Bless Those Who Persecute You? (Part 2)

Bless Those Who Persecute You

“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them: pray that God will bless them” – Romans 12:14

I was recently in Canberra, getting ready to speak about the persecuted church to about 300 people, who had gathered in the Great Hall of Parliament House for the annual Christian Schools Australia conference. As I was at the hotel preparing for the night, I received a phone call from a friend who had recently committed to taking the One With Them Challenge and wearing a wristband. He asked me the following question;

Mike, what does it really look like to bless those who persecute you?

Bless Those Who Persecute You? (Part 1)

Bless Those Who Persecute You (Image by Leonard Sweet)

“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them: pray that God will bless them”– Romans 12:14

I often find it really difficult to know how to pray for the Persecuted Church, especially when I read Paul’s words in Romans 12 and even more so when I think about what an incredibly challenging start to the year it’s been as we see the need for our ministry only increase which means that conditions for Christians all over the world are deteriorating.

I am sure you’ll remember on the Easter weekend in April this year 147 students were killed in Kenya with many of them being asked if they were Christian or Muslim before being shot, it was this tragedy that turned my prayer life on its head and I’d love to tell you why. As I processed what had happened in Kenya I saw fear, hatred, selfishness, a lack of grace, compassion and love and what’s crazy is I saw all of these emotions in me! It’s the moment in time I realized that I might pray everyday for the suffering church but unless I am courageous enough to pray for those committing these crimes… well, I’m just not living an authentic faith or being an authentic leader of this ministry.

Blackout – Join the silent army

Blackout | Make a loud noise by staying silent

Are you taking part in the Open Doors Youth Blackout?
Blackout is 48 hours of fasting from either social media or speaking. You give up something you do regularly to raise money and prayer for the persecuted church. Blackout is a year long event, you can register and run it any time!

Here are some helpful tips to make the most out of your weekend and some helpful resources to pray for, be informed and support the persecuted church:

1. Pray
Blackout is a fundraiser, but it’s so much more than that.
The number one request we get from persecuted Christians is prayer.

Iraq one year on: Many lost everything, yet see God’s grace…

It has been one year since Islamist militant group Islamic State (IS) entered the world’s stage.

It was 365 days ago that Iraqi forces were run out of Mosul by IS, forcing 500,000 people to flee their homes, including almost all of the Christian community.

Many Christians (an estimated 120,000 of the 300,000 Christian population) fled to the relatively safer regions in Iraq, such as Erbil and Dohuk.