The year 2013 has been a hard year for Christians. According to the World Watch List, there's a great oppression and inhumanity for anybody who dares to say they are a follower of Jesus. Christians in modern history suffered, imprisoned and martyred for their faith. We seldom hear from the press about these persecutions but Christians around the world endure increasing dangers because of their belief in Jesus Christ. It is estimated some 24 million population live in communist countries and 480,000 are Christians. North Korea is said to be the world's worst persecutor of Christians in 2013. It is believed that a minimum of 50,000 Christians are in North Korea's concentration camps. In 2013 a person was executed in North Korea, beheaded for owning a bible.

Large Islamic majorities, like Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen are top Christian persecutors. Davis Curry of World Watch said, “ It is very dangerous to be a Christian in a country where Islamic extremism is widespread.” These countries have failed governments who choose not to defend churches and Christian groups. The number of Christians killed in 2013 for their faith has almost doubled, and most were killed in Syria. Islamists attacked churches, Christian homes and business establishments in Cairo, Egyptbecause they refused to meet the Islamists demands. Non Muslims must either convert, pay a jizya tax, or die.

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Tidbits:

All Norwegians become crown millionaires. The world's biggest sovereign wealth fund in Norway has soared because of the high oil and gas prices. The fund, rose to 5.11 trillion crowns ($828.66 billion), slightly more than a million times Norway's official population of 5,096,300. Central bank spokesman Thomas Sevang said, it was the first time it reached the equivalent of a million crowns each Norwegian citizen. The fund, equivalent to 183% of 2013 GDP, is expected to peak at 220% around 2030. Oeystein Doerum, chief economist at DNB Markets said, "The fund is a success in the sense that the Norwegian parliament has managed to put aside money for the future.”