35 things we had better tell our boys

Ann Vos Kamp hit this one out of the ball park.

What do parents say to boys about harassment of girls, assault and "boys will be boys" ?

You'll want to keep this one. Read more. 

Christmas in Northern Iraq - "Remembering the Refugee Baby, Jesus" - from the Vicar of Bagdad

Refugees in Iraq remember the coming of the Christ child.

Although hundreds of thousands of refugees are displaced from their homes in Iraq and their futures remain uncertain due to the siege of the Islamic State, The Vicar of Baghdad wrote in an online Christmas letter.

Christian refugees in Iraq have not been deterred from exhibiting joy in the only thing they have left: the unconditional love of Jesus.

 Read more.

Writing from his new temporary home in Bethlehem, the  birthplace of Christ, the Rev. Canon Andrew White, the only Anglican pastor in Iraq, said that even though ISIS has left these displaced Christian refugees with no homes, no clothes and, in some cases, no families, their faith remains strong in the "refugee child," Jesus.

Adversity and Compassion in Lebanon as Syrian refugees continue to pour in.

So what did this pastor do when the load became too big? He called a church prayer meeting and they prayed again. “We could not run away from our responsibilities. God would provide in the future as he has done in the past,” he says.

Read more.

How many of us in the West, where we have enough funds to live on, would challenge our local church to take on the feeding and care of 900 refugee families?

From Syria and Lebanon come amazing stories of faith and courage. I encourage you to think about the generosity of this church, as we think about the Christmas Story - with Mary and Joseph not finding hospitality anywhere, until someone pointed them to a manger.

Until someone points others to the Savior.


 

"O Holy Night" - just great - as sung in Tanzania!!

In Bethlehem - the star - the Light of the World

What a lovely way to arrive at the last 10 days before Christmas! "O Holy Night" being sung as worship by Tanzanian men and women.

The usual melody is given a slight twist, one you will appreciate.  Click here for music

 

Adversity and Child Poverty: An Encounter in Saint Nickolas' city

(Continued from my previous blog, two days ago.)

In front of us, 100 yards / meters away, stood a statue of Saint Nickolas, made of bronze. The previous, red and white one, Hollywood style, (see below)  had been dismantled by the government. "Too Western and pagan!"

The sun blazed down, as it always does in mid-July, and my brother and I searched for anything to bring comfort, ice cream being the best option at hand. Our restaurant waiter brought us different flavors and I decided to speak to him, in Turkish.

"Thanks for the ice cream. Here's the money and a small tip. Now, do you know anything about the reason for the hundreds of thousands of people who come here every year as tourists?"

"No, I have no idea."

"Do you know who Saint Nickolas was?"

"No, not at all."

"How long have you lived here?"

"I was born here in Demre 38 years ago."

"Did you know that Saint Nickolas was kind to the poor, and he rescued children from being sold into poverty, actually into slavery?"

"Someone told that to me once, but that happened long ago, didn't it?"

"Did you know that Saint Nickolas, the bishop, was imitating the life of Isa Messih (Jesus Christ), who taught us to be kind to the poor, to share with those who are in misery, especially children?"

"No, I didn't know that."

"If you had a person like Saint Nickolas here today, here is what I think he would be doing. Instead of everyone going to these massive souvenir shops, and buying gifts, especially in Russian and other languages of Eastern Europe, I think he would rent that shop over there, that little one on the other side of the street, which is for rent. He would be telling tourists that there are many children in Turkey today who need food, love in their homes, to go to school instead of staying home and working from a young age. He, or she, would be raising money to help Turkish children, widows and orphans, who don't know where their next meal is coming from. I think that person would explain the great love of God - have you heard about it - No? well, this is what it says..." I gave him a very elementary explanation of God's redemptive love, forgiveness and compassion.

A man who we had not met until 10 minutes before stood before us with tears flooding his eyes. I had the same response as we drove on towards the port city of Antalya - but for a different reason.
     He was hearing about the unique life of Jesus Christ for the first time.
     For me, though, the pain was that he had served - what? tens of thousands of tourists in his 20 years in that restaurant? - and had never heard "The Story".

That man is still very much in my heart.

 

Adversity and Saint Nickolas: "How a Turkish Bishop became Santa Claus"

Statue of St. Nickolas and the three children

One of my favorite places in Turkey is the long, jagged, azure-blue, 1,000 mile coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. An ancient port, visited by Paul on his way to Rome, is Myra, (today with the Turkish name: Demre). The Apostle Paul was a prisoner of Rome and  Myra was one of the best ports for ships bringing grain from Egypt. (Mark Anthony and Cleopatra stayed there as they prepared to fight Augustus for control of the Empire.)

Bishop Nickolas lived in the fourth century. Visitors can visit the remains of his 4th Century church. He believed in living very humbly, unlike some  bishops through history, and was especially concerned with  adversity that came upon families burdened by debts.

The government removed this statue in 2006

One family in particular caught his attention. Most likely, the mother had died, or was incapacitated. The father of three children was unable to pay his debtors so the family was threatened with the imminent sale of three children to pay off an "impossible mountain" of debt. What a situation of adversity! How would help come to this family?

However it happened, and many variations of the story circulate, Bishop Nickolas took coins (maybe gold or silver coins?) (his own or those of the church?) and gave them to the father in unexpected way. (One variation says he placed coins inside an open window during the summer night where they were found the next day.)



The ENORMOUS Russian shop for souvenirs of St. Nickolas 

At any rate, the funds were sufficient to keep the family intact, not living in poverty, but not living in great wealth, either. No children in that family were sold as slaves.

