Persecution News

It comes as no surprise that persecution is out there in the world, because Jesus told us that people would hate us on His account. For those of us that live here in the United States, persecution is somewhat of a “foreign” term. Yeah, we realize that people don’t all love us for our faith in Christ, but we don’t get beat up over it. We don’t get tortured for it (unless you consider losing a parking space or promotion at the office torture). We don’t get threatened with physical violence or death. The extent of persecution here in the US is nowhere near what others around the world are facing. Yet it amazes me in the heat of persecution some of the statements that are made by those being persecuted.

I have a great friend in Florida who helps me with these occasional persecution updates to the blog by feeding me stories and links that I can disperse. This is an issue very close to her heart and she is just thrilled to help me in any way she can. She shared with me in the email about this particular story: “This one broke my heart, and at the same time filled me with such a fierce pride for my brave fellow Christians”. Read on and you’ll see why.

Messages from the Front Line brings us this story from Bangladesh. Grace Presbyterian Bible College was forced to move from Khulna to South Sayabithi (about 15 miles north of Dhaka) in July due to pressure from Islamic terrorists. The 33-student school was constantly harassed and threatened. Students were beaten by Islamic extremists; kidnapping attempts were unsuccessful against female students, and the extremists tried to kill men. It was the hope of the school’s leadership that moving would help bring peace. But to this point, that appears unsuccessful. New threats are coming against the school in their new location. Says principal Peter Kaleque:

“Here outside South Sayabithi we are now facing problems,” Kaleque told Christian Freedom International. “We have to be quiet. The Muslim society in the area says if we sing too loudly they will cut off our hand. If we pray too loud they will cut off our hand. Neighboring Muslims from the local Mosque made this threat.”

So much for the move helping to bring peace. Imagine someone walking into your church this Sunday, or your Bible School tomorrow, and saying: “If you sing too loud, we’ll cut off your hand.” How would you react? Then put yourself in these people’s shoes. Consider for a minute the deep faith these persecuted believers develop in spite of the persecution. How can we know about this deep faith? Let Principal Kaleque tell it:

“We are afraid, but we work for the Lord, even if we are scared, said Kaleque. “We have our classes even though they threaten us.”

That statement fills me with pride and challenges me to really live for God no matter who parks in my parking place.
CFI is urging Bangladesh to protect the rights of Christians in Bangladesh, and is asking the US and the UN to help in that cause. I challenge all of us as believers to pray for these people…both the students and the school as well as government officials there…that the school’s rights can be protected and they can peacefully study the Word there. Pray for protection around those students and teachers and that they can endure these trials.

This other story that I want to give this time should remind us that persecution is closer to us than we may realize. In Mexico, a mob expelled 80 Christans from their community, threatening to burn them if they do not recant their faith. This was the hostile reaction of members of the Huichol tribe in the Jalisco state (western Mexico) to the evangelicals’ shunning of the native religion which encourages the taking of a hallucinogen, peyote.
Remember the campaign slogan or comment made by (I believe) Bill Clinton some years back: “It’s about the economy, stupid!” Well, this persecution effort truly is about the economy. From the article:

Generally, such violence in Mexico is prompted less by religion than by money. Persecutors often aim to protect the liquor-store profits of local caciques or political bosses. Because converts quit buying alcohol, mass conversion would bankrupt the caciques.

Ultimately, what is it about though? I’ll let you think about that one.

And it is very difficult for these leaders to see that drinking and drugs are not part of the culture, the very thing they persecute the evangelicals of that region for.

Continue to pray for all persecuted believers, that they stand strong in the faith and continue to serve Jesus Christ.

For more persecution news and more ways you can help the persecuted church, visit the Voice of the Martyrs Website and their Persecution Blog

Persecution News

A couple days off schedule comes the 2nd week of the month “Persecution News” post. I try like crazy to do them on Sundays, but this one in particular was a bit crazy so it’s coming out on Tuesday.

It may be just a skosh early, but it’s worth noting on your prayer calendar. November 13 will be set aside this year as the “International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church”. It’s a time set aside to remember all those around the world who are daily suffering, being beaten, and even killed, for their faith in Jesus Christ. Many groups, inclduding VOM are already partnering together to pray for the persecuted, and I encourage you to join in and tell others about it also. You can find out more about this event by surfing on over to this website.

In focus this week: Events in Indonesia.

