"Prayers from Jerusalem for Syria"

FROM BISHOP IN JERUSALEM THE RT REVD SUHEIL DAWANI

The latest news coming out of Syria and the refugee camps is so deeply appalling and tragic.
I pray daily for all those in the midst of pain and terror, especially the women and children.


The Damascus Gate in Jerusalem

The UN has reported that 2.5 million people have fled their homes. Many are women and children who are fleeing in fear from the ongoing sexual violence against them. The International Rescue Committee reports that those who finally make it into the refugee camps are also victimized. As refugees, women and girls (and boys) remain vulnerable to multiple forms of gender-based violence, and unfortunately few cases are reported due to the feeling of shame or fear of retribution.
This crisis requires urgent action.

Syria is rich with history and culture and has a key role in our own Christian heritage – St Paul was converted on the road to Damascus and today Syria is the home to approximately 2 million Christians – it is the largest Christian community in the Middle East outside Egypt.

As Christians, not only in the Middle East, but worldwide, we are called to respond to this crisis. Jesus is our example of how we are to live and Our Lord has specifically told us to ‘look after orphans and widows in their distress’ (James 1:27b) and we are to treat each other with respect and kindness –‘love your neighbour’ (Mark 12:31).

We, as Christians, must work to be the bridge of reconciliation that can bring peace, with justice, to the Middle East. In this land, that all the Abrahamic faiths hold Holy, we co-exist, living side by side; however, we cannot be a silent witness to the brutal treatment of women and children. The ravages of war will leave, are leaving, deep scars that will take generations to heal.

It is vitally important that we work to change the archaic attitudes that dominate this region of the world. Generations of women know nothing more than continued suffering.

Here in the Diocese of Jerusalem we are working to empower women and youth. In our institutions, our schools, and training centres, we provide an environment where boys and girls are equally valued and are equally encouraged to participate in learning and activities that foster positive and respectful relationships irrespective of gender, ability and ethnicity.

Through the empowering work of the Women’s Ministry in the Diocese of Jerusalem, we are implementing important, and necessary, awareness initiatives, such as White Ribbon Day and participating in the ‘16 Days of Activism for the Elimination o f Violence against Women’. Our Women’s Ministry promotes women leadership by having excellent female role models from our local community, speak at our workshops. We are working diligently to raise awareness, change attitudes, and behaviours that lead to violence.

I have the deepest concern for all people, women and children, who are in Syria, and in the refugee camps in foreign lands. My prayers are ongoing for peace, with justice and reconciliation, that we can live in a world of non-violence, that we can hold our women and children as treasures and treat them with the respect and dignity that all human beings deserve.

May God be with us all.
+Suheil
The Rt Revd Suheil Dawani
Bishop in Jerusalem

Can prayer change church planting in Toronto?

Prayer brings breakthrough. In 2 Samuel 5:20, David defeated them there. And he said, "The Lord has burst through my enemies before me like a bursting flood."

In August, 2012 church planters discovered that the City of Toronto had presented a new by-law that is effectively removing all zoning for new churches, only allowing permits in very expensive commercial zones, in less than 2% of the city.  They called people to pray and God has heard the prayers.

Yesterday the City Planning Department issued a notice with a new draft zoning proposal allowing places of worship in over 80% of the city, including most residential and commercial zones plus office-industrial areas, from 2% to 80%, Praise God.

Note: this information came from Rev. McVetty and others who have made presentations to the Toronto City Council.

HUGE: Turkey considers Shanghai organization an alternative to EU



 Imagine Turkey joined with China -  Photo: Courtesy Wikimedia

(Note: Hardly a single person I've talked with knows what SCO is. It is one of the world's most important organizations. Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization include China, Russia and most of the former Soviet Union countries. Observer statusnations include India, Pakistan and other nations in Asia. At its meetings representatives from half of humanity sit together for consultations on military, economic, business development issues. SCO combines the might of EU and NATO - for Asia. This news, for anyone who cares to think about the future of the Middle East, is HUGE. Think of what it means if Turkey joins up with China and Russia, and leaves the EU behind.

 

"Turkey and the European Union have failed to make substantial progress in their accession talks, pushing Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to once again say that Turkey is seriously considering seeking membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as an alternative at a time when the EU’s future looks increasingly dim.

