Persecution Blog

WorldNetDaily Remembers the Martyrs

A memorial service has been scheduled in Istanbul tomorrow for three Christian martyrs who were slain in a vicious attack by Muslims who had agreed to meet them at a Bible publishing house in Turkey one year ago.

Compass Direct is reporting the service will be held at St. Esprit Cathedral in honor of the lives of Tilman Geske of Germany and Turkish nationals Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel.

According to Forum 18 News, a Turkish Protestant commentator described 2007 as a "dark year" for their community.

Some Christians are hiring private security companies and locking their doors during worship because of fears about the violence threatened against Christians, the report said.

Read the rest here.

From Muslim to Christian

This video is a few weeks old, but definitely worth watching.

I Choose God - Go Ahead and Shoot

Mary was only seventeen when Muslim fanatics raided her village in Lebanon. Mary and her parents were confronted with a grueling choice: “Become a Muslim, or you will be shot.”

Mary boldly told the man, “I choose God. Go ahead and shoot.” Mary and her family were shot and left for dead. Two days later, the Red Cross arrived in the village and found a miracle. Mary was alive—paralyzed by the bullet wound.

Devastated and grieving, Mary clung to her faith and prayed. Finally a strange peace came over her. She made this commitment to God: “Everyone has a job to do. I can never marry or do any physical work. So I will offer my life for the Muslims, like the ones who killed my father and mother and tried to kill me. My life will be a prayer for them."

Her prayers and her undeniable witness of Christ brought many Muslims to faith in the Son of God. In Lebanon, 1990 was the fiercest year of the fifteen-year civil war. Thousands were killed or wounded, and hundreds of thousands fled. However, Mary’s offering of her wounded life encouraged many Christians to stay and take a stand for Christ.

The greatest gift to God’s service will not fit in an offering plate. When we view our entire lives as offerings to God, our resources to benefit his kingdom are unlimited. Many of those who have been persecuted like Mary share a similar story. They continue to offer their lives to serve those who oppress them as an act of worship. Therese of Lisieux once noted, “Sufferings gladly borne for others convert more people than sermons.” The majority of Christians will find it easy to make the usual excuses for offering their lives: “too busy” and “too much going on.” However, God can reveal unique ways that we can be witnesses for Him.

Forty-six Christians Arrested, Two Remain in Detention

   

China Aid Association reports that the Chinese Communist government recently launched a strategic campaign against house churches in Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

As a result of this campaign, 46 Christians were arrested by Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials on April 13, during a Bible class and worship service in Kashi city, Xinjiang province.

CAA reported, “Forty-six house church Christians were holding Bible class and worship in the home of Mr. Ding Zhichun, when PSB officials intruded into Ding’s home and arrested all of them. Forty-four Christians were released after the trial day, following a 50 Yuan deposit to the PSB by the family members.”

CAA added, “The Christians were mandated to confess their illegal Sunday worship activities and study the government’s handbook on Religious Policy. They were also required to return and recite the policy to officials within one week.”

The Voice of the Martyrs supports and stands with Christians in China and encourages you to pray for believers who are living under immense pressure. Ask God to encourage and minister to the two still being held by the police. Pray their testimony will draw nonbelievers into fellowship with Christ.

                          

Chinese Hell

A commenter on www.VOMGroups.com related an interesting, if non-biblical, description of heaven and hell. The commenter said, "The Chinese version of hell is a sumptuous banquet at which the guests are starving because they've been given six-foot chopsticks and can't feed themselves. Heaven's the exact same setting except that the guests are feeding each other with the chopsticks instead of trying to feed themselves."

A different illustration from a book called Stories from China by Luke Wesley (offered by VOM) reveals that not everything at the end of a chopstick is heavenly. Wesley, a missionary who visited a village in China, tells of sharing a meal with some church leaders in a mud-brick house. He noticed some large bugs with two-inch wing spans hovering around the light bulb. Suddenly one of the bugs dive-bombed Wesley's soup, and the man sitting beside him plucked the bug out of the soup and gobbled it up. "No one batted an eye," said Wesley.

While that's not exactly "persecution," it is a good illustration of some of the fascinating types of situations that those who spread the Good News around the world might face. That story, and others of "real" persecution, are told on a kid level in a colorful 52-page VOM book for kids, Bold Believers in China. The book, and other selected VOM books for kids, are now available for free downloading at www.KidsofCourage.com. You might want to share a copy with a young person you know, especially with the Olympics coming up soon in China.

One Year Ago Today - Malatya Murders

It is amazing how time flies and how sometimes it is very easy to forget such horrendous massacres.  For example, one year ago today - April 18, 2007 three Turkish converts were murdered.

On April 18, 2007, five Muslims entered a Christian publishing company and killed three believers in the southeastern province of Malatya. Two of the victims, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, were Turkish converts from Islam and the third man, Tilmann Geske, was a German citizen who had lived in Turkey for 10 years. News reports said four of the attackers admitted that the killings were motivated by both “nationalist and religious feelings.”

My friend Todd Nettleton, who works at The Voice of the Martyrs, but who is writing as a citizen and not as an employee of VOM, shared his thoughts on his personal blog, which you may read at On My Mind
about the murders that happened one year ago today.

Todd writes in part...

My heart has gone many times this week to the families of my three brothers—Tilmann Geske, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel—because this day will remind them of their loss and loneliness since husband, father, son or fiancé entered eternity that Wednesday morning.

