The Persecuted Church

 Matthew 25:36

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Other Translations
 

Matthew 25:43

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  Full Chapter  | Other Translations 

We are to pray for them. The International Day of Prayer for our persecuted family is Nov 4, 2018. 

In 1997 Dan traveled to Iran. His work resulted in arrest and conviction on false charges.  He was sent to prison for 9 weeks.  Read about what he learned from God in a prison camp.

"I would rather have the whole world against me, but know that the almighty God is with me.  I would rather be called an apostate, but know I have the approval of the God of glory, because man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart." 

Saudi Arabia is proud of its status as the birthplace of Islam.  Al Fadi, a devout Muslim, had been taught that Christianity was corrupt and immoral.  But through the example of some Christians who spent time with him, he learned otherwise. He became a Christian and hence brought "shame" on his family.  "My family still does not like to talk to me. I am nobody in their life."

Irans' violent one year coup created the modern theocratic government in 1978 - 1979.  But today Iranians have grown weary of its broken promises.  Muslim religious leaders in Iran admit that "Our Mosques are empty!"  They are encouraged by the growth in Europe and America but distressed by its weakness in their own country.  

According to VOM, "Iranians today have overwhelmingly rejected Islamic rule and the religion itself. ... Islamic law does and cannot bring success. Any nation that devalues and oppresses the female half of its population ... will not prosper."