Showing posts with label Persecution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Persecution. Show all posts

Christian Persecution Is Growing Around the World

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , | Posted On Friday, September 21, 2012 at 10:07 AM

When we think of persecution, we often think of folks being persecuted for political reasons, and certainly the events over the last year or so in what has come to be called the "Arab Spring" illustrate this. But estimates are that 75% of the people persecuted in the world today are persecuted for being Christians. In fact, more Christians died for their faith in the 20th Century than in all previous centuries combined. And estimates are that 159,900 Christians are martyred each year for their faith.

 An example is the story of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran. Below is a timeline of his life over the last three years:


  • October 2009
    •  – Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested. The authorities eventually charged him with apostasy – abandoning Islam for Christianity.
  • September 2010
    •  – Iranian court verbally sentenced Pastor Youcef to death for his faith.
  • November 2010
    •  – Iranian trial court issued a written death sentence for Pastor Youcef.
  • December 2010
    •  – Pastor Youcef appealed his conviction and execution to Iran’s Supreme Court.
  • June 2011
    •  – Iran’s Supreme Court in Qom, Iran, upheld Youcef’s apostasy conviction and death sentence by hanging for apostasy, remanding the case for a factual inquiry into whether Pastor Youcef was a practicing Muslim at age of majority before choosing Christianity.
  • September 2011
    •  – Iranian trial court determined that Youcef had abandoned the faith of his ancestors because he was born to Muslim parents and rejected Islam after the age of majority. The Court verbally reaffirmed his death sentence, unless he recanted his Christian faith. For three days, the Iranian trial court demanded that Pastor Youcef recant his faith or die, to which he responded, “I cannot.”
  • October 2011
    •  – Iranian trial court requested the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, provide advice on the case – effectively placing Pastor Youcef’s fate in the Ayatollah’s hands.
  • October 2011
    •  – Iran’s Ministry of Information clerics forced Islamic literature on Pastor Youcef and pressured him to recant his Christian faith.
  • January 2012
    •  – The Iranian regime again pressured Pastor Youcef to recant his faith or die.
  • March 2012
    •  – Iranian government officials admit to the world that Pastor Youcef’s charges concern his Christian faith.
  • April 2, 2012
    •  – Pastor Youcef is able to see his son on his son’s birthday, one of only a handful of times that they had been permitted to see each other in his nearly two-and-a-half years in prison.
  • April 11, 2012
    •  – Pastor Youcef celebrates his 35th birthday, his third birthday spent illegally imprisoned in Iran for his faith.
  • July 8, 2012
    •  – Pastor Youcef has been illegally imprisoned for his faith for 1000 days.
  • September 8, 2012
    •  – Victory: Pastor Youcef is released! After the world united for his cause, and the Church rose up in prayer, Pastor Youcef was reunited with his family after almost 3 years in prison.

 This information comes from the website 48 Hours for Freedom, which also included this press release below:
Sep. 8, 2012 

Today marks a day of celebration. After languishing in prison for almost three years, under the threat of execution for his faith, Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been released from prison and acquitted of his apostasy charge.

Pastor Youcef had been summoned to appear before the court this morning for the charges brought against him. His hearing lasted almost six hours. But in the end, he was released and able to return home to his family.

Some of our sources close to the case report that the court acquitted him of apostasy, but charged and convicted him of evangelizing to Muslims. According to these same sources, the court sentenced Pastor Youcef to three years in prison and granted him time served, which means his prison sentence already has been completed.

Your prayers, your advocacy, and your voice has been heard. Please continue to pray for Pastor Youcef’s safety. Please join us for 48 Hours for Religious Freedom on September 22-23, 2012, for the numerous other Christians persecuted in Iran. As more facts come out about the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, we will keep you posted.




