Czech Christian Given Life For ‘Spying’ In Sudan – For Showing Compassion

Posted on February 1, 2017 by staffvomkorea

Voice of the Martyrs Korea calls on Sudan to free Christian aid worker accused of spying. Charge ‘demonstrates growing hostility towards Church in Sudan’.

 

A Czech Christian aid worker has been sentenced to life in prison for spying, which in Sudan’s system means at least 20 years behind bars. His real ‘crime’ was to help a student who had been badly injured at a demonstration.

Petr Jašek, who is in his mid-50s, was sentenced yesterday (Sunday) in Khartoum.

Two co-defendants were also sentenced to a total of 12 years each for helping Petr Jašek. They were Sudanese nationals Rev Hassan Abduraheem and Abdulmonem Abdumawla.

‘Voice of the Martyrs Korea is shocked by yesterday’s ruling,’ says VOMK’s President Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. ‘Sentencing aid workers for spying highlights the growing hostility in Sudan towards Christians and the church – as does the severity of the sentence.

‘The government is already demolishing churches. VOM calls on Sudan to respect the rights of Christians and others and to release these men, whose only crime was compassion.’

Petr Jašek and the others were accused of funding rebel movements in areas such as South Kordofan and Darfur. The charges arose after an act of compassion towards a student from Darfur who was badly burnt during a protest in 2013.

The student’s plight was highlighted at an international conference in 2015. In December that year, Petr travelled to Khartoum to give the student $5,000 towards his medical costs. Security agents searching his bags at Khartoum Airport found the receipt for his donation and detained Petr on the spot, accusing him of supporting rebels.

Petr Jašek has a 20-year background in the medical field, including 10 years as a hospital administrator. He has worked to provide care to persecuted Christians in Sudan and Nigeria, including medical care for Christians attacked by Boko Haram.

His medical experience uniquely qualified him to serve suffering people in places like Sudan.

The court in Khartoum watched a video found on Petr’s laptop, which showed a foreigner talking with civilians from the Nuba mountains area. Two of the men on trial were from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan.

The prosecution claimed the video was clear evidence that Petr and the two pastors were guilty of tarnishing the image of Sudan by gathering information on persecution of Christians and genocide for ‘parties hostile to Sudan’.

The president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, has been indicted for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

The court in Khartoum found Petr Jašek guilty of taking pictures of military installations and entering Sudan without a visa; he was also fined 100,000 Sudanese Pounds (more than £12,000) for doing aid work without a permit.

The three defendants were also convicted of ‘spreading rumours that undermine the authority of the state’ and inciting hatred.

The maximum legal penalty for this is six months – but the judge in Khartoum doubled this sentence. The three have been jailed in Omdurman, north of the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

All three men plan to appeal immediately. The European Parliament earlier called for the unconditional release of the men and the Czech Foreign Ministry has refuted the verdict and may intervene.

Many churches in Khartoum are currently under threat of demolition. In separate cases in Khartoum, a judge has ruled that four churches facing demolition orders should be represented by a lawyer chosen not by the churches, but by the Sudanese authorities. The same applies to a further 21 churches facing the threat of demolition.

Dr. Hyun Sook Foley of Voice of the Martyrs Korea says: ‘Pray that God will comfort and strengthen Petr and the others so they will not lose heart. Ask God for wisdom for the legal team supporting the three men. Pray that their appeal will be heard swiftly and will be successful. And pray that the 25 churches in Sudan facing demolition orders will be allowed to continue their ministries.’

Voice of the Martyrs was founded in 1967 by Rev. Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor imprisoned and beaten for his faith by communist authorities for more than 13 years. Today, independent Voice of the Martyrs organizations in more than 20 countries carry on Rev. Wurmbrand’s work, partnering with persecuted believers in more than 70 nations.

The Rev. Dr. Eric Foley and Dr. Hyun Sook Foley founded Voice of the Martyrs Korea in 2003.

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What Is My Purpose?

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Editor

John 1:29-42

What questions do we ask when we read scripture? Often, we ask questions about ourselves when we read scripture: What does this scripture tell me to do?  What does this scripture say God is doing for me?

The world tells us that we must “be true to ourselves” and “do what makes us happy.” We learn to ask the questions “Who am I?” and “What do I need?”

