RLPB 389. Christmas Prayer

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 389 | Wed 21 Dec 2016

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely, and encourage others to sign up to the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog. "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)


CHRISTMAS PRAYER
by Elizabeth Kendal

Nobody should worry that remembering the persecuted over this busy and joyful Christmas - New Year season might cause joy to be subsumed in sorrow or anxiety. It is with a spirit of brotherly and sisterly love that we remember and lift up the persecuted at this time, confident that such prayers will bring comfort and encouragement to our brethren and will please the Lord who is 'Father' to us all.

CHRISTMAS PRAYER

Almighty God and gracious Father -- in you alone do we trust. For you alone are worthy, being supreme in power, authority, wisdom and understanding, glorious in majesty and perfect in love.  

The whole Body of Christ rejoices in your incarnation, that selfless act of unsurpassed humility through which you came and dwelt among us -- to live the life we could not live and die the death we should have died -- to redeem us for yourself. For this, the greatest gift born of the greatest love, we thank you. 

Grant us, Lord, in your mercy and grace, a fresh outpouring of your Holy Spirit to embolden us in our witness, work in us righteousness, encourage us on our path to the cross, sustain us in our trials, empower our testimony and bind us together. 

May those who are persecuted be palpably aware of the Spirit's eternal presence, Christ's sustaining love, and the Father's unsurpassed power and resolute faithfulness. Lord, we beseech you: fight for them, shield them, carry them and deliver them. To this end, we offer ourselves as your servants. 

And may all who see this recognise that Jesus Christ is Lord.

AMEN

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NEWS & UPDATES

NEWS: This will be the last Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) for 2016. While an urgent prayer alert or request will be issued should the need arise, the next formal RLPB will be the January Update on 25 January 2017.

UPDATES: Please do not be daunted by this non-exhaustive list. Feel free to just pick one nation, one situation or one person either from this list or beyond it and pray through this Christmas season as you feel led. Seek the Lord in this, and trust him to have everything and everyone covered.

NOTE: the high risk season includes Advent, Roman Catholic and Protestant Christmas (24-25 December), New Year, Greek Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christmas (6-7 January).

Last week we prayed concerning the 11 December Advent massacre in Cairo's St Peter and St Paul church, noting the elevated terror threat over the Christmas - New Year season. The terror threat is extreme in Egypt, Syria (particularly in western Aleppo and Damascus), Pakistan and Nigeria and high in Kenya, Indonesia and Europe. [See: RLPB 388 (14 Dec).] The updates below confirm this assessment.

EGYPT: The SITE Intelligence Group has provided a more accurate translation of the claim of Islamic State (IS) of responsibility for the Cairo church bombing. 'Let all the disbelievers and apostates in Egypt and everywhere know that our war on polytheism is ongoing, and that the State of the Caliphate -- with permission from Allah the Almighty -- will continue to spill their blood and grill their bodies, so that there is no sedition and the religion is all for Allah.' Because Islam views Trinitarian Christianity as polytheism, we can be sure that IS will be at war against Christianity until 'the religion is all for Allah'.

SYRIA: On Friday 16 December Islamic militants strapped an explosive belt to an 8-year-old girl and sent her into a police station in the Al-Midan neighbourhood of Damascus, before detonating the explosives remotely. The girl was the only fatality. The terror threat in Syria is extreme.

GERMANY: On 16 December police arrested a 12-year-old boy accused of twice attempting to detonate a home-made, nail-filled, Improvised Explosive Device in his home town of Ludwigshafen, western Germany. On 30 November the boy, who was born in Germany to Muslim Iraqi immigrant parents, tried to bomb a Christmas market. Then on 2 December he left a bomb outside a high-rise complex comprising City Hall and a shopping mall. Fortunately, both bombs failed to detonate. However, on the evening of 19 December, 12 died and some 50 were wounded when a  presumed Islamic terrorist drove a 7-tonne truck at high speed into one of Berlin's largest Christmas night-markets, the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market, beside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Kaiser Wilhelm ruled Germany from 1888 to 1918. An ardent Islamophile (lover of Islam), he maintained close ties to the Ottoman Sultan / Caliph and believed Germany's future lay in a strategic alliance with Islam.
This year Germany, France, Belgium, England and much of Europe will celebrate Christmas under unprecedented security. For more information on the threat to Europe see:
Christmas Shoppers in Jihadist Crosshairs,
by George Igler, Gatestone Institute, 18 December 2016


INDONESIA: The blasphemy trial of Jakarta's ethnic Chinese Christian Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama [RLPB 383 (9 Nov)] commenced on 13 December. Ethnic and religious tensions are soaring. On 14 December the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa (religious ruling) forbidding Muslims from participating in Christmas festivities, particularly the wearing of Christmas-themed accessories. The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has been out in force, visiting shopping malls and spreading the word as police watch on, refusing to intervene.

Link includes video

The police also failed to intervene on 6 December to stop the Ahlus Sunnah Defenders (PAS) from forcing the closure of a Carol Service in Bandung, West Java, even though all permit requirements to hold the service had been fulfilled. Without police support, pastor Stephen Tong had little choice but to comply, so the congregation closed with one hymn and a prayer and went home.

RUSSIA: It was indeed an oversight to have left Russia off the list of places where churches face an elevated terror threat over Christmas - New Year. [It was included last year, RLPB 228 (1 Dec 2015).] On 19 December Andrei Karlov (62), a career diplomat and Russia's Ambassador to Turkey, was assassinated while speaking at an art exhibition in Ankara. The assassin (now dead) was a policeman. After shooting the Ambassador he shouted 'Allahu akbar' and (in Arabic), 'We are the descendants of those who supported the Prophet Muhammad, for jihad,' and (in Turkish), 'Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria!' This appalling assassination is a reminder of how much Sunni fundamentalist anger is directed at Russia.

