Welcome to this weeks Persecution Blog Carnival - I am thrilled that you came!  Due to a few unforeseen appointments I had yesterday I wasn't able to get this up, so for those of you who were wondering, never fear - I'm back!

Let's begin with an entry from Jordan at The Action Institute's Powerblog, Jordon writes a post called China, Christianity and the Rule of Law in which he examines the potential for a national religious law in China in conjunction with the work of the newly established Human Rights Protection Movement in China.

Our next entry is from Dean at the blog Bibles at the China Border, he writes a post called How Heavy the Cross which is a powerful reminder of what Jesus endured for our sin.

Then we have my friend, Barb who writes at Tidbits & Treasures, a post called Pakistani Couple Seek Sanctuary in Scottish church and writes "To keep from being deported back to Pakistan, after being denied asylum in Glasgow, Masih and Christine Raymond sought sanctuary in a Scottish church."

Next Cindy who writes at Inspirational Korner gives us a post called Sole Survivor Update about  Noviana who was the sole survivor of the attack on the four girls walking home school. 

Then Jan from Counted Worthy asks the question Death to America? Iran’s president doesn’t really mean it, or does he? When forty-five American religious leaders met with Iran's president,
the questions they didn't ask should bring us to shout Sabina’s words, regardless of the personal cost: “Go and wash this shame from the face of Christ.”

And finally, but certainly not least, we have a post from Praying Blogger titled Think About This - Pray About This! .

Thanks for coming by, please tell a friend and let them know about what the Lord is doing for those who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ.

Sabina Wurmbrand, wife of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, wrote a book called The Pastor's Wife. There are a lot of great themes in this book, and if you have not read it, I strongly recommend that you do. To find a brief overview of the Wurmbrand’s testimony, visit the “about” page on persecution.com. Their lives are marked by bravery, hope and unexplainable joy. But there are two traits of the Wurmbrands that truly set them apart: forgiveness and a love for enemies.

During the war, Sabina, who was Jewish, lost her parents, a brother and three sisters as well as many friends and relatives at the hands of the Nazis. After the German army retreated, those soldiers and officers left behind were both frightened and starving. Consequently, Richard and Sabina took several Nazis into their home. At one point, three German officers were hiding in an outhouse in the Wurmbrand’s yard. Their captain approached Sabina.

“I must tell you something that’s on my mind,” he said. “You know that it is death to shelter a German soldier. Yet you do it—and you are Jews! I must tell you that when the German army recaptures Bucharest, which it surely will, I’ll never do for you what you have done for us.”

Sabina explained to the captain why she treated him as a guest, despite the losses she had suffered. She shared that the worst crimes are forgiven by faith in Christ Jesus.

The captain admitted he didn’t understand her, but he added, “But perhaps if no one had this gift of returning good for evil you talk about, then there would never be an end to killing.”

This example of returning goodness and Christian love for evil is not an isolated incident in Sabina’s story, but rather a recurring theme. When Sabina was in prison, she met women who were former Party members. While the other prisoners despised these women because of their past sins against them, Sabina showed them love through her actions and through her faith. Her forgiveness was not limited by her own circumstances; even while she was still suffering in prison, she was able to forgive those who had offended her.

Let’s take a break from Sabina’s story and reflect. Think about those who you might consider your enemies today. Are they in the Middle East? What would you do if a defeated Iraqi soldier showed up on your doorstep, hungry and broken? Would you turn them away, or would you take them in and share with them the love of Christ? What if you’d lost seven sons in the war? Would that change your answer?

Even though the above example is primarily American, all of you have been hurt or deeply offended by someone. The love of Christ enables us to look at the person who has offended us most, and may still be offending us, and forgive them.

Maybe the person, or group of people, who offended you were part of the Church. Sabina talked about how upset she was when Richard wanted to convert to Christianity because Christians were cruel to Jews, both historically and personally. However, after Sabina met Jesus, she learned to forgive others like He forgives us. This lesson enabled her to even forgive other Christians.

If you’ve read The Pastor’s Wife, or would like to learn more about it, please visit www.vomgroups.com and share your thoughts.

