Dear Church Family –
The news from Syria is both good and bad.
The good news: The brutal, blood-thirsty, Russia-backed government of Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown and Assad has fled to Russia.
The bad news: The government has been taken over by a conglomerate of Islamic extremists.
Assad has killed over 500,000 of his own people. He has only stayed in power because of military support from Russia and Iran.
But in the last year, Israel has greatly weakened Hamas and Hezbollah, making them unable to protect Assad for Iran as they had been. Meanwhile Russia has been weakened and distracted by a grinding three-year-war with Ukraine. With Assad’s protectors weakened, a coalition of rebels was able to quickly take over major Syrian cities and overthrow Assad.
Foreign Policy expert, William Imboden, wrote this week for wng.org, “There is much justice in Assad’s departure. He was an enemy of the United States, an enemy of Israel, and a despot of surprising wickedness. However, any joy in his capitulation should be tempered by concern for what comes next.”
For Syrian Christians, it might be a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. Many in our church family are familiar with Hala Brake and her family. They are Christian believers from Damascus, Syria who were granted asylum in the U.S. a few years ago. Hala reports great concern among Christians in Syria about the new political realities. It could lead to strengthened Islamic extremism and increased persecution of Christians. The coalition of rebels that took over the government has for years been rightly designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.
The concern for what comes next led William Imboden to conclude, “In the days and weeks to come, the United States needs to watch carefully, to see if HTS [the group currently in power] turns terrorist while taking quiet steps to prevent any resurgent conflict from spilling over into regional partners such as Jordan and Iraq. Much remains to be written in this unfolding story.”
All of this is a reminder that:
God rules in the affairs of men.
What we do, in our lives and in our nation affects others.
The wicked will be overthrown.
God fights for Israel.
It also reminds us to pray for God’s work in the world, for the advance of Christ’s kingdom in our world, and for our brothers and sisters in Christ in dark and dangerous spots around the globe.
Thanks for praying and for supporting missionaries around the world. See you Sunday. – Pastor Tim
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