by Mike Ratliff 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to […]
evangelism
Persecution Updates: Burma/Myanmar
It turns out, that in spite of persecution, Christianity has grown in Burma (also known as Myanmar). My latest article:
New census shows Christianity spreading in Burma
The spread of the gospel has faced huge obstacles in Burma, including bloody civil war, violence against ethnic minorities, and radical Buddhist opposition. In spite of all that, Christianity has grown in Burma (also called Myanmar), according to new figures.
The United Nations Population Fund released new census data in July showing Christians made up about 6.3 percent of the population, up from 4.9 percent in 2004, World Watch Monitor reported. The country is 89.9 percent Buddhist; Chin state was the only majority-Christian region.
Updates from Morocco and Bangladesh
My latest articles for World magazine online focused on the situations for Christians in Morocco and Bangladesh.
In Morocco believers are growing bolder in their faith, sharing testimonies through youtube and podcasts. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh Christianity continues to grow in spite of worsening persecution.
Moroccan Christians risk persecution with YouTube testimonies
In a new series of YouTube podcasts, Moroccan Christians are stepping out of the shadows, showing their faces, and telling their stories. Speaking to their countrymen, they proclaim themselves “Moroccan and Christian.”
The public testimonies counter the common view that to be Moroccan is to be Muslim and that all Christians living in Morocco are foreigners, not natives. The small religious minority faces community and government persecution.
In one video, a woman named Iman says her husband’s relatives assumed she was foreign-born because they knew she was a Christian, according to Moroccan World News (MWN).
The Word: Acts 1:6-11
“So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’
The Word: Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NASB
Don’t Miss List for May 22, 2015
Before you check out for the three-day weekend or beach getaway or whatever you’re doing this Memorial Day, here’s a Don’t Miss List. Continue reading
Greece May Ease Restrictions on Evangelicals
You may be surprised to learn, as I was, that it is incredibly difficult to build Christian churches in Greece if they are outside of the Greek Orthodox church. Some missionaries in Greece are optimistic about a new law under consideration that could give legal status to other Christian churches. Continue reading
In Season and out
2 Timothy 4:1-5 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Continue reading
Psalm 96 – Worship and Evangelize
I read this Psalm a couple days ago and really wanted to share the whole thing with you. Psalm 96 (ESV): Continue reading
Don’t Miss List 6.27.13
How Should Same-Sex Marriage Change the Church’s Witness?
Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision poses some serious questions for Christians and the church. I think Russell Moore’s thoughts about this timely subject are worth consideration. Continue reading
