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That Harris would have a strong following among teens might surprise some, considering his unconventional stance against the concept of dating or any physical intimacy beyond handholding outside of marriage. But his higher call has struck a chord with a lot of young people who are desperately looking for direction.

“We need new attitudes based on scriptural values and a radically God-centered view of pursuing an intimate relationship with the opposite sex,” Harris writes in his most recent book Boy Meets Girl (Multnomah). He adds, “To stand firm against sin, we can’t simply intellectually agree with the merits of chastity. We must be captivated by the beauty and greater pleasure of God’s way.”

While these books focus on a diverse spectrum of human concerns from fetishes and masturbation to courtship and recovery from past sexual sins, their popularity signals an encouraging fact: Christian teens, whatever else they’re after, are hungry for answers they can rely on. They’re hungry for truth.

And as the Christian teens of this generation work out their sexual salvation in fear and trembling, it is up to Christian adults to come alongside them with encouragement rather than condemnation, honesty rather than hypocrisy, and biblical truth rather than awkward silence. It is time for Christian men and women to demonstrate in their own walk that sexual purity—in or out of marriage—is not a onetime vow but a daily re-commitment to seek God’s grace for our failures, his power for our victories, and his best for our lives.

Americas’ TV news broadcasts ignore conservative and Christian news events, except when coverage makes religious leaders look “cold, intolerant and oppressive,” says Washington, D.C.’s Media Research Center.

Though most Americans believe in God and regularly attend religious services, “religion and religious issues are hardly ever mentioned, much less covered, on network television morning, evening and magazine shows,” said the center’s chairman Brent Bozell. He said that the center has surveyed more than 18,000 nightly news shows broadcast by ABC, CBS, NBC, the Cable News Network and the Public Broadcasting Service, but found only 212 stories that focused on religion. That amounts to 1 percent of coverage although 52 percent of Americans say they attend church and more than 90 percent say that they pray regularly.

Network coverage of abortion and homosexuality “are never done from the religious viewpoint,” Bozell said. Instead, “religious figures are regularly portrayed as reactionary roadblocks while their positive influences are rarely covered.” Except at Christmastime, when the networks traditionally broadcast “heartwarming” segments in their broadcasts, the news shows usually portray religious groups and their leaders “as cold, intolerant and oppressive,” Bozell said.

Jesus encourages all believers to grow in relationship, commitment, and obedience to Him. This is the essence of how to live a Christian life. Our relationship, commitment, and obedience are done out of love, not constraint. John 14:21 says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

Living the Christian life is not abiding by an agenda or following a set of strict rules. Instead, the Christian life is characterized by:

• Understanding that you are a new creation! 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
• Transforming and renewing your mind. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
• Treating others with love. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
• Living out the teachings of Christ. Jesus taught: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3-10).
• Sharing your faith. Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Living the Christian life does not mean enjoying a life of ease and never experiencing problems. 1 Peter 5:8 says that there is an enemy who wishes to destroy us: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” But we also read that Jesus has overcome the world!

No matter what opposition you face, living the Christian life is worth it! Enjoying a relationship with God and His Son Jesus, being confident of where you will spend eternity, and living in day-to-day fellowship with Him is far greater than any opposition you may face.

The first thing Christain teens need to develop is godly purity from God’s perspective! Titus 2:12 says “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” This verse is a good start to understanding HOW God wants us to live. Righteously means the right way, God1s way and godly means to be like God in characater. Wow! That’s a high calling for Christian teens, to follow God’s character.

Some may be thinking “does the Bible actually call Christians to that high of a standard?” Let’s allow God’s word to answer that question! Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” 1Peter 1:15 “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” Notice Peter writes “all your conduct”. An old preacher once said “all means all and that’s all – all means.” So born again teens need to honor the Lord with their whole life style. In order to do that teenagers should choose activities and friends that will encourage them to live HOLY.

