Tag Archives: Islamic State

The Martyred 21 – Counting the Cost

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sings a song that says,

Take up your cross and follow Jesus
Take up your cross every day
Don’t be ashamed to say that you know Him
Count the cost, take up your cross and follow Him

Twenty one Coptic Christians gave their lives for that Cross this weekend. Who are the Coptic Christians?

Coptic just means Egyptian. Christians that live in Egypt call themselves Coptic Christians. Going back to the Apostolic Period, they come from the city of Alexandria. They call John Mark (who wrote the Gospel of Mark) their founder, and first martyr. He arrived in Alexandria A.D. 42.

Copts in Egypt make up the largest Christian community in the Middle East. The term comes from the Greek description of the Egyptian population in Roman Egypt. After the Muslims conquered Egypt, it then just applied to those Egyptians following the Christian faith.

Persecuted for centuries, they are no strangers to martyrdom.

Regardless of what the President of the United States prefers to call them, they weren’t beheaded because they were Egyptian citizens or Innocents. They were killed because they were Christians. The Islamic terrorists are members of the self-named Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. This is simple, elementary education.

Islamic militants are murdering Christians because of their faith.

The Bible speaks of these things coming to pass again. Of course there was persecution during the period of the Apostles and the beginning of The Church and the Bible tells us that it will increase as the second coming of our Lord draws near.

“…This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3-4.

That is the problem with so many Christians around the world. It’s not just specific to America. We are being lulled to sleep. We continue on as we have always done, eating, drinking, etc., as the Bible points out, and if we are not careful, that day will come upon us unaware.

“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9.

We are not children of darkness! We are sons and daughters of the light! Paul urges us here to not sleep but to be alert and self-controlled. How do we do that? Put on love and faith as a breastplate, protecting our heart and the hope of salvation as a helmet, protecting our minds!

It will be very easy, in this evil day, to be so filled with anxiety and the cares of this life that we become distracted from our purpose and distracted from our Source of Life itself. This is so dangerous. We must be connected to HIM, to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, if we are to stand in this wicked hour.

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, (overindulgence) drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36 NIV.

Close unexpectedly on us like a trap. That is explicit and precise, friends. The Word of God says it will come upon all who live on the face of the earth…this means us! Whether it is ISIS at our doorstep or persecution in another form, we will face difficulty unless the Lord comes for His Bride beforehand.

‘To escape all that is about to happen’ doesn’t necessarily mean we will be exempt from suffering. I believe it means if we KNOW Him, if we are filled with His Spirit, no matter what comes our way we will escape by being rewarded with eternal life and be able to stand before Him in glory. The thief on the cross was not relieved of his immediate suffering but the Lord did tell him, “…Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43 ESV.

Whether we die the death of a martyr, or are caught away with Him in the air, we will escape!

We win regardless, we will then be able to stand before the Son of Man; not with fear or dread, but with hope and joy to hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

So have you counted the cost? Are you awakened out of sleep? Do you realize it is high time that we commit to the work of the Lord? No matter what it is He has called us to do, He has commanded us all to share this Gospel of Truth and Hope. Paul warns us that “…now it is high time to awake out of sleep ; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” Romans:13:11.

Jesus Christ is alive, He is risen and He is coming again. While we are here on this earth, He has sent the Comforter, Christ IN us, our Hope of Glory that will keep us, strengthen us and perfect us for every good work.

The power of the Holy Spirit gives us strength to stand in extreme adversity & persecution.

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Be encouraged today of the Hope that lies within you but do not forget your Christian brothers and sisters around the world that are facing imminent danger and extinction at the hands of their persecutors. The enemy is no respecter of persons, friend. Faces and names mean nothing and they will stop at nothing until Jesus comes again. (Just since this was posted early this morning (2/17/15) there has been another report of ISIS burning to death 45 people in al-Baghdadi. These are atrocities that we are aware of.)

But I believe in an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in these last days! We share with churches every week, teaching them how to be able to accommodate the revival that God wants to give us.

May we all count the cost now and unite together to see as many as possible are ready to meet Him and, if that day comes, to lay down their lives for His Name.

“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:21-22:21.

Living in the Hope!

Don’t forget your copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. Great for ANY FAST or prayer journey. On Amazon in paperback and Kindle and Barnes and Noble too! Be blessed!

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Verily, verily…Listen Up!

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Friends, I have been so burdened lately that I cannot sleep normal at night. I have these images in my head, in my heart, and the Lord is calling me, He is calling US, to stand in the gap. I have blogged about this crisis several times already, you can read What Did the Early Church Do When Persecution Came here and We Are N ~ Pushing Back the Darkness here. Please share this and most of all, pray.

