| Author: Ese Ehimare Dave |
Topic: Don’t Abandon Your Faith [Monday, 20th March 2017]
For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. John 16:2
Before they gun down, behead or kill in their preferred ways, you hear them shout ‘Allahu Akbar’, which means Allah is greater. Note, according to Islamic scholars, Allah is not the name of God but the name of the Muslim God. Allahu Akbar is mostly use by jihadist and it was first used by Prophet Mohammed when he led a jihad against the Jews of Khaybar in the year 628. When these jihadist kill their victims, they feel they are doing God – their god Allah – a holy service. That’s why they call it holy jihad.
But despite these persecutions of the church world wide by islamic extremists, and other forms of anti-christian tendencies, we must not abandon our faith. It’s so interesting that Jesus Christ actually prophesied it in John 16:2. The prophesy was first fulfilled in the life of Saul turned Apostle Paul and other suppressive governments, in Bible times. And over the years, it has been on the increase especially these past two decades. But Jesus Christ said in John 16:1 “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.”
The ultimate goal of these Islamic terrorists is to get us to abandon our faith, and it is either you renounce your faith in Jesus and join them, or you loose your life. This is the case with force conversion to Islam that we hear. But we know that for us to live is Christ, and to die for Him and the faith, is great gain (Philippians 1:21). We must not abandon our faith in the face of these terrorists that feel they are doing God a favour by killing Christians. Our faith is all we’ve got.
Keep winning daily.
Prayer:
Dear Father, we rely on Your strength to help us in these times of great persecution of Your church. I pray that we will not abandon our faith. That Islamic terrorism will not erode Your Church, but that we will be strong and unwavering in the profession of our faith, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.