Now let’s get practical! How do we live this kind of PURE life that pleases a Holy God? 2Tim. 2:19, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” What’s so hard to understand about “Depart from”? Let me put it to you a few other ways:

1. you don’t hang around sinfulness,

2. Git from sin,

3. Run from evil,

4. give sinful activities the big “adio`s” !

Now some teens like to hang around the mall, the beach and lots of other places, but where ever you are and where ever you go, you need to be asking yourself, “is there something here I shouldn’t be hanging around?” You need to live godly in a wicked age! Now you will not run from evil until you have Fully Surrendered to God! When God is FIRST in your life, then living godly will be a priority in your life. So that obviously means when you’re NOT departing from sin, that God is certainly not first. Remember, the Bible says that Christians need to be “holy in all your conduct.” Holiness is thinking like God thinks and desiring like God desires. What is God pleased with? Whatever they are, you need to do these things. On the other hand, what does God despise? Don1t do these things!

If you want to live godly, you must give up the most Crucial part of your body. Most teen guys might think “this means my muscles.” Teenage girls may think “it’s my looks.” None of these things are the most important thing on your body that you need to give over to God. It’s your mind! Your thoughts MUST be surrendered fully to God. All your sins begin in or enter the mind First. So the battle for purity begins in the teens mind. Romans 12:1-2 says “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Does this passage mean that Christian young adults need to present themselves to God for God’s service and design? Yes!

When it comes to living Right before God you need to say, “here I am Lord, at your service!” We need to understand that this giving of yourself does not just happen. It’s a process that involves the mind. People can get addicted to all kinds of habitual habbits that are evil and not good for you. Some get addicted to drugs, others develop habitual sin problems in their life like fornication, cheating in school, and much more.

People in these sins have given themselves over or presented themselves to this things. Now to fulfill God’s desire for Christian teens, you need to instead give yourself over to HIM. And you start with giving the Lord your mind, your thoughts. Not only does your mind belong to God, but all of you belongs to God. 1Corinthians 6:19 & 20 says “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Think of it this way: You are the temple of God! God1s spirit is in you. Your mind is the Door to God’s temple! Wow! Could that be true, that our mind is like the door to our temple? Yes!

With our bodily temples we are to worship and serve God. However, you cannot do that when you have junk, filth, evil in your mind. Do you remember when Jesus cleansed the Temple? Sure you do! What did Jesus do? He drove out of God’s Temple all that was evil and unacceptable.

Now let’s apply that to your life. What’s in your life and in your mind that needs to be driven out? Oh you know what it is! But now you need to decide. Will I live for God and depart from sinful activities and evil thoughts or will I serve myself. Proverbs 23:7 say “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” What are you reading? What do you day dream about? It should only be God honoring things. Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.”

So you need to think about Pure things, Good things and godly thoughts. Don’t think about Junk or Filth. That means you have to Gaurd what goes into your mind. You1re the gaurd of your own mind. You’re like a Spiritual Goalie trying to deflect junk and evil from getting into the net of your mind. Don1t let Satan score straight shots into you mind. Don’t let the world make slap shots into your thinking process.

If you’re going to win the battle for purity you must begin the battle of what goes into your mind. Proverbs 4:23 says “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” Keep and Diligence are two terms that simply mean GAURD with All your discipline. Your eyes and hears are the door keepers of your mind. Watch what you let in! Television, Internet, Magazines, books, Movies, filthly speech of others and any other wicked thing should be avoided.

Christian teens pay a high price when they allow foul and putrid things into their mind. Those impure thoughts will never be erased in this life time. They’ll come back to plague you if you let them. It would be better if you NEVER ALLOWED THEM IN. So Stand Gaurd! In a Sinful Wicked world, You’ll have to battle for Purity in your mind. So what’s the best way to develop a Pure mind, the best way to surrender your mind to God?

