Christians in Crisis

I have always had a broken heart for our brothers and sisters in chains all over the world. They need our prayers. Here are some stats that I took from christiansincrisis.net. I highly recommend going there and reading, praying, or even donating to their ministry. 

Were you aware that ...

Since the death of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, 43,000,000 Christians have become martyrs.   Over 50% of these were in the last century alone. More than 200 million Christians face persecution each day 60% are children.   Every day over 300 are killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.

These things are happening every day, look at this new report from yesterday.

Date:          October 8, 2008

The Persecution & Prayer Alert

Three Christians were killed in Mosul, Iraq over the past week. On October 4, an armed group of suspected Islamist militants assassinated a man named Hazim Thomaso Youssif (40) in front of his clothing shop and Ivan Nuwya (15) was shot to death in front of his home, located near a mosque in the Christian-majority neighbourhood of Tahrir. On October 6, a disabled 25-year-old shopkeeper was shot and killed in the neighbourhood of Karama. Some Christians believe that Islamists are targeting shopkeepers in an effort to wipe out the Christian community's economic activity and drive out believers from the area.

Pray for those who mourn these lost lives. Ask God to continue to embolden the Christian community in Mosul to proclaim the Gospel even while suffering. (2 Timothy 4:16-18).

To learn more about Christian's suffering for righteousness' sake in Iraq, 

visit www.persecution.net/iraq.htm.

Look at this report from India.

TAMIL NADU, INDIA (ANS) -- Gospel for Asia missionary Vinay Ganpati is still facing threats months after an anti-Christian mob attacked his church in Tamil Nadu, India. The attack happened after a local woman, believed to be a goddess, blamed two deaths on the Christian community.

After the attack on the church building and congregation, one of the anti-Christians died in an accident. This caused people to further blame the Christians, and there were threats of more violence.

On September 26, a group approached pastor Vinay and told him to vacate the church and stop all activities by October 10. Vinay tried his best to reason with the group, explaining the land was lawfully owned by the church and that he couldn't leave so suddenly.

"The extremists were not ready to listen to him and again warned him to vacate by the deadline or face dire consequences," GFA's correspondent wrote. "Vinay seems very worried."

Vinay and his leaders plan to file a complaint with the police station in an effort to protect their land. This is not their first choice, as it could further hinder relationships with the people of the village.

Vinay earnestly requests prayer that God would remove fear from the Christians' hearts and make them strong to face these trials. Pray that the Lord will bring a peaceful solution, and that those opposing the Gospel will realize God's love for them.

So often we forget that 2Timothy 3:12 says "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 

There is a great war going on in the world today, and we need to take part. There are too many benchwarmers out there. We are all soldiers of Jesus Christ and we must take up our shields and swords and fight the good fight. The older I get the faster time seems to pass, and the more I realize how little I have done with the time I have been given. I refuse to regret the way I have lived my life, and you should too. There are billions of souls that need Jesus, let's do everything we can to give them the Kingdom, with every breath we take. In the name of Jesus. Amen.