North Korea recently blew up parts of roads and rail lines connecting to South Korea and built blockades.

“This is a real change in relationships between North and South Korea,” says Eric Foley with The Voice of the Martyrs Korea.

“Since the inception of the countries and the end of the Korean War, North Korea has always had, as its stated goal, the reunification of the Korean peninsula under North Korean leadership, the leadership of the Kim family.

North Korean flags (Photo courtesy of John Pavelka via Flickr under Creative Commons License: https://goo.gl/jxWHHm)

As evidenced by the severed cross-border ties, Foley says, “Now North Korea has changed that goal…. It no longer wants to reunite with South Korea. It says it’s a separate country, a separate people, an alien group, a puppet of the United States, and something that is outside of North Korea’s goals for the future.”

At the same time, North Korea has sent troops to Russia, possibly to fight in Ukraine. With the potential for North Korean troops to come back with modern combat experience, it’s significantly straining relations with South Korea.

South Korea, for its part, has only supplied Ukraine with humanitarian aid but refrained from sending lethal weapons. However, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol confirmed that if North Korean troops go to fight in Ukraine in cooperation with Russia, South Korea would consider arming Ukraine with defensive weapons and even possibly offensive weapons.

Despite the rising pressure on the Korean Peninsula, Foley reminds believers of our Gospel mission: There are still souls at stake.

“The opportunities are still there for Gospel ministry today. Even though the North Korean government says you can’t reach our people, the Word of God says that the Word of God is not bound.”

VOM Korea sends 40,000 Bibles a year into North Korea. Today, miraculously, it’s estimated up to 8% of North Koreans have seen a Bible with their own eyes.

“God still finds ways to reach ordinary North Korean people through radio broadcasts like ours which air four times a day, and through the Bibles that we send by land, sea, and air.”

(Photo courtesy of Eric Foley/VOM Korea)

Various methods of secretly reaching North Koreans with the Gospel could face further criticism and censorship from South Korea out of fear of antagonizing their northern neighbors. South Korea had temporarily banned private citizens from launching balloons (including those carrying Scripture leaflets) over the border. The law was later struck down by South Korea’s Constitutional Court in September 2023.

“It’s important to remember that balloon launching is not a recent phenomenon in South Korea. It goes back to 1969 and in fact, even earlier,” says Foley.

“Various political parties have made efforts to ban balloon launching in an effort to appease North Korea. But no activity [by] the South Korean government…has so far resulted in the appeasement of North Korea.”

Foley asks, “Pray against a spirit of fear, both on the part of the ordinary people – the North and South Korean people – the governments of those two countries, as well as Christians.”

Ask God to open doors for the Gospel into North Korea, and to ultimately change hearts through salvation in Jesus Christ.

Header photo courtesy of Roman Harak/Flickr under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Trump was shot in the ear in the attack. Additionally, two rally attendees were seriously injured, and one was killed. The person who died was Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter who was shot while shielding his family.

Donald Trump ushered off the stage by US Secret Service after taking a bullet through the ear. (Photo courtesy of Evan Vucci – Original publication: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-photos-secret-service-rushing-blood-ear-2024-7Immediate source: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-photos-secret-service-rushing-blood-ear-2024-7, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77350262)

For American citizens, the incident was a shocking event. However, for military service members, law enforcement officers, and veterans, the attack had a unique and profound impact.

Steve Prince with Warriors Set Free, a division of Set Free Ministries, recalls, “I got a notification on my phone, and I was in a grocery store and I was highly upset…. At that point, we didn’t know if he was dead or hit or not. It was an odd moment for me because people that hadn’t heard were in this ‘everything’s normal’ state.

“I know that assassinations have started World Wars. So I immediately go into a combat mindset of, okay, what could happen next? If this is a coordinated attack, are there other people attacking other places in a 9/11 scenario? It instantly brought me back to a tactical mindset of evaluate your environment, look around, make good decisions, and expect the worst and prepare for that.”

Available evidence points to this being a lone-wolf attack. But more information continues to emerge about the leadership and security lapses that allowed the attack to occur.

“We’re all trained to think like the enemy,” says Prince, a veteran himself. “If we were to get an attack, where would we set up? You put your mindset in the enemy’s head of like, ‘If I knew what I knew about us, where would I set up?’ Then you go and you take out that opportunity.”

