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Persecuted Christians are starving for Bibles
What would you do if you had no access to Scripture? Most Americans have multiple Bibles at home, dozens of translations at our fingertips, and devotional apps on every device. Yet for believers living in hostile areas and restricted nations, a single torn page of the New Testament is a treasure worth suffering for.
For many Christians around the world, owning a Bible is illegal. It can cost a believer their freedom or even their life. Yet, in the darkest prison cells and most hostile corners of the world, the Word of God remains the most desired possession.
During 25+ years serving at The Voice of the Martyrs, I’ve had the honor to meet with persecuted Christians living and serving in the most dangerous and difficult places to follow Christ. Often, they share their inspiring testimonies.
Recently I came across five powerful stories about what having access to Scripture meant to imprisoned Christians.
1. Brother Joe
Brother Joe, a former prisoner in North Africa, received a smuggled portion of the Bible — just Psalms and part of the Gospel of John. For him, those verses were life itself.
“I would cry over the words,” he said. “Not because I was sad, but because it was like Jesus Himself was sitting in my cell with me.”
Even as Brother Joe endured torture, he began copying verses by hand to share with other prisoners. The guards tried to stop him, but the Word kept spreading. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “The word of our God shall stand forever.”
2. Helen Berhane
Helen Berhane, an Eritrean gospel singer who was imprisoned in a metal shipping container for over two years, had no Bible at all — but she had memorized verses before her arrest.
“The Word became my song, my food, my comfort,” she shared. “I had no book, but I had Him.”
Even today, years later, those memorized verses continue to sustain her.
3. Aaron
Aaron, a front-line worker, told me about a woman jailed for leading Bible studies in China, where the underground church is heavily persecuted. Fellow inmates, recalling verses they had memorized, pieced together entire chapters from memory. When a contraband Bible finally arrived, they tore it apart — not to destroy it, but to share it.
“In that cell,” Aaron said, “the Bible wasn’t just a book — it was their breath.”
4. Ali
Perhaps the most startling transformation came in the life of Ali, a former jihadist who encountered the Gospel of Luke in prison. The Bible turned his world upside down.
“I had studied violence all my life,” he said. “Then I met Jesus in a jail cell in the pages of that book. That Bible broke me.”
Ali found, for the first time, a God who loves His enemies and sent His Son to die for them.
The Bible is more than print on paper — it’s living and active. The Word of God has the power to sustain people’s faith under the most intense persecution. For the millions of Christians in hostile nations, a Bible is not just a comfort. It is what carries them through their torture and suffering.
5. Iranian prisoner
Hormoz Shariat, the founder of Iran Alive Ministries known as “the Billy Graham of Iran,” shared how one Iranian prisoner risked his life to possess a single page of Scripture. That page became a spark. He memorized it and passed it to another inmate, who did the same.
“They shared one torn page like it was gold,” Shariat said. “It was enough to bring light into total darkness.”
In Iran, where printing or importing Farsi Bibles is illegal, believers face prison or death for sharing God’s Word. And yet, they do it anyway. The hunger for the Bible is so deep that even a fragment — one Psalm, one parable — is worth everything.
Every April, VOM focuses on getting Bibles to persecuted Christians. This year, our ministry has identified 458,000 Christians, by name, who are waiting for a Bible in hostile areas and restricted nations.
Through front-line workers, the ministry is positioned to deliver these Bibles directly into the hands of those who need them most. Imagine being the reason a believer in prison experiences the presence of Christ in their darkest hour!
There are many lessons to learn from others who have suffered for their faith. The stories here are just a small example of the power of God’s Word to bring hope and strength to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Maybe our first lesson is not to take for granted what others are risking everything to hold.
Sources:Christian Post
Two Assemblies of God pastors in Cuba, Luis Guillermo Borjas and his wife, Roxana Rojas, were detained this week after invoking their religious beliefs during their son’s military tribunal.
Prosecutors are seeking an eight-year prison sentence for the couple, who face charges of disrespect and disobedience to authorities.
The incident occurred in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, where the couple resides, according to the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
They had been summoned to a military tribunal after their son, Kevin Laureido Rojas, fled a military facility. Although Kevin reportedly had a medical exemption from compulsory military service due to psychiatric issues, he had been taken by force to a base.
At the tribunal, the pastors presented official documents from a medical commission supporting their son’s exemption. When the military prosecutor accused them of submitting false evidence, Pastor Borjas responded by saying the officials would be accountable to God’s justice.
The prosecutor then ordered their immediate detention, citing the illegality of referencing God or divine justice in a military court.
Borjas remains in custody at a local police station. His wife was hospitalized after collapsing later that night. While in hospital, she was reportedly harassed by a man in civilian clothing who falsely identified himself as a nurse.
The couple’s trial is set for June 9. Both are affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a denomination that holds legal status in Cuba.
CSW has called for the charges to be dropped and for Borjas to be released, describing the legal action as unjust and urging international pressure on the Cuban government.
Religious freedom in Cuba is tightly regulated, with the Communist dictatorship controlling all recognized religious institutions and requiring official registration for legal operation. Unregistered groups often face surveillance, harassment and restrictions on worship, assembly and religious expression.
Cuban authorities recently barred exiled Pastor Alain Toledano Valiente from returning to the country to be with his adult daughter, who is undergoing surgery for advanced breast cancer. The government has enforced a travel ban against Toledano Valiente since his forced departure in 2022. A leader of the unregistered Apostolic Movement, he had appealed for permission to return, stating that her life was again at risk.
In January, Cuban Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo was released from prison as part of a mass amnesty, despite not having completed his eight-year sentence for participating in peaceful protests in 2021. He was among 553 political prisoners freed following the U.S. decision to remove Cuba from a key terror watchlist — a move that was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, who say that Cuba enables groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Sources:Christianpost
ബെര്ലിന്: ക്രൈസ്തവ ഭൂരിപക്ഷ രാജ്യമായിരിന്ന ജർമ്മനിയിൽ ക്രൈസ്തവ ദേവാലയങ്ങള്ക്കും ക്രൈസ്തവര്ക്കുമെതിരെ അരങ്ങേറുന്ന കുറ്റകൃത്യങ്ങളിൽ വർദ്ധനവ്. 2024-ൽ ജർമ്മനിയിലെ ക്രൈസ്തവ ദേവാലയങ്ങള്ക്കെതിരെയുള്ള ആക്രമണങ്ങളില് 20% വര്ദ്ധനവ് ഉണ്ടായതായി ഫെഡറൽ ആഭ്യന്തര മന്ത്രാലയവും ഫെഡറൽ ക്രിമിനൽ പോലീസ് ഓഫീസും പുറത്തുവിട്ട റിപ്പോര്ട്ടില് പറയുന്നു. ദേവാലയങ്ങള് ലക്ഷ്യമിട്ടുള്ള ആക്രമണങ്ങളില് മാത്രം ആകെ 111 കുറ്റകൃത്യങ്ങൾ രജിസ്റ്റർ ചെയ്തുവെന്ന് കാത്തലിക് ന്യൂസ് ഏജന്സിയുടെ ജർമ്മൻ ഭാഷാ വാർത്താ പങ്കാളിയായ സിഎൻഎ ഡച്ച് റിപ്പോർട്ട് ചെയ്തു.
2024 ന്റെ തുടക്കം മുതൽ 2024 ഡിസംബർ 10 വരെ, “ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വിരുദ്ധ” ആക്രമണവുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട് ആകെ 228 കുറ്റകൃത്യങ്ങൾ രജിസ്റ്റർ ചെയ്തതായി ജർമ്മൻ സർക്കാർ റിപ്പോർട്ട് ചെയ്തു. അതിൽ ഒരു കൊലപാതകം, 14 ആക്രമണങ്ങൾ, 52 സ്വത്ത് നാശനഷ്ട കേസുകൾ എന്നിവ ഉൾപ്പെടുന്നു. ഇതേ കാലയളവിൽ, ദേവാലയങ്ങള്ക്ക് നേരെ 96 കുറ്റകൃത്യങ്ങൾ രേഖപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. രാജ്യത്തെ വിവിധ മത സമൂഹങ്ങള്ക്ക് നേരെയും ആക്രമണങ്ങള് വര്ദ്ധിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.
2023 ൽ ഇത് 7,029 ആയിരുന്നു. 2024 ൽ ഇത് 8531 ആയി ഉയര്ന്നു. വിവിധ മത സമൂഹങ്ങളിലെ അംഗങ്ങൾക്കും പ്രതിനിധികൾക്കും എതിരായ കുറ്റകൃത്യങ്ങളിൽ 22% വർദ്ധനവ് റിപ്പോർട്ട് ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്. വിയന്ന ആസ്ഥാനമായുള്ള സർക്കാരിതര സംഘടനയായ ഒബ്സർവേറ്ററി ഓൺ ഇന്റോളറൻസ് ആൻഡ് ഡിസ്ക്രിമിനേഷൻ എഗൈൻസ്റ്റ് ക്രിസ്ത്യാനികൾ ഇൻ യൂറോപ്പ് (OIDAC യൂറോപ്പ്) ജർമ്മനിയിൽ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ വിരുദ്ധ വിദ്വേഷ കുറ്റകൃത്യങ്ങൾ വര്ദ്ധിക്കുന്നുണ്ടെന്ന് നേരത്തെ തന്നെ റിപ്പോര്ട്ട് ചെയ്തിരിന്നു.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം
The Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Criminal Police Office found that attacks against German churches increased by 20% in 2024, with a total of 111 registered crimes, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. Crimes against religious communities also increased, reaching 8,531 in 2024, compared with 7,029 in 2023. A 22% increase was reported in crimes against members and representatives of religious communities, jumping from 6,122 in 2023 to 7,504 in 2024.
The German government reported that from the start of 2024 to Dec. 10, 2024, a total of 228 crimes with the subtopic “anti-Christian” were registered, including one homicide, 14 assaults, and 52 cases of property damage. During the same time period, 96 crimes with the subtopic “church” were recorded, including 47 cases of property damage.
Bishop Bernardus Bofitwos Baru was ordained bishop of Timika, Indonesia, on May 14 after a five-year vacancy following former Bishop John Philip Saklil’s death. More than 10,000 Catholics and 33 bishops attended the ordination service to celebrate the second Indigenous priest to receive episopal ordination and the first Augustinian bishop in Indonesia, Agencia Fides reported.
“This ordination is a sign of the Holy See’s great concern for the Catholic faithful in Papua,” said apostolic nuncio Archbishop Piero Pioppo at the event.
Baru thanked the faithful for his ordination and shared that listening, dialogue, and cooperation will be the cornerstones of his episcopal ministry. “Our relations must be based on love, friendship, and human exchange. We are called to open doors for one another,” he said.
Catholic organizations and environmental agencies criticize lifting of mining ban in Philippines
Church leaders and environmental groups have criticized a top court verdict nullifying a moratorium that paused mining in the Occidental Mindoro province for 25 years. On May 15, the court in the Philippines ruled that the province could not continue a ban in such a large-scale mining area, Union of Catholic Asian News reported.
In a joint statement, the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose and the Catholic charity Caritas International said the lifting of the ban is a cause for “deep concern” and it ignores past suffering of communities across Occidental Mindoro.
“While we recognize the authority of the state to manage our natural resources, we echo Pope Francis’ warning against a technocratic paradigm that values economic gain over human dignity and ecological balance,” the statement said.
http://theendtimeradio.com
Nearly 2,000 people lined the shores of a small Florida beach earlier this week to publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ.
The Church of Eleven22 baptized 1,958 people on the shores of Hanna Park Beach in Jacksonville, FL Sunday.
“1,958 members of our church family went public with their faith today and got baptized! Every year Beach Baptism somehow gets better and better and we could not be more in awe of the goodness of God,” reads a caption from The Church of Eleven22.
Hundreds more lined the shore in support of loved ones giving their “yes” to Jesus.
Church organizers told CBN News that participants traveled from across the country including from neighboring areas of Florida and southeast Georgia to take part of the annual event.
“We are a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Today, we celebrated 1,958 people proclaiming Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It doesn’t get much better than that! The church is alive and well, the Spirit of God is on the move, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is still changing lives as it has for thousands of years,” said Pastor Joby Martin, lead pastor of The Church of Eleven22.
For the last decade, the church has been hosting an annual beach baptism and each year the event has grown in size. As CBN News reported, more than 1,600 people were baptized at the same site last year.
“It’s a great reminder that the church is not dead, and neither is God. He is moving amongst his people all over the world and we’re all just swept up in His work. It’s a gift to be a part of it all,” Jay Owen, a spokesperson with the Church of Eleven22, told us at the time.
Those who attended the event are thanking God for what took place.
“Privilege to be there and celebrate with everyone,” one person commented on Facebook.
“A million little miracles…what an amazing day,” another person shared on Instagram.
“My fourth year coming to Beach Baptism and every year is so powerful and amazing! Praise God,” shared social media user Jeanette Marsh.
Sources:CBN News
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