Video: Pastor Andrew Brunson Speaks of God's Silence & Abandonment

Recently released from a Turkish prison, Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, paid a visit to his Alma Mater, Wheaton College, Illinois. 

 He spoke at Chapel Service and admits to being human and weak; in need of the grace of God daily like the rest of us. God was seemingly silent. Mr Brunson wept in his prison cell often and was on anti-anxiety meds.  He even wanted to die.  Establishing a Christian church in a Muslim country felt like a cakewalk compared to his lowest points while imprisoned.

Psalm 97

Ye that love the Lord, hate evil:

 he preserveth the souls of his saints; 

he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

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Pastor Andrew Brunson (formerly of Turkey) Has a Birthday

Happy Birthday, Pastor Brunson! (January 3rd)

We continue to pray for this godly man.  His heart remains in the country of Turkey. God's will be done as far as the next location where he will serve.

I like that Pastor Brunson knelt in humbleness as he prayed before the Lord God of heaven for our POTUS.  May he be blessed of the Lord. May Pastor and his family continue to pray for President Donald Trump!

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   (Philippians 2:5-11)

PRONUNCIATION of Recep Tayyip Erdogan 

Andrew Brunson

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Whoa! Persecution for their Christian Faith Results in This

An example of what has happened, may need to happen, and will happen as Christians the world over are hunted-down for their faith in Christ Jesus.

And the Lord,

he it is that doth go before thee;

 he will be with thee, 

he will not fail thee,

 neither forsake thee:

fear not, neither be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8

FB: Release International

34.01.2020

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Colorado: Bake the Cake or Else!!

Sick!!! Colorado Going After Masterpiece Cakeshop Again

By The Daily Caller News Foundation , Kevin Daley (The Federalist Papers)

Jack Phillips, the Christian baker who prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court after declining to create a custom wedding cake for a gay couple, filed a lawsuit in federal court late Tuesday suing the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Phillips and his attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom say the Commission has revived its campaign against him following June’s high court decision, singling Masterpiece Cakeshop out for disparate treatment on the basis of their religious beliefs.

“The state of Colorado is ignoring the message of the U.S. Supreme Court by continuing to single out Jack for punishment and to exhibit hostility toward his religious beliefs,” said Kristen Waggoner, an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney who represents Phillips. “Even though Jack serves all customers and simply declines to create custom cakes that express messages or celebrate events in violation of his deeply held beliefs, the government is intent on destroying him — something the Supreme Court has already told it not to do.”

On the same day the high court agreed to review the Masterpiece case, an attorney named Autumn Scardina called Phillips’ shop and asked him to create a cake celebrating a gender transition. The caller asked that the cake be blue on the outside and pink on the inside. In the months that followed, Phillips received requests for cakes featuring marijuana use, sexually explicit messages, and Satanic symbols.

Phillips believes Scardina made all these requests.

Scardina filed a complaint with the civil rights commission, alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The matter was held in abeyance while the Supreme Court adjudicated the Masterpiece case.

Three weeks after Phillips won at the high court, the commission issued a probable cause determination, finding there was sufficient evidence to support Scardina’s claim of discrimination.

“Colorado has renewed its war against him by embarking on another attempt to prosecute him, in direct conflict with the Supreme Court’s ruling in his favor,” Phillips’ lawsuit reads. “This lawsuit is necessary to stop Colorado’s continuing persecution of Phillips.”  -- the Federalist Papers.org

Colorado Renews its War Against Christian Baker

SCOTUS Vindicates Baker

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LIST: American Hostages Still Languishing in Foreign Prisons

Pastor Andrew Brunson is finally out of Aliaga Prison (Turkey) and is now under house arrest.  His trial is in October 2018.

There are other Americans that continue to languish in prisons around the world. The following list may not be complete.  Some may already be dead, sigh.

 I will continue to pray for the release and well-being of the living (the Lord God knows who they are).

--  Robert Alan "Bob" Levinson, current age 70.  Mysteriously disappeared and believed to be held by Iran.  Last sighting, 2011.

