Global Prayer Request For Pastor In Bagdad

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

A Pastor in Baghdad

By Ron Brackin
Special Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

DALLAS, TX (ANS) -- We met seven years ago in Baghdad. I was there researching a book on the post-Saddam Iraqi Church. Actually, it wasn't all that "post," since he had crawled out of his "rat hole" only a few weeks earlier.

After introductions were made, I sat down in front of his desk and, as I took out my digital recorder, he said, "Before we begin, I would like to read something to you." He opened a black-covered Bible and read from Isaiah 19, which my NIV calls a prophecy about Egypt:

"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria [modern-day Iraq]. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying 'Blessed be Egypt my people, Assryia my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.'

"You don't have to be a theologian to know that "that day" has not come yet.
"This is our vision," he said, "the vision of the Church in Iraq." And he went on to tell me his story and the account of his people between the Gulf Wars.

This morning, I received a telephone call from a friend in Amman, Jordan.
"Guess who is with me," he said, un characteristically playful.

It was my friend from Baghdad. We spent a few minutes catching up, and then I asked him two hard questions.

I knew that more than a million Christians had already fled Iraq, along with millions of other refugees, the Christians heading north to Irbil, Dahuk or Sulaymaniyah, where they are protected by the Kurds, or to the godawful refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. I wasn't surprised that they left. I was amazed that more than a million others have stayed.

He explained that he had lost half of his congregation since November 1, when al-Qaeda-connected gunmen took 120 hostages at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad and slaughtered 41 Christians, including two priests, as well as 12 police officers and 5 bystanders and wounded 78 others. The media called it the "deadliest attack ever recorded against Iraq's Christians." In 2006 and 2007, my friend's church had a thousand members. Half left between then and last November. Half again since the attack. It turned out that the ter rorists had targeted my friend's church, but the killers went to the wrong address, one street away. The police broke up his service that Sunday morning, informed my friend about the "mistake," and told him to shut down and send everybody home, which he did. But the doors were open again two weeks later.

"How do you teach your congregation that God provides for them when they have no food, that he protects them when they are being raped and tortured and murdered, that he loves them when he sends no one to their rescue?" I asked my friend.

"When the terrorists came and killed many Christians," he said, "that week, I received many calls from my congregation asking me many why's. Why did Jesus let them kill Christians? Why didn't Jesus stop them? Why did God let the terrorists enter the church? Why? Why? Why?

"I cried out to God. I said, 'My Lord, give me the answers.'
"After that, in my reading that day in the Book of Acts 4:29, I saw that when the disciples were threatened, they prayed, I thought maybe for pr otection. I was shocked that they prayed for boldness.

"The next week, I went before the church.
" 'You ask me why, why why. You should go to God and ask him why he left his Son torn on the cross. Why Peter died on a cross upside down. After that, ask me why. It's in the plan. Because you are a Christian, it costs blood. And maybe it will cost our blood. God didn't promise us that we would live in a comfortable life. Why are we surprised? This is our life. This is what is promised for us. Open the Book of Acts and see how the Christians suffered.'

"They were very encouraged and were clapping and they prayed and cried and said, 'Oh, we are sorry, our Lord.' "

Then I asked my friend: "It's one thing for men to accept that suffering and death is the normal Christian life and nothing exceptional. But as husbands and fathers, how do you keep your families in a place where you cannot protect them from starving, rape, torture and death?"

"One day," he explained, "a woman came to me with her husband, and she told me, 'You are a father? You have children?'

"Yes."
"'You are a father of your church also."
"Okay."
"I need your help."
"I thought she might ask for blankets or food."
" 'I have three children, but the terrorists came in my home, and they killed all of them. What is this Allah?'
"She said 'Allah,' because she is not Christian.
" 'I will believe, or I will not believe that there is a God when I leave your office. And you can help me. You have children. You can feel my feelings, what it would be like if you lose your children.'
"I really prayed inside. 'My Lord, what should I tell her?' And immediately, God gave me an idea.
" 'Okay, you don't believe in Allah, that he is not a true god and if he is, how can they come and kill in the name of Allah? You lost your children, but you did not make this choice. I will introduce you to someone who lost his son willingly."
" 'What! Why he lost his Son willingly?'
"I started to tell her the story of God, the Father, an d Jesus, his Son. She started to cry.
" 'You know what?' she said finally, 'you cannot understand me. Just God can understand my feelings because he lost his Son.' And she became a Christian in my office.

That's all. That's what I wanted to share with you.
Please pray for your brothers and sisters who remain in Iraq and the Palestinian territories and Turkey and every other place on earth where they choose to stay for the sake of the people who arrest and beat and rape and torture and imprison and kill them. That's all they ever ask of us. To pray for them. And as we can, to send some food, clothing, medicine and blankets through the people who risk their lives to help them.

I can personally recommend, as I have before, Manara Ministries in Amman, Jordan. They work directly with Iraqi refugees-Christian, Muslim Arab, whatever-in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. You can donate online via Hope Builders International at http://www.hope-builders.org/home.

The writer of the recent bestseller, "Son of Hamas" (Tyndale House, 2010) Ron Brackin has traveled extensively in the Middle East as an investigative journalist. He was in Bethlehem, Ramallah, Gaza, and Jerusalem during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, on assignment in Baghdad and Mosul after the fall of Iraq and more recently with the rebels and refugees of Southern Sudan and Darfur. Ron is the author of several other nonfiction books, including "Sweet Persecution" (Bethany House, 1999), "Between 2 Fires" (Banner Communcations, 2002) and "Iraq, My Handiwork" (Manara Ministries, 2003). He is available for ghostwriting and other freelance writing projects. Visit his website at www.ronbrackin.com.

