We have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe. 1 Timothy 4:10 (NRSV)
Filipino Christians (2003)
Targeted by Islamists
In March 2003, six Christians were shot dead by rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an Islamic separatist group on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Over 100 MILF rebels were stopping vehicles, one of which was a bus carrying nine men from a Christian community, along a major road. Those who could not speak the local Muslim dialect were shot, while those who could were spared.
The 12,500 strong MILF were actively targeting Filipino Christians. In another clearly anti-Christian attack that month, a bomb exploded near a cathedral in Cotabato. Amazingly no one was injured.
O Almighty Father, fountain of light and salvation, we adore thine infinite goodness in sending thy only begotten Son into the world that, believing in him, we may not perish but have everlasting life; and we pray thee that, through the grace of his first advent to save the world, we may be ready to meet him at his second advent to judge the world; through the same Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
W Walsham How (1823-97)