NEWS FOR CHRISTIANS ONLY

Three people died during a riot outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt. The riot was in protest of a play accused of offending Islam. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports police used sticks and tear gas to hold back a crowd of around 5,000 protesters, who marched on St. George's church. Dozens of people were injured in the crush. Police report one man inhaled tear gas, was trampled and later died. October 19th, a nun was stabbed by a Muslim, who protested the sale of a DVD of the play, staged at the church in 2003. The demonstration was the latest in a series of incidents at the church related to the 2003 performance of the play entitled, "I Once Was Blind But Now I See." The drama tells the story of a poor young Copt who is drawn to Islamist militants who then try to kill him. Coptic Christian leaders report the play depicts the dangers of extremism, not of Islam. The church's director, Rev. Augustinous, denied the play  was offensive to Islam because its Christian hero is ultimately saved by a Muslim friend. Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 70 million people. Egypt's majority is Muslim.

Pray the publicity surrounding this event will lead many Muslims to view the DVD and question the tenets of their faith. Pray Coptic Christians will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit as they deal with fanatic Muslims. Pray the Lord will surround Coptic Christians with His love and mercy and protect them from harm.

Christians in the rural areas of Kano are afraid to send their children to public schools, fearing they will be forced to convert to Islam. Students are being forced to study Arabic, Islam, and say Islamic prayers. Moreover, Christian leaders report the government refuses to grant churches permission to establish schools in rural areas. "The strategy is to force Christians to send their children to public schools so they can be forced to become Muslims," said Rev. Murtala Marti Dangora, secretary of the Kano district of the Evangelical Church of West Africa. Rev. Dangora, a former Muslim, said there are still numerous cases of persecution in the state; in one case, 15 Christians were forced to flee Banda village because of Muslim antagonism. Another Christian leader noted that Christians in Kano state have lost
religious liberty and are seen as second-class citizens.

Pray Christians worldwide will lift these members of the Body of Christ before His Throne. Pray God will hear their cry and work a miracle of His grace to allow believers in Nigeria to worship freely. Pray many Muslim authorities will seek the true God who loves them and grieves for their lost souls.

*TURKEY* (VOM sources)
VOM has received word that a high-ranking U.S. official has solidified an agreement for the freedom of the Iranian widow and her children who had been ordered to be deported to Iran where they faced imprisonment and possible execution. The agreement states they "cannot be" deported to Iran. An arrangement is being processed for the necessary paperwork to allow them to leave Turkey very soon.

Join with this family, their friends and intercessors worldwide in praising God for His divine intervention. Pray they will find a good home, Christian friends and suitable employment in the place God has prepared for them. Continue to pray God will move in love and mercy to free Christians suffering from the violent oppression of Islam.

In another delay, the Indian Supreme Court has withheld its decision on the Dalit civil rights case until November. This delay is a positive
development, allowing the Court to take seriously this case of discrimination against Dalit Christians and not rush in judgment. It also allows Christians to have more time to intercede with prayer, asking God to guide the thoughts and decisions of the judges. Under the current law, alits lose some of their basic constitutional rights when they become Christians; they are no longer eligible for affirmative action placements in education, employment, government and many other areas-rights granted to Dalits who are Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist. According to a government census, some 20 million Dalits have become Christians. Equally important, there are many Dalits whose only hesitation to becoming Christians is fear of this legalized discrimination.

Pray our merciful Father will lead the Supreme Court of India to correct these injustices. Pray fervently on behalf of these millions of Dalit men, women and children who suffer unjust discrimination. Pray the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of Hindus to see every person is of value and precious in the sight of God.

Christians in a remote village of Uzbekistan are being beaten, publicly humiliated and chased out of their homes and jobs for converting to
Christianity. A local strongman is orchestrating harsh opposition to the small congregation in Janbashkala village, near Turtkul in southwestern Uzbekistan. Tokhtabay Sadikov has pressured local police and civic officials, the prosecutor's office, the secret police and Muslim clerics to impose punishing measures against every villager known to have "abandoned the Muslim faith of their parents." The water supply to Christian homes in the village has been cut off, and the church of nearly 100 has dwindled to 20.

