Naghmeh speaks at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy today.  Please pray for continued strength and vigor in her fight to free her husband, Pastor Saeed Abedini.  Pray that all of her prayers will be answered.  GOD's will be done. God Bless the Abedini Family!  In the Name of Jesus we Pray. Amen!

Read more at Abedini's Wife Tells of Unjust Journey, by Trillia Newbell, at Baptist Press.




"On a hot summer day in 2012, Naghmeh Abedini drove her husband Saeed to an Idaho airport. They shared a casual goodbye, assuming they would see one another in two or three weeks. Instead he was imprisoned in Iran, and they haven't seen or spoken to one another since.

"Saeed Abedini, 33, was sentenced to eight years in prison after returning to Iran for a work trip. This began an almost two-year nightmare for his wife, who is now fighting for his release while raising their two children alone."

"It has been the hardest time of my life," Abedini said of her husband's imprisonment. "I feel like my life was taken from me. I experienced extreme anxiety and depression at first. I cried out to the Lord and felt like the woman bleeding for 12 years...'"

"...On Feb. 25 Naghmeh Abedini will speak on religious persecution at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.

"'The American people care about the religious liberty. We hit a nerve with the American people and the world about Saeed's imprisonment. Religious liberty is such an important part of our core values," she said. "Saeed wanted to serve the people of Iran and the intelligence police said that he could continue to visit Iran as long as he did not [engage] the house church movement again.'"

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:12

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Romans





"Yet now the Court is once again reviewing the Romeike case. We are faced with the question: Will the justices uphold America as a place of refuge for those who are persecuted for their faith? We pray and hope so.

"'I believe we have made a strong and persuasive argument. The fact that the Court ordered the Justice Department to respond," HSLDA attorney, Jim Mason explains, "seems to indicate that at least one justice is interested in the case, but now at least four justices must agree to hear the case."

"We ask now if you will join us, beginning today, for five days of prayer? Let’s join together and pray that the Court will agree to hear HSLDA's appeal and that God will move in the hearts of the justices in favor of the Romeike family."

Please read Will the Supreme Court Take Romeike?  Please Pray! by Charity Klicka, at Homeschooling Now's World News Blog.

Read also Friday, Supreme Court Announces Decision on Romeike Family, here at One Saint.

O my sweet Jesus,

Take away the wars, which destroy humanity.
Protect the innocents from suffering.
Protect the souls who try to bring true peace.
Open the hearts of those afflicted by the pain of war.
Protect the young and vulnerable.
Save all souls whose lives are destroyed by war.
Strengthen all of us, dear Jesus, who pray for the souls of all God’s children and grant us the Grace to withstand the suffering,       Which may be given to us during times of strife.

We beg You to stop the spread of war and bring souls into the Sacred Refuge of Your Heart.

Amen.

Crusade Prayer from The Warning


"Hope is a scarce commodity after a week of Ukraine’s unrest. With offices in Kiev, Russian Ministries and Slavic Gospel Association are knee-deep in turmoil. They’re pleading for prayer from believers around the world. “Pray that this conflict would be resolved quickly. Pray for families who are grieving for lost loved ones,” said Russian Ministries on its Facebook page.

"While reports vary widely, yesterday afternoon Ukraine’s health ministry confirmed the deaths of at least 60 people and says more than 500 have been wounded.

“'Our Ukrainian Baptist leaders in Kiev are now using churches in the city as infirmaries for the injured and sick,” national church leaders told SGA in a recent report. “Christian doctors take turns and are helping those who need medical care.

“'We see this as an opportunity to witness our love of Jesus to our neighbors.'”

Read more from Unfurling Unrest in Ukraine, by Katy Hearth, at Mission Network News.

O Lord God,

Your Son Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.

In his resurrection He restores life and peace in all creation.

Comfort, we pray, all victims of intolerance and those oppressed by their fellow humans.

Remember in your kingdom those who have died.

Lead the oppressors towards compassion

and give hope to the suffering.

Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Prayer from the Church of England


"According to Ann Bulwalda, the executive director of the Jubilee campaign: "Approximately 60 percent of the world's Christians that were killed for their faith [(in 2013) were] in Northern Nigeria.'"

The details of this attack are brutal, and very difficult to take.  You may read much more at Islamic Militants Hack to Death, Brutally Murder 106 Residents of Christian Farming Village in Nigeria, by Morgan Lee, at The Christian Post.

