Persecution Blog

The Voice of the Martyrs Introduces Special Digital Photo Issue

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-08T15:59:48-08:00

If you're not on our The Voice of the Martyrs Facebook page, you may have missed the post where they mentioned this brand new digital application for a special photo issue of the newsletter.

The current download compiles the 2011 and 2010 special issues from the VOM newsletter and presents them in an easy-to-use, high-resolution tablet-optimized application!

The other great news about this new application is that it is available in both Android and Apple format for your iPad!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE ANDROID APPLICATION

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE APPLE APPLICATION

Renewed Civil Unrest in Syria, Hundreds Die

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-08T15:19:42-08:00

As most you probably know, Syria is one of our Restricted Nations and right now everyone in Syria needs our prayers for peace. The overwhelming population of Syria is Muslim and their constitution requires that their President be a Muslim. Tom Doyle from E3 Partners gives an update in this report from Mission Network News.

Syria (MNN) ― The United States has closed its embassy in Damascus, Syria after hundreds were killed in renewed civil conflict there. The announcement came two days after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council plan authored by the Arab League in an attempt to end 11 months of violence.

Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a solution to the crisis, all the while Syrian forces resumed bombarding the protest hotbed of Homs. More than 300 people reportedly died in the violence, including women and children.

Tom Doyle with E3 Partners is in the Middle East this week. Doyle says, "We know believers there, and it's extremely difficult. Some are predicting that the Assad regime will fall; others are saying he will dig in and never go down. So it doesn't look like any end in sight."

This unrest may not only affect Syria. Doyle says Assad may have a scorched earth policy. "Israel thinks that means that if someone goes after Syria, Syria will go after Israel. We don't know. It's desperate times."

But why would Syria do that? "Syria needs a war with someone other than themselves. They'd love to get into it with Israel. It would take the spotlight off the war crimes and the crimes against its people that Bashar al-Assad has done."

Doyle says since the unrest, Christians have been left alone by the government. However, believers still have to deal with the day-to-day violence. The climate for change is perfect for people to turn to Christ. "We're hearing the nominal Christians, Muslims, Alawite, Druze, in Syria are much more open to hearing about Christ. In fact, in some cases, they are seeking out Christians."

It's not only happening in Syria, Doyle says. "The places where people are being set free is where Satan is trying to keep them in chains with radical Islam, to keep the people afraid, to keep people away from the Muslims who are very open to the Gospel right now."

The situation isn't looking good in Israel, either. Doyle says, "Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Fatah Party which is Mahmoud Abbas, they are coming together to form a unity government, which Benjamin Netanyahu has said publicly that ends the peace process because Hamas is not motivated by peace."

You can help E3 Partners support the work on pastoral training and support in the Middle East. Click here to get connected.

CBN News also did some video coverage of the recent unrest in Syria.

11 The Voice of the Martyrs Books Now Available on Nook for $1

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-08T14:24:09-08:00

Yesterday I shared with you that The Voice of the Martyrs has 16 books available on Kindle, and today I wanted to share with you that we also have 11 books now available for the Nook book reader, which you can purchase at Barnes and Noble.

Some of the titles now available for download on the Nook, for only one dollar each include:

Alone with God by Richard Wurmbrand

The Oracles of God by Richard Wurmbrand

God's Missiles Over Cuba by Tom White

Into the Den of Infidels by The Voice of the Martyrs

100 Prison Meditations by Richard Wurmbrand

If you own a Nook book reader, please visit today and buy a few books and save some money! Enjoy!

What If We Were Compelled by Love?

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-07T15:24:30-08:00

Recently I was reading at our Kids of Courage website and one of their posts caused me to ask the question to myself... “What if I was compelled by love?”

Here’s what is posted on the Kids of Courage website:

Quran Memorizers

Malaysia’s monetary unit is the ringgit

Muslims all over the world honor people who memorize and recite the Quran, the Muslim holy book. Malaysia’s prime minister awarded 2,000 ringgits (about $620 in U.S. money) per month to all past winners of Malaysia’s yearly international Quran reciting competition. The winners will receive the monthly payment for the rest of their lives.

Reading the above made me think about how churches, Christian schools and sometimes even parents use money, candy, special priveleges, a video game or other rewards to get children to memorize scripture. I’ve even seen this used with adults, in women’s ministries I’ve been apart of.

But the question is, do these “rewards” really work and are they beneficial in the long run? What if we were compelled by love — not the love of money, but our love for God?

I know that’s a shocking thought to some people, but I once heard an evangelist say: If you’re motivated to share the gospel because I said I’ll give you a thousand dollars every time you did it, but you’re not motivated to share the gospel because you love people and you love Jesus, where is it that your affections reside?

