Persecution Blog

Great Quote from Richard Wurmbrand, Founder of The Voice of the Martyrs

If you are not willing to die for what is in the Bible, you should not give money for Bibles. Because if you give, we will smuggle more Bibles. And if we smuggle more Bibles, there will be more martyrs.

PASTOR RICHARD WURMBRAND—FOUNDER OF THE VOICE OF THE MARTYRS

In Russia the Governor Orders Church Land Grab

The following news comes from Forum 18 News Service and you can read the full story here.  Again, this just shows persecution comes in many various forms.  And lest you think this is just happening in Russia, we have what we call emminent domain here in the United States, which could potentially be used in the same way.

Apparently unaware that he was giving a public address, the governor of Kaluga Region has ordered that land legally owned by Word of Life Pentecostal Church be seized by "any" means, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The order, made at a recent local government meeting broadcast live via the regional administration's website, has been captured and posted on the internet site YouTube by a church member. No official was prepared to comment to Forum 18. Word of Life has complained of frequent bureaucratic harassment ever since its land and building became an impediment to shopping mall construction plans in Kaluga. In Udmurtia, Philadelphia Pentecostal Church is the latest congregation to report similar bureaucratic obstruction, which state officials usually insist is lawful and routine. Such problems are usually encountered by Protestants, who are more likely to have unsecured worship premises.

Islamic Lawyers Urge Death Sentence for Convert

In case on whether he can legally change religion, Christian is accused of ‘apostasy.’

ISTANBUL, February 26 (Compass Direct News) – In the latest hearing of a Muslim-born Egyptian’s effort to officially convert to Christianity, opposing lawyers advocated he be convicted of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam, and sentenced to death. More than 20 Islamic lawyers attended the hearing on Sunday (Feb. 22) in Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary’s case to obtain identification papers with Christianity designated as his religious affiliation. Two lawyers led the charge, Ahmed Dia El-Din and Abdel Al-Migid El-Anani. El-Gohary was not present at the hearing, as attendance would put him at extreme personal risk. He had planned to obtain papers authorizing attorney Nabil Ghobreyal to act as his proxy representation in court, but staff members at the registry office swore at and beat him, lawyers said. Judge Hamdy Yasin was forced to adjourn the case until March 28 because El-Gohary did not obtain the necessary proxy representation documents. “I am now in a position where I can’t do anything else,” El-Gohary, who has been in hiding, told Compass. “I have to go [to court] despite the danger. I believe God will protect me. It’s a very hard decision, but I have to go.”

To read the full article click here.

Sowing Love, Sowing the Ability to Endure Persecution

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Romans 8:35

I was thinking this morning about the parable  in Mark 4 about the Sower and the Soils and something occurred to me as I was reading the explanation that Jesus gave his disciples who wanted to know what it meant. Here's part of what Jesus said:

^13(I)And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

 ¹⁴"The sower sows the word.

 ¹⁵"These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately ^(J)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

 ¹⁶"In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;

 ¹⁷and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

 ¹⁸"And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

 ¹⁹but the worries of ^(K)the ^[a]world, and the ^(L)deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

 ²⁰"And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^(M)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

What stood out to me was what I bolded - and in particular "...when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away." 

This stood out to me because of writing and reading a lot about persecution,  but even more so I see a connection between those who do not understand that God's LOVE will never be separated from them even when they suffer, versus those who stand firmly in God's word and His Love who are able to stand under persecution.

What this tells me is that it is important in our churches and ministries, to emphasize how great and how wide and how deep and how passionate God's love is for us.  If we emphasize the passion and death of Jesus Christ and  understand the LOVE of that great sacrifice, then it may bear fruit of patience and endurance during times of persecution and suffering.

When a person is not grounded in God's love, just like Jesus said, they tend to fall away when affliction or when persecution arises.

Please share with us your thoughts in the comments.  All comments are moderated.

Burmese Believers Have Joy Despite Crackdown on Churches

Our friends at Gospel for Asia released the following statement regarding the persecution happening in Myanmar. Here's a snippet:

MYANMAR (ANS) -- In a recent crackdown on Christians in Myanmar (Burma), at least 100 churches were ordered to stop holding services. About 50 pastors were forced to sign at least five documents each to cease church services—and warned repeatedly they could face time in jail if they disobeyed.
The crackdown is of great concern to Christians in Myanmar and a serious violation of religious freedom. Most of the churches meet in homes, and Christians are now left wondering if they will be prohibited from worshipping in their own homes.

In a recent crackdown on Christians in Myanmar (Burma), at least 100 churches were ordered to stop holding services.

Some think it could be the military regime’s response to churches helping with relief for victims of Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar’s coast in May 2008.

“The regime does not like the fact that Buddhists have been receiving help from churches, and fears this may possibly result in conversion,” one pastor living in exile said. “It does not want Christianity to grow in Burma. Ultimately, the regime seeks the destruction of Christianity.

What I find interesting about this story is that unbelievers even see that when the love of Christ is manifest through the good works that God calls His people to do, conversion is a result.

Nine Christians Killed in Nigeria

I just received a news release from our fellow friends who minister to the persecuted church, the Barnabas Fund, regarding the death of at least nine Christians who were killed.  Please pray for Nigeria today, and especially the families of the martyrs.  May the Lord bless you as you pray for the persecuted church.