PRISONERS: A significant number of Christians will spend the Christmas season as prisoners, many in truly appalling conditions, none more so than the many thousands of believers detained in North Korea and Eritrea. Some Christians have been in prison for years, such as Asia Bibi in Pakistan, and others in Iran and Laos. Some are more recent prisoners, like those we have been praying for this year in Algeria, China, Iran, Sudan and Vietnam. They are Christian lawyers who defend human rights and religious freedom. They are Christian aid workers who serve the poor and needy. They are pastors devoted to feeding and leading Christ's flock. They are missionaries who risk their lives to 'make disciples of all nations ...' (Matthew 28:19-20a).  They are converts who have chosen to follow Jesus -- no turning back. They are faithful, courageous believers and we are not to be ashamed of their chains (1Timothy 1:15-18).

Norine Brunson overlooks the
Harmandanli Detention Centre
World Watch Monitor

The newest prisoner is Rev. Andrew Brunson, the American Protestant pastor of the Dirilis (Resurrection) Church in Izmir, TURKEY. Brunson (48) and his wife Norine were arrested on 7 October, deemed a threat to national security. Norine was subsequently released, but Brunson was transferred to the Harmandanli Detention Centre where he is being held incommunicado. He faced court on 9 December accused of 'terrorism' and links with the Gulen Movement. The Erdogan government blames the Gulen Movement for July's failed coup attempt and maintains that the US was complicit. Fethullah Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in the USA since 1999. Turkey is demanding his extradition (so maybe they wanted a bargaining chip). The Brunsons, who have three children studying in the US, have lived in Turkey for the past 23 years. Andrew Brunson's situation is dire.

'Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body' (Hebrews 13:3 ESV).

MISTREATED: Not to be forgotten are captives such as Dr Ken Elliot and Beatrice Stockly [RLPB 341 (27 Jan)] and Father Tom Uzhunnalil [RLPB 368 (27 July)] hostages of Islamic militants in Mali and Yemen respectively. Nor must we forget those forced into hiding in North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other places where an expression of faith will cost believers their lives. Also not to be overlooked are the millions of believers who are now displaced, homeless, destitute and grieving -- across Mesopotamia (Syria-Iraq), Burma, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan and elsewhere.

BE ENCOURAGED: For the God of creation, incarnation, resurrection and redemption -- 'nothing will be impossible'. (Luke 1:26-38)

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Elizabeth Kendal is international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF), and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and, After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 381. Oct. Update Incl. Russia, China, Germany, Iraq, Prisoners, Northern Ireland (UK)

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 381 | Wed 26 Oct 2016

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely, and encourage others to sign up to the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog. "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

by Elizabeth Kendal

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International Days of Prayer (IDOP) for the Persecuted Church
IDOP 2016: Sundays 6 & 13 November. Resources: http://idop.org/
See also Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
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OCTOBER 2016 UPDATE -- this month we prayed concerning ...

* RUSSIA (RLPB 378), where new anti-mission measures -- which have more to do with politics than religion -- are causing grief and stirring debate.

Orthodox 'vigilantes' (Pravmir.ru)

UPDATE: Russia's new anti-mission measures are stirring debate within the Orthodox Church.  On 7 October activists associated with the 'Orthodox Advocacy Analytic Centre' (OAAC) summarily detained and then handed to police eight Jehovah's Witnesses they accused of illegal missionary activity. Russian Orthodox theologian and commentator Sergey Khudiev slammed the action in an article on Pravmir.ru (Orthodoxy and the World website). Khudiev condemned the harmful actions of Orthodox 'vigilantes' who bring 'nothing to the faith, the church, or the salvation of souls, except harm. ... [They] are not a testimony to Orthodoxy. They are testimony against it,' he said, recommending instead 'a ministry of love'. Lawyers from the OAAC went on the attack, publicly criticising Khudiev. Citing a list that includes Baptists and Pentecostals, they referred to the 'sects' as 'wolves in sheep's clothing' who hide 'their evil and violence against people' behind 'Christian symbols and quotations from Sacred Scripture'. Using highly evocative language, the OAAC insisted it has a 'sacred obligation' to 'defend our neighbours from this plague that is vigorously penetrating our country'.

A spiritual battle is under way. Please pray for Russia and its Church. (Romans 8:28 ESV).

* CHINA (RLPB 379), where new regulations targeting churches and lawyers herald dark days for the Church. For a more complete analysis, see: 'Persecution of Church to Escalate as Zhejiang Experiment Goes National', by Elizabeth Kendal, Religious Liberty Monitoring (17 Oct 2016).

UPDATE: China Aid reports that local government authorities in Lishui city in Zhejiang Province have instructed teachers at the Lishui Vocational and Technical College to instil atheism, exclude theism and eradicate religious activity on campus.

ALSO: The four-day 6th Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party's 205-member Central Committee commenced on Monday. By the end of the week President Xi will have been confirmed as the 'core' of the CCP. This will put Xi Jinping on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, as a leader whose rule may not be questioned. Pray for China and its Church.

* GERMANY (RLPB 380) where the Church is in decline, Christianity is in crisis and Christian asylum seekers are persecuted with impunity. Without reformation, revival and divine intervention, Germany will be lost.  Pray for Germany on Reformation Sunday, 30 October. [For prayer points see RLPB 380 (19 Oct).]

