God is with us all the time

By: Elias Bejjani*

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life". John 6.68/Only God knows what is in store for us, especially when our future seems bleak, or when we become prey for misery, despair, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, anger, conflicts, hostilities, grudges, hatred and fall into the Satan's temptation. At all times in sadness or happiness, bad or good, we definitely should trust that God's word is true and that He is with us in every part of our lives. God never ever abandons those righteous who trust in Him and call for His help. Do you need help with the heavy burdens that you are carrying? Do you need conciliation, support and rest? Be fully aware of the promises made by Jesus when we surrender our lives to him and take on His new life—we will find a refreshing rest for our souls. The Lord offers us a trade. As we take on his yoke, which is easy and light, Jesus lifts our burden by carrying upon himself the burdens of our sins.

"Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28–30

We have to be sure that God is working out a plan for each and every one of us because we are His beloved children and He is our caring and loving Father. His plan includes a bright hope for our future in all domains and on all levels and at the time. Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope".

God wishes us all that is good and wants us to be good so we can be qualified to return back to Him where He has prepared a dimension (dwelling) for every one of us. But He expects us to assume our ethical-moral-spiritual roles in being actually righteous and to apply His virtues and acts of mercy, forgiveness, love, humbleness, honesty, faith and hope in all that we say, do and think.

All what we have to do when in trouble or in need for any thing is to ask Him and He always is responsive, generous, forgiving and attentive: "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened".

Is your heart broken today?
Is your spirit crushed?
Are you sad and in deep sorrow?
Have you lost a beloved person?
Do you feel that you are abandoned?
Are you lonely and persecuted?
Are you in pain?

Be sure that you are not alone, no not at all. Have faith and hope, open your heart, mind and spirit. Have trust in Almighty God and ask Jesus to shower on you his graces, perseverance and the strength to face courageously and with no fear or hesitation all kinds of hardships. "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit". Psalm 34:18

The Lord is very near to you when facing overwhelming troubles. In fact, the Lord is right there, present with you in the sorrow, in the heartache. He is walking right through it with you. And you can lean on him for comfort, because he too knows what it feels like to be crushed and broken.

God expects us to utilize and invest wisely the talents that were granted to each one of us. He wants us to deal with each other as a one family and help those are in need physically, emotionally, spiritually and materialistically.

We are expected to not only do what is righteous, but also to stand strongly against anything that is not righteous and to take clear and cut stances in evil and Godly matters. We can be neutral, we can be lukewarm, but either hot or cold. "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Rev. 3:15-16

Our hope is to be welcomed in heaven on the Judgment Day and not to be thrown out like the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

We must work hard in investing our Godly talents so on Judgment Day we hear the Lord saying us: "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." Matthew 25:23

And most importantly God cautions us not under any given circumstances to assume His role in judging others no matter what their wrongdoings might be: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:1-5

In conclusion our soul and life are a grant from God and He is the one who decides when to take them back, therefore we are ought to be ready all the time for that moment like the wise virgins who took oil in their vessels with their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. "Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" Matthew 25:13

*Elias Bejjani
*Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
*Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
*Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com/ & http://www.clhrf.com/
*Face Book/ https://www.facebook.com/elias.y.bejjani?ref=tn_tnmn

Hezbollah's bogus Liberation & Resistance Day

By: Elias Bejjani*

Believe it or not, on May 25 each year since 2000 Lebanon has been celebrating a so-called "Liberation & Resistance Day." Sadly, this celebration commemorates a bogus event, and a phony heroism that did not actually take place.
On May 22, 2000 the Israeli Army unilaterally and for solely Israeli domestic reasons withdrew from the security zone of South Lebanon in accordance with UN Resolution 425. The withdrawal was a fatal Israeli decision that has inspired the Hamas terrorism acts and the on-going havoc in the Palestinian Gaza strip.
During the last 11 years many Israeli officials and politicians form all parties openly and harshly criticized Barak's Government (Barak was PM at that time) hasty and unwise decision through which Israel' abandoned its ally the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and gave Hezbollah all south Lebanon on a plate of sliver.
The unilateral Israeli withdrawal created a security vacuum in south Lebanon. The Syrians who were occupying Lebanon at that time and fully controlling its government, did not allow the Lebanese Army to deploy in the south and fill this vacuum after the Israeli withdrawal. Instead Syria helped the Hezbollah militia to militarily control the whole southern region, and even patrol the Israeli-Lebanese border.

