The Coronavirus and how God is using it in Iran

So I was part of a Webinar yesterday which was  produced by none other than Heart 4 Iran. It was going over how the Coronavirus is affecting everyone in Iran. During said webinar, it was talking about how this pandemic was causing the Iranian people to lose faith in the government and faith in God in general(and Islam in particular). It was causing them to question how a good God would allow this to happen.

For our Iranian brethren in Christ, it was an opportunity share the gospel. Many of them took this opportunity to give out hand sanitizer to those who didn’t have, share the gospel with those who didn’t know Christ and love on others in general (even their persecutors).

In a sense, this is similar to how I mentioned how our brethren in Christ were taking advantage of the pandemic in China last month.

Obviously, God is using this pandemic to draw more people to Him. Given that Iran has horrible healthcare, it has drawn many Muslim inhabitants to go to Christians for help and prayer. It will no doubt lead to a miraculous healing and the Muslims giving their lives to Christ.

The number of Christians in Iran has been growing rapidly. This pandemic is more than likely going to cause it to grow even more.

I have posted numerous posts on Iran in the recent past. Here are some ways to pray for Iran during this crisis:

1. Pray that Iran will get through this health crisis as the pandemic is revealing. Pray that the people of Iran who affect by this virus will be healed despite the lack of health care and that it will improve.

2. Pray that our brethren in Christ will remain strong in the Lord and continue to preach the gospel during this time despite the threat of persecution.

3. Pray that the number of Christians will continue increasing during this time.

Romans 8:28 really is true. God does work everything together for the good of His children.

If you want to go to the Heart 4 Iran website, click here:

http://heart4iran.com/

Go here and consider them your support.

Chinese Christians Caught Between Coronavirus and Persecution

Our Chinese brethren in Christ’s lives are worse now. They have to deal with this Coronavirus on top of the persecution that they normally face on a daily basis.

They will be in my prayers.

03/23/2020 China (International Christian Concern) – Despite the Chinese government’s claim that there are no new confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in the country, China is still very engulfed in the battle against this disease.

Other than the patients and medical professionals who became direct victims from the outbreak, some Christians also face additional challenges during this time.

Christian persecution watchdog China Aid reports on the persecution faced by a member from the Fengle Church in Heshan city, Guangdong province.

Ruan Haonan, who used to be a chef at a hotel, is caught between the disease and harassment from the police. Though he has landed multiple jobs in the past few years, he was laid off repeatedly due to the police’s oppression.

“After our church was raided by the public security bureau in 2017, it has been difficult (for me) to look for a job. Every year local police would call me, question, and scold me, asking me not to share the gospel anymore,” Ruan said(See more).

Illegal Arrests and False Criminal Charges Used to Harass Christians in India

I made a blog post showing the situation of our Indian brethren in Christ and 5 ways we can pray for them right here.

This article shows that they still need our prayers and support. God give them grace and encourage to endure this persecution.

03/23/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – According to Morning Star News, illegal arrests and false criminal charges are among the most common forms of police harassment endured by Christians in India’s Uttar Pradesh state. Speaking to the Alliance Defending Freedom India (ADF-India), Morning Star News reports that eastern Uttar Pradesh is among the most anti-Christian regions in all of India.

On February 23, a mob of radical Hindu nationalists attacked a house church in Shanti Dham village, located in the Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. According to Morning Star News, Pastor Shiv Shankar Ram was leading the worship services when 20 radicals accompanied by police intruded into the church.

“The police inspector asked the congregation of over 100 Christians present at the home church to disperse, and if not there will be cases booked against them,” Pastor Ram told Morning Star News. The police went on to arrest Pastor Ram and Pastor Sharvan Kuman.

The pastors were taken to the Karimuddinpur, Ghazipur Police Station, locked in a cell, and verbally abused by police. Later, eight more Christians from the Shanti Dham house church were taken into custody after they demanded police to conduct a fair and unbiased investigation.

According to Morning Star News, police and radicals accused the Christians of being involved in forced conversions. The Christians were under interrogation until late in the evening on February 23. Eventually, they were all booked under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code for unlawful assembly.

Lawyers from ADF-India intervened in the incident and secured bail for all 10 Christians. However, this process took a number of days.

False criminal accusations, illegal arrests, and harassment have become common threats endured by Christian across India. India’s blasphemy laws and anti-conversion laws are often abused by radicals seeking to harass pastors and shut down Christian communities(Source).

