On the need to guard our hearts.

Not a day seems to go by at the moment without some drastic event or other filling our newspapers and screens – not helped, of course, by 24/7 broadcasting, Twitter and every other way in which modern technology allows us to access events all over the world almost in real time. The effect on our hearts, minds and spirits can be overwhelming. We are on information overload - more so than any other generation in human history.

This week, continuing demonstrations in Hong Kong against Chinese tyranny have vied for airtime with growing instability in Kashmir, more devastation in Syria, the US-China trade war, a possible arms race between the US and Russia and escalating tensions with Iran in the Gulf. And of course we cannot and should not forget the mass murders of Christians happening across North Africa virtually every day, though they go largely unreported.

Never mind Brexit and Project Fear: the global ‘birth pangs’ heralding the return of our Messiah genuinely seem to be increasing in both frequency and intensity.

Bloodshed Follows Bloodshed

Perhaps most shocking of all this week has been news of the two mass shootings in the USA, claiming 22 lives in Texas and nine in Ohio, both carried out by deeply disturbed young men (aged 21 and 24, respectively). At the same time, at home we heard of a young child being hurled off a high viewing platform at the Tate Modern in London, allegedly an unprovoked attack by a teenage boy.

Surely God’s lament through the Prophet Hosea to morally degenerate Israel is pertinent: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hos 4:1-2).

Children Plotting to Kill

When our children and young people are plotting to kill, something is drastically wrong: this very concept is awful and provocative, and should be prompting searching questions.

But when the US shootings were first reported, I reacted probably in much the same way as many did: a few moments thinking how terribly regrettable it all was, before getting on with my day. It wasn’t until I read a testimony from the family of one of the victims, daring to forgive the perpetrator with true Christian grace, that I was actually brought to tears and prayer.

How easy it is, unless special care is taken, to grow accustomed to the gradual encroachment of evil as an ordinary part of everyday life.

How easy it is, unless special care is taken, to grow accustomed to the gradual encroachment of evil as an ordinary part of everyday life. We’ve seen it all too many times before; our hearts gradually harden to it, often imperceptibly. But the above verses from Hosea carry a warning: the spread of evil in a society and the departure of love are two sides of the same coin.

Pondering these things, I was reminded of Jesus’ salutary warning in Matthew 24, that “Because of the increase in wickedness [in the times of the end] the love of most will grow cold – but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (v12). Let’s consider this more for a moment.

Global Cooling?

How, precisely, might an increase in wickedness around the world threaten the love in our own hearts? Jesus’ description of love ‘growing cold’ here is translated using a Greek word (psuchó) meaning to breathe or blow on something in order to cool it down. Basic science teaches us that warm objects lose their heat when they are exposed to a cooler environment. Just so, spiritually: spending too much time immersed in contemplating the world’s evil is enough to cool the love in anyone’s heart even to numbness.

But another way objects can grow cold is by going underground, hiding away in places where neither day nor night can permeate. Just as the love of God in our hearts can be chilled by constant contemplation of evil, so a total refusal to acknowledge or face up to the realities of evil can have the same effect. This deliberate avoidance hardens hearts in self-defence.

A third way in which things grow cold is through inactivity, which perhaps speaks for itself as a spiritual problem. And a fourth way is through isolation – simply by not being near other sources of heat. Many Christians in Britain are finding themselves in a season of spiritual isolation at the present time; though God-given, these nevertheless come with their own challenges and are not intended to be permanent.

The spread of evil in a society and the departure of love are two sides of the same coin.

Staying Warm

Jesus followed his outline of the terrible days which will precede his return (Matt 24) with a series of parables designed to teach his disciples how to ‘stand firm to the end’, their hearts alive and warm: strengthened by time in the warmth of God’s presence, invigorated by the knowledge of his truth, goodness and victory.

These emphasise the need to be found prepared and filled with the Holy Spirit, faithful and active, wise, watchful and alert. Elsewhere in the New Testament the Apostles join the call for faithful, holy living (e.g. 2 Pet 3; 1 Tim 4; 2 Tim 3:1-4:5).

But, “over all these virtues put on love” (Col 3:14). It’s a cliché, but the fire of real, God-given love is the first and best antidote to these days in which we find ourselves.

