barrykind
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Palestinian Connection
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Gaza’s forgotten Christians
The church worldwide needs to encourage believers in Gaza, who number only several hundred among 1.5 million Muslims and are caught in the crossfire of everyone else's battles.
by Nicole Jansezian
Caught amid the infighting between Hamas and Fatah and Israel’s retaliation for rockets launched at its southern cities is an easily overlooked segment of the population: Christians number only 2,000 among 1.5 million in the Gaza Strip—less than 1 percent of the population.
And if you break it down even further, evangelical Christians number far less than that.
“We are a minority of minorities,” Hanna Massad, pastor of Gaza Baptist Church, told Israel Today. “It is really difficult. The Christian community here is 2,000 including Catholic, Greek Orthodox and evangelical Christians.”
Gaza Baptist Church, the only evangelical church in the Gaza Strip, ministers to 150 to 200 people.
In the latest round of fighting, an Israeli bomb landed on a Hamas office just 300 feet from Massad’s home shattering all of the windows. No one was injured, but the consequences of a war they are not involved in are continually getting closer to home.
Frequently, one Palestinian faction or the other commandeers the church’s buildings to use as a lookout point. Once, a library worker was literally caught in the crossfire and shot in the back. He has since recovered.
The church driver wasn’t as fortunate. The 22-year-old newlywed was shot and killed in a Hamas-Fatah shootout, an innocent bystander.
Not long ago, militants carried through on a threat to bomb the Gaza Bible Society where Massad’s wife is a director. Now the church itself has been threatened.
“There is a small militant group that hates everything western and Christian and in their minds, they are trying to clean up the city,” Massad said. “They are a narrow-minded group and the government is unable to control it.”
But the Gaza church isn’t playing victim to the circumstances. Instead the Christians are running clinics, libraries, bringing humanitarian aid to the needy and carrying on meeting. They meet openly at the church.
“One thing that strikes me is that you don’t hear negative language from them,” Labib Madanat, director of the Bible Society in Israel and Palestinian territories, told us. “Their language is positive, a language of mission: ‘What is my role as a believer; what can I do in this situation?’”
“I’m not saying it is not hard, that they don’t have fears,” he said. “There are troubles, threats, danger and sometimes they are down. But the overall sum is they are a group of people who are resilient, totally dependent on the Lord and positively thinking of what God wants them to be in the Gaza Strip.”
Madanat said the church worldwide needs to encourage believers in Gaza. Compared to believers in the West Bank, the believers in Gaza are more “focused on what God wants them to do in this situation. Gaza is much more difficult. The sense of need of total dependency on the Lord is much stronger.”
The American Consulate has been warning all Americans to get out of Gaza because of the constant dangers. Massad, who also holds American citizenship, was asked by the consulate if they want to leave.
“Without any hesitation I said no,” he explained. “This is where we feel God wants us to be at this time and it is a privilege to be in the midst of God’s will.”
Here is the Link:
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=132&view=item&idx=1413
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[26] COMMENTS:
1 . Fight The Good Fight
Be NOT wearing in well doing for in due season you SHALL reap if you faint not!
love barry
Barry Honeycutt 7/18/2007 8:05 AM
2 . Don''t give up
Psalm 91: And He will send His angels to take charge over you and keep you in all your ways. The angels will bear you up in their hands lest you dash you foot against a stone.
Lord, be the hiding place of our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
Woody 7/17/2007 7:10 AM
3 . israel do something about it
As I pray for our christian brethren in Gaza, i ask Israel to do something about them. please do not forsake them.
Israel should not let Hamas take root in Gaza.
God is with you brethren. take courage amidst persecution
peter mochama 7/10/2007 9:17 AM
4 . Flocks and individuals
It may be differencies in situations between flocks and individuals. Not all arabs are palestinian, and not all Christian churches are vessels of individuals consisting of the rightful socalled believers.
In Gaza the 2000 soalled Christians are consisting of many numerous individuals who also need to come into the personal relationship to God.
Many true Christians in consequence do face an admirable task bearing vitness of Our Suffering Lord who has the power to take care of all needs, but also teach us when and how our testimony is powerful in His hands, and this is sometimes too much and to hard for an individual believer to mention, that may be a reason why some of the vitness are spread like in the first time after pentecost and have to go to the west where many have forgotten how to live and how to believe God as true Christians.
MrK 7/9/2007 9:54 AM
5 . Christians to be shifted to the West
The Western countries, both America and Europe, must consider the day to day sufferings of Palestinian Christians and provide them asylum in their lands. The West has repsonsiblity to protect the Arab Christians from the terror attacks of both Jewish Army and Islamic Militants.
Samuel 7/6/2007 7:03 PM
6 . Palestinian Christians'' plight
Had the 18 percent of the 1922-47 period remained, the Palestinian Christians would have numbered close to 300,000 by the early 1990s. Inside Israel, the Palestinian Christians grew to approximately 160,000 by 1993, compared to a Muslim population of 650,000. However, by the turn of the century and the second intifada, the emigration patterns continued to the extent that Christians now number only an estimated 1.6 percent of the Palestinian population in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
If these rates continue over the next generation, Palestinian and western scholars observe that the indigenous Palestinian Christian population will be on the verge of extinction within a generation.
http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/pubs/20020312ib.html
CZE 6/29/2007 5:44 AM
7 . It''s nice to see Arabs prayed for for a change
Instead of seeing the vicious christianZionists in other links wishing death to all Arabs. Too bad they are suffering because of the constant attacks by ''the chosen'' on them, when they are the ''chosen'' according to I Peter 2.
