Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12

Many of our brothers and sisters around the Christian world face persecution daily. And we hear stories of how they’ve held up under some very intense and brutal persecution! Hallelujah!

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying,”The blood of the martyr is the seed of the church.” Simply put, it means that the church seems to thrive and blossom under persecution. When people are killed because they are Christians, the church grows. It’s clearly an upside down way of thinking.

Fortunately we haven’t experienced persecution as our Brothers and Sisters in the East has. Certainly we are insulted for our beliefs in the West but we haven’t been beaten because of them.

Pray right now for strength and boldness for these dear people in China, Sudan, and North Korea. Of course, there are other countries that mistreat Christians. Those three countries have been in the news quite a bit lately. Pray that God will continue to do a mighty work in those lands!