-- Xiyue Wang, current age 38 (?)  Serving 10 years of prison in Iran on charges of espionage.

-- Baquer and Siamak Namazi, father & son, ages 81 and 46. Serving 10-year prison sentences in Iran for allegedly collaborating with the USA.

-- Karan Vafadari, Art dealer/businessman. Held at Evin Prison.  Originally detained without charges.

-- Nizar Zakka, IT expert. Disappeared in September of 2015. Iran confirmed in November 2015 that Zakka was in custody on charges of being an American spy.

pc: wikipedia

-- Serkan Golge, NASA scientist, currently held in Turkey. Serving 7.5 years for allegedly providing support to Fethullah Gülen.

-- Kevin King, American professor held by the Taliban. He is very ill.

-- Paul Edwin Overby, Jr., American author. Disappeared mysteriously in May 2014 while in Pakistan on his way to interview Sirajuddin Haqqan (USA has a $10 million reward on this leader's capture). Taliban claims they do not know what happened to Overby.

-- Austin Tice, freelance Journalist, US Marines Vet. He was kidnapped while reporting in Syria on August 12, 2012. His whereabouts remain unknown.

pc: FBI

-- Jeff Woodke, US Missionary. Kidnapped in Niger in October 2016. No group has publicly claimed responsibility. No news on Woodke till June 2018 via a 3rd party.

If you or someone you know is ever held as a hostage while abroad, this man is someone whom you should know/contact:

Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs

Robert C. O'Brien

Brethren, pray for us.
-- Paul, to the Thessalonians

Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; 
and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. (Hebrews 13:3)

Pastor Brunson Now Under House Arrest

American Hostages

Father & son Unjustly Imprisoned

Fethullah Gülen

Evin Prison, Iran

Parents of Austin Tice Are Hopeful

7.16.8.18

Trial to Begin: Pastor Andrew Brunson, Turkey

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, we have been praying for the release of ’88 alumnus and Protestant Pastor, Andrew Brunson , from the time of his arrest in Izmir, Turkey on October 7, 2016 to the present.

Imprisoned and held on false charges of terrorism, it is widely believed that Andrew is being used as a political pawn by the Turkish government to leverage the extradition of Turkish Muslim cleric Fethulla Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania and is believed by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to be behind an attempted rebellion to overthrow the government in July of 2016.

Prior to his arrest, Pastor Brunson had peacefully lived and ministered in Turkey for 23 years.

Rev. Brunson has been scheduled to appear in court this Monday, April 16 at 9:00 am (1:00 am on Monday our time). If the charges against him are upheld - claiming he supported both the secessionist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrilla movement, and the outlawed organization of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, Pastor Brunson could be sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Please pray for God’s peace to enfold Andrew, his wife Norine and their children. Pray that Andrew will know the reality of God’s presence with him and His love for him, and be able to trust Him with his life and future. Pray for the Lord to give Andrew words to say before the Turkish lawyers and government officials who are trying to trap and condemn him. Pray for the Lord to oversee all that happens in the Courtroom.

Most importantly, pray for the glory and renown of the Name of the Lord in the country of Turkey, once the seat of power of the Christian ruler Constantine. Pray, as in Daniel’s day, the power of the Lord will be revealed and the fear of the Lord would spread, overtaking the government rulers and officials who seek to dismiss and destroy His own. Pray that many in the country of Turkey and in the world will believe in the Lord as an outcome of Andrew’s imprisonment.

If you would like to join others in prayer, students have planned a prayer vigil in Gold Star Chapel in the Beamer Center throughout the day and night on Sunday, with plans to sing his hymn at 8:00 pm.

Thank you for praying and seeking the Lord in Andrew’s behalf.

TO: Campus Community

FROM: The Office of the Chaplain

RE: Prayers for Alumnus Andrew Brunson

ETA:

link --> Trial on Hold till May 2018

Pastor in Trial

In Prison for His Faith in Christ

Trial in Turkey to Begin

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