New Year Wishes & the wickedness of Vengeance
By: Elias Bejjani*
December 31/2008
With the new year, let us all pray to be genuinely positive, hopeful, joyful, and relaxed.Let all put our burdens of pain, sickness, deprivation, persecution, separation, broken hearts,
disappointments, frustrations, bereavements, injustice, abandonment, and anger in the hands of Almighty God and follow the teachings of His Gospel.
God, with his gracious wisdom and abundant generosity, shall definitely see in every way possible that we safely overcome all our hardships and difficulties.
Let us all trust in God and recognize that we are all His beloved children that He has created us in his image. Romans 8:16-19: "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God."
We should not question or doubt God's deep love for each and every one of us. How could He not, as He sent his only son, Jesus Christ to defeat death, give us the eternal life, suffer and be crucified so we, His children, can become purified from the original sin and be helped to walk safely the path of salvation. John 3:2 : "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is".
Let us ask Almighty God to help us live in peace and harmony with ourselves and others.
Let us ask Almighty God to lead our steps into the righteous paths and grant us the strength of endurance and hold us back from the sin of hurting or hating others.
Let us ask Almighty God to grant us the graces of love, meekness, humbleness, transparency, honesty and forgiveness.
Let us ask Almighty God to maintain our hearts and minds pure, and free from hatred, grudges and selfishness.
With the new year let us remember that vengeance is evil and forgiveness is a Godly grace. Let us make a resolution that we shall not allow vengeance to take control of our lives.
Being faithful to God's holy teachings, is being loving and forgiving. For when we trust God and believe in His justice, we ought to leave Him punish those who are evil. Matthew 13:43: "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear".
God's teachings in regards to vengeance is very clear . Romans 12:19-21: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
This verse frees us from the burden of taking justice into our own hands. It tells us "Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ God will repay those who are righteous"..
Since God is going to take up our cause and see to it that justice is done, we should lay it down, work hard not to succumb to our human destructive instincts of hatred and grudges.
We don’t have to carry anger and bitterness and resentment and revenge no matter what is our burden. Indeed we dare not because Jesus warned that an unforgiving heart will destroy you in the end (Matthew 6:15; 18:35).
Saint Paul says leave it to the wrath of God. ”Then the wrath of God is defined further as God’s vengeance, “Vengeance is mine.” So wrath is connected with God’s response to something that deserves vengeance. And then it says, “I will repay.”
So God’s wrath is treated as a repayment to man for something man has done. This simply means that the wrath of God is God’s settled anger toward sin expressed in the repayment of suitable vengeance on the guilty sinner.
God will and shall see that justice is done on the Day of Judgment. So let us be forgiving and avoid any sort of vengeance. Daniel 12:2-3: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever".
With this new year, let us pray from the depth of our hearts for all those who hate and hold grudges against us. Let us ask almighty God to cure them from these evil ailments and grant us the grace of forgiveness and the strength with faith to keep loving them.
No one should forget that our live on this earth is too short, and that we must be righteous to deserve the eternal one in Heaven where there will be no pain or fights, but happiness and peace
Corinthians 2:2-10: "But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the spirit searches everything, even the depths of God".
Happy New Year
*Elias BejjaniCanadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/
Face Book LCCC group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17974722934
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Lebanese People: Faith, Hope & Perseverance
By Elias Bejjani
General Michel Aoun, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, in his strongly Syrian influenced conduct, has become another Lebanese Judas Iscariot. Judas betrayed his master, Jesus Christ and handed him over to his enemies for thirty pieces of silver and Aoun too follows suit in his Dhimmitude to Syria and his cheap price extracted by the Syrians for himself and his political party.
Aoun has become a paid slave to Syria, Iran and Hezbollah's anti-Lebanese schemes and he has become a loud and reliable mouthpiece for their heretical, anti-democratic, anti-human rights, and anti-west propaganda.
This week, the Syrian Baathist regime is arranging an official four to five day visit for Aoun as a reward for his subservience. The Iranian Mullahs made Aoun’s recent official visit to Iran a big deal and tried unsuccessfully through him, to sell themselves as a champion state in protecting religious minorities, to the contrary of the reality of their dismal record of religious and ethnic oppression, even going as far as murdering those who may sway the majority and oppose the current regime. The whole world needs to know that Aoun is an exception in Lebanese history and not the rule. Politicians like Aoun have historically ended their careers and lives in shame, humiliation and disgrace.
