Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro  17:11 The spirit in an  evil man which seeks only rebellion

Restrained from bringing any more

“……and told Moses, "The people are bringing much more than enough for the work that the LORD has commanded us to do."  Then Moses issued an order, and the message was taken throughout the camp, "Men and women, don't bring more offerings for the sanctuary." The people were restrained from bringing any more…. Exo 36:5,6 

When the Lord initiates a work, He Himself will inspire the hearts of those who should contribute towards it.  Today most of the ministries are continuously demanding for money. They run even contests and parades to collect offerings.

Because of foreign funds the ministries get competitions and splits exist among ministries today. When we started the ministry which the Lord to us,  the Lord commanded us never to request anyone for an offering. The Lord went on providing for the needs of the ministry miraculously. Now we are confident that whenever the Lord asks us to start a project, He will see that the needs are met with.

Then we had another problem of other ministries stealing personnel trained by us. This started from day 1 onwards. Since the Lord has entrusted us with the ministry of training people, the enemy wanted to provoke us by stealing the trained personnel  and using them for some other ministry which is in direct contradiction to the Lord’s purpose for while they are trained. Then I placed this complaint with the Lord. He satisfied me with a reply. “You need me or people?” which convinced me clearly of the enemy’s schemes. Of course I knew what reply I should give. Then He said, “Leave all these worries, I will be your cup and portion. Let whoever wants take away the money, ministry  or people don’t bother about it. Let nothing and no one steal “Me’ from  you. I will never leave you or forsake you. This gave me the conviction with which we are running.

Latin American Evangelicals vs "Gender Ideology"

Evangelicals are on the rise in Latin America. And at least one writer at the New York Times is very, very concerned. The explosive growth of Christianity in what is called the "Global South"--places like Africa, Asia, and Latin America--has been well-documented and reported, including by BreakPoint. While much attention has centered on Africa, the story in Latin America is no less dramatic and no less important. Someone who's noticed what's going on there is the New York Times but, to put it mildly, they're not very happy about it.

A recent op-ed piece, written by Javier Corrales, a political scientist at Amherst College, starts by describing the growth of Evangelicalism in Latin America. Corrales tells readers that "Evangelicals today account for almost 20 percent of the population in Latin America, up from 3 percent three decades ago."

These impressive numbers are only a prelude to the main point of his article: Evangelicals' growing impact on Latin American politics which, for Corrales, is bad news. While "Evangelical pastors embrace varied ideologies," he writes, "when it comes to gender and sexuality, their values are typically conservative, patriarchal and homophobic." Thus, "in every country in the region, [Evangelical pastors] have taken the strongest stands against gay rights." This makes the "rise of evangelicalism . . .politically worrisome," Corrales writes. He goes on to complain that evangelical voters "tend to be intransigent on issues of sexuality, which feeds cultural polarization."

You might ask, "Cultural polarization about what?" The principle example is what Latin American Christians call the "ideology of gender." In Corrales' words, "This term is used to [negatively] label any effort to promote acceptance of sexual and gender diversity," including the idea that "gender identity is a construct."

If this sounds familiar, it should. So-called "gender diversity," among other things, is what fuels our current cultural obsession with transgenderism, gender fluidity, and other rejections of biological reality. It's why, for instance, Britain's National Health Service does not routinely offer breast and cervical cancer screenings to women who self-identify as men. Latin American Christians, understandably, don't want to go down that road and that includes both Catholics and Protestants.  As Corrales tells us, "Politically, we may be witnessing a historic truce between Protestants and Catholics in the region."

Fighting the "ideology of gender" is the result of this cooperation. Another result is the phenomenon known as "Don't Mess With My Kids," which has spread across the region. The movement originated in Peru as Evangelical and Catholic parents objected to a school curriculum that, in their estimation, sought to indoctrinate their children into a new sexual ideology. They cited readers that made Little Red Riding Hood a boy and the use of a book entitled "Oliver Button is a Sissy." In response, 1.5 million Peruvians marched in the streets, telling their leaders that "the people 'refuse to surrender.'" The movement has spread to neighboring Ecuador and other parts of Latin America and everywhere it goes, it's primary objection is to "state meddling" as well as "the exclusion of parents in the sexual formation of their children."

For the New York Times, all of this might be "politically worrisome," but lost in all those worries is the fact that gender ideology is a prime example of what might be called "cultural imperialism." The ideology is being imposed on Latin America by its secular northern neighbors, and Christians there have said, "Basta! Don't mess with our kids!"

- By PNW Staff

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This Month in NWC we are worshipping for “Chennai”. Book your slot for worship. No doubt the nation is going to be shaken during our worship. Be ready and prepare for that.

Praise God for the successful completion of 16733 slots in National Worship Centre with a Non Stop Worship (24/7)

Did You Know You Can Send a Letter of Encouragement to a Persecuted Believer?

Open Doors USA, a Christian organization that monitors Christian persecution worldwide, is offering believers an opportunity to write notes of encouragement to fellow believers.

The letter-writing campaign is part of Open Doors' mission to extend extra love and compassion to persecuted Christians around the Valentine’s Day holiday.

“Today, we’d like to invite you to participate in a similar Valentine's Day opportunity. Would you pause for just a few minutes to write a brief message of love and encouragement for Open Doors to deliver to persecuted Christians living in other dangerous regions in our world?” Open Doors asks in their recent newsletter.

“Today, as we remember persecuted Christians, would you join us in following the example of the apostle Paul who often wrote letters to churches facing crisis or need? Your words today, just like Paul’s in the New Testament, could be an important encouragement to believers living out their faith in the world’s most difficult places,” the newsletter continues.

If you are interested in taking a few minutes out of your day to send a note of encouragement to a persecuted Christian, you can learn more here. Both physical and digital letters are accepted. Be sure to read Open Doors’ letter-writing guidelines before submitting your letter.

Muslim Herdsmen, Terrorists Kill Eight Christians in Central Nigeria, Sources Say

Attacks on villages in north-central Nigeria that killed eight Christians in the past two weeks were carried out by Muslim Fulani herdsmen aided by terrorists from Islamic extremist groups, a local pastor said. The Rev. Sunday Gado Biri told Morning Star News that the assailants also torched 50 houses belonging to Christians, including his own, and his church building was partially burned in the attacks on Zanwra, a suburb of Jebu-Miango near the city of Jos, Plateau state.

“A critical look at these attacks has revealed that it is not only the herdsmen who are attacking Christian communities, as there are terrorists collaborating with them to carry out these attacks,” said the 54-year-old pastor of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Zanwra.

He appealed to the Nigerian government to bring to an end unabated attacks on Christian communities. “It is unfortunate that the soldiers brought here are not taking decisive actions against the herdsmen,” he said. “When the herdsmen were burning down houses, the soldiers could not stop them. In spite of this, I still want to appeal to the Nigerian government that it should stop these killings.”

In attacks on Zanwra village between Jan. 22 and Jan. 25, the eight Christians were killed in four ambushes on different days, while the houses were destroyed in two separate attacks. Pastor Biri said one of his church elders, 60-year-old James Nengwe, was slain the evening of Jan. 24 as he tried to escape. “He was on his way to the military camp just about two kilometers from his house when he was ambushed, shot and killed by the herdsmen,” the pastor said. “In fact, he was just a few hundred meters from the military camp. He decided to take refuge at the military base camp when he saw the herdsmen attacking and burning houses close to his house.”

Zanwra resident Moses Chohu confirmed that armed herdsmen shot Nengwe to death as he fled for safety. Soldiers who were trying to repel the attackers ran out of bullets, and so the attackers succeeded in burning down houses.” A mini-van carrying persons from Jos to Kwall was ambushed near the ECWA church, Zanwra, and “the driver, the conductor, and one other Christian” were killed and about 20 others injured, Moses said. Police identified two of the Christians killed in the ambush as Danlami of Kwal District and Emmanuel Audu of Jebbu-Miango.
 
Zanwra resident Chohu said attacks on Christian communities in the area began on Jan. 14, when three Christians from Kimakpa village went to Maiyanga village, and herdsmen attacked them as they were returning to Kimakpa at about 6 p.m. “One of them was killed, the second was injured, while the third escaped unhurt,” Chohu said. Their names were not readily available. On Jan. 22 three Christians from Kpachudu and Kwall villages who had gone to a mining camp at Telma village were returning at about 6 p.m. when Muslim Fulani herdsmen ambushed them at Chuvo-Kpara village, Chohu said. The three died in the attack, with the herdsmen chopping off the head of one of them and taking it with them. 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.

Fearing Deportation, a Third Indonesian Christian Seeks Sanctuary in a NJ Church

A third undocumented Indonesian has sought sanctuary in his New Jersey church, saying he fears deportation to his native country because Christians suffer persecution there. Harry Pangemanan joins two other Indonesian Christians now living in the Reformed Church of Highland Park, about 35 miles south of New York City. One man has lived in the church for more than three months and the other for more than two weeks.

On Sunday (Jan. 28), three days after Pangemanan sought sanctuary in the church, fleeing what he believes were Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside his home, supporters gathered for a vigil and march in support of the three men. The sanctuary seekers are backed by many in the local clergy and local government, as well as New Jersey’s new governor, Phil Murphy, who has visited the church and on Thursday tweeted his promise to fight on their behalf. “I just met with families torn apart, and others seeking sanctuary at Reformed Church of Highland Park. Our hearts go out to all New Jerseyans living in fear of deportation. I will fight for you,” he tweeted.

The Highland Park church is one of more than 30 congregations across the nation that are housing people at risk of deportation, according to Church World Service, which is tracking the development. Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world, has come under intense criticism for the persecution of Christians within its borders. Last year the Christian governor of Jakarta, the nation’s capital, was sentenced to two years in jail for blasphemy against Islam, a development many deemed a serious setback for those trying to shore up religious tolerance in Indonesia.

Sunday’s vigil for the men, at the First Presbyterian Church of Metuchen, ended with a march to a rally at that town’s municipal hall. There participants called for the release of two other Indonesian men who belong to the Reformed Church of Highland Park and who are being detained by ICE, as well as legislation to protect immigrants. Melanie McDermott, a neighbor of one of the men seeking sanctuary in the church who attended the rally with her husband, said anti-immigrant policies should not target people who have established themselves as productive members of society.

“We feel that enough is enough. This has to stop. We want a path to citizenship for law-abiding people starting with asylum seekers who are part of our hardworking fabric of our nation,” she said. At the rally, activists linked arms and sang the civil rights movement anthem “We Shall Overcome.” “If it took this situation to wake us up, so be it,” Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch said of the sanctuary seekers as he addressed the crowd.

“But we’re woken up now and we’re going to do something about it.”

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro 17:19 The spirit which loves quarrel and  sin

Worshipping at a distance

“The LORD told Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance.  Only Moses is to approach the LORD, but the others are not to approach; the people are not to come up with him." Ex 24:1,2

Our Hindu brothers still practise “Worshipping at a distance”. Roman Catholics worship through mediators even of dead persons.  But the living God Jehovah has sent His Son among us so that He can live inside of us. Jn 14:23, Jn 15:7

We, the children of God who have accepted Jesus as our Saviour and Lord should not worship the Lord ‘at a distance’.  This is what those who do not have the true knowledge of God and His Son know Jesus practise.  

In the Old Testament the privilege given to Moses alone, is given to all of us in New Testament. Approaching Him closer, touching Him, tasting Him, (Tree of life) through Jesus Christ. Eph 3:11-12

Worshipping Jehovah standing at a distance, or worshipping Him through mediators like Gurus, priests, Fathers, Pastors, whether dead or living, is not acceptable  because  He lives in us.

……….. "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him”. Jn 14:23 

Duty of the soldiers of AOJ

"Tell the Israelis that when they have crossed the Jordan River to the land of Canaan, 

they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places,  take possession of the land, and live in it, because I've given you the land to inherit. ‘You are to divide the land among yourselves by lot according to your families. The larger the families are in number, the larger their inheritance is to be. The lesser the families are in number, the lesser their inheritance is to be. To whomever the lot falls, that inheritance goes to him. Divide it according to your ancestral tribes. (Num 33:51-54)

Num 33:55  "But if you fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, their survivors will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, to prick your sides and afflict you in the very land in which you'll be living. 

Num 33:56  Then, what I had planned to do to them, I'll start to do to you." 

Time given to them to drive out the enemies 

Sis. Angelica AJ

Sacrificing Children to Trans Ideology: An Unscientific Federal Study

BY JOHN

Don't be fooled by the scientific-sounding jargon. Transgender ideology is just that: an ideology--and it's one that's endangering lives. 

What do you do, as a Christian, when someone cites a "scientific study" allegedly proving that transgender kids do well with hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery? Well, you've got to ask questions.

That's certainly the right strategy for a  new $5.7 million study just commissioned by the National Institutes of Health.

Writing at Public Discourse, Jane Robbins and Erin Tuttle predict that this study, once completed, will become the go-to evidence for supporters of so-called "affirmation therapy." In other words, it will be used to support chemically and surgically altering the developing and healthy bodies of children, to make them look like those of the opposite sex. The study's methodology, authors, and stated purpose all make it clear that it's crafted to produce a predetermined conclusion: that "transgender affirmation therapy is safe and effective for gender-dysphoric youngsters." 

The study's authors all but admit this, writing in their abstract that their goal is "to use cross-sex hormones in order to induce development of desired secondary sexual characteristics that bring the body into closer alignment with the youth's internal sense of gender." Notice the appropriateness of altering a child's body to harmonize with his or her preferred gender is just assumed; it's not evaluated. And this assumption is destructive, even sometimes deadly. Let's be clear about what "affirmation therapy" really means: Children are given high doses of puberty-suppressing drugs. Doctors then flood their systems with testosterone or estrogen to induce the formation of opposite-sex characteristics like breasts in males and facial hair in females. Some patients, partway through this process, will undergo "sex-reassignment surgery" in which their internal and even external genitals are removed or remodeled.

This so-called "treatment" will render them infertile for life and can create a host of side-effects, like cancer, infections, gallbladder diseases, and spikes in blood pressure. There is also no long-term research on how these high doses of hormones affect bodies in the long run--bodies that weren't designed to handle them in the first place. There is, however, abundant data on the psychological damage of medically "transitioning." One study from Great Britain found that 20 percent of patients who'd undergone this procedure regretted it. Walt Heyer, a man who formerly lived as a transgender woman and now identifies with his biological sex once again, thinks that's a serious underestimation. He cites research showing that 41 percent of post-operative patients attempt suicide, 90 percent have a "significant form of psychopathology," and half have depressive symptoms. The NIH is apparently ignoring all this, and it's clear even at this early stage that they've got a conclusion in search of an argument. All four of the doctors and clinics selected to conduct the research are deeply invested in transgender ideology. 

Two already conduct irreversible hormonal transitions, sometimes on children as young as 14 years old. And one calls therapies aimed at reconciling kids with their biological sex "dangerous." But what's truly dangerous is that this deeply unscientific project will not only harm the children involved, it's largely unnecessary. Robbins and Tuttle cite research showing that 80 to 90 percent of gender dysphoric children will accept their biological sex by late adolescence. In other words, they often grow out of it. Yet the NIH is paying for research--with our tax dollars--to engrave these feelings irreversibly on children's bodies--all at a time when they're too young to fully understand the consequences.

Like almost everything, this comes down to worldview. Transgender activists believe that feelings define people. And if our feelings are out-of-sync with our bodies, then our bodies must change--through any chemical or surgical means necessary. But beginning with this conclusion and then crafting a study to prove it isn't science. In fact, it's more like a religion that's demanding child sacrifice.

-By PNW Staff

Christian Students Knifed, Beaten in High School Clash in Kenya

Muslim students at a high school in Nairobi on Tuesdaynight (Jan. 23) beat and stabbed Christians who refused to convert to Islam, a local source said.

Tensions had been growing for weeks at Jamhuri High School in northern Nairobi, with Muslims primarily of Somali, Boran and Oromo descent complaining of discrimination. Due to increasing hostilities, the boarding school had designated separate bathrooms and separate sections in the library for Christians and Muslims, a source told Morning Star News.

 “Some Muslim students forcefully tried to induct Christian students into their Islam faith, and those who refused were knifed, while others were physically beaten,” the source told Morning Star News by phone. “The knives and machetes used are alleged to have come from outside the school.”

At least 35 of the school’s 1,500 students were injured, including some Muslims when the Christian students tried to defend themselves, the source said. Some Christian students received hospital treatment for stab wounds and dislocated bones in their hands and joints, he said.

Police were investigating the cause of the attack at this writing. The school has been closed indefinitely.

School Principal Fred Awuor was reportedly injured in the attack and had received hospital treatment.

