Christians will be delighted to see that Iran has appointed a Christian as the captain of its national football team. This is a warm gesture in line with similar signals sent toward established minority communities such as the Armenians and Jews. President Rouhani has used social media regularly to send good wishes to Jews and Christians on their religious holidays. But such gestures do not detract from the situations of around eighty known Iranian Christian converts currently held in jail, nor the latest news that an additional one-year prison sentence on top of the six years he is serving has been upheld for Pastor Farshid Fathi. He and fellow believer Alireza Sayyedian are being held on the same wing as prisoners convicted of robbery, violence and drug-related crimes.
Christian worker wins tribunal case
11 Jun 2015
Sarah Mbuyi (31) was fired from her job as a nursery nurse after a conversation with a homosexual colleague. She explained the biblical position on homosexuality and marriage when her colleague asked whether she would be welcomed at church and if God approves of her civil partnership. Sarah said that ‘God is not okay with what you do’ but that ‘everyone is a sinner and God offers forgiveness’. Miss Mbuyi recalled, ‘When I said ‘No, God does not condone the practice of homosexuality, but does love you and says you should come to Him as you are', she became emotional and went off to report me to my manager’. Following the complaint by her colleague, Sarah was investigated and sacked for gross misconduct within three days of the conversation. She was supported by the Christian Legal Centre, and represented by a human rights barrister. In a brave judgment, the Watford Employment Tribunal found she had been directly discriminated against because of her beliefs.
Salvation Army Global Prayer Wave 24/7/365
04 Jun 2015
The Salvation Army is celebrating its 150th anniversary on 1 July this year. On 1 July 2014 a global prayer wave of 24/7/365 prayer was launched. This initiative, called ‘Boundless’, has been a magnificent wave of continuous prayer starting in the South Pacific, through South Asia, the Americas and Caribbean, Africa and Europe. The baton of prayer has been passed from nation to nation and the United Kingdom will enter into their time slot for prayer, from 15 to 30 June. This will complete an unbroken Boundless prayer wave rolling over nations that will culminate with an international conference entitled ‘Boundless - The Whole World Redeeming’. The prayer wave has been purposefully focusing Salvationists in continued united intercession for the Salvation Army and our world.
Street preachers win cases
04 Jun 2015
Two Christian street preachers have been cleared of all charges after they were arrested in Basildon and Hereford respectively. Rob Hughes was arrested in Basildon on 4 September 2014 after a confrontation with a member of the public who wrongly accused him of using homophobic and offensive language. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, Rob was arrested, interviewed by police and held in custody for 11 hours. A DNA sample was taken as well as his fingerprints and a mug shot. He has now received £2,500 and a contribution towards his legal fees for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and breach of his human rights in an out-of-court settlement. On 23 April 2015, after preaching once a week for eleven years in Hereford streets, Andrew Geuter was arrested following false accusations of homophobic comments. After five hours in jail he was released on conditional bail. The police later said they would not take further action due to insufficient evidence.
Teenager saw Jesus before being revived
28 May 2015
Doctors can’t explain what happened, but one Texas family is sure it was the hand of God that brought their son back to life. 17-year-old Zack Clements is a strong, healthy and outgoing high school athlete who plays football at a Life Academy. Then last week he suddenly collapsed while running in a PE class. He was rushed to hospital where doctors worked to revive him. He was without a heartbeat for 20 minutes. Doctors finally got a pulse and then airlifted him to a children’s hospital where he woke up a few days later in the intensive care unit. His recovery is hard to believe, but even more amazing is that he says he saw Jesus when his heart stopped beating. His mother, Teresa Clements, says that although it may be a medical mystery, she has accepted that her son came back to life as a direct result of Jesus’ intervention. To watch a video of his story on Fox News click the ‘more’ button below.
The Church of England is celebrating the appointment of two of the nation's most influential Christians, one lay and one ordained, to key posts in the new Parliament. Caroline Spelman, a patron of the Conservative Christian Fellowship and MP for Meriden in the West Midlands, has been appointed Second Church Estates Commissioner, succeeding Sir Tony Baldry. Her role will be to represent and answer questions on behalf of the Church Commissioners in the House of Commons. Also a leading evangelical - David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham - has been appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury as convenor of the 26 bishops in the House of Lords, known as the Lords Spiritual. Spelman said: 'I am honoured to be asked to undertake this role as the Church is important for the future of our country and I want to help it navigate the challenges of the modern world with the support of our parliamentarians.'
Afghanistan: Magnifying Jesus as Lord
21 May 2015
God is using Hazara Herald Ministries to draw Afghans and Iranians to the LORD. While their special focus is on the people of Hazaras, through the years Hazara Herald Ministries has been used of God among all the people of Afghanistan. Afghan Christian Television programmes are being used very powerfully by God's grace. Viewers can see and hear how people from all ethnic groups including Pashtoons, Hazaras, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkomans are giving their lives to Christ on the live shows. Missionaries are coming back to England and telling amazing testimonies of God working among the Afghans through this and other global ministries. At the moment they are asking God for more technicians to help design Christian websites.
A new law to tackle human trafficking, with better protection for its victims and tougher penalties for those convicted of the crime, has been backed by the Scottish Parliament. Holyrood supported the general principles of the legislation, which creates a specific offence of human trafficking for the first time and increases the maximum penalty for offenders to life imprisonment. The Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill was brought forward by the Scottish Government to strengthen existing criminal law against the practice, enhance the status of victims, and boost support for them. Under the proposals, prosecutors will be given guidance from the Lord Advocate setting out a presumption against prosecution of victims in cases where trafficked people have been forced into committing crime. The legislation will also commit Scottish ministers to publishing and updating a human trafficking strategy. Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said, 'We intend to make Scotland a hostile place for traffickers and those who exploit others, and to better identify and support potential and confirmed victims.'