COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU

We awoke this morning to the news that a mass shooting has taken place in Orlando, Florida. At this time, it is not clear whether this is another Islamic Terror attack, but, according to the police, “there are indications” that it could be. Let’s face it; even if it is not this time, we know they are coming.

These Islamic Terror attacks against America began in earnest on `August 7, 1998, when over 200 people were killed in simultaneous explosions in two cities, one at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and the other at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Those attacks were linked to local members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

My family had an early introduction to this brand of hatred. Our oldest son’s best friend lost his father in the year 2000, when United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole was bombed while being refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. 17 American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. It wasn’t until 9/11 that we really began to understand how broad and serious this threat truly is.

I am a Floridian. This mass shooting in a nightclub is likely to be added to the list of Islamic Terrorist incidents we have either actually experienced or narrowly avoided here in the Sunshine State. But we are not alone. There have been six confirmed Islamic Terror attacks carried out since 9/11 on U.S. soil. There have also been many unsuccessful attacks by radical Islamists in the same time period including the “Shoe-Bomber” on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami, a 2010 attempt to set off and explosive device in Times Square and an attempted mass shooting in Garland Texas last year to name a few.

I do not point these things out to frighten anyone; I only do so as a warning that there is a strategic war being waged by Islamic Radicals around the world that is real and growing. It should be obvious by now that it is not as the media has constantly defined the problem; that the Middle East core issue is Israel’s existence or its “occupation”. It is no longer “over there”. The issue is not Israel; it is hatred of all things non-Islamic by its most radical adherents. And now, it is here.

As I departed from Tel Aviv Airport just this week there was an Islamic Terror attack in a mall just a few miles away where four Israeli citizens were murdered and many others injured. Many will portray this terror against innocent, unarmed shoppers as justifiable retribution for the “Israeli occupiers”. It has been reported as if these are freedom fighters or just crazies. These are not freedom fighters…they are Radical Islamist armed by Iran and influenced by the likes of ISIS, Al Qaida, Boko Haram and the Talban. The concept that these extremists are simply attempting to help the Palestinians to have land they control where a normal society can flourish is a lie that the worldwide media has helped to develop and perpetrate.

Their intentions are clear: “push Israel into the sea”, “death to Israel”, ”death to America” and a worldwide caliphate where non-Muslims are treated as infidels and sharia law is practiced by everyone or forced upon non-believers. Ideology is what drives these actions.

The frontline in this war is in the Middle East. For a long time, Israel was the primary target, but now, even non-radicalized Muslims are murdered unmercifully as infidels along with Christians, secularists and everyone else who do not follow their brand of Islam. A determined and united force of resistance can isolate and manage this war as has been done throughout history, but the only final answer is for their hearts to be changed.

Only with God’s rescuing hand will we turn this tide. So please pray for His help for all people, pray for the leaders of our nations, pray for spiritual awakening in the hearts of men, women and children around the world, and above all, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.