"Speaking to reporters during a televised program aired in Kanal 24 late on Friday, Erdoğan said Turkey is now seeking alternative options amid eroding hopes on the EU process with regard to adamant opposition to Turkey’s membership by a number of EU member countries.
Touching upon a wide array of issues, Erdoğan said Turkey is seriously considering being part of the SCO.

"Turkey was accepted as a dialogue partner by the SCO at its annual summit in Beijing on June 7.
“The fact is that we have not yet given up on the EU process. Egemen Bağış makes his presentation on [Turkey-EU] relations at every Cabinet meeting. He regularly travels throughout Europe,” Erdoğan said, citing the government’s continuing interest in the EU despite the pessimistic atmosphere."

Quoted from Turkish Newspaper "Zaman", Saturday, January 26, 2013

"Out Of The Cold" - David

Last night it felt like - 31 below (Celcius)

Freezing temperatures across much of Canada and USA make most people happy to be indoors.

There is one group of people for whom this is a terrible season. The homeless. In our city hundreds of home
less people need a place to stay on these frigid nights.

For 18 years our church in Toronto has been part of the Out Of The Cold movement. Starting in November and lasting until April, our church hosts 60 persons each Wednesday night. Volunteers serve a hot meal at 7:00 pm and a hot breakfast at 7:00 am. Our guests sleep in the gymnasium on mattresses and an atmosphere of safety is provided by a team that stays all night long. In our church the volunteers are split up into four teams so that we come in to serve the homeless once a month.

The next night, on Thursday, another church is open to this group and so, during a week, these 60 men (mostly) and women find a place to stay out of the cold.

In our kitchen a simple sign is posted that says it all: "In the face of each guest we see the face of Christ, the one we serve." I am deeply moved by this as I spend the night shift, mostly talking with those who find sleeping difficult.

Some ask, "Why don't they just get a job?, or "Why are they homeless?"

I believe that much of this homelessness is the result of mental imbalance, some of it going back into the childhood of our guests. I've had long conversations, sometimes as long as five hours, with people. There's no time to read during the night shift - people want to talk. Mental illness that is not associated with violence is troubling indeed. Perhaps 80% of our our guests carry their scars due to mental illness. There is no easy solution here, no, "What's your plan to get out of this predicament?"

And, another group, perhaps 20%, are here because their jobs have disappeared. This is especially the case in Northern Ontario. Men come from the small cities where they had jobs in the forestry, mining or pulp-and-paper businesses. As these left Ontario's north land, men drift to the city. They have difficulty in finding a job...and find something they didn't want: homelessness.

Talking with a homeless man...(or several at one time)..."is receiving the guest Christ sent to us."

"January 22 - 100th Anniversary of Carl Henry"

January 22 2013 is the fortieth anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. But, on a much happier note, it’s also the 100th birthday of the late evangelical theologian Carl F.H. Henry. I think the two are related. If 21st century Christians are to love our vulnerable neighbors, including women in crisis and unborn babies, we could do worse than to listen to some things tau

ght to us by this centenarian, now in heaven.

When most people think of Carl Henry, they tend to think of his magnum opus, the six-volume “God, Revelation, and Authority,” which dealt with the major philosophical and theological challenges to Christian theism and the biblical canon. Some remember his work as a pioneer, along with Billy Graham, in the explosion of the post-World War II evangelical movement. From his place as a founding faculty member at Fuller Seminary to his role as first editor of Christianity Today” and beyond, Henry was the intellectual godfather of the cause.

But, in my view, his little book The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (1947) was his best, and it well could be a road map to the future.

Just after World War II, Henry, then a young rising star in the Christian firmament, issued a jarring manifesto calling for a theologically-informed and socially-engaged evangelicalism. Henry warned that American Christianity, on the Right and on the Left, was headed for irrelevance, toward being the equivalent of a wilderness cult. His agenda wasn’t simply an updating of style and presentation (although he had written a book on church publicity). The issues at root were about misguided views on the kingdom of God.

He was right. And he still is.

