Persecution Blog

Students Jailed for Reading the Bible

From WorldNetDaily we have another astounding story of Christian persecution.

Click here to read.

Special Interview with Todd Nettleton

Today on Janet Parshall's Saturday program, Talking It Over, our very own Todd Nettleton is giving us an update about his recent trip to Asia.

One of the things he shared was how they got to release balloons with gospel tracks into North Korea.

He also discussed some of the recent happenings in China, and Eritrea and how some pastors have been imprisoned for 4 years without cause, and just because they are Christians.

They also touched on what is happening in Iran.  (See my previous post for the latest from Iran).

Please remember to pray, pray, pray and pray for all of our suffering brothers and sisters all over the world.

The audio file of this interview will be posted soon over at the Talking It Over website.  Be sure to listen.

Christian Band Remembers the Persecuted in Indonesia

I love to find news where Christians are doing what they can to support the persecuted church, and ever since the four Sunday school teachers were arrested and jailed in Indonesia I personally have been concerned about Indonesia believers.

It turns out that the band Bread of Stone is also because they were recently in California doing a benefit concert to raise money for the churches in Indonesia.  Here's part of the news about them:

Bread of Stone founders, Bill and Ben Kristijanto. While in California doing a benefit concert to raise money for an Indonesian church, the brothers heard the news of the tragedy in their native land. An attack happened this past week on the Christian village of Horale, where people including children, were tortured. Not only were people hurt, but the village community also suffered a great loss as the village school, three churches and 120 houses were burnt down.  Read the full article.

 

And why not enjoy their promotional video.  I really like their music.

Christian Converts Arrested in Iran

Yesterday the Christian Today website posted a story entitled Iran arrests 12 Christian converts in which we learn that the Christian converts converted from Islam.  Many of the converts were also involved in the house churches and a few of them were arrested at the airport.

Thankfully, most of them have been released.

However, this brings up something I wanted to remind you about.  The Voice of the Martyrs has a great book that reminds us all that people are thirsting for Jesus Christ in Iran.

  In Iran: Desperate for God, you will read wonderful testimonies of people who have found Jesus and it will also spur you on to remember to pray for those in Iran who not only serve Jesus, but are sharing the love of Christ with those who are not yet saved.

Click here to order this 8.00 book today!

The Forgotten Crisis in Somalia

Carl Moeller has a very interesting and informative article posted over at the Christian Post website.

Somalia is the producer of warlords, child soldiers, endless refugees, broken lives and Christian martyrs.

In Somalia the number of marginalized people is very high. The country has been devastated by war, famine, drought, flooding, assassinations and suicide bombings over the years. There are 1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and 1.4 million in need of food. United Nations officials who work in Somalia have said that the country has higher malnutrition rates, more current bloodshed and fewer aid workers than in Darfur. There are only four doctors per 100,000 people.

“The situation in Somalia is the worst on the continent (Africa),” Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, a top U.N. official for Somalia, told the New York Times last fall.

Finish reading this important article here.

Iranian Police Arrest 12 Christian Converts, Four Remain in Prison

On May 12, Iranian police arrested 12 known Muslim converts to Christianity and confiscated their books, computers and printers in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz.

According to Compass Direct News, “The arrests began at 5 a.m. on May 11, when two couples were taken into custody before boarding their flights at the Shiraz International Airport and sent directly to jail. All four were subjected to hours of interrogation, questioning them solely ‘just about their faith and house church activities.’”

Compass Direct News added that the detained Christians had been identified as: Homayon Shokohie Gholamzadeh, 48; his wife, Fariba Nazemiyan Pur, 40; Amir Hussein Bab Anari, 25; and his wife, Fatemeh Shenasa, 25. Although the two wives were released the same day, Anari was detained until May 14, and Gholamzadeh remains in jail.

“Two hours after the early arrests of May 11, police authorities invaded the home of Hamid Allaedin Hussein, 58, arresting him and his three adult children: Fatemah, 28; Muhammed Ali, 27; and Mojtaba, 21. All the family’s books, CDs and computers were hauled off as well. Hussein, his daughter and one son were released later the same day, but son Mojtaba remains in prison,” Compass Direct added.

According to Compass Direct News, “Two days later [May 13], local police picked up two more former Muslims involved in a separate house church in Shiraz, as the Christian converts were talking together in a city park. Both men, Mahmood Matin and a second man identified only as Arash, are still jailed. Still another arrest incident was reported last month in the northern city of Amol, in Mazandaran province near the Caspian Sea. Two of the arrested converts to Christianity, one a pregnant woman, are still imprisoned, with no news of their whereabouts.”