UPDATE: In addition to the report referenced in RLPB 380, Open Doors has now also released a case study which profiles a refugee centre in the central German town of Rotenburg an der Fulda. Sobering reading, the report includes an open letter and appeal for help from Iranian Christians living in the Rotenburg facility. Appendix 2 calls for an end to the 'integration experience' which is being undertaken at the expense of Christians and appeals for the swift implementation of various protective measures. Critically, the report highlights the role of the local church in supporting Christian refugees, monitoring their situation and advocating on their behalf to bring about change.

Report: 'Attacks on Christian Refugees'. Open Doors, October 2016
A case study: the refugee reception centre in Rotenburg an der Fulda, Hesse.

OCTOBER ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* IRAQ: ELEVATED RISK DURING BATTLE FOR MOSUL 

Despite having been driven from their homes in Mosul and the Nineveh Plains in June-August 2014, the now-displaced Assyrian remnant will face elevated risk during the Battle for Mosul. At present most are hunkered down in Ankawa, on the northern edge of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The ISIS counter-offensive has included attempts to open new fronts. On 21 October ISIS suicide bombers and snipers attacked the contested but Kurdish-held oil-rich city of Kirkuk. On 23 October ISIS launched a fierce three-pronged attack on Rutba in western Anbar Province.

Church welcomes one of the 'hidden' girls.
photo: Fr. Ammar. (source: WWM)

During the attack on Kirkuk, a group of ISIS fighters (at least one in suicide vest) took up positions inside the home of seven female Christian university students. Unable to escape, the girls hid under their beds, texting their priest in Erbil. He in turn, rallied the church to prayer and notified Iraqi and Kurdish forces. It is nothing short of a miracle that these girls remained undetected and were rescued, not simply alive but unharmed. Priest Ammar told World Watch Monitor, 'It's a miracle. A true miracle. We prayed a lot and God answered.'

Pray for the Christian remnant in Iraq: 'Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings ...' (from Psalm 17:6-9).

* PRISONERS: PRAISE GOD for the release in IRAN of Behnam Irani, pastor of the 300-member Church of Iran in Karaj. During his six years in prison, he had at times been close to death. PRAISE GOD for the release in CHINA of Yang Rongli, pastor of the 50,000-member Linfen Church in Shaanxi province; she had served her full 7-year detention.

PLEASE continue to 'Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.' (Hebrews 13:3 ESV)

* UK: BELFAST COURT RULES AGAINST ASHERS BAKERY

Belfast's Court of Appeal has ruled against Ashers Baking Company deeming its refusal in 2014 to decorate a cake with the words 'Support Gay Marriage' constituted 'direct discrimination'. This was despite recognising that the openly Christian bakery manager, Mr Daniel McArthur, did not refuse the service because the customer, Mr Gareth Lee, was gay; indeed, Mr Lee (a gay rights activist) had been a regular customer at Ashers bakery. 'What we refused to do,' said Daniel McArthur, 'was to be involved with promoting a political campaign to change marriage law.' Northern Ireland's Attorney General John Larkin QC had argued that, 'No one should be forced to be the mouthpiece for someone else's views when they are opposed to their own -- whether in print or in icing sugar,' noting that would amount to 'coerced expression'. Simon Calvert of the Christian Institute agreed, protesting: 'Equality laws are there to protect people from discrimination, not to force people to associate themselves with a cause they oppose.'

The case against Ashers Baking Company was brought by the taxpayer-funded Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, which is now demanding the McArthurs pay costs amounting to more than £88,000 (more than US$107,000). As the McArthurs consider their options, the tide of public opinion is turning. In an on-line opinion poll conducted by The Telegraph, 88 percent of respondents voted 'No' when asked if the court had made the right decision. Pray for the McArthurs and for awakening in the UK.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and, After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 380. Germany: Reformation or Death

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 380 | Wed 19 Oct 2016

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International Days of Prayer (IDOP) for the Persecuted Church
IDOP 2016: Sundays 6 & 13 November. Resources: http://idop.org/
See also Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
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GERMANY: REFORMATION OR DEATH
(For Reformation Sunday, 30 Oct 2016)

by Elizabeth Kendal

On 31 October 1517 German theologian Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses -- 'Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences' -- to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church, triggering the Protestant Reformation. They were dark days: the Church was corrupt, Germany was weak, and the armies of Islam had conquered three-quarters of the old Christian world. After capturing Constantinople (the seat of the eastern, Byzantine/Greek Church) in 1453, Sultan Mehmed set his sights on Rome (the seat of the western, Roman/Latin Church). In 1480 he captured Otranto (in south-east Italy) and Rome was evacuated. Then the Sultan died and his plans died with him. In 1529 Suleiman the Magnificent laid siege to Vienna. Were it not that freakish weather had forced the Turks to abandon most of their artillery, they would certainly have captured the city; Germany, then, would have been at their mercy. Thankfully, God frustrated the Islamic advance while mercifully infusing life into Germany. The Reformation awakened Germans to divine grace, the priesthood of believers and a Biblical work ethic. The result: the phenomenal revival and technological rise of Christian Europe, before which Islam simply could not stand.

