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1 John 1:3
Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
In a world where there is so much to ruffle the spirit’s plumes, how needful that entering into the secret of God’s pavilion, which will alone bring it back to composure and peace!
In a world where there is so much to sadden and depress, how blessed the communion with Him in whom is the one true source and fountain of all true gladness and abiding joy!
In a world where so much is ever seeking to unhallow our spirits, to render them common and profane, how high the privilege of consecrating them anew in prayer to holiness and to God. – Trench
He who in prayer has not time in quietness of soul, and in full consciousness of its meaning to say Abba, Father, has missed the best part of prayer. – Andrew Murray
In the secret of His presence we obtain the sweet and effectual antidote for all the world’s disturbing and poisoning influences. How precious and profitable the privilege of fellowship with Christ.
- Daily Meditations for Prayer.
This new development makes it even more than likely that with Assad in power in Syria, and Hamas in both Gaza and now the West Bank, a new Middle East war is likely to break out.
With the Assad regime murdering hundreds of protesters, it’s patently grotesque that Syria might get a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. (And don’t miss Richard Perle on “The UN Human Rights Charade.”)
The president finally releases his long form birth certificate. What we can learn from the years-long episode, and the questions we must continue to pursue. Also read: “Donald Trump is proud of himself,” at the Tatler.
As Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood declares its intent to institute Islamic law, intelligence sources report al-Qaida is staging attacks in the Middle East nation, prompting concern that Coptic Christians soon will be driven from their homeland.
International Christian Concern’s Aidan Clay says the Copts’ attitude has gone from uncertainty to fear, which is driving many Coptic Christians to try to leave Egypt.
“A report from a very prominent Copt says he’s getting hundreds of calls a week from Coptic Christians who are trying to get out of the country,” Clay told WND in an interview. “That’s an extremely sad thing considering we’re seeing that throughout the Middle East. We’re seeing the quick removal of ancient Christian communities. Egypt has the highest Christian population of any country and a very old Christian church there.”
Clay blames the increasing pressure on the growing political influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic groups.
“So really, there is a fear that the Muslim Brotherhood could take power,” he said. “It’s the same with the Salafis. They’re now saying they’re willing to run for Parliament.
The International Christian Concern analyst was referring to a recent report on Vatican Radio that said the long-restricted Salafist group is planning to form a political party and run candidates for Egypt’s Parliament.
“In the past, Mubarak had a very hard hand on these extreme, fundamentalist, ultra-conservative groups. They were not allowed to run for government in any way,” Clay commented. “But the Muslim Brotherhood had some influence and were able to get some votes.”
Clay said that even though the groups were kept under control, they’ve long had the Christians in their sights.
“These were the groups responsible for the major terrorist attacks against the Christians. They may even be responsible for the New Year’s Eve attack against the church in Alexandria,” Clay asserted. “Mubarak of course blamed an outside al-Qaeda group for the attack. The Copts don’t buy that; they think it was it was an excuse by Mubarak to not to have to deal with the turmoil inside of Egypt.”
The issue for Copts, as Clay explained, is that both groups have promised some form of Islamic government, which would put restrictions on the Christians in Egypt.
Coptic Christians demonstrated against Islamic law, or Shariah, and voiced support for an entirely secular state in Egypt. Clay said the desire for a secular government will likely go unheeded.
“They’re not going to get far in demanding a secular constitution, especially if the Brotherhood gains a lot of influence in the September elections,” he said. “The Brotherhood will slowly gain control and they’ll gain seats by using democracy to their advantage.”
Clay’s assessment is in line with a recently published Heritage Foundation report on Egypt’s political future and the status of the Coptic Christians.
The report analyzes the constitutional amendments Egyptians voted for with a 77-percent majority in the March referendum and claims the referendum only presented the “illusion of progress.” The report also describes the Muslim Brotherhood’s involvement in the vote.
“It’s simply bad news for Egyptians who want a total transformation of the political status quo,” the paper stated. “The Muslim Brotherhood and members of the ruling National Democratic Party were the main supporters of the military-backed referendum.”
The position paper also observes that groups that wielded power at the time had an advantage:
“The new amendments give an advantage to these well-organized and well-financed groups over newly established democratic political parties. This is likely to lead to political setbacks for liberal democrats, secular pluralists and especially religious minorities,” the paper added.
“Opponents of this referendum, including the Copts, condemn its ability to foster a truly democratic system of government that protects religious liberty,” the paper said.
