INSIGHT: Afghanistan: Parliamentarian wants Christians executed
Abdul Sattar Khawasi Deputy Secretary of the Afghan Lower House in parliament called for the public execution of Christian converts from the parliament floor. Speaking with regard to a video broadcast by the Afghan television network (See this weeks Insight article) showing footage of Christian men being baptised and praying in Farsi. Khawasi said, ’Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public. The house should order the attorney general and the intelligence agency to arrest these Afghans and execute them.’ The broadcast triggered a protest by hundreds of Kabul University students, who shouted death threats and demanded the expulsion of Christian foreigners accused of proselytising. As a result the operations of Norwegian Church Aid and US-based Church World Service have been suspended over allegations of proselytising. The Afghan government is currently undertaking an intensive investigation into the matter. Click the info button for a truthful report from an Afghanistan believer.
Pray: for Christians to stand firm in the face of persecution and for God to miraculously reveal himself to Muslims seeking the truth. (Mt 10:22) info http://www.prayer-alert.net/info/2410AfghanistanInsight1.pdf
London cracking under prayer
The M25 Nutcracker was part of Global Day of Prayer London and took place in various guises all around the capital. The M25 region hosted prayer activities in twelve locations (prayer altars) and seventeen junctions on the M25 were covered in prayer. Each junction was seen as a gateway in and out of the capital, vitally important in the nation’s communications and commercial life. The link below will take you to a video of a few who prayed in a light aircraft right around the M25 on Monday (24 May) It shows them praying the Lord's Prayer over the QE2 Bridge and the Thames. You can find a full written report on www.transformationthurrock.com.
Praise: God for drawing His nations to Him in the unity of prayer and worship around the globe. (Jn.17:21)
More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQNKHc3PpMQ&feature=youtube_gdata
London cracking under prayer
The M25 Nutcracker was part of Global Day of Prayer London and took place in various guises all around the capital. The M25 region hosted prayer activities in twelve locations (prayer altars) and seventeen junctions on the M25 were covered in prayer. Each junction was seen as a gateway in and out of the capital, vitally important in the nation’s communications and commercial life. The link below will take you to a video of a few who prayed in a light aircraft right around the M25 on Monday (24 May) It shows them praying the Lord's Prayer over the QE2 Bridge and the Thames. You can find a full written report on www.transformationthurrock.com.
Praise: God for drawing His nations to Him in the unity of prayer and worship around the globe. (Jn.17:21)
More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQNKHc3PpMQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Hong Kong's Protestant churches blooming
Protestant churches in Hong Kong are blooming with an annual growth rate of 6.2% over the last five years and the number of Protestants in the former British colony is drawing close to 300,000. The number of practising Protestants surpassed 290,000 in 2009, rising from just over 216,000 in 2004, according to the results of a new survey released by the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement. The figure surpasses the growth experienced by Protestant churches in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2004, when the number of practising Protestant rose from just under 176,000 in 1999 to nearly 217,000 in 2004, an annual growth rate of 4.3%. Rev Luk Fai, President of the Bethel Bible Seminary, revealed the new statistics in the latest edition of Christian Weekly magazine.
Praise: God for the growth of His Church and pray for its continued development and protection. (Ac.49:50)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hong.kongs.protestant.churches.blooming/26009.htm
Hong Kong's Protestant churches blooming
Protestant churches in Hong Kong are blooming with an annual growth rate of 6.2% over the last five years and the number of Protestants in the former British colony is drawing close to 300,000. The number of practising Protestants surpassed 290,000 in 2009, rising from just over 216,000 in 2004, according to the results of a new survey released by the Hong Kong Church Renewal Movement. The figure surpasses the growth experienced by Protestant churches in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2004, when the number of practising Protestant rose from just under 176,000 in 1999 to nearly 217,000 in 2004, an annual growth rate of 4.3%. Rev Luk Fai, President of the Bethel Bible Seminary, revealed the new statistics in the latest edition of Christian Weekly magazine.
