Almost Out of Options - But Not Quite

When God tells us to do something, He will make sure we do. Sometimes, we may take the easy route; other times we choose a much more difficult trek.  Looks like this time, we chose the hard way.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

1 Timothy 2: 1-2

May 3rd, 2013

This week on 'The Hal Lindsey Report'

Last February, President Obama stood before the assembled houses of Congress to deliver his State of the Union address. He spoke of pursuing "the remnants of Al Qaeda." He said, "Today, the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former self."

A shadow? Recent events have proven that Al Qaeda is far more than a shadow. The terrorist organization and its affiliates exist all over Africa and the Middle East, with cells in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including the United States. It even publishes a slick, online magazine!

Al Qaeda can trace its roots to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Over the next several years, the U.S. and its allies poured billions of dollars in aid, expertise, and logistical assistance into helping the resistance fighters known as the Mujahideen. We helped build the extensive, fortified tunnel complexes in which Osama bin-Laden later took refuge during the U.S.-led coalition invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. We even sent our two best fictional fighting heroes, Rambo and James Bond, to assist them!

Now we're facing again the enemy that President Obama describes as a "shadow of its former self." Except this time, ironically, we are once again lending assistance.

The United States has been providing substantial "non-lethal" (so we're told) assistance to the Syrian rebels or "freedom fighters," as they're known in the mainstream media. Some of our national leaders have even been calling for "boots on the ground" military action on their behalf.

Until recently, that is. Now it is becoming apparent, as The Wall Street Journal reports, that "Al Qaeda [is] increasingly dominating the opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." So, it's beginning to dawn on the Obama Administration that by assisting the Syrian rebels, the U.S. is assisting Al Qaeda, who will be in charge in Syria when Bashar al-Assad finally goes down.

As if this couldn't get any messier, Britain, France, Israel, and now the United States itself, have all gone public accusing the Assad government of using chemical weapons against its own people.

Why does this complicate the situation further? Well, because President Obama has emphasized several times that the use of chemical or biological weapons by the Assad government will be a red line that they dare not cross. Or else!

And now that they've crossed it, what does the President do? Well, he's been pretty vague up to now. And after all, these were only "small attacks." And we don't really know if Assad ordered them or a local commander took the initiative. We really can't be sure about the "chain of custody" of those weapons of mass destruction. Or... or... or...

His solution? Let's just have a United Nations commission study the situation and get back to us on it. Seriously!

To be fair, as the British say, this is a sticky wicket. The President is obligated by his own words to deal harshly with the Syrian government. Yet if he does anything meaningful against Assad's government, that means he's helping the rebels, and that means helping Al Qaeda -- even though it's only a "shadow of its former self." And helping Al Qaeda means helping the most ruthless terror organization in the world get its hands on Syria's extensive chemical and biological weapons stockpile.

As I've been saying for years, appeasement and procrastination buys nothing but more trouble later. By not dealing head-on with Iran and Syria before now, the U.S. is virtually backed into a corner.

Folks, there are no good options now. And, as far away as Syria may seem to you, these weapons falling into Al Qaeda's hands represents a real threat to our nation, Israel, and Europe. No matter how we personally feel toward the present leadership of the United States, I believe we must do as the Bible bids and pray -- earnestly -- for our leaders. Especially that God would grant our President supernatural wisdom in this situation.

Over the last three weeks, and as we learn more information, people keep asking how Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could have been involved in the Boston Marathon bombings. Why can't they believe it? Because Dzhokhar seems to be a "typical American kid."

What does that mean? The New York Times cited a Kaiser Family Foundation study. The Times headline was revealing: "If Your Kids are Awake, They're Probably Online." The writer made a chilling statement: "The average young American now spends practically every waking minute -- except for the time in school -- using a smart phone, computer, television, or other electronic devices."

In other words, media and school occupy almost all the waking hours of America's young people. Uh-oh!

I can't think offhand of two more potentially treacherous or corrupting influences in the lives of our children than "the media" and "the school." And that's where they spend ALL of their non-sleeping time.

On this week's program, I'm going to look at precisely what that may mean to our children and how those two influences played out in the life of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The media devalues life and desensitizes us to death and suffering. It promotes violence and tears down traditional moral values. Academia teaches our children to hate God, Christianity, and America and its traditional values. And I'm not exaggerating one bit.

In the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, add the volatile influence of a Muslim family and mosque. Then stir in the growing slick media influence of organizations like Al Qaeda, whose internet magazine, "Inspire," depicts Muslim terrorists as powerful, romantic, mysterious, and important, and it's like pouring gasoline on smoldering embers. It's an explosion waiting to happen.

If you haven't been paying attention to these two facets of American life, you're in for a shock. I believe that, overall, it may be too late to reverse the damage the media and academia have inflicted on America. But it's not too late to intervene in the lives of your children or grandchildren and make a difference -- by God's mercy and grace.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: This week's "Hal Lindsey Report" will not be seen on The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). It's Spring Praise-A-Thon!

Don't miss this week's Report on Daystar, CPM Network, The Word Network, the stations of the CET network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Check your local listings.

God Bless,

Hal Lindsey