One of the amendments approved will allow for the establishment of an Egyptian legal code based on Shariah.
Egypt’s Coptic community unanimously opposed the amendment, and International Christian Union President Joseph Hakim says Coptic opposition is understandable.
“Anytime Shariah law is created in a government like that, it is created so that it will delete any other religion,” Hakim explained. “As we know over the years, Islam cannot really live with any other religion, especially when it’s controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaida or the Wahhabi.”
Hakim says that what’s happening in Egypt is a natural result of Muslims exerting control. He also says that the West doesn’t understand the dynamic of Muslims flexing their muscles.
“So the crisis in Egypt is normal. It’s what’s expected,” Hakim asserted. “The Western World never really sees things or has enough knowledge about what radical Islam is.”
Hakim attributes Mubarak’s removal from power to the Muslim Brotherhood and believes the Libyan uprising also is Brotherhood inspired.
“Even what’s going on in Libya is the Muslim Brotherhood, and the worst is yet to come if it goes into Syria because of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Hakim observed. “I’m not saying the Syrian regime is great, but the present regime is saving the minorities. Once the regime in Syria changes, the minorities will go down the tubes like they’ve done in Iraq and like they’re doing in Egypt right now.”
Hakim also believes that if the situation in Egypt doesn’t change, there could be “a huge civil war.”
“In Egypt it’s not going to happen that easily because there are approximately 14 million Christians over there,” Hakim said. “That’s where the problem is, and I don’t think this administration is ever going to do anything to save the Christians in the Middle East.
“In Egypt the Christians are in a very terrible condition, and it’s going to get worse and worse. I see a civil war, or a religious war against the Christians, and it’s going to happen very soon,” Hakim claimed.
Sex, drug addiction, suicidal thoughts, alcoholism, loneliness, peer pressure and social angst – it’s all part of an onslaught of hopelessness many teens experience today, but one group is using an in-your-face approach to deliver a critical message to America’s young adults:
God loves you and He wants to help.
It’s a revelation of hope in a venue young viewers might least expect – an outreach campaign called Groundwire splashed on television networks such as MTV, VH1, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming and Comedy Central and flanking popular radio broadcasts across the nation.
Young adults see or hear Groundwire’s 60-second Christ-centered spots and contact the ministry’s coaches for help every day.
“Really the reason we’re doing this is because I really believe that heaven and hell are real-life issues and that people can have the opportunity to go to heaven,” Sean Dunn, founder and president of Groundwire, told WND. “Even beyond that, I am convinced that there’s a God in heaven who loves every person on the face of the earth and wants to be a part of their life.”
Dunn, an author and 42-year-old husband and father of four in Castle Rock, Colo., has ministered to youth for more than 20 years. He founded Groundwire eight years ago.
“I’m absolutely convinced the reason God put me on the earth is to share hope with young people who are struggling,” he said. “There’s a huge diversity of issues: from the cutter, the suicidal person, the addict, to those callers who say, ‘Something’s missing. Something just doesn’t make sense in my life. I don’t know what it is.’ to just people who say they need someone to talk to.”
And the outreach is working.
Dunn said Groundwire is averaging about 4,100 Internet chatters a month. Through its most recent media buy in Atlanta, the campaign just topped 28 million impressions a week. The ministry has added 14 million viewers and listeners every month since April 2010 and currently has nearly 5,000 Facebook fans.
“We have coaches in Korea, Australia and India to handle the middle of the night,” he said. “It’s the only 24-hour-a-day spiritual help line in the world. We see people come to faith on a daily basis.”
Dunn said air time for the outreach is surprisingly low-cost.
“One of the amazing things about these initiatives is how cost-effective it is,” he said. “It is ridiculously inexpensive to make an impact. For example, on one of our nationwide buys through a major TV cable company, it costs us only a $1.37 for every 1,000 television sets that are turned on when our commercials air. Because of that, people can understand how their gift can make an impact.”
Despite its success, Groundwire has received some criticism.
“There are a lot of people who are angry that we’re talking about the Bible and about Jesus on the secular outlets,” Dunn said. “We have a few people who will attack us and go off about us. Atheist groups have said that if you’re atheist, your job should be to shut Groundwire down. However, we also see a good number of people really finding some life-saving truth in what we do.”
He gave examples of how his outreach has helped people who were on the brink of suicide as well as other troubled young adults.
