Christian Genocide in Nigeria
Thursday’s Verse:
From 1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV
“If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”
“Thousands of Christians in Nigeria have been murdered, displaced from their homes or censored into silence for confessing the name of Jesus,” WORLD reports. In the article, they report about entire Christian villages under attack: funerals for loved ones, churches burned to the ground, families living in terror but filled with hope.
In our Lutheran confessions, we teach that the Church is “the communion of saints”—members of one body, joined to Christ by the Spirit across time and place. When one member suffers, we all suffer. Their grief and persecution are not an event on the news but a weight upon our hearts. But in their witness, we see what Paul also proclaimed to the Church: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8–10).
The example of Nigerian Christians this week shows us that our faith is not comfort but conviction: trusting the sure victory of Christ, even into the valley of death. Luther says, “The cross alone is our theology.” The suffering Church is living proof of that truth: the cross brings resurrection; persecution’s ashes become fuel for the light of the Gospel.
So, let us pray for these brothers and sisters in Christ, not only for their safety, but for courage - that they and we would be given grace to stand firm in the confession of Christ. And let their witness kindle ours, so that we remember the same Lord who reigns over the persecuted Church in Nigeria reigns also over us, calling us to love one another by bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, You were despised and rejected for our sake. Strengthen Your persecuted Church in Nigeria and throughout the world. Give courage to those who suffer for Your name, and stir in us compassion and boldness to stand with them in faith and prayer. Let the witness of their endurance bring many to know Your saving grace. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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