Indonesia has been doing things that are commendable when it comes to terror and violence, however, the news is mixed to be certain. This article even notes that in this quote:

Indonesian authorities have shown dogged determination in tracking down Islamic fundamentalists that cross the line into violence and threaten the security of the State. While this is commendable, we find the Indonesian government’s response to lesser threats from fundamentalist Islam not so encouraging.

The majority of Indonesia’s Muslims are moderate and have a long history of peaceful co-existence with Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists. Yet, in the 1990s, Indonesia’s brand of peaceful, tolerant Islam began to be infiltrated by Saudi-funded Wahabbi style Islam via the likes of Jemaah Islamiyah. This has led to an expected radicalization of the Muslim population that has been as disturbing as it has been lethal. From 1998 to 2002 it is estimated that 10,000 Christians were murdered, 80,000 Christian homes destroyed and 1,000 Churches burned down.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country with 193 million plus of Islamic faith. There’s also suggestion in this article that there are groups operating with the government’s cooperation in West Java in raiding and closing churches.

VOM and other organizations urge believers everywhere to continue to pray for these believers, as well as all of those who are persecuted for their faith. Pray for strength as they continue to endure hardships and pray for those who are doing the persecuting that the witness of these Christians will soften their hearts to hear the Gospel.

Find out more about these and other issues regarding persecution at the Voice of the Martyrs Website and the Persecution Blog

Christian Carnival XC

Christian Carnival XC has been posted at Attention Span. Special thank you to rev-ed for his hard work in getting it all put together.

The theme this week is based around Gilligan’s Island. Interesting, though I’ve not had a chance to read all the way through it. From what I saw, looks like a good series of submissions.

Pay rev-ed a visit and check out all the entries. Great job, all!

Pre-Carnival Plug…

Rev-Ed at Attention Span is graciously giving his time and effort to host Christian Carnival XC. It will be posted tomorrow morning sometime according to a link on his site.

Be sure to drop by, tell him thanks for putting together a great carnival, and check out a wide variety of quality posts from throughout the Christian blogosphere!

*considers becoming a Carnival host…*

Rediscover the “GO” Factor

I wrestled with something to post today, and dug out of my other blog this gem that I had forgotten all about. It’s based on the Great Commission:

And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.

What word does the first two letters of the word Gospel form? GO. Go is an action word. We are called to go and take the Gospel to the nations. Matthew 28:18-20, our text, tells us to go and share the Gospel with the world.

Many Christians do not go anywhere with the Gospel, and there’s several reasons for this. Sometimes we are too busy with our schedule that we forget about soul-winning. Picture this schedule: “Got to go to work at 6AM, get home by 5PM, grab a quick meal, then I’ve got to go to Building Committee, then…aah…have to go see Emily before I go home…by the time I get home it’ll be 11 and I have to do it all over again tomorrow.” That was my schedule for a while…not fun, and left little time for personal ministry and evangelism. Then sometimes we become more interested in keeping the church solvent than keeping the sinners around us from going to hell. We get into a “Let’s just worry about ourselves and the needs of our members” mode. A church I used to attend was like this. We got so wrapped up in what we needed that we forgot about our community around us, leaving them to their own devices (of sorts) and the “evangelistic” efforts of the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The third thing that bogs down some churches is personal acceptance issues. You may hear some of this in your church: “I can’t accept someone of a different race or financial background in this church.” We begin treating the church as if it’s a country club exclusive to those who are considered “good enough” to be there, rather than treating it as the place it is…a hospital for sinners.

Why don’t we go? For one, our priorities can be wrong, and that stops us. We get too busy socializing, going to parties, dinners, sporting events. We take all sorts of time for self-improvement. While there’s nothing wrong with taking time for self, it can be taken to excess. We end up spending all kinds of time in seminars for additional education, health, mental well being, etc., that we forget to do for others and minister to others. And doing good things can crowd out the most important thing of all. It is noble to do good things, as we see even in scripture the example of offering the cup of cold water. But, we can get too busy in doing things that we don’t share the gospel with others. In all of this though, we need to understand the worth that a soul has (Matthew 16:26) is beyond value! It has so much value that God is not willing to have any perish (2 Peter 3:9)! God wants us to share what we have. Our lights are to be on a stand for the world to see, not buried in mixed priorities.

