The Ethiopian Church Journal Blog

Like A Mighty Wind When the day of Pentecost arrived , they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,

In 2010 thirty-three men, trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) underground and 5 kilometers (3 mi) from the mine's entrance were rescued after 69 days. Prayer went up and down. "When we prayed," said one miner, "we didn't pray to get rescued; we prayed for the people outside not to abandon us." Another said God was the 34 miner. More . I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. [Psalm 40: 1-5

Adoption--What's New? By Mitiku Adisu Ethiopian adoption could be turning a corner . The talk now is to “avoid overseas adoption” and in as much as possible to care “for orphans near their birthplace”. This is not a novel idea as it has always been part and parcel of the treaty for international adoptions. What then accounts for this change of heart? It could be the result of pressure coming from rights groups. It could also be a creative endeavor on the part of Ethiopian government in these economically trying times to divert to local institutions the substantial sum of money changing hands in the name of adopting orphan populations. At any rate, the “new” idea is now dubbed the “Bantu Model” [Bantu being a village in Ethiopia]. We are told the model is already showing promising results and will soon be replicated internationally. Interestingly, this all sounds very much the lingo of foreign aid organizations. And foreign aid hasn’t always been the appropriate tool for nurtur

By Mitiku Adisu The media seem to enjoy bashing anything Christian. They could not get enough of the news of Terry Jones wanting to burn the Qur'an. This, of course, is a proven strategy to sell ads and papers. That’s what’s happening in the latest big event. Reporters knew too well what kind of pastor Terry Jones was. But it didn’t matter a bit. They could have ignored Terry Jones and thus made his crusade irrelevant. We only wish the media would be impartial and show similar zeal when Bibles are burned here or abroad. For now the media is caught between defending Terry Jones’ First Amendment rights and pleasing Muslim cause. Even atheists are now against burning the Qur'an! In the North West part of the U.S. there was or is a plan to buy the Qur'an for every one that Terry Jones burned. In Minnesota they will be reading the Qur'an in church; these are “professed” Christians. Reading of the Quran would probably be more appropriate in a comparative religion class

    By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with gr

The Sickle & the Cross By Mitiku Adisu   To Ethiopian ears the name Filippovich will sound familiar. Did not the Spirit of the Christ prompt Philip (Filippos ፊሊጶስ) the Evangelist to "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza" and once there, to approach the chariot of the Ethiopian dignitary on his way back from worshipping in Jerusalem? And did not Philip then explain that the reference in ኢሳይያስ Esaias [53] to One “led like a sheep to the slaughter” was in fact the same Jesus who hung on a cross outside the gates of Jerusalem for our salvation? (Has the Ethiopian been to Jerusalem and back for nothing then?) Finally understanding the meaning of what he was reading did not His Excellency profess his faith in Jesus and request water baptism there and then? And because of all this did he not go “on his way rejoicing?” How come Filippos of old now has a different sounding name? Well, it is because Filippovich is Russian and is none

One Race, One Gospel, One Task HIM Haile Selassie's address to Evangelical Congress in Berlin, entitled: "One Race, One Gospel, One Task" [Friday, October 28, 1966] "As Jesus Christ has said: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them." lt is therefore Our expressed hope that these words will be realized in their full significance in this great assembly. We are happy to be present in this famous City of Berlin where Christian leaders are assembled to consider ways and means of spreading Our Christian Faith in the world. We thank Mr. Billy Graham for inviting Us to address this meeting. The propagation of the Christian Faith among nations has become a task of paramount importance in this age as is evidenced by this great assembly of Christian leaders. As you all know, it is centuries past since Our country, Ethiopia, accepted the Gospel of Christ. We learn from the Holy Scriptures that the first Ethiopian who