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God is at work If all of the words spoken and written about the validity of the war in Iraq were amassed, they would likely stretch around this globe several times. Yet there is one vital aspect of the war that I have not seen covered in any secular news outlet. A while back a U.S. Army general speaking in a church in this country said this war is about religion. He was severely reprimanded by his superiors and this was reported in the news. The Muslims learning of his censure must surely have cited the incident as proof positive that we Americans are spiritually illiterate, the "infidels" they claim we are. The terrorists who frequently proclaim "Allah Akbar" (God is great) before their murderous acts leave no doubt of their reason for their violence. I wonder if they realize that the war in Iraq and now the Israeli attack on Hezbollah have opened the Middle East to the Gospel as never before. Indeed, God is much at work in the midst of the Muslim strongholds. Hundreds of relatively new satellite dishes in Iraq now beam the Gospel there as Christian programs from this country are being translated into Arabic. Some of our soldiers are even handing out Bibles and missionaries have gone there and stayed with Iraqi families. I know one such young woman who spent a year in Iraq. She says the oldest son of the family she stayed with told her that he was converted to Christianity through a vision of Jesus Christ. Jennifer, the missionary, said many Muslims in northern Iraq are becoming Christians. Her story about the young man's vision lends credence to reports on some inspirational TV channels that a number of Muslims have been having visions or dreams of a man in white who they believe is Jesus Christ. In Lebanon where there are a number of evangelical Christian churches, Muslims who have been put out of their homes by the Israeli attacks are now being sheltered in churches or in the homes of Christians. The land of Iraq is rich in Bible history, and scholars believe the Garden of Eden is there at some point where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet. You can be sure that heaven's eyes are focused on all battles in the Holy Land vicinity. Could God have allowed the Iraq war for the very purpose of spreading the Gospel to Muslims? Or is He just using the window which was opened by this ongoing conflict? I, like most Americans, abhor seeing on television the carnage of innocent people being killed by car bombings, missiles, etc. I mourn over the deaths of our young men and those who have survived the battle with their bodies disfigured for life. Yet is it not encouraging that God is working for good amidst the horrors of war? With the TV flashing pictures of murderous fanatics vowing to kill us, we Christians need to remember that we have read the last chapter of the Bible and take heart. There is probably no better time in history to be a Christian soldier than right now.
What can we do? Surely our battle positions are on our knees. I believe the only reason we have not had another terrorist attack like Sept. 11, 2001 is because so many Christians are in prayer daily. Let's not forget our battlestations.
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