jordan, seeing its King as a traitor and if Palestinians decide to join ISIS fighters against the king of Jordan and Israel, then God will have to intervene and we know that He will win and defeat Islamic forces both as an army and as an ideology.

On the other hand, there are thousands of Muslims who are coming to Christ in Germany, Turkey, and other places where Christians reach out to them with the love of Jesus even as Christians who could not get away are being martyred daily, so amongst all this evil there is always much good that is happening. We need to pray for wisdom for our political leaders, for salvation of the Muslims even the fanatical ones, and for strength of faith for those who are laying down their lives for their faith in Jesus.

There were also clashes today between the Palestinian youth and Israeli police on the Temple Mount, which might be the beginning of a larger conflict over this holy site.

Author's note: Photo courtesy of  www.ibitimes.co.uk

Renewed Call To Prayer For ISIS Fighters

It is very easy to begin to resent or even hate ISIS fighters as well as their religion when we are being now daily bombarded with increasingly more revolting images of the atrocities that they commit.

Many well intentioned Christians post those pictures on their blogs and social media pages to bring awareness to how wrong it is what they are doing afraid that if Islam gains foothold in the West, then this kind of violence will reach them too, but we have way more powerful weapons at our disposal in this holy war and it is the authority that God had given us, the power of His Holy Spirit, the Blood of Jesus, the word of our testimony, the Love of God and the power of prayer.

Have you ever thought why Jesus told us to love our enemies? Why He commanded us to pray for those who hate, persecute, insult, spitefully use, rob or even kill us? Well, today it dawned on me even clearer than ever before. He did so because He wants to save them! Yes, you read right. He wants to save them because He died for them too.

We have to remember that these people as vicious as they might be are only tools in the hands of the real enemy, the demonic hordes of hell who drive them to do what they are doing and we were promised the authority over them.

Jesus said, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you...and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." ( Luke 10:19 ; Mat. 16:18)

We have the power, so let us use it! Since I issued the last call to prayer for ISIS fighters on this blog earlier this year, I have heard amazing stories of salvation of those who not only used to kill Christians and other innocent people, but even enjoyed doing it, how some of the had visitations from Jesus asking them why were they killing His people and revealing the truth about Himself to them.

This happened because of our prayers. These people are all deceived poor souls desperate for salvation. They cannot conquer their own sinful nature, so they go to Syria and Iraq to fight in the "holy war" because they are brainwashed into thinking that this will assure them eternal life. let us continue to storm the gates of hell by raising our prayer for their salvation daily to heaven. Every minute of prayer counts!