Her wizened face expressed bewilderment; “I don’t understand, who are you talking about?” I was taking a stroll with some of our team members in the outskirts of Bali’s capital, Denpasar. This was the third person I had stopped to talk with and her answer proved to be the same as the previous two responses.

Almost all Christian publications carry frequent articles about Israel and ours is no exception. Topics typically range from political support for the nation of Israel in its current military struggle, to encouraging Christian tourists to visit, to articles that promise blessings to those who bless the Jews.

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Israeli - Arab war that dramatically changed the map of the Middle East, initially tripling the land governed by the nation of Israel. The conflict in 1967 was preceded by months of escalation of tension culminating on June 5th by the Israeli Air Force destroying 400 aircraft of Syria, Jordan and Egypt; most of them on the tarmac. Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula after four days of battle, and when Jordan and Syria joined Egypt, Israel counter attacked. By June 7th Israeli troops had captured Jerusalem’s old city and had taken control of the entire West Bank. By June 10th both Jordan and Egypt had accepted a cease-fire, while Israeli forces had also captured the Golan Heights. Syria accepted a cease-fire by June 10th.  The war left 679 dead Israelis and an estimated 21,000 dead among the Arab nations. Thousands of others were injured.

“Professional help” is the cure most often suggested when someone has been involved in a moral failure.  In other words, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the word of God is for the little daily challenges, but in a serious dilemma professional help is the answer.  I don’t for a moment minimize the common sense one can gain from professional counseling.  Human wisdom is not to be despised, but it is not a cure for sin.  The apostle Paul reveals that the cause of sin is a lack of grace.  Laws, rules and reliance on self make us prone to sin, while grace causes us to reign over temptations. (Romans 5:17)  Sin doesn’t have dominion over us when grace is abounding. (Romans 6:19)