It is worth mentioning that the Israeli army's withdrawal was executed without any military battles, or even minor skirmishes with Hezbollah, or the Lebanese and Syrian armies. The Syrian regime, in a bid to justify both its on going occupation of Lebanon and the avoidance of disarming Hezbollah, came up with the "Shabaa Farms occupation big lie" and declared Hezbollah a Liberator, alleging it had forced Israel to withdrawal from South Lebanon.

Syria, in the same camouflaging and devious context, dictated to both the Lebanese parliament and government to declare May 25th a National Day under the tag of "Liberation & Resistance Day".

In reality Hezbollah did not force the Israeli withdrawal, and did not play any role in the Liberation of the southern Lebanese region. In fact both Hezbollah and Syria deliberately hindered and delayed the Israeli withdrawal for more than 14 years.

Every time the Israelis called on the Lebanese government to engage in a joint, serious effort under the United Nations umbrella to ensure a safe and mutually organized withdrawal of its army from South Lebanon, the Lebanese government refused to cooperate, did not agree to deploy its army in the south, and accused the Israelis of plotting to divide and split the Syrian-Lebanese joint track. This approach to the Israeli calls was an official Syrian decision dictated to all the Lebanese puppet governments during the Syrian occupation era.
Since then, Hezbollah has been hijacking Lebanon and its people, refusing to disarm and advocating for the annihilation of Israel. This Iranian mullahs' terrorist army stationed in Lebanon, is viciously hiding behind labels of resistance, liberation and religion. Hezbollah has recklessly jeopardized the Lebanese peoples' lives, safety, security and livelihood. It has been growing bolder and bolder in the last four years and mercilessly taking the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people hostage through terrorism, force and organized crime.
Sadly, Hezbollah is systematically devouring Lebanon day after day, and piece by piece, while at the same time marginalizing all its governmental institutions in a bid to topple the Lebanese state and erect in its place a Shiite Muslim regime, a replica of the Iranian Shiite mullahs' fundamentalist republic. Meanwhile the free world and Arabic countries are totally silent, indifferent, and idly watching from far away the horrible crime unfolding without taking any practical or tangible measures to put an end to this anti-Lebanese Syria-Iranian scheme that is executed through their spearhead, the Hezbollah armed militia.
Who is to be blamed for Hezbollah's current odd and bizarre status? Definitely the Syrians who have occupied Lebanon for more than 28 years (1976-2005). During their bloody and criminal occupation, Syria helped the Iranian Hezbollah militia build a state within Lebanon and fully control the Lebanese Shiite community.

But also the majority of the Lebanese politicians, leaders, officials and clergymen share the responsibility because they were subservient and acted in a dire Dhimmitude, selfish and cowardly manner. If these so-called Lebanese leaders had been courageous and patriotic and had not appeased Hezbollah and turned a blind eye to all its vicious and human rights atrocities, intimidation tactics, crimes and expansionism schemes, this Iranian Shiite fundamentalist militia would not have been able to erect its own mini-state in the southern suburb of Beirut, and its numerous mini-cantons in the Bekaa Valley and the South; nor would Hezbollah have been able to build its mighty military power, with 70 thousand militiamen, or stockpile more than 50 thousand missiles and force the Iranian "Wilayat Al-Faqih" religious doctrine on the Lebanese Shiite community and confiscate its decision making process and freedoms.

Since Hezbollah's emergence in 1982, these politicians have been serving their own selfish interests and not the interests of the Lebanese people and the nation. They went along with Hezbollah's schemes, deluding themselves that its militia and weaponry would remain in South Lebanon and would not turn against them.

This failure to serve the people of Lebanon allowed Hezbollah to make many Lebanese and most of the Arab-Muslim countries through its terrorism propaganda to blindly swallow its big lie of theatrical, faked resistance and Liberation.

Hezbollah would not have been able refuse to disarm in 1991, like all the other Lebanese militias in accordance to the "Taef Accord," which called for the disarmament of all militias. Hezbollah would not have become a state inside the Lebanese state, and a world-wide terrorism Iranian-Syrian tool which turned against them all after its war with Israel in year 2006 and after the UN troops were deployed on the Lebanese - Israeli borders in accordance with the UN Resolution 1701.

On May 7, 2008 Hezbollah invaded Sunni Western Beirut killing and injuring in cold blood hundreds of its civilian citizens, and attempted to take over by force Mount Lebanon.

Hezbollah's General Secretary Sheik Hassan Nasrallah called that day (May 7, 2008) a great and glorious victory for his resistance, and keeps on threatening the Lebanese that a replicate of that day will take place if they do not succumb and obey his Iranian orders.

Hezbollah is a deadly dragon that the Lebanese politicians have been allowing him to feed on sacrifices from the southern Lebanese citizens, especially on those who were living in the "Security Zone" and who fled to Israel in May 2000 after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. This dragon who enjoyed devouring his southern sacrifices has now turned on all the Lebanese and if they do not stand for their rights and dignity, he will keep on devouring them all one after the other.
We call on the Lebanese government, the Lebanese Parliament and on all the free and patriotic Lebanese politicians and leaders to cancel the May 25 National Day, because it is not national at all, and also to stop calling Hezbollah a resistance, put an end for its mini-state, cantons and weaponry, and secure a dignified, honorable and safe return for all the Lebanese citizens who have been taking refuge in Israel since May 2000.
Click Here to read the updated Arabic version of the above editorialhttp://www.10452lccc.com/elias.arabic09/elias.thrier25.5.11.htm

Click Here to listen to the updated version of the above editorial (Media player)http://www.eliasbejjani.com/elias%20audio11/elias.tahrier24.5.11.wma

*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/http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/home.php?sk=group_128479277182033&ap=1



N.B: This editorial was first published on 25/05/2009. I an republishing it today with minor changes because the same problems that it addressed remain unsolved.

Righteous Mothers: Remain The Foundation Of your Families

By: Elias Bejjani

In Christianity Virgin Merry is envisaged by many believers and numerous cultures as the number one role model for the righteous, devote, loving , caring, giving, and humble mothers. Today while in Canada we are happily and joyfully celebrating the Mothers' Day, let us all pray that Almighty God will keep granting all mothers all over the world the needed graces of wisdom, meekness and faith to highly remain under all circumstances honoring this holy role model and to stay as Virgin Merry fully devoted to their families.

In all religions and cultures all over the world, honoring, respecting and obeying parents is not a favor that people either chose to practice or not. No not at all, honoring, respecting and obeying parents is a holy obligation that each and every faithful individual who believes in God MUST fulfill, no matter what.

Almighty God in His10 Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 ) made the honoring of both parents (commandment number five) a holy obligation, and not a choice or a favor.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you". (Exodus 20:12)

Reading the Bible, both the Old and New Testament shows with no doubt that honoring parents is a cornerstone and a pillar in faith and righteousness for all believers. All other religions and cultures share with Christians this holy concept and obligation.

“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)

"You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:3).

Back home in Lebanon we have a popular proverb that says: "If you do not have an elderly figure in your family to bless you, go and search for one"

How true is this proverb, because there will be no value, or meaning for our lives if not blessed and flavored by the wisdom, love and blessings of our parents and of other elder members. He who does not honor the elderly, sympathize and empathize with them, especially his own parents is a person with a hardened heart, and a numbed conscience, who does not know the meaning of gratitude.
History teaches us that the easiest route for destroying a nation is to destroy, its cornerstone, the family. Once the family code of respect is belittled and not honored, the family is divided and loses all its Godly blessings. "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls" (Luke 11-17"
One very important concept and an extremely wise approach MUST apply and prevail when reading the Holy Bible in a bid to understand its contents and observe the Godly instructions and life guidelines that are enlisted. The concept needs to be a faith one with an open frame of mind free from doubts, questions and challenges.
Meanwhile the approach and interpretation MUST both be kept within the abstract manner, thinking and mentality frame, and not in the concrete way of interpretation.

We read in (Matthew 15/04: "For God said, Respect your father and your mother, and If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death).
Do we have to read this verse concretely and take it merely in its verbatim content?

I posted this verse in both English and Arabic on my Face Book page last year and the kind of comments that it generated shocked me. Below are three of these comments:
1-"I pray that this does not apply to teenagers?"
2-"Who else would it apply to? From teenagers to adults to parents...Until their own parents die; then they weep and wail"
3- "Thank goodness because I think we would all be dead if it applied to teenagers at some point, just learning about the "teenage years" with my oldest"

This verse simply dwells on The Fifth Biblical Commandment: "Honor your Father and Mother". To grasp its meaning rightfully and put it in its right faith content one should understand that death in the Bible is not the death of the body as we experience and see on earth. DEATH in the Bible means the SIN that leads to eternal anguish in Hell.

