From the Voice of the Martyrs web site (links below).
Our brothers and sisters in northern Iraq have been given an ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay a high tax, leave the area or die.Show your support for persecuted Christians in Iraq. When you buy this shirt, 100% of the profits go to helping our persecuted brothers and sisters in Iraq.
The terrorist group IS (Islamic State) has painted a large Arabic letter “N” (nun), from the Arabic word nasara (meaning “Nazarene” to indicate Christians), on their homes to identify them as Christians.
The Voice of the Martyrs is now serving Iraqi Christians who have fled the terrorists by providing them with daily necessities and assessing their future needs. Many of these believers fled with only the clothes on their backs.
VOM’s new i-am-n T-shirt features an image of the Arabic letter “N” similar to those painted on the homes of Christians in northern Iraq by IS (Islamic State). The shirts cost $20 each, and $10 of each purchase will go directly to support our Iraqi brothers and sisters.
Get yourself one of these T-shirts and show your support for our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. Tomorrow it could be us after all.
Voice of the Martyrs Web Site:
T-Shirt:
https://secure.persecution.com/p-5811-i-am-n-t-shirt-2x.aspx
Our True GOD said in Exodus “I AM”!!
GOD Bless Ye Scotty ❤
Love ❤ Always, YSIC \o/
Kristi
The Lord bless you Kristi!
And thank you.
I’m a bit slow sometimes, I didn’t even get the “I AM” part of the “I-Am-N” on the shirts! I didn’t really get that until the last couple years in the Gospel of John either, the seven “I AM” statements that is, that they are contextual references that the Jews would have instantly recognized as Jesus referring to Himself as God.
Pastor Mike Nazarian from Hope Chapel preached this past weekend on Matthew 10:16-23. In there Jesus says “I am sending you” which is another slight play on that theme. The point he made struck home: We are “Sent ones” from the great I AM!
He had another interesting quote in the sermon, it was from early Christians who were martyred. When they were caught and tortured and questioned, it was common for the Romans to ask them: “What is your name?” To which the reply would be simply: “I am a Christian”. The questioning would continue: “Where are you from?” and the reply: “I am a Christian”. And so on. Apparently, the early church took it to heart so well that their entire identity was “In Christ” or part of the great “I AM” that they simply used this as their answer to every one of the inquisitor’s questions prior to their martyrdom.
He had another interesting tidbit that I’m not sure how to research and follow up on, but somebody shared with him about the picture of the Coptic Christians who were beheaded by ISIS recently (the photo shows them on a beach, though nobody knows where the actual event took place, that they were killed is sure though). In the picture, apparently some of the men have been identified and one of them was a former ISIS member who was converted by being around those Christians, and refused to recant his testimony for Jesus Christ and so was killed along with his new Christian brothers!
Coming attractions?
A couple references on the early martyrdom:
https://books.google.com/books?id=YfaCYeIZ6F8C&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=greek+%22I+am+a+christian%22+early+christian+martyrs&source=bl&ots=UyQfkYa8BT&sig=XFqTQKNM4Yugc1Zn2Xw772MdMJ4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=O9dtVbvKMozVsAXK_ID4Aw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=greek%20%22I%20am%20a%20christian%22%20early%20christian%20martyrs&f=false
http://www.christianhistoryproject.org/to-the-decian-persecution/st-justin/christian-martyrs/
He also mentioned another of D.A. Carson’s books, which I’ll have to get:
Hmmm…. I didn’t get the name of it in my notes… there are dozens on Amazon… I’ll have to get that one later!
Oh, here it is, got it off the live Sermon stream:
_The God Who Is There_
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/God-Who-There-Finding-Place/dp/0801013720/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433263695&sr=1-2&keywords=the+god+who+is+there