As BLM protests take place across the UK today, Linda Louis-vanReed offers an analysis of the growing movement from an American perspective.

According to its website, the 'Black Lives Matter' movement was originally formed in response to the incident involving young Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on 9 August 2014, the aftermath of which catalysed a new conversation between the African-American community and law enforcement across our nation.

We in the US began hearing the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement being compared with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Young people began to respond to what they considered the need for a new Civil Rights dialogue in this era.

However, BLM has a scattered leadership and is loosely organised. Because each 'chapter' is led by whoever would step forward, regardless of his/her personal background or ideology, the protests have often morphed into a platform for organisations like the New Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam and the Communist Party. The majority of protesters have been paid, and many have been from out-of-state.

As the organisation, now almost 18 months old, has gained traction, it has become known widely that many of these protesters have been being paid through organisations owned by business magnate and political activist George Soros, who has funded political revolutions in Egypt, Serbia and Georgia, and was instrumental in getting Mr Obama into the White House.

BLM has a scattered leadership and is loosely organised, with local chapters easily becoming a platform for militant organisations.

Do Black Lives Really Matter to 'Black Lives Matter'?

The BLM movement could be an incredible, positive force for change throughout the African-American community, which has suffered the legacy of its enslaved forefathers in this nation for at least three generations.

If, in addition to relations with law enforcement, it was simultaneously addressing the issues of 'black-on-black' crime in urban areas, education and job preparation, health and health resources, substance abuse, family wholeness and programmes to bring hope and help to mothers and grandmothers who are raising young children alone, BLM would, indeed, be following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King and his mission of peace, prosperity and unity.

However, it has been my experience (and that of those clergy, city officials and police around me) that BLM is not interested in hearing the whole truth as it pertains to the circumstances of the unrest.

It does not matter that Michael Brown, Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile each had his own criminal record and each was being stopped by the police with reason of suspicion. It does not matter that black-on-black crime is the number one issue within the African-American community. It does not matter that more African-American babies are aborted every year than any other ethnic group in America. It does not matter that, far from being 'excluded', the African-American community (13% of our population) is gaining wealth and education faster than any other group.¹

What appears to matter to BLM in the United States is represented by what it has become: an outlet for rage, hate and anti-white racism to such an extent as to possibly exacerbate a full-scale race war in the United States.

The BLM movement could be an incredible, positive force for change, but instead it has become an outlet for rage, hate and anti-white racism.

The Fallout

In the 1960s, Martin Luther King was adamant about finding peaceful, unifying solutions to the then-palpable issue of race in America. His solutions were contingent upon prayer, obeying the law, relating to the facts concerning situations as they occurred, and moving forward so that one day, there would be no 'color line'. I have a very dear friend who was there, in Louisville - one of two white men in attendance that day - who can attest to the spirit of love and co-operation that was present when Dr King took the platform.

The American Civil Rights Movement, under leaders like King and icons like Rosa Parks, was used by God to change the hearts and minds of men for generations. Great strides have been made toward eradicating white racism toward blacks. Opportunities on every level have opened toward the African-American community, which were not even being considered in 1950.

Although things are far from perfect for any of us, regardless of colour, it has been my experience that out of the hundreds of white persons I have met over the course of my lifetime, I can name only about seven who are actually racist toward blacks. As for me, the majority of my friends, colleagues and associates are African-American – by God's design, as all things should be.

However, since the advent of BLM the attitude in my 71% African-American community is changing. In the past months I have found myself subject to many more anti-white remarks and even physical threats. People who used to smile and speak now look at me with suspicion. I have had African-Americans literally pull their children away from me and scold them for 'talking to that white woman'.

Since the advent of BLM the attitude in my 71% African-American community is changing; recently I have found myself subject to many more anti-white remarks and even physical threats.

One of my closest friends, a young African-American woman, has a beautiful 11-year old daughter who attends a Christian school. She doesn't understand why, all of a sudden, the colour of someone's skin matters. She thinks it is 'stupid'. This young girl embodies the fulfilment of Dr King's dream. But now, in these last days, when morality is being legislated, God is considered a myth, and conformity to the principles and values of humanism, globalism and pluralism are being demanded of young and old alike, I fear for the tender heart of my young friend.

