Kyrgyzstan: Six more churches attacked and robbed
Following news that an Evangelical church in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgystan, was robbed three weeks ago, comes news that six other churches in the city have since been attacked. Sending details of the original attack Jed Courley the church’s pastor said ‘At about 1am in the morning four men climbed over the fence and broke into the back door of the church. A parishioner called Valya was badly beaten, tied up with tape, and then beaten more when very little money was found. Rooms trashed, safe demolished. Some music equipment, a computer, and other things were taken. Since our church was robbed we have heard of six other churches who were robbed recently and a couple of other people also beaten in the process. The police are doing nothing. In one case, they never even arrived on the scene. Please pray against these obvious attacks of the enemy.’ Pray: this escalation of violence against Christians will end and for no retributions to be considered. (Ps.119:86)
Iran: Authorities arrest 15 Christian converts
A pre-planned and coordinated attack by security forces on a bus full of Christians in the city of Mashhad resulted in all the occupants being arrested. They were travelling to join fellow believers when security forces arrested and transferred them to a central detention centre. After a week of inhumane interrogations13 were freed on bail. Stephen Reza and Ehsan Behrooz remain detained. Ehsan Behrooz is a university student and an active member of the Assemblies of God church in Mashhad. Mr. Reza is married with two children. Mashhad city is a centre of pilgrimage and despite Muslim clerics claims of having full control over the minds of locals, evidence shows that God has been doing a wonderful work in the minds and the hearts of the people of this great Islamic centre as many people have come to faith in Jesus Christ in the last few years. Pray: the Holy Spirit to keep in perfect peace these and other detained Christians in Iran. (SS.4:16) More: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2010/August/Iran-Arrests-15-Christian-Converts-/
Rwanda: News media closed prior to election
A week before the Rwandan presidential election the authorities have violated press freedom by jailing journalists and closing news media. Also a newspaper editor was murdered last month. The repressive measures intensified prior to the election with the suspension of 30 news media outlets. By excluding them from an approved government list Rwanda’s leading newspapers and radio stations have been banned. ‘The Media High Council’s measures just before the election are highly suspect,’ Reporters Without Borders said. ‘They aim to prevent journalists from doing their job as independent and impartial observers of the election process.’ Meanwhile, in the first workshop for Rwandan Christian youth, 300 believers were told, ‘You are the future leaders of this country and what you do now determines how and where this country will be in the future. Help your families regarding peace building which will lead to the development of Rwanda.’ See: http://allafrica.com/stories/201008030002.html Pray: that God’s purposes for the country will overcome any adversity. (Ps.37:18-19) More: http://en.rsf.org/rwanda-around-30-news-media-closed-a-few-02-08-2010,38076.html
Pakistan: Discrimination against Christian communities
We have been asked to pray for Christian communities in flood disaster areas who are not receiving aid due to religious discrimination. A trusted source said, ‘Things in the West province Khyber Pukhtoonkhaw are quite bad. The province was already hit badly due to the war against terrorism with military action continuing in some areas. Millions of people are displaced, have lost their houses, businesses and loved ones, and more rains are to be expected. Just in this one province 1300 Christian families have lost all. I have reports that they have been moved into some mission schools in Peshawar and they would need assistance with basic items of life. I know the government is trying to send aid but the devastation is quite huge. Christians already are marginalized and when the aid is given by the government normally it does not reach them due to the discriminatory behaviour and nature of the majority, which adds to their misery. Please pray also for fair distribution of aid in the Punjab and Baluchistan province'. Pray: for God’s mercy and grace to provide all that is needed in this terrible disaster. (Ps.31:1)
INSIGHT ARTICLE Kenya: Pray this weekend for peace
Kenya’s President appealed for peace as Kenyans vote this weekend on a draft constitution intended to limit the powers of the president and set up a commission to settle land disputes that fuelled past violence. Pastor D.S.W. writes, ‘Put our nation Kenya in the hands of God. The leadership is not united. There is much tension towards the referendum and much frustration among tribes receiving letters telling them to leave where they are staying just because of land. This happened during the 2007 election and stirred fighting which resulted in many people being killed. Please pray for us. Spiritually as Christians we are praying and serving God as he called us to be His ambassadors among the nations.’ President Mwai Kibaki and former President Daniel Arap Moi, who opposes the draft, have delivered hate speech during the campaign. This INSIGHT article gives some background information to assist prayers. Pray: for God to drench Kenya with joyful passions and positive anticipation; and for the Kenyan Church to become a symbol of unity. (Ps.131)
INSIGHT ARTICLE: Sovereign Prayers
