Monday, September 22, 2014

# 1006 (9/22) "Meriam Ibrahim Is Safe. But Millions More Live Under Oppression"

The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
PRAY FOR AMERICATHANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)

WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
UPDATE: "Second US Doctor Sick with Ebola; Crisis 'Out of Control'- CBNNews.com, Sept. 02, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2014/September/A-Losing-Battle-Ebola-Going-to-Get-Worse-CDC-Says/ "Another American doctor in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus, according to the international Christian mission organization, SIM. SIM leaders report the American doctor was treating obstetrics patients at the organization's ELWA Hospital in Monrovia and not treating Ebola patients..."The epidemic is going faster than we are," he warned. 'We need to scale up our response. We can hope for new tools and maybe they'll come, but we can't count on them.' So far, the West African outbreak has killed more than 1,500 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria."
Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.

PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)

LATEST:"Christians in the Middle East Arm Themselves As Genocide Comes to Their Front Door" - Katie Pavlich | Sep 05, 2014;
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/09/05/christians-in-the-middle-east-arm-themselves-as-violence-rages-around-them-n1887849" Earlier this week the BBC and Al Jazeera both reported on armed Iraqi citizen volunteers who helped government forces fight off ISIS in Amerli. Today, the AP is out with a story about Christians in the Middle East who are arming themselves, carrying weapons with them during daily tasks and heading to the hills at night to defend their communities as violence continues to rage around them. Genocide is at their front door and they're doing everything they can to stop it from coming in... So far, the terror army ISIS has slaughtered and tortured thousands of Christians in Iraq and Syria."

URGENT: Emergency Relief For Iraqi Believers Facing Genocide! - August 30, 2014- Liberty Counsel Action is partnering with RUN Ministries to deliver emergency food, water and shelter to Iraqi Christians and Yazidis who have fled their homes and are facing genocide. More than 146,000 people are now threatened by genocide from radical ISIS forces.RUN Ministries has a solid network of believers throughout the Middle East who are willing to risk life and limb to get relief through the ISIS lines of defense. The cost of getting the needed aid to them is $8 per person per day. This includes tents, blankets, food, and water for the first 3 weeksTO DONATE (as I have), PLEASE GO TO: http://www.grassrootsaction.com/201181/offer.asp?Ref_ID=27781&CID=201181&RID=42814607

"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/  "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november

 LATEST SAHEED NEWS!  May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
Pastor Saeed Abedini (Photo: CitizenGo via Twitter)
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
PRAY ALSO : - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- For leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release
/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray: 
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church']  as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and  to use wisdom in crafting our  foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
Continue to Pray for EGYPT Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]

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"Meriam Ibrahim Is Safe. But Millions More Live Under Oppression" -Melody Wood/ August 08, 2014 / http://dailysignal.com/2014/08/08/meriam-ibrahim-safe-millions-live-oppression/

Meriam Ibrahim, from Sudan, with her daughter Maya in her arms leaves for Philadelphia (USA) from Rome's Fiumicino Airport, Italy, 31 July 2014. Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag who arrived in Italy the previous week and met with Pope Francis was freed from a Sudanese jail where she gave birth to a child, she was spared a death sentence for renouncing Islam (Photo: EPA/Newscom).

As The Daily Signal reported last week, Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, the Suadenese mother sentenced to death for her Christian faith, has arrived safely in America.

This represents an important victory for religious freedom, but Ishag’s story is far from an isolated event. At the release of the 2014 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom annual report, then-chairman of the commission Robert P. George announced that 76 percent of the world’s population lives under regimes that oppress religious freedom.

According to George, “freedom of religion” means more than freedom to worship. It also means the right to enter the public square and advocate on behalf of one’s beliefs and the right to change one’s religion. These aspects of religious freedom apply to believers of any religion, non-theists and atheists.

Why should Americans care about the state of religious freedom in other nations? George stressed both the foundational nature of religious rights—that, as rational beings, all of us have the right to live according to our consciences. But he also pointed out practical considerations. In general, he said, countries that don’t honor religious freedom have more war, poverty and terrorism than other nations.

George said if religious freedom truly matters to Americans, they must promote it through their foreign policy—and this is not happening. He pointed to a requirement under the International Religious Freedom Act that the State Department report annually on the state of religious liberty in the world. The worst offenders are identified as “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs. Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan make up the current list. Of the eight countries the State Department recommended be added to the list, only Turkmenistan made it on. The others—Egypt, Iraq, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nigeria, Syria and Tajikistan—did not.

The State Department’s report recommended not only updating the list but IRFA as well so it can identify countries without governments and other non-state actors that violate religious liberty.As George said, religious freedom is the “canary in a coal mine.” As soon as the right to religious freedom is taken away, other assaults on human rights aren’t far behind.

Jennifer Marshall, vice president of The Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity, agreed: “Religious freedom is the birthright of all people,” she said. “But too few governments around the world acknowledge it, and far too many people have never enjoyed it.”

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

"Sudanese Mom Tells Megyn Kelly How Faith Got Her Through Ordeal in Prison" - Melissa Quinn / @MelissaQuinn97 / September 16, 2014; http://dailysignal.com/2014/09/16/sudanese-mom-tells-megyn-kelly-faith-got-ordeal-prison/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailydigest&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvKTAZKXonjHpfsX56eguXa%2B3lMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DT8RgI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D

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