Egyptian Christian dies in Libyan detention

By Aya Batrawy, Associated Press, March 11, 2013
CAIRO (AP)—An Egyptian Foreign Ministry official says a man suspected of trying to spread Christianity in Libya has died in prison there.

The diplomat says Ezzat Atallah, who suffered from diabetes and heart ailments, likely died of natural causes.

Atallah was among five Evangelical Christian Egyptians detained in Libya for allegedly proselytizing in the predominantly Muslim nation.

Last week, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry intervened to win release from Libya of 55 Egyptians who were also suspected of proselytizing. Thirty-five of them were deported for illegally entering the country, while 20 were cleared to stay in Libya.

Also, four foreigners under investigation for alleged espionage and proselytizing remain in a Libyan prison. They are a Swedish-American, a South Korean, a South African and an Egyptian.

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God at Work

A compilation

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My Father is always working, and so am I.—Jesus, John 5:171

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From one man [God] made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.—Acts 17:262

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We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.—Oswald Chambers3

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:114

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My child, I have a message for you today; let Me whisper it in your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds which may arise, and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to tread. It is short, only five words, but let them sink into your inmost soul; use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head. This thing is from ME.

Are you in difficult circumstances, surrounded by people who do not understand you, who never consult your taste, who put you in the background? This thing is from Me. I am the God of circumstances. You came not to your place by accident; it is the very place God meant for you.

Have you not asked to be made humble? See then, I have placed you in the very school where this lesson is taught; your surroundings and companions are only working out My will.

Are you in money difficulties? Is it hard to make both ends meet? This thing is from Me, for I am your purse-bearer and would have you draw from and depend upon Me. My supplies are limitless.5 I would have you prove My promises. Let it not be said of you, “In this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God.”6

Are you passing through a night of sorrow? This thing is from Me. I am the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. I have let earthly comforters fail you, that by turning to Me you may obtain everlasting consolation.7 Have you longed to do some great work for Me and instead have been laid aside on a bed of pain and weakness? This thing is from Me. I could not get your attention in your busy days and I want to teach you some of My deepest lessons. “They also serve who only stand and wait.” Some of My greatest workers are those shut out from active service, that they may learn to wield the [best] weapon of all—prayer.

This day I place in your hand this pot of holy oil. Make use of it freely, My child. Let every circumstance that arises, every word that pains you, every interruption that would make you impatient, every revelation of your weakness be anointed with it. The sting will go as you learn to see Me in all things.—Laura A. Barter Snow8

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Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.—Psalm 139:169

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We think and plan in temporal terms, and God thinks and plans in eternal terms. What this means is that we are very interested in right now, and God is much more interested in eternity. We want what “feels good” right now, what produces immediate results, but God is willing to invest time. God is an investor; He will invest a lot of time in us because He has an eternal purpose planned for our lives.

God sees and understands what we don’t see and understand. He asks us to trust Him, not to live in carnal reasoning and be frustrated because things don’t always go according to our plan.

Jesus spent thirty years in preparation for a three-year ministry. … Jesus had what I call “silent years,” and so did many other Bible heroes who were mightily used by God.

The birth of Jesus was recorded in Luke chapter 2. He was circumcised when He was eight days old according to the Law, and shortly after, He was dedicated in the temple, but we hear nothing else about Him in the Scriptures until He was twelve years old. Then, we find Him in the temple sitting among the teachers and asking questions.10

The only things I can find in the Word of God regarding those silent years is that He grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.11

Between the ages of twelve and thirty, Jesus had more silent years—eighteen years when nobody heard anything about Him. He had to be doing something. What? After His parents found Him in the temple when He was supposed to have gone home with them, they took Him back with them: “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them; and his mother kept and closely and persistently guarded all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and years, and in favor with God and man.”12

This is another way of saying, “He grew.”

Just as Jesus grew during this quiet time, so you and I must grow in many things, and the silent years help provide that growth.—Joyce Meyer13

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God is hardly ever in a hurry! It takes Him time to make a baby, a flower, a tree, a sunset, or even a blade of grass.

Once when I was in a big hurry to do something, the Lord spoke to me with the following illustration: It takes time to build a house. First, you must lay the foundation solidly, then lay brick upon brick and stone upon stone, firmly with mortar, each piece fitting accurately—and you cannot do this in a hurry or your wall will crumble. Then the roof must be laid securely, beam upon beam, rafter upon rafter, roofing tile upon roofing tile. Then come the plasterers; then the finishers to hang windows and doors, lay floor coverings, and finally paint. Then at last, you have a building fitly joined together—a beautiful sight to see—a well-made structure built slowly and well to last!—David Brandt Berg14

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I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.
—Attributed to an unknown Confederate soldier

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In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.—Proverbs 16:915