The monarch and her family are spending part of their summer holiday this week sailing in the Western Isles of Scotland as a special commemoration of Princess Anne’s 60th and Andrew Duke of York’s 50th birthdays. see Over the past five decades as Head of State Queen Elizabeth II has provided stability and continuity in times of political and social change, meeting Heads of State and ambassadors, holding weekly audiences with Prime Ministers and reading state papers from the red box delivered to her daily. (even while on holiday). She has an unequalled store of experience upon which successive Prime Ministers have been able to draw; bridging party politics and providing a stable framework within which a government can introduce wide-ranging reforms. This INSIGHT ARTICLE (click on 'Info' button) is a prayer resource for interceding for the Queen, her family, her government and the Church in the United Kingdom. Pray: for God to mightily bless, lead and protect our Royal family. (1Tim.2:2)
Hospitals propose banning Bible
Hospital managers wanting to ban bedside Gideon Bibles have been attacked by religious leaders who warned that sick people will be deprived of spiritual comfort when it is most needed. The ban, at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, is intended to reduce levels of infectious superbugs such as MRSA on the grounds that the Bibles are hard to clean. They want all bedside areas in Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital kept tidy to stop deadly viruses breeding. Christian protesters said the holy texts pose a ‘minimal’ risk of infection and called for the plans to be scrapped. A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham said: ‘For many patients Bibles have been a source of comfort and support through uncertainty and illness. It is unsatisfactory that patients may now have to ask a nurse for a Bible’. Hospital officials are now consulting staff, patients and chaplains before bringing in the ban. Pray: that a way is found for these Bibles to remain to support for patients without any health risk. (Jn.1:1) More: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/189145/Bashing-for-hospitals-over-ban-on-the-Bible
Evangelicals confront spiritual malaise
Western Europe has become a region of ‘empty nominalism’ and ‘confused spirituality’ said the chairman of the evangelical Keswick Convention. Dr. Jonathan Lamb told this year’s convention that while millions of people in Western Europe define themselves as Christian, they regard themselves as Christian only by nationality, culture, and as a result of family ties to the faith, or tradition. He said the spiritual landscape closer to home could be characterized by a ‘dry orthodoxy’, which he explained as Christians who are committed to the evangelical faith but whose life ‘has been drained of its spiritual vibrancy’. Others outside the church fold appear to be caught up in a kind of ‘confused spirituality’. Dr. Don Carson, research professor of the New Testament, cautioned Christians about the dangers of pursuing spirituality, for its own sake without any reference to Christ and Jonathan Stephens, Principal of the Wales Evangelical School of Theology, reminded Christians that the key to Christ-centred renewal could be found in returning to Scriptures. Pray: for Christ and His Gospel always to be at the heart of our Christian lives. (Ro.1:16)
The health gap between rich and poor
The health gap between the richest and poorest in Britain is now wider than it was during the great depression, according to researchers from Sheffield and Bristol Universities. They say that the gap was gradually narrowing until the 1970s, when the trend reversed. Health inequality has grown rapidly in the last twenty years. This reflects a growth in economic inequality over a similar period. ‘Health and wealth are directly linked’, insisted researcher Danny Dorling, ‘Unless we tackle the income gap, we could well see life expectancy actually starting to fall for the first time in the poorest areas.’ Campaigns for economic equality have gained momentum since the publication last year of the The Spirit Level. The book's authors, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, use detailed analysis to demonstrate lower levels of crime, unwanted pregnancies and other social problems in more equal societies. This perspective is now promoted by the Equality Trust. Pray: for an understanding that redressing this imbalance will also address other problems in society. (Dt.15:4)
How churches fight belief in witchcraft
African churches in Britain are learning how to safeguard children's rights against exploitative pastors. Monday’s ‘Dispatches’ programme on Channel 4 highlighted the harm caused to children in the UK, mainly from an African background, by church pastors who are apparently labelling them as witches or as in some way ‘possessed’. Enormous strides have been made recently in building relationships with African churches, many of whose members do not speak English as their first language. To that end, the Child Protection Advisory Service has already trained more than 5,000 church leaders and volunteers in the optimum standards of child protection. The practices of a minority of ‘rogue’ churches and pastors are being challenged by African communities. This voice has been strengthened by community-led meetings and training for parents and young people. Specialist training has improved social work and health practitioners' knowledge and understanding of harmful cultural practices, which is critical to improved identification of abuse linked to spirit possession and witchcraft. Pray: for the complete eradication of child abuse linked to these ‘cultural practices’. (Dt.18:10) More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/27/religion-witches-africa-london-exorcism