Recently I had a little debate with a young Christian man at my church who attended a rally that The Council on American-Islamic Relations held to "stop hate" in a city near where I live. This young college student told me he went to this rally that CAIR promoted because he supported their cause. I tried to tell him that many believe that CAIR has terrorist ties and is a front group for terrorism. He didn't believe me. Then he went on to tell me that Islam didn't teach about lying or beating women and that it was a religion of peace.
The sad part about this exchange with this young man aside from being the son of a pastor, is that he told me he did not care about what CAIR really stood for. He was upset that some Christians at this rally were apparently too rowdy for him. Interestly though, I knew other people who attended the rally who were elderly women, and they reported to me that the rally was peaceful.
Naturally, I have concerns...wouldn't you? I'm sure you would.
Even more so, when I consider the story that The Assyrian International News Agency put out a few days go, reporting nearly 4000 Muslims attacking Coptic Christians homes and burning down churches, in Egypt - I have to wonder how many pastors in America are telling their churches about it? I can tell you that mine doesn't raise the issue of Christian persecution at all. The father of this young man who thinks Islam is a religion of peace has also never mentioned one word about Christian persecution. Yet, it is all around us, if we just look.
If you haven't told your friends about the reality of Christian persecution in restricted nations, do you think that you'll be able to tell them about it when it comes to your church door here in America? Or are you going to believe the hype that Islam is all about peace?
What grieves my heart the most is that this young Christian man was standing with people I know want Christians dead...and he didn't care. No one else even questioned that he attended such an event, but I did and pretty much got told to be quiet and get lost. This concerns me because of the so called Christian youth of today don't care about the terrorism staring us in the face right here on American streets. And they don't care about the blatant persecution that we can read about every single day on the internet from restricted nations like Egypt - then how will Christians have any influence sharing the love of Jesus Christ with those who persecute us?
If the headline of the Assyrian International News Agency had read - Nearly 4000 Muslims Attack (insert your city), Torch Church - would you or your pastor remain silent, or would you begin stating the truth?
We need to commit ourselves to prayer for those who are in bondage to the religion of Islam. We know the Lord is showing Himself to many in this faith and many are coming to Christ.
We also need to commit ourselves to prayer for our leaders, pastors and kids who have been sold a bill of goods about the religion of peace and also start educating people about the reality of Christian persecution.
Christian persecution is on the rise worldwide, the question is, will you be a voice that tells the truth about it?