The Bible teaches us that through His crucifixion, death and resurrection Jesus defeated death in its ancient human, earthly concept. He broke the death thorn and since than, the actual death became the sin. Those who commit the sin die and on the judgment day are outcast to the eternal fire. Death for the believers is a temporary sleep on the hope of resurrection.

Accordingly the verse "If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death", means that those who do not honor their parents, help, support and respect them commit a deadly sin and God on the Judgment Day will make them accountable if they do not repent and honor their parents.

God is a Father, a loving, passionate and caring One, and in this context He made the honoring of parents one of the Ten Commandments.

In conclusion: The abstract and faith interpretation of Matthew 15/04 verse must not be related to children or teenagers who because of an age and maturity factors might temporarily repel against their parents and disobey them.
Hopefully, each and every one of us, no matter what religion or denomination he/she is affiliated to will never ever ignore his parents and commit the deadly SIN of not honoring them through every way and mean especially when they are old and unable to take care of themselves.

For all those of us whose mothers have passed away, let us mention them in our daily prayers and ask Almighty God to endow their souls the eternal rest in His heavenly dwellings.


Happy Mothers' Day to all mothers

*Elias Bejjani
*Canadian-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 address http://www.facebook.com/elias.y.bejjani

Your Body Is God's Temple, Do Not Mess With It

By: Elias Bejjan

Yes, with no fear, with no compromise, and with no shame, we declare loudly that all those who believe in Jesus Christ and follow His Holy Bible do not have the right to mess with their bodies in any way, any form or style. We do not own our bodies, but God does. Our bodies are holy and yes they are because we were created in God's image, and because the Bible tells us so clearly that these bodies are God's temples.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis 01/27)

In the Old Testament the we learn that Al Mighty God had a temple for His people; however, in the New Testament He has His people for a temple because we have been redeemed by the death of Jesus Christ. And Because of redemption, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in the redeemed.

When we do not fully respect the sanctity of our bodies we detach ourselves from God and fall into Satan's temptations and become a prey for his evilness.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship". (Romans 12/01)

Saint Peter in his first letter to the (01 Corinthians 06/12-20) focuses very well on this matter. " Someone will say, “I am allowed to do anything.” Yes; but not everything is good for you. I could say that I am allowed to do anything, but I am not going to let anything make me its slave. Someone else will say, “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food.” Yes; but God will put an end to both. The body is not to be used for sexual immorality, but to serve the Lord; and the Lord provides for the body. God raised the Lord from death, and he will also raise us by his power. You know that your bodies are parts of the body of Christ. Shall I take a part of Christ's body and make it part of the body of a prostitute? Impossible! Or perhaps you don't know that the man who joins his body to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? The scripture says quite plainly, “The two will become one body.” But he who joins himself to the Lord becomes spiritually one with him. Avoid immorality. Any other sin a man commits does not affect his body; but the man who is guilty of sexual immorality sins against his own body. Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory."

Realities of life, experience, history and actuality tell us so plainly and without any shed of doubt that mankind are mere mortal creatures, very weak, extremely vulnerable and so fragile. With our mortal bodies no matter what riches we acquire, and no matter how powerful we become with any sort of earthly authority possessed, we will die and one can escape this ultimate fate. Once death prevails our bodies shall return to the ashes that it was created from. No one of us can carry with him any thing that is earthly. We only carry with our deeds according to which we shall be judged on the Judgment Day.

In conclusion all those of us who allege that they are free to mess with their bodies the way they wish and the way they like are actually committing a sin, challenging God's will and breaching on His commandments. Our bodies were made from ash and to ash they return once God decides to take back His gift of life. This reality is very important and Must not be forgotten by any one individual. Messing with our bodies include among many evil means, torture, rape, abortion, sexual immoralities, sexual deviations, enslavement, oppression, enforced starvation, inflicting of disease, mutilation, suicide, homicide, denial of therapies etc.

Let us all fear God in all that we do, say and think.

Let us all remember that our life on earth is temporary and that Almighty God may take back his gift of life at any moment.

Let us be always prepared and ready to face God happily, surely and with righteousness on the Judgment Day.

*Elias Bejjani
*Canadian-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 address http://www.facebook.com/elias.y.bejjani