Cuban prisoners released

Cuba will release 52 political prisoners as part of the communist-run Caribbean island's largest release of dissidents since Pope John Paul II visited in 1998, the Cuban Catholic Church said comments monitored by Worthy News Thursday, July 8.  Read the entire article here.

Breaking the law

Convinced that his target was evil and had to be stopped by extraordinary means, our man assembled a plot to assassinate the enemy of the people. This enemy led a passionate group willing to die for their cause, and our man was equally willing to die to stop this enemy.

This set-up is not the start of some spy novel but a true story about a Christian man who felt called to murder for a cause.

Does it make you uncomfortable that a Christian would initiate such a plan?

A few days ago, Gary Faulkner of Colorado was arrested in Pakistan on such a mission: he planned to assassinate Osama Bin Laden. We know his brother personally and have followed this story with interest.

The question is whether a Christian should concoct a murder. I don't know the answer but I found an interesting historical parallel.

My opening paragraph could describe Gary's mission - or another well-know Christian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was arrested in Germany in 1941 for planning to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Read an excellent article on his life here.

Bonhoeffer could have stayed quiet but chose to defend the Jews in Germany against Hitler's horrific plans - and died for his commitment.

Although I think we have to be careful not to give ourselves permission to break laws will-nilly, as followers of Jesus we follow higher laws. Who knows what we may be called to do - and what sort of commitment we may have to make?

In North Korea

Maryam and Marzieh freed

Fourteen months after they were arrested for their Christian activities, Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh have been acquitted of all charges by the Iranian judicial authorities. However, they were warned that any future Christian activity in Iran will be dealt with seriously.

On May 22, they left Iran and arrived safely in another country. Sam and Lin Yeghnazar, founders of Elam Ministries and spiritual parents to Maryam and Marzieh, met them at the airport. "We are most grateful to everyone who prayed for us," said Marzieh. "The prayers of people encouraged and sustained us throughout this ordeal," Maryam said.

When Sam told them their example had encouraged countless people around the world, they were quick to respond, "We are frail human beings with many weaknesses. The honor and glory go to God who has kept and used us, although we don't know why he has chosen us. All the glory goes to him." (Source: Elam Ministries)

Pastor arrested

On April 16, an armed rebel group kidnapped a Baptist pastor from his home in a remote village in Bangladesh. The group, called terrorist activists by locals, ransacked the pastor's church, throwing Bibles on the floor, seizing a mobile phone and taking the pastor to their leader's home, according to VOM contacts.
The pastor was allegedly beaten and taken to a Buddhist temple where he was told to deny his faith in Christ and believe and obey Buddha. Later that day, two Christian men were taken by the rebels to the Buddhist temple and released when they agreed to the rebels' demands. The men are now in hiding to avoid further problems.
The pastor remains inside the Buddhist temple where he is allowed to move about freely, but he is constantly surrounded by monks who are instructing him in their rituals and teachings.
The villagers were told they would be shot dead if they involved the police.

Please Pray!

Pray for God's grace and protection over this pastor and the Christian men who are in hiding. Pray that they will not be moved from their faith in Jesus Christ. Pray that the monks and the members of the rebel group will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

(Information from Voice of the Martyrs)

Morocco: Christians arrested

On Feb. 4, Moroccan military authorities raided a Christian meeting and arrested 18 people. The authorities also confiscated Bibles and personal belongings, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.

“We were surprised by more than 60 Moroccan Gendarmes attacking the house [where we had just started our Bible study],” a VOM contact said. “Eleven believers (including an American), two non-believers and five children… were [held] by the Moroccan government for 14 hours.”

After 14 hours in detention, the American was deported and the others were released. Authorities kept the American’s laptop computer, along with Bibles, books, a laptop, a digital photo camera and a cell phone that belonged to the others arrested.

“It’s the first time in our current Moroccan church history that the Moroccan government used this size of a legion to attack a small Christian meeting,” VOM contacts added. “All the time they kept repeating that this was ordered personally by the new Moroccan Justice Minister [Mohamed Naciri] and by the highest level General of the Gendarmerie [Housni Benslimane].”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for believers in Morocco. Pray that God will protect these believers and grant them peace as they face these new challenges. Also pray that the authorities will return their confiscated belongings. Ask God to draw the persecutors into fellowship with him.

“Our Moroccan brothers and sisters have asked believers here in the US to speak out on their behalf,” said Todd Nettleton, VOM’s director of media development. “They believe international attention and pressure can make a difference in getting their possessions returned, and in protecting future Christian activities.”

VOM encourages you to write to the Moroccan Embassy at the address below to protest this abuse of religious freedom:

Moroccan Ambassador:
H.E. Aziz Mekouar
1601 21st St. NW
Washington, DC 20009
Fax: 202-265-0161

Also send an email to the Deputy Chief of Mission, Ms. Aicha Afifi, at aafifi@moroccous.com. You can contact the United States embassy in Morocco by visiting http://rabat.usembassy.gov/ or sending an email to ircrabat@usembassy.ma.

Another Chinese pastor arrested

On Sept. 17, Pastor Hua Huiqi was arrested by Chinese authorities in Fengtai District, Beijing, according to China Aid Association.

Pastor Hua reportedly called his wife, Ju Mei, and told her he had been forced into a Public Security Bureau (PSB) vehicle while on his way to a dinner meeting. Less than 30 minutes later, Hua phoned his wife again and told her that the police had taken him to an unknown location. The phone line then went dead.

Six days later, Pastor Hua was seen being escorted to Beijing Tiantan Hospital by five PSB officials to visit with his brother, Hua Huilin who is seriously ill. The Hua family's request for him to visit his brother had previously been denied. His elderly mother, Shuang Shuying, who was released from prison a few months ago, is also seriously ill and Hua has been denied requests to visit her.

Pray for this family that has endured a lot for the sake of Christ. Ask God for Hua’s release and for healing for his brother and mother. Pray believers in China will remain faithful.

From Voice of the Martyrs

Choosing

For the people of God, the times wore like a heavy rail across their shoulders. Although they had food and family, they had no freedom. The worship of other gods was offered like lush fruit on a silver plate, a banquet of choices to simulate freedom while holding the people in a vice of oppression.

But what time am I describing?

Sadly, this was not a one-time experience for God's people. I could have been describing the Israelites' 400-year oppression in Egypt. Or, maybe I told of the Exile, when many Israelites were torn from their homeland in the Exile by Babylon, spending 80 years under that powerful regime. Or maybe the time of the Romans, when the Jews remained in their homeland but under the Latin strong arm.

Had you thought of the parallels before? In each case, God's people were oppressed by a powerful empire that favored a pantheon of gods.

In those days, empires often embraced the gods of the newly-conquered. They figured that if they simply added in the new gods, the people would be less likely to rebel against the regime.

So the pressure was great to adapt. Those who clung to one God were outcasts, seen as unwilling to fit in, as narrow and suspect.

As we read biblical texts, we have to understand that context for the people. (For a review, check out these links: provenance I and provenance II.)

One benefit of understanding the backdrop for biblical writings is that, as we see application to the original reader, we can also see how they might apply to us as well.

As I described the oppression in my first paragraph, did your mind flit to modern-day China? Or maybe modern-day America? Clinging to one God today often brands us as outcasts, narrow-minded and social rebels.

In that context, the words of Isaiah, who wrote to exiles in Babylon, resonate in a new way:
"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God." (Isaiah 40:1)

We need comfort as much as those exiles did - and to know that it comes from God and not from other gods or empires is, well, comforting.

The blasphemy law

Location: Pakistan
Arrested: October 2008

Twenty- year-old Sandul Bibi is in prison in Pakistan, charged with violating section 295-B of the Pakistani legal code, the “blasphemy” law.

Sandul is falsely accused of ripping pages from the Quran. On Oct. 9 a large crowd of Muslims attacked Christian families at a church, throwing stones and firing guns.

They were shouting, “Kill Gulsher and his daughter Sandul.” Sandul and her father, Gulsher Masih, were arrested after a mob from the local mosque surrounded their house. Loudspeakers from different mosques broadcast accusations that Christians had disgraced the Quran, calling Muslims to attack and burn their homes. The angry crowd threw stones at Sandul’s home. Christians believe Sandul and her father were targeted and arrested because they were aggressively winning villagers to Christ.

Sandul has written several letters to her family from prison. In her latest letter she says, “I am praying a lot that God releases me from here and I can meet you, but I don’t know when. He will give answers for our prayers. Please pray for me.”

If convicted, Sandul faces at least four years in prison. She and her family desperately need your prayers and encouragement.

(Source: Voice of the Martyrs.)

Iran: Women: We Love Christ!

UPDATE: On Aug. 8, Marzieh and Maryam were summoned to an Iranian court and ordered to deny their faith verbally and in a written statement, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.

Marzieh and Maryam were pressured to recant their faith after the chief interrogator recommended they be charged with apostasy. Praise God, they stood firm and replied, “We love Jesus. We will not deny our faith.”

VOM contacts reported the deputy prosecutor, Mr. Haddad, aggressively questioned the women during the court proceedings. Haddad asked them if they regretted becoming Christians. They replied they had no regrets. When Maryam and Marzieh made reference to their belief that God had convicted them through the Holy Spirit, Haddad told them, it was impossible for God to speak with humans. Marzieh boldly asked him if he was questioning God’s authority and he replied she was not worthy for God to speak to her.

