Grandmother may lose her home over same-sex wedding

Grandmother may lose her home over same-sex wedding
 
A florist named Barronelle Stutzman was informed by a Washington state judge on Wednesday that she must provide full support for same-sex weddings, even though such ceremonies are contrary to her faith.  The court also ruled recently that she is personally liable for damages, meaning that the 70-year-old grandmother could lose her business, her home, and her life savings.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in 10 states are responding to the tragedy of college rapes by promoting bills that would permit the carrying of firearms on campus.  "If you've got a person that's raped because you wouldn't let them carry a firearm to defend themselves, I think you're responsible," a Florida lawmaker stated.

And ISIS has made more headlines, this time with reports that they burned alive up to 40 people near the town of al-Baghdadi.  The massacre occurred just nine miles from an airbase where some 400 U.S. military personnel are stationed.  And it follows the video of the martyrdom of 21 Egyptian Christians released last Sunday.

Now consider this news item.  Tourists flocked to see Niagara Falls this week when temperatures fell to 13 degrees below zero.  The reason: layers of ice built up, creating a stunning winter wonderland.  However, water continued to flow beneath the ice.  The Falls have stopped completely only once—in 1848, due to an ice jam upriver.

Having just returned from Chicago, where the temperatures ranged from eight above to two below, I have a new appreciation for real winter.  (In Dallas, anything near 32 degrees qualifies as Arctic, to the amusement of friends who migrated from the north.)  And I see the "frozen" Niagara Falls as something of a parable.

In a culture that seems to grow more violent and anti-Christian with each day, it's easy to miss what God is doing that doesn't make news.  Like a river flowing beneath a frozen waterfall, his Spirit continues to advance his Kingdom.  Unconfessed sin can act like an ice jam blocking his Spirit's work in our lives.  But nothing we do can prevent the Lord of the universe from accomplishing his ultimate purposes in his creation. (Tweet this)

I've recently been studying the biblical story of Joseph.  After his father died, his brothers were afraid that he would exact revenge for the atrocities they had committed against him.  But this young man, now the most powerful man in Egypt next to the pharaoh, took a different view of their cruelty: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Genesis 50:20).  Joseph could look back over years of hardship and see the providential hand of God at work.

John Baines observed that "the first step toward the solution of any problem is optimism."  What God said to Joshua, he says to us: "Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).  Name your challenges today, surrender them to your omnipotent Father, and trust him for his best. (Tweet this)

Winston Churchill noted: "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."  Which are you?

Light for the World

Light for the World  

Children participate in a Christmas program that proclaims Christ in northern India, where Hindu extremists increasingly targets such events. Opposition is not limited to Hindu extremists; one young woman who was recently baptized came to the wife of the married couple that leads the ministry that put on the Christmas program, saying in tears that her father had commanded that she marry a Hindu man. After praying, the ministry leader told her she had no choice but to marry him, and that perhaps through her he would come to Christ. Months later, the ministry leader saw the young couple joyfully approaching. “We both are coming from the church,” the young woman said; her husband had put his faith in Jesus and was attending worship with her.

Veteran Pastor’s Gentle Answers Turn Away Wrath in India

Veteran Pastor’s Gentle Answers Turn Away Wrath in India

February 19, 2015

Children participate at a ministry Christmas event.

