A moment of silence: a moment of futility

The leaders of the G20 nations met and observed a moment of silence regarding the terrorist attack in Paris. At the beginning of each of Sunday’s NFL games there was also a moment of silence for Paris.

Tragically, the main purpose of a moment of silence is not to offend anyone who does not believe in Christianity. Everyone can feel included. However, nothing is accomplished except to ignore and offend the Lord of the Universe.

It was not always so.

In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt led the nation in prayer for the Allied Forces for success on D Day against the “unholy forces of our enemy.” He began the prayer by addressing Almighty God and ended the prayer by asking that “Thy will be done, Almighty God.”

This same President wrote an inscription in the Pocket Bible given to soldiers in WWII. For whatever reason, Roosevelt knew human strength alone was not enough to defeat evil. Here is that inscription:

“As Commander-in-Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul.
Very sincerely yours,
Franklin D. Roosevelt.”

We have exchanged the Pocket Bible for the false hope of a moment of silence.

A moment of silence does nothing except to satisfy the politically correct. Silence would not have defeated the Axis powers of WWII. Silence will not defeat ISIS and other terrorist groups who desire to bring death and terror to Western Civilization.

Despite being politically incorrect, there is only One who can provide safety and his name is not silence.

When the nations of the world stood against the Lord and his Christ, Peter and John invoked the words of Psalm 2 in prayer:
“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed one.

“This raging continues in our own day, whether in the form of physical or political or social attempts to silence those who would proclaim Jesus Christ as the exclusive way to God.” Mark D. Futato, commentary on Psalm 2.

It is the intense hatred of Christianity that drives ISIS and its related allies. A moment of silence will not protect anyone from the advance of ISIS. A moment of silence is a moment of impotence.

Pray with your children for God’s protection. Pray that he would keep you from evil. Pray for the defeat of those who plot in vain against the Lord and of his Christ. Pray for the salvation of God to fall upon the nations.

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