The court adjourned when Haddad told the women a judge would render the verdict although it is not clear which judge is handling their case. Marzieh and Maryam were arrested by Iranian security forces in March and labeled "anti-government activists."

Marzieh and Maryam's apartment was searched and their belongings were confiscated. "Their only crime is that they are committed Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus. They are being unfairly labeled as 'anti government activists' because of the hostility of the government towards practicing Christians.

The women have reportedly been interrogated numerous times and were held in three different police detention centers before being sent to Evin Prison. They are still being held in Evin prison. VOM encourages you to continue praying for Marzieh and Maryam’s release. Ask God to heal, encourage and protect them. Pray they will continue to stand for Christ during this difficult time.

Please visit the Voice of the Martyrs website here.

Martyred

Islamic extremists shot and killed an American teacher in Mauritania on June 23, because he was spreading Christianity, according to a report by Compass Direct News.

Christopher Leggett, 39, was killed in front of the language and computer school he ran in Nouakchott, the capital city. The North African unit of the al-Qaeda terrorist network claimed responsibility for the murder on a Web site, accusing Leggett of "missionary activities." A North African al-Qaeda spokesman aired a statement on an Arab TV station saying the group killed Leggett because he was trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

His family issued a statement saying they forgave the murderers, but asked the murderers be brought to justice. "In a spirit of love, we express our forgiveness for those who took away the life of our remarkable son," Leggett's family said in the statement. "On a spiritual level, we forgive those responsible, asking only that justice be applied against those who killed our son."

Please join The Voice of the Martyrs in praying for Christopher Leggett's family in this time of grief. Pray they will find comfort, strength and peace in the Lord. Pray their testimony of forgiveness for those who took Christopher's life would serve to draw others to Christ. Pray the attackers will be found and brought to justice.

Threat to VOM

An anonymous fax believed to have been sent from the North Korean Embassy in Finland or Denmark, promises workers affiliated with The Voice of the Martyrs (USA) that "something very bad will happen to you," if VOM continues a special project to share the gospel via weekly fax transmissions to government and business representatives of the restricted Asian nation.

During the past year VOM has made an effort to collect as many fax numbers as possible from North Korea, one of the world's most isolated nations. VOM sends weekly faxes containing Christian messages and scripture passages on love and forgiveness to each of the fax numbers.

Apparently, the project has touched a nerve at the highest levels of North Korea's repressive government.

"We know who you are," begins a fax, written in Korean but without a signature. "We warn you that if you send this kind of dirty fax again something very bad will happen to you. Don't do something you will regret."

Please Pray!

"This fax is good news," said Todd Nettleton, VOM's director of Media Development and the author of a book on the history of Christianity in North Korea. "This means that the faxes are getting through, and they are being read. It is highly unlikely that this type of response would have been made from an embassy without some approval from Pyongyang."

Pray that the leaders of this tyrannical government will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Pray also that Christians in North Korea will stand firm in their faith, despite the dangers they face.

The Voice of the Martyrs exists to serve persecuted Christians living in restricted nations, and to help spread the gospel in those nations. The ministry has been active in North Korea for decades, including launching tens of thousands of "Scripture Balloons," helium filled balloons that are printed with scripture passages and other gospel messages.

Into the valley

I wonder if Carrie Prejean had a rush of adrenaline as Perez Hilton was announced as her questioner. You’ve probably heard the uproar this week as Carrie may have lost her chance at Miss America because of the answer to one question. (If not, take a moment and read this article.)

It appears that Hilton set the table for her defeat, asking a question designed to expose her Christian convictions.

Carrie didn’t toe the Hollywood company line. In fact, since that time a number of Hollywood celebrities have (nervously?) stepped up to show that they comply with the expectations of Hollywood.

Carrie honored her own convictions and her family. Knowing that her answer would unleash a blast of bitter retribution, she spoke simply and honestly. That’s courage on the front lines.

The Hollywood stance does not reflect a majority of American’s view; Carrie does. Many people are squeamish about homosexual marriage but afraid of the furnace blasts of the politically correct. Look at the state initiatives regularly passed by voters that define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Although Carrie was accused of being a hate-monger, the ugly words and hatred came from the politically-correct side. I haven’t yet seen any reports of accusations or insults from Carrie, and I suspect the press would love to find those. Rage would describe the response from Hilton’s side.

This is persecution. We can’t discuss “someday persecution” in America anymore. When we are not free to follow God’s teachings, when we are not free to express our opinions, we are being persecuted.

I want to let Carrie know that I appreciate her bravery and I hope that we can learn to stand with the courage she showed. Following Jesus historically has meant traveling through the dark valley of threats and attacks. But we are citizens of heaven and we can go where others have led.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.
Psalms 23:4

In Ethiopia...

Contacts for The Voice of the Martyrs report that Jamal Abdo and his wife were recently beaten and chased out of a mosque in Ethiopia, where they both worked.

