The Lord’s Battle (Contd.)

There are several ways the Lord fights for us. The root cause of all our troubles are the invisible forces of the kingdom of darkness. They attack the children of God. In the Old Testament we can find the physical wars, where the Lord helped them by telling “You need not fight, the battle belongs to the Lord.”  David proclaims that ' the Lord who delivered me from the paws of the lion and the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. David knew that the Lord has delivered him from the wild animals while he was shepherding his sheep. In 1st Samuel 17:45 David says “I come against you in the name of the Lord almighty, the God of Armies of Israel. The battle is the Lord's”. David knew that the Lord was mighty to save or else how just with a slingshot the great giant could fall. God did it. God fought for him. The enemy constantly keeps attacking the people of God and the Lord keeps watch on all His people and He sends his Angels to keep His children safe. This is happening in our everyday life too. Our Lord keeps fighting for us

The Lord has provided us with weapons. The whole Armour of God as is given in Ephesians 6:10-18.  2nd Corinthians 10:3-4 says “For though we live in this world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds”. What is the divine power? That is where the Lord does the fighting. God fights. He uses his power through us, mortal beings. He fills us with the Holy Spirit. He empowers us with the Holy Spirit. That is a reason that in Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul exhorts the people. Verse 13 says “Therefore, put on the full Armour of God, so that you will be able to stand your ground”. The Lord covers you and protects you from the attacks of the enemy. The Spiritual battle takes place against the evil forces in the heavenly realms. “Be strong in the Lord” implies that human efforts are inadequate to fight. But God's power is Invincible. The belt of truth is a symbolic clothing of the Messiah. Isaiah Chapter 11:12 which says – “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips, He will slay the he Wicked”. Verse 5 says “Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. Isaiah Chapter 11:12 says 'He will raise a banner for the Nations.” The leader is the one who raises the Banner. He collects his soldiers and explains war strategies. We find some examples of this in the Old Testament. In Genesis 35:15, it says “Then He set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them and no one pursued them.” This terror was created by God and enemies did not pursue His people.

(To be continued)

Christians Unite in Prayer and Fasting before North Korea Summit

 In view of the U.S.-North Korea Summit taking place on June 12th, Open Doors USA has called Christiansto spend the previous 24 hours in prayer.  Open Doors will be hosting an exclusive online prayer summit for those who wish to gather with other believers in prayer and to hear from an expert on the persecuted church in North Korea. However, anyone who wants to can join with believers around the nation and around the world in asking God’s blessing on this important meeting between President Trump and Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-Un.

Open Doors Founder Brother Andrew reminds Christians of the power of prayer, for prayers “can go where we cannot … there are no borders, no prison walls, no doors that are closed to us when we pray.” The Open Doors article on the prayer event also reminds believers of the power of prayerand of the occasional need for fasting when praying against “spiritually stubborn situations.” North Korea’s history and current certainly seem to qualify it as such a situation. “For the last 17 consecutive years,” says Open Doors, “North Korea has ranked as the #1 most dangerous country for Christians on the World Watch List.The country has become infamously known for its human rights violations of North Koreans and harsh treatment of North Korean Christians.

“North Koreans must worship the ruling family–nothing else–and Christianity is illegal and will be punished.The discovery of faith results in imprisonment in the country’s notorious prison camps and even death for not only the individual or family but also three generations of that family.” The Open Doors prayer event will focus on President Trump, Kim Jong-Un, and their time together, as well as 15 specific prayer requests which they suggest for believers praying alongside them. “Satan dreads nothing but prayer,” wrote 19th-century minister Samuel Chadwick. “His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”

School Warns Christian Man Not to Distribute Bibles on Street

An Illinois school district responded to complaints from an atheist organization by warning a Christian citizen he must stop distributing Bibles to students outside on a street. The street is owned by the school district, Todd Starnes of Fox News reported. The Freedom From Religion Foundation had told the school, La Harpe Elementary, that individuals should not be allowed to distribute Bibles and religious materials to students.

“Religion is inherently divisive and has no official place in a public school where staff and young students hold varied beliefs -- and no belief at all,” said FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor. “It’s commendable that the district has investigated and remedied these violations.” An attorney for the school district sent a cease and desist letter to the man who was handing out Bibles.

“This individual was warned that law enforcement would be called should he or any affiliated persons come onto the School District campus for the purpose of distributing Bibles to students,” the school attorney wrote to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, according to Starnes. The school district also acquiesced to the atheist organization’s demands that the school principal stop discussing her faith and referencing it on flyers to staff. According to FFRF, the flyers included such phrases as “May His Gift of Peace Be Present in Your Home” and “Reflect upon His Blessings to You and Thank Him for What He Has Done for You.” One flyer also mentioned a Bible verse about Christ’s birth.

The Lord’s Battle

Our Lord is King. He is strong and mighty. He is known as the Lord of hosts. That tells that He is the King of Glory, the one who is the master fighter. The Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness are at constant war. Jesus the King of Glory safeguards all those who takes shelter under His Mighty banner.

The Psalmist says 'praise the Lord my Rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.'

In Daniel chapter 10, second verse, Daniel says," I mourned for 3 weeks". He confessed the sins of Israel, his own sins and the sins of his ancestors, He fasted and prayed. The man dressed in linen (Son of Man) appeared before him, He touched him. He said “do not be afraid, Daniel. Your Words were heard since the first day of your humbling yourself before God and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian Kingdom resisted me for 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me, because I was detained there with the King of Persia.”

This portion of the scripture tells that when we fast and pray, the Lord listens to our prayers and sends his angels with the answers and solutions for the problems. But The Satanic forces in the heavenly places create hindrances. Then war starts between the angels of God and the angels of the kingdom of Satan. The Prince of Persia was the territorial spirit of the authority of the kingdom of darkness. The Arch angel of God, Michael, had to come to fight against the enemy. Satan is the accuser. He might have surely argued accusing the Israelites of their iniquities and thanklessness and the archangel continued fighting. The man who reached Daniel actually was the son of man who brought answers to Daniel's prayers. This is how the Lord fights for us and delivers us from the clutches of the enemy. While we fast and pray, repent and thank god for his sacrificial death on the cross, the Lord fights for us. Colossians 1:13 says “for He has rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So we are conquerors with Jesus as He fights our battle.

To be continued

Perfect Storm: 15 Flashpoints to Watch In 2nd Half of 2018

Events are beginning to greatly accelerate, and many believe that the ingredients for a "perfect storm" are starting to come together as we enter the second half of 2018. Other than the continual drama surrounding the Trump presidency, things have been quite calm for the past couple of years. 

We have been enjoying a time of peace, safety and relative economic prosperity that a lot of Americans have begun to take for granted. But great trouble has been brewing under the surface, and many are wondering if we are about to reach a major turning point.

Our planet is being shaken physically, emotionally and financially, and it isn't going to take much to push us over the edge. The following are 15 flashpoints which could create world changing events during the 2nd half of 2018...

#1 War In The Middle East - A state of war already exists in Israel. 200 rockets and mortar shells were fired into Israel on Saturday alone, and it won't take much to spark a much broader regional war.

#2 Civil Unrest In U.S. Cities - Progressives are promising a "summer of rage", and they are assuring us that all of the anger that has been building up against President Trump and his administration is about to starting boiling over onto the streets of our major cities all across America.

#3 The Nomination Of Brett Kavanaugh To The Supreme Court - Prominent liberals are stoking fears that the Supreme Court will start taking away "our most cherished liberties" if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed by the Senate. Expect Washington D.C. to be the focus for a lot of the chaos that will happen later this summer.

#4 Tensions In The Windy City - The City of Chicago is a powder keg that could erupt at any moment. The recent shooting of a young African-American man resulted in a violent night of protests, and we should expect much more chaos in the days ahead.

#5 The 2018 Mid-Term Elections - These are probably the most important mid-term elections in modern American history, and tempers are running high on both sides. At this point the left appears to have more energy than the right, as they have accumulated a voter registration lead of 12 million in states that require party affiliation.

#6 Hillary Clinton - Hillary has been acting very much like a presidential candidate in recent days, and she has been continually fueling hatred for Donald Trump during her public appearances. Many believe that she will launch yet another campaign for the presidency once the 2018 mid-term elections are over.

#7 The U.S. Border With Mexico - President Trump's immigration policies have absolutely infuriated the left, and Mexico's new president is a radical socialist that absolutely hates Donald Trump and that has declared that immigration to the United States is a "human right". It is difficult to see how this crisis is going to end well.

#8 The Trade War Between The United States And China - A full-blown trade war has erupted between the two largest economies on the entire planet. U.S. consumers are going to have to start paying much more for certain goods, and U.S. businesses that are heavily dependent on exports are going to have to start laying off workers.

#9 The Deteriorating Relationship Between The United States And Russia - Russia has become the "boogeyman" that gets blamed for everything these days, and relations between our two nations are the worst that they have been since the Cold War. Hopefully Trump and Putin can change that, but it is hard to be optimistic at this point.

#10 Will NATO Survive? - Donald Trump has threatened to pull the United States out of NATO if European leaders do not "immediately" begin increasing defense spending.

#11 The Stock Market - Markets all over the world have already been plummeting, and the smart money in the United States is getting out of the market at a pace that we haven't seen since 2008. We are way overdue for a major crash, and if one happens during the second half of 2018 it definitely will not be a surprise.

#12 The Price Of Oil - The price of oil has reached levels not seen in many years, and many believe that the price is going to go much higher. This is already putting a tremendous amount of strain on working families all over America.

#13 The Political And Financial Crisis In Italy - The Italian government is going through an enormous amount of turmoil right now, and there are rumblings that the Italians may decide to leave the euro altogether. If that happens, we should expect to see the greatest financial shaking in modern European history.

#14 Earth In Travail - More than 30 volcanoes are erupting all around the world right now, and seismic activity appears to be escalating along the Ring of Fire. It is only a matter of time before we have a major seismic event in the United States, but hopefully that will not happen within the next six months.

#15 Drought In The Southwest - A devastating drought of historic proportions has already caused "Dust Bowl conditions" to return to some areas of the Southwest. If more rain doesn't start falling, farmers and ranchers in the region are going to be absolutely crippled.

Of course it is inevitable that we will face some moments of crisis during the second half of 2018 that have nothing to do with the items on this list. One thing that is always true about life is that it is unpredictable, and so we should expect the unexpected.

