Father’s House,

Brotherhood Missions,

4/364 E, Anna Salai 1st Cross Street,

ECR, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

Book your slots

Tel : 7708505152

Email ID: worshipcentreindia@gmail.com

Praise God for the successful completion of  19800 slots in National Worship Centre with a Non Stop Worship (24/7)

Believing a Lie - The Power of Media Manipulation

When it comes to having access to information, North Korea and America are worlds apart. One nation is totally closed, with the populace only getting what the media feeds them. And the people have no internet access. 

The other nation is wide open, with the populace having access to an endless stream of media options and with virtually universal internet access.

Yet, in another, very real way, the two countries are similar. The populations in both countries are heavily manipulated by the media.

Believing a Lie

Consider the recent Buzzfeed report alleging that Donald Trump had instructed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress.

It was widely and instantly believed by millions of Americans. Except, we are told by Robert Mueller's offices, it wasn't true.

What if Mueller chose not to rebut the report? What if a day or week or month had gone by without the apparent truth coming out?

The opinions of millions of Americans would have been shaped by a media-manufactured (or, media-repeated) lie. How much different is this than North Korea?

Over the weekend, both the left and the right were in uproar over the allegedly horrible behavior of some pro-life Catholic school students. Not only were they wearing MAGA hats (a serious sin in and of itself), but they allegedly harassed an elderly Native American drummer. What's more, they also yelled, "Build the wall!"

The personal information of these students has even been released. And, as expected, they are receiving personal threats. And there is video evidence of their infractions too.

Except this story appears not to be true either. At the least, there is much more to the story, including a foul-mouthed attack from the Black Hebrew Israelite cult, anti-White rhetoric from another Native American, and no one yelling, "Build the wall!" And the drummer was apparently the instigator rather than just being an innocent victim.

The video evidence, played in full, gives a very different impression.

Did the American populace, this time on both the left and right, jump to wrong conclusions?

We're Being Manipulated

We react instantly to a video, to a headline, to an accusation, with almost no critical filter.

The reality is that, just like the people of North Korea, we are being manipulated by the media (including social media).

China Bans One of the Ten Commandments as Part of National Policy

Chinese officials entered a church in recent weeks and ordered the removal of one of the Ten Commandments – the first one – In another example of the nation’s crackdown on Christianity.

Unlike previous cases of persecution, this one took place in a government-approved “Three-Self Church” and not in an illegal, unregistered congregation.

About 30 government officials from the “patrol inspection team” took part in the November examination of the church, according to Bitter Winter, which monitors persecution in the country. An “official inspected the church thoroughly, stopped in front of the pulpit, and pointed to one of the Ten Commandments” on the wall, Bitter Winter reported.

“This must be removed,” the official said. 

He was referencing the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.” 

When church officials protested, the government official responded that President Xi Jinping “opposes this statement.” 

“Who dares not to cooperate? If anyone doesn’t agree, they are fighting against the country,” the official said, according to Bitter Winter. He warned the church, “This is a national policy. You should have a clear understanding of the situation. Don’t go against the government.”  

Church members removed the Ten Commandments sign. 

“This isn’t appropriate,” one member of the church said. “They’re falsifying the words of God! It’s resisting the Lord!”

It wasn’t the first time the church was targeted. In August, a cross was taken down. 

“In China, practicing your faith is difficult,” a church member told Bitter Winter. Another said, “They are trying to corrupt our faith and make us betray God.”

All religious creeds must be subordinate to the government, Voice of America previously reported. 

“In other words, religious citizens must first worship the Communist Party – only then can they worship their God,” Bitter Winter’s Jiang Tao wrote.

Fill your bowels with this scroll

Once I just selected  700 verses of blessings from the Bible, copied it down and gave it to a brother who  was facing a lot of problems from every side.  Asked him to claim 100 verses daily, for 7 days of the week. I don't know how many days, months he did it. All of a sudden he comes and narrates, "All my loans, (crores) are settled, my son came with a glad news ( wife conceived after 5 yrs of barrenness) I established a new business etc.etc

For God to do mighty works, "faith" is an important factor.

Jesus could not do any miracle in his native place because those people could see him only as a carpenter's son, not as the Son of God.

John 6:10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

In making  5000 people sit in rows on the grass, without having anything to serve, (except 5 loaves and 2 fish) the disciples manifested their faith.

This faith was enough for Jesus to do a miracle.

Taking a step in faith, is very important in receiving miracles.

Making 5000  people sit in rows,  on the grass without having enough food to serve needs tremendous faith!

10 lepers  walking towards the priest’s house, believing in Jesus' words,  to get a clearance certificate, without being healed,  needs extraordinary  faith!

A blind man, walking towards the pool, in obedience to Jesus' words,

 “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (John 9:7) revealed his unshakable faith.

'Faith in Jesus Christ' is the main ingredient in making a miracle happen in your family, workplace, personal life or anywhere!

Knowledge of  the  "Word", His certificates, degrees or diplomas in the "Word" will not do miracles! Taking a risky step, believing the "Word" is the starting point.

By believing in His "Words".  written words are with us in the Bible. Each and every word in the Bible is "alive"! Sharper than the arrow, stronger than the sword, more powerful than a hammer used in  breaking mountains!

Take a verse, (not any verse), get a "rhema" word for you or for your family every

day, allow it to work in you.

Recite it as many times as possible! Chew it and taste it!

"Word of God" is alive and it can change you and your life today! Get the "Rhema" word every day!

How to get the Rhema word? Just take any verse from the Bible in which your mind, soul delights! That is the Rhema word for you that day!  Chew it!

He said to me, “Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you.” Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth". Eze 3:3 

What a joy!

A New Mideast Order Is Taking Shape

The era of chaos in the Middle East is drawing to a close, and a new phase, which contains its own set of dangers, is taking shape, a senior former intelligence official has told JNS.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Eli Ben Meir, former head of the Assessment Department at the Israel Defense Force's Military Intelligence Directorate, said the period of the "Arab Spring," marked by tectonic instability and dramatic changes, is drawing to a close. The Arab Spring period featured large-scale civil wars, uprisings and the involvement of external elements in failed states, as old orders fell apart.

"In recent years ... one would get up in the morning and didn't know who controlled Syria, or what was happening in Iraq and Yemen," said Ben Meir, who headed the strategically vital Assessment Department in 2015 and at the start of 2016. "This was a period in which frameworks broke apart, and the old order underwent change. But from 2018 onwards, those states that were a mess have begun stabilizing. The assessment is that this will continue in the coming year." This trend has proven true for Syria, Iraq and even Yemen, where the Saudis and Shi'ite Houthi rebels--warring enemies--are discussing ceasefires and seeking new understandings. States that were worried about "being next" to suffer instability due to a regional domino effect, like Jordan and Saudi Arabia, have remained stable, and now understand that they are not about to crumble, according to Ben Meir.

The time of popular uprisings, mass protests and social networks fueling regime change has vanished, he said. "Even in Syria, which experienced the biggest mess, [Syrian President Bashar] Assad has remained." This does not mean that rebel assassins can't try to target Arab leaders in any country in the region--a threat that has always existed--but regime change won't happen through "the streets or Facebook, like the events of Tahrir Square [in Egypt]," affirmed Ben Meir.

A new period of explosiveness

The newfound stability in the Middle East is not, unfortunately, a guarantee for calm; rather, it most likely increases the potential for unpredictable conflict. In Syria, according to foreign reports, Israel conducted a large number of airstrikes against developing Iranian threats, taking advantage of the lack of a capable regime and military in that country. Now, however, the state and military are slowly coming back to Syria. A sovereign state has military capabilities. It can retaliate or go to war. It didn't do those things when it was busy defending itself," said Ben Meir.

Israel took advantage of the lack of a centralized Syrian regime to take preventative action, but it remains unclear how much longer it can do this without sparking an inter-state conflict. In addition, the new order taking shape in the region includes the Shi'ite Iranian-Hezbollah axis. This axis remains highly active in Syria, and is attempting to gain dangerous accomplishments, like the deployment of precision missiles and the building weapons factories, Ben Meir assessed. The new order taking shape is prone to "disruption and influence," he said, "whether it is [Israel's], the U.S., Russia or because of the influence of events."

In the Gaza Strip, he noted, fundamental problems that could lead to conflict have not been solved. The Strip remains locked in an economic crisis, and Hamas could end up going to war if its cash flow runs out.

Referring to the arrival of Qatari suitcases filled with assistance money, Ben Meir noted that "when those $15 million run out, either another suitcase with 15 million arrives, or we will face rockets. In principle, we gained time, but we have not solved the problem."

Disrupting the enemy's build-up of force

On Dec. 11, the recently appointed Military Intelligence Directorate chief, Maj. Gen. Tamir Hyman, offered his assessment to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. While many of his comments were classified, the Knesset publicized some of them, including his view that the current period is one of "disruption, influence and [a new order] taking shape." It is an opportunity "to act in all sectors," as part of Israel's campaign to interfere with enemy force build-up processes. Hyman noted that in Lebanon, Hezbollah possesses an arsenal of unguided projectiles, and that as of now, it "lacks an industrial ability to convert [unguided rockets into accurate ones] and manufacture precision weaponry."

In Syria, the Assad regime is stabilizing, Hyman said, and the Shi'ite axis is entrenching itself. Israel, he warned, is committed to the goal of pushing Iran and Hezbollah away from the Golan Heights region. Within Iran itself, a dispute has broken out within the leadership over the price of the Islamic Republic's attempt to entrench itself in Syria. "As a result, we recognize a trend in which [the Iranian entrenchment] has stopped, and it has been reduced on the ground by tens of percentages," said Hyman.

Yet the Dec. 25 airstrike in Syria, reportedly targeting a depot containing Iranian rockets, appears to be a sign that the Israeli-Iranian shadow war in Syria is far from over. As the Middle East enters a new order, decision-makers across the region will likely be aware that the margin for miscalculation has become smaller.

