spiritual fitness Archives - Page 2 of 20

Better Sleep for Better Mental Health

Acute situational awareness and sharp, clear thinking needed to anticipate and train for self-defense and church security threats are dependent upon the proper amount of sleep your body requires.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Components of a Strong Mindset for the Legally Armed Citizen ]

Do you appropriately prioritize sleep in your everyday living?

[ Read SemperVerus articles that speak to the topic of MINDSET ]

In our high-pressure world, it’s easy to view rest as an unearned luxury or a sign of weakness. But your body and mind tell a different story through persistent fatigue and a fog that makes it hard to focus.

By semperverus
Posted on 02/02/202602/21/2026

Staggering Increase of Violence Against Christians: World Watch List

North Korea retains its hold as the most brutal and dangerous country for Christians, but 14 Sub-Saharan African countries (ranked in order: #2–Somalia, #4–Sudan, #5–Eritrea, #7–Nigeria, #15–Mali, #16–Burkina Faso, #21–Mauritania, #22–Central African Republic, #26–Niger, #29–Congo DR (DRC), #37–Cameroon, #39–Mozambique, #43–Comoros, and #48–Chad) comprise the global epicenter of violence against followers of Jesus, according to this year’s World Watch List, Open Doors’ annual compilation of the 50 most perilous countries for believers in Christ.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS ]

The 14 countries constitute more than 721 million people, nearly half of whom identify as Christian; one of every 8 Christians in the world lives in those countries. Only three countries out of the 50 on the List have the maximum score for violence. All three of them are sub-Saharan: Sudan, Nigeria, and Mali.

Nigeria, Rwanda, China, Mozambique, and Mexico Are the Top Persecutors of Christians: GCR Red List

The organization Global Christian Relief (GCR) has published its annual report for 2026, titled Red List, revealing the top 5 worst countries for Christian persecution across five categories of concern: most arrests & sentences, assaults & abductions, killings, displacements, and destruction of buildings.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Nigeria Is Deadliest Country for Christians: GCR Red List 2025 ]

New this year is the accompanying prayer guide, which shows exactly how you can pray for the concerns and believers in each country.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS ]

Nigeria leads in the category of killings, with 590 documented and verified killings (as recorded in the Violent Incidents Database) November 2023 to October 2025, according to GCR, out of the total number of 1,972 killings in the top five countries in the category. Following Nigeria are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 447 killings, Ethiopia with 177 killings, Russia with 167 killings, and Mozambique with 94.

[ Bookmark the SemperVerus CHURCH SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CLIPBOARD ]

US President Donald Trump added Nigeria to the US State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern in 2025, guilty of egregious and unchecked religious persecution, based on the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act.

US Dept. of War Elevating Chaplaincy Corps Back to Spiritual Significance

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke via a Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) video Dec. 16, 2025 to announce immediate changes to directives given to military chaplains. He said George Washington’s original intent of establishing chaplains was that they were “to be the spiritual and moral backbone of our nation’s forces.” But he said that role has been degraded due to “an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism,” which has minimized chaplains to the role of “therapists, instead of ministers.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, US Military Academy Prayers ]

Watch the video and read the transcript below: