The Voice of the Martyrs - Prayer Updates

vom groups weekly prayer updates

"Prayer is the pulse of life; by it the doctor can tell what is the condition of the heart. The sin of prayerlessness is a proof for the ordinary Christian or minister that the life of God in the soul is in deadly sickness and weakness." - Andrew Murray "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" - Ephesians 6:18

The Voice of the Martyrs USA: www.persecution.com

Tanzania—Christian Teen Released from Prison
Source: VOM Sources

John 14:6

Eighteen-year-old Eva Abdallah, who spent the past year in prison on blasphemy charges, has been released from prison after the High Court of Tanzania overturned her conviction. Eva was arrested in January 2012 when local Muslims in her home state of Bagamoyo accused her of urinating on a Quran, and in July she was sentenced to two years in prison. But on Jan. 9, 2013, the High Court acquitted her of the charges and ordered her release. Eva was attending a Bible school and living with a pastor’s family when she was arrested. Her parents disowned her when she became a believer as a young teen. Praise God for her release, and pray that she will find a safe place to live. Pray that those who accused her will come to know Jesus Christ.

Colombia—Rebels Kill Widow of Murdered Evangelist
Source: World Watch Monitor

Romans 10:17

Four months ago, National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas demanded that Alicia Castilla leave her home in Arauca, in northeastern Colombia. On the evening of Jan. 7, during a visit from the family’s pastor, assassins entered her home and shot her in front of her three children and her father. She died immediately. The guerrillas had killed Alicia’s husband, a lay-minister, two years earlier. Pray for Christians in Colombia, who face daily threats from rebel groups opposed to the spread of Christianity.

Iran—Armenian Pastor Conditionally Released
Source: Mohobat News

Ephesians 6:16

After spending 15 days in Iran’s Evin Prison, Rev. Vruir Avanessian was conditionally released after posting about $60,000 of his personal property as bail. The pastor was released due to serious health problems and the need for special medical care, but he was ordered to await a court summons. So far, authorities have given no reason for his arrest, and no charges have been filed. Vruir, an Armenian Christian pastor, and several other Christians were arrested by secret police from the Ministry of Information while gathered for a Christmas celebration. About 50 men and women were detained for several hours and ordered to provide their full name, address, cellphone number and other personal information, such as Facebook and e-mail account IDs and passwords. While in prison, Vruir was transported to the hospital for treatment of his diabetes, heart disease and kidney failure, and he returned to the hospital prior to his release. Pray for Vruir as he struggles to maintain his health while awaiting a court summons.

Philippines—VOM Project

Pray for the VOM team in the Philippines, who are distributing 1,000 copies of Hearts of Fire in a local language. The books will be distributed to pastors, leaders and other Christians living in Muslim-dominated areas.

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2012: The year the world ends? (December 21st?)

Does the Mayan calendar prove that the world will end this year? Will there be a third world war as Nostradamus predicted?

The Bible says this about the end times: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven” (Mark 13:32). But there’s one thing we do know – that whether the world ends tomorrow or a million years from now, your body will die someday. Your soul, on the other hand, will live forever. Will you spend eternity with God, or in a constant state of suffering and anguish?

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so we can live forever in God’s presence. All you have to do is accept God’s free gift of salvation. Don’t live in fear about tomorrow; turn to Him today and be assured of eternity in heaven.

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www.GotQuestions.org

Question: "What is the year 2012 Mayan prophecy?"

Answer: The ancient Mayans, in their “Long Count” calendar, had December 21, 2012, as the end of the calendar. This “end” of the Mayan calendar leads to many different interpretations. Some see it as nothing more than a reset, the beginning of a new cycle. Others see it as the date for the end of the world (or at least some type of universal catastrophe). So, what is the Mayan Long Count calendar, and does it have any relation to the end of the world?

The Mayans developed their own calendar (The Long Count) ca. 355 B.C. They were able to use their observations and mathematical prowess to calculate the future movements of stars across the sky. The result was that the Mayans discovered the effect of the earth’s wobbling as it spins on its axis. This wobbling rotation causes the stars’ movements to drift gradually in the sky (an effect called “precession”) in a 5,125-year cycle. The Mayans also discovered that once every cycle the dark band at the center of the Milky Way (called the “Galactic Equator”) intersects the Elliptical (the plane of the sun’s movement across the sky).

