Light in a Dark Place

Day 241:  Persecution of Christians is now a daily headline.  Christians all over the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are facing a level of viciousness intended to invoke fear.  The brutality of ISIS-the beheadings, the rape of little girls, the kidnapping of families, the human trafficking--has rocked the comfort level of the Western World.  Even in the US, Christians are seeing more and more persecution.  As we witness our freedoms dwindling away, it is important to remember that Jesus said the world will hate us.    

In his book Killing Christians, Tom Doyle captures the story of a man called Azzam Azziz Mubarak from Somalia.  I'll leave the details of his story for you to read in the book.  Suffice it to say, its pretty horrific.  Yet this man remains in Somalia to be a true light in a dark place.  He writes,

"But trials are also a Holy Place for the believer. They force us to pull away and get on our faces before God.  In a trial, it's just Jesus and you.  Psalm 23:4 says: "I walk through the valley in the shadow of death."  You eventually emerge from a trial, but that time spent with Christ will have marked you, and you will be different, forever.  No matter how bad it gets, you reap the rewards of faithfulness if you stay the course."  

Living through another equally brutal experience, a man named Farid writes,

"Is your life about Jesus and nothing else?  When you may die at any moment, it has to be that way, but we're all called to live only for Him, no matter what...Pray for us in Syria, but please do not feel bad for us. We have never been more free. And even though we're willing to die, our graveyard is still empty."

I don't know what our future holds here in our country, but it is not too difficult to see that the pace of hatred, extremism, perversity, and barbarism has picked up dramatically.  Which makes me ask myself...

Is my life about Jesus and nothing else?  

Because when the violence hits our homeland, 

nothing else will matter. 

Please, God, bless!

"You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved."  Matt 10:22 ISV

Inspired by "365: A Daily Creativity Journal: Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life!" I decided I should be more conscientious of my creative side. I chose to modify this one year challenge (9/23/14-9/24/15) to create something each day that would also force me to focus my perspective on a Godly world-view.