Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Wars and Rumors of Wars

I cannot fathom the horrors of war. I don't think anyone can. Not until you are dropped into a battlefield in a foreign land can you understand the depths of evil that human beings can bring upon each other. Yet we are surrounded by war, Syria, Palestine, North Korea, Afghanistan, Congo, Uganda, Iraq, Somalia and closer to home the gang wars in Chicago, LA, the USA/Mexico Border, closer yet to home the tragedy of the homeless, the overwhelmed foster systems, the bloodshed of the unborn.



The blood cries out, the sands are stained crimson as the life pours out. The DNA of humans permeates the soil as unsuspecting men's foot steps trod over  silent screams. How can this be when we have been instructed to love one another? When we have been instructed:

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? I Jn 4:20
I listen to the news nightly as over a hundred children are killed every year in Chicago, This statistic has held steady year after year, mayor after mayor, law to monitor guns, laws to out law guns, nothing has stopped the blood shed in the Chicago streets. The city that I was born in. This was spotlighted when just a little more than week after being invited to the White House Hadiya Pendleton died of a gunshot wound just a block away from the President's Chicago Home.

I learned to look into the eyes of the homeless when I first met my father. A slight man, barely over a hundred pounds, with matted hair down to his waist and an equally matted beard that reached his bellybutton, stared at me from his hospital bed. Stared at me with the same signature blue eyes that I had caught people off guard with all my life. Yes this was my father and instead of looking away I looked deeper to understand the harsh life of homelessness on the beaches of California.

I listened to Pastor Richard, who lived through the regime of Idi Amin in Uganda. He led a godless assault against the Christians for 8 years 1971 - 1979 taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of Christians.

I listened to Pastor Sami Naik tell of the assault the Hindus led on the Christians in Orissa, India on Christmas Eve of 2007. Pastors were killed in the streets so others my fear, women were raped, churches were burned. Years of work were destroyed in one evil night.

Motivated by the hate of the Christian religion, both Hindu and Muslims shed the blood of Christian brothers and sisters. Those same brothers and sister sit under the altar of God and say;
....How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Rev 6:10
When will it all end??? When will I turn on the TV and not see death, disease and destruction?
Unfortunately,  the Bible tells me that I will continue to hear of wars and rumors of wars;

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Mt 24:6
See that you be not troubled..... how do you do that? How can you not be troubled?  I am troubled and God help me to quiet myself before the Lord. Have you seen the horrific scenes of the men, women and children that have been killed in Syria? How can you not be troubled? God I am crying out to you to settle me because I am troubled. My eyes fill up and over flow with tears. I cannot hear of the suffering on the shores across the world and shut up my bowels of compassion.  I cannot see the needs of the orphans and widows in Pakistan and turn away my ear from hearing. I cannot pass another homeless person and wonder if they have a child looking for their parent like I was. Lord you must hear our cries, Lord you must comfort our hearts, Lord come quickly......

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Tears fall down for our brothers and sisters of Pakistan





   When I turned the computer on this morning and I saw the burned out churches and homes of the Christian people of Pakistan, my heart sank. This is reminiscent of the Christmas Eve morning when  I knew instantly to pray about something. Later we received the heart breaking news that 25 churches that took  Solomon Rout's lifetime to build in India were burned in one Christmas Eve Muslim raid. Pastors were killed by the sword in the streets and Christians fled to the jungles. It took over a year in refugee camps to return to some state of safety.

     Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all        nations for my name's sake. Mt 24:9


This morning the ashes were of the Bibles of the Churches in Joseph Town, Pakistan. The tears were of the women and children as they cried for their homes, their belongings and such simple necessities of food and water. 

 
Here in a American we have not yet  had to face persecution to this extent, but it is so imminent.
We are still blessed to get up with the right to choose every day if we want to visit a house of worship or not. We are still blessed to be able to worship Christ without the fear of being imprisoned, beaten, have our belongings burned or to have our families or selves be put to death.

The news has reported it as a brief story in passing or as ticker tape at the bottom of the screen but that does not capture the grief, or the stench of the burning ash piles, or the fear of more attacks.

With such a blessing comes a responsibility.
Children sifting through the Ashes

      But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 1Jn3:17

We have corresponded with Evangelist Atif Raza for over a year now. His orphanage at Passion of Christ Ministries is supported monthly by Rachel's Heart as part of our mission. He was divinely placed in the midst of this tragedy to report to us the persecution of that our brothers and sisters are undergoing at the hands of the Muslims.  It is up to us to respond with compassion not only with prayers but with money.

What would you do if after spending a night underground you came back to ashes, no shelter, no beds, no blankets, no pillows, no dishes, no cups, no transportation, no food and no water.? 

 I cannot even imagine. I cannot imagine the fear,  the terror, the feeling that all is lost, the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. Please respond and let them know that we join them in love and prayers and yes monies to help them buy food, water a place to sleep as they rebuild, simple necessities of life. As I told you of the incident in India, the Muslims continued to take advantage of their situation by trying to poison their water stores. Pastor Sam Naik was there to help with that rebuilding of the Happy Valley Children's Home. It was very treacherous.

Evangelist Atif Raza with his father and mother.
How can you help? Send a donation to Pastor Paul at paypal pastorpaulbegley@yahoo.com and label your gift for Pakistan and we will forward it for you. Or send directly to Atif Raza, Lahore, Pakistan via Western Union and send him the MTCN # via a message on his facebook. God will honor your love gifts.