When God Says, “I Died for Them”
How Psalm 87 wrecked my categories of “us” and “them”
The Day Leadership Told Me “Don’t Talk About Jesus”
“Don’t talk about Jesus,” the words came from leadership.
I was puzzled. What I heard was, don’t talk about hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, justice. In other words, don’t talk about the One who embodies all of these.
I respected my leaders, but to me, those words felt dangerously close to encouraging me to deny Christ.
My Orders Were Clear
God had already stirred my almost-thirty-year-old heart to plant a church overseas. He had equipped me. Before I stepped onto the violent, war-torn soil of Afghanistan, I knew my mission as a Christian First Lieutenant in the Army: build a church and fight ISIS.
God’s provision was immediate. It just so happened that there would be a high-ranking special forces believer who would permit me to baptize and often helped teach the soldiers with me. My only “no” was understandable, I wanted to baptize in the nearby river, but instead, we built pools on base (haha).
The Radical Assignment
Bringing others in—especially my Muslim Afghan Army counterparts—was my main mission. But one day, God gave me something even more radical.
During a combat mission, we arranged the first interview with the God of an ISIS fighter. That’s when God, in my heart, took the CIB (Combat Infantry Badge) right off my chest and whispered something profound:
“I died for them…”
The clarity was so strong I didn’t even question Him. From that day on, before I prayed to fight accurately, I prayed for God to find them—through a vision, a dream, or a person—to tell them about Jesus so they could be transformed.
I prayed this on guard duty in a tower overlooking our base, after declaring Psalm 91 over us. It remains the most powerful message I shared while deployed.
From Afghanistan to Zion
This story came to mind when I read Psalm 87:4 and Isaiah 19:25. How do you reconcile praying for—or even blessing—those who commit such evil?
Psalm 87 lists Rahab (Egypt), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush, names that dripped with Israel’s pain. Egypt enslaved them. Babylon destroyed the temple. Philistia produced Goliath.
Yet the sons of Korah—temple musicians and gatekeepers—sang of these nations as if they were natural-born citizens of Zion.
In the ancient mind, being “born in Zion” was a covenant privilege tied to Abraham’s bloodline. So for God to call Egypt “my people” and Assyria “the work of my hands” alongside Israel was unthinkable.
The us vs. them mantra was replaced with they will be one of us.
The Global Reach of God’s Plan
From the start, God’s promise to Abraham was global: “All nations will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3).
Yet like us in our flesh, Israel often interpreted election as exclusion. Their traditions, laws, and covenant—meant to connect—too often created cliques instead. But God’s kingdom is inclusion by grace, not exclusion by ethnicity.
Psalm 87:6 reminds us: God alone keeps the register. He’s not bound by our categories of worthiness or belonging.
Never Finished Challenge: Bless Your Enemies
Think of the person you’ve been holding a grudge against. Bless them.
Every time that fake argument replays in your head or that anger rises in your heart, bless them.
It could be as simple as:
“Lord, thank You for James. I pray You encourage him today. Father, I give You my anger toward him. You made him, and You love him. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Private love often becomes public love—and that’s when the Holy Spirit steps in to transform relationships.
What Today Says About God
Love.
“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). He is our source, our bread, our living water. The more we run to Him, the more we bring Him to the world.
The result? Eternal transformation. His love is endless. His justice is sure. We’re not called to be doormats—but we are called to be peacemakers, as far as it depends on us, and powerful lovers because Love (Jesus) lives in us.
What a Father.
What a Friend.
What a King.
Thank You, Jesus.
Wow.
Thank you for sharing this.
It's always too easy to not think about the other side or even where God stands—yet God was the one who took it all when He was crucified.