A few weeks ago we started the new year finding out that Gao Zhisheng was located in a prison in China and we let you know that his brother tried to visit him, but was denied access.

“Push it! Don’t stop!” the man yelled in my direction. I start to run again.

You may remember that last year we introduced our very first Persecution Studies Workshops which are designed to help educate Christians about many aspects of Christian persecution happening worldwide.

Nigeria (MNN) ? There's a reason the state of emergency exists in Nigeria. In the wake of an ultimatum from the Boko Haram, there were two bomb blasts in northeastern Nigerian cities, authorities said Thursday.

Read Genesis 39.

Like many Americans, I followed the story of Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer with interest over the past couple of weeks. They spent the last two years experiencing something few of us ever will. The two American hikers spent more than two years imprisoned in the Islamic Republic of Iran after being accused of espionage. They insist they are innocent and were held hostage simply because of their nationality. They arrived in New York on Sunday, greeted by family members and the press. I praise God that they are released. No one should be treated as these two men were. When they were first arrested, Fattal and Bauer spent three months in solitary confinement before being locked in an 8-by-13-foot cell together. Just last month, they were given a trial behind closed doors. The two hikers told Reuters that the case against them was a “total sham.” They said that even though no evidence was presented against them, they were still sentenced to eight years in prison. As soon as I thank God for Fattal’s and Bauer’s safety and release, the Holy Spirit triggers something deep within me. Something I read in a Reuters news article increased my distress. “Many times, too many times, we heard the screams of other prisoners being beaten and there was nothing we could do to help them,” Fattal said. “Solitary confinement was the worst experience of our lives.” I have no idea whose faces are behind the screams that now haunt these men. I don’t know the specifics of the situation, but I do know that Iranian Christians are imprisoned throughout the country. Those screams could have come from Youcef Nadarkhani, the 34-year-old pastor who has been in prison since October 2009 (http://www.prisoneralert.com/pprofiles/vp_prisoner_214_profile.html?_nc=48700ebfb6bdacb8240bbfa865cf6017). Those screams could have come from your Christian family members, dear brothers and sisters. Despite their horrific treatment, Fattal and Bauer were at an advantage. Entire nations and media industries monitored their case. After they were placed in a cell together, Fattal and Bauer spent time reading and testing each other on various topics. They were allowed a short time in an outside room for daily exercise. During their 781 days in jail, they talked with their families on the phone for 15 minutes, and their mothers were allowed to visit them once. The Iranian government wanted to keep them healthy. When Fattal and Bauer staged repeated hunger strikes because they couldn’t receive letters from their families, they were successful. These two men were taken care of because world media and multiple governments carefully monitored their case. It still took two years for them to be released, at the cost of $1 million bail. Unlike Fattal and Bauer, few monitor the cases of imprisoned Christians in Iran. If two American hikers experienced this kind of treatment, what do Iranian Christians experience? They are at the mercy of their captors. Many Christians probably remain in solitary confinement, never given the opportunity to exercise, and they would likely be mocked if they tried a hunger strike. After reading about Fattal and Bauer, everything inside me cries at the thought of what is happening to imprisoned Christians right now. They probably never see their families, and I highly doubt that they are given a Bible to read. They are screaming. They are hurting. And I sit here, writing a blog. “It is the Iranian people who bear the brunt of this government’s cruelty and disregard for human rights,” Bauer said. Bauer told Reuters that he could not forgive the Iranian government when it continues to imprison other innocent people. In contrast, our Iranian brothers and sisters in Christ are routinely imprisoned and denied basic human rights. They are taken away from their families, and yet they continue to forgive their persecutors. Christ often gives Christians a power to do something they never thought they could do — forgive. Reports indicate that persecution of Christians in Iran is increasing. Please pray for the Christians still imprisoned in Iran and for their Iranian captors. Our hearts should go out to those who show no love to our family or us. We must pray that God’s love breaks down these incredible walls of violence and injustice. Also pray for Bauer and Fattal, that they would experience the peace that Christ offers us through forgiveness.

