![\"Jesus](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1453\/2025\/01\/JesusRomanSoldier-1024x585.jpeg\")
Ref. verses<\/h2>\n
\u201cJust then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, \u201cHave mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.\u201d \u2026. Then Jesus answered her, \u201cWoman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.\u201d And her daughter was healed from that moment.<\/p>\n
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- Matthew 15:22-29<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cWhen he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, \u201cLord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.\u201d And he said to him, \u201cI will come and cure him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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- Matthew 8:5-13<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cFor there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.\u201d \u2013 Romans 10:12<\/p>\n
Podcast show links with added content: Substack<\/a>, YouTube<\/a> video, Spotify<\/a>, and Apple<\/a> podcasts. These appear a day after blog-article posts.<\/p>\n
What would Jesus think and do?<\/h2>\n
Jesus was a Jew. He had good relations with the Roman soldiers. He walked through non-Jewish areas of Palestine and offered healing and praise for their faith. Through his apostles, he offered his way of life to those who would accept it.<\/p>\n
A growing radicalism, left over from the Maccabee era, was using terrorism (Zealots) to push for independence from the Romans, and eventually caused the destruction of the nation and destruction of or scattering of the Jewish people.<\/p>\n
Jesus\u2019 call to his followers was to live peacefully with others, even your enemies. It works. The opposite has been proven over and over not to work.<\/p>\n
A new world order?<\/h2>\n
The Middle East has been a major thorn in the world\u2019s flesh since the reintroduction of the political boundary of Israel in 1947. There were periods in which Arabs and Israelis got along. Mostly not. I\u2019ve followed this conflict and its causes with great interest since the 1960s. In the Navy, I felt the pulse of it where I was based.<\/p>\n
Israel, in its thirst for land, drove people off the land. They thumbed their nose at the international law of \u201cRight of Return,\u201d not allowing the people who had been chased away to return to their homes.<\/p>\n
Fueled by Iran, resistance and terrorism flared in Gaza and to a lesser extent in the West Bank. Maltreatment has only poured salt in the wounds from numerous wars. The Western World turns a blind eye to Israel\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n
Right of return is the major sticking point in Middle East peace. Iran and the Arabs in Palestine want the political boundary of Israel destroyed. The two parties have proven repeatedly that they can\u2019t live in peace. A one state solution in which all are equal is likely the only viable solution.<\/p>\n
The Wrecking Ball<\/h2>\n
The US \u201cleader,\u201d having swung a wrecking ball at the USAID office, FBI, CIA, HHS, Department of Education \u2026 now proposes the US take over Gaza, deport its citizens, and rebuild it as a resort community.<\/p>\n
The very problem that\u2019s been causing nearly 80 years of war, he wants to throw gasoline on by making right of return an enormous issue. Every Arab nation is against it. The great negotiator apparently thinks he can bully these other nations into doing his bidding. The US doesn\u2019t have the military might to do this, nor the economic might, nor the influence.<\/p>\n
The power the US has is to turn several US allies or friends in the region into enemies.<\/p>\n
This would very likely start a regional war that would be at great expense in lives and dollars to the US, and the US would lose, just as it did in Afghanistan. Israel would likely be destroyed as a political entity. Bullying and bluffing doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n
Fixing the problem<\/h2>\n
Instead of making things worse in ineffective strategies such as used in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan in misguided fits of megalomania that took thousands of lives and endless fortune, try doing something effective for a change.<\/p>\n
There is a primary and secondary solution to the Middle East conflict. <\/strong><\/p>\n
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- Quit mistreating your neighbors. Treat them well. Let those displaced people come back and give all citizens of the area in Israel and Palestine the same rights. This is as it should be.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t pour US dollars into Gaza in some misguided effort to turn it into a resort. If the billionaires want to help Gaze, let them help the Palestinians rebuild.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Conclusion after this about church planning:<\/p>\n
Church planning season \u2013 strong impact course<\/h2>\n
How can churches minister to new generations if they won\u2019t come to church? The church has been losing people at 1% a year, and now most of new generations won\u2019t come.<\/p>\n
I developed and presented a course on understanding and working with new generations. I would like to say I had rave reviews, but on a scale of 1 to 5 it averaged 4.5. Well, some people were raving.<\/p>\n
The course helps people understand new generations, their values, and their differences. It helps people understand how to build a bridge to them and minister to them. The old worn-out things we used to do don\u2019t work, and for good reason. This solutions focused course enables people to find new ways, appropriate ways, to minister to these generations in their local circumstances. It\u2019s for church groups and generates deep discussion.<\/p>\n
Free video preview of the course<\/h3>\n
- Matthew 8:5-13<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- Matthew 15:22-29<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n