But just as Germany had been at the centre of the rise of modern Europe and Western civilisation, so too has Germany been at the centre of its decline. In the latter part of the 19th Century, Germany's imperialist Islamophile leadership of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Max von Oppenheim proposed a strategic alliance with global Islam. It was agreed that, in the event of war, the Ottoman Caliph would declare a jihad wherein Muslims would drive France out of Africa, Britain out of India, and Russia out of the Caucuses, paving the way for Germany and Islam to dominate the world. Strong German-Turkish ties were forged but ultimately the plot failed. Germany remained aligned with Islam through WW2, through a Nazi-Arab alliance committed to fighting colonial powers Britain and France and ridding the world of 'lesser peoples' like Jews, Roma and Slavs. After WW2, Europe moved to counter American dominance by creating a Euro-Arab Axis (Eurabia) which saw Europe's connections and exchanges with the Arab world multiply. All the while, German Communists were actively subverting the West by means of a (Mao-inspired) Long March through the institutions. Their aim: Cultural Revolution to replace Judeo-Christian values with the moral and cultural relativism of atheistic cultural Marxism. They have been phenomenally successful.

The result is Christianity is in crisis in Germany today. Giulio Meotti reports (Gatestone Institute, 12 Oct 2016) that in the past decade, Catholics in Germany have closed 515 churches while the Protestants have closed 340. The numbers of baptisms and church weddings are in free fall. Formal apostasy is soaring while conversions are few. As Giulio attests, 'religious decline is usually followed by a demographic one'. German fertility has collapsed and is now well below replacement rate. To replace the native population, Germany is taking in migrants -- Muslim migrants. Germany's Die Welt estimates that Christians in Germany will be a minority within 20 years. This is doubtless why UNESCO is running ads on German state-funded television encouraging German women to embrace the hijab.

None of this bodes well for religious liberty and Christian security in Germany. For a glimpse of what might lie ahead, one need only look into Germany's refugee shelters, where Christian asylum seekers are persecuted with impunity. A report by a group of German NGOs, led by Open Doors (OD) Germany, reveals shocking levels of persecution of Christians, yet acknowledges this is 'only the tip of the iceberg'. Of the 743 Christian refugees who spoke to OD, 617 (83%) reported multiple assaults, 314 (42%) death threats, 416 (56%) violent assaults and 44 (6%) sexual assaults. Whilst 674 (91%) said the assaults were committed by Muslim fellow refugees, 205 (28%) accused Muslim guards. [For one case that went to court, see RLPB 377 (28 Sep).] While the government is setting up safe shelters for LGBTQI asylum seekers, it continues to resist calls -- even from police -- to separate migrants according to religion, insisting segregation would go against Germany's multicultural values. Without reformation, revival and miracle, Germany will be lost.

REPORT by Open Doors, October 2016
‘Lack of protection for religious minorities in Germany.’ 

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT:

* God will intervene in Germany in the interests of vulnerable Christian asylum seekers; may he send his angels to guard them and may more churches be willing to provide safe haven. '... as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me' (From Matthew 25:31-46 ESV)

* God will raise up inspired, courageous, effective Christian leaders in the spirit of Martin Luther -- leaders who will step forward to lead the Church and speak truth to empower.

* as Germans look forward to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017, they will 'remember the Lord' (Deuteronomy 8:11-20) and glorify him again and put their faith in him again, so they will receive strength to 'turn back the battle at the gate' (Isaiah 28:5-6).


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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REFORMATION OR DEATH FOR GERMANY

In 1516 Germany was weak, its Church was corrupt and the armies of Islam had conquered three-quarters of the Christian world. Thankfully, God frustrated the Islamic advance and mercifully infused life into Germany. October 31 marks the 499th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation which heralded the revival and rise of Christian Europe. However, through the 20th Century German leaders forged alliances with Islam, while German Communists subverted the culture, replacing Christian values with the moral and cultural relativism of atheistic cultural Marxism. Today, Christianity in Germany is in crisis. More than 850 churches have closed in a decade, German fertility has collapsed, Muslim migrants are pouring in, Christian asylum seekers are persecuted with impunity and Christians will be a minority within 20 years. Please pray for Germany and its Church.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat;

and, After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 377. September Update, Incl. Pakistan, Russia, Jordan, Algeria, China, Germany, Syria

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 377 | Wed 28 Sep 2016

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely, and encourage others to sign up to the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog. "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

By Elizabeth Kendal

'Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.' (Psalm 33:20-22 ESV)

SEPTEMBER 2016 UPDATE -- this month we prayed concerning ...

* PAKISTAN (RLPB 374), after militants from a faction of the Pakistani Taliban failed in their attempt to massacre the Christians of Warsak Dam Colony north of Peshawar. After considering the religious hatred inherent in the attack and the vulnerability of Christians, we praised God for his mercy and deliverance.

UPDATES: Video footage has emerged of the Pakistani Taliban's 'Special Group' undertaking military training in Swabi district, north-west Pakistan. Swabi district is on the eastern edge of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, only some 80 km from Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Taliban are back!

Arif Masih
World Watch Monitor

After Friday prayers on 16 September a mob of some 20 Muslims attacked a poor Christian neighbourhood in the village of Chajwal, some 32 km south of Faisalabad. Two Christian women, whose clothes were largely torn off, were publicly humiliated, while five Christians required hospitalisation. No motive (other than hate and a desire to subjugate) has been established. Labourer Arif Masih (55, pictured) told World Watch Monitor, 'I could not even understand why they were beating me.'

On 18 September Nabeel Chohan, a 16-year-old Christian boy from Dina Nath village, Kasur District, Punjab Province, was arrested and charged with defaming and disrespecting Islam, and hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims. The complainant accused Nabeel of having 'liked' a Facebook image that showed the Kaaba in Mecca in a disrespectful light. As soon as the Christians of Dina Nath village heard that Nabeel had been accused, they fled their homes in fear of the Muslims.  The police have secured the village and are calling on Christians to return.

