Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

This evening I attended the Saddleback Civil Forum on the persecuted church. My first response usually for these kinds of things is being overwhelmed - I am one person, what can I do? Yes, it's an overwhelming topic but it's an important topic of which to be aware. Here in the United States, we are incredibly blessed and sheltered. No, it's not a perfect country, but we have so many freedoms protected and we take them for granted because many of us do not know what is really like to live in a country that denies basic human rights.

It is very important we remember what is happening to the church and more important that we spread this information. Americans NEED to know what is happening world-wide so that we can protect our own basic freedoms and Christians NEED to know so they can be praying! We tend to be a self-centered nation living in our comfort zone - it's time we moved away from that!

There are different types of persecution - some countries prohibit the practice of Christianity completely. Some countries allow the practice of religious freedom but not proselytizing (which is a key command in most religions) and often times also limit or control the extent of the practice of that religion. Some countries allow religious freedom, but the persecution at a local level is not stopped - in many of these instances, it may be a local fanatical religious group or even a family that will threaten the lives of those practicing the minority religion. This happens ALL over the world today. Some of the countries at the top of the list? North Korea, China, North Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia.

This may of be surprise to some of you - it was to me! I learned tonight that the United Nations has been passing some non-binding resolutions and may pass one soon that will hold more significance. Essentially, these resolutions will make it a crime to defame a religion. Sounds good, right? Wrong! It is really important that we look at what this means in the end. The fear of the United States and many other nations is that the resolution will make it a crime for someone of one religion to share or potentially convert someone of another religion. What it does is take away individual rights - like freedom of speech - for the good of the group. The Obama administration does not support this and Hillary Clinton has spoken out against this resolution realizing the danger it poses to individual rights worldwide.

If you want to read more, just google the UN resolution on anti-defamation. You can also sign a petition at: http://members.opendoorsusa.org/site/PageNavigator/UNDRR_Free2Believe

If you want more information, please visit the following websites:

http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

www.opendoorsusa.org

Tonight, one of the points emphasized was that those living in the persecuted areas are asking us to please pray for them. They understand the power of prayer, they understand they need God's strength to continue and peace that passes understanding. That is one small thing we CAN do to attack the worldwide persecution of the church!