But what virtually everyone should be able to agree upon is the fact that we are witnessing a very strange confluence of events that is unlike anything that we have witnessed in a very, very long time.

Is America about to plunge into a time of unprecedented turmoil? Only time will tell, but all of the ingredients are definitely there, and if a "perfect storm" does emerge during the second half of 2018 there are many of us that won't be shocked at all.

I shall be next to you

While I was reading 1  Sam 23:17 I felt pity for Jonathan.

He knew that his father Saul was wrong, David was the chosen and anointed king of Israel, and soon kingdom will be handed over to him.  Even though he saw no possibility of it as long as his father is alive, he had the revelation of the Holy Spirit to read through the will of the Father.

“And he said to him, Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. And you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. And my father Saul knows that also.” 1  Sam 23:17

Even though Jonathan loved David so much, made a covenant with him, wished to be the next one in Saul's Kingdom, he could not achieve that.

He was not at all power hungry, not selfish, given completely to fulfilling the will of the Father. He did not say to David,

‘My father will hand over kingdom to me. I will become the king. You will be next to me’.

This is called predestination in Jesus Christ. Since Jonathan was not called or chosen, he had to fall and die along with his father. He was good to David. He helped David in the maximum possible way even risking his own life.  Helping David and rescuing him from the ferocious anger and jealousy of his father seems to be the purpose of Jonathan’s life.

In this world we see certain people used like this by the Lord.  They look to be good.  They are placed in high position. They might be of great help to God's children too. But they could not accept Jesus Christ, who is the only way to eternal life. They will be rewarded in this world immensely for what they have done to the children of God. Their life ends there. They will be rewarded in this world for what they have done.  Here lies the reason of unbelievers flourishing in this world while the servants of God are suppressed and crushed.

Father’s House,

Brotherhood Missions,

4/364 E, Anna Salai 1st Cross Street,

ECR, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

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Nigeria: Massive Attack Shows True Horror of Fulani Crisis

ICC has confirmed that the death toll in recent attacks on villages near Jos, Nigeria has risen to more than 230 Christians. The attacks are believed to have been conducted by Fulani militants who used machetes and firearms to slaughter the predominantly Berom villagers. The police originally reported that 86 had been killed, but our local representative was part of the body recovery effort and has confirmed this much higher number. 

The series of attacks took place in the villages of Xland, Gindin Akwati, Ruku, Nghar, Kura Falls, Kakuruk, Rakok, Kok, and Razat. All of these villages are in the districts of Gashish and Ropp in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area. Many of the victims were women and young children. The youngest person known to have been killed was a three-month-old baby boy who was slaughtered by machete. 

The first attack took place Saturday after the funeral of a relative of an important clergyman in Gashish District. Pam Chollom, a pastor who leads the Church of Christ in Nations reported, “Fulani people attacked our members who attended the burial of the father of one of our clergy…The armed Fulani ambushed the sympathizers on their way back from the burial, attacked and killed 34 persons from Bekan village, 39 others from Kufang, and 47 from Ruku Village.”

A resident reported via telephone to Morning Star News that 70 corpses have been recovered in the village of Nghar, and that the entire village had been burned. 

In Xland and Gindin Akwati villages, the herdsmen killed about 60 Christians, another resident reported over the phone. Multiple churches, worship buildings, and pastors’ homes were targeted in these attacks. Thousands of people have been displaced in these villages and are now unable to access their homes or work on their farms.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari released a response to the attacks via Twitter: "The grievous loss of lives and property arising from the killings in Plateau is painful and regrettable. My deepest condolences to the affected communities. We will not rest until all murderers and criminal elements and their sponsors are incapacitated and brought to justice."

However, Reverend T. Y. Danjuma of the Christian Association of Nigeria quotes President Buhari as telling a post-attack gathering of leaders “to learn to live peacefully with their neighbors”, and that “the Fulani are known to be peaceful and carry stick, but are not known to have guns.” Buhari’s seeming indifference has left many people in Jos angry over the continued violence and inaction by the government. 

There has been controversy over whether or not the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) claimed its people had committed the attacks. A published article credited Danladi Ciroma, a MACBAN leader, with saying the attack was conducted by Fulani in reprisal for the rustling of cattle. However, a subsequent report claimed that Ciroma never made these statements. The conflicting reports have added confusion to an already chaotic situation.

Nathan Johnson, ICCs Regional Manager for Africa, said “It is time for the Nigerian government to stop its political talk and begin to protect the lives and property of all its citizens. The Buhari regime must also punish these perpetrators who are literally killing babies in their beds. If they are unwilling or unable to provide security to their own people and punish these criminals, then the international community will have to step in to ensure such massacres are not repeated.”

Death Toll in Jos, Nigeria Attacks at 218, including Pastor, Wife and Son

An Assemblies of God Nigeria pastor, his wife and son were among at least 218 people killed in Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacks on predominantly Christian areas near Jos on June 23-25, a denominational leader said.
 
Two days after the general superintendent of the AG-Nigeria denomination, the Rev. Chidi Okoroafor, reported the deaths of the Rev. Musa Choji and family members in the Barkin Ladi area near Jos, the federal government on Thursday (June 28) ordered the arrest of a pastor who organized protests of the killings, Christian leaders said.
 
The Rev. Isa Nenman, a pastor in Jos, was arrested on Thursday after the protests reportedly resulted in property destruction when he led demonstrators to the Government House, the residence of the governor of Plateau state, on Wednesday (June 27). Nenman is northern zone chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Plateau state chapter.
 
“Following yesterday’s peaceful protest by CAN supported by youth groups, the CAN chairman, Northern Zone, is in police custody, and there is a directive from Abuja to make arrests,” Paul Dekete, one of the facilitators of the protest march, said in a press statement.
 
The protest saw thousands of Christians dressed in black marching to the Governor’s House to demonstrate against incessant attacks on Christians in the state by armed Fulani herdsmen. Prior to the protests, Christians in Plateau state had observed two days of fasting and prayer on Wednesday and Thursday (June 27-28).
 
The protestors carried a placard calling for the government to “Declare Fulani herdsmen as terrorist,” and another one that read, “Ransack Fulani settlements.” The protests started peacefully, but after the governor declined to receive them, protestors reportedly tried to storm the premises, threw stones at cars and offices and chased government officials.
  
Nigeria ranked 14^th on Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.
 

Iraqi Christians Fearful That New Tax Signals Upcoming Persecution

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on January 23, 2018, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) issued an order that business owners in Ankawa would be charged a fee when renewing their license. This order was not applied until June 2018. 

Ankawa is a predominately Christian neighborhood in Erbil whose residents report increasing pressure from Muslims relocating to Ankawa. One Christian resident told ICC, “It was not allowed for Muslims to come and have a house in Ankawa, but now it is a preferable area for Muslims and there are a lot of Muslims who have connections and they are getting permissions.”  

This history has contributed to the concerns of Christians that the new tax is being levied against them with ill intentions. Ankawa Today published a statement reading,“For those who doubted the presence of a high tax (jizya) that is exclusively imposed by the Kurdish government on the people of Ankawa and not the other Kurdish towns, it is also worth mentioning that the same tax is being applied gradually on Semel (another Christian majority town near Dohuk), which is clearly discriminatory against Christians… A simple example is the Kurdish town of Baharka which is just next to Ankawa and does not differ from it (administratively speaking) and has no such tax agency office.”

“This tax is unfair because there are no services presented by the government, I pay for main electricity and have my own generator, I pay for water, I pay for the car which takes the garbage every day. Whenever I have any problem I hire a worker to fix it, the government is not involved by any means," said Milad, who owns several shops in Ankawa.

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “For decades, Iraq’s Christians have long suffered discriminatory policies that reinforce the narrative that believers are vulnerable second-class citizens. History shows that this narrative has led to exploitation and targeted violence that has had significant implications on Christianity in Iraq. Christians throughout Iraq live with the recent memory of ISIS’s violence, which included the institution of a jizya tax against religious minorities. This did not happen within a vacuum. The governing institutions must take the lead on demonstrating that Christians are equal members of society whose rights are valued.”

Give you rest!

I separated myself and went  to a place for solitude and prayer for a few days.  In the room there was a nice broom. One day I casually put it outside. Next day while I was walking on the terrace, a crow sat on  the pillar holding something in its beak. When I watched it looked like  a leaf from my nice broom. Immediately my mind told me to go and check. I did and verified. I got angry with the crow. When I came back it was looking at me victoriously bending its head to one side. Before I could chase it, it flew away. It went to the other garden and sat there. There was anger in me towards that crow. If it were some person, I would have poured it out on that person. How to show it to the crow?.

Immediately my mind cautioned me for a defensive act,  “go and keep the broom inside”. I did it. Even though the crow disturbed my walk with God that morning,  it was a good lesson.  As long as I live on this earth, I have to use defensive measures for survival. To a new born child, the parents, nature, teachers, society and all the circumstances  teach how to defend yourself for a survival on this earth, sometimes even at the detriment of offending others. One has to defend one’s body from climatic conditions, attack from animals, insects, poison, sicknesses etc. one’s soul from compulsive thoughts,  compulsive feelings, compulsive emotions, compulsive behaviour etc. One’s  spirit from sin.  Then  my house,  my property etc. Lifelong you struggle for survival.

If you are a little careless these days, your wife will be stolen away by another man. One has to continuously watch the behaviour of the partner. If any traces of unusual behaviour  is identified, you will have to check the mobile sms, whatsapp messages etc. That also should be done in secret. The burden increases. If it is verified, and found true, the stress you undergo need not be explained. Then proving it, taking action, deciding the future of the children , all become great struggles.

 When children are growing up, your girl child should be watched over. There are all chances that she is stolen away at adolescent age by  another boy.  What all to be watched over? How can I be on constant vigilance of all these? What a  struggle to survive  on this earth! It has become a constant    fight against enemies. The whole world lives in enmity. This is the sum result of the sin of Adam.

When everything was pleasant and favourable, he disobeyed the Lord and obeyed the voice of the enemy. So the whole earth turned against Him.

“…….You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life”. Human life itself became a struggle on the earth. The one who was to rule over the earth became a slave to everything on the earth.

What does  the coming of Jesus into this world mean in this context?