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Global Prayer Request: Ethiopia Persecution Escalates In Muslim Areas

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ethiopia: persecution escalates in Muslim areas
-- a call to pray for the church in Ethiopia

By Elizabeth Kendal
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 094

Special to ASSIST News Service
AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- The simplistic portrayals of Ethiopia as 'Orthodox Christian' or 'a Christian island surrounded by hostile Muslim neighbours' are misleading. These descriptions ignore the reality that Ethiopia is the legacy of a Christian empire that incorporated many diverse peoples. The Tigray-dominated north and the Amhara-dominated central highlands comprise the Christian heartland. These two Semitic tribes together comprise 45 percent of the population and most of the elite. The periphery is highly diverse and includes many animist and Muslim peoples. Unity is fragile and divisive forces are strong.

Before the Communist Revolution of 1974, Ethiopia was an Amhara-dominated kingdom. After Mengistu's Marxist regime fell in 1991, the new Tigray-led government federalised the state, controversially devolving power to nine autonomous, ethnic regions (just as Tito did in Yugoslavia and as has recently been done in Kenya).

By enabling a degree of self-determination, ethnic federalism was supposed to prevent Amhara domination, end cultural conflict and diminish centrifulgal forces.

In reality (as in Yugoslavia) it has had the opposite effect: it has weakened the state while magnifying ethnic differences and interests. The largest ethnic group, the Omoro (about equal Muslim / Christian), complain of Tigrayan domination and want to secede. In September 2009 the International Crisis Group lamented that the international community was neglecting 'the increased ethnic awareness and tensions created by the regionalisation policy and their potentially explosive consequences'.

Ethiopia's Constitution (adopted in December 1994) states: ' The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Any law, customary practice or a decision of an organ of state or a public official which contravenes this Constitution shall be of no effect' (Article 9.1). Complicating ethnic tensions is the trend of rising Islamic intolerance. According to the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, Saudi-funded entities are exacerbating tensions between traditional Sufis and new Wahhabis, as well as between Muslims and Christians. In recent years Christians living in Muslim-dominated areas have been subjected to escalating persecution and application of Sharia law. To maintain 'harmony' and to appease restive Muslims, the Federal Government made religious incitement and religious defamation criminal offences in 2008. While Article 27 of the Federal Constitution guarantees 'Freedom of Religion, Belief and Opinion' it also provides that religious freedom may be limited by law in the interests of public safety.

In August 2010 Tamirat Woldegorgis (early 30s and father of two), a Protestant Christian in Ethiopia's southern town of Moyale, Oromia region, was arrested after a Muslim co-worker accused him of inscribing 'Jesus is Lord' on a cloth. The accuser changed his statement several times before the local imam testified that Woldegorgis had written the offensive words on a Quran. Despite the absence of evidence, Woldegorgis was sentenced on 18 November 2010 to three years in prison for allegedly defiling a Quran. He was then transferred to Jijiga Prison in Ethiopia's Somali Region Zone Five which is governed according to Sharia. Consequently his life is greatly imperilled. Two friends who recently brought him food were fined for supporting a criminal imprisoned for defaming Islam. Authorities have reportedly offered to release Woldegorgis if he will convert to Islam (Compass Direct News, 29 November 2010).

International Christian Concern (ICC) has reported several violent attacks on Christian leaders in recent months. Of great concern is the report that harassed and persecuted Christians in the southern city of Besheno, Oromia region, have recently had notices posted on their doors warning them to convert to Islam, leave the city or face death. According to ICC, three leading Christians from an evangelical Christian community of about 30 believers have been forced to flee and two have been forcibly converted to Islam.

Intolerant, repressive, fundamentalist Islam is spreading, exerting itself and testing the limits in Ethiopia's autonomous ethnic regions. Are minority Christian groups in restive Muslim-dominated areas going to be protected according to the Federal Constitution, or will they be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, stripped of their constitutional rights and handed over to the dictators of Islam in exchange for promises of 'harmony' and national unity?

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL:

Protect Tamirat Woldegorgis and deliver him safely back to his family; may the family all know the sustaining presence of the Lord, their provider.

Protect the Christians living in restive Oromia and Islamic Somali, particularly the persecuted and threatened Christians in Besheno.

Grant Christian leaders great wisdom to know how to be 'wise as serpents and innocent as doves' (Matthew 10:16 ESV).

Give the Federal Government much wisdom, strength and courage to tackle the issue of constitutional rights and the supremacy of the Federal Constitution over regional Islamic courts.

Please pray for Ethiopia, a state of immense geo-strategic value in the Horn of Africa.

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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PERSECUTION ESCALATES IN MUSLIM AREAS OF ETHIOPIA
The Ethiopian Government federalised the state in 1996, devolving power to nine autonomous, ethnic regions. Rather than appeasing and pacifying Ethiopia's diverse peoples, this ethnic federalism has only undermined nationhood while magnifying ethnicity and differences. Divisive forces are now stronger than ever. Furthermore Ethiopia's traditional Sufi Muslims are being radicalised by Saudi (Wahhabi) entities, inflaming religious tensions. Protestant believer Tamirat Woldegorgis (30s) is in an Islamic prison, having been falsely accused of defacing a Quran. Also Christians in the southern town of Besheno are being told they must convert to Islam, leave or die. Persecution and application of Sharia law are increasing. Yet the central Government appears loath to intervene lest self-determination, 'harmony' and 'national unity' be undermined. Please pray for the Church in Ethiopia.

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. This prayer bulletin was initially written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission http://www.ea.org.au/ReligiousLiberty/PrayerPostings.aspx.

