Writing from my heart.

My Dear Friends,

The conditions here get so very difficult that my eyes get blurry, my body does not have the strength to walk, and my steps become very weak and shaky.

Various (bullying) groups, the psychological warfare, a year of not seeing my family, physical violence, actions committed to humiliate me, insults, being mocked, being confronted with extremists in the prison who create another prison within the prison walls, and the death threats…

It is interesting that because I am a Christian pastor, I am carefully watched. I am expected to smile at them despite what is being done and to understand why they are doing all of these things. But, of course, I can clearly see what is going on and because I want to serve God, I see all of these difficulties as golden opportunities and great doors to serve. There are empty containers who are thirsty for a taste of the Living Water and we can quench their thirst by giving them Jesus Christ. Maybe you are also in such a situation, so pray and seek God that He would use you and direct you in the pressures and difficulties of your lives.

There are those who are enemies of the Living Bible and do not want to hear. They are trying to put me under such horrific pressures (that are sometimes unbearable) so that they can show me that my faith is empty and not real. And after all of these pressures, after all of the nails they have pressed against my hands and feet, they are only waiting for one thing…for me to deny Christ. But they will never get this from me. This is why the Bible is Truth and they are in the way of destruction.

There is another group who does not know the Gospel of Truth. Instead of truly listening and meditating on God’s Word, they are just waiting to see how I react to all of their pressures and persecution. What will come out of me during these intense times? But again, this is another golden opportunity for me to shine the light of Christ in this dark world and to let God to use me.

Yesterday when I was singing worship songs, the head of my cell room attacked me in order to stop me from praising but in response I hugged him and showed him love. He was shocked.

It is during these harsh conditions, that I deeply need God’s Saving Grace so that I can be the fragrant scent of Christ in the dark house of Evin prison. I have often seen the Shining Morning Star in the darkness of this prison and I have seen His amazing and supernatural works. Oh, how beautiful is seeing the light of the Shining Morning Star of Christ in such evil darkness.

So:

See your golden opportunities in pressures and difficulties.

See the Shining Morning Star in the dark times of your life.

I Love Him! He is Gracious, Merciful, and Righteous to me. I now know that I have not been forgotten and that we are together in this path. God gives me Grace.

This is my message for the Church: Stay Strong for His Glory. He will come back soon! Be with God and give your best efforts for His kingdom.

Pastor Saeed, servant of Jesus Christ in chains for endurance of Gospel. I love you all.

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If this isn’t a modern epistle, I don’t know what else is. This is heartbreaking, but so very encouraging. Now we too have an idea of what it felt like to be praying for Paul after receiving his letters in the early church. Brethren; we need to lift up our voices to God for this man.

Go to this link, search for the words “A Promise,” and vote for us to win some cool prizes that will definitely help along the way! Cheers, thank you, and God bless!

(Source: establishedin81)

If there is one thing I can say for certain about the human race, it is that we don’t like being interrupted. It’s just a simple thing that we all do. Granted, we allow certain people to get away with it, but we all in some measure or another dislike it. And it is there in our comfortable schedules and plans that we hide. We hide from risk, from danger, from the unknown. Sadly, my friends, all too often God is in that category as well.

But you see, that is the beauty of God’s personality  He is not at all against changing your plans or getting in the way of your schedule. Jesus is radically disruptive. In Jerusalem he overthrew tables; nowadays it’s something as simple as an unexpected phone call, running into an old friend at the store, putting someone in need in your path. 

This morning as I was driving in to work I was admiring the sunlit clouds during the sunrise because I normally leave my house too early to ever see anything but twilight darkness. But today God gave me one of my favorite presents; a sunrise. Little did I know it would so radically affect everyone else. As I turned onto a highway (Which faces directly towards the rising sun, mind you) my thus far quiet and smooth drive met a traffic jam that minutes ago wasn’t there. It wasn’t because of a crash or poor driving; the sun had just risen and golden light filtered through everything we could see, as in, not the road. All of a sudden, in the middle of our routines, God shows up with a radiant display of beauty and forced all of us to slow down and appreciate it.

I know I did.

Are you willing to be interrupted and let God enter your life in new, unforeseen ways? Let God love you and quit making yourself to busy for him.

You’re not. This is a difficult holiday for a lot of people; I used to struggle with the loneliness all the time. The sense of worthlessness, that I was undesired, brought me low. But I am here to tell you to take heart.

You are not alone, especially on days like today.

There is one that loves you more dearly than life. Someone who gave everything they had to just comfort you, to pursue you. He loves you with a love that will forever endure all hardships and all suffering and will carry you out to see brighter days. This man loved you so much he cast away all things to pursue you; his life, his position, his honor, his rightful place - he left that all behind to make sure that on days like today you would never be alone.

That man is near, he is passionately in love with you.

If you find yourself thinking you are alone, I beg of you, turn to him today. “For he came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

His name is Jesus, and He is closer than you could ever believe. And all He  wants… is you.