Last week we shared with you more of the horrific news coming out of Nigeria where our brothers and sisters are suffering horrible persecution.
Sadly, this past Sunday, Boko Haram is claiming responsibility for the attacks that have reportedly killed at least 50 - mostly children, according to Mission Network News and Compass Direct and injured at least 100 individuals.
Please read the full report at Mission Network News. Here's an excerpt:
Terrorist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the June 3 and June 10 bombings, and sources say the group has now owned up to the June 17 attacks as well. Boko Haram has been clear about its intentions to wipe Christians off the map of northern Nigeria.
"It's becoming more and more the norm when Christians gather for worship to have bombings and have car bombings in northern Nigeria," says Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton.
Nettleton says as a result, churches are upping their security. "More and more of the churches in Nigeria are posting guards at the gate. They are building gates to the church property. They are trying to minimize the danger that they face from this type of attack. At the same time, the very message of the Gospel is a message for everyone."
It's difficult to think this way when families are in danger, though. Some believers are going as far as to retaliate. Reuters reports that after the Kaduna bombing, Christian youths blocked the highway. Witnesses claim the young people were pulling Muslims out of cars and killing them.
Nettleton notes, "It's easy to sit in a comfortable church in the United States and feel safe and say, ‘They really shouldn't strike back. They really shouldn't try to get vengeance.' But if you think about if your family was being attacked -- if your wife, if your children are being attacked -- the drive to protect them, and the drive even toward vengeance would be very strong."
Please keep praying for Nigeria!