As I was reading this morning I read this verse
Acts 4:3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
The words I emphasized in Italics really stood out to me. First i thought.... Well that did not take long... here we are only in the 4th chapter of Acts and they are already getting thrown in Jail. This is something I have said a few times "Christians go to Jail."
The Lord has given me a ministry in the Jails in our county and a few of the surrounding counties. On Monday nights when I am at the Jail when someone calls for me at home the kids always tell the person calling that I can not come to the phone because I am in Jail. This of course turns out to be good laugh.
I thank God for the experienc I had last year by the grace of God.
I was able to travel a little this last year and found myself and a friend taken into Police Custody. It was not for anything that would be wrong in the USA. My friend and I were in this foreign country and were arrested by about 10 or 12 plain clothes police for handing out Bibles. The only reason I mention this is because I think we need to be aware that many countries in the world do not enjoy Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech. Many of our brother and sisters in Jesus do not enjoy the freedoms we do in the USA.
There are many people in China who are in Prison today because they are Christians. There are people in prison in Vietnam because they are Christians. The same goes for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Laos, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, and there are probably others.
Hebrews 13:3
Remember the prisoners as if chained
with them--those who are mistreated--
since you yourselves are in the body also.
Right now Abdul Rahman is in the headlines. He reportedly became a Christian 16 years ago while working with a Christian aid group. Evidently a person does not have the right to change religions in Afghanistan. Especially if you are changing from Islam to another faith.
Recent reports suggest that charges against Rahman may be dropped due to his mental fitness for trial, they say that he has suffered from depression in the past. These issues may give the Afghan governement a face-saving way out in a case that has drawn international attention and criticism.
The new Constitution of Afghanistan states that "followers of other religions (other than Islam) are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law." (Exercising your faith does not include evangelizing.) But the same document declares that, "the religion of the state is the sacred religion of Islam," and that Sharia Law is the controlling legal authority. The way sharia Law is interpreted by many in Afghanistan is that a person who leaves the Islamic fath should be put to death by beheading.
Please Remember to Pray for Abdul Rahman and the people of Afghanistan.
This kind of information and much more can be found at a few different web sites.
Voice of the Martyrs
http://www.persecution.com/
http://www.compassdirect.org/en/index.php
International Christian Concern
http://www.persecution.org/newsite/index.php
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