Persecution Blog

From Cellmate to Celebrity

A team from The Voice of the Martyrs recently spent some time in Romania, the home country of our founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand. This team was in Romania at a unique time; Romania’s television station was in the middle of hosting a contest to determine Romania’s top personalities through an opinion vote. Early in the voting, people were surprised to find the name “Richard Wurmbrand” in the top ten positions. On our team’s second day in the country, Pastor Wurmbrand occupied the number four slot.

Other names that topped the list included great Romanian kings and Olympic gymnastics. Yet the focus of many Romanians at that time wasn’t “Who is the greatest Romanian personality?” but, “Who is Richard Wurmbrand?”

As planned, our team went to visit Tirgul Ocna, a prison where Pastor Wurmbrand was held during the communist era. When they arrived, a television team had just finished shooting some footage for a documentary on Pastor Wurmbrand and was leaving the prison. Since our team was from Richard Wurmbrand’s mission, their arrival was very welcome.

In the prison, the team had an opportunity to share with the prisoners about Pastor Wurmbrand, the love of God and forgiveness. Afterwards, they asked the warden if they could see the cell where Pastor Wurmbrand was held. Because he had just showed the cell to the television crew, the warden allowed our team to also go visit the cell. Interestingly, while they were viewing the cell someone commented that the inmates in that cell are some of the most well-behaved.

I think it’s pretty cool that our team was able to view Pastor Wurmbrand’s cell because of media attention. More importantly, many Romanians who previously didn’t know about Richard Wurmbrand or his ministry have now taken great interest in both.

The voting for greatest Romanian personality is now over. Click here to find out what place Richard Wurmbrand received.

Assyrian Christian Teen Beheaded by Muslims

I saw this next story at two different websites and I have to tell you that it really breaks my heart to read this news again today.  My friend Pastor Grant Swank picked up on this story and is reporting the following details concerning this teenager who was mercilessly beheaded.  (His main source is here)

The Assyrian International News Agency informed media feeds that the 14-year-old Christian, Ayad Tariq, from Baqouba, Iraq, was killed while employed at his 12-hour work shift.

Tariq oversaw an electric generator operation. While on shift, “a group of disguised Muslim insurgents walked in at the beginning of his shift shortly after 6 a.m. and asked him for his ID.

“According to another employee who witnessed the events, and who hid when he saw insurgents approach, the insurgents questions Ayad after seeing that his ID noted he was a ‘Christian.’ The insurgents asked the boy if he was really a ‘Christian sinner.’”

When Muslims question a Christian prior to killing them, it is to see if the Christian will recant. If the Christian does not give up on allegiance to Christ as Savior, then that believer is murdered by Islamic zealots. It is part of the Koran’s mission in depopulating the world of Christians by slaying them. The overall gain is Islam World Rule.

Read the rest here.

The Humility of the Persecuted

This morning during my devotional time I read 1Peter 5:5 which says, "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,    "God opposes the proud       but gives grace to the humble." This is an amazing scripture especially when thinking about our persecuted brethren.  The last few years, as I have been writing this blog, one thing that constantly amazes me is the humility of those who  have been persecuted.  In fact, I'd say that the persecuted church all over the world is a stellar example to us Western Christians of what true humility is like.

In America humility is extremely lacking and that is not meant as a criticism, but as an observation.  We in the West live in luxury and by the rest of the world's standards are extremely rich - and it's hard for the rich to be humble because we are proud of being "self made millionaires" - that attitude is prevalent.

But as I've thought about some of those I've written and read about on this blog, humility is definitely their trademark. Women being sentenced to jail in Indonesia for teaching children the gospel, even though they are educated, rely humbly on God for His will to be done.  As a result many are being led to Christ while they minister in jail.  God has given them His grace.

A young woman who had her neck severely severed in an attempted beheading is another example of God's grace.  She still needs our prayers and her humility before the world as a survivor of such evil is amazing.

Women and men in the Sudan living moment by moment in total dependence on God and relying on His grace in the Sudan and other parts of the world.  Living in a humble state and yet sustained by God's grace.

What I have noticed is that grace and humility go together.  God is opposed to the proud, but He does give grace to the humble.  This is the lesson I'm thinking about today as I remember my brethren in prayer today.  And I especially want to thank you for praying for them as well.  To know a persecuted Christian is like being nearer to the throne room of Grace.  I want to be closer there every day.  I hope you do too.

Do You Prefer Comfort or a Challenge?

It's Monday and I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was very nice attending the GodBlogCon at Biola University this past weekend where we had the opportunity to share the ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs.  Today's devotion is from the book Extreme Devotion and it was encouraging to me because it reminds me that our walk of faith is not always comfortable and can often be challenging.  If you are being challenged today, remember God is still very near to you.