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Do you need Me?
I am there.
You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.
You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.
I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.
I am at work, though you do not recognize My works.
I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.
Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me as I am, and then but as a feeling and a faith.
Yet I am there. Yet I hear. Yet I answer.
When you need Me, I am there.
Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.
I am there when you pray and when you do not pray.
I am in you, and you are in Me.
Only in your mind can you feel separate from Me, for only in your mind are the mists of “yours” and “mine.”
Yet only with your mind can you know Me and experience Me.
Empty your heart of empty fears.
When you get yourself out of the way, I am there.
You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all.
And I am in all.
Though you may not see the good, good is there, for I am there.
I am there because I have to be, because I am.
Only in Me does the world have meaning; only out of Me does the world take form; only because of Me does the world go forward.
I am the law on which the movement of the stars and the growth of living cells are founded.
I am the love that is the law's fulfilling. I am assurance. I am peace. I am oneness. I am the law that you can live by. I am the love that you can cling to. I am your assurance. I am your peace. I am one with you. I am.
Though you fail to find Me, I do not fail you.
Though your faith in Me is unsure, My faith in you never wavers, because I know you, because I love you.
Beloved, I am there.—James Dillet Freeman16

Published on Anchor March 2013. Read by Bryan Clark.
Music by John Listen.


1 NLT.

2 NIV.

3 My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year (Discover House Publishers, 1989).

4 NIV.

5 Philippians 4:19.

6 Deuteronomy 1:32.

7 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17.

8 Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, Volume 1 (Zondervan, 1965).

9 NIV.

10 Luke 2:41–51.

11 Luke 2:40.

12 Luke 2:51–52.

13 Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You Are Going (FaithWords, 2002).

14 More Like Jesus (Aurora Production, 2001).

15 NIV.

16 Written in 1947 after the death of his wife.

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"Voting is Worthless!"

By Joshua Kurlantzick, Foreign Policy, March/April 2013 From his article titled "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back"

Even where democracy has deeper roots, disillusionment with the political process has exploded in recent years. From hundreds of thousands of Indians demonstrating against corruption to Israelis camping in the streets of Tel Aviv to protest their leaders’ lack of interest in basic economic issues to the French pushing back against government austerity measures, middle classes are increasingly turning to street protests to make their points. “Our parents are grateful because they’re voting,” one young woman told a reporter in Spain, where unemployment now tops 50 percent for young people. “We’re the first generation to say that voting is worthless.”

Dennis´2nd comment: Of course voting is worthless, if both political figures are controlled by the financial powers behind the scenes. The sad state of affairs is that the agenda of the financial powers overrides all others, so neither political figure is able to keep to his campaigning promises, but must submit himself to his financial supporters who ultimately stem from the same financial family of friends. Canidates may be blue or red or orange, but the all wag their tails to the green bucks and must obey their sugar Daddy or pay the penalty in political scandal, defeat or death depending on how serious the offense may be. Clinton learned his lesson. Nixon his. Sadam Hussein and Gadalfy learned theirs. The financial powers that be are a mean lot and do not tolerate to disobedience. You take the money and follow their mandates, or else. That´s the sad state of affairs beneath the blanket of freedom and democracy.

Original Comment by Dennis: Of course it is useless, if the only available politicians are controlled by the financial powers that be. Then those financial powers use the elected officials for their own ends and not for the peoples ends. The people end up losing confidence in the democratic institutions because behind the scenes they are controlled by the money of the financial powers. So whether you vote one way or the other, the agenda chosen and followed is the agenda of the hidden financial powers with a little red color or blue depending on which party wins the election.

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Nick Vujicic: We Are Living in the End of Days

By Alex Murashko, Christian Post, March 5, 2013
NASHVILLE—Evangelist Nick Vujicic told communicators at the annual National Religious Broadcasters (NRB 2013) convention that through his global outreach ministry, “Life Without Limbs,” he is able to see a strong spiritual movement indicating that we are most likely living during the end times.

“We are extremely excited in seeing how the Lord is reaching out to the world not just through our ministry, but we can see other ministries with moves of God [and] you really start to get convinced that we are living in the end of days, a time when every human being on earth will have the chance to say ‘yes, I accept’ or ‘no, I reject’ this Gospel message of Jesus,” said Vujicic during the last keynote session of the 4-day event. “But how will they know unless someone tells them?”

The evangelist, who lives just north of Los Angeles, said that he just came back from Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia. “This year, we are going to, God willing, 26 countries that represent a population of 800 million people,” he said.

Despite all the good news about his ministry work the central focus of Vujicic’s life is Jesus, he said.

“The greatest news that I could ever say is that Jesus is Lord and Savior of my life. He is my friend. He is with me wherever I go. I’m so delighted to continue to grow in my relationship to Jesus.”

