Page 3 - FOCUS on MISSIONS MAGAZINE

FOREWORD:

The world is in turmoil with people increasingly alarmed,

so that many, many people live in fear. Young people and children

are particularly susceptible to these fears, because they are

surrounded by them and hear and see little that can allay those

fears. Terrorist attacks are increasing in number and in unbelievable

cruelty. Much of this ruthlessness appears to be targeted against

Christians in many parts of the world, but which are seldom

recorded in our local newspapers or on TV.

The attacks can range from destruction or burning of their

houses or churches, to beatings, wounding and even murder. Late

last year 14 members of a family attending a church in Burkina Faso

were killed during an attack on the church, at worship time. In that

country and others, the message from the attackers is move out or

be killed. As a consequence, many hundreds of Christians have fled

to larger cities where they do not have housing or employment,

while others are hiding in wooded areas, with minimal possessions.

So what should be our response - the Bible tells us to do

good to people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ - and

the best thing that we can do for these persecuted Christians is to

pray for them. The cry from these persecuted brothers and sisters in

Christ is “please pray for us”.

Also we need to pray for and support those many

Christian ministries involved in Bible translation and distribution. In

a world which seems to not want to acknowledge Jesus as the

Saviour of the world, the Gospel (Good News) needs to be available.

We also need to be positive in the face of all of the negative news,

which seems to be a staple diet of news agencies. God`s word is

being translated into more and more languages, Bibles printed in

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