“We’ve helped people who have said, ‘I was within seconds of taking my life, and I heard your commercial,’” he explained. “Another young woman who was a stripper in New York City, at 3 a.m. she saw a commercial on MTV and it spoke to her. She got out of bed and said, ‘I’m trapped. I don’t know what to do. I’m hopeless. I’m stuck on drugs.’”
Groundwire counselors prayed with her and offered the help she needed to leave that lifestyle and return home to live with her parents. But Dunn gives all the credit for those successes to God.
“He’s the one who can bring them hope,” he said. “He’s the one who can bring them peace.”
Bashar Assad has launched all-out war on his people. Tanks firing artillery, APCs, infantry units, commandoes and snipers were deployed for the first time at daybreak Monday, April 25 in cities across Syria for the most brutal assault on any Arab anti-government protest in the four-month uprising.
In the first few hours, hundreds are estimated to have been massacred (over and above the 350 shot dead in the last three days) and thousands injured. Denied medical attention, they are left in the streets to die.
debkafile’s military sources report that protest centers in cities with populations of 2-3 million have been stormed by Syrian troops backed by tanks firing automatic 120-mm guns at random, commandoes dropped by helicopter and snipers.
The military offensive to break the back of the uprising (which debkafile Saturday, April 23 first disclosed Assad had decided to launch) is led by his younger brother Maher Assad at the head of the Republican Guard and the 4th Division which is made up mostly of the Assad’s Alawite clan. Its first target Sunday night was the southern town of Deraa where the protest movement began and the Mediterranean coastal town of Jableh.
Monday, Syria shut its land borders to Jordan to conceal the scale of the carnage inflicted on the border town of Deraa from outside eyes. Foreign correspondents have been banned from the country since the uprising began.
Monday, indiscriminate fire was also reported in Duma, a dissident suburb of the capital Damascus. By Monday afternoon, thousands of soldiers had spread out across the North, South and Center of the country, apparently preparing to storm the large cities and protest centers of Hama, Homs, Latakiya and the Kurdish north.
While times may have changed, Bashar is his father’s son. In 1982, President Hafez Assad turned his artillery on a district of Hama and slaughtered 25-30,000 civilians to smash a Muslim Brotherhood revolt. The operation was commanded by Rifat Assad, Bashar’s uncle, today an opposition leader in exile.
The incumbent president’s killing fields extend not to one but to a score of Syrian cities with unimaginable consequences.
And yet no Western power is rushing to help the pro-democracy protesters of Syria who are dying in their hundreds day by day. And the verbal condemnations coming from Washington and European capitals are soon buried under layers of inaction.
Sunday, April 24, debkafile reported: Bashar Assad’s tanks and infantry made their first assaults Sunday night, April 24 on Jableh on the Mediterranean and Daraa in the south, after a 48-hour bloodbath by his security forces claiming up to 350 lives failed break the five-week countrywide uprising against his rule. Video-clips show tanks converging on the two towns with soldiers running in their wake while heavy gunfire continued to resound in Hama, al-Nuaimeh near Daraa and Saraqeb, southwest of Aleppo.
The Syrian ruler continues to ignore all the evidence that by massacring civilian protesters he has only magnified their numbers and Sunday decided to press ahead with his last resort for piling on the violence by deploying trained infantry men and tanks in a final attempt to smash the five-week uprising, debkafile’s military sources report.
The southern epicenter of the uprising Daraa has resisted the most ruthless attempts to suppress its protest rallies. Less has been heard about Jableh, a town of 80,000 situated between Banias and Latakia. Anti-Assad demonstrators have barricaded themselves inside the Abu Bakr Siddiq Mosque, one of Syria’s main Sufi centers.
debkafile reported earlier Sunday:
Saturday, April 23 saw the constantly mounting uprising against the Assad regime finally reaching the Syrian capital Damascus where debkafile reports 300,000 – 15 percent of the city’s dwellers – took the streets shouting: “Bashar Assad you are a traitor!”
That day too the Syrian ruler unleashed his security forces for the harshest crackdown yet in order to break the back of the five-week civil uprising. The result: 350 dead, tripling the number of Friday’s bloodbath and thousands of injured.
Early Sunday, secret service thugs hauled thousands of protesters out of their homes. They broke down doors in the Harasta and Ghouta districts of Damascus, dragged their victims out and dumped them on covered trucks which drove off to unknown destinations. Ghouta is the ancient garden quarter of Damascus.
