THE FLAG IN MY HEART FLIES AT HALF MAST…

The flag in my heart flies at half mast…

Until good triumphs over evil!

It wasn’t just any night lying awake and praying with my four month old son. I awoke to the news of the devastation that had hit Manchester – innocent adults and children murdered at a Pop Concert. My heart cried out to heaven “God, these were children for goodness sake,” and heaven answered, “Evil has no conscience!”

How God loves our broken world! Jesus Himself wept over Jerusalem when He saw the devastation that would befall her from their rejection of His goodness and ways. With tears He said, “How often would I gather you to myself as a hen gathers her chicks, but you would not”. All our good God longs to do is to provide and protect us – as a loving mother and parent would their own, and even more so. May it not be said of us with heaven’s tears, “But they would not…” I held my baby a little tighter as I fed him on the dark night of the Manchester suicide bombing. Night turned to daylight and my next two youngest little treasures jumped into the bed either side of me. I held them a little longer than I should instead of rushing to make their poached egg on toast before school. I watched the news and prayed through the dark Saturday night of the London Bridge attacks! “God open the  eyes of our Nation, open the mouths of our Leaders, open our hearts to our need for you!” This evil has a name that political correctness has us shame away from – Radical Islam we will root you out – you have no place here and you will NOT  prevail!

The evil I once naively believed to be contained to where I used to work in the Middle East now lurks in the shadows on our streets. Twenty years ago they told me I would see this in Europe and on our shores. They told me Islamic Extremism would infiltrate our systems and political structures enforcing their rights. They told me they would board boats masquerading amongst the refugees – making it virtually impossible to decipher the evil hiding behind genuine need. They told me the terror I witnessed raging in Israel daily would become our battle while the world watched silently on. Islamic Extremism spread its tentacles and through our political correctness and naivety, planted its weeds overseas and grew strong!

I am frustrated, seriously frustrated! As I later sat in the sunshine on the patio with Judah sleeping in his pram beside me, safely and lovingly placed in the shade, I sensed God speak to my heart again. Notice, as a mother I didn’t expose him to the harmful sun’s rays, I placed him in a place of protection. God has given us His wisdom, direction and ultimate protection too.  We can accept or reject it; sadly the latter is to our own demise and peril! God has a place of protection assigned for His children in this world where the ever increasing rays of extreme evil cannot penetrate. There is protection in His presence, Psalm 91 puts it so beautifully:

Psalm 91:1-16 (AMP)
[1] HE WHO a dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. [2] I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I confidently trust! [3] For then He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. [4] Then He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler. [5] You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day, [6] Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday. [7] A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. [8] Only a spectator shall you be yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High as you witness the reward of the wicked. [9] Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, [10] There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent. [11] For He will give His angels especial charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways of obedience and service. [12] They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. [13] You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot. [14] Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness–trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never. [15] He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. [16] With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

During almost two years of living in Israel through to having a family of my own to entrust into God’s care and protection, I have lived and trusted daily in the power of those words.

Where does my frustration come from? Let me set the backdrop for you. In a post 9/11 world where terror stalks our streets, cars ram into pedestrians, natural disasters are plentiful on the news – evil is rife and who do we blame, “Acts of God” the world resounds. Suicide bombers have the audacity to blow themselves up in the name of God. My God gave up the darling of heaven, His only Son for us at the cross. Jesus gave His life for us, Islamic extremism takes life. I hear on the news yet again those who blame God – He who is only good and comes lovingly into the midst of our sorrow, is the one who stands falsely accused by us; we act the judge and jury! It’s a travesty, a deception of catastrophic proportions – whilst the real perpetrator stalks scott free seeking his next victim.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil, he prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

To set the record straight, God is good. Everything He does is good and there is no evil, harm, or wickedness in Him. Goodness personified left the splendour of heaven to inhabit a frail body. Jesus himself didn’t shy away but faced the worst of humanity, evil and brutality. He even conquered death and it is His resurrection that secures our power and ongoing protection! Yes Jesus is alive.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

He who comes to God must believe that He is…..what? That He exists is a start! That He is Good! That He loves and has the very best for you! That He is your protector! That He is a miracle working God…. Know who He is and reap the rewards, don’t reap the evil carnage all around our world today!

