Is It Enough?

I know what everyone is trying to say. I know what everyone is trying to do. And on the surface showing solidarity with France during the crisis they are undergoing is good. But let's be honest, what good do the blue, white and red profile pictures really do?

Well, it IS a simple, easy way to show France how much we care about what happened to its people. It's kind of cool seeing everyone's profile picture "united" for a single cause. That is a good thing. But changing our profile pictures is also precisely the problem. It is a problem because it is both simple . . . and it is easy. We should be prepared and compelled to do more as Christians in honor of the 127 souls who perished in Paris.

Here's a testing question for us: This past April, 147 students in Kenya were killed by Al-Shabab. Where were the Facebook profile pictures with Kenyan flags back then? USA Today article.

And what about France's response to the terrorism on their, vowing "merciless" retaliation. And now they have officially declared was. It THAT right? From what I read in the Bible, it is not, as God told us.

"It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them." - Deuteronomy 32:35

So what should our response as Christians be when we encounter atrocities like those in Paris and Kenya. It IS right to speak out against such actions. It IS acceptable to change profile pictures to show we care, but let us do it EVERY time . . . for every people group who suffer. Let us do it for Kenya, let us do it for the earthquake victims in Nepal and Afghanistan where over 9,000 perished this year. The 224 people aboard the Russian airliner who died at the hands of an ISIS bomb. And let us do it for the 96,000 babies murdered in the world so far this year?

Don't get me wrong, I support a strong defense through offense. These people are fighting against God! But I also believe that we must seek God's direction and permission before we attack. Maybe that was done in France's case . . . but I doubt it.

Our response to ALL these things we see, seemingly each day on the news, is to respond with LOVE. Are we not called to LOVE our enemies? Yes, we are. We are not called to retaliate in kind, unmercifully. We are called to love - first, our God, and then, others. ALL others.

Now ISIS is one unlovable group. Earthquakes are one thing but terrorist attacks are another thing all together. We should defend ourselves and prepare diligently for such attacks but the thing we must remember, above all else, is that ISIS is fighting a religious war. Is France" The real question we need to be answering is "How are OUR religious defenses?" How are our religious beliefs?

They say that the best defense is a good offense. How are we doing at spreading the Gospel? Jesus is our warrior. He carries a two-edged sword. Let us support OUR king as ISIS fights for theirs. Our weapon is devotion, obedience and love. Are you in God's army?

"11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords." - Revelation 19:11-16

Operation Overlord - D-Day  - Normandy Beach