Overlap on Persecution Lists Reveals Danger for Christians

The week after the U.S. State Department redesignated 10 nations as countries of particular concern (CPCs) over “systemic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations,” the Christian group Open Doors USA released its annual World Watch List of the 50 most dangerous countries for Christians.

Both lists include Myanmar (also known as Burma), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, with Open Doors noting all 10 countries had extreme, very high, or high levels of persecution against Christians.

Totalitarian North Korea created the most danger, followed closely by Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Pakistan, according to Open Doors’ analysis. India jumped from 15 to 11 on the list due to Hindu nationalists’ increased persecution and the growing power of the nationalist political party.

Overall, 215 million Christians around the world face threats due to their faith. Open Doors called Islamic extremism the “dominant” driver of persecution against Christians in 35 of the 50 countries listed. That included attacks by Islamic extremist groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan, al-Shabaab in Somalia, and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Open Doors CEO David Curry said his team found a “shocking” escalation in attacks against Christian women. Researchers documented 2,260 separate cases of sexual harassment, rape, or forced marriage of Christian women in 2017—six women per day. Because of underreporting, Open Doors suspects many more cases likely happened.

Pakistan did not make the State Department’s list, but it was the fifth most dangerous country for Christians according to Open Doors, with the most recorded violence.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an advisory body to the State Department, also monitors religious freedom in dozens of countries and publishes findings and recommendations each April.

For many years, it urged the State Department to put Pakistan on the list of CPCs. Although State Department officials didn’t heed that advice, they took a new step in 2018 by placing Pakistan on a “Special Watch List” for severe violations of religious freedom.

USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark applauded the latest State Department redesignations on Jan. 4, but added that they don’t go far enough.

“Secretary [Rex] Tillerson should have also designated the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam,” Mark said. He also called Pakistan’s absence a “surprise and disappointment.”

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, appreciated the State Department’s inclusion of Myanmar, but wanted Vietnam added to the list, VOA News reported.

“The Vietnamese people continue to have their religious freedom and other human rights violated. The United States should never shrink from calling out countries for such abuses,” he said.

In its 2017 report, USCIRF also recommended Tier 2 CPC designations for Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and Turkey. Tier 2 status indicates systemic, ongoing, or egregious violations of religious freedom, rather than all three, as covered by a Tier 1 designation.

For the first time, USCIRF named “entities of particular concern” (EPCs) for non-government perpetrators of violations if they exerted a certain level of territorial control. It recommended terror groups Islamic State, the Taliban, and al-Shabaab be named EPCs. So far, the State Department has not followed suit.

USCIRF looks broadly at religious freedom violations for citizens of all religions, including atheists, while Open Doors specifically documents Christian persecution. But their findings are very similar.

All but two countries USCIRF named in 2017 also ranked on the 2018 World Watch List: Russia and Cuba. Curry said Open Doors will watch Russia closely due to the potential negative effects of recent religious laws banning evangelism, among other things.

“As yet, it does not rise to the level of the other countries on the list,” he said. “Likewise, Cuba is a country to watch, but currently is not on the list.”

Harassment at Messianic Jews' Center in Israel Begins Anew

After opposition shut down a meeting center for Messianic Jews in southern Israel last May, ultra-Orthodox Jews are harassing it again since it re-opened this month, sources said.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews protested the presence of the center in Dimona, Israel on Tuesday (Jan. 23) and threatened some of the Messianic Jews, followers of Jesus, according to advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC).
 
“Protests have taken place the last two weeks after the reopening of the center at the beginning of January,” according to a MEC press statement.

The center, where Messianic Jews meet for conversation, coffee and tea, had been temporarily closed last year due to protests by ultra-Orthodox Jews on May 4, 2017, after which they damaged Messianic Jewish leaders’ homes, breaking windows and traumatizing two children inside one home, one of the leaders told Messianic news outlet Kehila News Israel.

“Because we bent down at the right moment, we were not hit by stones thrown at us,” Albert Knoester, elder at a Messianic congregation in Beersheba, said of last year’s attacks in an interview published by Kehila News Israel. “Apart from this damage, there was also psychological trauma to one of the families in Dimona, due to the demonstrations and also because their house was damaged by stones. But also through bullying, etc., their two young daughters were traumatized by what had happened, and they needed psychological help.” 
Those incidents, however, led to townsfolk on the street inviting them for drinks to talk, he told Kehila News.
 
“Quite a number of ‘ordinary people’ are feeling ashamed of what is being done to us,” he told Kehila News. “We receive invitations from people to come over and have a coffee with them. We had at least six times an opportunity to explain to a rabbi why we believe that Jesus is the Messiah – as a result of the question to us, ‘Why do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah?’”

Local media have misrepresented the center as a “mission post,” and false reports including accusations of bribery for conversion to Christianity have also led Jews to talk with them, he told the news outlet. A group of rabbis showed up to interrogate them, he said, and when his wife Esther responded with verses from Psalm 23, they agreed to temporarily close the center while continuing to discuss what place the “Open House” should have in the community.

“One day later,” he told Kehila News, “one of the rabbis wrote in a local newspaper: ‘We went to that house in order to silence them by force, but that woman would not stop talking! She should know about that other verse of Psalm 23: about the valley of the shadow of death. Let her go through it, together with her husband.’”
 
In the following days local media began a slander campaign, he said. Besides the bribery accusation – that they would offer a car in exchange for converting to Christianity – they were accused of putting a powder in people’s coffee “to change Jews into Christians,” and of coercing Jews to convert by force, he told the news outlet.
 
“Because they are unable to charge us, and unable to find anything against us, another weapon is used instead: lies, gossip, changing facts and blackmail,” he told Kehila News. “There are pictures of us in the city center with severe warnings. Also, big posters on billboards with nasty texts have been put up. The people are warned to watch out and protect their children against us.”

Bible Society Threatened

In Tel Aviv, a Bible Society bookshop is under threat of being shut down.

The owner of the bookshop’s building alleges that the Bible Society is violating its commercial license by selling Christian literature other than Bibles and therefore should not have protected tenant status, according to MEC. The shop has been in the same location for 55 years.

Palestinian Territories

In Bethlehem, where two nuns and their convent in the Palestinian Territories were attacked last year, a policeman appeared to be altering the facts in his testimony at a hearing on the case on Monday (Jan. 22), according to MEC

On April 30, 2017, a woman identified as a member of the Mahatna family, which has taken over part of St. Mary’s Coptic Convent, broke into its storeroom and physically assaulted a nun identified only as Sister Maria, besides damaging the property. While the nuns were on the way to a police station to file a complaint, the alleged assailant’s brother, Rami, and a friend stopped their car and struck it with an iron bar, unaware that a police officer was inside the car, MEC reported

“According to Sister Maria, the police officer who had been in the car failed to give a true account of what happened” in testimony this week, MEC reported. “It is believed that the Mahatna family have close links to influential members of the Palestinian Authority and that, as a result, the course of justice is being obstructed.”
 
A lawyer representing the nuns has asked for damages to the car to be examined by an expert and presented as evidence. The next hearing is scheduled for April 9.

The Mahatna family has illegally taken up residence in part of the convent building, according to MEC.
 
At a prior hearing on Monday (Jan. 22) regarding the alleged assault on Sister Maria by the Mahatna family member, identified only as Rania, a judge appeared sympathetic to medical reports on the nun's injuries, according to MEC. A final hearing is scheduled for March 23.

“Prayer is requested that the judges will examine the cases fairly, and that justice will be seen to be promptly done; and that the Mahatna family members will stop harassing the nuns and move out of the convent premises,” MEC said in a statement.

Government, Police in India Thwart Threatened Attacks on Christians

The Rev. Shaju Devassy was quietly attending to his work as director of a Catholic graduate college in central India on Dec. 30 when police showed up and told him a mob of angry Hindu protestors was on its way. Police in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh state held the 70-strong mob outside the gate of St. Mary’s Post Graduate College as long as they could, but the protestors managed to jump a boundary wall, and soon they surrounded Devassy at his church presbytery.

Threatening and reviling him, they accused him of being anti-national for refusing to let them worship the Mother India goddess (Aarti of Bharat Mata) at the Catholic institution.

“In menacing tones, they warned him that should he refuse to do the Aarti, they would garland him with the ‘garland of shoes [juthe ki mala],’” Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, told Morning Star News.

Another protestor questioned Devassy as to whether he knew Indian culture, the bishop said. “He asked the director, ‘Who is the goddess of education? Why is Saraswati Vandana [worship of goddess Saraswati] not being done in the college?’”

The mob told him that the worship of the Mother India goddess was to be performed as a sign of patriotism, the bishop said.

“As Indians, the activists claimed that they did not require permission from anyone and would perform it anywhere without anybody’s permission,” Mascarenhas said. “The leaders of the mob made it clear that many more would come again to the college campus on Jan. 4 and would not only perform Aarti but would force the director, Father Shaju, to do the same. Having imparted this ominous warning, the mob left the compound.”
 
‘Anti-National’ Accusation

As might be expected at an institution for which worship of anything but the Holy Trinity is idolatrous, the  posters and the worship of the Mother India goddess are against school regulations.

This incident and the two large-scale, attempted attacks that followed came about after members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s student union wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (All Indian Student Council, or ABVP), captured all the posts on the student council last November, the bishop said. The ABVP is affiliated with the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Soon Devassy, who as director of the college for the past three years has not otherwise had such conflicts, found the hard-line Hindu students displaying a poster on campus with photos of the student council members around a picture of the goddess Bharat Mata. The ABVP put up two posters with photos of council members and a picture that they called Bharat Mata.

Devassy pointed out that this was done without permission and was against university regulations, and he gently requested they take the two posters down, Mascarenhas said. The students promised to remove the posters within three days, but when they failed to do so, the college administration had them removed.

On Dec. 29 Devassy received a phone call informing him that the ABVP members were running a Facebook campaign under the tag “Bharat Mata Ki Aarti” (Worship of Mother India goddess) describing college officials as anti-national.

“In the social media campaign, hatred was being promoted against the college with regard to Bharat Mata ki Aarti, describing the college authorities as anti-national,” Bishop Mascarenhas said. “The demand was that the Aarti of Bharat Mata be allowed in the college as an expression of nationalism.”

After the mob verbally attacked him the next day, Devassy reported it to the college chairman, diocese authorities and the Madhya Pradesh Regional Bishops’ Council. With their suggestions, he drafted a letter about the incident, and he and other representatives met with the Inspector General (IG) of Law and Order and other security officials in Bhopal and submitted a memorandum to them.

First Attack

On Jan. 4, more than 800 protestors gathered at the gate of the college and began to pressure police stationed there, trying to break through the barricades and enter the campus.

More than 300 officers were deployed at three Catholic institutions on the campus – the college, St. Mary’s Senior Secondary School and Senior Secondary Trinity Convent School, Vidisha. The protestors shouted slogans, threw stones and broke the barricades before performing the worship of the Mother India goddess in a temple opposite the college gate on a national highway, sources said.

At the same time, another group broke a side boundary wall onto the college campus, and police rushed to the area and stopped them from entering. Officers reportedly were forced to resort to baton charges and tear gas. At least three policemen were reported injured.

Tensions remained high for two hours at the main gate, and the mob slowly moved away after about 2:30 p.m. Police security remained till late at night.

“A copy of the letter issued by the SDM [Sub-Divisional Magistrate] to the college council secretary denying the permission to perform the Aarti was also received by the college management on Jan. 4, thus confirming that Fr. Shaju’s decision in refusing permission to do the Aarti on the 30th of December was correct,” Mascarenhas said.
 
Second Attack

After Hindu nationalists, including members of the Vishwa Sanatan Sangh, issued more threats of a massive attack, however, the protestors returned on Jan. 16 with an even larger crowd.

When the threats grew a few days beforehand, Mascarenhas immediately got in touch with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and appraised him of the highly volatile situation. The Madhya Pradesh Catholic Diocesan School’s Association filed a writ petition at the Jabalpur High Court seeking protection for their institutes in Vidisha.
 
With the federal home minister’s intervention and the state government’s action with the high court, the Madhya Pradesh government provided heavy security. A huge police force was deployed in and around the college, and several Hindu nationalist leaders were arrested as a precautionary measure on Jan. 15-16.

The Additional Attorney General of Madhya Pradesh on Jan. 15 gave assurance at the Jabalpur High Court that complete protection would be given to the college against the threatened Jan. 16 attack.

“It must be said that they kept their word,” Mascarenhas told Morning Star News. “More than 500 fully equipped police personnel were deployed for the protection of the college.”

The Superintendent of Police reportedly said 30 Hindu nationalists, including Updesh Rana, leader of Vishwa Sanatan Sangh, were arrested as they were heading for the college to perform the Hindu worship.

“With no leaders to coordinate, the action fizzled out and the situation went on peacefully,” said Mascarenhas, who was also grateful to the Union Home Minister and the Madhya Pradesh administration for intervening.
 
The security was a rare instance of federal and state help in a country increasingly marked by local officials colluding with Hindu extremists to persecute Christians. The 1,800-student college, where most students are Hindus, falls in the Assembly constituency of Vidisha, which was once represented by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The Parliamentary representative is the current Union Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj. Thus Vidisha is considered a place of political significance, with events there deemed to have serious state and national level significance.

“I think the college has sent a signal to the whole of India that with the good will of the government and our political leaders, this country can maintain its tradition of peace and harmony and protect and strengthen its secular fabric,” Mascarenhas said.

The government intervention came in striking contrast to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, against non-Hindus, which 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, up from 15^th the previous year, and ahead of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt.

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro 17:19 The spirit which loves quarrel and  sin

Sojourned many days

I was meditating on Gen 21:34.

“And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines”

Abraham lived as a foreigner and sojourner without any rights or claims in the land of Philistines.  But his descendants, we know, occupied  lot of lands and acquired the same.  

I remember one incident in our life.  We were holding prominent positions in an institution. But when the Lord called us,  we came out bare handed. When we went to a bank to open an  account in order  to  collect a meager amount of pension due to one of us, the bank authorities asked for the names of two persons as  references who can vouch for us. We did not have any, since we were new to that village and even the few who knew us did not favour us since our institution had circulated a letter against us. We felt very low.

After three years when we left that village, we had many  friends there. Even the same bank employee became a good friend of us since they used to attend our prayers.

Now I understand how Abraham’s descendants could inherit the whole land  and subdue it.

Brethren, don’t hesitate to go to the place where you are called to. You may be a sojourner there. But the one who called you is faithful. If you remain faithful to your calling, your descendants will surely multiply and  inherit the land.

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen 1:28 

Duty of the soldiers of AOJ

"Tell the Israelis that when they have crossed the Jordan River to the land of Canaan, 

they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places,  take possession of the land, and live in it, because I've given you the land to inherit. ‘You are to divide the land among yourselves by lot according to your families. The larger the families are in number, the larger their inheritance is to be. The lesser the families are in number, the lesser their inheritance is to be. To whomever the lot falls, that inheritance goes to him. Divide it according to your ancestral tribes. (Num 33:51-54)

Num 33:55  "But if you fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, their survivors will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, to prick your sides and afflict you in the very land in which you'll be living. 

Num 33:56  Then, what I had planned to do to them, I'll start to do to you." 

Time given to them to drive out the enemies 

Sis. Angelica AJ

Creeping fear: Not just Muslims, India is also failing its Christian minority

Christians protest against attacks on churches in Delhi in 2015 | AFP

On the bare floor of a police lock-up in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, 32 priests and seminarians were forced to sit through a winter night last month, like criminals. They were detained after a Bajrang Dal mob attacked them, apparently for singing Christmas carols, burnt their car and thrashed them even at the police station. After their sleepless night, the police arrested one of the priests, charging him with “forced conversions”. The attackers were barely touched, in what has become the norm in such hate crimes. Around the same time, the Hindu Jagran Manch threatened the managements of Christian schools in Aligarh that if they celebrated Christmas with their students, they would do so at their “own risk”. Similar threats have been reported from other towns in Uttar Pradesh.

Like many Indians, my family has always celebrated Christmas for its message of cheer, goodwill and compassion with mistletoe and plum cake. But in these troubled times, even wishing Merry Christmas has become an intimation of protest. In a fast-mutating India where hatred and fear are being rapidly normalised, even singing carols and celebrating Christmas have become high-risk undertakings. So in December, I attended Christmas Mass as a token of both protest and solidarity.

India is becoming increasingly unsafe for its Muslim and Christian minorities. The World Watch List 2017 ranked India as the 15th most dangerous place to practise one’s minority faith, a sharp fall from the 31st place four years earlier. Muslims are facing vigilante attacks and targeted killings by the police. The even smaller Christian minority is enduring attacks on its places of worship, shrines, prayer services, priests and nuns. The United Christian Forum has recorded 216 such attacks in 2017, but the police have registered complaints in less than a quarter of the cases; the attackers have been arrested in even fewer. The four states of Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh account for over half of these cases. There have also been reports of social and economic boycott of Christian communities, and of them being denied work and access to water and electricity.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and other affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in India and around the world, have long propagated the noxious canard of a powerful foreign-funded evangelist campaign to convert low caste and impoverished Hindus and Adivasis to Christianity. This is used to manufacture popular resentment, even hatred, against this small, peaceable and progressive community, which erupts in hate attacks on missionaries, priests, nuns and shrines. By way of example, here is an extract from a pamphlet published by the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation in Texas, US, in 2015:

“In India, not only Christians celebrate, but many Hindus also participate or celebrate the Christmas without knowing what Christianity is all about, what the Christians think about Hindus, what the Bible says about the ‘idol worship’, how they destroyed so many civilizations, how they are converting Hindus and making them enemies of their own religion, how the money is flowing from foreign countries, how the Hindus were mercilessly tortured in Goa…They believe that Jesus gave them the right to deceive, convert, subjugate, conquer, and proselytize any nation or religion, by any and all possible means. They are entitled to such methods as allurement, fraud, coercion and violence in converting but they criticize Hindus even if they to talk about their atrocities of conversion…This is more evident in Southern States and especially in the Andhra Pradesh are. They convert the Hindus and make them their foot soldiers to destroy Hindu deities, step on them, and also tear up the pictures of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. According to unofficial statistics, as many as 30 percent of Hindus in villages have got converted…” 

Cultivating hatred

Hate propaganda, of course, has nothing to do with facts. India’s Christian population has not risen beyond 2.5% in the past several decades. How could this be the case if there was a concerted evangelist campaign to convert Hindus? It is instructive that Christians constitute such a tiny minority despite the fact that Christianity came to India nearly a thousand years before it spread in Europe and the country lived through two hundred years of British colonial rule.

In the words of the senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, the “entire conversion debate is dominated by the Hindu right whose political agenda is: (a) to declare the country and Indian civilisation as primarily, if not solely, a Hindu civilisation, (b) to insist that all past conversions over the centuries were induced by fear, fraud and opportunism, (c) to regard all past conversion as essentially suspect and (d) to pursue an intimidating policy to try and ensure that future conversions from Hinduism should not take place, and in any event, be minimised”.

Dhavan argues that the controversy over conversion is inextricably linked to the rise of political Hindutva, which he describes as “belligerent, apprehensive, uncompromising and vicious in its attitude…with plans, policies and programmes to attack and discipline all other faiths”.

He cites the destruction of the Babri Masjid, the murder of the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his young children, and the intimidation and killings of Christians and Muslims as part of the “policy of disciplining other faiths”, which includes “both a programme to impose fear on others as well as a legal policy to intimidate non-Hindu minorities through the processes of the law”. Thirty two priests and seminarians were detained in Satna after they were attacked by a Bajrang Dal mob, apparently for singing Christmas carols. The attackers were barely touched. Photo credit: HT

In the bitter discussions about religious conversion, it is often forgotten that the Constitution took care to guarantee the rights of every individual to not just practise but also propagate their faith. As Dhavan points out, “Historically, India is a country of converts. There were conversions from Hinduism to Jainism, to Buddhism and to Islam and Christianity. Over time, all this had added a richness and uniqueness to India. Today, a Muslim or a Christian is a Muslim or a Christian, not a past Hindu. If people want to convert, they have the right to do so – without requiring the permission of the state or setting up a system whereby police officials and magistrates will be watching conversions under a system of conversion by surveillance.”

Denying freedom

The Constitution guards our right to follow any faith, including the right to abjure the faith. In the Constituent Assembly, M Rathnaswamy had suggested adding the word “propagate” to Article 25, which guarantees the right to practise and propagate religion. KM Munshi declared unambiguously that “under freedom of speech which the Constitution guarantees, it will be open to any religious community to persuade other people to join their faith”.

However, the Sangh Parivar never acquiesced to this Constitution guarantee. In their imagination, Hindus were being stolen from their community through money, fraud and coercion. Therefore, they and the devious missionaries who misled them needed to be continuously policed by a hawk-eyed state. Accordingly, anti-conversion laws were legislated in many states even though they run counter to the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. It is interesting that anti-conversion laws have mostly been passed by non-Congress governments. (Laws banning cow slaughter, in contrast, have been legislated mostly by Congress-ruled states despite the opposition of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru to such laws.) Odisha passed an anti-conversion law under the Swatantra Party government in 1967; Madhya Pradesh under the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal coalition, which included the BJP’s forerunner Jan Sangh, in 1968; Gujarat and Chhattisgarh under the BJP in 2003 and 2006, respectively. In Tamil Nadu, the J Jayalalithaa government passed an anti-conversion law in 2002 but repealed it two years later. The only Congress government to pass such a law was in Himachal Pradesh in 2006. Rajasthan passed an anti-conversion law in 2006, again under the BJP, but the governor refused to sign it. Arunachal Pradesh passed such a law in 1978 under the People’s Party of Arunachal, but it was never enforced. Most recently, the BJP government in Jharkhand passed a stringent anti-conversion law in 2017.

Although anti-conversion laws exist in many states, they are more actively used in states ruled by the BJP. Even though there have been few convictions under these laws, cases are registered almost every month. Clearly, the purpose is to punish by process. In today’s shrill anti-minority climate, these laws are used mainly to intimidate, stigmatise and, in some cases, criminalise the local Christian communities and clergy. In August last year, the Jharkhand government published full-page newspaper advertisements, with pictures of the chief minister and a misquote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, attacking religious conversion. On three occasions in 2017, Christian children travelling by train to Christian camps were taken into custody by the Railway Police in Madhya Pradesh on the grounds that they were being “kidnapped to be converted”. On May 22 and 23, at least 71 children travelling to a summer Bible camp in Nagpur were detained with their adult caretakers; on June 3, a Catholic nun and four girls were detained at Satna railway station; on October 21, two adults and seven children going for Bible studies were detained, and not even allowed to meet their parents.

The Sangh considers Islam and Christianity to be foreign religions and their practitioners wanting in loyalty to both Hinduism and India, which for them are one. But as Gandhi pointed out, Islam and Christianity are as much Indian faiths as Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. In the homes for former street girls and boys that my colleagues run, our children look forward to Christmas as they do to every festival, with equal fervour and anticipation. We tell them that Jesus was born a homeless child, yet grew to spread the message of compassion and love around the world. I am not a person of faith. But even so, Christmas and Eid are as much my festivals as Diwali, Holi and Gurpurab. I won’t allow anyone to take this away from me. I will fight for my right.

Over 80 Killed in Benue State, Nigeria in January

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that more than 80 Christians have been killed in Benue State, Nigeria by Fulani militants since January 1. These attacks have mainly taken place in two locations within the state, Logo and Guma Counties. Logo saw more than 50 deaths in just the first week of the new year by Fulani attacks, while Guma suffered more than 30.

These attacks took place less than two months after the state of Benue enacted an anti-open grazing bill, which prevents the Fulani from nomadically moving their cattle throughout all of Nigeria. Benue passed this law in an attempt to end the violence that has been plaguing its people, but it has failed thus far. In an interview with the Punch, the Secretary-General of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Usman Ngelzerma, said that the new bill is the reason for these attacks. "We don't wish for the crisis to continue but let us give it (the law) another look. We don't like the killings; we will never condone the killing of people. Give the farmers their rights, but consider the pastoralists too."

However, even those who were not from the area, but who were just trying to help others escape, were at the mercy of the Fulani attackers. A local from Makurdi, named Vershima, stated that he "had been called upon by some of the people fleeing Guma to come help convey them to Makurdi on Wednesday, January 3. I obliged. On our way out of Guma at about 7:00 p.m., we were ambushed by a company of armed Fulani herdsmen who opened fire on us, killing three of the people I was conveying and injuring me." Vershima was shot in the chest and left for dead by the Fulani, who accosted him and his vehicle.

Many of these people even know each other. Peter, a local cattle guard, said, "[The people who attacked me] were people I had interfaced with in that community. I got up and called them by their names and tried to wrestle the machete they had out of their hands, but to no avail. I was overpowered and they began to cut me." However, this relationship did him no good. He has been in the hospital recovering from his wounds ever since.

ICC's Regional Manager, Nathan Johnson, stated, "This ongoing crisis is devastating the Christian communities of Nigeria. They are unfairly being targeted for their land and faith. The government must do more to ensure the community's safety, property, and welfare. They must put an end to the Fulani scourge and hold those in charge of these attacks accountable."

Pastor Found Dead in Tamil Nadu, India

The body of a pastor in southern India was found hung from the thatched roof of his house early Saturday morning (Jan. 20), a week after he complained to police about opposition from Hindu extremists, sources said.

Congregation members said they found the body of pastor Gideon Periyaswamy of Maknayeem Church hanging from a rope in his one-room house beside the church building in Adayachery village, Kanchipuram District, but that his knees were bent stiff, as if others had placed him in the noose after his death. He was 43.

A convert from Hinduism 25 years ago, Pastor Periyaswamy was single and served as pastor in Adayachery for more than 12 years, his close friend, pastor Azariah Reuben, told Morning Star News.

“The local Hindus were not happy with growing Christianity,” Pastor Reuben said. “They had several times tried to stop the ministry.”

At pastors’ meetings and on other occasions, Pastor Periyaswamy spoke of Hindu hostilities to his church services and requested prayer, he said. Pastor Reuben said that Pastor Periyaswamy once remarked, “I have no problem – if needed, if the Lord permits it, I would die as martyr for Christ, but the ministry should not stop.” A deputy superintendent of police identified only as Rajendiran told Morning Star News that a week before his death, Pastor Periyaswamy had filed a complaint with police “on some village people troubling him.” “Our investigation was underway, and now we found him dead,” Rajendiran said. A congregation member identified only as Indira said that the previous Sunday (Jan. 14), Hindu extremists were upset about a car sitting outside the area designated for church parking.

“They pelted stones at the car, and the pastor made an announcement requesting the church members to park their vehicles within the church premises only,” she said. For the past six months, the local hard-line Hindus have harassed the pastor every Sunday, Indira said.

“When they see the pastor, they laugh, giggle and crack humiliating jokes at him,” she said. “They would always look for something to pick a fight over. But pastor told us, ‘We should be at peace with our neighbors – let’s not give them a reason to fight.” Last year local Hindu extremists kicked and beat him, Regina said. She and Indira found the pastor’s body. “On Friday night [Jan. 19], our pastor visited the church families,” Regina said. “He told me and other sisters that there will be a fasting prayer on Saturday morning at 10 a.m., so please come early and clean the church hall.” When they arrived on Saturday morning at 5 a.m. to clean the church building, they were surprised to find the pastor’s room bolted shut.

“We opened the door and were shocked to find Pastor Gideon Periyaswamy hanged,” Regina said. “A rope was fastened to the roof and tied to pastor’s neck, but his knees were slumped towards the ground. When the police came to unhang the pastor’s body, we saw a cut in his neck area. There was blood clotted.” Police initially refused to file a complaint from congregation members, sources said. After church members and pastors from neighboring villages blocked a road in protest, his body was transported to Chengalpattu Government Hospital, where it has been placed in the hospital mortuary, Pastor Reuben told Morning Star News. The Vanniyar community and other upper castes in Adayachery hate the lower caste of the pastor and his congregation, said pastor Immanuel Prabhakaran, who worked with the deceased leader of the church, which belongs to the Synod of Pentecostal Churches. “They threatened the pastor, ‘How dare you set up a church in our locality? This area is of upper castes. Stop running church here. Stop inviting schedule castes to our area. You leave this village else we will make life difficult for you,’” Pastor Prabhakaran told Morning Star News.

Church members suspect Vanniyar and village leaders were behind the killing of the pastor. “These people had cut the church’s water supply by disconnecting the pipeline,” said one church member. Originally Pastor Periyaswamy had led the congregation as a house church, and before the current structure was built, they met in a shed. In 2016, area Hindu nationalists demolished the shed, church members told Morning Star News. “We filed a complaint at Kalapakkam police station, but no action was taken,” one member said.

Pastor Periyaswamy’s cousin, Shiv Shankar, told Morning Star News that Pastor Periyaswamy was involved in many charity activities and led a simple life. “We come from a Hindu family, and he was the first to convert to Christianity at the age of 18,” Shankar said. “He boldly professed his faith. I can never think my cousin would commit suicide. He was murdered.”

Two weeks ago, he invited all relatives to the church’s anniversary celebrations, he said. “He was elated. My other cousin and her husband, Gideon’s sister and brother-in-law, gifted him a gold ring,” Shankar said. “He refused, but they forced him to accept. He did. Even that ring is missing.” Nehemiah Christie, director of legislations and regulations for the Synod of Pentecostal Churches, urged police officials and government to conduct a fair investigation.“There is urgent need for an autopsy in the presence of a judicial magistrate,” Christie told Morning Star News. “Pastor Gideon Periyaswamy’s death can’t be ruled out as suicide.”

The deputy inspector general of police of Kanchipuram Range, identified only as Thenmozhi, told Morning Star News that officers would carry out a fair investigation. “There is no doubt in that – we will ensure a fair investigation,” Thenmozhi said. “If there is any troublemaker involved, we are looking at all angles regarding this. We ensure fair investigation. The post-mortem begins once the enquiry starts. Let the family and relatives come out with the facts they have; once we are given the witnesses statements and some supportive material, we will ensure post-mortem.”

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, the hostile tone of his National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), against non-Hindus has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians, religious rights advocates say. India ranked 11th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution, up from 15th the previous year, and ahead of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt.

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro  20:6   The spirit which makes one  proclaim his own goodness

Lifted her voice and wept

This week’s  Bible reading and reflection corrected my understanding about Hagar who comes in Genesis. Let me share. 

Hagar never prayed to any God while she was in the wilderness.. It is said, “She  lifted up her voice and wept” 21:16

“And God heard the voice of the boy” Gen 21:17

Hagar,  a lady forsaken by everybody, driven away by the father of the child of whom she bore to him, lifted up her voice and wept. At the same time, her child, who was also forsaken by his father, given up to  death by his mother,  cried. It is not mentioned in the Bible,  to whom both of them  cried. There was nobody in the wilderness to hear their cry. But the Almighty God, creator of all human beings, heard the cry of the  child who was forsaken by everybody, even by his father and mother.  God heard the boy’s voice. Every cry which rises from the earth is heard in heaven by the heavenly Father, because He is the Father of all human beings. He is obliged to answer.

Immediately He answered.

Hagar is given a promise directly by God, not through any prophet or mediator. She didn’t have any either since she did not belong to any religion. She received promises directly from God for thousands of generations of  her son. I could not believe for a moment the fact that, being a pagan, who has not accepted the Lord God, received the blessings for generations.  We, readers of the Bible have to be enlightened about so many truths which are  hidden in between the verses of the Bible.

Media Continues To Ignore Worldwide Christian Persecution

While Christianity traces its birthplace to the Middle East, that region has been arguably the most hostile area for the religion in recent years. A new report by the Christian charity group Open Doors has found that most of Israel's neighbors, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian territories, are among the world's most dangerous places for Christians.

Susan Michael, U.S. director for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), told JNS that "Islamic extremism originated in the Middle East and is the main cause of persecution of Christians in the world today. It is a dangerous and violent ideology that must be stopped."

Egypt

Egypt's embattled Christian minority, which comprises roughly 10 percent of the country's population and stands as the largest Christian community in the region, has been the frequent target of Islamic terrorism. Coptic churches in Alexandria and Tanta were struck by suicide bombers last April, killing 45 people on Palm Sunday. Last December, at least eight Christians were killed in a terror attack on a Coptic church south of Cairo.

According to the Open Doors report, Egyptian Christians suffer in "various ways" such as pressure on Christian converts to return to Islam, severe restrictions on building places of worship and congregating, and violence.  "Egyptian Christians have had significant attacks and pressure from extremist elements seeking to impose sharia standards on minority faiths, as well as from ISIS factions that want to use Christians as a useful target to undermine the Egyptian government and economy," David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, told JNS. He added that the report "shows that people who want to make a decision to explore or practice the Christian faith face great cultural pressure, if not violence."

Adel Guindy, the former president of Coptic Solidarity, a U.S.-based human rights organization that promotes equality for Coptic Christians in Egypt, told JNS that the situation for the Copts has worsened considerably under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi--despite his rhetoric in support of Christians and against radical Islam--and has reached "an all-time high."

"El-Sisi is quick to blame it on 'external forces,' [but] it is in fact homegrown. It's a direct result of a permeating hate culture that dominates the entire public space," Guindy said.

"Furthermore, the 'big violence' events that attract international media's attention are in fact a mere tip of an iceberg of systemic and systematic discrimination and persecution that amount to a state-sanctioned 'war of attrition,'" he said.

