I was reading about all of the things going on with ISIS and how it  continues to murder anyone that they think is going against what they see has beliefs that draw people away from what they call their true God. Isis is committing genocide on the Yazidis and the few Christians who are left. This week they warned America, “We will drown all of you in blood.” There is no ambiguity in that threat.

I had to look up a few sites to see what it is that they really believe. This is what I found;

• NBC News- The core belief of Islam is that ‘there no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.’ The one creator God has revealed his will finally and perfectly, primarily through the divinely inspired words of the Quran given to Mohammed and secondly through Mohammed’s own life and teaching.
• Huffington News.  I like this article and I like the opening sentence of, “Obama admits to not having a strategy. Duck Dynasty Godfather, Phil Robertson, wants to “convert ’em or kill ’em.”

As a Christian and an American, how is it that we or I should say myself should respond to these threats.

When I hear of all the deaths and the persecuted Christians it makes me sick to my stomach. As a Christian, I pray for those who are being persecuted. I understand that in the end Christ will be victorious. Even though I know this, it doesn’t make it easy to listen to the stories about all that is going on around the world. According to the news today, around 90 more Christians were just recently captured by ISIS.

It isn’t just ISIS, there are also other countries that have imprisoned Christians because they would not deny Christ. When I read about the lives of Christians being beheaded, I first get angry and I think about the fact that they have got to pay for what they are doing. They will be paying for all they have done, we all are accountable for the things we have done. I thank God everyday that God loves me and forgives me for my wrong doing.

As I listen more to what is going on and I get upset, I have been thinking about it is as a Christian that I need to do. I pray on this almost everyday if not everyday. The answer I get is “pray for them”. I know it sounds like a simple solution.  But it is the only solution. The power of prayer is greater than any other tool we as Christians posses.

With God on our side and the power of prayer, we can make a difference. Praying for those Christians who have lost their lives from ISIS, along with all the Christians who are at this moment alive. How incredible it would be for radical Muslims to see the witness of the Iraqi Church, the testimony of persecuted Christians and encounter the living person of Jesus. Nothing is impossible.

A reporter was interviewing a father of one the young men that was killed and he was talking about the kind of peace he has experiences. The families of the murdered expressed a desire to provide light to these men whose eyes have been blinded so that they might experience God’s truth and love. There was a realization among these believers that Jesus was all they had, and they were “all in” for Him.

Upon thinking about all of the things going on with ISIS and other groups like them, I think the only thing we can do is pray for them and share the gospel of Christ with anyone and everyone. Maybe, just maybe one of those who are killing and beheading will turn to God. If the families can forgive and pray, then I think that is something we as Christians should do. As Christians we have an obligation to pray for the suffering of our Christian brothers and sisters.