My friends, awhile back I wrote about the recent elections
for a new Prime Minister of India. On Monday, May 16, Narendra Modi was sworn
in as the next leader of India. Modi did not just win an election, but he won
it in a landslide of popularity.
Prime Minister Modi is a member of the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) which many are trying to downplay.
The media is touting him, and the party, as pro business and anti
corruption, which remains to be seen.
Yet, the BJP is a hard-line nationalistic party whose policy has
historically reflected Hindu nationalist positions. The party also advocates
social conservatism and a foreign policy centered on nationalist
principles.
Since that day, our
ministry partner and his co-workers (Shall remain un-named for security
reasons) in the state of Odisha, where there has traditionally been a great
deal of persecution, has been attacked, Bibles destroyed, and brought before a
magistrate. Praise God, they were
released and not convicted of any crime, but this may be an indication of what
the future may hold. Soon after that,
our partner in Odisha received a letter stating that Christian
ministries were no longer allowed to receive funds from outside that state.
And finally, just yesterday, we received news that several
villages in the state of Chhattisgarh have passed laws that criminalize the
outward expression of the Christian faith.
These new state laws are at the very least illegal, and may encouraged
anti-Christian violence.
Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum,
said the text reads as such, "To stop the forced conversion by some
outsider religious campaigners and to prevent them from using derogatory
language against Hindu deities and customs, and bans religious activities such
as prayers, meetings and propaganda of all non-Hindu religions"
The Times of India, a national English-language daily
newspaper, on July 9 quoted a claim by Suresh Yadav, the Bastar district
president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, that more than
50 villages have adopted similar resolutions.
In some places attacks on Christians have increased since
passing this resolution. According to Rev. Vijayesh Lal, "a
Christian man in Kue Mari village had been ordered to pay a fine for his
Christian activities. He did, and yet his house was still burned down, Lal
said. Today he is living under a plastic sheet with his family that
includes three children and his elderly parents."
Chhattisgarh law already requires residents to obtain
government permission before they can change religions, placing the state among
the handful in India
with laws restricting conversion. The BJP is the governing authority in
this state.
At this time Prime Minister Modi has not stated his support
for these activities, nor has he pushed any National policies that would
encourage these type of policies. Yet, when a leader belongs to a
group that expresses certain beliefs, and commits certain actions that are
normally considered illegal, or when others commit these violations of the law
and no one pursues charges against them, then there is every likelihood that
these actions will not only continue, but increase as time goes on.
Yet throughout this entire struggle, the believers of India
continue to do kingdom work; spreading the good news of Jesus Christ among
their people.
Why do these people continue to endure persecution?
They have a different perspective than we
have in the West. In the East, people
think their entire purpose is to find forgiveness of sin. They know
they’re sinners, but they’ve never heard about this Jesus. If you ask someone
if they know Jesus, they say Jesus doesn’t live here. Go to the next village
When they finally hear what Jesus did for them on Calvary, for them, persecution is a minor thing; it’s
worth it to go through persecution if they can be forgiven of their sin.
In the West we have believers whose faith doesn’t change their entire life. It
may change what they do on Sunday, but not everything.
Gospel for Asia Vice President Daniel Yohanan says, "In
America
we’ve lost the theology of suffering. Because of our prosperity, we see
suffering as an absence of God’s blessing in our lives. In the Bible,
Joseph was in prison for 13 years and in the perfect will of God, but in America we
don’t see it that way."
How to Pray Specifically:
1) For safety and security of our brothers and sisters
who are living under religious oppression in the nation of India.
2) For our ministry partners as they seek to do the
will of the Father, and obey His calling on their lives.
3) Pray that God
moves upon the hearts of the people to turn their lives over to Him.
4) Pray for
opposing factions and religions to stop persecuting followers of Jesus.
5) Pray for the
effective planting of churches in villages that don’t yet have one.
6) Pray that God
continues to provide the financial support needed in order to continue the work
of the ministry.
Truly there is a staggering amount of work to do. However, with native missionaries we can
reach them! Help Support a Missionary Today!
Only $40 per month. Upon receipt of your donation we will send you a packet with complete information on the missionary, his testimony, a photo, and return envelopes for each payment. At least once each quarter you will receive a letter about his ministry and prayer requests. These men work in a dangerous area so please do not post any of this information online. Thank you!
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