6 ways our Nigerian Brethren in Christ are discriminated against

My Nigerian brethren in Christ will be in my prayers.

WASHINGTON — A Nigerian priest who oversees trauma care for people victimized by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria visited the United States this week to share his concerns about how Christians are facing lesser-known forms of societal discrimination because of their faith in Christ.

Father Joseph Bature Fidelis, the director of psychosocial support and trauma care in the Diocese of Maiduguri, Nigeria, attended a weekly meeting of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable presided by U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.

For the meeting, Fidelis prepared an “ask note” on behalf of his diocese calling for the U.S.’s intervention in the plight of Christians in Nigeria.

“A lot of it is going on and sometimes it’s not so much known to the wider world,” Fidelis told The Christian Post in an interview Tuesday morning. “The response is very slow. So people continue to suffer for their faith.”

In Nigeria, thousands of Christians have been killed in recent years by extremist violence carried out by Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province in Northern Nigeria. Thousands more have been killed amid increased attacks carried out by radical Fulani herders against Christian farming communities in the Middle Belt of the country.

In addition to the extremism and communal violence, Fidelis stressed that Christians living in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria are facing other forms of persecution that are lesser reported in the media but are impacting Christians’ finances, jobs, education, retirement and ability to worship.

Political deprivation
According to Fidelis, one particular phenomenon being seen in northern Nigeria is Christians being “deliberately deprived” of certain high-level positions in government.

“They are denied promotion or cannot access certain offices simply for being Christians,” Fidelis said.

Instances of political deprivation, he said, can be seen widely in Borno state and Yobe state.

In Yobe, Fidelis said Christians can’t be head of a government school.

“Muslims have been so much in power, so a lot of Christians will not be able to have access to certain positions,” he explained. “You don’t see it openly done. Let’s say you go for an interview and five or six of you are supposed to qualify for a director position in a department. The Muslim is given preference over a Christian. That pattern has been there steadily. So you watch it and you see that certain positions are just not given to Christians(Go here to read more).”

I pray that things get better for them as soon as possible.

Robert Spencer, the guy in charge of Jihadwatch commented on this you can go to it here.

Brethren in Christ released from prison due to Coronavirus

God is using this virus to work things out together for His good.  Great to know.

Tens of thousands of prisoners in Iran have been released temporarily as the country tries to reduce coronavirus infections, officials say. 

More than 54,000 inmates had been let out after testing negative for the virus, Iran's judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said. 

A British MP has said Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman detained for almost four years over spying allegations she denies, is expected to be granted a temporary release in the coming days. 

Iran has so far reported 77 deaths - the highest figure outside of China - as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, with 2,336 infections recorded(Go here).

5 Ways to pray for our North Korean brethren in Christ

North Korea is a nightmarish nation, a perilous police state and a totalitarian hellhole. It is the WORST place for anyone who names the name of Christ to live. And considering how badly Muslim majority nations treat our brethren in Christ, THAT’S saying something. It wasn’t always this way: in 1948 Christianity flourished all over the Korean Peninsula. Missionary work started in 1880s and then came the great Pyongyang revival of 1907 which lead to the mass conversions and church planting in what’s now North Korea. It got to the point where Pyongyang was once called the Jerusalem of the East.

Of course that is no longer the case. Our North Korean brethren in Christ face persecution in their public and private spheres of their lives, to the point that electronic surveillance of messages and emails. How did this come to be? Back in the colonial days, aegukbans AKA “patriotic groups,” were formed through a unified Korea. They were to be mandatory “neighborhood watch” programs that provided safety, food, labor and order.

After the Korean Civil War, North Korea renamed the surveillance program called imniban, or “people’s groups.”  The purpose they served was supporting surveillance, a normal function of life and labor mobilization. Each group was appointed a leader (usually a woman) who would do a weekly unannounced  inspection of each home in the middle of the night. The leader would closely monitor the income and report any suspicious activity to the local authorities ASAP.

Throughout the late 20th century, imniban project was lax until 2011 when Kim Jong-un became the leader. When that happened he sought to enforce the law which forbade religious material and the imniban now has the new duty of searching homes and punishing any violators found with religious materials, conducting religious practices and even simply saying a prayer blessing the food. Violators are tortured in labor camps and some will be killed for refusing to recant their beliefs. Those who recant their faith are sent to a camp to be “re-educated.” This includes labor and malnutrition among other not-good things.

