Tag Archives: forgiveness

Pray with Nigerian Believers after Another Deadly Attack

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Friends, Open Doors has just received a call for prayer from Nigeria. During the evening of April 29, a group of armed Boko Haram members invaded the Christian community of Kuda which is in the Madagali area of northeastern Nigeria.

The terrorists surrounded the community around 8pm and went door to door, killing as many as 25 people, according to a VOA report.

When community members and security agents were preparing for the burial of the slain the next day, Boko Haram members were spotted approaching for a second attack on the community. The funeral preparations were abandoned as the bereaved believers, sympathizers from neighboring communities and security agents fled. Since the attack many more villagers have fled the town.

Christian leaders in the area told Open Doors, “We are in danger, we have no one to fight for us to end this killing of our people.”

Field workers with Open Doors asked supporters to:

Please pray for the Lord’s grace to be on the church in Madagali area as they face this renewed instability.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work in the lives of all those affected.

Pray that security will be restored soon.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.

Scripture of the Day

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Hebrews 10

8. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13. From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17. And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20. By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21. And having an high priest over the house of God;
22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Good Friday

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Friday was the day Jesus suffered before the kangaroo courts of the then hypocritical Jewish religious leaders and the Romans. He went through six courts and five trials. None wanting responsibility for convicting Him.

Being fasley accused, He knew this was His moment, when all of eternity was watching & waiting.

In the end He took the cross for you & I, for our friends & family, for those we’ll never know or see.

On that day, while hanging from the piece of wood all of the sins & wickedness of mankind, was laid upon Him.

He suffered for our transgressions, He was wounded for our iniquity. Why? Because He is the last blood sacrifice we’ll ever need, for without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sin.

We read in Hebrews 10:7. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

He came for a reason, to reetablish a lost relationship. His death was necessary, He chose to be that final sacrifice. With His blood we are forgiven & sanctified. Only through Him, Jesus, can we ever hope to see the Father.

We read in Luke 24:45. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

This is why.

Scripture of the Day

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Psalm 110
A Psalm of David.
1. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
2. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
3. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
4. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
5. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
6. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
7. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Scripture of the Day

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1st Timothy 1

3. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4. Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
5. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6. From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7. Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

BREAKING: Inquiry Concludes Pastor Koh Abducted by State Agents

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Learn more at http://www.OpenDoorsUSA.org/PrayerApp

Today, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) released its findings and decisions on the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and others.

The Chairman of the panel, Dato’ Mah Weng Kai, read from the report, “The panel is of the unanimous view that Pastor Raymond Koh is a victim of an enforced disappearance that took place on February 13, 2017, at about 10.45 am. The direct and circumstantial evidence in Pastor Raymond Koh’s case proves, on a balance of probabilities, that he was abducted by State agents, namely, the Special Branch, Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.”

At the end of the proceedings, Pastor Koh’s wife, Susanna, remarked, “We are glad that the decision has been made that they have been victims of enforced disappearances … We want to see the truth revealed. Until today, we just don’t [didn’t] know why they were taken. Malaysia is a moderate country, there should be the rule of law. There should be freedom of religion to practice one’s faith.”

Please pray for God to lead Susanna and her family in what to do next. Also, pray for His leading and direction for the Kohs’ lawyers and all who are directly involved in the case.

Pray for the families who continue to grieve. Through tears, Susanna recounted her experiences and feelings during the proceedings.

Pray the Malaysian government takes positive steps on the recommendations made by SUHAKAM for freedom of religion as a human right, to enable all Malays to practice their faith without fear of persecution.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.

Scripture of the Day

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Philippians 1

15. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

URGENT: Pastor Summoned by Authorities in Laos

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Learn more at http://www.OpenDoorsUSA.org/PrayerApp

Our brother in Laos, Pastor Xay*, is asking prayers for a meeting with authorities. He was summoned by the village chief who presented written accusations against local Christians.

Please pray Pastor Xay would have wisdom and that God would give him the right words to say.

Pray that he would have sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Pray he would represent the believers in the village well and that this meeting wouldn’t be the start of continued harassment.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.

ISIS Beheads 50 Yazidi Sex Slaves as Parting Gift

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In a final act of depravity, fleeing ISIS beheaded 50 Yazidi sex slaves, dumping their heads into trash bins for coalition soldiers to find.

ISIS fighters were besieged in their last stronghold – a small area in Baghuz located in eastern Syria. One hundred ISIS jihadis were killed in the final battle in which British Special Forces (SAS) fired 600 mortar bombs and tens of thousands of machine-gun rounds against the terror group.

Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, a source said:

“In their hour of defeat, the jihadis’ cruelty knew no bounds. They conducted a cowardly slaughter of these desperately unfortunate women as a final act of depravity and left their severed heads behind for us to find. The motivation for such a sickening act is beyond comprehension for any remotely normal human being.

“None of the SAS troops who entered Baghuz will forget what they saw, which some soldiers likened to a scene from the film Apocalypse Now. Their only solace is that they have contributed to bringing Islamic State’s reign of terror to an end.”

Surviving ISIS fighters tried to escape by going underground to a system of tunnels they constructed under the town. However, SAS mortar teams and U.S.-French artillery units pounded the openings of the tunnels which were located by drones.

