Obey Man, Not God

[seraph]

Freedom of religion in Viet Nam is provided with the stipulation that loyalty must first be to the Socialist Republic

[Catsmeow]

Wow, Seraph...that's truly powerful and just reminds us of the road we are now travelling. It is only a matter of time now before we ourselves will experience a similar persecution within a nation founded on the gospel and principals of Christianity.

It's so sad to see just how far we have fallen....nothing could be worse than when good men do NOTHING.

[papasangel]

WOW. All I can say is Thank God we are one day closer to hte return of our King. Come Lord Jesus please!

[Steff]

It's coming in this country because people do not understand the difference between a right and a privilege. It's sad to see people lay down their rights to the powers that be for the sake of a false sense of security.

Our founding fathers risked their lives, their property, and their sacred honor to gain liberty and freedom, and now people in this country claim we must give up that freedom for "security".

Sad.

[seraph]

Yeah... we are headed towards persecution... most people don't even realize the persecution going on in the world today... I am thankful some will stand up for the persecuted and give them a voice.

FYI:

In July the US House of Representatives voted 323-45 to approve (for the third time) the Vietnam Human Rights Act (H.R. 1587), which would prohibit any increase in U.S. non-humanitarian aid to Vietnam unless significant progress is made toward releasing political and religious prisoners, respecting the human rights of ethnic minorities, and also requires certification that no government official or government entity is involved either explicitly or implicitly with the horrific crime of human trafficking. This initially cleared the House 3 years ago with a 410-1 vote but John Kerry stymied it saying it could hinder rather than help reform and so it was prevented from being brought to the floor. Religious persecution has not only continued but has intensified and the US has added Viet Nam to the

[ted]

Which freedom did I give up?

t.

[seraph]

With International Day of Prayer coming up... I thought it might be nice for some of you willing to pray to have specific names of people to pray for. Some of you may also be inspired to write an encouraging letter to a Christian in prison. persecution.com has a lot of information on persecution all over the world.

Viet Nam Prisoner List (at the bottom of the page there is a drop-down menu to choose other countries in which to write those imprisoned there.)

PLEASE NOTE: Do NOT send your return address... it's not likely a prisoner could write you back anyway... and it could lead to trouble for you. Also, do NOT provide any ministry organization information to them... the prisoner could be additionally charged with being linked to the mentioned ministry and it could also lead to trouble for the ministries. Alnd do NOT say anything negative about their government... just write them an encouraging letter... keep in mind the prisoner will not be the only one who reads the letter and maybe the only one who reads may be the guards/government. They have all the "how to" information on the site that you need.

The site even offers translations of particular phrases and Scripture into the prisoner's language as you can see from what I am writing to Sung Seo Pao:

Pajlug 3:5

Koj yuav tsum tso siab plhuav rau tus TSWV kawg koj lub siab lub ntsws, tsis txhob cia siab rau koj tej tswvyim.

Kuv thov ua Vajtswv tsaug rau koj txoj kev ntseeg ncajncees. Koj txoj kev raug tsimtxom twb yog ghia txog koj txoj kev ntseeg. Kuv thov Vajtswv ghib tej neeg siab phem limhiam lub qhovmuag, ghovntsej uas niajhnub tsimtxom cov ntseeg kom laawv txawj hnov thiab pom Tswv Yexus. Peb tus Vajtswv yeej nrog nraim koj txhua txhia qhovchaw. Yog ib feem ntwad lub cev raug mob, tagnrho tus kheej yeeej mob tag. Cov ntseeg nyob thoob plaw hauv qabtuj no lub siab yeej nrognraim koj. Peb hlub hmov tshua txog koj. Peg yuav nco ntsoov thov Vajtswv pab koj thiab tsevneeg. Thiab txoj kev nojqab nyob zoo.

Yauhus 14:1

Yexus hais rau cov thwitim hais tias, Nei tsis txhob txhawj. Nej yuav tsum cia siab rau Vajtswv thiab cia siab rau kuv.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

I thank God for your faithfulness.

Your present trials proclaim your faith

I pray the eyes, ears and hearts of those who persecute you may open to Jesus.

Our Lord is with you even where you are.

When one part of the body suffers the whole body suffers. Many Christians around the world are standing with you.

We love you and your family. We are praying for you, your family, and your guards.

John 14:1

[seraph]

*bump*

PLEASE PRAY

Viet Nam's religious ordinance is in effect... please pray the Communist heart will be softened and their eyes opened to the truth... please pray for the non-believers to come to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus.. please pray for the believers to endure- to be encouraged by their brothers and sisters, strengthened by God, shining with Christ's love and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps you would like to agree in prayer with the requests and prayers of evangelical Christian leaders and believers of Viet Nam as expressed in their letters to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. I have posted the letters below excluding the names signed because of the language difficulty (you may view the names through the link to the letter).

LETTER OF PETITION TO REQUEST FREEDOM TO PRACTICE CHRISTIANITY

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Independence - Liberty - Happiness.

Ho Chi Minh City September 20th, 2004

LETTER OF PETITION

Re: Request for freedom to practice our beliefs and religion

To: Mr. Nguyen Van An, Chairman of the Standing Committee

National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

With copies to:

Mr. Nong Duc Manh, General Secretary Communist Party of Vietnam

Mr. Tran Duc Luong, President Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Mr. Phan Van Khai, Prime Minister Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Mr. Pham The Duyet, Chairman of the Presidium Fatherland Front of Vietnam

We are pastors and leaders representing hundreds of thousand of Evangelical

Protestant Christians of more than 50 denominations, independent churches and

mission organizations which are operating throughout Vietnam. (We are often called

Evangelical Protestant House Churches or Denominations and are independent of the

Evangelical Church of Vietnam.) We would like to convey to you our sincere greetings

in the Grace of our Living God.

We respectfully send you this Letter of Petition to present our beliefs and sincere

aspirations:

We are people who have put our whole trust in the living God, worshipping Him and

exalting His ultimate sovereignty, faithfully carrying out His teachings in the Bible just as

billions of Christian believers in all other human communities in the world. It is because

of this true faith in God that millions of Vietnamese lives have been transformed to

become better, and have contributed significantly to the social and spiritual life of our

homeland and people.

In obedience to the Bible and following the example of the Early Church, we Evangelical

believers have come together in various organizational forms: in small groups, in

independent house churches, sometimes organized into an Evangelical denomination.

We meet together in many places: in our private homes, in chapels, and in churches

to worship God and to help one another to live out God