Today I thought that I would give you a recap of the stories we shared with you this week, just in case you missed something.   We have so much to pray for and rejoice in the Lord over.  Please share this with your friends and family who care about the persecution of Christians around the world.

Monday we shared with you a devotion called He Actually Chooses Affliction, a story coming out of Laos and the persecution happening there, and and Persecution Podcast 103 where we focused on prayer for Laos, Pakistan and Azerbiajan.

Tuesday was Valentines Day so we shared with you a letter from Tom White about Asia Bibi, a little history about Valentines Day in our post Valentinus Beheaded in Rome, and
and about a revival happening in Egypt.

Wednesday we shared some news from Pakistan and a new blasphemy charge for Dildar Youcaf , we asked you to help us write 416 more letters to Gao, who is still in prison and we gave you more information on the blasphemy charges from our friends at Mission Network News, concerning Dildar Youcaf.

Thursday we shared some praise coming out of China because of our Bibles Unbound program, as well as some news about a few priests who were abused and released from prison in South Sudan, and a video report from CBN News about the 200 Christians who died in fire in Honduras.

Thank you for reading our blog and for caring about the needs of Christians worldwide.  I pray the Lord blesses you, as you remember that we are bound with them!

Dildar Yousaf, 28, was arrested and charged with blasphemy after defending his 8-year-old nephew from a group of Muslim boys on June 10, 2011. That morning, Dildar’s nephew, Ehtasham, was taunted by a group of boys as he passed the madrassa on his way to the market. A madrassa is a school where Islamic students study the Quran.

As Ehtasham walked by the madrassa, seven boys gathered around him and tried to force him to become a Muslim by repeating the phrase, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.” Ehtasham refused, and the boys began to scream at him and beat him.

Ehtasham’s uncle, Dildar, happened to pass by at that moment. Dildar pulled his nephew away from the boys and took him back home. Dildar then went on to his job. That afternoon, the news spread that Dildar had disgraced the Muslim proclamation of faith; the news was repeated from one mosque loudspeaker to another. Soon Muslim crowds began to shout, “Kill him! Death for the blasphemer!”

Police picked up Dildar from his workplace and put him in protective custody. They also filed a blasphemy charge against him under Pakistani law 298A, which carries the lightest sentence for blasphemers. (Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi, who was charged with blasphemy under 298C, was sentenced to death. Her case is on appeal.)

Dildar remains in prison as his case progresses through the justice system. His blasphemy charge carries a potential three-year sentence, with the possibility of parole. Dildar’s wife, Naseem, and two children have had to leave their home and move in with her family in another village because of ongoing threats. Ehtasham and his family have also had to leave their village. VOM is supporting the family and providing legal assistance to Dildar.

Dildar’s village has a history of persecution. In the past, a Christian’s house was burned, a pastor was killed, and believer Ayub Masih was charged with blasphemy. “Muslims have always looked down on us,” Ayub told VOM workers. “We cannot send our children to school, and we cannot feed our animals because we cannot go into the fields. We live under the fear that anything can happen any time.”

Source: The Voice of the Martyrs

Today I'd like to share with you an exciting event from The Voice of the Martyrs and Christ in Youth.  Together, Christ in Youth and The Voice of the Martyrs are presenting a film called Love Costs Every Thing.

There are two simulcast events planned for March, so now is the time to get your church involved and sign up.  March 7th and March 11th are the two dates the movie will be simulcast to churches everywhere.  Learn more by visiting http://www.lovecostseverything.com

Hope to see you there!

Love Costs Every Thing - Francis Chan Promo from Christ In Youth on Vimeo.

Today I would like to thank the editors at Newsweek and Ayaan Hirsi Ali for doing a cover story on the plight of Christians. 

Ayaan has done a stellar job of discussing some of the reasons why persecuted Christians do not get the coverage they should and also lays out a history of recent persecution of Christians worldwide.    I commend the piece to you.  Click here to read it in its entirety.

Here's an excerpt:

We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at best partially accurate. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania. In some countries it is governments and their agents that have burned churches and imprisoned parishioners. In others, rebel groups and vigilantes have taken matters into their own hands, murdering Christians and driving them from regions where their roots go back centuries.

Click here to keep reading and please thank Newsweek for the coverage.

Increasing violence in Nigeria has only strengthened local Christians’ faith, even sparking a revival at the Deeper Life Bible Church in Gombe, where nine Christians were martyred in a Jan. 5 attack on the church. During a funeral service on Jan. 19 for those killed, many believers rededicated their lives to Christ, and others came to faith in Christ for the first time, according to a VOM worker.