I remember several years ago, a visiting missionary walking up and down the aisle in our church carrying a pocket watch on a chain. She was swinging it back and forth, much as a hypnotist would, singing, “Go to sleep, go to sleep…” to the tune of the children’s lullaby.

Why? She was trying to make a point that America was asleep when it came to reaching our world or being aware of what was going on around us.

Today, it seems as if we are still snoozing.

The apathy we are seeing in many ways is saying, “We don’t want to think about all that is going on in the world. We want our happy lives to continue, the sun to come up in the morning and everything to carry on as it always has.”

To Americans, it is half a world away. Most cannot begin to process the evil we are seeing, except on television, movies and video games. But these crimes against humanity, an R rating wouldn’t begin to touch it.

Senator Lindsey Graham warned this past Sunday that Iraq was not the only country in danger. He put out the alarm that they would attack on U.S. soil. It is inevitable, they have vowed to raise their flag in the White House.

“Mr. President, be honest with the threat we face,” Graham said. “They are coming.”

He isn’t talking about the 30,000-50,000 that have taken over Iraq. Most likely they are already here. On U.S. soil.

So what is the answer?

When Jesus wanted to get the attention of the crowds He used the term, “Verily, verily…” Of course that is the King’s English so what does it mean, or what did it mean to them?

Many translations of the Bible use the words truly and assuredly in place of verily. The Greek definition goes back to the word Amen in the Old Testament. We use it today at the end of a prayer, or as a confirmation when we agree with the words of a minister, friend, or speaker. So be it, is another translation, or meaning of the word, Amen. In other words, we make it our own; we take possession and agree with what has just been said.

Some scholars say that Jesus used the words, “Amen, Amen, I am going to speak to you…” as His opening remarks to silence the crowds. Imagine the thousands on a hillside gathering to hear The Teacher. It could not possibly have been quiet! There were no microphones, sound systems or sophisticated megaphones. He had to say something to get them to sit down and listen to what He had to say.

Maybe that is why He used Amen at the beginning of what He was about to say. Not just to quiet them down and prepare them but also to let them know that what He was about to tell them was of great importance. “Listen up!”

He warned of days like this, that our lives would be in danger, we would be persecuted because of His name.

Those days are here.

Jesus told the story, He sounded the alarm. He repeated Himself. He called urgency to His message. He gave it authority, using emphasis and stressing the importance of His words.

He wants us to do the same.

What is happening in our world IS our world.

It doesn’t matter how far away or that the Christians are not of our denomination.

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What matters is that people are being killed, literally slaughtered, because they will not renounce their faith and will not convert to evil.

Children are being killed, even beheaded; women are being sold as slaves, raped, beaten, and torn from their families.

Some have been buried alive.

We have thousands of refugees trapped on a mountain with very little of life’s necessities to sustain them. They have NOTHING. No bed, no clothing, no documents identifying who they are or where they came from. They are literally people without a country!

Yet life goes on for us. We are free, we are happy, we have LIVES.

Friends, they have vowed to come for us, too. This is not pleasant to hear but we must prepare ourselves now. We must become unified as the Body of Christ in order to be able to stand. We need one another and our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world need our prayers.

Will the IS go away if we pray? Will Israel and Palestine sign a peace treaty? Will Russia withdraw from the Ukraine?

Probably not.

But prayer changes us and it puts warrior angels into action. They will fight on our behalf; they will stand in the gap. God does respond to the prayers of His people!

“‘And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:29-31.

It will strengthen those going through the fire; God’s Word is full of examples, such as when the Church prayed for Peter in Acts 12.

Look at what Paul says here to the Corinthian church concerning their prayers:

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-11.

Prayer can move mountains, shake kingdoms and cause others to act.

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It is the most powerful weapon we own.

“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.…” Acts 16:25-26.

Not only were Paul and Silas delivered but the keeper of the prison, and his entire household, were baptized! It matters.

Can we get involved? Will YOU get involved? Will you pray, will you share and let others know that you believe God hears us when we call on Him?

Will you cry out, “Listen up!”

If we intend to reach the world with the Gospel we must get our focus off of things and on to people. We must listen up.

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#WeAreN – Pushing back the darkness

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Unless you live in a cave, you are most likely aware of the atrocities being played out against Christians around the world, but most horrendously in Iraq at the moment.

The Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, has taken control of the city of Mosul, with Baghdad next on its list.

