Has the Western Church Lost Its Love For Persecuted Christians?

In a time when violence is on the rise, we are bombarded with news of severe persecution against Christians. Story after story of imprisonment, torture, rape, beatings and beheadings are reported daily. 

The question I must ask is: Is there still a disconnect between the American Christian culture and the persecuted believers overseas?

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is on November 2nd. Organizations are working tirelessly to bring unity to our dysfunctional spiritual family but research shows a lack of interest in participating in the IDOP.

Liena's Prayer: Counting the Cost In Syria

Liena's children counted the cost to follow Jesus

This past week I was struggling with discouragement. I don't believe it is merely coincidental that personal trials become complex when we shift our gaze off of Christ. It's easy to blow things out of proportion and minimize how self-centered our struggles really are.   

I found my wakeup call through the testimony of a woman in Syria. Liena and her family turned down offers of asylum in Western countries after civil war broke out in Syria. They knew the cost that might be required, but they chose to remain as witnesses to their Muslim neighbors and as an encouragement to other Christians.

Remember Meriam: Chained, Jailed, and Sentenced to 100 Lashes and Hanging

“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” (Hebrews 13:3)

In our society, it is easy to become so entangled in our own life that we forget our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are endangered because of their faith. 

But Christ commands us to remember those that are in prison, as if we were there with them.

If His word implores us to do this, should we not be burdened by the news of those around the world imprisoned, tortured and killed for their faith?

Recently in Sudan, 27 year old Meriam was imprisoned because she named the name of Christ. She was sentenced to 100 lashes because of her marriage to an American Christian, and death by hanging because she would not renounce her faith. 

What would you do in that situation?

I often wonder what it would be like to be in her shoes facing a choice between being put to death or denying Jesus, my Savior. What would you choose?

She chose death. At the time she was pregnant with her second child, and now both of her children are with her in prison.

We are to remember those who are in prison. We are called to remember Meriam and her family...as if we were there with them.

Last week, 40+ organizations gathered in front of the White House and the Sudan Embassy to protest Meriam's case. Shortly after the protest, the State Department broke the silence and officially condemned Sudan for its conviction and imprisonment of Meriam! 

Maybe you are wondering what you could do to help this sister of ours? Most importantly, you can pray! Pray that God gives her peace whatever happens to her and her children, that she would be released, that her children would be allowed to be reunited with their father and that the whole family’s faith would remain strong.

Also, you can talk about Meriam on your social media using the hashtag #RescueMeriam. Please visit www.rescuemeriam.com and sign a petition that will go to your senators, congressmen, the White House and the Sudan Embassy. 

Remember, your sister is in that prison with a death sentence… Pray as though you yourself were there in that prison with her. 

For more information about what you can do, visit www.mutenomore.com and www.rescuemeriam.com.

Written by Sandie Jalbert

Materialism in The Church: Do We Really Pray for Needs or Wants?

The American church {side note: if you are saved you are part of the body of Christ, therefore when I refer to the "church" I am referring to you and me} is materialistically and spiritually obese. 

We pray earnestly for what we think we need but our lifestyle is one of careless spending and impulsive purchases. Could it be that we have lost the understanding of the drastic difference between a genuine need and a frivolous want? 

I've been guilty of praying for God's provision while simultaneously sipping on my Starbucks latte. How hypocritically is that!

Praying for the Persecuted Church

Persecution? Like what happened to Peter and Paul? Yep. We don’t think of “Christian persecution” as something that takes place today, but in actuality, it is happening almost every hour! -things just as bad as what happened to Peter and Paul, actually, probably worse, due to the technology that we have now.
According to Mark Moore, founder of Province Community Church, “163,000 Christians die every year for their faith. Half of all the Christians who have ever died for their faith did so in this century alone, some 35 million!” (see http://markmoore.org/resources/essays/acts/persecution.pdf)

Persecution is a worldwide normality…

LAOS: On February 25 of last year, sixty-five Laotian Christians were driven away from their village after refusing to reject the Lord Jesus. Governmental Officials then destroyed the Christians crops. And local sources claim that the government plans to starve these Christians to death until they renounce Jesus Christ. http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Food-denied-to-65-Laotian-farmers-to-force-them-to-renounce-Christianity-20878.html

Egypt: Our news and media dubs the upheaval as “sectarian violence”, but in actuality, is persecution against God’s children.  On October 9, 2011, Egyptian Christians felt they had to do something against the outrageous violence against themselves. From 6-9 o’clock in the evening, the Christians held a peaceful protest. They sang hymns and were armed only with  candles and pictures of Jesus. The Muslim military responded by plowing tanks into the crowds of people. Twenty-four protesters and bystanders were killed. The Muslims followed those who were injured to the hospital, and even threatened to kill the hospital employees. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/10/us-egypt-copts-clashes-idUSTRE7981Q220111010

Uganda: December of last year, Pastor Umar was having an evangelical outreach. After everything was over, a group of men asked the Pastor if they could talk with him. Umar brought them in to the church when they suddenly poured acid on his face and back.  Umar lived through this attack, but his face is extremely disfigured and he has lost sight in one eye. Doctors are still struggling now to save the other. http://www.persecution.net/ug-2012-03-08.htm

Persecution is worldwide. Persecution is real. 

Persecution is happening right now!

What are we supposed to do about it? Many Christians do not know that Jesus Christ gave the responsibility to help the persecuted to us. Yes, us, Christians. The Church has the responsibility to help the persecuted. “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”  (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV.) This verse says that our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ must be above all things…above all things! That is our responsibility.

Hebrews 13:1-2 says, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:1-2 NIV)

The context of those verses was that of extreme persecution. Christians had been forced to flee their homes and could only hope to find refuge somewhere else. The author was instructing the Hebrews to be hospitable to even though they didn’t know them. Why? - Simply because they were a part of the body of Christ. Check out what Paul said about the Macedonian churches in (2 Corinthians 8:3-4. I really like the way the NLT says it!) … they really understood that we are one body…the body of Christ.

For example, If your hand is on a stove burner, you probably wouldn’t reach the newspaper and flip through for a little bit, and then maybe eat some chips, and then perhaps try to remove your hand from the hot stove. No! Your hand is a part of you. Rather you would remove it right away! In the same way, the Christian church is to, “… above all things have fervent love for one another…” 

For many years, I never knew of the plight of Christians around the globe. But now I know. Do not let ignorance be an excuse to ignore the silent murders, rapes, kidnappings, and imprisonments that many Christians have suffered in this very decade. Do not be unaware that our hands are on the burner.

Ok, now don’t get discourages. We CAN HELP THE PERSECUTED! This brings me back to prayer. Of course, there are many ways to help the persecuted, but one way is to pray for them. Visit http://www.compassdirect.org/. Compassdirect has been known to have accurate news reports about the persecuted…reports that our media will not give us. Check them regularly and pray for those Christians. Take the information that you read about to your family, friends and church. Have them to pray to! God’s Word does say that, “…the… prayer of righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16 KJV)

In Foxes book of Martyrs, it was said, “Christ founded the church with a call to love one another, but those who claim His name have not always lived out that calling.” But I pray that those words would not characterize you and me. Let us put this call to “love one another” “above all things”. And may we never forget that our hands are still on the stove burner. 

-Elisha Sputo