by Matthew Archbold

The young daughter of an Iraqi Christian family burned alive by ISIS used her final moments in her mother's arms to beg forgiveness for her killers.

Jihadists reportedly arrived at the family's home in Mosul seeking to collect a fine that the Muslims charge Christians called "Jaziya." They told the mother that the family must pay instantly or evacuate the home. The mother simply begged for a few moments as her 12 year old daughter was in the shower. They did not wait. Instead, they immediately set the house ablaze.

The girl was severely burned in the fire. Her mother did get her outside the house but the girl died just a few hours later in a local hospital. The little girl died in her mother's arms. Her last words were "forgive them."

The plight of Christians in the Middle East has long been ignored. This should not be. Especially by Christians. I pray for the family of this little girl. I pray for her soul. I pray for those committing violence against Christians. I also can't help but wonder if, as a parent, I would have the strength to forgive. I do not know that I would.

The world seems to be darkening, especially for Christians. Violence against Christians is rampant worldwide. Religious freedom is disappearing in the U.S. and Europe. Ruthlessness seems to be the hallmark of our world. Forgiveness must be the at the center of any world we try to rebuild.

About Matthew Archbold

Matt Archbold graduated from Saint Joseph's University in 1995. He is a former journalist who left the newspaper business to raise his five children. He writes for the Creative Minority Report.

by Eric McKiddie

Ask any Christian parent what their dying wish would be, and they will tell you, "That my children will love and follow Jesus." Unfortunately, many parents face the unbearable experience of watching their children leave the faith they grew up learning about every week in Sunday school and youth group.

Things like frequent attendance at youth group, being involved in a small group, or even going on missions trips provide no guarantee that someone will continue in the faith. Indeed, I estimate that half of the students that went on the youth missions trip my senior year of high school are no longer following Jesus.

But there some commonalities (which I've noticed in 20 years of experience in youth ministry) that young people who do keep following Jesus share. Just one qualification: what I write here is not a formula for raising children who stay faithful to the Lord. Rather, what I offer are patterns that I notice in the kids that tend to continue to follow Jesus into their adult years.

1. They developed a love for God's word

They read their Bible on their own, not because they were supposed to, but because they wanted to. When they didn't understand something they read, they asked their small group leader or youth pastor. They got up early to attend Bible studies, and not just because their friends were there. They enjoyed hearing sermons (not "talks" or "lessons") not merely for intellectual stimulation, but because they were hungry for God. They recognized that the Bible carries the very authority of God himself.

2. They deeply grasped that they were sinners in need of grace

Students who keep following Jesus connect his love for them to his sacrifice for their sins (Rom. 5:8; Gal. 2:20). They realize that what makes their sin so bad has less to do with the negative consequences they face in life, and more to do with the fact that it offends their Creator and Judge. They turn from their sin out of a desire to please God, not to get an easier life or to keep their parents off their back.

Just as important as being told that they need Jesus is for young people to be told why they need him. Many youth ministries display a Jesus who "wants a relationship with you" but not a Jesus who died for their sins. Students who keep following Jesus through their adulthood learned that Jesus doesn't save us from low self-esteem, but from our sinfulness that leaves us condemned before a holy God.

If someone is going to turn from their Christian faith in their late teens or early twenties, they will most likely go in the opposite direction of these first two points. They will no longer subscribe to the authority of Scripture over their life, and they will therefore begin to justify and indulge their sin rather than repent of it.

3. Their parents served in the church

Many students who stay strong in their faith after graduation, I've observed, were raised by parents who served in church regularly. This is obviously not something that holds true 100% of the time, but it pops up often enough for me to mention it. Such parents teach, by their example, that participating in a church community is not relegated only to Sunday mornings, but is a regular part of life. It also teaches that church is not a place where you merely go to get your needs met, it is a place where you meet the needs of others. Following their parents' example, such youth seek opportunities to serve in church early in their college years.

4. They didn't give themselves over to sexual sin

Sexual temptation is a key contributor to young people falling away from the faith. Notice I didn't say, "They didn't struggle with sexual temptation," or, "They didn't fail in the area of sexuality," but that they didn't give themselves over to it. It is not uncommon for doubts about the Christian faith to stem from actively partaking in sin, especially sexual sin (link: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christandpopculture/2013/04/who-are-you-sleeping-with-my-conversation-with-timothy-keller/ ).

5. They were legitimately Christians

This last point is the most important. The apostle John tells us why people leave the church, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us" (1 John 2:19). What explanation can we give for young adults turning away from the faith they grew up confessing? They did not really believe in the first place.

But how can people who claimed Christ as Lord turn so quickly?

I recently had a conversation with someone responsible for hiring college aged counselors for a Christian summer camp. In the interviews he asks a host of questions, but two in particular, he told me, he considers most important. One is, "Why are you a Christian?" and the other is, "What is the gospel?" To his dismay dozens of applicants, who claim to be Christian, are not able to answer these questions.

If someone can't give biblical answers for why they are a Christian and what we must believe about Jesus, they are at best case an immature believer who needs to be discipled. But I fear that it is much more likely that such a person has not genuinely been converted. Even though they claim to be a Christian, they are only one culturally.

So what should we do?

Our response should be to make what the gospel is and why we need it abundantly clear to our young people.

We do them no favors if we sugarcoat their sin to make them feel better about who they are, because then they will not feel their need for the Savior of sinners, Jesus. Nor do we do our youth any favors by giving them a bare-minimum, truncated version of the gospel. This is fine for little children, but as they grow older they need to see how the richness of the gospel applies to all areas of life: vocation, money, sex, relationships, community, politics, etc.

