What Do You Do When God Is Silent in The Midst of Genocide?

The forced exile of Christians and other religious minorities, the butchering of men, women, and children by ISIS weighs heavy on my heart. So heavy. The eye-witness accounts coming out of Iraq and the surrounding areas, for months now, plague me.  I cannot turn away from them.  Reading their stories and looking at the pictures are the only way I know to share in their pain and suffering with an ocean separating us.  Surely I'm not alone in believing that to ignore a victim victimizes him, yet again.  

Because of The Foundation for the Relief and Reconciliation of the Middle East and the ministry of Canon Andrew White, I learned of these events fairly early.  The Middle East has always been a volatile part of the world, but the violence has escalated beyond comprehension.  The circumstances, which I can only describe as Hell unleashed, occupy my mind and prayers constantly. The unfathomable lack of response by the international community is maddening.  The slow-to-speak, slow-to-humbly-pray, slow-to-act universal church is even more puzzling to me.  I cannot shake the pictures.  I cannot stop imagining what it could possibly be like to witness your four-year son old being cut in half, your husband beheaded. And I know I'm not alone.  Surely the Throne of God has been flooded continually with prayers and tears!  Especially those of the ones living and dying this way!  

And we cry out, "Why Lord?!  How much longer, Lord?!  Do something, Lord!"  I'm not asking for something for me. This is not a selfish prayer!

God did not answer our collective prayers.  The violence and sorrow continued. I was inconsolably discouraged. 

For far too long, the sleepless nights and the anxious days seemed to push me further from God, not closer. I was still going to church and would open my Bible, but I would not read my Bible with a submitted heart.  I would feel that little nudge from the Spirit to open and read, but I pushed it aside. It was the only way I knew how to get back at God. 

Then one night as I lay weeping, I told God I was mad at Him and I was sorry for it.  That next morning, I picked up where I left off in a study on Thessalonians 1 &2.  The day's lesson was entitled "Wrestling with Wrath".  

This is what God had waiting for me on this very day, in the middle of a study on Thessalonians: a word from Revelation.  Chapter 6, verses 9-11, to be exact.

“9When the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;

10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.” (NASB)

The faithfulness of God stuns me.

The gentleness of God melts me. 

His timing is perfect. 

The martyred souls did not get an answer to “when”, and neither did I.  What they did get is our Heavenly Father wrapping His arms around them, clothing them in His righteousness and an invitation to receive His rest.  

He offers the same comfort to me- to anyone who would receive it. How foolish I was to push away the God who has always loved me so well!

As I strive to be faithful to what God has called me to do, I hope to keep this lesson fresh in my memory.  The burden for those being persecuted and oppressed is great. It is also not meant to be carried alone.

Until that Day of Judgment and Vengeance, I fall at the feet of the One who saved me.

The One who will return.

“And I hear the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink.  They deserve it.”  And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” (Revelation 16: 5-7, NASB)

Amen and Amen.

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Please consider giving tangible help to these who need us so desperately.  To learn how, please contact:

The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East

To get a better understanding of what is going on, please consider following Canon Andrew White and Dr. Sarah Ahmed, his co-laborer in Iraq on Facebook.

The Bible study referenced above is Children of the Day by Beth Moore, published by LifeWay Press, 2014.  

 

W.W.N.D.? Nehemiah and Immigration Revisited

This post was originally posted in November of 2013, months before some children and many older individuals have been illegally flooding into America with no documentation, highly-communicable diseases, and many with ties to the violent gangs  they claim they are "escaping" from. 

The web of illegal activity that has led to the current crisis is not addressed here.  Biblical immigration is.  One most first begin from a point of understanding that God does NOT leave his people without direction for any sphere of life.  His plan for what we call "immigration" is no exception.
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So much of our current discussion about immigration mistakenly makes the focus racism, materialism and selfishness. Anyone against amnesty must be a bigot, heartless, and clearly not one who loves his neighbor as himself. Any chance at real dialogue is squelched and our nation and the people she purports to serve are weakened. Immigration reform needs to happen, but even Christians are divided as to how, what and why. We have been given a great resource of wisdom to address modern day immigration through Scripture. Let’s practice due diligence and see what God has to say.