Psalm 101:3 “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes”

If you need help E-mail me at Chartman@clcconline.com

Before we read the passage, let’s understand the context of the story. Joseph’s brothers were getting tired of Joseph always being Mr. goody do right, so they decided to throw him in a pit and leave him to die. Then shortly after they actually threw him down into the whole in the ground they saw some slave traders coming their way and decided to make a little pocket change for themselves by selling their despised brother. The slave traders did buy Joseph and took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar who was a man of great wealth. Joseph was a brilliant hard worker, so Potiphar elevated Joseph to oversee all of his household.

It is while he is working in Potiphar’s house that Potiphar’s wife tried to tempt Joseph in a physical way, day after day. Now we must remember, Joseph was a slave. He couldn’t just walk off the job. Yet, he faithfully served God even in these difficult situations. Let’s read God’s word and see just what happened and how Joseph as a teenager handled this moment.

Genesis 39:7, And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” 8, But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9, “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” 10, So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. 11, But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.

How old was Joseph when this happened. If we look back to Gen. 37:2 we find out that he was 17 years old when he was sold into slavery. So, at most, Joseph is some where between 17 and 18 when Potiphar’s wife tries to tempt him.

Think of this situation! They were alone. Remember, he couldn’t help that, but you can. As a Christian teen, don’t put yourself in a vulnerable environment. Be spiritually wise when it comes to spending time with someone of the opposite gender. The BEST PLAN is – Don’t be alone – Period! Be with your parents or the person’s parents or have a parent approved chaperone.

After repeated advances by Potiphar’s wife Joseph told her “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” It was Joeseph’s keen understanding of God’s moral laws that provoked him to do the right thing. It was also Joeseph’s heart for God that gave him the desire to obey NO MATTER what. Teens need to have this understanding and heart for God. If you don’t, you’ll just allow the temptation to reel you in, like a fish on a line, and then you’ll be offending God and not caring about Him.

Joseph was in a very awkward situation. As a slave, his word would have no merit against an Egyptian citizen’s. However, he knew he had to do the right thing before God when Potiphar’s wife crossed the line. In order to keep himself from sin he “fled and ran outside.”

God’s word is quite clear on this matter: 1Corinthians 6:18 “Flee sexual immorality” ; 2Timothy 2:22 “Flee also youthful lusts.” What’s so hard to understand about “FLEE”, “RUN”, “GET OUT OF THE PLACE!”

Perhaps you’ve crossed the line already! Determine in your heart not to do it again. Cry out to God for forgiveness and for strength to remain pure from this point on. Have a clear PLAN to AVOID tempting situations. BE SPIRITUALLY SMART!

Young Christian men, Listen up here! God’s word says in 1Corinthians 7:1 “it is good for a man not to touch a woman.” This is not talking about shaking hands! It’s not talking about a little tap on the shoulder. No, this passage is talking about the unmarried man touching someone in a way that only a married man should touch his wife. The original Greek word for “touch” has the sense of “to light or to kindle”. In other words to start a fire. In plain English, young Christian men SHOULD NOT be touching any woman in such a way as to get a fire going (I’ll leave it at that!). If you do, you’re sining against God, the young lady and your own body! If this activity describes you, you need to repent, confess it to God and ask forgiveness of the lady. Finally – Keep your hands off!

Young Christian ladies, it’s your turn to Listen up! You certainly should have no part in tempting any young man. The book of proverbs warns men about the flirtatious women that tempts men to sin. Don’t be the kind of young lady Proverbs speaks against. It could be that you’ve fallen into the trap and sin of lust. You need to repent and ask God for forgiveness. If the “SO CALLED” person who “SUPPOSEDLY” cares about you persists in trying to drag you back into sin – RUN! FLEE! GET AWAY FROM HIM!

Does the person you care about really care about you?

If you really cared about someone as a Christian, would you cause them to sin?

If you had the other’s spiritual interest in mind would you interfer with their close fellowship with God?

A true friend, someone who really cared about you as a Christian would NOT tempt you to sin. A true friend WOULD encourage you to do what is RIGHT before our Lord.