During the year of the intersection, the sun reaches its solstice (a brief moment when the sun’s position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer) on December 21 for the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 for the Southern Hemisphere. At that time, the solstice occurs at the same moment of the conjunction of the Galactic Equator with the Milky Way. The year this occurs (in relation to our Gregorian calendar) is A.D. 2012, and happened last on August 11, 3114 B.C. With Mayan mythology teaching that the sun is a god and the Milky Way is the gateway to life and death, the Mayans concluded that this intersection in the past must have been the moment of creation. Mayan hieroglyphs seem to indicate that they believed the next intersection (in 2012) would be some sort of end and a new beginning of a cycle.

All the so-called “Mayan prophecies of 2012” are nothing more than wildly speculative extrapolations, based on the yet-uncertain interpretations by scholars of Mayan hieroglyphs. The truth is that, apart from the astrological convergence, there is little indication that the Mayans prophesied anything specific regarding the events in their distant future. The Mayans were not prophets; they were not even able to predict their own cultural extinction. They were great mathematicians and accomplished sky watchers, but they were also a brutally violent tribal people with a primitive understanding of natural phenomena, subscribing to archaic beliefs and the barbaric practices of blood-letting and human sacrifice. They believed, for example, that the blood of human sacrifices powered the sun and gave it life.

There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that would present December 21, 2012, as the end of the world. The Bible nowhere presents the astronomical phenomena the Mayans pointed to as a sign of the end times. It would seem inconsistent of God to allow the Mayans to discover such an amazing truth while keeping the many Old Testament prophets ignorant of the timing of the events. In summary, there is absolutely no biblical evidence that the 2012 Mayan prophecy should be considered a reliable prediction of doomsday.

Also included in the ancient Mayan prediction that December 21, 2012, would be the end of the world are the following theories: our sun is a god; the sun is powered by the blood of human sacrifice; the creation moment occurred at 3114 B.C. (despite all evidence that it happened much earlier); and the visual alignment of stars has some significance for everyday human life. Like every other false religion, the Mayan religion sought to elevate the creation instead of the Creator Himself. The Bible tells us about such false worshipers: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25), and “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). To accept the Mayan 2012 prophecy is also to deny the clear biblical teaching about the end of the world. Jesus told us, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32).

© Copyright 2002-2012 Got Questions Ministries. 

Source: http://www.gotquestions.org/2012-Mayan-prophecy.html 


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Shooting, Massacre, Tragedy

Perhaps you have heard about the recent shooting that happened, CNN reported "A heavily armed gunman attacked an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater early Friday, tossing tear gas before opening fire on the terrified audience and killing 12 and wounding 38, authorities said."

You must know that anytime these sort of things go on we have to know that it's the handy work of the devil. You see the devil comes to do harm but the Lord comes to heal. Yes it's true that God has sovereign control over all things, but it's important to remember that God is not the source of tragedy.

John 10:10-11 says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

Jesus is the Author of life and laid down His life for us so we can be saved and be with Him forever. We don't understand how or why this evil stuff happens but we know it's from the enemy. Some people become angry at God, but we must not trade in what we know to be true for what we don't know. We know that God is a good God, that He is loving, gentle, compassionate, merciful, forgiving. So based on what we know about Him and have experienced with Him, we know that we can trust Him.

The enemy seeks to get us to point the finger at someone and try to blame someone for the evil going on in the world today. But we are the ones to blame, we through Adam brought sin and suffering and death into the world. It was the devil that thief that came to destroy us in the Garden of Eden and tempted Adam to rebel against God, but Jesus came to undo all of that. Jesus came to give us life, and to rescue us from death. Jesus came to heal our broken hearts. Our only hope, and peace can be found in Jesus.

"Tragic events remind us not only that we live in an imperfect and fallen world, but that there is a God who loves us and wants something better for us than the world has to offer." (http://www.gotquestions.org/meaning-in-tragedy.html). Jesus is coming back soon, and will one day put a stop to all that it wrong. But when people are suffering, it then becomes our responsibility to minister to them, care for them, pray for them, and comfort them.

I would encourage you to join us today to pray for these people and for their family. Pray for healing, for physical, mental, emotional, and most importantly spiritual healing. Pray for their salvation if they don't know God. Pray that as you encounter this type of stuff in the news daily that you can use it to point people to Jesus. Pray that the Lord will come back soon.

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In the video below Mark Cahill asks the question "What if you were at Virginia Tech?" to university students at their chapel. This is a very sobering message, and will encourage you to share the Gospel. (MarkCahill.org)