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A Scary Thought

By Peter Amsterdam

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When I was doing some research for a writing project, I came across something that jolted me. It was a familiar Bible verse which I’ve read, heard, and even quoted hundreds of times, but when meditating on it, thinking of its practical application and the enormity of the consequences of ignoring it, I more fully realized its importance. And being guilty of this very thing, it frightened me.

Matthew 6:14–15 says:

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.1

There’s no wiggle room within these verses. Whether we do or don’t forgive othershas a direct effect on whether God does or doesn’t forgive us.2 This struck me as something to be acutely aware of.

In two other places in the Gospels Jesus makes the same point.

Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.3

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.4

Peter asked the obvious question when he said:

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven” (490 times).5

Jesus uses a pretty big number to express His thoughts on how many times we should forgive our brother, clearly demonstrating that forgiveness is important and something that we should do.

To further drive home the point, He uses some other very large numbers as He goes on to tell the story of a king who wanted to settle his accounts with his servants.

One man owed the king ten thousand talents. A talent is 125 pounds or 2,000 ounces, so this man owed the king 20 million ounces of either gold or silver. At today’s rates, if it was silver, then it would amount to 560 million dollars; if it was gold, then it would be about 27 billion dollars.6 In either case, and at any time, that’s an enormous debt. Because the man couldn’t pay, the king ordered that the man and his wife and children and all that he had were to be sold. The man implores the king to have patience, and out of pity the king releases him and pardons his debt.

Sadly, after that, the forgiven servant finds one of his fellow servants who owes him a hundred denarii—one denarii being the equivalent to a day’s wages at the time. (Wikipedia puts a day’s wages at that time at about 20 dollars today, which if correct means the fellow servant’s debt was 2,000 dollars.) The forgiven servant will not pardon the debt of his fellow servant and has him imprisoned.

When the king hears of it, he summons the forgiven servant and says:

“You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.7

Jesus ends this story with an alarming statement:

So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.8

Clearly, forgiving your brother is important, and not forgiving him results in God not forgiving you for your debts and trespasses.

There are times when other people sin against us or hurt us—whether intentionally or unintentionally—just as there are times when we hurt others or sin against them. People may treat us unfairly on occasion, deceive us; perhaps they steal from us, or slander us, speaking behind our back. They may cheat us or cheat on us, or they may break their word. Whatever the case may be, whatever the offense, whatever the hurt, we are commanded to forgive.

Forgiving doesn’t mean the other person was in the right, nor does it mean that the loss or harm caused by their actions is undone. It simply means that rather than focusing on who’s right and who’s wrong, you leave that in God’s hands, along with the repercussion of the person’s actions. You take the high road and forgive.

It’s interesting that the parable of the unforgiving servant uses money to make a point about forgiveness. For some reason, it seems when someone has taken money from you, whether through stealing it or causing damage to your means of support, it’s very difficult to forgive them.

All of us sin, and each of us falls short of the glory of God. Like the unforgiving servant, because we sin, we each owe a huge debt to God—a debt so large that none of us can ever repay it. But through Jesus, God forgives that debt and then He calls us, in like manner, to forgive others.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.9

Looking at it from the point of view that if we don’t forgive others when they sin against us, God won’t forgive us when we sin against Him, can be rather frightening. It certainly makes one think. The good part is, we can also see it as a promise: if we forgive others, God will forgive us. If we show mercy, then mercy will be shown to us. If we forgive, we will be forgiven. Who’s right and who’s wrong isn’t the issue; forgiving from the heart is.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.10

Originally published March 2011. Republished on Anchor March 2013.
Read by Peter Amsterdam.


1 ESV.

2 This is in reference to God forgiving your specific offenses; it’s not referring to salvation.

3 Luke 6:37 ESV.

4 Mark 11:25 ESV.

5 Matthew 18:21–22 ESV.

6 Rates as of March 2011.

7 Matthew 18:32–34 ESV.

8 Matthew 18:35 ESV.

9 Ephesians 4:32 ESV.

10 Colossians 3:12–14 ESV.

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Josephus says, ‘Genesis means what it says!’

by Frank Luke

Many people who compromise on the plain meaning of Genesis claim that the literal interpretation is a modern invention. Instead, they claim that most commentators in the past took a long-age view.




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On the contrary, the vast majority interpreted the days of Genesis 1 as ordinary days. Furthermore, even those who did not, such as Origen and Augustine, vigorously attacked long-age ideas and affirmed that the world was only thousands of years old.1 Among the Jewish commentators, the first-century historian Flavius Josephus (AD 37–ca. 100) stands out from the rest.