If you would like to join in praying for Pastor Youcef, you can certainly join in the activities of this weekend, but it doesn't need to end then, and it shouldn't! This is a tragedy that seldom fails to make the news. Crowds are rioting around the Arab world about a video made by one individual related to the prophet Mohammed, but many say little or nothing about the tens of thousands of Christ followers who are dying each year for their faith.
I hope you will join me in praying for Pastor Youcef, but also to be praying for Christ followers around the world who are not free to openly live their faith. I thank God I live in a land where we are free to worship as we felt led, and I pray more and more will experience that freedom so they can know the Savior and Lord of the world, Jesus Christ!









Jesus Sometimes Creates Tensions in Our Families and Friendships

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , , , | Posted On Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 12:01 AM

The Gospel of Mark is jam-packed with stories, and it's hard to pick out any one thing to write about in chapters 3-4. However, one thing did catch my attention - it's something many folks who follow Jesus discover, just as Jesus himself experienced.

"One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn't even find time to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. 'He's out of his mind,' they said." (Mark 3:20-21, NLT)

Obviously there was some tension between Jesus and his family at this point in his life. Mark has told us nothing about Jesus' family, including stories about his birth. But all the Gospel writers recognized being with Jesus would be a source of tension in many families and friendships. In Matthew, Jesus cautions about what happens when people follow him, and then he quotes the Old Testament prophet Micah:

"'Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. "I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household."'" (Matthew 10:34-36, quote from Micah 7:6)

Jesus didn't mean he came to intentionally create strife in families and friendships. But he realized that there was always a cost to being his follower. People would be uncomfortable with a follower's level of faith, with their commitment to Christ, with their moral and ethical choices, etc. It seems so radical, so extreme sometimes.

I've talked with many Christ followers who have family members and friends who just don't understand or get it. A wife or a husband who thinks it's weird going to church, a friend who doesn't understand why you're changing some of your old habits, a co-worker who wonders if she or he can trust you anymore. This can be a real struggle for some Christ followers, to the point where they end up compromising their faith for the sake of these other relationships.

Jesus clearly faced this with his family at this point in his life. He'd given up a safe job as a carpenter to be some kind of itinerant preacher. He didn't seem to care who he angered or upset, including very powerful men. Some of the folks he was hanging out with were clearly from the other side of the tracks, or worse, tax collectors and sinners. Even though his mother Mary knew he had been a special child from God, this may have been more than they had bargained for, and they thought Jesus just might have lost it.

In fact, a few verses later, when his mother and brothers come to see him and talk to him, he refuses to stop his teaching and go out to see them. He even calls those who do God's will his "'...brother and sister and mother.'" (3:35)

Sometimes those we love just don't get it. They don't understand what it means to follow Jesus and the difference he can make in a person's life. And our relationship with Jesus can set family members and friends against each other. Maybe that's what you're struggling with right now.

But, this story doesn't end here. John tells us, "Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene." (John 19:25 NLT2) In fact, Jesus cared so much for his mother that as he hung there on the cross, he entrusted the care of his mother to the disciple John. Likewise, Jesus' brother James became active in the Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem. In fact, scholars believe that he ultimately led that church and wrote the Book of James in the Bible.

Sometimes family and friends don't get Jesus, but if we're patient and express the love of Christ to them, many of them eventually come around to become followers, too. It's always exciting to me to see a person come to faith in Christ, and before long see other members of their family and friends came to faith, because their witness was so encouraging. Sometimes it takes years, even decades. And sadly, some family and friends may never come around. While Jesus never compromised his faith and convictions for his family and friends, he also never gave up on them, and neither can we. We may be the very one God uses to reach that family member or friend.

Just Take the Next Step

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , , , | Posted On Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Our reading today in Acts 13-14 tells us about what has historically been called Paul's first missionary journey. He would ultimately take four of these, and this was the first and shortest (in distance). From this journey we learn several things about sharing the story of Jesus Christ.

