The Skies Over Beijing Turn Black in Middle of Day as Government Passes New Laws Against Christians

The skies over Beijing turned dark and black in the middle of the day on Thursday, as the Communist Party came together for an annual meeting.

Chen Beingzhong, a life-long Beijing resident described it in one report to the Epoch Times “as an alarm from god.” He said that there was “Thunder rolling. Heavy gale blowing. The sky was very dark … I have never seen this in my life.”

2057 top government officials are currently in session in Beijing and their agenda is not looking good for Christians. News is leaking out of the meeting about new laws for the church. The government is  drafting new plans to further persecute the underground house church. The details have not come out yet, but it seems that the current coronavirus epidemic is being used as a reason for the Communist Party to put even more pressure on the church than they have in the last two years.

The thick dark clouds that descended on Beijing on Thursday seemed to be like a supernatural sign, that the forces of darkness had moved into the city. We believe that an intense spiritual battle is underway in China because of the vision that God has given to the underground church. The enemy knows that his time is short and the mobilization of the massive church in China is hastening the completion of the Great Commission and the return of Jesus Christ.

Earlier in the month, on May 3rd, BTJ reported on a raid on a house church in China (video link below). Several believers were arrested and taken away. They have not been heard from since the meeting(Read whole article here).

Police brutality on blacks

Proverbs 31:8
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 

I know that this blog is centered helping our persecuted brethren in Christ, but I have to take some time out to address this.

On Tuesday, May 26, a man by the name of George Floyd was arrested on the (possibly) trumped up charge of a forged check. He was on the ground and a cop by the name of Derek Chauvin had his knee on him saying, “I can’t breathe,” numerous times before dying. Here is a clip of the video. Far from being for the faint of heart, watch at your own risk.

On March 13, earlier this year Breona Taylor, and 26 year old African-American was shot unarmed on the trumped up charge of having drugs by the cops.

Earlier this month, Ahmaud Arberry was killed via lynching by two whites who felt he robbed them. 

This is not the first time police brutality has been applied to African-Americans. Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown were offed by cops in 2012 and 2014 respectively. 

And 2016 was the year in which we got MANY of the worst cases of police brutality against black people. 

The murder of George Floyd seems to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back and lead to MANY riots in Minneapolis, Atlanta and other places around the country. Many stores (ESPECIALLY those in Minneapolis) were lit on fire.

Ladies and Gentlemen, racial injustice still exist in this country. As a black man living in America I am saddened that I am more than anyone of any ethnicity and gender to be hunted down by those who are suppose to protect me. 

Dear Jesus, You are sovereign over all things. You fight on the behalf of the widow and the oppressed. On top of this corona pandemic we have police brutality against blacks and riots against as a result everywhere. Keep us all safe during these crazy times and remember that you are bigger than all of this. Help us all to speak out for the oppressed and may justice be brought to those shot by cops and may said cops repent and turn to you, realizing that your blood speaks a better word than that of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin and George Floyd because Your blood cries out for the acquittal of us sinners, while the blood of Mike Brown, Trayvon and Floyd cries out to be avenged. I also pray that my white brethren in Christ will speak out against this injustice given that they have the most privilege in this country. May people also turn to you as Lord.

In Your Name,

Amen.

To all my white brethren in Christ,

If you have an OUNCE of love for the King of Kings you will speak for your African-American brethren in Christ you will speak out against this injustice. 

Go to this link if you want to know specifically what you can do:

75 Things White People Can Do For Racial Justice

I also made 2 freestyles concerning the police brutality that recently happened:

May God cause there to be radical changes in the police department so that we will get closer to there being race reconciliation .

5 Ways to Pray for Christians in Nigeria

Since, I have mentioned Nigeria numerous times in previous articles, it’s about time I gave an article on how we can pray for them.

Nigeria is a religiously divided country. It is country where about 50% are our brethren in Christ and 50% are Muslims. The south is majority Christian and the North is majority Muslim. The fact that 80 million know Christ as Lord is courtesy of missionary work and people taking the gospel with them after being enslaved and having slavery abolished in Britain in 1833. Our brethren in Northern Nigeria are being horribly persecuted. The main persecutors are Boko Haram and Fulani herdsman. The second group has committed more acts of violence in the past two years against our brethren in Christ than any other group globally (and considering that there are groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban out there, that’s saying something). Their goal is a Sharia-ruled nation and they have the middle states in mind to make this happen.

This has resulted in multiple horrendous attacks. In February 2019, an Anglican priest was abducted along with the rest of his family. He was killed and his family’s whereabouts are unknown.

At 5:40 pm in April 2019, Boko Haram invaded the mostly Christian Kuda community in Madagali, Adamawa State. 23 people died, 20 of whom knew the Lord, and about 30 houses were set on fire. Residents sought refuge in Gulak and other places.