The worst part about this all is that head of state gives rewards to people who report those with religious material, which means the Christian can’t really trust their family members. When the husband and wife defect for the sake of Christ they are SHOCKED to find out they knew Christ.

With all of this in mind, here are five ways to pray for our North Korean brethren in Christ:

1. Pray that North Korean officials will come to know Christ as Lord and for subsequent change in the regime and the power of evil will be broken permanently.

2. Kim Jong Un continues to consolidate his power. Pray that He comes to know Christ.

3. Pray that the North Korean Christian refugees in China will be strengthened and encouraged to endure by the provision of food, clothing, shelter and medicine.

4. Pray that our brethren in Christ stuck in prisons, labor camps and remote areas will continue to hope in Christ alone.

5.  With the Coronavirus going around North Korea is at risk. Pray that the coronavirus will not go through North Korea.

May God break the chains of tyranny in North Korea,

5 ways to pray for our Afghan brethren in Christ

Afghanistan is VERY tribalistic. So much so that turning to Christ causes the family to send said family member to the mental hospital, as they believe no sane person would convert to Christianity. They are also targeted by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban for murder. Both groups have influence in the country. One Afghan Christian said that it’s a miracle he gets through the day in Afghanistan.
Here are 5 ways to pray for Christians in Afghanistan:

1. Pray that our Afghan brethren in Christ will be courageous and not recant their Christ. Pray that God grants protection to our brethren in Christ who have to live out their faith in secret.

2. Pray that openness to religions outside of Islam will be considered.

3. Pray that stability and peace will ring throughout the land, given that the violence in Afghanistan increases the insecurity.

 4. Pray that Professors and Students will use wisdom and discernment, since ISIS and similar other terrorist groups use colleges and universities to spread their beliefs and ideologies and get jihadi recruits.

5. Pray that our brethren in Christ will lean on each other. It will make enduring the persecution easier.

God empower my Afghani brethren to live for His glory and hold on to their faith in Him. May they also lean on one another. It will make it easier to endure the pain they take for their Savior. Amen.

5 Ways to Pray for our Somali brethren in Christ

Somalia is rampant with violence, tribalism and Islamic terrorism. Family is considered everything in that country so anyone who gives their life to Christ is seen as betraying the family and is intimidated, harassed, and ultimately killed. Furthermore, said converts to Christianity are viewed as targets of Al-Shabbab, the Islamic Terrorist group found in Somalia. Being a Christian convert from Islam can put you in danger in EVERY sphere. You could get killed on the spot. For this reason, our brethren in Christ keep their faith (and conversions, if they happened and are converts as a result) a secret. Yet despite all of the intense persecution mentioned above, people are coming to Christ.

Here are 5 ways to pray for our Somali brethren in Christ:

1. Pray that Christ will continue to build His church amidst the hostilities.

2. Pray that turmoil in the Horn of Africa will cause the  Somali people there to turn to God. Pray that they will have a deep hunger and thirst for God as a result of this.

3. Pray that our Somali brethren in Christ will be bold enough to share the gospel, given that they make up at least hundreds of people, thus a small number in the country.

4. Pray that there will be mature and godly examples among the Somali brethren in Christ. In addition, pray that there will be unity among the different fellowships of brethren in Christ.

5. Pray that God will promote the government officials to promote freedom in the land.

God is still at work. Nothing can stop what God wants to get done. Everything said about Somalia in this post proves that. Pray that God will continue to do His work in that country and the people there will testify to the goodness and grace of the gospel to the non-Christians in Somalia even at great cost to their lives.

5 Ways to Pray for Christians on Libya

Libya has no central government. As a result, our brethren in Christ are discriminated against constantly, churches are forbidden from being erected and Christians are forbidden from publicly expressing their faith, or they run the risk of being attacked by Muslim terrorist groups. May of our brethren in Christ that try to leave wind up being victims of Human trafficking.

Here are 5 ways to pray for our brethren in Christ in Libya:

1.  Pray that Christian migrants in detention centers who are imprisoned (particularly from Sub-Saharan countries) will no longer feel the torture they receive there.

2. Pray that God grant governmental stability to Libya and the protection of the rights of minorities,

3. Pray that Libyan Muslim converts to Christianity will stand strong in the faith given that they face violence and intense pressure to renounce their faith from their communities and the government at last.

4.  Pray that the Christians living in the Tripoli region will shine their lights to the people there and they be drawn to Christ through them.