CZE 6/29/2007 2:01 AM
8 . for such a time as this
My prayers are with you. May our Lord strengthen and encourage you. He has placed you there "for such a time as this". He will see all of you through this. He will make of this a blessing for the world to see that He is the Living God. I am humbled and awed at your courage and determination to serve God. Praise His holy name.
lydia 6/27/2007 5:46 PM
9 . Be strong
Be very strong our beloved christians in christ. As our Lord is with Joseph, with Yosabath .... is always wih you also. Our strong prayers is for you daily as our Lord says.
J.Stanly Gnanadhas, India 6/27/2007 7:13 AM
10 . Thank you David
If you do not have the cd from Jerusalem depot may be I as a Norwegian co-believer in Yeshua can tell about how I was encouraged to listen to the MartinRiki Hu chai song nr 10 Kamnu ba''masciah, text inspired from 2. Corintians 4, 7-16.
and I will add: Romans 8, 28- 39.
with prayers and love .
And must God grant us mercy that no bitter roots grow up inside our hearts because of hatred and evildoers anywhere, He has power.
MrK 6/26/2007 8:24 PM
11 . amazed and ashamed
i have been reading about the christians in gaza and the comments and everyone has shown love even when all around there is evil, the wife of the man who was murdered in turkey openly forgave them,this is what our lord jesus wanted from true followers of the cross.i feel ashamed that i sit here in my relatively safe enviroment and moan about the weather and so many trivial things i am amazed and ashamed.
david 6/25/2007 8:38 PM
12 . Gaza Christians
Many blessings and our prayers for you all
Victoria 6/20/2007 3:53 AM
13 . Blessings
**Deuteronomy 31:6**
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Amen.
Chad 6/18/2007 5:50 PM
14 . Psalm 91
91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night nor for the arrow that flieth by day 91:6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee. 91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 91:9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation 91:10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 91:14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 91:15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
Nancy USA 6/17/2007 1:27 AM
15 . Suffering Christians
Those who are truely born again Christians have nothing to worry about, once died here, last breath on earth, is first breath in heaven. The others who call themselves
christians, need to get befoe the Lord in repentance and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. lTo die is gain, to live is Christ. Hope to see you
Betty Lou 6/14/2007 7:24 AM
16 . i PRAY for GAZA''S forgotten believers
May God-Jaha protect Gaza''s believers.May the peace of GOD prevail all over GAZA REGION especially.Even if men forget GAZA''S believers ,Our Lord Jaha-Jeshua never forget GAZA''S CHRISTIANS.
hALLELU-JAH
MARANA-THA
LORD JAHA-JESYUA
efrahim jeshh massajah 6/12/2007 12:58 AM
17 . God we ask your unity among us
help christian to beat terrorism
hence help inosence muslim who are dying in supporting of human lives.
james mathou 6/11/2007 4:42 PM
18 . Keep up the good work
May the good Lord our God bless your work there in Gaza... I have never been to Israel but will be there next year.I always Shuah Shalom Yerushalim..and also pray for thge unsaved arabs there that they may see the TRUE LIGHT.....
SHAUL IN FL 6/11/2007 2:55 AM
19 . Praise...
You cannot see your protector with your eyes but He is with you and will not abandon you. Praise Him....
Ernie P. 6/11/2007 2:48 AM
20 . May God use you as His salt to further His Kingdom
I am praying for my fellow Christian brothers and sisters in Gaza. May God use you as His light and His salt to bring others into His kingdom. Always Trust Him and do not fear. He is the Creator of this world and His Will and plans will be carried out.
He will bring you through. We love you through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Vanessa from South Carolina 6/11/2007 2:26 AM
21 . May our Lord Jesus Christ protect you
We pray for our beloved brothers in the Gaza Baptist Chuch, may God keep you safe for His Glory.
Mark from Jerusalem-Palestine 6/11/2007 12:09 AM
22 . Prayers for Gaza Christians
Praying that the Lord Jesus Christ will provide a protecting hand over our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
Earl in USA 6/10/2007 10:20 PM
23 . May peace be unto you..
..l known how terrible the christians are feeling in that part of the world...may the God of Abraham, lsaac and Jacob prottect you all against all harms....gives peace to you.. all...
David, nigeria 6/10/2007 6:41 PM
24 . PROTECTION AND PEACE
I am asking everone to add these brothers and sisters to their church prayer-line. My prayer will be that God protects them and gives them peace and great inner strength. May Jesus walk with them and make them wittnesses to His love, truth and righteousness.
OUTDOORMAN 6/10/2007 5:31 PM
25 . my pray the grace of god arrive to all his creature
i pray that the grace of our lord jesus christ our lord arrive to all his creature to accepote the grace of god to us his sacrifice to us by himself in jesus christ our lord my brothers by his baptezm and his holy blood in the cross the price for our sins and by our faith we are save my brothers . the glory to our lord jesus christ our lord all our life amen.
our lord bless you my brothers .
AZIZ BASRY 6/10/2007 4:26 PM
26 . Our suffering brethren need our blessings
I feel pain, knowing my pain can help nobody, but in Gods hands He can show evrybody where our place is to be apart of his universial body. We need to be ready and willing to share alittle of each others pain and hardship, when someone is suffering. And it is good to think of that someone in Gaza are the believers in Christ. Let us pray for Gaza Baptist church and The Bible Society and Bible shop, and the Massad family.
mr.K 6/10/2007 2:43 PM
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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