Prayer for August and Beyond

A few days ago I attended a meeting among the clergy of the Ferguson community concerning the upcoming plans for the commemoration of the death of Michael Brown. We have it on strong authority that BLM will be active in the first week of August, and perhaps beyond.

The call is to prayer. We will prayer-walk streets and businesses. We will pray at home, over the phone and collectively. We will stand among the activists, praying with them as they express their anger and desire for change. We will stand in the precinct with the police, praying for them as they exercise their sworn duties. We will be there, dispensing water, umbrellas, food and shelter if necessary, and the Truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the love that Christ displayed to us.

Behind the mask of every activist, behind every uniform of every policeman, behind every label, there is a person who God created, whom he loves. It is our job, our mandate from Christ, to be responsive to that person.

Until all of us, black, white, yellow and brown, embrace who we are as children of the living God and embrace God's definitions of 'love', 'justice', 'unity', 'freedom' and 'peace', human beings will continue to war against, manipulate, and destroy one another.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power...never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Tim 3:2-7, NASV - paraphrased)

Behind the mask of every activist, behind every uniform of every policeman, there is a person who God created, whom he loves.

Time of Decision

Now, as in no other time in the lives of each and every one of us, both in America and the United Kingdom, we face a time of decision. Will we continue to look at the histories of our individual cultures, and the sometimes terrible ways in which those cultures came into conflict with one another, and choose to find a use for that hatred, to allow it to continue, or will we look into the face of Jesus and hear him calling us to reason together?

We who are believers in Jesus Christ have heard his message, which declares that no man will triumph over the Kingdom of God.

On this day, we in the US and the UK must ask God that his will be accomplished. We must lay down our own wills and opinions to champion his cause. Only then will we feel free to love our neighbour. Only then will we gain the understanding we need to stand in the gap in this hour, in our respective nations. Only then can both of our nations hope to remain free.

References

1 Tisdale, S. Blacks in the U.S. Gaining Wealth and Education Faster Than Other Groups. Black Enterprise Magazine, 18 February 2016.

Linda Louis-vanReed reports.

As most of you in the UK may by now be aware, the 'Day of Rage' supposedly planned by the group Anonymous in conjunction with Black Lives Matter did not materialise.

During the week beginning 11 July, 37 cities across the United States were put on alert in response to rumours that protests were to occur on Friday 15 July. Although 'Black Lives Matter' events can be peaceful, it has not been uncommon for people to attempt to use them as opportunities to create an atmosphere of physical violence and chaos.

As we remember all too well from the early days of Ferguson, these attempts often succeed, with disastrous results.

Peace Reigned

By the morning of Saturday 16 July, however, news reports all across the country confirmed that there had been little to no notable activity.

In Washington DC, a few protesters turned up outside the White House, peacefully holding signs, enjoying the lovely weather. In New York City, close to 30 LGBT activists rallied outside The Stonewall Inn (the first national monument dedicated to LGBT rights), then marched to the LGBT community centre on 13th Street.

In Dallas, where just days before five policemen had been killed in a sniper attack, no activity took place. In New Orleans, rumours that protests were to take place at famed Lafayette Square caused businesses to shut down early. Officers were instructed to respond only if there was trouble. But the evening came and went peacefully.

In St Louis police monitored specific high-traffic areas for activity, but only a scant few protesters showed up outside St Louis City Hall. In Ferguson, peace and quiet reigned.

The only activists who claimed to respond directly to the call for a 'Day of Rage' gathered in Oakland, California. As a group of 10 activists swelled to between 100 and 150, they impeded traffic at several downtown intersections. Attempts to obstruct on- and off-ramps along Interstate 880 were thwarted by the California Highway Patrol. No citations were given out during the protests.

In San Francisco a group of protesters gathered near the Mission Police Station, several of whom assaulted a news crew. Three people were arrested on suspicion of battery and resisting arrest. Garbage was thrown into the street and lit on fire, but police quickly extinguished the flames.

The News No-one Reported

The one story that the US press did not hear was that of the thousands of committed, involved Christians who, every day leading up to protest day, petitioned our Father that hearts and minds might be changed, that these plans might be confounded and come to nothing, that his hand would be on our nation and its people.