This is the most famous story, and there are plenty of others, too. Kindness and generosity flow from this story.

Unfortunately, the reason behind Bishop Nickolas' generosity, the life of Jesus Christ who gave life to others, showing 'agape' love, and especially his concern for children, is usually left out of the picture.

In Myra / Derme there is no hint of the gift of salvation through forgiveness of sins, that which we consider to be the greatest gift of the season. (More on this in my next blog post.)

The incredible twists and turns by which this famous, short man with a big heart became known for his Saint Nickolas' day, which is celebrated by the Orthodox Churches around the world on December 6, is a tale you might want to spend another five minutes reading.

Gradually, giving at Christmas became a custom of Western Christianity with children lining up for photos with Santa Claus in shopping malls throughout the world. The story  is briefly summarized  here in Wikipedia. A map and many photos are here in Google maps.

 

Adversity and cancer: "Turning disappointment into witness"

Adversity comes in many ways.

     To Ron, it came in the form of a rare form of cancer that affected the muscles in his neck and throat. He was only 28 when he received the diagnosis from the physician in Texas. "If I operate, I may or may not get it all. If I do get it all, you'll never again be able to break in wild horses - you'll have to stop that all together."

     Ron was devastated. He enjoyed his part time job as a cowboy and half time job as a pastor of a small, rural church. Kneeling down at his bed he cried to the Lord, "Oh God! if you can, please let me live a little bit longer, enough time to let my wife at least get both our boys into school, so she can work. After that, you can take me."

     When he came to our home in Istanbul, (he visited more than once), he told how he was going with my friend, David to villages where no Christians had ever visited. More than 20,000 villages dot the Turkish landscape, from north to south and east to west. He overflows with joy and courage.

     "I sit down in the center area, ready to stay for a day, if need be. Men gather around, curious who has come to their town. They ask, 'Why did you come to our village?' they ask, and I say, 'I'm here because I was cured of cancer. I'm 68 years old and 40 years ago, a surgeon told me I had less than two years to live. Would you like to hear my story?' And let me tell you what happened in that village."

     Cathie and I found his witness powerful, courageous and captivating. He had been able to do the impossible, keeping taming wild horses, tending to the flock in his church and now, going to villages in a predominately Muslim country (99.9% is "predominate), sharing his faith in a vibrant way.

     Pain - lots of it came when almost certainly faced death many years ago, yet he turned those painful days into praise and ... now into one of the most creative forms of witness I've seen.

     "What was the response?" I asked, as the supper dishes remained on the table, more than an hour after we finished the meal.

     "In that village, more than 40 men asked for a copy of our Holy Book. It was amazing. And then, we went to another village, the next day. Do you want to hear what happened there?"

Adversity - 1: "Why Character makes a difference in how we respond"

This is the first of several blog posts on adversity, situations facing us that bring perplexity.

     What do we do or say when a child is born and it's health is not perfect? Let's say, born with Down Syndrome?
     Dr. Barnhouse, who lived three generations ago, was mightily used of the Lord. On one occasion, he preached for a week at a church where the pastor and his wife were expecting the birth of a child. The last night came and the pastor wasn't there. He was attending the birth of his infant baby. However, the child was born with Down Syndrome.
     The pastor immediately came to Dr. Barnhouse asking, "What do I say to my wife? She doesn't know yet."
     Barnhouse showed the pastor these words, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?' (Ex 4:11). My friend, Romans 8:28 is at work here. There is something in this event that God is working for good, for you and for the child."
     Returning to the hospital, the wife was distraught, wanting to hold her newborn. The father quoted the verse from the Old Testament and the follow up encouragement from the New Testament, and said, "We are being blessed with a child with a special challenge. You need to know this before they place the baby in your arms." She wept, agonizing but deciding that this was going to be  her "life-long discipleship".
     In the hospital, news spread about the birth. At the switchboard (yes they had switchboards in those years!) the operator listened in as the parents made a call to their friends. She was antagonistic towards Christians and had told her friends, "There's no difference between Christians and anyone else!"
     What she heard changed her mind, because listening to the conversation, she heard, "Mother, God has just blessed us with a Down Syndrome baby. I don't know how we will manage, but we will." The switchboard operator did not hear panic, sobbing or groaning. She had heard that a child with a disability was a "blessing".
    So impressed was she - that she began to spread the word around the hospital. "This is amazing, let me tell you what happened!" By the end of the week, all the nurses and doctors and cleaning personnel in the hospital knew the story.
     The next Sunday came and the church had a record number of visitors: 70 staff members from the hospital. He gave an invitation after recounting the blessing that had come to his home that week, and 30 nurses came forward to receive Jesus Christ.
     The timing of the birth could not be planned in advance, nor the person who was at the switchboard.
     But, the response to the crisis was a choice - a choice of character, of choosing to depend on God.   -   Oh, the family had friendship and support from birth - a group of medical specialists that money and fame could not have bought.


 

Surprizing research about those "colonizing" missionaries: "They changed history."

Surprising research carried out by Robert Woodbury shows that there is a significant relationship between democratic nations around the world and Protestantism.

One afternoon he attended a required lecture that brought his vocational drift to a sudden end. The lecture was by Kenneth A. Bollen, a UNC–Chapel Hill professor and one of the leading experts on measuring and tracking the spread of global democracy. Bollen remarked that he kept finding a significant statistical link between democracy and Protestantism. Someone needed to study the reason for the link, he said.

