Hallelujah! Prayers Answered and Koreans Released

“Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.” (Acts 16:26)

As you may already have heard, the South Korean government successfully obtained the release of the hostages.  According to CBN news, twelve have already been set free, with the rest to follow soon.  (See: Taliban Frees 12 South Korean Hostages - CBN News )

This is a SUPERNATURAL act of God in response to your prayers and those of millions worldwide. 

We will be sending you information about others of our brethren who also are in great distress due to terrible persecution in various countries.  Stay Tuned! 

Meanwhile, we can all rejoice for these hostages and their families!

Harry Valentine, CHPA Founder/Publisher

Join us in Prayer:

“Thank You, Father, for hearing our prayers and setting the captives free (Is 61:2-3). 

“They are Your beloved children and we joyously embrace the LOVE and MERCY that has been extended to them. 

“Hallelujah! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

S. Korean and Middle Eastern Christians

Need Your Prayers

“But as for me, I would seek God,
And to God I would commit my cause --
Who does great things, and unsearchable,
Marvelous things without number…
But He saves the needy from the sword,
From the mouth of the mighty,
And from their hand.” (Job 5: 8-9, 15)
 

A big part of our Christian responsibility is to work on behalf of our Brethren who face severe dangers worldwide.  Once we are made aware of their plight, I believe it is SIN to look away and thoughtlessly carry on with our own selfish concerns (I Sam 12:33; Mt 25: 41-45).

But, how can we help when we live so far away?  PRAY!  The prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective (Jms 5:16).  Prayer changes history.  God intervenes in the hearts, minds, wills and deeds of people, even His and our enemies (Job 5:12-16; Ps 33:18-19; 34:15-16; I Ptr 3:12).

We have written recently about the S. Korean hostages.  Most of them are still held in captivity by the Taliban.  Please pray for their captors, that they will be touched by God and caused to show MERCY (Hab 3:2).

We are linking you to several articles about other situations in Iraq, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt.  These are not unique (for example, see Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Lebanon, etc).  The headlines below speak for themselves.

Pastors, Priests and Leaders, will you take up the righteous cause of leading your people to PRAY for these situations?  These are real people, brothers and sisters who face dangers of which we can never conceive.  They are objects of God’s LOVE and deserve our concern, compassion and help. 

Talks to free hostages stall by Reuters

Religious Minorities Told to Convert or Die by Compass Direct News

Two Christian girls of 11 and 16 kidnapped, converted to Islam and forced to marry by Qaiser Falix

Egypt: Italy to 'defend' rights of Christian convert  by ADNKronos

Video of beheading used to threaten Christians by WorldNetDaily

Muslims Force Converts in Bangladesh Back to Islam by Aenon Shalom

Harry Valentine, CHPA Founder/Publisher

Join us in Prayer:

“Lord Jesus, You came to set the captives free.  Please work in behalf of Your beloved S. Korean children to deliver them from their tormentors (Lk 4:18).

“Also, Lord, many of Your devoted disciples are being kidnapped, murdered, tortured and threatened by Your enemies.  Please hide and protect them (Ps 91).  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

The American Left: Totalitarians on the March

“So shall they fear
The name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” ( Isa 59:19)

I have just read several articles about the American Left/Socialists/“Progressives”. Rather than giving you excerpts of each (as is our usual custom), I want to offer each in its entirety. Taken together, they give you an idea of how dangerous these groups are to our national health and your children’s future:

1. ‘It Didn't Happen’ by James Taranto, forecasts what we can expect to happen if we pull out of Iraq. The author details what happened in Southeast Asia after we left Vietnam. Millions of people were slaughtered. This is what will happen in Iraq if the “defeatists” on the left have their way. Ironically, these are the people who pretend to care about “the little people.” Actually, their primary concern is personal power and total control of everyone’s life.

2. ‘Propaganda Redux’ by Ion Mihai Pacepa, is an analysis of how “the Left is abetting America’s enemies with its intemperate attacks on President Bush.” Written by a former Romanian communist intelligence officer, it explains how our enemies have always gaged how strong America is by evaluating “America’s own respect for its president.”

Apparently “sowing the seeds of anti-Americanism by discrediting the American president was one of the main tasks of the Soviet-bloc intelligence community.”

This is exactly what the so-called “Progressives” (socialists) are doing today. They are cooperating with our enemies in an effort to secure our defeat, by constantly denigrating and mocking our president, which is an old communist strategy.

3. ‘Family Research Council Prayer Targets’ is a Prayer Letter from the Family Research Council to its supporters. It describes the Homosexual Agenda and the Hate Crimes Bill of (guess who?) Senator Teddy Kennedy (D, MA). This bill, if it becomes law, will have the effect of silencing Biblical comments about the homosexual agenda and Islam.

The Letter cites just how this has worked in Canada and elsewhere, causing pastors, bloggers, etc. to be fearful about telling the truth.

