Little Town, Big Conflict (Destination: Bethlehem, Day 10)

Jesus spoke to His people, telling them that in the midst of tribulation, they are not to be troubled.
One example is found in Matthew 24:
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Keying in on verse 6: "See that you are not troubled."  Jesus told His disciples that we would have tribulation in this world, but be of good cheer because He has overcome the world.  In Him, we can have a great sense of peace, comfort, and confidence.  In our trials, we can possess His peace.  The message of Christmas is that a Savior has come so that men and women could be reconciled to Himself.  In that relationship, as we abide in Him and walk in His Word, we can have peace.

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We are now at the end of our second week of this year's Christmas Advent-ure, with the title, Destination: Bethlehem.  And, over the last few days, we have visited a number of key locations in the Old Testament that demonstrate for us God's plan to bring salvation to humanity.  We have seen people whom God has used to carry out His purposes, and hopefully been able to identify lessons that can be applied to our own lives.

Today, we pay a visit to the place called Moresheth.  Not one of those top Biblical places, but it was
the hometown of a man named Micah, who lamented the plight of Israel and spoke about the hope of a Redeemer to come. In chapter 5 of his book, we read this:
2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
3 Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel.
4 And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth...

I believe this provides a clear declaration that the Messiah would come from this little town of Bethlehem.  Modern-day Bethlehem is a microcosm of some of the turmoil that we find in the Middle East today.  It is situated in the region known as the West Bank - Jimmy DeYoung of Prophecy Today describes it as Judea and Samaria.  And, it is under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

This year, according to Religion News Service, the Palestinian Authority has asked municipalities to tone down their public Christmas celebrations this year amid escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

Hanna Amireh, who heads a government committee on churches in the West Bank, has said that the government has asked the municipality of Bethlehem, which is where official Palestinian celebrations of Christmas take place, not to set off holiday fireworks this year and to limit the festive lights and decorations that traditionally adorn the town to two main streets.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah will light the towering Christmas tree in Manger Square, but he will not participate in a festive post-lighting dinner hosted by the Bethlehem municipality, according to Amireh.  The colorful annual Christmas procession, which includes the heads of churches and drum-beating Palestinian scouts, will be held as usual.

Palestinian Christians, who comprise less than 2 percent of the population in the West Bank and Israel, were upset by the news.

This Israeli-Palestinian violence has been overshadowed by the concern over ISIS, but it continues to be a significant area of concern.

And, I decided to read some material leading up to Micah's declaration - wow, what a turbulent world that the prophet was speaking into.  And, many of the players are the same...

The dilemma of how to deal with radical Islam today is a challenging one, and an issue over which Christians are disagreeing.  A WORLD story by Jamie Dean highlights the division.   She referred to that story that is dominating, in a huge way, the news headlines these days, involving Donald Trump. She writes:

Trump ignited a political firestorm on Monday when he said the United States should stop admitting Muslims into the country “until our representatives find out what’s going on” with radical Islam. He hasn’t said what that process should entail.

She also referred to Franklin Graham:

Graham of the Christian aid agency Samaritan’s Purse defended Trump’s position: “Muslim immigration into the United States should be stopped until we can properly vet them or until the war with Islam is over.” Graham cited a poll of Muslims living in America released by the Center for Security Policy in June. The group reported that 29 percent of the 600 survey participants said they believed violence against those who insult Muhammad is acceptable.

But, Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission disagreed, saying, according to the WORLD report:

“Anyone who cares an iota about religious liberty should denounce this reckless, demagogic rhetoric.” Moore also noted: “A government that can shut down mosques simply because they are mosques can shut down Bible studies because they are Bible studies. A government that can close the borders to all Muslims simply on the basis of their religious belief can do the same thing for evangelical Christians.”

And, as Dean points out:

Other GOP presidential contenders distanced themselves from Trump’s proposal. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called the statements “offensive and outlandish.” Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Trump was “unhinged.” Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson called the plan “unconstitutional,” adding, “It’s just not who we are.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he also disagreed with Trump’s proposal, but he avoided criticizing the party’s front-runner, even as Cruz rises in the polls.

