SHE SAYS:  Making Headlines

“ISIS Does Its Best to Eliminate All Traces of Christianity in Parts of Iraq and Syria under Its Control” 

 

“ISIS' dark mission: Destroying all signs of Christianity”

 

“SIS tweets destruction of more Christian sites”

 

The above, are headlines seen in the news this week. As a Christian, these actions of ISIS do not alarm me. A cross is simply a symbolic reminder of our Lord’s rescuing act for us. We do not worship icons, statues and even if someone destroys our places of fellowship, the Church still exists – no one can destroy true faith.

However, God has a stern warning for those who choose to destroy His temple (i.e. believers).

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 

 

The persecution of my Christian brothers and sisters in these places must spur me to action. 

1. I must pray for them as never before.
2. I must give generously to support those who have been displaced and those who are fulfilling the great commission on the frontlines. 
3. I must be known for my love for others, whether friend or foe.
4. I must care too much to be silent or idle.
5. I must seek out and learn as much as I can about those in harm’s way. 

God Did Not Remove the Snakes!

SHE SAYS:

God did not remove the snakes!  This reality stood out to me this morning as I reread Numbers 21.  Let me set the stage:  Israel was grumbling about God and Moses (for like the 14,600th time!) because “There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”  So God responded by sending snakes among them and many people were bitten and died. 

The people were afraid; confessed their sin against God to Moses and asked him to pray that God would remove the snakes.  Faithful Moses prayed, and God provided a way of escape, but He didn’t remove the snakes.  He had Moses make a bronze snake & set it up on a pole in the midst of the people.  Only by looking at the snake, would the people be healed and live. 

This event is symbolic of both the sacrifice of Christ and the faith of His people.  Just like the bronze serpent, Christ in the “likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom 8:3) was lifted up.  All of us have been "bitten" with sin – we’re sinners and the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).  Therefore we have no hope for eternal life except to believe and put our faith Christ. 

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."  John 3:14-18

Just as God did not take away the snakes, once we see Christ as our salvation, God puts His Holy Spirit in us, so even though we must continue to live in our bodies of flesh, tempted by sin, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63).