Free Saeed
My Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of todays articles about the scoundrels that beset the faith once delivered in our country.
Along side those are exultant posts about a political victory and exhortations to the faithful to keep fighting.
There was one…one…mention of Pastor Saeed Abedini.
He has been forgotten or ignored by both the media,the politicians, and those who should be most concerned about him, the church.
Saeed Abedini is waging a biblical battle, the biblical way…the way of Jesus.
He is suffering and he has sacrificed his freedom for the love of the Master.
That’s the way we’re called to battle.
The weapons of our warfare are nor carnal, but when the carnal weapons shoot blanks we drop the battle.
Suffering for Christ doesn’t make for headlines, nor is it attractive to us…it reminds us that we may have to follow the same path.
We turn our heads.
Saeed is old news now, the politicians have failed him, and much of the church finds no excitement in things that speak of suffering.
I remind those still battling in the Spirit that we serve a God who came to set the captives free, a God who in response to the praises and prayers of his faithful broke the the bonds of many in prisons, a God…who is able.
So, today, like every Wednesday, we remember that a brother languishes in a foreign prison.
We do more than just remember, however…we stand with him by using our social media to advocate for his release.
We ask that you change your Facebook profile picture to his and that you “like”  the “Free Saeed” Facebook page and participate in some of the activities that promote his cause.
We ask…that you remember him and his family in prayer…and that you refuse to give up on efforts to secure his release.
Agree Michael. Thank you for the reminder. I need them often.
We have to keep this alive … I speak to myself
Praying here. And Jean, it sure is nice having you around. I appreciate your sincerity and participation.
Amen! We must never forget this brother who is suffering in ways that we cannot even imagine!
Thanks Nonnie.
Dear Friends,
Update on Saeed: Today Saeed’s parents were able to visit him at Rajaei Shahr prison (behind the glass window). They could only talk for a few minutes as Saeed was in a lot of pain (in his stomach) and was bending over and could not talk much. Because of the pain and had to leave the visitation much sooner than the allotted time.
We would appreciate prayers for Saeed’s health and continued prayers for his release.
Love you all
Naghmeh
Thank you for your vigilance, Michael.
Steve,
My conscience won’t allow me to do otherwise…thank you for keeping it going on your end as well.
We say we pray (speaking for myself), but do we really do so? I mention Saeed to the Lord when I remember him (I remember him as that pastor who was visiting family in Iran)
… I was never clear as to his [manufactured] offense to the Iranians…
This morning I’m thinking that we haven’t really got our minds around “wrestling” against principalities and powers and spiritual WICKEDNESS in high places” – did I get that quote correct?
My question is, exactly what does it mean as a pragmatic Christian activity to “wrestle?” We’ve all taken some hits – hits that we may or may not have recovered from… is that wrestling? dunno, but I don’t think so – wresting sounds proactive and it sounds tiring (not tiresome)
Em,
Those are good questions.
For me it means identifying a problem and taking that problem to to the Lord until He moves…to be resolute that a wrong must be righted and staying engaged until it is.
It’s easy when it’s a family member or ourselves…not so easy when it’s a stranger.
“not so easy when it’s a stranger.”… the thing I know for a fact is that no soul is a stranger to his Creator and the closer we walk to that Creator – our God and our Redeemer – the less the folk of the planet seem like strangers – trouble is, for me at least, the affairs of this world are the things that I am closest to… and those things do press in…
rabbit trail alert –
I blame the internet. Having lived long enough to do a comparison between the pre-internet/computer era and where we are today, as God is my witness, the chaos that those infernal machines and their data farms have created is far worse than when we muddled through using file cabinets, adding machines and pencils or pen and ink that couldn’t be “erased.” We are trying to maintain the garden (planet earth) with a fire hose… it seems so to me, anyway