Those who believe in Jesus, those who love Jesus  can put an end to this struggle and come to total rest. Rest and peace is the first  gift Jesus gave  to those who love Him.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” Mat 11:28

When you make a covenant with Jesus to obey His commandments, Jesus and His Father, the Lord Almighty come into your life and they take over. Immanuel, “God with us” is fulfilled in you. God Himself dispenses into them, Father  being embodied in the  Son and the Son being realized in the Spirit. They control your life and you will be perfectly at ease and in peace.

With 'Peace' In Doubt, Israelis Search For Alternatives To Two-State Solution

The U.S. administration's negotiating team of Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner left the Middle East last week after gauging interest in a new U.S.-backed peace plan to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict with top government officials in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 

Notably absent from the schedule were officials from the Palestinian Authority, who continue to boycott the administration following the announcement by President Donald Trump last December that the United States officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The current peace plan (details have not yet been made public) is believed to be based on many of the principles established during the 1993 Oslo Accords, which were intended to lead towards the creation of a two-state solution to the conflict.

Yet it is the same Trump administration that has publicly challenged the merits of decades of U.S. policy calling specifically for a two-state solution.

During a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February of last year, Trump had said, "I am looking at two-state, and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I can live with either one.

"I thought for a while the two-state looked like it may be the easier of the two," said he continued. "But honestly, if Bibi, and if the Palestinians, if Israel and the Palestinians are happy, I'm happy with the one they like the best."

David M. Weinberg, founding vice president at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies (JISS), tells JNS that when it comes to moving forward on peace between Israelis and Palestinians now 25 years after the signing of the Oslo Accords, "the old Clinton/Obama parameters are dead."

A study released in June by the American Jewish Committee  indicates that 48 percent of Israelis currently oppose the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state, with only 44 percent in favor.

Similarly, a joint poll released in January by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, shows that only 47 percent of Jews and 46 percent of Palestinians support a two-state solution.

Weinberg suggests that "Trump should be given credit for taking a fresh look at what is safe, wise, fair and realistic in today's Israeli-Palestinian reality." He similarly expresses his view that any new proposal "will do away with the hackneyed prescriptions of the past and shift the debate towards pragmatic solutions in which all regional parties shoulder responsibility for a settlement."

Calls for full Israeli sovereignty

Yet for some in Israel, pushes for partial annexations are simply variations on the current two-state paradigm. At the forefront of this movement are activists Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katsover, who co-founded the "Sovereignty Movement."

Parliamentary initiatives

In December, 1,500 members of the ruling Likud Party's Central Committee unanimously passed a nonbinding party resolution to effectively annex all Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

- PNW Staff

Make us a king to judge us

I was surprised and little shocked to read 1 Sam 8:3. We are familiar with the little boy Samuel in Bible who heard the voice of the Lord. We appreciate him very much because he heard directly from the Lord who was harsh against Eli, the then chief priest and judge of Israel. The complaint of the Lord against Eli was:

“……. his sons made themselves vile and he did not restrain them. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. 1 Sa 3:13,14.

Just after 4 chapters we hear the same complaint about the children of Samuel. 

“And his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after ill gain and took bribes and perverted judgment”. 1Sa 8:3 

 “And all the elders of Israel gathered themselves and came to Samuel to Ramah. And they said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. (1Sa 8:4,5) 

One thing is clear. Power and position, whether in politics or religion, corrupts people. Because it originates from the mystery religion of Babylon. All the systems of the world are built on the Babylonian hierarchical structure in which  a few men are placed over the other human beings. They  suppress and exploit their  fellow beings and  rule over them. That is why Bible says, loving the world is enmity with heavenly Father. Wherever the hierarchical structure is there, human freedom is violated and it leads to erosion of values. Jesus substituted this system with a totally different one; His brotherly affectionate Church,  (Not the one we see today with huge buildings and hierarchical structure) in which  all are considered equal with equal responsibilities and unique roles to play. 

This real Church has to be brought back to this earth.

Father’s House,

Brotherhood Missions,

4/364 E, Anna Salai 1st Cross Street,

ECR, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

Book your slots

Tel : 7708505152

Email ID: worshipcentreindia@gmail.com

Praise God for the successful completion of  18430 slots in National Worship Centre with a Non Stop Worship (24/7)

China’s ‘Underground’ Churches Told to ‘Seek Guidance’ from State-Approved Bodies

A newly implemented directive from the Chinese government forces Protestant ‘house churches’ and Catholic ‘underground’ communities to seek ‘guidance’ from recognised religious organisations.

A notification from the State Administration for Religious Affairs, issued earlier this month, requires organisers of religious activities at temporary sites to also apply for a permit that is valid for three years, Catholic news website UCAN reported.

According to Professor Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the Divinity School at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, these recognised religious organisations include the China Christian Council and the national committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which are known in China as the “two organisations”.

The directive has caused fear among the ‘underground’ communities that they will come under greater control, according to UCAN.

“It is well known that many ‘house churches’ are reluctant to register and are willing to be an illegal organisation because they do not want to be under the two organisations,” Professor Fuk-tsang wrote on his Facebook page.

The notification follows revised religious regulations in February, which spelled out criteria that religious organisations have to meet in order to be registered or to establish a place for religious activities.

100 CHURCHES CLOSED IN ONE MONTH

The revised regulations have in reality been in force since the early 1980s, according to Aaron Ma, an Asia-based researcher for the Christian advocacy charity Open Doors International, but he said they were now being taken more seriously.

“There is now a heightened sense that a breach of regulations will be met by some form of warning, increased surveillance, or punishment. Certainly, most churches feel it is time to take extra precautions, to downsize or maybe even relocate some of their ministries,” he told World Watch Monitor.

The enforcement of the religious regulations varies across the country and appears to depend on local authorities’ interpretation of it, a local source told World Watch Monitor. Church leaders in several places, such as the eastern province of Zhejiang, where between 2013 and 2015 over 1,200 crosses were pulled down from churches, told the source that although “it sounds becoming more serious, yet at this moment we don’t feel much different”.

One hundred churches were closed in Nanyang, in central Henan province, in the month of March alone. Ma said local contacts told him that “Christians who used their own church building for meetings were targeted, and their buildings closed”. Consequently, he said, Christians had gone back to meeting in homes.

Elsewhere in Henan, Ma said that officials banned ‘house church’ meetings and then went door-to-door, warning residents to stop attending ‘illegal’ church meetings – or else face serious consequences.

The researcher suggested officials sometimes felt torn between superiors who voiced hostility towards Christians, and the local Christians with whom they had built positive relations. “In the wake of recent speeches by top leaders, local authorities do not want to appear weak when implementing new regulations. Conversely, they do not want to upset the tentative, but effective, relationship they have with local churches,” he said.

“There is also the possibility that a crackdown will spark demonstrations, or lead to information being leaked to overseas media [seen as ‘biased’ by the government], so authorities must be extremely prudent in their engagement with the Church. The level of enforcement also varies from region to region, depending on this tentative relationship, and how the Church responds each time pressure is applied.”

One example of what appears a measured and acceptable way for local authorities to show their subservience to the ruling party is to warn unregistered churches not to meet in rented or self-built church venues (e.g. commercial buildings), Ma said.

More and more regions are adopting this approach, and an increasing number of landlords refuse to extend leases to local churches, he added.

‘A DE-STABILISING FORCE’

Two fears held by the Chinese government are foreign forces using religion to infiltrate China, and social unrest or separatism at home, said Ma.

Beijing has long sought the ‘Sinicisation’ of religion, which requires religions considered foreign to China, whose may adherents may attract foreign support, to adapt to Chinese socialist society.

“Some surmise that so-called ‘foreign’ religions, particularly Islam and Christianity, will be forced to cast off their attachment to external forces and morph into Chinese-style religions that fit both culturally and politically. Affiliation with overseas religious groups and receipt of overseas funding are the primary concerns voiced by authorities,” Ma said.

In March, China’s Communist Party (CCP) disbanded its Religious Affairs Bureau to bring religion under the direct control of the party’s Central Committee. Catholic commentator Eric Lai said at the time that the Communist Party wants “to use religion as a tool for stability” – mirroring the approaches of other authoritarian governments, such as Russia.

Sinicisation is also the government’s answer to unify its culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse population, Ma said.

“Rather than encourage unity based on a celebration of diversity, they have preferred an intentional and sustained process of Sinicisation to create uniformity in order to achieve President Xi Jinping’s dream of ‘rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’. Social stability must be preserved at all cost,” he said.

In this scenario Christians are an enigma to the CCP, he explained: “The CCP believes the Church is a de-stabilising force, but not because it is bad; in fact, local communities and authorities tend to believe Christians are good people. Some suggest that because Christians’ allegiance is first and foremost to God and not the Communist Party, there is a conflict of interests that the party believes can potentially hinder the process of unification. Others are more concerned by what they perceive as potential ‘chaos’ arising from the huge number of Christians.”

As World Watch Monitor reported in October, the rapid growth of Christianity in the country has made some government officials nervous. According to Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University and a leading expert on religion in China, China’s Christian population might reach 247 million by 2030, “making it the world’s largest congregation”.

Bottom of Form

UN Chief ‘Personally Concerned’ about Return of Christians to Iraq and Syria

The UN’s Secretary General has stressed the importance of Christians returning to the areas from which they fled in Iraq and Syria.

“I am fully convinced that after the stability of the situation in Iraq and Syria and the adoption of a certain political decision, it is very important to ensure the return of the Christians, in general, to the religious minorities, and the Yazidis themselves, to their homeland,” António Guterres told Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill yesterday.

“My concern is very personal,” he added.

The secretary general made his comments on World Refugee Day, as Refugee Week is marked around the world.

Pope Francis used the occasion to express his solidarity with those who had to leave their homes, in a number of tweets.

A person’s dignity does not depend on them being a citizen, a migrant, or a refugee. Saving the life of someone fleeing war and poverty is an act of humanity. #WithRefugees @M_RSection

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 20, 2018

“We encounter Jesus in those who are poor, rejected, or refugees. Do not let fear get in the way of welcoming our neighbour in need,” he said in one tweet.

The 2017 Global Report of the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) noted that the number of refugees and internally displaced people as a result of conflicts reached a new record last year.

By the end of 2017, 68.5 million people had been driven from their homes across the world as a result of persecution, conflict, or violence, leading to 40 million internally displaced people (IDPs), 25.4 million refugees and 3.1 million asylum-seekers.

Among them were 16.6 million newly displaced people, which amounts to 44,400 people forcibly displaced from their homes every day last year and is the highest annual number recorded by the UNHCR.