An outbreak of violence between Muslims and Christians in the capital of Bauchi province in Northern Nigeria has left at least eleven people dead. Nine of the victims are said to be Christians, six of whom were shot and three killed with machetes. At least six churches, perhaps as many as 13, have been destroyed by fire, as well as three mosques and over 200 houses. Around a hundred people have been injured. About 4,500 people were displaced from their homes, and many of them have taken refuge in military barracks.

The latest eruption arose from a dispute between the congregations of a mosque and a nearby church on 20 February, although the details remain unclear. Violence appears to have continued for at least three days. A night-time curfew has now been imposed, and a military and police presence established on the streets; the federal government has sent soldiers to the state to provide additional security. The security forces have also been deployed or placed on alert in adjoining states.

The police have given assurances that those responsible for the outbreak will be punished, and the state governor has asserted his resolve to maintain peace. However, some doubt the authorities’ commitment to the security of lives and property, especially those of Christians. Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, says, “The chair of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Bauchi, Musa Tula, has expressed dissatisfaction over the measures being taken to ensure the safety of Christians in the state. He has also disputed the governor’s claim that the crisis is politically motivated, attributing it instead to religious tensions.”

Nigeria is almost evenly split between a mainly Muslim North and a largely Christian South. Some of the territories that lie along the dividing line explode into violence from time to time. Tensions have been running high in Bauchi since November 2008, when more than 300 people died in Jos, in neighbouring Plateau State.

Christian and Muslim leaders have called for calm and for peaceful co-existence between adherents of the two religions. But various Christian groups have asserted that violence in the North is likely to stop only if the government acts more strongly to prevent the killing of Christians and to bring their murderers to justice.

Tyndale, Translator for the People

  I am LOVING the Jesus Freaks PSA's that The Voice of the Martyrs uses to share the love of Christ and also to offer encouragement regarding Christians who are under persecution.

Today I wanted to share with you a one minute Jesus Freak episode called Tyndale, Translator for the People.  ( I love Tyndale...and of course there is also the publishing company you may know about called Tyndale Publishers)

Click here to listen.

Hillary Clinton: Human Rights Not a Priority With China

 In case you haven't heard, recently Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton decided to emphasize financial and economic issues with China and at the same time decided to brush under the rug all of the human rights abuses that China engages in.

Naturally, those of us who think human rights abuses in China are extremely important, are upset.  However, not everyone is upset about that - case in point - Alex Spillius from the UK Telegraph writes, 

HATS off to Hillary. On the last day of her maiden trip in Asia, she was frank about the how hard she would push the Chinese on human rights.

"Our pressing on those issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis," she said, adding that Washington "knew what the Chinese were going to say" on the issue.

She went on to emphasise the economic partnership between the US and China, who "are truly going to rise or fall together" and urged the Chinese to continue buying US treasury bonds.

For me, this raises an issue - or shall I say, actually highlights an issue.  What we are looking at is the value of humanity who are being persecuted, tortured in many cases, and abused - versus - the global economy and the importance of money.  I find this interesting, and I'm not the only one.

China Aid is reporting that Congressman Frank R. Wolf was so upset by Hillary's comments that he penned her a letter with his concerns.  Click here to read the full letter.  The letter begins this way...

Dear Secretary Clinton:

I write to share my dismay, also voiced by a number of leading human rights organizations, at your comments during your recent Asia trip indicating that human rights will not be a priority in your engagement with China. These statements come on the heels of the U.S. failing to participate in the United Nations review of the human rights record of China, among other worst offenders. Both are deeply troubling commentary on this administration’s commitment to human rights, and are undoubtedly disheartening for scores of Chinese citizens, including the imprisoned Catholic bishops, persecuted house church leaders and repressed Tibetan Buddhists.

What do you think of Hillary's position on human rights abuses in China?  Please leave us a comment below.  All comments are moderated.

Muslims Murder Milkman

  Imagine with me that you were doing a job  you were hired for and when you were expected to get paid, that your employer told you to wait another month for your wages.  Understandably, that would be upsetting. And I'm not sure exactly how these events took place, but it appears this happened to a Christian milkman in Pakistan.

It is being reported that the Christian man was desperate to support his family and needed the money.  So he confronted his Muslim employers and they murdered him.  Here's part of what is being reported:

Desperate to support his family, Ashraf returned on February 1 and demanded his wages. This enraged the three Muslim men, who said, "You are Esai [a derogatory term for Christians] and you demanded your pay from Muslims, what courage you have. We will finish you right now. Then go to your Esa [Christ], He will give you everything." After killing Ashraf, the three men fled.

We know that Ashraf (the Christian) had a family that he left behind.  Please take a moment today to pray for his family and also those Muslims that murdered him.

Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Released

Praise the Lord for the release of these precious Nuns!

Abducted by suspected Islamic militants in November, Italian sisters ‘fatigued, traumatized.’

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 23 (Compass Direct News) – Two nuns working in northeast Kenya who were kidnapped last November have been freed and arrived here from Mogadishu, Somalia on Thursday (Feb. 19), but they are still traumatized, sources told Compass.

Caterina Giraudo, 67, and Maria Teresa Oliviero, 61, both of Italy, are receiving medical care, and top leaders of the Roman Catholic Church are providing them spiritual counseling. Pastor Alois Maina of Mandera, a close friend of the nuns, told Compass that a representative of the pope and the Cardinal of Kenya are among those counseling the nuns, who on Nov. 10 were abducted at gunpoint by suspected Islamic militants.  (Full story at Compass Direct)