The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17
Soul Conversations apologizes for the lateness of this blog post; without further ado, here it is:
For most of us the New Year begins with a celebration upon its arrival, market by the setting up of resolutions and wiping away the old year to make way for the new.
For those who are imprisoned due to persecution however, it means time lost with loved ones, milestones missed and memories left unmade.
For Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, Eva Abdallah and Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, the year begins with the second most precious thing to us as human beings.....FREEDOM!
September 8th of last year Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was acquitted of all charges brought against him. Among those charges, was that of apostacy. Then, he was arrested again Christmas Day 2012 and ordered to serve out the remaining 45 days of his sentence. As a result of pressure put on the Iranian government through Twitter campaigns and others government agencies he was released again January 7th of this year! YEEHAW!
Eva Abdallah has been acquitted of blasphemy charges. January 9, 2013 the Tanzanian High Court ruled that Eva was not guilty of desecrating the Quran, ending Eva's year long imprisonment. Eva grew up Muslim but converted to Christianity at age 14. January 12th 2012, Muslim radicals conspired to accuse her of urinating on the Quran. At her trial, the judge sentenced her to two years in prison for her crime.
A VOM contact spoke with Eva who said, "It's a fiesta before the prison right now." The final paperwork setting Eva free was yet to be processed as of Friday. Our VOM contact wrote, "I really believe in prison letters. They are effective..."
After successfully defending Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and winning the case against him, his lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah was shortly thereafter imprisoned for his defense of the pastor, he was granted a furlough for a period of time to receive medical treatment. His family is elated to have him back, even if only briefly.
What do these cases have in common? These releases happened as a direct result of people like you who have stood up for these brave, courageous souls who face great adversity and punishment as a result of their faith and willingness to stand up in the face of opposition in whatever forms it presents itself. THAT is a supernatural ability within them that can only be instilled in them through God. YOU DO make a difference in the lives of the persecuted every time you write them letters or write their government representatives imploring them to set them free.
As it says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their work; if one falls down the other can help him up. But pity the (one) who has no one to help him up!"
Therefore, it is our duty as men, woman and children of God to help those who are persecuted so that the atrocities that happen as a result of persecution, don't ever repeat themselves!
Blessings,
Liz Ciccone
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