Praying for the Persecuted

Christians in the country with the most freedom in the world (U.S.), hold to the Christian faith the least when persecution arises.

Of all of God’s Word, there is one verse that sticks in my mind that seems to prove itself more and more everyday. It’s a promise that most of us take too lightly, yet is reaffirmed daily. It’s one that is refused by some, feared by others, and brushed aside by the ignorant. We find it in Paul’s letter to Timothy:

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted – 2 Timothy 3:12

Now, here’s where we as Christians get into trouble. Many want all of Gods’ promises…as long as they’re desirable. Much of this mindset is fueled by the heretical “prosperity gospel” (see Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Crefalo Dollar, etc.) that prods folks to come to Christ for what they can get treating the Savior like a candy machine. This is evidenced by seeing Christians in the country with the most freedom in the world (U.S.), holding to the Christian faith the least when persecution arises.

Today, we are seeing this promise of the Bible manifesting itself in the national news as the group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is slashing its way though the Middle East. The group is known for its incredibly brutal manifestation of Islam (Wahhabism). They routinely come against other Muslims and especially Christians. The latest being an edict in the true spirit of Islam, that Christians must convert, flee, or be killed.

Such atrocities we read about in the news should make us pause, pray, and be thankful for the freedom we have to practice Christianity here in the United States. When we do, we realize the true perspective of persecution. We see in perspective how insignificant our “persecution” is when our faith costs us our social statuses, our wallets, or our jobs.

Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East need our prayers now more than ever. Here is what we are asking our readers to do:

Pray
Join our social media campaign
WV4G is joining other Christians around the Globe by asking our readers to change their social media profile pictures to one of the images below. The symbol you see is the Arabic letter for “N” that ISIS is marking seized property with after forcing Christians out. It is the first letter of the Arabic word for Christian, “Nasrani” or Nazarene. This will not only show support among our Christian brethren, but act as a reminder for us to pray whenever we see it on our social media pages.
Share these images below with your social media friends and followers with the hashtag #prayforthepersecuted

To save the files to your PC to use:

RIGHT-click the image
Select “Save image as..”
Choose location on your PC
Press OK
Follow the steps to change your profile picture for you specific social media account