You may also read more here at One Saint, posted yesterday...

Our Father,

Thank You for all of Your blessings, every single day.  We come to You today with heartfelt prayer, asking for your intercession for Kenneth Bae, imprisoned in North Korea.  Give him strength and health, as only You can, lift him up in his oppressive environment.  Help him to spread the word of Your Glory and Kingdom.  Help his family to cope with this unbearable separation and their beloved's long, long absence. 

In the name of Jesus we pray.  Your Will Be Done.

Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American being held in North Korea, says he is worried about his health after authorities moved him back into a labour camp following a stay in a hospital.

" "I know if I continue for the next several months here, I will probably be sent back to the hospital again," Bae says in a video of a conversation with a Swedish diplomat recorded Friday..."

"...Bae's sister, Terri Chung, told CNN's "The Lead" that he looked worse than he did when he last appeared three weeks ago, in a hospital."I'm glad that he's holding strong, but I'm really concerned about his health," Chung said. "And the fact that he's been moved to the labour camp, we're really discouraged by that." "

Read recent news about Kenneth's condition at Kenneth Bae: 'I Have Not Lost Hope." at Christian Today.

~~~~~~~~~~

"It has been confirmed that Christian missionary Kenneth Bae has been transferred from hospital to a labor camp in North Korea. CNN reported that the State Department is very concerned about the recent move, particularly for the health of Bae, who has been detained since 2012.

"Swedish representatives reportedly visited Bae in the labor camp, and his family has been updated of the latest development. Bae was reportedly transferred back to the labor camp on Jan. 20 after a brief hospital stay.

"The State Department continues to urge for Bae's release and has sent ambassadors to negotiate his release.

Read more at Kenneth Bae transferred from hospital to labor camp; News comes day after President Obama urged release of Christian missionary, by Jennifer Jones, at Christian Today.

Dear Father,

Thank You for all of our blessings, great and small.

We come to You with an urgent request for Christians who are suffering in Iraq.  Please protect and sustain Your beloved amid worsening violence.  Thank You for the overcoming faith of Canon Andrew.  Please protect him, give him wisdom and renew his strength.  Please, Father, bring an end to the bloodshed in Iraq and an end to the fighting, which is mainly between Sunni militants and the Shia-dominated government.

We know there is a Great Plan to Your workings, please bring to us understanding.  And peace.  Please, Father, bring to us peace.

In the name of Jesus we pray; Your Will be done.

Amen.


"Canon Andrew White, known as the 'Vicar of Baghdad', has asked for urgent prayer for the church in Iraq amid intense violence.

"With frequent bombings and shootings in cities such as Baghdad and Mosul, monthly death tolls have soared recently. January's toll of 1,000 dead was the highest for almost six years..."

Prayer and text from Baghdad Christians in 'More than Desperate' Crisis at Release International.

Cynthia Finley, President of Christian Aid Mission, writes a heartfelt letter that asks you to pray in difficult times. Here is a portion of that letter:


"This last week would have been one that would have “dismayed” all of us here at Christian Aid when we learned a much-loved, young Kenyan pastor, Ezekiel Lenato, was murdered while serving our Lord. But our sadness is tempered by the fruit of his ministry and our confidence that Ezekiel has now joined those under the altar crying, “How long, O Lord..."

"...Brother Ezekiel was walking home on December 29 from his second Sunday ministering in a Samburu village called Siunta. He was following-up those who had received Christ earlier as a result of viewing the JESUS Film. He was shot in the abdomen, his body thrown into the bush, and discovered on Monday when he failed to return home.

Ezekiel was recently married and leaves a bride, Susan, and the two orphaned sons of his brother and sister-in-law who died of AIDS..."

"...Since his death, we have received word that another missionary has been beaten and robbed by bandits in the same area. These tragedies show the urgent need for security personnel to travel with ministering pastors in northern Kenya, and for our earnest prayers for their safety as they preach the gospel of peace and bring literacy to the Samburu."

Read more at Christian Aid Mission Loses Kenyan Brother in Christ, by Julie Oosterhouse, at Mission Network News.


Cynthia asks, please, that we pray for God’s provision for Susan and the children, and that God would use Ezekiel’s death to win many souls for Christ.  Amen!

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."
John 14:13-14

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little whilelonger, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
Revelation 6:9-11