Let me give you a long term perspective.

# 1, You should save yourself for the Christian person that you will eventually marry.

# 2, If the person you spend time with now does not care about your godliness and your relationship with God, what makes you think they will in the future?

# 3, In God’s eyes, the only thing that young women and young men should develop, before marriage, is a godly friendship based on biblical principles.

Finally, learn a lesson from Joeseph! There is a time to Run! There is a time to tell the other person “this would be SIN before and against my God!”

Be spiritually wise – Don’t be alone!

Be spiritually ready – Be prepared to Run!

Be spiritually responsible – DON’T put yourself in compromising situations.

If you desire straight forward biblical help, feel free to email me. Chartman@clcconline.com

This is a very important question for every Christian to answer, because we all need to deal with it. Unfortunately, many Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have chosen to simply adopt the World’s standard for what is considered appropriate or modest clothing. However, we understand from Scripture, that God does not want His children conforming to the World’s Standards and the World’s Philosophies. So, when it comes to dress and clothing styles, we need God’s word to show us what is and is not acceptable from God’s Holy perspective.

First let’s deal with a heart principle that Jesus discussed in Mt 5:28, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Let’s not be blind to human nature! Yes man’s sinful nature is attracted to lustful things. True, it’s wrong to lust, but it is just as wrong to dress in such a way as to cause others to lust? That’s why the apostle Paul says “that women adorn themselves in modest apparel.” Of course it’s not just the ladies that need to be modest. The men also need to be very careful about what they wear.

Let’s consider what is acceptable according to God’s word:

It’s good to dress clean and neat for church meetings!

Obviously at church work days you have to get a little dirty!

It’s good to wear clothing appropriate for the function:

Really nice Clothes for Worship Service

Wedding Clothes if you’re going to a wedding, especially if you’re the one getting married, by all means wear a fancy wedding gown or tux.

Modest casual shorts and shirts at a church picnic.

Now, let’s consider what is NOT acceptable according to God’s word:

Revealing clothes that attempt to draw attention to yourself in a sexual way, that begins to reveal your “nakedness” , that will cause others to “lust” or “commit adultery” even in their imagination.

Short’s that are Too short, dresses that are too tight or too short

Clothes that begin to reveal what should be covered, such as low necklines and skirts with slits up the side. Many young ladies have fallen to the trend of wearing spaggetti straps that don’t cover their under garments. Don’t be a temptrous!

Read Proverbs 7: Pr 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

Some young ladies (and men) will dress to look attractive, but they fail to use Biblical discretion as to what is honoring to God. Consider Proverbs 11:22, As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

Guys you need to use biblical discretion as well! In the gym class and on the athletic field, tank tops may be appropriate, but not in church services and perhaps not even at casual events. * More to come for the guysŠŠ

God has given a special relationship for men and women to reveal their bodies to each other. That is the marriage relationship. Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

The harlot of Proverbs 7:10, intentionally dresses in such a way to lure men to her body in a sexual way. This is WRONG! We need to understand that in the setting of the Jewish culture in biblical times, much of the modern ladies clothing that we see today would be even more revealing than the harlot’s clothing years ago. Has the nature of men changed? Absolutely not! What has changed is our culture’s attitude towards God and His moral Standards and Principles.

What should men and women see when they observe each other? Should they see someone trying to tempt and lure others or should they see “CHARACTER”, godliness and clothing that represents inner godliness? For the Christian, this answer should be obvious!

Things to ask yourself about specific clothing:

Am I buying this because I want to look sexy? Don’t buy it!

Am I wearing this because I want him/her to look at me and want me in a sexual way? Don’t wear it!

Am I trying to draw attention to myself from those of the opposite gender by being immodest or even slightly immodest? Don’t do it!

Am I trying to be more like the world and less like Christ? You need to have a heart and attitude change! * Read Romans 12:1 & 2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Other passages to read:

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

1John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

When it comes to the clothing you wear, don’t help someone else feed his or her flesh! Be careful what you wear.

