#682 (10/27) SUNDAY SPECIAL - "The Tragic Inaction of the Church"

URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS:

NEWS ALERT: Oct. 23: "Christians Fleeing IRAQ Area Once Considered Safe," - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Christians-Fleeing-Iraq-Area-Once-Considered-Safe/  "Increased violence in northern Iraq is pushing Christians out of that part of the country. The Kurdish north was considered a safe area for Christians fleeing from violent persecution in the central and southern regions. But bombings in recent months are causing panic and many are fleeing the country. Al qaeda has claimed responsibility for several of those attacks. Some Christians have been told by local police that they "should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory." The Christian charity Open Doors International is urging people around the world to pray for Christians in Iraq. They say that if the persecution continues, there may be no Christians left in Iraq by 2020.[PRAY that believers in Iraq will know God's protection and provision; that believers will know[ whether they are called to flee or remain and persevere; and that their persecutors  may come to hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ. - Stan] 


"SYRIAN Christians Brace for Strike, Ask for Prayer," - by Gary Lane, August 31, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/Syrian-Christians-Brace-for-Strike-Ask-for-Prayer/"As Syrians brace themselves for a possible U.S. military attack, many of the county's Christians are praying for divine intervention. They say military action against the Assad regime will only bring them greater hardship and suffering and they're asking Christians worldwide to pray that God intervenes to bring peace to their nation. They believe the collective prayers of Christians around the world could reverse an escalating conflict..."

Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]  

Oct. 14, NORTH KOREA -"Kenneth Bae, Mom Meet; Release Not Guaranteed"  - CBNNews.com,  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Mother-Visits-Missionary-Jailed-in-North-Korea/Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"-  CBNNews.com,  Aug 14, 2013  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/  - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.] 

IRAN - Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world

PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.

- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him

- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ

- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans

- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release.

------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Tragic Inaction of the Church" -  10/21/2013, Eric Metaxas. JOY ALLMOND/BILLYGRAHAM.ORG; http://www.charismanews.com/us/41443-the-tragic-inaction-of-the-church [NOTE: This article reflects what the late Chuck Colson often said - Let the Church BE the Church!- Stan]

[This article was originally posted on BillyGraham.org.]

Author and cultural commentator Eric Metaxas is on a mission to rally the church to stand firm against the attacks on our religious freedoms, and to be the church by involving the gospel in everything we do. (Facebook) [The author of several books, Eric Metaxas is perhaps best known for Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery and Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. He often provides commentary on the subject of religious freedom.]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Christian who resisted the Nazis and chose to suffer—and eventually die—for the sake of the oppressed Jews. William Wilberforce led the campaign to end the British slave trade. Both of these men did what they did because of their faith in Jesus Christ. But Metaxas does more than write and speak on the feats of these great heroes of the faith. He urges the church of today to take the same kind of actions.

Before we can take on our role as the church in areas like social justice activism and preserving society, we must be aware of our current freedoms and our position in regard to the state.

“There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the separation of church and state. The church is to be protected from the state. Not the reverse," explains Metaxas. "People have divorced faith from public life, mostly because of this misunderstanding.”

We have also confused the terms freedom of worship with freedom of religion. So, what is the difference?

Freedom of religion allows us to take our faith into the public square as we leave our corporate worship settings. “The founders have said that we can and should do that,” adds Metaxas. “That means we can exercise our faith freely in the workplace, or wherever we are.”

Freedom of worship allows us to worship within the confines of the church building. However, that freedom is not valid outside of that church building. Furthermore, that means that whatever views you have on the hot-button social issues, such as abortion or same-sex marriage must be kept within the walls your home or your church building.

“They have freedom of worship in China, and they had it in Germany in the 1930s. Today, that is we have—freedom of worship. So today, we are slowly privatizing our faith because of this great misunderstanding,” says Metaxas. “Once we leave our homes or our churches, we are expected to accept the secular humanist view of everything.”

This privatization of our faith is believed to be an outward sign of a loss of religious freedom. The publicity of faith is what Metaxas and countless others believe to have made our country great.
For example, today, because of the faith of our Founding Fathers, we do not argue about whether to help the needy. We argue about how to do it. Helping the needy is a biblical principle, and we still do so today because of the values instilled by our godly Founding Fathers.

In his latest book, Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness, Metaxas gives examples of people—more specifically, seven men—who changed their culture because they exercised freedom of religion.“When Christian voices are stifled, salt and light are removed from the culture. We see Jackie Robinson exercise his faith on the baseball field and was instrumental in the civil rights movement. And, of course, Wilberforce and Bonhoeffer did what they did because they publicly exercised their faith,” Metaxas points out.

In all of these cases and countless others, faith played a role in expanding freedom, blessing the nation, and ministering to the outcast.

Metaxas continues, “When you stifle voices of faith, you destroy all of those opportunities to live out faith by doing good things. So, when we as believers lose religious freedom, everyone loses.”

The Gospel: The Ultimate Catalyst for Action
Wilberforce, Bonhoeffer and Robinson all made a profound impact on their societies, but the common thread between these men runs deeper than external results. They were motivated by more than justice; they were motivated by the gospel. They were not merely social or cultural Christians. They took Scripture very seriously, and then they took action.

Metaxas urges today’s church to do the same—to be involved in everything from culture to politics, willing to speak the truth humbly and boldly in love.

“If the church had been the church in Germany, had stood up and spoken loudly, as one, they could have won. But they were timid, just as Christians are timid now on so many issues. The church has to be heroically, courageously vocal. People will suffer because the church has not stepped up and lived out the faith we claim to have.”  

[bold and italics emphasis mine]