The growing number of injured are condemned to being treated privately or not at all. The authorities have commandeered ambulances to prevent them reaching hospital and hospital wards are raided by security agents who eitheir kill the wounded or arrest them.
debkafile’s military and intelligence sources reported that Assad will decide finally at noon Sunday, April 24, whether to muster all 11 divisions of his army and let them loose on the uprising. We reported Friday that the embattled Syrian president had ordered the troops to start moving into the cities the next day.
Our sources later reported that he reversed his order at the last minute, reluctant to throw his last card into his desperate bid for survival for fear of a fatal backlash. Some units had already left their bases and remain parked outside the targeted cities awaiting orders to go in.
As the unrest against his rule gains ground, the Syrian president’s options are shrinking. Small numbers of security forces can no longer venture into some of the more troubled areas of the country where armed protesters reign unless accompanied by large-scale strength with massive fire power.
debkafile reported Friday night:
Syrian army units were already sighted heading towards the cities, joined for the first time by troops normally on duty on at the Syrian-Israel border.
debkafile’s military sources disclose their assignments:
Corps No. 1 was given responsibility for the capital Damascus and its outlying towns and districts;
Corps No. 2 was to take charge of central Syria and the towns of Aleppo, Homs and Hama;
Corps No. 3 was to spread out in the south and Jebel Druze.
It was the last straw for Assad when Friday, the strategic town of Katana west of Damascus was drawn into the protest movement and rallied against his regime. Katana houses the main bases of the Syrian armored corps, which is part of the 7th Division, and serves as divisional logistical administration center. Its population is made up mostly of the officers, men and civilian personnel serving at those bases.
Having Katana turn against the regime finally persuaded its leaders to throw every resource it had into crushing the uprising.
For the Syrian ruler, deploying the entire army is a wild gamble because more than 75 percent of Syria’s 220,000-strong rank and file are Sunni Muslims, Kurds and Druzes and therefore drawn from ethnic and religious groups long repressed by the Alawite-dominated regime.
Uniformed troops might well flout orders to shoot live rounds into crowds of protesters who are members of their community or even family. It would start the break-up of the Syrian army amid large-scale defections of officers and men.
One in four born-again Christians hold universalist thoughts when it comes to salvation, according to a new Barna analysis of trend data.
Twenty-five percent of born-again Christians said all people are eventually saved or accepted by God. A similar proportion, 26 percent, said a person’s religion does not matter because all faiths teach the same lessons.
And an even higher proportion, 40 percent, of born-again Christians said they believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
Barna defined universalism as the belief that all human beings will eventually be saved after death. The California-based research and polling firm defines born-again Christians as people who have made “a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today, and who believe they will go to heaven after death because they confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
According to the Barna analysis, 43 percent of Americans in general agreed with the statement “It doesn’t matter what religious faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons,” while 54 percent disagreed.
The report on what Americans believe about universalism and pluralism comes at a time when not only evangelicals, but even prominent secular media, are debating the Christian teachings on salvation and the idea of universalism due to Pastor Rob Bell’s book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.
Last week, Time magazine released its Easter Week feature with a cover story on Bell’s controversial views contained in his new book.
For many evangelicals, the idea of Christians holding universalist ideas is particularly disturbing because it nullifies the need for Christ to die on the cross and the message of Jesus that he is the only way, truth and life.
Various research firms have reported different data on the prevalence of universalist beliefs among born-again believers and more specifically, evangelicals.
A 2008 Pew Forum survey revealed that 57 percent of evangelicals agreed with the idea that other religions than their own can lead to eternal life. After tweaking the definition of “evangelical,” however, LifeWay Research, found that only two out of 10 evangelicals agreed with the statement that eternal life can be obtained through religions other than Christianity.
While universalism is nothing new, some believe cultural trends are placing pressure on Christians and their beliefs.
Don Carson, research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, said at The Gospel Coalition’s national conference last week that many are feeling pressure from the culture “to find universalism attractive.”
“There are pressures in our culture to reduce the truth content of Scripture and then simply dismiss people by saying that they’re intolerant or narrow-minded … or bigoted without actually engaging the truth question at all. And that is really sad and in the long haul, horribly dangerous.”
Barna’s analysis on beliefs regarding universalism and pluralism is based on data from telephone interviews conducted in the OmniPollSM and from Barna Group’s theolographic TM database from 2005 through 2011.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made a seamless transition from Hollywood film stardom to California governor, could have his sights set on a new job as next head of the European Union, US media reports.
