Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Too Busy To Care?
What do you see when you look at the photo above? I hope you see a contrast between Western Christians and Eastern Christians.
On Sunday April 19, 2015, ISIS released a video showing the mass execution of 30 Ethiopian Christians.
Half were beheaded
the others were shot execution style
It was on Sunday morning at 6am, as my alarm woke me up so that I could get ready for church since I was singing with the worship team, that my insomniac husband told me the news. I quickly jumped onto Facebook to see if there was news about this. I jumped on Twitter. Yes indeed, it was true.
Perhaps it was too early in the morning for Pastors and churches in the U.S. (at least in California), to be aware of this tragedy. As first service began, I could not be as energetic and smiley on stage like usual. I just wanted to tell everyone what happened and join together as one body, mourning with family we have never met, who have lost their loved ones.
I just kept thinking...."In the OT, people would tear their clothes, put on a sackcloth, and cry out to God."
While we sing praises and sermons are preached suggesting a false hope that everything will be OK because God will not "allow more than we are able to bear," the truth is that suffering IS part of God's will in our lives. God does allow tragedies. His ways are not our ways. Yes, things will work out for our good according to Romans 8:28, but WHAT IS GOOD? What does GOD see as the definition of "good?" His "good" is not the same as what we would consider "good." To us, "GOOD" is equivalent to good health, wealth, happiness; basically for things to go our way.
I am curious as to how many congregations in the U.S. discussed the martydom of these Ethiopians. Or how about the 14 year old boy who was set on fire in Pakistan for his faith this past week?
If the Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn, why aren't we mourning as a whole? Why aren't churches setting a side a service specifically to discuss the harsh realities of persecution, with time of prayer and learning about what we as a body can do to help our brothers and sisters?
We are all so consumed with our own agendas and "visions." I'm not saying those things can't be done or that they should be sacrificed, but sticking to our plans sometimes forces us to sacrifice what God instructs us to do. Like Mary & Martha.
"Martha had a sister named Mary, who was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 But Martha was busy with all the work to be done. She went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me.”41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her” (Luke 10:39-42)
Sometimes we just have to pause for a moment and seek His face and intercede for others. Yes, we have our own problems. But we are ONE BODY. When will the West wake up? When will the West finally realize the foolishness of division and unite for the common cause of Christ?
We cannot stop persecution from happening, Jesus said IT WOULD HAPPEN. But we can help those in the midst of war. We have ministries there. People need resources. If you and I can't physically go and care for refugees or smuggle Bibles and food, then we must financially support those who do go.
If you can't afford it, I'm sure you could do fundraisers at church or on your own. I mean, have a garage/yard sale! As much as I hate to admit that money is needed, it is the truth.
But just as important is the awareness that is needed. What mighty things can be done when the body of Christ decides to do in unity. But it seems like many don't take it seriously, don't care, or are too busy with other ministries.
Can we at the very least, remember them in prayer, on a weekly basis, Pastors???
For those who are interested in learning more about how you can help, the following organizations are legit. They advocate, provide aid, and provide education:
Voice of the Martyrs
Sunday, November 17, 2013
True Story: Released From Chains
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose.
(Acts 16:26)
African Muslim, El Gasim, saw the sign of the cross one day while praying the usual five times a day in the prison where he was incarcerated. He changed positions but the cross wouldn’t go away. This went on for seven days. He had no explanation for it, except that Christ was calling him to give his life to Him. A Christian pastor, also in prison, explained that living for Christ would not be without suffering. They prayed together.
Other Muslim inmates saw El Gasim praying one day with another Christian prisoner and reported them to the authorities. When summoned to the superintendent’s office, they openly declared their faith in Christ and received twenty-five lashes each, administered by a Christian warder. The other prisoner denied his new faith but El Gasim confessed Christ and said he would face the consequence, no matter what. This enraged the authorities. He was beaten, shackled in chains weighing over fifty pounds and put on death row to be hanged.