Elizabeth Kendal's Religous Liberty Monitoring blog can be found at http://elizabethkendal.blogspot.com/a>.

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Global Prayer Request For Christian News Agency In Budapest

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Christian News Agency Fears Government Control

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (ANS) -- Central and Eastern Europe's first online Christian news agency, BosNewsLife (www.bosnewslife.com), was ordered on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, to register with the Hungarian authorities under a new controversial law that critics say is part of a crackdown on independent media.

BosNewsLife founder, Stefan J. Bos
According to a story posted on their website, Hungary's media watchdog, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), said that the Budapest-based BosNewsLife had until June 30, 2011, to register.

"As the website is already working, it will have to meet the conditions," of relevant paragraphs of the new media legislation, wrote NMHH's Ditta Boncz, who heads the authority's tenders and legal department. Boncz made the announcement in an e-mail exchange with BosNewsLife.

It was not immediately clear what sanctions would follow if BosNewsLife refuses to register with the NMHH, whose key members were appointed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party.

Under the new law electronic media such as BosNewsLife could face fines of over $100,000 and broadcasters nearly $1 million if their news coverage is deemed unbalanced, immoral or violating human dignity.

Founder Concerned
BosNewsLife founder Stefan J. Bos, a Dutch journalist who for several years was a correspondent for the ASSIST News Service based in Hungary, said he was concerned about this development "as even English language media and foreign journalists working in Hungary will now be subject to government control."

Bos said that his agency ran "balanced but critical stories" about the media legislation and other government policies, "as well as an opinionated-column on Prime Minister Orban turning Hungary into Orbanistan" -- a reference to autocratic Central Asian nations.

"I am wondering if that will increase the government pressure on BosNewsLife to register," he went on to say. "It also reminds me to the Communist days when media, and churches, had to register."

Wednesday's registration order to BosNewsLife comes amid tensions between Hungary and the European Union over the media law. The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, has expressed concerns that that the legislation may not be in line with European standards.

"The commission services have serious doubts as to the compatibility of the Hungarian legislation with Union law," said Commissioner Neelie Kroes last month in a leaked letter. Parts of the law could violate basic EU rights guaranteeing the freedom of expression and information, she said.

"Wide Imposition"
Kroes wrote that the Commission is especially concerned about the "wide imposition" to media to provide balanced coverage and the registration requirement for all media, including print and online outlets.

She said the requirements "can be considered as an unjustified obstacle" for media providers that want to work from Hungary or provide their services for Hungary from another EU nation.

According to the BosNewsLife story, the legislation, which was introduced on January 1, 2011, has been criticized by governments and newspapers across Europe, clouding Hungary's six-month tenure of holding the EU presidency. Additionally, thousands of Hungarians demonstrated last month against the legislation in Budapest and other cities while on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, news emerged that Dutch and other international agricultural journalists have also protested.

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn warned that if the EU does not pressure Hungary to change the law, "it will be very difficult to talk to China or Iran about human rights."

Changing Law?
Hungary has agreed to provide the Commission with proposals to change the law by Thursday, although Prime Minister Orban defended the legislation in an earlier interview. "Now we should have a more professional, legal discussion on the text. The text is very European," he said.

"There is no special regulation, no special Hungarian legislation in this law. All paragraphs and elements of this [legislation] are imported from EU Countries. So I think it is a European regulation," he said last month.

Bos said BosNewsLife would closely monitor the situation.
"We are based in Budapest, Hungary, from where we thought we could independently cover international news stories on Christian persecution and other developments for both a Hungarian and worldwide audience. We hope Hungary will not turn back the clock more than 20 years when Hungary was a Communist-run Soviet satellite state," said Bos.

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available

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Global Prayer Request For Vetran Missionaries

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Veteran Missionaries Return to US with New Roles

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

NORCROSS, GA (ANS) -- Missionaries Ed and Linda Baker, who have spent more than ten years on the mission field, will soon transition from drilling water wells in Nicaragua to leading a global team of cross-cultural workers.

Missionaries Ed and Linda Baker

After more than a decade of foreign missionary service, the Bakers will co-direct The Mission Society's Global Resources Team, which provides specialists in various disciplines to help other Christian missionaries and national ministries worldwide. The Bakers will also serve as the water and sanitation specialists on the team.

According to The Mission Society (www.themissionsociety.org ),
during the Bakers' service abroad, they provided clean water through well-drilling as a support ministry to church planting. They completed more than 40 projects in Paraguay, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua involving wells, spring development, sanitation and water quality assessments.

"The Bakers' experience -- as both full-time missionaries as well as water and sanitation specialists -- uniquely qualifies them to lead the Global Resource Team," says Jim Ramsay, The Mission Society's senior director of field ministry.

"The team emphasizes the need for specialists to not only provide assistance in a particular area of expertise, but also to 'live incarnationally,' among the people, sensitive to the unique cultural and missiological issues being faced by the them," he said.

The Bakers say that their 10 years serving as missionaries in Paraguay and Nicaragua taught them "that .people are more open to receive the gospel from those who become involved with the daily challenges they face -- water and sanitation, agriculture, health, education, and many social issues. This is where The Global Resource Team can help missionaries and national ministries. Many of us see these problems but don't have the skills or tools to help solve them. The Global Resource Team can mobilize specialists to assist in many of these areas, some of whom have served as missionaries themselves."

The Mission Society explained in a news release that the Bakers returned from Nicaragua in December and will reside in Lawrenceville, GA. They will manage a team of ministries spanning the globe that includes specialists in agriculture, commerce, health, water and sanitation, and outreach to women. They fill the position formerly held by Larry Williams, of Trenton, GA, who served as Global Resources Team director the past 10 years.

