Source: pinstamatic.com via Stacy on Pinterest

Today I'd like to remind you that we have some really great online classes in our VOM Classroom and we'd love for you to join us.

The VOM Classroom provides an opportunity to learn about the persecuted church through FREE online classes, such as Muslim Evangelism Foundational Understandings:The Truth of the Gospel, Intercessory Prayer for the Persecuted Church, and Biblical Studies in Persecution and Suffering: Old Testament (Open Classroom).

We also have new classes that will be offered soon.

And, in case you feel like you have to be around for a certain day and time, the good news is that all  classes are self-paced, and let me say it again, now all classes are also FREE. Yeah!

So what are you waiting for?  Click here to start your education today!

Syria (MNN) ― Western nations including Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United States announced the expulsions of Syrian diplomats after a massacre in that country over the weekend. The coordinated attacks left more than 100 dead; a little over 30 of them were children. French and Australian leaders called President Assad a murderer and vowed to hold accountable those who were responsible for the atrocities.

Voice of the Martyrs Todd Nettleton says, "The violence seems to just be escalating."

While this latest attack is tragic, one thing is certain, says Nettleton. "We haven't seen a lot of Christians being targeted specifically because they are Christians. There have been a few instances where we've seen that, but it hasn't been widespread at this point." He believes it's the result of more political upheaval and two political factions fighting against each other.

Nettleton says Christians have not been publicly critical of Assad, and that could cause problems. "So you have people who look at that and say, 'Well, look: the church is on the side of Assad in this conflict. And really, what the church wants is the freedom to hold services, to be protected, to be safe. They have identified with the government because the people in control could offer them some sense of safety, some sense of protection."

While there is fear and uncertainty, Nettleton says Syrian Christians are telling him, "You can plant a church in a day because there is so much hunger for the Gospel. [People are] worried. They're thinking about eternity. And so, there is a great mission field, even though it's happening within the context of violence war and uncertainty."

Voice of the Martyrs is involved with Syrian Christians, says Nettleton. "We are working with the church. We are working to provide Bibles and support [believers] even as they're doing outreach, even as they are planting churches and reacing others with the Gospel message."

You can support the persecuted church in Syria and around the world. Click here.

Source: Mission Network News

On this Memorial Day, we remember all of our veterans who have served all over the world. We also remember Him who died in our place.

Enjoy this classic song from Twila Paris. Have a safe Memorial Day.

At the end of World War II, the German soldiers knew the Soviets would take them to a labor camp in Siberia and that many of them would die there. The Soviet army had just taken the city from the Nazis, so when the two soldiers found an opportunity, they ran away from the group. They wandered fearfully through the dark streets of Bucharest, Romania.

    When they spotted the Lutheran chapel, they were ecstatic, because the Romanian Lutherans were of German descent. But when they discovered the people inside were Jewish, their fears returned.
    

The pastor immediately calmed their fears. “We are Jews but also Christians, and we don’t give anyone seeking refuge into the hand of their enemies.”

    At that time, if any Romanians were caught hiding Germans, they would be put to death immediately. But to the kind pastor, the Germans—still in their Nazi uniforms—were lost souls in need of a Savior. He would help them just as he had helped persecuted Jews.
    

He told them, “We have suffered greatly under the German occupation. Whether or not you are personally guilty, we are not your judges. We offer you our home and civilian clothing so you can make your way to Germany. We do this to prove God’s great love and mercy for you. He alone can offer you freedom from your guilt.”

Love makes people do strange things. A couple in love will go to great lengths to demonstrate their exclusive devotion. Likewise, a mother loves a child like no other person on earth. Yet the love between Christ and the believer is not just between the two of them. It is the strangest love of all, for it does not thrive on being exclusive. In fact, it is the only love relationship that grows by being inclusive of others. We must love others with Christian love in order to show our devotion to Christ. We show Christ extreme love if we are willing to love those who have not loved us back. Who is God asking you to love today for his sake?

One of the things I love about living in the 21st century is modern technology.  We have the opportunity now to spread the gospel in some pretty cool ways that generations before us could never do.  So when I see people on the relatively new social media network, Pinterest, which has been around since 2009, but has really exploded in popularity at the end of 2011 and this year, I just have to say that I get very excited.

If you do a search on Pinterest for The Voice of the Martyrs, there are numerous individuals who have "spread the word" about the persecuted church and the ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs.

So I would like to give you all a great big shout out and a big THANK YOU for doing this and encourage you to "pin on" and keep spreading the word about the persecuted church.

Here are just a few of the pins people have posted.

 

Source: freejesusmovie.com via Janie on Pinterest

Source: etools.ncol.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

Source: biblesunbound.com via Julie on Pinterest

What will you pin?? :)

This weeks Persecution Podcast is now LIVE!  If you have a few minutes, then we'd love it if you clicked here to listen to this short 4 minute podcast.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes also.

This week David shares prayer requests for North Africa, Indonesia, Laos and Iran.

