Remember Ambassadors

While we join with our brothers and sisters in Christ to celebrate His birth, it is important to remember that we do so in vastly different circumstances than Christians in closed countries.  Please take the time to pray for these believers!

North Korean Christians Celebrate Christmas Covertly

Communist North Korea officially forbids the celebration of Christmas.  That does not stop our brothers and sisters from rejoicing in Christ's birth, though–it just means that they must do so in very small groups and without public display.

Gaza's Christians Keep Low Christmas Profile

Christians in Gaza have been greatly affected by the recent murder of a prominent activist.  While no group has officially claimed responsibility, living in a Muslim country controlled by Hamas has caused Christians to celebrate very quietly to avoid further violence.

Militant Hindus Attack Christmas Celebrations

The attacks in the Indian state of Orissa, began when around 500 men attacked a nativity scene that had been erected by a number of local denominations.  It did not end there, though, as churches throughout the state were attacked by mobs.  The latest reports say that 2 Christians were killed, and 12 churches damaged.

Sombre Christmas in Iraq

"Christmas is very difficult for us. It's a time for family and friends, and this year for the first time, our family is incomplete," Maria Farid said.

Her son was killed by a car bomb in central Baghdad.  Their celebration is a tough one.

I tend to go about things backwards from time to time. For instance, you would think that if you have a big idea, you use eloquence to express that big idea. That would be the forward way of going about writing. Once in a while, though, in doing my writing, I'll stumble on a big idea because I'm trying to be eloquent.

I did that the other day, writing my latest Weekly Reminder. In pondering what Christmas really means to believers worldwide, I said, "But the peace they know is eternal, a peace between God and man, the limitless void between sin and holiness bridged by a bloodstained cross."

And I have been thinking about that ever since.  It's not that I haven't thought about the incarnation before; it's that I never tried to compare it to human suffering.

We cannot understand the incarnation because we have never known perfection.  Even those of us living in the most free nation on earth have never come close–we live in a fallen world, surrounded by fallen people, always seeing evidence of the sin nature that enfolds us.  The closest that I have come experiencing the incarnation is in traveling from the U.S. to the third world.  It's a poor example, but it is the essence of the matter.  Going from freedom, comfort, and convenience to oppression and poverty is a tiny picture of going from Heaven to earth.

That Christ was willing to cross that incomprehensible gap is the essence of Christmas.  But it doesn't end there…

If Christmas were just about Christ bridging the earth/Heaven gap, it would ring hollow.  It would be a miracle without a meaning.  But this sacrifice is the source of salvation, in bridging the second gap, the gap between sin and holiness.

That is the void mankind faces.  It is the void we cannot cross.  It is the insurmountable gap that we must attempt to jump anyway, facing certain doom as we fall short of even seeing our target.

That gap, bridged by the bloodstained cross of a Christ who came from Heaven to earth, is why I celebrate this year.

Merry Christmas!

Returning from a country like to Sudan to the lights and cheer of the Christmas season is quite the study in contrasts.  Sudan is not a cheery place!  But in spite of that fact, true joy lights the faces of our brothers and sisters in Christ, as dark as their sufferings are.

When I was a kid, the joy of the Christmas season was all about the gifts and the goodies.  Now that I'm a bit older, though, it has changed–Christmas is the time in which I remember and am grateful for the unbelievable blessings of family and friends.  And as I work with the church across the world, I am realizing more and more the depth of that blessing.  "Family" is not just physical relatives; it is the Body of Christ, united in His love.  What a blessing to be a part of that Body.

As we ring in the season of giving, I can't help but think about the white-haired elder I wrote about on the trip, and how meaningful the gift of prayer is.  I certainly cannot think of anything more valuable.  Perhaps we never see the results, at least not in this life, but our prayers make all the difference.

As a reminder of this gift, we have compiled a beautiful 2008 prayer calendar, which will be going out the Remember mailing list shortly.  If you are not on the mailing list, but would like a copy of the calendar, please e-mail me your address!