Adept at gently answering the hostilities of radical Hindus, threatening Muslims, and suspicious government authorities, a pastor in northern India found himself facing an inflammatory media question last December.
Amid a roiling controversy about religious conversion in India, an interviewer from a Delhi television station asked the pastor and leader of an evangelistic ministry in Uttar Pradesh, Sanjay Sankar*, whether conversions should be allowed. High-level Hindu nationalists were proposing that conversions be prohibited.
Working in an area where harassment from radical Hindus preempts public evangelistic events and nearly half of the residents are Muslims whose prohibition of leaving Islam sometimes leads to violence, the pastor appeared to be driven into a corner wherein anything he said would pour fuel onto the fires of controversy.
He surprised the journalist by answering that he was not only against forced conversion, but “totally against any religious conversion.” He opposes religious conversion, Sankar said, because Christianity is not a “religion” – a man-made cosmology with an accompanying set of duties – but faith in a person.
“Jesus never taught about religious conversion,” Sankar said. “He taught about conversion of the heart, and that we preach.”
The interviewer pressed him, asking him if he converted people.
“I cannot convert people. I teach them from the Bible what we believe, and the law in our country is that everyone is free to preach his or her religion, and everyone is free to change his religion,” he said. “But if you want to talk about that, I share what I believe, and it’s Jesus who converts them. It is Jesus who changes their heart, and if they start coming to my church, it is not my problem. It is His problem. Go and ask Him!”
When the interviewer asked him what he meant by conversion of the heart, he responded that while Hinduism’s concept of dharma implies first and foremost right behaviors and duties, Christianity is first and foremost a faith, from which good works follow.
“Christianity is not a duty to go to church, convert people, or do this or that,” the pastor told him. “But Christianity is first belief, and anyone can do it, even you can believe in Jesus Christ.”
The pastor thus sidestepped controversy and remained true to his convictions. After the interview was broadcast that night, Hindu and Muslim friends told him of their admiration of his responses. Thus he strengthened bridges for further gospel proclamation.

A dairy farm would allow the ministry’s boarding school to be self-supporting.

The pastor’s emphasis on sharing blessings, rather than erecting barriers, has led to a ministry that has trained 127 indigenous missionaries and pastors, planted 200 churches (10 among largely unreached Bhojpuri-speaking people), established a children’s home and school for 800 kids, vocational training for women, and conducted outreaches involving youth camps, literacy classes, family counseling, film and literature distribution, and hand-pumps for clean drinking water.
The federal government, a coalition led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is also keenly interested in whether Sankar is “converting” people.
“One day an officer called from the registration department, where they register the societies,” he said. “He asked how many children do you have, how many are Hindus, how many are Christians, how many have you converted? And I really laughed, I said I have not converted anyone, it is God in Jesus who converts people.”
People in India, he said, don’t want to hear about Christ. They already know about him, with many counting him among their hundreds of gods. Rather, they want to see Him, he said. The outreaches are crucial for showing people the love of Christ in an area where large evangelistic rallies are no longer possible. In the past two years, especially, he said, Hindu radicals would throw stones or otherwise disrupt such events.
Muslim hostility also has to be managed. The ministry boarding school includes a 14-year-old boy from a Muslim family who, along with his parents, had put his trust in Christ while living in their village 120 kilometers (74 miles) away. When the boy went home for the holidays, relatives noticed him reading the Bible and not attending the mosque, and before long the local imam issued a fatwa calling for him and his parents to be killed unless he returned to Islam and the village.
Sankar said it’s a matter of fervent prayer, because he must decide what to do if relatives come for the boy. The pastor called him into his office and asked him what he thought.
“He said, ‘I’m ready to die, but I will not go back. Now I know I don’t want to go back to my home, even for holidays. But I’m not going to leave Jesus Christ,’” he said. “His faith is so strong. So I told him maybe one day because of you the whole village will come to the Lord. And he said, ‘Yes, I believe that as soon as I finish my studies, I will be strong enough and bold enough that I will go there and preach the gospel in my own village.’”
Sankar said he’s considering sending him to another Christian boarding school, though he’s not sure if it is possible.
“He is safe with us, but it can be unsafe, as well, because suppose the mob comes from the village,” he said. “This imam will come with 20 people and say you have to come out, and then what will we do? So let’s pray for this boy. I said I will definitely not leave him like that.”
At the same time, Hindu extremists have threatened some of the area pastors, he said.
“One pastor said they were celebrating Christmas at their church in the village. Suddenly a group of young people came and started throwing stones and shouting and creating problems, and they had to close the whole program,” he said. “These kinds of things are going on in the villages.”
Among Sankar’s top priorities now is starting a dairy farm. The 63-year-old pastor said that by the time he is 65 he would like to see the school be self-supporting so that, in the event of funding shortfalls, at least the children would be fed and all 23 teachers would be paid. At present the school has only 11 paid staff members. A farm with 25 cows providing milk, as well as dung used for cooking fuel and fertilizer, and urine used in medicines and incense, would make that dream a reality.
He has five cows, but for 25 head of cattle he needs 13 acres of land at a cost of about $50,000. Another 20 cows would cost about $500 each.
“But why a dairy farm?” he said. “The main reason is that these Hindu people can go against a school, church, or another ministry, but they cannot go against a dairy farm. Because we are taking care of ‘holy’ cows, it will be a sin on their part. So the dairy farm will always act as a guard for our ministry.”
* (name changed for security reasons)

