"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"
Men, perhaps one of the reasons that we have such conflicting news coming out of the Middle East war zones is that it is too dangerous for our journalists to go. These terrorists believe in subjugation by fear, but fear is of the devil and is not of God. We note that the gathering together of the allied forces is not for the purpose of "boots on the ground" but rather providing air strikes and aid. This could be because of the fear of soldiers being captured and brutally treated. This reveals that the West is afraid. We should not be afraid. This is not the message we should send to these murderous people who desperately want us to be afraid of them.
As Christians, we should not fear the sword of Islam. If we fear it to the point, that like journalists, we are afraid to go and help, and take the message of Christ to them, have we not fallen into the same snare of fear? The early church faced the wrath of Rome, fighting lions in the colosseum, brutality, and being burned at the stake, but they still put their "boots on the ground and "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6).
We should not forget that Israel sent in over 65,000 troops into Gaza to deal with the terrorist group, Hamas, which is twice the size of ISIS! I personally heard an IDF soldier (released because of injuries) \speaking in Nashville who said "We were not afraid." They put their "boots on the ground." Should we do less? We Christians should not be afraid.
We are encouraged by many who are going into help in the war zones in Syria and Iraq with such organizations as Samaritan's Purse. We rejoice that 500 believers are joining Tommy and Sherri Waller and their family to harvest the grapes for the Judean farmers on the West Bank, even in time of war.
May God help us to be bold in this current hour. May we say with David, "How say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" (Psalm11:1).
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell