I Am A Nazarene

I dare you to read my blog this week.  I double-dare you to read all the way to the end and not be impacted.  You are going to be tempted to read only part of the way through and lay it aside.  Don’t do that.  Don’t be passive … don’t be squeamish.  Read this blog and ask God to speak to you.  Today.  I dare you.

Each week, as I pray exactly what write about in my blog, I am sure that I hear God’s voice.  I attempt to partner with the Creator of the universe in addressing issues which have the potential to impact women’s lives at this moment in history.

I write about prayer … and about parenting.  I write about raising teen-age girls … and the importance of studying the Word.  I write about saying good-bye and choosing to worship loudly during every season of life.   I write about the degradation of “selfies” and how to live dangerously for God.  I write about losing weight, dealing with regrets and how to celebrate this event called “life”!

This week, however, it is not “business as usual” on my blog.  My heart is broken … it has been ravished by what is happening in Iraq.

Children are being beheaded because their parents are Christians.

Mothers and their daughters are being raped because they refuse to deny Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Fathers are being murdered in front of their families because they have chosen to follow Jesus Christ, the Nazarene.

Christian women and children, who have fled the evil regime, are starving and dying of thirst on Mount Sinjar.

Mothers are throwing their children off the mountain rather than have them raped and then beheaded.

500 women and children have been buried alive.

God … why wouldn’t You let me write about the varied seasons of life this week?  Or how to deal with a cantankerous 2 year old?  Or how to enjoy a late summer morning?

Why God?

This is the worst genocide in generations.  Not since Adolf Hitler systematically attempted to destroy an entire race of people has such evil been intent on targeting and assassinating a people group.  The people group that is being annihilated are my brothers and my sisters.  We serve the same Savior.

Please take 5 minutes and watch this video that will rip the neutrality out of your Western Christian mindset.  http://gnli.christianpost.com/video/isis-systematically-beheading-children-in-iraq-32988

The IsIs (Islamic State) in Iraq is a homicidal sociopathic group of jihadists that has been declared a terrorist group by the United States in 2004.

They have chosen to massacre Christians of every age.  Young and old.  Rich and poor.  Grandmothers and newborn babies.  New brides and widows.  Seasoned and wise men of faith and young, valiant men.

Oh!!  How I wish I were writing about something else today … anything else, indeed!  I wish we were sharing favorite recipes … how to get mascara out of white pants … how to love difficult teen-agers … or why I have been married for 37 years.  But I can’t write about those things … my heart is broken over dead babies whom I have never met.

I am haunted by the eyes and hearts of mothers who ache for laughter and for one more day with the children they gave birth to.

I have been guilty of being an ostrich … I put my head in the sand and ignore political events and stands that cause me to sweat and squirm.  I tend to live life like Mary Poppins believing that a spoonful of sugar can change anything.

I am like Pollyanna … I have built a life on playing the glad game.

I try to remain apolitical so that I am not drawing exclusive circles that only  alienate those who I am desperately trying to reach.

However, I can remain silent no longer.  Babies are being beheaded and their precious, guileless heads are being placed on spikes along side the roads of Iraq.  These babies are guilty of no crime or of any sin.  Their parents have simply chosen to say, “I am a Nazarene.”

What has it cost you to say, “I am a Nazarene”?

This is an issue that goes beyond being conservative or liberal … Republican or Democrat … right-wing or left-wing … blue or red.  This is a matter that concerns all of us who call ourselves “Christians” … “Believers” … “Charismatics” … “Evangelicals” … “Fundamental Bible Believing Christians” … “Nazarenes.”

Click on this picture posted by my friend, Stephen Mansfield, and ask yourself, “If I lived in Mosul, would such a mark be placed on the doorpost of my home?”  https://twitter.com/MansfieldWrites/status/490891667483152384/photo/1

This is what we can do, as the Body of Christ in America, to make a difference in the lives of the Christians in Iraq.  Please!!  Make a difference!!

1 – Pray!  Your prayers make a difference as the powers of darkness attempt to wipe out those who identify themselves with the Gospel of Light.  Pray for safety and protection for Christians around the globe.  Pray that this demonic attempt to terrorize and slay Christians would be divinely and powerfully stopped.  Get on your knees right now and cry out to God for the lives of those who are being murdered simply for loving Jesus.

What will happen if the Body of Christ around the world prays for the Christians in Iraq?

2 – Fast!  That’s right!!  Fast a meal today … fast all day tomorrow.  Fast for three days like Esther did when her entire race was about to be destroyed by a government edict.  The fact that Esther chose to fast in the face of great inhumanity and evil sanctions changed everything for the Jewish nation.  Esther saved an entire people group when she chose to fast for 3 days.

What will happen if the Body of Christ around the world fasts for 3 days for the deliverance of God’s people in Iraq?

3 – Get your head out of the sand and read about what is happening to believers around the world.  Read what Stephen Mansfield is writing about the Kurds in Iraq.  Go to www.christianpost.com and read about what is happening to Christians in Iraq.  Get sick to your stomach … and read it anyway.

4 – Call your senator or congressman and tell them that you are personally willing to offer asylum in your home to Christians from Iraq.  Let your voice be heard in the political avenues of America.  Let your senator and congressman know that your church will take in, house, feed and find jobs for Christians from Iraq.  America should boldly and courageously be one of the nations that will offer asylum to Nazarenes from any and every nation.

5 – Pray for America.  Thank God that you still live in a nation where you can read your Bible, go to church, send your children to Christian schools and universities, and give money to Christian causes.

6 – Love the people whom you have been given.  Love the children on your street and at your church.  Encourage teen-agers to stay strong in their faith.  Send a care package to college students who are preparing to serve God.  Give a homeless person a gift card to a grocery store.  Ask your pastors what missionaries you can pray for and support.  Be a force for good in this evil world that we live in.

7 – Post on Facebook and on Twitter, “I am a Nazarene!”  Say it in honor of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted today.  Put a sign on the front of your home that states, “I am a Nazarene!” so the world knows that we stand with those who are dying unjustly.