Having been born in Judea and living there in his formative years, Josephus is unquestionably the most important Jewish historian outside of Scripture. Were it not for Josephus, entire periods of Jewish history would have been lost in the mists of time. Like any good Jew, Josephus recognized that one could not understand Jewish history without first understanding its religion. As Scripture defines Judaism, Josephus first explained Judaism by defining Scripture and the Jewish love of their holy books.
‘For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another, [as the Greeks have], but only twenty-two books, which contain the records of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine;2 and of them five belong to Moses, which contain his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till his death. This interval of time was little short of three thousand years; … the prophets … in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of human life.’3

As always, Josephus cuts to the heart of the matter. No further explanation is needed to clarify his plain words. He explicitly states that man had been around for only 3,000 years by the time of Moses. He goes on to say that Jews hold Scripture so sacred that they would rather die than add to, subtract from, or change any of the divine doctrines of Scripture!4

In the preface to Antiquities, easily his most important work, Josephus further explains his interpretation of Scripture. When explaining why Moses began with the creation account, Josephus records that Moses taught humanity that God blesses those who love and serve Him.
‘Now when Moses was desirous to teach this lesson to his countrymen, he did not begin the establishment of his laws after the same manner that other legislators did; I mean, upon contracts and other rights between one man and another, but by raising their minds upward to regard God, and his creation of the world; and by persuading them, that we men are the most excellent of the creatures of God upon earth. Now when once he had brought them to submit to religion, he easily persuaded them to submit in all other things; … while our legislator speaks some things wisely, but enigmatically, and others under a decent allegory,5 but still explains such things as required a direct explanation plainly and expressly.’6

After explaining his methodology, Josephus launches into the Creation account. He quickly established that he considers Moses’ account to be quite literal. He comments, ‘And this was indeed the first day’7 and ‘in just six days the world, and all that is therein, was made.’8 Josephus gives no indication that he considers these words to be enigmatic or allegorical. His comments are as plain in their meaning as Moses’ words in Genesis.

Josephus writes next of Eden, the Fall, and then the ten generations from Adam to Noah.8 Josephus allows no room for gaps between Adam and the Flood,9 as shown above with the 3,000 years between Moses and Adam.10 Several times in his discourse on the Flood (which he records as global with ‘no place’ uncovered11), Josephus confirms the absence of gaps in the Genesis 5 genealogies.12

Throughout his writings, Josephus notes any Jewish sect that holds a different view from the mainstream position he records. Though he speaks of differences in doctrine between Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots, he records not even a single dissenting Jewish voice on these key interpretations of Genesis 1–11.13 Clearly, for Josephus, if there were any dissent, it was not even worth mentioning, because he had shown how the meaning was unambiguous.

During his explanation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Josephus confronts opponents of Judaism who said the same things as modern opponents of Christianity. In Josephus’s day, the pagan Greek historians denied the history of the Jewish people as recorded in Scripture. Similarly, in our day, uniformitarian ‘scientists’ deny the history of the earth and life upon it, likewise recorded in the Bible. Josephus replies to this charge in the same manner that today’s church must respond to the opponents of a literal Genesis who claim that only secular science should speak on origins:



Josephus’s writings should encourage the modern Church to stand strong on Genesis

‘And now, in the first place, I cannot but greatly wonder at those men who suppose that we must attend to none but Greeks, when we are inquiring about the most ancient facts, and must inform ourselves of their truth from them only, while we must not believe ourselves nor other men; …
‘Nay, who is there that cannot easily gather from the Greek writers themselves, that they knew but little on any good foundation when they set to write, but rather wrote their histories from their own conjectures? Accordingly, they confute one another in their own books on purpose, and are not ashamed to give us the most contradictory accounts of the same things.’14

Josephus’s writings should encourage the modern Church to stand strong on Genesis and its account of the Earth’s beginning. Josephus shows that the consistent Jewish stance on Genesis in Jesus’ land and time was, ‘Genesis means what it says.’



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Who was Josephus? Josephus’s original name was Joseph bar Matthias. Although he was born a Sadducee and a friend of the Essenes, he trained as a Pharisee. Josephus also went to Rome with a diplomatic envoy from Jerusalem and later spent time in the Zealot militia.



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During the Jewish Revolt of AD 66, he (unsuccessfully) defended Galilee against the Romans. He barely escaped the massacre of his garrison in AD 67, and was captured and taken to the Roman general Vespasian. Josephus shrewdly prophesied that Vespasian would become emperor. He freed Josephus when this occurred in AD 69. Seeing the hopelessness of resistance, Josephus tried to persuade the Jews to surrender Jerusalem, so he was regarded as a traitor. Instead, Jerusalem was captured violently in AD 70. Soon after, Vespasian recognized Josephus’ intellect and affinities for history.
Under Imperial patronage, Josephus produced two multi-volume works on Jewish history—Wars of the Jews (focusing on the Maccabean revolt up to the fall of Jerusalem, ca. 145 BC to AD 70) and Antiquities of the Jews (a commentary on Jewish Scripture, tradition, and folklore covering Creation to 145 BC). In AD 100, he published Against Apion (a Jewish apologetic) and The Life of Flavius Josephus (an autobiography) under the patronage of a private citizen.

