ChosenRebel's Blog

Tuesday is for Reflection

I was returning from a trip to Israel and had a six hour layover in Paris. It was a marvelous experience, life-changing for many of us including myself, and it was a shock after passing through customs to see on the monitors in baggage claim that Paris had once again been the target of Islamic-terrorists who attacked innocent civilians. It is horrific. It is evil. And it must be called what it really is.

Islamic Jihad around the world is a religious death cult.

Whether it goes by the name of HAMAS, or HEZBOLLAH, or BOKO HARAM, or ISIS, or ISIL, its beliefs and practices are not life-affirming or humane but rather, death-affirming and barbaric.

That is the truth.
It isn’t pleasant.
It isn’t what we would like it to be.
It isn’t what we want to believe, but it is time to call it what it is.

Islamic Jihad is wicked and perverse and the enemy of civilization.

Mike Evans (Michael is the director of the French branch of the Gospel Coalition), in an article titled, How to Pray for Paris makes a number of cogent remarks as well as some suggestions for how Christians should respond to the tragedy and treachery of what just happened in Paris. Among those points he suggests these four as an outline:

1. Mourn with those who mourn.
2. Pray for the French leaders.
3. Pray that French Christians would be peacemakers.
4. Continue to be unashamedly convinced of God’s sovereignty.

You can and should read the whole article HERE.

Let me add a 5th and 6th.

5.  Pray for the convicting work of the Spirit in France. God’s Spirit can cut through the most sin-entangled heart. Pray that that work would be done in Christians, non-Christians, Muslims, atheists, etc.

6.  Pray all of Europe would be driven to prayer for the needs of this hour. Europe, like America, needs a great turning back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Europe needs to rediscover the beauty of the Gospel and the glory of Christ. That will not happen without a return to a passion for prayer and seeking God. Pray that the remnant of God’s faithful would begin that process and lead the continent to throne of grace.