8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.9Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.10But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
It's a dangerous world out there, and we hear stories really on a daily basis about Christian believers who are being persecuted for their faith, including the purge taking place late last week in the traditional Christian stronghold of Mosul in Iraq. When our strongholds are threatened, when what has represented security to us crumbles, we can be challenged to place our hope in the one true stronghold, who will give us peace in the midst of persecution and the inner fortitude to be able to withstand the opposition and to stand for and with the Lord.
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Even when we suffer, we can know that God is faithful, and we can be people of hope, even when hopelessness is advancing. Consider the first few verses of Romans 5:
1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,2through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.3And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;4and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
The purge of Christians from the city of Mosul in Iraq is apparently complete. Late last week, the Christian population in that city, which contains the ruins of ancient Nineveh and what has historically been regarded as Jonah's tomb, was informed that they had until noon on Saturday to decide on one of three options: convert to Islam, pay jizya (a poll tax levied on non-Muslims), or die at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). That's according to a report on the Christianity Today website. Christian houses in the city were marked with the phrase "property of the Islamic State" and an Arabic mark for "Nazirite."
The CT story reported that the $250 poll tax ISIS imposed, which is prohibitively expensive for many Christians, sent more than 200 families fleeing Mosul even as ISIS militants confiscated their belongings, including cars, money, medicine, and food. Some journeyed 42 miles to Kurdish Tel Afar on foot, reports the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), while some of the families went to Kurdish-held Irbil, or Dohuk, which is 87 north of Mosul, reports CNN.
Mosul has grown into an increasingly dangerous situation for Christians since the ISIS takeover in mid-June, with militants destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary, and removing the cross from St. Ephrem's Cathedral, where the Syriac Orthodox archdiocese has its seat in Mosul. Militants even took sledgehammers to the traditional site of the prophet Jonah's grave, according to the The New York Times, which quotes one Mosul resident as saying, "They did not destroy the churches, but they killed us when they removed the cross, this is death for us."
A word about Nineveh: as CT points out, it is mentioned as early as Genesis 10:11-12. It was the capital of the Assyrian empire during the seventh century BC, and its devastation was predicted by several of the Minor Prophets (Nahum 3:7; Zephaniah 2:13). A man named Jonah was sent to preach God's Word to that city, but he initially refused - he ended up inside a great fish, where he repented from his disobedience. He preached God's truth there, but even then, he was not pleased that God spared the city because they had responded to Jonah's call.
This heartbreaking story can prompt several areas in our thinking. One, we continue to be in prayer for this devastating situation in Iraq and Syria, with an extremist group, motivated by a warped view of their god, is moving at incredible speed with immense destruction, with great hostility toward Christians. We can be motivated to stand with the Christians who have fled, and other believers in Christ who are in harm's way throughout that section of the world.
I also think we can be reminded that in the midst of turmoil, as guests on The Meeting House have pointed out, God is stirring the hearts of Muslim people throughout that region. We can continue to be encouraged that even when things look bleak, just as it did for Nineveh back in the day, God can produce fruit for His glory.
Finally, the last band of Christians fleeing Mosul, some 200 of them apparently, rejected the 3 unfair options that were presented to them. It was essentially what we have seen in other parts of the world - convert to Islam or face death. Yes, the poll tax was an option, but you just have to wonder how long that would be viable. This can help us examine our own hearts - if faced with the 3 options, which one would we choose? Would we be willing to leave our current lifestyle in order to stand for Christ? I think it does each of us good to consider how we would respond in the face of tribulation. In the midst of it, we can know that God is with us and He will sustain us.
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