Persecution Blog

Pakistan: Elderly 'Blasphemers' Sentenced to 10 Years

The following news item comes from VOM partner Compass Direct.

November 27 (Compass Direct News) – In a case that has drawn crowds of religious fanatics, a Pakistani court sentenced two Christian men to 10 years in prison on Saturday (November 25) for committing “blasphemy” against the Quran.

After postponing the verdict for four consecutive days, Judge Muhammad Islam of Faisalabad’s Anti-Terrorism Court delivered the prison sentence and a 25,000 rupee (US$414) fine in a closed hearing.

The high profile case had aroused controversy in Faisalabad when it was rumored that James Masih (pictured on right), 65, and his neighbor, Buta Masih (pictured on left), 70, had burned pages of the Quran on October 8 in the street near their homes in Faisalabad’s Munir Park district.

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VOM Christmas Specials

Merry Christmas everyone!  Okay, I know that technically it's a little bit early, but when you love Jesus and can't wait to celebrate His glorious birthday, you can't help but shout from the blogtops that it's the Christmas season.  Which is exactly why I wanted to share with you that The Voice of the Martyrs has some Christmas specials going on.

One of my favorite VOM books is Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand and now you too can get this book in the special leatherbound edition AND you can send it to your friends also.  Click here to learn how.

And if you're like me then you also will want to check out the VOM t-shirts they have on sale right now for only $7 - what a deal!  I love every single one of my VOM t-shirts because not only are they great quality, but the message is awesome and a great conversation starter.

Plus, they also have a brand new Bibles Unbound t-shirt available too!  So what are you waiting for, click here and order your Christmas presents today and at the same time support the ministry of VOM and our persecuted brothers and sisters in the faith.

Time to Take Action with VOM Action Packs

It's almost December and what better time for you and me to take action with a Voice of the Martyr's Action Pack!  I think Christmas time is an awesome time to step up and take part in one of VOM's greatest programs - Action Packs.

Let me remind you what you get and have to do in order to share.  For only $5 you can take part in the fun and become a great blessing to the persecuted church.

Each Action Pack includes:

• A special preprinted vacuum bag with a zip-lock closure that allows air to be pushed out by simply rolling the vacuum bag.

• Instructions on what items to put in the vacuum bag.

• Instructions on sending the bag back to The Voice of the Martyrs.

• Five additional brochures for you to share with your church or family and friends.

(larger quantities available upon request)

Each special vacuum bag is ready to be filled by you personally. For the many who have been displaced by events in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, or ostracized by their family or village because of their faith, these items will be a welcome expression of our love.

Hey...what are you waiting for?  Click here and order your Action Pack today.

Prisoner Profile of Ms. Li Ying

If you're like me when you read stories of our persecuted brethren your heart is moved to action.  This morning as I  was looking at the Prisoner Alert site and reading the story of Li Ying, everything within me wants to give this dear sister a big warm hug.  In fact, I wonder when the last time was when she had a hug.  Wow...I can't even begin to know.

What I do know though is that you and I can make a difference in her life and so far thousands have made a difference in her life.  Here's some of the content from the Prisoner Alert site that will tell you more about Li.

Chinese Christian Li Ying has been in prison more than 2000 days. She is serving a 15-year sentence for her role as editor of an underground-church magazine in China. She was the very first prisoner featured on www.prisoneralert.com. At that time, the email list consisted of barely more than 2000 people. More than 7,400 letters have been printed off of the site to be sent to her since that original posting in February, 2004.

The letters that Prisoner Alert visitors write make a difference! Once when her mother went to the prison to visit Li Ying, the warden asked, “How many relatives do you have in America?” He had noted all the letters arriving for Li Ying! In recent months, Li Ying’s mother has not been allowed to visit as prison officials tried to get Li Ying to recant her faith and sign a document saying that she is part of an “evil cult.” Yet she has remained faithful to Christ and refused to sign.

Please join me in writing a letter to Li today. Click here for all the information you need.

What Are You Thinking, Mr. Warren?

Happy Monday to all of you!  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you are growing closer to the Lord Jesus even as we fellowship together through this blog.

