We hear whats going on but we cant fathom what these people are truly going through. It seems so far away, yet this capability of human depravity is possible anywhere including the United States. After returning from Rwanda and studying the genocide from 1994, it is evident that human nature will give into fear when we remove God from the picture. Even for those who claim to be believers, its a true testament to ones faith when we are faced with adversity, threats, violence, etc....whether our real faith is in our emotions and feelings or who God is by the way we respond. The United States and all other countries turned their backs on Africa when they were being slaughtered. Horrific acts like the genocide, holocaust, and currently with ISIS is possible anywhere and I question my own faith in how I would respond in a situation like that. Our battle doesnt lie with flesh and blood but in the battle for our souls. After reading an email I received yesterday from Christian Surfers asking for urgent prayer for the missionaries over in Iraq....where children are being beheaded in front of their parents because they refuse to denounce their faith, I wonder what I would do. Its time to stand firm in what and who we believe in as a nation. God bless the missionaries who are remaining, risking their lives- when the UN has even fled. They understand where their True Home is and are willing to live it out for real. If we are not prepared with the full armor of God we will not be able to withstand evil. It appears to be much more subtle here in the United States with the human eye but we are not any different....its infiltrating in our schools, our churches, our worlplaces, and everywhere else more than ever. The email: Urgent Prayer Need It is with tears in my eyes that I type this email. I received word this morning from missionary friends that ISIS has moved into new towns. They are going house to house and asking the children to denounce Christ - not a single child has, as of yet. They are then killing the children in front of their parents and leaving the parents alive. My heart breaks but remains filled with hope in Christ. As I pray for those that persecute you I am reminded that we are each engaged in this battle. It is not a battle for land but souls. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood... ISIS and the people doing these horrendous acts are not the enemy. They are blinded by Satan. We need to pray for their freedom in Christ. But, we also need to pray for our brothers and sisters that are standing in the strength of our LORD. We must remember that though the battle is far more subtle here at home, it is the same battle - there, the weapon is fear and persecution. Here the weapon is the lullaby. We must awaken that we are here to make disciple-makers by proclaiming the only Good News for this world - JESUS! Please pray and forward this to others to pray. Below Ive attached actual email communications that came in this morning. A Text Message from today: We lost the city of Queragosh (Qaraqosh). It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically. This is the city we have been smuggling food to. ISIS has pushed back Peshmerga (Kurdish forces) and is within 10 minutes of where our CRI team is working. Thousands more fled into the city of Erbil last night. The UN evacuated its staff in Erbil. Our team is unmoved and will stay. Prayer cover needed! Please pray sincerely for the deliverance of the people of Northern Iraq from the terrible advancement of ISIS and its extreme Islamic goals for mass conversion or death for Christians across this region. May I plead with you not to ignore this email. Do not forward it before you have prayed through it. Then send it to as many people as possible. Send it to friends and Christians you may know. Send it to your prayer group. Send it to your pastor and phone him/her to pray on Sunday during the service - making a special time of prayer for this. We need to stand in the gap for our fellow Christians. Thank you for all your prayers !!!! An email from the field Missionaries who are in the areas that are being attacked by ISIS are asking to be showered in prayer. ISIS has taken over the town they are in today. He said ISIS is systematically going house to house to all the Christians and asking the children to denounce Jesus. He said so far not one child has. And so far all have consequently been killed. But not the parents. The UN has withdrawn and the missionaries are on their own. They are determined to stick it out for the sake of the families - even if it means their own deaths. They are very afraid, have no idea how to even begin ministering to these families who have had seen their children martyred. Yet he says he knows God has called them for some reason to be His voice and hands at this place at this time. Even so, they are begging for prayers for courage to live out their vocation in such dire circumstances. And like the children, accept martyrdom if they are called to do so. These brave parents instilled such a fervent faith in their children that they chose martyrdom. Please surround them in their loss with your prayers for hope and perseverance.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 20:53:40 +0000
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