Scott

If you have been following the news, you know there has been an alleged firestorm of controversy surrounding the selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inauguration of our 44th president Barack Obama.

"Alleged" in the sense that outside of media centers looking to fill their next 24 hour news cycle and the overactive sensitivities of a few small but loud pressure groups, an overwhelming amount of Americans saw no problem here at all.

Some 91% of a Gallup survey had no problem at all with Warren's presence on the dais.

But both the talking heads and the perpetually aggrieved did their best to ratchet up the pressure.

So how did Warren do?

We've come to a weird place where reviews are being offered on public prayers.

Commentators have focused on his careful inclusion of phrases designed to offer a benedictory hat tip to Judaism ("Hear O, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." Deuteronomy 6:4), Islam ("And you are the compassionate and merciful one" - the beginning address of virtually every Muslim prayer) "And You are loving to everyone You have made" - certainly a reference to John 3:16.

But as they say in gymnastics, "Yes, but did he stick the landing?"

Lisa Miller of Newsweek offers this interesting assessment.

Finally Warren made the move that was both inevitable and surprising. He prayed in Jesus' name. Pastors at previous inaugurations have triggered controversy and lawsuits for explicitly Christian prayers, and pundits wondered aloud whether—given the tsunami of press that preceded this prayer—Warren would dare to stake out this turf. But Warren knows who he is. He is a conservative evangelical. There's nothing else for him to do. Once again, his phrasing was deft: he invoked Jesus for himself, not for the millions on the mall or the billions watching on television. "I humbly ask this," he said, "in the name of the one who changed my life…Jesus." A good job, and yet the lingering question remains. Warren's conservative theology teaches him that there is one path to God, and that is Jesus. So when he wraps his great big arms around Muslims and Jews (and homosexuals), does he really believe there's hope for us? Or is he just being nice? http://www.newsweek.com/id/180660

London's Sunday Times called it "the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror." A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul.

The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank President Bush's surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of surrendering.

We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on counter-insurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was their friend and AQI their enemy.

Al-Qaida's loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from there.

Now, in Operation Lion's Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended. http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=300324023809577

There was no doubt in the minds of anyone when victory had been won during WW II.

Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photo of a couple celebrating this event in New York's Times Square captured the exhilaration of a nation assured that liberty had prevailed over tyranny once again.

How interesting that today, our dominant media who, as recently as six months ago, used to keep daily updated casualty counts like baseball statistics, has marked these developments with a collective yawn.

But to students of Biblical prophecy the pacification and stabilization of Iraq is no yawning matter.

Part and parcel of the portrait of the Last Days we find in the scripture is the rebirth of ancient Babylon.

Revelation 18 indicates that this pivotal spot in the beginning of civilization will have a key role to play in its end.

Jeremiah 50 indicates the final destruction of Babylon will be much like that of Sodom and Gomorrah - clearly a prediction yet to be fulfilled.

Both the prosperity and the dramatic downfall of Babylon are vividly portrayed in God's Word.

In light of these predictions it is likely we will see Iraq continue to stabilize politically.

Its nearly unmatched oil reserves will come on line and skyrocket its fortunes financially.

Its Western influenced government will make it an integral player internationally.

And not only will Babylon be rebuilt as a city on its historic site, I believe its strategic location as a place where the burgeoning economies of Asia can meet the growing financial might of the European Union will cause it to supplant even Wall Street as the place that drives the fortunes of the world.

The idea of Babylon becoming an 800 pound economic gorilla on the international scene might seem difficult to imagine now. But then again, so did victory in Iraq even a year ago.

The overwhelming triumph in the war on terror that many thought impossible may not be noticed by the so called "Drive-by" media.

But it should be noted by every believer who is paying attention to the signs of the times.

Moyers credentials as a serious commentator on spiritual issues take a major hit here.

First, the command "Thou shalt not kill" refers to the act of murder, not defending one's country in war time.

But the descent into a dark form of determinism isn't hard to spot here as well.

I wonder how Moyers would respond if someone said, "Well, you know those Southerners. They are bigots from way back. Moyers can't help it. It's his Southern genes speaking here."

The idea that we are not responsible for our own actions and attitudes, that we are some kind of spiritual salmon acting out our instincts is nothing new.

In fact, God called the people of Israel on the carpet for that same kind of "My genes made me do it" mentality.

There's an old saying that goes, "Any dead fish can float down stream. It takes a live one to chose to go against the current."

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

But it is clear that what moved Matthew Parris' heart was the tangible, observable difference the love of God made in the lives of the people he met.

The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.

After reading Mr. Parris' words, I can't help but think that if Jesus were here he would say to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." (Mark 12:34)

The challenge here is pretty easy to spot. Do we, like these African believers, have a faith that has liberated and relaxed us?

Is that change so real that it is obvious, without an effort to play the role of right-on Christian in front of nonbelievers?

Don't get me wrong. I believe there is a place for all three approaches toward reaching the lost we described above.

Even a powerful example, can have a fatal flaw. Without explanation, it confuses people into thinking that Christianity is only for people far more with it and together than they could ever be.

And an example that demonstrates an intelligent and intimate relationship with God moves people.

Mosab grew up as the favored son of Hamas' founding member Sheik Hassan Yousef.

He eventually became the president of the radical Islamic Youth Movement that engaged in street fighting against Israeli Defense Forces and rejoiced in suicide bombings.

But then things changed.

A stint in an Israeli prison revealed to him more than he wanted to know about the brutality of the organization his father helped found.

His disillusionment with Hamas eventually lead to his questioning of Islam itself.

After his release from prison, a seemingly chance encounter with a Christian in Jerusalem lead him to consider the truth of Christianity.

Following a time of intense soul searching, Mosab gave his life to the Lord.

"Islam is not the word of God," said Yousef. "If you want to be offended it's your problem. But you know something? Go study. Think for a second that I might be right. So wake up, look at your path, see where you're going. Are you really going to heaven with 72 virgins after you kill yourself and kill another 20 people?"

Yousef has sought asylum in the United States and now attends an evangelical Christian church in San Diego, Calif. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,475226,00.html

Clearly, there is a deeper more significant battle raging in the Middle East.

And if the son of a founder of Hamas can be reached, is anyone beyond the ability of God's love to touch and transform?

The apostle Paul summed up this real yet unseen conflict in this way.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:10-20)

One simple Christian tourist in Jerusalem made all the difference in heaven and earth for Mosab.

Just think of the difference we can make if we take advantage of the opportunities the Lord provides to tell those we encounter about a relationship with the true and living God!

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