While I was in
England a few summers ago, i had the privilege of meeting Canon Andrew
White,
also known as the "Vicar of Baghdad," is the Chaplain of St. George’s Anglican
Church in Baghdad, Iraq. He estimates that his flock used to number around
6,000 people, but in the last decade over 1,200 have been killed, according to
CNN's Arwa Damon. "One of things that really hurt was when one of the
Christians came and said, 'For the first time in 1,600 years, we had no church
in Nineveh,'" he told Damon. White refuses to leave Baghdad, despite the
danger, as St. George's is Iraq's last Anglican church.
When I read about the courage and the deep dedication of Canon Andrew White I am called to a deeper love for the Lord and His claim upon my life. There are untold millions of Christians around the world who live their lives in the face of great threat and danger. These men and women, who love Jesus with great passion and zeal, are a breed apart. They are part of the great cloud of witnesses such as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who lived their lives in the midst of paganism and hedonism. They are part of the cloud of witnesses like Peter and John who said in Acts 4:19-20, "But Peter and John answered them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.' Once again I am reminded of the boldness and the audacity of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who said Dan 3:16-18, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Often it is easy for us to become lukewarm in our faith, in our worship, witness, stewardship, and discipleship. The Lord calls us to be bold and fearless. May the Lord come upon all of us with His Holy Fire and zeal. May He provoke us to rise and follow Him. We live in a dangerous world, yet it is an exciting time to alive and to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord. In Mathew 28 we have an account of the last encounter of the Risen Lord with His disciples, who then numbered only 11. ”Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”.
We live in a world that worships money and power, but we are reminded and commanded not to fear as we go into the world because the power of Jesus far surpasses the power and authority of the rulers of this world. Think of the rich and powerful people of this world, such as Gates, Buffett, Putin, Obama, Merkel, Ahmadinejad, Hu, Kim, and Sarkozy. Who are they compared to the Lord Jesus Christ? They are nothing at all!
We live in a world that has, according to Martin Luther, become "devil filled". ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). "And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure; One little word shall fell him." The Lord delights to shine His light through us to a world that is deep in darkness.
When I read about the courage and the deep dedication of Canon Andrew White I am called to a deeper love for the Lord and His claim upon my life. There are untold millions of Christians around the world who live their lives in the face of great threat and danger. These men and women, who love Jesus with great passion and zeal, are a breed apart. They are part of the great cloud of witnesses such as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who lived their lives in the midst of paganism and hedonism. They are part of the cloud of witnesses like Peter and John who said in Acts 4:19-20, "But Peter and John answered them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.' Once again I am reminded of the boldness and the audacity of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who said Dan 3:16-18, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Often it is easy for us to become lukewarm in our faith, in our worship, witness, stewardship, and discipleship. The Lord calls us to be bold and fearless. May the Lord come upon all of us with His Holy Fire and zeal. May He provoke us to rise and follow Him. We live in a dangerous world, yet it is an exciting time to alive and to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord. In Mathew 28 we have an account of the last encounter of the Risen Lord with His disciples, who then numbered only 11. ”Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”.
We live in a world that worships money and power, but we are reminded and commanded not to fear as we go into the world because the power of Jesus far surpasses the power and authority of the rulers of this world. Think of the rich and powerful people of this world, such as Gates, Buffett, Putin, Obama, Merkel, Ahmadinejad, Hu, Kim, and Sarkozy. Who are they compared to the Lord Jesus Christ? They are nothing at all!
We live in a world that has, according to Martin Luther, become "devil filled". ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). "And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure; One little word shall fell him." The Lord delights to shine His light through us to a world that is deep in darkness.
When Robert Louis Stevenson was a young
child, he was sick much of the time. He couldn’t go out and play like the other
children so he spent a lot of time watching at the window. One evening he sat
and watched as a man came down the street lighting the gas lamps. His nurse
said to him, “What are you doing?” “I’m watching the man knock holes in the
darkness,” he replied.
What a beautiful picture.
We are called to knock holes in the darkness in
Jesus’ name.
In the words of Jim Elliott who was part of the Breed Apart, "
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/AhlnProP8o0
In the words of Jim Elliott who was part of the Breed Apart, "
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/AhlnProP8o0
