Last Sunday, I was rather shocked by what the pastor of a church I attend had said during his sermon. Don't get me wrong. It was a great message and I really love this pastor. He is sincerely trying to help more than 5,000 people who attend his church to grow spiritually. Most of all he is a godly and humble man, but apparently he did not know that Christians are still being crucified for their faith today because after explaining what a horrible death a crucifixion really is, he commented, "Thank God nobody is being killed this way anymore."
Well, he was wrong. And in case you did not follow the news, Islamic fanatics who control big parts of Iraq and Syria called ISIS are doing this very thing to Christians in the Middle East. They crucify them or behead them if they choose not to renounce their faith in Jesus and that includes children. It is a sheer horror and I find it troubling that so many Christians in the West do not know about it or choose not to talk about it in their churches. I thought, there should be more awareness, more prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters. And not only for them, but also for all the Muslim people who are being persecuted in like manner if they will not accept the fanatical Islamic ideology groups such as ISIS promote.
We might not be able to physically stop this senseless violence and we certainly cannot know each person who suffers there everyday by name, but our God knows them all and knows what they are going through. The least we all could do is to pray for them and it is not really a small thing. Prayer is the most powerful weapon in our disposal. It is a weapon that can change destinies of entire nations. Behind all world events that are right now unfolding is an underlying spiritual reality and spiritual battle is going on.
Satan enslaves various groups of people with various ideologies, both religious and secular, in order to kill, steal and destroy. He knows that he is already defeated by God, knows that he will eventually end up in the lake of fire, so the only way he can get back at Him is to try to drag to hell with himself as many people as he possibly can because he knows that God cares about them. That is why it is so important for us to pray and ask God to intervene on the behalf of those who are being killed for His name's sake all day long as well as for their tormentors. Yes, pray for these deceived and misguided ISIS men and women.
Remember that our warfare is not against flesh and blood. They are also victims of the evil one. When they kill Christians, they go to heaven, but when the oppressors die themselves, they go straight to hell and instead of the promised 70 virgins they get hundreds of demons to torment them forever! They are the greatest losers in all of this because while thinking that they are serving God, they really are serving the devil.
We must pray for their repentance, pray that God will revel the Truth to them and set them free. So, what I am asking you today is to commit to take just one minute ( or more if you can) out of your day everyday in order to pray daily for those who are being persecuted and killed for their faith in Jesus around the world as well as for those who are persecuting and killing them.
Now this is spiritual warfare, so first ask God to cover you and your family by the precious blood of Jesus, then spend 5 Minutes praying for God's presence and comfort upon all those who are suffering for Him today wherever they might be. From the Middle East to North Korea and Africa. Then pray that those who persecute them would be convicted by the Holy Spirit of their wrongdoing that their sins be heavy upon them until they repent. Remember that the apostle Paul was also such a religious fanatic at one time, if he could be saved, so can they.
Finally, if you are reading this and it is you who are being thus persecuted, remember that you are not alone. We might not know each other by name, but because we follow Jesus we are part of His body and members of heavenly family and kingdom. I am praying for you and many others will be praying as well. Stand fast in your faith. And if you are the one who persecutes, you will probably hate me right now, but I love you because God loves you. My God, the God of the Bible taught me to love my enemies and to pray for those who hate me. True God is Love and He does not ask us to kill for him, but He already sent His son to die for you. If you ask Jesus right now to forgive you for your sins, He will forgive you. No matter what you have done and you will go to heaven when you die because of His love for you, if you will choose to live and die for Him. Furthermore, He will give you freedom from those sinful desires that you are struggling with and will set you free from them. You don't have to kill anyone to be forgiven. You just need to repent. After you do, get hold of the Bible online, read the New testament and learn how to live for God. God bless you all.
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