What else holds us up? Apathy strikes: There’s no real interest in the winning of souls or in the needs of others. If we get too engrossed in ourselves, we forget that we have an unsaved neighbor, an unsaved family member, an unsaved co-worker or fellow student. Eh, who cares about them, we ask. God does. Soul winning demands a sense of urgency! There is a shortness to life! We are not promised our days, and we live in a time when Christ is due to make an appearance any day now. We need to be about the work of the Kingdom, a part of which is sharing the Gospel with others. Even if it’s just planting a seed, we have to do it. We may plant the seed, but someone else will water it, and God can and will bring an increase. But the seed has to be planted.

Fear gets us too, and we get to shaking in our boots. What will I say? What will they say? How will they react? “I am in no way qualified for this task. I worked 30 years in some other profession I can’t possibly be able to share the gospel.” We get so gripped with fear that we duck into our shells and hide rather than try to talk. But how do we combat fear? Christ promised to go with us (v. 20)! He will give us the words and the courage we need. New converts are often the best soul winners. They are excited about being saved, and have no fear to say what they feel. And all the words you really need are to simply go and tell what Christ has done for you. And remember this: God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called! If He’s called you to share the gospel with someone, He will give you what you need!

So, with all this talk of going, where do we go? There are no limits: we can go into all the world (Mark 16:15). Some may be called to organized mission trips or an organized visitation program, but that’s not where it stops. We can go to those that are hurting (hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, etc.). We can go to those we see and who live near us, both adults and children. The neighbor next door or across the street may be that person God wants you to touch. We can go to people we meet every day too: at work, at school, and at the store. There’s no limits to who we can impact and where.What will happen when we start going? We find that evangelism is a great adventure. There’s a sense of excitement about sharing our faith with others! Our fears become replaced by our faith. We learn to depend on God and the Holy Spirit in us to give us the right words, and even the right person to share with. And finally we experience the joy of servitude, knowing that we are working for something that will last eternally, another soul for the kingdom of God.

I got two words for us this week: “Let’s GO!”

Persecution Extra

I have a good friend who has passed along to me some additional links regarding persecution that I thought should be shared.

Five Afghani Christians Martyred comes to us courtesy Compass Direct (viewed at WorthyNews). These men all lived in an area still very strongly held by the Taliban, and the men who murdered these did so as an example of the fate that awaited others who converted to Christianity. From the article:

In the context of a closed, strictly Muslim society, Afghanistan’s new provisional constitution adopted in December 2003 falls short of any guarantee of religious freedom for its citizens. The document declares Islam the religion of the state, with all laws required to conform to the tenets of Islamic law.

From WorldNetDaily comes this story about a Christian compound that was under siege by Hindu fundamentalists. A mob of 800 laid siege to the same compound on August 31, injuring 12. The siege in this article noted several injuries, one man partially paralyzed as a result. From the article:

“Several attacks this month alone seem to signal a new wave of persecution of Christians in India,” said the group’s president, Carl Moeller. “We need to keep believers in India in our prayers and in our hearts.”

According to Carl Moeller, he may be right. The Hindu council was quoted as saying this:

The radical Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, has called for a comprehensive law to ban religious conversions in India as part of a new campaign to stem the “increasing” number of conversions around the country. Addressing media Aug. 25, Mohan Joshi, national secretary of the council, said anti-conversion laws in some states were not stringent enough to curb religious conversions, reported Compass.

Continue to pray for believers around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. For more on these and other persecution stories, visit Voice of the Martyrs and their Persecution Blog

Welcome to the Big Top – The 89th Christian Carnival

White Ribbon Warriors makes it’s debut at the 89th Christian Carnival this week. This is the 89th posting of the Carnival, which is a gathering of various thoughts, opinions, humor, and personal postings throughout the Christian Blogosphere.

It’s being hosted this time around by In The Spirit of Grace. Be sure to pay a visit there to see all of the carnival participants (as well as my post!) for some insightful reads.

Someday, I’ll get on to the Roman Numeral system with them.

Whatcha thinkin’?

Philippians 4:8 — Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.

Paul’s message to the Philippians and to us as well is calling for thoughts in the positive, centered in praise. He’s rejecting the negative and critical thinking as improper for the believer. “If there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.” is how he concludes this verse. He wants us to get away from stinkin’ thinkin’ that permeates society at large. Here’s an interesting thought: Our thought life reveals who we are! Proverbs 23:7 says “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Our thought life, what we think, can control what we are and what we do in our life. My pastor has used this expression given to him from an old timer in Arkansas: “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket”.

