Words cannot express the horror and disgust that have been aroused by the recent surprise attacks on Israel by Hamas.  The wanton torture, slaughter, and kidnapping of innocent children, youth, and elderly by Hamas terrorists cannot be justified, and witnesses declare that the unspeakable atrocities they committed are reminiscent of the Holocaust! And to top it off, those despicable acts have been met with praise and applause by some!

To this point in my life, I have had the pleasure of visiting three foreign countries. The memories of each hold a special place in my heart, punctuated by stunning views, friendships (and delicious meals shared) with some of the strongest and kindest people I’ve ever met, and a life-changing realization of the depth of God’s love for the world.

Never underestimate a heart of hatred. Every day in the news there are acts of unspeakable brutality around our world. Over the last several days, Israel has witnessed again just how deep the work of the Evil One can unfold in a human heart. On Wednesday of this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his nation detailing atrocities that had occurred during the terrorist incursion into Israel last weekend. It wasn’t just killing. It was how people died.

Americans should be dismayed by the fact that the single most effective force for good in the West, which has done so much on behalf of the powerless and weak, referring to Christianity, is under virulent, relentless attack from the Left!

As news was breaking on Saturday and we were learning about the atrocities that were taking place in Israel, I immediately wrote an article. But even as I was writing, the news kept getting worse. How could this be happening? It turns out that things were far worse than we could have imagined. Here are some open, honest, raw reflections on the last 48 hours.

In a July 2010, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation featured a story by Ginger Gorman about a homosexual couple’s efforts to become parents. Peter Truong and Mark Newton of Queensland, Australia were celebrated as loving, caring, gay parents of their son, Boy 1.

We highly recommend this video for you and your family. Rosaria Butterfield—a former lesbian college professor and apologist for homosexuality—as she delivers a stunning Christian response to transgenderism, feminism, and the homosexual movement at the annual conference of the Association of Classical Christian Schools last July. Her presentation is taken from her new book, "Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age."

Immigrants have long swarmed America’s shores because of the opportunities afforded to all who arrive here. Historically, a person could start a business with all the potential risks and rewards involved or take the safer route of being employed by someone else. Employment and educational opportunities have been virtually unlimited, and the choice was yours to make.

For those of us who survived the 1960s, we can recall the August 1969 festival known as Woodstock. Billed as “Three Days of Peace and Music,” the anticipated crowd of 50,000 instead grew to somewhere near a half a million people. All trying to survive those three days in less than ideal circumstances. 

It’s a topic that’s showing up more and more in books, thought pieces, news outlets, podcasts, and blogs, inside and outside the church: the secularization of America. Pew Research and Gallup (to name a few) have recently highlighted the rise of the “nones” (religiously unaffiliated) across the nation, specifically in the last several years.

Most schools are actively indoctrinating our children with falsehoods about all kinds of things. These falsehoods range from sexuality to racism to economics to our nation’s founding, even to math and science and medicine and the environment.

Given the moral and fiscal bankruptcy of our state and so much of our nation, we might ask, “Are we as conservative Christians in Illinois good for nothing?” It may feel that no matter what we do, our witness and work bear no fruit. But it does not need to be that way.

We invite you and faithful Christians across the state to join us in prayer for our state and nation. Understanding that the problems and challenges that we face as a culture are not political in nature, but primarily spiritual. As such, fervent prayer and fasting is the best way to engage in this spiritual warfare.

In a sense, many of today's conservative Christians have an inferiority complex. Just mention higher education, the mainstream media, or the political dynamics of any major city in the U.S., and you'll likely be met with a series of sighs and slow head-shakes about how rigged everything seems to be against conservative voices.

We know that the many cultural battles we face today are spiritual battles that cannot be won by relying on our own strength and methods. In truth, these battles must first and continually be waged through prayer to our holy, righteous and merciful God. Please consider volunteering to be part of the IFI Prayer Team.