This is an awesome Extreme Devotion that I received in my email this morning. As I read through this I was thinking about how often the enemy of our souls, the devil, attempts to counterfeit what God has done - and it ends up being poison. Read on and be blessed.

On September 24th, two churches were attacked by militants in Iraq. The first attack was initiated at 9:30 a.m. by a bomb that detonated beneath a car belonging to the priest of the Assyrian Orthodox Church of St. Mary in Baghdad’s Karrada neighborhood. Shortly after a crowd formed around the explosion site, a second bomb blast occurred in the vicinity, taking the life of a church security guard and wounding several other victims. On the same day, about 80 gun shots struck the Chaldean Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, penetrating the building’s windows and walls. Just two days later, on September 26th, the same church was bombarded by rockets before a bomb was triggered next to a door on the building’s exterior. After Pope Benedict’s comments about Islam, Christians have endured increased violence at the hands of Muslims, who have circulated flyers threatening to attack them if they did not reject the Pope’s statements.

A man from Asia shared this story with us:

Welcome to this weeks Persecution Blog Carnival - I am thrilled that you came! Due to a few unforeseen appointments I had yesterday I wasn't able to get this up, so for those of you who were wondering, never fear - I'm back!

Sabina Wurmbrand, wife of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, wrote a book called The Pastor's Wife. There are a lot of great themes in this book, and if you have not read it, I strongly recommend that you do. To find a brief overview of the Wurmbrand’s testimony, visit the “about” page on persecution.com. Their lives are marked by bravery, hope and unexplainable joy. But there are two traits of the Wurmbrands that truly set them apart: forgiveness and a love for enemies.

The following pictures are from VOM Media and are pictures of the Christians mentioned in the previous post. I want you to look at these precious saints and remember them in prayer, and also remember that there is a militant enemy in the Muslim world that wants to kill you if you follow Christ. This is just a tidbit of visual evidence.

The following news is not uncommon in most of the world. If you are an American Christian I want you to remember that for the most part, our nation does not persecute Christians. Most of the world does persecute Christians. Please read this story, and then let it inspire you to stand firm for Jesus and tell people the truth about salvation, sin and the future. You were called for such a time as this.

The following was released exclusively through VOM Media.