God created us, so he must care about these questions, too. But can we understand who we are without understanding who God is?

When we read scripture like this, we can become very confused. How does John 1:29-42 relate to us? How does it tell us who we are? If we are reading the Bible to learn about ourselves, we will skip over passages like this. But this passage teaches us so much if we read it and think about the right question: “What does this scripture teach me about God’s character?”

When John sees Jesus, he says, “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” We know there is one God, but John’s words reveal that this one God is made of three persons. He cannot be reduced to any one of these persons. Scripture and church history both insist that God exists as a Trinity. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All of these persons are one being, but they are not one person. Anytime we speak about God, we must describe him as a Trinity. If we do not, many scriptures and church teachings will not make sense.

Some may look at this scripture and say, “But Jesus is the lamb of God, so he cannot be God.” But remember what we learned last week: Jesus has two natures. He has a divine nature and a human nature. When the scripture calls Jesus “the lamb of God”, the scripture is referring to Jesus’ human nature. He is the sinless man and must borrow death because it is not proper to his nature. By taking the sin of the world and dying and rising again, Jesus recreates the human being and restores the image of God in the human creature marred by sin.

John also professes the divine nature of Jesus when he says, “I have seen the Holy Spirit descending from heaven and remaining on this one, this Jesus. I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said that the one on whom the Holy Spirit remains is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” In this part of the passage, we see all three persons of the Trinity. The Father sent John to Baptize with water. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father to rest on the One. And the One sends the Holy Spirit to rest on human beings. But who is the One? John says that the One is the Son of God.

The most widespread heresy in the church today is the belief that Jesus is lower than God the Father. The second most widespread heresy is the belief that the Holy Spirit is a force and not a person. But in these very few sentences, we can already see that these beliefs are wrong. The Father says the Holy Spirit will descend on the One, the Son of God. Only God can send the Holy Spirit, and the Father and the Son are each shown to send him.

This is why the church has always believed that God exists as a Trinity whose members are equal.

Another popular heresy is the claim that Jesus is a created being. But John refutes this claim, too. In John 1:30 he said, “the one who came after me is greater than me because he came before me.” Jesus, himself, said, “Very truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) Although he is fully man, he is also fully God: he has always existed.

In John 1:29-42, Jesus meets three people: John, Andrew, and Simon (Peter). His interactions with these people teach us many things about the character of God.

Jesus travels to John and asks to be baptized. This raises a question: Why was John baptizing people to begin with? Was it to have people repent? This is true, but John says he was baptizing people so that the one (the Son of God) can be revealed to Israel. Remember, John says that God sent him to baptize with water because “the one on whom the Holy Spirit remains is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” In other words, John baptizes people because he knows God will reveal the Son of God to Israel through baptism.

John’s work and calling comes from the Trinity–yours does, too. Only God can call people. Only God can give purpose. Often, we become frustrated and say, “I wish I knew what my purpose was!” But our purpose in life is clear. John revealed God as Trinity to the people of Israel; we must reveal God as Trinity among the people where God has placed us.

Because John continues to talk about God as Trinity, Andrew comes to Jesus and asks where he is staying. The scripture says that Andrew remained with Christ all day. God created us to remain all day with him–in our physical bodies.

Greek philosophers believe that human beings were souls that had been forced into wretched bodies. They believed that the souls were pure and the bodies were evil. Death, they believed, was the release of the pure being from the broken one. Some Christians mistakenly believe this, too. But scripture tells us that God created human beings with a body. Human beings are not meant to be stripped away from their body. Scripture also tells us that both the body and the soul have fallen and need to be redeemed. The only pure part of us is Christ, and he must live within us to redeem us.

Andrew remains with Christ for a day. Then Andrew introduces his brother to Christ. Notice that the first person Andrew reaches out to is within his sphere of influence. The church has always worked this way. We do not go first to strangers, but to family and friends. God does call us to reach out to the widow and the orphan (those without a family), but we are expected to bring our own family to God first.

Although Jesus’ encounter with Peter is only one sentence long, this encounter brings us back to the question we asked in the beginning: “Who am I?” Jesus gives Peter a new name. Peter could have said, “Jesus! You do not know me at all! I am very fierce and bold, but I am also inconsistent and cowardly. I am not a rock!” But he did not. Perhaps this is because he realized what John said, “What we will be has not yet been revealed, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).

When Jesus looks at us, he sees something in us that is hidden from our own eyes. We think he can’t possibly be right. But the truest part of our own character is his own character shining through us.

To watch other Voice of the Martyrs videos, visit the Voice of the Martyrs Video Page!

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Why Was It Necessary for Jesus to be Baptized? Doing Matthew 3:13-17

Posted on February 1, 2017 by tdillmuth

(Before reading this post on doing Matthew 3:13-17, please make sure to read our post on hearing Matthew 3:13-17. You can also see a quick overview of our DOTW Bible study method.)
4. What action does God take in Matthew 3:13-17 toward others?

God is Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So whenever we ask about the actions of God, we should always make sure we are attentive to the actions of each person within the Trinity. In this passage, all three persons of the Trinity are seen in action!

In verse 16, the Spirit of God descends like a dove and rests on Jesus. This is not only God the Holy Spirit communing with God the Son. It’s also God’s Spirit resting on human flesh! Christ comes in order to unite human nature to divine nature in himself. His own flesh is sinless, but he takes upon himself all of our sin so that, when we participate in his death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit may come to rest on us also.

In verse 17 a voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This is the voice of God the Father, testifying to God the Son. To whom is he testifying? He testifies to us. We can say that the action God the Father takes in this passage is to reveal his son by testifying to us of his son’s identity. Often when we pray we like to tell the Father our needs and concerns, and this is appropriate because he is our father and he cares for every hair on our heads. But how often do we pray, “Father, testify to me about your son. Reveal him to me.” That is the Father’s greatest joy, and we would do well to pray like this.

In verses 15 and 16, we see God the Son’s action. What is that action? He Submits himself to a human being for baptism in order to fulfill all righteousness. What humility! His action is entirely for us. There was no personal need that He was fulfilling for himself; rather he was setting things right for the human race. He was baptized so that every human being can be fixed. In this action, he who is without sin humbles himself to the lowest level of humanity: that of the repenting sinner.
5. What action does God call me to take toward God? Toward others?

There is no command or action that God explicitly gives to us in this passage. Later in the scriptures he will call us to be baptized so that we can be united with him in his death and resurrection, receiving the Holy Spirit so we can enter into the fellowship of the Trinity. But in this passage we are purely spectators. We watch as God reveals himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see the Son identify himself fully with sinful humanity through baptism. We see the Holy Spirit rest upon human flesh, and we realize as believers, “Now he rests upon my flesh, too!” And we hear the Father testify that Jesus is one of us but is also one with him. To try to do something at such a moment would be like Peter trying to build a tabernacle when he saw Jesus transfigured. There are some moments that God just permits us to watch while he does his work.
6. What actions did I take?

Ask yourself: Is God giving me an opportunity today to simply watch him while he works? Before we do any word, we do well if we watch the Word do the word. God is always doing the word. We can occupy our time fully by watching him do it. We simply need to become knowledgeable about his character and attentive to him and we can see it more and more. We can foster our awareness of God doing the word, not only during times of prayer but also during the most ordinary moments of our day. Brother Lawrence practiced this constant awareness and communion with God, even as he washed the dishes. He said,

The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament. (Brother, Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, Wildside Press, 13).

Baptism signifies that God lives within us and is in the process of fixing us and setting things right. But it is important for us not only to focus on the “us” he is fixing or the things he is setting right. Let us take time to marvel at him and to invite others to do the same. In our conversations with others, we can direct our attention and theirs to God’s actions in the situation, not only our own or those of other human actors. As we discuss the events of the day—whether politics or what happened at school or work or what is happening in our relationships—we can ask ourselves and each other, “What is God saying at this moment? What is God talking about? How is God resting upon us? How is God humbling himself before us? How is God identifying himself with us?”

While I was doing dishes with my daughter, I engaged her in a spiritual conversation like this, and our eyes were both lifted up above the dishes and to the Lord!

Posted in Discipleship, Lectionary Year A | Tagged , , | 1 Comment