China: slavery and persecution
21 Sep 2018
Please pray for a man recently rescued from bonded labour slavery who is living with special needs. The International Justice Mission freed him and 13 others from a ginger farm. He is deaf and living with a developmental disability. He does not know traditional sign language, so Christians are working with specialists to communicate with him and serve him in their aftercare programme. Pray that they can help this man get all the care and comfort he needs, and for him to return safely home as soon as possible. Last week we asked God to encourage, protect and continue to grow His Chinese Church after hearing of crosses being removed from buildings. This week Prayercast reported, ‘Beijing's biggest house church was forced to shut down for refusing governmental surveillance.’ and ‘Many are calling this China's worst persecution since Mao’. Thousands of house churches have been shut down and Christians are detained.
USA/UK: fall in Christian refugee admissions
21 Sep 2018
The United States has admitted 40% fewer Christian refugees in the past year. As the US administration implements stricter immigration policies, almost 11,000 Christians looking for a safe place to go were reportedly refused entry. Christians from the Middle East who have lived in the USA for years are also affected. Dozens of Iraqi Christians are in detention centres, facing likely deportation. ‘This suggests that the president has no real interest in religious persecution or the tenets of religious freedom,’ said the director of Refugee Council USA. Last year the Pew Research Centre reported that the net number of Christian arrivals to the USA was shrinking. Figures released in the UK showed that during the first quarter of 2018, a ‘very low number of religious minority Syrians were recommended for resettlement by the UNHCR and resettled by the UK government’.
Syria: war update
21 Sep 2018
Several deals have been struck across Syria over the years of the civil war, but few have made significant differences. Pray that the agreement between Russia and Turkey to create a military buffer zone in Syria's Idlib holds fast and is successful in preventing further deaths as Syria’s last remaining opposition stronghold is included in a demilitarised zone. Turkey's foreign minister declared that only terrorist groups, not civilians, will be removed from Idlib province under the deal. EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic stressed that the Turkish-Russian deal must protect civilians.
Typhoon Mangkhut devastation
21 Sep 2018
In the Philippines, officials are taking stock of the immense damage caused by Typhoon Mangkhut. On Luzon landslides buried a church where people were sheltering, and engulfed a miners’ bunkhouse with up to fifty inside. The casualties are expected to be 100+. Pray for God to comfort the bereaved and bring healing to the sick. An estimated 5.7 million people have been affected by Mangkhut, and delivering aid supplies is a major challenge. Pray for many workers to come and help repair the infrastructure. In the town of Baggao, where YWAM have a base, houses were demolished, power lines were downed, roads were cut off by landslides, and many remain submerged. Pray for God to give strength and wisdom to those offering counsel and shelter. Rice and corn crops waiting for harvest are under floodwater. Pray for the fishermen and farmers who have lost everything. Mangkhut moved on to Hong Kong and China, tearing off roofs, blowing in doors and shattering glass windows. Pray for the evacuees now returning to devastation.
USA: Christianity under attack
21 Sep 2018
In Louisiana, Americans United decided to sue a school district earlier this year, asserting, ‘School officials throughout the school system coerce students into religious practices and subject them to unwelcome religious messages and indoctrination.’ They did not want prayers being delivered during school-sponsored events, school events held in churches, or teachers encouraging Christianity in the classroom. The school board voted to fight the lawsuit. Pray for their defence of Christian values to be successful in the law courts. In Pensacola, Florida, a panel upheld a ruling ordering the removal of a cross from a public park, stating that they were ‘bound by existing circuit precedent’. But two of the three judges said they were uncomfortable with the result, and called upon the full circuit court to overturn their own ruling. The argument is ongoing.
Iraq: a) Mosul divided
21 Sep 2018
Bad blood and a thirst for revenge divide people in Mosul, the former IS capital. Many local residents welcomed the jihadists who promised protection from corruption, jobs and security. The promises proved false, but thousands in Mosul still pledged allegiance to IS; some driven by IS propaganda, others by hunger or simply fear. Currently men who worked as IS enforcers or officials are still living in Mosul. Local police pursue them nightly, raiding houses and questioning families of suspected IS members. Some police and civil defence workers who have had relatives killed by IS are now working out their hatred and revenge on unconfirmed suspects, and many residents face suspicion and abuse due to guilt by association.
Iraq: b) Iran’s influence
21 Sep 2018
Iraq’s parliament will select the president on 25 September, then elect a prime minister, and that will eventually lead a new government. On 15 September Mohammed al-Halbousi was elected as speaker. He had previously had a good relationship with the USA which, with Iran, were the first countries to congratulate him on his new post. However, his first two statements to parliament denounced US sanctions against Iran and invited senior Iranians to visit Baghdad. Pray for the networking of leaders at home and abroad in the weeks leading up to the election of a prime minister - the most important and influential position in the government, and therefore requiring a broad agreement among multiple political parties.
The World is Turning
18 Sep 2018
Of course, it is. If it stopped I presume we would all fall off! The earth goes around the sun every day of the year. It rotates every 23 hours 56 minutes, the sun turns at 43,000 miles per hour, the Milky Way turns at around 1.3 million miles per hour. Incredible to think that some believe it is all by chance. Everything is turning in accordance with the will of the One who created it. To all astrologers out there please forgive me if my facts are not absolutely correct. When I heard that the Americans were sending a probe to the sun I thought they must be going up at night!!
As with all journeys, decisions taken regarding turning can have good and bad consequences. Every day we see and read of the consequences for individuals, communities and nations who have decided to turn from God and His ways.
At the same time (not reported by mainstream media) we are hearing of communities and nations who are turning to Jesus and finding in Him truth and life. More people from every tribe and language have turned to Christ in recent years than in all the time since He walked on the earth. Still today despite man’s efforts to stop it through legislation, violence, and persecution, boys and girls, women and men all around the world are turning their backs on false religions, false idols, false ideologies and turning to the one who is the Saviour and Creator of the world.
We are hearing of national political leaders dedicating their nation to God and declaring their faith in Jesus. We are increasingly seeing national Christian leaders turning from their denominational inclusivity to a heart unity through which they are seeing God's abundant blessing. We are hearing of communities being transformed as people turn from greed, selfishness, and hatred and allow the Kingdom of God to break out in all its love, kindness, generosity and goodness.
Every day the world turns from darkness to light. Every day around the world many thousands are turning from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light. We say Hallelujah! Let’s keep praying!
Ian Cole