Today imprisoned Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is spending his 913th day in an Iranian prison for his confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Last week we asked you to pray for Christians over this past weekend due to the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus, since it is common for Christians to be attacked in nations hostile to Christianity.

Sadly, Christians who live in oppressive, dictatorial, Islamic and communist countries do not have the blessing of worshipping freely the way Americans do. I am soberly reminded every major Christian holiday, that for me, as an American, I can worship freely in my home or church and not have to worry about being arrested or have any harm come to me. However, for Christians in other nations who believe in and serve the same Jesus I do, they don't have that blessing. Instead, what often happens during the Christmas season and the Easter season is that my brothers and sisters in these nations, often get martyred, or severely injured because of the attacks that increase during the time of the year where Christians observe the birth and resurrection of Jesus.

Kenya (MNN) ? An eight-year-old boy was recently pronounced dead from injuries incurred by a grenade in Kenya.

USA (MNN) ? The three surviving victims of a shooting rampage at a Christian university have been released from the hospital, according to the Associated Press.

India (MNN) ? Anti-Christian sentiments appear to be on the rise across India.

A few weeks ago we asked you to join us in writing more letters to Pastor Youcef, so that we keep the pressure on his captors and keep them aware that people are watching internationally what is happening with Pastor Youcef, and also because we want to genuinely offer encouragement to Pastor Youcef and let him know that we are standing with him in prayer and hoping for his release.

The bible says that the prayers of the righteous person accomplish much. This is why we ask you all the time to consider praying for the needs we share on this blog.

Four Protestants in Turkmenistan were arrested and fined in late February after police discovered Bibles in their possession. Although the judge initially refused to hear the case against the four Christians, citing a lack of evidence, she later changed her position and fined them for “violation of the law on religious organizations.”