Praise: God for the growth of His Church and pray for its continued development and protection. (Ac.49:50)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hong.kongs.protestant.churches.blooming/26009.htm
Australia: Students challenge refugee stereotypes
Next week Australian schools, parishes and youth groups will engage young people in the contentious debate currently taking place in Australia around refugee and asylum seekers. A coalition of Australian Christian development agencies is inviting schools to tackle the issue as part of Simply Sharing Week 2010 which encourages Australians to learn about and become involved in issues of social justice. The educational resource, 'See the Real Me, not Just the Refugee', includes real-life stories of refugees and provides age-relevant classroom activities and Bible studies.
Pray: that the youth of Australia will pass on perceptive Christian values to the wider community on the refugee issues that Australia faces. (Ex.22:21)
More: http://au.christiantoday.com/article/australian-students-challenge-refugee-stereotypes/8345.htm
Japan: Prime Minister resigned
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced his resignation after eight months in office, citing a broken campaign promise regarding the removal of a western military base from Okinawa to be the reason for his resignation. With parliamentary elections scheduled for July, Hatoyama ‘faced growing pressure from his own party to step down.’ The escalation of tensions between North and South Korea were among the reasons Hatoyama listed for keeping the base. He said shutting it down would only further destabilize the region. Hatoyama is the fourth Japanese prime minister to resign from office in just four years.
Pray: that hearts will turn from national instability to matters of eternity, and for God to establish leaders to guide Japan with integrity and humility. (Ecc.3:11 & Dan.2:21)
Uzbekistan: Evangelical group condemns crackdown on churches
The Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance - representing over 400 million Christians worldwide - expressed concerns about police raids on Protestant congregations in Uzbekistan and the detention of several Christians. A particular concern was a recent police raid on The Church of Christ in Tashkent, one of the largest Protestant churches in the capital. Police without a warrant detained eight church members, seized properties and imprisoned three church members for 15 days on charges including the violation of strict religious regulations of the former Soviet nation. Five other church members received heavy fines with three of them forced to pay about eighty times the average monthly minimum wage. The troubles began during a May 16 Sunday worship service attended by 500 people, which was interrupted by police, the secret police, tax inspectorate, fire Inspectors and the sanitary-epidemiological service.
Pray: for Christians in Uzbekistan, and for justice and equality for the church in Central Asia. (Ro.8:34-35)
More: http://www.worthynews.com/8236-evangelical-group-condemns-uzbekistan-crackdown-on-churches
Eritrea: Continued arrests and prison deaths
Open Doors report Pastor Gebreab aged 35 disappeared 18 days ago and no one has been able to learn his whereabouts from local authorities. He is married with an 8-year-old son and an infant daughter. The government criminalised independent Protestant churches in 2002 - closing buildings and banning all meetings even in private homes. Over 2,000 Eritrean Christians including dozens of pastors and church leaders remain imprisoned, denied legal counsel or trial and subjected to severe torture for their faith. Senaiti Habta died last month from prolonged anaemia and malaria. She was incarcerated in a metal shipping container with 14 others in suffocating heat during the day and freezing temperatures at night, deprived of fresh air, sanitation and medical attention. According to local sources officials offered her freedom and medical attention if she would recant her Christian beliefs, but she refused.
Pray: that prisoners and their families would know God's peace, strength, love and grace to endure seek to be a powerful witness for Christ. (Gal.2:20)
More: http://www.opendoorsuk.org/resources/wwl.php?country=09
India: Hindu intolerance to Christianity
Hindu nationalists on May 27 falsely accused a pastor of forcible conversion in Karnataka after disrupting a worship service. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the Hindus also warned the Christians not to worship in the area. Extremists from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh barged into the rented home of Pastor Barmanagowda as he led a house church service affiliated with the Karnataka Evangelical Association. The extremists forced the pastor to the police station and filed a complaint of alleged forcible conversions. They warned him against conducting worship services in the village and told him to vacate his home and leave the area. On May 23rd in Andhra Pradesh Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh damaged a church building and installed an idol of the Hindu god Hanuman inside it. (This deity is believed to give courage, hope, knowledge, intellect and devotion).
Pray: for God to give the persecuted church in India strength, hope and wisdom as they continue to gather in His name. (Ps: 25:1-2)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/india/21035/