September 7, 2011

  • Caring about and praying for persecuted Christians -- contains an article by Barry Segal too

    I am putting this on Facebook too because it is a "wake up call" to all of us to pray for persecuted Christians; however, I am well aware that -- even though the instances cited by the Segal's in the newsletter quoted within this entry are the persecutions by the Muslims perpetrated upon Christians , we Christians over the centuries have OFTEN persecuted others!!! The inquisition, the crusades, and the burning of the reformers at the stake are some examples of this.  I am only making note of this fact so I can say that when we walk in the Spirit -- whether we are formerly deceived Christians or Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus --whatever! -- we will NOT torture and kill each other. But, when we walk in the flesh, anyone of any race or religion is capable of torture and killing.

    Christians, though , must CARE about human suffering and pray for those who are victims of persecution!!

     

    Tonight's prayer time: 

    1.  Pray that all of us at ROL become those who CARE about what our brothers and sister s are going through in many other parts of the world. We are praying that we get so close to the Spirit that His heart becomes ours!!

    2.  Pray  for those families whose loved ones fates are described in the newsletter below.

    3.  Pray  for the countries represented to stop persecuting Christians; i.e., to allow peaceful freedom to worship!

    4. Pray  for us Christians at ROL to collectively and personally find ways to help in any way we can !

    5. Pray for whatever else you personally know about in regard to Christians being persecuted.

    6. Pray we submit to the directives in these 2 passages:  Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

    Re:   “Be not wise in your own conceits”, Barnes (a commentator, not me J )notes:  “The Syriac has well rendered the passage: "And what you think concerning yourselves, the same also think concerning your brethren; neither think with an elevated or ambitious mind, but accommodate yourselves to those who are of humbler condition."” Comp. 1 Peter 3:8. 8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous

    Verse from following paper: “Remember those who are in bonds as though you were bound with them, and those who suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” Heb 13:3

    What follows is my (rb’s) edited version of:Jerusalem online (Barry and Batya Segal’s ministry”--FOR TIME’S SAKE, YOU MAY JUST WANT TO READ A FEW OF THE EVENTS STATED BELOW IN ORDER TO PRAY TONIGHT for the instances cited. You  can take this home with you to pray for all of them.  The idea is for us all to become much more aware of and willing to pray for and stand with the persecuted!!

     

    News Update September 7th 2011;JNN NEWS, P.O. Box 7411, Jerusalem 91073, Israel

    FIRST THE SATURDAY PEOPLE, THEN THE SUNDAY PEOPLE: Islamic terror groups have long had a favorite taunt which says, first the Saturday people, then the Sunday people. This means of course, first the Jews then the Christians will be targets for terrorist persecution, subjection and elimination… Persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is endemic, on its way to reaching epidemic proportions.

    A SUMMARY OF MUSLIM PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS DURING SUMMER 2011: The vilest anecdote to surface in July comes from Pakistan, a hotbed of anti-Christian sentiment, even though Christians make up less than 3% of the population. A two-year-old Christian girl was savagely raped when her father refused to convert to Islam. Because her anatomy has been disfigured, she has undergone five surgeries and suffers several permanent complications. Her family lives in fear and hiding. Though this report surfaced days ago, it occurred four years ago. (AINA) Pray for this emotionally and physically tortured family and their child – that they may be healed, comforted and delivered from fear and from those who have so brutally caused them to suffer.

    AFGHANISTAN/NORWAY: An Asylum seeker in an immigration center in Norway had boiling water poured over him after he converted to Christianity and would not comply with Ramadan fasting rules. He and the other converts at the center now fear for their lives. "If you do not return to Islam, we will kill you," was the message from the Islamist asylum seekers at the reception center in Norway. The victim refuses to disclose his real name for fear of further reprisals. If Afghan authorities found out about the incident and he were to be subsequently deported he would risk being sentenced to death by stoning, he claims. He survived the incident, but has been left with a severely disfigured back. (Mohabat) Pray for the healing, protection and godly consolation of this young man.

    EGYPT: Muslims who were angered by the installation of a church bell, (under Sharia law, churches must not offend Muslims by ringing bells), went on a violent spree, attacking a 5-month pregnant Christian woman and others who were "beaten with iron rods and pipes." Additionally, Muslims "severely sexually harassed" a Christian woman in front of her husband at a bus terminal. When her husband tried to defend her honor, he was violently beaten. Soon after, thousands of Muslims in the region began looting and torching Christian property, screaming "Allah Akbar!" and cursing the Cross. Also, last month, a Muslim gang using sexual coercion to convert Christian girls was exposed. (WCN) In recent months there have been numerous injuries and murders visited upon Christians in Egypt. Muslims who once restricted themselves to preaching hate against those who are different, today feel free to act on their words and have been beating and torturing Christians throughout the country. Egyptian Islamist sects have been known to burn churches and destroy other property in their zeal to wipe out the minority population.