As we continually speak the gospel into the lives of our children and teens, we must also pray and trust that God will do what we cannot manufacture ourselves, that is, that he would make the growth and spiritual fruit happen (Mark 4:20; 1 Cor. 3:6-7).

About The Author:

Eric McKiddie helps pastors grow as well-rounded ministers of the gospel at his blog, Pastoralized, and through sermon coaching.

by Candace Crabtree

The words of old are still applicable for us today. God's Word is a lamp unto our feet, a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1). If we say that His Word can't still speak to us today, we are saying that God Himself can no longer speak to us.

I don't know about you, but I'm still in need of God to be my Shepherd, to lead me beside quiet waters, to restore my soul, to guide me in paths of righteousness.

God has given us the book of Psalms to show us the humanity of the Psalmist and to remind us of where our hope must be placed. The Psalms remind us that even David, a man after God's own heart, had failures and was cleansed, worshiped freely, had many times where he didn't know what to do, and proclaimed his trust in His God despite the scary circumstances around him.

1. Pray the Psalm.

"If we want to read and to pray the prayers of the Bible and especially the Psalms, therefore, we must not ask first what they have to do with us, but what they have to do with Jesus Christ. We must ask how we can understand the Psalms as God's Word, and then we shall be able to pray them. It does not depend, therefore, on whether the Psalms express adequately that which we feel at a given moment in our heart. If we are to pray aright, perhaps it is quite necessary that we pray contrary to our own heart. Not what we want to pray is important, but what God wants us to pray. If we were dependent entirely on ourselves, we would probably pray only the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer. But God wants it otherwise. The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer from Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible.

I think there is great power in learning how a Psalm can apply to our own lives. However, don't miss the point of this quote from a hero of our faith. The Psalms are God's Word. If we believe God's Word to be the very words of the God of the universe, we will believe that they are words worth praying. Words of value. Words of holiness. Words straight from God Himself.

Often, when I'm overwhelmed with a trial or struggle, my own words fall short. I often don't even know what to say when I go to God in prayer. I know I need to pray. I may even desperately want to pray. But the words don't come. This is where God's Word comes in. I know that when I pray God's Word I am praying in alignment with His will.

"Lord, You are my Shepherd, I have all I need in You." (Psalm 23:1)

"You, Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the lifter of my head." (Psalm 3:3)

"I will lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from You, God." (Psalm 121:1-2)

2. Write the Psalm.

Take a moment and think about the things you write down throughout your day. Now, you may be more digital than I am, but I still WRITE in an actual paper planner, I write down my grocery list, notes to my kids, in my prayer journal... you get the idea.

But why do we write things down?

We write things down that we want to remember. We write down the important stuff. We make lists of things that need to be done.

Why wouldn't we want to write down the most important Words there are?

• His Word is life to us -- write it down!
• His Word is a treasure -- treat it as such!
• His Word is comfort to us -- allow Him to comfort you as you write.
• His Word is conviction to us through His Holy Spirit -- soften your heart as you write.

Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life as you write and pray His Word. I believe that as we open our hearts to the work of the Holy Spirit in us, by reading, writing and meditating on the Word of God, He fills us. He speaks to us through His Word. He comforts. He upholds. He convicts. He cleanses.

Don't make God's Word another item on your to-do list. Make it all about God. In humility, tell Him you have nothing to offer. Open your Bible. Read. Pray. He will speak and He will minister. This is about God doing His work not about us attempting a work that only God can do.

3. Claim the promises.

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
(2 Peter 1:3-4)

I have heard the beginning of that passage many times over the course of my life. But, that next phrase, "He has granted to us His precious and very great promises..." is not a portion I hear very often.

God has given us so many promises. Where do we find His promises? In His Word. We see stories of His faithfulness. We see glimpses of God meeting people in the belly of whales. We see a rainbow in the sky to proclaim His covenant with us.

And we read in the Psalms that God is our Shepherd. Cling to your Shepherd. Let Him lead and guide you in paths of righteousness for His Name's Sake. Let Him restore your soul.

About The Author:

by Sandra Abell

This month I'm reflecting on reliability. You know reliability. It's that wonderful quality some people have that means they do what they say they will do. They not only do it, but they do it when they say they will, with a sense of commitment and a positive attitude. They are trustworthy and their word is their bond.

I'm reflecting on this lovely quality because it seems to be increasingly rare these days. At least in my world, with the business/trades people I've dealt with recently.

My husband and I are having some work done on our house and I can't count how many times various contractors have told us they would show up or do something, and it just never happens. We talk with them, are compassionate about all the reasons they couldn't follow through, and wait patiently for them to honor the next commitment they make.

After several times of believing and being let down, we have become disillusioned and have stopped being patient and started insisting they honor their obligation. It makes for a strained working relationship and is a terrible business practice. Also, by being unreliable these folks have insured that they have lost any business that may have come their way by our referrals.

Then there is Jasmine, the wonderful young woman who cleans my house twice a month. She is so reliable that she not only shows up on time, every time, but in the rare instance when she is stuck in freeway traffic, she calls to let me know she'll be 3-5 minutes late.

When she arrives she acts like she's happy to be here and does a great job. I know I can rely on Jasmine to do what she says she will, and this creates trust in other areas. As a result I not only recommend her as an excellent house cleaner, but also as a great house sitter, pet sitter, etc. By just being herself and honoring her word, Jasmine is nurturing our relationship and creating an excellent reputation.

So, I often ask myself, what kind of reputation am I creating in my life and business? Am I reliable and trustworthy? Do I deliver exactly what I say I will, on time, every time and with a positive attitude? Am I reliable in my personal life? Can people trust that I will be there when I say I will, with a smile on my face ready to do what needs to be done?

Reliability is about trust, and may be an old fashioned concept but it makes a world of difference and never goes out of style.

About The Author: