This week we celebrate Valentine's Day, a day Americans focus on love and romance. But most of those celebrating don't know that the man for whom this day is named was a Christian persecuted because of his Christian actions.

As I recently watched and listened to the news of the attack and subsequent slaying of those in the office of French magazine Charlie Hebdo, I found my thoughts immediately drawn to a comparable, yet very different story. Both stories share the similarity of bloodshed at the hands of adherents to radical Islam. Each story is painfully tragic. I wondered if any of those slain in France had met their attackers before that fateful day. I thought of the life and deaths of Necati Aydin, Ugur Yuksel and Tilmann Geske, who were murdered in their office at Zirve Publishing in Malatya, Turkey on April 18, 2007.

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:43-44

Last week Brian and Louise shared about their efforts to plant a church in Mongolia, and the hardship they faced in that process.

This week on the Persecution Blog we’re sharing excerpts from At The Foot of the Snows: A Journey of Faith and Words Among the Kham-Speaking People of Nepal by David E. Watters with Steve and Daniel Watters. (Read more about the book in Tuesday’s post.)

This week on the blog we’re sharing excerpts from At The Foot of the Snows: A Journey of Faith and Words Among the Kham-Speaking People of Nepal by David E. Watters with Steve and Daniel Watters. (Read more about the book in Tuesday’s post.)

I shared in yesterday’s post about my annual reading goals, and introduced you to the last book I read in 2014, At The Foot of the Snows: A Journey of Faith and Words Among the Kham-Speaking People of Nepal by David E. Watters with Steve and Daniel Watters.

Several years ago I set a goal to read 25 books a year. And of course, you don’t know if you've achieved a goal or not unless you keep track; so I began to keep a list of the books I had read, along with a paragraph or two of what I thought of the book.

One of the most significant things I worked on in 2014 was the launch of VOMRadio, the half-hour weekly audio program that gives VOM a new way of sharing the voice of our persecuted brothers and sisters. So far the response has been very positive.

This week, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, we have been looking back on the most-read posts on the Persecution Blog this year. Today we look back on the most-read post of the year.