The rest of the Middle East

Elsewhere, the Open Doors report noted that Christian converts in Jordan face "a great deal of persecution, Christians in the Palestinian territories (Gaza Strip and West Bank) are "caught in the middle of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict," and that "Islamic militant groups are the clear threat" to Syrian Christians.

"The persecution of Christians in Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian territories does not necessarily come from their governments, but from their populations who have been indoctrinated with Islamic theological teachings that are hostile to non-Muslims. It will take a significant amount of years of intentional education to change that attitude," said ICEJ's Michael. The report identified North Korea as the country where Christians face the highest level of discrimination, followed by Afghanistan and Somalia. More than 3,000 Christians were killed worldwide due to their faith last year. Other Middle Eastern and North African countries that were ranked among the top 10 most dangerous places for Christians were Libya, Iraq, Iran and Yemen. 

"Whether in North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, the Palestinian territories or elsewhere, the persecution of Christians has reached near-epidemic levels," said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. 

"We urge world leaders and international organizations like the U.N. to bring this crisis to the top of their collective agenda and seek to protect endangered Christian minorities and all people of faith."

The persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries presents a stark contrast to the world's only Jewish state, where the Christian population has steadily increased in recent years to about 170,000, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. Israeli Christians enjoy freedom of worship, and even regularly outperform their Jewish and Muslim counterparts in high school matriculation exams. 

"The Arab-Christian minority in Israel is a minority within a minority and faces some challenges, but they are citizens of a democracy that protects their freedom of speech and freedom of religion," Michael said. "This is in such contrast to the Muslim countries around them, where Christians and their places of worship are regularly attacked. 

There is a growing number of Christians voluntarily serving in the Israel Defense Forces in order to protect their country and their freedoms from the forces of Islamic militants wanting to destroy Israel."

Pence's trip

Vice President Mike Pence is slated to visit Israel, Egypt and Jordan from Jan. 19-23. According to his spokesperson, Alyssa Farah, Pence is expected "to reaffirm our commitment to work with the U.S.'s allies in the region to defeat radicalism that threatens future generations."

Coptic Solidarity's Guindy said that Pence, who is a devout evangelical Christian, should take the opportunity to press Egypt's El-Sisi on human rights and the protection of Christians.

"It's certainly important to engage Egypt as a partner in the war against Islamic terrorism. But this should not come at the expense of human rights, civil society and upholding equal citizenship rights for all--including, and especially, Christians and others who do not belong to the Sunni-Muslim majority," he said.

Michael said that Pence "should require that [countries where Christians are widely persecuted] educate their people to be peaceful and respectful of religious minorities by placing controls on their imams, school textbooks and the media; and make future U.S. financial assistance contingent upon them doing so."

The future for Mideast Christians

Guindy said that recent trends "make it difficult to predict" whether Mideast Christians can survive "the current tsunami" of persecution.

"The picture is rather gloomy, and the fact that Christians' presence in the Middle East has shrunk from one-fifth of the population a century ago to barely 3 percent today speaks volumes....Islamist pressure, coupled with the West's lack of action beyond hollow words of sympathy, make it difficult to be realistically optimistic," he said.

-By PNW Staff

Indian Pastor is Severely Beaten for Refusing to Deny Christ

When Hindu extremists in India told pastor Karma Oraon they would not stop beating him until he worshipped the monkey god, he felt Christ close to him, he said. “In those moments when they were kicking and beating me, I felt that even if I die now, the Lord will make the ministry I leave behind fruitful,” Pastor Oraon told Morning Star News. “We are just a few gathering in the name of Jesus. He is our strength.” His small flock of eight people was meditating on Scripture on Christmas Eve at 10:30 a.m. in Harmu village of Ranchi District, Jharkhand state, when twice as many Hindu nationalists brandishing wooden stick intruded, shouting, “Praise Bajrang Bali.” Bajrang Bali is another name for the popular monkey god Hanuman.
 
“They forcefully dragged me outside when we were in the middle of meditating on the Word of God,” Pastor Oraon said. “They spewed many words in extreme foul language and beat me on my chest repeatedly.” As he was dragged out by the collar, one of the Hindu extremists video-recorded the scene, also asking his accomplices to record, forward and circulate the video, sources said. The Hindu extremists repeatedly asked the pastor his name, refusing to believe him, as his name is typical of area tribal people who practice indigenous religions, not Christianity, he said. They called him an idiot, slapped him and told him to stop lying, and when he showed them his national identification card, they tore the original document to pieces, Pastor Oraon said.
 
“They slapped me and said, ‘You are Oraon? Tell us what you must do, being an Oraon? Should you should follow the Adivasi [indigenous] religion or this foreign religion?’” he told Morning Star News. “They told me, ‘Immediately you should give up Christianity and embrace Sarnaism/Sarna[indigenous religions) – if you don’t, you will be brutally murdered.” Pastor Oraon said they told the congregation, “All the Christians in this area beware! There is no place for Christianity here. All of you must embrace Sarna. If anybody goes against this rule, their houses will be set on fire and they will be killed along with their families.” They kicked him and expelled him from the village, he said.
 
Chotu Munda, 21, said he was beaten when he tried rescue the 34-year-old pastor and female church members who had also tried to separate the assailants from Pastor Oraon. The pastor noted, “They scolded the sisters in very vulgar language for coming to help rescue me.” That night at 10 p.m., he went to a police station, but officers refused to register a case against the assailants or even receive his complaint, he said. “I never had an experience of opposition when I preached gospel or visited families to pray for the sick. But I seek inspiration from my Lord; people have crossed every limit to humiliate Him and crucify Him, but He patiently bore their torture for my sake, for my sins,” Pastor Oraon said. “I strongly feel the presence of my Lord Jesus in all this. Had He not granted the strength to endure, I could have never overcome from what happened.”
 
Worship Anything but Christ

In a separate incident in Jharkhand state, another group of Hindu extremists beat tribal Christians while they worshipped – also reviling them for leaving their indigenous religion for Christianity. About 60 Hindu nationalists stormed into a house church on Christmas Day in Behratoli village, Ranchi District, where 16 Christians had gathered to celebrate Christmas. “They rushed inside and held me by collar – it was sudden,” said pastor Rakesh Tirkey. “They were at least 60 people, and we were just 16. They shouted at us and asked us to stop the singing.” They arrived on 25 motorcycles, slapped him and asked him his name to determine his indigenous heritage, he said. “They abused me in extreme foul language, saying, “Idiot, if you are a Tirkey, then how did you become a Christian?’” the 35-year-old father of three told Morning Star News. “They beat me with wooden sticks; the blows got heavier after they got to know that I am a Tirkey.” Initially they accused him of stealing a motorcycle, and when he showed them the ownership and insurance papers, they told him they didn’t want to see any Christians in the area, he said, adding that they snatched away his Bible, tore the pages to pieces, spit on it, kicked it, and told him, “Stop converting Adivasis – we will slash your neck off.” When they tried to light a match to set the torn Bible on fire, they were unable to ignite it, he said. Jeevan Munda, at whose house the worship service was held, was also injured in the attack. That night Pastor Tirkey went to a police station to file a report, but officers refused to accept his complaint, the pastor said.
 
“After the attack, I invited the believers to my house in Khunti District and urged them to pray in their houses,” he said. “I told we must stand firm in Christ no matter how severe the opposition.” He became a Christian eight years ago. Then an alcoholic with declining health that no doctor was able to relieve, he was healed after putting his faith in Christ, he said. “It was then I decided that the Lord has given me good health, so I will dedicate it to my Lord’s work, and as long as I live, I will serve Him,” he said. “Now I am leading a life full of joy.”
 
Endangered Religious Freedom

Pastors Oraon and Tirkey belong to the Believers Eastern Church. The Rev. Somnath Honhaga, Believers Eastern Church secretary of the Diocese of Chakradharpur, told Morning Star News that religious freedom in Jharkhand is in danger. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, the hostile tone of his National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), against non-Hindus has emboldened Hindu extremists in several parts of the country to attack Christians, religious rights advocates say. The growth of Christianity in Jharkhand state has also brought increasing attacks by Hindu nationalist groups, Honhaga said. Unable to get police to register their cases, the two pastors have filed First Information Reports online, though there has been no progress in the investigations, Honhaga told Morning Star News. “The police did not make any arrests,” he said. “Instead, we have been told that since the pastors cannot identify the assailants, it is difficult to catch the culprits.”
 
Politicizing Conversion

Indigenous leaders on Dec. 24 raised black flags in parts of Jharkhand in protest of rising Christianity and “Western culture,” and Christian leaders suspect indigenous Sarna advocates supported by the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were behind the attacks.The Central Sarna Committee (Kendriya Sarna Samiti) of Jharkhand state issued a press release demanding the government enforce the state’s “anti-conversion” law. The law passed last year bans forcible or fraudulent conversion, though comments by Hindu nationalists indicate they mistakenly take it to mean it bans any conversion from Hinduism. People convicted of fraudulent or forcible conversion can be punished by prison terms of up to three years in Jharkhand state, or up to four years if the person fraudulently or forcibly converted is an indigenous tribal known as Adivasi. Adivasis are entitled to government benefits. “Christian missionaries are forcefully taking away the rights of Adivasis by converting them,” the Central Sarna Committee statement read, labelling as “Westernization” people converting to Christianity. “People from other faiths representing themselves as Adivasi are rising to the positions of village president, ward members and government employees.”
 
Phulchand Tirkey, director of Sarna Samiti, demanded the government stop considering Christians as Adivasi, saying, “Christians must not be given the status of Adivasi. The Constitution of India recognizes tribal populations who are original inhabitants of a given region as Adivasi regardless of their religious beliefs, a constitutional expert who requested anonymity told Morning Star News. “There is potential threat to the Christian converts from those who believe in the deep-rooted casteism,” the source said.

During the Dec. 24 protest, Sarna activists were reported to have taken an oath to disrupt Christmas celebrations, according to local media reports. “Standing in the middle of the main road in the state capital, Ranchi, they shouted these words,” Honhaga said. “They raised slogans against Christianity.” The smaller churches were attacked, he noted. “It was a pre-planned attack by the Sarna committee supported by the RSS,” Honhaga said. “They are trying to divide the aboriginal people of this state. The Christian missionaries have played a vital role in bringing education to the Adivasis. They have reached even the remotest parts of Jharkhand, started good schools and propagated the love of God through various activities.” The Hindu nationalists cannot abide tribal people rising to higher positions, he said. “The word Adivasi means native of the region, and they want to use tribals as their vote bank by creating divisions among them,” Honhaga told Morning Star News. “If an Adivasi converts to Christianity, how can he lose the status of being an Adivasi? He is the native, and he will remain so. They have left behind the pointless beliefs and myths, idol worship and have come to the Light. Instead of encouraging their progress, they are creating rifts among them. It is pathetic.” Adivasi Christians in Jharkhand requested prayers for freedom to worship.

India ranked 11^th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution, up from 15^th the previous year, and ahead of Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt.

El-Arish Copt Gunned Down by Three Gunmen Looking for Christians

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on the evening of January 13, 2018, three armed men killed a Coptic Christian named Bassem Attala as he was returning home from work. Bassem and his family were among the hundreds of Christian families who originally fled el-Arish last year after the Islamic State killed seven Copts. Bassem and his family had returned to el-Arish in August 2017 because they could not find employment elsewhere.  According to a priest at Mar Girgis Coptic Church in el-Arish, "On Saturday evening at about 9:00 p.m., Bassem and his brother finished work in their mobile maintenance shop, closed it, and headed home. While they were on their way, they walked with their Muslim friend; three armed men then forced them at gunpoint. First, the armed men asked Bassem to show the wrist of his hand to see if he was a Christian or not. When they saw a cross tattooed on his wrist, they said to him, 'Are you Christian?' He replied, 'Yes, I'm Christian.' They then shot him in the head, instantly killing him. After killing Bassem, they asked the Muslim friend and his brother to show them their wrists. When they saw nothing tattooed, they thought they were Muslim. They then asked them to leave " Many of Egypt's Coptic Christians have a small cross tattooed on their wrist or hand, a public symbol of their faith. Additionally, Christians dress differently and often live in their own neighborhoods, further increasing their vulnerability to targeted attacks by Islamic extremists.

"The situation in el-Arish has become so dangerous after killing Bassem. There is a state of terror and panic after this incident. Those militants... want to remove Christians from el-Arish. Killing Bassem was a threatening message from them to intimidate Christians... and to say to anyone from the displaced families who are thinking of returning back to el-Arish [that] 'your fate will be the fate of Bassem when you return.' After killing Bassem, all the displaced Christian families lost hope to return back to their homes," the priest continued.   

From January to February 2017, a series of targeted murders against Christians took place in el-Arish, forcing hundreds of Christians to flee the area. Many of the displaced families have since struggled to provide for themselves. In May 2017, another Christian named Nabeel Saber Fawzi had returned to el-Arish because he was seeking to meet the physical needs of his family. He was also gunned down by militants shortly after his return.

Claire Evans, ICC's Regional Manager, said, "Nearly one year after ISIS displaced the Christians from el-Arish, extremists are once again sending a strong message that Christians are not welcome in Egypt. Bassem was singled out by the gunmen for no other reason than his faith, showing the dark intentionality of the gunmen's actions. El-Arish Christians long to return to their homes, and they have greatly struggled to make new lives elsewhere in Egypt. The authorities need to secure the safety of Christians across Egypt. Otherwise, the militants will continue in their efforts to eliminate Christianity from Egypt."

Church Closures Spur Fear of Crackdown in Algeria

Algerian Christians fear government officials may be coordinating intensified persecution against them following arrests, inspections, and church closures in recent months.

Middle East Concern and World Watch Monitor reported that police arrested three people on Dec. 19 in a cafe in Chlef after finding they had Christian literature. A newspaper hostile to Christians called it a “foiled evangelism attempt.” Although released, the three Christians could face criminal charges of proselytizing. Punishment can include fines up to 1 million dinars and five years’ imprisonment, according to the U.S. State Department. That same week, intelligence, police, religious affairs, and fire brigade authorities showed up and inspected two Protestant churches in Bejaia, a northern province, for safety compliance. The buildings host eight congregations. In southern Algeria, a provincial governor ordered a church to cease all religious activities at their facility after a decade of use. Officials there accused church leaders of failing to comply with safety regulations and obtain government permission. They were told they cannot reconvene until three months after obtaining a permit. Other churches and Christian facilities were targeted recently. The churches are all part of the L’Eglise Protestante d’Algeria. Although the Algerian Constitution allows for freedom of conscience and worship, groups must be registered, and religious services can only be held in buildings set aside exclusively for that use. Acts like insulting any religion or proselytizing a Muslim remain illegal.

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro  11:2  The spirit of  pride which brings  shame 

Workman worthy of his food 

Jesus while sending His disciples for preaching, gave them a lot of instructions. The list of items not to be taken with

• Gold
• Silver
• Copper

This shows extra money or  long time savings.

Bag for the journey, sandals or staff – shows extra dresses or materials

Then He adds- The workman is worthy of his food.

The minimum need - food is guaranteed. Extra clothing, bags, sandals, staff, gold, silver, copper, luxury nothing is guaranteed.

No bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. Mat 10:10 

Wherever a missionary is sent, only his food, nothing else  is guaranteed by Jesus. If any other  need in ministry arises, the Lord provides  it.  

A sister 77 years old, was in charge of 24 hours prayer in an area. She was so sincere and faithful in doing it. She used to collect all the news about the nation from the newspaper, T.V. and prepare prayer points over that, teach others how to prophesy over them, bind the activities of satan and release the heavenly blessings over the nation and the people. Her contacts started increasing. She started doing it through a simple mobile. When the work expanded, contacts increased and she had to resort to email. Since she was not familiar with the technology, she had to approach others for it. Sometimes she had to wait patiently for others’ timings. In this process,  she  learned how to send  mail by herself. Still she had to approach others since her mobile did not have the facility. All of a sudden, one day, an unknown man came to her and gave her a gift. When she unwrapped it, to her surprise, it was a hi tech mobile with all the facilities. This gift was sent from heaven through an unknown man! How faithful our Lord is!

