“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you...” (Luke 21:10-12)
How closely the Lord’s words reflect our troubled world today! Our own generation has seen the growth of anti-Christian persecution in dozens of countries. Deadly new diseases have emerged, such as Ebola and Covid-19, with bird flu now becoming a major concern. We see nations rising against other nations, to threaten and attack. According to one calculation, there are currently 62 armed conflicts, ranging from skirmishes to major wars. Conflict plus repeated droughts and destructive floods have brought hunger and famine. As for earthquakes, Turkey and Syria were devastated last month by a double earthquake that killed over 50,000 people and displaced millions.
Our Christian brothers and sisters are caught up in all these events. Sometimes they cannot access the aid and relief that non-Christians are getting ‒ because of anti-Christian discrimination.
Barnabas has provided aid for Christians affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
Hope for Eternity
The Lord Jesus spoke those words almost 2,000 years ago, just before His own arrest and persecution to death on the cross. Soon it will be Good Friday when we remember His suffering and His offering of Himself to take away our sins.
But after Good Friday comes Easter Sunday, when we celebrate His mighty resurrection, conquering death as He rose from the grave. Because of Easter, we have the sure and certain hope of eternal life. Our suffering brothers and sisters share that ultimate hope, as we all wait together for the Lord’s return.
Flooding in Pakistan is just one of the disasters to which Barnabas has responded with practical help for our Christian family.
How you can help
$8.60 could buy 22lbs of maize flour for Christians in drought-afflicted northern Kenya.
$15 could provide a family health kit for a Syrian Christian family made homeless by last month’s earthquake.
$30 could provide a set of trauma counseling training materials for Christians targeted by terrorists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
$51 could buy ten good quality blankets for Christians in Myanmar displaced by anti-Christian violence.
$140 could buy 70 cubic feet of firewood for Christians in Ukraine.
$360 could repair the flood-damaged home of a Pakistani Christian family.
