Syria Christians to Convert, Pay Tax or Die by Sword, Nigerian School Attack Shakes the Church; Laos Christians Told to Stop Worshiping Jesus

Syrian Christians Told: Convert, Pay or Face the Sword
Voice of the Martrys
February 28, 2014

Christian leaders in the city of Raqqah, Syria, have reportedly signed an agreement to pay the jizya protection tax and accede to the demands of radical Muslim rebels who now control their city.

The agreement was announced online by The Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)  [click link to read more]

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." 

1 Peter 4:12–13 (NIV)

Nigeria:  Violent school attack shakes the Church

PUBLISHED BY KATEY HEARTH ON FEBRUARY 28, 2014

Boko Haram terrorism in northern Nigeria is shaking the Church. According to Open Doors USA sources, an unknown number of believers were killed in a violent school attack earlier this week that claimed at least 59 lives.

After arriving in six vans in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, attackers separated the male and female students before shooting some of the male students. Terrorists slit the throats of others and locked some into buildings before burning them down.

[click link to read more]

Go Back or Go Away

Feb 27 2014

Many believers in Northeast Laos are meeting in small groups to avoid drawing the attention of local officials. In January, local officials in an undisclosed village in Vientiane Province, Northeast Laos, pressured 27 Christian families to stop worshiping Jesus Christ. The believers were coerced into signing a paper saying they agreed with the officials’ demands. “One or two families have signed,” according to a ground source, “because their relatives threaten to cut ties if they do not do so.” At the moment, believers are meeting together in smaller groups.

Twenty-three other Christian families in the same region face the possible loss of their houses and farmlands. Police and village officials threatened to evict the believers if they persisted in worshiping Jesus. Though they have not yet been evicted, the families were placed under house arrest. Right now, they continue to worship as families in their respective homes.  [click link to read more]

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