Elizabeth Kendal of the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin reports:
As was reported in RLPB 187
(28 Nov), up to 20 Christians were killed and dozens wounded on Sunday
25 November in a twin suicide bombing at St Andrew's Protestant Church
inside the Jaji military barracks in Kaduna. Investigations indicate that the bombers
may have been residents of the barracks and might have built the bomb
on site, which would explain why they were granted access to the church
without being searched. This raises fears that other military
establishments could be similarly targeted. That same week Boko Haram
gunmen attacked the headquarters of the Police Special Anti-Robbery
Squad in Abuja, freeing 30 detainees and killing two policemen. Guards
were under strict orders not to shoot. But Nigeria is at war! In Boko Haram's own words (29 November), 'Jihad [holy war] started now, jihad started now, O enemies of Allah.'
On
Saturday night 1 December a band of jihadists attacked Kupwal, a remote
village in Chibok Local Government Area (LGA). (That is about 160km
south of the Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri in Borno, Nigeria's most
north-eastern state.) They invaded the Christian district and according
to survivors entered 'carefully selected' homes, slitting the throats of the occupants. They then set fire to homes and sacked the whole neighbourhood to chants of 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is the greatest). [See Qur'an, Sura 7:4 ] At least 10 people were killed whilst dozens escaped with serious and life-threatening injuries. Observers believe Boko Haram was either responsible or at least complicit.
On
Sunday morning 2 December, some 50 Islamic gunmen in cars and on
motorbikes attacked a police station, immigration and customs offices
and three churches in Gamboru Ngala,
Ngala LGA. (That is 140km north of Maiduguri, Borno State, near the
border with Cameroon.) Before launching their attack, the jihadists
destroyed the mobile phone masts to prevent communication and so
compound the crisis. With shouts of 'Allahu Akbar' they opened fire on police, killing five. The churches were torched and Christians living and doing business in the border town were targeted. About two weeks earlier, leaflets had been distributed
in which the Islamists declared their intention to impose Taliban-style
rule, e.g., women were told to wear the veil and cigarettes were
banned. A tailor was subsequently shot for continuing to make clothing
the Islamists deemed un-Islamic.
In a 30 November column, author and analyst Raymond Ibrahim explained
why persecution such as that described above is 'Islam's Achilles'
heel'. Persecution committed by dominant Muslims in Muslim communities
-- i.e. Muslims who cannot claim to be 'oppressed' or 'aggrieved' --
against vulnerable minority Christians is simply impossible to justify.
Such persecution exposes Islam as supremacist, totalitarian, intolerant
and imperialistic; as a movement that will not rest until the 'other' is
totally subjugated. 'And to Allah prostrates whoever is within the
heavens and the earth, willingly or by compulsion, and their shadows [as
well] in the mornings and the afternoons.' (Qur'an, Sura 13:15)
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
* rise up on behalf of his traumatised and terrorised people and intervene to rout the enemy and deliver his Church.
'And
he [King David] said, "The LORD has burst through my enemies [the
Philistines] before me like a bursting flood." Therefore the name of
that place is called Baal-perazim [the Lord who bursts through]' (2
Samuel 5:20b ESV).
* bring healing and comfort to his
bleeding, broken and grieving people; may he provide all their needs and
make his loving presence felt so as to sustain their sorely-tested
faith, that they might be 'more than conquerors through him who loved us' (from Romans 8:31-39 ESV).
*
give the Nigerian authorities divine wisdom and insight, strength and
commitment that they might excel in their battle against the enemies of
the state and the enemies of the LORD.
* re-assure the church in
northern Nigeria of his protection who is their 'strong city' (Isaiah
26:1). May the church in the south, and indeed the rest of the world,
join this battle by praying for the north (Romans 15:30; 2 Corinthians
1:11).
* bless every Nigerian missionary and every witnessing
Nigerian with divine courage and power from the Holy Spirit, for this is
first and foremost a spiritual struggle (Ephesians 6:12).
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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THE TERROR OF JIHAD IN NIGERIA
A
full-blown Islamic jihad is raging in Nigeria and it is terrifying for
the Christians of the north on the front-line. On Saturday evening 1
December jihadists attacked the Christian district of a remote village
in Borno State. Entering 'carefully selected' homes, they murdered the
occupants before sacking and burning the entire neighbourhood to shouts
of 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is the greatest). Ten were killed whilst dozens
fled with serious and life-threatening injuries. On Sunday morning 2
December jihadists attacked another village in Borno close to the
Cameroon border. With shouts of 'Allahu Akbar' they opened fire on
police, killing five, before torching numerous government facilities and
three churches. Only weeks earlier, Christians were threatened with
violence if they did not leave the area. Please pray for Nigeria.
** This week I received an e-mail from Voice of the Martyrs which read:
The Voice of the Martyrs is standing with our persecuted Nigerian family this Christmas. We invite you to join us by sponsoring a CHRISTMAS CARE PACK or a VILLAGE OUTREACH PACK to bless our Nigerian brothers and sisters.
Each CHRISTMAS CARE PACK includes a backpack filled with gift items such as a children's Bible, school supplies, a toy and some basic toiletry items.
Each VILLAGE OUTREACH PACK includes a small library of materials that will help a pastor or evangelist further the gospel in Nigeria. These packs include a DVD player, a JESUS: He Lived Among Us DVD, a Bible and other Christian literature, a flashlight and rain boots. Many of these outreach packs will be used in the most dangerous parts of Nigeria.
Please CLICK HERE to sponsor one or more of these gifts and remind Nigerian Christians that they are not alone this Christmas season.