It has been pointed out that Presidents have restricted groups of people from immigrating to this country; notably, FDR during World War II and Carter regarding Iranians during the Iran hostage crisis.  Breitbart reported on legislation in Congress last week, prior to the Trump comments and Obama's Oval Office address, offered Sen. Rand Paul, that would have suspended visa issuances to more than 30 Muslim countries with active Jihadist populations.  It was overwhelmingly rejected, with Paul and fellow Presidential candidate Ted Cruz supporting it, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham opposing.   Alabama Senators Sessions and Shelby supported the measure.

And, there's polling data coming in on the proposal.  Politico reports on an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll out Thursday, in which 57% percent of Americans surveyed oppose Trump's  call for a “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.” But 25 percent of those polled support the idea. That poll said that 42% of Republicans support the proposal.

The Hill has a story about a Rasmussen poll that found that 46 percent of likely voters would favor a policy preventing Muslim immigrants from entering the country until tighter screening procedures can be implemented, while 40 percent would oppose such a measure.  Among likely Republican voters, 66 percent would support the ban, while 24 percent would oppose it.  The Hill also reported on a Bloomberg Politics/Purple Strategies PulsePoll released Wednesday that found that Trump's remarks are backed by 65 percent of likely GOP voters.

Doug Usher of Purple Strategies, said, We believe these numbers are made up of some people who are truly expressing religious bigotry and others who are fearful about terrorism and are willing to do anything they think might make us safer,” "This indicates that, despite some conventional wisdom expressed in the last 48 hours, this is unlikely to hurt Trump at least in the primary campaign."

I think we have to come into an agreement, despite what some politicians say, is that we are in a conflict, even a war with radical Islam.  It is an extreme ideology that is driven by a strong religious component.  I would even say it is an expression of spiritual warfare.  But, something that we can agree on as Christians is that no terrorist, no matter how deceived or hardened by the false religious teachings of radical Islam, is beyond the reach of the gospel.  Period.  Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the midst of a world full of conflict, to bring hope and the promise of restoration.  He came that the world, including Muslims, might come to him.

Yesterday in DC, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention held a Capitol Conversations event on the topic of the Syrian refugee crisis.  According to the WORLD Magazine report on it by J.C. Derrick, Russell Moore said Christians should remember some people “we may fear may be our future brothers and sisters in Christ.”

And, there was a panelist there who was an example of that - Afshin Ziafat, a pastor in Frisco, Texas, who was born into a devout Muslim family in Iran in 1972, whose family fled during the violence of the Islamic revolution. A Christian tutor shared the gospel with him, and later he professed faith in Christ. Ziafat urged Christians to keep a gospel-oriented point of view on the refugee crisis: "We applaud missionaries who have an eternal perspective and take risks, but then when the mission field is coming to us all the sudden we’re saying no, get out, we want protection. The goal of a Christian shouldn’t just be to preserve my life but to expend my life for the gospel."

But, we also don't roll over and allow ourselves to be consumed by these radical elements.  And, we certainly are not to be consumed by fear.   There is a spiritual struggle going on, and you have radicals who are intent on world domination - and Christians are among the chief targets.  So, security is highly important.  And, there are a variety of ideas that have been put forward that are attempting to address the threat.  We can pray for our leaders to make sound decisions and to exercise their responsibility to protect our people.  And, pray for those who deny the threat of radical Islam to have their eyes opened.    

We can also recognize the spiritual dynamics at play.  This is an ideology that is in direct conflict with the teachings of the Scriptures, which has set up a religious system that pays homage to a god who is not the God Whom we serve, who has a completely different personality and methodology.  It is predicated on conquest, not love.

Jamie Dean closes her piece with this:

The year ahead surely will bring more political intrigue, earthly suffering, and knotty dilemmas for Christians seeking to serve Christ. But the hope remains the same one that angels proclaimed to a group of frightened, Middle Eastern shepherds 2,000 years ago. The good news wasn’t about a government program or a political hero, but about a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Of His government, there shall be no end.