Why is our thought life and pattern so important to God? What we think determines what it is we say and do. Thoughts give birth to our words, and our words have great power not only for us but in relationships with others. We can speak words into people’s lives that bless them, inspire them, and encourage them. Just as equally, we can speak words to them that discourage, destroy, and cultivate hate and hurt. What we are thinking is what controls the words we speak. Thoughts give birth to our actions too, and consider the even more powerful effect of our actions: Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Actions can have an effect on our character, and given birth by…you guessed it…our thoughts! Every act, whether it be of kindness, love, hatred, crime, lust or violence, it’s born from our thoughts. No wonder God is so interested in our thought life and what we think about! Psalms 139:23 shows us where the psalmist is asking for God to know his thoughts. God can help us deal with sin by allowing Him to search our heart and thoughts. How can we tell if our thought patterns are pleasing to God? Paul summarizes the focus of our thoughts if they please God. Paul is giving us a picture of what our mind is to be thinking on as it ought to be. This is a sort of spiritual MRI of the believer’s mind, and what it should reveal. Our thoughts should be on the things that are truthful, honest, noble, just, right, good. Our thoughts should be on things that are pure. There is so much impurity in these times that it’s easy to dwell on these things, but we can’t. Calvin called it “chastity in all departments of life.” In this verse, we see the things that are pleasing to God. Things of good report, and lovely. We should be seeking the best things in other people, rather than focusing on the negative. This is a whole other thing…but forgiveness of others when they wrong us or deal with us in a negative way is a good way to get our mind to the positive in people rather than the negative. And ultimately and most importantly, our thought life should be centered on God, and praising Him for who He is and what He is doing in our lives.

Let’s bottom line it…how do we get our thought life to conform to God’s will? We touched on this a little bit earlier. Right thoughts come from hearts that are right with God. I remind us of the psalmist in Psalms 139:23-24 who wanted God to search his thoughts and heart. When our heart is right with God, it will bring to us thoughts that are pleasing to God. Consider too that scripture tells us that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. How else? 1 John 1:9 tells us about if we sin, God is faithful to hear and forgive us of all unrighteousness. This includes the thoughts of our minds and hearts that don’t line up with God’s will for our thought life. We can go to God and confess these sinful thought patterns to Him and he will cleanse us of that.

Finally, we need to make good choices on the input we take. In other words, what we read, watch on TV, listen to on the radio, etc., will have an impact on our thought life. If we choose good, God-centered material, it will breed good thoughts. Our devotional life, our personal and corporate worship of Christ, the time we spend in the scriptures and other Christian books, will all develop the right thought life. Romans 12:1-2 tells us to to be renewing our minds. Our choices are like going into the grocery store: We can spend all our time in the junk food aisles and get fat and stuff, or we can spend time finding the things that will not only satisfy our hunger, but be healthy for us in the meantime. So what you decide to put into yourself as far as your thought pattern will also determine the outcome of your thought life also.

So my challenge to us all is this: Are we making good choices about what we take in? Are we striving to center our thoughts on things above, things pleasing to God? What changes are we willing to make in order to grow and bring our thought life more in line with God’s will?

Persecution Sunday

As set before, I’d like to set aside the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month to talk a little to the issue of Christian persecution. I am glad to partner with the VOM Blogosphere program, to help disseminate a little info about Voice of the Martyrs and about persecution issues worldwide.

From the ASSIST News Service (http://www.assistnews.net) we hear of this:

NIGERIA (ANS) — A family in northern Nigeria is getting increasingly desperate after learning that Islamic imam has been given custody of their teenage daughter.According to human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Rejoice Gwammikat Daniel Chirdap, 16, disappeared during a visit to her father’s house in Kagadama, Yelwa on Sept.12. Failing to locate her, Chirdap’s family reported her disappearance to the Yelwa Divisional Police Office on Sept.14.The next day, CSW reported, the teenager’s family received a letter from the Bauchi State Shari’ah Commission informing them it had given custody of their daughter to Imam Yakubu of Kagadama, Yelwa.

This is a part of a string of disappearances in a very violent area of Nigeria. The article goes on:

Religious violence has increased in Nigeria since 1999, CSW reported, when several northern states began to lobby for the institution of the Shari’ah Penal Code (http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR440172004?open&of=ENG-NGA). According to official sources, CSW said, since 2001 over 50,000 people have died in religious violence in Plateau State alone. Yelwa has been the scene of ongoing tension between Christians and Muslims. In Feb. 2004, CSW reported, 41 people were killed and burnt in a church and 38 murdered outside it by armed Islamic extremists. The attackers then drove non-Muslims from Yelwa, declared it a part of Zamfara State, and began to use the town as a base from which to launch attacks into neighboring areas that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000 people.