The imprisoned pastor had great compassion for El Gasim, knowing that if God did not intervene, he was surely staring death in the eye. He told him Paul and Silas’ story, reminding him that he wasn’t the first to be beaten and chained for the sake of Christ. The important thing to remember was that Paul and Silas prayed and praised God, when their chains fell off and the prison doors opened. The pastor confirmed that it could still happen today, because the power that worked then, was still at work today. They prayed together, earnestly seeking God’s will.
The pastor retired to his room and continued praying. In the meantime, El Gasim, who then felt encouraged by the sharing, took the first step and to his surprise, the unexpected happened—the chain broke loose and fell from one of his legs. Bystanders, whose attention was drawn by the sound of the falling chain, watched in amazement as he took the second step—the same thing happened. A miracle had happened right before him and his other inmates. El Gasim went to the warder and told him, “Your chains are in the chapel, go and collect them.”
Trembling and confused, the warder informed his superiors of this strange occurrence. An emergency meeting was convened. The incident could not be ignored or laughed off as nonsense. There were too many witnesses. They decided that it would be best to let El Gasim go free, because if he stayed he would certainly convert others to Christianity. Sending him to another prison wouldn’t help either, because even there they couldn’t stop Christ from doing miracles.
11/17/2013
Friday, November 1, 2013
How Historic Revisionism Justifies Islamic Terrorism
How important, really, is history to current affairs? Do events from the 7th century—or, more importantly, how we understand them—have any influence on U.S. foreign policy today?
By way of answer, consider some parallels between academia’s portrayal of the historic Islamic jihads and the U.S. government’s and media’s portrayal of contemporary Islamic jihads.
“Muslim freedom fighters” accompanies this picture appearing on a UK Standard report on Syria, rehashing an old but false motif
While any objective appraisal of the 7th century Muslim conquests proves that they were just that—conquests, with all the bloodshed and rapine that that entails—the historical revisionism of modern academia, especially within Arab and Islamic studies departments, has led to some portrayals of the Muslim conquerors as “freedom-fighters” trying to “liberate” the Mideast from tyrants and autocrats. (Beginning to sound familiar?)
Today’s approach to teaching the history of the Muslim conquests of the 7th century is something as follows: Yes, the Mideast was Christian, but local Christians helped Arab Muslims invade and subjugate their countries in preference to Christian Byzantine rule, which was oppressive due to doctrinal disagreements over the nature of Christ. Hence, the Muslim conquerors were actually “liberators.”
This perspective, as with many modern Western perspectives concerning Islam, is a product of modern day epistemic distortions, chief among them: 1) repackaged narratives of the “noble savage” myth—yes, 7th century Muslim invaders were coarse, but had elevated ideals, including a fierce love for freedom and religious tolerance in comparison to Christians of the time (not to mention now); and 2) entrenched political correction that seeks to whitewash the true history of Islam followed by the uncritical acceptance of Islamic apologetics, some of which border on the absurd.
Of course, before the Islamic “liberator” thesis had become mainstream, historians such as Alfred Butler, author of The Arab Conquest of Egypt, had this to say about it:
Even in the most recent historians it will be found that the outline of the story [of the 7th century conquest of Egypt] is something as follows: …. that the Copts generally hailed them [Muslims] as deliverers and rendered them every assistance; and that Alexandria after a long siege, full of romantic episodes, was captured by storm. Such is the received account. It may seem presumptuous to say that it is untrue from beginning to end, but to me no other conclusion is possible. [emphasis added; pgs. iv-v]
In fact, one of the major themes throughout Butler’s Arab Conquest of Egypt—which, published in 1902, is heavily based on primary sources, Arabic and Coptic, unlike more modern secondary works that promote the Islamic “liberator” thesis—is that “there is not a word to show that any section of the Egyptian nation viewed the advent of the Muslims with any other feeling than terror” (p. 236).