The following pictures are from VOM Media and are pictures of the Christians mentioned in the previous post.  I want you to look at these precious saints and remember them in prayer, and also remember that there is a militant enemy in the Muslim world that wants to kill you if you follow Christ.  This is just a tidbit of visual evidence.

Mr. Aderemi Ogunmola's head injury
Aderemi was nearly beaten to death after being slashed in the forehead with a machete during the rioting.

Pastor Adeyinka and his burnt car Pastor Adeyinka escaped his car before Muslim rioters engulfed it in flames.

Christian market owner Kenneth with a machete wound to his head
Kenneth couldn't escape his business before the Muslim mob burned it down and slashed his head, leaving him for dead.

Pastor Olaribigbe in front of his destroyed Celestial Church of Christ
The Celestial Church of Christ was one of 18 churches burned and ransacked in the Jigawa riots.

Displaced Christians taking refuge at police barracks
More than 5,000 Christians have been in need of food and shelter after Muslims destroyed their homes and churches.

The following news is not uncommon in most of the world.  If  you are an American Christian I want you to remember that for the most part, our nation does not persecute Christians.  Most of the world does persecute Christians.  Please read this story, and then let it inspire you to stand firm for Jesus and tell people the truth about salvation, sin and the future.  You were called for such a time as this. 

As a result of a religious dispute, nearly 5,000 Christians were displaced and six were injured on September 20th, when Muslim rioters destroyed and torched at least 18 churches, 20 Christian homes, and 40 Christian shops in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state in Northern Nigeria. After an Islamic young man made several unsuccessful advances on Jummai, a female Christian, he angrily reacted by calling her a fake Christian who follows a “useless Jesus.” Jummai responded by telling the boy he followed “a useless prophet—Muhammad.” Furious, the Muslim boy raised alarm through the town by proclaiming that a Christian lady blasphemed Muhammad. She was quickly taken to the local police station where she was kept in custody to diffuse the potentially volatile situation.

The Muslim teen returned to the police station several hours later after mobilizing a militant band of Muslim youth. He incited them to attack the police by claiming they arrested Jummai, but did not inflict any punishment on her for insulting Mohammed. After this rampage, Muslim youth rampaged throughout the capital and other regions of Jigawa state by hurling violence and destruction on Christians and their churches, homes, cars and places of business. At least six Christians were wounded in the mayhem, with one receiving severe injuries. Thousands of believers were forced to stay in refugee camps, police barracks and schools due to the merciless rioting. Nighttime curfews were enforced and government troops were deployed in tanks and trucks to deter further upheavals.

Mr. Aderemi Ogunmola was one of the Christians caught in the violence. While visiting the home of Pastor Adeyinka (of Christ Apostolic Church), rioters ransacked the church compound using knives, sticks, stones and other weapons. Once they poured gallons of gasoline all around, they surrounded the compound, throwing flaming projectiles and rocks inside. While other Christians were able to escape from the attack in time, Aderemi was captured by the Muslim militants. After catching him, they nearly beat him to death, slashing his head with a machete. They proceeded to douse him with gasoline, but failed to set him ablaze when he broke away and managed to jump over a wall in front of the church and escape. Meanwhile, as the entire church was burning to the ground Pastor Adeyinka attempted to flee in his station wagon. When the mob caught up with him, he was able to flee on foot before his car was engulfed in flames.

The following was released exclusively through VOM Media. 

In retaliation to Pope Benedict XVI’s September 12th speech that many Muslims regarded as an affront to Islam, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza attacked numerous churches, according to International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

On September 16th, militant Muslims used firebombs and guns to carry out their damage on seven churches in the two territories.

An Anglican church in the West Bank town of Nablus was bombarded on the 16th by at least five firebombs, and Greek Orthodox churches also sustained damage from the scorching projectiles on their windows and walls.

Roman and Greek Catholic churches in Nablus were covered with lighter fluid by four masked Muslims during the Saturday rampage before they ignited the buildings and covered them with gunfire.

A Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City which had already sustained damage from an ignited bomb on September 15th, was riddled with bullets the next day from armed Palestinian Muslims.

Continuing their barrage in the West Bank on September 17th, angered Muslims set ablaze another two Christian worship centers, including the only Orthodox church in the city of Tulkarm.

Militant Muslims used a speech by the Pope, which was intended to spur interfaith dialogue, as an excuse to wage jihad against Christians.

In the Pope’s speech, he quoted a Byzantine emperor from the 14th Century with the statement, “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

I want you to listen to this absolutely beautiful song written for the victims of those awful beheadings.  This is the Ballad of Noviana sung by Cesilia Purba in Noviana's native language, this tribute composed by Matt Noiss remembers the survivor and her three martyred friends.

Click here to listen.

One of the stories I wrote about last year that I still remember to this day was the story of the girls in Indonesia who were mercilessly beheaded.  You may remember that I posted pictures of one of the girls who was beheaded, and you need to know that to this day people still find that post and read it.  And for some reason, people actually do a search for "beheading pictures" and find that post.  That aside, I wanted to give you an update on the survivor of that attack.

Noviana Malewa survived a severe slash to her head and neck in an unsuccessful beheading attempt. Today, Noviana still deals with emotional and physical torment from the brutal attack.

Today I wanted to share with you a very special prayer assignment that I came across this morning as I was going through all of my email.  All last week I was on vacation in Washington DC and I have to tell you that it is great to be back...but now we have to catch up.

Concerned Women for America is spearheading a very special prayer effort on behalf of those victims of sex trafficking and I want you to know about it.  The reason we're bringing it up on this persecution blog is because these women and children and sometimes men, are the victims of religious persecutors throughout the world.  This is a HUGE issue and it's a wonderful thing that people are finally waking up to the tragedy of this.

The following is from the Concerned Women for America website.

The first International Day of Prayer for Sex Trafficking Victims is September 29-October 1. Dr Janice Crouse, Senior Fellow of the Beverly LaHaye Institute has more on this important time of prayer, and how you and your church can participate. Click here to listen.

HOW YOU CAN HELP IN THE WAR AGAINST SEX TRAFFICKING
Let’s unleash the most powerful fighter, defender of the oppressed, champion of good and enemy of evil. Pray to God daily for the abolition of modern-day slavery.

Pray for the victims. Pray that they will have a hedge of protection around them, one less client to service that hour or day, be spared a beating or a rape, feel God’s love and presence and experience hope that their rescue is imminent, and they will be freed and their lives restored, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Pray for President Bush, the senators and representatives, and for nongovernmental organizations working to abolish slavery. Pray that they will continue to fight the good fight, have the resources to continue the fight, be successful in their efforts and in getting their message out to every person in every nation and will influence governments to do what is right and to punish traffickers, pimps and johns.

Pray for the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons’ office. Pray that the staff will be encouraged to continue their hard work compiling information about trafficking problems and efforts to eradicate it in nations around the globe. Pray also that their efforts to hold these nations accountable will bear fruit.

Pray for those who use slaves, be it sexual or labor. Pray that they will be caught and convicted of their crime, acknowledge their sin, repent and turn their desires from evil and toward good. That instead of benefiting from the enslavement of another human being, they would rescue and restore the enslaved.

Pray for the pimps and the traffickers. Pray that they will be convicted of their crimes, punished and held accountable, be convicted in their heart and soul of their sin, and repent, use their knowledge of the trafficking trade to expose and destroy it and they would use their ill-gotten gain to make restitution to the enslaved.

Pray for the partners working with Dr. Janice Crouse, Senior Fellow of the Beverly LaHaye Institute, on Concerned Women for America’s Crossing the Bridge Project in Mexico. There are five non governmental organizations working in Mexico to raise awareness about this issue, influence legislation and build a shelter to help 12 rescued girls. This project is made possible by grant number S-INLEC-05- GR-0003 from the U.S. State Department.

For Prayer Weekend resources go to: www.salvationarmyusa.org/trafficking.

