This is by far one of the most encouraging devotions from the awesome book Extreme Devotion, which we frequently highlight on this blog.  My favorite line in this devotion is "They wanted to encourage Christians in the West." Isn't that awesome!    Take a minute and read this, and then pass it on to a friend.  And please leave me your thoughts, I want to know how this encourages you today.

“They stabbed one believer through the mouth with a long knife and poured boiling water down the throat of another who was caught with a Bible. An entire family had been drowned.”

    Believers in the Hmong tribe of Southeast Asia agreed to give their testimony on videotape. They wanted to encourage Christians in the West.

    One Hmong Christian shared: “The Communist authorities feel threatened because so many Hmong people have become Christians. They beat the Christians to try to force them to return to their worship of evil spirits.”

    “The local police forbade us to become Christians. They threatened to put us in jail and even kill us,” a woman added. “But if we have to die for Christ’s sake, we are willing.”

    These believers are willing to put themselves in even greater danger to let the world know they are standing strong in the face of persecution. The Hmong tribe is the largest of Southeast Asia and is experiencing the greatest growth of Christianity. It is also one of the most persecuted people groups.

    Another woman said, “I thank God that we have remained strong. I do believe that the persecution is just a test of our faith in Christ. It brings out the true riches. It brings out the silver and the gold. Just pray that we will be faithful to the end.”

Steel is strengthened through a tempering process—heated to extreme temperatures, pounded into form, and cooled. Then the process is repeated again and again, heating and pounding the impurities away and then cooling so that the metal can bond. A similar tempering process strengthens our faith. When we are heated by hatred from others, pounded upon by persecution, and then cooled by the gentle reassurance of God’s presence, our impurities are driven out and our faith strengthened. Have you recognized the tempering process in your life? Don’t resist any part of it. Learn from your brothers and sisters in the Hmong tribe. Your enemies don’t realize you will be stronger as a result of their hatred.

We here at the Persecution Blog want to thank you for all of your support and love.  I appreciate personally the dedication those of you have in prayer and writing for the persecuted church.  That's why I love Friday's because today is the day I get to highlight what you all have written.  So let's begin...

Jan begins our carnival this week with her review of Iran: Desperate for God.  If you haven't yet read this book you can get a copy at the VOM Bookstore.  Click here.

Our next entry is from Jennifer who writes a post called "No Scar?" featuring Noviana Malewa who we featured a few days ago.  She has a lovely poem at the beginning of her entry you will want to read.

Barb writes the next entry titled A New  Regional Conflict Brews in the Horn of Africa which discusses Christians in Somolia who are considered apostate and face persecution, because there is no protection for religious freedom within the weak government. And, Somolia is mostly run by Muslims.  Remember to pray for those who are Muslims, that they would open their hearts to Jesus.

The next entry comes from Jill who reminds us to write letters to the persecuted.  Click here to learn how.

Then Cindy, our VOM all night blogger who is blogging 24 hours to raise money for The Voice of the Martyrs, has a post called How the VOM Helps.  And if you get a moment sponsor Cindy and encourage her internet addiction.  As of the time of this writing she has raised $119 :)

Don has our second to last post for this carnival called Imagine Atheism in Church .  Can you imagine that?

And finally our last, but certainly not least important post is from The Persecution Times who writes a review of Iran: Desperate for God and asks Can Anything Good Come Out of Iran?.

And that's it!  Did you have fun...are you encouraged?  Leave us some comments, we love to hear your voice.

Friends, here is an update on one of the Indonesian girls who was so violently attacked back in October.  Please write her name down and pray for her complete recovery - emotional, spiritual and physical.

This is from VOM Media sources...

Noviana Malewa, the only girl to escape the malicious beheadings that took place in Indonesia on October 29, 2005 in Central Sulawesi, will receive treatment from VOMedical. The surgery is to alleviate the constant pain she still endures from a sword slash to her face and neck by militant Muslims. Walking through a cocoa plantation on the way to her private Christian high school in Poso Kota subdistrict, 15-year-old Noviana and three fellow students were ambushed by six masked Islamic terrorists. Theresia Morangke, 15, Yarni Sambue, 15, and Alfita Poliwo, 17, were all decapitated and their heads found in bags on the steps of a church and along the road to a police station with the message, “We will murder 100 more Christian teenagers and their heads will be presented as presents.” Their bodies were discarded at different locations.

