 Pray for the safety of believers in Indonesia whose churches are being targeted. Photo: Flickr / Josh Gales |
A total of four churches on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi were attacked recently by arsonists using homemade bombs. While no one was injured, the attacks resulted in property damage to the church buildings, as well as increased anxiety among the local communities.
According to police, it appears the assailants intended to stir up religious tensions between Christian and Islamic groups on the island. More than a decade ago, an anti-Christian campaign by extremists had destroyed hundreds of churches and thousands of homes. Reports indicate that thousands of Christians from both the Sulawesi and Moluccas islands were killed in the conflict and approximately half a million others were driven out in what has been described as an ethnic cleansing effort.
As recently stated by Human Rights Watch, religious intolerance is growing noticeably worse in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country. The latest report, which compiled information on 264 incidents of religious intolerance, revealed that these statistics are almost double those of 2007. To learn more about the situation in Indonesia, go to the Indonesia Country Report.
Our Heavenly Father, whose eyes "run to and fro throughout the whole earth," is fully aware of the many violent acts that have occurred against His Church in Indonesia and around the world. Let's pray in agreement with His powerful Word, and through the precious blood of The Lamb, that He will indeed "show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).
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