It's been some time since I've asked you to consider praying for a specific restricted nation, and since April is right around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to ask you to consider picking one or a few restricted nations on our Restricted Nations page and praying for them during April.

Many of you are familiar with Gao Zhisheng, a prisoner in China, who we have been advocating for since he was taken captive. If you're not acquainted with his case, you may learn about him at www.freegao.com and also sign the petition to help him.

Nigeria (MNN) ? A shootout in northeast Nigeria Sunday claimed six lives, three of them members of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, suspected of cultivating links with Al Qaeda.

Last week we challenged you to join us in helping us write 12,000 letters to Pastor Youcef who is in prison and has received a death sentence for being a follower of Jesus Christ. This week I am happy to share that 113 more letters have been written to Pastor Youcef and I'm convinced we can reach our goal.

Eleven orphans in Laos who were threatened with expulsion from a government school because of their Christian faith have continued to attend church. They slip away one by one on Sunday mornings and walk to church unnoticed.

Yet another Islamist attack on a church and a violent reaction Christian youth provide more evidence that Nigeria is closer than ever to sliding into a religious civil war. Thus far, authorities have been unable to stem the tide of violence, and in some cases, officials themselves are biased by their religious persuasions. Nigerian Christians are split between wanting to fight back and trying to follow Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek.

One of the nations in our Restricted Nations page is Morocco. Morocco is 99.9 percent Muslim and has a tiny Christian population of about a tenth of a percent.

Today CBN News revealed the latest news concerning Christian persecution and religious abuse across the world. Sadly, Turkey has been added to the list of nations who are abusing human rights and allowing persecution of Christians.

Officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) have informed pastor Naim Khoury of Bethlehem’s First Baptist Church that his church lacks the authority to function as a religious institution under the PA. The church can still gather to pray for now, but the PA’s decision, conveyed on Saturday, March 10, will have a real effect on church members.

"All God's plans have the mark of the cross on them and all His plans have death to self in them." ~EM Bounds (1835-1913)