Brother Andrew's Blog, page 151

Multiply your gift to help persecuted Christians

There are just a few days left in 2016 and because you’re one of our key ministry partners, I needed to write right away. Despite careful financial planning, a severe spike in global Christian persecution has stretched our resources — nearly to a breaking point. As December 31 closes in, we’re facing a $618,000 budget shortfall.

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GABRIEL, THE NO-MORE-POOR EVANGELIST

Gabriel, in his 50s, is from a Muslim-dominated area in rural East Africa where persecution and poverty intersect. Christians here are generally poorer than their Muslim neighbors, and the economic sidelining they face because of their faith in Christ worsens their situation even further.

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Sunday Morning Prayer

Over the last year I have had the privilege of spending Sunday mornings before church praying with my college students. Every Sunday I am blessed to hear our students share their hearts and cry out to the Lord to move in our college group, our church, their college campuses, our city, and the nation. But what has been an absolute blessing is to see the students hearts grow for our persecuted brothers and sisters

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Do You Fear God Or Persecution More?

It is easy to view physical torture or abandonment as the worst thing that could happen to us or our loved ones. But the Scriptures make it so clear that this should not be so...

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Mourning After Cairo Church Bombing

Egypt’s Christian community is in mourning following what the BBC has referred to as the “deadliest attack on the Coptic community in recent memory.”

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Believer Shares the Gospel After Attending an Open Doors Training

Sister Raikhan* dreamed of being an evangelist, but she had no idea where to start. She lacked confidence and was recently fired from her job. Raikhan also knew that if she talked about Christ openly, she could be stopped by the police and fined. In her country, a person could be detained by the police for distributing Bibles and pamphlets with religious content.

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Shunned For His Faith

As he placed the last book on the shelf, Ravshan began to panic. Were the books in the same order he had found them in? He frantically tried to calculate the odds that his family would find the Bible hidden at the back. "Being discovered isn't an option," he reminded himself...

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Eight Left Dead in Democratic Republic of Congo After Attack

Citizens in the town of Beni, located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are shaken as eight people died at the hand of Islamist militant Allied Democratic Force (ADF).

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Persecution + King David

When we think of those from the Bible who faced persecution, we often think of Paul or Job. King David faced great trials for his faith; even after being anointed king, he was still on the run for his life. He hid in caves and was always hiding from King Saul. A few things are worth studying in regards to how David, a man after God’s own heart, faced and dealt with persecution...

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The 5-5-5 Challenge: A Story Of Persecution From North Korea

     

Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen and Sobibor.

Four names of four Nazi concentration camps that were infamous for holding many political prisoners captive, but most for the systematic torture and killing of Jews, gypsies and others that were seen as impure.

We know the names and have images in our memories that we associate with them. But how many of us are familiar with names as Yodok, Bukchang, Kaechon and Chongori? Neglected by a large part of the international community, several hundred thousand people languish in these Nazi-like death camps, where they are stripped of all humanity.

Christians are kept in isolation from other people in the total control zone. What we know specifically about them are only bits and pieces. But Lee Soon-Ok, who was imprisoned in prison facility No. 1 Kaechon, wrote in her book 'Eyes of the tailless animals' about several hundred Christians who were kept there.

"They received less food and were punished harder than others. Once or twice a month all the 6,000 prisoners needed to gather on a Saturday or Sunday and one or two Christians were publicly asked to denounce their faith. If not, they were beaten or stabbed with a sharp bamboo stick. I was amazed the Christians choose to suffer and did not betray their God. Often they just sang songs or said 'Amen'. The guards became furious and frequently killed Christians. The Christians also had to do the most dangerous and hardest work, like working in the rubbery factory. If a guard managed to force a Christian to denounce God, he or she would receive a promotion. Sometimes we had to walk over the Christian until he died."

Ready for this weeks challenge?