Philippi and Syria

Just finished studying up Philippians 1:12-30 this morning and am struck by the Christ-exalting, gospel-centrality of it all. Every aspect of our life is meant to honor Christ and advance the gospel, whether that be imprisonment, death, or something else. Paul then encourages/commands the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel and to not be frightened by their opponents. Because after all, their suffering (that has been granted to them along with their belief in Christ) serves to honor Christ and advance the gospel and if they die preaching the gospel then they gain CHRIST (v21)!

I can't help but think once again of our believing brothers and sisters in Christ in Syria and other places of the world who face a very scary opponent on a daily basis. A physical opponent, ISIS, that is targeting believers but killing really anyone they want to kill in the moment. I can't imagine being in THEIR shoes and hearing Paul's words to me:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are STANDING FIRM in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel AND NOT FRIGHTENED IN ANYTHING by your opponents. This is a CLEAR SIGN to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. (Philippians 1:27-28)

How many times have people in the past come to know the Lord by watching Christians suffer? Paul, once Saul, himself persecuted Christians before he came to faith. In fact, he was collecting the coats of the men who made Stephen the first martyr (Acts 7:54-8:1). He approved of his execution. The rest of Acts is filled with the missionary accounts of this man who once killed Christians and story after story of how the gospel spread and how the church grew in light of Stephen's death and Paul's suffering as well. 

I so pray for the believers in Syria facing certain death that THEY WOULD NOT BE FRIGHTENED BY THEIR OPPONENTS! I pray that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in their lives, whether by life or by death (v20). And I pray that in their suffering and deaths those that are persecuting them would see that CLEAR SIGN that those they are killing are fearless because of their salvation in God but that they (the persecutors) are headed to destruction! I pray that clear sign of their destruction would cause them to cry out to the God of those whom they are killing, that He would save them! I pray that the church of God would grow and flourish. That when ISIS kills 200 Christians that 500 Christians would be born and would boldly proclaim the gospel with confidence. I pray that many of those men in ISIS would go from Saul to Paul. That God would save them and use them to proclaim the gospel and put an end to this mess.