Prince says through the ministry of Warriors Set Free, he often talks with veterans and law enforcement who struggle in the aftermath of events that end in tragedy or near-tragedy — due to either personal error, red tape from leadership, or other circumstances outside of their control.

The weight of guilt, trauma, and grief can sometimes be too much to bear. Warriors Set Free steps in and bears up these veterans, law enforcement, and military personnel with the unwavering support of biblical truth while helping them create a support system.

(Photo courtesy of Martin Jernberg/Unsplash)

Prince says, “I’ve been in houses with intoxicated veterans with firearms on the table, and we’re having the conversation. In that moment, I get to be a part of that person’s personal protection team. I’m there to protect them from themselves and God shows up and the Holy Spirit has given me words to say in an effort to be that guy who lays my body in the way in an effort to save a brother”

Amidst conversations surrounding the shooting of President Trump, Prince says it emphasizes the critical need to pray for our law enforcement and military personnel who put their lives on the line to confront evil.

“It’s our responsibility and their responsibility to fight that evil nose-to-nose…. When most people run from the gunfire, first responders and military run towards it,” says Prince.

“When we pray for law enforcement and you think about the worst places that the worst times, that’s where they have to be. Pray for divine protection, pray for divine decision-making, [and] pray for them to be alert.”

Please also pray specifically for Comperatore’s family as they grieve his loss. Ask God to surround and comfort them.

Connect with Warriors Set Free here.

Header photo courtesy of Israel Palacio/Unsplash.

“The Ukrainian army evacuated the staff and some of the students from our seminary that is supported in Irpin.”

Ukraine has been trying to arrange evacuation corridors to get citizens away from major cities.

Thousands of civilian casualties have been reported, and that number will only grow as more information becomes available. Mock says, “You may have seen a report that a young man who was assisting a lady and her children was hit by a mortar. He was a member of the Irpin Bible Church. He could have fled, but he stayed to help people out.”

God grieves over this senseless destruction of human life. But He continues to work through the local churches.

How to help

SGA worked with Ukrainian Christians for years, including those who faithfully served in areas where combat has raged since 2014. Now, they have begun working with many churches in Poland as well, helping refugees.

They send funds to Ukrainian and Polish churches, who in turn purchase aid for those in need. Mock says, “There’s a massive amount of aid that is coming from the United Nations, from the European Union, and others. It’s coming into the West [of Ukraine]. But a lot of that aid is just not going to make its way to the East. Everything is cut off.”

Want to support this work? You can come alongside SGA here.

The header photo shows Ukrainians taking shelter from bombardment. (Mvs.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

In 1919, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed an
Armistice Day. Seven years later, Congress passed a resolution asking the
President to issue another proclamation to set aside November 11 similarly.

In 1938, it became "a day to be dedicated to the cause
of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as Armistice
Day."

Sixteen years later, it emerged as a day to celebrate all
veterans, not just those who served in World War I. 

Today, there are thousands of troops facing mortal threat on a daily basis. Many are serving in high conflict areas like Iraq,
Kuwait, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. The
love of Christ is bringing hope and peace, but the more traditional routes of sharing God's Word are
not as successful as are some of the more creative routes.

Troy Carl with Faith Comes By Hearing says the "iPod"
generation is positively responding to their military BibleStick. In fact, with the kind of response they've been seeing, "We really hope that
people will take this opportunity to sponsor a soldier, provide the pure
Scripture that meets their challenges and helps give them comfort in their time
of need," says Carl.

A BibleStick is a digital audio player loaded with an Audio
Drama New Testament, specially geared for combat zones. The response? "Over 22,000 military Bible sticks have been distributed through
chaplains all around the world, and it's having a tremendous impact. Of course,
now they're saying, 'Give us more!'" 

Currently, more than 200 chaplains are using Military
BibleSticks in pre-deployment briefings, counseling sessions, weekly chapels,
and other spiritual services.

"Our soldiers told me they never imagined having an
Audio Bible," said an Army Chaplain at a staging base in Germany.
"They are able to listen to the Word of God while doing their missions. It is so
easy to carry and listen–anytime and anywhere. This little device is helping soldiers cope
with their issues and concerns during deployments."

Hundreds more have requested a Military BibleStick, only to find that they're
already gone. How can you help? Carl says,
"You can sponsor a soldier with a military stick for $25, and that
also includes our ministry providing an audio Bible on disk to their loved
one." The kit also comes with a response
card for service members to have New Testaments and KIDZ Bibles sent to their
families. Click here for more information.