Pray God will give Christians in Janbashkala supernatural courage, boldness in their faith and love for their Muslim neighbors. Pray the Lord will honor the commitment of faithful believers with His presence and guidance. Pray this overcoming remnant will lead many to Christ.
Matthew 10:15-17

 Persecutions Are Coming

 16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.

  Mark 10:29-31

29 So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[a] or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's,
30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

  Matthew 13:20-22

 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the
word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself,
but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed
among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and
the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

  Mark 4:16-17

16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the
word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in
themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or
persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.


http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200511/FOR20051101a.html
 *Beheading of Christian Schoolgirls Sparks Concerns About Religious Strife
*By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
November 01, 2005

*(CNSNews.com)* - Indonesian security forces remained on high alert and
religious leaders appealed for calm in the nation's Central Sulawesi
province following the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls at the
weekend.

Community leaders sought to downplay religion as a motivating factor in the
crime, although observers noted that the severed head of one of the girls
had been found several miles from the scene of the attack, outside a church.

The timing of the attack may also be significant, coming just days before
the end of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. Numerous previous attacks on
Christians in Indonesia have occurred during Ramadan.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself suggested that some elements in
the Sulawesi city of Poso were bent on "maintain[ing] the hostility and
conflict" of the past.

In Sulawesi and another province, Maluku, thousands of people died in
clashes between Muslims and Christians between 1999 and 2002. (A minor
dispute in Maluku at the end of Ramadan triggered the violence in 1999.) The
two regions have sizeable Christian populations in what is otherwise a
predominantly Muslim nation.

Government-sponsored peace agreements eventually were signed in a bid to end
the violence, which was characterized by some as "sectarian" and by others
as part of an orchestrated anti-Christian "jihad" by Islamist fighters
shipped in from Indonesia's most populous island, Java.

Despite the peace deals, violence has occasionally flared since then in
Sulawesi, where 22 people were killed in a market place bombing last May.
Religious harmony has also been strained by the forced closure of scores of
churches elsewhere in the country, and the jailing of several Christians.

Just last week a group called Indonesian Churches Together sent out an "SOS"
message urging Christians around the world to pray for those in Indonesia
facing an "escalation of terrorism, intimidation and persecution," the
Assist news service reported.

Saturday's grisly murders happened as a group of teenaged girls were walking
through a cocoa plantation to their Christian high school near Poso.

Men armed with machetes attacked them, hacking off the heads of three of
them and severely wounding a fourth. The survivor, identified as 14-year-old
Noviana Malewa, is in hospital.

Local reports cite unnamed police officers as saying the surviving witness
said there had been six attackers, wearing black clothing and masks.

The chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Rev. Andreas
Yewangoe, urged the government to track down the perpetrators and discover
their motives.

He said PGI officials were to visit Poso to appeal for calm, amid fears some
Christians may be planning retaliatory attacks as Muslims prepare to end
Ramadan with the holiday of Eid al-Fitr on Thursday.

Leading Muslim figures condemned the killings which Din Syamsuddin, chairman
of the huge Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, sought to distance from
religious rivalry, blaming them on a "third party."

Jakarta earlier sent in hundreds of extra paramilitary police and stepped up
security patrols. Yudhoyono also dispatched senior security officials to
Poso.

"Some Indonesian Christians are doubtful about how much will be achieved,
given the security forces' record of reluctance to protect Christians or to
bring their attackers to justice," reported the Barnabas Fund, a Christian
organization which works closely with Christians in Indonesia and other
Muslim countries.

It said the Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, a local Christian leader, served two
years' imprisonment until his release a year ago after being indicted "on a
trumped up charge, simply for trying to publicize the anti-Christian
violence in Central Sulawesi."

Damanik, who denied the charges of owning weapons without permission, is
currently touring Britain speaking on religious persecution in his homeland.

Another campaign group, International Christian Concern, argued that behind
the violence in Indonesia lay the funding of radical mosques, imams and
religious schools by Saudi Arabia.

"Although [Indonesian] Muslims and Christians had good relations for
hundreds of years, since the advent of Saudi influence in Indonesian Islam
there has been wave after wave of death and destruction," it said in a
statement.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Jakarta Post warned against what it
called "acts of provocation to reignite conflict between Muslims and
Christians."

It expressed concern that should violence erupt anew, it may not be
restricted to Sulawesi and Maluku but spread to other parts of the world's
most populous Muslim country.

"Already, we are seeing signs of uneasiness among non-Muslims because of the
government's seemingly constant failure to protect them. And we are seeing
signs of growing religious radicalism and even intolerance between religious
communities."

The paper said recent developments had raised questions about the commitment
and ability of the government "to protect the rights of religious minorities
and to enable them to freely practice their faith."

*See earlier story:
Indonesian Muslims Support Embattled Christians (Sept. 07,
2005)<http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=\\ForeignBureaus\\archive\\200509\\FOR20050907a.html>
*

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*http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/12005b.asp*
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*UMC Court Deals Multiple Blows to Homosexual Agenda in the Church
Stroud's Credentials Stripped Again; Also, Minister's Right to Bar
Homosexual's Membership Upheld

By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
November 1, 2005

(AgapePress) - The Judicial Council, the United Methodist
Church<http://www.umc.org/>'s
highest court, handed down another defeat to homosexual activists in the
denomination yesterday when it defrocked Beth Stroud, a lesbian minister
from Pennsylvania, for violating the UMC ban on "self-avowed, practicing,
homosexuals" in ordained ministry.

At its regular fall meeting October 26-29, the United Methodist Judicial
Council overturned the earlier appellate court ruling that had reinstated
Stroud and once again withdrew her ministry
credentials<http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/312005e.asp>.
It was one of several cases involving homosexuality that the court
considered during the meeting.

Another of these cases involved a conservative Virginia clergyman, Pastor Ed
Johnson, who had been suspended without pay for denying church membership to
an unrepentant homosexual. Johnson was serving as senior pastor at South
Hill (Virginia) UMC up until last June, when he was required to take an
involuntary leave of absence.

According to United Methodist News Service reports, Johnson had been meeting
with a man who wanted to transfer his membership from another denomination.
However, after extensive discussion about the prospective member's
homosexuality, the minister ultimately refused to receive the man into
membership, saying he refused either to repent or to seek to live a
different lifestyle.

A Discipline Question or Clerical Authority Issue?
The associate pastor of South Hill UMC disagreed with Johnson's decision and
contacted the district superintendent. This began a disciplinary process
that eventually resulted in the senior pastor's suspension, formalized
through a vote of his fellow ministers at the 2005 clergy session of the
Virginia Annual Conference.

As a result of requests for rulings of law from Virginia Bishop Charlene P.
Kammerer, Johnson's case came before the Judicial Council, which examines
all UMC bishops' decisions of law. Kammerer's contention was that the United
Methodist Book of Discipline "requires" membership for the homosexual man
seeking to join the South Hill congregation.

The bishop accused Rev. Johnson of singling out one sinful behavior to
exclude the man and of offering him "second-class citizenship" by inviting
him to participate in church without allowing him to join. During the oral
arguments in the case, she told the court that the church "should err on the
side of grace" in deciding whether to accept homosexuals into membership.

Nevertheless, in both cases, the Judicial Council reversed Kammerer's
decisions. The church court ruled that Johnson should be reinstated and that
Bishop Kammerer had overstepped the authority of her office in punishing the
pastor.

In one of the rulings issued in the case, the Council addressed due process
problems in the way the Virginia clergyman was disciplined. And in the
other, more sweeping decision, the court declared that the United
Methodist Book
of Discipline "invests discretion in the pastor-in-charge to make
determination of a person's readiness to affirm the vows of membership."

A Ruling of Historic Significance for the Church
Although the defrocking of the lesbian pastor in Pennsylvania is the
culmination of a lengthy, controversial, and highly-publicized matter, Mark
Tooley of the Institute on Religion and
Democracy<http://www.ird-renew.org/>(IRD) feels the ruling in the
other case is unparalleled in the Judicial
Council's history. "The Ed Johnson decision was probably more significant
than the Beth Stroud decision in that it had very little precedent," he
says.