You also need to care about others. God’s word tells us a number of times not to set “stumbling blocks before our brethren.”

1John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

Romans 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Key thoughts concerning Biblical Modesty:

· Your clothing on the outside should represent godliness on the inside (see 1Tim. 2:9-10).

Your clothing should not be a stumbling block for believers or unbelievers.

Would you feel uncomfortable with what you’re wearing or thinking of wearing if our Holy Lord Jesus were standing next to you?

Would the older men & women in the church be offended at what you’re wearing?

Some Christians just don’t care about others when it comes to modesty, but they are wrong biblically. They may cry out, “but what about my Christian Liberty?” Please turn your attention to what God says in Galatians and Romans:

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

One last thought:

When in doubt about a type of clothing fashion, ask one of the godly women or godly men in your church what they think (ladies ask ladies and men ask men).

Feel Free to Contact Michelle@clcconline.com

That separation amounts to eternal life in Hell. However, Rom. 6:23 tells us about God’s FREE gift. Salvation and forgiveness of sins is a Free Gift. Yes, we all deserve His wrath, but our Holy God is also a loving God that has provided a way to be saved from His wrath: You don’t earn it you simply receive it by faith. However, it’s a Free Salvation at a Great Price. Jesus died a cruel death on the Cross, suffering and bleeding for your sins. He paid the price of God’s wrath for you! Perhaps you struggle with drug addiction or alcohol addiction, maybe you’re wrestling with homosexuality or pornography, perhaps you’re in prison for a serious crime, you may be a self-righteous person, what ever your sin problem is, you need to turn to Jesus Christ. You must come to God by faith, believing He gave His Son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross for your sins. God loves you and wants you to come to Him.

What must you believe in order to be saved? By faith, believe God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the Cross for your sins. Believe that He died in your place, for your sins. Remember, the wages of sin is Death – Jesus paid that debt. He was the only one who could. When you’re saved from God’s wrath you are given eternal life in Heaven. Please understand the following important truth from God’s word: The Holy God of the Bible will never simply dismiss sins, He must judge them with a Righteous judgment. From God’s perspective, your sins can be judged in one of two ways. You can receive Jesus’ payment for your sins when He died and suffered on the Cross providing pardon for your sins, or you can pay the penalty yourself by spending Eternity in Hell. Some have been led to believe that they can work their way into Heaven. Some think that if they’re as good as they can be and they try their best in life to be a good person, that God will simply allow them into His presence. This is not true! James 2:10 tells us “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” Every person born needs to realize that they stand as a sinful being before a Holy God that MUST punish sin. And the only remedy for man’s condition before God is the remedy that God Himself provided – Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. We want to help you with any questions you may have. This is the most important decision you will ever make. So don’t take it lightly and don’t put it off any longer.

Please feel free e-mail me at Chartman@clcconline.com

In Saad’s situation, those prayers carried him through an assassination attempt that left 12 bullet holes in his car, several hit-and-run attacks, and an assault by a taxi driver who drove into him, knocked him down, and ran over his arm.

As the battle over the persecution of Christians worldwide rages – estimates are that 200 million Christians around the globe are subject at any time to punishments up to and including death simply for believing – so does the need for information for those who are not yet on the more violent front lines,

That’s where the Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, available through an online signup process, becomes important.

“Because we are so free and so comfortable, a lot of us don’t ask about how it is for Christians in the rest of the world. We’ve never been reminded, don’t think about it, and sad to say in some cases, we don’t care,”

Unlike the popular contemporary concept that the persecution of Christians happened in biblical times and then ended, he said, such attacks now are escalating in dozens of nations around the world.

But before supporters can get involved in the battles over steadfastness in the faith, they have to understand what is developing, Nettleton said.

“One of our purposes is to be a wake-up call to the American church, and say, ‘Here’s what reality is for our spiritual brothers and sisters in restricted nations,’” he said of the newsletter.

