Charisma Staff

Gospel for Asia-supported missionary Murli Ghulam was released from prison, but he is restricted from traveling outside his own village. Additional details about Murli’s ministry and the events leading to his release are also being reported.

Murli was arrested on July 2 as he was leading a prayer meeting in a believer’s home and charged with bribing and forcing people to convert to Christianity. The charge was brought by anti-Christian extremists in his village.

Murli lives in an area with strict laws that make it difficult to share the love of Jesus with people from the area’s traditional religions. These statutes, which are often used as a basis of arresting Christian pastors, are known as “freedom of religion laws” and outline what steps must be taken to change one’s faith. In some places where there are “freedom of religion laws,” individuals are legally obligated to submit paperwork to the government before they are allowed to publicly follow Christ.

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Thousands around the world lifted prayers of thanksgiving on Saturday as South Sudan celebrated its first day as an independent nation. And some of the people praying thanked God specifically for the role that Franklin Graham, president and CEO of BGEA and Samaritan’s Purse, played in helping South Sudan achieve independence.

USA Today acknowledged that role in a Tuesday article. DeWayne Wickham wrote that along with the efforts of Presidents Bush and Obama, “South Sudan also has Franklin Graham to thank,” saying that Graham “played an important role in supporting the secession of South Sudan—whose 8 million people are mostly Christians—from Muslim-dominated Sudan.”

Fifteen people came forward to the foot of the cross at the Baptist Church of Queluz, Portugal.

Tears of joy and brokenness flowed as they asked Jesus to come into their lives or to restore them.

People gathered in the library for prayer with those that committed their lives and there was sweet harmony as people began to sing “Amazing Grace.”

And nobody wanted to leave.

“We felt that the Spirit of the Lord was present and active,” José Pego Guedes said. “We have great joy for the results expressed in the many decisions for Christ Jesus.”

God has shown His power to numerous people in South Asia who are still refusing to follow Him, despite His miraculous power at work in their lives. Even after seeing God bring healing and deliverance to their family members, many have hardened hearts and continue to reject Jesus.

Blessed, but Not Yet Believing
Gajendra Verma, touched by the love of God, has still not chosen to give his life to the One who healed him.

This man’s life was going well, until one day he began having severe pain in his eyes. Within a few days, he was totally blind. After visiting many hospitals and trying various treatments, he was still in the dark. Gajendra worships traditional gods and goddesses of his area and is strong in his religious practices. So he turned to these idols, offering many sacrifices in hopes of being healed, but nothing helped his condition.

One of Gajendra’s friends led him to the home of a man known as “one who heals.” This man is really a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary who is well known in his area for praying for the sick. After listening to Gajendra’s situation, the missionary felt compassion and prayed for his healing. By the grace of God, Gajendra’s eyes were healed and his pain left. He could finally see again! Gajendra was overjoyed and seemed interested in choosing to follow Christ.

As the world’s newest country, South Sudan has held the headline spotlight since its July 9 secession from the North. Amid the excitement and concerns over what’s to come for the new nation, however, Carl Moeller with Open Doors believes one group has been forgotten.

Moeller explains, “We are rejoicing that there are increased freedoms (and of course more challenges) in the South, but we have to ask the question: What about the Christians in the North?”

Christians have already been fleeing back to the South for fear of what is to come in the North. Open Doors reports that although many Christians are said to have returned to the South voluntarily, some observers have pointed out that they had departed because they could not be assured of their safety.

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Police in Bangladesh have charged two Christians and their four Muslim friends with “hurting religious sensibility” just three days after they were cleared of any wrongdoing.

The accused will appear in court tomorrow to face the charges, which were filed against them three days after they were exonerated on April 10. They had been arrested on March 24 in Damurhuda, Chuadanga district, some 210 kilometers (126 miles) northwest of Dhaka, under Section 54 of the penal code, which provides a special power to police to arrest anyone on any suspicion. They were released on bail three days later.

Mannan Mridha, a pastor in the Way of Peace movement of 490 house churches in northwest Bangladesh, told Compass that the second case was filed only to stop Christian activities in the area.

After repeated beatings and malnutrition suffered in house detention, blind pro-life activist Chen Guangcheng’s health is deteriorating quickly. Now, human rights organizations are pushing harder than ever for his freedom.

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers and China Aid Association on Tuesday called for urgent action on Guangcheng’s behalf. In order to drive more attention to the international cause, Women’s Rights Without Frontiers released a new video demanding freedom for Chen and his family. (You can view the video at the end of this story.)

Guangcheng was arrested in 2006 for exposing evidence that 130,000 forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations were performed on women in Linyi County, Shandong Province in a single year. Time Magazine named him one of “2006’s Top 100 People Who Shape Our World” and he was given the 2007 Magsaysay award, known as Asia’s Nobel Peace Prize.

“The abuse of Chen Guangcheng is unconscionable and contrary to the rule of law,” says Bob Fu, president of China Aid. “His mistreatment under house arrest is deplorable, including beatings, constant surveillance, as well as confiscation of his computer, cell phone, books, his blind cane and the toys of his young daughter.”

The rains kept coming. Will Graham kept preaching.

And God kept moving in Kenya.

By the time Sunday night’s final invitation was over, giant puddles were about the only thing remaining at the Mama Scrape Grounds where the Will Graham Celebration of Peace Nakuru had taken place for three straight nights.

But on that soggy field, hundreds upon hundreds had made life-changing decisions to accept Christ as their personal Savior in this city of Nakuru, a two-hour drive from Nairobi, and a place where over a quarter million people call home.

More than 14,000 braved the sketchy weather conditions to hear what the grandson of Billy Graham had to say.

A Lao pastor imprisoned six months ago for holding a “secret meeting” has lost weight under harsh prison conditions and is extremely weak, according to his family.

Police arrested Wanna and fellow pastor and inmate Yohan, both identified only by a single name, on Jan. 4, along with several other Christians in central Laos’s Khammouan Province.

Prison authorities have repeatedly told the men that they will “walk free” as soon as they sign documents renouncing their faith, advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom said.