5 Ways to Help Our Family…Will You Pick 2?

The letter ‘N’, or the Arabic symbol pictured here, is used by ISIS to mark the homes of the Christians they are murdering, capturing, and driving from Iraq. The Islamic terrorist group chose this letter because it stands for the Nazarene,that is Jesus of Nazareth. It represents the One the Iraqi Christians claim as their Lord, and the One that makes us family.

Hundreds of thousands of people  around the world have adopted the letter and joined the #WeAreN campaign to show solidarity with Iraqi Christians. And we should too. I have half a mind to go and paint the letter on the outside of my apartment right now.

This is just one, simple way we can begin to answer  the question I posed in my previous blog: what can we do to help our family? But we need to do more.

I’m writing today to ask for your help.

I did some research and I heard a few suggestions from readers for ways in which we can tangibly help our brothers and sisters in Iraq. The best list I’ve seen came from the Australian Bible Society (Is that not proof that we are connected to believers all over this globe?)

The Bible Society’s list can be found here: 5 Ways to Help Iraq’s Christians. I encourage you to visit the site and see them for yourself, but I will list them here in brief so you can quickly respond to this challenge…

I ask and challenge you to pick two of the 5 ways to help, and act on them today. Then, leave a comment here or on your own facebook/twitter/blog to tell others which steps you chose and to encourage them to do the same.

5 Ways to Fight and Help our Family in Iraq:

1. Stay informed. The situation in Iraq (and other places where Christians are being persecuted today) changes daily. Tune in and listen carefully so you will know how to pray (#4).
2. Be active on social media. Use all your connections to help inform others and give ways to help. Change your facebook photo to ‘N’, tweet and retweet info about Iraq, and share pictures on Instagram of you and your church praying for Iraqis… There are a thousand other ways to be active. I’m blogging and have changed my cover photo. You?
3. Contact government officials who can help. Call your senator, email the president, sign a petition online (here are a few you can sign NOW: petition to the White House, petition to congress) to tell your leaders we care about persecution of Christians and we want them to do something about it.
4. Give money. And give a lot! There are organizations who have people on the ground in Iraq that you can support financially and it will directly help our suffering family. Here are a few: Samaritan’s Purse, Open Doors, ACLJ
5. Pray. Pray. And pray some more. And gather your friends, family, and church to pray. As you stay informed (#1) you will know how to pray. Prayer is the most important thing we can do, but I have listed it as number 5 because if you’re like me, we are tempted to only pray. But there are other ways we can help be God’s answer to prayer. Let’s do them as we pray.

My wife and I are planning to do all 5. Which ones will you do? 

 

God of the Universe, please protect our family. Please provide for their needs. Please show us how to be involved. Please stop the evil that is being done to them. And please use their courage to witness to their persecutors so they too might be saved. Show your love to our family and our enemies. And bring peace by your Son Jesus, Amen.

 

Full links from above post:

Samaritan’s Purse: Aid through a Christian Organization

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/iraq-crisis-response/?utm_source=Ggl&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=m_YGME-014V_GGLIraq&gclid=Cj0KEQjwmayfBRDo25CR9un4hvEBEiQAv9fBbaXV1BHUKFpPwyujduUnchfUZURyPApwoh3c9q3YmPYaAp8t8P8HAQ

Open Doors USA: Christian aid organization specifically devoted to persecuted Christians

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/

 

White House Petition:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/help-christians-mosul-and-iraq-who-are-part-modern-day-holocaust/S0cLfXZg

 

ACLJ Petition to Congress to Aid Iraq’s Christians

http://beheardproject.com/

 

Bible Society: Ways to help/action steps

http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/5-things-can-help-iraqs-persecuted-christians