Henry was concerned about two fronts: detached fundamentalism and social gospel liberalism. The liberals, Henry insisted, had replaced the gospel with a political program. Instead of seeing the primary mission of the church in terms of God’s reconciling work in Christ to forgive sins, the liberals were busy grinding out policy papers on nuclear policy. Liberals saw the kingdom as a program for public righteousness, often enacted legislatively.

At the other extreme, though, Henry warned, conservatives over-reacted to the social gospel. They spoke of the kingdom of God, but acted as though it were wholly future. These conservatives embraced an otherworldly vision of salvation, that was mostly about getting souls to heaven at death. They held to an inordinately spiritual vision of the church, in which the church’s mission was about merely “spiritual” matters such as evangelism and addressing personal morality.

By severing social concerns from the gospel, the conservatives had, Henry warned, conceded these issues to liberal Protestants and, ultimately, to their more radical successors. Neither side, Henry argued, understood the “already” and “not yet” tension of the kingdom of God, a tension that was about more than how we view the last things. It is about also how we see salvation and the church.
In 1947, an evangelical consensus on the kingdom seemed impossible. After all, the coalition of conservative Protestants was united around the “fundamentals” of biblical inerrancy, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, personal regeneration, and so forth. But these evangelicals often couldn’t agree about how such questions even as whether the Sermon on the Mount applies to believers today or only to Israel in a future millennial kingdom.

Remarkably, that has changed. In the years since, evangelical theology has embraced, at near universal consensus levels, a vision of the kingdom that is both “already and not yet.” The kingdom understandings that previously kept fundamentalists isolated have now been corrected by a more biblical portrait of the church, and the cosmic scope of salvation. This provides the basis for a renewed and biblically informed evangelical public theology. While the theory has developed in positive ways, though, Henry’s primary issue remains. Without a holistic vision of the kingdom of God, evangelicals will continue to split up the gospel in ways that can make Jesus unrecognizable to the culture around us. While there are few arguments these days about whether the Lord’s Prayer applies to the church age or whether the church is “Plan B” in the purposes of God, other, similar confusions remain.

On the one hand, the tactics of the old social gospel liberals have been inherited, ironically enough, by the Religious Right. Once again, in many quarters, a political program has replaced the gospel. Just listen to Christian talk radio for an hour and see where the emphasis is.

On the other hand, there is still a growing body of Christians who speak as though the kingdom is either wholly future or wholly spiritual. Look at the ongoing efforts to divide concern for evangelism from a concern for justice, the mission of the church in caring for people’s souls from caring for their bodies. There are rarely prophecy charts involved anymore, but it is, at heart, the same old dispensationalist hermeneutic involved, seeking to “rightly divide” the parts of Jesus’ ministry that apply to us now from those that will only apply later. In some cases, there is outright suspicion about “kingdom talk” at all, for fear that “kingdom” is a stalking horse for doing away with the gospel.
When evangelicals contrast the “gospel” with the “kingdom,” we are right back at Scofield, without even knowing it. And, as in Henry’s day, this means that concern for poverty, family stability, homelessness, orphan care, racial reconciliation, and a host of other concerns will then be filled in by those who deny the central truths of the gospel. And that’s a shame.

Henry’s “Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism” is perhaps the most important evangelical book of the twentieth-century. It is just as relevant as it was in 1947, and should be read again by all those with a serious commitment to applying a kingdom vision to every aspect of life. The kingdom Jesus inaugurated spoke to the whole person, to spiritual lostness, to physical sickness, to material poverty, to the need for community. A church that joins Jesus in preaching the kingdom will too. We need that reminder every generation, perhaps especially now. The evangelical conscience is, after all, still uneasy after all these years.

Read Russell Moore, "Moore To The Point" at http://www.russellmoore.com/2013/01/20/happy-100th-birthday-carl-fh-henry/
This commentary is based off an earlier version published here in 2012

"In Connection With Your Job" - John Piper

A Turkish man near Sardis harvestiing peaches

Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. (Ephesians 6:7–8)

Consider these five things from Ephesians 6:7–8 in connection to your job.

1) A call to radically Lord-centered living.
It is astonishing compared to the way we usually live. Paul says that all our work should be done as work for Christ, not for any human supervisor. “With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” This means that we will think of the Lord in what we are doing at work. We will ask, Why would the Lord like this done? How would the Lord like this done? When would the Lord like this done? Will the Lord help me do this? What affect will this have for the Lord’s honor? In other words, being a Christian means radically Lord-centered living.

