Orissa, an eastern Indian state that has been the home to much violence against Christians lately, has seen thousands fleeing from their homes while others are being martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.

Christians are being persecuted in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, with at least seventeen believers killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Martyred believers lost their lives when Hindu extremists, looking for an excuse to avenge the death of a Hindu leader killed by communists in August, have been burning Christian homes and churches and killing or injuring those who refused to evade their wrath. Thousands of believers have reportedly fled, many to the safety of nearby jungles.

News of the Orissa violence has gradually spread and I heard about it first when a video from K.P. Yohannan, founder and president of Gospel for Asia, was played at my church this past Sunday. In it, Dr. Yohannan outlined the extreme nature of the violence, which has been largely ignored by the Orissa state government.

India, which is a federal republic, consists of 28 states and 7 federal territories, but unlike the US, each state operates fairly independently with political control dominated at the local level. Since receiving its independence from Britain in 1947, the country has seen explosive population growth, a greatly improved gross domestic product (GDP), and numerous changes in government on all levels.

Christianity has increased at a rapid rate recently, fueling a backlash from Hindus who dominant the country. Muslims can also be found in large numbers in certain parts of India.

Juria Bardhan, Gospel for Asia’s state leader in Orissa, has shared that even in the midst of the brutality, believers know that the Lord remains in control.

“The encouraging thing is that the attackers themselves acknowledge that Orissa used to be only 2 percent Christian, and now it’s 28 percent Christian,” Juria said. “They don’t understand that by doing this, the church will grow by leaps and bounds, and this will cause thousands to come to Christ.”

“Many of our pastors have said, ‘Even if they kill us, no problem. This will cause thousands to come to Christ,’ ” Juria reported.

Brethren, lets remember our India brothers and sisters before the Lord today, asking God to give them strength, turn the hearts of the evil doers to Him, and bring forth a massive revival across Orissa, indeed all of India.

But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you will become children of your Father in heaven, because he makes his sun rise on both evil and good people, and he lets rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:44,45 — NIV)

(Source: Gospel for Asia)