As for newly internally displaced people in 2017, the six most represented countries were Syria, the DRC, South Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, and the Philippines.

As for refugees, according to the UNHCR the came mostly from five nations: Syria (6.3 million), Afghanistan (2.6 million), South Sudan (2.4 million), Myanmar (1.2 million) and Somalia (986,400).

Precise figures are hard to come by for the numbers of people who became refugees or were internally displaced because of persecution due to their Christian faith, but World Watch Monitor has reported on several cases when that has been the motivating factor.

AFGHANISTAN – 2

Ranked second on the 2018 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Afghanistan narrowly missed being ranked joint top of the list, losing out finally to North Korea.

Afghanistan is the source of the second-largest refugee population globally, with 2.6 million people forcibly displaced outside of their country. Many moved to the neighbouring Islamic republics of Iran and Pakistan, but hundreds of thousands more migrated elsewhere.

The country was the top source of asylum applications in 2017, with 124,900 claims submitted in 80 different countries, making Syria no longer the most common country of origin for new asylum-seekers.

And despite fleeing an ongoing conflict, Afghans aren’t always automatically given refugee status. Many have been sent home, in spite of warnings from groups such as Amnesty International, which said last year that “all returnees face a real risk of serious human rights violations” and that some, such as religious minorities and converts to Christianity, face additional risks.

SOMALIA – 3

In 2016, Somalia, third on the World Watch List, also produced the third-highest number of refugees, after Syria and Afghanistan. In 2017 it was fifth, with a total of almost one million refugees, while 3.2 million more were displaced, according to the UNHCR.

Although many factors lead Somali people to leave their homes, like the lack of political and civil liberties, and drought, religious persecution is a “dangerously underestimated” factor, according to a report in January 2017 by Open Doors.

Meanwhile the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab, founded in Somalia, says it wants the country to be “free of all Christians”, and it is able to act with impunity in Somalia’s lawless and tribal society.

SYRIA – 15

Syria, 15th on the World Watch List, continues to be the number-one source of refugees: 12.6 million Syrians were displaced globally at the end of 2017. Among them were 6.3 million refugees, 6.2 million IDPs and 146,700 asylum-seekers.

In the midst of the civil war, churches and Christian-owned businesses have been targets of bombings by the Islamic State and other extremist groups, and there have been many reports of Christians being abducted, harmed and killed. Even so, many of Syria’s remaining Christians are committed to staying and rebuilding their country. Others are now returning home following IS’s military defeat.

Christians are seen as a vital factor in maintaining the balance in Syria’s pluralist society, Rev. Andrew Ashdown told an audience at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies earlier this month.

He quoted a Muslim writer in Damascus, who had told him: “I speak to you as a Muslim. Go back to your country and tell your country not to worry about us Muslims, but tell your country to worry about the Christians, because if your country gets rid of Assad and militants win this conflict, Christians will be destroyed in Syria. And Syria will be destroyed. And next will be Europe.”

MYANMAR – 24

The third-largest group of new refugees last year originated from the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar (also known as Burma), which is 24th on the World Watch List.

More than 655,000 Rohingya Muslims refugees were displaced to Bangladesh in the second half of 2017.

And this year an ongoing conflict in northern Kachin state has flared up, causing more than 6,000 people belonging to the largely Christian minority group to flee their homes. They joined the 150,000 people who were already displaced following the collapse of a ceasefire between Myanmar’s army and Kachin rebels in 2011.

SOUTH SUDAN

Shortly after gaining its independence in 2011, South Sudan descended into a civil war. According to the UNHCR, in 2017 South Sudan was the country that showed the biggest increase in people forced from their homes.

It is accountable for the third-largest refugee population globally: 2.4 million out of a total of 4.4 million displaced.

Christians and people of other faiths are caught up in the violence and forced to flee, but generally not because of their religion. South Sudan does not feature on the World Watch List.

Christian Death Toll from Herdsmen Attacks Mounts in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Muslim Fulani herdsmen have killed at least 54 Christians this year in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Adamawa, according to area sources.
 
In a state where predominantly Christian Bachama tribesmen have formed militias in response to violence by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram and heavily-armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen, Christians were slaughtered in the Numan, Demsa, Lamurde and Girei areas, the sources  said.
 
At least 15 Christians were killed in the Numan area on May 2 when Fulani herdsmen attacked Bang, Nyanga, Bonki and Nzomosu villages, area resident Harold Wilson told Morning Star News by text message.
 
“About 400 armed Fulani herdsmen carried out the attacks,” he reported.
 
Arnold Jibla, chairman of the Numan Local Government Area (LGA), confirmed the attack in a phone interview with Morning Star News.
 
In the Demsa LGA, herdsmen attacked Gwamba village on Feb. 27, killing 20 Christians and wounding 23 others, said resident Omayan Tambaya Dilli.
 
“The attack occurred about 8 a.m. and lasted three hours,” Dilli said. “The Fulani herdsmen drove into Gwamba in four trucks and many motorbikes to carry out the attack.”
 
In apparent retaliation for attacks by ethnic Bachama militia on Fulani families, among the 20 Christians killed by the armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen was the Rev. Haruna Enoch, area residents said. The killings reportedly came in retaliation for an unspecified attack on Fulani families by young men from the predominantly Christian Bachama tribe who have formed militias in response to violence by Boko Haram and heavily-armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen.
 
Dilli said about 3,000 Christians in the community were displaced after the Feb. 27 attacks, and that it was the second time the community was attacked this year.
 
“In January, the Gwamba community was also attacked by the herdsmen, and one Christian was killed,” he said.
 
Also in January, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed three Christians in Kikon in the Numan LGA. On Jan. 21 the herdsmen drove into the community on motorbikes and destroyed whatever they saw, area resident Mary Amos told Morning Star News by text message.
 
“They invaded our community at about 2 a.m., burning down houses and destroying farmlands,” she said, adding that other Christian communities in roughly the same period, Mbang and Baga villages, were also attacked.
 
Two weeks earlier in the Lamurde area, the herdsmen on Jan. 7 attacked the Christian communities of Suwa and Burukutu, resident Thomas Ayuba told Morning Star News by phone.
 
“The attacks by the Fulani herdsmen occurred at about 4 a.m.,” he said. “They destroyed our houses completely, forcing those of us who survived to flee.”
 
A day earlier in the Girei LGA, herdsmen killed 15 Christian in an attack on Luru village on Jan. 6, said area resident Christopher Ahmadu.
 
“The herdsmen attacked these farmers while they were working on their farms,” Ahmadu told Morning Star News.
 
The Rev. Musa Panti Filibus, president of the Lutheran World Fellowship and archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN), recently said the killings were undermining the church.
 
“It is most saddening that the senseless killings and attacks on our people continues unabated,” Filibus told delegates to the General Church Council of the LCCN in Numan town on May 29. “We are disturbed by the monstrous acts of our attackers and killers, who raid, ransack, and set ablaze our villages and towns sometimes in broad daylight.”
 
Filibus urged Christians in northern Nigeria not to give up praying for the herdsmen and for a halt to the carnage, and to advocate for government action.
 
“I call us to continue to put pressure on our government at all levels to rise to their responsibility of protecting citizens from internal and external aggression,” he said. “We will continue to condemn in strongest terms possible the brutal and gruesome killings of innocent citizens.”
 
Five Christians Sentenced to Death
While no Muslim Fulani herdsmen has been prosecuted for the thousands of murders of Christian civilians in recent years in Nigeria, Christians were outraged when a Muslim judge in Yola, capital of Adamawa state, this month sentenced five Christians to death for the killing of a herdsman who had joined attacks on Christian communities.
 
Abdul-Azeez Waziri on June 11 rejected the self-defense argument of Alex Amos, Alheri Phanuel, Holy Boniface, Jerry Gideon and Jari Sabagi, all residents of the Demsa LGA, in the June 1 killing of Adamu Buba. The judge said the five Christians “willfully and intentionally conspired and attacked three herdsmen rearing cattle, killing one of them, Adamu Buba,” in Kadamun village, Demsa LGA.
 
“I hereby sentence the accused persons on counts one and two to death by hanging, while on counts four and five, I sentence the accused to three years in prison to run concurrently,” Waziri reportedly said, adding that they have the option of appealing within 90 days.
 
Yola resident Zidon Love said in a text to Morning Star News shortly after the ruling that the five Christians are members of the LCCN.
 
“These five Christians will die if nothing is urgently done to assist them,” he said.
 
The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Rev. Samson Ayokunle, said in a June 12 statement that there is no moral justification for the death penalty for the five Christians.
 
“CAN is not supporting jungle justice or any criminality,” Ayokunle said. “But hundreds of our members [Christians] in southern Kaduna, Benue, Taraba and Plateau states in the north-central geo-political zones, and a state like Enugu in the south, have been killed. Citizens stood helpless at the massacre of their peaceful fellow Nigerians; the international community watched in anguish how government security agencies could not bring perpetrators of these heinous killings to book.”
 
Ayokunle said that in spite of gruesome killings of Christians in different parts of Nigeria, it saddens the church that no Muslim herdsmen have been arrested and charged.
 
“We are shocked at the speed of light deployed by security and judicial officers in sentencing the alleged killers of the herdsman in Adamawa state,” he said, questioning the rationale behind the death sentence while Muslims who killed Christians in major Nigerian cities for evangelizing have been set free.
 
“Why did the court discharge the alleged killers of Madam Bridget Agbahime on the orders of the Kano state government?” he said. “Why have security officials not arrested those behind the killings of Christians in southern Kaduna? Why did Nigeria Police set free those arrested for the murder of Mrs. Eunice Elisha Olawale in Kubwa, Abuja? In view of this, CAN is calling on President Buhari to intervene in the death sentence passed on these Christian youths in Adamawa.”
 
Ayokunle said CAN leaders have asked attorneys to urgently study the sentencing in order to file a stay of execution motion.
 
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) also opposed the verdict of the Yola High Court. Bishop Emmah Isong, PFN spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday (June 19) that the Pentecostal fellowship’s opposition to the death sentence should not seen as supporting crime in any form.
 
Isong, who is also president of the Christian Central Chapel International in Calabar, said there should be equity and fairness when issues involving Christians and Muslims are presented before Nigeria’s courts.
 
Isong said it is unacceptable to the Pentecostal fellowship that no herdsman has been arrested, prosecuted and condemned to death by any court in Nigeria for killing thousands of Christians in Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, and Kogi states.
 