"Hallelujah.  In the name of God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  My heart rejoice because of God's love, that he was able to meet both white and black together and are united in the love of Jesus Christ.  I am very happy that I can shake hands with my brothers who are in white skin, and I wan to ask the Lord to continue to bless you so that your ministry will expand more and always be continue to follow God's steps."

These words were brought to us by one of the Sudanese widows we talked to today.  Though the main focus of this trip has been the building project I have mentioned before, Remember is always on the lookout for people to help, and we arranged a meeting with 9 widows from one local congregation.  We asked them to briefly share their stories, and to share prayer requests with the church in the United States.

One after another they came,  but they refused to be limited to prayer requests.  As they told us of their suffering and loss, they offered up their thanksgiving and praises to the God that giveth–and taketh away.  No trace of bitterness was anywhere to be found, not in the woman that is not only a widow, but is also a diabetic; not in the woman who pulled aside her head covering to reveal a massive goiter on her neck; not in the others who spoke of stomach troubles and even deafness.

Instead, their praises rang out.  As they stood, beginning their testimonies by saying "Hallelujah," those waiting their turn would echo with a simple, but vibrant, "Amen."  One praised by simply thanking God that He had allowed her to survive to this day.  Another shared that, though they miss many meals, God was ever faithful to keep them from going an entire day without eating.

These beautiful testimonies are but a drop in the bucket.  One generous church in North Carolina donated enough gifts for 185 widows, and the church leaders did not bat an eye when they said they could make sure it was distributed.  And this is but one city in a country awash in suffering.

What sweet incense their praises must be to the father of the fatherless and the husband of the widow.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this…

The whole team, representing three partnering organizations (L-R): Gabe Waddell (Remember), Edgar Feghaly (Remember/MAP), Sam Stricklin (MAP), Mark Searcy (Remember), Will Halker (Operation Renewed Hope), Marshall Hamilton (MAP) 

I wrote this up yesterday, and wanted to share it here.

***** 

I arrived at the church headquarters about 11, passing through a good portion of Khartoum to get there, in a typical little Sudanese rental van. I walk in through the little gate, over the dirt paths, and enter a plastered room with around 100 chairs set up. At the front is a rough wooden pulpit with a red cross hewn in the front, and our team heads towards it, taking the seats in the front.

One by one the pastors enter, resplendent with handshakes and smiles, many asking with excited, broken English how our trip to Kadugli went. They take their places, standing for the opening prayer, in which my limited Arabic only recognizes one word - "Shukron," or "thank you." After the prayer of thanksgiving, they join together in praise that easily transcends all language barriers; the Spirit of the Lord is present.

A frail, white haired elder named Samuel rises to his feet and totters to the front, starting with a Scripture: "He that sows with tears," our translator tells us, "will reap with rejoice." With that introduction, Pastor Samuel shares the history of the Sudanese Church of Christ, the Baptist movement in Sudan that began in 1904. He tells the story with a clarity and detail borne out of the simple fact that he was there. No, not back in 1904, though he looks old enough to have been alive then, but as the church blossomed and grew he was there. He was the one who turned himself in, going to the police, sacrificing his own freedom to advance Christ's cause–and he was the one miraculously saved by the power of God.

An hour and a half later, he has not lost his audience. They still hang on each word, but our time is drawing to a close, but much is yet to be done. Our team has not come empty-handed; far from it. Bicycles are brought in, a gift to their pastors to allow easier transportation. And then I am allowed to stand and give a short introduction to the gift I have brought from the churches in the United States. It's a small gift, an envelope with a $10 bill for each pastor, not much money perhaps, but hopefully an encouragement and a way to alleviate the expenses they have incurred to come to Khartoum.

But before I can give it out, another elder, a grey-haired man of wisdom rises and shuffles on deformed ankles to the front. "I do not want to take time," he says, "but I feel led of the Holy Spirit to share. In my old age, when I look at my church, I think of it as an orphan, a child that is left without father or mother. It cannot think, it cannot live by itself…"

His words trail off into a flood of tears.

"In short," the translator takes over, "He wants to express his thanks for your cooperation with us as a ministry. He was especially touched by Brother Gabe's news that the church in the United States is praying for the church in Sudan."

And the gift I hold seems completely inconsequential compared to that gift, the gift of prayer.