Duty of the soldiers of AOJ - Drive out the enemies

"Tell the Israelis that when they have crossed the Jordan River to the land of Canaan, 

they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places,  take possession of the land, and live in it, because I've given you the land to inherit. ‘You are to divide the land among yourselves by lot according to your families. The larger the families are in number, the larger their inheritance is to be. The lesser the families are in number, the lesser their inheritance is to be. To whomever the lot falls, that inheritance goes to him. Divide it according to your ancestral tribes. (Num 33:51-54)

• Num 33:55  "But if you fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, their survivors will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, to prick your sides and afflict you in the very land in which you'll be living. 
• Num 33:56  Then, what I had planned to do to them, I'll start to do to you." 
• Time given to them to drive out the enemies

Sis. Angelica AJ

Police foil Hindu students' bid to storm Catholic college

India(Madhya Pradesh):Right-wing group wanted to conduct religious rite in what Madhya Pradesh Christians said was an act of intimidation. Hundreds of right-wing Hindu students clashed with police in central India Jan. 4 after they tried to storm a Catholic-run college to conduct a Hindu religious rite, church sources said. Police were forced to charge about 800 students from the group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parisahd (ABVP) when they tried to gain access to St. Mary’s College in Vidisha, in Madhya Pradesh state to conduct the Aarati, a Hindu ritual prayer hailing Bharat Mata (Mother India). “They did seek prior permission, but it was refused,” college director Father Shaju Devassy said. Student leader Ankit Garg, told ucanews.com that all they wanted to do was to promote patriotism among students. Father Devassy said the attempt to storm the college was not about prayer or patriotism, but was a symbolic attempt to impose Hindu dominance over minorities.

It challenged the constitutional right of religious and ethnic minorities to own and manage institutions to help their communities, he added. Madhya Pradesh is run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party and has witnessed many incidents targeting Christians, who form less than one percent of state’s 72 million people, Christian leaders say. The state witnessed 21 violent attacks on Christians and hundreds of cases of harassment, threats and intimidation at the hands of Hindu groups from January to November 2017, according to data published by voluntary group Alliance Defending Freedom. Critics accuse the ABVP, the student wing of the BJP, of supporting the idea of making India a Hindu nation.

New Report Shows Countries Where Christian Persecution is Expected to Increase in 2018

A new report highlighting the countries where persecution and attacks on Christians is expected to increase has been released. The annual Persecution Trends Report, from the U.K.-based group Release International, said that those countries include China, India and Nigeria. In China, a “key country of concern for 2018,” Christians could face stricter restrictions. In some districts, Santa Claus and Christmas hats have already been banned. The country is expected to impose more restrictions in February, when the community country takes control over some places of worship.

"Those new rules will mean unregistered house churches will face increasingly tough measures to control their activities,” the report says. Under the regulations, anyone who organizes unapproved religious activities will be fined up to $45,000. Anyone providing a place to host those unapproved activities could face a fine up to $30,100. In 2017, 13 Chinese Christians were imprisoned for attending a Sunday service at a house church. A pastor was tortured and sentenced to 12 years in prison, and some Christians who owned devotionals were sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing the books. In Nigeria, the Fulani herdsmen, who are trying to drive Christians away, have attacked Christian villages. In India, militants believe that every Indian should be Hindu and there is pressure on the government to close Christian churches.

Christians are Killed on Christmas Eve in Burma

Government military operations in northern Burma (Myanmar) escalated in December, culminating in civilian casualties on Christmas Eve that left Christians feeling attacked in part for their faith. Offensives against rebel groups in Kachin state, where predominantly Christian, ethnic Kachin live, displaced dozens of villagers and seriously injured two civilians on Christmas Eve, local sources said. Burma army artillery fire on Dec. 24 struck a village near Laiza, headquarters of the rebel Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), seriously injuring a schoolteacher and a student, according to the local sources. Sin Gau, assistant pastor with the Kachin Baptist Convention in northern Kachin state, said fighting should have halted on Christmas Eve, when many celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. “They launched attacks when Christmas approached – it happens almost every year,” Sin Gau told Morning Star News. “So, we even felt as if they deliberately did it.”

Area Christians felt the fighting disrespected their religious rights, he said. “As we are Christian, Christmas Eve is the most important thing for us, but we couldn’t fully enjoy Christmas as fighting continued,” Sin Gua said. The Burma army and KIO’s military wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), have been fighting since 2011 following the breakdown of a bilateral ceasefire. Clashes also broke out on Dec. 22 and 23 between KIA and the Burma army in Mansi Township, northern Kachin state, forcing more than 100 villagers to flee their homes. They are now staying in Man Wing Gyi village tract, according to local humanitarian organizations.

Thang Zua, a Kachin refugee in Tanai township, northern Kachin state, said he was saddened as the fighting continued into Christmas Eve. “We as Christians should have had celebrated Christmas without fear, but we couldn’t fully enjoy Christmas,” Thang Zua said.The Burma army has intensified offensives on KIA military outposts in Hpa-Kant, Tanai and Mansi townships since early December. Local sources said the Burma army wanted to gain control of those areas, which are rich in natural resources such as jade and other precious gems. The fighting that escalated in early December in Kachin state has spread to Shan state, in northeastern Burma, where the Burma army reportedly also used helicopters and jets, according to rebel sources. Shelling further spread in Shan state on New Year’s Eve, forcing more than 900 local villagers in Kyaukme Township and Namhsan Township to flee, according to the Relief and Resettlement Department in Kyaukme.

KIA is one of some 20 ethnic rebel groups that have fought for self-determination, autonomy, freedom and other fundamental rights since Burma gained independence from the British in 1948. The Burmese government and ethnic rebels have been in peace talk since 2011, and eight rebel groups have signed bilateral ceasefire agreements and a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the Burmese government. More than 10 ethnic rebel groups, including the powerful KIO and ethnic Wa, Kokang and Palaung peoples, haven’t signed the agreements.

Ethnic groups believe the fighting in Kachin state is meant to pressure the KIO to sign the ceasefire agreement.  Christian ethnic minorities have long suffered in Burma, where the government has recognized the special status of Buddhism and promoted it as a means to consolidate support. Burma is about 80 percent Buddhist and 9 percent Christian. The Burma military routinely occupies churches and summons entire congregations for interrogation, according to a report the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released in December 2016. “The Tatmadaw [Burmese armed forces] occupied Chin, Naga, and Kachin areas and routinely occupied, desecrated, or destroyed places of worship, Christian crosses, and other sacred sites,” the report states. “This practice continues today in active armed conflict zones.” The military continues to perpetrate grave human rights violations with near total impunity, including sexual violence in church compounds and the torture of pastors, church workers, and ordinary civilians, according to the report, “Hidden Plight: Christian Minorities in Burma.” After more than five years of intensified conflict since Burma violated the 17-year cease-fire in 2011, many Kachin face protracted displacement and are desperate to return home, according to the report.

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro  13:2  The spirit of  the  unfaithful which feeds on violence 

Fell on face

During the  preparatory works of the National Worship Centre, an officer gave me an advice,  “While arranging seating facilities, please leave some space in front for the people who love to worship the Lord prostrating, falling on their faces”. It seemed to be a good advice. So it was done.

Falling on face in Eastern culture is a sign of showing respect. It is humbling oneself and at the same time submitting  fully  to the authority of the other. While showing respect to superiors and elders,  Indians  fall on face. Our Hindu, Muslim  brethren do the same in worshipping the Lord. In Lk 5:12, we see the Jewish people having the same culture.

“One day while Jesus was in one of the cities, a man covered with leprosy saw Jesus and fell on his face, begging him, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean." Lk. 5:12

Jesus healed him.  "I do want to. Be clean! Instantly the leprosy left him”.  Lk. 5.13

We can fall on face  while worshipping the Lord. We seldom see Christians doing it. In the new year  we can make a decision regarding this in  worshipping  the Lord. Ample examples are there in the Bible for this. Joseph’s brothers prostrated in front of Joseph, the Israelites prostrated  when they saw the presence of the Lord in the  pillar of cloud, Ruth prostrated in front of Boaz, People with Ezra prostrated while reading the word of God,  etc… Peter when he saw the big catch, fell at the feet of Jesus prostrated. Peter received His calling then and there.

Every Christian,  in the beginning of faith life,  would have such an experience of falling at the feet of Jesus.  It is marvellous to have this experience!  Let us yearn to prostrate and worship the Lord Almighty every day ! He is  worthy to receive honour, praise reverence and worship.

Why Study Bible Prophecy In 2018?

Why study bible prophecy?

Is it really important?

And if so, how important? And aren't people who expend more than a passing moment examining bible prophecy simply uneducated crackpots and lunatics yearning for the destruction of the world?

These are just a few of the questions bombarding today's Christians when it comes to the study of bible prophecy.

That bible prophecy is irrelevant to the Gospel or a mere playground for the mentally unstable is a message we constantly receive from the media, pop culture, and many so-called church leaders. It's unfortunate, because this false image of bible prophecy has succeeded in turning many Christians away from the Gospel.

Although recent history is marked by an untold number of date setters and false prophets claiming to speak for God, this is no reason to ignore bible prophecy. Such people were never true Christians, but rather enemies of God in disguise.

So instead of relying on the words of ministers, priests, journalists, and other humans, let?s examine the primary source. Here's what the bible says about prophecy, including every verse of God's Holy Word:"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God?s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

The word "all" includes bible prophecy, and that's good, considering more than 25% of the bible is fulfilled or yet to be fulfilled prophecy.

Why is so much of the bible dedicated to prophecy?

There are many reasons, but in the end, there is only one purpose: to direct the attention of the human race to Jesus Christ.

"For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus." Revelation 19:10 (NLT)

Previously fulfilled prophecies lend unprecedented credibility to the bible's claim to be the Word of God, and the Messianic prophecies fulfilled by the birth, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth authenticate his claim to be the one true Christ.

In essence, bible prophecy is the most powerful witness to the divinity of Christ. So don't listen to those who claim that bible prophecy distracts us from the true Christian mission. Quite to the contrary, all bible prophecy points to Jesus Christ Himself.

Jesus Instructs Us

Despite its many detractors, the study of bible prophecy is an essential aspect of proper Christian living. The Lord Himself expected his disciples to carefully examine the Word of God and to be prepared for His return:

"So be prepared, because you don't know what day your Lord is coming." Matthew 24:42 (NLT)

In fact, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not recognizing the signs of the times, for the religious leaders of His day had full knowledge of the prophecies of the Messiah, yet they still chose not to believe in Him.

"One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus' claims by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven. He replied, 'You know the saying, 'Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow, red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.' You are good at reading the weather signs in the sky, but you can't read the obvious signs of the times!'" Matthew 16:1-3 (NLT)

Jesus expected the people of His day to fully recognize and eagerly await the time of His first coming. As we patiently await His second coming, he holds our generation to the same standard of accountability.

There are many reasons for the Lord's repeated command to study bible prophecy, but three of the most significant are found below:

1) Authentication of the Bible

Bible prophecy offers the clearest indication that the bible is the verifiable Word of God.

Yet despite the millions of people who attend church and synagogue every week and the existence of countless books on the subject, most people are simply unaware of these prophecies.

They feverishly search through the writings of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, the Koran, and countless other "sacred texts" in hope of finding a profound truth or revelation concerning the future, only to be disappointed time and again.

Somehow, the most credible source of information on future events, the Bible, escapes notice. Yet the fulfilled prophecies of the bible are backed by mountains of historical data, archaeological evidence, and the staggering mathematical probability of their occurrence merely being the result of chance

No other source of historical knowledge can make the same claims, and for good reason. No other source is the inspired Word of God.

"And do not forget the things I have done throughout history. For I am God - I alone! I am God, and there is no one else like me. Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish." Isaiah 46:9-11 (NLT)

The very definition of God includes His unique ability to see from the distant past to the distant future, from the beginning to the end. He alone can foresee world events with 100% accuracy centuries in advance.

The apostle Peter testified to this fact:

"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God." 2 Peter 1:20 (NLT)

Unlike other sacred texts that claim divine origin, the bible can point to its unprecedented track record in foreseeing future events. This is because the bible is not the product of imaginative men, but rather the testimony of prophets who were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak from God.

Fulfilled prophecy authenticates the bible, proving it to be the Word of God. For this reason alone, bible prophecy is worth every iota of our attention.

However, when it comes to spreading the Word of God, there is no greater tool of evangelism than bible prophecy.

2) Assistance in Spreading the Gospel

One of the easiest and most natural methods for spreading the Gospel is the sharing of bible prophecy.

In fact, in the early days of the Church, sharing of fulfilled bible prophecy was the primary method for spreading the Gospel. On the day of Pentecost, Peter gave a rousing speech in Jerusalem in which he cited fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies as clear proof that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah (Acts 2:14-42). This speech led to three thousand people devoting their lives to Jesus Christ.

Later in the same book, we learn the story of Philip and the Eunuch, in which Philip uses a fulfilled prophecy from the Book of Isaiah in order to explain the Gospel to an Ethiopian traveler (Acts 8:26-39). These are just two of many instances in which the early church emphasized bible prophecy as a tool for evangelism.

In one of the New Testament books which bear his name, Peter underscores the important role of bible prophecy:

"For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes. And he received honor and glory from God the Father when God's glorious, majestic voice called down from heaven, 'This is my beloved Son; I am fully pleased with him.'

We ourselves heard the voice when we were there with him on the holy mountain. Because of that, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. Pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a light shining in a dark place - until the day Christ appears and his brilliant light shines in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:16-19 (NLT)

In Peter's words, bible prophecy is "like a light shining in a dark place."

Bible prophecy provides us with confidence in the coming glory of Christ and the necessary hope to see us through the daily rigors of life until that day appears. He further proclaims his confidence in the words of the prophets, both fulfilled and unfulfilled, because he has witnessed firsthand the authenticity of the scriptures.

Therefore, we should afford the utmost respect for the words of the prophets, and rejoice in the fact that we are able to understand their fulfillment in the life of Christ:

"This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ?s suffering and his great glory afterward.

They wondered when and to whom all this would happen. They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours. And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.? 1 Peter 1:10-12 (NLT)

The prophets yearned to know more about bible prophecy, and the Spirit of Christ was within them. Even the angels are eagerly awaiting the fulfillment of bible prophecy. If this is true, then how can we say bible prophecy is insignificant or of secondary importance?

-By PNW Staff

Gunmen Kill 16 Christians Leaving New Year"s Day Church Service in Nigeria

Unidentified gunmen shot and killed at least 16 Christians following a New Year's Day church service in Nigeria.

BBC News reported Tuesday that the attack occurred in the oil-rich region of Rivers state, which has seen heightened tensions between rival gangs. The Nigerian Independent reported that the gunmen opened fire at random early Monday morning on people leaving the church who had gone to welcome in the New Year, though there were conflicting reports on the number of casualties. At least 12 others are believed to have been hospitalized following the shootings. The public relations officer of the command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, responded to the incident, stating, "The deputy commissioner of police in charge of operation and other tactical heads have been mobilized there to restore peace." Omoni added, "The Commissioner of Police (Ahmed Zaki) has launched a manhunt for the bandits to ensure they are arrested and prosecuted. 

"When the DCP and the teams there conclude we will know the total number of people involved." BBC noted that at first, residents in Omuku town had difficulty distinguishing the gunshots from the firework celebrations. The town is known for its violent crimes, and has seen an increase of violence this past year, with militants aiming to control a greater share of the oil-producing region. While it is not yet clear whether the attack on the church was connected to the oil conflict, Christians in Nigeria suffered violently at the hands of different groups in 2017.

Four Christians taking part in Christmas carols were killed just two days before Christmas, with another 10 critically injured. The suspects were identified as Fulani herdsmen, who've slaughtered hundreds of believers over the year. Southern Kaduna People's Union responded to the killing during Christmas, with national public relations officer Yakubu Kuzamani stating, "This has left us wondering why people who had gathered peacefully for joyful Christmas carols in their village should be gunned down for no reasons." Southern Kaduna Progressive Youth Forum National Chairman Andrew Kure called the act "barbaric, wicked, and inhuman" and one that "should be condemned by all people of good conscience." Stephen Mamza, chairman of the local Christian Association of Nigeria, said that at least 100 people were killed by the Fulani on attacks on several villages in December alone, with many others missing. Islamic terror group Boko Haram has also separately been waging a war on Christians, government officials, and Muslims who do not support it for years, seeking to drive out all followers of Jesus Christ from the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Takes Stand for Persecuted Iranian Christians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he stands with Christians in Iran. “We stand with you, brothers and sisters,” he said. “The world stands with you.” The supportive statement comes after Iran’s foreign minister tweeted a “hypocritical” tweet days before Christmas. "A very happy and peaceful Christmas to all. May Christ's universal message of peace be embraced in the coming year,” he said. Netanyahu says, however, that the Christmas greeting is hypocritical because Iran has been ranked as one of the world’s harshest persecutors of Christians. "I wonder what the Christians jailed this month in Iran would think about that tweet," he said in a taped message posted on his Facebook and Twitter pages. In Iran, house churches are considered illegal and government security raid the churches regularly. Many of the worshippers and leaders are imprisoned, while bibles are confiscated. "Imagine praying quietly in your home, surrounded by your family—and all of the sudden, armed thugs burst in and drag you away to prison. They torture you merely for practicing your Christian faith. Welcome to Iran. Saying 'Merry Christmas' while jailing Christians in your own country is the height of hypocrisy," Netanyahu said. This is not the first time that Netanyahu has brought awareness to the persecution of Christians in Iran.

