Yesterday was a day filled with deep-seated memories of what happened eleven years ago. Yet, as with many experiences in life, the further removed we are from those events, the less time we take to reflect upon them. For many, September 11 will soon have no more relevance than do December 7 or November 22. How quickly and easily do we forget.
What has been learned in the ensuing eleven years since that fateful day that shook America to its very foundations? Sadly, very little has been learned. Once again the events of yesterday reminded us that those forces that oppose the freedoms our country has represented these past 236 years have not changed. The hatred that caused thousands of American citizens to die as planes were commandeered and hurled into the World Trade Center Towers, the Pentagon, and into a farmfield in Pennsylvania, is still as prevalent today as it was then. In fact, I believe that hatred has grown over the past years. It is a hatred that will not end until the last vestiges of freedom are removed from our world and the world becomes enslaved to an ideology that has hatred at its core.
As you have heard by now, yesterday - September 11, 2012 - an American embassy and consultate were attacked. In Cairo Egyptian rioters stormed the American Embassy, scaling its walls, and penetrating as far as the outer courtyard. They tore down the American flag and replaced it with a black Islamic banner. Egyptian security personnel stood by as the assault materialized. And in Benghazi, Libya, not only was the American Consulate attacked, but the American Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other American personnel were murdered and the consultate was burned to the ground.
Friends, things have not changed in eleven years. Those who hated us on September 11, 2001, hate us even more on September 11, 2012. And that hatred continues. Whether we recognize it or not, there is one source for such hatred. Our embassy in Germany was not threatened. Our embassy in Japan was not threatened. The personnel in our embassy in London were not put on lock-down mode. The embassies that have been attacked are in countries where radical Islamic followers have control. Although many welcomed the "Arab Spring" in January 2010 with the overthrow of then Egyptian President Mubarak, the government of President Morsi has been strangely silent in condemning what happened yesterday in Cairo. In fact, there has been no outcry from any of the Arab states condemning what occurred yesterday.
What precipitated yesterday's attacks? It was purported to be an insignificant video that depicted Mohammed in a bad way. I understand allegiance to religion. I am firmly committed to Jesus Christ and the Word of God. And I will do all I can to help persuade another to give his or her life to Christ. But, will I take a torch to the Egyptian Embassy in Washington DC because their continued persecution of my brothers and sisters in Christ there in Egypt are being singled out for humiliation and even death because they are Christians? Of course not. That is usually not the way those of us who adhere to the Judeo-Christian faith respond. (I know there have been exceptions down through the years, but they are just that - exceptions). We respect those with differing beliefs and accept them as equals. We do not seek to retaliate. And until we truly understand the fundamental differences between a Judeo-Christian worldview and an Islamic worldview, there can be no dialogue.
I need to make a comment on what happened yesterday between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The relationship between these two leaders has been icy these past few years. We have seen the cold appearances in the photographs that come when they have been together. The major sticking point in their relationship continues to be what to do with Iran and its quest for a nuclear weapon. The Israeli Prime Minister last week in talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Jerusalem asked for the identification of "red line" indicators that, when crossed by Iran, would cause the United States to respond in a military fashion. The Secretary of State said that there would be no "red lines." The Israeli Prime Minister asked if there could be a meeting between himself and President Obama the later part of September during the opening week of the United Nations General Assembly. The Prime Minister said that he would be willing to come to Washington, if that would be more convenient. The response of the White House was that there simply would not be time because of President Obama's tight schedule. Of course, he did not cancel his scheduled appearance on "Late Night" with David Letterman. I know we are in the midst of an aggressive presidential campaign, but there is a time to be a candidate and there is a time to act as the President. With the crisis of war impending in the Middle East, the least our President should do is to sit down with the only ally we have in the Middle East and talk. Of course, that is just my opinion.
Two other headline items that did not make the American mainstream media. One: The leaders of Hamas have been welcomed with open arms in Cairo and will make that city their new headquarters after leaving Damascus because of the civil war there. The London based daily "Al-Hayat" reported Tuesday that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood administration has agreed to open a Hamas office in eastern Cairo and establish a joint committee with Hamas to discuss issues of security along the Gaza-Egypt border. You can read the full article by going to www.timesofisrael.com/cairo-agrees-to-host-hamas-headquarters-daily-report. Two: Bill Gertz, of the "Washington Free Beacon" reports that in early August the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Major General Murad Muwafi met with a senior official of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Again, you can read the article at www.freebeacon.com/the-cairo-tehran-express.
Finally, I read the following headline this morning - "Principal Sees Racism in Peanut Butter" - and thought to myself, "You have got to be kidding!" "An Oregon grade school principal suggested in a newspaper interview that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches might be racially and culturally offensive. 'What about Somali or Hispanic students who might not eat sandwiches?' Verenice Gutierrez told the Portland Tribune." You have to read the article for yourself to see how ridiculous our society has become. You can find it at www.radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/principal-sees-racism-in-peanut-butter. How God must laugh at the foolishness of man!
Well, friends, these are very interesting and exciting days. Aren't you glad you know Jesus? If you don't have a relationship with Him yet, I would urge you to confess your sins and ask for His forgiveness and invite Him into your life to be your Savior and Lord. Then, and only then, will you know true hope and experience a true change that only He can bring.
And I want to wish all my Jewish friends a "Shana tova" as they celebrate Rosh HaShana at sundown this coming Sunday. Happy 5773! to you all. And may G-d smile with His favor upon you in this new year.
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