The thing that makes Christianity different from every other faith in the world, is that our God came down to us and He laid down His life for us because He loves us. Every other faith requires some form of work. Christianity requires receiving a free gift.

What if we were compelled by His love to read the bible, to study the scriptures, to memorize His word and to pray for those who He calls us to pray for? Do you think your faith would be living? Do you think that you’d have more joy?

I do.

When you consider all of the Christians that we’ve highlighted here on the blog, or in our monthly newsletter and our other resources, the one thing that all of these Christians have in common is that their love for Christ has exceeded their love of comfort, their love of money, their love of popularity and in many cases, their love for their very lives.

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died — 2 Corinthians 5:14 NASB

What is it that is compelling you today?

Pastor Freed from Prison, Not Persecution

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-07T14:01:35-08:00

China (MNN) — After months of pressure from the international community, the Chinese government released Pastor Shi Enhao early from his two-year sentence of hard prison labor.

According to Voice of the Martyrs, Canada’s source ChinaAid, there is still no explanation for Pastor Shi Enhao’s sudden release one year and six months early. The sentencing of Pastor Shi took place in July, 2011 when he was charged with “illegal meetings and illegal organizing of venues for religious meetings.”

Pastor Shi serves as Vice President of Chinese House Church Alliance, a group located along the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu. After his sentence in July, Chinese police confiscated church property including a church vehicle, choir robes, musical instruments, and 140,000 yuan (US$22,160).

Pastor Shi’s conviction and sentence isn’t the only example of persecution this Christian group has suffered. Four months after Pastor Shi’s arrest, various Chinese authorities including officials from the Three-Self Patriotic Church gathered the leaders of Chinese House Church Alliance.

At the gathering, officials told the church leaders that their organization was illegal. All members of Chinese House Church Alliance were ordered to begin attending the Three-Self Patriotic Church -- a church body established and controlled by the Chinese government -- or they would be arrested like their pastor.

ChinaAid publicly denounced the Chinese government, calling on them to “stop their persecution of Suqian Church and to uphold the rights of these citizens to religious freedom and to basic civil rights.” ChinaAid also listed Pastor Shi’s case as number 3 in their 2011 Top 10 Cases of Persecution of Churches and Christians.

The release of Pastor Shi was a tremendous relief, but the Chinese House Church Alliance is still being closely monitored by the Chinese government.

Please pray for strength among the believers as they seek freedom to worship the Lord. Praise God for Pastor Shi’s release and pray that those who are still suffering in prison for their faith may be granted justice.

Source: Mission Network News

16 Books from The Voice of the Martyrs Now on Kindle for $1

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-07T13:50:59-08:00

Today I have exciting news to share with you because I just found out that 16 of the books that The Voice of the Martyrs offers are now available at Amazon, for the Kindle for only one dollar each. That is an amazing deal! If I were you, I’d get all of the books today.

If you were to purchase all of these books individually at their regular cost, it would cost you easily over one hundred dollars. Now, you can buy all 16 of these books for only $16! What an amazing deal!

Here are a few of my personal favorites:

In God's Underground by Richard Wurmbrand

The Answer to the Atheist’s Handbook by Richard Wurmbrand

Proof of God’s Existence by Richard Wurmbrand

With God in Solitary Confinement by Richard Wurmbrand

If Prison Walls Could Speak by Richard Wurmbrand — this book is my favorite.

I hope you take some time to check a few of these out because they are wonderful devotional material, as well as inspiring and thought provoking. Richard Wurmbrand offers solid meat with much substance to his readers, based on his experiences suffering for Christ.

Newsweek Cover Story: The War on Christians

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-06T13:12:32-08:00

Today I would like to thank the editors at Newsweek and Ayaan Hirsi Ali for doing a cover story on the plight of Christians.

Ayaan has done a stellar job of discussing some of the reasons why persecuted Christians do not get the coverage they should and also lays out a history of recent persecution of Christians worldwide. I commend the piece to you. Click here to read it in its entirety.

Here's an excerpt:

We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at best partially accurate. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania. In some countries it is governments and their agents that have burned churches and imprisoned parishioners. In others, rebel groups and vigilantes have taken matters into their own hands, murdering Christians and driving them from regions where their roots go back centuries.

Click here to keep reading and please thank Newsweek for the coverage.