References and notes
This is thoroughly documented in Sarfati, J., Refuting Compromise, ch. 3, Master Books, Arkansas, USA, 2004, which includes sections on Josephus. Return to text.
The Jewish canon contains the same books as the Protestant Old Testament, but they are numbered and grouped differently (for example, they counted all the minor prophets as one book—The Book of the Twelve). Return to text.
Against Apion, 1.8, p. 776, emphasis added. All quotations from Josephus taken from Flavius Josephus, The Works of Josephus, Complete and Unabridged, translated by William Whiston, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Massachusetts, USA, 1987. These books are also available in the Online Bible. Return to text.
Against Apion, 1.42. And many Jews have died rather than compromise Scripture and God’s commands. The Maccabean revolt started when one man and his five sons refused to let Hellenists sacrifice to Greek gods in the Jewish Temple. Return to text.
Josephus uses ‘allegory’ as we would use ‘typology’. The difference is that typological events really happened and have a deeper, spiritual meaning underneath the literal one (you might think of it as the ‘preaching point’). By his own account, Josephus prefers the literal over any figurative meaning and uses ‘allegory’ exactly as Paul does in Galatians 4:24. Return to text.
Antiquities Preface, 4. Return to text.
Antiquities 1.1.1, emphasis added. Return to text.
Antiquities 1.1.1, emphasis added. Return to text.
The Flood occurred 2,656 years after Creation in most copies of Antiquities 1.3.3. This agrees with the Greek Septuagint translation (ca. 250 BC), while our English Bibles are mainly translated from the standard Hebrew (Masoretic) text, which says 1,656 (see also Hansen, P., Real History: The Timeline of the Bible, Creation 27(4):28–29, 2005). Dr Pete Williams shows why the Masoretic Text is likely to be closer to the original Hebrew in ‘Some remarks preliminary to a Biblical chronology’, Journal of Creation 12(1):98–106, 1998; <www.creation.com/chronology>.
It is possible that Josephus couldn’t find a Hebrew manuscript in the heart of the Empire, or else later scribes changed Josephus’ Hebrew numbers to conform to the Septuagint. Indeed, a few very old manuscripts of Josephus agree with the later Masoretic text. Those manuscripts report 1_56 years between Creation and the Flood (the centuries marker is smudged beyond recognition). Return to text.
Indeed, the book’s heading is, ‘Containing the interval of three thousand eight hundred and thirty-three years: From the Creation to the death of Isaac.’ Once again, the expanded figures are due to Septuagint numbers, but the point is still that there is no room for millions of years since creation. Return to text.
Antiquities 1.3.5. Return to text.
Antiquities 1.3.3–4. Return to text.
The groups themselves record some few differences amongst individual members, but the vast majority follow the literal interpretation of Genesis 1–11. Return to text.
Against Apion 1.2, 3. Return to text.

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Massacre of Syrian Soldiers in Iraq Raises Risk of Widening Conflict

By Duraid Adnan and Rick Gladstone, NY Times, March 4, 2013
BAGHDAD—More than 40 Syrian soldiers who had sought temporary safety in Iraq from rebel fighters along the border were killed on Monday in an attack by unidentified gunmen as the Iraqi military was transporting the soldiers back to Syria in a bus convoy, the Iraqi government said.

At least seven Iraqis were also reported killed in the attack, which appeared to be the most serious spillover of violence into Iraq since the Syrian conflict began two years ago.

Ali al-Musawi, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, accused “armed groups from the Iraqi and Syrian side” of coordinating the attack, which he described as an ambush. He said Iraq would deploy more security forces on the border. Middle East experts said such a move raised the risk that the Iraqis could become more directly enmeshed in the Syrian conflict, underscoring how it threatens to destabilize a wider swath of the region.

“We will not allow any terrorist to enter the Iraqi lands,” Mr. Musawi said in a telephone interview. He said the ambush was partly the consequence of “sectarian speeches that encourage people to hate each other.”

The attack threatens to inflame the sectarian tensions that already divide Iraq, where a Sunni minority sympathizes with Syria’s overwhelmingly Sunni opposition.

Mr. Musawi did not specify which armed groups he considered responsible for the attack, but it was clear that he meant Sunni militant extremists affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq. These groups have become increasingly emboldened by popular Sunni resentment against Mr. Maliki, a Shiite who is accused by critics of trying to marginalize Iraq’s Sunni population since the American occupation of Iraq ended in 2011.

The Al Nusra Front, a Sunni insurgent force in Syria that has become known for its audacious attacks on government targets, has links with Al Qaeda in Iraq, and American officials have blacklisted it as a terrorist organization. But many Iraqi Sunnis sympathize with the Syrian insurgents, who are overwhelmingly Sunni and whose clan relations span national boundaries.