    INDONESIA: Christians were forced out of a church building and severely harassed- even as they then tried to worship at the side of the road. Also in August, the mayor of Bagor, Indonesia announced a new reason not to allow churches to open: If the name of the street on which a church desires to establish a new building bears an Islamic name, it may not be constructed . (ACT)

    IRAN: The Islamic Republic in August seized 6,500 copies of the Bible in northwest Iran in what appears to be the latest onslaught by Iranian authorities against Christianity in the country. Tehran has been cracking down on its tiny Christian minority of late, so much so even the EU has noticed. "In the past six months," the EU reported, "the crackdown has led to the arrest of 285 Christians in 35 cities. In one instance, Yusef Nadarkhani, an evangelical pastor and the father of two, had been sentenced to death for converting from Islam, and the Iranian Supreme Court continues to uphold the decision. For many Americans, evidence of how Iran treats its Christian minority is an indicator of the kind of uses to which it would put nuclear weapons. On a positive note, which again reveals the power of prayer, Iran has released a Dutch-Iranian pastor who was jailed for 359 days on charges of spreading Christianity a mong Farsi-speaking Iranians. (Bos News)

    IRAQ: Kirkuk police, Aug 24, reported they had deactivated an explosive device left near the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in the Almass district of Kirkuk. (WCN) Latest UN figures show that more than a quarter of the refugee population violently forced out of their homes in Iraq since 2003 are Christians. The number of Christians in Iraq has plummeted from 1.4 million in the 1980s to an estimated 200,000 as of July 2011.

    IVORY COAST: Muslims crucified two Christian brothers on "the example of Christ" and in accordance to Koran 5:33: The pair were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes. (Gateway Pundit)

    JORDAN: A Jordan-based group on September 2, threatened to file a lawsuit against Israel in the International Criminal Court over its opening of the baptismal site Qasr al-Yahud near the Jordan River. The group, which calls itself “The Arab Union to Resist the Expulsion of Arab Christians,” is headed by the speaker of the Jordanian senate, Taher al-Masri, and includes officials from around the Arab world. The group is upset over the fact that on July 12, Israel held an official ceremony to mark the opening of Qasr al-Yahud, the site which is known as the place where Yeshua was baptized by John the Baptist and which is considered the third holiest site in Christianity. (INN)

    NIGERIA: Earlier this summer two churches were bombed simultaneously; at least three Christians died, and several were injured. Muslim extremists with the alleged aid of Nigerian soldiers killed 24 Christians during August in Nigeria's central Plateau. (Front Page Magazine)

    PAKISTAN: Under accusations of blasphemy, and with the help of a local politician, Muslims last month attempted to annex a Christian hospital established in 1922 by missionaries. Additionally, two Christian men were seriously injured by young Muslim men in Karachi when they refused to convert to Islam. They were returning home after an early-morning prayer service at their church on August 14. Six youths started questioning them about their faith and later tried to force them to recite the Kalma (Islamic conversion creed) and become Muslims, but the two refused to renounce Christianity. The Muslims got out of the car armed with iron rods and attacked the two young men shouting that they should either recite the Kalma or be prepared to die. They severely beat the two Christians seriously injuring both. The young Muslim men then left, assuming they had killed both Christians, although they have subsequently recovered. The family ha s not registered a case with police, fearing reprisal by the Muslims. Christians make up only 2.45% of Pakistan’s population, which is more than 95% Muslim. (Alina)

    SAUDI ARABIA: On August 12 it was reported that a captured Christian pastor is set to be deported to Muslim Eritrea, where he faces the death penalty. (RSL) Pray for the reversal of any death threat and for the freedom of this unnamed pastor.

    TANZANIA: August 12, Muslims burned down two churches to cries of "away with the church - we do not want infidels to spoil our community," and vows not to befriend "infidels." (Front Page Magazine)

    UGANDA: A 14-year-old girl in western Uganda is still unable to walk 10 months after her father tortured her for leaving Islam and putting her faith in Yeshua, according to area Christians last month. (J.Post) Pray for this young girl not to abandon her faith, also that she may escape the brutality of her father and other family members who might add to her sufferings for the name of Yeshua.

    UZBEKISTAN: Uzbekistan is reportedly a place where fines, abuse and the destruction of religious literature are unceasing. On August 31, police who raided a Protestant family's home in Fergana also beat the husband as they confiscated a Bible, an Uzbek New Testament and the Proverbs of Solomon. (WCN)

    THE SAD, SAD LACK OF SOLIDARITY AMONG CHRISTIANS: A recent study shows 105,000 Christians are killed every year because of their faith. In other words, every five minutes a Christian is killed because he or she believes in Yeshua. It is shocking to see how little other Christians do about it. The most natural thing to do as a Christian, a Christian leader or organization, would be to demand that Islamic leaders and organizations call for a stop to religious violence against Christians. They should demand that imams declare void the many Koranic verses preaching hatred and for the murder of followers of Yeshua. Many people expected many more Christians to write letters to the editor, demonstrate in front of mosques, call for the media to report more about the problems, etc. Local congregations should write open letters to local Islamic organizations, urging them to publicly renounce any religiously motivated violence -- incl uding the relevant portions of their own written religious texts. I will not say "shame on you" for not standing up for your sisters and brothers. Present and future generations of Christians enjoying less security than you are enjoying now will do that. Looking the other way may not be harmful for oneself, if one lives in a safe setting. But letting people in need down -- even fellow Christians -- is embarrassing and cowardly, and it makes Christianity look useless in situations where things are less rosy. Protecting fellow believers from oppression and violence should be the least of what we do. The sad, sad lack of solidarity among Christians must come to an end, even if taking a stand involves personal risk or going public offends those who want to harm you. Christianity is the largest religion in this world. It laid the cultural basis for the richest, freest and most compassionate society in this world. It is time for this giant to wake up. (Nicol ai Sennels /Jihad Watch) RB note: As I read this “exhortation”, I realized that what each one of us needs is to KNOW what we SPECIFICALLY can do and HOW to do it. Pray for this!