Now more than ever, Christians around the world are suffering for being obedient

to the word of God by their faith. If you have not obeyed the truth, follow the
Acts 2:38 formula by repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus. Wherever he can,
the devil stirs up hatred and trouble for those who actively shine the light of
Jesus Christ and the knowledge of the gospel in a dark place. If you want to live
a godly life in Christ Jesus you will suffer persecution, so remember those in
prison as if chained with them (Hebrews 13:3). You can stand with your brothers
and sisters in Christ through prayer. Each and every year around 175,000
Christians are martyred for their faith, and many others endure torture,
discrimination, and hardship. One example of this in China, where it sentenced 10
Christian leaders to long prison terms and forced labor camps as part of a wider
government crackdown on unauthorized worship services in 2009. If one does not
register and follow the exact guidelines by the government, which is hostile to
all forms of Christianity, they are subject to arrest or prison sentences. It is
illegal to teach children under 18 about God or Jesus. And it's illegal for three
or more believers to gather for religious purposes without government approval.
Eighty percent of Chinese Christians are part of unregistered illegal churches,
because they say Christ Jesus is Lord, and they cannot allow an atheistic
government to control their churches. Here are some are statistics from previous
years. In 2001, Gong Shengliang, head of the South China Church, was sentenced to
death. Although his sentence was commuted to a jail sentence, Amnesty
International reports that he has been tortured. In 2004, 300 Christians caught
attending unregistered churches were jailed. In 2006, there were 665 people
persecuted by the Chinese authorities and 46 cases of house church persecutions.
In 2007, there were 788 people persecuted and 60 cases of house persecution. They
have four main targets of persecution: house church leaders, house churches in
urban areas, Christian publications, and foreign Christians and missionaries
living and working in China. Apparently, China steps up its crackdown on
Christians each and every year. Recently, the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton has called on the Chinese government to explain itself following attacks
on on the Internet accounts of human rights activists that apparently originated
from there. "We look to the Chinese government for an explanation," she said in a
statement. "The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a
modern society and economy." Google is threatening to pull out of China if the
company can't renegotiate what has been its controversial policy of cooperating
with Chinese government Internet censorship activities. Google, along with other
Internet giants, has come under fire before for aiding Chinese Internet censorship
and persecution of free speech by Chinese Internet monitors. In 2006, Yahoo
admitted giving the Chinese government information on activists that led to their
arrests and imprisonment. The State Department has been meeting with top Internet
leaders lately ahead of their planned push for more Internet-based diplomacy,
which will be outlined in a major policy address by Clinton on January 21, 2010.
While Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution supposedly guarantees that: "The
Citizens of the People's Republic of China will enjoy freedom of speech, of the
press, of assembly, of association, of procession, and of demonstration." This has
not been the reality yet. Will all this activity help the Christians there? I
really hope so.