Woodberry sat forward in his seat and thought, That's me. I'm the one. Read more.

 

(Note, in order to get the full article you will need to register with Christianity Today - it's a free sign up.)

 

Is there a difference between "Christian marriage" and "Civil marriage"?

Two Anglican theologians have published an article containing their conviction that there is a significant difference between
what the State defines "Civil Marriage" to be, and that which Christian theology defines as a "Christian marriage".

After years of wrestling on this topic, you might be surprised to hear their conclusion, and the reasons for it: they propose a Marriage pledge - "in which they undertake to refrain from serving as agents of the state in marriage by, e.g., signing government-provided marriage certificates. Couples will be asked to contract civil marriage separately from “weddings that seek to establish a Christian marriage in accord with the principles articulated and lived out from the beginning of the Church’s life.”

See what you think of their conclusion and the reasons for their arriving at a whole new way of understanding the relationship between Christian churches and the State.

Read more.

Thanksgiving: Now Thank we all our God -

Fabulous German choir - and great words, too.

Click here.

Lyrics: Now thank we all our God,
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom this world rejoices;
who from our mothers' arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
with ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us;
and keep us still in grace,
and guide us when perplexed;
and free us from all ills,
in this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God
the Father now be given;
the Son, and him who reigns
with them in highest heaven;
the one eternal God,
whom earth and heaven adore;
for thus it was, is now,
and shall be evermore.

Thanksgiving: O Clap your hands, by Orland Gibbons 1583-1625

Thanksgiving as it sounded four hundred years ago!

Click here

Wild Gorillas: What do you do if you get kissed by a wild gorrilla?

 Here's a great video - one unbelievable story.

This story doesn't need words - the pictures speak for themselves.

Click here.

As Fall colors blaze out their glorious Display

By Pearl (Phillips) Thomas

 

Stunningly beautiful!!  Nothing like it , as the colors blaze out their glorious display!  

A brief moment of glory shown only by the flora of all regions, but the memories can

Be locked into the depths of our beings

To be accessed at any time or place, to warm the heart, and cheer the soul 

In the long, dark, dismal, colourless and cold

Days and nights of the winter ahead.

 

 

 

 Such a brief space of time to silently offer their best

To eyes that will to see

To hearts that will to cherish.

Golden trees today, letting their gold fall at the feet of travellers

Barren trees tomorrow;  silently, stoically making bare their limbs

Assured of the memories of the forward March of the Seasons

That even as it was, it will be now, and forever.

 

 

Trees that are silent in every season, -tree-like knowledge internalized

Within their branches and trunks. 

Bearing up bravely during the massive storms they must endure

Storing up strength, and great beauty within the tree-like soul

Preparing for the next season's display.

First of new birth, of leafy waving greens,

Concealing the secrets that will be displayed

When the bitter cold blasts their inner beings.

 

 

 

And the trees loving, peace-making responses 

To rise to the occasion of their highest calling

To once more show forth their splendours;

Calling out their art form in silent, gentle strains to all travellers passing by 

Who will to look, see,

Capture the moments of beauty on display.

 

For such a brief moment of time.

 

 

 

 

Truly, time is golden!  Silence too, is golden here!

I take up the challenge to love, and appreciate,

 To honour nature's beauties, hiding the treasures

Deep within my own heart and soul

For all the cold, bare winters' days ahead.

 

A  briefly known Beauty, -

Yielding everlasting joyful, golden memories for my heart's delight.

Gold! Hidden in plain sight!

Treasures to be had by all who will!

Three Unexpected Kinds of People the World Really Needs.

From A Holy Experience:

"I spent some time with an unlikely spokesman for religion and the arts, a Japanese-American by the name of Makoto Fujimura.

Mako's paintings hang in almost every major museum in Japan and in the U.S., too, his work commands respect and high prices. He was honored with a career retrospective in Tokyo before he turned forty, and as a Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts, Fujimura served as an international ambassador for the arts.

A thoughtful Christian, Fujimura was also named the 2014 recipient of the Religion and the Arts Award given annually by American Academy of Religion.

One thing about Mako impresses me more than his many accomplishments: In the wider artistic community he lives out his faith with grace and compassion.

On September 11, 2001, Mako was residing a few blocks from Ground Zero in an area popular with artists. After the World Trade Center disaster, with many of these artists shut out of their homes and studios, Mako opened a communal studio to allow them to continue working.   He called it his tea house, and dedicated it as "an oasis of collaboration by Ground Zero artists."

Read more.

 

"No Fixed Address" - ministry in an impoverished Toronto neighborhood

Most people in Parkdale would love to be able to stand in line.

 Jesus, during his ministry  was often walking around Palestine under the hot Mediterranean sun. He talked  with lepers and leaders. How many times was he dehydrated, hungry, exhausted and without the prospect of the creature comforts of home?

Park Dale, in Toronto, also has more than its share of people with no fixed address. A once wealthy area, Park Dale has long been associated with urban decline, homelessness and mental illness.

Ministry here involves very special heroes of the faith. Read more.

100 years ago today - the present day Middle East Crisis began.

Today marks the beginning of the present day Middle East Crisis.

Without any agreement of the Ottoman Parliament, ships belonging to the Ottoman Royal Navy bombarded two Russian ports in what is today Ukraine. These ports were Odessa and Sevastopol. Admiral Wilhelm Souchon was a German military officer.

The next day, Russia began its war against the Ottoman Empire.

