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Christianity Today, June (Web-only), 2007 |

'Have You Prayed for bin Laden Today?'

Brother Andrew urges Christians not to 'black list' radical Muslims.

Deann Alford | posted 6/22/2007 08:47AM

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You come back to Jesus' words: You must be born again. And they appreciate that. Because I want to challenge them on that issue.

I'm an evangelist. I'm a missionary. If I'm saying things that are politically not correct, I know the Lord will forgive me.

What keeps you hopeful about this desperate situation?

We have a message that God changes people. We still have to go [to the Middle East]. Our philosophy is going. Going takes away your fear. We are fearful because we stay home and prepare for the worst to come, because we think that's what they are planning. That may be true, but it's because of our inactivity. The moment we take the offensive and plan to go there, we lose our fear. That's very Scriptural. I'm not a bit afraid of them. I feel completely at home. I hope to be back there very soon. If I knew I could do something constructive, I'd be there tomorrow.

Deann Alford is based in Austin, Texas, and reported for CT from Gaza in 2005.

Related Elsewhere:

CT Liveblog has kept up with recent news from Gaza in "More on Gaza: Catholic church and school damaged" and "Gaza and the Gates of Hell."

Weblog: Catholic School and Church Attacked as Gaza's Christians Worry has commentary and links to recent news from Gaza.

Other articles about Brother Andrew and his work include:

Love in the Land of Enmity | The local joke is that Gaza is hell. But that doesn't seem to deter ministry there. (July 2005)

God's Smuggler Confesses | Brother Andrew wonders if American Christians are willing to die for anything, even their faith. (December 11, 1995)

Gatecrashing for Jesus | Brother Andrew discusses ministry in the Middle East. (February 2005)

The Muslim Challenge | One of the earliest prayers in the Bible is Abraham's prayer for his other son: "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" (October 5, 1998)

Brother Andrew is the founder of Open Doors, and organization which serves the persecuted church through Bible and literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, and advocacy.

His autobiographical God's Smuggler was named as one of the top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals.

Recent articles on Gaza include:

Gaza's Christian Bookstore Bombed | No injuries in Palestinian Bible Society blast, but security guard was kidnapped and beaten. (April 16, 2007)

Fatah Police Seize Gaza Baptist Church | As cease-fire agreements between Fatah and Hamas come and go, a church is literally caught in the middle. (February 7. 2007)

More articles about Gaza are in our sections on Israel and Mideast conflict.

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June (Web-only) 2007, Vol. 51

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Chris C.

Posted: July 05, 2007 2:20 PM

Brother Andrew is right on with this article. Since 9/11, I, myself, have prayed for Bin Laden. I pray for him to come to the true knowledge of the Savior Jesus Christ. If God wants Bin Laden saved, He will save him. That is the power of God. It is not our power to create a blacklist of people who should go to hell. Regardless of our feelings about 9/11, we need to show the love of Christ to all peoples, whether Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, or Atheist. One commenter said that she prayed for Bin Laden's death. That is not Christian thinking at all. That is hateful and unBiblical thinking that has no place in Christianity. Let's take the Gospel to the Muslims. Under Christ's authority as issued in Matthew 28:18, there is no such thing as a closed country.

Troy	Posted: July 03, 2007 11:22 AM


Excellent

brent from Spain

Posted: June 28, 2007 4:45 PM

What should we biblically pray for Osama Bin Laden? 1) That he would be saved 2) that if he rejects the will of God that God would judge him and remove him from this life so that other people who are his victims may have their chance at receiving God's salvation and mercy rather than dying unexpectedly. Mercy first. If it is rejected that God would judge him according to His righteousness. The Nigerian church began to pray for Sani Abacha and he unexpectedly died shortly thereafter. The early church certainly prayed for Herod and God also took him out when He glorified or allowed himself to be glorified as God. God wants mercy for Bin Laden -- Jesus died for him too. However, God does not have to wait until after death by natural causes to bring judgment to people who are so harmful to others and God's purposes. May God bless Osama and judge Him as He sees fit.

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