Have you ever tried putting the toothpaste back into the tube? I tried it once in a middle school Bible study. Some of us thought we knew how to get the paste back –squeeze a little of the tube, suck in the paste, shove it to the bottom of the tube and repeat. It might be practical in theory, but it just didn’t work. It ended up everywhere, a greater mess than anything. It was between our fingers and on our clothes. Before we knew it, everything was sticky and smelled oddly like mint. I never put much thought into that experience —trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube. Until now… I have always known about the persecuted church. I grew up reading The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter. Actually my mom read it; I spent hours fascinated by the photographs. Mom always saved them and put them in a basket next to the couch. If someone grabs something to read, they usually find a VOM newsletter. I always thought VOM was a great organization with a great mission, but something happened this summer. The persecuted church changed from something I was aware of, into part of my identity. I feel hopeless — but forget the negative connotation. It is more like I’m “hopelessly in love.” I can’t explain how it happened, but I turned into a tube of toothpaste. My spirit pours out a love for my persecuted brothers and sisters. There is no way to put it back in without making a mess. I pray that you experience this change from awareness to identity — if you haven’t already. This change makes you love someone you may never meet. You desire to care for persecuted Christians and to share their testimonies with others. Toothpaste has a purpose. It cleans teeth and it freshens breath, thank goodness. My passion and love for persecuted Christians has a reason for too. I will write, I will speak and I will inspire others. My internship at VOM has come to a close, but my support for the persecuted church never will. “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body,” Hebrews 13:3

In the morning, I detest everything but black coffee. No cream or sugar, please.

I remember making my first bowl of cereal. The cabinet with the dishes was so high. I pulled myself on top the counter and swung open the cabinet door, ducking so it wouldn’t hit me in the head. I jumped off the counter, gripping the bowl with both hands. Landing on both feet, I rushed over to the table and set the bowl down next to the box of Cheerios I had already pulled from the pantry. As I tipped the box over, the familiar sound of cereal falling into a glass bowl resonated throughout the room and my anticipation grew. I took the milk gallon out of the refrigerator and carefully, slowly poured the white cream over my O’s. With one spoon, I dunked each “O” to ensure each one was covered in milk. With a second spoon, I lavished one, then two overflowing spoons full of sugar over my cereal. My mother had warned me against too much sugar. I ignored her warnings; I like my cereal sweet. I was so excited. I lifted a large spoonful to my mouth. The next thing I remember, I was standing over the sink furiously spitting everything out. Sometimes in our rush to accomplish things, we end up with something we didn’t really want. Sometimes it takes accidentally eating salt to realize that not everything is sugar. Those who support The Voice of the Martyrs are often awed when we hear of our brothers and sisters in Christ dying for their faith. It is heroic, and it is also tragic. They’re beheaded. They’re shot. They’re persecuted. But there is beauty in this tragedy. Those martyrs spend eternity in God’s presence, their death glorifies His name and their witness may win others for Christ. But with the inspiring sugar of those stories, there are stories of bitter saltiness in the persecuted church. It’s time to see some salt. In Kiangsi, China, two Christian girls, Chiu-Chin and Ho-Hsiu-Tzu, and their pastor, were sentenced to death. As on many such occasions in church history, the persecutors mocked and scorned them for being so foolish as to die for an unseen God. Then they promised the pastor that if he would shoot the girls they would release him. He accepted. The girls waited patiently in their prison cells for the moment of their execution. They prayed quietly together. Soon guards came for them and led them out. A fellow-prisoner who watched the execution through the barred window of his prison cell, said that their faces were pale but beautiful beyond belief, infinitely sad but sweet. They were placed against a wall, and their pastor was brought forward by two guards. They placed him close in front of the girls and put a pistol into his hand. The girls whispered to each other, then bowed respectfully to their pastor. One of them said: Before being shot by you, we wish to thank you heartily for what you have meant to us. You baptized us, you taught us the way of eternal life, you gave us a holy communion with the same hand in which you now have a gun. May God reward you for all that you have done for us. You also taught us that Christians are sometimes weak and commit terrible sins, but they can be forgiven again. When you regret what you are about to do to us, do not despair like Judas, but repent like Peter. God bless you, and remember that our last thought of you was not one of indignation against your failure. Everyone passes through hours of darkness. We die with gratitude. They bowed again to their pastor, closed their eyes, and stood silently waiting. The pastor had obviously hardened his heart – he raised the pistol and shot them. No sooner had they fallen to the ground, then the communist guards put him against the wall for immediate execution. As they shot him, no one heard words of repentance, only the sound of screaming. Some people recant their faith, and not every Christian stands firm. At VOM we often talk about those who come through persecution triumphantly. But for every person like that, there are many who don’t, and God still works through those failures. Sometimes we have to accidentally eat salt to realize that not everything is sugar. Sometimes we have to see failure in order to appreciate the great faith of those who overcome persecution. Pray for the people like the Chinese pastor, that even though they deny Christ, that they might embrace once more the forgiveness and love that God offers. Pray that every person that has denied Christ might become a Peter, that their testimonies be examples of God’s forgiveness.