World War I brought about the end of the Ottoman Empire, the death of millions of Russians, Ukrainians and Turks. Over 1,500,000 Armenians died in the conflict in what is today eastern Turkey. Over 5,000,000 Ottomans died in the agonizing collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the borders of present day Middle East were drawn by English and French politicians.

Galipoli became a house word name as eight months of cruel battle shaped the political destinies of far off New Zealand and Australia.

Today is a very sad day - but not as sad as the day that all the men in the photo made their attack on Russian war ships, and then faced their own deaths later on.

Read more.

 

The Lion Whisperer: "Eyes, and hugs, only for Kevin" -

In South Africa, Kevin Richardson is applauded for his amazing rapport with adult lions. In this, and other clips, the adult lions interrupt Kevin, hugging him, as he explains of how he "adopted" them as cubs after the mother abandoned them.

Video here. 

The Anglicans: One of their finest hours. (Or, Why don't we celebrate such great stories?)

Traveling in India, one cannot help but note the influence of England: trains run on time, cricket captures and endlessly ensnares the passions of young men and the court system is based on British concepts of law.

How did all this happen? It was due to one of the Anglican's finest moments. India drew British missionaries, some of the most capable to ever graduate from Oxford and Cambridge.

Henry Martyn (1781-1812) translated the New Testament into Urdu and Persian, and this translation work founded the development of a national language. Many other scholars influenced the groundwork of education and the development of India's modern languages.

Decades of sacrificial service by Bible translators made it possible for the British government to agree to making Hindustani their court language at the lower levels of administration.

This meant that a peasant in North India could go to a British court, and understand the prosecutor, witness, lawyers and judge. Gifted Indian writers could write in a language that even the most humble could appreciate. Previous to this, the court language under Akbar (15556-1605) was Persian.

Claudius Buchanan (1766-1815), Charles Grant, Alexander Duff, Charles Trevelyan (1807-1886) and Lord Macaulay (and hundreds more) showed an interest in enriching Indian vernaculars, educating the masses and preparing India for self-government. John Borthwick Gilchrist (1759-1841) developed "Tables and Principles" of Hindustani.

These men, their wives and  others, were supported in England by giants of the faith, such as Charles Simon (1759-1836), whose ministry in Cambridge constantly challenged students in the university to serve India. Together with others, such as William Wilberforce, (1759-1833). they opposed the lucrative slaver trade, of which the British Company was most famous.

Sir William Muir, (1819-1905)  founded the University of Allahabad as Muir Central College, which influenced many of India's greatest statesmen and women. "It's educational and political culture forged by its municipality, High Court, university, press and a strategic location gave India five of her first seven prime ministers. (p. 207, The Book that Made Your World.)

Charles Trevelyan could not have been more blunt. He foresaw, and encouraged, India's Independence!

He was 120 years ahead of his time when he wrote: The existing connection between two such distant countries as England and India, cannot, in the nature of things be permanent; no effort of policy can prevent the natives from ultimately regain their independence. That was written in 1838!

The influence of the Bible and the application of the teachings of Jesus to "Love your neighbor as yourself" led to opposition of traditional beliefs and practices: widow burning, infanticide, untouchability, temple prostitution, polygamy and idolatry.

Most important of all, the concept of "one person-one vote" illustrated the dignity of all citizens, with freedoms guaranteed by a Constitution and free elections. Today, when elections take place in India, the process for so many hundreds of millions to vote is an epoch event: it takes days to vote and more days to count the votes.

Mahatma Ghandi, a Gujarati, and Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali, met in the 1920's and decided that Hindi, not Sanskrit, and not English, had to be India's future.

For a fascinating "re-discovery" of many ways that our modern world has been influenced by these giants of literature, education, science, music and other aspects of culture, I highly recommend the book The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization, by Indian writer, Vishal Mangalwadi. (published by Thomas Nelson, 2011)

If you are looking for a great book as a Christmas present, one that will keep you going back to it over and over again (unlike most websites these days!), I suggest this book as a modern day treasure!

The Sad Unraveling of the World-wide Anglican-Episcopal Church Communion

This article, from The Anglican Curmudgeon, is a summary of events taking place in the Anglican Communion. Beginning in the 1980's a more liberal theology led to startling changes in the early 2000's, especially on the nature of Jesus Christ, Salvation, and approaches to human sexuality. The Anglican Communion, the world's third largest grouping of Christians, is facing a unparalleled struggle to keep itself together. The Anglican church in the 2/3'ds world is growing dramatically, while in England, USA and Canada it is shrinking very quickly.

I highly recommend that you read this article. You might want to bookmark the blog site. The author, who is a practicing lawyer, deals with issues of vital importance to Americans in general and Anglicans in particular.

Read more.

In times like these, how should we pray for our elected officials?

Take a minute and learn how to pray for your elected officials. This is not an easy time for people in public office and we should pray for them. Read more.

REFUGEES FROM SYRIA: Syrian Christians take Refuge in an Istanbul Church

A fine story appeared today in Istanbul. A family of 18 persons took refuge in a church in Istanbul.

The Meryem Ana (Mother Mary) Church of the local Syriac community in Istanbul’s Samatya neighborhood is also hosting Syrian Armenians and Berbers. Turgay Alınışık, the manager of the foundation for the Syriac community, told Hürriyet Daily News that the number of refugees taking shelter in the church was constantly changing.

The church provides refuge for all, regardless of their religion or sect, Alınışık added. Read more.

A Unique Day: Jewish Yom Kippur (with no blood sacrifice) and Muslim Kurban (with sacrifices)

In a unique coincidence, this year's Jewish and Muslim most holy religious holidays fell on the date. It may be a hundred years or more until this happens again.

The Jewish "Yom Kippur", or Day of Atonement, - for forgiveness of sins - started on Friday, October 3rd and continued all day until the evening of Saturday, October 4th. Because Herod's Temple was destroyed in AD 70, no blood sacrifice was made.

The Islamic "Kurban Bayrami", or Day of Sacrifice, - for forgiveness of sins, fell on Saturday, October 4. Millions of animals across the Muslim world were killed, or "cut" as a knife severed the necks of the sacrifice animals. In Istanbul, the waters of the mighty Bosporus  changed color with blood from the sacrifices - read here.

Jews remember the sacrifice made by Abraham, which according to the Torah, tell of a ram being caught in a bush close by to where Isaac was bound on the altar.

Muslims tell the same story, but say that Abraham was stopped from offering Ismail.

Christians do not celebrate the Jewish holiday, which falls on the "blood" being taken into the most holy place and the "body" taken outside the camp on the tenth day of seventh month".

Instead,  Christians hold that Jesus Christ - Yeshua Messiah - fulfilled all the requirements of Leviticus 16:1-34, and 23:26-32 by making one sacrifice - himself - so this sacrifice does not need to be repeated.

In the time of the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple, once a year the High Priest was to offer 1) a young bull and take the blood into the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle; 2) a ram for a burnt offering; and 3) another ram taken outside the encampment and deserted in the wilderness. Atonement involved both the shedding of blood and the removal of the body of a scapegoat.

Hebrews 10:19 shows the fulfillment of this: 1) We are to enter with confidence "the most Holy place - heaven - by the blood of Jesus;  and 2) we are to go to him outside the gate - where Jesus body suffered - Hebrews 13: 12.

Thus, non-Jews - Christians - celebrate the Lord's Supper, where we remember his Body and his Blood - given as a sacrifice for the sins of the world; the "blood" which Christ has taken into heaven; and the "body" which was hung outside the city gate on a cross.

In Jesus Christ we see all the images coming together: the shepherd of the sheep, the Passover Lamb, the day of Yom Kippur - with a bull and a ram being sacrificed, and another ram being led "outside the gate".

Compassion and the Kingdom of God - Part11 in a Series

Our culture keeps telling us, "You don't have ENOUGH!"

TV: "You've got to buy this! Here are the new styles for summer! You've got to get them!"

Newspapers: "Here's the latest fad in diets!"

Magazines: "The ten best cars, and why you have to move up in life!"

"The interest rates are low right now! Get a bigger house! You'll be happier than you've ever been before in your life!"

Refusing to go along with the crowd is a sign that the Spirit of God is giving us the ability to live out the Kingdom of God in a broken, impoverished world. Living within our means, saving for the future and sharing with others: learning to live responsibly and unselfishly is encouraged by stories like this farmer's wife.

Read more

This story will touch your heart.

 

The Vicar of Baghdad: Canon Andrew White writes from Iraq today

Pictures of a cruel past are being repeated endlessly today.

The situation in Baghdad as written by an Anglican Priest makes for compelling reading. His presentation represents a viewpoint of a Christian who is attempting to live out the life of Jesus Christ in one of the most dangerous places in the world.

Read more

The Bible: The Most Popular Book - Most Translated Book

98% of the world's population has the Bible in their language.

The Most Popular Book of All Time Read more: 

5775: Today is the Jewish New Year

Today is the beginning of year 5775 in the Jewish calendar.

5775 - This is the year of the Jewish Calendar.

Rosh Hashanah is the New Year, the first day of the seventh month, time for a sacred assembly, commemorated with trumpet blasts. No work is to be carried out, but offerings are to be made. (Leviticus 23:23)

At the City of David Messianic Synagogue, in Toronto, here is what the "High Holidays" of September / October are all about:

"Come and experience forgiveness of sins and vibrant new spiritual life through the Messiah Yeshua."

Celebrate with our brothers and sisters who have found the Lord in such a personal way, and whose passion is directed towards sharing their faith with Jews. The walls of separation have been knocked down between Jew and non-Jew, between men and women, between rich and poor, master and slave.

Africa: Fabulous photos and ministries

“Go in that direction” does not mean that you go.
To 'go' means, “let’s go together!”

This Mozambican proverb - and a fabulous set of photos from the OM web site

In an instant you can visit these countries Click here

Angola,
Central North Africa
Lake Tanganyika
Madagascar
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe





 

InterVarsity "Derecognized" at California State University's 23 Campuses:

Believe it or not, in California, students at the California State's Universities 23 campuses are no longer able to meet on campus, have access to the university community, have free access to rooms for meetings, participate in student activities week including student fairs, or meet on an equal footing with other "clubs" with university faculty, students and administrators.

Read more.

Inter-Varsity Fellowship - A Crisis is a new Opportunity

Inter-Varsity Fellowship is going to develop new styles of ministry in universities that prohibit Christian groups from meeting on campus locations in California. This crisis is a new Opportunity. Apparently, there is no room in USC administration for faith based groups, but this may open up new doors for campus-style ministries.

Read more

Countless wars in Europe - 100 years of maps in three minutes

Modern technology permits us to watch the map changing year by year, since 1144 AD - countless wars, millions of soldiers lost in the endless lust for control of territory and power. Viewing this three minute "Review of European History" one wonders how it could be said that Europe has been "Christian"? Far from it, the deceitfulness of riches and the viciousness of "Christian powers" shows how far away from the words of Jesus have been the savage push to always control "more".
 View here

Turkish Minister of Culture: "Christianity is no longer a Religion"

"Fruit" comes in many forms; Jesus Christ in many languages

According to Turkish Environment and Urbanism Minister, Erdogan Bayraktar, "Christianity has ceased to be a religion and has now become a culture".

