July 10 - Psalm 107 | Psalm 111 | Psalm 112 | Psalm 113 | Psalm 114

Good morning everyone,

Psalms 107 begins the fifth and final book of the psalms, it’s message is that, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story, giving thanks to the Lord for He is good.” Easy enough, right?! Well, for those of us who live in the 21st century of the United States of America, we do have it pretty easy. I do know, and appreciate that some have had harder lives than others, I have heard many a testimony from women as well as men who have grown up in homes, foster homes, and some no homes at all but on the street, their stories rival the worst of nightmares, yet by the grace of God and exercising their faith, and I am certain the prayers of many, God has rescued them, but by and large, we live in a time of ease and comfort, most of us having no idea what it means to go without a single meal much less suffer the agony of starvation. Agreed?  

The torturous conditions the children of God suffered when taken off to and then held in captivity make me cringe. They were towed away by a rope attached to a fish hook that went through their lips while in shackles and chains. They were deprived of food, for many to the point of starvation, beaten, tortured then mutilated with their body parts tossed in a mound outside the city gate to scare off anyone who dared to enter with trouble on their mind. For seventy years they lived that way, then just as Isaiah had prophesied nearly two hundred years earlier, they were rescued, set free to tell their story and sing praises to God.

Though I have once or twice before, I typically do not use this platform to plead on behalf of someone else, however today I am spurred on by the Holy Spirit to bring to your attention an American pastor by the name of Saeed Abedini who was hauled off of a bus in September of 2012 and imprisoned in Iran. To be honest with you, I do not personally know his whole story, or the extent of his suffering. I do know that he spent two months in a hospital for injuries allegedly suffered at the hands of guards and inmates in Iran’s Evin and then Rajai Shahr prisons, (let me just point out these are not like any prison you would experience in the US, these are very primitive conditions) and according to his family he has been denied medical treatment. He is still, to this day, is being held captive.

Pastor Saeed is an American citizen who is being punished because he is a Christian. He absolutely needs your prayers, he needs all of our prayers. I ask that you would add him to your prayer list, that you would pray for his safety, for his protection, for God to strengthen him, encourage him, pray for any way the Holy Spirit leads you to pray for this man and if it be God’s will, that Saeed would be released, set free to be reunited with his family who anxiously awaits his return. Right on? Pray also for this family, that they too would be strengthened and feel God’s love. I won’t even pretend to know what it must be like to have a family member, a husband, a father, or brother who is subject to the appalling conditions Saeed is experiencing. 

As a family of Christians we have to put our trust and faith in God’s greater plan, we must believe, with all that we are, that He is in control and that His plan is perfect. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Right? But friends, hear this, we are also told in James that, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” God can and will do amazing things if we would but ask. I would encourage you to ask and then ask again and again. Please pray for Saeed. It would be most amazing to see him come home and hear him tell his story. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …