ARE WE?
Today, I awoke to the latest news fodder. On this day, not just your typical channel clutter about auditions for a new season of American Idol or the most recent Hollywood super couple breakup. On this morning--solemn and stark coverage of a thwarted terrorist plot in the U.K. involving potential flights to the U.S.
As I cleared my eyes and unplugged my ears to better pick up the on-going live special report, officials from Homeland Security were responding to reporters' questions. As I focused in more closely, I began picking up more details about the plot as investigations by British intellegence had revealed: "This was a very sophisticated plot...as sophisticated as we've seen since 9/11"; "The alert level is at Orange (high) for all air transportation in the U.S.; Red (severe) for all flights from the U.K. to the U.S."; "No liquids, gels or creams will be allowed in carry-on baggage on any flights arriving to or departing from the U.S."
From what I could gather, British authorities had been for months investigating the activities of 21 or more U.K.-born Muslim extremists who had hatched plans to board U.S.-bound flights from the U.K. with common, non-alarming liquid and gel items--whether pharmacutical or household chemicals--that once combined and possibly ignited, would unleash enormous explosive power, obviously enough to bring down a commercial jumbo jet. According to reports, the plan was that the plotters would board 10 or more planes, assemble the chemical products on-board, maybe in the plane's bathroom and bring down several planes at the height of the U.S. summer air travel season, thus maximizing the impact of death and destruction.
This is serious stuff, frightening enough to heighten the threat spectre of your average U.S. citizen considering travel anywhere close to an airport, let alone, anywhere in the country over which an airplane would fly (10 or more fragmented, massive burning fuselages falling from the sky like End-Times sulphurous rain would scare the bejesus out of the most hardened sceptic). That, plus the heightened official government alert level certainly sets the right psychic climate for decreased scrutiny of Homeland Security and increased deference to the recently-expanded scope of U.S. Patriot Act powers.
In the midst of this mounting sense of alarm and anxiety generated by the onslaught of official governmental briefings and endless news coverage, a very peculiar comment was made by Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security that, for me, stands out as most memorable: "U.S. airports are safe right now" But are they, really? Well...ARE WE?
Recent findings by investigative news reports and security experts show that today, as many weapons and flight-threatening items are being confiscated as before 9/11. For that matter, U.S. borders aren't much more patrolled and safeguarded than before 9/11...or so that's what I hear from people who pay more attention to this stuff than I do.
I'm certainly appreciative of the British and U.S. intellegence agencies for their diligence in looking out for the safety of the citizenry of our respective countries. In the words of Colonel Jessup in the movie A Few Good Men, "You want me on that wall; you need me on that wall!" I'm so very glad they're on that wall for all of us in this global war against terror.
However, since 9/11, especially since the U.S. invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003 and the spectre of new terrorist plots raised the national level of alert to Orange back then, I've been waging a little bit of a war of my own. This is a war waged not with weapons that are carnal, but those that are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds; spiritual warfare, not against flesh but against principalities and powers in the heavenly realm that send earthly authorities to do their bidding--sort of a cosmic proxy war of the ethereal.
Amid the charged air of terror threats and heightened warnings, I began feeling helpless to both better discern the truth and provide support to better protect our country in my own small way. I and a small handful of students in our ministry at the University of Pittsburgh back then began consulting the Scriptures for comfort of a different kind.
We were reminded that throughout biblical history, there have always been terrorists whose plans were thwarted by divine intervention. Especially in the case of official acts of governmental terrorism and conspiracy, God has protected His interests by bringing to light the plots of The Wicked One hatched through his human subjects: whether in the case of Pharoah and Abram's wife, Sarai (Gen. 12:20), Pharoah's plot against the firstborn of the Hebrews (Exo. 11), the oppposition of Sanballat and Tobiah against the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 4:1-7), Haman's plot against the Jews (Esther 7), Belshazzar's wise men's plot against Daniel (Dan. 5, 6), Herod's plot against the 'King of the Jews' (Matt. 2) or in Herod's persecution of the Church and Peter's escape (Acts 12). God has demonstrated over and over again that when the people of God come together in a righteous cause, discerning His will and beseeching His name for deliverance from evil plotters, He is more than willing and able to undo The Enemy's efforts played out through his proxies.
Another thing we noticed...and you might do well to notice also: In each case, God stepped in on the side of the righteous (and those far less-empowered to defend themselves) to balance out the equation of power when up against the highly-organized, well-financed, societally-affirmed schemes of governmental might, whether against the Egyptian Empire, the Persian Empire or the Roman Empire.
As I watched the newscasts today, I tried to recall the last time that I could remember when we had a serious national, post-9/11 alert.
Alas, I remembered!
It was the summer of the Democratic and Republican conventions in 2004. You remember that don't you? Remember the sort-of-vague terror threats that Homeland Security officials and Vice-President Dick Cheney unveiled during that vital election year; plans potentially targeting the respective national conventions as well as vital New York hard targets--threats that, by the way, were later revealed by an independent investigation report as not having had specific intelligence-backed data, but was really based on a standard, ol' fashion general warning based on the thousands of pieces of suspicious intellegence interceptions collected every month in the U.S. since 9/11.
I can still remember it as if it were yesterday, sitting in front of the T.V. with my wife, watching the many breaking news reports and the flood of press coverage on this impending danger. My wife can attest to the fact that as I continued listening to the story in light of the then-current political climate, I blurted out of my mouth, "This is a lie, of sorts!" I said to my wife, "I'll bet you that in due time, a report will come out verifying that there was no real credible and imminent danger at all, at least no more than usual or, that would warrant this level of public alarm. This is a political tactic during an election year!"
I'm not a conspiracy theory-type. But as a Christian (and as an African American, representative of a people with a long history of staring down the barrel of real-life, modern-day governmental and private-sector collusions to undermind black human rights in the U.S.) who believes deeply in the perspective revealed by God in the biblical-historical record, let's face it, conspiracies do happen, even those hatched by the world's most powerful governments. Whether I was right or not in making my prediction when I did (I always hope I'm wrong), I couldn't help myself regarding what I did at that time.
And I can't help what must continue to do now.
I must continue to pray for and against the terrorists from within our borders and those outside our borders--God is able to not only thwart their nefarious plans but also to win the hearts of a few who are no more than one pray away from Godly sorrow which leads to repentance. I must continue to pray for and against our government--God is able to expose in the light things hidden in the dark should elements within our government find themselves gripped by a spirit of duplicity and misappropriation of our democratic ideals and social capital. Of course, as Christians we're commanded in Scripture to pray for those to whom authority has been given by God to administer over us. This I certainly do, regularly.
However it's important for those of us who call Christ Lord, called to be in the world but not of the world, to not be naive or incomplete in our prayer life regarding national and world affairs. We're not called to the position of blind sanction or approval of a U.S. Christian nationalism that indistinguishes between Christ as Lord of All and Christ as Benefactor to All Things American. We're certainly called to seek the welfare of the Republic just as we're to seek the welfare of the cities in which we live. But then so are we to do so regarding the whole world and all they that dwell therein. This means doing so with our eyes wide open, remembering that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil and there is no one righteous...no, not one. And that all political ideologies and systems fall short of the glory of God--and so do the leaders who represent them, therefore, any government, like any person, is capable of the most heinous, atrocious acts if given the right opportunity.
The terrorists and the government of the United States of America are well-covered in prayer for their good and for the good of the world. Heaven help those among either who plan to do evil should the Body of Christ take to prayer as did the Jews in Esther's time facing Haman's concealed plot. He was overthrown and shalom was restored.
Saints of God, let's pray! ARE WE...ready. Let's roll!
Shalom.
Today, I awoke to the latest news fodder. On this day, not just your typical channel clutter about auditions for a new season of American Idol or the most recent Hollywood super couple breakup. On this morning--solemn and stark coverage of a thwarted terrorist plot in the U.K. involving potential flights to the U.S.
