The Saddest Day for Jews - Two Temples Burned on the Same Day

What is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar? The Ninth of the Jewish month of Av is known as Tish B'Av. 

Nebuchadnezzar's army destroyed the city of Jerusalem on this day in 585 BC.  

(Painting - Roberts: The Seige and Destruction of Jerusalem, from Wikipedia)

Roman troops under Titus burnt Jerusalem on this

day in 70 AD. 

Furthermore, Jews were expelled from England on this day in 1290. 

Two centuries later, in 1492, on the same day, Jews were banished from Spain. 

(Painting - 1683 Dutch Painting - "The Burning of the Temple" from Wikipedia)

 

No wonder Jews all around the world are keeping a 24 fast with sackcloth clothing. 

No water and no food for 24 hours as they read the book of Lamentations. This is an unbelievable day of mourning. Deep questions about the purposes of God are asked. Many passages from the Scriptures are read.

(Sculpture - General Titus Arch, in Rome)

Systematic Persecution of Christians Documented

Systematic persecution continues of Christians. The June 2020 report is in. 

You will read in the link brings you news from several countries in West Africa: Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Mozambique, Uganda, and Mali. In the Middle East and Asia, reports of brutal persecution come from Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, and Indonesia.   Raymond Ibrahim is an authority on the persecution of Christian populations across these nations.

Within the link, at the bottom of this lengthy report, you will find the monthly reports FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS. This meticulous reporting lists the names, dates, places, nature of beatings, and killings of tens of thousands of persons over the last decade. 

"Lord, we have no idea why so many are being permitted to die, being beaten, burned, and raped. We lift up those who are still alive, those who have lost homes and businesses in mass attacks, those who are blinded and unable to secure medical attention. We bless you for strengthening these men and women around Northern, Western, and Eastern Africa, and across the Middle East and Asia. Their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Touch our hearts that we might be sensitive to the needs of others, less burdened with our own problems. Help us to find ways to bring comfort to Christians in the lands where hundreds have recently lost their lives for the sake of Your Name. And we bless you, Lord, for bringing this suffering and pain to our attention. Amen." 

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16274/persecution-christians-june-2020

Finishing Well. "Well done, good and faithful servant, John Forrester."

This blog focuses on the faithful service of God's people. That includes women and men, boys and girls, and people in different countries. I want to see the Church as it has been served by godly people across the years, across the centuries. 

Two weeks ago, on July 9, John Forrester, one of my dear friends, suddenly passed into the Lord's presence. John and Betty were with their family for a holiday in central British Columbia. An aneurysm and stroke caused him to be taken to Kelowna General Hospital, and a few days later, he breathed his last.

I came to love John and Betty in 2004. They were part of a group that visited the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. John's quiet humor was captivating. Totally unique, he was able to see the humorous side of anything. I never heard a barb or unkind word in the comments that brought quiet chuckles. John uniquely loved the Lord. He was born in Stockport, England, and later lived in Wales. After immigrating to Canada, he made his living as a farmer in Prince Edward Island. 

From his involvement as a lay leader in a local congregation, he moved to Vancouver, BC. After completing theological education, he became the lead pastor at Trinity Baptist Church. It was during that time that he and Betty came to Turkey for a two-week visit. 

John came to live in Turkey. He and Betty had a unique way of creating friendships with their Turkish neighbors. With Betty's delicious cooking and John's chuckle and a friendly smile, they became close friends with families on every floor of their building. Their door was always open to visitors, and opened continuously! They lived in two different cities, and after three years, they returned to Canada. The friendships they created were not abandoned. John kept in touch with his Turkish friends and returned to their homes, crossing many time zones. He wanted people to know the value of a Turkish cup of tea, an enduring symbol of hospitality and friendship in the culture. 

In Canada, a new ministry opened up to him in the Toronto area, and once again, he created deep and meaningful relationships.

In the years before his proposed retirement, John taught classes in Merritt. His gifting led him to many professions: as a painter,  a farmer, a pastor, a servant of the Lord across cultural lines, an author, and a teacher.  

I loved to hear John preach. He had a fantastic understanding of the complexity of the inner life and thoughts of human nature. His book on shame and grace captured the Gospel in ways I had never heard from another preacher in North America. He understood the power of a shame-based culture and how the good news of Jesus Christ could reach into the darkest corners of our hearts. 

Behind his gentle humor and pleasant conduct, his mind was always buzzing, thinking of another project, remembering to comfort one of his students, or composing another illustration for his gripping sermons. He was gentle and compassionate. His love for Jesus Christ permeated all he did, wherever he lived. 

I share the loss of the Forrester family. John loved to talk about his children and grandchildren.

What about a visualized Bible for iPhones?