In October, he told Christian journalists to investigate Iran’s treatment of Christians. "Profile the brave Christian leaders jailed for practicing their faith. Sit with the families, the school teachers jailed for years merely for converting to Christianity... Call out the lies of President (Hassan) Rouhani, who promised in 2013 that all religions would 'feel justice' in Iran while so many Christians live there in constant terror," he said. "Some world leaders are willing to ignore this repression and seek to appease Iran, but I am not one of them," Netanyahu added. "I think that how a country treats religious minorities is a very good indicator of how it will treat its fellow citizens and its neighbors." 

Extremists Attack Egyptian Church as Worshipers Leave Mass

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that following today's conclusion of mass at Mar Mina Church in Helwan City, terrorists attacked the church as congregants were exiting to attend Sunday School. One of the attackers was wearing a suicide vest and attempted to enter the church, but was prevented by police. One of the Sunday School teachers, Ihab, shared with ICC, "Following the end of the church mass, as the congregation of the church began to leave and I began to collect the children to start Sunday School, we heard shooting outside the church. There was a situation of terror among all the people inside the yard: they all were screaming and running. The situation was terrible, the sound of the shooting was very dense and lasted more than 20 minutes. Many of the congregation who were in the church yard preparing to leave hurried inside when they heard the shooting. They hid inside the church and closed its inside door." He continued, "The situation was very terrible, it was like war against the church, the sound of the shooting was very terrifying. Those terrorists used automatic weapons."

A member of the congregation, Abanoub, added, "These terrorists arranged the attack of the church with precision. They knew everything about the church and the time of the ending the mass...One of them was wearing [a] suicide vest under his clothes and tried to enter the church while the worshippers were leaving the church to explode himself and kill many of them.

Abanoub elaborated, "First, the terrorists attacked the security men (police) who were assigned to guard the church and they exchanged fire with them. The terrorist wearing the suicide vest tried to storm the church during the exchange of fire to explode himself inside, but the police managed to shoot him and prevent him from storming the church."

During the exchange of shots between the police and terrorists, five Christians were killed and more than seven others injured. One of the security forces, a Muslim, was also killed.

Claire Evans, ICC's Regional Manager, said, "This brutal attack further demonstrates the ruthlessness with which extremists target Egypt's Christians. Thankfully, the attack was not as violent as the terrorists intended. But our hearts are heavy with the news of the lives lost during this assault. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost a loved one today, and we pray for the speedy healing of all those who were injured during this terrible attack."

Indonesia: 9,000 Jailed Christians Receive Reduced Sentences

Indonesia reduced the sentences of more than 9,000 Christian prisoners on Christmas Day, according to reports. According to Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s Law and Human Rights Ministry cut down the sentences of 9,333 Christian prisoners. “Of the total, 175 inmates were freed upon receiving remissions,” a Law and Human Rights Ministry official told reporters. The changes in sentences came because of administration considerations and consideration for the type of crimes jailed for. “If an embezzler wants a remission, for instance, they must first obtain justice collaborator status,” the official said.

The length of sentence reduction received depended on how much time had already been served. Reductions varied from 15 days to a maximum of two months, with the month-long reduction mostly given to prisoners who had already served from one to three years. One of the Christians whose sentence was reduced was former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who was sentenced to two years in prison after he was falsely accused of blasphemy in 2016. The former governor was used in an edited Facebook video that showed him allegedly blaspheming the Quran, although Purnama had really issued a warning against politicians who used the Quran for political advancement. The video led to protests of Purnama and a call for punishment. A man named Buni Yani admitted to editing the video and was convicted. Meanwhile, Purnama was sentenced to jail.

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro  28:4  The spirit which makes one   forsake the law of God

What he said shall occur

In 2011 we were in Mumbai for 18 months. In the flat where we lived, there was a window which will bring bad smell from outside. So we could not open it. One day when we read Mark 11:23, we wanted to apply this. We opened the window and prophesied, “Let all this rubbish and the stench it brings be moved out of this place, fresh air flow in through this window and  fill our house”. The next day the authorities decided to convert it into a park and the work started right away. Within one week it was completed.

Yes our mouth has power in it!

Mar 11:23  For truly I say to you that whoever shall say to this mountain, Be moved and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said shall occur, he shall have whatever he said. 

Yes, we will have whatever we have said.

In the place where we live now also the same miracle happened. When we came here in 2015, the road we had was of mud and sand. Auto rickshaw drivers were fearful that their tyres may get punctured. We started prophesying! Now without any efforts on our part, there are shade trees  and flower gardens in front of the house, which are watered and cared for! You may produce anything out of your tongue and eat the fruit. Why don’t you try?

Is The United Nations Fulfilling Ancient Biblical Prophecy?

On December 21, 2017, the UN united as one to stand against one city on the planet: Jerusalem. Twenty-five centuries earlier, the prophet Zechariah wrote these words from the Lord, "I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle" (Zech. 14:2) Did the UN just move us one step closer to fulfilling this ancient prophecy?

Before answering this question, let's look at the events on the ground.

First, the UN once again distinguished itself for hypocrisy by targeting Israel for its criticism - specifically, America's support of Israel - while remaining silent on so many issues of world importance.

What has the UN been doing during the horrific war in Syria? Where has the UN been during the attempted genocide of Christians in the Middle East? Decades earlier, what did the UN have to say about Tiananmen Square in China or Saddam Hussein's chemical warfare against the Kurds? Yet when America recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the UN is an uproar.

As I noted previously, groups like UNWatch.org have documented the UN's consistent policy of singling out Israel for rebuke and condemnation while virtually ignoring atrocities committed on a mass scale by other nations, including Israel's neighbors.

To give one case in point, during the UN General Assembly's 61st session (2006-2007), "the time spent by ambassadors on enacting the 22nd anti-Israel resolution of the year was time not spent on passing a single resolution on Sudan's genocide in Darfur."

So, while Sudanese Christians were being slaughtered en masse by Muslim soldiers and gangs, the UN General Assembly spent its time enacting 22 anti-Israel resolutions.

In 2015, as noted by Israeli journalist Noga Gur-Arieh,"At the closing of the 59th UN Commission on the Status of Women . . . only one political resolution was passed; one that accuses Israel of mistreating Palestinian women, in all aspects of life."

A similar resolution was passed in 2016 by the same UN Commission.

So, of all the nations on earth, only Israel was singled out for its alleged mistreatment of women.

That's why Abba Eban, Israel's legendary diplomat, once remarked, "If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions."

Second, in anticipation of the UN vote, the United States handled things exactly as it should have: with a strong word of rebuke and warning.

After all, different international leaders did not simply called President Trump and say, "We strongly differ with your recognition of Jerusalem." Instead, in the most public forum available, 128 nations stood together to condemn America for doing was what right and righteous, declaring our decision "null and void."

Nikki Haley's words to the UN before the vote said it all: "To its shame, the United Nations has long been a hostile place for the state of Israel. Both the current and the previous Secretary-Generals have objected to the UN's disproportionate focus on Israel. It's a wrong that undermines the credibility of this institution, and that in turn is harmful for the entire world."

Good for you, Mrs. Haley. Call the UN on the carpet.

Then, after articulating all the good our country does around the world, along with its support for the UN, she rebuked the UN for disrespecting America, saying, "The United Stateswill remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation. We will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world's largest contribution to the United Nations, and so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit."

And finally: "America will put our embassy in Jerusalem.That is what the American people want us to do and it is the right thing to do. This vote will make a difference in how Americans look at the UN. And this vote will be remembered."

Here, here, Ambassador Haley!

Third, the 7 nations that stood with Israel and America today are a most unusual group, consisting of Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Togo, and Palau. Honestly, now, how many of us heard of some of these countries before? And how many of us could locate some of them on the map?

Whether it was out of economic dependence on the USA, a connection to Israel, or something else, these nations should be remembered for good in the days to come. They did what was courageous and correct.

As for the countries that abstained (35 in all), two (the Czech Republic and the Philippines) already stated they are considering relocating their embassies; a number of African nations have developed solid ties with Israel; some might have considered their need for American dollars; and others might have remembered Israel's kindness to them (such as Mexico, which was greatly aided by Israel after their disastrous earthquake in September, although Mexico did use its floor time to speak critically).

Already, "U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley invited representatives of countries who didn't vote in favor of the United Nations General Assembly's Jerusalem resolution to a reception as 'thank you for your friendship to the United States.'"

But what of the matter of ancient prophecy? Is there a connection between the UN's vote and the Bible?

I would say yes, for at least three reasons: 1) The vote confirms international hostility towards a Jewish Jerusalem. 2) The vote reminds us that the biblical authors were inspired when predicting that an end-time coalition of nations would come against a Jewish Jerusalem. 3) The vote tells us that, just as Scripture indicates, the city of Jerusalem alone is the whole world's business (see Zech 12:3).

Of course, this does not set a time frame for a united attack on a Jewish Jerusalem, and we don't know if "all nations" (in the words of Zechariah) means every nation on earth or simply a worldwide coalition.

But, after watching the last 2,500 years of history, coupled with the UN's anti-Jerusalem vote this week, it's hard to read the Bible and think that the writers just guessed things right. What are the chances of that?

-By PNW Staff

Teaching the disciples

Judas – not the Master, but an instrument

Killing Jesus was not the goal of Judas Iscariot. This was very well planned out by the Jewish religious leaders. Judas was used by them. Since Judas loved money more than Jesus, he became an instrument in the hands of the Jewish leaders for executing their plan.

Disciples – Be careful!

Jesus warned his disciples to be innocent like dove and prudent like serpent. If a disciple is  not prudent, his innocence and imprudence  can be an instrument in doing much harm to another disciple and bring damage to Jesus’ name. 

King Constantine when he became a believer of Jesus Christ, in the 3^rd century A.D.,  the leaders of the Church in their hunger to get recognition and acceptance after a long period of suffering, allowed certain sanctions like

1. Constructing buildings for worship
2. Appointing priests for conducting services
3. Continue his chief priesthood of sun god etc.

This became a trap for Christianity from which it has not survived fully even after 1700 years.

I remember one incident that happened in my life. The Lord has called us to conduct Troop meetings in houses which is now converted into Troop Churches! Troop meetings were conducted in houses. Troop meetings witnessed many miracles. When it went on increasing in number, a command came from the Roman Catholic Church not to allow this troop meetings any more in houses! We were very much worried. The same day during prayer, the Lord told us,

“It is me who brought you out, not the bishop, pope or anybody else. Continue to do it. Hereafter I will bring people to you. You need not go to houses to start troops. Same day the schedule for Shekinah Evangelization Programme was  given. So far 937 batches of Shekinahs were conducted throughout India. When thousands of students attended Shekinah, it became like a feeder  for the Pentecostal Churches. Shekinah teachers were all lay people. After the conclusion of Shekinah training, all the students became believers and they went to join the Pentecostal Churches! Then came the temptation! Some of our teachers came to me with a suggestion,

“Why should we train up students to become believers and send them to Pentecostal Churches? Why can’t we register ourselves as a Pentecostal  Church? The growth of Shekinah was so fast that it had the prospects of becoming one of  the biggest Churches in  India!

I could sense that this idea came from Lucifer. I waved it off. But day by day, many teachers were getting attracted by this concept and we had to have a meeting over this!

Even though those who spoke for registering ourselves into a Church were very strong and convincing, somehow the Lord put words in my mouth and by His grace, we escaped from the ambush satan had set for us.

Sis. Angelica AJ (To be Continued)

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Christmas violence and arrests shake Indian Christians

There has been a surge in anti-Christian attacks following the election of Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. The strains of Hindi carols have rung out in the Aligarh Church of Ascension every Christmas since 1858. Armed police on the grounds is a more recent tradition.

This year the officers will be out in force. On Thursday night in the north Indian city, Rahul Chauhan was playing tabla drums while the rest of his Seventh–Day Adventist choir sang Christmas songs in the home of a follower.

Outside, a small group of men had gathered. One forced his way into the room. “He kicked the musical instruments before trying to attack my brother with a knife,” said Jitesh Chauhan, a singer in the group.

He claims the men cast anti-Christian slurs and damaged the instruments. Rahul and the 30 carollers were unharmed but shaken.

A group of carol singers perform in a Christian locality in Aligarh the day after a carol group was attacked with knife by a suspected Hindu activist in Aligarh. Photograph: Shaikh Azizur Rahman for the Guardian

Days earlier in Aligarh, hardline Hindu activists distributed letters warning Christian schools in the city against involving Hindu students in Christmas activities. In nearby Mathura, seven Christians were arrested by police while praying inside a home. In Satna, Madhya Pradesh state, an entire choir was detained while going door to door.

Worries about religious persecution in India usually centre on the country’s 180 million Muslims. Lynchings of Muslim dairy and cattle traders by “cow protection” vigilantes have become increasingly frequent. Hindu groups including members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) openly lobby to stop Muslims buying property in Hindu neighbourhoods.

Christians in India increasingly under attack

The series of Christmas incidents has turned the spotlight on another minority. More quietly, Indian Christians are also feeling the walls close in, says John Dayal, the secretary general of the All-India Christian Council, following a surge in attacks last year. “Anything that impacts the Muslims in a different way impacts the Christians,” he says.

In 2014, Indians elected a Hindu nationalist government in a landslide. Its leader, Narendra Modi, is a lifelong adherent of “Hindutva”, the conviction that India’s culture and institutions ought to reflect an inherent Hindu nature. Religious minorities – regarded as Hindus led astray by foreign influence – are tolerated, provided they acknowledge Hindu hegemony.

Modi has repeatedly emphasised his government will promote “complete freedom of faith”, but his elevation has been a green light for radical Hindutva groups, says Dhirendra K Jha, an author whose latest book studied these “shadow armies”.

“After Modi became prime minister, these groups started thinking they have assumed power, it is their government,” Jha says. “So they have gone amok. They don’t fear law and order or any democratic institution. They are on a rampage.”

Christian pastor Rajpal Samuel with a first generation Christian family. Hindu groups claim that pastors, are forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. Pastor Samuel said such charge is baseless. “If people are embracing Christianity they are doing it purely of their own free will.” Photograph: Shaikh Azizur Rahman for the Guardian

A “perfect parallel”, he says, is the growing boldness of white nationalist groups in the US under Donald Trump.

“Modi would never come out and openly help them,” Jha says. “But he rarely criticises them. Because of his silence, the message goes to the state machinery that they don’t have to take action against them.”

One popular calumny is that Muslim men are trying to woo Hindu women as part of a “love jihad”. The fear is regularly fanned by senior BJP leaders. Two weeks ago, a Rajasthan state man, Shambhu Lal Raigar, raved about love jihad as he used a pick-axe to murder Mohammed Afzarul, a migrant labourer, in an attack filmed and posted online.

For Christians the primary charge is of “forced conversions”. “It means putting pressure on people to convert, sometimes physically,” says Dayal. “But according to [Hindutva groups] it could mean anything from praying for Jesus to heal you, to offering to put you in a Christian hospital or school, to paying a person American dollars or British pounds.”

In practice, any kind of public prayer in the presence of Hindus – particularly the downtrodden Dalits, formerly “Untouchables”, whose leaders regularly threaten to abandon Hinduism – can attract police attention.

One morning in October, a group including Hindus and Muslims arrived at the Faith Assemblies of God Church for a workshop on accessing government welfare. The crowd piqued the suspicion of neighbours, who tipped off local hardliners.

“Around 20 or 30 people of this group came into the church and started threatening people,” says Joel R George, who assists his disabled father to run the ministry.

A village church in a Hindu-dominated village of Asroi in Aligarh district. In 2014 Hindu activists stormed into the church and installed Hindu idols on its pulpit aiming to convert it to a Hindu temple. Photograph: Shaikh Azizur Rahman for the Guardian

Police arrived in their wake and detained several people including George, releasing them after it was clear no religious ceremony had taken place.

“The men made videos and interrogated people,” George says. “They asked: are they giving money to you? Are they converting you?”

The roots of Christianity on the subcontinent stretch as far back as AD52, writes the historian William Dalrymple. For centuries, western wanderers in south India returned with tales of Christians who traced their origins to the arrival of Saint Thomas in Kerala state nearly two decades after Jesus’ death.

The seeds of the contemporary backlash were sown centuries later, when British preachers fanned out across colonial India to win souls for Christ, prompting several princely states to institute laws limiting conversions.

In recent decades, Hindutva ire has focused on evangelical crusades such as the AD2000 project, which sought to flood north India with American missionaries and money, aimed especially at Dalits trying to shed the burden of their caste.

