The world's in turmoil

~Tuesday Thoughts~ 

Not long ago my best friend forwarded me an email: Into Iraq #2: What the News isn’t telling You & Why We Can’t Afford to Pretend It’s Not Happening [Sozan’s Impossible Choice — and Our Very Possible One]. It's about what ISIS actually does to families. And, believe me, this is not the worst. 

The place that touched me the most was this: 

“We had to choose…” Sozan looks up at me. Mawra’s eyes are squeezed tight — like she’s trying to forget.

“We had to choose which children we could take — and which we had to leave behind.”

I have not followed up on the ISIS news. I do not know most of what is happening in Asia. But now I want to do better. 

The truth is we cannot afford to ignore the problem. We cannot sit around and hope it ends. There are enough people in the world doing just that. Let's not be one of them. 

But what can we do? How can we help these people and others like them?

1) Pray. And I mean it. The Bible tells us that "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16b, NIV). 

2) Donate. You might think that you don't have enough to give. But the widow did not have much to give, yet Jesus praised her. 1 John 3:17 declares "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" (NIV). 

3) Spread the word. Let others know that there is struggle in this world. 

Let's live out this verse in our lives: 

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18 (NIV)

How about you? What can you do?