Thank you for printing up these requests and praying over them and sharing them with your praying networks.

Iran--Government Tracks Christians
Source: Mohabat News

Acts 12:24

The Ministry of Intelligence has ordered the leaders of a Christian church in Tehran to submit the names and national identification numbers of its members to authorities. Viewed as an attempt to deter Christians from attending church, the order will reveal the identity of Christian converts and enable security authorities to record detailed information about Christians. Although this most recent restriction will make church attendance riskier, previous restrictions have failed to decrease the rate of Christian conversions. Last February, the Ministry of Intelligence banned Farsi services at the only two churches holding Farsi services on Friday, when most people are off work. Pray that this most recent restriction will fail to hinder the spread of the gospel in Iran.

Laos--Mother Expels Children from Home
Source: VOM Contacts

Luke 21:16

An 18-year-old boy and 20-year-old girl have been expelled from their home because of their Christian faith. When their mother became extremely ill, village elders claimed that the spirits were displeased because the two Christian children were living in the house. An older son tried to persuade his brother and sister to recant their faith, but they refused. Their mother then accused them of hating their older brother and wishing him dead. She threw their belongings out of the house and told them to leave. The two Christians immediately moved to a Christian village where they originally heard the gospel, and they were welcomed with open arms. Pray for these two brave Christians as they begin a new life away from their family.

Indonesia--Churches Forced to Close
Source: Compass Direct News

Psalm 9:10

Seventeen churches were forced to close in early May after the election of a hard-line Islamic governor in Indonesia’s Aceh Province. The churches were closed under a controversial agreement that Christians signed in 2001, stating that only one church and four chapels would be allowed. Because building permits have been routinely denied or delayed, many Christians worship in houses and other buildings. There are reportedly 12,000 Christians living in this area. Pray for continued growth despite the number of churches being closed.

North Africa
VOM Project

Pray for the printing and distribution of 2,000 copies of the Bible in one of the main languages of people in a severely restricted area.

The following press release is from our friends at China Aid, please pray.

(Yinan, Shandong—May 24, 2012) ChinaAid has learned that blind lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng’s older brother, Chen Guangfu, escaped from his home in Shandong province, where he was under strict surveillance, and has made it to Beijing where he is seeking legal help for his son, who has been charged with intent to murder.

ChinaAid expresses its indignation and condemnation of the authorities of Yunan county in coastal Shandong province for their continued persecution of the family of Chen Guangcheng, who arrived in the United States over the weekend, and for illegally restricting the personal freedom of Chen’s older brother, Chen Guangfu, in their home village of Dongshigu. Chen Guangfu fled Wednesday morning and made it to Beijing Wednesday night where he is appealing for help in his son Chen Kegui’s case.

ChinaAid appeals to the Chinese side to earnestly implement the agreement reached with the United States and, in accordance with the law, to investigate the legal responsibility and accountability of local officials involved in the persecution of Chen Guangcheng and his relatives.

ChinaAid also calls on the international community to once again focus international attention on Chen Guangfu’s family, and urges the worldwide church to intercede in prayer, that God's righteousness flow unobstructed throughout the world.

ChinaAid has suggested that Chen Guangfu stay in Beijing to continue his efforts on behalf of his son Chen Kegui, so as to avoid his own illegal arrest and detention prior to a just resolution to his son’s case.

The Chen Guangcheng incident is not yet over.

 

When I consider the suffering of Jesus Christ, one of the verses that has always impacted me is Matthew 27:30 which says, "And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head."

The reason this verse has always bothered me is because it's so degrading.  Everything Jesus went through, from being spit on to being hung publically for a crime He did not commit, is heartbreaking and humiliating, and yet, as followers of Christ, we're taught that Christians will suffer for following Him.

So when we see a story like this one today, where an Islamic mob actually threw urine on a church, this is degrading, but not surprising.  What this reveals instead is how dark the human heart is without Christ and why we need to be fervent in our prayers for those who are lost.

Here's part of the Compass Direct news piece about this incident.

Pastor receives death threat; no arrests so far.

NEW DELHI, May 23 (CDN) — No arrests have been made since 600 Islamists hurled bags filled with urine and ditchwater at about 100 members of a church last week and threatened to kill its pastor.

Police looked on as the mob attacked the Philadelphia Batak Christian Protestant Church worshipping on the street in Bekasi, near Jakarta in West Java Province, on Thursday (May 17), church attorney Saor Siagian told Compass by phone.

The mob, which included the chairman of the Bekasi chapter of the extremist Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), began to throw urine, ditchwater, rotten eggs, stones and dirt when Pastor Palti Panjaitan came to address the congregation. The church had to disperse, Siagian said.

Pastor Panjaitan told local media he received a death threat and has filed a police complaint.  Full story here.

Please pray and fast for those ensnared in sin who do not yet know Christ.  Pray for justice for this church and the pastor and pray for protection over these believers.