Algeria is one of The Voice of the Martyrs restricted nations, will approximately 97% of the population Muslim and a tiny .29% Christian, so when I see a story like the one mentioned today at The Christian Post, concerning a Christian man being sentenced to five years in prison for sharing his Christian faith, I'm not surprised.

Earlier this year, on April 21st, we posted a story that suggested that Christians would pay the price for voting in Goodluck Jonathan, who is a Christian, as the President of Nigeria.

Hindu extremists continue to target Christians in India with harassment, false accusations, beatings and even murder. The Global Council of Indian Christians believes Hindu extremists are behind two recent murders of Christians in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the most recent case, 17-year-old Nirupama Pradhan was raped and murdered after school on May 12, 2011. Her father, Sitrian Pradhan, named the possible murderer, but according to Asia News, police have done nothing to find the murderer.

Every week we strive to encourage you in your walk with the Lord and we do this today by sharing with you a great devotional from the book Extreme Devotion. If you haven't read this book yet, you'll love it. We also offer other devotionals in our The Voice of the Martyrs bookstore.

I thought I'd end out our week together by offering you a little inspiration. This is from a wonderful email I receive daily from http://www.gracegems.org . I hope this ministers to your heart.

China--Government Imposes New Regulations on "Illegal" House Churches VOM Sources Ephesians 3:10 The pastors of some of China's house churches are facing new restrictions, according to VOM workers. The pastors must provide police with weekly reports detailing their whereabouts and how many people attend their meetings. If pastors travel outside their city, they must report their plans, and they are restricted to short trips. If the pastors fail to report and police are unable to contact them, they are arrested. VOM workers say these regulations primarily target large house churches that organize under a specific name, advertise and meet publicly. House churches, which operate outside the official state church, are illegal under Chinese law. But because of the house church movement's rapid growth in recent years, the government is struggling to deal with these churches. Pray for the house churches in China, especially those that have been targeted by these new regulations, and ask God to grant their leaders wisdom. Chiapas--Evicted Christians to Return to Community VOM Sources 1 Corinthians 4:10–12 Thirty-two Christians in Chiapas, Mexico, say they are ready to return to the community where their neighbors torched their homes and stole their livestock. The group fled the area in January 2010 after being forcibly evicted by a mob of 200. The Christians had been worshiping in a believer's home for almost a year because the same mob had destroyed their church. Members of the community were unhappy that the Christians would not contribute to or participate in religious drinking festivals held in their town. The Christians filed a court case requesting compensation for their burned homes, but they have seen no progress since the government loaned them the use of a large home in another city. The 32 believers have decided they will return to their community on June 15, with or without government help. "It is time to go home," they say, "and win the others to Christ, whatever the cost." Pray for these Christians and others who have been run out of their communities because of their Christian faith. Azerbaijan--Fines and "Preventative Talks" for Praise Church Forum 18 News Service Psalm 31 Two Christians from the Praise Church in the city of Sumgait were fined for attending an "illegal" meeting on Sunday, May 15. Elchin and Afar Pashaev were fined $190 under Azerbaijan's Code of Administrative Offenses for attending a religious meeting at a location other than the Praise Church's registered address. About 40 church members had gathered at the "Blue Lake" restaurant for their Sunday meeting, but it was interrupted by the police raid at about 11:30 a.m. "Police wrote down the names of all those present; then all were taken by bus to the police station," a Christian told Forum 18 News. Only Elchin and his wife, Afar, were fined, but the Interior Ministry reported that police conducted "preventative talks" with other church members. In recent years, state control of religious activity has sharply increased in Azerbaijan. Amendments to the religion law in 2009 established penalties for religious activities not specifically authorized by the state. Pray for the church in Azerbaijan.

Eleven Church of Iran members have been acquitted of charges that they committed “activities against the order of the country” and that they illegally drank alcohol. Both charges relate to their involvement in a house church meeting at which they drank Communion wine. The Christians, who were arrested and charged in April, were brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal on May 1 to present their case.

A little over thirty years ago I remember walking into a choir class in ninth grade and meeting other students that had a love for singing. It was a new school for me, and so I was eager to make friends and I thought taking that class would be a good way to do that.

Yang Caizhen, a Chinese Christian detained for organizing a prayer rally, was released from prison last February. With more than six months left in her sentence, Caizhen was given an early release due to poor health. She had been held at the Shanxi Women’s Prison in Taiyuan City for more than a year.

ISTANBUL, May 25 (CDN) — Seven Algerian churches face closure this week after the governor of their province sent them written notice that they were operating “illegally.” The notice on Sunday (May 22) from Police Chief Ben Salma, citing a May 8 decree from the Bejaia Province governor, also states that all churches “in all parts of the country” will be closed for lack of compliance with registration regulations, but Christian leaders dismissed this assertion as the provincial official does not have nationwide authority. “All buildings permanently designated for or in the process of being designated for the practice of religious worship other than Muslim will be permanently closed down in all parts of the country, as well as those not having received the conformity authorization from the National Commission,” Salma stated in the notice. On Sunday (May 22) the governor of Bejaia sent a statement to the president of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) informing him that all churches in the province were illegal because they were unregistered. Registration is required under controversial Ordinance 06-03, but Christians report the government refuses to respond to or grant their applications for registration.