He is dismayed that "Christianity has 2.5 billion followers", with Christianity being important in India and China, and not ju
st in the United States.

Many strange statements seem to be emerging from the "New Turkey". For the rest of Minister Bayraktar's logic, concept of the world and fresh insight, read more here.

In the Land of Boko Haram: "An Ongoing Miracle for Orphans"

"Some of the seed multiplied 30 fold, others 60 and other 90."

Recently, Cathie and I had the chance to talk with two "saints of the land", and we came away from a four hour encounter with hearts a-glow.

Part of the responsibilities assumed by this African couple takes them back and forth from Nigeria. This specific story is taking place in the area where Boko Haram has declared the Northeastern Region to be an "Islamic State". This is only one of many stories we heard - (hint: you won't hear these stories on CBB, CBC or BBC.)

In one of the cities in that area (I cannot mention specifics) a kind hearted African looked around several years ago,  discovering that Christian parents had been killed in large numbers while attending worship services. (They were killed en masse while singing praises to the Lord.)

Children hid from danger and gradually more than 100 of them were gathered into a very small street.

Question Number 1: how to provide for these children when resources are so scarce, and the dangers so ever-present and compelling real?

Question Number 2: If large houses or school buildings would call too much attention to the children, then how to house the orphaned children?

A school in rural Sierra Leone, where needs are also great.

As the Lord provided through other kind-hearted persons, a number of buildings were built, providing small group homes with eight children in each house, and with an older "grandmother".

At the same time, one of the men who had been in the military in another region of Nigeria faced retirement and decided to give his life to help homeless children. He was impacted by the saying of Jesus Christ: "Do not forbid them - let the little children come to me."

How he became involved with these children and has protected them during the clashes that took place is a wonderful story - only the Lord knows all the details.

Boko Haram means (believe it or not) "Western Education is Evil".

This tiny light house in a large African city that sits in the middle of a conflict zone stands for (believe it or not) compassion extended to widows and orphans where the deepest conflict involves spiritual warfare.

This is not the place to tell more details. Suffice it to say, with the Psalmist who had many centuries earlier faced danger, " The Lord will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:7,8

Rejoice in your hearts for this, and many other stories from this troubled part of the world. The Lord has not abandoned his people.

"Islam is Canadian and Canada is Islam" - Delic - A Bosnian Canadian Imam

Delic is no stranger to criticism. Having been shunned by the Canadian government, he has written a new book that attempts to reform Islam in Canada.

Delic writies, " When I look into the so-called Muslim world, nothing is there. Countries that claim to serve Allah as a rule lack honesty, decency, integrity, good management. But in Canada a Muslim is free to live his faith fully, not as some crooked sheikh believes his distant ancestors did, but as the modern Muslim knows he should.

"Islam is Canadian, and Canada is Muslim", he said. “One only complements the other. There is no contradiction.”

This is the thesis of his new book, Canadian Islam: Belonging and Loyalty, which is published at yet another crisis moment for the ancient global faith.

Once it was 9/11 and the resulting panic, much of it justified, over terrorism and the broader fears of extremist preachers advocating domestic attacks."

The quotation above comes from the National Post and the whole article can be read here.

Zijad Delic sees himself as a reformer of Islam, not a "radical", and his writings are going to cause a lot of confusion, and people going down an erroneous path of error, if they don't understand the fundamental nature of Islam.

Some major errors exist in Delic's line of thinking. 1) He is not willing to suggest changes to any of the internal teachings / doctrine of Islam; 2) He trys the substitute the "Five Pillars of Islam" with "The Four Pillars of Canadian culture"; 3) He downplays the aspect of Islam that calls perhaps 5% of the followers of this religion to follow the radical / militant / lead of terrorism. 4) Canadian culture is built upon more than four centuries of Judeo / Christian thought constantly intersecting with secularist thought, resulting in our present system of laws based upon the "Charter of Human Rights"; 5) The legal and social position of women in the home and Canadian society is one of equality, whereas in Islam the role of women must be revised, which would go against the Quran.

 

Syria and Iraq: the 1,400 year-long Decline of Christians in the Middle East

Photo courtesy of Turkish Daily News

For years, this book was "not to be sold" in Turkey. Today, a small act of protest takes place as Turkish Daily News publishes a book review.

"From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East", by William Dalrymple, (Knopf Doubleday, $13, and 512 pages) had the boldness to go where few had gone before.

 The journey taken by Dalrymple in the late 1990's took him through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and then Egypt. These were the lands where ancient Christian churches flourished. A 6th Century Byzantine Monk, John Moschos, took this same journey 1,500 years ago.  

“I wanted to do what no future generation would be able to do,” Dalrymple, a prize winning British writer, says, “To see wherever possible what Moschos had seen, to sleep in the same monasteries, to pray under the same frescoes and mosaics ... to witness what was in effect the last ebbing twilight of Byzantium.”

Dalrymple weaves together his encyclopedic knowledge of obscure early Christian heresies with his knack for ingratiating himself with their modern day descendants; the result is an elegiac masterpiece, often amusing but ultimately very sad.