Jamal and his wife accepted Christ months ago. Soon after their conversion, Jamal's friends saw him speaking with some Christians and told the leader of the mosque.

Jamal and his wife were interrogated by Muslim leaders who attempted to persuade them to recant their faith and return to Islam. When they refused they were beaten and dragged out of the mosque.

They have fled to a safe location where they are recovering.

Please pray for Jamal and his wife as they heal from their wounds and adjust to living in their new location. Pray the Lord will supply all of their needs according to his riches in glory and use them to reach people in their new community for Christ. Pray also for the salvation of the Muslim leaders.

VOM assists pastors and other Christians in Ethiopia through the Pastor Support Program and Families of Martyrs fund.

Voice of the Martyrs

If you haven't checked out Voice of the Martyrs recently, it's worth a visit to their website. They have lots of tools to help in praying for and supporting our Christian family who face persecution in other places. They make it easy to be involved.

Here a few ideas that they offer (there are more on their website):

• Become a member of the Be-A-Voice network so you can promote prayer for the persecuted church by printing the Be-A-Voice prayer bulletins for distribution in your Bible study group, prayer group, Sunday school class, etc.and send your friends free copies of "Tortured for Christ".
• Write to imprisoned Christians. You can do this on your own or with a group (www.prisoneralert.com).
• Distribute VOM newsletters to members of your church.
• Distribute brochures offering a free VOM newsletter and resource.
• Show a VOM DVD to a congregation, Sunday school class, or Bible study.
• Use VOM material for a vacation Bible school.
• Encourage your church's high school youth group to watch Underground Reality Vietnam DVD (www.UR-Video.com).
• Suggest your church host a VOM Saturday conference (888- 330-8015 ext. 429).
• Sponsor a church worker, either individually or through a group (www.pastorsupport.com).
• Send Bibles to those who do not know Christ in a hostile or restricted country: you can order a Bibles Unbound DVD from www.biblesunbound.com.

Christian home burned

The persecution of Christians continues openly in India. Hindu extremists tried to force a Christian family to leave a village and, when the family refused, burned down their house. Police couldn't be bothered to follow up.

Read the full story here.

Orissa faith

“Even if I do not have cake, meat, or new clothes for this Christmas, I will celebrate Christmas in my heart,” said Kadamphul Nayak, who was widowed in last year’s attacks on Christians in Orissa. “My family members have paid with their lives for our faith. So, I am also prepared to face any hardship for my faith.”

In fact, Kadamphul is not an ordinary hounded Christian from Kandhamal like thousands of others. Her septuagenarian blind mother-in-law and her husband, Samuel Nayak, perished at the hands of Hindu fundamentalists in the orchestrated violence against Christians in eastern Orissa state.

Read the rest of the article about Christian persecution in Orissa, India here.

Who's intolerant?

Even the ancient Romans were more tolerant than these radical Hindus who are strong-arming Christians in India. Read the full story here.

In the Roman Empire, Christians were required to worship the emperor. If they were willing to do that, the Romans didn't care how many gods they worshipped. Rome expected its people to add emperor-worship to their god list - and in return, Rome would add the gods of newly-conquered people to the official god list. It was a political system that helped Rome weaken the rebellion in new regions.

But in India, a radical Hindu group has been reconverting Christians for over a decade. Under threats of death - and in spite of supposed legal protection for Christians - people are shedding their Christian faith in an elaborate ceremony that includes incense, a bonfire, and vows of conversion.

Targeted are the poor, who could lose life or property if they don't convert. Rich Christians are rarely harassed.

This is happening in Orissa, where believers are hiding out in the forests to hide from Hindu bullies.

Ironically, the leader of the radical group declared no tolerance for those people who believe their way is the only way. "Those who indulge in proselytization by force, allurements and inducements have no place in this nation's life," said KS Shudarshan.

I guess these Hindus are intolerant of intolerance. Read the article and pray.

Flee or convert

Here's another article about the believers in Orissa, India being persecuted: Flee or convert.

Squeamish faith

Part of following Jesus means to go down his path. But it makes us squeamish when it involves pain.

I’ve been following the Christian believers in India in the state of Orissa. Thirty-four have died because of their non-Hindu stance.

India is a federal republic, with 28 states and a population of 1.1 billion (as of July 2008).

Although their legal system is based on the English common law, separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. That may be where the rub is.

I have friends in India who report that the Orissa Christians are hiding in the woods now, away from the Hindus. At last report, 34 Christians have died because they are followers of Jesus.

Died.

Please read this update. And please take this seriously. Not only do these believers need our prayers, but we need to check our own attitudes. Can we follow Jesus if it means shedding our own indulgences and falling before him as faithful servants?

Where’s my satisfaction? And would I die for it?

For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well

Phil 1:29