The Austrian-born former body builder, 63, at loose ends as he tries to figure out what his next act should be, is reportedly being advised by aides to return to his native Europe to run for the EU presidency, Newsweek reports.
“In the next few years, the EU will be looking for a much more high-profile president – somebody who can unify Europe,” Schwarzenegger’s chief of staff, Terry Tamminen, told the magazine.
“The French won’t want a German, and the Germans won’t want an Italian. How about a European-born person who went off to America and – could return to be the Washington or Jefferson of a new unified Europe?” said Tamminen, all but nominating his former boss for the job.
Schwarzenegger, who in January ended two terms as California’s governor, occupies a unique place as an American celebrity who is as much a politician as he is a movie star.
When he ended his stint as California’s Republican “Governator,” observers were curious to see if the former action hero would return to the big screen or remain in the political fray.
Even now, Schwarzenegger has remained mum on the question of whether he will pursue a career in politics or movies.
What is certain is that he will not be able to run for another political office he might like to vie for – US president. Under American law, only native born Americans can stand for the highest US office.
Still, Newsweek suggested there are fans, both inside and outside America, who might not be averse to a US president “Ahnold”.
The magazine cited a recent meeting in London between Schwarzenegger and prime minister David Cameron, in which the British politician joked: “We need to change the [US] Constitution and then you can run [for president]. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Schwarzenegger came to the United States as a penniless 21-year-old in 1968, but became a millionaire and won the Mr Universe title four more times.
He then shrugged off barbs about his thick accent as he turned to acting.
Joining Hollywood’s royalty, his ominous Terminator catchphrases “I’ll be back” and “Hasta la vista, baby” have now entered the English lexicon – and he still uses them frequently as a politician.
Even if he quits both politics and acting, Newsweek wrote, he is plenty busy with his work for the United Nations and other organisations on climate change and numerous other charitable causes.
A book deal is also said to be in the works, and he is reported to be in talks for a sequel to 1994 blockbuster True Lies.
But even Schwarzenegger’s wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, a member of the illustrious Kennedy political dynasty, told Newsweek she had no clue what her mercurial husband’s next move will be.
“No matter what Arnold decides to do, I’m sure he’ll have fun doing it, and it will have impact,” she said.
The leaders of the beleagured Palestinian people chose to embrace terrorists today, not the road to true peace, justice and reconciliation. What a tragedy.
Instead of spending the last 18 months engaging in peace talks with Israel, PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas has spent the last several months engaged in secret peace talks with rival Hamas, the radical Islamic terrorist group that calls for the annihilation of the Jewish State. The talks, brokered by Egyptian intelligence, concluded with an announcement today that Fatah (PLO) and Hamas have sealed a unity agreement that some reporters are describing as “an historic reconciliation deal.”
In theory, the deal helps pave the way for the Palestinians soon to unilaterally declare a state encompassing the Fatah-controlled territory of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), the Hamas-controlled territory of Gaza, and assert their capital in East Jerusalem. They will claim that their unity signals they are ready to govern themselves and assume the responsibilities of statehood. In reality, it is a shotgun wedding, at best. Fatah and Hamas leaders have historically not only hated each other but gunned each other down in broad daylight. When Hamas took over Gaza in 2005 and 2006, it set into motion a bloodbath, killing scores of Fatah officials and party members, even throwing some off of high rise buildings.
One this is for certain: the Palestinian leadership is taking yet another stop away from making peace with Israel. “The Palestinian Authority has to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas,” Prime Minister Netanyahu told reporters. “Peace with both of them is impossible, because Hamas aspires to destroy the state of Israel and says so openly.”
What’s not clear is whether the U.S. will continue to provide some $450 million in foreign aid to the Palestinians since it officially considers Hamas a terrorist organization and has long refused to talk to Hamas much less help fund it. Members of Congress will likely be overwhelmingly opposed to any contact with Hamas, and rightly so. The Obama administration, however, will be tempted to act as though the Fatah-Hamas agreement is a positive development and try to paper over the differences. To do so would be a tragic mistake, but not the administration’s first, and not likely its last in the region.
