Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is a young father and husband who is scheduled to be executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran at any time. The reason? Because he will not recant his faith in Jesus Christ. I simply cannot help but ask why it is President Obama and the free world remains so silent on these matters. Indeed, it appears that Iran’s cruelty always goes unanswered. In the meantime an inordinate amount of time is spent by too many—the United States included—squeezing democracies like Israel, in which place one may see people of all faiths freely moving about.
Pastor Nadkarkhani needs your prayers. It may be that he will be executed. We must pray that he will be set free immediately. If this is not to be, we must pray he will die well, with peace in his soul, knowing confidently his reward in Heaven. We must pray for his family. They are his wife, Fatemah Pasindedih, and two children, both of whom are young.
For those interested in hearing something of Pastor Nadarkhani’s heart, the following excerpts are from a letter written by him last year and translated from Farsi into English.
Dear brothers and sisters, Salam,
In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am continuously seeking grace and mercy to you, that you remember me and those who are bearing efforts for his name in your prayers. Your loyalty to God is the cause of my strength and encouragement. For I know well that you will be rewarded; as it’s stated: blessed is the one who has faith, for what has been said to him by God, will be carried out. As we believe, heaven and earth will fade but his word will still remain.
Dear beloved ones, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you . . . . So that in everything, you give more effort than the past, both to prove your election, and for the sake of Gospel that is to be preached to the entire world as well.
I know that not all of us are granted to keep this word, but to those who are granted this power and this revelation, I announce the same as Jude, earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
We are passing by special and sensitive days. They are days that for an alert and awake believer can be days of spiritual growth and progress. Because for him, more than any other time there is the possibility to compare his faith with the word of God, have God’s promises in mind, and survey his faith. Therefore he (the true believer) does not need to wonder for the fiery trial that has been set on for him as though it were something unusual, but it pleases him to participate in Christ’s suffering, because the believer knows he will rejoice in his glory.
Amen. May his tribe increase greatly!
New evidence is coming out now in the case of Pastor Nadarkhani, that he is not being persecuted for his beliefs, rather that it is about crimes of rape and extortion. I don’t believe these accusations. Why is he just now being accused of this? It’s because a country doesn’t want to admit that they are going to murder a man based on his beliefs, and they know the cross-hairs are going to be magnified on them if they didn’t, “think quick”, and hide their dirty hands.
Documented and reported in the September/October issue of “Israel My Glory” page 41, 105,000 Christians are put to death each year solely because of their faith. That translates to one believer every five minutes. These saints will have a special place in the presence of the Lamb. Shame on those who are silent.