I remember reading with horror the story last April, the story of three men tied to their chairs and brutally murdered. For some reason the story grabbed my attention and my heart, and a couple months later I was sent by VOM to meet with the families and hear their stories…stories of victory and forgiveness in spite of their suffering. The trip, from start to finish, was a God-ordained miracle. It was amazing the doors that He opened, and it left me blown away by His power and grace.

Todd goes on to write about his experience and shares some of his personal email as he had the opportunity to meet with the wives and families of the three Christians who were martyred for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Please take the time to read all of what Todd wrote and then join me in prayer for those families. 

 

Assyrian Orthodox Priest Killed

VOM Sources

On April 5, Father Youssef Adel (40), an Assyrian Orthodox priest, was shot dead by unknown assailants in the district of Karradah, Baghdad. According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts, "At approximately 11:30 a.m., Adel was driving to a church when gunmen in another car sped past him and opened fire. Adel was the director of a high school that was attended by both Christians and Muslims. He had been the target of threats and intimidation intended to drive him away from his post." Pray that those who mourn for Father Adel will find strength, courage and peace in Christ. Pray that believers in Iraq will set Christ apart as Lord and not be controlled by fear despite severe persecution. Also pray Christians in Iraq will forgive their persecutors. 1 Peter 3:14-17

Owning a Bible Could Lead to Arrests

In an article posted by the AFP titled China slammed over "grave" crisis facing NKorean refugees  that is really a very sad look at is what is happening to those inside of North Korea and those who fled from North Korea and had the opportunity to take refuge in China.

According to a 48 page report called "Prison Without Bars" by the independent US Commission on International Religious Freedom, those in North Korea who confessed religious belief faced very harsh penalties inside the communist regime.

Some of the refugees interviewed said that if they were sent back into North Korea from China and they were a person who had religious beliefs that they were treated "just like animals" and also even if they had a bible they could be arrested.  Others could disappear as well as be murdered.

The article goes on to say,

The commission, which acts as the religious freedom watchdog, lamented "the grave situation" facing the repatriated North Koreans and called for global action to contain the crisis.

It said there was sufficient evidence to make a case that North Koreans in China should qualify as refugees under the relevant international standards.

Senator Sam Brownback when speaking on this subject said "China's role as the great enabler of human rights abuses," and that

"There is a dismal record of China in Tibet, there is a dismal record of China in Darfur, there is a dismal record of China in the treatment of North Korean refugees," he said, calling on Beijing to stop the "abuses."

Another tragedy reported is that some North Korean women are sold into slavery in China.

The bottom line is that we all need pray for our brothers and sisters who are in China and North Korea, that someday they will be set free from the religious persecution they are under and that the leadership in China would stop allowing abuse under their leadership.

Tribal Villager Murders Christian Brother

NEW DELHI, April 15 (Compass Direct News) – Believing that his brother’s Christian faith was black magic that resulted in the death of his teenage daughter, a tribal villager in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh state on April 3 killed Thakur Sing Bhil with an arrow shot to the chest, relatives said. Bhil, also known as Thakur Baba, was a Christian leader from Gatiya Dev village who had faced opposition from relatives after converting to Christianity. He was estimated to be 55 years old. Relatives said his brother Mangar Singh, 45, entered his house in a drunken rage at noon and shot an arrow into this chest from close range. “My husband’s younger brother, Mangar Singh, had a 17-year-old daughter who died about three months ago because of ill health, and he blamed us for he thought that the conversion of my husband and his praying were responsible for his daughter’s death,” Bhil’s wife Inda Pasaha Bhil told Compass. “He somehow misunderstood our belief and prayers to be black magic of some kind, and since he was always opposed to our embrace of Christianity, it further infuriated him.” Relatives said police had arrested Singh, but because of poor communications infrastructure Compass was not immediately able to obtain a police account of the incident.

God Ruled Her Heart

A fellow prisoner who was a priest in a Russian prison had betrayed Zoya. He made false accusations about her so that he could be released from prison and escape his own torture. During the trial, Zoya refused to say one word against him. She said, “When Judas betrayed Jesus, he was a treacherous man. But Jesus called him ‘friend’ in Gethsemane. Should we not learn from Christ’s example and behave like this towards those who betray us?”

    Zoya Krakhmalnikova spent six years in a Russian prison for sharing Christ with others. Her time there gave her a unique insight into God’s Word and how it applies to the harsh realities of life.     “In prison, every cell door has a hole called the Judas hole. Through it the guards can control you every five minutes. They watch you closely, inspecting you and instructing you. This helped me to understand, if the Communists are so diligent about keeping an eye on me, would not God and his angels do so with even more diligence?”

    Zoya could have easily allowed bitterness to rule her heart. But she took the lessons in Scripture and directly applied them to her own life. They were hard lessons. But they served to make her life and the lives of those around her a little brighter.

Going on an extended trip without packing one’s things is a seemingly ridiculous proposition. Who would travel unprepared? Yet Christians make a spiritual journey every day without being adequately spiritually prepared for their trek. We need to be prepared with God’s Word in our hearts in order to apply them when needed. Many of us struggle to succeed in spiritual tests because we have not studied God’s principles ahead of time. We end up feeling like failures when we could have been victorious like Zoya by applying God’s Word to our situation. Your faith in Christ may take you to extreme places. Are you prepared for the journey? Make sure you have plenty of God’s Word—you’ll need it.