A Call to Pray for our Armed Forces | 309 | Report 1

The deployment of British servicemen and women into Afghanistan will be with us for some time to come. Although it was hoped that the
numbers of troops in operational theatres could be reduced, the truth is that more personnel are needed to train and equip local forces,
provide security and aid reconstruction work, so troop numbers will remain significant.

Many serving Christians are among those deployed, from field medical services to ships’ operations rooms. This includes chaplains who carry out an important role in providing spiritual and moral support to the troops.

Every Wednesday evening at eight o’clock Afghanistan time (3.30 PM GMT), prayer meetings are held in Camp Bastion and other military
bases in the region. Christian troops on operations are asked to add their prayers at that time if they are able. A growing number of
Christians in various parts of the world are now ‘attending’ these prayer meetings as ‘virtual’ members. Please consider joining this
band of supporters.

Source: Armed Forces Christian Union; Prayer Alert

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 127:1-2

PRAISE: God for this prayer initiative. Consider joining in prayer from a distance, remembering not only UK troops, but those from other nations, in particular those who proclaim the Name of Jesus.

Soldiers Find Christ in Afghanistan | 308 | Report 3

Front line deployment can focus the mind on the fragility of life and on eternal matters. A number of members of the Armed Forces have recently given their lives to Christ and been baptised giving their testimonies in front of their friends.

Padre Robin Richardson, deployed to Afghanistan with 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, writes on the British Army blog, “Last Monday night we heard that one of our soldiers had been badly injured in a blast and, separately, that a close member of another lad’s family had died… the Company OC asked if I would look after the Bible and Daily Reading notes I had given to the injured lad at the start of the tour. ‘His faith is important Padre… and whilst we’re on about that, one of the boys wants to be baptised today, with his friends around.’”

“I made my way across the compound to chat with Adam before his baptism. I did so aware of the heightened state of everyone’s mind and soul after the night before’s incident… We had a big blue plastic barrel and we had Adam’s friends, with whom he had discussed his decision, his desire to be baptised. And so as we stood next to the barrel I read the words that God had promised a faithful soldier thousands of years earlier: ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you…’ There was silence as I baptised Adam, until he stood and his mates clapped and stepped forward wide-armed to congratulate their friend… The pains of life had tried to define the day just 24 hours earlier. But that was not the only story at work that day because running through it all, and rising triumphant above it was hope, promise and faith…”

Source: The Official British Army Blog; Prayer Alert

BIBLE STUDY: Joshua 1:5-9

PRAISE: God that many soldiers are challenged to consider the claims of Christ. Pray that those who have been baptised may continue strong in faith.

Accused Afghan Christian Released | 306 | Report 29

In our previous edition of The International Daily Prayer Bulletin we published the story of Said Musa, a Christian to whom Jesus appeared in the middle of the night, and who had been imprisoned on false charges of blasphemy and could expect the death penalty. The latest news is that he has been released from prison and has left the country with his family. Sources in Afghanistan have confirmed this to Open Doors. Another Afghan Christian, Shoib Assadullah, is still imprisoned. He was arrested for giving a New Testament to another believer.

Source: Open Doors; Joel News

BIBLE STUDY: Isaiah 61:1-2

PRAISE: God for His mercy. Pray that Shoib may continue steadfast in witness and be released soon

Life goes on in Afghanistan, the clash of experts and politicians, and humbug – Christmas lights go on in Oxford Street

Weekly News Review from a Christian Viewpoint.  Patrick Woodward talks to Laura Webster,  Head of Policy at the aid agency Tearfund about the latest news from a Christian standpoint. Today, life goes on in Afghanistan as ordinary people live their lives, how experts and politicians can clash, and Christmas comes early once again as the lights go on in Oxford Street.

Story Links:

Afghanistan:

telegraph.co.uk Afghanistan: Gordon Brown digs in

tearfund.org Afghan literacy project scoops UN cash prize

Experts and politics:

telegraph.co.uk MPs demand answers over Nutt sacking

guardian.co.uk Sacked drugs adviser Nutt may set up new body

Christmas Lights:

bbc.co.uk Actor Carrey switches on lights

viewlondon.co.uk Oxford Street Christmas Lights

Claim that lack of equipment is causing British deaths in Afghanistan, moon landing anniversary prompts look ahead, and "thought for the day" urged to be less religious

Weekly News Review from a Christian Viewpoint.  Patrick Woodward talks to Russ Bravo, (pictured) editor of Inspire Magazine, about the latest news from a Christian standpoint.  Today, with more reports of British soldiers dying in Afghanistan, is a lack of helicopters to blame?  Forty years since the first moon landing, astronauts wonder what else is out there, and should radio’s “thought for the day” be less religious?

