Azerbaijan Grateful To Jesus Only

Azerbaijan is a country in Central Asia near Turkey and Iran. Most of the people are Muslims. But many do not take their faith seriously. Even so, they expect people to follow Muslim customs and to give their babies Muslim names.

In parts of Azerbaijan, officials have refused to provide birth certificates for some babies with Christian names. Without birth certificates, children cannot go to school.

A baby in Azerbaijan named Luka (Luke) did not have a birth certificate. Finally, after his Christian parents discussed the matter with officials for 18 months, Luka was allowed to have a birth certificate.

Pastor Zaur’s Arrest

Pastor Zaur leads a Christian church in Azerbaijan. Government officials will not allow him to register his church. Churches are illegal in Azerbaijan if they are not registered. But Pastor Zaur and his congregation want to follow God’s plan for Christians rather than the officials’ plan. So they continue to meet together to worship God.

One day, 20 policemen raided Pastor Zaur’s house while he was leading a worship service in the house. Pastor Zaur was accused of holding illegal meetings and of playing loud music. He was also accused of encouraging youth to come to his services. The officials did not want youth to learn more about Jesus.

The police also said that Pastor Zaur told his dog to attack the policemen. Church members say that never happened.

The police took Pastor Zaur to a jail where the cells were filthy. Rats and cockroaches roamed freely, and prisoners were sick. The mattresses were dirty, and the food smelled too bad to eat. Friends brought him food, but often it was stolen before Pastor Zaur got to eat it.

What would you say if you were in a jail in a cell like Pastor Zaur’s cell?

“I am loved by Jesus,” Pastor Zaur said in jail. “I know that the Lord is here with me, and I am truly glad about that.”

The other prisoners respected his kind behavior. “When we get out, we will come to your house and learn more about your faith,” they told him.

Truly Loved

After several months, the president of Azerbaijan freed Pastor Zaur and 58 other prisoners. “Are you grateful to the president?” a reporter asked Pastor Zaur.

“I always, and in everything, feel grateful to Jesus Christ only. No one else,” answered the pastor.

Pastor Zaur also said, “By choosing me for this, Jesus has demonstrated that He truly loves me.”

To Think About

After they were beaten, the apostles in the Book of Acts rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer for His name” (Acts 5:41). How is Pastor Zaur like the apostles?

Extra Information!

Sage, age 15; Cody, 13; Sidney, 12; Cory, 9; Cade, 8; Cole, 6; Savannah, 3, and Sierra, 2, are brothers and sisters in a homeschooling family in Oklahoma. Each week, the three older kids take turns writing to a persecuted Christian prisoner on www.PrisonerAlert.com. The children include Bible verses in the prisoners’ language from the Prisoner Alert site, and words of encouragement. Once they sent a photo of their family.

When it was Cody’s turn to write in early 2008, he wrote to Pastor Zaur in Azerbaijan. The family was happy to read in the May 2008, The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter that Pastor Zaur had been released from prison!

“The Bible says to remember those in prison, and this is how we do that,” said Marilyn, the kids’ mother. “It’s nice to think of meeting the prisoners we write to in heaven.”

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The Voice of the Martyrs

Statement of Faith

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God who is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His personal return in power and glory.

We believe that for salvation of lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers of Christ.

We believe in the message of the persecuted churches, a message which has been brought to the West by the founders of the mission, Pastor Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand.

We have witnessed that the blood of the martyrs is the seed which makes the churches grow; and therefore, the mention of martyrs must be brought into the teachings and practices of the church. We believe that Christians who serve and love Christ, and are persecuted for this, should be helped. We believe the Bible teaches that we should love even our enemies. How much more so should we love our brethren who are persecuted for their faith in all parts of the world? Hebrews 13:3 states, "Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."

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