Verses on Persecution

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matt. 5:10-12)

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Tim. 3:12)

"But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed." (1 Pe. 3:14a)

A Book Worth Dying For

As Christian, we believe the Bible is the Word of God. It was inspired by Him (2 Tim. 3:16) and will help us in all areas of life. However, not everyone looks at the Bible in that way.

Muslims (among other religious groups) have a great disdain for the Bible. Why? There are many different reasons, a couple of which are, it shows Jesus to be God and they believe it is corrupted by Christians. Many times we read about Christian having to choose whether or not they will stand with the Bible or reject it. Sometimes followers of Islam will try to force Christians to spit on the Bible or in someway reject and desecrate it.

However, the true believers always stand with the Word of God, even if it means that their life will be taken from them. Through out the centuries, Christians have had to make this choice. Time and time again, they have picked honoring God by standing with His Word, over apparent "life".

Is the Word of God something that you're willing to die for? If you had to pick the Bible over life, would you do it? Get a hold of Foxe: Voices of the Martyrs or subscribe to VOM's newsletters and read about people who are dying for the Lord and His Word.

The Dangerous Book

Christian Bookstore Vandalized in Turkey

In the city of Adana, a Turkish Bible Society bookstore was vandalized by extremists. The store security cameras showed two Muslim youth breaking glass in the front windows and door.

Last November, a man reportedly entered the bookstore and began making
accusations that the bookstore was linked to the Unites States Intelligence
Agency and said, "You work with them killing people in Muslim countries, harming
Muslim countries."

Pray for the salvation of the two youth that caused this damage.

For more information on the country of Turkey, follow these links:

http://www.persecution.org/suffering/countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=34

http://www.persecution.net/turkey.htm

( Above quote taken from here)

A Look Back in History

Imagine a time when you could be sent to jail because you didn’t go to Mass (the Catholic service). There was a time in England’s history when this was the case. Queen Mary (also known as Bloody Mary) was reigning and it truly was a reign of terror for those seeking to follow God and the Bible.

William Hunter was a young adult who was one of those following the Bible instead of blindly following the Queen and her new laws. It was decreed that all must go to Mass. However, young Hunter did not go to Mass. Instead he stayed home and read his Bible.

When the sheriff caught him, he explained that he had been reading his Bible, which was worship. Therefore, he had obeyed the edict, just not in the required way. Then Bishop Bonner of London got involved. At first Bonner tried coaxing William with money and a little bit of public honor, but William refused to be bought with worldly things. He was then placed in stocks for two days without food or water.

After two days, he still refused to obey the Queen, so he was sent to a dismal prison for nine months-all for reading the Scriptures. Bishop Bonner wearied of trying to convince Hunter to attend Mass. He then sent him to his home village of Brentwood to be burnt as a heretic.

On March 26, 1555, the young Bible reader was burned alive. He was only nineteen, but he died without fear and with Psalm 51 on his lips.