Butler and other politically incorrect historians were and are aware of the savage and atrocity-laden nature of the Islamic conquests. The Coptic chronicler, John of Nikiu, a contemporary of the Arab conquest of Egypt and possibly an eyewitness, wrote:
Then the Muslims arrived in Nikiu [along the Nile]… seized the town and slaughtered everyone they met in the street and in the churches—men, women, and children, sparing nobody. Then they went to other places, pillaged and killed all the inhabitants they found…. But let us say no more, for it is impossible to describe the horrors the Muslims committed…”
Nonetheless, today’s accepted narratives do not come from antiquated historians or primary historical texts; they come from the Saudi-funded ivy league—Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, etc.—all of which peddle pro-Islamic propaganda (I personally had direct experience at Georgetown), including the “freedom loving jihadis” vs. “oppressive tyrants” thesis.
Percolating out of liberal academia to liberal mass media, the effects of this well-entrenched but false narrative have taken their toll, ultimately helping to create a disastrous U.S. foreign policy.
Put differently, the Islamic terrorists waging jihad against autocratic (but secular, religiously tolerant) governments—most notably in Syria today—are easily portrayed in the West as “freedom fighters” against oppressive tyrants and thus deserving of U.S. support in great part because this motif has permeated the social consciousness of America, molded as it is by Hollywood and thenews rooms, and based on academic distortions of events that took place nearly fourteen centuries ago.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, the Islamic “freedom fighters” are slaughtering, raping,beheading, persecuting and plundering—just as they have been for nearly fourteen centuries.
That is the only unwavering constant in this sad story.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
North Korea- The Most Difficult Nation To Be A Christian
For the past 11 years,
North Korea has been ranked #1 on the
Open Doors World
Watch List.
It is ILLEGAL to
be a Christian in this totalitarian state.
Christians cannot
attend church openly. If their faith is discovered,
they and up to three
generations of their family could be sent to a
prison camp for life.
If they are caught with a Bible, they could be
publicly executed.
North Korea seems like
a dark and hopeless place- but the
light of Christ is
still shining!
Even though it is
illegal, it is estimated that there are 400,000
Christians in North
Korea
… and the church
continues to grow!
Open Doors is able to
help North Korean
Christians by
providing safe houses,
emergency aid and
other needed items.
Would you join with us in strengthening
believers in
the most hostile
nation on earth?
Your gift will not
only save lives, but will allow the
gospel to
prevail in this seemingly
hopeless place.
Thank you for standing
with our North Korean brothers and sisters!
Friday, October 11, 2013
News and Prayer for the Persecuted Church
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"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the destitute."
- Proverbs 31:8
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Monday, September 30, 2013
A Global Slaughter of Christians, but America’s Churches Stay Silent
Christians are being singled out and massacred from Pakistan to Syria to the Nairobi shopping mall. Kirsten Powers on the deafening silence from U.S. pews and pulpits.
Christians in the Middle East and Africa are being slaughtered, tortured, raped, kidnapped, beheaded, and forced to flee the birthplace of Christianity. One would think this horror might be consuming the pulpits and pews of American churches. Not so. The silence has been nearly deafening.
As Egypt’s Copts have battled the worst attacks on the Christian minority since the 14th century, the bad news for Christians in the region keeps coming. On Sunday,Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 85 worshippers at All Saints’ church, which has stood since 1883 in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. Christians were also the target of Islamic fanatics in the attack on a shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya, this week that killed more than 70 people. The Associated Press reported that the Somali Islamic militant group al-Shabab “confirmed witness accounts that gunmen separated Muslims from other people and let the Muslims go free.” The captives were asked questions about Islam. If they couldn’t answer, they were shot.
