The Slaughter of Christians Continues

 It's been said that if something costs you nothing, it could be labeled as worthless.  Here in America our Christianity has cost most of us very little.  Yes maybe it has strained your relationship with your parents or siblings but that's about it.  Of course many also believe this may soon be changing in America.  We know that our brothers and sisters in China have been praying for persecution to come to America because they KNOW how persecution strengthens the true followers.

But let's remember today that following Christ in many parts of the world is already costing a great deal. Especially in the dark places where Satan rules and Holy Spirit filled people are rare enough that there are too few to restrain the forces of evil.  Think about the Muslim countries who worship a demon-god named Allah.

Here is just a sampling of the recent cases of Muslims doing heinous things to Christians.

Uganda: On May 3, hours after Pastor Thomas Chikooma engaged in a public debate about Islam and Christianity, Muslims severed his tongue and beheaded him. The well-known pastor, father of 11, had planted 50 churches in eastern Uganda. During the open-air event, to which Muslims had invited him, he used the Bible and Koran to make his points. He won over several people — including six Muslims, who went on to convert to Christianity — prompting angry Muslims in the crowd to cry "Allahu Akbar," prompted the pastor and his young son to rush away from the event.

"Two motorcycles carrying two Muslims each and dressed in Islamic attire speedily bypassed us," his son, a minor, later explained. "When we were 200 meters to reach our house, the two motorcycles stopped at the junction opposite Nalufenya primary school and the road near our house." The pastor told his son to wait while he went to confront the four men. "Immediately some commotion began as the men started talking about the open-air debate, and soon one of them slapped my father," said his son. "I got scared and fled ... and arrived at home." The boy eventually met up with his mother, and they went searching for Pastor Thomas.

According to the wife, "As we continued doing the search, we found my husband in a pool of blood, beheaded and his tongue removed." His tongue was likely cut out as punishment for "speaking against Islam."

Separately, Muslims poisoned and killed a Christian pastor over his land: whether a church or mosque would be built over it. Initially, Muslims in the area urged Pastor Yolonim Oduchu to sell them his land, so they could construct a mosque on it. According to the pastor's brother, Francis:

"Aliasa Opeduru and a number of [other] Muslims had approached my brother to sell them the piece of land several times, but my brother declined because their offer was small, and he also wanted to have part of the land set aside for constructing a church structure. Later my brother received a threatening message from Opeduru saying he would not negotiate with him again."

Eventually the Muslims "found a sponsor in Turkey to fund the construction of the mosque." Now the problem became that the Muslims did not want a church near their mosque, but Pastor Yolonim began clearing his parcel of land in preparation of construction. Then, one day, after eating at a hotel owned by a Muslim, "my husband," said his wife Mary, "took a motorcycle and arrived at home complaining of severe stomach pains, diarrhea and started vomiting. We rushed him to a nearby clinic, and he succumbed to poisoning." Soon after his burial, his brother saw blood sprinkled atop the pastor's grave with papers with Arabic writing.

"We then sought assistance from police, who came with a sniffing dog that directed the mourners up to Opeduru's home, where we found the suspect inside the house sleeping. When police asked him about the blood, he admitted to pouring the animal blood there because the pastor didn't respect him."

After being interrogated by angry residents, the hotel owner confessed that "Muslims had given him poison and instructed him to put it in Pastor Oduchu's food." The pastor is survived by his wife and eight children, ages 2 to 16.

Pakistan: A group of Muslims abducted, beat, and poisoned a Christian man, before leaving him for dead in the middle of a street. Thirty-two-year-old Arif Masih's crime was that he had tried to defend his younger sister from sexual harassment. According to the report, on May 20,

"Rehana Bibi, 18, had gone to the bazaar to buy some milk. Returning home, two young men, Muhammad Tariq and Muhammad Majid, began to harass her. The girl tried to escape and took refuge in the house. The two broke into the house and got into a fight with Arif [her brother]. The two young men also took the girl and dragged her to the bazaar, tore off her clothes and mocked her."

Although the family registered a complaint with police, the police failed to act. Instead, Masih began to receive threats from the two accused men to drop the complaint, or else. Then, on May 23:

"both perpetrators went to Arif's home and attacked him. They loaded him onto their motorcycle and then beat and poisoned him, throwing him on the street. Local people informed the family that their son was lifeless in the middle of the road."