William Armstrong, in Turkish Daily News, writes, "Dalrymple carried with him a volume of Moshcos’s masterpiece, “The Spiritual Meadow,” describing the eccentric monk’s own journey across the decaying Byzantine East. Moschos traveled at a time of destruction, when Byzantium was under assault from all sides and the great cities of the East Mediterranean were in fast decay; within 100 years, the Arabs would be capturing swathes of Byzantine territory under the banner of Islam.

"He sensed that he was witnessing the shattering of a fragile world, and his writings make clear the horrifying, almost apocalyptic disintegration that he witnessed around him. This crumbling 6th century landscape has obvious parallels with Dalrymple’s journey 1,400 years later, and even greater parallels today.

"As the author writes at one point: “The ever-accelerating exodus of the last Christians from the Middle East today meant that The Spiritual Meadow could be read less as a dead history book than as a prologue to an unfolding tragedy, whose final chapter is still being written.”

In Beirut, a professor at one of the city’s universities tells him that today “there is a feeling of fin de race amongst Christians all over the Middle East.”

How sad - and how true.



 

World Jewish Congress: "Why is the world silent when thousands of Christians are being killed?"

The President of the World Jewish Congress, Mr. Ronald Lauder, asks, “Why is the world silent while Christians are being slaughtered in the Middle East and Africa? The continued suffering of Christians in the Middle East and Africa due to persecution and violence is unspeakable and heart-breaking.”

Unlike most leaders, who are silent in the face of increasing persecution of Christians in many countries, Mr. Lauder has the courage to stand up for those who are persecuted because of their religious beliefs.

Read the article here.

 

750,000 begonias creat a "carpet" the size of a small city park

What do 750,000 begonias look like when spread out on the central plaza at Brussels' Grand Place?

Read more

When an Arab man marries a Jewish bride during a war...

Ten interesting photos of a wedding celebration that cut across the divisions during the most recent war between Israel and Gaza. The police had to keep protestors away from the celebrations.

Read more

The Spread of Orthodox Christianity - 50 photos

Orthodox church in down-town Thessalonica, Greece

The Orthodox churches make up the second largest group of Christians, after the Roman Catholic Church.

This group of churches has confronted Islam for about 1,400 years, suffering immeasurably. in the process. As fewer Christians face the unrest and declining standards of human rights in the Middle East, an increasing degree of respect is being given by Roman Catholics and Protestants to the tenacity and faithfulness of the many varieties of Orthodox Christians. (I am not including Coptic believers, or the ancient churches in Iraq, Iran and India in this short survey.)

Outside of  Orthodox churches, their "religious culture" is often not well understood. For Orthodox believers, the "church building" is a reflection of spiritual values, with a portrait of Jesus - the Creator and Redeemer - painted on the ceiling, the one who reflects God, who is the unseen Father.

My photos may be used, shared at no cost.

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Christianity Today: "Thousands Fleeing Iraqis Christian Homeland"

Babylon fell quickly - are events repeating themselves?

The situation is desperate for Christians in Iraq's largest concentration of churches.

1 Approximately 10,000 soldiers make up the ISIS fighting force and they have taken cities in Iraq, one by one. The speed with which they have advanced cased about 30% of the population of Mosul to evacuate. Fear has gripped the cities.

Read more

2 Fast moving events in Iraq may mean hikes in the price of oil

3 In Iraq an Islamic state has been born, with serious consequences to follow

4 Sadly there is nothing the USA can do to withstand the coming conflict

Overcoming Adversity - After record floods with devastating consequences

A mural composed of 216 separate paintings

How does a town overcome adversity when hit by a flood, a hurricane, a tornado or earthquake?

For those not living in Canada, Cochrane is NW of Calgary, Alberta and east of Banff, in the foothills of the Rockies.

One year ago, record rainfall rapidly melted snow packs high up on mountain peaks. The result was devastating: torrents of water destroyed houses, bridges and highways.

In Calgary and cities further south, flooding resulting in billions of dollars of damage.

This mural was unveiled recently at the Cochrane Ranch House. Artists came together to declare that townspeople would help one another rebuild their beautiful city in the mountains. Each tile is one foot square, is its own individual picture and each is by a different artist. All of them together form this huge mural. You can click on each of the tiles to see them in detail.
Check out, especially, the horse's eye. Click on any square that makes up the mural to see what the square really is.

Greek Gods, myths and religion - Part 2 - 100 photos

The Statute of Athena - Notice the size of the man beside it.

When Paul arrived in the Hellenistic world, he faced a multitude of gods and temples. Greek mythology as it was taught across the Roman world, had a god, or goddess, or myth to explain everything, include human abilities and natural events, such as storms and thunder.

How did the message of Christ Jesus penetrate this ancient world view?

How die the apostles and early Christians overcome the tremendous bias against the statement "There is only One God"?

The photo of Athena is from the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada.

Click for 100 pictures in a photo essay

Greek Culture and Values - Part 1 - 100 photos

Sailing ships took Paul to Greece

Greek values and culture aren't "everyone's cup of tea", but a quick examination shows how utterly Greek life had implanted itself in the hearts and minds of people.

How was it that the message of a crucified carpenter, who was "the son of God" - as Paul clearly taught, could break into
that all-pervasive world view?

Read more

My person of the year is ... Billy Graham

Great commentary about Billy Graham.

Read here

A Great Pentecost, today! Wednesday, June 4 (!)

A Menorah, in Hebrew, spells the word, Yeshua (English - Jesus)

Today WAS Pentecost - Wednesday, June 4.  (!) the 50th day since Passover - for Jewish people who keep the traditions found in the Pentateuch, the Torah. It is a great day of joy. For 50 days they have been counting the "omer", the sheaf of bounty, since the "First-fruits".