The Christian ministry mails out monthly updates, but its instant information channel is through the e-mail notifications, where Christians can learn about the situations that have developed, and then learn what they can do to help.

In America, the persecution often is in the derogatory descriptions used by those who oppose Christianity – “Bible-thumpers,” “right-wingers,” etc. But Nettleton said, that in other nations, Christians simply cannot make the assumption they’ll go to church on Sunday and not worry.

“They aren’t 100 percent certain their pastor will be out of jail on Sunday to preach the sermon,” Nettleton said. “One of the important things that VOM does is call the American church to be aware and to be involved. We can pray for them, and in some cases write a letter to someone in prison. What we want to tell the American church, No. 1, is that this is going on.”

Secondly, he said, involvement is important. “If you don’t know, there’s nothing you can do,” he said. “Then there are two responses. Once you do know, you can say, ‘I don’t like that, that’s awful. I don’t want to hear anymore.’”

“On the other side, when they understand what’s going on, that this is our spiritual family, this is happening to our spiritual brothers and sisters, the overwhelming responses is, ‘What can I do?’” he said.

The ministry has multiple opportunities for involvement. Prayer is the first component, but in actual hands-on categories there are programs to collect coats and ship them to needy people in Russia, special blanket-and-basics “action packs” that are going to Sudan and Pakistan, a program to write letters to Christians in prison, and the organization’s Bibles Unbound program, through which American Christians can send individual copies of the Bible into restricted nations.

It ends up being a circle, he said. Prayer is followed by awareness, which is followed by action, and then a return to prayer.

“When people feel that connection, the result is that you don’t have to be reminded to pray; it comes naturally,” he said.

The newsletter gives the information, he said, that first challenges a person to consider their own beliefs. “Your faith is going to be challenged when you read the stories and see the pictures, and understand what people in restricted nations are going through,” he said. “The natural response is to look inward in your own life, and say, ‘Wow, is my faith strong enough to go through that?’”

“There’s definitely a need for education [about persecution] within the American church, what it means, what it involves, how people are overcoming it,” Nettleton said.

“It is a little hard to grasp for us here in America. We can all understand if someone is killed. We know what that means. But when kids are not allowed to go to school [because they are Christian,] that’s a little more subtle.”

The newsletter also provides information that allows Christians to be educated about the different levels of persecution. In Pakistan, for example, one of the VOM projects involves job training for Christians, because Muslims there often won’t consider employing a Christian.

But he said there are blessings, too, from persecution, and readers also share in that joy. For example, it has happened that a church is raided and closed down, and the congregation breaks up into smaller groups. Many times there will end up being more people attending than when the group met in a building.

“God can use [persecution] to help to grow the church,” Nettleton said. “That’s the layer beneath the surface.”

Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry working worldwide to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and to educate the world about that persecution. Its headquarters are in Bartlesville, Okla., and it has 30 affiliated international offices.

It was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before Richard was abducted and imprisoned in Romania where he was tortured for his refusal to recant Christianity.

He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified about the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate’s Internal Security Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep torture wound scars on his body.

The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was organized in 1967, when his book, “Tortured for Christ,” was released.

What is an abortion? In simple language, if you are female and pregnant, and you deliberately terminate your pregnancy before your baby can survive independently, you have caused an abortion.

If the baby dies accidentally — for example if the mother falls and the unborn baby dies accidentally — it is generally called a “miscarriage,” not an abortion.

What Christians oppose

Christians oppose the deliberate killing of the unborn baby when the mother’s life is not in danger. Some pregnant women or girls have their unborn babies killed because they don’t want the responsibility of looking after their child. Or they think that if the child lives they will have to give up their career. Or they think it will be too expensive. Or too time-consuming. Or too embarrassing. Or too much trouble.

So instead of allowing the baby to live and having it adopted out through a welfare agency, they have an abortion, which kills their child.