Be sure to read the following links, provided by FRC on these topics:

· NEA pushing homosexual agenda in public schools by Erin Roach

· NEA Letter to the U.S. Senate from Diane Shust & Randall Moody

· Political website cited for crime of 'offending' 'All it takes is for someone to say my feelings were hurt' by Bob Unruh

· Dems Seek Study of Broadcast Speech and Hate Crimes by John Eggerton

Harry Valentine, CHPA Founder/Publisher

Please Join Us in Prayer:

“Lord, we see how the anti-Christ forces are ‘coming in like a flood.’

“Please, Lord, raise up a standard! Arise and send a monumental revival, or we may sink. (Ps 119:81-88, 145-153; Is 37; Is 38)”

Please Keep Praying for the Korean Hostages

“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Cor 4:8-9)

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you.” (1 Sam 12:23)

The excerpts below speak for themselves. Please read them, as well as the entirety of the articles from which they come.

Entire article:

Taliban weigh hostage fate after Bush and Karzai meet by Sayed Salahuddin

“Taliban leaders are deciding what to do with 21 Korean hostages after Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. President George Bush ruled out making any concessions to free them…”

"He [a Taliban commander] said the Taliban leadership would make the decision on the fate of the Christian volunteers.”

“[H]e repeated the Taliban line that Bush and Karzai would be held responsible for whatever happens to the Koreans if the Afghan government does not release jailed Taliban members.”

“The group had been invited to convert to Islam and the hostages told him they would study his offer. ‘Again and again [We] have invited them to become Muslims and they said they will deliberate on it,’ he said.”

Entire article:

Killing Korean Christians by Mark Tooley

“Christian missionaries across the centuries, dating to the age of the Apostles, have long been careless about their safety, often to the point of martyrdom. Most especially, church groups in the West might be expected to express more outrage over the abduction and murder of their fellow Christians, 18 of whom are women.”

“To date, groups such as the National Council of Churches in the U.S. have said nothing publicly about the outrages. Neither have most mainline denominations.”

“But, at least in the U.S. and in the West, church officials are saying very little. The Swiss-based World Council of Churches issued a cryptic statement that declined even specifically to finger the Taliban as the killers and kidnappers. Their abduction is described almost in the passive voice.” (emphases mine)

Do not for a moment fall for the propaganda that these are “extremists”! This is happening all over the globe.

Take something closer to home. For example, BROOKLYN, N.Y.! Here are some excerpts from another article about how Muslims have tortured, beaten, slashed and otherwise assaulted someone over an “arranged” marriage gone awry.

Entire article:

Family Wouldn't let her marry for love by Nancie L. Katz

“Her father promised her hand to a wealthy groom in their native Pakistan. But 15-year-old Miriam Khalid ran off with a poor Brooklyn boy instead. Now, the teen's outraged dad and three relatives are on trial on charges of torturing her boyfriend's uncle in a bid to find the young lovers.”

“‘They tied his feet with rope and handcuffed his hands together,’ prosecutor Samantha Magnani told a jury yesterday in Brooklyn Supreme Court. ‘They beat him. They threatened to slit his throat.’”

“Magnani said both families attended the same Brooklyn mosque and all was well until two years ago. That's when Miriam, then 15, fell for Hussain's nephew, 19-year-old Usaman Rana. She moved in with him and his uncle.”

“Khalid and his relatives ambushed Hussain on Aug. 10, 2006, as he entered his fourth-floor apartment on W. Sixth St.”

“Magnani said the assault continued for several hours, with Hussain screaming in pain as he was struck with a pipe and a hammer and slashed with knives. One man held a gun to his head, threatening to kill him, she said. Finally, they hit his head so hard he passed out, she said.”

So, what can we do about this? Here are several suggestions:

1. Realize that the Islamists’ desire to rule the world and install Sharia Law in your backyard is REAL;

2. Spread the word and take steps locally to resist (Jas 4:7);

3. Do not be deceived by the multicultural /tolerance-of-evil propaganda (Gal 6:7);

4. PRAY! Despite what you think (“this could never happen in my backyard”), remember Brooklyn! It is happening here, now!

5. Pray for God’s Intervention. When God’s people were surrounded and without hope, the Lord and His Hosts intervened. He will not be mocked! (Ex 14; 1 Sam 14:15-23, 17:50; 2 Chron 20:3-22; Acts 5:19, 12:5-11; Gal 6:7)

6. Pray for our S. Korean brethren! Their lives may depend on our fervent prayers! (1 Sam 12:23)

Harry Valentine, CHPA Founder/Publisher

Very Relevant Articles:

Domestic Terror in Iran by Amir Taheri

Radical Islam Warrants More Government Intrusion, Says Blankley by Kevin Mooney

No Apologies Necessary by Bob Parks

Exclusive: Wake Up, America! Wake Up Judeo-Christians! Wake Up Western Civilization! by Peter Feaman

Pray with us:

“Lord, please intervene on behalf of Your faithful Korean Missionaries. Set them free as You change the hearts and spirits of their captors. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

  S. Korean Martyrs: Where is the Outrage?Where is the Prayer?

“Thus says the LORD:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.’” (Jer 31:15)

Recently I was watching a TV news-show which receives comments. Regarding the Michael Vick dog-fighting frenzy, a person wrote that dog-fighting is “a disgusting act of savagery.” I asked my wife, “What would they say if they could ever see pictures of the remains of aborted babies?”