Critics such as Arun Shourie, a journalist and former BJP politician, say such efforts mostly produced “rice Christians” – shallow converts swayed by offers of food and welfare. “They join out of necessity, and when necessity compels them they will join something else,” Shourie says.

Today, at least eight Indian states prohibit conversion by force, fraud or inducement, with BJP leaders repeatedly pushing to take the bans nationwide.

India’s largest international donor, the Christian charity Compassion International, was forced to cease its Indian operations in March after the government cut off its foreign funding over concerns it was using the money for proselytisation.

In contrast, Hindutva groups freely conduct mass conversions of Muslims and Christians in ceremonies they call ghar wapsi, or “homecoming”.

In this charged atmosphere, pastors and priests in Aligarh assiduously avoid the C-word. “We don’t convert. We make disciples for Jesus,” George says.

“I haven’t converted anyone in five years,” says Rev Jonathan Lal. “People come to us, sometimes they’re non-Christians, and I pray for them.”

“People see the miracles, they see the healing,” says an elder at the Ascension Church, Vincent Joel, his voice rising. “They want to come. What should we do? Chase them away?”

Children are busy cleaning and decorating a church for the Christmas in a small Christian locality in Aligarh for Christmas celebrations. Photograph: Shaikh Azizur Rahman for the Guardian

However many new adherents can be persuaded to file past the police for Christmas mass on Monday, Christian numbers in India will remain small.

The faith has relatively few adherents to show for its two millennia on the subcontinent, and the millions of dollars and hours its champions have spent trying to sway Indian hearts.

“Our population in India is only 2.3%,” says Joel, in the church courtyard. “If we did so many conversions we should be increasing. But we are shrinking.”

Not so, says Dayal. Worshipping “sometimes in the dead of night”, rarely registering new converts with the state, flocks in the Indian hinterland are holding steady, he says.

“Christians will survive, even as an underground church,” he adds. “We have survived here for 2,000 years.”

Indians celebrate Christmas despite fears of anti-Christian backlash

Government asked states to increase security for Christmas celebrations after recent isolated attacks on Christians

Christians and others in India celebrated Christmas despite fears of a backlash in some parts of the predominantly Hindu country.

The Indian government asked states to increase security for Christmas celebrations this year after recent isolated attacks on Christians in northern India. No new incidents had been reported as of late Monday.

Vigilante groups have increasingly targeted Muslims since a Hindu nationalist party came to power in India in 2014, and some Christian leaders fear the attacks may now be spreading to their community.

“The poison of polarisation has now made Christians also a target,” said Madhu Chandra, the administrator of the All India Christian Council, a national alliance that works for religious freedom and the rights of marginalised people.

This month, members of a militant Hindu group allegedly beat up a group of Catholic seminarians and priests in Madhya Pradesh state.

Two Sudanese Pastors' Evictions Upheld by Court

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a Muslim judge upheld the court-ordered eviction of two Christian families from their church-owned homes in Omdurman, Sudan. Pastors Yahiya Abdelrahim Nalu and Siddiqe Abdallah of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) filed an appeal against the eviction that was conducted on August 15, claiming that the property belonged to Hisham Al-Neel. This appeal was denied on December 3, 2017.

"The house that was marked for eviction was not ours. Our house number is 772 and the house that should have been vacated is 574. The judge went on with his ruling even after confirming from the housing authorities and the engineering surveyor that this was a mistaken raid. This is an outright breach of the law and it is done on purpose. The church is under siege and we are very disappointed," decried Pastor Yahiya.

Pastor Yahiya, his wife Manal, and their child Matthew, have been sleeping out in the open ever since. They are expecting their second child soon and winter is fast approaching. "We have been living outside in the streets with our wives and children after the forceful eviction four months ago. With the court ruling that didn't favor us, life will just become harder. This is an evil government that mistreats her people in the name of religion. We long for a nation that will give the minority groups protection and space," added Pastor Yahiya.

ICC spoke to pastor Siddiqe Abdallah, who has also been unable to find housing. "We are living under a tree in Khartoum city because a Muslim investor has taken over our house. Our hearts are broken and we can only ask our brothers to lift us in prayer. We are in great suffering and hopelessness," lamented Pastor Siddiqe Abdallah. He, his wife, and their two children are forced to live in the streets due to this injustice.

While speaking with ICC, Reverend Kuwa Shamal of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), who was arrested in December 2015 and released in January 2017, expressed his dismay after the court upheld the eviction of the two Christian families. He said, "This is a ploy to finish the church in Sudan. The government has been oppressing the church by not only giving church properties to private developers but also forming a Muslim committee to oversee all the churches in Sudan. We are very disappointed by the move to turnover ownership of the property to a Muslim investor. The property might be demolished anytime as we speak."

ICC's Regional Manager, Nathan Johnson, stated, "The government in Sudan has long desired to end Christianity within its borders. It has worked tirelessly since South Sudan gained its freedom in 2011 to make Christianity illegal. We pray for the faith of these two families that are suffering and for those who are sure to suffer in the coming years. Sudan's flagrant human rights abuses must come to an end, and its citizens must be protected."

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro  17:13  The spirit which  makes one reward evil for good

Let a king rule over us

Two days back a brother called me from France - an Indian  trained and employed for  the French collaboration projects in India, Kalpakkam Atomic unit, Salem steel plant etc.  now settled in France,  is paralyzed below hip. He took all the treatments in France and in India and went to all the possible prayer centres. But no cure. I asked him a question. “Did you consult Jesus about this?

The answer was, “Many priests came to my house. I also travelled from one centre to another. They all prayed for me.”.

I understood that he is not trained how to  communicate  with God and is not trained to have a close walk with God. All along his life he had mediators like priests, dead saints etc.

The Israelites provoked God and rejected Him  when they insisted,

"No! Let a king rule over us! We, too, will be like all the nations! Our king will govern us and go out before us to fight our battles." 1 Sam 8:19,20

It is the same problem with Christians today. They want to be under their own kings, (Church leaders) whom they think will fight for them, recommend their cases to God etc. This is equal to rejecting God.

Jesus came as Immanuel (God with us).  Those Christians who accept a lifelong spiritual authority over them, other than Jesus, is rejecting Jesus’ authority over them. This results in many evil effects including sickness, witchcrafts, attack by evil spirits etc.  How sad! Even after 2000 years of Jesus’ birth in this world, still His children, Christians are not liberated from the slavery of Pharaohs who do not allow them to worship Jesus in truth and spirit!  

Suicide Attack on Church in Pakistan Darkens Christmas Celebrations

Terror struck Christians in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province today as four terrorists allegedly linked with the Islamic State (IS) attacked a church, killing at least nine worshippers and injuring more than 50 others. Police and church officials told Morning Star News that four suicide attackers stormed the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in the provincial capital, Quetta, in the southwestern part of the country.

Hiding Under Benches

Broken wooden benches, shards of glass and musical instruments were scattered around a Christmas tree inside the prayer hall that was splashed with blood stains. Sunil Pervaiz, who was present in the church with his sister when the attack happened, told Morning Star News that the congregation was busy worshipping when the firing started. “We hid the women and children under the benches, but just then a deafening explosion occurred, breaking the wooden door and the glass windows,” Pervaiz said. “I saw several people covered in blood … some were lying on the floor, some limping away to safety. It was sheer chaos.” Aqil Anjum, who was shot in his right arm, said bullets were hitting people inside the closed hall. “The situation was so chaotic that my mind had numbed,” he told Morning Star News. “My condition was such that I initially didn’t even feel the bullet piercing my arm.”

Mehreen Joseph, 43, said her 17-year-old son suffered multiple wounds from gunfire and the explosion. “I am thankful to God Almighty that my son is alive, but my heart grieves for the families of our congregation who have lost their loved ones today,” she said. “The church was brimming with activity for the pre-Christmas Mass, and we all were very excited to be there, but our happiness has been turned into sadness.” According to Balochistan Police Chief Moazzam Ansari, the injuries resulted mainly from wooden splinters from the door and from glass blown out of the church’s windows in the explosion. Ansari praised the quick response of the police guards posted to the church, which he said had prevented the attackers from causing maximum damage. The assailants were between 16 and 20 years old and had strapped 15 kilograms of explosives to their bodies. One successfully detonated his explosive vest, while the other was defused, Ansari said, adding that two other attackers fled without putting up a fight. Authorties are searching for them.

Islamic State Claims Responsibility

The church attack came a day after the third anniversary of a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that killed 144 persons, mostly schoolchildren, one of the single deadliest attacks in the country’s history. Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa condemned the attack, calling it an attempt to cloud Christmas celebrations. The United States also strongly condemned “the shocking and brutal attack on innocent worshippers,” U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale said in a statement.

Christian political and religious leaders condemned the attack and urged the government to provide maximum security to churches across the country for Christmas services next week. Rufus Solomon of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that terrorist attacks would not cease in Pakistan until the country implements the National Action Plan in letter and spirit. He urged Christians in Pakistan the world over to keep the grieving families in their prayers. Christians make up 2 percent of Pakistan’s population and face persecution from hard-line Islamists who want to see a strict interpretation of Islamic law take precedence in the legal system. Pakistan ranked fourth on Christian support group Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Somalia: Ex-Muslim Converts to Christianity and Now Leads Others to Christ

A former Muslim came to know Christ in the Muslim-dominant nation of Somalia, and he is now sharing the Gospel with his countrymen, leading others to Jesus. According to The Christian Post, Somalia is 99 percent Muslim and is very hostile toward Christianity, but despite these odds, many Somalians are coming to Christ and boldly sharing their faith. Greg Kelley of World Mission, the organization through which the former Muslim came to faith, is encouraged by those who are turning to Christ in Somalia:

"People are coming to know Jesus," Kelley said. “So that was so encouraging to us in and of itself but it's really at great risk and at great cost. The Lord is using our solar-powered audio Bible, called the Treasure, in the Somali language." Kelley went on to say that the Muslim man who converted and is now sharing the Gospel, knows the risks he is taking by being vocal about his faith. “And so this guy goes around, ministering to Muslims, understanding what's at stake and the recent report that we received as he's using the Treasure to do this is that three new house churches have formed, and 15 new families have come to know Christ." Somalia is number two on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christian persecution is most severe.

Danger in reporting before human beings

When Jesus sent his twelve disciples with the authority to cast out demons, they could not do it. (Lk.9:40). Then He appointed another seventy and they did it, came back and joyously reported. Jesus forbade them from doing so because He sensitized the danger in the joyous reporting (which is called testimony sharing in today’s Churches).   

“Yet do not rejoice in this, that the evil spirits are subject to you, rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven”. Luk 10:20 

There is a custom in the Churches to make the believers share the testimonies as soon as they accept Jesus Christ.  Certain believers have made  testimony sharing  their lifelong ministry. As they travel from stage to stage, go on getting captive audiences, there will be a tendency  to add on to the real incidents  in order to make the listeners enthusiastic!

Rather Jesus asked His disciples to rejoice over the reward they are going to get in heaven! Yes! A believer’s eyes should be fixed on the reward they get in heaven!

Some of the activities listed out in Bible which will guarantee our reward in heaven:

Secret prayers, secret almsgiving and secret fast Mat 6:4,6,18)

Loving enemies, doing good, and lending, hoping for nothing in return Luk6:35

Planting and  watering in the Kingdom of heaven 1Cor 3:8 

Building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and if the work remains 1Cor 3:14 

Preaching gospel willingly 1Cor 9:17 

Whatever one does in serving Jesus Christ Col 3:24 

Confidence  Heb 10:35 

Esteeming the reproach of Christ Heb 11:26   

Let us hope for the reward in heaven instead of receiving applause on earth!

Hanukkah and The End Times

'those who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits...' Dan 11:32

While this verse has been a source of encouragement to countless Christians down through the ages, few have considered its original context.

This beautiful promise comes immediately after Daniel's description of an anti-Christ like figure from the 'kingdom of the north' who puts an end to sacrifices in the Temple and erects the 'abomination of desolation'.

While I believe these verses ultimately are talking about the End Times, in this article we will see how it specifically applied to the Jewish heroes of Hanukkah and how it might apply to us today.

In AD 175BC, 400 years after Daniel wrote down his prophecies, Antiochus Ephiphanes became ruler over the dominant and powerful Seleucid Empire based in Syria to the north of Israel.

At this time, Hellenism was a powerful force in society, seducing many Israelites to the Greek materialistic, pleasure seeking and idol worshipping culture. Jason - a Hellenised and corrupt Levitical priest - entered into a treaty with Antiochus, which enabled Jason to become High Priest in Jerusalem.

In exchange Jason helped erect an idol in Jerusalem and built a gymnasium in town - a place that openly promoted homosexual activity. Jason's actions split Israel - outraging those who remained faithful to the Torah, while many Hellenised Jews rallied to Jason's side.

Three years down the track, Antiochus - who called himself 'Epiphanes' or the "god man made flesh" - suffered a humiliating loss in battle against his arch-rivals in Egypt.  Returning from this stinging defeat, he heard of insurrection and trouble brewing in Israel and launched an enraged attack on the city of Jerusalem.

When the dust had settled 80'000 Jews had been butchered. Antiochus proceeded to defile the Holy of Holies in the Temple - sacrificing a pig on the altar of God and pouring swine broth over the holy parchments.

As foretold in Daniel 11:31, Antiochus then put an end to the daily sacrifices in the temple and erected an idol of Zeus in the Temple - bearing his own image on its face. The Jews at the time called it the 'abomination of desolation' - drawing on the imagery of Daniel 11:31.

Truly it became an 'abomination of desolation', for as soon as the idol was erected, intense house-to-house persecution broke out across the entire land of Israel. Houses were searched meticulously, and those found keeping God's laws were mercilessly tortured and killed.

Daniel 11:33 predicted that many of the faithful would fall by the sword and the book of Maccabees tells many such stories. One such story is that of the elderly scribe Eleazer. Eleazer's captors desired to treat him kindly due to his advanced age and implored him to only pretend to go along with their demands.

Eleazer however refused to compromise and went willingly to a torturous death, setting an example that was to be followed by many - young and old, men, women and children in the days to come. These precious Jewish heroes who paid such a high price for their faith could well be those that the writer of Hebrews refers to when he talks of those who 'were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection' (Heb 11:35).

Antiochus' plan to Hellenise Israel seemed to be slowly but surely working. Much was at stake, for if Antiochus' diabolical plan had succeeded, then there would have been no nation of Israel, no books of the Law, no temple and no one keeping or knowing God's commandments by the time Jesus was born 150 years later.

But in these dark days of suffering, as Daniel had predicted, a small minority who knew their God were raised up to 'carry out great exploits'.

Under the command Judah Maccabee, the rebels gradually gained strength. Although they were hopelessly outnumbered and facing undoubtedly the greatest super-power of their day, Judah was undaunted through firm faith in God.

Antiochus sent wave after wave to crush the rebellion - yet time and again Judah emerged victorious. Finally, Antiochus sent 47'000 men to squash Judah's rag-tag army of around 3000 men once and for all.

Hearing of the impending onslaught, Judah and his men first spent a day in fasting and repentance, where Judah reminded his men of the great victories of Israel in the Bible. The next day the Maccabees launched a surprise attack of their own on the main enemy camp - against all odds delivering another crushing blow to their enemies. After 3 years of battles and stunning military wins, the brave Maccabees finally retook Jerusalem, cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it to the God of Israel.

As the Jewish people today commemorate this great victory with the feast of Hanukkah, they say to each other that 'a great miracle happened here'. Truly this was a great miracle, and one which ultimately prepared the way of the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem some 150 years later.

Hanukkah and the End Times

The reign of Antiochus bears many parallels to the End Times and carries powerful lessons for the final end time generation. Firstly, the story of Hanukkah is an annual reminder to the Jewish people of the danger of compromising their values and entering into a treaty with a foreign ruler for peace.

Secondly, to us as Christians, the story of Hanukkah carries a powerful message of standing firm in the face of persecution. As it is becoming increasingly unpopular to stand for Biblical values, may we too count the cost, and be faithful to our Lord no matter what lies ahead.

On the other hand, let us also take courage from the Maccabees who stood against such insurmountable odds and were victorious.

