Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Genocide

The Bible says in 1 Cor. 12, “…there should be no division in the body [of Christ]; instead, all the parts mutually depend on and care for one another. If one part is suffering, then all the members suffer alongside it.” As I spin my globe toward the Middle East, I find that a great suffering is happening in the body of Christ…

Alyssa, a 28-year old Iraqi woman: "After my family was killed I was kidnapped by ISIS and brought to a terrorist camp with more than 100 new widows my age. Every night, a man would beat and rape me, and during the day, we were forced to cook for the ISIS fighters. Many nights, the men would take turns with us and do very bad things."

Kalil: “ISIS fighters were coming for all of our villages. We were forced to walk and hide in the mountains of Sinjar. They found us. I gave them the few things we had and begged them to release us. They beat us and tied our hands together so we could do nothing as they took our children away. Days later, I found our four children's bodies on the rocks of a nearby mountain. My nine-year-old daughter was raped and then badly killed."

Aly: I was forced to watch ISIS jihadists kill my family. They took me away with other women. Over and over, they tortured and raped us. I begged them to stop, but they laughed, saying that we were their slaves. Then, one day, the leader came and told me that he was going to sell me. I screamed and begged him to kill me instead. When I was sold, I cried for 30 minutes. Then my new owner said, with a gentle voice, “Dear Sister, we are good people. God sent us to buy you away from these bad people.” He brought me water, food and took me to a safe refugee camp. I learned later that he sold his wife's jewelry to purchase my freedom.”

Alyssa, Kalil, and Aly share at least two things in common. They are Christians, and they survived the genocide (the mass killing of a people group) that is currently taking place in northern Iraq and Syria. Unfortunately, tens of thousands (some estimate nearly 200,000) of Christians, along with other minority groups, have been killed by ISIS. Over 1 million remain homeless, many freezing to death while hiding in the mountains. No country will take them; no country wants them.

It is now reported that 2014 was the worst year in modern history for global persecution of Christians, mostly from the Middle East. ISIS terrorists have burned hundreds of villages, looted cities, and destroyed priceless historical, biblical, and archeological sites. Men and boys are tortured, then burned alive in cages, wives and daughters are brutally raped, then killed, children are forced to watch, then beheaded.

Although ISIS is guilty of killing fellow Muslims, along with other minorities, they have stated that their #1 enemy are Christians. This is a religious war against Christians and Jews and any other minority that refuses to bow to radical Islam. They find justification for their brutality in the Koran – the Muslim bible. In recent weeks, ISIS has carried their extinction strategy to Yemen, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Chad. Their numbers are increasing, as is their brutality.

Hebrews 13:3 instructs us, “Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." Pray for our fellow Christians in the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq, many who have lost their family and, as I write, are sleeping on the ground without any shelter because all their belongings have been taken from them. They cry out to God for help.

Pray for the Christian relief agencies that are making an effort to save as many as they can by setting up refugee camps and temporary shelter. Liberty Relief International... www.libertyrelief.cc/201269/offer.asp ...and Baptist Global Response... www.gobgr.org/projects/project_detail/middle-east-crisis ...are 2 agencies that I know about and trust.

Pray for our government leaders, that they will understand that evil DOES exist and must be dealt with.

2 comments:

Anna Miller said...

We have a man working at the church with us who had to flee his country for this very reason a few years ago. They left everything--a thriving family business, huge family estate, and all their possessions. They made it out safely (though many of their friends did not) with only each other and their faith in Jesus. Continuing to pray with you for our fellow believers in the Middle East and for government leaders across the globe! Good words!

Janet C Nash said...

So sad and frightening! And our government seems to be doing nothing. We must join together as believers as we pray for our nation, our leaders and for those suffering such horrible atrocities.