November,
2001
Dear Friend
of our Ministry,
There is nothing
new under the sun (Ecclesiastes
1:9). The events in our nation may be new to many under the
age of 60, but we have been through everything before that has
recently happened. We have had attacks on American soil before.
In the war of 1812-14, the British eventually lost the conflict,
but they managed to set fire to the White House and Capitol in
an attempt to spite us. A mysterious rain storm suddenly occurred
and put out the fires before they had done too much damage.
There was another
attack from a foreign enemy right here on American soil in World
War II. A Japanese submarine surfaced off the coast of California
and used its deck gun to shell an oil refinery. I have seen an
old newspaper photo of the damage done. The submarine's purpose
was to instill terror and fear into the American people. For the
same reason, the Japanese also released large balloons with bombs
attached from ships in the Pacific when winds were blowing east
toward the American coast. Some of these "balloon bombs"
exploded in Oregon and Washington state, but fortunately resulted
in no casualties.
And speaking of terror,
during the attack on Britain, in 1943 the Germans began launching
9,250 of their V1 rockets, of which 2,500 reached London. In 1944,
they began launching over 1,000 of their V2 rockets, of which
more than 500 reached London. Over 20,000 British were killed,
plus many more injured, but the residents learned to sleep in
the bomb shelters and subways, keep a "stiff upper lip",
and they persevered through the war.
We have also had
a New York sky-scraper hit by an airplane before. On July 28,
1945, an American B-25 bomber crashed into the 78th and 79th floors
of the Empire State Building at 200 mph. The pilot had become
disoriented in the fog and thought he was over the New Jersey
Airport. While damage to the structure was significant, the building
remained standing. Fourteen people were killed and dozens more
were injured.
In World War II,
there were hundreds of young Japanese pilots who would gladly
die for their "god" the Emperor Hirohito. In
fact, when selections of "kamikazes" were made, it has
been written that some Japanese pilots would weep that they were
passed over for this "honor" by their Emperor. In the
Pacific, they would attack in waves of up to 100 or more at a
time. My own father-in-law was in the Navy and helped load 5-inch
guns on the USS St. Louis. During the battle for the Leyte Gulf
of the Philippines, his ship was one of many that was hit by "the
divine wind". Two kamikazes crashed into his ship, and 16
men were killed and 43 were injured. The dead were buried at sea,
the ship was repaired, and they were back in the battle for Okinawa.
Difficult times call for perseverance. "Bull" Halsey,
the captain of the aircraft carrier that launched Doolittle's
raiders over Tokyo, once said, "There is no such thing
as heroes only ordinary men who rise to meet extra-ordinary
circumstances." God, help America have more men and
women like this once again!
What should we do
in the present circumstances in America? We need perseverance,
and spiritual sensitivity to listen to the rare and unusual voices
that have God-inspired wisdom for our lives and nation. These
people are sometimes a bit "different", and what they
say can seem unusual. One secular example was the WW1 Air Force
pioneer, General Billy Mitchell, who foresaw the entire second
world war with Japan. In fact, he stated publicly years
before it happened that the Japanese would surprise attack
Pearl Harbor early on a Sunday morning! Nobody listened to him.
He was court-marshaled for "insubordination", but after
WWII he was awarded a Congressional medal!
Billy Graham's daughter
was being interviewed on TV on The Early Show and host Jane Clayson
asked her, "How could God let something like this happen?"
Anne Graham gave an insightful response. She said, "I
believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but
for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to
get out of our government, and to get out of our lives. And being
the gentleman that He is, I believe that He has calmly backed
out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection
if we demand He leave us alone?"
As a nation, we can
persevere through the current "minor" hardships we have
recently experienced. Others have endured much more. But we must
remain in faith, and we must continue doing the right things.
We must support ministries that are "speaking the truth",
and we must not let deception keep us from hearkening to those
voices of truth. God is the answer for our nation, and if Americans
can't see the need to repent they're deceived!
As a nation, we need
to spread teaching about God and His Word. We have a terrible
"spiritual illiteracy rate" in America. The nation needs
more repentance. Many people hardly know what sin is, much less
how much God desires holiness and obedience in His people. There
is a lot of spiritual work to do to get our nation back on the
right course. I invite you to pray and help us as we labor to
save & redeem this great land called America.
Proclaiming the Truth,
Dale &
Judi Leander |