2) A call to be a good person.
Lord-centered living means being a good person and doing good things. Paul says, “With good will render service . . . whatever good thing each one does . . .” Jesus said that when we let our light shine men will see our “good deeds” and give glory to our Father in heaven.

3) Power to do a good job for inconsiderate earthly employers.
Paul’s aim is to empower Christians with Lord-centered motives to go on doing good for supervisors who are not considerate. How do you keep on doing good in a job when your boss ignores you or even criticizes you? Paul’s answer is: stop thinking about your boss as your main supervisor, and start working for the Lord. Do this in the very duties given to you by your earthly supervisor.

4) Encouragement that nothing good is done in vain.
Perhaps the most amazing sentence of all is this: “Whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” This is amazing. Everything. Every little thing you do that is good is seen and valued by the Lord. And he will pay you back for it. Not in the sense that you have earned anything by putting him in your debt. He owns you and everything in the universe. He owes us nothing. But he freely, graciously chooses to reward good things done in faith.

5) Encouragement that insignificant status on earth is no hindrance to great reward in heaven.
The Lord will reward every good thing you do — “whether slave or free. ” Your supervisor may think you are a nobody. Or he may not even know you exist. That doesn’t matter. The Lord knows you exist. More from John Piper at  “Lord-Focused Living at Work”

Assassination Attempt Foiled"

" Police in Kocaeli have prevented an alleged assassination attempt against Emre Karaali, the (Turkish) northwestern province’s only known Protestant pastor, detaining 12 men and seizing a number of weapons.

Pray for this extremely courageous Turkish pastor

Karaali said the police confiscated guns, detailed records of his daily routine, a schedule of religious ceremonies, as well as a layout of the İzmit Protestant Church and his house, in a recent raid against suspected assailants. Six of the detained were released on Jan. 18, while the remaining six were testifying in court when the Daily News went to print.

“Some of the detainees periodically used to come to our services, and some others were not familiar at all. Police told me that people in this organization had ties with another city and someone from another country, but they did not name them,” Karaali told the Daily News on Jan. 18 over the phone.

Karaali said he had been receiving threats over the phone for nearly a year. The İzmit Protestant Church was founded as the first church in the city in 1999, the same year a massive earthquake killed 40,000 in Kocaeli, whose administrative center is İzmit.

Some locals had criticized the church at the beginning, accusing it of missionary intentions.

The church was preparing for four days of celebrations between Jan. 17 and 21 and had invited top local officials in the city before the plot was revealed.

On Jan. 15, local daily Çağdaş Kocaeli had criticized the church for “overrating” the event’s announcement.

“Many citizens who did not even know that there was a church in İzmit until yesterday, found out about the existence of the İzmit Protestant Church after leaflets were delivered to buildings and postboxes. It is not known how many members this mentioned church has, but the event was announced in the leaflets day by day,” the daily said in an anonymously published announcement, adding that some locals had become “annoyed” by the leaflets.

The report also accused the church of missionary activity and of aiming to detach local youth from Islam and bring them toward Christianity.

Zeynep Kübra Özçiçek, the daily’s managing editor, said her paper had made no attempt to target the church or Protestants but had only sought to convey that their readers were irritated.

“Our readers asked us to take the local mufti’s opinion. … The mufti did not make any comment, but invitations were sent to all the local brass in the city; this was not ordinary,” Özçiçek told the Daily News on Jan. 18.

Karaali, who has been living in İzmit since 2009, said he had never had any problems with locals but noted that ultranationalist writer Banu Avar had alleged on May 20, 2012, during a book fair in the city that İzmit had been chosen as a “pilot city by Christians to make Turks Protestants.” The comments were subsequently published in many papers, as well as the Kocaeli Municipality’s website.

Karaali said they filed a criminal complaint, but the court found Avar not guilty. Similar incidents occurred before the Zirve Publishing House massacre in Malatya in 2007, Karaali said.

Although the church was founded 14 years ago, the İzmit Protestant Church has only 20 members, Karaali said."  