Before becoming full-time missionaries with The Mission Society in 1999, Ed Baker served for 25 years as a civil engineer, specializing in water resources and sanitation. Linda Baker worked as a computer consultant. They have two daughters, Rhian and Kara, and two grandsons.

Founded in 1984 in the Wesleyan tradition, The Mission Society recruits, trains and sends Christian missionaries to minister around the world. At present, it has more than 200 missionaries in 38 countries.

The Mission Society develops diverse programs and ministries in accordance with its missionaries' unique callings and gifts, ranging from well-drilling and the arts to more traditional ministries such as teaching English and church planting.

Its church ministry department provides seminars, workshops, and mentoring for congregations in the United States and overseas, helping equip churches for strategic outreach in their own communities and throughout the world.

To learn more about the Bakers and their ministry, visit www.themissionsociety.org .

To schedule an interview with the Bakers or an executive from The Mission Society, contact Ty Mays at 770-256-8710 or tmays@inchristcommunications.com .

** Michael Ireland is Chief Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can donate online to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Chief Reporter

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Global Prayer For Peace In The Middle East

International Broadcaster Offers Everlasting Peace in the Middle East
TWR's Continuous Relevant Programming Changes Lives for Christ

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

CARY, NC (ANS) -- Amid the ongoing unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, Christian media organization TWR International continues to deliver spiritual programming to the region, proclaiming the peace, hope and love of Jesus Christ.
"There's no doubt that the Middle East and North Africa region is in a state of turmoil and chaos," says TWR's Arabic Ministries leader.

"What we see on the news -- whether local, regional or international -- is heartbreaking and can be quite alarming since we don't know what the future holds for this region. People in countries like Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen and especially Egypt are boiling in anger, rebellion and hatred, and their wrath is being manifested in violent attacks on private and public sectors."

TWR's outreach to the Middle East and North Africa covers the entire region, which includes 20 countries and some 383 million people. Each week, TWR reaches men, women, youth and oral people groups with weekly radio broadcasts in the languages of the region, which include Arabic and Berber and their many dialects, Assyrian, Farsi, Hebrew, Iraqi, Sous-Tachelhit and Turkish.

The ministry's strategic "Oasis of Hope" series consists of four programs specifically produced for distinct audiences in the Middle East. Programs vary in style and format but are geared to provide practical, biblical insight to make a lasting spiritual difference on the lives of listeners.

"We are thankful that God is in control and focus on His promises and His Word in Philippians 4:6: 'Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God,' the Arabic Ministries leader says. "Yes, we believe that our Lord, the Prince of Peace, is able to calm down the situation, especially in Egypt.
"Please pray with us that the broadcast of God's Word into the region would continue to have a profound and extensive impact on people in the region," the leader adds. "Also pray for the safety of our teams in the region, and that they would be able to continue to do the work that He has called them to do. Pray that their lives -- at all times -- would reflect the Source of our peace."
For more about TWR's ministry in the Middle East, visit www.twr.org/middle_east.html .

** Michael Ireland is Chief Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649
, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can donate online to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Chief Reporter

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
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Global Prayer Request - Pray For Those In The Midst Of The Storms

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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Miracle in the midst of Cyclone Yasi
‘Battered but not beaten‘

By Dr. Robert and Maureen McQuillan
Special to ASSIST News Service

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- As news agencies worldwide have reported, Queensland continues to be hit with disasters. Last Wednesday residents endured a night of terror as Category 5 Cyclone Yasi struck Townsville and Cairns delivering 290 kilometers (181 miles) an hour winds and spreading its destructive force inland with effects quickly moving southwards.

A scene of devastion in the path of Cyclone Yasi
Earlier Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, in predicting a "sense of devastation and heartbreak on an unprecedented scale" following Yasi's path, had said that all Australia would need to brace itself for what it would wake up to the morning following.

Many followed warnings and headed for evacuee centers. Some, feeling to remain at home and secure themselves, family and property as best possible, could do no more than wait as the driving rain and intensifying winds began to lash their homes. Interestingly, a staff member at Cairns Disaster Co-ordination Centre requested, "If you pray, pray for us."

Many people believe that nations and individuals facing disaster should indeed pray to a gracious God, known as the loving Father in heaven. This morning at our local church the visiting speaker happened to be from Townsville and mentioned that there are many praying people up there and that several churches were given over to prayer about the recent tragedies and acting as evacuation centers.

Stories are now coming through of God's intervention in answer to such prayers.

Battered yachts after the storm

Our friend, Dr. Roy Rasalam, had only moved up to Townsville from Melbourne mid-January as Head of Clinical Skills, School of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University. He sent us the following testimony of his family deciding to stay at home and bravely face the danger of Cyclone Yasi, resulting in a never-to-be-forgotten experience of God's protection and grace:

"As we received the full fury of Cyclone Yasi when its ferocity struck Wednesday night, Marilyn and I huddled together in our walk-in-robe with our three children, trying to shield them. Power had been lost at 8pm and the heat was unbearable. But we prayed to God for protection, especially asking him to settle the children. Miraculously his peace enabled all three - eight-year-old Joshua and three-year-old twins James and Carissa - to sleep right through the storm without disturbance or crying!

"And as the eye of the cyclone passed through we could hear the howling and moaning of the winds, lasting several hours and extremely loud. It sounded like the wail of many demonic spirits and was very frightening. Walls and windows shook tremendously and we thought the roof was about to come off at any moment.

"However we prayed incessantly and, being Pentecostal, praised God in our spiritual language throughout the night. We also claimed the power of the blood of Jesus Christ to mark our house and protect us just like Moses had the Israelites' homes marked and protected from the night plague of death in Exodus 12.

