Dear Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
In recent years, the
radical Islamist terrorist groups ISIS and Boko Haram have imposed terrible
violence, persecution, displacement on Christians and others in the Middle East
and in northern and western Africa. But in His sovereign power and grace, God
has endowed the hearts of many of His people in those areas with amazing faith,
hope, and forgiveness.
Predictably, news
about these crises often revolves around government steps to stop the carnage.
Even worse, reports thrive on debates about such attempts. But as in all
national or international issues, the government is only ever at best an
instrument that can help—not an ultimate source of salvation or even
responsibility. Christians are even more obliged to get involved, and
thankfully “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James
5)
Below are various
facts, comments, verses, links, and prayer points that might inform and inspire
you as you seek ways to pray earnestly for our fellow Christians in this time
of great need. I trust you will join me in this effort to tip the balance of
the battle away from evil and toward the peace of our brethren and the glory of
God.
Situation
-ISIS and Boko Haram have killed
thousands of Christians—and others—in recent years.
-ISIS has displaced
millions of people in Iraq and Syria since 2013.
-Boko Haram has abducted up to 700
children in the past year—their whereabouts are unknown.
-ISIS captured
up to 250 Christians in February—their whereabouts are unknown.
-ISIS beheaded
more than 20 Egyptian Christians in February, and has also beheaded Americans,
Japanese,
and others.
-ISIS
and Boko
Haram are indoctrinating, training, and demonstrably using children as
young as 5-10 in their vicious tactics.
-Boko
Haram has displaced 1.5 million people in Nigeria. In January alone it
killed up to 2000.
Praises
-Oppressed Christians are forgiving and persevering. Further,
“tent churches are also blossoming among refugees.” –Tyndale House Publishers
“The Church around the World,” March 2015
-Muslims are converting to Christ as they see suffering Christians
“pray to a personal God whom they can call Father.” –Tyndale House Publishers
“The Church around the World,” March 2015
-Christians in
Niger were largely spared violence in January when 55 churches were burned.
In fact, they praised God for His blessings, saying, “God promised these things
would come…Now the church will grow.” Here and elsewhere, Christians are
praying for God to save their enemies.
-Up to two million Christians and Muslims across Egypt have
received a tract
full of scriptures and messages of forgiveness in the two months since
Egyptian Christians were killed in Libya.
Thoughts
“We don’t forgive the act because the act is heinous. But we
do forgive the killers from the depths of our hearts.” –Coptic
bishop
“What these [Egyptian Christian martyrs, many of whom called
to Jesus just before their deaths] did should inspire all Christians to be
ready to do the same.” –Reader’s
comment
“This is a time in history when Christians really need to
pray for God’s intervention and for the strength for us to be the kinds of
people we are meant to be, able to display His love even to our enemies.” –Reader’s
comment
“The West is practicing a double standard: Would they let
these militants into their countries to destroy everything?” –Syriac
priest
“We feel forgotten and isolated…We sometimes wonder, if they
kill us all, what would be the reaction of Christians in the West? Would they
do something then?” –Chaldean patriarch
“Let us pray for the destruction of the wicked—whether God rapidly
and justly destroys their plans and supplies and propaganda and removes them
from this earth…or whether He mercifully awakens their hearts to Himself, convicts
them of their sin, and calls to them by that same Name through which we also gained
access to grace and salvation.” –Montananik82
“God provides for us. God loves us, and wouldn’t let ISIS
kill us. God loves us all; not just me, God loves everybody. God loves [those
who harmed me]…I won’t do anything to them, I will only ask God to forgive
them. Yes, [I forgive them, too]…I’m not angry at God. I thank Him because He
provided for us. Even if we’re suffering here…He will not forsake me. If you’re
a true believer, He will never forsake you.” –10-year-old Iraqi Christian girl
in a refugee camp
“Christ never promised physical safety to those who would
follow Him. In fact, He promised something far better: His Presence…Christ does
not call us to pursue danger, but He asks our obedience to His calling. Time
and again, God has demonstrated His power over the enemy’s attacks and His
ability to save…Still, there may come a day when physical deliverance doesn’t
occur. Let it be known on that day, God is still faithful, and the greatest
deliverance will have actually occurred. Whether we live or whether we die,
Christ is our life, and His glory is the reward. Jesus Christ calls us to Himself,
not to a life of ease by avoidance, but of intimacy through obedience that we
‘may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings,
becoming like Him in his death.’” (Philippians 3:10) –Missionary
friend
Offering
Aid
-Sat7
Verses
|1 Samuel 2| And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk
no more so very proudly, let not
arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of
knowledge, and by him actions are weighed…He will guard the feet of his
faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might
shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to
pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends
of the earth; he will give strength to his king and
exalt the horn of his anointed.”
|2
Samuel 22| And David spoke to
the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies…“The Lord is my rock and my
fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take
refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my
refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is
worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. For the waves of death
encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol
entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon
the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my
cry came to his ears. He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of
many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for
they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but
the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he
rescued me, because he delighted in me.”
|2
Chronicles 14| Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army
of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah…And
Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like
you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our
God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this
multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” So
the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah.
|Psalm 33| The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the
children of man; from where he sits
enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of
them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great
army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is
a false hope for salvation, and by its great
might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear
him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our
soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
|Psalm 37| Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For
they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust
in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight
yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in
him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and
your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently
for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over
the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret
not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but
those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look
carefully at his place, he will
not be there. But the meek shall
inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
|Psalm 121| I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and
earth. He will not let your foot be
moved; he who keeps you will not
slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all
evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
|Isaiah 54| “O
afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set
your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will
make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall
of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and
great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be
established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and
from terror, for it shall not come near you…No weapon that is fashioned against
you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in
judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their
vindication from me, declares the Lord.”
|Isaiah 58| “Is not this the fast that
I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to
let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to
share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when
you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then
shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up
speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of
the Lord shall be your rear guard.
|Matthew 5| “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and
utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in
heaven, for so they persecuted
the prophets who were before you…You are the light of the world. A city set on
a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light
a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in
the house. In the same way, let
your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
|Philippians
3| For many,
of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as
enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god
is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on
earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we
await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly
body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even
to subject all things to himself.
|Revelation 21| And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor
crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life
without payment. The one who conquers
will have this heritage, and I will be his God
and he will be my son.”
