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Just a few days ago, what could be better? Our favorite son, Kirby Smart and his Georgia Bulldogs had played their best game of the year. The temperatures for Sunday morning were going to be in forties! No gnats and, for the first time in a long time, a sweater could be worn.

The smell of freshly dug peanuts. To the left and right as I drove to my churches, fields of rusty cotton leaves were being replaced by the fluffy white of the opening bolls. The limbs of the pecan trees were heavy and drooping with nuts that are beginning to open and fall upon the ground, soon to be cracked and enjoyed in that delicious pecan pie. I had heard a good joke during the week and couldn’t wait it tell it.

A man, his wife, and mother-in-law took a trip to the Holy Land. While there, unfortunately, the mother-in-law passed and the man was left to make the arrangements. An undertaker told the man, “I can have her shipped back to the United States for $5,000. Or, I can bury her here for $150.”

The man pondered his decision, then said to the undertaker, “I think I will have her shipped back.”

The undertaker was surprised. “Why would you choose to have her shipped for $5,000 when I have offered to take care of the situation for $150?

The man explained to the undertaker. “Two thousand years ago, a man died here in this Holy Land and, in three days, came back to life. I just cannot take that chance!”

This idyllic morning of which I speak had an unfortunate and serious cloud hanging over it. War had broken out in the Middle East. During the night, Israel had been attacked by their terrorist neighbors, Hamas.

Comparing it to a morning many of us remember, the Israeli government said, “This is our 9-11.”

Just the mention of that iconic date in American history saddens most of us. It’s been over two decades but it’s as if it were yesterday. We relive the horror of September 11, 2001 every year as our media reminds us of the almost 3,000 lives that were lost as the evil deeds of American haters are recalled.

We would never wish that experience on any nation and, yet, we live in a world where “our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The nation of Israel was, and continues to be, pressured into allowing its avowed enemies to have their homes situated right next door.

Our nation, the United States, is blessed to have two buffers to our right and our left. They are called the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We take for granted these natural protections and, for a long time, we have called our northern neighbor, Canada, a friend.

That’s three out of four of our borders to be counted as secure. Our southern border has been a problem, and is getting very problematic these days, but compared to Israel, the US has it made.

Israel is surrounded by enemies and, as I write this day, those enemies have struck. They are at war! A terrorist neighbor, right next door so to speak, broke down the walls to their house, came in, and brutally beat and killed them. At this writing, almost 2,000 have perished and there are more to come.

Our nation should be concerned. We are not immune to this war. It could, very easily, spread throughout the world. I know this is a sobering message, but there is a line in a song, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.”

Psalm 122:6. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”