I wanted to start this week out by sharing with you a post that Glenn Penner has written over at his persecution blog.  Last week I wrote the following post about Rick Warren and his commentary about Syrian not being a place where Christians are persecuted.  Today I want you to see Glenn's response, as Glenn is well educated about the issue of Christian persecution....something Warren is obviously ignorant about.

What Are You Thinking, Mr. Warren?

Extreme Devotion

Where there is no cross, there is no crown. This lesson cannot be learned from books, and men do not usually taste this sweetness. This rich life does not exist in a comfortable environment. If the spices are not refined to become oil, the fragrance of the perfume cannot flow forth; and if the grapes are not crushed in the vat, they will not become wine.

FROM A CHINESE CHRISTIAN

Time to Give Thanks

If it's one thing I've learned writing about Christians who are being persecuted is that they are people of prayer and they are thankful to the Lord for the privilege of suffering for His precious name.  So as we go into the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, will you please join me in praying for our suffering brothers and sisters in countries that do not have religious freedom. 

Here are a few scriptures to meditate upon as you prepare to give thanks.

Psalm  69:30 - "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving."

Psalm  100:4 - "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

Psalm 116:17  - "I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD."

Colossians 4:2 "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving"

Revelation  7:12 "Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

Calling Rick Warren

Yesterday I reported on the assassination of Pierre Gemayel and today WorldNetDaily also has a story concerning this story and all of the recent happenings with Pastor Rick Warren.

I have intentionally not reported on what Rick Warren has been doing in Syria, but after seeing this story today I felt the need to share this with you.  Joseph Farah is calling on Rick Warren to repent.  Click here to read the full story.  Read this paragraph from Farah's article.

Is Syria the worst place in the world for Christians? No. But, according to organizations like Voice of the Martyrs that work full-time on persecution issues, it is a place where Christians fear to evangelize. It is a place, much like other Middle East dictatorships, Christians are fleeing when they can. It is a place serving as a hub for the worldwide spread of jihadism. It is a place, as we saw once again yesterday, that spreads death to Christians in foreign countries in hopes of spreading Syrian hegemony over less-powerful neighbors.

Christian Cabinet Minister Assassinated

One of the biggest stories in the news today is the assassination of  Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel who was a very outspoken anti-Syrian critic.

President Bush weighed in on the assassination by saying, "...[we need to} identify those people and those forces behind the killing." And he also stated, "For the sake of peace, the free world must reject those who undermine young democracies and murder in the name of their hateful ideology."

To read more on the international fall out over this assassination, please click here.

No Such Thing As Unanswered Prayer

In today's Extreme Devotion I was reminded that there is no such thing as an unanswered prayer.  The faith of these believers also inspired me to want to continue to stand for Jesus and not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ that delivers us from all sin.

“Why do you continue these meetings?” the secret policeman asked the Christian. “Do you think your neighbors wouldn’t report you to us?”

    The young man was a new Christian, but already he had led twenty others to Christ. They were praying that God would provide them a place to gather and worship together.

    For three weeks, the North African Christians met in an apartment—an illegal gathering that could lead to their arrest. Their praise and singing alerted the neighbors, who reported them to the secret police. Three times the young Christian had been hauled in for questioning.

    “Do you speak against Islam?” demanded the officer during the third interrogation.     “No,” the Christian answered. “We have nothing to do with Islam. We worship Jesus.”     “Do you speak against our leaders?”

    “No, sir. We pray for our leaders, just as Jesus told us to.”

    “Why don’t you find another place to meet? Then your neighbors will stop reporting you.”     “How can we, sir? We don’t have the proper permission.”

    The officer reached into his desk and took out a form. He wrote for several minutes and handed the form to the Christian. It granted the Christians the right to meet together in a church building that was no longer being used. A beautiful building and government permission to meet there—it was an answer to their prayers.

There is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. God always answers each of our prayers. Yet he may not answer in the way we prayed he would. Sometimes the answer is, “Wait.” We must wait on his timing in order to move ahead. Sometimes his answer is for us to “grow.” Our request is right on target, but we still have some growing to do in order to move ahead. Still, sometimes we are disappointed to hear his answer is, “No.” Our request is not in line with his will, or the timing is not right. And sometimes, the answer is, “Go.” Our request is on target. We are spiritually prepared, and the timing is right. What is God’s answer to your prayer right now?