Let me state, at the very outset, that I'm somewhat skeptical of Nabil Shaath's words, primarily because he is the Palestinian Authority's Foreign Minister, but, then again, I don't know what to think concerning President Bush these days. There are days when I feel he is a true conservative and then there are other days when I am led to believe he is anything but a conservative, especially when it comes to his decisions on the nation of Israel.

Assuming for a moment that what Nabil Shaath has said President Bush told him and other Palestinian ministers is accurate, there are things within it I can believe God may have spoken to the President's heart about. There are, on the other hand, things I feel certain God has definitely not said to the President!

What I believe could, hypothetically, be true

Do I think Almighty God may have, hypothetically, influenced President Bush to go and fight terrorists in Afghanistan? It is possible, because Proverbs 6:17 tells us God hates hands that shed innocent blood - something which terrorists take pleasure in doing.

Do I think Almighty God may have, hypothetically, influenced President Bush to go end the tyranny in Iraq? Possibly, because Saddam Hussein's regime was as evil as they come, weapons of mass destruction or no weapons of mass destruction! Saddam tortured his own people for decades in an attempt to retain his stranglehold of power over them. This is proven, in my humble opinion, by the fact Saddam's last election campaign prior to Gulf War II saw him win 100% of the vote, at least according to his government. Not even one vote was cast against him? Either he was supremely loved or he was exceedingly wicked! I'm betting it was the latter, a conclusion that leads me to believe God may have, hypothetically speaking, led President Bush to attack Iraq to end the tyranny and brutality of Saddam's evil regime.

What I believe is not true

Did President Bush "feel God's words coming" to him saying, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East?" Not in my opinion. If he did, I'm wondering which god is talking with him - the God of the Bible or the god of this world, Satan!

In the 36th chapter of Ezekiel, verse 24, God says to the house of Israel: For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

When Christ returns at Armageddon, after this gathering of the Jewish people has taken place (which is going on even now), it seems He will have taken particular issue with the fact His lands have been parted! This tells me He probably isn't very supportive of President Bush's involvement in the Quartet's roadmap to peace!

Joel 3:2: I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

God isn't signing off on Israel's covenant lands being handed over to its enemies seeking to destroy Israel! God's Word tells us, in no uncertain terms, when the nation of Israel is challenged and approaching the breaking point, Christ is going to roar out of Jerusalem in Israel's defense!

In fairness to President Bush, are the Palestinians stating the truth when they accuse him of saying God is telling him to create a Palestinian state? White House spokesman Scott McClellan, as seen in a Globe and Mail article, has stated the following on the topic: "That's absurd. He's never made such comments."

I hope, for America's sake, Scott McClellan's statement is truer than Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath's but one never knows what to believe in the end times world we're living in.

At any rate, whether President Bush has stated anything like that or not, we need to pray for our nation's leaders, especially the President, in these dark times we're living in, asking the Lord to give them wisdom and discernment to do what they know is correct - not according to their own logic or international opinion, but according to God's Word!

Psalms 33:12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.