1. The Persecuted Church Part 1
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be
strong."1
Several months ago Faarooq (name changed), a Daily Encounter subscriber
wrote to me saying, "I converted from Islam to Christianity 10 years ago
and
had to be very secretive about it until I managed to flee my homeland and
came to France.
"Now at the age of 32 I have gone public about my Christian faith and
started a debate on the net with my parents discussing the teachings of
Islam which Mohammed claimed were God's words. But now I am getting death
threats.
"You see, the Koran says that people like me who were Muslims and
converted
to Christianity are worse than those born Christians. Ex-Muslims who were
born in the Muslim faith and left it have to be slaughtered like cattle as
a
sacrifice to Allah, while those born Christians are lost but they'll give
them a chance first to convert to Islam before they kill them.
"My problem is that my visa is about to expire and I can't renew it.
Returning to my homeland will undoubtedly be a death sentence unless I
convert back to Islam. Do you have any advice as to what I can and/or
should
do?"
Sadly, my only advice to Faarooq was to see if he could obtain a visa to a
Western country. I don't know what happened to him because I haven't heard
from him since.
I wonder what I/we would do if the current of radical Islam fanaticism
should sweep across the country where I live? Would I remain faithful to
the
Lord or, to save my neck, would I convert to Islam?
To be continued ....
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, today I pray for Faarooq and the multiplied
thousands who also fear for their lives because they are Christians.
Please
keep them safe and give them the courage to be lights in a dark world ...
and grant that their persecutors when seeing Jesus in them, will want you
for themselves. And please give me the courage always to be faithful to
you
no matter what my cir***stances might turn out to be. Thank you for
hearing
and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV).
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1. The Persecuted Church Part 2
NOTE: Faarook, a former Muslim whom I wrote about yesterday and whose life
was threatened because he became a Christian, emailed me to let me know he
has received employment with a permit to live and work in a Western
country.
Praise God for this answered prayer.
"Blessed be the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in
a
besieged city."1
In this age of ever increasing terrorism, those of us who live in the free
world need to recall what happened to ancient Rome-the superpower nation
that ruled the then known world for 800 years. Timothy George in
Christianity Today writes how, in the year 410, the city of Rome "was
besieged and pillaged by an army of 40,000 'barbarians' led by the Osama
bin
Laden of late antiquity, a wily warrior named Alaric. One can still see
the
effects of this cataclysmic event when walking through the ruins of the
Roman Forum today."2
"Before then, Roman coins bore the legend Invicta Roma Aeterna: eternal,
unconquerable Rome. In many ways, Rome was like America prior to 9/11, the
world's only superpower. But in 410, Rome's military power could not
prevent
its walls being breached, its women raped, and its sacred precincts burned
and sacked.
"When Jerome heard about the fall of Rome in faraway Bethlehem, he ... sat
stupefied in total silence for three days. 'Rome was besieged,' Jerome
wrote
to a friend. 'The city to which the whole world fell has fallen. If Rome
can
perish, what can be safe?'"
A few short years later, "As Augustine lay dying in 430, a new wave of
terror swept across the Mediterranean world. The Vandals, led by a
ferocious
warrior named Genseric, surrounded Hippo-bringing torture, violence, and
disarray to its churches and its people. As Augustine chanted the psalms
on
his deathbed, he might have come across this verse in Psalm 31:21:
'Blessed
be the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a
besieged
city.'"3
Most of us in the West know little, if anything, about being persecuted as
are many Christians in today's world. At most, Christians have been
criticized while multiplied thousands, if not millions, in other lands are
being raped, their homes and villages pillaged, and are being murdered and
slaughtered for their faith in Christ.
As with the ancient Romans we in the U.S. tend to think such persecution
couldn't happen here. However, unless we realize our dependence on God,
September 11, 2001, may just be the beginning of what is to come in the
days
and years ahead. Radical Muslims are determined to conquer and/or kill all
non-Muslims-especially Christians, Jews and Americans.
So what can we do, not only in the U.S., but also throughout the free
world?
First, we who claim to be Christians need to be sure of our own faith and
commitment to God and be ever thankful for our freedom and incredible
blessings. Second, we need to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters
who are being persecuted. Third,we also need to pray for their persecutors
and the terrorists that they will pray to the God of Heaven to reveal to
them the truth. Fourth, we need to sup****t valid organizations that are
ministering to the persecuted church. See footnote.4
Fifth, we need to pray for the leaders of the free world that they will
also
pray to God that they will see the truth of the world situation and act
with
great courage, wisdom, and integrity. And sixth, above all, you and I need
to stand firm lest we fall.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, especially in this day and age of increasing
terrorism around the world, help me to stand firm in my faith and trust in
you, and please send a great spiritual awakening to my country so that our
leaders will turn to and depend on you for guidance, protection, wisdom in
knowing how to deal with terrorists and help protect the persecuted church
no matter where it is. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Psalm 31:21.
2. Timothy George, "Theology for an Age of Terror," Christianity Today,
September 2006, Vol. 50, No. 9, Page 78. Online at
http://tinyurl.com/pn4r8.
Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today.
3. Ibid.
4. NOTE: Organizations that minister to the persecuted church. Open Doors
at
www.odusa.org/ and The Voice of the Martyrs at www.persecution.net/. These
organizations were recommended by Dan Wooding of Assist News Service at
www.assistnews.net.
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