“A number of us have been saying that Iraq is the one most affected by the meltdown in Syria,” said Joshua M. Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and curator of the Syria Comment blog, which has chronicled the Syrian conflict.

“In that region, the tribes go right across the Syrian border, and most of the people are related by blood,” he said. “They’re in one common struggle.”

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The Media Doesn't Get Religion

By John Stonestreet, Christian Post, March 1, 2013
Describing the Pope’s last public mass, Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post wrote about young seminarians taking notes with tears in their eyes and tour groups straining their necks to catch a glimpse from the rear of the church.

Then he got around to describing Benedict’s procession. As Faiola told Post readers, “He walked with a gilded cane in the shape of a cross” as people cheered “Long live the Pope!”

The “gilded cane in the shape of a cross” he’s referring to was actually a crosier, the shepherd’s staff that symbolizes a bishop’s role as the leader of his flock.

The Post isn’t alone in its apparent ignorance of this most ancient of Christian regalia. Eight years ago, the New York Times, referring to the same object, called it a “crow’s ear,” which given the anatomical improbability of the phrase, should have caught an editor’s attention.

But it isn’t only Catholicism: Scarcely, a month goes by without some major news outlet referring to Evangelicals as “Evangelists.” Similarly, these outlets often use the word “evangelical” and “fundamentalist” interchangeably, and their work suggests that most of what they know about us is limited to what they have gleaned from the world of politics.

As Terry Mattingly documents regularly over at “Get Religion,” the media doesn’t “get religion.”

And given the centrality of religion to so many people’s lives, this ignorance and tone-deafness is bizarre. Imagine a sportswriter repeatedly referring to the “last two innings of the Super Bowl.” You would rightly question his competence and go elsewhere for your sports news.

Yet something very much like this kind of ignorance pervades mainstream coverage of religion. Please note: I’m not talking about bias, of which there’s plenty. I mean people writing about a subject they just don’t understand.

Yet people who don’t know a crosier from a crow’s ear pontificate (pun intended) on whom the next pope should be and what the Catholic church “must” do to become relevant.

And people for whom Joshua, Judges and Ruth is, at most, an album by Lyle Lovett, report on people for whom the Bible is the guide to life.

I say this in sorrow much more than anger. It’s a painful reminder that we’re really living in a post-Christian culture.

Chuck Colson loved to tell the story about the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk in World War II. As the British people awaited news of their fate, they received a three-word message: “And if not.”

As Chuck said, “It was a reference to the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing before King Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace. ‘Our God is able to save us … and if not, we will remain faithful to him anyway.’”

The British people understood the message, and organized what is considered a miraculous evacuation.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to imagine something like that happening today. Neither the media nor, to be fair, much of the audience, would get the reference.

To call ours a “post-Christian” culture isn’t so much a statement about individual people’s beliefs as it is a description of the role Christianity plays in shaping the imagination of our culture. For much of our history, Christianity played a central role in this shaping. Non-believers made and understood biblical allusions.

Now, even the most basic references go right over our heads. Everyone is a fundamentalist and popes carry birds’ ears. We just don’t get it anymore.

And we should note that sometimes we are guilty as Christians of the same ignorance. It’s not uncommon to hear Baptists misrepresent Pentecostals, or Calvinists caricature Arminians and vice versa. Or Protestants and Catholics repeat falsehoods about each other.

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Debts and Debtors

A compilation

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As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.—Psalm 103:11–121

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If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.—Psalm 130:3,42

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I know what it’s like to be wrongfully hurt. I know abuse. I know suffering. You know the story of My life on earth. You know what men did to Me, at the instigation of evil men. You’ve read the Bible. Most of you have seen the movies and gotten a good idea of the extreme agony and torture I endured. You’ve thought and meditated on the sacrifice I made in dying for you. My example of forgiving those who tortured and killed Me, of the pardon I granted them, is often referred to. But think about it for a minute; meditate on it, and on what it means to you.

You know that I came to earth to save you, to take your sins on Myself, to redeem you so that you could be reunited with Me and My Father, to die so that you might have eternal life. My coming to earth, My suffering for you, My atonement for your sins was the ultimate act of forgiveness. My act of suffering and dying in your place was a choice made out of love—love for each individual that makes up humanity.

That love was not limited or selective. That love was for all. That love even included a love for those who tortured and executed Me, and a love for those who loved Me but fled in My hour of need. I forgave them all. And throughout history, I have accepted and forgiven anyone who has come to Me to receive My salvation.