He was rushed to two different hospitals but, "due to his injuries and the poison, he died." Because they could not get justice, Masih's family took his body and exhibited it in the middle of a road, stopping vehicles and begging for justice (picture here).

Germany: During court proceedings, it was learned that a Muslim migrant from Syria murdered his sister's boyfriend for being Christian. According to the May 18 report,

"[H]e had killed his sister's boyfriend because, as a Muslim, he would not tolerate his sister's relationship with her Christian boyfriend. According to the verdict, the man waited more than an hour in the backyard for the victim in January 2019. When the 25-year-old got out of the car, the defendant fired shots from close range. The man died in the hospital from his gunshot wounds."

Democratic Republic of Congo: The Allied Democratic Forces, designated by the U.S. as an Islamic terror group, massacred between 50 and 57 people in the Christian majority nation, and torched 25 homes between May 29 and 30. The group is committed to creating an Islamic Caliphate in Central Africa.

Burkina Faso: On May 18, Islamic terrorists attacked a Christian baptismal ceremony, where they massacred 15 Christians. "People are shocked and many are running," a native in contact with town residents reported at the time. It is the fourth such attack in the nation's Sahel region. According to the report:

"Violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State extremists has left thousands dead in the West African nation over the last several years. In recent weeks, attacks have spiked in Burkina Faso's Sahel region and in the country's east. Two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist were among more than 50 people killed during one week in April. The violence has displaced more than 1 million people, and aid groups say it's also brought tens of thousands to the brink of starvation by disrupting aid operations to those in need."

South Sudan: On Sunday, May 19, a group of Muslims attacked and killed more than a dozen Christians. The attack and other forms of "senseless violence" have been taking place in the most northern part of the nation, particularly in Abyei, "an area that experiences Islamic encroachments followed by harassment, intimidation and frequent attacks carried out by Arab Islamic militias," said the Episcopal Church of South Sudan in a statement. Of the most recent attack, the Bishop of Abyei, Michael Deng Bol, said that the village of Dungob-Alei, had been "barbarically attacked by militiamen of Sudan since around 5.30 am on Sunday 16 May, killing 13 people and wounding eight others. "

"The fighting is still continuing up to now [late Monday night]... This is not the first attack of its kind. In 2020 Kolom village, 12km away from Abyei town, and Mabok Diil village, 18km east of Abyei town, were also attacked in the same way with 38 killed and 22 wounded, together with the abduction of 17 children and burning down of 77 houses including our prayer centres and medical facilities."

Nigeria: Some of the massacres of Christians at the hands of Fulani Muslim herdsmen reported throughout the month of May:

May 23: "Fourteen Christians were butchered to death, including children," a survivor from a raided village wrote in a communique. "Eight members of one family have all been killed. This is beside an additional six other Christians killed by the herdsmen in the village." More Christians were killed in another village on or around that same day, for a total of 37 dead. Survivors heard the attackers shouting the jihadist war-cry, "Allahu Akbar." Discussing the fate of her brother, one woman said,

"The armed Fulani herdsmen spotted him and shot him dead. I feel very sad about the way my brother was killed in cold blood. Why must we live in fear every day, not knowing the evil that awaits us as Christians in this country?"

Here;  "Beat, Raped, and Left for Dead": The Persecution of Christians, May 2021 :: Gatestone Institute

We pretty much know the answer but we wonder how many followers of Christ will need to be killed by Muslims before our liberal denominations here in America will realize that Muslims ARE NOT our brother and sisters?  Yes, we know the Catholics, ELCA Lutherans and Methodists might believe we are all worshipping the same god but they are deceived. 

Let's all please remember to pray for the persecuted church.  As we can read above, for many of these folks following Jesus has cost them a great deal.

Please remember that Islam's founder, Muhammad, claimed to get a new gospel from an angel that visited him in a cave.  Had Muhammad been studying his Bible he would have quickly tested this demon spirit, who denied the deity of Christ, and rebuked him in Jesus' name.  But he didn't.  Most likely he became possessed by this false spirit and started spreading his newfound religion using murder and terror which continues to this day.

Galatians 1

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!