Wake Up Call

This is part of a 9/11 memorial in New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal. I know I walked by it many times but didn't really notice it until Wed (10/16) night when I took this photo. In fact, it was this poem that caught my eye. Sept 11th 2001 was indeed a wake up call to return to God -- both for the nation as a whole and for individuals. I was too young to understand that at the time, but I now know how much of a wake up call it is -- that the nation has yet to answer. Sure, many flocked to churches in the weeks and months following the terror attack, but not all stayed faithful to God these 12 years past.


Time to wake up, 
America.

Nothing Can Separate US From the Love of God!

Romans 8:38-39 NKJV

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pray for the Persecuted Church

While today is the Primary Voting Day for NYC mayor, I'll be praying for God to place the right person for the job -- whomever He wills. Not only that, I'll be praying for Nigeria. After you see the video below, you'll want to do the same.

Courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com)

Al-Jazeera America aka CurrentTV (thanks to Al Gore)

On Aug 20th, I read in a local NYC paper that Al Jazeera America had become a new channel on cable, airing via companies like DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, Comcast and Verizon FiOS. Turns out, after only a few hours of being on the air, Al Jazeera America loses a huge chunk of its major advertisers and has been left with a handful of non-profits. U-verse even dropped the channel all together!

If you don't know much about Al Jazeera, see my previous blog here. (The YouTube video I had embedded in this post has been taken down.)

When I saw the list of cable companies that would air Al Jazeera America, I wasn't surprised when I didn't see Time Warner Cable on that list. I was in fact quite glad. Other than cutting off CBS recently, TWC cut off CurrentTV in Dec 2012 when Al Gore, who created the channel some 5 or 6 years ago, sold to the Al Jazeera network, who is based out of Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera is rather anti-American and anti-Semitic.

You can also find a little more info here.

Shame

Shame. It grips our lives more than you think. It shapes the things we avoid - avoid to do something, to say something (to someone, or just thinking out loud), to go some place.

Shame could have been caused by something you did, voluntarily or involuntarily, or something that happened to you that was out of your control.

Shame keeps you in the dark, keeps you from enjoying life.

Shame causes doubt, causes fear, causes depression.

Shame makes you feel exposed -- everyone knows your wrong. It is a thick, black veil -- thicker than a Saudi woman's veil -- that you wish you wore 24/7. You wish you could hide in plain sight.

Shame keeps you from seeking help; it makes you think you're alone. It makes you feel unaccepted.

How does one get rid of shame? Admit the wrong? Yes. Ask for forgiveness? Yes. What if the person won't forgive? God will. When all else fails, He's there. You may not know it, feel Him there, or even believe it, but He's there.  He loves us too much to see us down & out. I am feeling every bit of shame as I write this. I'll be honest: I've lost much of my faith. It comes back here and there, but it's not constant. But all really one needs is that mustard seed to move that doubt of God accepting us through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Most of us believers struggle with their emotions when Satan throws bad situation and circumstances are thrown at us. Keep fighting the good fight of faith.

I ask for your prayers as I go through this trialing time.

"The Terrorist Next Door" by Erick Stackelbeck

Just this week I finished reading the book The Terrorist Next Door: How the Government is Deceiving You About the Islamist Threat by Erick Stakelbeck. Ever since I started watching his Stackelbeck on Terror show on CBN, I've wanted to read it and now that I have, it's REALLY opened my eyes to what's up with our government and the Islamic threat.

The US government, and many other Western governments, are focused on keeping the "radicals" and "extremists" out, that they're the real enemy. Heard of the Muslim Brotherhood? Think they're all about "peace", as many Muslims are claiming that's what Islam is? Stackelbeck does make an extensive mention of the Brotherhood, often stating how dangerous it would be if it took over Egypt, for example. Well, since its publication in 2011, Mohammad Morsi, a Brotherhood member whom is also talked about in the book, did end up becoming president -- the first freely elected president of Egypt. But, that apparently didn't last too long. Just a year later, he was ousted and now is in Egyptian military custody, possibly with other Brotherhood leaders. As for the Muslim Brotherhood, I'll read about it in other books, my own research, and in Stakelbeck's new book (just hit shelves July 15th) The Brotherhood: America's New Great Enemy.
Now, I did learn a great deal about the influx of Muslim immigrants into the South, like Tennessee, or aka "The Bible Belt". Most were refugees, mainly Iraqis. There has been much "Southern Inhospitality" (chapter 3 in the book) liken Muslims not assimilating into American society and bits & pieces of sharia law are being added to local laws. And lets not forget about the Somalis!

So, about those Somalis; they're described in chapter 4, "Somali America: Black Hawk Now". Now I know what that movie was about, but anyway, being that Somalia is one of the most undeveloped nations of the world, all the horn of Africa can relay on is its religion: Islam. They've a hard time adjusting to a developed, first world environment coming from their rather rural homeland. Being that Islam was their only education back home, that's what they stick to. Like rinsing their hands and feet curbside right before getting into prayer. With that, there's more than just culture shocks as they've adjusted to first world norms such as toilets and running water. Won't say any more - don't want to spoil the book for you.

One thing that really opened my eyes was chapter 8 called "It's the Ideology, Stupid". Strange title, yes, but it made sense. Why these "extreme" and "radical" Muslims do what they do is because of the ideology of Islam. The Qu'ran and the hadiths. Its been that way since the days of Mohammad. If only the Obama administration would get that.

I'm starting to believe more and more that he's a closet Islamist, a Muslim Brotherhood member, in fact. That's why I didn't vote for him in the last election. I didn't vote at all because voting for "the lesser of two evils" didn't really go for me in the 2012 election, but anyway... There is a chapter that discusses the Muslim Brotherhood, but I want to read the new book for more info on them. I was quite shock when I learned how much of a presence they have here. The Muslim Student Association, which is pretty much on every college campus, is a front group of the Brotherhood. In college, I walked the same halls as Brotherhood members, and never knew it. Wow...

God loves, Allah doesn't

http://bible.us/114/1JN4.19.NKJV We love Him because He first loved us. Bible.com/app

As you see above, 1 John 4:19 says that God loved us first. If you want to bring Muslims to Christ, this is a good Scripture to start with. Devout Muslims, or what the West has masked as "radical" and "extremist", are willing go die for Allah, especially if they're engaging in jihad (holy war against "infidels" or non-Muslims). Since they are so willing to die, any devout believer in Christ would wonder why. Well, this question was sort of answered already but when sharing the Gospel with a Muslim, I ask what Allah did for them that they're so "hopelessly devoted" to the seventh century pagan idol. They cannot answer the question because there is no answer.

Coming back to this Scripture, God loved us first. This also connects to the famous John 3:16 "for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (NKJV). But all in all, God loved us first and STILL loves us today... even the Muslims.