CJF Ministries®
PO Box 345San Antonio, Texas 78292-0345
“
God has not forgotten the Jewish people, and neither have we.
”
Telephone
(210) 226-0421
Fax
(210) 226-2140
E-mail
info@cjfm.org
OrderLine
(800) 926-5397
Website
www.cjfm.org
April 2012Dear Friends,Memory. As people age, that’s one of the first things to go, isn’t it? You can walk into a room and forget why you’re there. You waste precious time searching everywhere for your car keys. You conduct a similar hunt for your glasses, the remote, or maybe even your fresh cup of coffee. You meet someone and know who they are, but their nameescapes you.It’s a common problem, especially as people grow older or become further removedfrom an event or person. To compensate for fading memory, we develop “aids.” We write names and dates on the back of photographs; we try to place our keys in thesame place; and we establish national and religious holidays to help our children andgrandchildren remember the people and events we value. Most nations have some sortof Memorial Day, and one of Israel’s days of remembrance is Yom HaShoah—a day toremember the six million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the Nazisand their collaborators.“Remembering” is a frequent theme in Scripture as well. It is often used in connection with our relationship to God—we are admonished to remember all that He has donefor us. Some lessons are so important that the Lord provided special “aids” to help Hispeople remember: the rainbow (Gen. 9:12-17), the tassels on Israel’s garments (Num.15:37-40), the Sabbath day (Deut. 5:12-15), and even Lot’s wife (Luke 17:31-33). Thereare countless others.The biblical feasts are among the most powerful memory “aids” that God gives us.Through them, we experience history and also gain insight into God’s plan for thefuture. As the Jewish people celebrate the feast of Passover this year, they rememberancient Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Yet, most don’t realize that theirPassover Seder also points clearly to the true Passover Lamb—the sinless Son of God, whose shed blood is an all-atoning sacrifice for sin.On the night before His betrayal, during His final meal before His crucifixion, our Lordgave His followers one last memory aid. As He broke the bread and blessed the cup, Hetold His disciples to “do this in remembrance of me.” Whenever we share that specialmeal with other believers, we are to remember His death on our behalf.May we never forget! And may we continue to share with others all that Messiah hasdone for us all!In Messiah’s love,Dr. Gary Hedrick
REMEMBERING
YOM HASHOAHIN THE SHADOW OF THE HOLOCAUST
More than 80 individuals recently attended the LCJE-NA conferencein San Diego. LCJE provides a forum for diverse Jewish outreachministries and individuals to gather for worship, networking, andmutual encouragement. This year’s conference theme centeredon Jewish evangelism in the shadow of the Holocaust. Among themany topics discussed was a new biography of German Resistance pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The recently released work by EricMetaxas highlights Bonhoeffer’s understanding of Scripture’ssupremacy, and the biblical definition of the Church, which includesALL believers in Jesus—Jewish or Gentile. In another seminar, the presenter introduced the controversial claim of Romans 11 thatone day, ALL Israel shall be saved. A lively debate followed that presentation. Another presentation explored pre-WWII Jewishevangelism, and the little-known presence of Messianic Jews in theWarsaw Ghetto.We have posted presentations by several speakers on our webpage at
LCJE-NA.org
.International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the liberation of Auschwitz, is celebrated by most nationson January 27. In Israel, however, that solemn remembrance is called Yom HaShoah, and is observed on the 27thof Nisan—a week after the seventh day of Passover and a week before Yom Hazikaron (Israel’s Memorial Dayfor its fallen soldiers). Israel’s observance was chosen because of its proximity to the time of the Warsaw Ghettouprising. This year, Yom HaShoah falls on April 19.Israel chose a date close to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising for Yom HaShoah because young Israelis had troubleidentifying with victims of the Holocaust. They felt that European Jewry were simply led to slaughter like sheep.Israeli educators thought school children needed to know more about the Jewish heroes of the Holocaust. Hence,in teaching this part of Jewish history, they began to focus more on the Jewish people who had either passively or actively resisted Nazi atrocities. To emphasize this point, Israel’s official state observance of Yom HaShoah eachyear begins in the Warsaw Ghetto Plaza at Yad Vashem.
R. A. HigbeeBoaz Gabriel Canhoto
THE RIGHTEOUS AMONG NATIONS
It’s hard to imagine a discussion of the six million Jewish Shoah victims withoutmentioning those Gentiles who risked everything to save them. Such individuals,and their deeds of heroism, are also officially acknowledged by Israel at Yad Vashem.Most of us know the names of Raoul Wallenberg, Oskar Schindler, Corrie ten Boom,and Irena Sendler—citizens of four different nations who risked their own lives andfortunes to rescue Jewish people from the Nazis. But there were many others—far lesser known.The Nazis depended on the local constabulary and police to carry out their roundupsand deportations of the Jewish population. Most law enforcement complied withoutquestion. Some had reservations, but did it anyway. A few individuals secretly warnedJewish citizens of the impending danger. But in one almost unheard of action, anentire police department refused to obey the orders.On March 9, 1943 in Marechausse, Grootegast (Netherlands),the military police were ordered to round up the remainingJewish people in their area and take them to the Groningenrailway station. The police officers tried various ruses to avoidcarrying out the order, but their commanders began to put pressure on them. Each policeman was then interrogated, andthreatened with concentration camp. When they still refusedto obey the order, they were given one last opportunity toreconsider. When all these officers still refused to carry outthe orders, they were required to surrender their weapons andwere transported to Vught (the only official concentrationcamp in occupied Holland). This camp held both Jewish prisoners destined for a death camp, and Dutch and Belgian political prisoners.Being a political prisoner at this camp was no light matter.According to Jewishgen.org, “the guards at this camp wereexclusively SS. The food was nearly nonexistent: warm water with some carrots or sauerkraut floating on the surface. The SSguards tortured the prisoners with incredible cruelty beatingthem to death (several prisoners were brutalized with a clubwrapped with barbed wire).”Such was the place to which these brave Dutch policemen weresent. Although one, Henk Grogt, had managed to escape initialarrest and served in the underground, helping Jews escape andassisting allied resistance efforts. In August 1943, however, hewas caught, tried, and sentenced to death. Henk Drogt had been planning to get married, and his girlfriend was expecting their child—a son whom Henk would never see. Drogt was only 24when he was executed on April 14, 1944.We are rightly appalled by the events of those days, but it is more appalling to think that such barbarism could happen again. We pray that such evil will never be repeated,and that men like Henk Drogt will never again have to be heroic. But evil exists, andit exists today. Scripture warns us: “the heart of man is desperately wicked; who canknow it?”Few of us will ever face the life and death choices Henk Drogt and his fellow policemen faced, but we may be called to take a stand for truth and righteousness inour generation. The battle may not be easy. Are we ready? Are we prepared to acceptthe consequences?
Photo by Yad Vashem via Getty Images
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Recommended
More From This User
Notes
Load more
