Increased Persecution in Iran

In recent weeks there have been reports Christian persecution is increasing in Iran. Believers are risking beatings, threats and imprisonment in order to worship Jesus Christ. Anyone who pays attention to the news knows the government in Iran is very fundamentalist and not tolerant of Christianity. I came across a devotion in the book Extreme Devotion written by The Voice of the Martyrs. This devotion was a reminder of the importance to pray for our brother and sisters in Iran who are risking their lives in order to gain eternal life with Jesus Christ. Below is an except from Iran - Extreme Instruction, More Extreme Tools:

One believer stood at the window, watching the midnight streets for movement that could signal the police closing in on the worshippers. The Christians were meeting secretly in the southern part of Iran. The foreign visitor added to the danger, for Iranian police would be furious to know Christians were sharing fellowship with an outsider.

One believer had recently been released from police custody, and the bruises on his body told about the treatment he had received… Although the police watched him closely and knew of his Christian work, he continued, ministering as much as he could when he wasn’t under arrest. He spoke with passion and urged the gathered believers to grow more like Christ, regardless of the cost. All of them knew that the cost would be high, for all of them knew Christians who had been arrested, beaten or murdered. Others had simply disappeared. The wonderful service was long and worshipful. After ward, the amazed foreign guest asked the speaker about his prison experiences and the suffering he had endured. “How can you,” he asked, “keep such a spirit of hope and cheerfulness in the midst of the se troubles?” “These trials are just ‘tools’ in God’s hands,” said the Iranian believers. “Who am I to criticize the tools that God uses to make me more holy?”

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