Hurriyet Daily News, Istanbul, January/19/2013

"A tragedy avoided by Police in Turkey"

Given the events of yesterday in Izmit, first we want to thank you for your interest, support and prayers. And above all, we want to praise the Lord for his protection, because a major disaster has been prevented.
 
Yesterday Emre stayed almost five hours in the anti-terror police department in Izmit, being informed extensively about the details of the plan to murder him. I would also say that the police behaved excellently and that something is changing for best with them here in this country. In the past they repeatedly insisted that Emre should accept a police bodyguard 24 hours a day. But now they say there is no danger and he doesn't need protection. They have been investigating the subject for several months and have acted now because these days the team brought a person from Diyerbakir, apparently for attacking Emre.



Most people in Izmit are peaceful, without nasty plans

One "brother” and one “sister" of the church of Izmit, that attended for the last one and a half year, are implicated in the events. They became very close to Gulsen and Emre, and even had watched their children several times! Following the arrests of 14 people in various parts of Turkey and searching the homes of the detainees, abundant material has appeared: weekly church reports, photos of the brothers who came to preach, floor plans of the house and the church, Emre's personal documents, details on threats missives to Emre... The police in turn has recorded all telephone conversations of the plan.
It is no place here to dwell on the details. But the day before, a man threw several stones to the church and several expletives for several minutes. Yesterday we had a meeting of a week of evangelism that we have called "3rd week of meeting of cultures" where several volunteer brothers and sisters from various countries come together; people who have come for a short term trip to help in Izmit. We also had an activity yesterday where all political personalities were invited and I gave a seminar. Everything went very well, many people attended... When I left the church a group of 7 or 8 young people moved away down the street screaming in English "f. you." This shows the general reaction of a pressing sector of this community.

All the national press was calling yesterday so today we will issue a press release in which we reiterate our thanks to the police, our love for this country and our determination to continue serving Him according to the directives of the Gospel, with the firm intention to glorify God in these circumstances.

Emre and Gulsen are well sustained by Lord's peace. The brothers / sisters of the church are good as well. Now we know that those who left in the church are "clean". Of those who may come tomorrow only God knows. In reviewing the details of the police file there is material for a thriller, or for become a paranoiac, and suspicious even of your own shadow. We serve in a high-risk context, especially in "small" cities of a million inhabitants like Izmit. Especially if, contrary to the norm in these places, the church is growing and witnessing with courage... We realize that our struggle is spiritual so thanks in advance and again for all your support and prayers.

A tragedy has been avoided and we reiterate our thank to God, to the security forces and for the shield that your prayers give us.

May God bless you,
Carlos Madrigal

"Why Jesus Makes Me Uncomfortable" - David

Not the babe, but his words as an adult...

The words of Jesus leave me uncomfortable. Not the image of Jesus as a baby - we've seen so many Christmas cards in the last weeks of him as an infant - but the statements of Christ during his ministry.

Living in a liberal-democratic society one accepts fundamental concepts: fairness, the value of education, equality of all, and the freedom of choice. Our governments make the best decisions possible. The ability to choose, and therefore control one's own destiny underlies fundamental concepts of the "middle class": we control our lives to maximize our results. We accept the freedom of each religion to "tell their own truth".

But, the further our discussion group gets into the book of Luke, in our regular study with Peter Ferguson, the more uncomfortable the words of Jesus make me feel. Jesus undercuts almost all these assumptions.

The 70 had been sent out, two by two and they returned, full of joy, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." They have seen that actions done in the name of Jesus have an authority higher than any form of evil.

Jesus, full of joy, replies, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Luke 10:21,22

These words challenge basic concepts of our world view. The 'wise and learned' cannot understand 'hidden things'. But, 'babes' can. Jesus claims a divinity and certainty that goes far beyond the limits that western materialistic society can accept.

The discomfort, of course, arises partially for historical reasons. When the "Church" laid claim to universal truth, and power, centuries of abuse took place. That power to persecute those who disagreed with the church was eventually replaced by new concept, fundamental to our world view today - Human rights of the individual.

How can one accept the claims of Jesus, that the 'wise and learned' are blind to 'these things', without eventually wanting to link that religious certainty with its  corollary: political power. And, who would accept that today?