Women Speak Out about Sexual Abuse by Catholic Nuns

Following the reveal of sex abuse by hundreds of Catholic priests and clergymen in 2018, women are now speaking out about being sexually abused by nuns.

According to CBS News, Trish Cahill was drugged and sexually abused by nun Sister Eileen Shaw, starting when she was 15 years old. Cahill reportedly went to visit Shaw to confide in her about past molesting by her uncle who was a priest, but what she got instead of protection, was more abuse. Cahill told CBS News, “I would have done anything for her. I would have died for her." Cahill continued, "She gave me everything that was lacking that I didn't even know I was lacking. I was so broken. She filled in all those pieces."

Now, Cahill realizes that what was happening was sexual abuse. According to CBS News, Shaw was giving Cahill drugs and alcohol while also showing her how to have sex with women.

Cahill told the outlet that she would spend her days with friends and nights, weekends and summers with Shaw where she would be sexually abused. 

Another woman speaking out about abusive nuns is Mary Dispenza.

Dispenza, who is a former nun, told CBS News that she too was sexually assaulted by a nun.

She recalled the experience in an interview with the outlet. Reportedly, Dispenza was called to her superior’s office. She said, “I knelt down right next to her and she kissed me all over softly, my face… and I want to say, 'Oh but it wasn't bad,' but it was. And I've carried it with me until today."
The former nun is working with The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) to offer resources and support for victims of sexual abuse by clergy members. Dispenza said that since the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report was released last year outlining hundreds of cases of sexual abuse by priests, she has had 18 people reach out to her to share their stories of sexual abuse by nuns.

While her experience was traumatic and heartbreaking, Cahill told CBS News that she is determined to speak up about her experience. She said, “This is the beginning of many, many times more that I get to speak and I get to educate, and I get to, possibly, prevent this from happening to anyone ever again."

Six Christians Injured in Stoning of Christmas Service in Burma

YANGON, Burma, December 24, 2018 (Morning Star News) – Unidentified men last week stoned a house full of worshippers for an hour in a predominantly Buddhist village in Burma (Myanmar), injuring six people, sources said.
 
In Kanta Kawn Township, Magway Region in central Burma, 27 Christians were holding a Christmas worship service on Dec. 17 when at 8 p.m. stones began hitting them in Paw Lwe village, the homeowner told Morning Star News. Last year area Buddhists told Christian families to leave the village after a similar attack, he said.
 
U Wah Daw said that some stones damaged a wall of his home and injured the chest, back and hands of some worshippers, including the pastor.

“We were afraid and didn’t make noise while they threw stones into my house,” U Wah Daw told Morning Star News. “They threw stones at my house while we held prayer. My house has minor damages. I filed a lawsuit to police and let them handle the case.”

The stones, which also landed in curries and meals, damaged motorbikes, furniture and dishes and plates. 

Area Christians said attackers signaling each other threw stones at all sides of the house. They also broke into it and vandalized it, they said.

“We are investigating those who are suspected of involvement in the attack,” said a police officer at Min Ywa police station. “We haven’t arrested them so far. We know many got involved in the attack.”
 
Aung San Myint, a lawmaker in Magway Region, told Burmese news outlet The Irrawaddy that the assailants must be brought to justice, as it is illegal to interfere with religious celebrations.
 
There are only four ethnic Chin Christian families in the predominantly Buddhist village, according to local residents. 

Burma is about 80 percent Buddhist and 9 percent Christian.

The country is ranked 24^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Super Wolf Blood Moon to Occur This Month, Is This a Sign of War in the Middle East?

A Super Blood Wolf Moon is set to grace the night sky between January 20 and January 21 this year, and some are marking it as a sign of war in the Middle East. 

First thing is first, what is a “Super Blood Wolf Moon?” 

A Super Blood Wolf Moon is first a Super Moon. A Super Moon occurs when the moon is at the point in its orbit when it is closest to the Earth. According to USA Today, the moon can look up to 14 percent bigger during this point in its orbit.

Second, it is a Blood Moon. Blood Moons were given their name because of the brassy-red color the moon turns when the Earth blocks the majority of the sunlight from reaching it. Just like how your finger turns red when you press your finger against your phone light, the moon will shine as red because light is still passing through Earth’s atmosphere, only the blue is being filtered out, USA Today reports.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, a Full moon in January is called the Wolf Moon. The Almanac notes that this specific type of moon has been referred to as a Wolf Moon since Native American and Colonial times because it “appear[s] when wolves howled in hunger outside of villages.” Essentially the wolf part of the name refers to the fact the moon is full.  

Now we have a massive, full, red-colored moon… so what? Well, it’s about to eclipse.

According to Mental Floss, the Super Blood Wolf Moon is set to totally eclipse Between 9:12 pm on January 20 and 12:12 am on January 21. The eclipse, which will be seen in North America, comes exactly one year after a Super Blood Wolf Moon total eclipse occurred over the Middle East and it also happens to occur on the same day President Trump was inaugurated two years ago, WND reports.

In his book on the Biblical significance of blood moons, Pastor Mark Biltz notes that celestial bodies work “as signs to mark sacred times.”

Blitz made all sorts of connections between the Super Blood Wolf Moon and history, telling WND, “Trump was born on the night of June 14, 1946, within 15 minutes of a total lunar eclipse and 700 days before the state of Israel was established. When he was sworn in as president on January 20, 2017, he was 70-years-old, seven months and seven days. Also, very significantly, the Super Blood Moon also falls on the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat. Even more significant is the fact that there was another Blood Moon on Tu B’Shevat last year! Last year the blood moon was seen over the Middle East and this year will be seen over the U.S.”

Blitz continued. “The Bible says that everything is to be established by two or three witnesses,” “As a matter of fact the Bible says in Psalms 89 that God’s covenant with Israel and King David is forever and the sun and the moon are to be His faithful witnesses in heaven confirming that,” he added.

The Pastor then cited several passages in Zechariah (6, 1:7), Leviticus (19:23-25), and Revelations (6), and noted that based on his Biblical analysis, this Super Wolf Blood Moon indicates, not the end of the world, but a war in the Middle East. He said, “I’m not saying it is the end of the world or that anything will happen on the 20th. I am saying the patterns show this year could possibly bring a war to the Middle East but Israel will be victorious and we may see a declaration for the rebuilding of the Temple.”

Father’s House,

Brotherhood Missions,

4/364 E, Anna Salai 1st Cross Street,

ECR, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

Book your slots

Tel : 7708505152

Email ID: worshipcentreindia@gmail.com

Praise God for the successful completion of  19720 slots in National Worship Centre with a Non Stop Worship (24/7)

Christians Hospitalized after Terrifying Christmas Attacks in India

NEW DELHI, December 31, 2018 (Morning Star News) – Christians in India who previously experienced little or no opposition reported that Hindu extremists stoned, slashed and terrorized them this Christmas season.

At least 18 incidents against Christians were reported and verified during the Christmas season, according to the Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). Of those incidents, 10 were reported from Uttar Pradesh, three from Uttarakhand, three from Tamil Nadu and two from Maharashtra.

“Both the frequency of the attacks and their intensity has increased in the past few years,” said the Rev. Vijayesh Lal, general secretary of the EFI and the national director of the RLC.

The worst attack took place in Kowad village, Kolhapur District in Maharashtra state, where masked men carrying sharp weapons attacked a Christmas gathering on Dec. 23. The bloody assault sent seven Christians to hospital intensive care, with three undergoing surgery.

Around 20 masked men barged into the Sunday worship service of the New Life Fellowship Church with swords, knives, iron rods, glass bottles, stones and other sharp objects and attacked the congregation meeting at the presbyter’s residence. Milton Norenj, coordinator of the New Life Fellowship Jadhinglaj, said the suspected Hindu extremists entered the service shouting, “Jai Bhawani, Jai Shivaji,” that is, victory to Bhawani, a Hindu goddess, and victory to the historical Hindu warrior king Shivaji.

“They barged into the worship hall and began to throw big stones and empty beer bottles at the worshippers,” Norenj said. 

Pastor Bhimsen Ganpati Chavan, 36, who has been leading the church since its inception 12 years ago, said about 40 people were present at the service when the Hindu extremists arrived.

“As soon as they entered, they began to shoot empty beer bottles and stones at the congregation,” Pastor Chavan said. “As they stepped forward, they attacked us with swords, iron rods and knives mercilessly, men and women alike.”

Of the seven people who were hospitalized, three had serious head injuries. One of the three Christians who underwent surgery, 48-year-old Vittal Jadhav, lost part of his finger to a sword chop. Jadhav also sustained a fracture in his shoulder, and he lost so much blood that doctors had to postpone an MRI needed to decide on surgery.

In all, the injuries of six of the 16 men injured were serious, while two of the 11 injured women received deep cuts on their hands, requiring stitches.

“I have been living here since the year 2000,” Pastor Chavan told Morning Star News. “We have faced some opposition before, but never an attack of this kind.”

Hindu extremists had issued threats and told church members to leave the area in 2014-2015, he said, but the issue was resolved after church leaders filed a First Information Report (FIR) with police, he said.

Swati Chavan, the pastor’s wife, was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday (Dec. 26).

“I was hit by an iron rod on my hand and received a head injury,” she said. “They hit my back repeatedly with their fists, which caused swelling. I had to undergo a head scan to rule out clotting.”

The attack, which lasted five to seven minutes, would have gone longer had it not been for the quick thinking of Pastor Chavan’s 65-year-old mother, he said.

“My mother had just ground fresh red pepper,” he said. “She took handfuls of the powder and threw it on the faces of the attackers. It got into the eye of one of the attackers, and they began to withdraw and fled.”