5. Pray that God give our brethren Libya (particularly, the migrant workers) the boldness to express their faith in general and in particular, preach the gospel, even at great risk to their lives.

May God restore to peace and order to the country of Libya for the sake of everyone and my brethren in Christ in particular.

5 Ways to Pray for our brethren in Christ in Pakistan

Pakistan is a terrorist-like hellhole. The country was designed to run for and by Muslims in 1947. And considering that Islam teaches it’s adherents to VIOLENTLY subjugate non-Muslims (Sura 9:29), it should come as no surprise whatsoever that our brethren in Christ are ROUTINELY and VIOLENTLY persecuted there. One of the things that Pakistan is most NOTORIOUS for (aside from committing honor killings and being the place where terrorist groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda run rampant), are it’s blasphemy laws. See the point of the blasphemy laws was to keep ANY religion from getting insulted. Given that Pakistan is a Muslim country, the only faith is not to be insulted is Islam and what’s worse is that the blasphemy laws are used as a pretext to persecute Christians. The most famous example of this would Asia Bibi. She was incarcerated in 2009 for ALLEGEDLY blaspheming Muhammad. Fortunately, she was released in October of 2018, but I doubt the laws were abolished then.

Here are 5 ways to pray for our Pakistani brethren in Christ:

1. Because Pakistan is a country where terrorist groups find haven, pray that God move the Pakistani government to pass laws that will protect our brethren in Christ and other religious minorities.

2. Given that brethren in Christ leaving Islam for the Lord are seen as shaming the community. Pray that they will be given peace that transcends all comprehension.


3. Pray that God puts a hedge of protection around our sisters in Christ, since they are often the targets of rape and forced marriages. The next step is forced conversion.

4. Pray that our brethren in Christ who are accused of blasphemy laws will not be the victims of mob violence and stay strong during this hellish sort of trial.

5. Pray for the persecutors of our brethren in Christ. Pray that they turn to Christ and become on fire for Christ like Paul did when he saw the beauty of the cross.

May God give our Pakistani brethren in Christ strength to weather the trials they are going through and to be bold for the King in sharing the gospel and advancing Kingdom of Heaven in general.

5 Ways to Pray for Eritrean Christians

Eritrea is violating Human rights. It targets people who are part of unregistered churches and views anyone not apart of the state-approved churches as an ally of the West and an enemy of the state. Anyone who converts to evangelicalism from Islam or the Eritrean Orthodox Church faces trouble from their communities and communities.

Government security forces have performed numerous house raids and many Christians have been arrested and put in harsh conditions. Some have been shipped in containers where the temperatures are scorching.

The main source of the persecution in Eritrea is denomination protectionism. The main theology of the land (Eastern Othordoxy) is an idol and it has caused those of the Eritrean Orthodox Church to look down on those outside of it.

Here are five ways to pray for our Eritrean brethren in Christ:

1. Pray that the leaders of the Eritrean Orthodox Church will stop idolizing their theology and as a result not persecute Evangelicals and Pentecostals.

2. This one is a praise: The number of Evangelicals are growing and people are becoming fearless in the face of arrest. Thank God that He is sustaining His church.

3. Many of our brethren are imprisoned for their faith. Pray that God will encourage and strength their faith through the Holy Spirit.

4. The government views evangelicals as enemies of the state. Pray that the Lord will continue to build His church despite these conditions.

5. I haven’t mentioned Islam much and that’s because as mentioned before, they aren’t the main persecutors in Eritrea. But that doesn’t mean the concern for growth in jihad isn’t there. Pray that our Eritrean brethren in Christ will have the grace (and not to mention boldness) to continue sharing the gospel in the land so that many will come to Christ.

God grant our Eritrean brethren the boldness to endure their suffering and proclaim the good news throughout the land. May they (and we) be kept from making theological doctrine(s) into an idol. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Today’s devotion: A Call to Leave

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22

This passage was at the center of my devotion today which you can see here (https://odb.org/2020/03/02/a-call-to-leave/). Basically the point the writer was making is that following Jesus Christ means having to leave something behind. Family. Friends. Lucrative career. And of course, comfort. That’s what the disciples left behind when were called to follow Jesus and this meant they would have to face some dangerous times ahead.

I think about my brethren in Christ who are in lands where they are horribly persecuted. They are leaving behind riches, a chance for education and to follow King Jesus.

At the bottom of the devotional, this question was posed:

In what ways can you trust Him with what you may be leaving?

