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What do y'all think

S

Shadowjak's Dancer

Seasoned Member
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I've been seeing a lot of things happening to Christians overseas that I'm not liking. Beheadings, rapes, and whatnot at the hands of violent extremists. I have tried to place myself in the shoes of someone who is currently, right at this very moment, experiencing such things. I'm sure I'd be thinking of what I could do to get out of the situation, but I am also sure I'd be lifting up every pleading prayer I know to the Father that someone would DO something about the situation.

Several years ago I was confronted with the question as to why anyone else must be responsible for the things I pray for to God. It's clearly the burden on my heart, so if I am praying that 'someone' will do something, why should God make someone (else) responsible for the things I ask Him for?

I know that if I were in such a dire situation as our brothers and sisters overseas, I'd be praying and hoping that someone would do something... Well, along those lines of thought, there are two bits of Scripture that are really weighing on my heart right now. 1st has to do with doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. 2nd has to do with those that did or did not do for the 'least of these, My brethren', about visiting those sick and in prison, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc. If we ignore even the least of these who are suffering, it is as if we ignored Jesus Christ in such circumstances, like He were being executed all over again, and we did little more than glance across the headline as we sipped our morning coffee.

On the one hand, I take my hat off to those who have travelled off to a distant land to try to stop Isis and their ilk. On the other hand, I think the approach is somewhat misguided and doomed to ultimate failure from a strategic standpoint. Much like trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun.

I don't think we can leave our believing family to 'go it alone' in the face of such hell, but I don't think that there is any clear direction coming from Christian leadership on how pro-active believers can join hands, git 'er done, and bring about some positive change in the world.

I do have some ideas that'd float through the church pews about as well as going public about Polygamy, but I wanted to hear if you guys have any (Bible based) thoughts on the matter... about what to do, how to do it, and how to galvanize a sleepy Church (without setting them off down an unbiblical road).
 
Interesting thoughts, but can you be a little more specific?

Also, although ISIS et al look terrible, on a historical scale their impact on the church would be relatively small compared to many other events like bolshevism, mao's communism, the various inquisitions, or even today to the daily grind of Saudi wahabism or Sudanese state-supported Islam.
 
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the Apostles collecting donations from the Greek churches to support the people struggling in Jerusalem. So monetary donations are in fact Biblical. Obviously check out any organization before donating. As far as actual action, no one can tell you what God is calling you to do but you. I've had friends called to go to Burma to help refugees, but they are the ones who have felt that call, not been told it's what they should do. Do you think you are being called to physical action?
 
I know of one ministry (that I support) that is dedicated to getting persecuted Christians out of harm's way. I'll provide the link to the most current initiative, but I'll give the TL;DR here:
They are asking for letters of pledge from churches willing to to take in Syrian and Iraqi Christian refugees. The support pledged is:
1 Paying the airfare for a family
2 Housing a family
3 Helping the family learn English
4 Helping the family bread winner find employment.

I support this ministry because they are zealous to complete the mission of their name (Rescue Christians), and are always looking to grow, expand, rescue more christians, and their operatives put their lives on the line every day. They stand in mmm... criticism... of 'awareness' ministries that use donor money to run ads and start petitions, while never rescuing a single persectued believer.

http://rescuechristians.org/major-new-i ... harms-way/

To lay all my cards on the table, I "tithe" to this organization, because I believe so strongly in the mission and in the integrity of the people running it.
 
I'll have a look at that link, thanks. Yes, I agree that "raising awareness" campaigns are pretty useless if that's all they do, and don't lift an actual finger to help people who are in that situation.
We have enough "awareness", but no direction. I think part of me is asking why there are groups like this "rescue Christians" group, and individuals who have travelled overseas to do something practical, like volunteering, but why the greater Church bodies are carrying on with a "business as usual" attitude.

Imagine the influence that could be brought to bear if the different denominations banded together to channel resources to rescue these individuals and create some stability for them and their families/communities. Where the heck is our leadership? Content to run denominations and plan the latest Christian Spirituality conferences? We need leaders who will lead.