Persecution Podcast 102: Vietnam, Colombia, and Sudan

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-06T12:43:34-08:00

This morning as my husband and I were having our morning devotions and prayer time, we prayed for the persecuted church and were remembering our brethren who are in chains. This got me thinking about how the Persecution Podcast is really a very helpful resource for focusing our prayers. Every week we post a podcast so that you can hear directly from the staff of The Voice of the Martyrs about what is happening behind the scenes and specifically about some of the recent prayer requests we have from around the world.

In Persecution Podcast 102 we are also excited to announce the winner of our contest. Be sure to listen to the show by clicking here.

Please also pray for our specific requests on Vietnam, Colombia and the Sudan. Read those requests in their entirety here.

This Grave is the Doorway to the Heavenly City

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-06T12:09:10-08:00

As you read today's devotion from the book Extreme Devotion, I pray that you will feel the courage of the woman you're reading about. It is amazing her heavenly perspective under the threat of her death for believing in Jesus. Do you have that type of courage?

It was almost midnight as the women prisoners heard the Communist guards arrive. They quickly gathered around the condemned, a young woman of twenty who had been sentenced to die for her faith in Christ. They whispered hurried good-byes. There were no tears from the young Romanian woman, no screams for mercy.

Earlier that evening, the prisoners had listened to the young woman, her face glowing with love. “For me, this grave is the doorway to a heavenly city,” she had told them. “Who can tell the beauty of that city? There, sadness is not known. There is only joy and song. Everyone is dressed in the white of purity. We can see God face-to-face. There are such joys that human language cannot express. Why should I weep? Why should I be sad?”

She was engaged to be married, but this night, she told them, instead of being with her earthly fiancé, she would meet her heavenly bridegroom.

The pitiless guards entered the cell, and the woman stepped toward them, ready to go. As she left the cell, surrounded by guards, she began to recite the Apostles’ Creed. Minutes later, with tears streaming down their faces, the remaining prisoners heard shots. The executioners thought they had ended the young woman’s life, but they had only sent her to live forever in a much better place.

Courage is the bridge that carries us from a nominal existence on earth to an inexplicable longing for a heavenly future. Those who fully understand the certainty of heaven’s existence find it easier to exchange their comparably paltry lives on earth for eternal citizenship in heaven. Courage helps us to let go of all we cling to on earth—all the things that make us long to stay here. It takes courage to believe in a life after death. After all, life on earth is all we really know until the moment we die. We are courageous when we launch out in faith, believing Christ has made it possible for us to cross into eternity with him. Once we have made that firm decision, we can face life with purpose and death with courage.

Source: Extreme Devotion

Missionary Couple Killed in Mexico

Stacy L. Harp — 2012-02-03T13:26:49-08:00

Mexico (MNN) ― Violence in Mexico has claimed the lives of a U.S. missionary couple. Yesterday, John (76) and Wanda (67) Casias were remembered for their service to Christ in the Baptist church they founded.

Wanda was discovered in their home by their son on Tuesday evening, who noticed their car and some electronics were missing. His father was found dead in an outbuilding on the property. Both had electrical cords tied around their necks.

Violence has escalated in Mexico, forcing many missionaries to rethink their deployment. John Herrin served with The Mission Society in Monterrey until recently. "When we first moved to Monterrey over three years ago, it was one of the safest cities in Latin America, not just Mexico. And in a very brief time, the city just changed literally overnight. There's a sense of tension in the air, a sense of fear in the city."

Herrin says the increase in violence forced them to make some decisions about staying in Mexico. "When driver's training began to include how to respond to a shoot out and how to drop to the floor-board of the car, we realized we weren't sure our kids should be involved in this." This helped them make their decision to leave Monterrey.

Many American missionaries are leaving Mexico, Herrin says, and the church has had a great deal of uncertainty. "A lot of funding began to drop off, and the church began saying, 'What are we going to do?' Then, the violence began to hit, again the church said, 'What are we going to do?'"

Herrin says the Holy Spirit is empowering people. "The church there is stepping up. They are developing their own plan. They're going out, and they're reaching out. And they're doing things that they haven't done before because they haven't had to."

That may be the silver lining in all of this, says Herrin. "We're now [being reminded] that God is doing it. It's not me doing it. It's not those missionaries over there. This really is the continuation of God's church."

Herrin says he still goes back to Monterrey once a month for ministry. Pray for his safety as he travels in and out of Mexico. He says, "The easy thing [to do] is to give up and walk away. The thing that God calls us to is to be faithful. If God calls us to it, we need to be about it, and God will be with us. He'll carry us through it and over it."

In the meantime, pray for all missionaries working in Mexico. Pray especially for the Casias family, their church family in Mexico, and their supporters in Texas.

Source: Mission Network News