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Police detained three Christians on false charges of alcohol possession in Sialkot last week at the request of their Muslim employer. The men objected to their boss demanding they work on Sundays. The factory owner seemed to object to the crosses the Christians wore since they began work for him last year. He used to look at the cross with strange looks. Since February no one has been allowed to wear a cross at work. In March he began demanding that only the Christian employees come to work on Sundays. When two workers objected Factory owner Rana Ejaz promptly accused them of selling alcohol, which is forbidden to Muslims in Pakistan and illegal to sell without a permit. They were arrested, severely beaten and asked to give a false statement that they sold alcohol. The factory owner reportedly said, ‘I did all this on the advice of the SHO, Zulfiqar, so that I could terminate the Christian workers.’
Pray: that God would strengthen Pakistan’s Christians as they continue to demonstrate reason for the hope that they have in Jesus. (2Pe.1:2)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/19189/
A US/South Korean fact-finding team will visit North Korea on Tuesday to conduct an eight day investigation into people starving in remote regions. They hope to assess the amount of food necessary to relieve thousands of people. A South Korean spokesman said, ‘Transparency of the North’s distribution of food must be guaranteed before any food is sent’. Pyongyang’s past reluctance to disclose their food distribution process to outsiders sparked suspicions that most of the aid is used to feed its army and political elite. It is suspected Kim Jong-ll is stockpiling rice to release on the 100th anniversary of its founder Kim Il-sung next year. - See: For scandalous information from a Christian missionary detained in North Korea for two months please read this weeks Insight report. Pray:for all that is hidden to be revealed. For God to rule over and throughout all negotiations and investigations (Pr,16:4,5) Info: http://www.prayer-alert.net/info/NorthKoreaSuffering1.pdf
An increase in violence against Christians in northern Iraq has increased the flow of Christians leaving the country. The north, generally considered a relatively safe area of the country, had become home for many Christians fleeing from the tumultuous central and southern regions. However, several bombings in the north in recent months have caused panic among the Christian community. On September 22nd a suicide bomb went off outside the home of a Christian politician in the Kirkuk province, injuring 19 people, including three children. Several bomb attacks have also taken place in the northern city of Erbil, for which Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. In early September, Christians in the village of Deshtakh complained that they were facing harassment from local police. A group of Christian young people said that policemen told them that they ‘should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory’.
Pray: for the future of Christianity in this country and an end to the present trend of increased violence. (SoS.2:12)
As winter approaches, floods and frosty relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are putting the lives of millions of North Koreans at risk because of local food shortages. Representatives of the Catholic Apostolate Council of Korea met at the Fifth Forum for Intra-Korean Reconciliation in Seoul to discuss ways to end the North-South row to help their fellow Koreans in the North. The archbishop of Seoul asked lay Catholics to help their northern brothers and sisters despite the worsening relations between the two governments; and a deputy director of the Rural Economic Institute said ‘In addition to providing food aid, we can help local researchers develop better farming methods to boost local production. We can also plant trees to lessen the impact of flooding.’ Auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seoul said, ‘If we ignore our brothers and sisters in the North, we must ask ourselves whether we are true Christians or not.’ Praise: God for opening avenues of Christian outreach to North Korea and ask Him to empower the dialogue towards reconciliation. (2Cor.5:18) More: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Reconciliation-and-food-aid-for-North-Koreans-19946.html
A massive persecution of Christians by an Islamic government is under way in Sudan, and an estimated 700,000 Sudanese, most of them Christian, must leave the country for South Sudan by April under a law passed by the north after South Sudan voted to secede. Ethnically South Sundanese must leave the north or apply for ‘alien residency’ despite many—some studies say most—of these people have lived their whole lives in north Sudan. Human Rights Watch warns, ‘Statements and actions of Sudanese government officials indicate that they are reading these laws to mean that anyone living in Sudan with even one great-grandparent born in South Sudan will lose their Sudanese citizenship, irrespective of whether they have acquired—or want to acquire—South Sudanese citizenship.’ The proposal flies in the face of international law, as the individuals have a legitimate claim to Sudanese citizenship, having lived in Sudan their entire lives and there is currently no way for them to apply for South Sudanese citizenship.
