What do you do while imprisoned in solitary confinement for more than two years? The answer for one Pakistani Christian is “pray.” Asia Bibi has spent almost three years in prison on charges that she blasphemed Islam’s prophet Muhammad. She was convicted and sentenced to death, and she now awaits the ruling on her appeal. To protect her from other inmates, she has been kept in solitary confinement. She cooks her own food to ensure that no one tries to poison her.

VOM has supported Asia’s family during her long imprisonment and has stayed in touch with Asia through her faithful husband, Ashiq. In January, a VOM staff member was able to visit Asia in prison for the first time since she received the death penalty. Ashiq and the VOM worker spent 25 minutes with Asia, but they were separated by a tight metal screen.

Ashiq, Asia Bibi’s husband

“She had a smiley face full of joy and thanksgiving,” said the VOM worker. Asia said she was thankful for the visit and that she was happy and fine. She reported that jail officials were taking good care of her and that the superintendent, sympathetic to her extreme loneliness, promised to bring her any books she wanted. A female guard is with her at all times.

Asia told the VOM worker about another way she has been blessed. “There is a beautiful thing that happens every day in my cell. Two days after they announced my death penalty, I was brought into the death cell [death row]. Every morning around 3:30 or 4, a brown bird with a long beak appears and sits on the boundary wall. This bird also comes every evening around 5. He sits there for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening. Later on he became my friend. I talk to him and he also talks to me.

Ashiq and daughters

“As I watched this bird every day, I tried to understand the meaning of him coming day after day. I think this is a messenger from God giving me his message. When the bird comes, I feel encouraged and peaceful. I feel comforted after his visit. I think this is very significant sign from God.”

Asia is allowed to walk in the courtyard every day for a few minutes, but she is always accompanied by guards. Other prisoners attend religious services in the jail every week, but Asia is not allowed to attend. So in her loneliness, she prays.

“I am praying every day,” she said. “I am strong in my faith. I know that this is a test of my faith and I know to make gold, it must be purified; it has to be put in the fire.

“I am not worried about myself, but I am worried about the VOM workers who are helping me, which is very dangerous. I pray for them every day.

“I don’t know the names, but I know the people from USA are helping me; I pray for them also. I pray for the people around the world who are praying for me.” Asia also prays for the families of two men, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, both of whom were killed for their support of Asia.

“I am very thankful to them that they sacrificed their lives for me,” Asia said. She is also thankful for the financial support provided to her family. “I know you are the people helping me and my family and fighting my case in the court. I am very thankful to Lord for this.”

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Asia asked how her two young daughters are doing. She wanted to make sure they are going to school and church, concerned they might stray from what she wants for them. Ashiq assured her that the girls are attending school and church. “I am thankful they are doing this,” she said.

Asia, Ashiq and the VOM worker finished their time together with prayer. They prayed for the court, the judge, the attorneys and the jail’s staff. And Asia prayed that God would bless her and make her life an example to the other prisoners.

She ended with, “I pray that God will forgive the people who blamed me. … I know God helps his people and he will release me. I want to appeal to the world to pray for a miracle to release me from jail and that I stand strong in my faith.”

Please join Asia in her appeal for release by signing the petition at www.CallForMercy.com. And above all, pray.

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Young man accused after argument with his landlord.

LAHORE, Pakistan, January 30 (CDN) — A judge has denied bail to a young Christian man charged with desecrating the Quran under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws despite the lack of evidence against him, sources said.
 
Police in Shahdara, near Lahore, had arrested 23-year-old Khuram Masih on Dec. 5 and charged him with desecrating the Quran after his landlord, Zulfiqar Ali, alleged that he had burned pages of the book in order to prepare tea. Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment.
 
Masih’s previous lawyers, Muhammad Farhad Tirmizi and Liaqat John, on Jan. 3 petitioned for his bail. In their petition, they stated to Additional Sessions Judge Anjum Raza Syed that police had registered a false case against Masih based on hearsay, and that police had not found any incriminating evidence.
 
Judge Syed, however, refused to grant bail to Masih on grounds that the case was “very sensitive, and bail to the accused would fan religious sentiments and cause a great mishap.”
 
Asif Aqeel, executive director of the Community Development Initiative (CDI), an affiliate of the European Centre for Law and Justice, told Compass that the lawyers hired by Masih’s relatives should not have petitioned the trial court for Masih’s bail so soon.

Click here to read the full article at Compass Direct.

I am heartbroken over the continual persecution happening to Christians in Nigeria.  Here is the latest news coming from Mission Network News.  Please pray for Nigeria and spread the word about what is happening with Christians in Nigeria.

 

Nigeria (MNN) ― Five more people are dead as Boko Haram continues its spread of terror across northern Nigeria. Churches have been attacked, Christians murdered, and now even Muslims are being targeted. Mostly those who are trying to protect Christians, or are sympathetic to them.

The most recent attack came when the Boko Haram Islamic Sect on Monday night invaded the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, barracks as well as a police station in Maiduguri, Borno State, killing five people including a soldier, two policemen and two civilians.

