Episode 574 - Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) - 70 Christians found beheaded in chur

Welcome back to Voices in My Head. As always, I'm your host Rick Lee James, and I thank you so much for being here once again this week. Today I actually want to start by thanking my friend Paul Deloche for this article that he shared with me. There was actually a post that I reshared online and it's by Diane Langberg, PhD, who is a really wonderful psychologist and amazing author who's written several books on suffering and abuse, and especially spiritual abuse. And she shared this quote from Elie Wiesel that says, "I swore never to be silent. Wherever and whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation, we must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor." 'Never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.' And that quote is by Elie Wiesel. And I'm grateful because in the spirit of that quote, Paul Balázs added this on, and I wanted to share this article with you, and I'm going to try to put the link in the show notes too, because there's a call for people to sign for help and for aid and to find out more information. But it takes you to an article from opendoorsuk.org, and the article says this: 70 Christians found beheaded in church in DRC. Christians in DRC have again been left reeling after a heinous act of violence that has left 70 believers dead. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the country as they face escalating persecution. And so I wanted to, to actually just spend this podcast reading the article so that you can have some awareness. I did not know about this, and I'm grateful for Paul and others who sometimes will put stories in my eyesight so I can see things that I have not known about. And there are some excellent prayer suggestions and ways to help at the end of this, so I just want to quickly share this with you today. 70 Christians have been found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC. And what's the latest devastating attack on believers in the northeast of the country. According to field sources, at around 4:00 AM last Thursday, the 13th of February, suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, the ADF, a group with ties to so-called Islamic State, IS, approached homes in Maiba in the territory of Lubero saying, "Get out, get out, and don't make any noise." 20 Christian men and women came out and were captured. Shaken by this incident, people from the local community in Maiba later gathered to work out how to release those held captive. However, ADF militants surrounded the village and captured a further 50 believers. All 70 of those kidnapped were taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga where they were tragically killed. Muhindo— by the way, I want to say I apologize if I'm mispronouncing any names of places or people, but I do want to do my best to read their names. Muhindo Musunzi, director of the Kombu Primary School, which belongs to Sisa 20 Church, says that prior to this incident, churches, schools, and health centers had all shut their doors because of the chaotic security situation. We had to move all activities toward Bunying, he said. Field sources report that until yesterday, Tuesday, February 18th, some families had not been able to bury their dead because of insecurity in the area. Many Christians have now fled the area for their safety. "We don't know what to do or how to pray. We've had enough of massacres," said an elder of the Sisa 20 church. "May God's will alone be done." Rise in violence and internal displacement. This latest awful incident, a continuation of the escalating threat posed by ADF militants in the country's northeast region. In 2014, the group intensified attacks in Beni territory in North Kivu province, and since then attacks have spread to the territories of Urumu and Mombasa in Ituru province, and now it's affecting Lubero. In the last month alone, the group has killed more than 200 people in Buswaga chieftain— in Buswaga, sorry, in Buswaga chieftain, according to local news websites. This explains why DRC rose 6 places to number 35 in the latest World Watch list. Last year, 355 were killed for their faith, compared with 261 the previous year, whilst an estimated 10,000 were internally displaced, which is 10 times more than in 2023. Houses have been looted and burned, schools relocated, church and health facilities closed, and several Christian villages have been abandoned altogether. The recent activities of the M23 rebel group reportedly supported by Rwanda has added to the vulnerability of Christians. So here is this call that they have provided to remain in prayer. Open Doors strongly condemns this heinous act of violence against civilians and calls upon civil societies, governments, and international organizations to prioritize civilian protection in Eastern DRC. —where armed groups such as the ADF are operating, says John Samuel, Open Doors legal expert for the work in sub-Saharan Africa. The violence takes place in a context of impunity, where almost no one is held accountable, he continues. This massacre is a clear indicator of widespread human rights violations against civilians and vulnerable communities, often targeting Christians, perpetuated by ADF, a so-called Islamic State affiliate. We further call on the international Christian community to remain in prayer for Christians and for vulnerable communities in eastern DRC, adds John Samuel. Pray for an end to violence and that government at all levels will diligently, impartially, and transparently address the violence and its effects. Pray for the church in Lumbero as she seeks to bring physical and spiritual assistance to families affected. And then they say this: Please pray that God's comfort will engulf all those grieving and traumatized by this incident, and the Christians in the area affected by persecution will be strengthened in their faith in Jesus. Please pray for the Lord to intervene in bringing a halt to these attacks, and for national and international governments, organizations, and security forces to do more to provide security and justice in the region. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will soften the hearts of ADF militants, leading them to Jesus, and that all their plans will be thwarted. And then there is an Arise Africa petition. Christian leaders across sub-Saharan Africa are calling on the global church to stand with them them against violent persecution. Sign the Global Arise Africa petition asking for protection, justice, and restoration. So should the technology work right when I release this, I'm going to have a link to this website so that all of you listening can sign this petition, can share this petition, and that we can share prayer together. It concerns me that with things like this happening around the world that the present administration is continuing to become more isolated in the world, cutting off our ties with people around the world, cutting off help for refugees and especially people like this, Christians who are escaping violence. And so we need to pray that God will soften the hearts of government leaders, of international organizations, of our own leaders, that they will change from policies that hurt people and are destroying lives that we will change to actually becoming a people who protect the people who need the protection of those who are stronger, who have more wealth, who have more privilege, who have honestly a bigger military to go in and help with things like this. As much as I am for peace. So let's pray together as we close out today. I think we can all agree on this, that prayer is something we can do right now. So we do pray in the way that we were asked to pray, Lord, that your comfort will engulf all of those grieving and traumatized people, those who were affected by this incident. The Christians in the area who have been affected by persecution will be strengthened in their faith in Jesus. Help us, Lord, in a country where we so often talk about Christians being persecuted, but the reality is we are not experiencing persecution. We have inconveniences from time to time, but Lord, this is true persecution that we have read about today. It's happening all around the world, and we lift our voice, our prayers. We pray, "Help, oh Lord." We pray that you would intervene in bringing a halt to the attacks. For national and international governments, organizations, and security forces to do more to provide security and justice in their regions. And we do pray, the Holy Spirit, that you will soften the hearts of the ADF militants. Lead them to you, Lord Jesus. Let their plans be thwarted, that our enemies may be turned to brothers. That those who have forgotten how to love will remember their first love, that they will be brought to you, to true repentance, and then that they would be people who share in the kingdom of God together, not those who are militant against it, that they would be welcomed in as family. And help us to forgive from a place deep within our hearts. We pray for all across Sub-Saharan Africa, not only just the Christians, but all the persecuted people, for all involved. We pray for peace, knowing that all shall be well. All shall be well. All manner of things shall all be well. We pray these things today in your name. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Well, thank you for listening to Voices in My Head this week. I'm sorry it was not an uplifting podcast today, but I think it was an important one. Please try to share this episode with your friends, with people that you're on social media with. Whatever we can do to get more of the word out, it is so important. As in the quote that we started the episode with from Elie Wiesel today, reminding us to never be silent in suffering, to never be neutral, that we would stand up for the oppressed, that we would be a help to them in any way we can, that we would swear to never be silent wherever and whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation, that we must always take sides, that neutrality only helps the oppressor, it never helps the victim, that silence encourages the tormentor, it never encourages the tormented. Alright, we'll see you next week. Ciao, ciao.