By: Aziz Sarah

So what is happening these days in
Jerusalem?

The churches in the Holy Land had a rough
year in 2007, but as the word of God says
in 1 Peter 4, we should not be surprised!
Satan has been busy in his attacks, yet
as Jesus promised even the gates of Hades
will not overpower God's kingdom.

First, this year has been a year of
persecution, not only against our church
but against other Christian groups as well.
In Jerusalem, a group of extremist Jews
attacked and burned a local Baptist church
for reaching out to Jewish citizens. Our
group has received similar threats in the
past, and our hearts go out to the Baptist
fellowship.

Meanwhile in Bethlehem, many local
churches are being investigated by the
Palestinian Authority because of their
political agendas. This has resulted in a legal
struggle between many churches and the
Palestinian government. As a result of the
investigations, we have lost a large part of the
freedom we enjoyed in reaching out to the
community in Bethlehem. Please pray that
we can continue to exercise freedom in
reaching out to the Arab community here...
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