It's a quest to force the region into Sharia law

Africa Director for Christian Aid Mission Rae Burnett says missionaries they're supporting are reaching the unreached in these areas, but she's concerned that openness will end. "The fear is that the villagers will get word of this and be afraid to allow the Christian missionaries in. They've seen and appreciated the love of the Christians to be helpful to them. If Boko Haram gets word of it, they'll chase them out."

Up until just recently Boko Haram had been focusing on terror in major cities. But, that's changing, says Burnett. "Some of the villages in the north

This would destroy the work Christian Aid Mission has been able to do. It's already affected some of their partners. "Several of the missionaries have had to leave their fields because of the threats. Of course, these Boko Haram people have relatives everywhere. And if one of them is in one of these villages, then it can cause these missionaries trouble."

Christian Aid Mission supports national Christians who are focused on reaching the unreached. Burnett says, "Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa, and there are many, many areas that have not been reached with the Gospel. The ministry that we have, primarily, helped has been so successful."

Burnett says, "They came into being to reach one particular tribe, and they've grown. Now they're reaching 14 tribes. Most of them are in the north, which has been extremely closed to the Gospel."

Christian Aid Mission supports Nigerian believers who have a plan to reach the unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your financial support can help keep them work in these areas while the doors are still open.

Source: Mission Network News

Imagine being one of only three Christian families in a village of 1500 families.  Now imagine you were having a conversation about faith and you shared about your love for Jesus Christ, with the Muslims you were working with.  Next, imagine that your Muslim coworkers were insisting that you recant your faith in Jesus Christ and become a follower of Allah.  Imagine that you were beaten and then mocked and ridiculed publically so that all of the community would know you follow Jesus Christ.  Finally, imagine that you were arrested for blasphemy, put in jail, and had a death sentence hanging over your head.

How would you feel?  Would you stand firm in your faith?  Would you continue to stand for Jesus?

Sadly, this is not something that needs to be imagined for Asia Bibi, because she's living it and  today she remains in jail and awaits a death sentence.

Her crime in Pakistan...believing in Jesus Christ.  The cost she's paying...imprisonment, mockery, abuse, beatings, and possibly death.

Are you praying for Asia Bibi?  Have you signed the Call for Mercy petition yet, saying that you are standing with her?  If not, we're looking to get one million signatures for her.  Sign the Call for Mercy petition now!

For more information on Asia and to read the lastest updates on how she is doing, please click here and download a PDF we've produced from our Be-A-Voice Network.

Please click here to write a letter to Asia Bibi using our very simple Prisoner Alert program.  Every letter makes an impact.  Thank you for caring.

 

I am so excited to share with you an effort to keep Pastor Youcef in the international spotlight.  The Christian Post is reporting the following today, please share it with your friends and let's tweet!

In an effort to ensure the court case of Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani stay in the international spotlight, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has taken to the social media platform Twitter to maintain public awareness for Nadarkhani's plight.

The ACLJ is sponsoring the "Tweet for Youcef" campaign. The Twitter application would allow the ACLJ to send a daily tweet regarding Youcef Nadarkhani via another user's account.

The tweet would entail the number of days Nadarkhani has been imprisoned, facts about his court case, and a link back to the ACLJ's Nadarkhani information page. The tweet would end in "Via OfficialACLJ."

This is just one way human rights watchdogs are attempting to keep Nadarkhani's case in the public eye. Other organizations, including The Voice of the Martyrs USA, offers those following Nadarkhani's case the opportunity to write to him, offering him words of encouragement.

"The good news is that he has really stood firm in his faith, and the other good news is that the world is still paying attention," Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development at The Voice of the Martyrs, previously told The Christian Post.

Read the Full Article Here

Our friends at China Aid are reporting the following concerning Zhu Yufu.  Please add your prayers and share with your praying friends.

(Hangzhou, Zhejiang—Jan. 29, 2012) A longtime political dissident and baptized Christian, Zhu Yufu, is scheduled to go on trial on Tuesday for allegedly “inciting subversion of state power,” ChinaAid has learned.

Zhu was formally charged earlier this month after having been held in detention for 10 months in Hangzhou, coastal Zhejiang province.  He will be defended by at the trial before the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court by the well-known Christian human rights lawyers Li Baiguang and Li Duiyong of the Beijing Gongxin Law Firm.

Zhu’s political activism dates back to the 1979 Democracy Wall movement, and he had previously been imprisoned twice for a total of nine years. 

This time, he was summoned by police from the Wangjiang police station in the Shangcheng Sub-division on March 5, 2011 and taken into custody for a poem Zhu wrote and posted online around the time of the Arab “Jasmine Revolution” calling on people to take to the streets.

See ChinaAid’s earlier reports on Zhu’s case:   

http://www.chinaaid.org/2012/01/updates-one-christian-charged-with.html http://www.chinaaid.org/2011/05/christian-human-rights-law-firm-takes.html

Increasing violence in Nigeria has only strengthened local Christians’ faith, even sparking a revival at the Deeper Life Bible Church in Gombe, where nine Christians were martyred in a Jan. 5 attack on the church. During a funeral service on Jan. 19 for those killed, many believers rededicated their lives to Christ, and others came to faith in Christ for the first time, according to a VOM worker.