The sign ("Battered but not Beaten") says it all "Hours of torrential rain followed the initial fury of Yasi before we saw Thursday's dawn. 100 kilometer (62) miles per hour gale force winds were still buffeting us, but things were much improved compared to the night before. God had graciously heard our prayers. We were all safe and our 25sq single storey home had been fortunately protected from any flooding.

"We had trusted Jesus and the devastating storm passed through like his Luke 6 parable of the house on the rock. Ours stood firm with no damage! The street outside has many broken trees scattered everywhere. There are broken tiles from other houses lying in our garden just below our windows but not one of our windows has been damaged. Currently we have no power, no mobile service, no air conditioning and no phone service. We are living on rations with no fridge or electricity available. All batteries are running low. However, our precious Lord has shown mercy on us and protected us and that is all that matters.

"The last cyclone of similar intensity was almost 100 years ago. We have lived through this one to tell the tale and we give God all the glory!"

In life different kinds of tragedies can hit and terrify us. The challenge comes repeatedly of where we really put our trust. The Rasalam's story is one of trusting their God and the principles taught by Jesus Christ. Sometimes that's all we can do - pray, trust and await in peace for a better tomorrow.

Queensland has already started to recover from tropical Cyclone Yasi's unprecedented fury which stripped bare huge sections of rain forest and like the earlier floods devastated many homes, properties, businesses and lives. But the overcoming attitude already in action is the fighting Queensland spirit of "She'll be right, Mate" equally voiced as "We'll bounce back and do it again."

ASSIST News Service readers are asked to continue in prayer for not only Queensland but also our own state of Victoria which has suffered a ripple effect from Yasi.

Dr. Robert McQuillan is recognized as an inspiring encourager, wordsmith, associate counselor, businesspeople encouragement sessions speaker and Bible teacher on the prophetic edge. He and his wife, Maureen, a gifted communicator with uncanny insight of knowing "where people are at" are regular guest speakers. Their ministry, Life Focus Ministries, is based in Geelong, Australia. They can be contacted by e-mail at: lifefocus1@bigpond.com or check out http://lifefocus.blogspot.com

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Global Prayer Request - 300 Million Without Shoes

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Sunday, February 6, 2011

God Feet provides entire Mexican orphanage with shoes
The first 'faith-inspired flip flop'

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
Shannon and David at the orphanage

QUEEN CREEK, AZ (ANS) -- God Feet, a new business venture that focuses on faith, feet and flip flops recently traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, for its first-ever "flip flop drop", providing an entire orphanage with shoes.

According to a news release from God Feet, over 300 million people around the world do not own a pair of shoes. God Feet says that it is the first ever "faith-inspired" shoe company, whose sole purpose is to serve God while helping those in need of protection for their feet. For, every pair purchased, one is given to someone in need.

Now a team from God Feet has been to the Mexican border town this month to visit the City of Angels Orphanage, handing each child their very own pair of God Feet.

A young boy with his new flip flop

"We were so honored to get to spend some time at the City of Angels Orphanage. It was such a gift to see the huge smiles that the kids have when we hand them their very own pair of God Feet," said Shannon Gillette Vice President of God Feet.

The venture began when David Gillette began thinking about God Feet in 2008 after learning that the leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil transmitted parasites caused from walking barefoot.

David designed a simple business plan - design a quality, stylish, faith-based flip flop that does not currently exist and sell it to consumers. For each God Feet flip flop that is purchased another will be sent to one of the 300 million people worldwide in desperate need of footwear.

The God Feet team at the City of Angels Orphanage in Mexico. Left to right: Jen Galindo (volunteer), Brandon Andree (Director of Design), Miranda Andree (Executive Director), Alana Whitmarsh (photographer), Shannon Gillette (Vice President), and David Gillette (President/CEO), along with some of the children Shannon told the ASSIST News Service, "My husband conceptualized God Feet in 2008 and through partnerships with designers and manufacturers, spent the last few years developing the perfect, stylish, quality, faith-inspired flip flop. We didn't want to start selling until we had the perfect product.

"Our first order arrived in December 2010 and then we launched at our home church, Rock Point Church in Gilbert, AZ, on December 19, 2010. We sold 250 pairs on the first day, which is such a blessing because now 250 men, women and children around the world will be getting their own pair of God Feet."

She added, "We hope to visit Haiti sometime this year for another flip flop drop. In addition to our own drops, we have church-sponsored mission teams taking God Feet with them all over the world with planned trips to Africa and Honduras in 2011. God Feet expects to give away over 10,000 shoes in 2011."

For more information, contact:
Shannon Gillette
Vice President, God Feet
480-518-6885
Shannon.Gillette@GodFeet.com
www.GodFeet.com

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger".

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

2011 National Prayer Breakfast

ASIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net


Sunday, February 6, 2011

Obama talks openly about his personal faith in Jesus Christ
Speaking at the 2011 National Prayer Breakfast, the President talks about how he came to embrace Christ 'as my Lord and Savior'

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
WASHINGTON, DC (ANS) -- President Barack Obama took the opportunity of set the record straight at the 2011 National Prayer Breakfast held on Thursday, February 3, 2011, about his personal faith.

President Obama speaking at the 2011 National Prayer Breakfast
He surprised the crowd of about 4,000 faith-leaders at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in the Hilton Washington International Ballroom, by speaking about his Christian faith in a most personal way.

In his most unusual speech, Obama called that faith "a sustaining force" in his life and he acknowledged persistent questions about his religion and offered what many believe were his most detailed comments about his spiritual beliefs and practices.

