I wonder how ISIS knew who to kidnap?

Yesterday, I was saddened (but not shocked- it's too common now for me to be shocked) by reports that ISIS had kidnapped ninety Christians and were holding them hostage.  They will most likely kill them, as this is what they have done in the past.

I wonder how ISIS knew who was a Christian?  How did they know they were followers of Christ and not followers of Muhammed?  How did they know they were not atheists, or agnostics, or Hindus?

I wonder, if ISIS were to come to America, if I would be one that they would identify as a Christian. I wonder if you would be as well.

There were no reports of ISIS barging into a church service and kidnapping the believers.  There were no reports that the Christians were at a prayer meeting, or a TobyMac concert, or shopping in a Christian bookstore, or any other ways that most Americans would identify Christians.  So what was it?

Did they have their WWJD bracelets on?  Did they have their "Follow me to Assyrian Christian Church" bumper sticker on their cars?  Did they have Air1 and K-love pre-programmed into their car radios?

There were no reports of any of that.  Even though I don't have information, I can probably make a very educated guess as to how ISIS knew they were Christians.  They asked.  At gunpoint.  And the Christians said yes.

They stood up and were counted.

They would rather be executed in gruesome and humiliating ways than deny their Lord and Savior.

There is a great persecution growing in this world towards Christians.  Christians are now arguably the most persecuted people in the world.  Reports show that 2014 was the worst year in the history of the world for Christian martyrdom, and let's go ahead and say it- most of the persecution came at the hands of Muslims.  Not only fringe radical Muslim groups like ISIS and Boko Haram, but legitimate governments like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, and Pakistan.  We can forget about stating that the persecution of Christians isn't a part of true Islam.  That would hold water if only fringe radical groups were doing it.  But when established, recognized governments routinely jail and execute Christians for doing nothing more than owning a Bible or attending a worship service, we can deduct that the persecution of Christians is more ingrained in Islam than political correctness wants us to believe.

This growing persecution poses a problem for Christians in America.  It is getting very difficult for the average nominal lukewarm American Christian, which exists in very high numbers, to remain in that spiritual state.  Persecution has a polarizing effect on your spiritual condition.  You do not remain lukewarm in the face of persecution- you either go deeper into your faith or you bail out.

In the coming years, we are going to see a purging of the American church.  We might already be seeing it now. Right now, many church members have serious decisions to make about whether to go to church or whether to sleep in on Sunday morning.  Right now, many church members consider themselves regular if they attend church once a month, let alone engage in the Great Commission, prioritize winning the lost, prioritize prayer and study, and use their spiritual gifts to further the Kingdom.

These folks, the ones in the middle- the lukewarm, the nominal- are right now being faced with a decision.  They cannot remain in their current spiritual state.  Many will take the path of least resistance and walk away from the faith.  Many, however, will be inspired by the example of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East and will stand up and be counted, regardless of the sacrifice or price.  

I guess the question facing all of us right now is- if ISIS were to come to your door, would you be the one they would kidnap and kill?  Would they know that you were a follower of Jesus of Nazareth? In that moment, would you be known as a Christian?

Looking at the ninety Christians that were kidnapped yesterday, looking at the twenty-one Egyptian Christians beheaded last week, looking at the hundreds of thousands of Christians displaced by ISIS, looking at the thousands killed by Boko Haram, looking at Pastor Saaed languishing in an Iranian jail, looking at the bombings of churches in Nigeria and Pakistan, I can think of only one thing, and it is this quote:

"There is a great gulf between the Christianity that wrestles with whether to worship at the cost of imprisonment and death, and the Christianity that wrestles with whether the kids should play soccer on Sunday morning." - John Piper