God heard us, friends, and God heard all of you in the UK who were also moved to respond in prayer for the United States. The eventual peace was, in no small part, a Divine response to our collective intercession. Thank you.

Interracial tensions continue to mount as protests are planned across the nation.

After the recent outbreaks of racial violence, today (Friday 15 July) a 'Day of Rage' is being called across America. Protests appear to be being planned in at least 37 different cities and military personnel have been warned to stay away.¹

Following the high-profile police shootings of two black men, Alton Sterling (5 July, Louisiana) and Philando Castile (6 July, Minnesota), and the retaliatory killing of five police officers in Dallas, Texas (7 July) during a Black Lives Matter protest, racial tensions in America seem to have reached their worst point in decades.

Graphic Shootings

The first two shootings, which appeared to involve unwarranted use of force by police, were caught graphically on camera and later televised/posted on social media, provoking a surge of anger across the nation and elsewhere (over here there have been protests in Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Nottingham – with a march in London scheduled for Monday²). The divide between the establishment and the people, it seems, has never been wider – causing concern about a more general breakdown in the social order.

Lawsuits have been launched against police, who have complained of feeling threatened and vulnerable on a daily basis. Obama, who has been criticised for not doing enough during his presidency to change the clear inequalities in American policing, has cut short his visit to Europe and returned home to meet with police chiefs, activists and politicians to try to find ways to keep the peace and restore trust in the law enforcement system.

Today, protests are being called in at least 37 different cities – needless to say, the potential for these to boil over or be exploited for more violent purposes is considerable.

Highly Volatile Situation

There is some dispute as to the reliability of these protest calls, which are being attributed widely to activist group Anonymous, as similar calls in 2014 after the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri were exposed later as fake.³ However, their potential to inspire and spark protests remains potent, even if they remain 'unofficial' calls.

This is a highly complex and volatile situation with a long and difficult history. For Americans, it touches several nerves at once – not least gun control, racism, socio-economic inequality and the role of the police to 'protect' people.

Our American correspondent, Linda Louis-vanReed, has made a special request for prayer following two nights of protests very close to her. She has also requested prayer for the Ferguson Chief of Police, who is a committed Christian.

We ask that you join us in prayer today for the towns and cities across America:

• Pray that God would raise up his people at this time to be a voice of peace and reconciliation to a divided, hurting nation.
• Pray for America's leaders as they navigate the explosive situation. Pray for the Lord to raise up new Martin Luther King Jrs who will rally those hungry for justice together under the banner of peace-loving leadership.
• Pray that the situation would not be given over to further violence, but that the Lord would have his hand on it and somehow turn it for his glory.

References

1 Halper, D and Schram, J. Defense Department workers warned to avoid 'day of rage' protests. New York Post, 14 July 2016.

2 Farrow, A. Black Lives Matter protests continue in Britain - here's how you can get involved. Socialist Worker, 13 July 2016.

3 LaCapria, K. Anonymous 'Day of Rage' Protests. Snopes, 11 July 2016.

An exciting update from Ferguson, Missouri.

At the end of August, we shared some encouraging news from Ferguson, Missouri, where racial tensions erupted in 2014 over the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer. Linda Louis-VanReed and Bruce VanReed shared with us about how Christians were using the threatening environment to proclaim the good news about Jesus, and how God was using the prayers of the saints to intervene in the situation.

We now have a new and exciting update to share with you about events in Ferguson on November 24^th, the anniversary of the court decision in favour of the police officer: first a brief note from Linda, then a response from Ferguson's Interim Chief of Police.

Hi, Cliff and Monica –

As always it was lovely to hear from you. Thanks to you all for your prayers and remembrance of us, here in Ferguson, during this past couple of weeks.

Yesterday, November 24, 2015, marked the one-year anniversary of the handing down of the decision in the Michael Brown incident. People have been gathering in small groups (around 5-10 individuals) since Thursday, the 19th, so we were unsure as to how far things were going to go.

But, praise God, so far no big events to report. The demonstrations have been largely peaceful. We had some activity last night, far into the early hours, we understand, in front of the Ferguson police department, but everyone maintained a focused and respectful presence. There were few media. We were driving home at 10PM last night and saw no media trucks.