We too might feel like a tiny minority in our society, but truly those who know their God in these days, 'shall be strong and carry out great exploits...'. Let us not give up on our nation or our world, but keep praying and sharing the Gospel - believing that a 'great miracle' can happen here in our midst as well

- By PNW Staff

Hindu Extremists Beat Pastors, Stop Gospel Event in Chhattisgarh State, India

Berating and slapping two pastors into signing an apology letter before police, Hindu extremists stopped a planned three-day gospel meeting in Chhattisgarh state, India minutes before it was to begin, sources said. Hindu nationalists beat pastor Vijay Jogi and pastor Santosh Rao minutes before the start of the first meeting, where about 1,000 people had gathered at the Railway Grounds in Charoda, Durg District on Nov. 16, pastor Amos James told Morning Star News. “Pastor Vijay Jogi and Pastor Santosh Rao were receiving the people at the entrance,” Pastor James said. “Suddenly a mob of 70 Hindu Dharm Sena and Bajrang Dal activists gheraoed [encircled] the entrance, and Pastor Jogi and Pastor Rao were beaten and summoned to the police station.”

As in the previous 20 years, church leaders had obtained prior permission from both the railway and the railway police to conduct the event, a campaign that in past years has seen many people turn to Christ, he said. The Hindu extremists claimed organizers also needed permission from the sub-judicial magistrate. “In the pamphlets we distributed earlier inviting people to attend the meeting, I quoted Luke chapter 7 and verses 22 and 23,” Pastor Jogi said. “The Hindu activists began arguing with us, ‘You are promoting blind beliefs. How can lame walk? How can deaf hear? How can you raise the dead? When your God can do all this, why are you people going to the doctors then?’ “They told me it is very wrong that I have written these lines. I said, ‘I did not write these words. It’s a verse taken from the Holy Bible and applies to the entire humankind.”’

Pastor Jogi tried telling them that in those verses Jesus Christ was telling John the Baptist the things people had seen and heard, and they told him, “We are offended by these lines,” he said. “For which I immediately responded with apologies,” he said, telling them, “If because I quoted these lines in the pamphlet, it is offending you at personal level, I apologize to you brothers. We are very sorry!” Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014, the hostile tone of his 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, religious rights advocates say.

India ranked 15th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of the countries where Christians experience the most persecution.

Occult Groups in Nigeria Kill, Kidnap Christians

Besides Islamic extremist Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, occult groups are also terrorizing Christians in Nigeria. Pastor Victor Kanayo of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was killed in a town in Lagos state on Nov. 26 by an occult group known as Badoo, a week after suspected Badoo members killed Iyabo Alaba and her two children, 4 and 8, at Celestial Church of Christ in Lagos city, according to local reports. Originating last year with a sole killer who called himself Badoo before authorities apprehended him, the Badoo group carries out serial, ritual killings rooted in the founder’s methods.

Pastor Kanayo was killed in Offin, Igbogbo, a suburb of Ikorodu town in Lagos state, and his wife, Gloria, and their 10-month-old child, Goodness, were seriously wounded, sources said; both were being treated at Ikorodu General Hospital. On Nov. 20 in Lagos city, Alaba and her two children, 4-year-old David Alaba and 8-year-old Rachael Alaba, were reportedly killed at their church premises in the city’s Temu village at about 2 a.m. Three-quarters of the occult attacks in Ikorodu target a church member or pastor or their relatives, he said. 

“They either occurred on the church premises or a building housing a church,” he said. “We must protect the women and children.” The Pentecostal pastor said that in 24 years of ministry he has received various death threats from occult groups. His ministry has included evangelism campaigns and medical outreaches. “There are times people confess to belonging to the Ogboni Fraternity, and they bring their materials and books for burning,” he said. “I have done this many times in different parts of the country.” Another RCCG pastor was killed in Ondo state, in southwest Nigeria, on Nov. 24 when armed men ambushed him and his son at Ore town, Odigbo Local Government Area, according to area police.

Hindu Extremists Beat Pastor Unconscious in Southern India Following Conversions Among Banjaras

A pastor led a southern village’s first five families to faith in Christ, masked men on motorbikes intercepted him on his way home from worship and tried to kill him. Pastor Banothu Sevya, 26, was in a coma for 48 hours after the drunken Hindu extremists beat him in Govindapuram, on the outskirts of Jamandlapalli village in Telangana state, last month. They had threatened him twice before, he said. Pastor Sevya first preached Christ in Jangi Thanda, a village in Govindapuram, at the request of a relative. When five families came to Christ, he had been as astonished as anyone.

“I too belong to the same Banjara tribal community, and it is not possible by human strength to separate them from idolatry – they have a number of gods enshrined in rocks, trees, water and the like,” he said. “The five families left everything behind and have been walking in the Light since they invited Jesus Christ into their hearts. It is a miracle.” On the evening of Oct. 5, more than 60 villagers had gathered at his relative’s house to study the Bible and worship in a service that lasted until 9 p.m., he said. As he rode home on a motorcycle, he noticed the masked men following him. “They attempted to murder him,” she said. “Doctors in Mahabubabad and Warangal districts told me he would die, and my father and father-in-law arranged for 100,000 rupees [US$1,545] and shifted him to a private hospital in Hyderabad.” Doctors told her he had blood clots in the cerebral area, brain coordination problems, injury to his eye and a damaged eardrum, she said. The pastor said he was alive only by the grace of God. “I forgive the youth who attacked, and I am praying for them,” he said.

Warfare prayer of the soldiers of the Army of Jesus to bind and destroy the works of the devil

Let us bind and destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin, satan, curse and death on the cross

Pro  11:26  The spirit which makes one withhold  grain without selling it

Many a times I have wondered “why the children of God are put to various kinds of sufferings even after Jesus Christ has brought victory into this world through His death & resurrection”.

Bible threw light on this matter last Saturday while I was preparing a message to be given for the night prayer.

"Tell the Israelis ….. to the land of Canaan, they are to drive out all the inhabitants of the land and destroy all their idols and their molten images. You are to demolish all their high places,  take possession of the land, and live in it, because I've given you the land to inherit.  "But if you fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, their survivors will become irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, to prick your sides and afflict you in the very land in which you'll be living.  Then, what I had planned to do to them, I'll start to do to you." Num 33:51-53,55-56

How to inherit the land? By removing the inhabitants – the territorial spirits (not human beings) which are ruling over the land. This is the first and foremost duty of a believer wherever he/she goes to settle down. If they fail to do so, the survivors will trouble them. God’s anger also will be upon them! 

The surviving spirits- those which we fail to drive out will torment & afflict us our eyes and sides like thorns!.

Since we fail to do our duty, God’s punishment will be upon His children too! Since believers are not taught in spiritual warfare, they compromise with the demonic powers (Lk 14:31). This invokes Lord’s punishment on them!

Advent: Jesus Is Coming, and This Time It's Different

TV commercials, radio stations, and shopping malls are all proclaiming that it's the Christmas season! But actually, it isn't.

Last Sunday, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, in churches all around the world, the Gospel reading was Matthew 25:31-46. The passage opens with words that should make our hearts soar, or, perhaps, shiver with dread: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."

As the passage makes clear, Christ's second coming will be very different from his first. He will return in glory, not obscurity. He will return as the King of the Universe, not as a nobody in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire. And this time, He will do the judging. This, and not shopping, or who saw whom kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe, is what we're supposed to be thinking about these next four weeks, the season known as Advent. Now if you're wondering, "Wait, isn't this the Christmas season?" the answer is, well, "no." Of course, we wouldn't know that from watching television, where some networks have been running "Christmas" movies--none of which ever mention Jesus--since late October.

Beginning Sunday, December 3rd through Christmas Eve, many Christian traditions celebrate the season of Advent. The word "Advent" comes from the Latin word adventus meaning "come to." Thus, Advent is the season Christians anticipate the celebration of God's coming to live and die as one of us. And to better appreciate the immensity of that gift, we are to put ourselves in the place of ancient Israel which yearned for the promised Messiah who would set things right. One of the ways to do this is through hymns. The ancient Advent carol "Creator of the Stars of Night," which dates from the 7th century, expresses this Old Testament yearning in a way that has literally stood the test of time. "Thou, grieving that the ancient curse/ Should doom to death a universe/ Hast found the medicine, full of grace/ To save and heal a ruined race," the hymn reads.

The "medicine" required to "save and heal a ruined race" was Jesus, as Paul told the Philippians, emptying himself and becoming obedient to death.

But that's not the entire story. We also sing "At Whose dread Name, majestic now/ All knees must bend, all hearts must bow/ And things celestial Thee shall own/ And things terrestrial, Lord alone."

That's because Advent is not only a time of anticipating Christ's first coming but also anticipating the next and final time Jesus comes to Earth. And, I repeat, this coming will be very different from the first: The same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem during the reign of Caesar Augustus will return as the "judge of the living and the dead," and "his kingdom will have no end." This makes Advent not only a time of reflection, but also a time of repentance. This season is a time to examine our lives and ask ourselves whether we are sheep or goats. Are we living, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, for ourselves or for Him who died for us and rose again?

-By PNW Staff

Training Disciples

Jesus gave the great commission of Training  the disciples. Today every minister of God highlights “discipleship”. Still India seems to be dry and poor in discipling.  The reason may vary from generation to generation,  ministry to ministry but we can make some generalizations from our experience. This article is a humble search into this matter along with the Holy Spirit  and answer received in prayer. I am privileged to share it with my beloved brothers and sisters especially who stand with me in  the warfare.

Mat 28:19-20 Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you.

In the International Standard Version of the Bible we read it this way,

Mat 28:19-20 Therefore, as you go, disciple people in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you.

“disciple people” in all nations is the command given by Jesus.

Let us meditate on how Jesus trained  his disciples

Selection of disciples

How did he select his disciples?

Lk 6:12-13  Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.   When daylight came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also called apostles:

Jesus was about to choose his disciples for the ministry, Instead of breaking his head with his 30 years of carpentry experience and human knowledge in this world,  Jesus went to pray the whole night.

Night prayer gives you uninterrupted  long time to  be with  the heavenly  Father. Recruitment of disciples was  made by the  Father and training work only was given to Jesus. When the training was completed, when Jesus was about to be handed over to death He  handed His disciples  over to the  Father again. (Jn 17:10-26) The heavenly Father in turn poured His Spirit upon them and anointed them for the ministry. After that the  Holy Spirit took over.

Jn 6:45  It is written in the prophets, 'And all of them will be taught by God.' Everyone who has listened to the Father and has learned anything comes to me.

There was perfect understanding between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All the three persons in the Trinity work together in the ministry.

The Heavenly Father does only the  recruitment. After selection they come to Jesus. The Holy Spirit arranges and facilitates the work of training. i.e. provides co-workers, finance, assigns places, etc. 

It is your responsibility to train them up.

Training of disciples

Jesus trained them in 2 ways.

By teaching them

By sending them with authority to do practical

By Sr.Angelica(AJ)

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Kidnappings, Threats of Massacre Terrorize Christians in Kano State, Nigeria

When the 50-year-old church elder and leader of Kano state’s Samaila village heard gunshots shortly before midnight, he rushed out of his house to try to find security agents. It was a natural reaction for Mai’angwa Samaila, given recent Islamist attacks in northern Nigeria. What the elder for the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) did not know was that the armed Islamic extremists, having killed two Christians in front of their Catholic church building, were coming for him next.

Not finding him at home that night (Aug. 15), they instead kidnapped his wife, Safiya Samaila, 45. They then kidnapped two other women, 20-year-old Yaha Gabriel and Hauwa Bebi, 18, both members of the St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Samaila, in Tudun Wada Local Government Area (LGA). Such kidnappings, along with threats of massacres by Islamic extremists, are continuing with the approval of some state officials in a concerted effort to eliminate Christianity, church leaders said. 

“As the shooting and capturing of the women was going on, some residents in our village rushed to the Catholic church and rang the church’s bell, alerting others on the attack on the village,” he said. “This forced the armed Muslim men to beat a retreat. This saved so many lives that would have perished during the attack.”  As the gunmen retreated, they shot at those who had run to the church building, Samaila said.

“We believe that Christian communities here are being persecuted because of our faith,” he said. “The government is aware about such invasions of Christian communities but has not done anything to put an end to the menace. The sad thing is that it is only Christians that are being killed or kidnapped in our area, as there was never any Muslim community attacked or a Muslim kidnapped.”

Death Threats

Morning Star News found that kidnappings of Christians in the Tudun Wada area have forced many Christians to flee, while many others continue to receive text messages and letters threatening massacres in their villages if no payments are made to kidnappers.

“Even yesterday [Nov. 21], the gunmen again sent a letter to me saying they were not yet done with me,” he said. “They stated in the letter that I should keep aside 3 million naira [US$8,253] for them, as they’ll be coming for the money at any time, and that failure on my part to give them the money would mean death for me.” Sallau said he had no money to give them. “I am prepared to die if that is the only price I have to pay for being a Christian,” he said.

State Conspiracy : The Rev. Ayuba Hassan of the ECWA Church, Tudun Wada Dankadai, and chairman of the Tudun Wada Local Area Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), said that armed Muslims are carrying out attacks and kidnappings on Christians in order to force them to embrace Islam. “Christians here are being persecuted for refusing to embrace Islam,” he said. “We are constantly under attack. We are not allowed to freely worship as Christians. These kidnappings are aimed at forcing us to recant or make us run away from here so that they can take over our lands and expand Islam’s frontiers.” “These attacks are being instigated and supported by the agents of the Muslim-controlled Kano state government to force indigenous Hausa Christians, who we are, to embrace Islam,” he said. “Our refusal to do their biddings is what has made them adopt this strategy of kidnappings and attacks in order to force our people to tow their line. This is a jihad against the church of Jesus Christ.”

Kano state officials declined to speak with Morning Star News about attacks on Christians in the Tudun Wada LGA. The state police headquarters in Kano, a spokesman confirmed the attacks but declined to speak further, saying only that the cases are being investigated. Nigeria ranks 12th on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution. Christians make up 51.3 percent of Nigeria’s population, while Muslims living primarily in the north and middle belt account for 45 percent.

Government Officials Break into Jiangxi Church,  Assault Elderly, and Vandalize Property

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on the morning of November 21, more than 100 government officers in uniform raided the Beimen (North Gate) Catholic Church in the city of Ji'an in Jiangxi Province. They tore religious posters, shattered religious icons and statues, and injured four elderly Catholics who were defending the church. These officers from City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau, commonly known as Chengguan, are part of city management agencies responsible for handling daily aspects of urban life. They are notorious for their use of violence and capricious crackdowns. In this instance, they were employed to confiscate the church property, although they had no legal basis for doing so.  

Somali Muslims Break In, Beat Children of Christian Widow in Kenya

Hard-line Muslims on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya attacked a Christian widow’s children, ages 13, 17 and 21, leaving two of them seriously injured and still in pain 11 days after the assault, sources said. Hadiya (surname withheld), an immigrant from Somalia, had not yet returned from a trip to a funeral when the assailants of Somali descent broke into her home at a town (undisclosed for security reasons) outside of Nairobi, at 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 17. Hadiya’s 17-year-old daughter was asleep in her room, while the brothers (siblings’ names withheld for security reasons) were asleep in the front room, when the Muslim gang knocked on their door, the older brother told Morning Star News. The brothers asked who was at the door. Refusing to identify themselves, the Muslims smashed a window, the older brother said. “We have warned you several times to stop taking the children to church,” one shouted, he said. “You have become an embarrassment to our clan as well as the entire Muslim community. We are here today to finish you and your children.” Their sister began screaming as the assailants broke in through the window, and the three siblings tried to escape through the door, Hadiya said. The gang beat them so much that blood was found throughout the front room, a Christian neighbor told Morning Star News.

Neighbors soon arrived and rescued the three children. “We are living in great fear and experience sleepless nights,” she said. “It is not safe for us to stay in this particular place. We need prayers and financial help at this difficult moment.” Having fled Somalia more than 13 years ago after the death of her husband, Hadiya has eight children – two from remarriage, though her second husband recanted his Christian faith amid a wave of persecution and returned to Somalia in 2010.  She called for the government to offer protection. “We will not recant the Christian faith,” she said. “We will continue putting our faith in God.”

U.K. Raises Awareness of Persecuted Christians by Lighting Buildings up Red

On Nov. 22, the British Houses of Parliament and more than 30 churches and schools, mostly in the U.K., bathed their buildings in red light to bring attention to the worsening problem of Christian persecution around the world. The initiative was part of Red Wednesday—the second annual centerpiece of Aid to the Church in Need’s efforts to remember the most persecuted religious group in the world. Special services and vigils also were held throughout the week. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) urged people to wear red, the color of martyrdom, and post photos on social media using the hashtag #RedWednesday. Speakers of the House of Commons and House of Lords agreed to participate in Red Wednesday after constituent pressure, according to ACN. “We all need to get behind #RedWednesday—we need to stand together against violence carried out in the name of religion—we need to speak up about regimes which persecute people of faith,” one citizen who lobbied his lawmaker told ACN. ACN’s Patricia Hatton told me that Red Wednesday is designed “to wake up the Christian community to the nature and scale of Christian persecution today, especially in the Middle East, and to call for prayer and practical support for all who need our help.”