You can also visit here and download a pdf document and distribute this to your church.  Please join me today and make this a priority in your prayer life.  These precious victims of such abuse need each and every one of our prayers.

Hebrews  9:27 tells us that, "... it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." and I love this passage because it gives me confidence in knowing that the Lord will not take me home to be with Him until that appointed time.  So the story of John is inspiring and also draws us back to worship the One who made us.  Be encouraged as you read this Extreme Devotion, and remember you can sign up to get devotions just like this in your email everyday by simply going to www.vomgroups.com and signing up.

    What do you do with someone who is boiled in oil but doesn’t die?

    It is said that Roman emperor Domitian commanded that the apostle John be boiled to death in oil, but John only continued to preach from within the pot. Another time, John was forced to drink poison, but, as promised in Mark 16:18, it did not hurt him. Thus John, the head of the church in Ephesus at the time, was banished to Patmos in A.D. 97.

    John survived all of this because God had not finished with him yet. A “revelation” still had to come.     While he was in a cave on the island of Patmos, John received a vision. This vision became the book of Revelation—the book that would act as the driving force for evangelism in the church age. It prophesied the events that surround the return of Christ. John wrote of Christ’s second coming and welcomed his arrival. Even today his writings inspire believers to anticipate the glorious return of Christ.  

  Two years after John’s exile, the emperor Domitian died, and John returned to the church in Ephesus. The youngest of the disciples lived also to be the oldest, dying in peace in Ephesus at the age of eighty after over half a century of resilient service to Jesus’ church.

It’s impossible to retire from God’s service. Just ask John. At a time when the average age of death was much younger, John lived on to be eighty years old, faithfully serving all the while. Perhaps you have been struggling with your own usefulness in God’s service. Perhaps you feel too old and find yourself thinking God could use someone younger in your place. Or perhaps you are young and single and wonder if a married couple might be more what God has in mind. Instead of letting you quit on your own excuses, God wants to build into you a spiritual resilience that is not readily discouraged. Start asking today for God to reveal your next steps in service to him.

In a day and age when there is a top ten list for virtually everything under the sun, not many of us are familiar with such a list for religious persecution. This is because religious persecution, especially against Christians, is not a very politically correct topic in a world that is pushing cultural diversity and "tolerance." As Christians in a culture where entertainment is given more media coverage than the treatment of our fellow believers, it is no wonder that most of us are probably more geared to recite the top ten college football teams or box office hits than the top ten persecutors. Below is a list of the ten worst offenders in the world, according to Open Doors International:

1. North Korea
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Somalia
5. Maldives
6. Bhutan
7. Vietnam
8. Yemen
9. Laos
10. China

Not having the space to cover each of these nations where our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering for their faith, let's spend a little time looking over a nation that is given much media attention for its nuclear program and famines, but very little for its persecution of Christians.

Covered in The Voice of the Martyrs' October '06 newsletter, North Korea, also dubbed as "The Hermit Kingdom," is perhaps the most closed nation to the gospel than any other on the planet. Consequently, countless atrocities have riddled this country since its inception over 50 years ago, when Kim Jong Il's father, Kim Il Sung, began his godless communist legacy. Before World War I, Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea, was called "Jerusalem of the East," as up to 700,000 Christians lived in North Korea at that time. However, communist rule brought about the execution of hundreds of Christians leaders and the outlaw of Christian education and land ownership. After the common border with South Korea closed, coupled with the ending of the Korean War, only 300,000 Christians were left in North Korea, with most of those remaining being imprisoned or murdered.

Today, more than 100,000 North Korean Christians are incarcerated, tortured and malnourished as political prisoners in concentration camps. But despite this oppressive regime led by Kim Jong Il, at least 10,000 Christians belonging to some 500 underground house churches are secretly practicing their faith. To help breathe God's light into this nation with a leader determined to stamp out any trace of Christianity, The Voice of the Martyrs is active in bringing the gospel to North Korea. Scripture balloons, safe houses, biblical training, and Bible smuggling are just a few ways that VOM is helping the Body of Christ fulfill the Great Commission in this darkened land.