I can remind myself that I am worshipping someone who can do exceedingly and abundantly above all I can ask or think (Eph. 3).

I can trust God with what I may be leaving by realizing that I am being called to advance the Kingdom of God, and that is a Kingdom that will go on forever. As such what I leave behind will be worth it in the end.

I can also trust God with what I may be leaving by realizing He is calling me to leave something in order to go in to something better.

7 Ways to pray for Christians in Sudan

Sudan is in perilous condition. The country has been NOTORIOUSLY known for Arab Muslims enslaving the ethnic African Christians in the south. Even with the south seceding from Sudan to form Southern Sudan has NOT made things better for our brethren in Christ in that country. It has only made them increasingly vulnerable as Muslims push to impose Shariah on the land. The government has intimidated church clergymen and demolished church buildings. Our brethren in Christ have been attacked by terrorists, particularly in the Nuba mountain Region where our brethren in Christ are REGULARLY attacked and displaced.

Converts are at HIGH risk due to Muhammad’s command to execute apostates. As a result they don’t raise their children as Christians out of fear that said children would inadvertently reveal their parents newfound faith and attract the attention their parents and community leaders. Also they don’t have many Christian materials for fear of the government or government can use that against them.

ON TOP OF ALL THAT, the children are being BULLIED on the PLAYGROUNDS and IN school for the faith that their parents hold.

Here are 8 ways to pray for our Sudanese brothers and sisters in Christ:

1. Pray for the new converts from Islam. Pray that they will be faithful to Christ in raising their children to love Christ. Pray that they will be willing to risk their lives for their Lord.

2. Pray that the Sudanese Christians will NOT succumb to the OBVIOUS temptation to retaliate against those kill their loved ones, demolish their churches and torture them. Help them remember that Vengeance belongs to God and God alone (Romans 12:19).

3. 2019 was when the dictatorship of Hassan al Bashir. We should be thankful to God for this happening. We should also be thankful to God that an agreement was made with the opposing coalition. Pray that openness remains, since there is still uncertainty that remains for everyone in general, and our brethren in Christ in particular.

4. Pray that religious freedom will eventually be implemented across the land, given that it is ambiguous whether it still remains the Sudan following the aforementioned coup.

5. The government cracked down on pro-democracy in Summer 2019. 100 people died and people are still mourning. Pray that God will comfort them in the midst of their grief, that non-Christians will turn to Christ and God will be work in these less than perfect conditions.

6. Pray that God grants prudence and accountability to the new transitional council and their new head, Abdalla Hamdok.

7. Pray for the children who are dealing with bullying and harassment. Pray that they will handle the bullying well, that the parents will comfort their bullied children and that the teacher will intervene and cause the bullying to end. Also pray that the children won’t embrace Islam to end the bullying.

You are probably wondering why there are 7 ways to pray for our brethren in Sudan as opposed to 5 like in the previous post like this. It’s because there were TOO MANY issues here to keep this at 5 ways only.

May God make things better for the Sudanese Christians and more importantly, my His name be glorified and Kingdom advanced in spite of His adopted Children’s suffering/persecution, Amen.

Underground Believers in North Korea Pray for American Christians

Great to know that our brethren in Christ are praying for us over here in the West in general and the USA in particular, in the midst of their horrible suffering.

10/30/2013 North Korea (MNN) - As people gather to pray this Sunday (November 3) during the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), they should remember Christians in the world’s most persecuted country.

Rev. Eric Foley, CEO of Seoul USA, says instead of praying FOR members of the North Korean underground church, people should pray WITH them. “They don’t ask God to deliver them from persecution. They pray they’ll remain strong and faithful in the midst of their suffering.”

North Korea is the world's biggest Gospel opponent and persecutor of Christ-followers. It tops the Open Doors USA World Watch List, a ranking of the 50 countries where persecution of Christians is most severe.

Officials routinely put believers in modern-day concentration camps and worse. The government has tried repeatedly to extirpate Christianity from the country, but the underground Church has survived and has overcome severe suffering.

“The NK Christian’s example may help Americans better prepare for the persecution that may be coming soon to the USA," explains Foley. “Their experience reminds us that a commitment to the four pillars of worship is integral to the Christian life.”

I know this is from 2013, but it’s great to know that these North Korean Brethren in Christ are displaying endurance, since they are praying for their American brethren in Christ even as they being tortured horribly for loving Christ. May we here in the west, take a hint and remember our brethren as they are suffering and being persecuted for the King.