Not Just in Kenya

When will our leaders wake up and realize Islam is not a religion of peace.  Islamists are led by their father, Satan.  This is a battle between the spiritual worlds and our leaders are blind.  The persecution of nonMuslims – Christians and Jews in particular -  will continue until Jesus returns.  We must arm ourselves with the Word of God and pray without ceasing for our brothers and sisters in harms way.

 

 Jihad in Kenya: Women and children were slaughtered if they could not recite the Koran, Jihadis cut the hands off the bodies of their victims and burned their faces.

 

16 Muslims reportedly rape Christian girl

Pakistani pre-teen refused to renounce faith during assault

 

 

Canadian Woman Opens Up About 460-Day Ordeal With Somali Captors: Forced to Convert to Islam, ‘Starved, Beaten and Sexually Brutalized’

Deception

Just finished reading The Owner's Manual for Christians by Chuck Swindoll.  I really needed it.  Needed to get back to basics, to the Root of the vine - for I was in a place no Christian likes to be but finds themselves from time to time.  You may have been there - that "no man's land" where you find yourself distanced from your Father and questioning everything about religion, church and Christianity.  So I put things aside, slowed down, re-prioritized, reflected and got back to basics. 

The amazing thing is when God gives us confirmation that what we are reading and/or hearing is correct and Biblical.  That's what He did for me this week -  starting with Keith's sermon on Sunday and culminating with Swindoll's book today.  Both referenced Satan and his wily ways.

The physical world upon which we have our feet planted is visible.  It can be measured.  It can be felt.  It has color and odor and texture.  It's tangible, obvious.  What is not so obvious is the system that permeates and operates within lives on this earth.  It is a world system manipulated by the pervasive hand of Satan and his demons, who pull the strings to achieve the adversary's wicked ends.  If we are ever to extricate ourselves from those strings, we must be able to detect them and understand where they lead.

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world (the cosmos), the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  And the world is passing away, also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

So what is this system?  What is its philosophy?  What is the frame of reference of the cosmos - its thinking, its drives, its goals?

The first thing we need to know is that it is a system that operates apart from and at odds with God.  It is designed to appeal to us, to attract us, to seduce us with its sequined garb of fame, fortune power, and pleasure.  God's ways are often uncomfortable, but the world system is designed to make us comfortable, to give us pleasure, to gain our favor, and ultimately to win our support.  The philosophy of the world system is totally at odds with the philosophy of God.

Greek grammarian Kenneth Wuest wrote:
Kosmos refers to an ordered system. . . of which Satan is the head, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects. . . Much in this world-system is religious cultured, refined, and intellectual.  But it is anti-God and anti-Christ.

Pay close attention to the commercials on television and observe what they're advertising and how virtually every word, picture, and sound is designed to pull you in, to make you dissatisfied with what you have and what you look like and who you are.  The great goal is to make you want whatever it is that is being sold.

But it's not just on television. The world system, the cosmos philosophy, is everywhere.  It's going on all the time, even when you can't see it, and especially when you're not thinking about it.  It's whistling its appeal:  "Come on. Come on. You'll love it.  This is so much fun.  It'll make you look so good, It'll make you feel so good."  It motivates us by appealing to our pride and that that which pleases us, all the while cleverly seducing us away from God.

And over all this realm, don't forget, Satan is prince.

More from The Owner's Manual for Christians by Swindoll to come . . . . . .

Christian Persecution

Here are some excerpts from Walid Shoebat's latest blog.................


Today, Rescue Christians provided significant aid to the Christians of Guinea near Conakry the capitol in Western Africa. About 8 weeks ago in a vicious attack by Muslim mobs, 95 Christians were murdered with 130 injured, as well as the burning of many churches and the destruction of dozens of homes. The population is struggling to recover.




Guinea is about 85% percent Muslim so the Christian population (about 8%) is in grave danger in this country (as they are in many other African countries).


You probably haven't heard much about all the Christian persecution going on in the Middle East lately, so here are some titles from recent articles on the web that will speak volumes on their own:

CAUGHT ON FILM: Churches Burnt And Ransacked In Egypt

 

More Christian Converts Arrested in Tehran and Isfahan

 

Reporter: “monumental attack — unprecedented in modern times — on churches throughout Egypt”

 

Insider In Egypt: Attack On Christians “nothing less than a furious satanic attack”

 

Coptic girl shot in Cairo

 

10,000 Muslims March In Coptic Area Screaming: “Islamic, Islamic, despite the Christians.”

 

Muslims to Christians: “They’re infidels and they’ve built their church without permission”

 

“The Christians in Syria are helpless,” says activist

 

If we think we're having a "bad" day stop and think about these brothers and sisters -  then pray for them.

A Prayer by Charles Swindoll

Father . . . . . dear gracious Father, all of us have experienced failure.  It has left us broken and disappointed in ourselves.  To make matters worse, there are times when a flashback of those failures returns to haunt us.

Renew our hope as we read and reflect on the words of Peter, with whom we so easily identify.  Remind us that, just as You used him after he had failed repeatedly, You will also use us, by Your grace.  And thank You, again, for Your grace.

Father give us grace to match our trials.  Give us a sense of hope and purpose beyond our suffering.  Give us assurance that we're not alone, that Your plan has not been aborted though our suffering intensifies.  Let us never forget that every jolt on this rugged journey from earth to heaven is a reminder we're on the right road.

Lord, since You don't save us and then suddenly take us home to glory, hear our prayer this day as we ask You to bring our attention to those things that will assist us in staying clean in a corrupt world.  Give us an intense distaste for things that displease You and an increased pleasure in things that bring You honor and magnify Your truth.

And, Father lift us out of the mire of our own self-condemnation.  All too frequently we are our own worst enemy.  We focus on our failures rather than on Your rescues. . . on our wrongs rather than on Your commitment to making us right . . . on our puny efforts rather than on Your powerful plans for our good.  Even our attempts at being devoted to You can become so self-centered.  Turn our attention back to You.

Remind us of our exalted position in Your Son.

Refresh us with frequent flashbacks  -  "God is for us."

Lord, renew our spirits with the realization that we're Your possession.

Then, with those joyful thoughts to spur us on, may we rise above failures, find joy in the midst of suffering, grow strong despite temptation, and slay the dragons of guilt within us so we might enjoy more deeply than ever Your ultimate embrace.

Through Christ I pray.
Amen.