In his speech, the President said, "A call rooted in faith is what led me, just a few years out of college, to sign up as a community organizer for a group of churches on the south side of Chicago. And it was through that experience, working with pastors and laypeople, trying to heal the wounds of hurting neighborhoods that I came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace him as my Lord and Savior."

The Obamas at a previous National Prayer Breakfast
Obama went on to say, "My Christian faith, then, has been a sustaining force for me over these last few years, all the more so when Michelle and I hear our faith questioned from time to time. We are reminded that ultimately what matters is not what other people say about us, but whether we're being true to our conscience and true to our God. 'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you, as well.'"
Prayer Life

Obama then revealed that "When I wake in the morning, I wait on the Lord, and I ask him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people. And when I go to bed at night, I wait on the Lord, and I ask him to forgive me my sins and look after my family and the American people and make me an instrument of his will."

Obama went on to say, "Fortunately, I'm not alone in my prayers. Pastor friends like Joel Hunter and T.D. Jakes come over to the Oval Office every once in a while to pray with me and pray for the nation. The chapel at Camp David has provided consistent respite and fellowship. The director of our Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership's office, Joshua DuBois - a young minister himself -- he starts my morning off with meditations from Scripture."

Then, on the subject of personal prayer, Obama said, "While I petition God for a whole range of things, there are a few common themes that do recur. The first category of prayer comes out of the urgency of the Old Testament prophets and the Gospel itself. I pray for my ability to help those who are struggling. Christian tradition teaches that one day the world will be turned right side up and everything will return as it should be. But until that day, we're called to work on behalf of a God that chose justice and mercy and compassion to the most vulnerable."

He also said, "I pray that God will show me and all of us the limits of our understanding, and open our ears and our hearts to our brothers and sisters with different points of view; that such reminders of our shared hopes and our shared dreams and our shared limitations as children of God will reveal the way forward that we can travel together."

Father Played No Role In His Faith Journey

With the controversy that has swirled around him since he became the 44th President of the United States [and the first African-American to hold that office], which has mainly concerned rumors that he was a Muslim, he explained his relationship with the Lord and the role his father, who was said to be Muslim, did not play a role in his decision to follow Jesus Christ.

"My father, who I barely knew -- I only met once for a month in my entire life -- was said to be a non-believer throughout his life," said the President.

The young Obama with his mother

"My mother," Obama continued, "whose parents were Baptist and Methodist, grew up with a certain skepticism about organized religion, and she usually only took me to church on Easter and Christmas -- sometimes. And yet my mother was also one of the most spiritual people that I ever knew. She was somebody who was instinctively guided by the Golden Rule and who nagged me constantly about the homespun values of her Kansas upbringing, values like honesty and hard work and kindness and fair play.

"And it's because of her that I came to understand the equal worth of all men and all women, and the imperatives of an ethical life and the necessity to act on your beliefs. And it's because of her example and guidance that despite the absence of a formal religious upbringing my earliest inspirations for a life of service ended up being the faith leaders of the civil rights movement."

Twists and Turns

President Obama talked about how his "faith journey," has had its "twists and turns."
He stated, "It hasn't always been a straight line. I have thanked God for the joys of parenthood and Michelle's willingness to put up with me. In the wake of failures and disappointments I've questioned what God had in store for me and been reminded that God's plans for us may not always match our own short-sighted desires.

Abe Lincoln's Words

"And let me tell you, these past two years, they have deepened my faith. The presidency has a funny way of making a person feel the need to pray. Abe Lincoln said, as many of you know, once said, 'I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.'"

Obama noted that the godmother of his two daughters, Kaye Wilson, had formed prayer groups all around the country as he campaigned for the White House bid. He acknowledged his own prayer life, waiting before the Lord in the morning and evening. The president recognized the need for humility, and jokingly said his wife Michelle was the catalyst to that answered prayer. As "debates have become so bitter," Obama noted that "none of us has all the answers."

The president went on to say, "The challenge I find then is to balance this uncertainty, this humility, with the need to fight for deeply held convictions, to be open to other points of view but firm in our core principles. And I pray for this wisdom every day."

He also stated, "When Michelle and I hear our faith questioned from time to time, we are reminded that ultimately what matters is not what other people say about us, but whether we're being true to our conscience and true to our God."

Obama had been largely private about his beliefs and religious practices, following controversies during the campaign about his Chicago minister. He and his wife have attended church services in Washington only a handful of times in the past two years. When at Camp David, they attend the private Evergreen Chapel.
Mark Kelly

The Giffords during happier times
NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who was seriously injured during last month's shooting rampage in Tucson, also spoke at the breakfast and gave the closing prayer and which he remarked about her steady improvement and he urged the national to keep her in its thoughts and prayers because "it's helping."

He said, "Every day, she gets a little bit better. The neurosurgeons and neurologists tell me that that's a great sign. The slope of that curve is very important."

Giffords, was injured on Saturday, January 8, 2011, when a gunman opened fire during a constituent event in Tucson. Six people, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, were killed, and 13 others were wounded. Giffords, whose condition was upgraded from serious to good last week, is undergoing long-term rehabilitation at a hospital in Houston, where Kelly lives and works.

"I was telling Gabby just the other night, two nights ago, that, you know, maybe this event, this terrible event, maybe it was fate," he said. "I hadn't been a big believer in fate until recently. I thought the world just spins, and the clock just ticks, and things happen for no particular reason."

Kelly told the crowd, which included a representative from the ASSIST News Service, that he has come to believe, however, that things happen for a reason, "that maybe something good can come from all of this. Maybe it's our responsibility, maybe it's your responsibility, to see that something does."

Hospital officials say Kelly has been a constant presence at Giffords' bedside.

