Pakistan: Death for blasphemers
22 Jul 2022
Ashfaq Masih is a Christian falsely accused of ‘blasphemy’ and sentenced to death by hanging. He said, ‘Muhammad Irfan came to my shop for wheel balancing for his motorbike. I balanced the wheel and asked for my amount of labour as settled between us. Muhammad Irfan refused to give me money and said he was a follower of Peer Fakhir (a Sufi spiritual guide) and don't ask for money from me. A false FIR (First Incident Report) was made against me. I told the real story to a police officer but he did not record my version but conducted an investigation ex-parte. I neither uttered any derogatory word against Prophet Muhammad nor can think about it.’ The Muslim judge presiding over the case, said that it could not be believed that a Muslim will spin a story in this regard, describing the evidence of Masih's defense team as ‘not believable’. Masih’s is the third death sentence for blasphemy since January.
South Asia: Exploitation
22 Jul 2022
In a South Asian country, approximately 15,000 women and children are trafficked each year with 1,000 being rescued. Exploitation happens frequently and many rituals and practices are hidden from sight. Although there is a minimum age for marriage, it is still common practice for children to be married off as young as twelve. A ritual where menstruating women are expected to live in a small hut away from their families for the duration is still widely practised despite being difficult for women. Child labour is still common, and many children still work in the entertainment sector, brick factories and dance bars. The sex industry has gone underground but still exists with girls that have been tricked into working. Migrant workers have left their families in search of better incomes and find themselves locked into physical labour contracts, or working as housemaids in homes where they are often abused.
Asia: Poverty
22 Jul 2022
One of the root causes of poverty in Asia is corruption that diverts resources from the poor to the rich in a culture of bribes. Corruption and bribery are two sides of the same coin. Another root cause of Asian poverty is recurring natural disasters - floods, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, landslides, etc. ‘Asian countries are mostly dependent upon agriculture, forestry and tourism. All can all be affected by natural disasters. Education is affected by poverty because poor people stop going to school to work; leaving them without literacy and numeracy skills needed for a career. Poor people tend to believe not only that they are poor, but that they will remain poor, leading to psychological poverty - an unhealthy frame of mind that is usually self-inflicted. Spiritual poverty occurs when people’s incompleteness and dependency overwhelms them. In their brokenness they feel that something is wrong within themselves. They need God. Ask God to brood over and touch the impoverished Asian.
Life without Jesus is death
15 Jul 2022
A UK mission worker says, ‘I had the joy of personally attending our outreach event in L attended by over 1,000 people! L is a nation in crisis politically and economically. What a blessing to share worship music and the Good News with the hurting people of this nation. Our local team member, a pastor himself, brought a powerful message. Then a sixty-year-old man who received Christ one year ago shared his testimony, telling the crowd, ‘Life without Jesus is death.’ Hundreds of people raised their hands indicating they had accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour and asked for prayer. Praise God!’
Satanic leader converts to Christianity
15 Jul 2022
When Riaan Swiegelaar, co-founder of the South African Satanic Church, told a Christian radio interviewer he'd never been shown unconditional love, she came and hugged him. He said he’d never had anyone do that and didn’t know a Christian could accept him unconditionally. After interviews affirming that satanism is growing, he did a ritual by himself to see what was the next step. ‘How do I get more power and influence? I opened myself up, and Jesus appeared. I was extremely cocky and said, “If You are Jesus, prove it”. He flooded me with the most beautiful love and energy, and I recognised it immediately because of what the lady at the radio station did for me.’ As a baby Christian, Swiegelaar says he isn't sure what's next for him, but he knows he will continue to learn more about Jesus and grow in his love.
Two Christians running to replace Boris
15 Jul 2022
Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Times, ‘I'm putting myself forward in this leadership election because I want to tell the truth.’ The Christian MP for Saffron Walden supports lower taxes to boost growth and productivity, and is accompanied by tight spending discipline. Her role as minister for local government, faith and communities included being the government’s liaison for the country’s faith leaders. She was born in Wimbledon, brought up in Nigeria, and has a range of faith traditions to draw upon. Tom Tugendhat, a Catholic, is MP for Tonbridge and Malling and chairman of the foreign affairs committee. He appealed to Boris Johnson on behalf of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and asked UK churches to negotiate her release from an Iranian prison. As of 14 July, he is one of the five remaining candidates, but Kemi has been eliminated.
The outgoing health secretary, Sajid Javid, has said that being at the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast inspired him to quit his role. The Street Pastors founder Rev Les Isaac spoke about the responsibility that comes with leadership, to serve the interests of others above your own, and to seek common ground of your party, your community, and above all, your country. Sajid said, ‘It doesn't matter what your political perspective is, in this house. I believe that we are all motivated by the national interest, and that the public expects us all to maintain honesty and to maintain integrity in whatever we do. This is not an abstract matter.’ Rev Isaac said, ‘God gives His people the capacity to be compassionate, not living for themselves but for others, such as the weak and the poor, the marginalised, and those in distress.’
Praying for ‘our daily bread’ amidst food crisis
15 Jul 2022
The UN secretary-general has warned that war in Ukraine, climate change, the pandemic and inequality have produced an ‘unprecedented global hunger crisis’ already affecting hundreds of millions of people. UK’s April inflation was the highest in forty years, food costs increased by nearly 9% and the number of foodbank users has doubled in the last year, but tonnes of produce have been ploughed back due to labour shortages. Jesus told us to pray collectively and daily for the Father to provide ‘our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11). Pray for leaders working to combat the global food crisis, for all who are suffering drought and hunger, and for ourselves to be generous and give (Psalm 37:21). The Bible emphasises our dependence on, and gratitude to, God for our daily bread, stewardship of the earth, and respect for one another. But our priorities easily become skewed in favour of selfish gain.