MY COMMENTS ON THE NEWS

At Saints Church in Alexandria, Egypt, 21 Coptic Christians were killed and nearly 100 wounded at a New Year’s Mass bombing. “The last thing I heard was a powerful explosion and then my ears went deaf,” Marco Boutros, 17, said from his hospital bed where he was being treated for wounds. “All I could see were body parts scattered all over, legs and bits of flesh.” The New York Times reports:

The reports coming out from a variety of sources worldwide regarding persecution of Christians, largely at the hands of Muslims is indeed a Tsunami from hell! Do a web search on Christian persecution and see what you come up with - it will be mind-boggling as well as mind opening.

The following news items are from Voice of the Martyrs.

Afghanistan: Christian Imprisoned

On Jan. 3, a judge told Shoaib Assadullah that if he did not renounce Christ within one week he would face up to 20 years in prison or even be sentenced to death. Shoaib was arrested on Oct. 21, 2010, when he gave a man a Bible in Mazar-e-Sharif, the fourth largest city in Afghanistan. The man reported the incident to authorities, and Shoaib was arrested. He has been imprisoned in northern Afghanistan since his arrest. Although the judge has offered him freedom in exchange for denying Christ, Shoaib, a Muslim convert to Christianity, has remained faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. VOM contacts say he has been listening to Christian radio programs while in prison and is very thankful that he can still hear Scripture. He is concerned about his family, but he remains strong in Christ and even sends greetings to other Christians in Afghanistan. “I want people to know my faith is strong,” Shoaib told VOM contacts. “Please pray that I can stand well. I am not afraid of death.” Shoaib is imprisoned under Afghanistan’s apostasy law, which holds to a strict interpretation of Islam that says leaving the religion is an action punishable by death. In 2006, Abdul Rahman, another Muslim convert to Christianity, faced the death penalty but was released because he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial. Authorities around the world, including the United States Congress, have protested Afghanistan’s apostasy laws.

Somalia: Teenage Girl Shot

A 17-year-old girl who converted to Christianity from Islam was shot to death recently in an apparent “honor killing” in Somalia, according to Compass Direct News. Nurta Mohamed Farah, who had fled her village to live with relatives after her parents tortured her for leaving Islam, died on Nov. 25, according to the Compass Direct report. “Area sources said they strongly suspected that the two unidentified men in Galgadud Region who shot her in the chest and head with a pistol were relatives or acting on their behest,” Compass reported. Pray that God will use Nurta’s testimony to draw non-believers into fellowship with him, and pray for the protection of all believers in Somalia.

Barb and I give to Voice of the Martyrs on a regular basis. There are sever similar ministries to VOM and I am thankful for such ministries. I have several of these type ministries posted on our website.

Remember Islam is a peaceful religion, but just a glance at headlines around the world will prove to the contrary. Islam represents hate and Islam hates! But we in America are in love with Islam. We have fallen in love with our captors. We are living out the Stockholm Syndrome personified! They have captured many through various tactics, i.e. the liberal media, liberal education, and out right intimidation. While it saddens and angers me that the American press as a whole will not report these attacks, it saddens and angers me more that the "prosperity preachers" in the American Church are so preoccupied will spreading their beguiling message of selfishness that they do not hear the cries of the ones who are suffering for the sake of Christ. These narcissistic thespians will wave their wallets as they prance across the stage and demand that God fill it while our true brothers and sisters are actually praying "Lord give us our daily bread" . They pray this Godly prayer as they continue to worship in their underground churches, built in abject poverty, and surrounded by hostile enemies. Lying on my desk before me is the January copy of VOM. On the front cover is a picture of a girl who was so badly burned she barely looks human, in fact she portrays the face of a monster more than a young girl. Her name is Yubelina. This beautiful angel of faith was horribly burned while fleeing a Muslim attack on her Christian village in Indonesia. I cannot bring to mind with any real clarity what this young girls must have suffered. Thanks to God using VOM to provide several plastic surgeries, Yubelina will look more and more human. I thank God for thousands like Yubelina who I am not worthy to even write about. In the amount of time you have taken to read this article many Christians have been martyred, tortured, and imprisoned for their faith in Yeshua. I hope you will remember these brothers and sisters in prayer.

In closing I would like to remind you that more Christians died for their faith in the twentieth century than at any other time in history, says Christian Solidarity International. It is estimated that 150,000 Christians were martyred last year, in various nations outside of the United States. That will change!!! While persecution will continue to grow against Christians in other countries it will also happen here! I want to warn you with all the urgency I have that persecution is coming to the United States. In many ways it is already here and raising its ugly head. "Here now but not yet"