One of Pakistan's leading Christian human rights lawyers, Mushtaq Gill, has finally succumbed to pressure and fled the country with his young family. Over the course of a decade, Gill received numerous death threats and survived several assassination attempts. Mushtaq Gill and his family now join the many thousands of displaced and destitute Pakistani Christians in exile, hoping to find sanctuary outside their homeland. Pakistani Christians will mourn this loss. May God raise up new advocates to defend the cause of his suffering Church.

* RUSSIA, JORDAN, UZBEKISTAN (RLPB 375), praying for those in authority, that religious liberty might be restored or realised.

UPDATES -- RUSSIA: On 5 September a court in St Petersburg found Archbishop Sergei Zhuravlev of the Reformed Orthodox Church of Christ the Savior (Kiev Archdiocese) guilty of illegal missionary activity; he was issued a fine. On 10 September two American citizens were arrested for participating in worship at Kaluga's Word of Life Pentecostal church; they were fined but not deported. On 17 September police arrested participants at a Pentecostal youth conference in Samara; all were later released. On 23 September in what is finally a win for common sense and justice, the Novosergiev district court of Orenburg Province issued a decision in favour of Pastor Alexander Demkin of the Church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (EKhB), rejecting the ridiculous charges brought against him by the prosecutor's office. As had quickly become evident, the Baptist church's summer programs for children have overwhelming community support.

On 20 September Russia's Civic Chamber -- a 126-member oversight committee with consultative powers -- conducted a hearing on the anti-mission measures. While the law's shortcomings were debated, statements made in support of the measures indicate that this law -- particularly as it applies to Protestants -- has more to do with geo-politics than religion. Pray for strategic Russia.

UPDATES -- JORDAN: Having boycotted elections in 2010 and 2013, Islamists now hold 15 of 130 seats. So while the Muslim Brotherhood is back and Islamists have a voice in parliament again, it is a small voice -- diluted, as was intended. None of the Christians who ran on Islamist tickets was elected. However, nine Christians did win seats, the minimum 'guaranteed' to the Christian minority from the electoral quota system.

On Sunday 25 September prominent Jordanian writer, Nahed Hattar (56) -- who, though raised a Christian, professed atheism -- was assassinated on the steps of the court where he was fighting charges of insulting Islam. Hattar had posted a cartoon on Facebook which he said only mocked the jihadist view of paradise. Unfortunately, the jihadist view of paradise is the Qur'anic view of paradise, which is precisely why so many Muslims were angry enough to want Hattar dead. Hattar, a strong supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad and outspoken critic of ISIS and al Qaeda, had accused his Islamist opponents of using the cartoon as a way of settling scores with him.

On Monday 5 September King Abdullah and Queen Rania launched a program aimed at combating Islamic radicalisation. The government intends to reform education and increase management of mosques. To modernise and secularise the school curriculum, all Qur'anic references will be removed from non-religious texts. There are even plans to replace religion with art and philosophy. Islamic fundamentalists will surely resist. Pray for strategic Jordan.

* CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (CAR) (RLPB 376), which is French-speaking majority Christian (mostly Protestant), remains divided with around half the country occupied by foreign-backed mostly Arabic-speaking Islamic jihadists. For Christians living in rebel-held territory, security is tenuous and massacres persist. May God intervene in CAR.

SEPTEMBER ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* ALGERIA: CHURCH PURSUES JUSTICE FOR PRISONER

Updating RLPB 372 (23 Aug): On 6 August Algerian Christian Slimane Bouhafs (49) was found guilty of blasphemy against Islam and its prophet after he opined on social media that the light of Jesus was overcoming the 'lie' of Islam and its prophet in the Kabyle region. For this, Bouhafs received the maximum penalty: a hefty fine and five years' imprisonment. Middle East Concern reports that on 6 September an appeals court reduced the sentence to three years. However, this is not good enough. The Protestant Church of Algeria will now appeal to the Supreme Court.

* CHINA: ZHANG KAI RE-ARRESTED

Zhang Kai (centre)
in Wenzhou, 25 Aug 2015

Beijing-based Christian human rights lawyer and 'defender of the cross' Zhang Kai was arrested in August 2015 while providing legal advice to harassed churches in Wenzhou [RLPB 325 (1 Sep 2015)]. On 25 February 2016 Zhang appeared on state TV, 'confessing' to his 'crimes', expressing remorse [RLPB 346 (1 March)] and warning other human rights lawyers not to collude with foreigners. When he was subsequently released on bail, Zhang returned to his mother's home in Inner Mongolia. In late August Zhang breached his bail conditions by posting a video on WeChat in which he retracts his former statement, which he said was made under duress after experiencing a six-month detention that was 'all black and no daylight'. On 31 August security police from Wenzhou City surrounded Zhang's mother's Inner Mongolia home, arrested Zhang and took him away. His condition and whereabouts remain unknown.

* GERMANY: NO SANCTUARY FOR CONVERTS

On 18 October 2015 Iranian convert asylum seeker Amir H. (24) was seriously injured in a German refugee shelter when he was beaten unconscious by an Afghan Muslim asylum seeker armed with a telescopic baton [RLPB 333 (Oct 2015 Update)]. Between 15 and 20 men intervened to restrain the Afghan and then help him flee the scene. The Afghan was arrested in December 2015 and charged with attempted homicide. On 5 September a Hamburg court acquitted the Afghan, citing 'lack of evidence'. Though the Iranian victim had testified that the accused attacked him for converting to Christianity (motive), and that he had shouted 'Allahu Akbar' and threatened to kill him (intent), none of the witnesses -- all of whom were Muslim -- would support Amir (an apostate) or testify against a fellow Muslim. Consequently, the court ruled that a motive had not been established, meaning it had to accept that the assailant may have acted in self-defence. The Christian Police Union reports that attacks against Muslim converts continue to be a problem.

