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Murat and Amina were in urgent need of assistance when they arrived at an aid warehouse run by Operation Mobilisation (OM) in Bosnia. Amina’s husband was desperately sick and they had no means or money to heat their home. Supplying valuable fuel the OM workers prayed for Amina, her husband and Murat, and left them with some Christian literature to read. As the OM team distributed copies of Scripture on the streets of the town nearby, they often saw Murat. They were even more overjoyed when they heard this man from an Islamic background ask if he could join their Christian prayer meetings. Over the next weeks, Murat became a regular attender at church and made a decision to accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Today he and his new Christian wife lead a Bible study group in their home. Murat can also be found distributing portions of Scripture on Bosnia’s streets.
Pray: for Murat and Amina as they share their new-found faith that others would meet with Jesus. (Pr.7:14)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.fire.of.faith.burns.bright.in.bosnia/29329.htm
The Netherlands is learning that establishing red light districts and cannabis-selling coffee shops may not have been a great idea after all. For Paul Schnabel, director of the Social and Cultural Planning Office, a government advisory board, the move reflects a growing view that the tolerance policies have not controlled the ills associated with drugs and prostitution, rather a recasting of Dutch liberalism. The circumstances that led to the tolerance policies have changed in the past decade, as large-scale crime around coffee shops and the legal sex trade became more visible. In particular, the absence of legal means for coffee shops to obtain cannabis has highlighted their association with organized crime. The open-minded instincts that helped foster the policies are also being questioned. And it is not just the far-right opposing these coffee shops. The traditional parties of power on the centre-right, the Christian Democrats and the Liberal VVD, have also moved against the policies they once promoted. Pray: that Netherlands’ politicians arrive at sensible decisions regarding drugs. (Jer. 44:8)
The Cyprus effect is a decision made to obtain financial aid and to prevent the island nation of Cyprus from going bankrupt. Just three weeks into the job, and Nicos Anastasiades, the Cypriot president, is tackling the nation's debt crisis head-on, saying he had no choice but to force savers to forfeit up to 10 per cent of their deposits to avoid a catastrophic banking collapse. Cypriots themselves are furious and they have responded by trying to clear out their accounts. People with savings of less than $130,000 will pay a one off tax of 6.75 per cent. Those with anything more in their accounts will forfeit 9.9 per cent of their savings. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was worth over $24bn in 2011 - and the proposed bailout is more than half that figure. The levies would generate $7,5bn - with depositors being compensated with the equivalent amount of bank shares.
Pray: that the moves by the government will have the desired effect and bring stability to the country.
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/03/201331862719774592.html
The Swiss Federal Police are worried that Islamic terrorists are using Switzerland as a base. ‘Suspected jihadis continue to use Switzerland as a base to support extremist Islamist groups by placing propaganda and incitement to violence on the web,’ FedPol said in its annual report published on Thursday, newspaper Tribune de Geneve reported. A new specialist department, formed at the beginning of 2011, has been looking into the websites and their operators.
Pray: that all terrorist groups would be exposed and the authorities would be given the power to control them and stop their activities.
The coordinator of a Muslim initiative to promote common ground with Christians says that leaders of the two religions have a duty to protect adherents of the other faith against followers of their own. ‘For both our religions harming religious minorities among us is evil, is absolutely forbidden and is ultimately a rejection of God's love and a crime against God Himself,’ Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad Bin Talal of Jordan said on the opening day of a 1-4 November meeting of Muslim and Christian leaders and scholars in Geneva. Prince Ghazi is the co-ordinator of the ‘Common Word’ initiative, a document released in 2007 by 138 Muslim scholars seeking common ground between Christian and Islamic religious traditions. See Common Word Organizers say it is intended to address issues of common concern and provide guidance for co-operation between Muslims and Christians. Addressing participants, WCC General Secretary the Rev Olav Fykse Tveit said religious leaders need to provide ‘moral leadership’ in their communities. Pray: that the truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit permeates all discussions. (1Cor.2:13)
The number of assisted suicides for Swiss residents has risen by 700 per cent in the space of 11 years, according to new figures. In what is believed to be a first, Switzerland’s Federal Statistics Office has published official statistics showing how many people ended their lives by assisted dying between 1998 and 2009. Almost 300 Swiss residents died in this manner only in the year 2009, compared to just 43 in 1998. The vast majority of people were over 55, and the figures also showed that women were more likely to be killed by assisted suicide than men. Figures from Dignitas, a Swiss suicide clinic, showed that the organisation helped 1,298 people commit suicide between 1998 and 2011. The news follows a debate in the House of Commons last week, where an attempt to undermine the law against assisted suicide was unanimously rejected by MPs. The Commons gave unanimous backing to an amendment encouraging the development of specialist palliative care services.
