Over 100 Million Christians Are Being Persecuted for Their Faith in Jesus Christ, Says Christian Charity Report

A charity helping persecuted Christians throughout the world reports that over 100 million followers of Christ, along with other religious minorities, are being targeted for their faith.

AGI noted the report by Caritas Italiana published in the daily newspaper of the Vatican City, L' Osservatore Romano, reveals that Christians are facing widespread global persecution, discrimination, and violence at the hands of totalitarian regimes.

It identified several regions as being more dangerous than others for Christians, including North Korea, where it said between 50,000 and 70,000 Christians are being held in detention camps.

The violence and hostility endured by Christians throughout the Middle East and Africa, at the hands of the Islamic State and other terror groups, was also well documented. Over the past year especially, Christians in Iraq and Syria have been killed for refusing to abandon their faith and join IS' radical ideology.

"The declared aim of Caritas is to shed light on the causes of the persecution of Christians in the world, taking into account the economic, cultural and geopolitical variables of each of the countries involved, while giving voice to the silent testimony of the many Christians who continue to practice their faith despite risking their lives," the report stated.

Statistics on persecution of Christians vary, though watchdog group Open Doors also said in January at the release of its World Watch List that approximately 100 million Christians are persecuted worldwide. The type of persecution analyzed ranged from government-inflicted, to violence carried out by terror groups.

The WWL, which ranks countries where Christians face the most persecution, has placed North Korea at No. 1 for 13 consecutive years.

"It is number one on the WWL, the most brutal and dangerous place in the world to be a Christian, because the government requires and enforces with hostility a total dedication to the hero worship of their leader," Open Doors CEO David Curry told The Christian Post in January, speaking about North Korea.

Furthermore, Open Doors noted that Islamic extremism accounts for the main source of persecution in 40 of the top 50 countries ranked in the list.

Curry also predicted that Christian persecution will increase throughout 2015, especially with the continued offensive of IS.

The Open Doors CEO said it is up to world leaders to take more concrete actions to safeguard the religious and human rights of people.

"They need to support the human rights issues revolving around freedom of religious expression," Curry said.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide has also identified North Korea as one of the very worst places for Christians, especially in regard to its prison camps, where people can be sent for offenses such as owning a Bible.

"There is no freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, and any North Korean who expresses an opinion or a belief which differs from the regime's propaganda faces severe punishment. It is estimated that over 200,000 people are detained in prison camps in North Korea, where they endure dire living conditions and brutal torture. Many of these are Christians," CSW says on its website.

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter


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Chris Brown's Cry for Help: R&B Star Says He's Tired of the Devil Ruining His Life, He Heard 'God Speak for First Time' .

In what appears to be a public cry for help to God, popular R&B singer Chris Brown recently lamented his life as a burden that would make the "average man" commit suicide and says he's tired of the devil ruining his life.

In an Instagram post he shared with his fans last week, Brown said he thinks the average man would have committed suicide if he had to endure what he has to deal with on a daily basis and says he heard "God speak for the first time."

"When u tired of the [expletive] devil ruining your life and u hear God speak for the first time. No one knows what I deal with on a day to day. The average man wouldn't hesitate to blow his [expletive] brains out ...," wrote Brown in the post.

"Most won't understand the genius and beauty in change and learning and the people who have devilish intentions will win in the short term. My soul will always be pure of heart. What's on the surface always looks like one big party but inside there is a little boy looking for help and guidance," he continued.

"People say 'be a man.' Yeah, that's right but it doesn't take away any pain you really go through. I just wanna stay out the way and do music. Most importantly and great father. I don't have any more patience for anything that will cause me to self destruct!!" Brown added.

By Leonardo Blair , Christian Post Reporter.


Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/chris-browns-cry-for-help-rb-star-says-hes-tired-of-the-devil-ruining-his-life-he-heard-god-speak-for-first-time-141963/#UZLIri7ck2KdksXO.99

What Did Jesus Teach About Marriage----- by Jack Wellman

What did Jesus teach about marriage? Did He forbid divorce under any circumstances or did He allow for exceptions? Here are some Bible verses about marriage from Jesus to see what He taught about marriage.
Marriage – A God-Ordained Institution

Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

There are many Bible verses about marriage but we are examining only those which Jesus taught about on the subject of marriage. First of all, marriage is a God-ordained, God-created institution that He blessed and saw as good. By God saying that “the two shall become one flesh” we could see this as intended to be a permanent situation where the two become one and stay as one and they become as “one flesh” meaning that they cannot (or at least should not) be separated (Matt 19:5). When Jesus quoted this verse He was establishing the fact that it was God’s intention to have the two be joined together and to stay together for life; the only exceptions would be for ongoing, unrepentant adultery or if one of the spouses would die.

Marriage – Between One Man and One Woman

Another point Jesus makes in Matthew 19 is that “he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’” (Matt 19:4-5). That is, marriage is to be between one man and one woman, and He was specific that it was created to be between one male and one female. This also debunks the notion that God allows for more than one wife or more than one husband. The “two shall become one” and not more than two or three can become one. Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that a man can multiply wives or a woman can have more than one husband. Even though some of the ancient kings and Patriarchs did, this was not the way that God intended marriage to be and when it did happen that a man had more than one wife, it created huge problems. The fact is that God told kings that they should not multiply wives (Duet 17:16-17) and If this applied to the king, how much more so to everyone else!

Grounds for Divorce

Matthew 5:31-32 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Jesus was crystal clear in who was permitted to be divorced and that the only exception was that of “sexual immorality.” Jesus’ teaching doesn’t allow for any other exceptions, however if a spouse or the spouse and his or her children are experiencing physical abuse then they not only need to separate themselves from that situation for the sake of their own safety, but they should also report that person to the police and that person who abuses a spouse or children deserves to be punished to the full extent of the law. They must be reported too because those who are in such positions of authority yield the sword in God’s sovereignty and they act with God’s authority (Rom 13). The only reason that Moses allowed certificates for divorce (this doesn’t mean that it was favorable in his or God’s eyes) was because of what Jesus said, “Because of your hardness of heart [since] from the beginning it was not so” (Matt 19:8). Jesus clearly said that “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you [which has more authority] that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matt 5:31-32). Jesus says that Moses allowed for divorce (Matt 19:8) “but I say to you” that whoever “divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matt 5:31-32). Naturally this applies to the woman and it is also for whoever divorces her husband, except on the ground of sexual immorality…and whoever marries a divorced man commits adultery too.

Adultery of the Heart?

Matthew 5:27-31 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

Here Jesus sees lusting after a woman or a man is like adultery that is being committed already in the heart. This is because that is where adultery begins…in lusting and in the heart. Jesus said more specifically that if they looked at another “with lustful intent” or in other words, their intent is to lust or commit adultery in their heart or in their mind (essentially the same thing). The heart is often spoken of as being the seat of the intellect by the Jews so “in the heart” is the same thing as being “in the mind.” Either way, lusting in the heart or mind for someone who is not your spouse might as well be committing adultery, even though it is not the actual physical act. This is why pornography is so destructive to marriages. The person who looks at pornography is sinning in their heart by lusting after what they see and it is with intent (intentionally) that they are doing it. If they actually had the woman or man in the image actually be there, you can almost be certain that the act of adultery would be fulfilled in reality.

Other Exceptions?

Paul talks about marriage elsewhere but in 1 Corinthians 7 there are parts of this chapter where he writes about an unbelieving spouse leaving or departing from the home meaning that the other spouse is not bound (1 Cor 7:25) but since I am restricting this article to those things which Jesus taught about marriage and divorce then that is something that will not be covered here.