That's where the mission of Jesus comes in: servant leadership. Henri J.M.Nouwen deals with this riddle in his book, In the Name of Jesus. "Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness because, before we know it, our sense of self is caught up in our opinion about a given subject. But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative." (p. 31,32)

Ah, servant hood. Now, that's a huge challenge to us in an individualistic society. That's kingdom power.

"Music and Choirs - Working Against Poverty"

What can a policeman do in a rundown district, where crime is high and parents' income is low? Where educational levels are low and the fear of being assaulted runs high?

Here is one example of a man whose life is making a difference, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/The+National/About+the+Show/Reg+Sherren/ID/2283512335/

"Ephesus: Avoid the Traffic Jam!"

Theatrical performances during the summer

The ancient city of Ephesus, high on the list for tourists, continues to draw in visitors in ever greater numbers. Christians associate the city with Saint Paul's experiences there, recorded in Acts 19 and 20. The book of Ephesians is, for many Christians, one of the most commonly quoted parts of the New Testament.

Secular people associate Ephesus with the Province of Asia Minor during the time of the Roman Empire. Its impressive ruins are well preserved. According to Hurriyet Daily News, in Turkey, "about 1.9 million visitors strolled through the streets of Ephesus this last year. A total of 3.25 million people visited Ephesus and other "open air" museums, which included Pergamum, located in the city of Bergama.

This area of Turkey is known to students of the Bible as the area of the "Seven Churches", so named because of the first three chapters of the book of Revelation.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" (Eph 3:20,21) These are two of our favorite verses, guideposts for ministry and relationships all our lives. What are you asking God for this year? What are you imagining? Expect greater blessings - Because He is able!

If you are planning a trip to Ephesus this year: a) choose the months of March to May, and September to November as times with the least traffic on the streets. b) if you  visit between June and August, arrive early. Sometimes more than 10,000 people plug the streets making it difficult to enjoy the historic nature of the timeless ruins.

"Such Unexpected Relief!" - Cathie

Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless

One day, nine years ago, three widows arrived. Beside them were 12 children. The oldest child was 12, but looked nine years old. All 15 of them were malnourished. They had been released from the ship on which they were sailing two days before. "That's Italy. Row ashore." they were told.

Of course, Istanbul wasn't Italy! So, they were lost, without comfort and without hope. The three husbands were killed in the deadly, never-ending war of the Horn of Africa.


On Sunday, at church David asked for prayer, "for three needy families". We didn't give details, but they were in a cold, miserable flat, no beds, no food, no money, no curtains for the windows. People prayed for folk they had never met; about whom they knew nothing. Only the need for "needy families".

The next day, Monday, I was giving out clothing., Along came the 15 Somali people I'd met on Friday. I had nothing to give them, except a smile, and "come back later." At that moment a truck drove up. Out came one bed. Then another. And another. 15 beds were piled up as many people watched with jealous eyes. Who had sent these? How did they arrive at exactly the right moment?

Then came the mattresses. 14 of them. 15 beds and 143 mattresses. I made a decision. All of the items would go to the 15 people, three mothers and 12 children. They could sell some of them, since their tiny flat didn't have space for all of those beds on the cold cement floor. I never saw those families again, but I believe the Lord kept looking after those three widows and their tiny, malnourished children.

Psalm 82:3 and 4 says, "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

Thank God for the group that cleared out their "training center" that day, that had heard I needed beds for fatherless people. I found out later how the beds and mattresses came. God's timing was just right.

Generous hearted believers gave a fabulous Christmas party

"Without Grumbling, They Became Refugees" - Charley Harvey

In his book, Home and Away, Charley Harvey, writes: It pleases me that the couple chosen to parent Jesus were willing to give birth in a barn or stable without any record of grumbling. What poor shepherd would have dared to visit that wonderful night if they had been housed in an inn? What humble person wouldn't feel free to enter a stable?.....

Refugees are powerless people who often get classified as beggars regardless of how much they might have owned some place else. Few people feel as devalued as a refugee living where he is not wanted. I have watched refugees eyes light up when they realize that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph experienced the indignity of fleeing for their lives and becoming political refugees in Egypt. They knew the struggle of being totally uprooted in a foreign land.

Refugee status is probably the lowest social level honest people can experience. The infant Messiah certainly began life in utter humility. Jesus wasn't raised in any kind of fair land. He lived in a home where common folk would have found acceptance.

