US secretary of state Mike Pompeo extended condolences to the victims of the floods in Iran, and said his country was prepared to help. But in a sign that the offer may have been less than serious, he did so in a statement blaming Iranian mismanagement for the flooding, and without explaining how assistance could be directed to Iran without violating US sanctions. Pompeo rejected a claim by Iran that the sanctions were preventing donations to its Red Crescent. He said the USA was ready to contribute to international charities which could then forward the money to the Red Crescent for relief.

The Iranian Church is growing with increased momentum, with daily encouraging reports. Despite persecution, Christians are courageously preaching Christ. Hundreds who have received training through mission agencies are teaching the Gospel. Over one million Scriptures have been distributed to Iranians since 2003. Christian TV is beamed into millions of homes, reaching families who otherwise may never have heard the Gospel. Thousands respond to programmes every month. An estimated 28 million have access to satellite TV as dishes (officially banned) are hidden in upper rooms and lofts. ‘Underground’ house churches serve people from all segments of society. Former hard-line Islamic mullahs and drug addicts worship Jesus together. Highly educated university professors, lawyers, taxi drivers, street vendors, and nomads follow Christ together.

In Nigeria, Boko Haram captured 76 Muslim-background Christians. Four men were told at gunpoint to renounce Christ and revert to Islam. When they refused, they were shot in front of their families. Later the men’s wives were ordered to renounce Christ, or their children would be executed the next day. In the morning the children ran in, saying Jesus told them in the night that ‘all would be well’. Then Jesus appeared to them all and told them He would protect them. When the mothers again refused to renounce Christianity their children were lined up against a wall. As the soldiers took aim they suddenly grabbed their heads, screaming ‘Snakes!’ Some ran away, others dropped dead. A captive grabbed a gun and was about to fire at the fleeing militants but a child put her hand on his arm and said, ‘You don’t need to do that. Can’t you see the men in white fighting for us?’

On 27 March, MPs voted on a series of eight different Brexit options and rejected them all. The next morning Conservative MP Stephen Crabbe said, ‘We would have been leaving tomorrow had people rallied round and supported the prime minister. Instead, different groups of MPs were all holding out for their own versions of Brexit, and that’s a recipe for chaos.’ Our God who rules the nations is not a God of chaos. We can pray for the UK to be ruled by people with the discernment to maintain order (Proverbs 28:2). We should remember that the debate now is focused on the terms of the UK's exit from the EU. The conditions of the future relationship between the country and the bloc, assuming the UK leaves at all, still have to be negotiated.

The Church of Scotland has issued a new prayer in light of the ongoing uncertainty over Brexit as MPs appeared to remain in deadlock, despite Theresa May's offer to quit. The prayer reminds us that the date will arrive and will pass, and that time is in God’s hands. When we worry and feel paralysed by not knowing, we can ask Him to remind us that He is the God of all possibilities. We are to turn our eyes to look beyond 'us', to a world in which God’s love transcends every border and barrier. We pray that ‘in every place, in everyone, in everything, in every corner of Your creation, You are. For our times are in Your hand. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.’

Justin Welby has tweeted that it is easy to tell MPs how badly they are doing and abuse and threaten. Instead of that, he urged people to pray for them, because as they have to decide for us they deserve our respect. He said, ‘Let us pray for them, for a decision that has widespread support, and for a process that brings national agreement.’ He has told the House of Lords that ‘there is a requirement for national reconciliation’. He has also urged Remainers and Brexiteers to get together this weekend. The CofE wants to get people who disagree over membership of the bloc to ‘chat over a cup of tea and pray for our country and our future’.

Tell MAMA supports victims of anti-Muslim hatred, and also measures and monitors anti-Muslim incidents. It highlights the rise in instances of harassment or abuse online, being targeted on public transport, being physically attacked, having property damaged, experiencing discrimination at work, school, or university, and receiving hate mail by post or email. Tell MAMA’s director, Imam Atta, says, ‘We are in deeply worrying times where people are looking for certainty, but what they are getting is instability at a political and societal level. At times like this, minority groups are the ones who suffer the anger of those looking to vent their fears, insecurities and concerns’. Its annual report gives examples of ‘Twitter bots’ seeking to cause disruption and division in communities, give false perceptions, and actively promote anti-Muslim hatred. Pray that neighbours would learn from each other’s differences and find common ground in their community.

A House of Lords committee has been considering the effectiveness of the Bribery Act. It concludes that, although it is an effective piece of legislation, there is a danger that any future discussions around it could be used as a backdoor to watering it down. As the UK prepares to leave the EU, looking for new export markets and trade deals, it is more important than ever that British business is conducted fairly and in line with global standards. Many in business understand the damage that bribery does to their companies, the markets and the lives of ordinary people. But there is still space to make our anti-bribery framework even stronger.

An Iranian man seeking refuge in the UK has had his claim refused by the Home Office who wrote to say that his decision to convert to what he described as ‘peaceful’ Christianity and to leave Islam because ‘there is violence, rage and revenge’ was inconsistent. The letter quotes verses from Exodus, Matthew and Revelation as examples ‘inconsistent with a peaceful religion’. Recently an Iranian woman was rejected because the assessor believed her ‘faith was half-hearted' and did not think she was a true believer. She was mocked for admitting Jesus could not protect her from the country's tyrannical regime. The Bishop of Durham asked how a government official can arbitrarily pick bits out of a holy book and use them to trash someone's heartfelt reason for coming to a personal decision to follow another faith. See https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6844623/ANOTHER-Christian-asylum-claim-rejected-official-questioned-faith.html

Currently the draft Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Regulation is going through Parliament. Parents opposing the government’s proposals to impose RSE on children as young as four are now joined by Barnabas Fund and others to campaign and raise awareness of the proposals. The UK has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates and teenage abortion rates in Western Europe; epidemic teenage STI; frightening levels of child addiction to pornography; and diagnosable child mental illness. Historically, changes came with the availability of birth control followed by the 1967 Abortion Act. Free love ruled, with skyrocketing teenage pregnancies. The 1993 Education Act ruled that all State schools must include education on AIDs and sexually transmitted diseases. Teaching now emphasises the ‘sexual rights of children’ and tolerance for things that were previously branded perversion. Children are bombarded with information they have no way of processing or assessing for themselves. Please continue to pray into this situation. See https://vfjuk.org.uk/news-updates/individual-rights-and-intolerance/