* SYRIA: WAR SHIFTS TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

click on map to enlarge

The Battle for Syria has shifted to a whole new level. This is partly due to the breakdown of the Russia-US ceasefire agreement, but also due to Turkey's military incursion into northern Syria. The Turkish military has its sights set on al-Bab. Consequently, the Syrian government has moved to win and end the Battle for Aleppo. The Aleppo Sharia Council has issued a decree deeming Turkey's operation Euphrates Shield a 'legal jihad' to be supported. Imbedded with the Turkish forces are some 40 US Special Forces troops. The presence of US troops guarantees the Turkish forces, and their Free Syrian Army allies, protection from Russian air strikes. Despite this, video footage has emerged of US-backed FSA fighters hurling abuse at the US troops in al-Rai, calling them crusaders, dogs and pigs etc. 'Christians and Americans have no place among us,' shouts one man in the video. Turkey wants to carve out a Turkish enclave through which it and the Gulf Arabs can escalate supply of advanced weaponry to the rebels in eastern Aleppo. Assad's hand has been forced. The war will escalate. Please pray for the Christians in Syria.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and, After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). 

See www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 333. October update. Incl, Bangladesh, Assyrians in Sweden, Syria, Germany, Indonesia (Aceh), Nigeria, Uganda

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 333 | Wed 28 Oct 2015

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Supporting International Day of Prayer (IDOP)
   for the Persecuted Church
IDOP 2015: Sunday 1 or 8 November
   See Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
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By Elizabeth Kendal

31 Oct 2015 is the 498th anniversary of the German Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, nailing his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle, triggering the Protestant Reformation. Luther was protesting the church's corrupt and exploitative practice of selling indulgences. To empower the people and facilitate reformation, Luther translated the Bible into German, thereby making the truth accessible to ordinary people. Martin Luther did not intend to divide the church -- he hoped for reformation, not division. Today we protest wide-scale church indifference to persecution, noting that Christian solidarity in the face of escalating persecution not only saves lives, it is a powerful witness to the world. PRAY for reformation through a return to scripture. PRAY for spiritual unity (John 17:20-23) and brotherly love (John 13:34-35), that we might stand together around the cross.

OCTOBER 2015 UPDATE -- During October we prayed concerning . . .

* BANGLADESH (RLPB 330), where Islamic State (IS) claims to be making inroads amongst the radicalised masses, while a local group boasting links to IS have claimed responsibility for the murders of four local bloggers. After IS claimed responsibility for the assassination of two foreigners -- described as 'nationals of crusader coalition countries' -- a call to prayer was issued on the expectation that the Church could be targeted as well.

UPDATE: Within hours of RLPB 330 being published, news emerged that Bangladeshi pastor Luke Sarker (52) had narrowly survived an attempted beheading. Rescued by family and neighbours, Pastor Sarker sustained wounds to his neck that required stitching but were not life-threatening. Praise and thank God for his merciful intervention! On 24 October Bangladesh suffered its first terrorist attack on Shi'ites when terrorists infiltrated the Ashura procession in Dhaka's Mughal quarter and left improvised explosive devices in the Hossaini Dalan Shi'ite shrine. A teenage boy was killed and some 80 Shi'ite worshippers were wounded in the explosions. Though IS has claimed responsibility, the police and government continue to insist that IS has no presence or influence in Bangladesh. The situation is dangerous. Pray for the Church in Bangladesh.

* ASSYRIAN CAPTIVES (RLPB 331) held by Islamic State (IS) in Syria after videos emerged in early October of captives in Qaryatayn signing dhimma contracts and of three Assyrian captives from Hasakah being executed.

RELATED: ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS THREATENED IN SWEDEN

Assyrian protest
Gothenburg, Sweden.

Of the 300 Swedish citizens believed to be fighting with IS, at least half of them come from one city: Gothenburg.  [As a comparison, some 250 Americans are fighting with IS, as are around 120 Australians.] Of the 10,000 Assyrians living in Sweden some 3000 live in Gothenburg. On 13 October (just days after the IS videos were released), Assyrians in Gothenburg woke to find threatening messages graffitied on the walls of Assyrian-owned businesses. Messages included 'Convert or Die' and 'The Caliphate is Here', along with the IS logo and/or the Arabic letter 'N' for Nazrani/Nazarene (a follower of Jesus the Nazarene) -- the same symbol IS used to identify the homes of Christians in Mosul in July 2014. Pray for the Assyrian community in Sweden.

* RUSSIA IN SYRIA (RLPB 332), noting that Russia's bombing raids and provision of air cover were helping the Syrian government drive back al-Qaeda-linked Jaysh al Fateh in the north and Islamic State around Damascus, the population of which has swelled from two million to ten million as Syrians have flooded in to find sanctuary from the rebels.