Forgiveness, while not easy, is simple. Salvation and forgiveness are both a part of My divine nature, and a part of My nature that you can share in. When you accept salvation, you accept My love, and you accept My forgiveness; and you also receive divine power to help you to love and forgive others.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy3

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“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”—Isaiah 1:184

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Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.—Matthew 6:12, 14, 155

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Then came Peter to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”—Matthew 18:21–226

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Resentment comes from two Latin words meaning “to feel again.” When we resent, we allow the negative emotions we feel at the time of a hurt—a disappointment, a betrayal—to recur long after the event is over, flooding our systems with their poisons over and over again. Because of its effect on the human mind and body, it does not matter how “justified” the resentment is. In my 27 years as a practicing psychiatrist—and in the 15 years before that when I was a medical doctor—I have come to regard resentment as a cancer of the personality that is as deadly as any physical growth.—James A. Stringham

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One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody, everything, every night before you go to bed.—Bernard M. Baruch

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My idea of forgiveness is letting go of resentment ... ridding yourself of negative thoughts. All they do is make you miserable. Believe me, you can fret and fume all you want, but whoever it was that wronged you is not suffering from your anguish whatsoever.—Della Reese

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When we bring our sins to Jesus, He not only forgives them, He makes them as if they had never been.—Corrie ten Boom

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Forgiveness is the act that helps another’s wrong to not become your wrong as well.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

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A person who has an unforgiving spirit is always the real loser, much more so than the one against whom the grudge is held. Unforgiveness, by its very nature, prevents individuals from following through on many of the specifics of the Christian life and practically necessitates that they walk by the flesh rather than by the spirit. …

By refusing to forgive and by waiting for restitution to be made, individuals allow their personal growth and development to hinge on the decision of others they dislike to begin with. They allow themselves to be held hostage. They say, “If he apologizes.” “If she comes back to me.” “If he rehires me.” “If they invite me.” They play the game of waiting for others to make the first move. In the meantime they allow an unforgiving spirit to weave its way into the total fabric of their lives.—Charles Stanley7

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Holding on to hurt is like grabbing a rattlesnake by the tail: You are going to be bitten.—Charles Stanley8

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We must view those we have forgiven as tools in our lives to aid us in our growth in and understanding of the grace of God. Joseph of old certainly understood this principle. After all his brothers did to him, he was able to forgive them. He saw them as the instruments of God to get him to Egypt and to be in such a position of power that he could save his family when famine destroyed all the crops.—Charles Stanley9

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Remember that forgiveness is for our benefit. The other person’s behavior may never change. It is up to God, not us, to change that person.—Charles Stanley10

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Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.—Ephesians 4:3211

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Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.—1 Peter 4:812

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Love lets the past die. It moves people to a new beginning without settling the past. Love does not have to clear up all past misunderstandings. The details of the past become irrelevant; only its new beginning matters. Accounts may go unsettled; differences remain unsolved; ledgers stay unbalanced. Conflicts between people’s memories of how things happened are not cleared up; the past stays muddled. Only the future matters. Love’s power does not make fussy historians. Love prefers to tuck the loose ends of past rights and wrongs in the bosom of forgiveness—and pushes us into a new start.—Lewis B. Smedes13

Originally published 2008. Updated and republished February 2013.
Read by Bethany Kelly. Music by Michael Dooley.


1 KJV.

2 NIV.

3 Originally published in 2008.

4 NIV.

5 ESV.

6 NIV.

7 The Gift of Forgiveness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002).

8 The Gift of Forgiveness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002).

9 The Gift of Forgiveness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002).

10 The Gift of Forgiveness (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002).

11 NKJV.

12 NIV.

13 Love Within Limits (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989).

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Alguns Benefícios da Oração Pessoal

Uma compilação

Um dos frutos da oração, além dos resultados e das respostas visíveis é o efeito e o fruto na sua vida e no seu espírito. O ato de derramar o coração para Mim o mantém próximo de Mim, fervoroso, no Meu Espírito, e o protege de influências negativas. A oração é uma das suas maiores proteções, e contribui para manter limpos o seu coração e espírito.—Jesus, falando em profecia[1]

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Por que orar? Eu tenho feito essa pergunta praticamente todos os dias desde que me tornei cristão, principalmente quando Deus parece estar longe e fico me perguntando se a oração é um ato religioso de diálogo interior. Já fiz essa pergunta durante uma leitura de teor teológico, indagando de que adianta ficar repetindo algo que Deus já deve saber. Minhas conclusões vão se desenrolar gradualmente, mas começo aqui porque a oração para mim se tornou muito mais do que uma lista de pedidos, como uma lista de compras, a serem atendidos por Deus. Ela se tornou um realinhamento de tudo. Oro para que a verdade seja restaurada no universo, para eu ter um vislumbre do mundo, e de mim, para ter a perspectiva de Deus.—Philip Yancey [2]

