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Two women courageously spread Christianity to hundreds of Iranian prisoners while detained for their Christian faith.

Bold Christian women

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh are Christians missionaries living in Iran, a country where Christian persecution is severe. The two friends held Church services and worship gatherings in their apartment in Tehran. They also distributed over 20,000 Bibles to Iranians. Both acts are considered illegal in Iran. 

Iranian prisoners

However, they still boldly professed their faith to those in need until they were arrested for their “illegal” faith. But, their mission to spread the Word of God would never cease. And they continued to share the Gospel with their inmates.

“At first we were praying for our release. But after a few days, we realized that by meeting other women in the prison – some who were homeless or addicts – God had given us an opportunity to share the message of Christianity with people who needed to hear it the most,” Maryam said in an interview.

Impacting people’s lives

These courageous women led hundreds of their fellow prisoners to Christ and even led Christian prayers inside the prison walls.

“We were not allowed to have a Bible, but we lived out its teachings in the prison,” Marziyeh recalled.

Not only did they inspire their fellow prisoners, but they also made an impact on the lives of the prison guards.

“A female guard came to my cell and asked me to pray for her, but to keep it confidential. She said she believed that if I prayed for her, she would overcome fertility issues and become pregnant,” Marziyeh added.

Freedom

They were initially persecuted by their fellow inmates and prison guards. The two women were also refused medical care by prison doctors because of their faith. However, as time went by, things changed. Marziyeh even noted that they felt freer to share the Gospel in prison than outside in the streets.

Reference: Al Arabiya 

A house church in India’s Chhattisgarh state was reportedly attacked by a mob of 200 radical Hindu nationalists earlier this month, leaving two Christians with serious injuries.

International Christian Concern (ICC) reports the brutal attack started when a radical named Sanjith Ng barged into a worship service taking place in Odagoan village on Jan. 9. 

After entering the church, Ng attacked members of the congregation, beating on them, and then dragged Pastor Hemanth Kandapan outside where a mob was waiting. Villagers said the crowd beat Kandapan and another Christian named Sankar Salam so badly that both were hospitalized with severe internal injuries. 

During the attack, the mob cursed the Christians and accused them of illegally converting Hindus to Christianity. The pair were told they would be killed if they continued to hold prayer events in the village.

“I was under house arrested for nearly nine hours,” Kandapan told ICC. “All through that time I was hackled and abused by the mob even in the presence of the police.”

A day after the attack, a Christian woman named Sunderi Bathi was forced to convert to Hinduism. Leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) also pushed other Christian villagers of Odagoan to participate in the Ghar Wapsi ritual, which means “coming home.”

Fearing their lives, at least five Christian families fled Odagoan and have taken shelter in nearby villages.

“The situation in the village is still tense,” Pastor Kandapan told ICC. “We do not know how long these families will have to stay out of their homes.”

As CBN News has reported, Christian leaders in India have demanded that local law enforcement authorities respond with “strict action” to such incidents. 

For example, three Christian women were seriously injured in October when a huge mob of radical Hindu nationalists attacked congregants at a church in India’s Uttarakhand state.

The attackers were identified as members of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), VHP and Bajrang Dal. They claimed that their actions were appropriate and accused the church of engaging in illegal conversion activities. 

Hindu radicals also ambushed four Christian women in August while they gathered for prayer together in the Sarurpur village of India. The women’s wounds ranged from a leg fracture to a serious head injury. 

And in July, Pastor Balwinder “Bagicha” Bhatti was found dead near a street in Ferozpur (Punjab). The Protestant pastor was ambushed, beaten, and fatally stabbed in the back of the head with a sharp weapon.

Source: CBN NEWS

Ken Barun, the Vice President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, was once a drug addict. When he was asked how he came from being a heroin user to a part of the international Christian evangelistic organization, he confidently said, “It’s all about Jesus.”

Ken Barun

Ken’s father disowned him when he became addicted to drugs. He was dependent on the substance for seven years until a drug program representative came and recruited him to join a residential treatment program to which he agreed. Eventually, he became the president of the same drug rehabilitation program. Together, they found the Ronald Mcdonald House Charities, and  Ken became its president. He helped build it to become one of the most innovative charities in the world.

Despite the success, Ken still felt empty.

Friend of Jesus

One day, in a fundraising event, Ken met a friend of Jesus. His name was Paul Saber. He presented Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.

Ken was initially surprised by the idea. But, as their conversation went on, he finally gave in. “God, forgive me for my sins,” he prayed. “I accept Jesus as my Savior. I repent for all the wrong things I’ve done wrong, and I ask you to come into my heart and soul and make me new again.”

After his prayer, he couldn’t help but sob. But, he felt a whole weight lifted off his shoulders. His heart was suddenly whole. “It was a physical reality,” he declared. But, the ultimate surprise happened after Ken called his father. He told him about his encounter with Jesus, and as a Jew, he figured he would get disowned once again. His father cried but it was not tears of sadness, rather tears of joy. Because his parents actually found Jesus when they were trying to look for a solution to his drug problem.

