"Pray and Speak Up for Iraqi Christians"

That's the title of this post from John H. Armstrong.

It contains this observation by Joseph Kassab of the Chaldean Federation of America:

Iraqi Christians are being systematically murdered and driven from their homeland. This situation must, repeat must, be addressed by an international security coalition with members from Iraq, the U.S. and the U.N.

Please read John's entire blog post. Then, please pray for the safety of Iraqi Christians. Please also write to the White House and the State Department asking our government to press our Iraqi allies to put a stop to the persecution of Christians in their country.

That's it, three quick and simple action steps:

• To contact the White House, go here.
• To contact the State Department, go here.
• Most importantly, to contact God, call out in Jesus' Name.

"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you"

A great story from John H. Armstrong's Your Church is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ's Mission is Vital to the Future of the Church:

Some years ago, a friend shared a story about harsh attacks on Dr. Billy Graham in his early days of ministry. Many of these attacks came from former friends. His goal was to bless those Christians who attacked him. On one significant occasion, a major leader violated the work of Dr. Graham in a way that was particularly egregious. Dr. Graham hastily called a board meeting. He made it clear that there would be no counterattack. The board then prayed for the other minister and the issue was dropped.

May I learn the lesson of this story showing a faithful Christian applying Jesus' words in Luke 6:28:

"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."

The Armstrong book is an important one, the truths of which I have been soaking up for several months now.

Another Great Observation

This one from John H. Armstrong himself:

"I have...come to see that the primary mission of the church is not just to bring people into the visible church but to bring into the knowledge of Christ and his kingdom."