Pray: that this growing trend would be halted. Also pray for the adoption of specialist palliative care such as has been introduced in the UK. (Pr.15:24)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/swiss-assisted-suicides-rise-sevenfold-in-11-years/
A Swedish ban on mentioning Jesus in school Advent services has been attacked by Government ministers – with one calling it ‘ridiculous’. Last week the National Agency for Education in Sweden said end of term services in church were allowed, but prayers, blessings or declarations of faith were prohibited. However, Education Minister Jan Björklund said ‘pastors should be able to read the Christmas gospel, refer to the Bible, and explain why we celebrate this Christian holiday’. He criticised the agency’s interpretation of the law, and commented: ‘If this ridiculous debate continues year after year, I’m ready to review the Education Act’. Social Minister Göran Hägglund said he was ‘tired’ of having the discussion, commenting: ‘The National Agency for Education is straining out gnats and swallowing camels.’ Mr Hägglund said Swedish students have bigger things to worry about’.
Pray: against those who attack our faith; and pray that the Education Minister will use his influence to bring about changes in the law. (2Tim.1:13)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/row-over-swedish-school-ban-on-mentioning-jesus-at-advent/
Police reinforcements were deployed to Stockholm on Friday to help quell unrest as rioting continued for a sixth straight night, spreading beyond the Swedish capital. (See Prayer Alert 21-2013) A nearly week-long spate of rioting spread outside Stockholm on Friday but authorities said police reinforcements sent to the Swedish capital had reduced the violence there, even though dozens of youths set cars and a recycling station ablaze. The rioting - set off earlier this month by the police shooting of a 69-year-old man - continued for a sixth night in mainly poor immigrant areas in Stockholm. The rioting has exposed a fault-line between a well-off majority and a minority - often young people with immigrant backgrounds - who are poorly educated, cannot find work and feel pushed to the edge of society. Two cars were torched in Stockholm but the city appeared to have had its calmest night since the trouble began.
Pray: for a solution to this problem and that the way of peace will be found. (2Tim.2:22)
More: http://www.france24.com/en/20130525-sweden-riots-spread-beyond-stockholm
Rioters have lit fires and stoned emergency services in the suburbs of Stockholm for the third night in a row after a man was shot dead by police. Incidents were reported in at least nine suburbs of the Swedish capital and police made eight arrests. On Sunday night, more than 100 cars were set alight, Swedish media report. Police in the deprived, largely immigrant suburb of Husby shot a man dead last week after he reportedly threatened to kill them with a machete. The founder of a local youth group told Swedish media the riots were a reaction to 'police brutality'. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told reporters on Tuesday that Sweden would not be intimidated by rioters. On Tuesday night, cars were torched in western and southern Stockholm, and stones were thrown at police officers and fire-fighters. One area affected, Rinkeby, saw similar rioting in 2010.
Pray: that the authorities will find a solution to this rioting to bring a peaceful outcome. (Lk.2:14)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22622909
There was concern over the plight of several Iranian Christian asylum seekers in Sweden after Swedish authorities decided to deport them despite fears they may be jailed or even executed there, Christians said. It comes after Swedish authorities reportedly already deported one asylum seeker, identified as Mohammad-Reza Hamedi on February 15 this year. ‘We are four Iranian human rights activists who object to the racist politics of the Swedish government towards the asylum seeker's community and strongly condemn the deportation of Mohammad-Reza Hamedi on February 15, 2012,’ said activists in a statement distributed by Mohabat News. They said they have urged Sweden to immediately release asylum seekers including Christians Mohammad-Ali Hodaei, Yasin Elyasi and Mohammad-Reza Hamedian Esfahani from a detention centre. Mohammad-Ali Hodaei, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, told Swedish media in February that ‘If it is Jesus' will for me to return to Iran, I'll submit to his will and he will protect me Himself.’
Pray: for wisdom for the authorities as they consider deportation and pray that they will release those involved. (Ps.25:15)
More: http://www.bosnewslife.com/21376-sweden-plans-deportation-iranian-christians-despite-dangers