Jesus was a refugee in his childhood and that was just the beginning of his rejection by society."

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the the right to become children of God." John 1:11,12

Armenian priests and the faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

"Its Still Christmas Day" - David

Yes, today you can say Merry Christmas to a lot of people. These are people who come from the Eastern Orthodox churches, the second largest branch of Christianity.

Under the old Julian Calendar, Christmas was celebrated on December 25. There are many explanations for this date. One opinion is that Zacharias went into the temple at the time of the Day of Atonement, and heard the angel speak to him. Supposedly, then, on March 25 Elizabeth was six month's pregnant when Mary came for a visit.   If John the Baptist was born about June 21, that would have Mary giving birth six months later.

The Julian Calendar was agreed upon in 46BC by Julius Caesar, and promulgated in 45 BC. It was known at least 200 years before that the earth's year was 365 1/4 days. The Julian Calendar made provision for an extra day every four years.

The Council of Nicaea, in 325, fell in a year when Easter took place on March 25 and Christmas was already being commorated on December 25. Over the next 1,200 years the dates for Christmas "migrated", at the rate of about 11 minutes a year, so that by 1582 Christmas was "taking place" on January 7. Pope Gregory instigated the "Gregorian Calendar", immediately accepted by the countries in Southern and Western Europe. England accepted this new calendar only in 1752; Russia in 1918, and lastly Greece in 1923.

A Reformed Gregorian Calendar was organized about 100 years ago. The date kept Christmas 12 days after "Western Christmas", that is 12 days between December 25 and January 7. There's a song about that.

Churches, and families, that celebrate today speak: Albanian, Armenian, Bulgarian, Coptic (Arabic), Greek, Hungarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Turkish and Ukranian, - plus all the dialects associated with the nations in Eastern Europe.

Dates, celebrations, music, poems and observations of Christmas have evolved constantly over the last 1,000 years, and each Christian language group seems to have their own traditions. Even the calendar isn't that "simple". I was in Bethlehem one year and the last possible day for Christmas, according to the position of the moon, had pilgrims still streaming there on January 19.

It's still OK to wish someone Merry Christmas today! Go ahead. Bless someone today!

"Not 20 Resolutions! 20 Ways to Bless Others!"

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

From John Piper: "What do you long for God to do this year? If your desires are weak, and you are so numb from Christmas frenzy that you can’t feel, here are 30 desire starters. Prayer grows out of desire. God says, “Seek me with all your heart!”

1. Is there someone you love whom you want him to save?
2. Do you know wayward sons or daughters you want him to bring to their senses?
3. Is there a sickness you want him to heal?
4. Is there a bondage you want him to break?
5. Do you want to eat right and exercise right and sleep right?
6. Is there an alienated person you want him to reconcile?
7. Is there a job change you want him to orchestrate?
8. Is there a ministry you want him to prosper?
9. Is there a debt you would like him to help you pay off?
10. Is there a potential missionary family you want him to send out?
11. Is there a war you would like for him to make cease?
12. Is there an injustice you want him to overcome?
13. Are there refugees you want him to take home in security and gospel blessing?
14. Do you want abortion to become unthinkable in America?
15. Is there persecution you want him to remove?
16. Is there hunger and homelessness and destitution you want him to ameliorate?
17. Is there a church you would like to see revived and reformed in the truth?
18. Are there biblical doctrines you want God to preserve from undermining attack?
19. Are there colleges or seminaries you want God to strengthen in biblical faithfulness?
20. Are there children you want him to make submissive and happily obedient?"

"At What Cost Redemption?" - David and Cathie

What is the cost of redemption?

In Roman times, during which the New Testament was written, slaves were bought and sold in the market place. Occasionally, as in the case of Aphrodisias, an ancient city located between Ephesus and Laodicea (at the village of Geyre, between modern day Selcuk and Denisli) a former slave could become famous through improving a city. (It's a great ancient city to visit!)

But what is the cost of the redemption of a soul , not just the legal transaction of making a person free within society? The cost to the ego, not the cost in francs, or any other currency.

Victor Hugo, the great French novelist, wrestled with this issue in 1862. His memorable novel, "Les Miserables" came out recently as a movie that is well worth watching. Previously, it had been a hit as a drama musical.