To help indigenous missionaries meet needs, you may contribute online using the form below, or call 434-977-5650. If you prefer to mail your gift, please mail to Christian Aid Mission, P.O. Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Please use Gift Code: 660AGNI. Thank you!

Authorities raid homes of three Christians

Authorities raid homes of three Christians, Pastor Irani Refused Conditional Release
By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service answritermike@gmail.com
RASHT, IRAN (ANS, Feb. 19, 2015) -- Iranian intelligence (VEVAK) agents raided the homes of three men in Rasht on February 16, confiscating bibles, laptops, Christian CDs and literature, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) www.csw.org.uk.
During the raids the three men, Yasser Mosayebzadeh, Saheb Fadaie and Mehdi Reza Omidi (Youhan), were ordered to report to VEVAK on February 17 to answer questions. VEVAK (Vezarat-e Ettela'at va Amniyat-e Keshvar ) refers to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. CSW was informed that when the men reported to VEVAK officers as requested, they were politely asked to leave the country.
CSW says the reason for the raids remains unclear; however, Mehdi Reza Omidi (Youhan) was part of a group of four Christians who in October 2013 were charged with drinking alcohol during a communion service, and possessing a receiver and satellite antenna. The group was sentenced to 80 lashes each for the offenses. Mehdi Reza Omidi (Youhan) was previously detained on December 31, 2012, during a government crackdown on house churches. However, another motive for the arrests may be that all three men are members of the leadership team of the church run by Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who was sentenced to death for ‘apostasy’ in 2010 and acquitted in 2012.
In other news, Pastor Behnam Irani, who is serving a six year sentence on false charges, was refused conditional release by a judge. Under Iranian law prisoners can be released conditionally for good behavior once they have served more than half of their sentence, although this is subject to the agreement of the prison authorities and the judge. While the prison authorities agreed to Pastor Irani’s conditional release, the judge did not, resulting in his continued detention.
CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW is concerned by Monday evening's raids by the Iranian authorities, who continue to harass the Christian community without cause. It is also disappointing that the judge in Pastor Irani’s case has denied him conditional release, despite the fact he has suffered from ill health during his incarceration and was recently acquitted of further false charges.
“Since his original charges were equally baseless, we urge the Iranian authorities to release him unconditionally and without further delay. We applaud the fact that following the murders of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya, the Twitter account of Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted that Islam advocates ‘fairness and justice towards the followers of other religions,’ and used the hashtag #ChristianLivesMatter. We therefore call on the Supreme Leader to ensure that his country's religious minorities experience fairness and justice, and that the authorities illustrate by their actions that the lives of Iranian Christians also matter."
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organization working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.
Photo: VEVAK Logo (via Wikipedia).
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Lawyers Appeal Court Order to Close Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church

