By now everyone has heard the things that are going on with ISIS. Couple weeks ago, they beheaded 21 Christian men. They also kidnapped 100 Christians in Syria last week. Why is this happening? Why are so many Christians being persecuted in the Middle East? Is there anything that we can do to stop it?
I believe that this is a call to wake us up. We have it too easy here in the US. We don’t know what it’s like to face persecution. In fact, the most “persecuted” that we might experience is someone laughing at our faith. We have it too comfortable here. I believe this has caused us to be apathetic. We lost the passion and fervor. Coming to church has become a routine on Sunday. Being able to focus during worship has become a struggle. Showing up for Morning Prayer every day has become a struggle (myself included). My whole life, I thought that Morning Prayer was specifically a Korean thing. It makes sense because I grew up in a Korean church. I would ask my non-Korean friends if their church had Morning Prayer, and they would look at me like I was crazy. You do what? That early?
My eyes were opened when I saw that the Spanish church here at NCFC VA campus has Morning Prayer! Wow! Are they like half-Korean? No, they’re not. It was then that I realized that Morning Prayer wasn’t a cultural thing. It was a desperate thing. It was a desperately seeking God thing. The American church used to have Morning Prayer as well, but as America had become blessed, our desperation had faded. We’ve grown too comfortable. We’ve become too complacent. We’re not desperate any more.
When I read about the 21 Christian men who were beheaded, and how they were proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ with their last breath, I was so challenged. They were so passionate. All they cared about was giving God the glory and having His name be known. They were willing to die for that. I believe that God is calling Christians in America and around the world to our knees. To be a people who are praying with desperation. We know that God is in control of the situation with ISIS and when His timing comes, ISIS will fade away. In the meantime, we need to pray. We need to wake up from our slumber. We need to be ready for the coming of Christ. We need to be alert!
We need to pray for the Christians who are being persecuted around the world. That God would use them to bring people to Him. I believe that God could use Christians to bring members of ISIS to God. If Apostle Paul met God and believed in Him, even though he went around killing Christians, then so can these guys. They need to know that what they’re doing is wicked and evil. The Bible tells us not to repay evil for evil but to overcome evil with good. We can try all we want to defeat ISIS with evil, but nothing can change their hearts except the love of Christ found in the gospel.
Everything begins and ends with the gospel. For us who have lost our passion and zeal for God, meditate on the gospel. As we do that, our relationship will be restored. We’ll be hungry and passionate for Him. Why? Because we realize that we need Jesus. For those who have yet to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, meditate on the gospel. Why? Because you will realize that you need Jesus. The gospel is simple enough for the nonbeliever to come to Christ, and it is deep enough to sanctify the believer. I believe God is using ISIS to give us a wakeup call. The question is: how will we respond?
From Pastor Eugene’s Heart
March 8, 2015