It does appear as though our continued prayers and commitment to have an open dialogue with the community after last year has had an impact. God's grace and His mercy are boundless.

Hope you two have a beautiful and blessed week.

Yours in Christ,

Louie

Response from Ferguson Police Department

As you may all know, your prayers prevailed. A number of you met at the police station, spoke to protesters (citizens) in a way that allowed for some to gain a perspective about the day's event. In a way that allowed for them to express their constitutional rights. At a meeting, I asked you to pray that we have no violence, no damage, and no criminal activity. I challenged you to stand up and prove that you're the "Moral Authority." Well, it's evident you made a difference. No reported damage, over 150 protesters, no arrest, no one injured, no crimes reported due to protest, and all calls for service were handled.

Because of you, we are well on our way to ensure that your combined efforts will endure. You are very much part of a greater strategy and one that will not only ease tension, but improve our officer's response, and improve their lives. Your work has just begun in my view. And I believe you know there is much more to do. We must continue to improve race relations, improve the quality of life for those less fortunate and be the living embodiment of professional excellence. I can say without a doubt, you mean a great deal to this community. If it was not said before, I am saying it now. THANK YOU! The "Moral Authority" stepped up! I will be leaving, but I have not left you. An old adage commonly said, I'm only a stone throw away."

Andre C. Anderson
Interim Police Chief
Ferguson Police Department

We are overjoyed to share news of what God has been doing in the town of Ferguson, Missouri...

A little over a year ago, the town of Ferguson, Missouri made international headlines when black teenager Michael Brown was repeatedly and fatally shot by a white police officer. Since the incident, which ignited heated debate about race and law enforcement in America, Ferguson has seen repeated civil unrest, both violent and non-violent. The judiciary response to release the officer from all charges did not help the situation, despite the use of independent investigations.

To the watching world, Ferguson is another example of long-standing American racial tensions boiling over. As expected, the anniversary of the initial tragedy on 9 August this year brought yet more protests.

However, what we do not hear on the news is that God is at work in this volatile, complex situation. Christian couple Linda Louis-VanReed and Bruce VanReed live just half a mile from the centre of the unrest. Their vivid, positive description of all that God has been doing through the Ferguson crisis has so encouraged the team at Prophecy Today that we want to share it with you all!

August 15, 2015

Dear Cliff and Monica –

It was good to hear from you both a few days ago. Thank you so much for your unfailing support in prayer during the past week, as life in Ferguson threatened to "get rowdy" once again.

As you might expect, those who were either being paid to demonstrate by various groups (Black Panthers, Nation of Islam, Communist party) or who were coming alongside those paid demonstrators (regardless of what group they represented) just to be seen by the media, were on hand in spite of the high temperatures and rainy conditions present between Monday, August 3 and Tuesday, August 11. However, people were not out by the hundreds every night as they were last year.

There were, among the protesters, a great increase in the number of Caucasians, most of who were not from the area, and a good number of felons who were waiting for the crowds to get worked up so they might use it as a chance to vandalize.

The Billy Graham truck with about half dozen pastors from different parts of the US was present on West Florissant Road ("ground zero," as they have been calling it) and they made themselves available to minister to the crowds. Their best opportunities came from passersby who stopped in to see what the truck was about. Unfortunately, Bruce and I could not get over to see them before they left, so I don't have stories from their ranks to relay to you.

Wednesday evening around 7pm groups of protesters and media trucks converged on downtown Ferguson, about a half mile or so from our house. There was also a group on West Florissant that evening. Storms had been flaring up around the state of Missouri all day, but none were scheduled to touch the St. Louis area until that weekend. However, as the racial tensions thickened, so did the storm clouds, and around 7:30pm we experienced an unexpected torrential downpour. All the hate and misunderstanding planned for that evening was washed away by two inches of rain. Local weather reporters were all a little surprised by the way in which this one particular storm flared up all by itself just outside St. Louis County, and how it seemed to drop the most rain on North County (where Ferguson and Florissant are located). When everyone came together again, later that night, proceedings were peaceful and the crowds were minimal.

All the hate and misunderstanding planned for Wednesday evening was washed away by two inches of rain. Local weather reporters were surprised by the way in which this one particular storm flared up all by itself...

