Nigerian Christians killed in Boko Haram attacks.

No fewer than fifty countries are on the World Watch List of places in which disciples of Jesus are subject to persecution.  These range from North Korea, which has the dubious distinction of having been at the No.1 spot every year since the List was first published, twelve years ago, to Niger which, this year, is at No.50.

In thirty-six of those top fifty countries, Islamic extremism is the main driving force behind the persecution.  The most violent region is probably Africa's Sahel belt, which runs from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east.  In that region, some 20% of the world's Christians meet some 14% of the world's Muslims.

Of course, one of the reasons for this persecution is the growth of the Church, and persecution actually remains one of the greatest evangelistic opportunities!  The famous observation of Tertullian that, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church," has a depth of insight which is all too often lost on Western believers today.

As an individual, I am unable to pray on a daily basis for each of those fifty nations.  However, I concentrate on a much smaller number (a tithe, for those who may be interested!), and pray for others when they are mentioned in the various prayer diaries of which I make use.  One of my 'regulars' is Nigeria where the main (but not only!) extremist group is popularly known as Boko Haram - which translates as "Western education is forbidden"

Both Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), and the BBC, report that at least 22 Christians were killed by members of Boko Haram on Sunday, Jan. 26th, when the Islamists attacked a church in Waga Chakawa village, located in Adamawa state. Another 25 from the village were killed while fleeing their homes, which the attackers had set on fire. The Islamic militants locked Christians inside the church, set off bombs and shot people or cut their throats as they tried to escape through windows. They held residents hostage and burned the church and houses throughout the village during the four-hour attack. Later that day, Boko Haram killed at least 52 more people who were shopping at a market in Kawuri village in Borno state. VOM contacts in Nigeria said as many as 200 Christians have been killed by Boko Haram since the Jan. 26th attacks.

If you are a praying person, please join with me in praying for peace for the bereaved; healing for the injured; and an end to such mindless, and wanton violence in Nigeria, and so many other countries.  You may wish to access some of the organisations that support the persecuted Church by using the links further down the page. 

A Tale of Two (and more) Children

In yesterday's copy of the free newspaper, The Metro, was an article advising readers that the four-year-old daughter of "Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie" has landed her first film role - with a pay-packet of £2,000 per week!  I suppose that it's yet another case of "It's not what you know, but who you know, that counts"!  Oh, and there is also a mere £40 per day for "expenses".  That buys a lot of sweeties, even in these days of austerity!

Perhaps it's just me, but I found it almost obscene that any child should be considered worthy of such a financial package.  However, what makes the situation worse, in my opinion, is the knowledge of what that amount of money could do for some of the thousands of children in Syria who, as I type, are facing freezing temperatures without winter clothing, or shelter, or food.  I imagine what £2,000 per week could do for some of the millions of children, worldwide, whose life chances will be permanently damaged by the impact of childhood hunger.  I wonder how many children from Niger, and Ethiopia, and Armenia; from Bangladesh, and Zambia, and Uganda; could be sponsored with £2,000 per week.

I was, however, heartened by a brief letter to the newspaper.  It referred to the reports that a number of "celebrities" have been encouraged to pay the bill for the Rehab Clinic being attended by former football (soccer) 'whizz-kid', Paul Gascoigne, in an attempt to deal with his alcoholism.  It read: "Celebs are paying for Gazza's rehab bill.  I wish they'd do the same for people in Malawi who don't even have clean water, let alone booze."  Well said, Elfontheshelf, Helensburg.  I couldn't agree more!

I suppose it all goes to show what a crazy, upside-down, world we live in, where one already pampered child is paid a ridiculous amount, while millions of others die from starvation and malnutrition; and where there is more concern over the self-inflicted condition of one man, than over the condition in which millions find themselves, through no fault of their own!

Priorities!!

I was both shocked and angered when I read a comment by someone who is not one of my own list of Facebook friends (but is on the list of a mutual friend) that she had been to the petshop to buy puppy shampoo, puppy deoderant and, wait for it, puppy toothpaste and a puppy toothbrush!!!  This pampered puppy pooch was then, apparently, taken into the shower!

Now I am as big an animal lover as anyone, and would never knowingly cause harm or distress to any domestic animal.  But toothbrush and toothpaste; deoderant; shower!!!!   Do these people, who consider themselves to be Christians, live with their heads in the clouds - "too heavenly-minded to be of any earthly use"??

Last week, as it happens, was World Water Week, when world leaders gathered together in Stockholm to wrestle with the problems arising from the shortage of water in some of the world's poorest nations.  But let's give the puppy a shower!   Across the world, almost 900 million people live without clean water.  But let's give the puppy a shower!  More than 2.5 billion people have no access to safe sanitation.  But let's give the puppy a shower!  Unclean water is the second biggest cause of children's deaths.  But let's give the puppy a shower - and don't forget to spray on the deoderant, and brush its teeth!!

I find myself asking if the owners of this cosseted canine are aware of the floods in Pakistan - and the serious concerns about outbreaks of watery diarrhoea and dysentery, and even cholera and similar water-borne diseases ; famine in Niger; persecution of Christians - often to the point of death - in more countries than some would like to believe; a despearate need for Bibles in many countries; an appeal for wind-up radios to enable isolated believers to receive sound teaching, and others to be able to hear the Gospel message; and those who seek to work in such areas always short of funds.

Now I know that I am answerable for only my own actions - and that includes my giving.  And I realise that my using less water in the UK (or here in France) doesn't provide an extra drop in Pakistan, or drought-stricken areas of Ethiopia.  But, surely, it's a matter of attitude and priorities.  I don't know the cost of puppy toothbrushes and the rest.  I do know that that money would be far better spent on providing such a basic necessity for a child in Liberia or some other such poverty-stricken country.

Jesus said: "... just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Matt 7:20; NLT).   It is not my place to judge anyone else - but I do find myself wondering what the actions of this family, with regard to a dog, says about their priorities!  They probably don't even know that this blog exists!  But if this post speaks to just one person, that in itself might save the life of just one child.  That would make it very worthwhile.