UPDATE: The Syrian government is fighting two main enemies -- al-Qaeda (and its numerous affiliates, some US-armed and trained) and IS. It is also being forced to fight on multiple fronts. Committed as it is to regime change in Damascus -- no matter the cost -- the America-Turkey-Sunni Arab axis has dramatically escalated its support to 'rebels' (most of whom are aligned with al-Qaeda). Weapons are flooding in; in fact rebel use of US-made TOW anti-tank guided missiles has increased 850 percent since the Russian intervention began, causing serious problems for the Syrian government which happens to be the last line of defence for many millions of Syrians, including hundreds of thousands of Christians. Pray for East-West co-operation in the war against Islamic jihadists.   

ALEPPO CRISIS
Because the M5 Highway into Aleppo runs through Idlib, which is under the control of Turkey-Saudi backed, al-Qaeda-linked Jaysh al Fateh, the government has had to gain access to government-controlled western Aleppo via the Ethyra-Khanaser road approaching from the south-east. On Friday 23 October IS forces attacked that road, capturing at least ten government checkpoints and successfully severing the government's supply-line into Aleppo. This is a major catastrophe for government soldiers, Christians and other loyalists now besieged in the city. Pray for the Church in Aleppo, and that the road will be re-opened. Again, pray for East-West co-operation in the war against Islamic jihadists. 

'In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord ... I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old ... You are the God who works wonders ...' (from Psalm 77).

OCTOBER 2015 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* GERMANY: CONVERT BASHED IN MIGRANT CENTRE
A 24-year-old Iranian national has been seriously bashed in a migrant camp in Hamburg for his 'sin' of converting to Christianity. By the time other migrants managed to restrain the attacker -- an Afghan refugee armed with a telescopic baton -- the Iranian convert was unconscious and seriously injured. Pray for Christians in Europe's migrant centres. Pray for a change in policy and that Christians will be housed separately. Of course this would require the authorities to end their ideological and fear-driven denial and admit that Islam really does endanger Christians. 

* INDONESIA: CHURCHES ATTACKED IN ACEH

photo: World Watch Monitor

On 13 October a mob of some 700 Muslims attacked and torched a Protestant church in Aceh's southern-most district of Aceh Singkil. They had been incited by hard-liners from the Islamic Defenders Front who are demanding that as most of Aceh Singkil's 22 churches do not have permits, they should be torn down. Permits for houses of worship in Indonesia are granted by local religious harmony forums, which tend not to permit churches in Muslim-majority areas. With tensions soaring, the police picked up sledgehammers and axes and tore down at least three more churches, supposedly to 'preserve harmony'. All church members could do was watch and weep. The pastor of one church with over 100 members said they had applied for a permit repeatedly, but were always refused. Ten churches have been listed for closure; some will be dismantled. With text messages circulating calling for Christians to be hunted and churches to be burned, an estimated 8000 Christians have fled across the provincial border into north Sumatra. Some 1300 security personnel have been deployed to the area. Pray for the Church in Aceh.

* NIGERIA: REMEMBERING THE GIRLS
Unbeknown to worshippers, the three veiled girls who entered their Maiduguri mosque on 16 October were strapped with explosives. When their vests were detonated, the explosion ripped through the mosque killing 26 and wounding dozens. Boko Haram, now an Islamic State (IS) affiliate going by the name Wilayat al Sudan al Gharbi, claimed responsibility. It was the second Boko Haram bombing using three girls in the space of three days. Global Stratfor Intelligence commented on Boko Haram's unprecedentedly high use of girls as suicide bombers, noting it had used 50 girls for this purpose so far this year. As Boko Haram comes under increased military stress it is returning to guerrilla tactics and terrorism. In this it is both exploiting its kidnapped girls (who have mostly been kidnapped from Christian communities) and relieving itself of burdensome captives. Pray for God to intervene to end this unmitigated evil. (See Isaiah 59:15b-19)

* UGANDA: INTENSE PERSECUTION CONTINUES
Morning Star News (MSN) reports that the mutilated body of Samson Nfunyeku, a long-time evangelist, apologist and convert from Islam, was found on 23 September not far from his home in Kalampete village, Kibuku District, Eastern Region. After Samson was killed, his brother, George Mwanika, also a convert to Christianity, started receiving death threats. On 19 October Muslims came to George's house, intending to kill him. George was not home, so they dragged his wife, Mamwikomba, out of the house threatening to kill her if she didn't divulged her husband's whereabouts. When George arrived home he found Mamwikomba unconscious in a pool of blood. Neighbours helped George rush her to hospital, but she was dead on arrival. Three of the couple's eight children were home at the time of the attack. The whole family is at risk. 'We really need prayers,' George told MSN.

'I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.' (Psalm 91:2-4 ESV)

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 330. Bangladesh: danger looms for church. PLUS, Germany: serious plight of Christian refugees.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 330 | Wed 07 Oct 2015

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Supporting International Day of Prayer (IDOP)
   for the Persecuted Church
IDOP 2015: Sunday 1 or 8 November
   See Critical Prayer Requests (CPR)
-----------------------------------------------

BANGLADESH: DANGER LOOMS FOR CHURCH (includes update)

-- also Serious Plight of Christian Refugees in Germany.

By Elizabeth Kendal

In 1947, India was partitioned and Pakistan was established as a homeland for Muslims. In 1971, Bengali-dominated secular-leaning East Pakistan secured independence from Punjabi- and Pashto-dominated Islamic-leaning West Pakistan in a Liberation War that cost Bangladeshis up to three million lives. While Pakistan subsequently Islamised, Bangladesh progressed as a secular democracy. The population being 90 percent Muslim, Bangladesh was never going to be immune from the global trend of Islamic radicalisation. Since the 1980s, masses of Muslims have been radicalised through Bangladesh's vast networks of mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools).  On 7 Oct 2001 the US commenced post 9/11 bombing raids on Afghanistan from bases in Pakistan. Fundamentalist clerics portrayed the war as a War on Islam, fuelling rage. When Bangladeshis went to the polls later that month, they threw out the secular government and voted in the pro-Pakistan, pro-Islam, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), to rule in coalition with some very radical Islamic groups. The result has been polarisation as secularists struggle against a rising tide of Islamic zeal.

