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Gentle Reader,
The political situation in the Middle East is a tangled mess, and I blame Islam for that. Call me any name you want, but all the wars over there? All the oppression? The poverty? The rampant anti-woman violence? The gassing of innocent bystanders? The lack of education? The fear? The suspicion? The hatred?
All in the name of Allah, my friend.
All in the name of Allah.
My stomach turns to think of the millions of refugees pouring into already-crowded camps. My heart aches to think of the United States going into another war that is impossible to win and will never end this side of Eternity. The faces of the children haunt me. They did not ask for this. They do not understand things such as alliances, sacred law and holy war. They do not know that the conflict is rooted in thousands of years of brutality. All they know is that their fathers and brothers are gone, fighting. Or dead. All they know is that they can’t live at home anymore.
We cannot turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to the suffering. Unfortunately, most Christian organizations are barred from overtly operating in explicitly Islamic countries. At this point, the best avenues I can find for giving is the United Nations Refugee Agency and UNICEF. I know that money is tight for many of us, but these people, especially these children, have it so much worse.
Let’s extend our hands in compassion.
I’ve given a great deal of thought about this crisis in the last month, especially in the last week. Yes, they did not ask for the persecution and turmoil any more than we asked to be graced to live in peace. Sometimes I fear that we may (or have) grown numb to the news of war after war because have gotten used to it. I have been able to console myself to think that Egypt isn’t as bad as the rest of the Middle East all of these years but now, not so much. I happen to have many relatives that live there. One is a 95 year old aunt in a nursing home in the middle of the chaos. Two other cousins work in the University, also in the midst of the fighting. Another aunt tells me she is prepared to be a martyr.
This is a world I don’t believe we can understand, and yet we live on the same globe. I hope and pray for God to sheild as many Christians from the evil and tarry as long as possible until His own prophecy has to play out.
I will probably elaborate in my own blog entry, but I’m not ready to. We should all be vigilinent, not blinded to our own vulnerability according to scripture. Evil has many names. Be it Islam, Liberal agenda, Intolerance to God, etc. We live in an evil world that is going to attack the true God because it hates Him. That will be no different in America given enough time. Hatred towards the family unit and Christians is already being played out very steadily through the gay agenda. Makes you wonder if this life isn’t just a test. Also makes you want to speak out given the freedom we have now.
So thank you. I will re-blog the links and ask everyone to please give and please PRAY for the Middle East, please PRAY for Egypt and know that we have a privilege we may not understand until its lost.
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Margo,
Your heart must ache having family directly affected by the situations in the Middle East. I see that reflected in the post you wrote. I will definitely be praying.
Marie
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As dire as the situation is over ‘there’ .. I have a hard time listening to our politicians describe how horrific it is to kill innocent lives with chemicals .. and yet we (our nation once under God) use chemicals such as saline to burn/kill our unborn babies. They express ‘accountability’ .. and yet have blood on their own hands.
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Mrs. Mac,
I can understand that struggle.
Marie
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So raw, so heart-breaking. I do believe the world is entering one of the worst phases in history. We so need to be prayerful and give aid when we can.
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Deborah,
“We so need to be prayerful and give aid when we can.”
Amen.
Marie
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