Killing the most defenseless humans

From a Christian view, deliberate abortion — except when the mother’s life is in danger — is murder. That is why Christians are against it, even though governments in some parts of the world have legalized it. It is killing the most defenseless living beings by taking away their most basic human right: the right to life.

Is the unborn baby human yet?

Some people say an abortion is all right because you are not killing a living baby. They say the baby is not human until birth or until it is a certain age, and you are only removing unwanted tissue when you have an abortion. This is peer pressure at its worst.

Look at the footprint at right, from a baby girl who accidentally died in her mother’s womb at 19 weeks old. The footprint is only 25 millimetres, or one inch, yet you can clearly see the foot is shaped normally with all the toes already formed. This is from a real baby — and real babies are what grow in the mother’s womb from the moment of conception.

Recent technology and microphotography have shown that the baby is a growing, living human right from the earliest stage. From the moment of conception you have all your genes and chromosomes, and all the “information” you need to direct your development. Sensible and responsible mothers avoid smoking, alcohol, drugs, and any other substances that may harm their baby.

Studies show a strong link between aborton and depression. A New Zealand study found that women who had abortions had more psychological problems and were three times more depressed than women who gave birth.

Isaac’s story

Isaac’s birth took place in England on a cold Christmas Day. He was sick, born premature, and everyone around him thought he was going to die. His father had died two months earlier, and his mother was having a hard time running the farm and looking after her new baby. And a war was raging around them.

Some people think it would have been easier for Isaac’s mother if she had aborted Isaac. But his mother wouldn’t consider it. And just as well for the world. Isaac grew up to be a scientific genius.

Isaac was the one who discovered the law of gravitation. He revolutionized mathematics by developing calculus. He improved the telescope. He became famous for his work in physics, mathematics, and astronomy. Isaac was the first person to receive a knighthood for scientific achievement. When he died in 1727 at the age of 84 the government honored him by burying him in London’s famous Westminster Abbey.

Yes, it might have been easier for his mother to abort the child who became Sir Isaac Newton, but the world would never have known the greatest scientist who ever lived. How many geniuses has the world lost through abortion? We will never know.

What does the Bible say?

In the chapter in Exodus following the Ten Commandments that God gave to Israel, we read of various rights and punishments that God provided for wrongdoing. Exodus 21:22–25 provide for severe punishment to those who cause abortions. If someone harmed a pregnant woman and caused her to lose her baby, God said the punishment was to be:

• life for life
• eye for eye
• tooth for tooth
• hand for hand
• foot for foot
• burning for burning
• wound for wound
• stripe for stripe.

Unborn babies are living humans

The Bible clearly identifies the unborn baby as a living, human being. When the Virgin Mary was pregnant with Jesus she visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was herself six months pregnant with John the Baptist. The Bible says that when Mary arrived with the unborn Jesus inside her, John “leaped in her womb for joy” (Luke 1:41, 44). So John the Baptist was clearly a living, understanding person even before his birth.

Psalm 139 again makes clear that the fetus (unborn baby) is a human whom God loves. And God told the prophet Jeremiah, “before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). God had plans for Jeremiah even while he was in his mother’s womb.

What if I have already had an abortion?

Even though surveys show that teens who go to church get into less trouble, it is sad to say that even some Christian women and teens have deliberately had their babies aborted. Other people may have talked some of them into it. Or they might have decided on this themselves because they didn’t think they could look after the baby. Or maybe they didn’t realize at the time that they were killing their babies.

The good news is that God can forgive an abortion like He can forgive any other sin, if you are willing to confess it to Him and ask Him for forgiveness. Everyone makes mistakes, sometimes deliberate mistakes, whether it is stealing, murder, greed, or whatever. The only way to get God’s forgiveness is to confess your mistake to God in prayer. Tell Him you are sorry, ask His forgiveness, and ask Him to help you never to commit this sin again. His refreshing love will allow you to be born again. God will forgive you if you take the first step.