As Islamic extremism raised its ugly head yet again – I was reminded of this neighbour I lived alongside in the Middle East. It wasn’t a recognisable monster. It could even appear tolerant, generous and understanding when it was in its interests to do so. Their interpretation of the word “Peace” is not the same as we translate – it is any and all means that advances Islamic State! The Islamic mindset you see is one of “lying is truth’ if it furthers the Islamic cause or caliphate. They shared their strong Arabic coffee with me, they spoke of their quest for freedom where our world bowed to Sharia law, tragically their ideology failed to reveal this was the greatest bondage of all! They spoke of hate and lust and how for them to make the ultimate sacrifice of their life for the destruction of Jews, Christians and anything that opposed Islamic rule and Sharia law would earn them a place in paradise. Oh, and the reward for the men was a harem of virgins at their pleasure and command, on the same day they gave their life away. The deadliest deception of all, yet this is the ideology held by millions across the Islamic world today! It’s all there in black and white in their Koran.

As we extend an open hand and open our doors, I would say to our Muslim brothers and sisters, “God loves you and we do too as we welcome you in’, but I, like many others who are informed and working from a position of wisdom, am neither politically correct or naive. With all the love in this mother’s heart, I say, “accept our freedoms and way of life or leave – no fear, or sharia law is welcome here”! Love, real love, always protects and establishes safe boundaries for all.

Manchester our hearts are broken for you and our prayers are with you! Not all Muslims are terrorists but the majority of terrorists are Muslim. Just think about it. I agree we are not at war with Muslims – indeed many are personal friends who I love dearly, but I do not condone the ideology that comes out of Islam. God loves Muslims unconditionally and calls us to love them too – love will always break through and triumph over evil. We are at war with Radical Islam and Islamic Extremists know that while we do not know our enemy, do not name our enemy and keep dancing around our enemy we cannot win this war! Terror will continue to strike, hide behind our laws & “political politeness” and fear continue to roar! Read what it says on the label – Islamic Extremism is Islam, Islamic State is Islam – it is an evil Caliphate!

If we continue to allow political correctness to deny this we will not be able to defy this evil ideology and root out the threat to our modern society. We must separate the people issue from the ideology issue before it is too late – the Muslim people I love, the ideology I hate! What will we answer our children when they ask us how we could have been so naive to believe that what we did not deal with today would not blow up in their face – they will be the ones to pay! Wake up world – do not be silent, do not be naive – on our watch call a spade a spade, let truth resonate! Show me an Islamic Nation that is free? I will show you oppression at best and devastation at worst, I’ve lived amongst it and cannot be silent you see! To tip toe around Islam and bow the knee, deceived, that this will somehow appease, is a dangerous, deluded strategy!

If our Politicians and World Leaders of today understood the Koran – they would understand extremism is Islam, only in its most devoted form! Wake up World – don’t be ignorant, be informed or don’t be surprised by the terror storm! Oh, but if you won’t listen to me, as this isn’t something new you see, Islam has waged violence in the name of peace for centuries, (and as I have already mentioned in the Koran the meaning of peace is any and all means, including lies and violence, that bring about the rule of Islam. Concerning Islam, the falsely labeled “religion of peace” we cannot afford to be deceived). So again, if you won’t listen to me, listen to the voice of history…. England do not reject the very God who longs to protect you.

Stand for nothing and you will fall prey to everything, stand for God and you will stand!

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all!” Isaiah 7:9 (NIV)

I have heard the whisper of heaven:

“I love you, I will not force MY ways upon you, I am your loving Father and not the one to harm you! If you would only come to me, you would see, I am the one who will bless your land – your enemies would fall and you would stand”!

Great Britain, before Islamic Extremism, do not cower in fear or bend the knee. The Nation that bows before God in faith and prayer will stand strong before anyone and anything. When we know and stand for truth, the truth will keep us free!

I heard God’s whisper one day whilst praying on my knees: “Those who learn to hide in my presence now will be safe when the time of trouble comes”!

The flag in my heart flies at half mast. I will not be silent. I cannot be silent and neither can you, for evil triumphs when good men do nothing!

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Follow Jesus, trust in Him and walk in wisdom. I have good news my friend, He only leads you in triumph….! Keep looking up – I read the end of the book and we win!  Let love in! Good will always triumph over evil in the end!