China Tells US ‘Don’t Interfere’ – April 26, 2011
The Chinese government warned on Tuesday against using human rights disputes as what it called a tool to meddle, ahead of talks with the United States that will focus on complaints about Beijing’s crackdown on dissent. The US State Department has said it wants to discuss with China “the recent negative trend of forced disappearances, extralegal detention, and arrests and convictions.” Reuters
Hamas Shuts Down Tunnels Linking Gaza And Egypt – April 14, 2011
Hamas ordered smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border closed until further notice, temporarily cutting a key economic lifeline for 1.5 million Palestinians in the impoverished territory. The tunnels under Hamas’ direct control are known for transporting cash, weapons and militants in the Gaza Strip. The tunnels run side by side under the border, with just a few yards between each, their entrances covered by tents. On normal business days, the humming of generators, which power lighting, pulleys and other equipment, mixes with the sound of trucks rumbling along the unpaved paths. Times Live
‘Junk’ DNA Keeps Demonstrating Purpose – March 11, 2011
Pseudogenes have long been labeled as “junk” DNA, failed copies of genes that arise during the evolution of genomes. However, recent results are challenging this moniker; indeed, some pseudogenes appear to harbor the potential to regulate their protein-coding cousins. Far from being silent relics, many pseudogenes are transcribed into RNA, some exhibiting a tissue-specific pattern of activation. Pseudogene transcripts can be processed into short interfering RNAs that regulate coding genes through the RNAi pathway. In another remarkable discovery, it has been shown that pseudogenes are capable of regulating tumor suppressors and oncogenes by acting as microRNA decoys. RNA
There is no place like home, at least for some Christians. In recent years the number of home-based churches and small group fellowships in the United States has risen exponentially. In January, Barna Research, found that about 11.5 million American adults – a full five percent -, say they attend a “house church or simple church, which is not associated in any way with a local, congregational type of church,” at least weekly or monthly. That number is up from 8.8 million adults in 2006.
House churches were, of course, the way it all started. Christianity began with a group of a dozen men along a seaside in Galilee. Even later as Paul traveled and planted, it was the intimacy of home fellowships that provided the earliest forums for the Gospel. His sermons in the synagogues and on Mars Hill were but an invitation. The deeper teaching was taking place in small groups in homes and on hillsides. While the facilities and formalities of Sunday services have since become the norm for many, it was not always so. Philemon, Nymphas, and Aquila and Priscilla all had churches in their houses (Phm 1:2, Col 4:15, 1 Cor 16:19; Rom 16:5).
Many Christians today have grown dissatisfied with organized religion. Some have even become so discouraged that they have quit attending church altogether. However, the Bible is very clear when it emphasizes the importance of spending time with other believers:
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
In the era of the mega-church, where parishioners often number in the thousands or even tens of thousands, it is easy to see why many Christians feel lost. Such large congregations can be intimidating and impersonal. (Many of the more effective larger organizations also foster and nurture small groups – often called “cells” – during the week to respond to such needs.) For many Christians who desire a more intimate fellowship, home churches seem to be the answer.
In other parts of the world, home churches are the safer option. The regime of Bashar al-Assad has been telling Christians to ”avoid any public gatherings under the guise of religious expression.” As Iran’s Islamic influence spreads throughout Syria, the relatively large Christian communities (12 percent of the population) are forced to be more careful.
In China, home churches are widespread. Five hundred Christians were forced to remain in their homes on Easter in Beijing as part of the government’s crackdown against churches that are not approved by the government. Forty more were hauled away to jail for the crime of attending a church that doesn’t abide by state-approved theology. While the official number of Christians in China is about 15 million, the true number of Christians, often worshiping in homes,may be closer to 100 million.
“In the past five years, every year, the degree of persecution increased, of how many churches were persecuted, how many Christians were arrested, sentenced, abused or tortured,” says Mark Shan, spokesman for China Aid. “It’s a common phenomenon. Every year is like this.”
In Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, and many other places where Christianity is frowned upon, those who love Christ must often meet together in small, private groups of believers under the radar.
In his book Tortured For His Faith (1975), Haralan Popov tells of his leading home churches in communist Bulgaria. The church members would throw birthday parties on a regular basis in order to meet. Some church members had five or six “birthdays” each year. In times of persecution, the close, warm fellowship of the home church and home Bible studies meet the spiritual needs of people desperate for the reality of God in their lives.
Even those believers who are actively involved in their local church can benefit from the intimacy and accountability of a home fellowship. If you are not presently in a small, weekly, Bible study group, we strongly encourage you to find one and give it a try. You may be in for a truly life-changing experience. If you can’t find one, you might even consider starting one (for more information on how to do this, see the links below).
There are many Christian leaders today who think that home fellowships represent the church of the future – as we live in an increasingly volatile and politically correct world.
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