Countless Christians in the Ukrainian town had already been sent away to Siberian labor camps because of their faith. Now it was Vera Yakovlena’s turn. The reputation of these camps was widely known, and she was certain she would never survive.

    When a guard found her witnessing for Christ, her punishment was to stand barefoot for hours on the ice. When she failed to meet her work quota, she was beaten and denied the watery broth they called the evening meal.

    One evening, depressed and crying, Vera walked out into the prison yard to be alone. In her misery she didn’t notice that she had crossed into the forbidden zone, where prisoners are shot on sight.     Suddenly a harsh voice yelled, “Hey, is your mother a Christian?”

    The stunned and frightened Vera, who had actually been thinking of her mother at the time, answered, “Why do you ask?”

    The guard said, “Because I’ve been watching you for ten minutes, but I haven’t been able to shoot you. I can’t move my arm. It’s very healthy—I have been moving it all day. So I figured you must have a mother who is praying for you. Run back—I’ll look the other way.”

    Vera saw the guard the very next day. He smiled at her and raised his arm saying, “Now I can move it again.”

We like to play it safe. We like security over adventure. We prefer comfort to challenge. When it comes down to it, we want to safeguard our lives from as much doubt and fear as possible. Yet we have forgotten that God offers his protection at times when we are on the front lines in his service. God’s protection is more like a shield in battle than like a security blanket for our comfort at home. When is the last time your stepped out in faith so much that you simply had to rely on God’s protection? Are you so busy safeguarding your life that you have forgotten how to trust God? Are you so cautious that you never take risks for God? Regardless of the outcome, a witness is not simply a “risk.” It is faith.

Religious Persecution in Eritrea

Thanks to persecution blogger Jan who pointed me to this news article today called Religious Persecution in Eritrea from the BBC website.

The article begins...

If you are Catholic, Muslim, or a member of the Orthodox and Evangelical churches in Eritrea then it seems you can breathe easy. However, those who believe and practise minority faiths are routinely persecuted, according to human rights groups.

Read the rest here.

Persecution Blog Week End Wrap Up

Normally we do our weekend wrap up on Friday's, however, tomorrow I will be attending the Second Annual God Bloggers Conference right here in Southern California at Biola University, so we've moved our event to today.  Thank you again to all of you who are participating!

One of the things that always encourages me is when I see believers doing special things for the persecuted church.  This week Dean sent me this entry that he wrote for his blog Bibles at the China Border  called Autumn Rain 2007 Prayer Calendar which is a calendar he made to raise money for the persecuted church in China.  Very cool!

Our next entry is from Michael at Supply the Word called A Call To Love Your Neighbor . Michael writes, Christians need to reach out to everyone, including Muslims, to share the word and the love that Jesus Christ has shown to us. This is the only way. War cannot do it, sanctions cannot do it, no one can bring God's children together but Jesus Christ."

Next we have another wonderful entry from Mick at the Romans 15:4 Project called Pray for the Faithful that Refuse Islam .  He describes his entry this way, "Many faithful have suffered the ultimate sacrifice because they have refused to convert to Islam".  Powerful!

Jan writes our next entry about two people she recently met.  Jan writes,"I  recently met two young men at a VOM table: One was willing to go to the most remote regions of a hostile country to spread the gospel, after he became one of the fortunate ones to have made it to America, while the other despairs, because he had never read a Bible and did not know of the hope that we have in Christ." Read her post called An Amazing Contrast.

Next we have a reminder from John who blogs at Bible Truth Online concerning the Persecution in Azerbaijan .  Imagine not being able to name your baby a Christian name.  This is happening in Azerbaijan.

And our second to last entry is from Barb at Tidbits & Treasures who writes, "A mother got to share the message of salvation with her son, after he witnessed the death of his friend because he was a Christian."  Read Barb's entry - Have You Shared Jesus With Someone Today?

Our final entry comes from Hal over at The Great Separation.  Hal's post is called Egyptian Muslim Religious Leader Jailed for being Born Again.   Hal writes, "A Muslim religious leader who confessed belief in Christ as Lord and Savior was arrested in Egypt. The charge, insulting Islam for being born again."

Please remember all of these brothers and sisters in your prayers.

A "Pencil's" Faith

If you're like me then you probably have a nickname because someone deems you a pretty special person, or you're into spy movies and like to go by code names so that no one will ever know who you are.  Some of us actually do that for fun...and speaking of fun, if you ever want to get a reaction out of people when your cell phone rings, why not answer it "Agent _____" and whatever your name is.  I digress...

