PAKISTAN -- Mullah Offers Reward for Killing Asia Bibi -- VOM ContactsOn Dec. 3, 2010, a mullah in Pakistan offered more than $6,000 (U.S.) to anyone who kills Asia Bibi, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. In the past, Christians have been killed in jail, on their way to court and even after being released from jail. "There is threat that she can be killed even after her releasing from the jail," said VOM contacts in Pakistan. "It's not just a statement by mulana, but we have examples of previous blasphemy cases." Following the mullah's statement, Muslims protested against Asia and a proposed amendment of the blasphemy law. Protests were held in many major cities in Pakistan. Pray for Asia's release from prison and for her safety after her release. Ask God to minister to her family, especially her children.Matthew 5:10AZERBAIJAN -- Government Considers Stiffer Penalties for Religious Activity -- Forum 18 NewsLess than two years after increasing penalties for illegal religious activity, parliamentary deputies are about to consider even harsher penalties in proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences, according to Forum 18 News Service. "Minimum fines for individuals violating the Religion Law, such as by holding unregistered religious worship, could be increased fifteen-fold," Forum 18 reported. Rabiyat Aslanova, chair of parliament's Human Rights Committee, told Forum 18 News, "This is connected with religious communities which have failed to gain re-registration but still function. It's so that they realize the responsibility for their actions. People are not fined just for praying to God. This is a question of national security." Pray that these amendments will not pass. Ask God to protect believers who continue to worship him openly despite oppressive government restrictions.2 Thessalonians 1:4-6CHINA -- Christian Lawyer Still Missing -- China Aid AssociationChristian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng has been imprisoned by Chinese authorities for more than two years, and his whereabouts are currently unknown, according to China Aid Association. In an October radio interview, Gao's wife, Geng He, expressed her family's eagerness to find him. "My family only wants to get some news of him," Geng He said. "When I talked with his sister, she said, 'He is a member of the family. No matter what he does, such as eating the daily meals, sleeping or even taking a walk outside, anything would make us miss him. Where on earth has he gone? The entire family of mine is puzzled and we have been looking for him ever since.'" Pray that Gao will continue to look to the Lord for strength and guidance, and pray that God will comfort his family and enable them to persevere in hope and faith. Pray that the Church in China will continue to shine the light of God's love and truth and that it will continue to grow despite opposition from some government officials.Matthew 5:44

Earlier this afternoon The Voice of the Martyrs very own Todd Nettleton spoke to Janet Parshall on her radio program about the latest news with Asia.

On this weeks Persecution Podcast Dory and David discuss India, Uzbekistan, and Ethiopia. This week’s speakers share stories about Christmas and the persecuted church.

Ken Blackwell has written an interesting piece about Christian persecution and not only about how Christians are being persecuted in the Muslim world, but also about how the mainstream media is covering the rise in Christian persecution.

I'm sorry to have to share this story with you today, especially since we have visible evidence of the horrific attack on our Christian brother. However, we need to remember that Christian persecution comes in various ways and sometimes we have to show you the really gritty reality of what some Christians endure for their faith in Jesus Christ.

The following news update is from Mission Network News.

One of the ministries of The Voice of the Martyrs we haven't talked about much on the blog is VOM's Strategic Partner Services and Planned Giving. And since so many of us, especially at the end of the year, are thinking of ways we can donate to ministries and also bless ministries we benefit from - I wanted to tell you a little bit about VOM's Planned Giving.

Merry Christmas!We hope that you are experiencing the joy of this season.In case you haven’t visited www.BiblesUnbound.com recently, we want to update you on some exciting information. Thanks to God’s provision and our Bibles Unbound (BU) partners, we delivered more than 35,000 Bibles in November, including some of the first BU Bibles to reach northwest Nepal. Before Nepalese believers received these Bibles, church members had to hand-write Bible passages before each service, and the copies were then distributed to the congregation. VOM is grateful to believers like you in the United States who sponsor God’s Word for countries such as Nepal. God is using this unique ministry to spread the gospel throughout restricted nations and provide his Word to believers who have not had ready access to it.VOM encourages you to continue sponsoring Bibles and serving this critical role in providing God’s Word to people around the world. We praise God for his favor and faithfulness in enabling us to provide Bibles to believers in Nepal and elsewhere, but there are many believers around the world still waiting. To partner with VOM in sending more Bibles, please visit www.biblesunbound.com. For those in Bonds,The Bibles Unbound Team