May I also ask you pastors, priests, elders, deacons, and laypeople, are you “disgusted” about the wanton, senseless, fanatic killing of these kind and compassionate South Korean aid-workers by thugs who would just as soon be killing you and your children?

Do you care, or are you too focused on your inner-church stuff and yourselves? Do you realize you have a Biblical obligation to pray for others? (1 Sam 12:23; Dan 9:3-23; 1 Tim 2:1-3)

Do you know that if you look away and fail to pray for the persecuted church, you are sinning and risk being “GOATS”? (see Lev 20:4-5; Mt 25:41-43; 2 Cor 4:9; Heb 13:3; Col 4:18b)

I know this is a hard word, but after studying the Bible with regard to abortion for many years, I know it is a true word.

Please read excerpts below from Michelle Malkin’s column and hopefully all of it:

The Martyrs No One Cares About. It is very convicting.

“The blood of innocent Christian missionaries spills on Afghan sands. The world watches and yawns.”

“Where is the global uproar over the human rights abuses unfolding before our eyes?”

“For two weeks, a group of South Korean Christians has been held hostage by Taliban thugs in Afghanistan…What was their offense? Were they smuggling arms into the country? No. Inciting violence? No. They were peaceful believers in Christ on short-term medical and humanitarian missions. Seventeen of the 23 hostages are females. Most of them are nurses who provide social services and relief.”

“Two men, 29-year-old Shim Sung-min and 42-year-old Pastor Bae Hyeong-gyu, have already been shot to death and dumped in the name of Allah. Bae was a married father with a 9-year-old daughter. According to Korean media, he was from a devout Christian family from the island province of Jeju. He helped found the Saemmul Church south of Seoul, which sent the volunteers to Afghanistan.”

“Across Asia, media coverage is 24/7. Strangers have held nightly prayer vigils. But the human rights crowd in America has been largely AWOL. And so has most of our mainstream media.”

“The silence is rooted in viewing committed Christians as alien others. At best, there is a collective callousness. At worst, there is outright contempt.”

“Curiously, those who argue that we need to ‘understand’ Islamic terrorists demonstrate little effort to ‘understand’ the Christian evangelical missionaries who risk their lives to spread the gospel -- not by sword, but through acts of compassion, healing and education.”

Prayer works! God cares! If you care, please pray for these fine people.

Harry Valentine, CHPA Founder/Publisher

Join in our Prayer:

“Lord, Saint Paul asked his leaders to pray for him. Please, Lord, cause Your people to pray earnestly for our brethren. Lord, hear our prayers and act! Set these prisoners free! (Dan 9:19,23) Thank You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Korean Brethren Need Your Prayers!

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me…
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”(Isa 61:1)

“Remember the prisoners as if chained with them -- those who are mistreated…”(Heb 13:3)

As you may know, a South Korean Christian church group is being held hostage and slowly are being killed by the Islamic Taliban in Afganistan.

Below are excerpts from an article about this tragedy. (See entire article here: Afghans Say They Won't Free Prisoners by Amir Shah.) You will also find links to relevant articles at the end.

“South Korea and relatives of 21 kidnapped Koreans appealed for U.S. help Tuesday, but Afghanistan said for the first time it will not release insurgent prisoners – the Taliban's key demand to free the captives.”

“Afghan police found the body of the second hostage slain since the Christian church group was seized nearly two weeks ago; the group's pastor was killed last week.”

“The Taliban said more Koreans will die if its demands are not met by midday Wednesday. The militants have extended several previous deadlines without consequences, but killed 29-year-old Shim Sung-min on Monday after a deadline passed. His body, with a gunshot wound to the head, was found along a road in Andar district.”

“‘If the Kabul government does not release the Taliban prisoners, then we will kill after 12 o'clock,’ Ahmadi said. ‘It might be a man or a woman ... It might be one. It might be two, four. It might be all of them.’”(emphases added)

Please cry out to God the Father of Jesus for His intervention! The lives of our brethren are at stake!

Also See:

The Martyrs No One Cares About by Michelle Malkin

Taleban rebels turn back on deal and kill second Christian hostage by Tim Albone

Taliban threaten more killings by Amir Shah

Harry Valentine, CHPA Founder/Publisher

Earnestly Join Us in Prayer:

“Lord, please hasten to set the captives fee. May their captors and murderers be discovered, brought to Justice and set free from the demonic idolatry enslaving them, in Jesus’ Name.”