First, notice that Paul doesn't travel alone. He begins with Barnabas and John Mark. Also, notice that the Holy Spirit led them out - they didn't do it on their own. And the Holy Spirit used the church to dedicate these men to their mission. (Acts 13:2-3 NLT)

Second, notice that Paul and his companions always started out in the local synagogue when they arrived in a new town. Paul started with those who would have the most connection with the Christian faith - the Jews. In fact, as we see here in Acts 13, Paul's typical pattern was to ground the story of Jesus in the history of Israel. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was the fulfillment of all God had been working toward in what we call the Old Testament. The early Christians discovered this and always attempted to reach Jews by showing them their common history and how Jesus fulfilled prophecy. "'Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God - something the law of Moses could never do.'" (13:38-39) And Acts tells us many did listen and turned their lives over to Jesus Christ.

Third, we notice to see that not everyone liked what Paul and his companions were doing. Some of the Jews became very upset, slandering them and arguing with them. A mob ran them out of Antioch of Pisidia and Iconium, and in Lystra Paul was stoned nearly to death. (14:19-20) Jesus warned that the Gospel would divide friends and families. Today there are folks who are vehemently opposed to Christianity, and they'll do whatever they can to ridicule it or discredit it. When we run into those folks, we just need to realize we're in good company with Paul and other missionaries.

Fourth, we see that when the Jews would reject the Gospel message, Paul would then take the message to the Gentiles. He started with those who would most easily connect with his message, but he discovered that God had also been working in the hearts of the Gentiles, who had no history or connection to Jesus. "'...since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.'" (14:46) Paul then quoted from the prophet Isaiah to show that even this extension of the mission to the Gentiles had always been a part of God's plan: "'"I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth."'" (14:47, from Isaiah 49:6)

Interestingly, the Gentiles, who had little or no common history with Jesus, were often the most grateful ones to hear this Good News. "When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message..." (14:48) Sometimes we may overlook folks around us who are the most eager to hear Good News. They are different from us, in any number of ways, and we presume we have nothing to say or offer them. But Paul discovered otherwise. We make a grave mistake when we presume we know whom God is trying to reach. The Holy Spirit can work in us and anyone, and sometimes all God desires is for us to open that door, to share our story and offer hope and healing to folks who are looking for answers.

Because Paul was faithful in his journey, many Jews and Gentiles came to faith in Christ. I'm sure the journey did not go at all the way Paul had anticipated, but he left himself open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and God took care of the rest. It was not an easy journey - he nearly died - but lives were transformed forever. By faith, many times all we can do - and should do - is just take the next step, and trust God to work out His plans through our faith and obedience. We don't have to worry about where it will all end, or what might happen - just take the next step, and leave the results to God. That's really all walking by faith is - taking the next step.

Am I Using the Opportunities God Offers Me?

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , | Posted On Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 12:01 AM

As a follower of Christ, am I taking advantage of the opportunities God sets before me? That's the question that came to my mind after I read Luke 16.

First, in the story of the shrewd manager, Jesus applauds his "shrewdness" for trying to take his future into his own hands. Jesus says the point is that non-Christians often are more shrewd than we are. Are we using the resources God has entrusted to us for the future, to help others, to make an eternal difference, or are we just simply living in the moment. He says what we do now really can make an eternal difference, if we're "shrewd" enough to recognize that.

Jesus is very clear that many of the ways of this world will not be honored in heaven. Faithfulness to Christ and obedience to his teachings may seem strange, even foolish, to many around us, but Jesus tells us these are the things that God honors and rejoices in. Are we using the opportunities we have to live for him, in spite of what others may think or say?

In his story about the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus tells us that we already have everything we need to live our lives in God-honoring ways. The rich man wanted to return and warn his brothers to change their lives, but Jesus says God's Word already offers all the warning anyone needs.

Throughout this chapter I kept feeling God saying to me: "Are you taking advantage of the opportunities I give you to use your resources wisely? Are you taking advantage of the opportunities I give you to live your life well and share the Good News to those who are disconnected from God?" When we get to heaven isn't the time to wish we had done some things differently. Now is the time to be faithful in our living, in our use of God's resources, in telling others about God's Good News of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we may discover that many great opportunities slipped right by us because we weren't watching.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)