In August this year a pro-secular, anti-Islamist Bangladeshi blogger was hacked to death. It was the fourth such attack in six months. Ansar Bangla (also known as Ansarullah Bangla Team), a banned terrorist organisation that is alleged to have links to Islamic State, has claimed responsibility. On Monday 28 September an Italian aid worker, Cesare Tavella, was assassinated in Dhaka's diplomatic precinct. This veterinary surgeon had been working with the Dutch church-run charity OCCI, which works to improve hygiene and alleviate poverty and food insecurity in rural Bangladesh. Then on Saturday 3 October, Japanese farmer Kunio Hoshi (coincidentally, a recent convert to Islam) was assassinated in Mahiganj Village, Rangpur District, in northern Bangladesh. The assassinations were virtually identical in that the victim was shot multiple times at close range by two gunmen who were then whisked away by a third person on a motorbike. Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for both assassinations, warning, 'There will continue to be a series of ongoing security operations against nationals of crusader coalition countries . . . they will not have safety of a livelihood in Muslim lands.'

The government of Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina is rejecting claims that IS has made inroads into Bangladesh, preferring to blame her political opposition in the BNP. This is even though in September 2014 a British man of Bangladeshi origin was arrested in Dhaka and charged with recruiting Bangladeshis for IS. More IS recruiters have been arrested this year, including Sakhawatul Kabir, who was subsequently identified as the IS regional commander of operations in Bangladesh. Released in February 2015, issue 7 of Dabiq (the official IS magazine) includes an article lambasting Japanese policy and exhorting 'soldiers and patrons of the Khilafah everywhere' to target 'Japanese citizens and interests -- wherever they may be found.' If IS is indeed seeking to recruit and raise its profile in Bangladesh, then danger looms for the Church. Just as 'nationals of crusader coalition countries' are easy targets because they are easily identifiable, the same is true of Christians. Christians are already known to the radicalised masses, who despise them as infidels, kafir (unclean) and apostates deserving death; and they gather together in homes and easily identifiable churches. We must be vigilant in prayer for the Church in Bangladesh.

UPDATE 
It has just been reported that a Protestant Bangladeshi pastor has narrowly survived an attempted beheading. On Monday 5 Oct, three Muslims visited the home of Rev. Luke Sarker (52), pastor of Faith Bible Church in the district of Pabna, in the country’s northwest. Two men came into the house under the pretext of wanting to convert to Christianity; the third man remained outside on his motorbike. Once settled, one of the men locked the door; then they attacked. Rev Sarker screamed, help came quickly and the attackers fled. Rev Sarker received non-life-threatening cuts to his neck requiring stitching. It seems to me [E Kendal] that the attackers were amateurs -- i.e. new local recruits, not experienced jihadists -- possibly responding to an IS request for the head of a pastor/missionary. [Report by Morning Star News, 11 Oct 2015]
Please cover Bangladesh in prayer.
  
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT

* the Lord of hosts will surround and protect his precious people. 'Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.' (Psalm 17:8-9 ESV)

* the rule of law will prevail in Bangladesh; may there be unity -- as distinct from politicisation or appeasement -- in the face of escalating Islamic violence and threat. Pray for Prime Minister (Ms) Sheikh Hasina (Awami League) and for the Opposition leader (Ms) Khaleda Zia (BNP), 'the warring widows'.

* the God of salvation, the hope of all the earth, will intervene in Bangladesh to 'still ... the tumult of the peoples.' (Psalm 65:5-8)

'By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth ... who stills ... the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.' (from Psalm 65:5-8 ESV)

Also 

SERIOUS PLIGHT OF CHRISTIAN REFUGEES IN GERMANY

Migrant flood (photo: Der Spiegel)

With up to 10,000 mostly Muslim migrants arriving each day, police are warning that tensions are soaring in Germany's massively over-crowded migrant centres. Islamic Law is being enforced, while violence and rape are endemic, much of it driven by racial and religious hatred and a culture of violence. Christian refugees, who are particularly vulnerable, are being abused and threatened. The head of the German police union wants migrants separated according to race and faith before someone is killed. The German government is resisting, wedded as it is to the idea of a multicultural utopia. While some politicians insist that distinguishing between migrants would go against Germany's values, others write it off as a logistical impossibility. PLEASE PRAY for a change in policy, and that God will intervene on behalf of his people.

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SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE

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BANGLADESH: DANGER LOOMS FOR CHURCH

Bangladeshi society is polarised and at war with itself. Islamic zeal is soaring among masses of Muslims who have been radicalised since the 1980s. Secular Bengalis are struggling to maintain their fading rights and a veneer of security. Persecution is escalating. Bloggers who criticised Islam and advocated secularism have been murdered by a group with ties to Islamic State (IS), which is recruiting and seeking a foothold in Bangladesh. IS has claimed responsibility for the recent assassinations of an Italian aid worker in Dhaka and a Japanese farmer in the north, warning it is targeting 'nationals of crusader coalition countries'. If IS is indeed seeking to recruit and raise its profile in Bangladesh, this seriously elevates the risk to the Church. Please pray for Bangladesh and its Church.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).