June 2009

Standing Firm in the Lord by Dr. Pat

Jack and his family live in an apartment complex in a Middle Eastern Country. His building alone had over 40 apartments in it so Jack felt it was alright to offer his apartment as a safe harbor for some Christians he knew who were being persecuted.

Jack had been detained by the police for 3 days because of his pastoral activities. Although he was released unharmed, the police came twice looking for him at his apartment. Although he wasn’t home either time, certain Muslim neighbors took notice which is what the police wanted.

Coupling the police presence with the ministry going on in Jack’s apartment (which is not against the law), a fanatical Muslim neighbor started a campaign to discredit him.  He distributed leaflets throughout the building stating Jack was not paying his electric bill, that he was stealing the electricity from the main building. The neighbor then recruited yet another Muslim neighbor to testify with him against Jack.

Jack, of course, has proof he paid his bill, that he wasn’t stealing, but this does not matter in their judicial system. If two Muslims have a complaint against a Christian, they can file a report at the local police department. Even without proof, a judge in the court of law will automatically rule against Jack. By law, the testimony of one Muslim is greater than the testimony of one Christian! Jack went to a lawyer who confirmed this. The court would give Pastor Jack a minimum one year prison sentence. Another lawyer told me the sentence would be an automatic 3 years.

The disgruntled neighbor came to Jack with several veiled threats, “Who will protect your wife if you are in prison?” And another time, “What will your children do if their father is in prison?” Jack approached him and asked, “What can we do to resolve this problem?” and the neighbor replied, “Get out! Move out of our [Muslim] building!” Jack’s lawyer said he probably had no choice but to move.

Jack had been given a deadline to move away.  Jack owned the apartment, so he had to put it up for sale and look for a new place. It was very difficult to find comparable housing in the area where he and his family lived. He also had to find new schools for the children.

It took some doing but Jack found a place to move his family where he felt confident they were safe. It was a costly relocation as Jack had to sell everything to buy another apartment. This was the 5^th time Jack has had to move because of his Christian faith.

Please pray for the Christians around the world that suffer in various ways for their love and commitment to Christ.