Aasia Bibi -Thursday 13 October !!

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3

 

Urgent – Aasia Bibi‘s final appeal takes place Thursday 13 October- tomorrow (Pakistan is approx. 8 hours behind Auckland NZ). Please call on YHVH for grace on her! Leanne wrote about Aasia previously at Keep on praying

You Can Make a Difference!

 

I was reading Elizabeth Kendall‘s blog this morning and was saddened by how bad it is for Christians in the world.  Prophecy is being fulfilled as Yahshua spoke of in Matthew 24:9:  “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me”, which is also a good indication of where we are on His timeline.

Please have a look at  http://www.elizabethkendal.com/action/, an article written by Elizabeth Kendall in which she gives good information for how we as Christians can help.

There are organisations like https://barnabasfund.org/ who works on ground level with the Body of Christ in countries like Syria. They also offer ideas and support how to practically get involved e.g. writing to our governments.

We should all pray and ask God how to get involved and to receive grace to stand with Him and his persecuted body in this last hour.

Tiana

 

 

 

Double Whammy For Christian Women

 

sourced at crystalandrusmorrisette.com

Women are being doubly discriminated against for being female, and for being Christian.

Women worldwide are vulnerable because of their gender. It includes domestic violence, dowry and honor killings, forced prostitution, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), raping, abortion etc. It can also include things like low literacy rate and ownership. Being female can put you automatically in these categories. Lines are often blurred between cultural and religious abuse. Even in a first world country like New Zealand, being of female gender can make you vulnerable to abuses. Men are not subjected to such fears, abuses or violence. Do men ever think of having their car keys ready in their hand to veer off a possible attacker in an empty parking lot? Your whole approach to life is different. A lot has been done in New Zealand to give women support and equality. I’m thankful for that.

Keep Praying

Over the last few years as we have prayed for the Persecuted Church we have become familiar with individuals and their struggles in countries where being a Christian means regular persecution and even death. We have been so thankful for sites such as Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, Morning Star, and others that get the news out about our brothers and sisters in Christ.

To be able to pray for individuals by name has been a privilege and has connected us to the larger body of Christ that spans the whole earth. It has challenged us in our faith and prayer life as well, often waiting to hear of some, any good news about those we pray for.

Building Relationships With Moderate Iran

Next week Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will be visiting New Zealand with the goal of building relationships, with talks likely to focus on trade and economic links.

I became curious.

Open Doors 2016 List

 

image sourced from opendoorsusa.org

Open Doors in January released its World Watch List where they rank the top fifty countries where Christians face persecution. This list is compiled by looking at five aspects of a Christian’s life – Private, Family, Community, National and Church and the freedoms that are threatened or have already been lost within these contexts.

For the fourteenth year in a row North Korea tops the list. It is estimated between 50,000-70,000 Christians are enslaved in the nation’s labor camps. It seems the long time stand off between North Korea and America only exacerbates the Christian’s plight as the regime sees the church as a Western institute and any Christian as potentially dangerous to national security. Christian identity is carefully hidden even from family members often for their own protection. The whole nation gives the impression of living in fear while feigning enthusiastic, dogged obedience to the every whim and fancy of a fellow man.

May God set the captives of North Korea free.

Open Doors points out that what is disturbing, is once where North Korea reached their Number One spot miles ahead of any other country, that gap is closing swiftly and soon we may see tussles between who takes out the top spot.

Number Two on their list is Iraq, up one place from last year. Lawlessness reigns in Iraq and Christians and their communities are threatened for the first time in two millennia with being completely ousted from this part of the Middle East. Some very brave Christians are choosing to stay amidst the violence and chaos to show Christ’s love to those with great humanitarian and spiritual need.

Please pray for Iraq.

Number Three is Eritrea up six places from last year. The whole nation seems to be on the move to escape the authoritarian, anti-freedom government of Isaias Afewerki, with many of the refugees crossing the Mediterranean to Europe being from Eritrea. From Christians imprisoned in shipping containers, to prolonged and indefinite conscription into the nation’s army and the mysterious disappearance of church leaders, all make for a hopeless outlook for this nation whose youth population is being rapidly depleted.

Please pray for the hope and salvation of Eritrea.

The remainder of the list is made up of nations predominantly within the world’s 10/40 window which is plagued with Islamic extremism, corruption, Communism and a lack of respect for life. With the exception of Niger and Bahrain, the rest of the list is made up of repeat offenders. Sadly, those outside the 10/40 window are largely silent to their fellow human being’s suffering.

The solution lies in transformed hearts and minds through the love of Yahshua – for those who are persecutors and also for those in Christ who are not currently facing persecution. May we be spurred on by God’s Spirit to make time to pray for our brothers and sisters in Messiah who are suffering.

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Hebrews 13:3

And be encouraged,

“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16

– Leanne