A Bible portion in Hebrew

 Bibles used to be copied out by hand. Imagine doing that today!

 Then, along came Mr. Guttenberg, and invented movable print. The first book published was the Bible - in German!

 Later, we had the mass production of Bibles across all the western languages. Missionaries traveled to distant lands, and one of the first things they did was translate Greek and Hebrew texts into the dominant language of the region.

 Now the Bible is available in more than 700 languages. Portions of the New Testament reach another - perhaps - 1,500 languages. 

 What about the other smaller language group. There may be 3,000 or 4,000 unreached languages, it depends on how the various linguists define the terms. (It's a complicated decision to say that this language or that one can understand that group. Hey, sometimes English speaking people have trouble understanding one another.)

Now comes a new idea. Providing an iBible to the 5,000,000,000 (billion) iPhones in the world. Enjoy this video! 

https://www.i.bible/about/

Yanis Smits - He Finished Well

Listening to Yanis Smits tell his story of living through persecution from the Russian KGB was more electrifying than watching a two-hour movie about the Cold War. This was real life!

In 2007 I had the marvelous privilege of sharing a week with Yanis. He drove a car that I rented in Istanbul and we traveled thousands of kilometers on well-kept Turkish roads. As he kept his eyes on the highway, I kept my thumb on the recorder. After six days of travel, enjoying the ancient sites known as the Seven Churches of Revelation, I had thirteen hours of recording. He described in vivid detail how the KGB tried unsuccessfully to stop him from preaching throughout the Soviet Union. Time and again, heartless agents nearly caught him, but as the stories in the Old Testament, Russian soldiers were never able to capture him.  It must have been the Lord, blinding the eyes of KGB agents.

Then, for two months, I transcribed the life story of my friend and dear colleague. I never knew what a fearless preacher of the Gospel he was. And in many parts of the Soviet Union! The unpublished manuscript was something I wanted to complete for his 80th birthday. 

However, on April 23, 2020, Yanis' heart finally gave out. The years of intense labor, endless stress and his weakened physique caught up with him. The Lord called him home. "Yanis, it's time for you to end your ministry of love and compassion for Russian, Latvian, and English speakers. You have completed your work for your homeland, the country of Latvia that you love so much. Come now, my Son. Well done, good and faithful servant." Hearing of his home call, Cathie and I found tears flowing down our cheeks. We loved this wonderful man. We love his dear wife, Ruth, and their beautiful children. 

Yanis and Ruth had become close friends when we moved to Toronto, Canada. I visited the church where the family worshiped and thus began a beautiful friendship. Yanis and Ruth's children formed an orchestra and led a church with various sub-congregations. This reflected the city's multi-cultural and multi-lingual nature. Then, it was back to Riga, Latvia for the Smits family. 

They ministered to Baptist Churches there, and he was the pastor of the Salvation Temple. The massive building at one time held as many as 2,000 people for services, but under the Russian occupation, the church was turned into a sports center. For fifty years, the smell of beer and urine accumulated. As in everything else, Yanis brought this situation before the Lord. Two congregations emerged in the Salvation Temple. One was a Russian-speaking group, and the other the Latvian-speaking congregation.

The Smits arrival back in Latvia happened after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Whereas the Russians had the upper hand from 1945 to 1989, they were now a widely rejected minority. Yanis and Ruth, and several of their sixteen children, found ways in Riga to meaningfully share the love of God with Russian citizens who now had no jobs and no income. 

Upon the return of the Smits family back to Canada in his retirement, Yanis was not content to simply "retire." How could he? He loved to preach the Gospel! He never tired of telling people about Jesus Christ. He longed for each individual to truly enjoy the Lord. He spoke of sin and repentance, of hell and Heaven, or restoration and salvation. He preached with passion. When speaking of Jesus, his slim body was transformed into a dynamo of rare energy. 

I'm looking forward to the publication of his book. It is now in the hands of the Smits family. As I write these few lines, I remember cities in Latvia, places I had never heard of. 

I transcribed details of how he was able to get around the Soviet Union when he was forbidden to travel. Incredibly, in the id 1970s, pressure came from US senators, and he was invited to the United States. In Washington, he spoke to a joint session of Congress about the persecution of Christians in the USSR. My mouth fell open listening to the minute by minute account of his escape from Moscow. The Soviet authorities used every cruel trick to keep him from leaving Russia. How was it that Yanis kept on preaching and was never sent to Siberia? These events compose only a few of the chapters in the upcoming book. I'm so happy that I learned about his life as he kept his eye on the road and spoke into the microphone. 

Yanis Smits - we love you and miss you. You finished strong. You finished the race. There is a great reward laid up in Heaven for you. May we also complete the race and stay strong.