“It looks as if it is vengeance for a Yola court to condemn five Christians to death for allegedly killing herdsman when herdsmen are rampaging everywhere killing and maiming innocent Christians and going free,” he said.
 
The pastor also said the leadership of PFN will have no option but to mount protests if the execution of the five Christians is not overturned.
 
“It is high time the federal government had to intervene and to ensure that those Christians are not killed to forestall further religious conflict within that axis,” Isong said. “Instead of killing people for herdsmen, the Nigerian federal government should rather find a way to curtail their activities and provide adequate security to all Nigerians.”
 
The World Council of Bishops, whose World Episcopal Headquarters is based in Texas, sent a letter dated June 13 to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari calling for a halt of the death sentences.
 
“Nigeria has suffered untold bloodshed from killings, maiming, traumatizing of innocent citizens around the north-eastern, north-central and Middle Belt states, as a result of the frequent attacks by the Fulani herdsmen times without number,” the bishops stated.
 
Christians make up 51.3 percent of Nigeria’s population, while Muslims living primarily in the north and middle belt account for 45 percent.
 
Nigeria ranked 14th on Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.

Despising the Lord’s offering

While we were living in Manaparai, for the first time in our 3 years of ex convent life, Sis. Pushpa, the wife of a carpenter,  a poor lady brought a parcel of ½ kg rice with 2,3 tomatoes in a polythene bag, gave it to us and requested in to accepters.We felt ashamed to receive it from her and hence turned down her request. But she insisted and finally tears rolled down her cheeks when she said, “Yesterday, the Lord told me to give this to you; otherwise in the last 3 years have I ever brought anything to you?”

When she said that, we realised the value of it and then accepted it. It is a serious sin to despise the offering of the Lord and, misusing it; Demanding it from the people is also  wrong. Levi’s sons were demanding offering from the people (1 Sam 2:15) and forcing them to give it (1 Sam 2:16)

Today also the same thing is happening in worship places. They print various types of envelopes to collect offerings from the people.Religious headsv and, Church leaders even force the believers to pay the tithe and other offerings.

In India the great majority of people want to give everything they have,  to the servants of God, thinking that this will please God and in turn they will get blessings. On the other hand, there are many false servants in all religions, who cheat people, pretending that they are serving  the Lord and God has allowed them to receive from people money, land, buildings, ornaments, etc. as much as possible.   

“By doing this, the sin of the young men was very serious in the LORD's sight because the men despised the LORD's offering.” 1 Sam 2:17

Despising the Lord’s offering is a very grievous sin and God punished Eli’s sons and killed both of them the same day along with their father Eli who was the chief priest.

Let us never fall into the sin of despising the Lord’s offering.

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Canada's Supreme Court Rules Against The Bible

In a ruling that is sure to send shock waves through the nation, Canada's Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against Trinity Western University's (TWU) Law School. 

In effect, what the court declared is that universities must choose between biblical standards and accreditation. Put another way, the court ruled that Christianity and higher education are incompatible. I am not exaggerating in the least.

Here's a brief summary of the case for those who are not familiar with it. Trinity Western is a Christian university that requires its students and faculty to live by basic Christian standards. This means that to be a student or faculty member in good standing, you can't commit fornication or adultery, nor can you engage in homosexual relationships.

There's nothing surprising with these requirements, and there are thousands of schools in North America with similar standards. These include Christian schools from K-12, Christian colleges, Bible schools, seminaries, and universities.

These standards have long been part of TWU's mandatory covenant, which requires "that all students and faculty pursue a holy life 'characterized by humility, self-sacrifice, mercy and justice, and mutual submission for the good of others.' 

It requires members to abstain from using vulgar language, lying or cheating, stealing, using degrading materials such as pornography, and 'sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.'"

Again, this is gospel 101, the basic requirements of Christian discipleship. And it is honorable that TWU seeks to live this out on its campus.

Unfortunately, when TWU opened its law school, it fell afoul of Canada's LGBT activists and their allies. They argued that TWU was discriminating against LGBT students, because of which students graduating with a bona fide law degree should not be allowed to practice law in Canada.

There was a ray of hope for TWU when a regional court ruled in its favor. But now, "In a pair of 7-2 rulings, the majority of justices found the law societies of British Columbia and Ontario have the power to refuse accreditation based on Trinity Western University's so-called community covenant."

Or, to paraphrase, the Supreme Court ruled that if a Christian law school wants accreditation, it must abandon biblical values. How else can this be interpreted?

"The majority judgment said the covenant would deter LGBT students from attending the proposed law school, and those who did attend would be at risk of significant harm."

Significant harm? If so, why? Because of biblical teaching. Because of Christian values. This is the locus of the battle. This is the point of conflict.

Parse it however you like, but this is the hardcore truth.

"[The judgment] found the public interest of the law profession gives it the right to promote equality by ensuring equal access, support diversity within the bar and prevent harm to LGBT students."

In other words, "diversity" according to the LGBT lexicon. Diversity meaning "the LGBT way or the highway." Diversity meaning, "all views are welcome other than biblical Christian views."

That's why we've been raising our voices for so many years. That's why we've been warning. That's why we've said that those who came out the closet want to put us into the closet. That's why we've said that LGBT activism was never simply about "tolerance." It was about the silencing of competing views.

And if it could happen in Canada, it could happen in America. (For the skeptics and mockers, give me one good reason why this could not happen here. And note that TWU was not some tiny school hidden in a corner. It has "40 undergraduate programs and 17 graduate programs.")

On a more personal, individual level, what happens to all the law students at TWU? What happens to those who spent years studying and invested tens of thousands of dollars in getting a law degree, only to be banned from practicing law in Canada because their school holds to Christian values? What about the significant harm experienced by them?

Honestly, I don't know where TWU goes from here. And I don't know how the believers in Canada will respond.

But I can say this to my friends and colleagues and fellow-educators and communicators here in America: We either use our liberties or lose them. We either stand fast and stand tall and stand strong, or we cower in a corner. We either do what's right today, or we apologize to our children tomorrow.

- PNW Staff

How you listen

We were taught to do the following  exercise in a group.  5 persons were needed. An outsider will call A and narrate  something  in front of  the audience.  B,C,D and E were sent out. I was in the audience.  A has to listen carefully, grasp the matter, then  call B and tell him what he heard from the outsider. Then A will be sent out . B will call C and tell him what he heard. C will do the same  to D and D to E.  Finally E will narrate it to the audience. All is done in front of the audience. The matter was completely different when it came to the audience from E. We had enough to laugh. It was a game to measure  human beings capacity  of grasping a matter and sharing it with others.

Jesus said,  

 “So pay attention to how you listen” Lk 8:18

The children of God have to listen from the Heavenly Father daily. The way you listen and grasp the message of the Father  is very important. Today the image of Christianity is very low among non Christians because  many Christians do not  hear  directly from the Father. But they interpret and share  it in their own way from what they have heard from their predecessors. The heavenly Father wants every one of His  children to hear directly from Him .

How to listen and grasp the message? When you pray and are in the presence of the Father, follow your mind, your conscience, your imagination and all your inner elements. When the Holy Spirit  touches you, your spirit get stirred up. It might  reflect in any part of your inner man or outer man.  Your inner man (human spirit)  can sense, feel, or see it.  God is not outside of you.  He is inside of you. Don’t seek him outside. He communicates with your spirit. If your spirit is alert, alive, keen to listen, sharp to grasp and sensitive, you will catch the message.

First time I typed in the docs using my mobile. When I read it only I realised the mistakes in my pronunciation.  Then I could correct it.

When you are in prayer, listen. If you surrender fully your body, soul and spirit to the Lord before you pray, He will speak and give you the reply immediately. (Is 65:24). What you heard in your soul, saw in your mind, sensed in your heart is the reply the Lord is giving. Share it  and check it with the person for whom you received the message. If it is correct, you have listened and grasped the matter correctly. If it is wrong, pay attention to how you listened. Correct the mistakes and try again. Go on trying until you grasp the answer from  the Lord correctly. Make it a routine.

Burkina Faso: Kidnappers Release Pastor and His family after Four Days

The Christian pastor who was abducted on Sunday with his family in Burkina Faso’s north-eastern province of Soum has been released.

Local sources told national broadcaster Omega Radio that Pastor Pierre Boena, his son David and his daughter-in-law, Ami Sawadogo were released yesterday (7 June).

The report does not specifically mention the two granddaughters, Fasne-wendé Ouédraogo and Pélagie Sawadogo, who were also abducted during the raid on Sunday, but does state that the pastor was released “with all the other members of his family in Malian territory”.

The reason for their release is not known, nor is it known whether a ransom was paid.

Pierre Boena, a pastor with an Assembly of God church, was kidnapped on Sunday evening in his village of Bilhore, near the border with Mali.

At the time of the attack he was at home with four family members and a church member, Pauline Sawadogo, who was visiting with her two daughters, Sanata and Zoenabou, local sources told World Watch Monitor.

These sources suggested that Pauline and her daughters may have been kidnapped along with Pastor Boena’s family on Sunday. Speaking on Thursday they said the whereabouts of Pauline and her daughters remain unknown.

Meanwhile there has still been no news regarding catechist Basnéré Mathieu Sawadogo, and his wife Alizeta, who were abducted two weeks earlier. Mathieu serves as a catechist at their parish, Notre Dame des Apôtres (Our Lady of the Apostles) in Arbinda, 100km from Djibo.

Kidnappers have previously targeted Djibo. Eighteen months ago an Australian couple were taken hostage from the city by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Ken and Jocelyn Elliott had run a 120-bed clinic for 40 years until their abduction in January 2016. Jocelyn was released a month later, but her husband remains in captivity.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the recent kidnappings but World Watch Monitor understands that the perpetrators are believed to be members of the Fulani ethnic group.

Some relatives have been able to speak over the phone with the hostages, who told their family that they were in good health and were being treated well by their abductors.

The kidnappings could be the result of acts of violence against Fulani communities by security forces which, it was said, had angered them.

The Fulani and the Tuareg are the two main nomadic ethnic groups in northern Burkina Faso, and in neighbouring Mali and Niger.

Access to grazing land and water have caused tensions between the two communities. Militant members of the two communities are also fighting alongside numerous Islamist groups active in the Sahel region.

POPE HEARS OF TERRORISM CONCERNS

The recent kidnappings of the two Christian church leaders has created an atmosphere of anxiety among Christian communities in the land-locked Sahel nation, seen as a model of tolerance in a troubled region.