Hugh Jackman, a great tenor, plays the part of Jean Valjean, a slave, a criminal, who finishes a 19 year jail sentence for having stolen a loaf of bread. Anne Hathaway, as Fantine, plays the part of a mother who worked in a factory and, having been expelled for insubordination, is forced into prostitution. Her crime: she was trying to work hard in order to pay for her daughter to stay in a home where she could work, learn and be educated.

Police Chief Javert (Russell Crowe) sets Jean Valjean free and the question is: how will a former criminal life?  He was to report to the police each week, but he wanted another life. One home opened its doors, and Jean Valjean left it the next morning, having stolen six silver place settings. The owner of the house was the Bishop of the town, Monseigneur Bienvenue (Bishop Welcome). (The novel goes into great detail - 100 pages - about the good character of Monseigneur Bienvenue.)When the police come back to the house with Jean Valjean and the stolen articles, the bishop gives his silver candlesticks as well.But, can the soul of a man be bought with a simple act of generosity?

The story wrestles with difficult questions that affect nations today. What is the source of redemption? Should criminals be treated as criminals forever? Is redemption and transformation possible? Can the life of a man be redirected from cruel punishment and abuse, anger, hatred and mistrust?

Jean Valjean finds his heart changing and (during almost three hours) he shows tender kindness to: children, orphans, an honest woman, Fantine, driven into prostitution, a disillusioned revolutionary, Fantine's daughter (during the Revolution of 1830), and finally towards his bitter opponent, Police Chief Javert.

Three decades earlier Hugo had wrestled with another issue: not generosity, but corruption within the Church. He created a repulsive character, Archdeacon Claude Frollo and that novel, "Notre Dame De Paris", showed how a licentious man could ruin the reputation of the church.

In "Les Miserables" Hugo illustrated not the fallen side of the clergy, but the tender and merciful actions that could reach through the filth crusted on Jean Valjean face and soul. The three prayers (which come across in songs in the movie) illustrate the huge cost of leaving behind one's brokenness and sin. The cost to the bishop was his silverware; the cost to a criminal was his whole soul.

Note: Secular movie critics are being quite hard on the show, saying that the emotions, sets, and background to the story are not sufficiently detailed to understand the background of the Revolution, but we recommend this movie as an exploration of redemption, restoration and realization.

"Suddenly...Light" - David

"Two emails came to my desk," said Peter Holmes. "The first one complained that the TV program filmed in our church just before Christmas was interrupted too much by advertisements when it was broadcast for several days across Canada. 'It's great to have the choir and special guests, but the commercialism cuts into the meaning of Christmas.' That's what the first email conveyed."

The mood outside was typical for Toronto at this time of the year. Overcast, a bit gloomy, threatening snow, but not able to give the city a good wallop before the Big Day.

"The second email was a story," Peter continued. "This was the email. 'I was away from my children; they were out of town. I was missing them and suddenly the telephone rang. "Mom, I just saw our church on TV - down here in the Caribbean! It made me think of you and immediately I wanted to talk to you!" ' This was a message that had no concern about the over-commercialized message of Christma. Instead, the excitement came from of a mother's joy in hearing the voice of her child. "

And at that exact moment, the sanctuary flooded with an immense light. No one could have planned for Peter's story to be interrupted by such a burst. The sun's light filled the interior of our church. Hushed tones stood out, transformed in a total brilliance. The sun's majestic sweep at mid-day had pushed the clouds, and the darkness, away. That story in the colored glass shone as never before.

Never-mind the endless repetitions of "Silent Night" at the mall, obviously intended to pull the money out of your pocket. Something more powerful speaks at this season. Light covers us. The story moves us. TV programs, miles away, strengthen not only those family ties. "O little town of Bethlehem."

The Light of the World entered into a gloomy atmosphere. For hundreds of years prior to Caesar Augustus' arrival on the world scene, Middle Eastern divisions kept on splintering kingdoms. Into a broken world came the Word, the Light, the Love, the Way and the Truth and the Life.

The sun light eventually disappeared from our sanctuary, for the world kept on turning and once again night came. However, the Light of Life entered our world and and the darkness has not been able to quench His resurrection power.