The very fact that the UMC court addressed this issue was historic, Tooley
asserts. "Basically the Judicial Council said that local church pastors do
have discretion in terms of who they accept into membership," he explains.
Bishop Kammerer, on the other hand, had said no Methodist minister "has the
authority to exclude anyone from joining the church."

However, the IRD spokesman says the Judicial Council ruling contradicted the
Virginia bishop's opinion. Instead, he notes, the court said Kammerer "was
exceeding her authority when she, in essence, told Reverend Johnson that he
must accept the openly homosexual man as a church member -- or that, in
essence ... all pastors must accept all applicants for church membership."

The Judicial Council ruled that Johnson must be immediately reinstated to
the status he held before he was placed on suspension and that he be once
again entitled to receive appointments. The court also required that the
Virginia Annual Conference of the denomination reimburse the pastor for all
salary and benefits lost during his four-month suspension.

      http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/12005h.asp

...Police in Haiti say they rescued unharmed two kidnapped children and a
foster child of a U.S. missionary couple during a raid on an apartment in
Haiti's capital. Police say three-year-old Hannah Lloyd, her five-year-old
brother David and their seven-year-old foster sister Miriam are the children
of Pentecostal minister David Lloyd and his wife, Alicia, of Claremore,
Oklahoma. The children were abducted after they left school on Friday and
were rescued the next day. Lloyd and his wife run "Missions in Haiti," which
helps raise 21 Haitian foster children. Lloyd says, "It's been a pretty
rough year, but we feel this is where God wants us to be, and we will stay
with our mission." [AP]

...A Roman Catholic school is canceling a fashion show by the maker of
American Girl dolls and books, amid criticism of a girls organization that
the company supports. St. Luke School in Brookfield, Wisconsin, notified
parents of the decision through bulletins at Masses over the weekend.
American Girl's parent company, Mattel, raises money for Girls Inc.,
formerly the Girls Clubs of America, which the American Family
Association<http://www.afa.net/petitions/issuedetail.asp?id=154>calls
"a pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group." Girls Inc. says it
accepts lesbianism and provides information to girls who ask about abortion.
Money raised at the school fashion show was to go toward a new playground
and a refurbished library, but St. Luke's pastor says, "The cost is too
high. Our integrity isn't for sale." [AP]

...A pro-life advocate says the fact that a Springfield, Missouri, abortion
clinic closed shortly after passage of a new pro-life law is proof that
people who kill unborn babies shouldn't be called doctors. A new Missouri
law requires anyone performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a
local hospital within 30 miles of the abortion facility. Immediately after
the law took effect, Springfield's only abortion clinic closed because the
abortionist at the facility had no admitting privileges. Judie Brown,
president of American Life League <http://www.all.org/>, says this proves
one thing. "It's interesting that that happened so quickly because what it
tells me is that, at least in this particular abortion mill's case, those
doctors were not qualified to be part of a hospital staff -- if indeed they
were qualified to do anything," Brown says. "So we've got a situation in
Springfield that I think mirrors the situation in a lot of places in the
United States. These are unqualified individuals -- and they make their
money killing children." The ALL leader says she honestly believes that a
doctor who kills babies should not be called a doctor. [Rusty Pugh]

...A pro-family activist says people should be alarmed over the fact that
Catholic Charities of Massachusetts is allowing homosexuals to adopt
children. Catholic Charities has placed 13 children with homosexual couples
over the past few years. Church leaders say they are just following state
law. But Bob Knight of the Culture and Family
Institute<http://www.cultureandfamily.org/>disagrees with the action.
"They have no business deliberately placing
children in homosexual households just to please the state," he says. There
are some Catholic Church leaders who support and praise the action. Knight
wonders how the agency can place children in "motherless or fatherless
households by design in which a sin is the central organizing principle of
the household?" He says the church has to be held accountable for the
adoptions. Many church members want their leaders to fight the law. [Bill
Fancher]