Source: GODTV 

“An attack on my faith“
An employment tribunal in the United Kingdom ruled Wednesday that the NHS Trust harassed and directly discriminated against a Christian nurse for wearing a cross necklace at work.

Represented by attorneys with the Christian Legal Centre, a legal ministry of the watchdog group Christian Concern, Mary Onuoha, was told by the tribunal that she had been victimized by Croydon Health Services NHS Trust. 

As CBN News reported, Onuoha sued her former employer in October, alleging she was intimidated and forced out of her job because she wore a cross necklace. 

Onuoha, 61, had been a member of the hospital’s staff for 18 years. She said she wore the cross for 40 years to represent her deep Christian faith. 

Six years ago, Onuoha said she was told by her managers to remove the cross or face disciplinary action. She was told it was a health and safety risk and “must not be visible.” Yet other clinical staff members at the hospital were permitted to wear jewelry, saris, turbans, and hijabs without being asked to remove them. 

Only the cross and its owner were subject to being penalized, she claimed. 

The issue escalated in August 2018 when her bosses at the hospital ordered her to remove the cross saying it was a breach of the Trust’s Dress Code and Uniform Policy and therefore a health risk to her and to patients.

After her refusal to comply, she was investigated, suspended from clinical duties, and demoted to working as a receptionist. 

Until her resignation in August 2020, Onuoha was constantly moved from one administrative role to the next, which she found deeply humiliating. She was also put under pressure and ordered not to tell anyone about what was happening to her. As she was unable to explain to any colleagues why this was happening, it took a lasting emotional toll on her.

“This has always been an attack on my faith,” Onuoha said. “My cross has been with me for 40 years. It is part of me, and my faith, and it has never caused anyone any harm. All I have ever wanted is to be a nurse and to be true to my faith.”

“I am a strong woman, but I have been treated like a criminal,” she continued.”I love my job, but I am not prepared to compromise my faith for it, and neither should other Christian NHS staff in this country.”

In Wednesday’s ruling, the tribunal agreed with Onuoha, ruling the NHS Trust breached Onuoha’s human rights and created a “humiliating, hostile and threatening environment” for her. 

SOURCE: CBN NEWS

Tragic news is being reported out of Lamu West, Kenya after suspected al-Shabaab militants entered a village and brutally murdered six Christians.

During an interview with International Christian Concern (ICC), Pastor Stephen Sila, who witnessed the attack in Widhu village, described the terror that unfolded on Jan. 3.

“I counted seven houses that were torched down, four bodies of people burned beyond recognition inside the houses,” Sila said. “A body shot dead right outside a burned house and another beheaded body next to it. Other villagers escaped into the dark and the police are still looking for them.”

He continued, “It is an ugly sight of people’s bodies lying dead and houses smoking with fire. This is undeniably an awful terrorist attack.”

Pastor Sila said villagers have been asking why security officers are not doing more to protect Christians from these vicious attacks.

However, the head of the Lamu County police advised residents that authorities are actively looking for the terrorists, who may have returned to the nearby Boni Forest. 

“We are working on the issue,” the police official said. “We shall share more information soon, but we have cordoned off the area to piece the security information together, as well as go after the perpetrators of this heinous act.”
Source: CBN NEWS

Some Finnish Lutheran leaders, their families, and a few politicians gathered under a tent in August 2021 for the elevation of Juhana Pohjola to bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF). The canvas protected them from the summer sun, but as they celebrated Pohjola’s investiture, they worried about facing a different kind of heat. Pohjola, 49, and one of his guests, politician Päivi Räsänen, 62, are facing criminal charges. According to the nation’s top prosecutor, the two people are accused of violating the equality and dignity of LGBT people.

Juhana Pohjola

Though Finland has legal protections for free speech and the free exercise of religion, Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen says Räsänen and Pohjola’s actions are criminal incitement against a minority group—hate speech. According to the prosecutor, Räsänen has fueled intolerance and contempt of LGBT people three times: in comments she made on a nationally syndicated talk show on Finnish state-supported radio; in a 2019 tweet where she quoted Romans 1:24–27 to criticize the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF)—one of Finland’s two
national churches—for its affiliation with Helsinki Pride; and in a 23-page booklet that Räsänen wrote titled Male and Female He Created Them.

Pohjola is being charged for publishing Räsänen’s booklet, which argues against same-
sex marriage, contrasts LGBT identities with the Christian notion of what it means to be human, and describes same-sex attraction possibly as being inherently sinful and possibly the result of a “negative developmental disorder.” It was released in 2004 by Luther Foundation Finland, the legal entity behind the ELMDF. The bishop is not too worried for himself, but he does worry about the long-term impact if the courts rule that Räsänen’s quoting Romans and publishing a book about the Bible and sexuality are considered criminal incitement. “I do not so much fear the outcome of the court case,” he told CT, “but the strong signal it gives to many: to be silent. I fear self-censorship and intimidation.” The trial, due to begin on January 24, has stirred strong feelings in Finland. More
than 70 percent of Finns support same-sex marriage, which has been legal in the country since 2017, and many see defending the dignity of LGBT people as the critical civil rights issue of the day.

Source: Christianity Today