Aoun had established his political life and popularity back in 1988 as a fierce Lebanese advocate against the Syrian occupation of his country Lebanon and against terrorists, among which include Palestinian and Iranian militias. He portrayed himself as a hero in this domain for 18 years, but since his return from exile in Paris since 2005, he has changed his skin and drastically shifting his stances. The man, for mere personal gains and a delusional lust for power and authority, has sold himself to the Axis of Evil countries and terrorist organizations!
There should be no doubt that those minority Lebanese, who still believe in Aoun and support his pro Syrian-Iranian platforms, are committing a crime against both their country and their countrymen. They have consciously become blind followers of this man, ignoring the disastrous consequences of his policies. They have forgotten the Lebanese cause of freedom, sovereignty and independence and instead preferred to be an ignorant flock to a man who is driven only by his lust for power and securing his legacy.
Let us remind those Lebanese who have lost their better discretion and have chosen the dark path that history has taught us that few of the world's greatest nations have ever been defeated by their external rivals. All of them were first weakened and destroyed from within even before their enemies were able to bring them to their knees. Science teaches us that when the body loses immunity it becomes vulnerable to disease. This can be seen in the fall of the Ottoman and Roman empires and in this regard, those Lebanese who blindly provide a cover for Aoun's anti-Lebanese policies and alliances are knowingly or otherwise destroying the Lebanese model of coexistence, tolerance and democracy. These mislead Lebanese are destroying the Lebanese communities from within, through their shameless collaboration and subservience to the evil schemes of certain political parties, social and religious groups and individuals who are advocating against the essence and core of what actually is Lebanon and Lebanese.
"Everyone who sins is a slave of sin" (John 8-34), and every Lebanese who betrays his people to advocate the Syrian occupation is also a sinner too.
Leaders like Aoun are mercenaries and Pharisees. They are void of dignity or national honour. They steal, cheat, embezzle, betray, and change their skin for personal gain, all at the expense of the people and the country. They ignore Lebanon's deeply rooted history, unique identity and they have no respect for the sacrifices of the many thousands of Lebanese who offered themselves on the nation's altar to enable us to be proud, prosperous and independent.
These antagonists are thirsty for power and blood. They sold their souls and honour for thirty pieces of silver and they have no respect for Lebanon's 7000 years of civilization, culture and glorious history. They are masters in defeatism, ignorance and cowardice and faithlessness. Their deceptive camouflage, sweet words and cloaked lies are well known to all those who are witnesses to the truth. They have missed the fact that Lebanon's people have never knelt nor hung their heads before any tyrant, invader, occupier or conqueror.
Aoun, Hezbollah and all those revolving in the Iranian-Syrian orbit should, foretell their fate of ultimate failure. They will not be any better off than those, who like them, delude themselves and falsely believe they can destroy Lebanon and subdue its people. They have all left while Lebanon and its free and peace loving people still stand as proud and patriotic as they were 7000 years ago!
We remind the Lebanese Pharisees and Trojans, in particular General Michel Aoun that the people of Sidon in the year 350 BC, chose to burn themselves and their city rather than face defeat after their prolonged heroic resistance failed to safeguard their city against the Persian invader Artechtahta. They preferred to die with dignity rather than live with humiliation!
The people of Tyre also choose this martyrdom in 332 BC, when they resisted Alexander the Great's mighty army for seven months, refusing to surrender or kneel. Alexander, after capturing the city, crucified many of the brave Tyrians, while enslaving others in a bid to revenge his huge loss and demeaning humiliation.
The Maronite Patriarch Gabriel Hgola choose to be burned (1367 AD) in Tripoli in front of the Omari mosque in a bid to save his people from the Mamlouk's humiliation and torture. The same sacrifice was taken by Patriarch Daniel Al-Amshiti in the same place (1282 AD), for almost the same reasons and for the same cause.
We remind those who refuse to takes clear and noble stances in life, change their skin to suit their opportunistic interests and lack the courage to bear witness to the truth, that by doing so, they are committing the worst mortal crime. Imam Ali said in this regard, "He who accepts acts of others is considered their partner. He who is involved in evil acts commits two sins, that of performing the act and that of its acceptance."
My dear misled countrymen, strengthen your faith, repent for your cowardice, and witness the truth! Do not fall into the trap of opportunism and do not be deceived by the golden garments and illustrious schemes of those who have been assigned to divide our nation and communities, while spreading hatred and conflict among its members. To these shepherds of evil, I refer you to great words of our God, "God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds, so that their eyes would not see, and their minds would not understand, and they would not turn to me, says God, for me to help them". (John 12-39).