Unable to get a clean shot on Noviana, the attackers managed to slash the right side of her head from neck to cheek. The blow damaged nerves, resulting in the dislocation of Noviana’s lower jaw. She still suffers from severe pain in her head and jaw, and because of her loosened teeth, she cannot chew well. Noviana is having an examination and continued treatment this month through VOMedical.

Noviana is still under the 24-hour protection of four policemen far from the scene. Because she is a key witness of the murders, with radical Muslims reportedly searching for her, the Christian survivor has been kept in a safe area. Witnesses of similar Muslim attacks on Christians in Indonesia have been shot.

On May 10th, the Associated Press stated that all seven of the terrorists believed connected to the beheadings confessed their involvement.

One of our persecution bloggers is going to be taking on an extraordinaire feat of love for the persecuted church.  Blogger Cindy Grayson has gracious considered The Voice of the Martyr's as her ministry of choice to stay up all night blogging for donations.  Cindy asked if I could help spread the word, and I told her "Of course!"

I'll let Cindy tell you about what she's doing herself.  This can also be found on her blog Inspirational Korner.

Blogathon and VOM

I am very excited about this post. First of all, I am back and almost fully recovered from this horrible Abscess tooth that I have had. Secondly I am going to participate in the 2006 Blogathon and I am so excited about it and who the charity is that I have selected.

If you are not sure what a Blogathon is, here is an explanation: On July 29, hundreds of bloggers from around the world will put their endurance to the test for charity, blogging every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight. This is the Sixth Annual International Blogathon, an event that creates a worldwide community for a day, serves up fascinating content, and most importantly, raises tens of thousands of dollars for dozens of charities.

Bloggers choose the charity and collect sponsorships. At the end of the event, those sponsors fulfill their pledges directly with the charity. I am very excited about this and praying that this goes very well for Inspiration Korner because the charity of my choice could greatly benefit from it.

The charity that I have selected is VOM (Voice of the Martyrs) for the Persecuted Christians from around the world. If you have been a visitor of my blog for any amount of time and come on a regular basis, you should know that I have a great passion for those who suffer for worshiping our Lord! Many people still do not realize just how many people are persecuted (beaten, tortured, imprisioned and killed) every single year because of their faith in God. I make at least one post a week that is dedicated to this subject.

A little more about the VOM: The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, interdenominational organization with a vision for aiding Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ, fulfilling the Great Commission, and educating the world about the ongoing persecution of Christians. VOM is headquartered in Bartlesville, Oklahoma with thirty affiliated international offices, and an enormous team of servant-hearted volunteers.

Explore this page to learn more about VOM’s history, our founders, current projects, and vision. So I am going to do the hard part and can not wait!!! I will do the blogging every 30 minutes for 24 hours and all you have to do is sponsor me!!! You can either click here or click on the banner at the top of my page to sponsor me now!!!!

Lets make a difference together for those around the world not allowed to serve our God but DO and suffer greatly for it. Remember that even a dollar can make a difference and it all adds up!!!! Yes, they will have it all when they enter Heaven, but we can help make their time on earth a little better too!

  After acquiring land where they could build a house of worship, local Christians in the Ethiopian town of Yebu faced heavy opposition. Numerous times, local Muslims had warned the Christians that if they did not stop evangelizing, they would be attacked.

As a result, Christians decided to postpone the construction of their church until midnight on July 2, 2006.

The very next day, on July 3rd, a militant Muslim mob carried out their threat after the project was underway. The mob waylaid workers and demolished the entire building, stealing the materials to build their own structure.

Christians in this 98-percent Muslim town managed to stop the assault before the whole building was torched.

Two Christians, Yoseph Gebresadek and Terefe Jirga, suffered serious injuries and were hospitalized. The Muslim attackers also wounded many other Christians.

Militant Muslims accused three Christian leaders involved in the project of disturbing the peace and stability in the area, a charge which could land the three in prison.

A few days before this attack on June 30th, the Assembly of God Church in the town of Alemaya was set ablaze in the middle of the night. However, Ethiopian Christians refuse to stop practicing their faith out of fear. Sign up to receive a free subscription  to The Voice of the Martyrs’ monthly newsletter right here on the website.

Over the weekend my husband and I had the opportunity to attend our very first VOM Meeting.  And I have to tell you that I had the best time ever!  I had the opportunity to meet the VOM representative, and record his presentation - which I will do my best to post later this week and also meet some very cool brothers and sisters who care about the persecuted church.