Burkina Faso’s 20 million inhabitants – predominantly Muslim (around 60%), but also with significant numbers of Christians (over 20%, the vast majority of whom are Catholics) and followers of indigenous beliefs (15%) – have long enjoyed peaceful co-existence.

Two weeks ago, 21 Catholic bishops from Burkina Faso and Niger said a better dialogue was needed between Muslim and Christian communities if terrorism was to be eradicated.

Following their five-yearly ad limina meeting with Pope Francis, in which the bishops discussed their concerns with him, Bishop Laurent Birfuore Dabiré of Dori, Burkina Faso, told Vatican Radio that “peaceful cohabitation” between Muslims and Catholics continued “despite the atmosphere of insecurity, and everything must be done to support it”.

His diocese is located in the tense border region with Mali where many of the kidnappings and attacks have taken place but, he said, what unites people “is family, culture, and traditions that are independent of religion”.

INCREASE IN ISLAMIST ACTIVITIES

Unlike Mali, Burkina Faso has not seen as many terrorist attacks. But it appears it is being slowly drawn into the wars of the Sahel. Attacks attributed to Islamist militants have intensified, particularly in the northern part of the country, prompting a military campaign in the region.

In a report published last month, Human Rights Watch highlighted the atmosphere of fear created by the increase in Islamist activities in the region. The New York-based group accused security forces of extrajudicial killings, abuse of suspects in custody and arbitrary arrests. .

In March, the capital Ougadougou was rocked by twin attacks on the country’s army headquarters and the French embassy.

Schools and teachers in and around Djibo have also been targeted by the militants. In April Islamic State in the Greater Sahara kidnapped a teacher “because he was speaking French to the pupils” rather than Arabic, the South African news agency News24 reported.

The post Burkina Faso: Kidnappers release pastor and his family after four days appeared first on World Watch Monitor.

Kidnapped US Missionary Jeff Woodke is Alive, Says Niger’s President

A US missionary kidnapped in Niger in October 2016 is alive, according to the West African nation’s president.

Jeff Woodke, who worked for Jeunesse en Mission Entraide et Developpement (JEMED), a branch of the US-based Youth With a Mission, was abducted by unknown assailants late in the evening of Friday 14 October, 2016, from the town of Abalak in northern Niger.

For 20 months, there has been no news of Woodke, but on Monday, 4 June, President Mahamadou Issoufou told TV channel France24 that both he and a German aid worker kidnapped in April this year are alive.

“We have some news; we know they’re alive,” the president said. “We continue to create the conditions for their release. Perhaps the contacts that are underway will help to achieve that goal.”

It is the first proof of life since the kidnapping of the two Western citizens in the Sahel country.

Little had been known, or at least divulged, about Woodke’s condition or location, other than that his captors were tracked to neighbouring Mali by Nigerien authorities. No group has publicly claimed responsibility.

Last July, a coalition of jihadist groups active in the Sahel region (Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, also known as the Group to Support Islam and Muslims), affiliated to Al-Qaeda, released a video showing six foreign hostages, including three missionaries, but not Jeff Woodke.

The three missionaries in the video were: Colombian nun Gloria Argoti, kidnapped on 7 February from her convent in Karangasso, southern Mali; Australian surgeon Ken Elliott, kidnapped in January 2016 from Djibo in northern Burkina Faso, near the Mali border; and Swiss missionary Béatrice Stockly, kidnapped in Mali’s northern town of Timbuktu, also in January 2016.

All are still captive.

Jeff Woodke’s wife, Els, issued a video pleading for his safe return when there was no sign of him in that video, believing that he could also be held by those who issued it.

“I am sure that the families of the captives were very encouraged by this message and appreciated the mercy shown by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen in sending this news and instructions about their loved ones,” said Mrs Woodke in her video.

“But my husband Jeff is not mentioned, so I did not receive the benefit of the reassurance and directions of how to proceed that the other families did. This has been very hard for me, for Jeff’s sons and his father to understand.”

The German Joerg Lange, employed by the aid group Help, was kidnapped by armed men on 11 April, in Niger’s western town of Ayorou, which shares a border with troubled northern Mali.

No group has claimed responsibility for his abduction, but a security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that his kidnappers had “already taken him to northern Mali”.

On Monday, President Issoufou said he did not know exactly where the pair were being detained, but that “it is more likely that they are in Mali”.

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Four Iranian Christians Set to Begin Ten-year Prison Sentences

The four Iranian Christians who saw their ten-year prison sentences upheld by an appeal court earlier this month are expecting to have to report to prison any day now.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, and fellow Church of Iran members Yasser Mossayebzadeh, Saheb Fadaie and Mohammad Reza Omidi could receive a call within the next 24 hours to report at the prison gate in their home city of Rasht, Mansour Borji from the London-based advocacy organisation Article 18 told World Watch Monitor.

The four Christians were convicted of “promoting Zionist Christianity” and running house churches and appealed their sentences before the Revolutionary Court on 14 December last year but were unsuccessful.

Nadarkhani and Omidi, in addition to their jail terms, were also sentenced to two years’ internal exile, which they are to serve in the south of Iran, on the opposite side of the country from their homes near the Caspian Sea.

Four other Christians who also received lengthy sentences are still waiting the outcome of their own appeals, which were heard in the Revolutionary Court by the same judge, Judge Hassan Babaee, who, according to Article 18, “doesn’t have a good track record in dealing with Christians arrested for their Christian activities”.

Borji said this is partly because judges can’t be independent, as sentences are dictated by intelligence officials.

“Iranian Christians are concerned about the unjust verdicts issued against Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, and three other Christians who were sentenced alongside him, Amin Afshar Naderi, Kaviyan Fallah Mohammadi and Hadi Asgari“, Borji said

“We are following the appeal process closely and ask all Christians worldwide, and the key members of the international community to join us in calling for these convictions to be overturned. The Iranian government has to be reminded of its obligations under international law and its own constitution, to end its harassment of peaceful Christian community”, he added.

Pastor Bet-Tamraz was sentenced to ten years in jail in July last year for “acting against national security by organising and conducting house-churches”. The three converts were also given ten years, though Amin Afshar-Naderi was given an additional five years for “insulting the sacred” (blasphemy).

Shamiram Isavi Khabizeh, the wife of Victor Bet-Tamraz, was given a five-year sentence of her own in January, while their son, Ramil, is also facing charges.

Miles Windsor from Middle East Concern recently said prison terms are getting longer for Iranian Christians.

“Whilst Christians have consistently been put in prison for their faith in Iran in considerable numbers, the length of the sentence has seemed to have increased in the recent year or so,” he said.

‘ONGOING VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM’

Although Iran’s constitution acknowledges Christians (excluding converts from Islam) as one of the recognised religious minorities allowed to operate in the country “within the limits of the law’, in practice the government continues to harass and imprison Christians and other religious minorities, noted the US State Department’s 2017 International Religious freedom report, which was released last month.

It is illegal for Muslim citizens of the Islamic republic to change or renounce their religious beliefs.

The country has been on the State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) since 1999, “for having engaged in, or tolerated, systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom”.

In 2017, over a dozen Christians – most of them converts to Christianity – were given prison sentences of between 10 and 15 years for “acting against national security”.

Iran is 10th on the 2018 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian.

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A HUMBLE APPEAL TO THE PERSECUTED CHURCH! (Contd.)

Isaiah 44:23- 45:1-4

So the Lord has allowed this persecution! Do not pray against it!

 If the Churches obey  the command of the Lord God ,

1. Part with the Institutional set up which allows owning of land, property in the name of the Church
2. Part with the priesthood system
3. Part with the hierarchical structure and recognise the priesthood of all believers. There are no separate priests or mediators other than believers.
4. Part with all the claims on believers after 2 months of training in Troop Churches.
5. Not demand money from believers.
6. Equipping every believer with spiritual gifts (Mk 16:17,18) for evangelizing.
7. Promoting Work place based  
8. No full time workers who depend on believers for their livelihood, no institution run by Structural Churches, no building for Churches and  no clergy.

There is no need of persecution. If the Churches  come together on this basis, persecution will be stopped this  same moment!

I humbly make an appeal to all the foreign countries who provide finances and other resources for evangelization in India, stop all helps to the Indian Church! Let them realize their responsibilities! Let them come together  and take a decision to evangelize India, let them come together with one mind and heart!

"Tell the Israelis that when they have crossed the Jordan River to the land of Canaan, they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places, take possession of the land, and live in it, because I've given you the land to inherit. (This is not physical destruction but destroying the works of the evil spirits in the name of Jesus Christ!)

"You are to divide the land among yourselves by lot according to your families. The larger the families are in number, the larger their inheritance is to be. The lesser the families are in number, the lesser their inheritance is to be. To whomever the lot falls, that inheritance goes to him. Divide it according to your ancestral tribes. 

 "But if you fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, their survivors will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, to prick your sides and afflict you in the very land in which you'll be living.  Then, what I had planned to do to them, I'll start to do to you." Num 33:51-56 

O Church in India, divide the land, States, districts, taluks, villages and towns for adopting and evangelizing . If they  do this,  India can be evangelized in 1 year! Please stop all your funds! We have more than enough funds in our nation! Do you know how many crores we spend on fireworks of  Christian festivals! Do you know how many crores we Christians in India pay as bribes, spend for adultery, drinking, festivals,  rituals we have inherited from pagans, memorial days, ornaments,  dowry, weddings, anniversaries, Birthdays and what not!! Do you know how rich our country India is in minerals! How rich we are in human resources!  We are wasting  our resources! The Lord asked us in 2006  to rise  up and work for the transformation of  India! We were rebellious, disobedient, sluggish, sleepy, easy going, pleasure loving Church! We have produced generations of slaves and  are keeping the  believers  under  us for centuries! We have discriminated God’s children in the name of caste, creed, gender, and what not! We are keeping them under us as milk fed babies!