The coward is a blind man in both sight and discretion whose conscience has turned numb. Shame on our people who live in democratic countries like Canada, where freedom of expression is sacred, yet they are still afraid to be witness for the truth and do not support their Lebanese sacred cause.
Shame on every Lebanese who keeps a blind eye towards their people imprisoned arbitrarily in the Syrian jails.
Shame on every Lebanese who does not support human rights, does not advocate for Lebanon's liberation, and shame on every Lebanese who does not carry with Lebanon's brave youth the flag of sovereignty, freedom and independence!
Shame on all those Lebanese politicians and clergymen who are scared to call for a dignified and honourable return of our refugees living in Israel since May 2000. There is no doubt that these politicians and clergymen have chosen the track of sin rather than that of righteousness. These Pharisees are destroying the country which is our holy temple.
"It was almost time for the Passover festival, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. There in the temple he found men selling cattle, sheep and pigeons, and also the money changers sitting at their tables. So He made a whip from the cords and drove all the animals out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle; he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins; and he ordered the men who sold the pigeons: Take them out of here, stop making my Fathers House a marketplace.” (John 3-13)
We call on those who have accepted slavery and to those who are afraid to be witnesses for the truth and feel defeated inside themselves.
We call on those who have deviated from the righteous track, camouflaging, cheating and betraying Lebanon.
We call on them to wake up and start thoroughly reviewing their dangerous acts!
Forgiveness is always there and Lebanon's open loving arms will embrace them once they repent. If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples, you know the truth, and the truth will set you free". (John 8-13)
*Elias BejjaniCanadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator Email phoenicia@hotmail.comWeb sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.comMailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/Face Book LCCC group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17974722934
General Michel Aoun, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, in his strongly Syrian influenced conduct, has become another Lebanese Judas Iscariot. Judas betrayed his master, Jesus Christ and handed him over to his enemies for thirty pieces of silver and Aoun too follows suit in his Dhimmitude to Syria and his cheap price extracted by the Syrians for himself and his political party.
Aoun has become a paid slave to Syria, Iran and Hezbollah's anti-Lebanese schemes and he has become a loud and reliable mouthpiece for their heretical, anti-democratic, anti-human rights, and anti-west propaganda.
This week, the Syrian Baathist regime is arranging an official four to five day visit for Aoun as a reward for his subservience. The Iranian Mullahs made Aoun’s recent official visit to Iran a big deal and tried unsuccessfully through him, to sell themselves as a champion state in protecting religious minorities, to the contrary of the reality of their dismal record of religious and ethnic oppression, even going as far as murdering those who may sway the majority and oppose the current regime. The whole world needs to know that Aoun is an exception in Lebanese history and not the rule. Politicians like Aoun have historically ended their careers and lives in shame, humiliation and disgrace.
Aoun had established his political life and popularity back in 1988 as a fierce Lebanese advocate against the Syrian occupation of his country Lebanon and against terrorists, among which include Palestinian and Iranian militias. He portrayed himself as a hero in this domain for 18 years, but since his return from exile in Paris since 2005, he has changed his skin and drastically shifting his stances. The man, for mere personal gains and a delusional lust for power and authority, has sold himself to the Axis of Evil countries and terrorist organizations!
There should be no doubt that those minority Lebanese, who still believe in Aoun and support his pro Syrian-Iranian platforms, are committing a crime against both their country and their countrymen. They have consciously become blind followers of this man, ignoring the disastrous consequences of his policies. They have forgotten the Lebanese cause of freedom, sovereignty and independence and instead preferred to be an ignorant flock to a man who is driven only by his lust for power and securing his legacy.
Let us remind those Lebanese who have lost their better discretion and have chosen the dark path that history has taught us that few of the world's greatest nations have ever been defeated by their external rivals. All of them were first weakened and destroyed from within even before their enemies were able to bring them to their knees. Science teaches us that when the body loses immunity it becomes vulnerable to disease. This can be seen in the fall of the Ottoman and Roman empires and in this regard, those Lebanese who blindly provide a cover for Aoun's anti-Lebanese policies and alliances are knowingly or otherwise destroying the Lebanese model of coexistence, tolerance and democracy. These mislead Lebanese are destroying the Lebanese communities from within, through their shameless collaboration and subservience to the evil schemes of certain political parties, social and religious groups and individuals who are advocating against the essence and core of what actually is Lebanon and Lebanese.
"Everyone who sins is a slave of sin" (John 8-34), and every Lebanese who betrays his people to advocate the Syrian occupation is also a sinner too.