Take a look at walls for a moment. Walls were meant to give peace and security to the people of God inside. (Ps. 122:7) When walls were torn down, the nation was ravaged by man and beast.(Ps. 80:12) Armed with swords, spears and bows, guards stood watch and protected the city during the wall’s rebuilding and after(Nehemiah4-7). Walls and gates are to be guarded by diligent and faithful watchmen and gatekeepers. (1 Chronicles 9:22-27; 2Kings 9:17) Before anyone is allowed entrance through the gate, there is testing that takes place: is this person a friend or foe? Where are their allegiances? Are they an alien or foreigner? Are they coming to speak the “language of Judah” and assimilate or to replace or overthrow? (Nehemiah 13:23-25)

Let’s take a look at God’s instructions for his people in how they relate to other people groups. God says in his word for the Israelites to not have anything to do with certain groups, including Moabites. Yet he welcomes Ruth, a Moabite, to be in the blood line of Christ, himself! How can this be? God shows us that while there are cultural beliefs and practices that are incompatible with him, there are individuals from those same cultures who want to make “him their God and his people, their people”.(Ruth 1:16) To know who these individuals are requires much time and effort, but I believe God calls us to responsibly perform this task. To allow a near blanket acceptance of anyone within the walls is not only unbiblical, it is dangerous, naïve, foolish, lazy and threatens our nation as a whole leaving us weak so that we then become a sanctuary for no one- absolutely no one. I’d like to ask anyone who believes in an easy entrance into our borders, do you lock your doors at night or when you are not home? If so, consider the inconsistency in your views and the way you practice them.

Nehemiah wept over the state of the broken wall and burned gates of Jerusalem and what it meant about the condition of God’s people. The people set apart by God, for God had disobeyed God and were experiencing the consequences and yes, punishment for their sins. (Jeremiah 44:13)

We, too, were set apart for God, by God and have left our first love as well. The LORD has, in part, removed his hand of protection. But now we find ourselves at a place where we can turn from our wicked ways and obey him. It is time to rebuild the wall of peace and security around our nation’s borders, then responsibly apply biblical wisdom to offer freedom and safety to those aliens who seek the same.

For more information on biblical immigration, please visit Evangelicals For Biblical Immigration .

A Saved Cynic and a Cheap Bible

I bent the knee to Jesus as Lord 15 years ago.  I say it that way because I didn’t “ask him into my heart.” I don’t even remember if I knew that phrase at the time or not, but what I did was more than that.  I gave Him Lordship. As best I knew how, anyway. 

Fast-forward to two days ago.  A friend and I would be joining others in ministry at the local jail and she mentioned on social media that she forgot her Bible.  “No problem! I’ll bring an extra one,” I tweeted back, forgetting that there would probably be one there for her to use.  As I searched the bookshelf in the guest room, my eyes fell on the first Bible I had as a believer. 

This was no ordinary Bible.  Well actually, it was quite ordinary.  You see, when I got saved I was still very much a cynic.  And cheap.  “Why should a Bible cost $60?! That’s ridiculous!” I purchased the cheapest one I could find.  I think it was five bucks.  Humiliating to admit, but true nonetheless.

Recalling that we were not allowed to take loose papers into the prison, I opened the no-frills Book to find a note on which I had written a long time ago.  Then another.  And another.  By the time I finished flipping through the pages, I had the equivalent of a small pad of post-it’s in a pile on the dresser. I started to read the words written on the little orange and green paper squares.  Almost all the questions or comments I recorded on those sheets were written with a skeptical tone.  Absolutely all of it was written out of a desire to KNOW the truth.   At that point in my life, I had no tolerance for superficial or false hope- only reality would do.  I knew Jesus was real.  I just didn’t know Him. I wrestled with God and unwittingly recorded those matches on sticky notes.  As I laughed out loud, I said to Him, “You really hung in there with me while I struggled for answers, didn’t You, Lord?” 

As the notes began to stir memories of the early days of my faith, I began to weep. 

Because he really did hang in there with me while I asked all my questions-even from a heart new to the transforming process from cynical to sanctified.

The questions seem really silly to me now only because over these 15 years I have gotten to know the One who wrote the Book.  We wrestle differently now because I know and believe He is trustworthy.  He is not going to leave me.  I don’t demand answers from Him like I used to.  God is faithful to give me the answers I need to complete the tasks assigned to me.  Everything else I release to His loving, capable care.

God bless those brothers and sisters who welcome the cynical but honest questions. For some people though, the very process of questioning is threatening.  Ask the wrong person and one could risk raised eyebrows, condemnation, or worse.

Not with God.

Not at all.

 

Sweet cynic, ask the questions of the LORD, dig deep, and seek His heart with all of yours no matter how broken it is-

For your benefit and His Glory!