Conclusion

When God ordained and created the institution of marriage, this was meant to be permanent and there were no allowances for divorce. In fact, among the Patriarchs and the kings of Israel, divorce was not even considered an option. The only reason divorce entered the picture was, as Jesus said, the hardness of their hearts, not because God allowed for it. You have read Jesus’ teachings about divorce and remarriage. When He spoke of it He indicated that it was to be forever with the only exception of one spouse committing sexual immorality (Matt 5:31-32). The word “immorality” is from the Greek word “porneia” which covers many things like, “illicit sexual intercourse, adultery, homosexuality, intercourse with animals, with a close relative (Lev 18),” and “sex with a divorced man or woman” (Matt 5:31-32). All of these things involve lusting and lusting is the same thing as committing adultery in the mind (or heart) and Jesus equates this as being the same thing as adultery. Jesus gave a final warning to those who commit, not just adultery, but sexual immorality which covers (under the Greek “porneia”) things like illicit sexual intercourse, adultery, homosexuality, intercourse with animals, sex with a close relative, and, with a divorced man or woman (we could easily include viewing pornography). If this is not repented of, listen to what Jesus says; “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell” (Matt 5:29-30).

Article by Pastor Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Senior Writer at What Christians Want to Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design

When Your Glass Cracks---by Daniella Whyte

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13, NIV).

A woman gets a phone call from her doctor telling her to come in and review the results of a recent mammogram. She has an eerie feeling that something is wrong, but she anticipates the day she will know for sure. When she finally finds out that she has breast cancer, she begins to question who she really is.

A teenage boy is struggling both educationally and socially. He feels he has no friends and finds himself always being left out or left behind. One day, his parents stand in his bedroom door and announce that they are getting a divorce. This young man's already fragile world completely crumbles, and he is left wondering whether anybody really cares for him.

An employee who has worked at one job for twenty-seven years receives the letter that no employee wants to receive. The letter begins, "We want to thank you for your many years of service," and ends with, "we regret to inform you that we are downsizing significantly and will no longer need your service." With that one letter, all his financial stability, livelihood, and purpose for living is thrown out the window, and he wonders how he will be able to make it now.

No matter who we are, we all will experience situations, events, or circumstances that will cause our glass to break, our floor to crack, our foundation to crumble, and our world to seemingly come crashing down. It is at these times that we wonder what to do, who we are, and how we will make it through.

These are the moments in which strangely, God speaks to us, gives us direction, and shows us our need to depend on Him not less, but more. He fills us with hope and this hope allows us to see a glimmer of light in the midst of the debris of our lives. When our backs are against the wall, we have no place to bring our problems but to throw them up. God catches them and gives us peace.

Brokenness is necessary. Vance Havner said, "God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever."

Consider what Steve Goodier said, "Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't be just like they were before. Damaged pieces reassembled with a golden bonding of patience and love will help form a person into an exquisite masterpiece. It is as if people have to be broken before they can become whole and complete."

When our glass cracks or completely shatters, God is ready to give us a new glass if we only trust Him and allow Him to lead us wherever He wants to go. It is in being broken that we become whole. It is in being cracked, that we allow light and love to enter our lives. It is in facing difficulties and disappointments, that we realize how strong we can be and how much grace can flow through our lives.

God knows how to fix cracked glasses. He knows how to use cracked people. In some way, all of us are cracked. We hide behind good looks, fine cars, big houses, and money. But God sees beyond all that stuff. He sees our cracked places, our broken hearts, our bleeding souls and He knows how to heal and restore. And when He fixes us, He fixes us completely, permanently, and fully.

Lord, we're all cracked in some places, broken in others. We don't know how to use damaged pieces, but You do. We don't know how to put our lives back together when everything has fallen apart, but You do. Take our dark places and infuse light. Restore our broken hearts and make us new. Help us never to allow the hardships of life to make us bitter, but to make us better, and to draw us closer to You, to peace, to hope, and to joy. In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Way of Cain----By Greg Laurie , Christian Post Contributor.

                           Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California, shares the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of 19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014.

Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. (Jude 1:11)

The Bible warns us about "the way of Cain" (see Jude 1:11). What is the way of Cain? For one thing, it is to worship God with impure motives. Cain brought his offering to the Lord, but he didn't bring it in faith. No matter how great your gift may be, if your heart is wrong, then it will mean nothing.

The way of Cain is also to have a heart and life that are filled with jealousy, envy, and hatred. There always will be people who will do better than you. There always will be someone who is better looking, more successful or more intelligent than you. So will you go through life frustrated and filled with jealousy and envy? Or, are you going to say, "God, everything I have is a gift from You anyway, and I am going to thank You for it. I don't want to destroy my life through envy and jealousy"?

Lastly, the way of Cain is to lie to God about what you have done. There is only one way to deal with sin, and that is to tell the truth because God knows anyway. God knew what Cain was about to do, and He warned him. But Cain did what he thought he should do, and sin pounced on him, consumed him, and mastered him just as God said it would.

It is the same for those of us today as well. Don't walk in the way of Cain. Instead, walk in the way of Abel. Hebrews 11:4 tells us that "by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks." The way of Abel leads to blessing.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-way-of-cain-141534/#mvszE3uQoXYEK1f6.99

Pastor Bill Owens Urges Christians to Stand Against Gay Marriage by Refusing to Obey 'Unjust Laws. By Vincent Funaro , Christian Post Reporter.

                            Rev. Bill Owens, the president and founder of the Coalition of African American Pastors.

The president of the Coalition of African American Pastors, the Rev. Bill Owens, is calling on Christians to not participate in gay marriage ceremonies by "refusing to obey unjust laws" in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Owens, who held a press conference in Dallas on Tuesday where he was joined by other prominent conservative leaders who support traditional marriage, said Christians in all areas of society should stand up and defend their constitutional rights.

"We are calling on Christians and people of faith in all areas of society, especially those in leadership positions, to refuse to obey unjust laws that have legalized same-sex unions, and to join our movement [called Real Marriage] that will take back our Constitution and our rights," said Owens in a statement posted on Facebook prior to the press conference.

Among the leaders joining Ownes' movement are the president of Campaign for Texas Families, Steve Hotze, and licensed marriage and family therapist of the Children's Center for Healthy Gender and Sexuality, David Pickup.

"We, along with 20 other leaders from major churches, politicians and laypersons from around Texas and other states have joined together and just started this new movement which is called Real Marriage. One man and one woman for life," said Pickup, a counselor who specializes in reparative therapy, to The Christian Post.

Pickup told CP that the movement was created to "take back what was taken from us with the Supreme Court's decision on homosexual marriage only two weeks ago."

"We're here to say that we're going to influence over 300,000 people who are being mobilized to attend world conferences on gender, sexuality and marriage," he continued. "[These people] are going to be marching in the streets and taking back our rights, which are very close to being taken away, including religious rights and freedom of speech."

Pickup added that the movement will aim to re-establish "what it means to be secure in one's gender" and "what it means to be in marriage," according to the Judeo-Christian worldview.

During a press conference in Memphis, Tennessee, last month hosted by the CAAP, Owens threatened civil disobedience if the Supreme Court decision did not rule in favor of traditional marriage.

"If they rule for same-sex marriage, then we're going to do the same thing we did for the civil rights movement," said Owens. "We will not obey an unjust law. The politicians and courts have tried to take God out of this country. This country was founded on Godly principles. We will not stand back."

The president of the Pastor's Council in Houston, the Rev. David Welch, also spoke at the conference and explained the lengths people of faith will go to resist gay marriage.

"God created marriage between a man and woman and no Supreme Court jurisdiction can define this," said Welch. "We stand, clearly saying we will acknowledge God's law no matter what the cost, no matter what the price. If they want to fill jails with pastors across the nation of every color, denomination and every size, we will stand for the laws of God and his truths."