Sudan: Lawyers Appeal Court Order to Close Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church
By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST and ASSIST News Service
KHARTOUM, SUDAN (ANS – Feb. 19, 2015) Lawyers representing the Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church in North Khartoum are due to lodge an appeal today against a court decision to confiscate the remaining property at the site and permanently close the church.
According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), on February 18th, police arrived at the church with an order from the Khartoum Civil Court to lock and seize the outer gates of the property. Lawyers representing the church have issued a technical challenge on the wording of the order as it does not identify the specific area of the church’s property affected by the order.
“The Bahri Evangelical Church is part of the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church (SEPC) denomination and has been in an ongoing legal battle with the Sudanese authorities, who have attempted to sell church land to a Muslim businessman,” explained a CSW spokesperson.
“In November 2014, congregants held a protest vigil in order to prevent NISS agents from gaining access to the land and illegally destroying and confiscating the property. In December 2014 the church was partially destroyed and 37 congregants arrested.”
CSW said that the government maintains that the land was legally sold to the Muslim Businessman by a church committee. Church leaders later discovered that a secondary committee, backed by the government and formed in contravention of the SEPC’s administrative processes, had entered into a contract with the Muslim Businessman. On January 6, 2015, a court ruled in favor of the legitimate church committee, but this ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court on appeal.
The Sudanese authorities have also attempted to illegally sell other properties belonging to the SEPC. In December 2014, lawyers lodged a constitutional appeal after the Ministry of Justice issued a one week eviction notice to the church’s tenants.
The chairman of the SEPC council responsible for church buildings and land, Rafat Obid, has faced a campaign of harassment by the NISS as a result of his work on the committee.
CSW added that on December 21, 2014, Rev. Yat Michael, a South Sudanese pastor from the South Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church (SSEPC) who preached at the Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church, was arrested by NISS agents. A second minister, Rev. Peter Lein Reith, was arrested on 11 January 2015. Both men are still detained incommunicado in Khartoum.
Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said, “CSW is deeply concerned by these developments. The questionable legal avenues utilized by the Sudanese authorities to confiscate property belonging to the Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church and other properties belonging to the SEPC are a clear attempt to financially weaken the Church and precipitate its permanent closure. These actions are in clear violation of Article 6 of Sudan’s constitution, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 8 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples  Rights (ACHPR), which guarantee the right to freedom of religion or belief, and to which Sudan is a signatory.
“The court order will effectively facilitate the illegal closure of yet another church at a time when the government has stated that the construction of new churches will no longer be permitted. We call upon the international community, and in particular the African Union, to hold Sudan to its obligations to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief and to guarantee the profession and free practice of religion as outlined in international statutes to which the nation is party.”
Note: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organization working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.
Photo caption: The Rev. Daud Fadul (center) and the Rev. Faruk Angelo (left) at a Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church vigil (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
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3 reasons ISIS threatens the world

3 reasons ISIS threatens the world

A video released Sunday by Islamic State militants in Libya depicts 21 men in orange jumpsuits.  All are Egyptian Christian hostages.  They are laid face-down and beheaded.  The terrorists who committed this heinous act of cowardly barbarism call themselves the Tripoli Province of the Islamic State.  They are located less than 500 miles from the southern tip of Italy.  One of them stated that the group now plans to "conquer Rome."

According to American intelligence officials, ISIS is establishing military affiliates in Afghanistan, Algeria, and Egypt as well as Libya.  Extremists are also pledging loyalty to the Islamic State in Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen.  Last week, the Obama administration acknowledged the group's expanding threat when it requested new congressional authority to pursue them wherever they emerge, not just in Iraq and Syria.  ISIS is advancing beyond al-Qaeda to become a global menace before our eyes. (Tweet this)  According to The New York Times, three factors explain its meteoric rise.

One: it declared the formation of a caliphate in June 2014.  As I have noted previously, we cannot overstate the significance of this declaration for some in the Muslim world. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, is viewed by his followers as the "caliph," the leader of the global Muslim movement and heir to the Prophet Muhammad.

Two: ISIS is using al-Qaeda's franchise structure to expand, but without the group's rigorous, multiyear application process.  As a result, its franchises are growing faster, easier, and farther.