In Lau LGA, Taraba State, tensions rose between a radical Fulani herder and a farmer. This resulted in reprisal attacks that lasted for weeks and resulted in 65 people dying. It also lead to 18 burned villages (15 buildings of which were churches and 2 were elementary schools). Security forces that were deployed there did not intervene.

Our brethren in Christ in Nigeria are suffering horribly. In light of the aforementioned persecution, here are 5 ways to pray for our Nigerian brethren in Christ the Lord:

1. Pray for those effected by the violence committed against them by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsman. Violence perpetrated by these groups against our brethren leads to physical injury, loss of life and physical property. Pray that God will be provider of their spiritual and physical needs.

2. Be thankful to the Lord that MOST of our brethren in Christ live in the south where freedom of religion is respected. Pray that they will engage with their brothers in Northern Nigeria to help them deal with terrorism and bring them freedom of religion.

3. Lots of women are in captivity by Boko Haram. Pray that they will be released and those who have been released or managed to escape will be given physical and emotional treatment.

4. Pray that our Nigerian brethren in Christ will be able to withstand pressure to give up their faith and that they will respond to their challenges in a way that glorifies God.

5. Pray that our brethren in Christ will be given boldness to preach the gospel to the Muslims, even the more militant ones.



May we remember ALL of our brethren in Christ in lands where they are heavily persecuted for loving Jesus Christ, even with this pandemic going on.

He has risen: Evidence for the resurrection and its implications

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the bedrock on which the Christian faith lies. If it didn’t happen, the Christian faith falls to pieces. Paul said it like this:

"And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins...If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead...For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man." - 1 Corinthians 15:17, 19-20a, 21

So here is a video I made a while back on the resurrection of Christ Jesus:

The resurrection has 3 implications:

1. It means that any suffering we go through is worth it and we should endure it (persecution in particular).

2. It means that our work on God’s behalf is not pointless (1 Corinthians 15:58) and we should stop in doing good.

3. It means that God will resurrect our bodies and glorify them like He did Jesus’s on the Easter.

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Come Risen Lord Jesus, you are the one we long for above all!!

Isaiah 53 Explained

Given that this is Good Friday, I want to recommend a book to everyone. It is called Isaiah 53 Explained:



It is written for Jews, but I suggest EVERYONE give it a read. It goes through how this chapter refers to the Lord Jesus Christ.

As a closing, I need to say that the Lord Jesus was said to be rejected by men and was despised. So that means he can identified with his persecuted followers and comfort them and that’s not even getting into how he was despised so they (and us who are living in the west in relative comfort and safety) could have eternal.

Thank God, He made a way through His Holy Son.

Suspected Fulani Militants Kill 4 in Bassa District Attack

Having to deal with a pandemic and militants? I would hate to be these people.

04/09/2020 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) – Yesterday, April 8th, gunmen believed to be Fulani militants attacked Ngbra-zongo village of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State. The attack was the second in the last month on the village. During this attack, the gunmen killed at least four people, including the pastor of the local ECWA church. The attackers were able to continue the attack for over an hour without any security intervention and then escaped.

The security of this area should be of huge concern to the Nigerian government as it has been a hotspot of large scale attacks in the past. In June of 2017, ove two hundred people were killed in a two-day attack on Bassa Local Government area.  Despite this, there has only been minimal engagement by the authorities and none of the attackers have ever been held accountable. This has led to impunity on the part of the attackers, who believe that they can get away with whatever they want. It has also led the locals to mistrust and often hate the military and government.

This attack is especially worrisome as Plateau state is going in to total lockdown tonight due to the coronavirus, COVID-19. This will mean that many of the locals will be stuck in their homes and could be attacked again. This will also hurt the government’s attempts to stop the spread of the virus, as villagers whose homes are attacked often have to flee to other locations(Keep reading).

I pray that God will keep them safe and that the government will step in and help them out.

Christians in Guangdong Indicted for Printing Children’s Bibles

Let’s pray that they get cleared of all charges.

04/08/2020 China (International Christian Concern) – Two Christians in Guangdong were arrested at the end of last year for printing children’s Bibles. Now they face charges and imprisonment.

According to China Aid, since March 2018, Liang Rurui and Zhu Guoqing in Guangdong province have been printing children’s Bibles at the request of a Christian with the surname Tang. They have handed 7000 copies of children’s Bibles to Tang.

On November 22, 2019, the local authorities in Zhongshan city inspected their printing plant and confiscated 8,176 printed books. Soon, Liang Ruiru was arrested by the police. A day later, Liang was criminally detained and bailed out on the same day, while Zhu Guoqing was arrested, criminally detained, and formally arrested on Christmas.

On March 24, First City District People’s Procuratorate in Zhongshan city officially indicted Liang and Zhu, accusing them of violating the country’s regulations and damaging the market’s order with their illegal operation. They should be criminally charged with illegal business operation(Continue to read).