Three Trips to Space
On Thursday, he made reference to his three trips to space and the humbling feeling of looking out on "the Earth as God created it in the context of God's vast universe." He described a realization that struck him one day as he gazed on a makeshift memorial that had sprung up in front of the Tucson trauma center where Giffords was initially taken for treatment.

"That reminded me that you don't need a church, a temple or a mosque to pray," he said. "You don't even need a building or walls or even an altar. You pray where you are. You pray when God is there in your heart. And prayer isn't just asking. It's also listening for answers and expressing gratitude, which I've done a lot lately."

He closed with a prayer that Giffords' rabbi spoke in her hospital room the day of the shooting.
"In the name of God, our God of Israel, may Michael, God's angel messenger of compassion, guard over your right side. May Gabriel, God's angel messenger of strength and courage, be on your left. And before you, guiding your path, Uriel, God's angel of light. And behind, supporting you, stands Raphael, God's angel of healing. And over your head surrounding you is the presence of the divine."

Note: The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide and is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners that have taken place since 1953 and has been held at least since the 1980s at the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue N.W.

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available here

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Global Prayer Request For Egypt's Christians

ASSIST News Service (ANS) -
PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: http://www.assistnews.net/ -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Egypt's Christians Say They Are 'Being Excluded' From Opposition Negotiations

By Dan WoodingFounder of ASSIST Ministries CAIRO, EGYPT (ANS) --

A Middle East journalist is reporting that the uprising of the Egyptian youth, both Copts (the native Egyptian Christians), and Muslims, has been dubbed as the "Facebook Uprising" mainly because it was started by modern and educated youth who depended on the social network "Facebook" and "Twitter" to organize themselves. Coptic and Muslim demonstrators in Egypt
Mary Abdelmassih, writing for the Assyrian International News Agency (http://www.aina.org/) said that until now it appears that they are nondenominational, do not belong to any political party and without a leader, demanding the "ousting of the present corrupt regime and the octogenarian President Mubarak, to make way for a democratic and secular Egypt, with social justice and equality for all Egyptians.

The uprising, which is now called "January 25th Youth Movement", has gained support from Egyptians of all walks of life, she said. "

Several Coptic organizations have been taking part in the demonstrations, believing that change in Egypt is coming and they have to be there. They perceive their participation will put weight and balance the scales for a secular state," said Abdelmassih.

She went on to say that activist Rami Kamel, one of those responsible for the Coptic Youth Movement, said thousands of its members participated in all protests and in all areas, including the "Day of Departure" demonstrations on February 4, 2011, which called for the immediate ousting of Mubarak, and confirmed their intention to do so, until all demands of protesters are met. He added they joined the demonstrations on the first day.

"We have to get rid of the President, and his regime, which was the cause of the decline of Egypt economically, socially, and caused all the sectarian problems suffered by the Copts," stated Kamel. Artwork about the Social Media revolution in the Middle East by moiselevi@gmail.com
Abdelmassih then said, "After President Mubarak bowed to international pressure and the ongoing daily protests asking for his departure, he declared that he would not seek reelection but would finish his current term. Mubarak appointed a vice-president and brought in a new government which called on all parties to join in a dialogue for the future. All parties have been invited to take part in this dialogue except for the Copts.

"This has angered Copts worldwide, especially since they believe their January demonstrations all over Egypt after the bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria on New Year's Eve was the spark that ignited the present uprising 'by breaking down the barrier of fear."

"She said that this view is also held by the Coptic Church, whose Bishop Anba Suriel of Melbourne told The Australian on February 5, 2011, that he believes "the nascent revolution began with the New Year massacre of 23 Copts."

Abdelmassih continued by saying that, for his part, Coptic Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of the Egyptian Federation of Human Rights Organization, addressed Major Omar Suleiman, Vice-President of the Republic, urging him to include the Copts in the dialogue with the national authorities, initiated by the Vice President on Wednesday, on grounds that the Copts are part of the national community, and must participate in decision-making, particularly in the constitutional committee.

Gabriel stressed in his message to the Vice-President, which was aired on some TV channels this morning, that it is not possible under any circumstances to exclude Copts from the national dialog. He pointed out that many Coptic youth were killed and wounded since the beginning of the January 25th Youth Movement, demanding with their compatriots constitutional, legislative and social reforms. He wondered how could the Muslim Brotherhood can be invited for dialogue and not the Copts, who comprise 15-20% of Egypt's population.

Abdelmassih then stated, "It was reported today that Islamist groups have asked Major Omar Suleiman to be included in the dialogue."

Rami Kamel told the Egyptian daily el Masry elYom the Coptic Youth Movement has legitimate demands consistent with those of the rest of the demonstrators, pointing out the regime has ruled out Coptic activists from the dialogue with the political authorities, which confirms the marginalization of the Copts. Pope Shenouda III

Coptic Pope Shenouda III said on Egyptian state TV two years ago that the number of Copts in Egypt exceed 12 million.

"This is based on baptisms and marriages in addition to lists of families in the church registers all over Egypt," said Father Antonius Isaac of St. Mary's Church in the Mohandeseen area of Cairo.
"This number does not include Copts in small villages and hamlets who have no church and have never seen a priest, due to the government policies of limiting church building."

Abdelmassih said that the main Coptic demands are a new secular and democratic constitution without the second Article of the present Egyptian Constitution, which states that Islamic Sharia is the source of legislation, and which makes them second class citizens.

"We are at least 15-20% of the Egyptian population and we demand proportionate representation and definitely no restrictions on church building," said activist Joseph Armanious. "We also demand what all other Egyptian protesters are asking for, but these demands come on top."