As I cleared my eyes and unplugged my ears to better pick up the on-going live special report, officials from Homeland Security were responding to reporters' questions. As I focused in more closely, I began picking up more details about the plot as investigations by British intellegence had revealed: "This was a very sophisticated plot...as sophisticated as we've seen since 9/11"; "The alert level is at Orange (high) for all air transportation in the U.S.; Red (severe) for all flights from the U.K. to the U.S."; "No liquids, gels or creams will be allowed in carry-on baggage on any flights arriving to or departing from the U.S."
From what I could gather, British authorities had been for months investigating the activities of 21 or more U.K.-born Muslim extremists who had hatched plans to board U.S.-bound flights from the U.K. with common, non-alarming liquid and gel items--whether pharmacutical or household chemicals--that once combined and possibly ignited, would unleash enormous explosive power, obviously enough to bring down a commercial jumbo jet. According to reports, the plan was that the plotters would board 10 or more planes, assemble the chemical products on-board, maybe in the plane's bathroom and bring down several planes at the height of the U.S. summer air travel season, thus maximizing the impact of death and destruction.
This is serious stuff, frightening enough to heighten the threat spectre of your average U.S. citizen considering travel anywhere close to an airport, let alone, anywhere in the country over which an airplane would fly (10 or more fragmented, massive burning fuselages falling from the sky like End-Times sulphurous rain would scare the bejesus out of the most hardened sceptic). That, plus the heightened official government alert level certainly sets the right psychic climate for decreased scrutiny of Homeland Security and increased deference to the recently-expanded scope of U.S. Patriot Act powers.
In the midst of this mounting sense of alarm and anxiety generated by the onslaught of official governmental briefings and endless news coverage, a very peculiar comment was made by Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security that, for me, stands out as most memorable: "U.S. airports are safe right now" But are they, really? Well...ARE WE?
Recent findings by investigative news reports and security experts show that today, as many weapons and flight-threatening items are being confiscated as before 9/11. For that matter, U.S. borders aren't much more patrolled and safeguarded than before 9/11...or so that's what I hear from people who pay more attention to this stuff than I do.
I'm certainly appreciative of the British and U.S. intellegence agencies for their diligence in looking out for the safety of the citizenry of our respective countries. In the words of Colonel Jessup in the movie A Few Good Men, "You want me on that wall; you need me on that wall!" I'm so very glad they're on that wall for all of us in this global war against terror.
However, since 9/11, especially since the U.S. invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003 and the spectre of new terrorist plots raised the national level of alert to Orange back then, I've been waging a little bit of a war of my own. This is a war waged not with weapons that are carnal, but those that are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds; spiritual warfare, not against flesh but against principalities and powers in the heavenly realm that send earthly authorities to do their bidding--sort of a cosmic proxy war of the ethereal.
Amid the charged air of terror threats and heightened warnings, I began feeling helpless to both better discern the truth and provide support to better protect our country in my own small way. I and a small handful of students in our ministry at the University of Pittsburgh back then began consulting the Scriptures for comfort of a different kind.
We were reminded that throughout biblical history, there have always been terrorists whose plans were thwarted by divine intervention. Especially in the case of official acts of governmental terrorism and conspiracy, God has protected His interests by bringing to light the plots of The Wicked One hatched through his human subjects: whether in the case of Pharoah and Abram's wife, Sarai (Gen. 12:20), Pharoah's plot against the firstborn of the Hebrews (Exo. 11), the oppposition of Sanballat and Tobiah against the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 4:1-7), Haman's plot against the Jews (Esther 7), Belshazzar's wise men's plot against Daniel (Dan. 5, 6), Herod's plot against the 'King of the Jews' (Matt. 2) or in Herod's persecution of the Church and Peter's escape (Acts 12). God has demonstrated over and over again that when the people of God come together in a righteous cause, discerning His will and beseeching His name for deliverance from evil plotters, He is more than willing and able to undo The Enemy's efforts played out through his proxies.
Another thing we noticed...and you might do well to notice also: In each case, God stepped in on the side of the righteous (and those far less-empowered to defend themselves) to balance out the equation of power when up against the highly-organized, well-financed, societally-affirmed schemes of governmental might, whether against the Egyptian Empire, the Persian Empire or the Roman Empire.