Story Links:

Afganistan:

telegraph.co.uk General Sir Richard Dannatt: ‘more troops needed in Afghanistan’

walesonline.co.uk Brown defends Afghanistan policy as cracks appear in political consensus

Moon landing:

telegraph.co.uk The Fortieth Anniversary of the First Moon Landing: review

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4
The First Moon landing1969 (Youtube)

voanews.com NASA Prepares for Return to Moon, Missions Beyond

Thought for the Day:

dailymail.co.uk Why the BBC should scrap Thought For The Day (and I’m a believer)

guardian.co.uk Thought for the day: leave the Today programme’s God slot well alone

Look and See How God is at Work! | 5

The countries with the largest ‘un-evangelised population’ are located in the 10/40 Window. 85% of the World’s poorest of the poor live in the 10/40 Window. Most countries that persecute Christians are in the 10/40 Window. Yet God is at work there!

Egypt – During the 1990s, the Egyptian Bible Society used to sell about 3,000 copies of the JESUS Film each year. Last year they sold 600,000 copies. They also sold 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape in Arabic and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament.

Iraq – More than 5,000 Muslims have come to faith in Christ over the past 4 years. There are 14 new churches in Baghdad and dozens more in Kurdistan, some with up to 800 members.

Afghanistan – Eight years ago there were only 17 known Muslimbackground followers of Christ. Today there are more than 10,000.

Nepal – In the early 1980s there were only 75 known Nepali believers. Today there are an estimated 500,000 believers. Twenty years ago there were almost no churches. Today there are over 6,000 churches and house fellowships today.

Sudan – In 1960 only about 5% of southern Sudan was Christian. Today, after decades of terrible warfare and
persecution, the figure is close to 70% Christian.

Indonesia – In the most populated Muslim nation in the world, of 235 millions, more than 60,000 house churches have sprung up in recent years. The last census taken in 2000 puts the Christian population at 9%, of which 19 million are defined as Protestants. Many observers believe the census underestimates the size of the non-Muslim faiths.

Israel – More Jews have embraced Jesus/Yeshua as Messiah since 1967, when the Jews took control of Jerusalem, than in all the years between 100 AD and 1967.

Source: The Joshua Project; Operation World; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY:1 John 3:11-24

PRAISE: God that Christ is being made known all around the world. Pray for revival to spread.

Much Still to do in Afghanistan | 21 and 22

There were several Christian dioceses in Afghanistan before the Muslim invasions of the seventh century. Pockets of Christianity survived for some time afterwards, and an Armenian Christian community endured in Kabul until late in the nineteenth century. The last remaining church building was destroyed in 1973. Now, after the years of Taliban rule, the Christian population is estimated to number under 5,000 (many of them foreigners) out of a population of 24 million.

Although the Taliban were ousted from government in 2001, they remain in control of vast areas of the country. They continue to target anyone propagating Christianity, and most Afghan Muslims take the view that the death sentence is an appropriate punishment for converts from Islam. Consequently, all Christians remain vulnerable. Nevertheless, the number of Christians has increased in recent years, through a small number of conversions in the country and through the return of refugees who became Christians while outside Afghanistan.

For Afghan Christians, living in the country it “is absolutely unsafe,” said Mark Morris, pastor for missions at Germantown Baptist Church in Germantown, Tennessee. Morris visited the country for 10 days in late April and early May 2008. “If family members fi nd out that you’re Christian, they will force you to leave the faith or kill you.” Last summer, Taliban terrorists claimed to have slit the throat of Maulawi Assadullah, a Muslim cleric they accused of “propagating Christianity”.

There are, however, exceptions. One Christian interviewed by BBC reporter Tom Coghlan said, “Most of my friends know that I am a Christian. I have many friends who are mullahs… Some of them say they like me more these days. Before I was a liar, I was cheating people and many other things. I don’t do that now.” Non-Afghan Christians, however, are treated much better, except in the south and east, where the Taliban are strong. In the rest of the country, Mark Morris said, foreigners “are received well. The Afghan people are so open and readily converse about religious matters. They love to talk about God. It’s very natural to discuss religious values.”

He recommended that foreign Christians move to Afghanistan to serve as teachers, administrators, and relief and medical workers. A British Christian living in Afghanistan told the BBC’s Tom Coghlan that the compassionate actions of Christian-based aid agencies during the civil war and Taleban era in Afghanistan had impressed many Afghans. Morris agreed with this, saying Christians should “preach it through actions and attitudes… I do it by saying I am a follower of Jesus. I don’t use the word Christian… Jesus is a very attractive and compelling person to them.”

Source: Barnabas Fund; BBC website; Christianity Today

Bible Study: Luke 7:1-10

Day 20 – PRAISE: God that Afghans are hungry for Jesus, and for the testimony of Christians service.

Day 21 – PRAY: That Afghan Christians will stand firm and share Jesus with their neighbours.