Weeping and singing on their knees, a choir led about 500 attendees and 50 pastors in worship. The martyrs’ relatives and other dignitaries — including the deputy governor speaking on behalf of the state’s governor — spoke about each murdered Christian. The four-hour service then moved on to intercessory prayer for the church in Nigeria, the nation at large, Muslims in Nigeria and the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram.

“The leader of the prayers based most of the prayers from the book of Isaiah 61:1–4, among other scriptures, which strengthen and encourage the Church. He encouraged the Church to be more prayerful than complaining,” said the VOM worker. “He said the Lord knows how to fight his own battle in his own way, and we should not revenge whatsoever.”

On Jan. 5, Godwin Odoh, a 36-year-old teacher, was leading prayers at a weekly meeting called “The Hour of Revival.” When the church came under attack, Godwin was shot in the head, chest and legs and died instantly. Eight other attendees were also killed, including children as young as 10 years old and a pastor’s wife.

Ten days later, 72-year-old Yahaya Wuro Buntu, a pastor at Deeper Life Bible Church, was brutally murdered by a group of men who came to his house asking about the Christian faith. Yahaya was often sought out by Muslims to discuss Christianity, so he welcomed the men into his home. The men subdued him, took him to an uncompleted building near his house and killed him, according to a VOM worker. His life was celebrated during the Jan. 19 memorial service for the nine Christians killed during the church attack.

Ever since Boko Haram published an ultimatum on Jan. 3, 2012, threatening violence if Christians did not leave northern Nigeria, the extremist group has claimed responsibility for the murders of at least 44 Christians. On Jan. 22, Muslim extremists and members of Boko Haram attacked a church in Bauchi state, killing at least seven more Christians.

Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass Direct News that Christian leaders have decided to find a way to defend themselves against the senseless killings. “We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves,” Oritsejafor said. “We will do whatever it takes.”

Sources: VOM contacts, Compass Direct News

A few months ago, American missionary Jessica Buchanan, was captured by Somali kidnappers, while doing mission work in Africa. The following video report is from CBN News and explains what happened to her, and the good news being reported today is that she has been rescued and is on her way home. Read more here about her rescue.

Today we wanted to remind you about our wonderful Be-A-Voice-Network which will allow you time to fellowship with others and also a place to get specific prayer requests for needs in the world of persecution.

Today the Be-A-Voice-Network is highlighting prayer for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani who is currently in prison for his faith in Jesus Christ.

Click here to read the lastest prayer updates in PDF form.

Are you a member of the Be-A-Voice-Network yet?  Please share your experience with us in the comments.  If you're not, please sign up today and be encouraged and a voice for the persecuted church.

JERUSALEM, Israel -- With Islamists poised to take over governments overthrown during the "Arab spring," Christians and other minorities may soon be subject to Sharia (Islamic) law.

Some say assurance by Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafis, and Ennahda, that non-Muslims would not be mistreated under Sharia is, at best, questionable.

In Egypt, attacks on Coptic Christians have increased exponentially since the fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime last year.

Egyptian Christians have been beaten, shot and stabbed to death, and their homes and churches have been fire bombed by angry Muslims.

On Monday, Egypt's Islamist-dominated parliament held its first session. The Muslim Brotherhood now holds 47 percent of the seats, and the Salafist al-Nour party 25 percent.

Syrian Christians have also come under increasing persecution.

"The Christian community in Syria has been hit by a series of kidnappings and brutal murders; 100 Christians have now been killed since the anti-government unrest began," the Jerusalem Post quoted the Pakistan Christian Post.

According to the report, two Christians were gunned down recently at a bakery. In a separate incident, three attackers killed a Christian as he drove with two young children in the car.

In Libya, Muslims staged a demonstration Friday, demanding that legislation in the post-Gadhafi government would be based on the principles of Sharia, not secular, law.

"We as a Muslim nation have taken Islamic Sharia as the source of legislation," National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in October, according to Reuters.

Jalil added that "any law that contradicts the principles of Islam is legally nullified."

Many experts wonder if Sharia law can support "genuine" democracy. Last July the American Thinker re-posted the "Top ten reasons why Sharia is bad for all societies," originally published in August 2005.

According to that report, under Sharia, an apostate -- anyone who leaves Islam for any reason -- can be put to death if they refuse to repent. Criticizing the prophet Mohammed, the Koran or Sharia law is also punishable by death.

In Iran, for example, Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been on death row for refusing to renounce his faith. And in Pakistan, Asia Bibi, a Christian woman, is still facing the death penalty for allegedly insulting the prophet Mohammed.

Also according to Sharia law, a woman caught in adultery can be stoned to death (after being buried up to her chest). Homosexuals are liable for the death penalty. And thieves are punished by severing a hand.

Husbands may beat their wives, and anyone caught drinking or gambling is subject to flogging.

Saudi Arabia bans tourists from bringing in "items and articles belonging to religions other than Islam," the kingdom's national carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines, states on its website. That includes Bibles, crosses, or the Star of David.

Though the U.S. and other Western governments are establishing ties with the rising Islamist movements, many observers say increasing persecution of Christians, Jews, and other minorities in emerging Islamic countries is an indication, that democracy and Sharia law won't coexist.

Source: CBN News

Yesterday Todd Nettleton, the Director of Media Development for The Voice of the Martyrs, appeared as a guest on In the Market with Janet Parshall to discuss the latest news concerning persecuted Christians around the world.

In their short twenty minute interview, Janet and Todd discussed the horrible persecution happening to Christians in Northern Nigeria and explained that just this year, seventy four people have been killed by the Boko Haram group which is seeking to wipe out all Christians.  Todd suggested that Christians pray for those in Nigeria who are also Christians and ask the Lord for protection and for wisdom to know how to respond to those who are persecuting them.

Todd also gave an update about Gao who was recently found in a prison in China, that is out in the outskirts of China.  He explained that Gao's brother had tried to visit him, only to be denied access and he discussed the prison giving conflicting reasons why he wasn't allowed to see Gao.

Todd also shared a little bit about prison ministry in China and a story about a female Christian prisoner in China who shared that it was a good experience for her.  He explained that often, as a Western Christian, we think things that are often very contrary to the real experiences some Christians have while they are in prison.  He contrasted prison ministry in China, as being something that a pastor may do because he is in prison himself, versus how some here in  America may do prison ministry, but may have never been in prison.  Todd, wanted everyone to understand that persecuted Christians often have more joy than we may expect because they are able to share the Lord Jesus in a place where they might not have had access.

The conversation continued as Janet asked Todd about North Korea in which Todd shared that bibles are being smuggled into North Korea in creative ways, like being attached to balloons.

Todd also shared that the DVD Jesus:He Lived Among Us, has now been translated into the Korean language with both North and South Koreans working on the project.  He explained that usually there is conflict among North and South Koreans, but the making of this project shows unity that Koreans have in Christ.

The conversation ended with discussion concerning Indonesia and how persecution in Indonesia used to be from outside the government, but now has evolved to the government persecuting Christians in this Muslim dominated country.

Please click here to listen to this interview.  You'll be inspired and challenged to pray.

 

Our sister mission, VOM Korea, shares this update from South Korea, the country that sends out more missionaries than any other except for the United States:

South Korea is to enact laws to discourage its people from engaging in illegal activities overseas, a move seen by Christian groups here as an attempt to curb missionary work.

The presenting issue? The Korean government wants to avoid "the impairment of national dignity" that it believes results when Korean missionaries are kidnapped or killed as a result of their missionary activities:

Some Christians continue to ignore government warnings and enter nations designated as "unsafe" by the Foreign Ministry for missionary work, leading to cases such as the kidnapping of dozens of Koreans in Afghanistan in 2007 and the imprisonment of two Korean men in Libya last year.

The issue has sparked social disputes in recent years as some side with the government saying taxpayers shouldn't have to shoulder ransoms and other costs spent to rescue the missionaries.

The South Korean government adopted a policy not to pay ransoms to kidnappers after the 2007 Afghanistan incident, during which two people were executed while 21 others were released after the government paid a large sum of money to the Taliban. The exact amount has not been made public.

The reaction from Korean mission agencies has been strong and negative:

"The government wants to control missionary activities overseas," an elder at a Presbyterian Church in Seoul said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

But these negative statements reveal just how spoiled we Christians are. Do we really expect governments to pay ransoms and engage in expensive, extensive, and politically compromising negotiations to bail us out when we Christians are captured serving our king? Do we expect governments to permit us to travel with their sanction so that we can further the kingdom we have been called to serve?

That's a very shaky foundation on which to build a missionary enterprise, friend. We in "free" nations would do well to fundamentally rethink our approach to training and deploying missionaries--today. While we are still "free" to do so, we need to persecution-proof our missionary sending approaches so that they are not toppled by changes in government policy like this one in South Korea. This will mean wholesale changes in how we appoint, train, and publicize the work of missionaries. We will need to study how missionaries are raised up and sent out today in "closed" countries. It's a totally different system--and one that becomes even more germane to us with each passing day-and each passing law.

Then [the Jewish ruling council] called [Peter and John] in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:18-20, NIV)

 

--VOM Korea