News / Thoughts

Forgiveness not revenge

After Islamic State militants executed 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya a few weeks ago, the incredible story we’re hearing from the Egyptian church is one of grace and forgiveness.

One of our field workers in Egypt says: “The sound of prayers requesting mercy and life, not revenge and destruction, calling on God’s name to come and change the hearts of the killers, is loudly heard across Egypt.”

Incredibly, prayers like these have been answered before. A pastor in Cairo told us: “Last week, I had the privilege of meeting with two former terrorists who got involved directly in killing Christians for their faith. The Lord changed their hearts and they are now preaching the gospel and serving the Lord.”

Love and forgiveness

Our field worker says: “Some of the heartbroken wives, mothers, fathers and children of the martyrs were recently interviewed in national and private run TV talk shows about what they are going through. Their simple expressions of love and forgiveness brought down so many tears on air and surely delivered a mind blowing message about what the Christian faith is all about. No more direct testimony about God’s love could have been communicated publicly as those few words that were uttered by the family members of those 21 martyrs.

“Egyptian pastors are calling their congregations to wake up and pray for the persecutors of the church to come to meet with the Saviour. We pray that God will remove their stone hearts, and gives them hearts of flesh and blood, capable of loving.”

“We, Christians of Egypt, believe that the prayers and intercession of the Egyptian church were heard by the Almighty and that our country has been protected from chaos and past threats. We, therefore, realise how we should continue to stand in the gap for our country and the entire troubled region of the Arab World.”

Please join the church in Egypt in prayer.

Source: Open Doors

Please pray

• Praise God that these two former persecutors have turned to Christ
• That God would change the hearts of many members of Islamic State
• That the testimony of the church in Egypt would speak volumes to the nation and the region
• For peace in Egypt and in the Middle East