"If it comes down to declining to perform same-sex weddings, that we will be charged with a civil or criminal penalty, then we will accept the penalty," he explained. "But this isn't just about the wedding ceremony itself. This is a core, fundamental issue of our First Amendment freedom that the court is toying with right now. Either we have the right to freedom of conscience and religion and the freedom to practice it, or we don't."

Contact: Vincent.funaro@christianpost.com; follow me on Twitter @vinfunaro

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Understanding Jesus: “Take My yoke upon you…” by ANNA DIEHL

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30)

The picture of two oxen above is the image that would have popped into the minds of the people Jesus was talking to when He put out this invitation. These people lived in an agricultural society and everyone was familiar with the picture of two oxen dragging a heavy plow through a field while their owner followed behind them and used their wooden yokes to guide them about.

When we hear these words, we sometimes think that Jesus is describing Himself as already wearing a yoke and that He’s offering for us to join Him under it. In this scenario, Jesus would be one ox, and we’d be the other. We’d go hauling through life as a team, with strong Jesus helping to bear most of the burden for us.

But this is not what Jesus is saying. Jesus is God, and He doesn’t wear yokes personally—He only passes them out to us. When Jesus says, “Come to Me,” He isn’t inviting people to approach Him as their Buddy, but as their Master. Jesus is speaking to the crowd as if they’re all a bunch of bovines while He is the human master. This speech is a bit of an ego bruiser.

Now once an ox allows his master to slip that heavy wooden yoke around his neck, the ox can’t get the thing off again on his own. The master is then in control, and the master now has a tool by which he can make the ox very miserable if the ox doesn’t do what he wants. To submit to being yoked is a bit nerve-wracking. Ego aside, we need reassurances that Jesus isn’t going to abuse us before we let Him dominate us in this manner. Jesus gives us those assurances.

“…for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Here Jesus likens Himself to a human owner who is humble and kind, as opposed to one who is violent and demanding. Is Jesus really humble? No, because being humble is about recognizing that you are beneath God and wanting Him to be exalted instead of yourself. As God, Jesus has no use for humility. He’s magnificent and He knows it and He has an insatiable appetite for worship and praise. Is He always gentle? No, He can be quite rough when He wants to. It’s Jesus we find in Revelation commanding the armies of Heaven, and threatening to vomit Christians out of His mouth. We need to be careful not to read too much into this passage. Jesus isn’t trying to sum up His whole personality for us here. He is using a farm metaphor to assuring us that submitting to Him will be a positive experience overall. He is not the kind of Master who is going to crush us bovines beneath impossible burdens and then beat us with whips for not moving fast enough. The yoke He’s planning to put on us is going to be one that we can easily bear—not some painful, pulling thing that hurts our anatomy. The burden He’s planning to have us haul for Him is light. In short, being owned by Jesus is going to be a pleasant, positive experience—one that actually makes our souls feel more rested than they do when we are running around yoke free.

Depending on where you are currently at in your walk with God, this metaphor will either hit you as a negative or a positive. If you’re feeling burned out and bogged down with ministry efforts, then it’s an indication that some other yoke has been slipped around your neck by human beings. Jesus isn’t going to drive you into the ground with His demands for service, but your pastor might, and so might all the heads of those various committees at church. If you’re feeling burned out, it’s time to ask the Holy Spirit to help you break free of those extra yokes so you can get back to that easy burden Jesus talked about. For help with this, see Serving God: The Glorious Dance.

If you’re currently in the midst of spiritual refinement and your life is filled with a bunch of painful trials and traumas, then this easy yoke business can quickly rile up feelings of anger. “Why is Jesus being such a hypocrite? There’s nothing gentle about the way He’s treating me!” If this is where you’re currently at, then see The Horrors of Spiritual Refinement.

Once we submit to Jesus and He gets that yoke around our necks, He’s never going to take it off again. Getting collared by God is a permanent change. And though there will be times when we worry that we’ve made the wrong choice or feel scared by the road we’re being driven down, the longer we walk with Jesus and the more learn from Him, the more we realize what a generous, kind, and loving Master He really is.