Christians Abducted at Gunpoint…
I read the following post this morning on the Christian Persecution Blog. The reality that is seen in this post and through many of the stories on this blog is that Christians are facing major forms of persecution in many places throughout the world today. In other words, our blood brothers and sisters (many of them, the same age as you and I) are being beaten, abused, and even killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
On June 21, 16 Christians were abducted by Muslim extremists when they gathered to pray in Academy Town, Peshawar, Pakistan.
According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts in Pakistan, “Salamat Masih and 30 of his family and close friends were gathered to pray and celebrate the birth of his daughter, when 12 Taliban [members] of the Lashka-e-Islam group broke into his house yelling and shouting. They held the believers at gunpoint. The Muslim house-owner, Haji Muhammad Saraj, was also present at the time to collect rent.”
VOM contacts added, “With machine and automatic guns, they forcibly separated the men from the women and children. Slapping the Christian men, they commanded all 16 men, including Pastor Zulifqar and Haji Muhammad Saraj, to get into the five waiting vehicles.”
The 16 Christian men were held captive for an hour. “They were beaten and abused, and had all their money and mobile phones stolen from them. During this time, the Taliban attempted to persuade Pastor Zulifqar to convert to Islam, which he unquestionably refused. After sunset the Taliban took them to another place where they were kept in a cave until their release 10 hours later,” VOM contacts reported. Pray for believers in Pakistan.
Pray God protects them and provides for all their needs. Also pray their courageous testimonies will draw nonbelievers into fellowship with Him.”
There are two ways in which I feel compelled to respond after reading this:
- Pray – Our Christian brothers and sisters need a lot of prayer. Prayer for their health and safety, but also prayer that their faith would remain firm. Their faith is being tested in ways that most of us have not experienced.
- Love – One of the greatest gifts that has been given to us from God is the ability to love. The God that we worship loves those who persecute Christians just as much as He loves us….huh?…what a novel idea. So what should our response be? Yep, you guessed it, to love the people who are persecuting Christians.
I’ll definitely check out the persecution blog.
Thanks for posting this. I have to say, it’s a daily struggle to love people who persecuted believers. Our founder, Brother Andrew, has often asked the question: “Have you prayed for Bin Laden today?” And I have to say…it’s hard to pray for people who inflict so much pain onto others
Good reminders though…
God Bless,
Taylor
Persecution is still VERY real – just look at Father Ragheed and his subdeacons….
One wishes the eyes of the West would be collectively opened.
This is still the age of martyrs.