A few days ago, I received an email devotional from Crosswalk mail titled Daily Courage. The one for that day was written by one of the contributors to Open Doors International and republished from a 1995 edition, but I foundit remarkably applicable and contemporary. So often we watch the news or witness something happening and we stop at feeling bad that something awful happened to someone. So often, we don’t do anything about it. So here’s a little reminder that we should always be moved to action or else risk becoming numb to the suffering of others.
Nehemiah had a burden. The burden of his people became his own burden. What could he do about it? Had his response to the bad news been only grief, it would have been nothing more than an expression of sentiment. Nehemiah’s response was different. It started with grief; it led to prayer and was followed by action.
The following text was copied from an article on assistnews.net by British journalist Charles Gardner. For the full story, click the above link.
A Christian leader has been beheaded and others are being threatened with similar treatment as Islamic militants run amok in Mali, West Africa. Christians have fled the town of Timbuktu in the north of the country where harsh Sharia Law has already been imposed amid reports that churches in Gao, 200 miles to the east, have been completely destroyed.
The news comes in the wake of a military coup in the country, one of the effects of which is that sanctions applied from outside has cut off electricity supplies, further delaying reports of the latest upheavals along with desperate pleas for help.
“We have escaped in the wake of horrible death threats as the Islamists have a list of all the Christians in Timbuktu whom they intend to execute by beheading. As proof of their intentions, one leader has already been killed in this way and some churches in Gao have been demolished. Most Christians have already fled for safety, but Sharia Law has been imposed all over the north.
“As refugees in Bamako, life is very difficult for me and my family as we are in desperate need of finance, just to pay for shelter and safety,” said Tim Yattara, resident of the area.
And with a government now overthrown by a coup, the security situation has been made even worse by rebels from Libya loyal to their former leader Col Gaddafi.
Pray for the protection of Christians in Mali and other West African countries facing violence. Pray that Tim Yattara and his family would be sustained. Pray for the family and peers of the beheaded Christian leader.