You can read the full article here.

Cautiously positive news, also from ASSIST, notes the release of a wrongfully held Christian leader in Vietnam.

VIETNAM (ANS) — After being imprisoned and mistreated in the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital in Vietnam’s Dong Nai Province for nearly a year, the Reverend Than Van Truong was released on September 17, 2005.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Rev Truong was a former officer in Vietnam’s Peoples’ Army. Rev Truong became a Christian and eventually a pastor in the Baptist General Conference house church organization in Vietnam.

In an e-mail report obtained by ASSIST News Service (ANS), CSW says Rev Truong’s troubles began several years ago, when he sent to Bibles to Vietnam’s top officials with an encouragement to consult the Scriptures for truth and wisdom. He was arrested in May 2003, and imprisoned without charges for nine months.

CSW said that after that he was kept under close surveillance until his second arrest in June 2004.

The CSW report states: “This time, again unable to lay any criminal charges against him, the Dong Nai Province prosecuting authorities diagnosed him as ‘delusional’ and had him committed to a high security section of the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital.

Imagine being imprisoned for simply having faith in God….no less being sent to a mental hospital for it! It is good news to hear of this release, however:

CSW said that although Rev Truong’s release comes as good news, Christians have continued to experience harassment at the hands of the authorities. This occurs despite the introduction of three legal documents during the past year, which, it has claimed, would allow religious communities to be freer to exercise their rights.

Continue to pray for the oppressed believers, not just in these places but worldwide. Find out more news about persecution at the Voice of the Martyrs website and at their Persecution Blog

Taking a (public) stand…

I’m not sure what it is, but it seems like we men have a bit of difficulty when it comes to our public witness. That goes for me too. Ask a simple question, like “Can you say ‘I believe’”? and you’ll get a hmm, head scratch kind of answer. For whatever the reason, it seems like men don’t like talking about God publicly. It may not be about unbelief! See, many men were raised in homes where the mothers were responsible for spiritual matters, and the fathers just watched TV and tended to their jobs. To talk about God, to tell people what He’s done for us, can make us seem foolish or we simply won’t be believed.

Don’t sweat that; it’s been happening for centuries. Consider that Moses, standing in the presence of God, asks “What if they don’t believe me, or listen to me and say ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” (Exodus 4:1) Moses knew the fear we have today. How about some of the leaders in the temple in Jesus’ day (John 12:42)? They believed, but they didn’t want to be tossed from the temple by the Pharisees. This fear is indeed common to man.

Scripture points to places, though where people made positive declarations for God in times that were less than favorable. Consider what happened in Ephesus. Luke records for us in the book of Acts (Acts 19:18-20) that many came forth confessing deeds, and those who practiced magic burned their books “before all men.” To burn these books in front of all of those people was their testimony to their faith in Jesus Christ. Picture it, those flames as those books burned, almost shouting out to the crowd that these people trust Jesus. And these books, according to various commentaries, were worth nearly $1 million in today’s currency. It was no small matter to burn these books. It was a very costly, public declaration.

Today, many men (and women too) shrink from publicly identifying themselves with Christ. Some just want the blessings of salvation, without the reproach that can go along with it. Some hide the light that is within them rather than let it burn brightly in the darkness. Even for some, being baptized publicly is an issue. Face it, in the 21st century, it’s not popular to be associated with Jesus Christ. To be associated with Christ now is to be intolerant, too narrow minded, and in some ways too demanding. But I think back to that time when Christ walked the earth, and how He was baptized publicly by John the Baptist, and how He was crucified before all those people. I think of the events of the Upper Room in Acts 2, and how those believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit to go forth in His name, and how Peter was given the boldness to preach the Word and how thousands were added to the church that day. There was no hiding, there was no shame. There was boldness.

As men especially, we need to capture even a portion of that boldness. The boldness to say “no” to inappropriate joke-telling at the water cooler. The boldness to turn off music or a tv program that doesn’t glorify God. The boldness to simply identify with Christian values, and positively affirm our faith in God in any setting. You really don’t know the effect you will have on someone unless you step out and affirm what it is you believe.

My challenge to all men, myself included, is that we live out a positive witness in both word and in deed that answers the question “Can you say ‘I Believe’?” with a resounding and almost deafening YES!