Weeping and singing on their knees, a choir led about 500 attendees and 50 pastors in worship. The martyrs’ relatives and other dignitaries — including the deputy governor speaking on behalf of the state’s governor — spoke about each murdered Christian. The four-hour service then moved on to intercessory prayer for the church in Nigeria, the nation at large, Muslims in Nigeria and the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram.

“The leader of the prayers based most of the prayers from the book of Isaiah 61:1–4, among other scriptures, which strengthen and encourage the Church. He encouraged the Church to be more prayerful than complaining,” said the VOM worker. “He said the Lord knows how to fight his own battle in his own way, and we should not revenge whatsoever.”

On Jan. 5, Godwin Odoh, a 36-year-old teacher, was leading prayers at a weekly meeting called “The Hour of Revival.” When the church came under attack, Godwin was shot in the head, chest and legs and died instantly. Eight other attendees were also killed, including children as young as 10 years old and a pastor’s wife.

Ten days later, 72-year-old Yahaya Wuro Buntu, a pastor at Deeper Life Bible Church, was brutally murdered by a group of men who came to his house asking about the Christian faith. Yahaya was often sought out by Muslims to discuss Christianity, so he welcomed the men into his home. The men subdued him, took him to an uncompleted building near his house and killed him, according to a VOM worker. His life was celebrated during the Jan. 19 memorial service for the nine Christians killed during the church attack.

Ever since Boko Haram published an ultimatum on Jan. 3, 2012, threatening violence if Christians did not leave northern Nigeria, the extremist group has claimed responsibility for the murders of at least 44 Christians. On Jan. 22, Muslim extremists and members of Boko Haram attacked a church in Bauchi state, killing at least seven more Christians.

Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass Direct News that Christian leaders have decided to find a way to defend themselves against the senseless killings. “We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves,” Oritsejafor said. “We will do whatever it takes.”

Sources: VOM contacts, Compass Direct News

A few months ago, American missionary Jessica Buchanan, was captured by Somali kidnappers, while doing mission work in Africa. The following video report is from CBN News and explains what happened to her, and the good news being reported today is that she has been rescued and is on her way home. Read more here about her rescue.

Pakistan (MNN) ― After hundreds of thousands of signatures, Voice of the Martyrs is still calling for more to speak up on behalf of believer Asia Bibi.

In November 2010, Bibi was falsely accused of blasphemy and thereby sentenced to death by the Lahore High Court of Pakistan.

Bibi has been in jail ever since. Although she appealed the case, no verdict has been made. She remains apart from her husband and two daughters. If the High Court does decide that Bibi is guilty, the case could be appealed to Pakistan's Supreme Court.

Voices have not been silent about Bibi. VOM's Todd Nettleton recently told Assist News that the number of international signatures on a petition for Bibi's freedom has now reached well over half a million.

The petition was delivered to the Pakistani Embassy when it had just 400,000 signatures in November. Since then, 160,000 more have signed for Bibi's release.

"More than 560,000 people around the world have signed a petition asking the Pakistani government to release Asia Bibi, a Christian wife and mother falsely accused of blasphemy against Mohammed and sentenced to death by a Pakistani court," noted Nettleton.

The online petition, at www.CallForMercy.com, was launched by The Voice of the Martyrs after 150,000 Pakistani Christians started the petition calling for justice for Asia Bibi and better protection of religious minorities in Pakistan.

The goal now is to reach one million signatures asking for Bibi's release. Help reach one million by clicking here so the Gospel might spread freely in Pakistan in the future.

Source: Thank you to Mission Network News for covering this with us.

Today I would like to share with you all a convicting devotion that I received a few days ago from Grace Gems.  Normally, I post an excerpt from the wonderful book Extreme Devotion, but today I thought I'd mix it up a little and share with you this powerful thought from J.C. Ryle called The Cost.

"Any of you who does not give up everything he has, cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:33

What does it cost to be a Christian?

I grant freely that it costs little to be a mere outward Christian. A man has only got to attend a place of worship twice on Sunday, and to be tolerably moral during the week--and he has gone as far as thousands around him ever go in religion. All this is cheap and easy work--it entails no self-denial or self-sacrifice. If this is saving Christianity and will take us to Heaven when we die--we must alter the description of the way of life, and write, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to Heaven!"

But it does cost something to be a real Christian, according to the standard of the Bible. There are . . .
  enemies to be overcome,
  battles to be fought,
  sacrifices to be made,
  an Egypt to be forsaken,
  a wilderness to be passed through,
  a cross to be carried,
  a race to be run.
Conversion is not putting a man in a soft armchair, and taking him pleasantly to Heaven. It is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory. Hence arises the unspeakable importance of "counting the cost."

True Christianity will cost a man . . .
  his self-righteousness,
  his sins,
  his love of ease, and
  the favor of the world.

A religion which costs nothing--is worth nothing!

A cheap, easy Christianity, without a cross--will prove in the end a useless Christianity, without a crown!

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

You may want to read the whole of Ryle's challenging article, "The Cost!"

Source: Grace Gems