If you’ve listened to BreakPoint over the past couple years, you’ve probably heard me or Eric Metaxas talk about the plight of Pastor Saeed Abedini and his family. Saeed is an American citizen who has been imprisoned and tortured in Iran, separated from his wife and children, since 2012.
Pastor Saeed is a native Iranian, but emigrated to the U.S. in 2005 after converting to Christianity. He became a U.S. citizen in 2010, but never severed ties to his homeland.
So in 2012, while organizing the construction of an orphanage, he was arrested by Iranian authorities for “creating a network of Christian house churches” and, therefore, “attempting to sway Iranian youth away from Islam.”
Well, he’s still imprisoned in Iran, despite pleas from around the globe on his behalf. In some ways, his situation has gotten even worse. Recently, his mother had to flee Iran because of concern for her safety due to her tireless work on the ground there to have him released.
Well today, there’s something you can do to help secure his release. But we don’t have much time.
Right now, President Obama is negotiating with the Iranians to reach an agreement over that country’s nuclear program. The goal—I trust—is to get the Iranians to back away from producing nuclear weapons. In return, the U.S. will continue to ease economic sanctions against the Islamic regime.
These negotiations are reaching a deadline: November 24th.
Now our friends at the American Center for Law and Justice are leading a movement among Christians “to blitz the White House with postcards asking that President Obama not forget Pastor Saeed” during these negotiations.
You or your church can purchase and mail pre-printed postcards addressed to the President. They are available in bulk packages of 100 postcards through Trinity Worldwide Reprographics. Simply come to our website, BreakPoint.org, and click on this commentary. And we’ll provide you all the information you need to contact them.
ACLJ suggests that you might set up a table at your church and have people sign the postcards and then mail them together to the White House.
Here’s what is printed on the postcard:
“Mr. President,
A man in your position has been given great power and responsibility to represent every American, whether on domestic or foreign soil. Please hold to your own words, that no one is left behind. We, the American people, ask you to do everything within your power to bring U.S. citizen, pastor, husband & father, Saeed Abedini, home to his family from his time of incarceration in Iran.”
As I record this, folks have ordered more than 80,000 postcards.
Even if you aren’t able to order cards, please consider sending your own postcard and encouraging your friends and neighbors to do the same. Simply ask politely but firmly that the President do all he can to have this unjustly imprisoned Christian pastor freed.
Of course, you may also use the message that’s on the pre-printed postcards. We’ll have that text for you as well at BreakPoint.org. And know that Pastor Saeed’s wife, Naghmeh, has approved the text.
And when you send the President your postcard, please also remember to pray. Pray that the Lord would open the prison doors for Pastor Saeed and will bring him home.
Speaking of Naghmeh Abedini, I had the privilege of speaking with her again at the Religious Freedom Summit at Cedarville University. You need to hear this brave Christian woman describe what has happened to Saeed since his imprisonment, her unflinching faith in God, her deep love for her husband, and the tremendous suffering the Abedini children are enduring as they wait for their father’s return.
We have that video for you at BreakPoint.org.
Once you hear Naghmeh, I’m sure you will be moved to write the President and to pray for her family. Again, come to BreakPoint.org, click on this commentary for the video and for information on sending a postcard.
BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.
John Stonestreet, the host of The Point, a daily national radio program, provides thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
Publication date: November 13, 2014