When injustice becomes law

[Rlpeutor]

I am not talking about mere insults or restrictions on church buildings. I am talking about a society where;

• Christians are denied jobs, food aid, and healthcare because of their faith
• Families go hungry, children cannot go to school, churches are closed or burned
• The law does not protect them, and the state either participates in the persecution or looks away
• To be Christian is to be treated as a second-class citizen, or as an enemy

In such a place, the natural human response is: "We must fight back or we will be wiped out."

We have to steal before we eat. When they catch you stealing, you are killed, burn alive.

Is it not time to fight back? Should we wait and pray? For how long? 9 years already gone

 

[Articles]

We hear your cry and we weep with you over this deep and prolonged suffering. To be denied work and food and healthcare for the name of Christ, to see families go hungry and children kept from school and churches closed or burned, to live where the law offers no protection and the state either joins in the persecution or looks away, this is a heavy and righteous grief. That you have endured this for nine years weighs on our hearts, and we join with you in bringing this injustice before the Lord who sees and who will judge righteously.

The Word tells us this kind of persecution is not strange to God. Jesus said If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you John 15:18. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution 2 Timothy 3:12. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Matthew 5:10. When injustice becomes law, we are reminded that we must obey God rather than men Acts 5:29, yet we are also called to not be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good Romans 12:21. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the spiritual forces of wickedness Ephesians 6:12, and so our weapons are spiritual.

We must speak with love and truth about the thought to steal in order to eat and to fight back with violence. We understand the desperation of hunger and the natural human cry that says we must fight back or we will be wiped out. Yet Scripture says You shall not steal Exodus 20:15 and Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need Ephesians 4:28. To steal, even from need, still breaks God's command and, as you have seen with such horror, it puts lives in even greater danger where people are killed and burned alive. And concerning fighting back, the Lord says Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God's wrath. For it is written, Vengeance belongs to me, I will repay, says the Lord Romans 12:19. We are commanded to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you Matthew 5:44 and not to return evil for evil or insult for insult 1 Peter 3:9. Taking up violent vengeance, even for survival, would lead you away from Christ's way and would not bring the justice you long for, for only God can bring true justice.

Should we wait and pray, for how long you ask. We know waiting feels endless after nine years. But we are told to pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and that the insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective James 5:16. The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles Psalm 34:17. Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh Psalm 27:14. God has not forgotten you. He hears the cry of the martyrs under the altar who cried How long, Master Revelation 6:10, and He will act in His perfect time. We do not pray because we are passive, we pray because prayer is our greatest power and our battle. We also encourage you, if it is possible, to flee to a safer place as Jesus taught When they persecute you in this city, flee to the next Matthew 10:23, and to share together as the early church did, bearing one another's burdens and trusting God who will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:19. Seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you Matthew 6:33.

We notice your request speaks of Christians and of prayer, but does not name Jesus Christ. We gently remind you that it is only through Him that we have access to the Father. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me John 14:6. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved Acts 4:12. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved Romans 10:9. It is in His name and by His blood that our prayers are heard and our suffering has eternal meaning.

We pray together now in Jesus name.

Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ we come before Your throne of grace for our brothers and sisters who are treated as second class citizens and as enemies for Your name. Lord, You see every job denied, every child hungry, every church burned, every wound and every tear. Comfort them as the God of all comfort, sustain them day by day, provide bread for the hungry and shelter for the vulnerable. Give them supernatural endurance and courage to not grow weary in doing good Galatians 6:9, to rejoice insofar as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings 1 Peter 4:13, knowing that great is their reward in heaven. Restrain the hands of those who do evil, bring conviction to persecutors, and move the hearts of those in authority to execute true justice, for You lift up and You bring down Psalm 75:7. Teach our dear family to love their enemies and to overcome evil with good, to keep their hands pure and their hearts fixed on You, and to keep praying without ceasing until You deliver. Let them feel Your nearness, for Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart Psalm 34:18. We ask for Your protection over those who are tempted to steal to survive, show them another way, open doors for provision through Your people. And Lord, let Your justice come, let Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Keep them faithful unto death that they may receive the crown of life James 1:12. We ask all this in the mighty and saving name of Jesus Christ, our only hope and our coming King. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We have sat with your words and the weight you carry. Nine years of being treated as less than, of watching your families go hungry, your children kept from school, your churches closed or burned, and the law offering no protection - that is a long time to live under pressure. We understand why the question presses so hard, whether to fight back when even trying to find food puts your life at risk.

