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By Charles Gardner, Special to ASSIST News Service
DONCASTER, UK (ANS – July 20, 2016)
-- At a time of great turbulence, when all around is sinking sand,
there is a rock of perfect security on which to stand. His name is
Jesus. And those who fail to honour Him will stumble. (Isaiah 8.14;
Romans 9.33)
In
the world of politics, too, there is an “immovable rock” that will
injure those nations wishing to move it. (Zechariah 12.3) Could this
mean that all who attack Jerusalem – “the city of the Great King”
(Matthew 5.35) – will themselves be terrorised?
Best-selling
novelist Jack Engelhard seems to think so, saying that the dreadful
terror attacks enacted by Islamic fanatics in Paris, Brussels, Istanbul
and Nice1 all began in Israel. He said the nations kept telling Israel
not to answer with force, but to make peace with them. Yet every such
gesture was met with more demands and more terror; and the world refused
to figure it out – that it had nothing to do with Israel.
The
Jewish state was merely a laboratory for radical Islam who have
murdered thousands of Israeli civilians with guns, knives, suicide
belts, and now the automobile – reminding us that cars have been used to
ram innocent pedestrians to death in Israel on a regular basis since
last autumn. And referring to the summit called by French President
Hollande to impose peace in Israel, Engelhard asks: “Is he calling for a
peace summit with whoever came to Nice to mow down hundreds of
celebrants?”2
Also
asking questions is evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy, who says
terrorists continue to attack because the U.S. government refuses to
recognize the danger of Islam.3
Even
in England, Muslim converts to Christianity require special protection
in the face of threats and persecution from their own families.
Yes,
the grim spectre of violence stalks the earth like a big black cloud.
All this is surely a sign of the imminent return of our Messiah, Yeshua.
(Luke 17.26f, Matthew 24.29f) But it’s a time to fasten our seatbelts… I
believe the Lord was speaking of these days when he said: “In a little
while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the
dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will
come, and I will fill this house with glory.” (Haggai 2.6f)
And
this theme is repeated in the New Testament when, in warning against
godlessness and sexual immorality (Heb 12.16) – an apt summary of
today’s Britain – the writer to the 
Hebrews
reminds us of what happened at the giving of the Law on Mt Sinai when
the mountain shook in a terrifying spectacle accompanied by fire. This
would happen again, though on a bigger scale, at the end of the age so
that what cannot be shaken would remain.
Hebrews
reminds us of what happened at the giving of the Law on Mt Sinai when
the mountain shook in a terrifying spectacle accompanied by fire. This
would happen again, though on a bigger scale, at the end of the age so
that what cannot be shaken would remain.
Hold
on tight, for we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let’s
not buckle under the pressure of worldly wisdom, but press on as we look
to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Heb 12.2) May I
encourage you to “strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees” (Heb
12.12), a verse I have taken literally, as a result of which it has
become a constant source of testimony to the power of God. If I had
listened to worldly wisdom, I would have given up running when my knees
got painful but instead, inspired by this scripture, I trusted God to
heal them. It’s interesting that the very next verse says: “Make level
paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather
healed.”
Now
I am able to continue running with perseverance the race marked out for
me (Heb 12.1), both physically as well as spiritually.
Jesus
said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away.” (Matthew 24.35) He also said that “everyone who hears these words
of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his
house on the rock.” (Matthew 7.24)
Notes
1At
the risk of being accused of bad taste, it is worth mentioning that the
Nice massacre took place on Bastille Day when the French celebrate
“freedom” wrought through a revolution in which their royal family were
mercilessly executed by guillotine. I am not suggesting that divine
vengeance was being visited on the victims in Nice. But there is a sense
in which the ruthless, merciless spirit that brought ‘freedom’ to
France is still present in the land. I’m not so sure that celebrations
are apt for the storming of the Bastille (prison); perhaps France needs
to repent for taking the law into their own hands.
2Jack Engelhard, Nice Terror: First they came for the Jews, Arutz Sheva, July 15 2016
3 www.charismanews.com July 7, 2016
Photo captions: 1) Terrorists preparing for battle. 2) Child terrorists in training. 3) The Nice terror attack (The Telegraph). 4) Charles Gardner with his wife, Linda.
About
the writer: Charles Gardner is a veteran Cape Town-born British
journalist working on plans to launch a new UK national newspaper
reporting and interpreting the news from a biblical perspective. With
his South African forebears having had close links with the legendary
devotional writer Andrew Murray, Charles is similarly determined to make
an impact for Christ with his pen and has worked in the newspaper
industry for more than 41 years. Part-Jewish, he is married to Linda,
who takes the Christian message around many schools in the Yorkshire
town of Doncaster. Charles has four children and nine grandchildren. He
is the author of Peace in Jerusalem, available from http://olivepresspublisher.com. Charles can be reached by phone on +44 (0) 1302 832987, or by e-mail at chazgardner@btinternet.com .
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MOUNT HERMON, CA (ANS – July 21, 2016)
Thank you so, so much
for loving me unconditionally; for honoring and respecting me; for
caring and encouraging; for listening to my heart; for sharing my joys
and hurts; for looking out for my interests; for being there through
good times and bad; for facing life with me as long as we both shall
live.
A
skeptic in my youth, I didn't believe my Redeemer lived. I thought it
was a fairy tale. Then, my first year at Duke, I heard a lecture about
Jesus' Resurrection evidences, given by 
I realize
this is a controversial subject, and you may not agree. If you've not
examined the Resurrection evidences, may Meg and I gently and politely
encourage you to take a look? Lots of good books and websites present
them. 