Some women and children in the congregation ran to the police station, five minutes away, for help, and by the time officers arrived, Christians had already called for an ambulance, he said. Three ambulances carried the injured first to a local private hospital.

When doctors saw the condition of the injured, they told the Christians to take eight of the more seriously wounded to a hospital in nearby Belgaum city, Pastor Chavan said.

Seven Christians were admitted in the Intensive Care Unit and are still undergoing treatment. Swati Chavan was discharged after receiving treatment.

Sachin Bagde, 23, required surgery for a clot in his head suffered when a stone hit his skull. Arjun Mutkekar, 47, also underwent surgery for a broken hand and elbow, as well as a hip injury, Pastor Chavan said.

Maruti Patil, 69, suffered a serious head injury and fractured his hand. Sachin Jadhav, 25, son of Vittal Jadhav, sustained a deep cut on his head. Ashok Mane sustained a head injury beside a hand fracture and injury on his neck.

Police detained a few people and registered a case against unidentified attackers for injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class (Sections 295 of the Indian Penal Code), attempt to murder (Section 307), voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons (Section 326), rioting (Section 147) and rioting armed with deadly weapon (Section 148).

A delegation of Christian leaders met with the district collector and the superintendent of police on Wednesday (Dec. 26). They asked authorities to take swift action. 

Officers formally arrested five people on Saturday (Dec. 29). Ajay Appaji Patil, Gajanand Bhaukana Patil, Amul Bhaukana Mudgekar, Mahesh Parshuram Patil and Gopal Laxman Kalkamkar, all of Belgaum District in Karnataka state, were arrested, according to local media.

“The investigations are still on, and we will soon reveal to the media what organization the attackers are associated with,” the investigating officer told a television news reporter. 

Hindu Extremist Strategy 

In almost all 18 cases reported during the Christmas season, police came under pressure from Hindu extremists, revealing the strategy of Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) groups to harass Christians with legal problems, sources said.

Christian leaders throughout India condemned the attacks.

“They want to create communal disharmony for their own political advantage,” said Nehemiah Christie, legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom-India’s Tamil Nadu coordinator told Morning Star News.

Christie said Hindu nationalists have a well-planned strategy to target Christmas processions, services, carols and programs to try to create an atmosphere of disharmony and polarize people.

Shibu Thomas, head of Persecution Relief from Kerala state, said religious freedom is at stake especially for the minority community, who must be given full freedom to practice their religion and faith in peace.

“The secular fabric of India and Indian democracy is being shredded every day,” Thomas said. “It might take several years to eliminate the hatred that has been injected in the society based on religion, polarizing communities.” 

Children’s Bus Attacked 

In Haridwar, Uttarakhand state, a mob of about 30 men from the Bajrang Dal, the youth-wing of the Hindu extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), stopped four buses carrying 200 children on their way to a Dec. 25 Christmas program.

The children, all Hindus from slums of Haridwar, were on their way to the nearby city of Dehradun. The Bajrang Dal complained that the children were being taken to churches in Dehradun to be forcefully converted to Christianity and subjected to sexual abuse by pastors.

They demanded the arrest of the teacher – a Hindu – who was escorting the children to the Christmas program. The teacher, Sandeep Kashyap, was arrested, and police came under intense pressure from extremists to hold him in custody even after learning that no forceful conversion was taking place, sources said.

Rajeev Uniyal, the officer in-charge at Shyampur police station, said that the Bajrang Dal accusations were baseless.

“The Bajrang Dal volunteers suspected that these children were taken to Dehradun to forcefully convert them and make them Christians, but our prima facie enquiry has revealed that nothing of such sort was going to take place,” Uniyal told Morning Star News.

The older children in the bus told police that they were all Hindus and were going to Dehradun to attend the Christmas program. The teacher, Kashyap, said that he has been working with slum children for 10 years and has been taking them to the Christmas program the past four years.

“Never has such a problem risen in the past years,” Kashyap told Morning Star News. “I did not know that taking the children to witness a Christmas program was such a big crime.” 

Police ‘Exhausted’ from Baseless Complaints 

In Uttar Pradesh, newspaper Amar Ujjala on Wednesday (Dec. 26) reported that police were exhausted on Christmas Day from taking several calls alleging “forceful conversion,” and that they had to comply by raiding several Christmas programs.

“All our energy is getting consumed in running around,” a police officer from Uttar Pradesh who requested anonymity told the newspaper. “Phone calls keep coming from Hindu groups who allege conversions, and so we have to go and investigate. We cannot afford to ignore them.”  

A Christian leader from Uttar Pradesh requesting anonymity told Morning Star News that, while at a police station to speak to the officer in charge, he witnessed police receiving at last 25 to 30 phone calls.

“All these calls were from Hindu organizations, some from their top leaders, pressuring the police to stop alleged conversions happening in Christmas services across the district,” he said. ‘The police listen to them as they enjoy political patronage. The police also know that their charges are false, but they have to act.”

What is happening in Uttar Pradesh, especially in Jaunpur, is very worrying, said Lal of the EFI.

“We have documented many instances where the police, instead of protecting and safeguarding the religious freedom of Indian citizens, are actually stopping them from participating in worship,” Lal said. “Even Christmas services were disrupted by policemen in uniform. Arbitrary arrests and detention of pastors and Christian leaders on the most frivolous of excuses seems to have become the order of the day.”

Anyone can accuse someone of forceful conversion without offering any proof, and police take it upon themselves to stop regular worship services and arrest the pastor and congregation members, he added.

The 10 incidents reported from Uttar Pradesh during the Christmas season include disruption of worship services by police as well as by members of various Hindu nationalist groups; arrests and detention of pastors and Christian leaders; and raids on churches and homes of pastors, according the EFI’s religious liberty commission.

The hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, against non-Hindus, has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 11^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution.

Girl with Brain Tumor: From No Cure to No Trace

Welcome to the shortest day and longest night of the year–unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case today is the shortest night and longest day of the year.

However short or long your day may be, it’s the only one you’re promised.

Ask Roxli Doss, an eleven-year-old who lives in the Austin, Texas, area. She may be out riding horses today. And that’s astounding.

Roxli was diagnosed in June with a rare, inoperable brain tumor for which there is no cure. After she underwent weeks of radiation, all her parents could do was to pray for a miracle.

“And we got it,” her mother says.

“Praise God we did,” her father agrees.

Her latest MRI scan shows no sign of the tumor. Doctors from MD Anderson, Johns Hopkins, and other hospitals all agreed on her diagnosis. Now she has gone from no cure to no trace.

Roxli will continue to undergo treatments such as immunotherapy as a precaution.

DRONES SHUT DOWN GATWICK AIRPORT

Every day brings new surprises.

President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria is an obvious example. Some are applauding, while others are criticizing.

Then came the announcement yesterday afternoon that Gen. Jim Mattis will be retiring as Defense Secretary at the end of February. The president stated that a new defense secretary “will be named shortly.”

Meanwhile, London’s Gatwick Airport has opened again after drone sightings caused it to shut down for more than a day, disrupting the lives of 120,000 passengers. Major League Baseball has reached a deal with Cuban officials that will allow Cuban citizens to play in the US and return home in the offseason. And the decline of shopping malls in America has meant trouble for the nation’s Santas.

I could keep listing surprising stories, but you get the point. As the saying goes, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.

No book in history illustrates this fact more clearly than the Bible. Just pick a story: Noah and the ark, Abraham sacrificing Isaac, Moses at the burning bush, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, David and Goliath, and the list goes on.

The theme continues in the New Testament: Jesus chooses fishermen for apostles; a murdering Pharisee becomes the apostle to the Gentiles; a frightened disciple preaches at Pentecost; an elderly prisoner gives us the Revelation.

My wife recently wrote a very insightful blog on expecting the unexpected. I especially like this statement: “Joseph of Arimathea didn’t expect to give his tomb away–and he surely didn’t expect to get it back!”

“THINK HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO BECOME A SLUG OR A CRAB.”

Of all the surprises in human history, however, Christmas deserves to be at the top of the list. That a holy God would choose to enter our unholy, broken, rebellious planet is astounding. That he would choose to do so as a helpless baby is beyond amazing.

1. S. Lewis captures the surprise: “The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a foetusinside a Woman’s body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab” (Mere Christianity, his italics).

But the surprises didn’t end in Bethlehem.

Jesus was as sinless as an adult as he was as a newborn infant. This fact is crucial. If he had sinned during his earthly life, he could not have been our sinless sacrifice, and the purpose of his incarnation would have been defeated.

Our Savior lived every day by the maxim, “Pray and obey.” He prayed early in the morning before taking his next steps in ministry (Mark 1:35-39). He prayed before performing miracles (John 6:11). He prayed all night before choosing his apostles (Luke 6:12).

And the obedience that brought him to Bethlehem took him to Calvary for us.

WHAT IS LIFE’S GREATEST MISSION?

Now he calls us to follow his example. He wants us to be a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), to take up our cross “daily” (Luke 9:23), to “live by faith in the Son of God” (Galatians 2:20). He wants us to seek our Father’s will and then obey it. Every day.

In her inspiring daily devotional, Anne Graham Lotz recently quoted Jill Briscoe, the anointed Bible teacher. Jill was once asked what she believed to be her life’s greatest mission. Her answer: “To figure out what to do every day in my life–as ordained by God–and then to do it.”

Our culture measures relationship with God by religious observance. That’s why so many will attend Christmas services in coming days but not return until Easter. They think they’ve “checked the God box” and can go on about their lives.

We should welcome them, knowing that God can speak to anyone at any time in any place. But “seasonal Christians” are missing so much. Our Father has a purpose for each of us filled with present relevance and eternal significance.

However, he reveals it each day as each day comes.

“THE MAIN BUSINESS THAT YOU ARE HERE FOR”

Eugene Peterson called the Christian faith “a long obedience in the same direction.” We follow that direction by praying and then obeying. Every day.

J.I. Packer: “Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.”

A Section 25 (Not for Profit) company which focuses on Training and Skill Development in all the States of India.

Jesus at workplace

Acts as a link between the employer (Company) and the employee. We provide training and equip for workplace evangelism. We raise reliable, sincere and trustworthy people in the workplace like Joseph and Daniel who put God first in everything they do. We provide temporary or permanent jobs.

Interested people can register with us by sending your resume and contact details to me.

Mail ID : paulvasanthan.gc@gmail.com

Contact No: 8124677493

Father’s House,

Brotherhood Missions,

4/364 E, Anna Salai 1st Cross Street,

ECR, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

Book your slots

Tel : 7708505152

Email ID: worshipcentreindia@gmail.com

Praise God for the successful completion of  19670 slots in National Worship Centre with a Non Stop Worship (24/7)

At Trump’s Hotel, Spiritual Warriors Pray for the President in His ‘Darkest Hour’

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which towers above other buildings near the White House, is best known for hosting global diplomats and prominent dignitaries in its lavish facilities.

But last Friday afternoon (Dec. 7), one of the hotel’s many glimmering ballrooms was transformed into a sanctuary, where dozens of worshippers held their hands aloft and spoke in tongues as Jon Hamill, co-founder of Washington, D.C.-based Lamplighter Ministries, led the group in prayer.

Hamill — whom supporters describe as a prophet — closed his eyes tightly and shouted above the chattering: “In Jesus’ name, we declare the Deep State will not prevail!”

He then hammered a judge’s gavel onto a podium as people raised their voices in approval.

It may seem unusual to mix ecstatic worship with a popular conservative theory that Donald Trump’s administration is being sabotaged from within by government officials installed by previous presidents. But last week’s Revolution 2018 conference (Dec. 6-8), organized by Hamill and Lamplighter Ministries, offered a rare glimpse into a peculiar subgroup of faith-fueled Trump support: a loose network of charismatic Christians who see his election and presidency as a catalyst for a spiritual “turnaround” in America, even as the nation is under siege by forces of spiritual evil.

Speakers at the conference described visions, prophesies, direct conversations with God and encounters with angelic beings — all hallmarks of charismatic Christianity. But while some charismatics shy away from explicit political speech, those assembled in Washington over the weekend claimed to see a direct tie between politics and the spiritual world.

It’s an approach that’s proved controversial.

Attendees were originally slated to gather at the Museum of the Bible, but organizers were forced to scramble to find a new venue when academics and news reports pointed out potential conflicts between the conference’s political edge and the museum’s politics-neutral mission.

The museum later said in a statement that the impetus for the move had to do with restrictions on religious services.

Hamill turned down a request for a full interview. And the event was officially closed to the press, which organizers said was at the request of the hotel. (The proceedings were livestreamed for a small fee.) But he did tell Religion News Service that he holds no ill will toward the museum.

Hamill also rejected the idea that his group was “right wing.” Instead, he insisted that the “eagle” of America needs “a strong right wing and a strong left wing,” and losing one would result in the nation “flying in circles.”

Yet conference speakers repeatedly cast Trump administration officials as agents of God. And they urged the gathering of “intercessors” — believers who offer invocations on behalf of others — to aid the White House through prayer. Doing so, they argued, would help bring about a cosmic, spiritual “turnaround” for the nation.

“I saw headlines that President Trump had one of the most difficult days of his presidency yesterday,” Hamill told the assembly on Saturday. “It is extraordinary to me that … God drew the finest group of intercessors on the planet to come here and pray through that darkest hour of President Trump’s presidency.”

Brad Christerson, professor of sociology at Biola University and an expert on the broader charismatic movement, said the Lamplighter Ministry group appears to be part of what he calls “independent network charismatic Christianity,” one of the fastest-growing religious groups in the country.

While charismatics have been around for some time, the specific political theology preached at the Revolution 2018 conference and elsewhere is a relatively new trend.

“They really think God installed Donald Trump to then install other people in the government to have what they call ‘kingdom values,’” Christerson said, speaking generally of the movement. “We call it ‘trickle down Christianity.’”

Christerson, co-author of The Rise of Network Christianity, also noted that the group’s preferred methods of political influence are distinct from religious right leaders who champion traditional grassroots organizing.

“They really feel that they’re involved in this spiritual battle to take over the world, but their tactics are pretty much all supernatural,” he said.

Hamill explained the Revolution 2018 conference was set during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah so that it could usher in a spiritual shift “to a nation that desperately desires it.”

Chuck Pierce, president of Glory of Zion International Ministries, said worshipers at the event would face off against evil forces — “a season of demonic confederacies” — in every U.S. state.

“A NEW DAY is breaking in AMERICA!!” read a slide during Pierce’s presentation, which he said were God’s words to him. “FROM STATE TO STATE BORDER WARS ARE BEGINNING! THE DAY OF BIPARTISAN RULE HAS NOW SHIFTED! A NEW RULE FOR A NEW ERA! This is a TIME TO PROPHESY!”

Speakers also appeared to adopt Trump’s rhetoric. Although Hamill, a former photojournalist, championed the idea of a free press, he and others invoked the idea of “fake news.” His wife Jolene, co-founder of Lamplighter, called on worshipers to repent for trusting certain media sources.

“We need to repent of drinking the cup of the media, because it is a false cup,” she said, closing her eyes and lifting her hands in prayer.

She later added: “We repent for getting our information, intel and all kinds of things from a false media network.”

Conference speakers repeatedly suggested their prayers helped bring about some of the president’s major achievements and hinted at an unusual level of access to the Trump administration.

Hamill told attendees a story about visiting the U.S. State Department in July with a group of faith leaders — including some at the Revolution conference — and encountering Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. He said the ambassador invited the group into his office where they prayed for pastor Andrew Brunson, who was imprisoned by Turkish officials at the time.

“We have governmental leaders throughout the Trump administration who love Jesus with all of their heart, and they are giving their all for this nation and for God’s dream for this nation,” Hamill said.

Three days later, said Hamill, Brownback announced at a major gathering on religious freedom that Brunson had been released from prison and put under house arrest.

Brownback’s office did not respond to a request to confirm the story.

Brunson, who was eventually returned to the U.S. in October, was slated to speak at the conference on Friday, but the livestream was unexpectedly cut. Organizers sent a message to viewers saying they needed to edit out “sensitive data,” and links to videos of the session have since been disabled.

At least one speaker saw God’s hand at work in American politics as the gathering was going on.

On Friday, speaker Rick Ridings interrupted the proceedings to tell attendees he had just been in the hotel atrium, watching news coverage of former FBI director James Comey’s testimony about the Russia investigation on Capitol Hill, when Trump attorney and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani walked in and sat down near him.

“It just seemed like a sign from the Lord,” he said before reading from Psalm 35:4-9, in which the psalmist calls on God to destroy enemies by making them “fall into the pit, to their ruin.”

Hamill also said prayer helped Brett Kavanaugh become a Supreme Court justice earlier this year.

“Just hours after we prayed … we saw Brett Kavanaugh get into office … the vineyard was secured,” Hamill said. “The justice of our time (is) shifting from a covenant of death empowering a future of death to a covenant of life empowering a culture of life.”

Organizers of the event believe God’s involvement in American politics began long before the Trump administration.

Hamill claimed the American Revolution was rooted in the rallying cry “no sovereign but God and no king but Jesus” — a phrase popular in stalwart Christian nationalist circles but the origin and significance of which is debated by historians.

He also said that at times, America fell short of its divine calling. “Our forefathers and founders got something wrong,” he said, by allowing the institution of slavery to persist.

Hamill argued the end of slavery and the civil rights movement were a sign of the nation’s spiritual progression toward Christian freedom.

“What Abraham Lincoln began, Martin Luther King brought to fulfillment,” he said. He then shortened the phrase to stress its Biblical overtones, again blurring the literal and the metaphorical: “What Abraham began, the king brought to culmination.”

This Christian-centric understanding of the United States was often paired with references to the importance of the state of Israel. Hamill gave thanks for Trump “realigning” America with God’s “covenant nation of Israel.” Leaders also often showcased an affinity for traditionally Jewish traditions such as Hanukkah and placed a menorah on stage.

The layering of these two ideals was made literal on the second day of the conference when organizers stood at the front of the room and placed an American flag underneath a Jewish prayer shawl, also known as a tallit. Volunteers then held both objects aloft together as participants walked beneath them to receive an anointing for commissioning into “the freedom movement.”

As they passed, some collapsed in ecstatic revelry.

China’s Crackdown on Religion: Why Religious Freedom Must Be for Al

Not since the days of Mao have we seen the sort of suppression of religion in China like we’re seeing right now.

Two recent stories from Xi Jinping’s China suggest it’s open season on religious believers there.

Reports out of Xinjiang Province on China’s western frontier say that up to one million Muslim Uighurs, the indigenous ethnic group of that region, are being held in detention camps.

One U.N. official expressed concern about reports that Beijing had “turned the Uighur autonomous region into something that resembles a massive internment camp.”

Of course, Beijing denies the allegations and insists that it’s merely cracking down on Islamic extremism.

As part of this so-called “crackdown on Islamic extremism,” China has banned the wearing of veils, prohibited giving children certain Muslim names, put limits on the length of beards, and made it a crime not to watch state television.

Given China’s horrendous human rights record, and the lack of evidence for a Uighur separatist movement, Islamist or not, it’s difficult to believe China’s denials. The more likely explanation is that Beijing is waging war on Islam as part of a campaign to subjugate the people of the region.

A similar war is being waged on Christianity in Henan Province in central China. It’s part of what’s being called “the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982.”

The brunt of this suppression is directed at unregistered “house” churches. Hundreds have been closed down. There have been raids, “interrogations, and surveillance, and one pastor said hundreds of his congregants were questioned individually about their faith.”

Even registered churches haven’t been spared. Reporters noted that these churches bore notices stating that “minors and party members were not allowed inside.” Another church had a banner exhorting members to “implement the basic direction of the party’s religious work.”

Make no mistake. What is meant by “the party’s religious work” is the active elimination of any rivals to the Communist Party, and in particular Xi Jinping, in the shaping of the worldview of the Chinese people. As one expert told the Monitor, Xi “definitely does not want people to be faithful members of the church, because then people would profess their allegiance to the church rather than to the party, or more exactly, to Xi himself.”

Local officials aren’t even coy about this. They openly speak about “thought reform.” They’re not content with mere obedience to the laws or the lack of any real challenge to the Communist Party’s authority. Their goal is to eliminate any distinction between the Party and society.

But history, including Chinese history, illustrates the absurdity of efforts like these. Within the last sixty years, two attempts at this kind of “reform,” “The Great Leap Forward” and Mao’s “Cultural Revolution,” attempted to remake Chinese society along explicitly ideological lines. What was left in their wake was tens of millions dead, and not much else.

This desperate need for control is why “Chinese leaders have always been suspicious of the political challenge…that Christianity poses to the Communist regime.” Not because Christians threaten or even desire to replace the regime, but because their ultimate allegiance lies elsewhere.

The same thing can be said about Muslims or observant Jews. Their worldview derives from something other than “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”And that reality, and not anything believers do, is what’s behind the heightened persecution.

And it’s why religious freedom for everyone everywhere must be a priority for both American Christians and our government.

A Section 25 (Not for Profit) company which focuses on Training and Skill Development in all the States of India.

Jesus at workplace

Acts as a link between the employer (Company) and the employee. We provide training and equip for workplace evangelism. We raise reliable, sincere and trustworthy people in the workplace like Joseph and Daniel who put God first in everything they do. We provide temporary or permanent jobs.

Interested people can register with us by sending your resume and contact details to me.

Mail ID : paulvasanthan.gc@gmail.com

Contact No: 8124677493

Father’s House,

Brotherhood Missions,

4/364 E, Anna Salai 1st Cross Street,

ECR, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

Book your slots

Tel : 7708505152

Email ID: worshipcentreindia@gmail.com

Praise God for the successful completion of  19670 slots in National Worship Centre with a Non Stop Worship (24/7)

For Survivor of Attack on Christians in Nigeria, a Lonely Christmas

Nearly three months after Muslim Fulani herdsmen in north-central Nigeria shot and killed his wife and four children, Samuel Wah will spend Christmas in his hospital bed, a bullet still lodged in his back.

Since the Oct. 3 attack on Ariri village, 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Miango in Plateau state, that killed 19 Christians, the 45-year-old member of St. Williams Catholic Church has remained in the hospital with the bullet lodged near his spinal cord. Doctors at Enos Hospital in Miango are not equipped to remove it safely, and Wah lacks the resources to transfer to another hospital for the advanced surgery, he said.

Wah was ill with fever the day of the attack, and he and his family had gone to bed when they were awoken at 11 p.m. by the sounds of stones hitting their roof, then sporadic gunshots, he told Morning Star News from his hospital bed.

“I forced myself to stand up while my wife was saying the gunmen are Fulani herdsmen,” he said. “I moved to the door of my living room and then opened it, only to find a Fulani man standing and aiming the gun towards where I was standing. He shot me.”

As he went down, Wah said, he heard the shooter call another armed Fulani over.

“They were speaking Fulfulde, and since I understand the language, I overheard what they were saying to each other,” he told Morning Star News. “After shooting me, the Fulani man then shot my wife and children. All of them were killed. They must have thought that I was dead too, and so moved out of my house.”

His wife, Laraba Samuel, was 39; his daughter, Reizeh, was 13; his son, Wah, was 10; his daughter, Jummai, was 7; and his son, Wei, was 5.

The herdsmen also attacked the house of 95-year-old Ahmadu Angah, 95, killing him and wounding his wife, Mary Ahmadu, 70, said Angah’s son, Joseph Ahmadu. Four of Angah’s grandchildren were also shot and killed: Bulus Danladi, 8; Gado Danladi, 7; Lami Monday, 5; and John Kurah, 7.

Joseph Ahmadu, a 42-year-old elder at the congregation of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Ariri village, told Morning Star News that 19 Christians were killed in the village that night and three others wounded.

He said Samuel Wah’s brother, 60-year-old Monday Wah, was also shot and killed alongside his wife, Abigail Monday Wah, 40, and four children in their home: Alaska Monday Wah, 8; Talatu Monday Wah, 6; Peter Monday Wah, 4; and Ezekiel Monday Wah, 2.

The Muslim Fulani herdsmen also killed another relative, Mali Wah, 40, and his wife, Jummai Mali Wah, 30, in the house, Ahmadu said.

His grandmother, Asabe Ahmadu, 80, escaped unhurt, but her daughter, Azumi Oscar, 30, was shot and wounded. She also is receiving treatment at Enos Hospital, he said.

Ahmadu told Morning Star News that this was the third attack by Fulani herdsmen on them this year, following assaults in June and July. Slain in the June attack was Adamu Tureh, 80, a member of St. Williams Catholic Church in Ariri. In the July assault, Danladi Musa, 45, was wounded from gunshot in the eye, and Maiangwa Tshohu, 70, was shot and killed, Ahmadu said. Tshohu also was a member of the Catholic church in Ariri.

Ahmadu expressed sadness that in spite of the attacks, the Nigerian government has shown no inclination to protect them from herdsmen terrorism.

“Ariri has been deserted by the few who have survived,” he said. “Many of our people have been forced to flee the village, and those of us remaining are finding it difficult to protect ourselves. I plead that the government protect us. I also want to appeal to the Fulani herdsmen to please end their unnecessary attacks on us, as we have done them no wrong.

“We pray our Lord Jesus Christ forgive our attackers and give them repentant hearts."

Christians make up 51.3 percent of Nigeria’s population, while Muslims living primarily in the north and middle belt account for 45 percent.

Nigeria ranked 14^th on Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.

Spike in Arrests of Christians in Iran Especially Severe this Christmas Season, Sources Say

Arrests of Christians in Iran usually spike as Christmas approaches, but this year has been especially severe, sources said.
 More than 150 Christians have been detained across the officially Shia Muslim country in the last month, and arrests are expected to continue.

“The current situation has been described by some as unprecedented,” Miles Windsor, advocacy and development manager at Middle East Concern (MEC), told Morning Star News. “There are a huge number of arrests and detentions.”

An uptick in arrests is expected around Christmas, Windsor said, when many Iranians are attracted to Christianity and the government seeks to deter interest through intimidation.

“Recently it seems there is definitely a coordinated and determined campaign to decimate the Christian community and to spread fear and intimidation,” Windsor said.

This year has been especially severe, however, according to MEC. Some analysts speculate that security branches, fearful of funding cuts, are trying to show their effectiveness and justify payments from the government by showing how many Christians they can arrest.

Among them, Amir Taleipour, 39, and his wife Mahnaz Harati, 36, were arrested in front of their 7-year-old daughter by intelligence agents who raided their home in Mashhad, northeast Iran on Dec. 6. The couple has not been allowed to communicate with family members or access legal assistance since then, according to MEC.

Family members are caring for their daughter while the couple is in detention, according to MEC.

Iran’s constitution makes Shia Islam the official religion but recognizes Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity as official religious minorities. It states that all laws and regulations must be based on “Islamic criteria” and official interpretation of sharia (Islamic law).

The penal code specifies the death sentence for “proselytizing” and attempts by non-Muslims to convert Muslims, as well as for moharebeh (“enmity against God”) and sabb al-nabi (“insulting the prophet [Muhammad]”), according to the U.S. State Department’s latest International Religious Freedom Report (2017).

Sisters Beaten 

On Dec. 2 two sisters from Ahvaz, in the southwest part of the country, were arrested and assaulted in detention, according to MEC.

Shima Zanganeh, 27, and Shokoofeh Zanganeh, 30, were arrested, along with Farzad Behzadi, 30, and Abdollah Yousefi, 34, who are not related to the sisters. Thirteen plain-clothes revolutionary guards raided each of their homes, confiscated their books, phones and computers, according to MEC, and took the four Christians into custody for interrogation.

Security personnel beat the sisters during interrogation at security offices in Ahvaz. Prison authorities called to report the beatings to the family, and the sisters confirmed the physical assault in a phone call, according to Mohabat news.

“The sisters were beaten badly in their interrogation,” Windsor said. “Eventually they were able to make a short phone call home to let family know where they were taken.”

The sisters were transferred to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz on Dec. 12, and a judge has set a high bail of about US$44,000 for each.

Each day that their family tried to pay the bail, court officials would tell them that the judge was not in, according to Mohabat News.

“There are suspicions the Iranian authorities are delaying their release to give time for the marks of their beating on the two sisters to heal before they are released conditionally,” Mohabat reported.

The whereabouts of Behzadi and Yousefi are unknown.

Interrogations are usually used to gather information on the arrestees’ networks and particularly to target leaders, Windsor said.

100 Christians Arrested 

At the end of November, about 100 Christians were arrested near Tehran.  

Authorities arrested Jamshid Derakhshan, 64, along with at least 70 other Christians near Karaj in Hashgterd, which is near Tehran, on Nov. 30. Derakhshan was on his way to a house-church ceremony, according to Mohabat News, but never returned, and his family’s attempts at finding out his whereabouts were unfruitful.

Two weeks later, Derakhshan was able to make a phone call and told his family he would soon be released on bail, Mohabat reported.

Derakhshan converted to Christianity 30 years ago and had already been expelled from his workplace at a government organization due to his faith, according to Mohabat, which added that his family is worried about his health as he suffers from a stomach illness.

In connection with the 70 arrests at the end of November, 30 other Christians were arrested around the same time in Damavand and other parts of Tehran Province.

Arrests are continuing, Windsor said, which increases fear and limits the flow of information.

“I don’t think much is known internally at the moment,” Windsor said. “There’s not a free flow of information.”

While it is legal to practice Christianity in Iran, Christian converts from Islam and those who share their faith are prosecuted by the government.

After interrogation, arrestees are usually charged without basis of espionage and undermining national security, Windsor said, followed by unjust convictions and heavy sentences of up to 10 or 15 years in prison.

“There is no doubt that it’s the Christian faith of these individuals that is the reason behind their arrests and detentions,” he said.

Christianity is growing in Iran, despite the ongoing crackdown. As many as 800,000 Iranians are worshipping Christ within Iran’s borders, according to Open Doors, and other organizations believe the figure could be as high as 1 million in the country of 80.3 million.

Aside from shedding light on what is happening to Christian converts in Iran among the international community, many are praying, Windsor said.

“There are a great many who are going to be praying into this situation at the moment and praying that the Christian community will be able to stand strong,” he said, “and that God would be comforting those who are suffering in detention and healing those who have had physical or emotional trauma at the hands of the Iranian authorities, and praying that this would relent and that Christians would be able to worship freely in Iran.”

The U.S. State Department this month again designated Iran as a Country of Particular Concern for severe religious freedom violations. In Christian support organization Open Doors’ list of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Iran had a score of 85 out of 100 in the 2018 World Watch List, leaving it ranked 10^th out of 50. 

Father’s House,

Brotherhood Missions,

4/364 E, Anna Salai 1st Cross Street,

ECR, Palavakkam, Chennai 600041.

Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

Book your slots

Tel : 7708505152

Email ID: worshipcentreindia@gmail.com

Praise God for the successful completion of  19600 slots in National Worship Centre with a Non Stop Worship (24/7)

Historic Debt Is at the Core of Our Economic Decline

As I predicted just after the 2016 presidential election, a sordid theater of blame has exploded over the state of the U.S. economy, with fingers pointing everywhere except (in most cases) at the true culprits behind the crash. Some people point to the current administration and its pursuit of a trade war.  Others point to the Federal Reserve, with its adverse interest rate hikes into economic weakness and its balance sheet cuts.

Some blame the Democrats for doubling the national debt under the Obama Administration and creating massive trade and budget deficits. And others look towards Republicans for not yet stemming the continually increasing national debt and deficits.

In today's economic landscape, the debt issue is absolutely critical. While it is often brought up in regards to our fiscal uncertainty, it is rarely explored deeply enough. I believe that economic crisis events are engineered deliberately by the financial elite in order to create advantageous conditions for themselves. To understand why, it is important to know the root of their power. Without extreme debt conditions, economic downturns cannot be created (or at least sustained for long periods of time). According to the amount of debt weighing down a system, banking institutions can predict the outcomes of certain actions and also influence certain end results. For example, if the Fed was interested in conjuring a debt based bubble, a classic strategy would be to set interest rates artificially low for far too long. Conversely, raising interest rates into economic weakness is a strategy that can be employed in order to collapse a bubble. This is what launched the Great Depression, it is what ignited the crash of 2008, and it is what's going on today.

The massive debt burden makes recovery difficult, if not impossible, and thus the system becomes increasingly dependent on the banking elites to resolve the problem. Debt is the fuel that keeps the centralization machine running. I am not talking about standard lending, though this can be a factor. What I'm talking about is debt created through policy; debt that's created in an instant through the use of subversive and arbitrary measures, like central bank balance sheet initiatives or interest rates. And, debt that's created through collusion between central banks, international banks, ratings agencies, and government using the removal of regulations, or the implementation of unfair regulatory standards.

Debt is a drug. The banks have known this for quite some time and have exploited the opiate of easy money to leverage entire nations and cultures into servitude or self-destruction. To illustrate this point, let's look at the debt numbers today. The national debt is closing in on $22 trillion, with over $1 trillion a year currently being added for the American taxpayer. Corporate debt is at historic highs not seen since 2008, with S&P Global reporting over $6.3 trillion in total debts and the largest companies holding only $2.1 trillion in cash as a hedge. U.S. household debt currently stands at around $13.3 trillion, which is $618 billion higher than the last peak back in 2008, during the credit crisis. U.S. credit card debt surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in 2018, the highest single year amount since 2007 (once again, we see that debt levels are spiking beyond the lines crossed just before the crash of 2008).So how can this debt be exploited to engineer an economic crisis? Let's start with household and consumer debt.

One would think that with so much lending and creation of consumer debt, we would see a massive expansion in home and auto markets. And for a time, we did. The problem was that most home purchases were being undertaken by major corporations like Blackrock, as they devoured distressed mortgages by the thousands and then turned those homes into rentals. 

In the auto market, there was a large spike in buying driven by lending, but this lending was accomplished through ARM-style car loans, the same kind of loans with lax standards that helped cause the mortgage crisis in 2008. Today, both in the housing market and the auto market, a crash is indeed taking place as the Fed raises interest rates and makes holding these loans ever more expensive. Pending home sales have tumbled to a four-year low, as one in four homes on the market is now forced to lower prices. Debt is becoming expensive, and therefore demand is slumping.

Overall U.S. auto sales began a precipitous decline this September, which has continued through November, mostly due to higher interest rates. It is clear that an economic crash, which some are merely calling a bear market, is indicated in the swift decline in housing and autos, two of the most vital consumer sectors. But what about corporate debt? Let's use GE, GM and Ford as litmus tests. GE is currently in the red for over $115 billion. And this doesn't include its pension promises to employees, which amount to over $100 billion. Given that only $71 billion has been earmarked to cover the payments, any rate hikes from the Fed constitute a millstone on the necks of GE. The likely result will be continued layoffs. Last December, GE announced 12,000 jobs to be cut through 2018, and it is likely cuts will continue into 2019.

GM, with long-term debt of $102 billion (as of September) and cash holdings of around $35 billion, is now cutting over 14,000 jobs and shutting down multiple factories in the U.S. This is due, in part, to a combination of interest rate hikes and tariffs. However, the true point of fracture is because of the expansive debt that GM is responsible for. Without such debt, neither rate hikes nor Trump's tariffs would have as intense an effect on these corporations. Ford, not to be outdone by GM, is set to announce up to 25,000 job cuts, though the bulk of them may be implemented in Europe. Ford has called this report by Morgan Stanley "premature", but we saw many similar "non-denial-denials" of these kinds of info leaks during the crash of 2008, and most of them ended up being true. Ford saw its debt rating downgraded by Moody's earlier this year to one step above junk. With current liabilities of around $100 billion and only $25 billion in cash holdings, Ford is yet another company of the verge of crumbling due to huge liabilities it cannot afford to pay more interest on.

We can see the stress that the Fed is able to place on corporations by looking at their stock buyback expenditures over the past few years. Until recently, it was the Fed's low interest rates, overnight loans, and balance sheet purchases that allowed companies to buy back their own stocks and thereby artificially prop up the markets. In fact, one could argue that without stock buybacks, the bull rally that started in 2009 would have died out a long time ago and we would have returned to crash conditions much sooner.

Well, this is exactly what is happening today.  Stock buybacks in the last half of 2018 are dwindling as the Fed tightens policy and interest rates draw ever closer to the designated "neutral rate" of inflation.  All it took as a measly 2% increase in interest to create a crisis, but with the level of debt choking the system, this should not be surprising to anyone.

By lowering interest rates to near zero, what the Fed did was create a culture of irresponsible risk, and I believe they did this knowingly. Even Donald Trump has tied himself to the performance of the stock market and embraced the debt addiction, arguing for the Fed to stop or reduce interest rate hikes to keep the debt party going. The Fed is not going to stop. Why would they? They have created the perfect bubble. A bubble that encompasses not only corporate debt, consumer debt, and stock markets, but also bond markets and the U.S. dollar itself. If the goal is a move to centralize power, then the banking elites have the perfect crisis weapon in their hands, and they barely need to lift a finger (or raise rates) to trigger the event.

As noted earlier, it is not only stock investors that are dependent on Fed interest rates, but also the U.S. government, as treasury debt becomes less desirable for foreign buyers.  The higher the potential interest barrier for the US, the higher the cost, and the less faith foreign buyers have in our ability cover our liabilities while the Fed is still tightening.

Both China and Japan have been quietly reducing treasury holdings and purchases. Failing bond auctions have been cited as a trigger for spikes in Treasury yields since the beginning of 2018. Again, even U.S. debt and the dollar are embroiled in the "everything bubble". Debt in itself is not necessarily just a tool to gain more wealth; it is also a tool to change and mold societies through financial leverage and disaster.  To understand who is creating any fiscal downturn, and to understand who benefits from economic crisis, one only needs to consider who controls the debt.

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Church in Nepal Forced to Shut Down

NEW DELHI, November 16, 2018 (Morning Star News) – High-caste Hindus who have been harassing a church in Nepal forced it to shut down last week, sources said.

For two months Brahmins, the highest caste from which Hindu priests and teachers are drawn, in western Nepal’s Palpa District had disrupted worship of the Pakhluwa Eternal Life Church in Palpa each week and accused pastor Tufani Bhar of converting villagers, the pastor said.

Church members had abandoned their building and resorted to meeting in homes, but the Brahmins issued threats to anyone found meeting anywhere, including in houses.

“It is shocking that we are not allowed to meet in homes and pray,” the 53-year-old Pastor Bhar told Morning Star News.

Having established the church about nine months ago, Pastor Bhar tried everything possible to preserve the fellowship but was unable to withstand the opposition, he said. Church attendance dwindled from 30 to 15-18 people before disbanding last weekend due to fear.

Pastor Bhar visited a few members secretly on Nov. 3, which was his last visit to Palpa.

“I was too disappointed to see the Christians scared and thus did not go last week, on Nov. 10 [Saturday, the scheduled worship day],” he said. “The Hindu-Brahmins are resorting to every method possible to scare us, threaten us and not let us meet.” 

Initially the Brahmins objected to the use of guitar and drums in the church service.

“We resorted to worshipping silently without the use of any instrument,” he said. “But then they objected to the Lord’s Supper that we partake of once a month.”

Prohibited from taking the Lord’s supper, the church began travelling from Palpa to the mother church in Butwal, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) away, to partake of the sacrament each month.

Opposition rose steadily to the point that the Brahmins refused to let the church meet for worship, Pastor Bhar said.

“The chairman of the ward [a smaller unit of the municipality] said that they will not let Christians fellowship,” the pastor said.

Previously there had been no opposition in his 38 years of ministry in Butwal and nearby areas, he said, but Hindu extremist groups from India have influenced Nepal’s Hindus.

“Before there was no persecution, but [Hindu extremist group] Shiv Sena from India has been working among the Nepalese people and radicalizing them,” he said. “They want Nepal to become a Hindu nation, but we have all religions in our country, and not just Hinduism.”

Pastor Bhar started the mother church, Eternal Life Church, eight years ago and had established four branches, including the Pakhluwa Eternal Life Church. 

In Gulariya, Bardiya District, authorities arrested a Christian woman from Australia along with four area Christians on Sunday (Nov. 12), according to reports.

Katiya Graham was arrested after someone informed police that she was evangelizing door-to-door with the other four Christians, Pastor Hari Prasad Regmi told Morning Star News.

Local media reported that she was charged with spreading Christianity.

Authorities sent Graham to Kathmandu that day for deportation, and Sweta Manandhar, Shreejan Manandhar, Tej Bahadur Shahi and Dal Bahadur Taruna are in police custody, Pastor Regmi said.

Bishnu Hari Upadhaya, director of the Department of Immigration, told media, “Nepalese law strictly prohibits such acts. Currently we are investigating whether the charges filed against her are true.”

Authorities found Bibles, diaries, pamphlets and videos related to Christianity among the accused, a Bardiya District spokesman reportedly told media.

Separately, on Nov. 4 in Butwal, police arrested four women, including two from Japan, on charges of carrying out forceful conversions. The women were accused of evangelizing door-to-door.

Authorities sent the two Japanese women, identified as Yasura Owa and Makihikula, to Kathmandu, and they were deported. The two Nepali women, Pushpa Ghimire and Tirthamaya Ghale, were released on Nov. 8, Pastor Regmi told Morning Star News.

Nepal is ranked 25 on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian

At the recent 39^th session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) denounced increasing restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.

“In August 2018, Nepal’s new Criminal Code came into effect,” WEA representative Wissam Al-Saliby said. “This new legislation, together with Nepal’s constitution, put disproportionate restrictions on the freedom of religion or belief, criminalize attempts to convert one’s religion, and thus violate the right of religious communities to share the tenets of their belief. We appeal to the governments of Sri Lanka, Nepal and India to repeal legislation and jurisprudence that violate religious freedom.”

Evangelizing is prohibited under Nepal’s new constitution, passed in September 2015, as it was under the previous constitution, but the new one has helped incite anti-Christian sentiment.

While the new constitution establishes Nepal as a secular and democratic republic, its definition of “secular” appears to protect Hinduism and allows others only to worship in their own faiths. Article 26 forbids anyone to convert a person of one religion to another. 

Evangelizing has long been illegal in Nepal, but advocacy groups have recently detected increased enforcement and other anti-Christian efforts as officials seek to placate Hindus incensed that the new constitution did not re-establish a more prominent place for Hinduism.

Under the Criminal (Code) Act of Nepal, enacted in October 2017, those convicted of evangelizing or forcible conversion can be imprisoned for up to five years and fined 50,000 rupees (US$450). The code came into effect on Aug. 19.

While Article 26 (1) of Nepal’s Constitution protects freedom of religion or belief and includes the rights to profess, practice and protect one’s religion, Article 26 (3) of states:

“No person shall, in the exercise of the right conferred by this Article, do, or cause to be done, any act which may be contrary to public health, decency and morality or breach public peace, or convert another person from one religion to another or any act or conduct that may jeopardize other’s religion and such act shall be punishable by law.”

The Christian community of Nepal has faced several cases demonstrating the ease with which the constitution’s anti-conversion laws can be misused.

There is a substantial increase in the number of aggressions against religious minorities, especially Christians, in 2018. These have included bombings and arson attacks on churches, physical assaults on Christians, false accusations alleging evangelism and conversions and false propaganda against Christians.

By criminalizing conversions, Nepal has infringed on the fundamental freedom of religion or belief which is guaranteed not only by its constitution but also secured by several international covenants, according to Alliance Defending Freedom, which undertakes legal legal advocacy for religious freedom.

“These vaguely defined laws are often abused to harass minorities,” according to an ADF press statement. “While the Indian constitution is very clear on protecting religious freedom, Nepal’s constitution prohibits the attempt of religious conversion. At the same time, Nepal is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an international treaty explicitly protecting freedom of religion and expression.”

Nepal’s vaguely defined laws are often abused to harass minorities, according to an ADF press statement.

“While the Indian constitution is very clear on protecting religious freedom, Nepal’s constitution prohibits the attempt of religious conversion,” it reads. “At the same time, Nepal is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an international treaty explicitly protecting freedom of religion and expression.”

Pastor Francis Chan Baptizes His Best Friend after 30 Years of Persistent Prayer

Author and Pastor Francis Chan revealed on Wednesday that after praying for his best friend for 30 years, he has decided to dedicate his life to Christ. 

In a blog post on Desiringgod.org, Chan shared with readers how he saw prayer working in his life when his best friend from college decided to get baptized after years of refusing to believe in Christ. 

He wrote, “We all walk in complete spiritual darkness unless God decides to shine his light on us. In some mysterious way, God shines light in a person's heart so that he instantly sees the beauty of the Gospel. No amount of human effort can produce this. Salvation is a miracle of God,” he said of his friend’s salvation.

He continued, "Many of us would say that we believe this theological truth, but our actions betray us, revealing just how much we trust in people, speeches, and events. On more than one occasion, people have begged me to speak to their lost friends, believing that my words would make the difference.”

"Too often, I have granted their wish (rather than correcting their theology), and tried desperately to come up with the perfect words to talk their friends into falling in love with Jesus. Do you see yet how ridiculous this is?" He questioned.

Chan went on to encourage people to pray. He said, “For now, I'm more than content to obey and pray. Though I'm still uncertain how it works, I have seen it work.”

The pastor explained that after college he and his best friend Ken went their separate ways. Ken had continually refused to follow Jesus and Chan had decided to live a life of service for Christ sending their lives in opposite directions. Still, Chan said he “never stopped praying for him.” 

He said, “Whenever Ken's name would pop into my mind, prayer was my natural reflex.”

Then, two years ago, while Chan was speaking in Seattle, he extended an invitation to the event to his friend – who lived in Seattle – so that the two could reconnect. 

Chan said after the event and “after 30 years of prayer, God decided to shine his light on his heart. Suddenly Jesus looked beautiful to him and he couldn't believe that he didn't see it all this time.”

"A few weeks later,” the pastor continued, “Ken and his wife flew down to San Francisco, and I baptized them.”

Chan said this experience taught him a lesson in persistent prayer noting that "no soul is too far gone for God."

He wrote, "No heart is too hard for God to soften. No son or daughter is too lost for God to rescue. Keep praying for God to do what only He can."

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Tamil Nadu, India.

National Worship Centre is a centre where the Lord of hosts, the Lord God Almighty is worshipped in His majesty all the 24 hours. Per day 12 worship teams come to worship from different parts of the Nation. One slot consists of 2 hours. The opening of NWC also turns to be the trumpet sign to start the fatal war against satan to this Nation for Christ! Do you want to join this praising Army?

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Muslims in Kenya Give Christian Family One Day to Return to Islam

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 23, 2018 (Morning Star News) – After a family in southeast Kenya put their faith in Christ this month, Muslims gave them one day to return to Islam or be killed, the father said.

“We were given a day to either recant the Christian faith or face the sword, as well as lose all the privileges the Muslims had given to us,” Abdul Abuk-Bakr of Sera village, Garsen, told Morning Star News.

Abu-Bakr had suffered a serious illness for more than two months, visiting various hospitals without improving, when a pastor whose name and church are undisclosed visited him the evening of Nov. 3, Abu-Bakr said. The pastor prayed for Abu-Bakr in Jesus’ name, and the married father of two received instant healing.

The next day, Sunday (Nov. 4), his entire family decided to place their faith in Christ for salvation from sin. The pastor’s church joyfully received the family as new members – and word of their conversion spread like a bush fire, he said.

“It reached the mosque at Sera that I had converted to Christ, and that very day I received threatening messages that the Muslims were planning to kill all of us and take away both the rented house and the two acres of land on which we had planted food crops – maize and beans,” Abu-Bakr said.

Given a day to return to Islam, on Nov. 6 the family sought refuge at the church site.

During Friday prayers on Nov. 9, Muslim leaders at the Sera mosque announced the family’s punishment for leaving Islam, Abu-Bakr learned.

“The family of Abu-Bakr are now infidels and have become apostates, and they deserve to die,” a mosque leader said.

The family has since moved from one Christian home to another, and the couple have hidden their children in a place of refuge.

“Life for us is now very difficult – the Muslims are monitoring our movements,” Abu-Bakr told Morning Star News. “We have decided to take our two children, ages 4 and 5, to a good Samaritan’s home. Though they are missing our love at their tender age, their security is more important.”

He and his wife are concerned about how they will obtain schooling for their children, he said.

“We are at crossroads, not knowing what to do – no home, no food, life-threatening environment and children away from us,” he said. “At times we are missing peace. My wife has been having sleepless nights thinking about the children. We really need prayers to remain in the Christian faith and the peace that comes from God.” 

Garsen, in Tana River County, is 54 miles (88 kilometers) from Lamu on Kenya’s coast, where Islamic extremists have killed several Christians.

Along with attacks on non-Muslims on Kenya’s coast, rebels from Somali Islamist extremist group Al Shabaab, which is allied with Al Qaeda, have launched several attacks in northeast Kenya since Kenyan forces led an African coalition into Somalia against the rebels in October 2011 in response to terrorist attacks on tourists and others on Kenya’s coast.

Kenya ranked 32^nd on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Hindu Extremist Mob Tries to Burn Pastor Alive in Odisha, State, India

HYDERABAD, India, November 26, 2018 (Morning Star News) – Pastor John Lakra was taking his 18-month-old baby to the hospital for emergency treatment in Odisha state, India when hundreds of Hindu extremists surrounded his car.

The pastor, his wife and their three children were on the way to the hospital in Sundargarh at about 7 p.m. on Oct. 23 when the mob began hurling stones at them and hitting the windows with rods as they shouted curses at him, he said.

“There were so many people that we could not even try get out there,” Pastor Lakra said. “We could not even see through the windows. My children and wife were crying. I did not know what to do.”

Earlier he had received word that Hindu extremists were looking for him regarding a text message and photo insulting the Hindu goddess Durga that a hacker had sent from his phone. He thought they only meant to talk with him.

“Soon, they pulled me out of the car, slapped and beat me black and blue,” Pastor Lakra told Morning Star News. “They ripped off my clothes. Not a single part of my body was left unstruck.”

After throwing him onto the road and kicking him, they picked him up and forced him onto a motorcycle, he said. With hundreds following, they took him to a Durga idol and forced him to kneel before it even as they continued beating him, he said.

“Then they poured a gallon of petrol on me,” he said. “Right there, I was praying in my heart. I said, ‘Lord! I submit myself to you. May this bring Glory only to you.’ While I was praying, I was so moved by the Holy Spirit. There was so much pain that I have not done enough, that I must share about my Lord’s love to so many, my journey is not over yet. These words rumbled in my heart.”

Hindus shouted that he should be given as a live sacrifice to the goddess, the pastor said.

“After they poured petrol on me, miraculously there was a blackout [power out],” Pastor Lakra told Morning Star News. “And within minutes, police reached the spot and rescued me.”

Christians in Odisha practice their faith with awareness of how Hindu extremists burned to death Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, 10-year-old Philip and 6-year-old Timothy, in their car in the state’s Manoharpur village on Jan. 23, 1999. 

Jailed and Charged 

At the police station, church members informed Pastor Lakra that hospital staff members managed to pull his wife and children from the mob, he said. They also brought him some clothes.

Local Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to the police station and demanded that he render an apology, he said.

“I agreed to it since the text had been forwarded by my number,” Pastor Lakra said. “I apologized for it and for hurting their feelings. But their leaders refused to forgive me and had put pressure on police that they must lodge an FIR [First Information Report] against me.”

Sundargarh police booked him for “deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings” (Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code), “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion” (Section 153-A) and “criminal intimidation” (Section 506).

A judge rejected his plea for bail, and he spent 10 days in jail. The pastor received bail only after an inspector from the Central Bureau of Investigation found that a hacker had forwarded the derogatory message from another source using Pastor Lakra’s WhatsApp account. The pastor was released on Nov. 1.

He told Morning Star News he did not send the message insulting the Hindu goddess and did not know how it got sent from his phone to the 200 people in his WhatsApp group.

Prior False Charge 

Pastor Lakra has faced opposition before.

After graduating from a Bible college in 2011, he built a prayer center for healing the sick. About 15,000 people from all religions and classes of society came for prayer, and many who were healed put their faith in Christ and attended worship services, he said.

“I have seen opposition when the high-caste Hindus and family members of RSS and Bajrang Dal activists came to know Jesus,” he said. “They hurled stones at the building, and I received threats. But the Lord helped us establish churches in six districts in Odisha state. And in Sundargarh, we now have several such prayer centers assembling on weekends and praying for the sick.”
 
In 2015 Hindu relatives of Lakra joined RSS leaders and other hard-line Hindus to file a case against him alleging that he had mixed poison into water served during Christmas season services. Police charged him with attempted murder, and he was in jail for 13 days before he was released for lack of evidence.

“Police could not find any evidence against me, but the case is still on and I have to go to the court whenever they call,” he said.

Since his release following the Oct. 23 attack, unknown people have knocked on his doors, broken light bulbs and damaged flower pots, he said. Also, a woman recently came to his home saying she knew many key BJP leaders and demanded 200,000 rupees (US$2,835) to close the cases against him, Pastor Lakra said.

The hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, against non-Hindus, has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 11^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution.

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LGBT Activists Next Target: Charitable Status of Churches

Over the past decade, attacks on Canada's Christian communities by LGBT activists have escalated significantly. 

In Alberta, Education Minister David Eggen is threatening to defund and possibly shut down religious schools that do not accept Gay-Straight alliance clubs. Canada's Supreme Court recently ruled against Trinity Western University, a private Christian institution in British Columbia, for having students agree to a lifestyle contract upon enrollment. And of course, attempts to force schools to teach gender ideology are taking place simultaneously in nearly every province across the country.

I've seen many Canadian Christians post articles describing these events on social media, often accompanied by the million dollar question: "What's next?" 

I suspect that I've known the answer to that question for some time, but recent events in Ontario indicate that it could happen sooner than I'd thought. The potential catalyst is a story that has been reported on breathlessly by Canadian media for just over a week now.

A Bowmanville woman, Kimberley Mills, was attending the Calvary Baptist Church in Oshawa, Ontario. Calvary Baptist, like most churches (and all Christian churches for the past two thousand years prior to a few decades ago) holds to the traditional biblical teaching on sexual morality. 

Mills, however, has been in a relationship with her partner Meghan Fowler for several years. Despite the many liberal churches she could have attended that would have been more than thrilled to celebrate her relationship, Mills chose to attend a church that adheres to what the Bible says about sexuality, and even to serve as youth leader.

After sharing with people in her church that she was in a long-term same-sex relationship, she was removed from the membership rolls of Calvary Baptist Church in November, and received a letter from the church leadership informing her of this fact. This is standard practice for many churches: Membership is voluntary, but members must abide by the rules of the church community. As reported by the Toronto Star:

"It is a very serious matter to remove a member for discipline as you will note in the 1 Corinthians 5:5 text, and our hearts are broken over it," said the letter signed by Dr. Tim Wagner, deacon chair.

Representatives from the church released a followup statement to say that everyone is welcome to attend Sunday services, regardless of whether they are members. However, the church does have the option to remove someone from membership -- a "voluntary association of like-minded individuals."

"We love and care for everyone since we are all made in the Image of God," said the Calvary Baptist Church statement. "Those who choose to become members of Calvary Baptist Church share our theological and doctrinal beliefs and agree to live in accordance with those beliefs. When an individual ceases to hold those beliefs or live in accordance with them, as has recently happened, that individual may be removed from membership but always remains welcome to attend our services and other programs."

The letter informed her that she was "living in disobedience to the Scriptures," which made Mills very upset. The Star noted that this conflict "thrust [her] into the role of gay rights advocate," and quoted Mills explaining that, "It's clear that something needs to change. I feel that God designed me the way I am and He's going to love me the way I am." 

She promptly went public on social media, and says she has been (predictably) receiving much public support, as well as getting many messages from pastors informing her that they were in complete approval of her relationship. Again, it is difficult to understand why Mills did not choose to attend a church presided by over one of those pastors to begin with.

Mills now says that she had "started to be concerned about coming out at the church when a sermon took a strong stand against homosexuality," and "felt like she wasn't able to be true to herself while at church." (This is understandable, as biblical churches do not exist to help people feel "true to themselves," but rather speak of the need for repentance and obedience to God.) 

Mills had several discussions with church leaders that she found unsatisfactory, and instead decided to leave the church--"but she plans to continue speaking out about her experience."

That experience has already attracted the attention of one gay activist, who has now put Calvary Baptist Church in his crosshairs:

Oshawa community advocate Mac Moreau has launched a letter-writing campaign asking the Canada Revenue Agency to review the charitable status of Calvary Baptist Church. 

As a registered charity, churches receive significant tax breaks from the provincial and federal government -- with the requirement that churches devote all of their resources to charity.

"The church has allowed its resources to be used for activities that promote hate and intolerance," said Moreau. "If you are going to promote hate and intolerance, you shouldn't receive benefits from the Canadian government that all Canadians contribute to."

Moreau said the letter -- and potentially ensuing CRA assessment -- isn't meant to close the Calvary Baptist Church. The aim is to support other gay parishioners who are feeling pushed out of their churches, and to hopefully serve as a warning to all churches that preach intolerance.

"This isn't meant to destroy a church family," said Moreau, who attended the Calvary Baptist Church as a child and said he later left over concerns about the messages of obedience and intolerance. "This is simply to say in this day-and-age, when you're receiving benefits from the public purse, this is not acceptable."

This will be the next strategic move on the part of Canadian LGBT activists. Justin Trudeau's Liberal government has already placed an ideological litmus test (which includes LGBT issues as well as abortion) as a prerequisite for gaining access to the Canada Summer Jobs Program, and soon enough LGBT activists will turn their attention to those churches (and other religious institutions) that still hold to the traditional biblical teaching on sexuality. 

Perhaps Kimberley Mills will be the catalyst, or perhaps somebody else will. But it will happen and probably sooner rather than later.