Peace

It has been more than 100 years since the outbreak of WW1 which was touted as “The war to end all wars”. The commemorations are sobering and a reminder of the futility of war. The first day of the war saw a death rate of 450,000 in slimy mud which bogged down the living and engulfed the dead. Here we are 100 years later and North Korea is launching long range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles with the capability of reaching the whole USA. Their next step is the addition of a nuclear warhead. All this time has passed, and we have not progressed. A wise man once said, “The one thing we learn from history, is that we don’t learn from history”. How true.

Our little planet earth has never been free of fighting and war since Cain and Abel fought out their differences in Genesis, and it has been going on ever since. The Bible is right up to date on this, and many other subjects, when it records these words in Jeremiah 6:14:

They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Has anything changed?

Our peace is founded on the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Messiah who assures us in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” As the nations of the world goad each other for supremacy, we have the assurance of that peace which can only come from God. Jesus also said in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I don’t know about you, but that gives me real peace and great comfort.

The Journey - Peace

One of the greatest benefits of a journey, whether on foot, car, ship, or by air, is the sense of peace it affords. Usually, a journey or voyage is undertaken as part of a holiday, and part of the pleasure is the journey itself. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or fancy or even expensive, for example a long quiet walk in the countryside. Peace is hard to come by when we are engrossed in our everyday lives of work and responsibilities which can be a burden.

However at Christmas, we tend to set our pressures aside and enjoy the journey through the month of Advent right up to the Holy day of Christ’s incarnation, and that same Spirit will even linger for some days afterwards, as we finish off the leftovers of our big Christmas dinner.

I watch the news, as you do too, and there is little evidence of peace in our world today. There are many, far too many, wars, famines, and terrorist attacks that we can ask ourselves, where is this peace of the Christmas Child? The scenes we see on the manger are so quiet, happy and peaceful that we can be forgiven for missing the tragedy of the world outside that little stable scene. Because even in His birth there were tragedies and much slaughter of innocents. So I find myself asking, where is this peace that was promised, and then I remember it is IN the baby, not around the Christmas season, or even the pursuit of a peace treaty. We can only see and know real peace when we, and the world, see who the bringer of peace is. I believe if we all believed in the Baby who became our resurrected Saviour, there would be no war. The absence of war, ultimately brings peace as these verses clearly show:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

Peace?

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

At one end of the scale, we have the Pakistani Religious Body (Council of Islamic Ideology) which says men should be allowed to 'Lightly Beat' their wives (yes, that’s plural). At the other end of the scale we have feuding Muslims who kill each other, usually Sunni instigated, and who also have a deep hatred of other Muslims, Christians and Jews. In fact hatred to death extends to the infidel, ie anyone who is NOT a Muslim. Have you watched the news bulletins? These deaths are counted in their thousands, not singly. On top of that, they do not accept that the nation of Israel has the right to exist. How much hatred does that show, and yet we, as a nation, and individually, make allowances and excuses for them. After all, we are told Islam is a religion of peace and our politicians line up to agree and sympathise. The words of an old saying come to mind, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”

Let’s have a look at some of the other practices of this ‘peaceful’ religion. Let me be clear, these practices are not practiced by all Muslims all the time, but they ARE all Muslim beliefs practiced and authorised by their holy book, the Quran also known as the Koran which ALL Muslims believe in and accept fully.

• Sharia Law will authorise a thief's hand be cut off for stealing.

• Young girls beaten to the point of death for listening to the ‘wrong music’

• The kidnap of young girls to sell as slaves, or ‘wives’ to Islamic fighters

• A belief that the infidel can be beheaded

• Muslims will kill other Muslims who are of a different branch or sect

• Believe in the elimination of Israel and its people from the face of the earth

• Believe in setting up a caliphate where Islam rules completely in law and religion

• Enforce Sharia Law to supercede the laws of any/every land

• Deface and burn down churches and synagogues

• Destroy ancient religious relics if not Islamic

• Support so called honour killings

• Believe that girls should not be educated

• Martyrdom ‘guarantees’ paradise

Whenever a nation is abused by Muslims (sometimes called Islamic extremists, but they are one and the same) and many people are murdered and maimed in the name of Allah, our politicians say “We are at war”. Really? It doesn’t look like it, and the murdering Muslims know it! There are no mass demonstrations by ‘ordinary Muslims’ protesting about these barbaric practices. I suggest they don’t need to protest publicly because there are enough infidel apologists who will speak up on their behalf, and defend them. Is it possible that our leaders and politicians know the true face of Islam, and don’t know what to do or say out of fear?

We are getting that we don’t like to say anything about the ‘religion of peace’, after all we don’t want to offend anyone. Especially if they want to kill us. A definition is needed because meaning is lost. “Islamophobia” by definition is the fear of Islam. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are NOT afraid of Islam, or Muslim followers, and we should be free to speak the truth about this barbaric, abusive, warring, religion followed in fear by their own adherents. The politically correct politicians don’t want this openness, and the many thousands of people who don’t care about religion or faith, let it all wash over them as long as they are not affected.

The following poem was penned by Pastor Martin Niemoller about the Nazi ‘Final Solution’:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

I think it’s time to add the lines….

Then they came for the Christians, and I did not speak out—

And I was a Christian.

700+ UK Lives Lost in Afghanistan

A terrible milestone of 700 UK service men and women have paid the ultimate price, and made the supreme sacrifice in Afghanistan since we were deployed there just a few years ago. It is a dreadful thing to lose any life in war, never mind 700! The news media, quite rightly paid a lot of attention to the war effort, and the part played by our brave military, both men and women, as they try to defeat an enemy which is almost unseen.


I don't want to get into an argument of whether the war in Afghanistan is just or unjust, or if we should be bringing our troops home now, or later. The thing that strikes me is the way we treat the word 'war'. This is not a numbers game, and neither is it played on games consoles of the Nintendo, or x-Box series. War is blood, lost limbs, shattered bones, broken bodies and psychological and emotional scars. Then there is the death of many. We seem to have missed some of that, and have come round to a way of thinking that war is somehow clean, and sanitised. We can kill from a distance, thus protecting ourselves from injury or death. We think we can be involved in a war from a safe way off, and without any loss of life. Our lives!


How do we come to think that 700 is a high number to be lost in a war? Between 1939 and 1945, the Russians lost 20 Million, yes 20 Million, Germany lost 7 Million, UK and USA 1 Million! In the context of these figures, where does Afghanistan stand? Does that make it a less just war? I don't think so. I think it is the attitude and resolve of the people who fought these battles that make the difference. They didn't have the benefit of Nintendo or Wii or X-Box, so they didn't think in terms of a bloodless war. They had the courage of conviction. We have lost that.


If we now had courage or convictions, we could make the correct judgement call to pull out of Afghanistan, or stay the course until the job is done. Until then, we play pretend computer games in our minds and delude ourselves into thinking we can have war without loss of life! Of course, the Taliban and Al Qaeda don't think like that, do they?