Please do not pray to God to stop persecution! The righteous God could not tolerate the cries of His children,  non believers,  who are wandering throughout the length and breadth of India, walking barefoot, visiting holy places, holy rivers, doing all kinds of brutal rituals! Nowhere in the world you see such God seekers like Indians! They are still searching God in deserts, mountains, rivers, snakes, statues, Gurus, magicians, witches etc.  We, in our over enthusiasm to spread the “Religion  Christianity”, (which Emperor  Constantine installed in 313 AD) closed our eyes towards them. We became so hard hearted, blindfolded and became labourers of the Christian religion,but not of Jesus Christ! Now only we realize the blunder we committed!  We were so much lulled to passivity and never cared for them! Instead we mocked at them! Took advantage of their illiteracy, ignorance and fear of God! We never bothered to introduce Jesus to them! Instead of  bringing  them into  direct relationship with Jesus Christ, we introduced Christian religion and the heads of our Institutions to them! They became members of an organization/institution instead of coming into direct contact with Jesus! So they did not get salvation! But the business centres falsely named as “Church” flourished! Believers were cheated! Unbelievers died without Christ!

God in His mercy,  tolerated us  all these 2017 years! He sent many prophets from abroad  and raised many prophets in our own country! We  ignored all of them! Killed many! Insulted many! Burned many!

He is righteous! He is righteous! There is no trace of blemish in Him! Even if He hands all of us over to death and persecution still He will be righteous! We have no justification on our part! We have been disobedient! Rebellious to the core! We have been hypocrites! Pledging Him obedience  but never obeyed! We, all of us, till today  rebelled and are rebelling!

PRAYER TO THE FATHER IN HEAVEN!

O Lord! Do with us whatever you want! We are at your mercy! Only do save our 120 crores of people! Even if we die, we want all these poor 120 crores of people to be saved! Show us the way to save them! They, for generation after generation are seeking God! We had  been so selfish, with no  love, that we were not able to reflect Christ! There were many missionaries whom you sent to our country who reflected Christ! They could convert many! After seeing their life witness,  many of our non believer  Indians, accepted Jesus Christ! But we believers of India  have failed, utterly failed in our lives to give Jesus to them! We failed to love them! We were selfish, narrow minded, lacking in  generosity and magnanimity in treating them as our own! We still have caste system practised  even inside churches, inside seminaries, inside convents, even in cemeteries! We are divided and are still fighting over caste, rites, denominations etc.  We still practise witchcraft, divination, sorcery, dowry system and all the pagan practices! We follow all the pagan practices of Vastu, Yoga etc.  Even we participate in idol worship, worship their idols too. We seek to please them in order to survive persecution, without knowing that You only have sent this persecution!

This is not the Church you established! The Church we see in India is our own product and our own bye product!

O merciful Lord! We humbly implore to remove these duplicates! Bring back your original Church! Let the whole world see the glorious Church of Jesus established in India! Let the present duplicate system called “Church” with all discriminations, selfish motives, money mindedness  and  all its carnal desires be buried!

Lord! You have tolerated us enough in this country! As you had warned us on 19.8.2013, through  the revelation “Operation Ecclesia” you have allowed gentiles into this system! You did everything rightly! You do everything as per your word! You revealed to your servants 5 years earlier that you will hand over this wrong system which we call “Church” into the  hands  of gentiles if we do not repent and correct ourselves! Within 4 months you made this message to spread throughout India and the world! It reached the continents of USA, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. We received replies from U.K., U.S.A., Uganda, Africa etc. You did everything in the proper way!

We surrender ourselves! We bow down! We lie prostrate in front of your heavenly throne! Have mercy on us! Restore us! Mould us, shape us, Have your way in us! Give us the mind of determination to follow your instructions

We beseech you in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!

Sr. Angelica AJ

India: 2017 Saw 20 Percent Increase in Atrocities against Christians, Says Lawyer

Amid growing extreme Hindu nationalism in India, dozens of speakers have called for concerted action to uphold the country’s constitution and fundamental rights, at a conference to mark four years of government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“There is a grave threat to plurality,” Professor Ganesh Narayan Devy, a scholar on India’s religious and linguistic diversity, told the 25-27 May ‘Citizens’ Conclave’ on ‘Building an Inclusive India’ in New Delhi, attended by over 800 delegates from across the country.

“We are living at a time when you are questioned about the food you eat, about the god you worship and branded as anti-national for expressing a different view [contrary to Hindu nationalism],” said Devy.

“They [Hindu nationalists] demonise and attack us: 2017 saw a 20 per cent increase in the number of atrocities against Christians,” Tehmina Arora, a lawyer and director of rights group ADF India, told the conference.

On the status of Christian minorities, she added: “When you go to police, they hardly cooperate and often refuse to register complaints. There is a growing culture of impunity. We could file only 25 criminal cases, as against the 240+ incidents reported in the year.”

Instead, she said that anyone who is accused of converting Hindus “will be beaten up”. “You [can be] taken to a police station when you pray!” she added.

A pastor having a birthday party was recently arrested and accused of converting Hindus in southern Karnataka state, even though it is not a state which has an ‘anti-conversion law’ in place.

“Even I could be accused of ‘conversion’ for addressing this house [with many non-Christians],” Arora said, pointing to the “worsening intolerant atmosphere” during the government under the BJP, known for pursuing a Hindu-nationalist agenda.

She cited the instance of more than 50 villages in central Chhattisgarh state passing resolutions banning the Christian faith soon after the BJP government assumed office on 26 May, 2014.

ARCHBISHOP LAMBASTED FOR CALL TO PRAYER

“Look at the fuss over the [Delhi] archbishop’s call for prayer for the nation. Churches are for prayer and, if the Christians cannot pray, what can they do?” Arora asked.

Indian media has been gripped by a vicious debate on the “patriotism” of Christians after Catholic archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi sent out a pastoral letter to his community to launch “prayer for the nation”. Not even half a per cent of New Delhi’s 20 million population are Catholics.

“We are witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere, which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our constitution and the secular fabric of our nation. It is our hallowed practice to pray for our country and its political leaders all the time, but all the more so when we approach the General Elections [in 2019],” wrote Archbishop Couto.

“Let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from 13 May, 2018,” said the letter, encouraging Christians to fast and pray every Friday by “foregoing at least one meal … and offering penance and sacrifices for our spiritual renewal and that of our nation”.

Some major media networks responded by accusing the archbishop, and Christians in general, of being “against Modi”.

Asserting that “minorities are safe in India”, Rajnath Singh, home minister of the country, cautioned on 21 May that “no-one should speak to mobilise the people of the country on the basis of religion”.

But journalist Teesta Setalvad said the media “have an agenda”. “The archbishop’s letter is discussed for hours in the media. What crime has he committed?” she asked.

“There is deprivation in the media. The archbishop is portrayed as anti-national,” added Rajdeep Sardesai, one of the pioneers of TV journalism in India.

“Space for dissent is shrinking”, Sardesai said, adding that many of those “waging such campaigns” were “taught in Christian schools by priests and nuns”.

“The silent majority has been silent for too long. We must speak out and often. Silent majority is not an option any more… You have to challenge them and debate them. We need new alliances,” he said.

‘POLITICS OF HATRED’

Modi was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the 2002 anti-Muslim riots, when more than 1,000 people were killed. Harsh Mandar, who quit the elite Indian Administrative Service to protest at the BJP government’s alleged connivance in the 2002 attacks, pointed out that violence against religious minorities has since been “getting worse”.

“Your identity is a source of great fear – for the minorities,” said Mandar.

Anti-minority violence is “based on hatred”, said Ram Puniyani, columnist and social activist. After he visited Kandhamal, in Odisha state, scene of the worst case of anti-Christian violence in India’s history, he returned to the state capital, Bhubaneswar, where he said some Hindus told him “it is good that Christians have been taught a lesson”. “This is the politics of hatred,” he told the conference.

Shabnam Hashmi, co-ordinator of the Conclave of over 50 speakers from across the country, pleaded with delegates to take its message to the far corners of the nation: “The challenge before us is clear. We have to speak up and take the message to the masses.”

The conference discussion about Indian media coincided with a report by the BBC’s South Asia correspondent, Justin Rowlatt, noting that a sting operation by a news organisation called Cobrapost “claims to have revealed a deeply engrained bias towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within many of India’s leading media groups, as well as a willingness among some of the country’s most senior media executives and journalists to take money in return for pushing a political agenda”.

Cobrapost alleged that some of the country’s leading news organisations were willing to “not only cause communal disharmony among citizens, but also tilt the electoral outcome in favour of a particular party – and all in return for cash”, Rowlatt wrote. However, he warned that “undercover stings of this kind are notoriously unreliable. The footage can easily be taken out of context or edited to change the meaning of a conversation or misrepresent its real nature”.

Indonesian Pastor Facing Prison Sentence for Sharing His Faith

A court in Indonesia sentenced pastor Abraham Ben Moses to four years in prison for religious defamation. The conviction followed his December 2017 arrest due to a viral video of him discussing his Christian faith with a taxi driver. 

Rev. Moses is a former Muslim who studied comparative religions and started investigating the Christian faith to disprove it. This led to his recognizing the reality of the Christian faith and he converted to Christ in 2006.

In the video in question, Moses' talk with the taxi driver brought up a question about marriage in the Koran. He quoted a verse and told the driver that Mohammed contradicted himself. Then he shared the Gospel with the driver and pleaded with him to turn to Jesus. He uploaded the video to his Facebook page, where it went viral.

Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah, filed a blasphemy charge again Abraham Ben Moses. Police arrested him on December 5th and confiscated his cell phone as evidence.

The Tangerang District Court sentenced him to four years in prison and fined him 50 million Rupiah. (Approximately $3,500.) The judge in the case said, “Abraham was convicted under Electronic and Information Transactions Law No. 11/2008 as he intentionally spread information intended to incite hatred against an individual, group, and society based on religion.” 

Rev. Moses’ attorneys’ plan to file an appeal in the case, saying the sentence is “too heavy” for him. He has four adult children with his first wife, a Muslim who left him after his conversion. His new wife was pregnant at the time of his arrest and has since delivered the couple’s first child.

During the trial, Moses told the court, “I spread the word of Jesus Christ so everybody can be saved… I get my strength from Jesus, He is a very good friend.”

One Coptic Mother’s Agony at Trauma of Son Who Saw Islamists Kill His Father

On 26 May 2017 a convoy of Copts was travelling to the Monastery of St. Samuel in Minya, 170 miles (270km) south of Cairo, to celebrate Ascension Day. Among them were Ayad and his sons, Marco (14) and Mina (10).

“I remember it was a very hot day, so my husband and two sons left early for work in the monastery. They were working on the church bells there,” remembers 42-year-old mother-of-four, Hanaa.