...A Medal of Honor winner and former prisoner of war says recent statements
and actions by John Kerry have convinced him the Massachusetts senator plans
to run for president again in 2008. Last year a group of former POWs
released a video titled Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal. Retired Medal
of Honor winner Col. Bud Day says it was one of several videos by Vietnam
veterans to call attention to the truth about John Kerry's war record. Many
analysts believe the veterans played a major role in Kerry's ultimate
defeat. But in recent weeks, Kerry has returned to the public forefront once
again, criticizing the president on the war on terror in Iraq. Day believes
it is a sign that Kerry wants to try for the White House again. "My take on
it right now that he's positioning himself to do just that," Day shares.
"His strike against President Bush when he was talking about [Bush's]
qualifications, things that he had done and so forth, made it pretty clear
that he's a candidate again." And Day says he believes that a lawsuit filed
against his group by a couple of Kerry supporters is an attempt to put them
out of action for 2008. [Chad Groening]

...An Ohio lawmaker says if the federal government is not willing to enforce
immigration laws, then the state must do it. Republican Courtney Combs says
even though Ohio is a long way from the Mexican border, it has not been
spared the impact of illegal aliens coming within its own borders. Combs
says the so-called "cheap labor" that the illegal immigrants are providing
is anything but cheap for Ohio taxpayers. "They're coming in [and] taking
advantage of all the services -- hospitals, education, human services -- and
they're not paying any taxes," he explains. "So when we talk about that
being 'cheap labor,' that's a misnomer because of all the services that we,
as a state, have to provide to them." So Combs is crafting legislation to
deal with the problem at the state level. "If they are asked if they are ...
in the United States [legally] and they say they are [when they aren't],
then you can get them for falsifying official records," the state lawmaker
says. "We're looking also at trespassing statutes that could be put in.
Right now we're crafting a bill that will be constitutional and that will
hold muster." Combs says the illegal alien problem is clearly a public
safety issue, as evidenced by the amount of crime perpetrated by illegal
aliens in his state. [Chad Groening]

...It was a monumental task, say the organizers -- but the San Antonio
Independent Christian Film
Festival<http://www.independentchristianfilm.com/>has selected its
"Jubilee Award" winners for 2005. Doug Phillips, founder of
the film festival, says more than 130 films were submitted for consideration
by a panel of five judges. The "Best of Festival" Jubilee Award -- a $10,000
grand prize -- went to No Greater Love, a 16-minute film set in Hungary
during the refugee flight of 1956. The film, which is based on a true story,
contrasts two fathers -- one who is willing to sacrifice for his family, and
one who is not. Other awards went to A Journey Home (Best Documentary),
Intent (Best Political), Growing Up (Audience Choice), A Journey Through
Creation (Best Creation), and Bluestate: Tolerance for All (Young
Filmmaker's). Runners-up included The Narrow Path, Her Last Prayer, For God,
Family, and the Republic, Gentle Giants, and Why Did the Duck Cross the
Road? All the winners, says Phillips, are "worthy films that give glory to
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." Next year's film festival and awards is
scheduled for October 19-21, 2006, in San Antonio. [Jody Brown]

  John 14 The Way, the Truth, and the Life

1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in
Me. 2In My Father's house are many mansions;
[a<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014;&version=50;#fen-NKJV-26665a>
] if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
[b<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014;&version=50;#fen-NKJV-26665b>
] 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you
know, and the way you know."
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can
we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.
The Father Revealed


7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on
you know Him and have seen Him."
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for
us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not
known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you
say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own
authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me
that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the
sake of the works themselves.
The Answered Prayer


12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do
he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My
Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you
ask[c<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014;&version=50;#fen-NKJV-26677c>
] anything in My name, I will do it.
Jesus Promises Another Helper


15 "If you love Me,
keep[d<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014;&version=50;#fen-NKJV-26678d>
] My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you
another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;
but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not
leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son


19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will
see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know
that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My
commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will
be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest
Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My
word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home
with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word
which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
The Gift of His Peace


25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said
to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world
gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to
you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I
said,[e<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014;&version=50;#fen-NKJV-26691e>
] 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.
29 "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass,
you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of
this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may
know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.
Arise, let us go from here.