Three: as one analyst notes, many in the Muslim world view ISIS as the "winning group."  Their highly sophisticated social media and marketing strategies, coupled with expansive financial resources derived from territories they have conquered, position them on a global stage.

Now we are facing the specter of a fast-growing network which appeals to terrorists around the world.  Amedy Coulibaly, one of the gunmen in the Paris attacks last month, declared allegiance to the group.  "Home-grown terrorists," long seen as the greatest internal threat in the West, may become a fact of life.

None of this surprises our Lord.  The psalmist declared that "God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne" (Psalm 47:8).  Note the present tense.  No matter our circumstances, God is Lord over them. (Tweet this)  As our government and military gear up for a global war with ISIS, Christians must pray for their protection and for a great spiritual awakening across the Muslim world.  Paul was converted from terrorist to apostle; what would happen if Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi came to Christ?

The beheading of Christians in Libya reminds us that we live on a fallen, Satan-controlled planet (2 Corinthians 4:4).  But our Father calls us to follow him with courage, knowing that he will provide wherever his providence leads.  As Oswald Chambers noted, "God does not give us overcoming life—he gives us life as we overcome."

When the Christians beheaded by ISIS last Sunday were given the chance to recant their faith, they refused.  What price will you pay for following Jesus today?

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ISIS and 3 things God can't do

Toronto Jane: the future of ISIS

American beheaded by Islamic State: how to respond

Laos: Christians Cleared Of Murder, Convicted On New Charges

Laos: Christians Cleared Of Murder, Convicted On New Charges By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST and the ASSIST News Service
SAVANNAKHET PROVINCE, LAOS (ANS – Feb. 16, 2015) -- Five Christians cleared of murder charges related to the death of a Christian convert from an unidentified long-term illness on June 21, 2014, have been found guilty of causing death by “performance of the medical profession without a license” after praying for her.
According to the non-profit advocacy organization Human Rights Watcher for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF), on February 12, 2015, the People’s Court of Savannakhet Province based the decision to convict the Christians on Article 82 of the Lao Penal Code, Performance of Medical Profession without License.
A news release, from the UK-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), says that the Article prohibits the treatment of patients without an official license for the purpose of generating gains; where the offender has caused a patient to become an invalid or to die, there offender shall be punished by three months to five years of imprisonment and fined 500,000 to 5,000,000 Lao Kip (approximately £40-£400 or $68-$615 US dollars).
The five Christians, Pastor Kaithong, Puphet, Muk, Hasadee, and Tiang, were originally accused of murdering Mrs. Chan, a convert to Protestant Christianity.
“She was suffering from an unidentified two-year illness when she died en route from hospital back to her home in Atsaphangthong district on 21 June 21, 2014,” said the CSW release.
“The village chief granted permission for a Christian funeral, but later ordered Pastor Kaithong, who was conducting the funeral, to stop the proceedings. Kaithong appealed to the chief of Atsaphangthong district, but on June 23, 2014, the village chief and the police authorities arrested Kaithong and the four other
Christians.
“They were accused of giving Chan medication on the journey back from the hospital which caused her death. However, in August 2014, Savannakhet Office of Prosecutors ruled that the five did not commit any criminal offence.”
The accused maintain that they did not use any drug or material remedy, but only prayed for Mrs. Chan in accordance with her request for prayer for healing. Furthermore, according to HRWLRF, Mrs. Chan’s death did not occur at the location where the five were praying for her, but en route from the hospital in Savannakhet.
CSW’s Chief Operating Officer Andy Dipper said, “We are alarmed to hear that the five Lao Christians arrested in June 2014 could face up to five years in prison. According to this report from HRWLRF, the Christians prayed for Mrs. Chan in accordance with her request and did not use any kind of medicine or drug. We urge the People’s Court of Savannakhet to urgently review this case, and repeat our call for the Lao authorities to release the five Christians and to investigate the actions of the village chief and police in this case without
delay.”
Note: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organization working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.
Photo caption: A believer being baptized in Laos
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