Their convoy was stopped on the desert road by eight to ten gunmen. They ordered the Copt men to give up their valuables, then all, who would not confess Islam, were shot. The boys were spared “to tell the story”.

“I was having breakfast with my daughters when the phone rang,” Hanaa continues. “It was my son calling from his father’s phone. He was crying. He told me they had been attacked and that his father was in a critical condition.”

“I went as soon as I could, together with some family. The ambulance was late, so my nephew Ehab put Ayad in the back of his minivan. My husband was soaked in blood, it was a terrible sight. On the way to hospital Ayad was transferred to the ambulance, but it was too late: he died on the way.”

Hanaa’s grief was immeasurably deep. But, she said, “along the way God comforted me through the many visits of priests and people who stood with me.”

The support was also good for her 14-year-old son, Marco. Hanaa says he was encouraged by it, and has been very brave like his late father. He is doing well at school, she says. “[He has] started to go to the monastery to make church bells in his father’s place. He has a strong relationship with God. He always goes to church, especially since his father’s death.”

But she worries for Mina. “My big concern is for my youngest son, Mina,” Hanaa admits. “This incident has had a huge negative impact on him. He’s always afraid, especially to go anywhere on his own, even to the bathroom. He also can’t sleep alone, so sleeps next to me.”

The situation for Copts in Upper Egypt has become increasingly difficult. Islamic State released a propaganda video in February last year, vowing to wipe out Egypt’s Coptic Christians and “liberate Cairo”.

Egyptian Christians have long complained that the government does not take their security concerns seriously. For their part, officials blame violent incidents on foreign-influenced extremists.

But Hanaa said: “Even though we are very much persecuted here in Upper Egypt, we love our Muslim neighbours. Because our religion is based on love and our God is a God of love. Having experienced this harsh persecution myself hasn’t changed my view: I still pray for Muslims and love them. Our Lord is stronger than their persecution.”

Nonetheless, the loss of her husband is real. “Ayad wasn’t only my husband. He was my friend and a brother and a father to me. He was everything for me in this life. He was very kind and honest, a man of God, and I am proud he stood by his faith until his last breath. If he could say something to his attackers, I think he’d say: ‘I forgive you and pray that God forgives you, touches your hearts and open your blind eyes to see His way.’ And I would fully agree with him.”

New Iraqi Leader Vows to 'Support Christians'

The Chaldean Patriarch, Louis Sako, has telephoned Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr to congratulate him on his unexpected victory in the country’s recent parliamentary elections. The Patriarchate also said that Sako told Sadr he hoped for a government that promotes the common good of all the Iraqi people. According to the Patriarchate, Sadr thanked Sako for his words and pledged to “support Christians”, the Vatican-linked news agency Fides reported.

Sako has positioned himself of leader of Iraq’s remaining Christians, who are rebuilding their lives, homes and churches since the military defeat of IS last year

No single candidate won anywhere near enough seats to control the majority of the 329-seat parliament, and Sadr’s alliance with the communists won the greatest number, with only 54 seats. The bloc led by Hadi al-Amari, a militia leader who fought against Iraq during its war with Iran, came second with 47 seats. The bloc headed by Haider al-Abadi, Prime Minister since 2014, fared worse than expected, with 42 seats, but won the multi-sectarian province of Nineveh, which includes many Christian towns and the city of Mosul where, under his overall command, Iraqi forces led the military defeat of IS last year.

However Mr. Sadr did not stand as a candidate himself and has said he will not become prime minister, meaning he instead can function as something of a “kingmaker”. Although Christians were killed or forced to flee Baghdad in 2006 and 2007 as his Shia militias sparked furious fighting with Baghdad’s Sunni populations, he has distanced himself from his Iranian former backers, saying he regards their influence in Iraq as destabilising.

Rend al-Rahim, a former Iraqi ambassador to the US, told Al Jazeera that this result “indicates that at least in Mosul province there is renewed hope for a better future and an acknowledgement of the role of Abadi and the Iraqi army in liberating Nineveh.”

According to the New York Times, Sadr favours Abadi to continue as prime minister. Abadi is a moderate Shia who has partnered with the US in the fight against Islamic State. Sadr met both him and Mr Amari at the weekend as part of negotiations for forming a government, and after meeting Abadi he said their meeting showed that the next government “will be inclusive, we will not exclude anyone”.

The Al Monitor news website noted that on 21 May, Sadr tweeted, “I am Muqtada. I am Shiite, Sunni, Christian, Sabean, Yazidi, Islamist, civil, Arab, Kurdish, Assyrian, Turkmen, Chaldean and Shabak. I am Iraqi. Do not expect me to side with any sect against the other to renew enmities and lead to our demise. We are headed toward a comprehensive Iraqi alliance.”

Although the country’s Christians had only five seats to fight over, the results show a significant shift. Fides reports that four of the five successful candidates belong to the Chaldean Church, and that the Assyrian Democratic Movement, the longest-running Christian party, will have no representation in parliament.

Two of the five seats were won by candidates from the Babylon Brigades militia: Aswan Salem Sawa in Nineveh, and Burhanuddin Ishak Ibrahim in Baghdad. In Kirkuk, the seat was won by the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Council’s Rihan Hanna Ayoub, and in Erbil the seat was won by Hoshyar Karadag Yelda, a candidate for the Chaldean coalition.

The only non-Chaldean, Immanuel Khoshaba, of the Assyrian Rafidain coalition, won the seat reserved for Christians in the governorate of Dohuk.

It is thought that since the emigration of around 70 per cent of Iraqi Christians since the US-led invasion of 2003, Chaldean Catholics are now more numerous than Syriacs and Assyrians.

Patriarch Sako, who has been positioning himself as the leader of all the country’s Christians, urged the Christian politicians “to develop a new vision and unite the stances to safeguard our small quota and its independence, which in turn protects our dignity and unity”.

Meanwhile it was announced on Sunday that the patriarch is to be made a cardinal, increasing his recognition in the Western Church. His predecessor, Emmanuel Delly, received the cardinal’s red hat in 2007 at the age of 80, as a sign of Pope Benedict XVI’s “spiritual closeness and affection” for Iraqi Christians then engulfed amid the Sunni-Shia violence that had erupted in Iraq. Sako is to be made a cardinal on 29 June alongside 13 other prelates including Pakistan’s Joseph Coutts, the Archbishop of Karachi and an expert in interfaith dialogue. Asked by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle if his elevation to cardinal would improve the lot of Christians, who face considerable persecution there, Coutts replied: “Pakistan’s Christians are struggling to be recognised as equal citizens … My selection as cardinal does acknowledge that there is a viable, visible and active Christian community in Pakistan.” But he added that he had no plans as yet to lobby the Pakistani authorities to pardon Asia Bibi, the imprisoned Christian mother of five on death row for blasphemy.

A Hindu Rashtra Is No Less Than a Saffron Pakistan: Julio Ribeiro

After a letter by Delhi’s Archbishop Anil Couto calling Christians to pray and fast before the 2019 general elections, retired Mumbai Police commissioner Julio Ribiero, in his article for The Times of India, said, “A Hindu Rashtra would make my country nothing less than a saffron Pakistan.”

Couto was heavily criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party for trying to polarise people around religion, after he wrote a letter to all parish priests and religious institutions in the Delhi archdiocese on 8 May.

Ribiero had earlier faced backlashed for his column in The Indian Express in 2017, in which he wrote about his fears of living as a Christian in India. A year later, in a piece for TOI, Ribeiro, while defending the Archbishop, wrote about the shrinking space for dissent in the country, especially for minority communities.

The former police commissioner wrote that there were far too many Christians who had second thoughts about a BJP government, even before the 8 May circular was sent.

"Christians who voted BJP in 2014 – and there were too many of them to count – have had second thoughts much earlier than May 8, when the Rev Anil Couto’s circular was distributed to all the churches in his diocese." - Julio Ribiero in The Times of India

In his letter, the Archbishop had raised concerns over the current “turbulent political atmosphere” which has threatened the democratic institutions and social fabric of the country. However, Ribeiro said, “He is not the only Indian to have raised such concerns. I know countless Hindus, good, solid citizens of our country, who have condemned the covert and overt attempts to demolish institutions, attacks that portend the end of our secular fabric.”

‘What About a ‘Godman’ Becoming Chief Minister?’

Responding to Union Minister KJ Alphon’s statement urging ‘godmen’ to stay away from political comments, Ribiero pointed out that the BJP has appointed a ‘godman’ as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh

Be fruitful, multiply!

I met a mother who lost her husband and struggling to bring up her children in the ways of the Lord. I could see how the Lord was with her blessing her in every way. Today’s meditation of  Dt 25:5-10 was a pleasant surprise to me. I realised how the Lord has given various statutes to His children in order to fulfil His blessing “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it”. For this purpose,  He established and blessed marriage to beget children. Not getting married or not begetting children was considered wrong in the Old Testament.

"When two brothers are living together and one of them dies without leaving a son, his widow must not be married outside the family to a foreigner. Instead, the brother-in-law must go to her, take her as his wife, and by doing so perform the duty of a brother-in-law.  The firstborn whom she will bear will continue the name of the dead brother, so his name will not be erased from Israel.  But if the man does not want to marry his brother's widow, then she must go to the elders at the city gate and declare, ……. Then the elders of the city are to summon him and speak with him. If he insists on saying, 'I don't want to marry her,'  then she is to approach her brother-in-law in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and say in response, 'May this be done to the man who does not preserve the lineage of his brother.' Then his family name in Israel will be known 'as the family of the one whose sandal was removed." Du 25:5-10

What all perversities and deceptive methods the crafty devil has introduced in  the world today against the commandment of marrying and begetting children on earth! God’s children!  Beware of all these!

• It was an amazing experience to worship the Lord and felt this 2 hours should never end. I saw the angel holding a baby and taking care of it while worshiping. The Lord is my savior and I am blessed to experience again in my life may this worship at NWC never stop.
• I saw a torch in west of India and it was ignited with fire and a lion was holding that torch. Right after that a person who worshiped with, he spoke in prayer about Gideon’s army and prayed for anointing. The Lord reveled conformation of that vision.
• When I was worshiping I heard a voice, this is the time of struggle which will get over soon, go ahead with God’s work, I am with you.
• Beautiful experience. When my husband and myself started worshipping, the presence of the Lord filled us. God gave me a conformation through his word (Jer 29:11). I wanted to come with my husband. God fulfilled this wish of mine with wonderful experience.