Audio By Carbonatix

A few days ago, I returned from Israel. It was the most demanding, productive trip since I began serving as chairman of the board of directors of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Months ago, we were horrified by the massacre of Christians and Druze in Syria. My heart immediately broke for my Christian brothers and sisters. But as I learned more about the atrocities inflicted on the Druze, Yael Eckstein – The Fellowship’s president and global CEO – and I knew that The Fellowship was being called to walk among the ruins redemptively.

The media reports that Israel bombs Syria, but what they don’t tell us is that only Israel goes into that troubled country for the sake of pushing back terrorist forces committed to genocide. Israel and the Jewish people know what it is to be a minority, what it is to be persecuted, so it’s not surprising that they’re willing to cross borders to save Christians—who make up just 6% of Syria’s population—and Druze, who are only 3%. There are no more loyal Israelis than the Druze, who compose 5% of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – even though they make up less than 2% of the population of Israel.

On Saturday, July 26—my 65th birthday—we met leaders and elders of the Druze community near the Syrian border. The next day, The Fellowship traveled with the IDF across the border into Syria.

Once we arrived, I was overwhelmed by the resilience and hospitality of people who had suffered so much. I’m convinced they gave us more than we gave to them. It seemed like every room we entered had a simple table of fruit or bread they wanted to share. Children rushed to hug us, and grown men with tears in their eyes spoke a language I didn’t understand—but I knew what they were saying.

We walked through the rooms of a clinic that desperately needs equipment to save lives traumatized by the ongoing massacre. We could’ve stayed there all day, but we knew we needed to return to Israel. There, I was honored to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to stand beside Yael as she was presented with an award for her redeeming, compassionate presence. I’m so proud of her.

I was also deeply moved to meet one of my personal heroes. In Jerusalem, Yael and I sat at a table and conversed with Natan Sharansky. Mr. Sharansky suffered unimaginable anguish in a Russian prison for nine years during the dark era of communist rule for the crime of being a Jew. As we spoke, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the smallest book I’ve ever seen: the Psalms, given to him by his wife many years earlier.

Because of the oppressive system of communism, Natan knew the Hebrew necessary for a secular life, but not religious Hebrew. But when he opened the little book for the first time years ago, his eyes fell upon words that he knew from Psalm 23—words that would sustain him in the fiery furnace of Soviet persecution during his time of imprisonment: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”

As I sit in the comfort of my own home now, writing these words to you, I think of all those suffering right now, at this moment. They are in Syria, praying for protection from brutal persecution. They are deep in the tunnels under Gaza, praying to be reunited with their families and the country they love. My prayer today is that they are strengthened – not only by the 23rd Psalm, but by the Shepherd.

Discover more about the impactful work of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and God’s eternal covenant here.

Photo credit: ©International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Bishop Paul Lanier serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship). He founded Hope Community Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1990 with his wife, Debbie. An author, composer, and recording artist, who also received his Doctorate of Ministry from Erskine Theological Seminary, Bishop Lanier has made it his lifework to bring his many gifts from God to his friendship with God’s people.

Audio By Carbonatix

A few days ago, I returned from Israel. It was the most demanding, productive trip since I began serving as chairman of the board of directors of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Months ago, we were horrified by the massacre of Christians and Druze in Syria. My heart immediately broke for my Christian brothers and sisters. But as I learned more about the atrocities inflicted on the Druze, Yael Eckstein – The Fellowship’s president and global CEO – and I knew that The Fellowship was being called to walk among the ruins redemptively.

The media reports that Israel bombs Syria, but what they don’t tell us is that only Israel goes into that troubled country for the sake of pushing back terrorist forces committed to genocide. Israel and the Jewish people know what it is to be a minority, what it is to be persecuted, so it’s not surprising that they’re willing to cross borders to save Christians—who make up just 6% of Syria’s population—and Druze, who are only 3%. There are no more loyal Israelis than the Druze, who compose 5% of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – even though they make up less than 2% of the population of Israel.

On Saturday, July 26—my 65th birthday—we met leaders and elders of the Druze community near the Syrian border. The next day, The Fellowship traveled with the IDF across the border into Syria.

Once we arrived, I was overwhelmed by the resilience and hospitality of people who had suffered so much. I’m convinced they gave us more than we gave to them. It seemed like every room we entered had a simple table of fruit or bread they wanted to share. Children rushed to hug us, and grown men with tears in their eyes spoke a language I didn’t understand—but I knew what they were saying.

We walked through the rooms of a clinic that desperately needs equipment to save lives traumatized by the ongoing massacre. We could’ve stayed there all day, but we knew we needed to return to Israel. There, I was honored to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to stand beside Yael as she was presented with an award for her redeeming, compassionate presence. I’m so proud of her.

I was also deeply moved to meet one of my personal heroes. In Jerusalem, Yael and I sat at a table and conversed with Natan Sharansky. Mr. Sharansky suffered unimaginable anguish in a Russian prison for nine years during the dark era of communist rule for the crime of being a Jew. As we spoke, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the smallest book I’ve ever seen: the Psalms, given to him by his wife many years earlier.

Because of the oppressive system of communism, Natan knew the Hebrew necessary for a secular life, but not religious Hebrew. But when he opened the little book for the first time years ago, his eyes fell upon words that he knew from Psalm 23—words that would sustain him in the fiery furnace of Soviet persecution during his time of imprisonment: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”

As I sit in the comfort of my own home now, writing these words to you, I think of all those suffering right now, at this moment. They are in Syria, praying for protection from brutal persecution. They are deep in the tunnels under Gaza, praying to be reunited with their families and the country they love. My prayer today is that they are strengthened – not only by the 23rd Psalm, but by the Shepherd.

Discover more about the impactful work of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and God’s eternal covenant here.

Photo credit: ©International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Bishop Paul Lanier serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship). He founded Hope Community Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1990 with his wife, Debbie. An author, composer, and recording artist, who also received his Doctorate of Ministry from Erskine Theological Seminary, Bishop Lanier has made it his lifework to bring his many gifts from God to his friendship with God’s people.