Yazidi Martyrs
Editor’s Note: It is with great sadness that I must report that our senior correspondent and my very good friend, Don Robson, closed his life in mid-September. He was one in a million, he fit the following scripture verse very well “….. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required….” Luke 12:48 He was one of those the good Lord showered with many blessings. Steeped in Christianity from birth, his parents fostered within him a love of music and a love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Music was a great passion throughout his life, and he expressed it by playing hymns on the piano as a boy in Sunday school, at British Israel conferences and meetings, through compositions and a fifty year stint in the church choir.
Yet, nothing inspired him more than his devotion to Christ and this is reflected in all his articles. His power of written communication he discovered when he began writing for this magazine a few short years ago. God certainly had Don’s journey mapped out because He acquainted him with the Israel Truth when Don was still a teenager.
Business beckoned him after obtaining his Chartered Accountant designation and until his retirement in 1992, he spent 37 years with IBM, progressing through many financial positions, including project manager. Success followed him everywhere, even in his family life to which he was devoted.
Several years ago he suffered kidney failure, a condition which should have sidelined him. God obviously thought different for He had further work for Don and inspired him to pass along his knowledge, wisdom and thoughts in a series of articles, one of which we have read each month in this magazine.
I once asked Don what the Israel Truth meant to him. “Everything” he replied. “Being able to understand the Scriptures in light of this truth has strengthened my faith (even though I always believed in Jesus, our Redeemer) and has given me hope of participating in His Kingdom when He returns with His rewards, according as our work shall be. Also, I now have the peace of Jesus, which He freely gave us, so that I live a life without fear or worry, knowing He will tend to my every need, as He has all the days of my life.”
God bless you Don, and we shall truly miss you.
Have you seen it? It was in this week’s Globe and Mail! On the front page! It was a picture of a little girl. Then I read the caption under the picture which read as follows: “A Yazidi girl rests at a northern Iraq border crossing with Syria Wednesday after FLEEING from Islamic State militants. “My soul was moved. Why? She had blonde hair and blue eyes! She was a great granddaughter of Sarah and Abraham! You see, I am so used to seeing an endless series of pictures of middle easterners with their black beards and head coverings that I could not believe what was before my eyes.
The girl’s hair was disheveled and she looked very tired. I felt the need to write to my readers about her but what to say? This bothered me until Saturday night when I approached our great guide and asked Him if He wished me to comment, He would offer me some more material. It came in Sunday’s paper which reported that sixty men were executed because they would not abandon their beliefs and take up the teaching of the Muslim faith. Yes, the continuation of the massacre of Christians continues in the Middle East with the destruction of homes, churches and lives.
I was reminded of the prophecy that is contained in Revelation, chapter 6: 9–11, when Jesus opened the fifth seal. John’s words were, “And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held; And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
I thought after the Second World War that mankind had realized that war was not the way to solve problems, but the outbreak in hostilities in various places around the world soon demolished that viewpoint. Now we know that the tribulation that is coming will destroy all flesh except that Jesus will intervene and stop the destruction of mankind. Nevertheless, it is amazing that a religious group think that they can destroy Jesus Christ by destroying His Christian followers. They have totally overlooked the power of Jesus (All power is given to me in heaven and earth) and that He is life everlasting and gives all of us life both now and later when He calls us from the grave!
But what should we be doing now? Although our government is supplying the Kurds with weapons to provide themselves with the means to defend themselves, it is not suitable for us to take up arms. This is a time when we look back on the exploits of Gideon and his THREE HUNDRED soldiers and how they freed Israel from the Midianites. No, we cannot act as God’s battle ax because the power of the holy people is broken and we must repent nationally and ask that God forgive us and heal our land. What we can do, however, is to provide large sums of money to finance bringing the hostages to our country of peace and in due course add them as citizens.
Unfortunately, our political leaders never talk about our deity, but focus on our secular state and the rules and laws created by man to suit our purposes. We need a national day of prayer! But it will not happen until those foreign hordes have us at their “mercy.” Let us get busy under our present laws and try to save as many as we can. Jesus will see it as a good work! Let’s begin with the little girl and her family. Amen!