Leaders like Aoun are mercenaries and Pharisees. They are void of dignity or national honour. They steal, cheat, embezzle, betray, and change their skin for personal gain, all at the expense of the people and the country. They ignore Lebanon's deeply rooted history, unique identity and they have no respect for the sacrifices of the many thousands of Lebanese who offered themselves on the nation's altar to enable us to be proud, prosperous and independent.
These antagonists are thirsty for power and blood. They sold their souls and honour for thirty pieces of silver and they have no respect for Lebanon's 7000 years of civilization, culture and glorious history. They are masters in defeatism, ignorance and cowardice and faithlessness. Their deceptive camouflage, sweet words and cloaked lies are well known to all those who are witnesses to the truth. They have missed the fact that Lebanon's people have never knelt nor hung their heads before any tyrant, invader, occupier or conqueror.
Aoun, Hezbollah and all those revolving in the Iranian-Syrian orbit should, foretell their fate of ultimate failure. They will not be any better off than those, who like them, delude themselves and falsely believe they can destroy Lebanon and subdue its people. They have all left while Lebanon and its free and peace loving people still stand as proud and patriotic as they were 7000 years ago!
We remind the Lebanese Pharisees and Trojans, in particular General Michel Aoun that the people of Sidon in the year 350 BC, chose to burn themselves and their city rather than face defeat after their prolonged heroic resistance failed to safeguard their city against the Persian invader Artechtahta. They preferred to die with dignity rather than live with humiliation!
The people of Tyre also choose this martyrdom in 332 BC, when they resisted Alexander the Great's mighty army for seven months, refusing to surrender or kneel. Alexander, after capturing the city, crucified many of the brave Tyrians, while enslaving others in a bid to revenge his huge loss and demeaning humiliation.
The Maronite Patriarch Gabriel Hgola choose to be burned (1367 AD) in Tripoli in front of the Omari mosque in a bid to save his people from the Mamlouk's humiliation and torture. The same sacrifice was taken by Patriarch Daniel Al-Amshiti in the same place (1282 AD), for almost the same reasons and for the same cause.
We remind those who refuse to takes clear and noble stances in life, change their skin to suit their opportunistic interests and lack the courage to bear witness to the truth, that by doing so, they are committing the worst mortal crime. Imam Ali said in this regard, "He who accepts acts of others is considered their partner. He who is involved in evil acts commits two sins, that of performing the act and that of its acceptance."
My dear misled countrymen, strengthen your faith, repent for your cowardice, and witness the truth! Do not fall into the trap of opportunism and do not be deceived by the golden garments and illustrious schemes of those who have been assigned to divide our nation and communities, while spreading hatred and conflict among its members. To these shepherds of evil, I refer you to great words of our God, "God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds, so that their eyes would not see, and their minds would not understand, and they would not turn to me, says God, for me to help them". (John 12-39).
The coward is a blind man in both sight and discretion whose conscience has turned numb. Shame on our people who live in democratic countries like Canada, where freedom of expression is sacred, yet they are still afraid to be witness for the truth and do not support their Lebanese sacred cause.
Shame on every Lebanese who keeps a blind eye towards their people imprisoned arbitrarily in the Syrian jails.
Shame on every Lebanese who does not support human rights, does not advocate for Lebanon's liberation, and shame on every Lebanese who does not carry with Lebanon's brave youth the flag of sovereignty, freedom and independence!
Shame on all those Lebanese politicians and clergymen who are scared to call for a dignified and honourable return of our refugees living in Israel since May 2000. There is no doubt that these politicians and clergymen have chosen the track of sin rather than that of righteousness. These Pharisees are destroying the country which is our holy temple.
"It was almost time for the Passover festival, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. There in the temple he found men selling cattle, sheep and pigeons, and also the money changers sitting at their tables. So He made a whip from the cords and drove all the animals out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle; he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins; and he ordered the men who sold the pigeons: Take them out of here, stop making my Fathers House a marketplace.” (John 3-13)
We call on those who have accepted slavery and to those who are afraid to be witnesses for the truth and feel defeated inside themselves.
We call on those who have deviated from the righteous track, camouflaging, cheating and betraying Lebanon.
We call on them to wake up and start thoroughly reviewing their dangerous acts!
Forgiveness is always there and Lebanon's open loving arms will embrace them once they repent. If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples, you know the truth, and the truth will set you free". (John 8-13)
*Elias BejjaniCanadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator Email phoenicia@hotmail.comWeb sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.comMailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/Face Book LCCC group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17974722934
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