As I write this, the Israeli security cabinet is meeting to consider a seven-day ceasefire proposal by Secretary Kerry, even as Palestinians are rioting in the West Bank and Hamas is calling for a “third intifada.”

The big question Israeli leaders are wrestling with is this: Has the IDF destroyed enough of the terrorists’ rockets, missiles, launchers, tunnels, weapons stockpiles and command and control centers to justify stopping now, or do they need more time to accomplish the nation’s objectives of establishing several years or true calm and stability?

• The good news: Israeli defensive measures have kept civilian deaths in Israel low (2 so far), and rocket fire has dropped from 190+ a day near the beginning of the conflict to 63 yesterday.
• The bad news: the terrorist tunnel network is more extensive and dangerous than Israeli intelligence realized.
• The challenge: Iron Dome is working extremely well at neutralizing the rocket threat…

“The preacher who does not mix with people will never make much of a preacher;” at least that has been said or thought by many.  One thing needs to be understood by many preachers of the 21st century; if a preacher has been called by God to preach the Word of God, then we just do not make our lives, or build our lives around social activities, nor what the people may expect of us.  The preacher is God’s preacher, not man’s smooth talking, easy listening, socially active, friend to everybody servant.

Rantings of a mad preacher?  Maybe.  My reading today was from Jeremiah 11 – 24, and I guess I noticed some things that got a fire burning.  Jeremiah is one of my favorite Prophets of the Old Testament to read, study, and I have rarely preached from the book.

In my title I call it “The Unsocial Prophet”…