Becoming a son of Issachar

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem...May they prosper who love you...May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces..." Those words of David have been lifted in prayer countless times but never has this prayer become more relevant and important than it has become this morning.

I say this in response to what has happened the last 24 hours in the Islamic Republic of Iran. While hard core government supporters are celebrating the 31st anniversary of the overthrow of the shah and the establishment of an Islamic Dictatorship, the heart of Iran, those who truly desire freedom and are tired of despotism, are battling them in the streets of Tehran with loss of life and many arrested.

But the demonstrations are only a small part of what happened in Iran today. Iran's dictator, said a few days ago that his country had a great surprise for the west that would be delivered February 10th. That surprise was delivered in a simple statement: Iran is now officially a nuclear nation. While that may not mean much to you, it is simply a warning to Israel that before long, we will fulfill our promise, and you will cease to exist. Iran has reached a uranium enrichment level of 20%, and while it will take a level of 90% to produce a nuclear bomb, the message is simple: we have defied the world, and we have won.

While the Bush administration, as well as the present administration, have stood by and done nothing to halt this global threat,Israel is left with few alternatives. Either they respond militarily and risk world War III or be destroyed.

Yesterday morning, the world changed forever and most of us reading our morning newspapers or venturing out to Starbucks, don't have any idea how close Armageddon could be.

I. Chronicles 12:32 tells us the kind of people that we must become. It says,"And of the sons of Issachar, they were men who understood the times and the knowledge of what Israel should do..." They were men and women who didn't bury their heads in the sand but sought to know the voice of the Lord in troubled times so that they could respond in a Biblical way.

In the 1950's, the church, for the most part, abdicated it's rightful position in bringing influence to our culture by teaching that politics were dirty and the church should not be involved. Well, those brilliant teachings have given us abortion and the murder of 44 million innocents, along with the removal of prayer and most every symbol of faith from our schools and government edifices.

God ,where are the "sons of Issachar" who will rise up with God's wisdom, His mantle of Authority, speaking truth and clear direction? It is not too late, and even though Bible Prophesy is being fulfilled before our eyes every day, we must re -focus away from our own situations, no longer buried in the sands of self interest, and realize that Jesus is coming and we have a job to do.We need to be like the "Sons of Issachar," confronting our hedonistic culture with the wisdom and truth of Jesus' words. We can make a difference if we stand as the Church of Jesus Christ and invade our culture with the Gospel Message, first by living it.

Pray for the church in Iran and those courageous freedom fighters, who, if successful in overthrowing their ruthless government, could in fact hold off a nuclear confrontation that is sure to come if Iran's present government has it's way.

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