Pakistanis protest against violence against Christians in Lahore on Sept. 24, 2013. (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
In Syria, Christians are under attack by Islamist rebels and fear extinction if Bashar al-Assad falls. This month, rebels overran the historic Christian town of Maalula, where many of its inhabitants speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The AFP reported that a resident of Maalula called her fiancé’s cell and was told by member of the Free Syrian Army that they gave him a chance to convert to Islam and he refused. So they slit his throat.
Nina Shea, an international human-rights lawyer and expert on religious persecution, testified in 2011 before Congress regarding the fate of Iraqi Christians, two-thirds of whom have vanished from the country. They have either been murdered or fled in fear for their lives. Said Shea: “[I]n August 2004 … five churches were bombed in Baghdad and Mosul. On a single day in July 2009, seven churches were bombed in Baghdad … The archbishop of Mosul, was kidnapped and killed in early 2008. A bus convoy of Christian students were violently assaulted. Christians … have been raped, tortured, kidnapped, beheaded, and evicted from their homes …”
Lela Gilbert is the author of Saturday People, Sunday People, which details the expulsion of 850,000 Jews who fled or were forced to leave Muslim countries in the mid-20th century. The title of her book comes from an Islamist slogan, “First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People,” which means “first we kill the Jews, then we kill the Christians.” Gilbert wrote recently that her Jewish friends and neighbors in Israel “are shocked but not entirely surprised” by the attacks on Christians in the Middle East. “They are rather puzzled, however, by what appears to be a lack of anxiety, action, or advocacy on the part of Western Christians.”
Lela Gilbert is the author of Saturday People, Sunday People, which details the expulsion of 850,000 Jews who fled or were forced to leave Muslim countries in the mid-20th century. The title of her book comes from an Islamist slogan, “First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People,” which means “first we kill the Jews, then we kill the Christians.” Gilbert wrote recently that her Jewish friends and neighbors in Israel “are shocked but not entirely surprised” by the attacks on Christians in the Middle East. “They are rather puzzled, however, by what appears to be a lack of anxiety, action, or advocacy on the part of Western Christians.”
As they should be. It is inexplicable. American Christians are quite able to organize around issues that concern them. Yet religious persecution appears not to have grabbed their attention, despite worldwide media coverage of the atrocities against Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.
It’s no surprise that Jews seem to understand the gravity of the situation the best. In December 2011, Britain’s chief rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, addressed Parliament saying, “I have followed the fate of Christians in the Middle East for years, appalled at what is happening, surprised and distressed … that it is not more widely known.” “It was Martin Luther King who said, ‘In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’ That is why I felt I could not be silent today.”
Wolf has complained loudly of the State Department’s lack of attention to religious persecution, but is anybody listening?
Yet so many Western Christians are silent. In January, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) penned a letter to 300 Catholic and Protestant leaders complaining about their lack of engagement. “Can you, as a leader in the church, help?” he wrote. “Are you pained by these accounts of persecution? Will you use your sphere of influence to raise the profile of this issue—be it through a sermon, writing or media interview?”
There have been far too few takers.
There have been far too few takers.
Wolf and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) sponsored legislation last year to create a special envoy at the State Department to advocate for religious minorities in the Middle East and South-Central Asia. It passed in the House overwhelmingly, but died in the Senate. Imagine the difference an outcry from constituents might have made. The legislation was reintroduced in January and again passed the House easily. It now sits in the Senate. According to the office of Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), the sponsor of the bill there, there is no date set for it to be taken up.
Wolf has complained loudly of the State Department’s lack of attention to religious persecution, but is anybody listening? When American leaders meet with the Saudi government, where is the public outcry demanding they confront the Saudis for fomenting hatred of Christians, Jews, and even Muslim minorities through their propagandistic tracts and textbooks? In the debate on Syria, why has the fate of Christians and other religious minorities been almost completely ignored?
In his letter challenging U.S. religious leaders, Wolf quoted Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed for his efforts in the Nazi resistance: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
That pretty well sums it up.
-Kirsten Powers
For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.
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