Articles with spiritual fitness

Nigeria Is Deadliest Country for Christians: GCR Red List

The organization Global Christian Relief (GCR) has published its new annual report, titled Red List, spotlighting the 25 worst countries for Christian persecution across five categories of concern, including killings, building attacks, arrests, displacements, and abductions & assaults.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Africa remains the deadliest region for Christians, with Nigeria consistently being the most dangerous country for followers of Jesus in murders, abductions, and assaults. From November 2022 to November 2024, nearly 10,000 Christians were killed, primarily by Islamic extremist groups such as Boko Haram, Armed Fulani Herdsmen, and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP). Similar patterns emerge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, and Ethiopia, where numerous armed militant groups target Christians. Russia ranks 5th in killings, most of those occurring in a Muslim-majority area, and 4th in arrests, with the government targeting evangelical Christians.

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Global Persecution of Christians Surges in 2024

Violent religious persecution continues to increase around the world, with North Korea topping the annual World Watch List produced by Open Doors, which ranks the top 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme brutality. The intensity of cruelty has significantly increased this year, with approximately 380 million Christians (1 in 7) worldwide now experiencing high levels of persecution for their faith (an increase of 15 million in just one year).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

[ Read the SemperVerus article of Bible verses from the book of Romans that quickly and simply present the Good News that is life through faith in Jesus Christ ]

Murdered for their faith were 4,476 Christians, Open Doors said in the report covering events in 2024.

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Video: Let Your Conscience By Your Guide

The name SemperVerus® is Latin for Stay True. It’s based on the Bible verse 1 Timothy 4:16 (NLT) — “Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.”

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of BE ]

The third element of the five SemperVerus components is BE, which emphasizes the importance of prioritizing integrity, honesty, and general uprightness in your life. It reads:

III. Be: developing rich personal leadership character of exemplary moral and ethical quality.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Secure Your Base (Your Soul) ]

The fifth element of the five SemperVerus components is DO, the working out in your everyday life of the first four qualities. It reads:

V. Do: resolving to intentionally and skillfully act to accomplish positive and fruitful outcomes.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The Door of Leadership Swings on the Hinge of Character ]

In the decisions we face every moment of every day, we stay true when we follow the Holy Spirit in our lives and keep the SemperVerus Brotherhood/Sisterhood virtues front-and-center in our mind:

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Why We Shouldn’t Just ‘Do Something’

It’s a common belief that US President Teddy Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” However, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Center, “this statement is often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, but no known source can be found to verify the attribution.”

Even so, TR was devoted to action. He didn’t shy away from making a decision and acting upon it. The important detail is that the decision must be based on what is right.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Every Small Decision Leads to Winning or Losing in Spiritual Warfare ]

The fifth element of the five SemperVerus components is DO, which emphasizes the importance of combining the previous four elements in order to engage in accomplishing what is needed in the moment. Neither procrastination nor neglect is an option. The SemperVerus principle reads:

V. Do: resolving to intentionally and skillfully act to accomplish positive and fruitful outcomes.

A recent commentary by John Stonestreet on the Colson Center’s Breakpoint podcast stresses that ambiguity is not the answer when action is called for. Merely choosing to do “something”—especially if it’s misguided—can be inappropriate, nonsensical, and even an obstruction to beneficial outcomes.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Be Like Ernest Shackleton ]

Here are a few excerpts:

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