I wanted to share with you that I'm excited about the newest World Net Daily article that's been written about The Voice of the Martyrs.  And since we are taking about code names and nicknames, I wanted to share with you that "Pencil" is really the person this article is all about.  Read on...

The report from The Voice of the Martyrs tells of four young men who chose pseudonyms – Pencil, Eraser, Pen and Paper Clip – while training for a Christian mission expedition into North Korea.

...

While three were studious in their work, the VOM report said, the young man who chose the name "Pencil" seemed to pay little attention, but all four were dispatched into the kingdom of Kim Jong-il a short time later.

Pencil's three friends were arrested and he never saw them again.  As a result, Pencil became fearful and decided to live as a beggar.  Eventually he went back to his mentor, Andrew, and told him that he wanted to live like his three friends without fear and unafraid to share Jesus.

Eventually time passed and Pencil returned to work on the mission field where he was arrested and tortured for his faith.

Beatings and torture, including pulling out his fingernails, followed. "If you kill me, someday you will become a Christian," "Pencil" told the officers. Eventually, the officers gave up, ordering him to a labor camp but with instructions that he not be fed. For two months, "Pencil" told the other prisoners and the camp guards, "Jesus is the reason I am able to go on." "Because of his endurance and how he shared the love of Jesus, many in the camp turned to Christ," the VOM report said. "After two months in the camp, Pencil died. He never saw his 20th birthday. His body was removed from the camp, but the fruit of his short ministry there lived on."

Bookstore Evangelism

Yesterday I received a very cool email from Todd Nettleton telling me about a recent story they heard from one of the Voice of the Martyrs constituents.  I think this is a pretty cool idea, and we wanted to share it with you so that you can take part should the Lord lead you to do so.

Here's the email:

"One of our constituents phoned in a donation and book order last week.  She said she normally buys our books through the bookstores listed above,(Barnes & Noble and Borders books) but this time she wanted to also make a donation so she called us.  Then she proceeded to tell me that these bookstores (and perhaps others) always order 2 books whenever they are not carrying the book that you request.  Therefore, she usually orders through these bookstores so that there will also be one of “our” books left on their shelves. What a great idea!"

Have you had a similar experience ?  If you have, please share it with us, because we always love to see how the Lord works!

Christian Convert from Islam Jailed

A Muslim sheikh jailed in Egypt for 18 months has declared from his prison cell that he is under arrest for "insulting Islam" by becoming a Christian. Egypt's secret police transferred Bahaa el-Din Ahmed Hussein el-Akkad, 57, to the Wadi el-Natroun Prison last month. He was told he would remain there indefinitely unless he agreed to work as a government informer against other converts to Christianity. According to the prisoner's Cairo attorney, Athanasius William, his client remains incarcerated in this desert prison "only because he has chosen a different belief, to be a Christian." When courts ordered El-Akkad's release from provisional detention 10 weeks ago, State Security Investigation authorities deliberately ignored the ruling. Pray God will strengthen this faithful believer with the assurance that Jesus is with him and He will be the final victor. Psalm 102:19-22

Praying for China

Today I have two prayer requests for China that I want to share with you.  These are in this weeks VOM Prayer alert which you can sign up for at www.persecution.com  .

Handicapped Pastor Sentenced to Two Years in Prison - China Aid Association CAA learned October 9 that Pastor Wang Zaiqing, a prominent Chinese house-church leader in Anhui Province was sentenced to two years in prison on the charge of "illegal business practices," fined 100,000 Yuan ($12,500.00 US), and had all the books and printing funds taken from his home. Pastor Wang was crippled at the age of 5 years. He became a Christian in 1993, and later became a very well-known house church planter and preacher in several provinces around Anhui Province. Pray Pastor Wang will find comfort and strength, knowing the One who will never forsake him. Hebrews 4:14-16

Prosecution of Six Christian Leaders Postponed - China Aid Association

The trial of six Christian leaders arrested in July in connection with the demolition of a church under construction, has been postponed due to lack of evidence. The local prosecutor in Hangzhou city decided not to prosecute the church leaders at this time. At the time of the event, the church leaders implored the military police to postpone entering the construction site, and at the same time urged the Christians to leave quickly. A potential large-scale clash was actually avoided on the spot. The local people's prosecutor might find the charge of "incitement to resist law-enforcement" is not tenable. The case was returned to the local PSB to gather more evidence. According to an expert legal analyst, the most optimistic prospect is that the case will be thrown out for lack of sufficient evidence. Give thanks to God that He has shown Himself powerful on behalf of the Christians. Psalm 27:12-14