This past week, the Sunni Muslim group forced Christians out of Mosul, where they have lived for the past 2,000+ years. This is the ancient city of Nineveh. They had no choice but to either convert to Islam, pay a large tax or be killed. Those that were allowed to leave were robbed at the border, anything of value taken from them.

Now, they are doing something that is reminiscent of Nazi Germany, marking the houses and doors of Christians.

The symbol is an Arabic N,

ن

and it is the symbol the Islamic State is using to pinpoint and identify who is a Christian. It is a derogatory name, Nasara or Nazarene, as they are calling them.

They will not stop in Mosul, or in Iraq, but they will move across the Middle East and around the world, quickly, and with terror. Even Al Qaeda keeps their distance from this group of Muslims; they are so fierce and determined to do whatever it takes to accomplish their world domination goal.

They have blown up the tomb of Jonah, desecrated cathedrals and are now worshiping Allah in them instead.

Women are not excused from the violence. They are being forced into marriages with the militants, sold into slavery, raped, beaten, and forced to be completely covered, if they are brave enough to venture out into public. They have been warned to have their faces veiled or risk severe punishment. The announcements have been given over loud speakers in the city and enforced, with horrendous consequences.

“Anyone who is not committed to this duty and is motivated by glamour will be subject to accountability and severe punishment to protect society from harm and to maintain the necessities of religion and protect it from debauchery…” Islamic State.

It doesn’t matter to these extremists if you are Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Nazarene, etc., it matters if you are Christian. Do you believe in the God of the Bible and are you willing to say the same when your life is threatened?

Shari’a law has been in place for several weeks now in Mosul.

This past couple of weeks, there has been a rallying cry of Christians coming together, and against, the torture and murder of innocent Christians in Iraq. Thousands are joining together on Twitter, spreading now to Instagram, with the hashtag

#WeAreN

standing for We are Christians, demanding an end to the violence and asking for help from leaders around the world.

They are using what the Islamic State intends for persecution with the meaning of the N, and showing their support through social media, in solidarity, to help bring awareness and end the persecution of Christians.

Peaceful demonstrations, walks and rallies have been held on four continents, in fifteen countries and over forty cities so far, showing support for the Assyrian Christians in peril. Many have placards, posters and t-shirts with the #WeAreN symbol of support.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is also pushing back. The Jewish people have been under fire, targeted, embattled and persecuted for centuries. Many say they are killing innocent civilians, when in reality they are doing what any other country would do; defend, protect and preserve.

The Palestinians have tunneled their way under the earth to bombard Israel and will stop at nothing to get what they want. They would not be happy if they regained complete control of Gaza, it would not stop there.

They want Israel annihilated, completely.

Netanyahu has a formidable task ahead. He has little support from the world community and is daily condemned for his attacks on Gaza. What should you do when you are being attacked?

These are just a few of the examples of heartache, turmoil and injustice in the world right this moment.

It is easy sometimes, as life goes on in our corner of the globe, to think that things like this do not affect us. Friends, this DOES affect all of us! This is persecution, and yes, the Bible did say persecution would come, but we must bind together and not sit idly by as our brothers and sisters are slaughtered across the pond.

Israel and Gaza, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, South Africa…the list goes on. And on.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:12, 13.

What can we do?

We can pray.

We must pray!

Pray for your persecuted Christian brothers and sisters.

Pray for their children, for rest and peace from the terror that fills their bedtime dreams.

Pray for the mothers and fathers who are struggling to find food for their families.

Pray for those that are being tortured, for deliverance and God to intervene on their behalf.

Pray for leaders to rise up and to condemn the massacres. It has to start somewhere.

That doesn’t mean things will miraculously get better, all wars will cease and peace and harmony will reign in the world. No, if we read and have knowledge of our Bible, we are aware that these are all end-time events. Many of these things must come to pass! But we can pray for wisdom and look for ways to make a difference, to touch heaven.

We still enjoy freedom in many countries in the world. We are able to gather in houses of worship, to pray, to choose.

May we not take our freedoms lightly, but use them as an opportunity to come together in UNITY.

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While we obviously pray for deliverance and these atrocities to end, the reality is that they may not because of the time we live in. We pray for grace, boldness, strength…and courage in the face of adversity.

If the roles are reversed, and some day they come for US, we would hope that our brothers and sisters around the world would bombard heaven on our behalf.

Back before WWII, people never dreamed Hitler would be able to accomplish what he did. The innocent slaughter of MILLIONS of Jews, Christians and others that they decided were not worthy to live, was unthinkable and yet, if some of those souls were with us today I wonder if they would be warning us to wake up.

Are YOU N?

Pray.

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