Pastor's Weekly Update

OCTOBER 12, 2023

LAKESHORE FRIENDS—

These past few days have been some of the worst in Israel’s recent history.  Over 1,200 innocent people brutally murdered in barbaric fashion by Hamas terrorists backed by Iran and supported by many others in the Islamic world. Hundreds are being held as hostages and innocent Palestinians in the West Bank are being used as human shields against the military response by Israel.  Some Americans are even included in this list of victims.

It’s hard to believe that any decent and semi-moral human being would do anything but condemn Hamas, but sadly on college campuses and around the country people are trying to explain away or even justify these attacks by blaming Israel.  We even have elected officials in Congress holding this view.  How could this be the case?

The only answer is that evil is on the rise around the world, especially toward Christians and Israel.  These conflicts in Israel are directly tied to Muhammad’s conquest of the Holy Land 14 centuries ago, which explains why many Muslims will not give up trying to take over Israel despite any diplomatic efforts we think will help.  They believe they are entitled to the land because of Muhammad.  It is satanic in its origin and people are being deceived into believing lies about us and Isarel.  This is spiritual warfare as the Bible talks about in Ephesians 6:10-18 and persecution that Jesus warned would happen in Matthew 5:10-12, the last two beatitudes.  We better be prepared for more of it unless our country turns to God ASAP.

What should we do in response?

1. Keep our hearts with Israel.  These people will have to live with loss, defend their land, and be in this battle for the long haul.  Expect war to be a prolonged experience over there.  Let’s pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and support them as God’s chosen people (Romans 9:1-5).  They are the only democracy in the Middle East and when you consider all the land of Muslim countries in that region compared to the tiny parcel Israel has, you know this is not about land, but much more.  Which leads to my second point:

2. Keep our eyes on Israel.  The Bible talks about the last days with a focus on Israel and Jerusalem more than any other country.  That’s because God has a plan to restore Israel to be His people at some point in the future, and someday very soon, the false leader known as antichrist will broker a seven year treaty between Israel and her enemies that will lead to the final seven years of life on earth as we know it.  So we would be wise to both keep our eyes on Isarel and better understand biblical prophecy about how the world ends.  Our brand new Midweek series in the Book of Revelation is so well timed (by God, not me, as it turns out) to help you understand this.  You can find out more about this series here. If you missed last week's message, you can watch it here.

Let’s pray that Israel will succeed in defending herself and that God’s plan will include many people finding faith in Jesus and the Gospel as a result.

Warmly,
Vince