In recent years, Iran’s Shiite Muslim government has cracked down on Christians involved in the growing house church movement, often resulting in arrests, harassment and intimidation. Some arrested converts to Christianity have been physically and psychologically mistreated and held for extended periods of time.

The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports Christians in Iran. VOM encourages you to pray for these courageous believers who face challenges every day because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Christians Need to Attend Persecution Conference

OneNewsNow picks up story about the upcoming Persecution conference hosted by The Voice of the Martyrs.

Voice of the Martyrs will hold its annual convention in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in June.

Invariably, the conference speakers are highly recognized experts on persecution, and in some cases, are people brought to the U.S. very discreetly. Todd Nettleton, spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs, wants Christians in America to attend the conference and learn about their brothers and sisters in Christ from around the globe.

"This is a time for American Christians to come together and meet face to face with Christians from restricted nations. We will have speakers coming in from around the world from nations where Christians are persecuted. They will share some of their own stories. They will share about the situation their countrymen are facing," Nettleton explains.

MORE...

Click here to learn how you can still register for Chain Reaction 2008!

 

Be Willing to Take Risks for God

The two women traveled week after week to attend secret house-church meetings. They were tired and frustrated that no church existed in their own village.

    After praying for months for a church nearby, one of the women finally said, “Maybe God is waiting for us to build a church. Why should he listen to our constant complaints if we are not willing to do something ourselves?”

    So they decided to take a risk. The two women and their husbands built a church in their little village in the Anhui province of China. The government immediately threatened to tear the building down unless they registered with the religious affairs bureau. They complied, and fortunately their rural area was not as closely supervised as some of the larger city churches. They even dared to invite other house-church pastors as guest speakers without first acquiring written permission.

     The women evangelized by visiting the local hospital and finding the patients that had no hope of recovery. Then they would pray and ask God to heal them. In one year, the budding church grew to over two hundred!

     One of the sisters said, “We prayed twenty days straight for one man, and he wasn’t healed until the very end. The family started threatening violence against us, saying that we were angering the gods. You have to be willing to take risks for God.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ is controversial, plain and simple. Why else would the devil isolate Christianity as the number one religion on restricted nations’ hit lists? For example, Buddhists do not have the extensive Christian underground church system that is forced to exist in restricted nations. New Age meditation experts do not fear for their lives in persecuted countries. Christianity is controversial because it is powerful over the enemy. Satan does not waste his time on false religions. Are you a spiritual risk as far as Satan is concerned? Or do you play it safe? Are you a threat to his plans because of your faith? If so, expect controversy. But rejoice you are part of the truth!

Orthodox Jewish Youths Burn New Testaments in Israel

Sad news from Israel...

"Orthodox Jews set fire to hundreds of copies of the New Testament in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in the Holy Land.

Or Yehuda Deputy Mayor Uzi Aharon said missionaries recently entered a neighborhood in the predominantly religious town of 34,000 in central Israel, distributing hundreds of New Testaments and missionary material.

After receiving complaints, Aharon said, he got into a loudspeaker car last Thursday and drove through the neighborhood, urging people to turn over the material to Jewish religious students who went door to door to collect it.

The books were dumped into a pile and set afire in a lot near a synagogue, he said."

Read the full story here.

Pastor's Son Recovering after Bomb Attack

- VOM Sources

Praise God! Amiel Ortiz, the teenage son of Messianic Pastor David Ortiz, is recovering after he was seriously injured when a bomb delivered to the family's home in the Jewish settlement went off in his hands. According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts, Amiel's father reports, "We checked out of the Schneider Children's Hospital last week after a six-week stay, eight days in the ICU and the rest on the children's floor. Ami received excellent care from the doctors and nurses in that hospital, but in response to prayer from the four corners of the earth, Ami has been healing at a rate that is extraordinary The plastic surgeon that worked on Ami said that in his 15 years of experience, he had never seen such extensive wounds. He said he has at least 100 pieces of shrapnel in his body from his head to his feet, which his body is slowly bringing up under the surface of the skin, which will come out by themselves." Pray for Amiel's continued recovery as he has transitioned into a rehabilitation center. Pray specifically for both eardrums to be restored, for him to regain use of his hands and arms, and healing for the burns and scars on his body. Also for the emotional healing for Amiel and his family, and for those responsible for the attack to be brought to justice. Ask God to give this family strength to forgive their attackers. 1 Corinthians 1: 3-5