The crowds were nonexistent on Thursday, all day, and into Friday. Friday evening things began to become active, but, strangely enough, everyone seemed, on that evening at least, to prefer a peaceful, friendly, demonstration, and there were no problems. Bruce and I were watching the proceedings down the street from our house via the Internet – a young man with a procam was shooting a live feed which he simulcast from in front of the police station.

The police were in regular event uniforms – light shirts, no weapons, no headgear, nothing. It was the Ferguson police and the St. Louis County police, who were on standby. One man decided to take his bullhorn and scream obscenities into the faces of these people. His blatherings were largely incoherent, but his obscenities were crystal clear. He worked these people on a personal level while a small group of protesters tried to move the crowd into a frenzy by shouting "F*** the police!" and "We will shut it down!" They were playing drums and chanting into the crowd. One young man got on top of a car and started waving two American flags which had been mounted upside down on their poles.

As Bruce and I watched and prayed, we noticed that within a few minutes those who had gathered around the man with the bullhorn were disassociating themselves from him. Soon, he stood there alone with a small child which we think may have been his son. One of the cops stepped forward and appeared to ask him if he needed a bottle of water. He became confused, then cursed, turned, and walked away.

Meanwhile, in the background, our drummers and flag-wavers were faring no better. People chanted along for a minute or two, then broke off into small groups of peaceful demonstrators. They broke it up by midnight. No one hurt. Nobody died.

Saturday night was a different story. Footage from that night was probably what you have been seeing over there. A local station carried a play-by-play throughout the evening as we watched and prayed far into the night.

The events of that evening were at "ground zero." A group of agitators (about 35 or so) were present, once again, trying to stir up the crowds with chants and drums, etc. One young light-skinned black man, wearing a green shirt wrapped around his head and, at one point, a mask, it appeared, was a primary agitator, getting right up into the faces of the police and screaming obscenities, sometimes, less than six inches in front of their faces. The police remained calm and unresponsive until this young man and a few in the crowd began to throw ice water bottles, rocks and pieces of glass at them.

As tensions escalated over the next hour, some local kid with a gun fired off about 30 rounds into crowds and cop cars. The police had to fire on him. The next thing we see is crowds breaking up, as people who were there with their young children got into their vehicles and left. The young man with the green shirt – arrested. They pulled the headgear off him right in front of the camera, and when he saw the camera on him, he immediately started to cry. Guys, he couldn't have been more than about 18 or so. Big man behind his green shirt. Things got real when that shirt came off. I am still praying for that kid. I can't seem to get his face out of my mind. What must have happened in his life to get him to make the choices he made to get him there?

That was pretty much the story of most of the protesters the entire weekend, because after the Saturday night shooting, the police decided their level of tolerance had been reached. These folks were fast becoming a public nuisance, looting three stores, blocking an interstate highway during rush hour, etc. The protesters would push and play, the police would calmly and politely restrain them and book them.

Sunday evening was actually pretty calm. There were six shootings, which I'm sure you heard about, but those were gang-related, black-on-black crimes. Monday and Tuesday there were more such crimes, little in the way of protests. We have not had this many killings in St. Louis even during the Civil Rights protests of the sixties. Our young black men and women are killing each other in frustrations which have little or nothing to do with our police policies.

The aura surrounding all of these events was so different from last year, when the event was fresh. The churches in the area, all of St. Louis, in fact, have been holding events and open forums all year long. A lot of people gave their lives to Christ. There are lots of people who don't want anything to do with a race war, and they are using their influence, locally, to stop and encourage their neighbors who might want such a war to rethink. So much of the raw emotion is gone.

The churches in the area have been holding events and open forums all year long. A lot of people gave their lives to Christ. There are lots of people who don't want anything to do with a race war.

People want peace, praise God. They want their town back. They want their lives and livelihoods and children back. They are getting tired.

Nationwide there was very little to report, it seems. But, you know what that tells us, Cliff and Monica? It tells us that God is a God of his word. If we will seek his face and petition Him, He will save our nation. This is excellent news! The spirit of God was palpable in this town last week. The feel in the air was peaceful, even at the sites of the protests, even as they were going on. Many churches had events. Clergy showed up, big time, late Saturday evening, to pray with, for and among the protesters after the shootings had occurred. Even our heavily-biased liberal media was on the side of the police during all of this! AMAZING!