The Coptic Church, she said, had called on its followers not to join in the protests, angering many Copts who decided not to follow the soft attitude of their church towards the regime, saying that it only has to limit itself to spiritual matters. Faced with the pressure of the defiant Coptic youth, the church was later forced to relax its stance and allowed Copts to join but only in "peaceful protests, in a civilized manner and within the law."

Abdelmassih then went on to state that Pope Shenouda gave his support for Mubarak at the beginning of the protests, which led many activists to accuse the church of believing Mubarak, "who managed to present himself to the Coptic Church and the Coptic people as the ultimate guardian of Copts in Egypt, despite this regime being responsible, first and foremost, of all sectarian terrorist incidents that took place against the Copts," says Coptic activist Fawzy Hermina. Police investigators at work after the bombing of Two Saints' Church in Alexandria (Photo: http://www.allvoices.com/)

Hermina added: "The scandal and the straw that broke the camel's back was what the British Embassy in Egypt said, that the Ministry of Interior is the organ which is responsible for planning and carrying out the bombing of the 'Two Saints' Church in Alexandria on New Year's Eve, which killed thirty and wounded ninety Copts."

Many Copts share this view, including Coptic political analyst and activist Magdy Khalil, who said "Mubarak has been involved one way or another in the Alexandria church bombing."

She then said that Reuters/Arabic carried out an interview with Coptic demonstrators in Tahrir Square, published on February 4, 2011. It reported that most of them said that they want to see Mubarak toppled and his regime gone "now more than ever."

One Coptic dentist explained that the New Year's Eve Alexandria church bombing brought to an end the lie that the regime was protecting the Copts, and that was why the Copts went out demonstrating against Mubarak at the time, while another Copt who came from Nag Hammadi, where six Copts were shot by a Muslim on Christmas Eve 2010 said, "We came here to show that every Egyptian should be here and want to be here, no difference between Christians and Muslims."

Speaking about the fear of the Copts at the present moment, Coptic activist, Wagih Yacoub, said, "Things are moving so fast and nobody knows what to expect next, everything is up in the air, however, Copts are desperate that an Islamic outcome should be avoided. We all say yes to change, but no to an Islamic state."

Abdelmassih concluded by saying that asked in a television interview with CNN on January 31, 2011, Coptic business Tycoon Naguib Saweiress, who has been appearing recently as a Coptic leader, praised the "Facebook Uprising" as he also called it, but cautioned that "one has to watch the Muslim Brotherhood of not hijacking this uprising." This view is shared by all Copts and Muslims who do not agree with Egypt becoming an "Islamic Caliphate*." *

The term Caliphate refers to the first system of government established in Islam, and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah (nation). In theory, it is a constitutional republic, meaning that the head of state (the Caliph) and other officials are dicate to the people according to Islamic law, which exercises power over their citizens. A "caliphate" is also a state which implements such a governmental system.

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available here

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Global Prayer Request For Imprisoned Christians In Iran

ASSIST News Service (ANS) -
PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: http://www.assistnews.net/ -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Human Rights Organization Leads Appeal on Behalf of Imprisoned Christians in Iran

By Jeremy ReynaldsSenior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service SURREY, ENGLAND (ANS) -- The critical situation of the evangelical church in Iran was discussed recently at a high level meeting.According to a news release from human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Andrew Johnston, the group's advocacy director, and Mansour Borji, pastor of the Iranian Church in London, attended the Feb. 1 meeting of the European Parliament's Iran Delegation. Iran.

CSW said during the meeting, chaired by German MEP Barbara Lochbihler, MEP's also heard presentations from the Sufi and the Baha'i communities. Lochbihler has taken a lead role in European Union (EU) - Iran relations, and has on many occasions appealed for clemency for Iranians sentenced to death.

Between June 2010 and Jan. 2011, at least 202 Christians were arrested and detained across the country. On Jan. 4, when announcing the arrests of Christians, the Governor-General of Tehran, Morteza Tamadon called the evangelical movement "false, deviant and corrupt sects," and said, "Our final blow towards them is imminent." CSW said he added, "They (the evangelical churches), just like the Taliban and Wahhabis, have placed themselves within the religion of Islam like a parasite and under the cover of Christianity..."

CSW said Borji shared his experience of Iran, and detailed the appalling conditions in which 26 Christians are currently held on account of their faith, despite Iran being signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). That document guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to demonstrate one's religion or belief. The evidence presented to the EU demonstrated that Iran is in clear breach of these undertakings.

CSW's latest report on Iran was shared with MEP's, and the EU was asked to endorse its formal recommendations. They include the need for an investigation into the Iranian Government's use of the death penalty and charges of apostasy against converts from Islam, and ensuring that Iran upholds its obligations under international law.

CSW's Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston said in a news release, "It is heartening to know that the rights of religious minorities in Iran are taken seriously by the EU, and by people such as Mrs Lochbilder. As part of its work in the region, CSW along with partners such as the Iranian Church, will continue to advocate for the rights of Christians and other religious minorities there. We will do all in our power to see the end of unjust arrests and imprisonment on the basis of religious belief, and we will continue to work together with all those who share this goal." CSW is a United Kingdom based human rights advocacy organization specializing in religious freedom, working on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promoting religious liberty for everyone.

For further information, visit http://www.csw.org.uk/.

Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org/ He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City."

Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity.com/. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

The Power Of Prayer

Just imagine the power of prayer and just imagine the power of a praying church, the body of Christ. Let us petition God for the needs of others around the world.

A Call To Prayer

Welcome to Global Prayer Needs

Jesus said "My House Shall Be Called A House Of Prayer". May we all be that praying house as we pray about the needs of others around the world.