Loose Ends
Remember Saeed Abedini today by changing your Facebook profile picture and using your social media to remind people that he is not home yet.
My greatest concern is that since the big media blitz ceased, so did the will to see this through.
This isn’t just another cause…this is a brother rotting in a foreign prison.
Derek Thornton has a page of action links to help.
Please “like” the Facebook page if you haven’t done so yet!
Link love:
Excellent article on bullying and our bodies on HFTV…
Must read interview with Boz Tchividjian…
The fifty worst places to be a Christian…
Driscoll (partially) acknowledges one of the writers he ripped off…
Thanks for the link, Michael.
It seems to me that until kids reach that age when they become comfortable in their own skin (for me it was 14, but I think it is getting pushed back to older ages now), they will never be immune to trying to fit someone else’s physical mold.
They value the wrong things, is what I’m saying. And it seems almost impossible to solve this huge problem.
Jason,
I have an 11 year old whose tastes in most things are very “counter cultural”.
The hardest thing to teach him is to have joy in being different…
50 worst places to be a Christian….
A place can go from good to bad in a very short time, as the Russian Revolution demonstrates. Or a country can become gradually more hostile to Christianity until one day you wake up and find that you are no longer welcome in your own country.
Here’s a very small example, which I by no means elevate to the level of persecution, but it is telling. The Meals on Wheels monthly menu always has fish on Tuesday. The vast majority of my clients are elderly Roman Catholics who would love to receive a fish meal on Friday but nope, there must be no catering to a Christian belief so the fish must be served on Tuesday. I believe this was a deliberate decision on the part of the very secular Meals on Wheels administration. Serve the fish on Friday? No way! We are not going to acknowledge Christianity in any way. MoW is not obligated to help Roman Catholics keep their traditions, I understand this, but not too long ago they would have anyway. I remember my elementary school always serving fish sticks on Friday for the benefit of RCs.
A very small thing, but these things add up.
Xenia, in that same vein, most restaurants with a soup du jour have served Clam Chowder on Fridays. I don’t know if that is still the case but I assume any smart restaurant that wanted to cater to its customers would continue to do so.
Steve, I think you’re right about that. My MoW peeps have to take what is sent to them- they don’t have much of a say.
Does MoW do kosher for Jews?
MLD, they can ask for a “no pork and dairy” option. There is not going to be a strict (separate cookware, etc) option.
I was listening to a Christian talk show and they were interviewing someone from Open Doors who compiles that list.
He was hitting the high points of the list, but he also mentioned something else that happens whenever persecution happens.
Many people start to come to Christ.
He mentioned that in Syria, where massacres are happening of Christians, record numbers of Muslims are becoming Christians.
He said many that are in the middle of the violence there are turning to Christians for help and their needs are being met and they see the love of Christ in action.
I myself would love it if we could stop Christian persecution.
But, sometimes I think that that is exactly it, that is what “I” would want.
God obviously uses it in a big way to call people to him.
Anyways, the man said to support Christians in Syria, with financial support, not only for the Christians themselves, but also because that aid helps people come to Christ.
Derek (and all) I hope you get a chance to listen to Naghmeh’s message given last Sunday night at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. She shares some great stories about how God is using this persecution to bring many to Himself.
Hey, Cruz and Inhofe are putting together a draft resolution about the three Americans held in Iran.
http://www.lobelog.com/cruz-inhofe-circulate-draft-resolution-to-end-all-bilateral-talks-with-iran/
They wanted these conditions met.
1) release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, namely Pastor Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati, and Robert Levinson, and 2) publicly affirm the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.
I personally think that they should have left Israel out of it. That is like a guarantor of failure to this I believe.
Steve,
The fact that many are coming to Christ through Saeed actually helps me a lot. It shows how powerful my God really is and how he takes things that look so terrible and uses them mightily.
In fact, I have been re-reading a book by Brother Yun called “Living Water” as a devotional. Messages and insights from people who have actually undergone persecution really give me a good perspective on Christianity that is sorely lacking in America.
Derek, did you get a chance to listen to her yet?
Not yet, I was planning on Saturday, when I have a lot of free time.
I won’t give any spoilers then.. 🙂
I only wrote my senators about Saeed one time each. Ted Cruz has sent me his third update. Are others getting responses from your reps?
Senator Roger Wicker has tweeted several times about Saeed Abedini since this started.
I got an email response from Wicker about it and also my House Rep. Alan Nunnelee.
Just finished watching it Steve.
The hand of the Lord has been guiding that woman’s life in a powerful way!
Really glad you watched it, Derek. Hope others will as well. The story when she was imprisoned was a direct fulfillment of Jesus’ words… “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.”
I really appreciated her honesty and candor.
My wife and I were sitting around the 7th row center. Got there really early and was a little worried when it was just a few minutes to start and the place was pretty empty, but it filled up within minutes and I was glad.
Naghmeh got a well deserved standing ovation both when she walked out and when she finished.