As I watched the newscasts today, I tried to recall the last time that I could remember when we had a serious national, post-9/11 alert.
Alas, I remembered!
It was the summer of the Democratic and Republican conventions in 2004. You remember that don't you? Remember the sort-of-vague terror threats that Homeland Security officials and Vice-President Dick Cheney unveiled during that vital election year; plans potentially targeting the respective national conventions as well as vital New York hard targets--threats that, by the way, were later revealed by an independent investigation report as not having had specific intelligence-backed data, but was really based on a standard, ol' fashion general warning based on the thousands of pieces of suspicious intellegence interceptions collected every month in the U.S. since 9/11.
I can still remember it as if it were yesterday, sitting in front of the T.V. with my wife, watching the many breaking news reports and the flood of press coverage on this impending danger. My wife can attest to the fact that as I continued listening to the story in light of the then-current political climate, I blurted out of my mouth, "This is a lie, of sorts!" I said to my wife, "I'll bet you that in due time, a report will come out verifying that there was no real credible and imminent danger at all, at least no more than usual or, that would warrant this level of public alarm. This is a political tactic during an election year!"
I'm not a conspiracy theory-type. But as a Christian (and as an African American, representative of a people with a long history of staring down the barrel of real-life, modern-day governmental and private-sector collusions to undermind black human rights in the U.S.) who believes deeply in the perspective revealed by God in the biblical-historical record, let's face it, conspiracies do happen, even those hatched by the world's most powerful governments. Whether I was right or not in making my prediction when I did (I always hope I'm wrong), I couldn't help myself regarding what I did at that time.
And I can't help what must continue to do now.
I must continue to pray for and against the terrorists from within our borders and those outside our borders--God is able to not only thwart their nefarious plans but also to win the hearts of a few who are no more than one pray away from Godly sorrow which leads to repentance. I must continue to pray for and against our government--God is able to expose in the light things hidden in the dark should elements within our government find themselves gripped by a spirit of duplicity and misappropriation of our democratic ideals and social capital. Of course, as Christians we're commanded in Scripture to pray for those to whom authority has been given by God to administer over us. This I certainly do, regularly.
However it's important for those of us who call Christ Lord, called to be in the world but not of the world, to not be naive or incomplete in our prayer life regarding national and world affairs. We're not called to the position of blind sanction or approval of a U.S. Christian nationalism that indistinguishes between Christ as Lord of All and Christ as Benefactor to All Things American. We're certainly called to seek the welfare of the Republic just as we're to seek the welfare of the cities in which we live. But then so are we to do so regarding the whole world and all they that dwell therein. This means doing so with our eyes wide open, remembering that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil and there is no one righteous...no, not one. And that all political ideologies and systems fall short of the glory of God--and so do the leaders who represent them, therefore, any government, like any person, is capable of the most heinous, atrocious acts if given the right opportunity.
The terrorists and the government of the United States of America are well-covered in prayer for their good and for the good of the world. Heaven help those among either who plan to do evil should the Body of Christ take to prayer as did the Jews in Esther's time facing Haman's concealed plot. He was overthrown and shalom was restored.
Saints of God, let's pray! ARE WE...ready. Let's roll!
Shalom.
posted by sankofa3mm at 6:23 AM
4 Comments:
A post not to be slept on, dear brotha! Very well said, and some very important reminders lie herein, as well. We do well to choose our responses wisely, and not allow the events of the day to taint our faith and trust in an Almighty God who is able to cover and protect. And pray we must --- for our government, for those who threaten us with harm, for God's grace and sovereignty in the face of uncertainty. What a heart-stirring and strengthening post. You've focused my prayers for tonight!
Peace,
Michele
P.S. I almost forgot to put you on my sidebar. I'm going to do that right now!
Gene,
As a follower of Christ and an activist you have made my day. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the immediacy of the world that I get lost in the work. Your blog brings me back to my center in Christ.
You crook-talkin' bastards want our food?
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