When suffering lasts this long, it is easy to see it only through the pain of each day. That earthly view can leave only despair or the urge to answer violence with violence. There is also a way to hold your pain before God who sees what the state ignores, who has not forgotten you even when you feel abandoned. That does not make the hunger or danger less real, but it can keep your hearts from being hardened by bitterness while you wait for His justice.

You should not carry this alone. If you can, stay closely knit with other trusted believers near you, share what little you have, watch over one another's children, and seek wisdom together from mature leaders who know your situation on the ground. Where there are safe and discreet avenues for food aid or help, approach them carefully and together rather than in isolation.

Father, we lift this community to You in Jesus' name. You see their hunger, their fear, and the injustice they face every day. Provide for their daily bread, protect their families and children, give their leaders wisdom for each hard decision, and keep their hearts anchored in Your love and hope. Show them You are near and at work even now. Amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[flora]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your cry has come before the Lord and before His people, and it is not light. Nine years of being counted as strangers in your own land, denied work and bread and healing, seeing your children kept from school and your churches closed and burned, living under a law that will not protect you, this is a heavy and bitter affliction. The soul that endures such things may well be tempted to say, we must take up the sword or we will be no more, and when hunger presses, to take bread where it can be found though it cost life itself.

That temptation is natural to flesh and blood, yet the counsel of Christ to His afflicted people is not to avenge themselves. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. To fight back with violence would stain the testimony of Christ and heap further sorrow upon your households, and to steal, though hunger is a terrible master, is not the way of holiness to which we are called. The Lord knows your frame, that you are dust, and He sees every empty bowl and every night of fear, and He does not despise the cry of the hungry, but He calls His saints to perseverance in holiness, to hold on their way and to seek His provision through prayer and through the fellowship of the brethren.

You ask, should we wait and pray, for how long. Hear what has been proven in ages past. Persecution seems to be the wave that when it leaps up around the church speeds her course. It helps to keep up the separation between the church and the world, and often it drives the Christian nearer to his God. How many prayers have been offered up as the result of persecution that would never have been offered else, heaven alone can tell. God has blessed the church by her persecution, not because persecution is good in itself, but because it casts her upon her God.

There is a power in prayer which puts a ladder between earth and heaven, and bids angels walk up and down to convey our wants to God and bring down blessings from above. Intercessory prayer is the sweetest prayer God ever hears, for the prayer of Christ Himself is of this character, and it is exceedingly prevalent. What wonders it has wrought. When you are denied all help from man, you are not denied access to the mercy seat. Be much in private prayer, for that stirs up the fire and makes it burn more brilliantly. Seek to live near to God, to abide in Him, for as you abide in Him and His words abide in you, you shall bring forth much fruit.

And remember the covenant promise upon which your perseverance rests. It is written, They shall not depart from me. If the grace of God has really changed you, you are radically and lastingly changed, and that perseverance is secured not by your strength but by His purpose and His preservation. He gives life on an enduring tenure, He gives so that He will not revoke the grant. The good work which was begun by God will most certainly be performed until the day of Christ, and the prayer of Christ preserves His own even when they are sifted.

Therefore do not let your heart turn to the way of the sword or to the taking of what is not yours. Rather, cast your burden upon the Lord, make your wants known together as families and churches, plead with Him in the arguments of His own promises, and bear one another's burdens. Let those who have bread share with those who have none, let prayer meetings be multiplied, let watchfulness and supplication for all saints abound. The Lord who fed His people in the wilderness is still able to provide bread in a waste place, and He will not forget the work of faith and labor of love shown toward His name.

We will pray for you without ceasing, that God would open doors for daily bread, for safety for your children, for justice where there is now injustice, and that He would keep you from evil and keep you faithful even unto the end. Though the trial be long, nine years and more, He has counted every day, and He will not suffer you to be tried above what you are able to bear. Hold on your way, look to Jesus, and trust that He who has kept you hitherto will keep you still, till He brings you to that place where hunger and sword and fire shall be no more.