About 200 jihadis still hold an area of about one-fifth of a square mile outside Baghuz where intelligence sources say an equal number of civilian hostages are held. The terror group once controlled 34,000 square miles of territory between western Syria and eastern Iraq, which they called their “caliphate” and ruled over close to 8 million people according to brutal sharialaw.

In 2014, when ISIS roared into Iraq, close to 3,000 women, teenage girls and young boys were abducted by the group. The hostages were Yazidis, Christians, Turkomen and Shabak – all minority groups in Iraq. The women and girls were turned into sex slaves and the boys were recruited as the next generation of jihadis. During the takeover operations, ISIS simply slaughtered the men and teenage boys.

Read it here.

Christians living in a Muslim country ‘143 times more likely’ to be killed by a Muslim than vice versa

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Read it here.

Terrorist attacks against Muslims in the Western world, like the one that took place in Christchurch, are extremely rare.
Friday’s carnage in two mosques in New Zealand, with the death toll currently at 50, is the first major event of its kind since the Quebec City mosque shooting over two years ago – which killed six persons, conservative writer Srdja Trifkovic states in Chronicles Magazine.
Nonetheless, this terrible incident will dominate the headlines infinitely more than any comparable carnage involving Christians, notably the 2017 Palm Sunday church bombings in Alexandria, which killed 45 people, and was all but ignored by the Western media and politicians.
If we put Friday’s killings in perspective, that perspective should include the fact that some 30 million Muslims reside in the Western world today, which makes the probability of any one of them falling victim to a deplorable attack in any given year roughly one in ten million.
261 persons have been killed and many more injured, in attacks by Muslims on non-Muslims, in less than four years, in only one country, France (pop. 66 million).
With 66 dead a year on average, Frenchmen are exactly ten times more likely to be murdered by a Muslim than a Muslim being killed by a non-Muslim terrorist anywhere in the Western world.
The score is incomparably worse if we look at the situation of Christians in the Muslim world. It is the most egregious example of human right violations in today’s world: according to “Open Doors”, at least 4,305 Christians known by name were murdered by Muslims because of their faith in 2018.
Aid to the Church in Need, in its latest “Religious Freedom Report”, warned that 300 million Christians, overwhelmingly in the majority-Muslim countries, were subjected to violence, making it “the most persecuted religion in the world.”
This makes the odds of a Christian in a majority-Muslim country being murdered by a Muslim – simply for being what he is – approximately one in 70,000.
Which means that a Christian living in a majority Muslim country is 143 times more likely to be killed by a Muslim for being a Christian than a Muslim is likely to be killed by a non-Muslim in a Western country for being what he is.
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Pray for Family and Church of Murdered Pastor in Myanmar

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Learn more at http://www.OpenDoorsUSA.org/PrayerApp

Friends, please join us in praying for the family and church of Pastor Tun Nu who was recently kidnapped. Pastor Tun Nu served in Rakine State, Myanmar and was abducted from his home by a local insurgency group.

Sadly, Pastor Tun Nu is now reported to have been killed by the insurgency group. The incident has created an atmosphere of fear amongst other pastors in the area.

Please pray for comfort and strength for Pastor Tun Nu’s wife and three children.

Pray Pastor Tun Nu’s church would have peace and courage.

Pray for the safety of church pastors and believers in Rakine State.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.

Pray for New Prayer Campaign

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Learn more at http://www.OpenDoorsUSA.org/PrayerApp

In the near future, Open Doors USA will be launching our Hope for the Middle East Prayer Campaign that will focus on praying for persecuted Christians in countries like Iraq and Syria. We’re asking God to restore entire Christian communities, homes, schools, churches and ministry centers—in the wake of ISIS—and to bring back hope.

You will be able to access monthly prayer requests and other updates on our Hope for the Middle East prayer center on the ODUSA website.

Please pray that God will continue to be in the details of planning and launching the Hope4ME Prayer Campaign.

Pray that Open Doors staff working on the Prayer Campaign would have wisdom and leading from the Lord.

Pray that God will stir the hearts of His church in the U.S.A. to join the movement of prayer alongside our brothers and sisters in the Middle East.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.

Six Christians Killed by Militants in the DRC

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Sadly, Open Doors has learned that militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) recently killed six Christians in Kalua—a predominately Christian village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to our sources in-country, the attackers pretended to be security agents when they arrived in the village. The militia then fired indiscriminately at villagers and killed three women and a 9-year-old child.

A nurse working at a hospital in the nearby city of Beni reported to Open Doors that the attackers then proceeded some 500 meters towards the house of the head of the village. When they shot and killed the guard dogs, it sent people fleeing. Tragically, two people trying to escape were also killed.

A local community leader in Kalau who asked for anonymity because he fears for his safety, told Open Doors, “We have heard the rebels saying they worked for long in the domains of kidnapping and killings, but now they want to move to the stage of occupying the territory. They want to occupy the area that they claim as theirs.”

According to Pastor Gilbert Kambale, who runs a civil society organization in Beni, an estimated 470 families fled to Beni following the incident. Most sought refuge with various host families and in schools.

Please pray the Lord comforts those who have lost loved ones in the attack.

Pray the Lord will intervene in the situation in this part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Pray the Christian community is able to support one another and also be salt and light to the surrounding communities in this time of grief and uncertainty.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.

Scripture of the Day

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Titus 3

3. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6. Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Scripture of the Day

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1st Corinthians 3

11. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13. Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
14. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.