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Sudan Punishes Imprisoned Pastors After American Advocacy Asia Bibi: failing health on death row in Pakistan PUBLISHED BY RUTH KRAMER ON JUNE 25, 2015 Pakistan (MNN) — Her story reads like a conspiracy theory novel. The main character is a 50-year-old woman, falsely accused. She languishes in jail for six years, charged and convicted of a federal crime with no evidence, and no recourse. The problem is: it’s not fiction. It’s Asia Bibi’s story. Bruce Allen with Forgotten Missionaries International   says the mother of five was accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. Voice of the Martyrs USA recounts the early part of the case: On June 19, 2009 there was an intense discussion among the women about their faith. The Muslim women told Asia about Islam, and, according to VOM sources, Asia responded by telling the Muslim women that Jesus is alive. “Our Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for our sins…. Our Christ is alive.” That led to a beating and a blasphemy accusation. In Nov...

How People Change by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp from CCEF.org  Free on Kindle for a limited time Free Resources for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (Downloads )   IDOP is November 2nd    (NEXT SUNDAY) UKRAINE Petition Calling for the Immediate End to the Persecution of Non-Orthodox Christians in Eastern Ukraine (International Christian Concern) A memorial service for four protestant Christians murdered by pro-Russian militants in Eastern Ukraine. On Sunday morning, June 8th, Viktor and three other ministers were taken from their church and stuffed into a car by men carrying automatic weapons. A month later, their burned bodies were found in a mass grave. Three of the ministers had been executed at point blank range. Viktor was shot in the back as he tried to flee his captors. These Christians weren't murdered in Nigeria, Iraq, or Pakistan. They were killed in Europe, shot dead by armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Tra...

The Global War on Christians by John L. Allen is a 2013 addition to the body of works addressing persecution. So why should you read this one and not one or more of the others? I believe it is because Allen’s treatment of the ongoing crisis of persecution is both traditional and unique. As do many of the other authors of books on persecution, Allen presents a world-wide, extensive, view of what has been happening. For his purposes, Allen’s focus is on the past twenty years. What is different about Allen’s work is quite compelling. He differentiates the political “war on Christians” from the worldwide phenomenon he calls “the global war on Christians.” Persecution is defined by the author, not in the typical, logical sense but in a more comprehensive and perhaps somewhat more controversial sense. Unlike other works, Allen dives into the historical and political backgrounds to the persecution in each region and country profiled. Bucking the trend of other works on persecution, ...

From Voice of the Martyrs (this is the story in their words): Alicia Castilla, a widow and mother of three, was killed four months after the National Liberation Army (ELN) demanded she leave her home in Arauca.  On Jan. 7, ELN assassins entered her home and shot her in front of her father, children and a visiting pastor. Before leaving, the guerrillas told Castilla's 18-year-old son, Hernán, that the rest of the family had three days to leave the region. After that, they would return and kill other family members one by one. Alicia's husband, lay-evangelist Nelson Ramos, was killed by the ELN in January 2011, two years after his conversion to Christianity. The ELN issued its first expulsion order against him and his family a few months after his conversion. He was shot to death at home in front of his wife and two daughters, Rosmy and Jackeline, now 9 and 6, respectively. According to Hernán, the guerrillas never fully explained why they were so...

Here are some resources for the International Day for the Persecuted Church: Ministries: Open Doors USA Voice of the Martyrs Free Prayer Resources:  60 Day (Nov-Dec 2012) Prayer Calendar in pdf (may open only/best in Internet Explorer -- http://www.opendoorsusa.org:81/downloads/pdf-downloads/60-day-prayer-calendar.pdf  ) World Watch List (select "Download the List" in the upper right hand corner) World Watch List web-based resource One With Them website Bulletin inserts, Sermon notes and "powerful" videos