Thoughts upon Entering a New Year

The ball dropped on Times Square.  The Crimson Tide won the national collegiate football title again.  The Bears were not invited to the NFL's second season - both the Vikings and Packers were with only the Packers taking advantage of the invitation and remaining in the hunt for the Super Bowl title.  The fiscal cliff was averted by some last minute persuasions, although in actuality, the only thing that really happened was the can was kicked down the road for another couple of months.  The "January thaw" has hit Minnesota early, only to be followed by the "polar plunge" next week.  Welcome to the reality that is known as 2013. 

I am watching carefully the elections that are occurring in Israel on January 21.  A lot of political intigue is being played out among the various candidates jockeying for position of Prime Minister.  The outlook still looks rather positive for Benjamin Netanyahu to retain that position; the concern is the type of coalition that he will need to form in order to retain that post.  Stay tuned because I believe this is going to get very interesting.

Meanwhile, in Cairo today Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is meeting with representatives from Fatah and Hamas to attempt to come to some type of reconciliation between these two factions of the Palestinians.  Basically these two groups have been at odds since the 2007 coup that led to Hamas's take over of the Gaza Strip.  In 2011 Fatah and Hamas reached an understanding that was to lead to political union.  However, pitfalls and stumbling blocks that have centered on basic mistrust between these two political entities have prevented that union from occurring.  A possible thaw occurred this past Sunday when Hamas allowed Fatah to have a public demonstration within the Gaza Strip, an event that had not occurred since the violent take over in 2007.  Both Hamas and Fatah have differed in their relations with Israel: Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel through violence; in the past this has included rocket assaults from Gaza into Israeli terrority and other acts of terror.  Fatah, on the other hand, has been more willing to sit down and dialogue with Israel about a two-state solution.  Most experts expect that if an agreement is reached, that it will not be long before Hamas will control the West Bank as well as Gaza.  That will present some incredible problems for Israel's leadership.

Staying in Israel: According to an article in the "Telegraph" a British paper, Israel is planning on building a 43 mile security fence in the Golan Heights, much like the one they have built around the West Bank.  There is a strong concern that when the Assad regime falls in Syria radicals will assume leadership and Israel will face an imminent threat along the Syrian border.  Such a security fence will cause another international outrage as it will be built on lands Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 War.  But Israel has to do what it has to do to protect its people.  Somehow things are never easy in Israel and that goes way back to Bible days.

One final article I want to share with you.  It was published in the "National Review" and was written by Thomas Sowell.  You can find it at http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/337103/role-educators-thomas-sowell.  This is an important article as I believe it captures the essence of some of America's problems.  We have forgotten to teach our children our history accurately.  America's story needs to be told as it was, not as we would have liked it to have been.  America's story centers around a group of individuals who had a vision for a nation founded upon principles of ethics and laws grounded in the Bible.  Yes, our Founders would welcome people from all over the world.  But they would also have said, you come here because you want to be part of who we are, not to change us to become like you.  That was America's strength.  People did come.  They came as Irish, Swedes, Norwegians, Dutch, Italians, French, and Germans.  They learned our language.  They worked hard on our farms and in our factories.  They educated their children.  They became citizens, paid their taxes, voted in our elections and became Americans.  People come to America today and expect our nation to change to fit their traditions and values.  America simply cannot become all things to all people.  Anyway, read the article and I would be interested in your response.

Well this will be another year in which we have to depend upon God.  We are not to put our confidence in the decisions reached by men, nor put our trust in military or financial might.  For, as we have seen, political, martial, and financial plans can collapse.  "My hope is built on Jesus Christ and His righteousness."  May that hope encourage us and move us forward in this new year.