Under the title, 'Mideast war makes believers refugees while militant Islamists attack 'infidels',' World Net Daily reported (August 9, 2006), "An estimated 750,000 Christians have been ejected from their homes β and sometimes their own nations β as militant Islamists wage their war on infidels across the Mideast, according to several Christian refugee organizations.
In just recent weeks, more than 100,000 Lebanese who are Christian have been forced to flee the violence ravaging their homeland, according to the Barnabas Fund, a Christian group established in 1993 that channels aid to projects run by Christian nationals in more than 40 countries.
"On both sides of the conflict, Israel and Lebanon, the Christian community is caught in the crossfire," Carl Moeller, the president of Open Doors USA, the Bible-delivering ministry founded by Dutch missionary Brother Andrew in 1955, told WorldNetDaily.
Brother Andrew's story was portrayed in the book 'God's Smuggler,' which detailed his exploits of driving cars loaded with Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. After the book was published, much of his organization's work was moved to the Mideast, where projects have included the Gaza Baptist Church and Bethlehem Bible College.
"The current conflict in Lebanon has caused almost a quarter of the Lebanese population to relocate, some within their own country, others to Syria and Jordan," the Barnabas Fund said. Other displaced Christians have come from Syria, Jordan, Iraq and the West Bank, numbering up to 750,000 across the region, it said.
There have been about 50,000 Lebanese Christians who have fled to other parts of their own nation, 33,000 who have gone to Syria and another 30,000 who have fled to Jordan, the group said."
While the article fails to distinguish between evangelical Christians and those who subscribe to false religion, it is clear that the war in Lebanon is putting colossal strain on God's people in the country.
One highly respected evangelical pastor has passed on the information that many of the displaced persons have moved to the Christian sector of Lebanon, forcing a considerable burden on their society as they suffer from lack of food, medicine and fuel.
He sends this list of prayer requests:
1 Pray for our safety and that of all the saints and other civilians.
2 Pray for immediate cease fire.Β Β
3 Pray for a final solution of the conflict in Lebanon.
4 Pray for the psychological health of our children and adults who are suffering all the fear and terror of planes and their heavy bombs.Β
5 Pray for the safety of our brethren who are serving as soldiers and officers at the Lebanese army.
6 Pray for the Christian congregations in the south of Lebanon who might be forced to leave their homes and villages, and for those who will not be able to flee for their lives.
7 Pray for the ministry of mercy and witnessing our church(es) are involved in.
8 Pray for the displaced who need practical help as well as the gospel of Christ.
9 Pray for souls to be saved.
10 Pray for Christ to be glorified in one way or another through all of this. |