This was new to me. I've been attending one of the Messianic Synagogues in Toronto and have been greatly blessed as I come to appreciate many additional levels of spiritual understanding that Messianic Jewish believers glean from the Scriptures, in the Old as well as the New Covenant.

For Messianic Jews, the Full Moon in their first month of the year governs the day of Passover, which doesn't obey the Julian of Gregorian Calendars (!)  Thus, they are not bound by the tradition that Passover always has to fall on a Friday, and the resurrection of Yeshua Messiah always falls on the Sunday.

Consequently, Messianic Jews received a double blessing today! In Jewish thought, Pentecost, of Shavuot, commemorates the day when the revelation of the Almighty, the Torah, came down to Moses on Mount Sinai. For them, the significance of this day is "the giving of the Law, which formed a diverse, ragtag tribe of people into a living community, the Jewish people."

Messianic Jewish believers and Christians find another, related, meaning, in which the importance of the day is "A second blessing, the giving of the Holy Spirit, which formed a diverse, ragtag people from around the world into a living community, into the living body of Yeshua Messiah!"

If you are reading this today, Wednesday, rejoice in the double blessing! If you read it on any other day of the week, rejoice! Thank God for the growing numbers of godly men and women among Jews in Israel and spread around the world.

Who needs traffic lights when cars move like this in Addis Ababa?

There may be a science to traffic lights, but I'm not sure about it.

Not after watching this video.

In Addis Ababa, cars go every which way, get through traffic, never really stop, only slow down, and then move, whether to the left or right - which ever is more convenient.

Cathie and I survived that traffic. Not sure that we survive the traffic jams in "organized" Toronto, though.

This is amazing - and yes, Africa is working very well, thank you! Click here for the video

For those of us who love Africa, here are 30 quick visual tours

Ray and Jill Davis visit a village in South Sudan

Some great photos by an awesome communications team puts many parts of Africa in your hands within seconds.

30 Instant Trips to Africa

 

Will these 14 predictions for American Churches come true?

Thom Rainer has stuck his neck out - way out, and on the basis of his research, and that of others, is predicting several trends in American churches.

See how many of these you agree with and how many you disagree with. If you want the whole article, click here

1. Larger churches will acquire smaller ones as the cost of keeping small churches going meets the ceiling of giving in older congregations.
2. Denominational structures will become smaller as declining giving comes from shrinking churches.
3. Many new members will be transferring in from other churches, not coming from evangelism.
4. The trend will be towards more mega-churches.
5. Worship styles will become more, not less, unified.
6. High-expectation churches, where members are asked to make significant contributions to the work of the congregation, will become more numerous.
7.. It will become more difficult for churches to build and acquire land.
8. More large churches will function as mini-denominations, with multiple locations and their own missions programs and literature.
9. Worship centers will be smaller, as people seek greater intimacy in church life.
10. Small groups will become more significant.
11. Pastors will stay at their churches longer.
12. Local churches will increase their role in training ministers.
13. Church members will find new ways to take their faith to their community
14. Churches will have more communicators on their staffs.

Paul in Cenchrea and Nicoplis - 35 photos

This canal links the Aegean Sea with the city of Corinth

An amazing story emerges from a remote place...the port city of Cenchrea. Paul's visit to Nicopolis was also historic, another little known part of his travels.

Cenchrea is rarely visited, but it was important in the scriptures. Paul mentions Phoebe in Romans 16:1, the first person's name in that long list of "fellow servants". 

Phoebe was a remarkable woman, serving the Lord through hospitality in amazing ways.

Reading about Phoebe reminds me of some of our Turkish students and their trip through Greece. One memorable comment sticks in my mind: "I was brought up by my grandmother to hate the Greek people. Everything about them was despicable. However, we went to Greece on a tour, following the footsteps of Paul. In every place, for two weeks, we stayed with Christians. They washed our clothes, gave us meals, gave up their beds so we could sleep well and even provided tour guides in the historical locations like Philippi. I came back home completely rebuked. I had been taught to hate, but their hospitality taught me to love. I came back with love in my heart for the Greek people."

That, dear friends, is how early Christians overcame the "unstoppable opposition from the Greco-Roman world" in the First Century. Love, warm hospitality and kind gestures - this isn't a program, or something fake. Phoebe was that kind of person in Cenchrea.
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A blind/autistic boy and the Kingdom of God - What do you teach someone like this?

This may have been the kind of bush that Moses saw burning

This video shows what an autistic and blind boy can do.

It should give us hope for those in our neighborhoods who have difficulties, and encourage care givers, too. 

Remember Moses at the burning bush? (The photo shows a bush in the dessert where he may have walked.)

Moses exclaimed, "Lord, I'm a person with stumbling, mumbling lips. I can't speak to the Pharaoh! I can't fulfill to let your people go!" (i.e. "How can I possibly be successful?)

And what did the Lord Almighty say ? "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight of makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD! Now, go! I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

A prayer: "God, let me remember Christopher singing at the head of a 40 voice choir the next time I have a chance to chat with a disadvantaged person."

Click here


 

"Half the Sky" - African girls - The Esther Generation Risking it for Stolen girls

The blog you will click on, if you want to be profoundly challenged to understand the plight of African girls, is one of the most moving Cathie and I have ever encountered.

Click here

We hope you will set aside five minutes to let the message sink in, to be captivated by the love for African girls behind the photos, and to seek your own ways to be a blessing to girls in a continent all to often know for cruelty, rape, abuse and hurt towards "Half the Sky".