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A oração acima de tudo nos permite observar o nosso próprio coração e alinhá-lo ao coração de Deus. A oração não é um monólogo no qual nos imaginamos tendo comunhão com Deus. Pelo contrário, é um diálogo por meio do qual Deus molda o nosso coração e torna realidade o sonho dEle para nós. É sem dúvida um tesouro o seguidor de Jesus poder receber respostas tanto objetivas como subjetivas, e assim começar a amar a Deus por quem Ele é, não pelo que pode nos proporcionar.—Ravi Zacharias[3]

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A oração é uma expressão do que nós somos -- um espaço incompleto em movimento. Somos uma lacuna, um vazio em busca de realização. —Thomas Merton

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Eu oro por necessidade, pois preciso me lembrar que existe algo lá em cima e que é bom. Oro para ser ouvida, mas, na realidade, o ato da oração na minha vida tem uma profundidade única. O ato e a atitude de oração me reconectam com algo que muitas vezes escapa das minhas mãos, algo que pode ser puxado como um barbante. A oração amarra o barbante de novo. A oração diz: Eu sei que você está aí; acredito em você; vou conseguir, sei que você é bom. Orar é admitir que existe algo ais além do que consigo ver e fazer. Existe algo por trás de tudo o que é possível ver.—Shauna Niequist[4]

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Na oração eu separo o meu ponto de vista do meu egoísmo. Escalo acima das árvores e olho para mim mesmo lá embaixo, minúsculo como um grão de poeira. Contemplo as estrelas e me lembro do meu papel e do papel de cada um de nós em um universo que vai além da compreensão. Oração é ver a realidade pela ótica de Deus.—Philip Yancey[5]

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A oração nos faz trilhar o caminho iluminado por Deus e nos capacita a reconhecer com convicção: “Sou humano, e você é Deus.”—Henri Nouwen

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Depois que começamos a caminhar com Deus precisamos apenas continuar a caminhada com Ele e a vida será um longo passeio, causando uma sensação maravilhosa.—Etty Hillesum

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Assim como as asas para o pássaro e as velas para o barco, também a oração é para a alma.—Corrie ten Boom

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Orar pelos outros está totalmente relacionado ao amor. É o amor colocado em ação no espírito. Você não apenas pensa na pessoa e quer ajudá-la, mas faz algo concreto por meio da oração.

Oração de intercessão requer doação em amor. Aumenta o seu amor pela pessoa por quem ora. O seu amor o leva a clamar a Mim para ajudá-la.

Um dos resultados mais lindos é que ao orar pelos outros passa a ter uma visão mais altruísta, enche o seu coração com mais amor pela pessoa, porque o seu amor por ela o faz querer ajudá-la. Orar por alguém o mantém fervoroso por essa pessoa, de modo que a sua vida não gira só em torno de você. Você estende a mão e Me pede para ajudar alguém mais.

Orar dessa maneira é um exemplo de abnegação, de dar mais valor aos outros do que a si mesmo. É amor em ação. Você ultrapassa as suas próprias necessidades e intercede por alguém. E como você se esforça para ajudar os outros, Eu recompenso o seu sacrifício e amor usando as orações para mudar e melhorar a sua vida também. Além disso, se alguém sabe que você é fiel em orar por ele, também o apoiará em oração quando você precisar.

Orar é uma maneira de se doar altruisticamente sem esperar nada em troca, mas rende dividendos. Experimente e os sentirá.—Jesus falando em profecia[6]

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Eu acredito que quando oramos pelos outros Deus enche nossos corações de doçura e ternura, porque estamos nos comunicando com Aquele que é misericórdia plena, beleza e amor totais, onipotente, e a gentileza em sua plenitude. Quando oramos a Deus, Ele nos transforma e nos torna semelhantes a Ele.—Frank Alcamo

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Por que na Bíblia o Senhor constantemente nos admoesta a orar, sendo que Ele, melhor do que ninguém, sabe o que precisamos e os pedidos que vamos Lhe fazer em oração? Às vezes, Ele até diz que antes de orarmos Ele responderá. Devemos orar principalmente para benefício próprio, não de Deus. Ao orarmos estamos reconhecendo que dependemos de Deus.—David Brandt Berg

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Nas asas da oração nossos fardos se vão
E nossos cuidados leves se tornam,
Nosso coração pesado ao alto é levado
e pelo bálsamo do maravilhoso amor de Deus é curado.
O Pai amoroso entende nossos problemas, medos e angústia,
E nossas lágrimas por Ele secas são,
Quando Lhe entregamos tudo nas asas da oração.
—Helen Steiner Rice

Publicado no Âncora em fevereiro de 2013.
Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli. Revisão Denise Oliveira.


[1] De http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/o-que-oracao-faz/, Março 2011.

[2] Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? (Zondervan, 2010).

[3] The Grand Weaver (Zondervan, 2010).

[4] Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life (Zondervan, 2010).

[5] Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? (Zondervan, 2010).

[6] Publicado originalmente em 2000.

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