Hi everyone,
I've been thinking about this thread over the morning and wonder if I could share a few thoughts with you all.
I live in an historic part of Philadelphia called Germantown. Not too far from where I live is the Deshler-Morris House, also called the "Germantown Whitehouse" because then President Washington, our Nation's first President, conducted official buisness while staying there because of an outbreak of disease in the center city which was then our capitol.
According to one website I checked, Germantown "was originally settled by Mennonite and Quaker German speaking émigrés from Holland, Germany and Switzerland attracted to Philadelphia by William Penn's promises of religious tolerance." -[url=http://philadelphia.about.com/od/neighborhoods/p/germantown.htm]source[/url]
Across the street is a reconstruction of the Delaplaine House. The side of it bears a plauqe that says in part that 'G. Whitefield preached from the balcony overlooking the Square'. And also that women and children had used the cellar for a place of refuge during the battle of Germantown. After then General G. Washington was defeated at the battle of Germantown, the opposing British General Howe is said to have occupied the Deshler-Morris House, yes, the same one that our President Washington would use later.
Now, some two hundred years after, Germantown is a different and changing place again. And, related to the topic of this thread, if you go several blocks down Germantown avenue, there is a busy Islamic Mosque, or school(I'm not sure which it is) and also some other Islamic stores.
It is open sometimes both early in the morning and late at night. Last night there were many people outside and children playing.
But you know, they are people.
I didn't want to mention these things to discourage anyone or to say that we should not be concerned about our Nation. Nations are made of people. Nations and goverments will not last forever but the people that make them up will.
And too, while our governement or any other [b]is not[/b] the Kingdom of God, I don't think we can say that these temporal things and institutions are not important or are not to be valued(if they have been given to us by Divine Providence) or even that we should not seek to preserve them so far as we have liberty of conscience from God to do so.
In this world, the physical and the spiritual are connected. In wars, physical locations change hands and occupancy as battles are won or lost.
With us, [b]that is so far as advancing the Kingdom of God[/b], our battles are never physical and should never turn to violence in order to serve Him.
So how do we respond to what we see around us?
I think that the call for prayer and fasting was a good thing.
I've been reading again a short book by Pastor Wurmbrand that had been written under a penname to protect his identity. The book, I think published in 1995, was titlted "Jesus, Friend to Terrorists".
I think that one thing we can add to our response, if by God's help we can do it, is also to meet the radicals in this world(however they are expressing their devotion to the ideal they are holding to) the way I think the Lord Jesus met them, and us, with radical love.
Wish you all well, and peace. From the שׂר , sar, Prince, of Peace.