One of the main things that the VOM Meeting gave people the opportunity to do was write letters to the prisoners - which you all can also do by going to www.prisoneralert.com .

The speaker also presented a wonderful message on the topic of being a martyr for Christ.  And not just someone who is willing to die, but seriously willing to live as a witness for Christ.

The gist of his message was that we are to love our enemies, and that by loving our enemies people will come to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

He spoke of the spiritual battle between Islam and Christianity and urged people to pray for a love for Muslims so that they too will also be saved.

And he also shared that in North Korea there are at least 300,000 Christians, and many of them go into China to get supplies - like Bibles and things - and then these Christians go back to North Korea.  Then he said, that 90% of those North Korean Christians who go back to their people, they never hear from again.

To me, that's powerful.  I also think it says a lot about the love that is truly found in the pages of Scripture.  If you haven't read your bible today - what are you waiting for?  Pick it up now and read it and then pray for God to use you like never before.

This morning's Extreme Devotion begs the question - Would you?

I would rather be hung than betray my Lord.

SALEEMA—A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN IN PAKISTAN WHO HAS BEEN SEVERELY PERSECUTED FOR HER FAITH

The  following is exclusively from VOM Media.

On June 6, 2006, Nasir Ashraf, a Christian stone mason, was brutally attacked by militant Muslims just outside Lahore. While working on the construction of a room at a school near Manga Mandi in Pakistan, Nasir took a break after becoming thirsty. He drew water and drank from a glass chained to a cemented public water tank next to a mosque, which was reserved for “all” poor people. Returning to the construction site, a Muslim man asked him, “Why did you drink water from this glass since you are a Christian?” The man accused Nasir of polluting the glass. The Muslim man yanked the glass off the iron chain, broke it and threw it in a garbage can. The man summoned other militant Muslims to the scene, furiously saying, “This Christian polluted our glass.” Hearing this, the incensed mob began beating Nasir, yelling that a Christian dog drank water from their glass.

The militant Muslims encouraged bystanders to beat Nasir because it would be a “good” deed that would benefit them in heaven. The attackers pushed Nasir off a ledge onto the ground. The impact of the fall dislocated his shoulder and broke his collar bone in two places. This knocked Nasir unconscious and he did not regain his senses until he reached a clinic. Nasir’s father took him home and a VOM representative was alerted about the incident. VOMedical is helping with Nasir’s medical treatment and is monitoring his recovery from the attack.

(Compass Direct) Freed on bail, a Pakistani man charged with raping Ribqa Masih has continued to threaten the young Christian woman who accused him of pressuring her to convert to Islam by violating her. "I'm afraid to go outside," said Masih before breaking into tears. "Mentally, I've been too disturbed to study." Masih had finished her high school examinations and was awaiting the results in September 2005, when wealthy Muslim neighbors in this town near Faisalabad kidnapped and raped her, she said. Among them was Muhammad Kashif, who was granted bail on a technicality the law gives to criminal suspects suffering from illness. His illness is psoriasis. "Psoriasis did not stop him from raping Masih," said Khalil Tahir Sindhu, Masih's lawyer. Nor did it keep Kashif from fleeing police in a Faisalabad courtroom last October when his initial request for pre-arrest bail was rejected.

Give thanks to God that Masih was willing to testify to the suffering she endured at the hands of Muslim men. Pray Jesus Himself will comfort her and take away her fears. Pray the men who violated her will repent of their actions and seek the only One who can truly forgive them.

(VOM Canada) On May 1, 2006, Ka Tamong (22) came to faith in Christ in the Louangphrabang area of Laos and immediately set out to share his faith with the people in his home village of Omdong. Using a cassette tape given to him by a pastor, he began sharing his new found faith with his family and fellow villagers and many expressed interest in becoming Christians. However, the village head reported him to the district police and he was arrested on May 16. His Bible and cassette player were confiscated. Contacts report Ka Tomong was released from Nong Ngiao prison on or around June 24th and has led three more people to the Lord. Pray that Ka Tamong will remain faithful to his newfound faith. Pray that he will find opportunities to share Christ and that other believers will be encouraged because of his faithfulness. Pray that the villagers that have heard the gospel will respond with open hearts to Jesus Christ.

Praise God for this young man of strong faith. Pray the Lord will lead him to those He has chosen to hear the Good News and believe in His Son. Ask God to continue to strengthen this servant and protect him in body, mind and spirit.