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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 earlie...

The frenzy of Christmas preparations is upon us. Shopping, planning for the holy-day feast, seeking to keep disparate members of the family happy by going here today and then there tomorrow can be a logistical nightmare. Yet, in the midst of all the craziness we are drawn to a manger scene from two thousand years ago. Imagine a world where the superpower is Rome; where might makes right. Taxes, the enemy of today, was the enemy back then. A census was taken and people were on the move to their ancestral homesteads across the Promised Land. One couple among hundreds, if not thousands perhaps, arrives in Bethlehem. Door after door announces the news, “Sorry, there is no room.” Finally, one innkeeper takes mercy on the young woman about to give birth. “There is a stable, it’s not much, but there you can find shelter and warmth,” the man apologetically offered. It would have to do, Joseph thought, what else could he do? Mary was weary from the journey and who knows when this chil...