No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35:9-10
Filipino Christians (2001)
Taken Hostage
“They just barged into our houses and grabbed us at gunpoint.”
These were the words of a survivor from a vicious raid in which 35 Christians were kidnapped from their homes in Lamitan, the Philippines, on 2 August 2001. Black-hooded militants from the Abu Sayyaf Islamist group swept through the town seizing hostages; they set fire to a school and hacked to death one Christian man with machetes. Of the 25 hostages who survived, 13 were rescued from their nightmare by the Filipino army on 5 August. Ten were later found beheaded.
Several days before the raid, Abu Sayyaf, which wants to establish an Islamic state in the southern Philippines, had warned that they would deliberately target local Christians in response to the Philippines’ army’s campaign against them. Lamitan is a Christian-majority community on the predominantly Muslim island of Basilan.
O Jesus, be mindful of your promise; think on us your servants; and when we leave this world, speak these loving words to our souls; “Today you will be with me in joy.” O Lord Jesus Christ, remember us your servants who trust in you, when our tongue cannot speak, when our eyes cannot see and when our ears cannot hear. Let our soul always rejoice in you, and be joyful about your salvation, which you have brought for us through your death.
Miles Coverdale (1488-1568)