Sudan: Christians Must Leave
May 25, 2012 at 6:30 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: bombing, persecution, Sudan, Voice of the Martyrs
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Sudan: Christians Must Leave
Amid its ongoing bombing campaign in the Nuba Mountains area, the government of Sudan has enacted a new ethnic cleansing strategy denying citizenship to anyone deemed a “southerner.” The determination is based purely on ethnicity, rather than any of the traditional criteria for citizenship, such as residency or property rights. Khartoum has set April 8 as the deadline for “southerners” to leave or establish alien residency, though no residency terms have yet been established.
In the southern self-determination referendum, Sudan’s president warned over a year ago that he would purge the North of non-Arab and non-Islamic elements. He told the British newspaper The Guardian, “If south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution, and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity. … Sharia and Islam will be the main source for the constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language.”
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 700,000 ethnic “southerners” remain in Sudan after more than 2 million people fled to the newly established nation of South Sudan. Most of those who will be affected by the policy were born in northern Sudan and have never lived in the south. Continue Reading Sudan: Christians Must Leave…
Sermon Sunday – Charles Spurgeon – The Relationship of Marriage
May 20, 2012 at 6:30 am | Posted in Sermon Sunday | Leave a commentTags: ateasetees, marriage, relationship, Spurgeon
The Relationship Of Marriage
“Turn, O backsliding children, says the Lord; for I am married unto you.”
Jeremiah 3:14
THESE are dainty words—a grateful sedative for a troubled conscience. Such singular comfort is fitted to cheer the soul and put the brightest hue on all her prospects. The person to whom it is addressed has an eminently happy position. Satan will be very busy with you, Believer in Christ, tonight! He will say, “What right have you to believe that God is married to you?” He will remind you of your imperfections and of the coldness of your love, and perhaps of the backsliding state of your heart. He will say, “What? With all this about you can you be presumptuous enough to claim union with the Son of God? Can you venture to hope that there will be any marriage between you and the Holy One?” Continue Reading Sermon Sunday – Charles Spurgeon – The Relationship of Marriage…
Iran: Arrests Continue
May 18, 2012 at 6:30 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: Iran, persecution, Voice of the Martyrs
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Iran: Arrests Continue
Iranian authorities continue to raid worship meetings and arrest Christians in a systematic series of arrests that began two months ago. Authorities launched the operation in hope of countering the growth of Christianity and stamping out the house church movement. Those arrested are rarely given a reason for their arrest. Their personal property is seized, and they are often transferred to unknown locations without notification of family.
Giti Hakimpour, a 78-year-old retired Christian nurse, experienced this firsthand. Hakimpour was awoken at 6 a.m. on Feb. 22 by security forces entering her apartment in Esfahan. They interrogated her for three hours before arresting her. Authorities seized her passport, the title deed to her house and her bank account numbers, among other possessions.
Hakimpour, a member of St. Luke’s church, was detained for three days at the Esfahan Intelligence Office. Her interrogator finally requested that she receive a temporary release because of her age and recent knee surgery, which required special medical attention unavailable in prison. Continue Reading Iran: Arrests Continue…
Sermon Sunday – Charles Spurgeon – A Mournful Defection
May 13, 2012 at 7:48 am | Posted in Sermon Sunday | Leave a commentTags: ateasetees, Charles Spurgeon, mournful defection, Sermon Sunday
A Mournful Defection
“Will you also go away?”
John 6:67
No mischief that ever befalls our Christian communities is more lamentable than that which comes from the defection of the members. The heaviest sorrow that can wring a pastor’s heart is such as comes from the betrayal of his most familiar friend. The direst calamity the Church can dread is not such as will arise from the assault of enemies outside, but from false brethren and traitors within the camp. My eminent predecessor, Benjamin Keach, though arrested, brought before the magistrates, imprisoned, pilloried and otherwise made to suffer by the Government of the times for the Gospel doctrines that he preached and published, found it easier to brook the rough usage of open foes than to bear the griefs of wounded love, or sustain the shock of outraged confidence. I should not think his experience was very exceptional. Other saints would have preferred the rotten eggs of the villagers to the rooted animosities of slanderers. Troy could never be taken by the assaults of the Greeks outside her walls. Only when, by trickery, the enemy had been admitted within the citadel was that brave city compelled to yield. The devil himself was not such a subtle foe to Christ as was Judas, when, after the Supper, Satan entered into him. Judas was a friend of Jesus. Jesus addressed him as such. And Judas said, “Hail, Master,” and kissed Him. But Judas it was who betrayed Him! That is a picture which may well appall you—that is a peril which may well admonish you. Continue Reading Sermon Sunday – Charles Spurgeon – A Mournful Defection…
Kazakhstan: Small Churches Banned
May 11, 2012 at 6:30 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: Kazakhstan, persecution, Voice of the Martyrs
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Kazakhstan: Small Churches Banned
A religion law adopted last October has been used to revoke registration from religious groups of fewer than 50 adults, and small churches are now struggling to maintain legal status. In the past, authorities fined those who met without registration, but the new religion law officially bans all unregistered religious activity. The number of religious groups in Kazakhstan has declined 13 percent, from 4,551to 3,972, since the government began enforcing the stricter regulations. A complementary law increased penalties for religious offences.
In February, government officials demanded that 579 religious groups forfeit their registration certificates and cease all religious activity. Even though the churches complied, local officials continue to visit the communities to ensure enforcement of the new regulations. Continue Reading Kazakhstan: Small Churches Banned…
Nigeria: Church Bombed in Jos
May 4, 2012 at 6:30 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: Jos, Nigeria, persecution
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Nigeria: Church Bombed in Jos
Boko Haram terrorists bombed a large church in Jos on Sunday, killing a church member and a baby, along with themselves. Church security guards prevented the suicide bombers from reaching the church auditorium, where a service was in progress. Claiming responsibility for the attack, a Boko Haram spokesman said, “We have just started.”
The suicide bombers arrived at the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) compound shortly after the 7 a.m. Hausa language service began. A security guard suspected of collaborating with the terrorists opened the gate for their Volkswagen vehicle packed with explosives. But other security guards, who noticed the unusual activity, shot one of the car’s occupants and managed to stop the vehicle before it reached the main church building. The car bomb exploded in the parking area at about 7:20 a.m., killing church usher Grace Daniel, a baby that died later at the hospital and the two bombers. At least 38 others were injured in the bombing. Church services were canceled for the day throughout Jos. Continue Reading Nigeria: Church Bombed in Jos…
Get the Word out! 