The spirit of God was palpable in this town last week. I think God is still hearing His people, still making a way in these days for us to experience the power of His glory.

I don't think God is finished with America. I think God is still hearing His people, still making a way in these days for us to experience the power of His glory. The encouragement we feel from simply the events/non-events of Ferguson this year has uplifted so many of us.

I hope the tone of this letter can excite in the both of you just a little of the encouragement, empowerment and faith that we, here in Ferguson, are feeling these days. God has done so much here in response to our prayers, our faithfulness to serve, our desire to see Him glorified. He even went so far as to make it so the Hills, way over there in the beautiful UK, were joining hundreds of us who they have never met face-to-face, in prayer.

God is the author of time, and may yet choose to stay His hand for awhile longer. May the freedoms that both the US and the UK enjoy continue, and may all who oppose Him be confounded!

Warmest regards,

Linda Louis-VanReed
Ferguson, MO

The Editorial Team of Prophecy Today want to express their compassion and concern for all the families who have suffered in the terrible events at Sousse in Tunisia.

The news that most of the holidaymakers on the beach were British and that the number of dead is likely to exceed 30 has numbed the nation. The carnage on the beach shown in a multitude of photos on the media resembled a war scene and the list of dead and injured appearing on the Internet has sent a shockwave right across Britain.

In an interview this morning on BBC Radio Four's Today Programme Prime Minister, David Cameron said that the Islamic State had declared war on us.

He said, "I think that frankly, we are a target. They have declared war on us, they are attacking our people at home and overseas whether we like it or not... They are attacking our way of life and what we stand for."

He warned, "There are people in Iraq and Syria who are plotting to carry out terrible acts in Britain and elsewhere and as long as ISIL exists in those two countries we are at threat." He said that Britain is the second most active country in launching air attacks upon the Islamic fighters. But he added that it wasn't enough to "destroy [IS] at source".

He said "We have to deal with this appalling radical narrative that's taking over the minds of young people in our country. It's a battle of our values and our narrative against their values and their narrative. We have to get that right as well as the military end of things." [emphasis added]

The Narrative Battle

The Prime Minister is right in saying that the real battle is to do with values. But he is wrong to speak about a military defeat of the Islamic State. You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war: it can only be successfully tackled with a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling.

If a full-scale war between Islamic radicals and the West is to be avoided, we have to act now before the situation deteriorates further. We have to recognise the nature of the ideological conflict between the values being propagated by radical Islam and those of the West which are still based predominantly upon our Judaeo-Christian heritage.

You cannot defeat an ideology by weapons of war, only by a counter-ideology that is more powerful and compelling."

The right way to deal with this situation is for Quranic scholars and Biblical scholars to come together and examine their Scriptures. We have to stop these foolish statements about "we all worship the same God". This is clearly untrue as even a cursory comparison of the teaching of Jesus and Muhammad shows.

One of the sayings of Muhammad is, "The recompense of those who make war on Allah and his messenger and exert themselves to cause corruption in the land is that they should be killed or crucified, or that their hands and feet on opposite sides should be cut off." (Quran 5:37)

This is in strong contrast to the teaching of Jesus, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy'. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43).

It is this basic contrast in values that lies at the heart of Islam and Christianity which has to be faced. At the same time we are warning against an escalation of the war in the Middle East and calling for a dialogue between the scholars of Islam and Christianity.

Call for Dialogue

We know, of course, that there have been many periods in history when those who claim to be followers of Jesus have not followed his teaching as in the atrocities of the Crusades. And we know that the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving people who follow those parts of the Quran that advocate peace rather than war.

Our call is for the scholars of both Christianity and Islam to come together and solve what David Cameron rightly describes as a 'clash of values'. We do not see this as some kind of attempt to harmonise the two religions, but rather to highlight the differences in social values that may lead at least to peaceful co-existence and counteract the attraction of the Islamic State's propaganda that is currently attracting young Muslims.

In Prophecy Today we will elaborate this call for dialogue further later this week, in an article entitled "Who are the true Muslims?" In the meantime we ask all our readers to pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones and also for the protection of the nation from further terrorist attacks as we come up to the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings of 2005.