Pray God will strengthen his people as they struggle under this illegal and morally disastrous plan. (Phil.1:28,29)
North Korea is in total crisis. Persecution of Christians is more severe there than anywhere else in the world. Famine holds vast swathes of the nation in its grip and untold thousands live in poverty and misery. The populace are kept ignorant of the outside world and forcibly indoctrinated into ‘Juche’ ideology focusing on the self-sufficiency of man. It teaches a trinity consisting of the father (deceased leader Kim Il-Sung), son (current leader Kim Jong-Il) and the ‘Juche spirit’ of self-reliance. Christians in North Korea are forced to keep their faith secret as all religions are harshly suppressed and those who are discovered face torture, labour camp and even death. Please pray for strength and courage for the estimated 50,000 Christians currently in North Korea’s prison camps. Pray also for secure printing and distribution of Bibles to North Korean Christians, and safe outreach work amongst North Korean defectors in China’s border areas. Pray: that many North Koreans respond to the hope and truth of the triune God, and for Christians to be strengthened. (Mal.4:2)
'North Korea is grappling with an unfavourable situation but the regime’s tight grip on its people will prevent any Arab-style uprising’, South Korea’s defence minister said Wednesday. ‘The state of affairs in the North is indeed inauspicious and anything can happen there,’ Kim Kwan-Jin said in a forum. ‘We may consider whether the Jasmine Revolution could find its way into North Korea,’ the minister added. The impoverished North suffers persistent food shortages and downpours this month battered many areas. United Nations agencies say more than six million people urgently need food aid. The South, which blames its neighbour for two deadly border incidents last year, refuses to provide government aid. Pray: that God would open avenues for Christians to serve where aid and resources are in short supply. (Is.32:3) More: http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/20/n-korea-can-avert-uprising-s-korea-minister.html
Three leaders of an underground house church in North Korea were executed and 20 Christian associates jailed after police raided a house and arrested all 23 believers gathered for a 'religious function'. Three 'ringleaders' were tried, sentenced to death and executed soon afterwards. The other 20 were reportedly sent to prison camp No.15 in Yodok. The arrests and executions happened in May but news has only just emerged. The events were confirmed by North Korea Intellectual Solidarity, a group of North Korean defectors based in Seoul committed to raising awareness of injustice and promoting reform in their homeland. The 23 Christians had come to faith after a few travelled to mainland China on business and came into contact with Christians. Pray: that Christians in North Korea would powerfully experience God’s protective provision as they secretly worship and live in fear of their lives. (Ps.9:12-13)
With North Korea's Kim Jong-Il’s death there is fear and uncertainty. Only God knows what will happen next but we can pray for His purposes to be fulfilled through this event. North Korea is the world’s worst persecutor of Christians, the following statements are from a Prayer Alert INSIGHT article published earlier this year. ‘Those discovered to have any kind of faith or religious belief (and their families to three generations) are executed or sent to concentration camps for life; a North Korean concentration camp survivor told Congress North Korea’s No.1 enemy is God; a nuclear holocaust would be inevitable if South Korea engaged North Korea in war.’ See Open Doors requests prayer for the ‘Secret Christians’ within the government to gain more power and influence, for Christians to share about Jesus without fear of retaliation, and for the 50,000 Christians in prison camps.
Pray: that the change of leadership would bring about a shaking and eventual removal of North Korea’s tyranny. (Ps.10:14,15)
God loves North Korea yet few there know of his character. The Church in North Korea exists within a climate of fear and oppression whilst its political leaders teach a religion of self-reliance and isolation from the nations called Juche. Christians in the UK are signing up to pray for North Korea over the next two years with Project Cyrus, an initiative of BMS World Mission. North Korean Christians face imprisonment and torture if their faith is discovered by the authorities. BMS are looking for individuals to intercede for a new freedom in North Korea that allows believers to share the good news of Jesus without persecution. Individuals and churches that sign up will receive free monthly updates, a bookmark and prayer wristband. There are also regular PowerPointsfor church services and prayer meetings.
Pray: that many across the UK will catch God’s compassion and vision for North Korea as they commit to pray regularly for change. (1Tim. 2:1-2)
More: http://www.bmsworldmission.org/support-us/pray-with-us/project-cyrus/sign-a-church