Myanmar has seen the longest-running civil war in history. More than 80 years. In 2021 the junta began a new reign of terror and it targets churches. The picture above is from a church we visited in 2013. It was near the house of prayer we helped establish with seven denominations working together.
In 2021, this village, this church, and our house of prayer were bombed. Now, no one lives there. It is not safe to return. Why? Because the junta is bombing villages seeking to drive the population into the cities. Why? It’s easier to control the population that way.
Yesterday I received an email describing the current plight of our orphans and the Church in Burma. The junta has printed more money and guess what? The cost of a bag of rice almost doubled in one month. This July 25th article by the Irrawaddy reports “Junta’s New Banknote Sparks Inflation Panic in Myanmar, Again.” Guess what a side effect of this was?
Crime has skyrocketed. Fear prompts those who have nothing to go and rob from those that do or the weak and vulnerable. What does the junta do? The government continues to bomb villages and kill or imprison any who oppose their evil agenda. It’s like Venezuela, Vietnam, Cuba, China, the USSR… you name the government who sought to employ the Communist/Socialist ideology first put forth by Marx and Engles in 1848 and the end results are the same. It does not matter which country, or which time it is.
Why is this? It is because the root of this ideology is demonic. It has all of the ear markings of Satan.
it grieves our hearts. But where is the mainstream media? Why isn’t this human rights fiasco being reported on? This author gives his thoughts in The 80-Year Rebellion: Why Western Media Does Not Cover Myanmar. I will let your own critical thinking inform you but I encourage you to allow the Bible to help direct your thoughts.
Since the mainstream media is not reporting on this, let me refer you to the Free Burma Rangers. If you go to their Field Reports, you can see what is happening across the nation. Our house of prayer and orphanage is located in an area where a lot of heavy fighting has occurred.
In fact, we’ve learned that the heaviest fighting is occurring in the areas where the largest concentrations of Christians are. We know of pastors who’ve been executed and churches bombed too. They even shot one of the intercessors who prayed at our HOP. She was an elderly woman.
While the oppression is horrible and evil, God’s glory and grace manifests in the midst. There are so many testimonies, but one I heard recently involved a man whose sons are part of the junta. He became a Christian and his sons threatened to kill him unless he left his home. Our minister heard and went to minister to him but was shocked by what he found.
He said, though the man was over 70 years old and had lost everything, his joy in the LORD was overwhelming. In fact, it was so great, John Mark said his face shined like it says Moses face shined in the Bible. It reminded me of the scripture in Hebrews 10:34 which says, “You had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves…”
Remember the Persecuted Church and Pray With Us
I want to stir up your pure minds in the way of remembrance. One of the best ways to prepare for persecution is to remember and pray for the persecuted now. Why? First, do it out of love for our LORD. Let your compassion motivate you. How would you want to be treated if you were persecuted like this? Remember the golden rule (Matthew 7:12). It is wise to do this because of the law of seed time and harvest. You will reap what you sow as seedtime and harvest will never end.
Hence the best way to prepare for persecution is to lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven (Matthew 19:21) and pray and give like you’d want someone to pray and give to you and your family if you were in that situation. Don’t forget, James 1:27 says “pure religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble….”
So pray with and for them like you’d like to be prayed for if you were in their shoes. Help them like you’d want to be helped. In all of this, I strongly urge you to ask our heavenly Father, “Father, what would it please you for me to do?”
So, we pray and we give each month. You can help them by choosing to donate and just select Orphans and Widows or Missions. But we also pray for our Father’s will to be done. What’s our Father’s will?
- 1 John 3:8 reveals that Jesus was manifested to destroy the works of the evil one.
- Job 36:13-15 reveals that hypocrites store up wrath but the righteous and God hear and deliver the poor in their affliction.
- Proverbs 8:13 reveals that the fear of the LORD is to hate evil.
- Amos 5:15 says we are to hate evil, love good and establish justice in the gate.
- Recognize that a valley is a low point between two mountains. We’ve been brought to a valley of decision (Joel 3:12-14) and God is watching where we choose to stand. Do we choose to stand with Him and the truth or do we stand with a lie and oppression? Our choices are described in Matthew 25 where the sheep are separated from the goats.
- That a people come forth like the world has never seen before (Joel 2:3) and work with the angels to affect our Father’s will, usher in a harvest of souls who become disciples and that a Church would make herself ready like the five wise virgins did in Matthew 25:2).
- Pray that the persecuted Church would be delivered from evil (Matthew 6:9-12).
- Pray Acts 4:29, “Now, LORD, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants all boldness that they may speak your word, but stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
- Pray with Psalm 35 in mind that the trap the evil adversary sets would in fact snare themselves and that God would gloriously deliver His people.
