I did not write a post for yesterday's topic of War On Terror. The administration and Hillary Clinton have said that the term was not going to be used anymore. The word terror implies a perpetrator of that terror, and a reason for our enduring it. It is now called Overseas Contingency Operation.
The Bible seems to talk about terror in three ways; The terror that God, through the Israelites, would inflict upon their enemies, the terror God inflicted upon the Israelites when they rebelled and the terrors that we experience when we are confronted with the judgement of God. An example of the first would be Genesis 35:5 "And they (Jacob in this instance) journeyed, And the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob." An example of the second would be Jeremiah 20: 4 "Behold I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the King of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword." And of the third, an example would be 2 Corinthians 5:11 (Paul writing to Christians) "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..."
Today the terror of other men upon us may have been downgraded but no one can downgrade the terror that God can inflict upon us by men because of our waywardness, or the terror of the unbelieving soul in judgement. David, in Psalm 95:1 reassured the people when they abided in the Lord "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day." Scripture tells us to fear not when we trust in Christ. It is summed up in Like 12:4 (Jesus Speaking) "And I say to you, My friends. do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear; fear Him, who after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him."
Its important to consider the next two verses "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows...and ...Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of God will also confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." The gospel preached without the law will not convict. The law preached without the gospel will not save. The War On Terror that we fight (notwithstanding the administration's abhorrence of the term) is a result of our ambivalence towards God. Hopefully, we will utilize this lesson and humbly seek God's hand upon us once again. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln called for a day for national prayer and humiliation, George Bush proclaimed a similar day. We were a God fearing nation but that is changing fast. Maybe we have already been led off to Babylon. Ultimately, we should be thankful for the concept of terror, for without conviction, why would we run to Christ, and as a nation, why would we humble ourselves before God?
The Bible seems to talk about terror in three ways; The terror that God, through the Israelites, would inflict upon their enemies, the terror God inflicted upon the Israelites when they rebelled and the terrors that we experience when we are confronted with the judgement of God. An example of the first would be Genesis 35:5 "And they (Jacob in this instance) journeyed, And the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob." An example of the second would be Jeremiah 20: 4 "Behold I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the King of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword." And of the third, an example would be 2 Corinthians 5:11 (Paul writing to Christians) "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..."
Today the terror of other men upon us may have been downgraded but no one can downgrade the terror that God can inflict upon us by men because of our waywardness, or the terror of the unbelieving soul in judgement. David, in Psalm 95:1 reassured the people when they abided in the Lord "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day." Scripture tells us to fear not when we trust in Christ. It is summed up in Like 12:4 (Jesus Speaking) "And I say to you, My friends. do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear; fear Him, who after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him."
Its important to consider the next two verses "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows...and ...Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of God will also confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." The gospel preached without the law will not convict. The law preached without the gospel will not save. The War On Terror that we fight (notwithstanding the administration's abhorrence of the term) is a result of our ambivalence towards God. Hopefully, we will utilize this lesson and humbly seek God's hand upon us once again. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln called for a day for national prayer and humiliation, George Bush proclaimed a similar day. We were a God fearing nation but that is changing fast. Maybe we have already been led off to Babylon. Ultimately, we should be thankful for the concept of terror, for without conviction, why would we run to Christ, and as a nation, why would we humble ourselves before God?
