A few days ago I received a copy of the One Year Book of Christian History and all I can say is that if you love Christian history this is definitely a devotional book you will want to purchase.

This is a very special edition taken from Extreme Devotion.

UPDATE: Earlier this week I cited that this information was from Mission Network News, however, today I found out the original source of the story was from our friends at Compass Direct. We apologize to Compass Direct for not realizing this was originally their story. To read the Compass Direct story online, please click here.

I wanted to let you all know that there will not be a persecution blog round up this week. I'm flying to Portland, Oregon very early tomorrow morning for a conference and will not be in the office until Monday morning. Please send your entries for next week and we will resume the round up then.

This week VOM is asking that we all remember those in prayer who are being persecuted in Laos. The following was taken from the weekly VOM prayer email.

This week I was privileged to hear from two Christians serving the Lord in the midst of persecution in Turkey and India. Their passion for Jesus Christ and the lost was contagious. While they were sharing, I asked myself how I would respond if placed in their situations. These precious leaders of the church in India and Turkey have endured persecution and remain steadfast in their faith. “I was raised and taught in a Muslim family. Even though I questioned the teachings of Islam, I had no other option. One day, I received a New Testament and started reading the Gospel of John. I soon realized that in the Middle East we had everything else, but the love of God. I discovered Jesus and after my conversion I went to my grandfather and told him I was now a Christian. Immediately, I lost everything,” the brother from Turkey said.

As I was thinking about writing to you today I wanted to share with you a thought I had recently about denying Christ. In American culture there is a growing division between the world and the church. There has always been that division, but it seems like the darkness is getting darker and the light is becoming more evident as Christians begin to really stand for what the Scriptures teach us.

The underground-church movement in Turkey is growing and expanding amidst persecution from Muslims. Christians are banished from their families when they convert to Christianity, but their faith in God is unshakeable.

Christians in India face growing persecution as they are attacked, beaten and killed for believing in Jesus Christ. The Voice of Martyrs recently received information Christian attacks were escalating. On February 10, a 58-year-old Christian, S. Stanley was stabbed and killed by rioting youth in front of his house in Pavaloor, Kerala State, India. VOM contacts report youths assembled in front of Stanley’s house shouting blasphemous abuses against Christians. The attackers later climbed over the locked gate, entered the house and stabbed Stanley several times on his back, neck and stomach. His wife was also assaulted.

My husband and I are passionate about bible distribution. My husband is a Gideon and I am an Auxillary for the Gideon's International and we just love being able to go out and give away bibles. We also love knowing about ministries like VOM and others who have programs specifically set up to purchase and then send bibles to people who need them.