This is why the Church is losing relevance in the world today. Enough is enough, and the time has come for the body of believers to no longer sit passively on the sidelines, but to lead their communities to act.
 
Oh yes. The Church is the great 'sleeping giant' that America only wishes it was. I wonder what exactly it will take to wake it up?
 
They already tried Starbucks...

So, how to wake the Church, then? Remind them that just because the government seems to think separation of Church and State gives the State the right to dictate to the Church that it must remain silent on matters of justice that the political elite have decided should not be questioned?

The Apostles respectfully, but firmly, refused to obey the orders of the leaders to not speak in the Name of the Messiah... They wouldn't allow the Elite to make the Temple a forbidden zone, deigning rather to obey God's instruction to spread the good news than those who would have placed limits and restrictions on them.

Perhaps it is time we remember that the Church has a long and strong history of standing up to the unjust laws of the elite rulers of this world. Perhaps it is time we get ourselves arrested for speaking truth in the face of lying politicians. Perhaps it is time we wake ourselves up, show others the way forward, and lead the way that others refuse to. The greatest of fires can be started by the smallest spark after all.
 
I was attempting to witness to a lady recently, who came back with this response - " I don''t want to hear about a God who allows so much evil to happen." Needless to say, our conversation ended on that point. The truth is that this evil that is occurring, can only be happening because God is allowing it. Why? I'm not sure I have a good answer to that question. This same God could have stopped his friends (the disciples) from being murdered in cold blood, but didn't. There are examples in scripture where God did not intervene with judgement until sin and the evil deeds had reached a certain level of severity, before He acted. There are examples in scripture where God did not act until there was enough of an outcry against the evil that was occurring. Having said that, I'm not suggesting that we become calloused, or do nothing about what is happening. At the very least we must unit in crying out to God, against this evil.
 
Crying out to God for righteousness and His ways to increase on this earth should never be neglected, of course, but don't we have an awful lot of influence over what happens on this earth? Where does all this evil come from? Evil men. So why should they be more effective at influencing this world? I think it's because the Church has allowed them to define for us the terms of when, where, and how we are allowed to impact what takes place in society.

It is time for that to change. Pray, yes, but why should God feed the hungry He told us to look after just because we won't? Why should He defend the widow and fatherless because evil men have made 'rules/laws' that bring injustice while we sit around, throwing our hands up in the air and whine, "there's nothing I can do..."
 
You have to remember that God has a different perspective than we do. His eyes are on the eternal, and to him, the entirety of our life on Earth is a brief thing. We've started backpacking with our sons, in part as a family activity, and in part to strengthen them should they ever need to be physically able to meet a challenge. Yesterday was probably our 4th hike. To hear our eldest you'd think we were torturing him simply to be sadistic jerks, while in reality he was suffering in the moment for a greater return in the long run.

Now does that logic mean every hard or bad thing is God actually giving us "tough love"? No it doesn't. As Jacob said, there are evil men, and don't forget we have an enemy. Also, there is a lot of suffering that happens because we are simply lazy and selfish. Could I personally be doing more to improve the lives of those around me? Yes. That's on me, not God.

So why does God allow the things that aren't just trials meant to strengthen us to happen? I believe that he is allowing us the chance to succeed, not setting us up for failure. Do we want to be the people we see in the the movie "Wall-e", barely able to stand and completely consumed by our own hedonism, or do we want to be strong, leaders, heroic? You don't get to be the latter without something to overcome.
 
Jacobhaivri,
I stand corrected! You are right. From the beginning, man was told to subdue the earth. I have asked the Lord in prayer - What am I (and my fellow brothers and sisters) to do when I hear that deceived, evil men, are stoning innocent women and children as help for them was closing in. I wonder, what action am I to take when the scripture says it will come to pass (God allowed) to the degree that if the days were not shortened, even the elect would not survive the experience. One thing I know for certain is that hash-tags such as 'be warm and be fed', and 'bring our girls home' is totally devoid of substance and is useless.
 
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