Imprisoned American Pastor Saeed Sends Easter Message From Iranian Prison

American Pastor and father of two, Saeed Abedini, who has been imprisoned, beaten, and tortured in Iran for his faith, sends an Easter message to his supporters around the world from his hospital bed in Tehran.

Fox reports that Saeed, who has been hospitalized for the last five weeks, passed a letter to family members when they were allowed to visit him recently, and that letter was sent to his wife Naghmeh in Idaho. Previously The Inquisitr reported that Pastor Saeed was in “grave danger” in one of the “most dangerous institutions in the world.” He is currently hospitalized for internal injuries sustained during the first year of his eight year prison sentence. According to his attorneys with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Saeed is receiving some medical attention, but his much-needed surgery has not yet been addressed.

The plight suffered by an American citizen in Iran has captured the attention of people of faith all over the world. Raised as a Muslim, Saeed Abedini converted to Christianity in 2000. At one time he was a strong part of the underground church movement in Iran. However, at the time of his arrest in the summer of 2012, Saeed had returned to the country on a humanitarian mission – he was working to establish an orphanage for disadvantaged children. He was arrested and imprisoned for none other than his Christian faith.

Despite public outcry, the ears of the Iranian officials have remained deaf to cries for justice and freedom for Pastor Saeed. He has suffered numerous beatings, and it has taken much effort to obtain the most basic of medical care for the wounds inflicted by the torture.

In the midst of all of Saeed’s suffering, he has taken the opportunity to pen a Pauline-style letter to the world:

Crucifying the resurrected “self” with Christ and resurrects our death faith with Christ.

Happy Resurrection Day.

On the Eve of Good Friday and Easter I was praying from my hospital room for my fellow Christians in the world. What the Holy Spirit revealed to me in prayer was that there are many dead faiths in the midst of Christians today. That Christians all over the world are not able to fully reach their spiritual potential that has been given to them as a gift by God so that in reaching that potential, the curtain can be removed and the Glory of God would be revealed.

Some times we want to experience the Glory and resurrection with Jesus without experiencing death with Him. We do not realize that unless we pass through the path of death with Christ, we are not able to experience resurrection with Christ.

We want to have a good and successful marriage, career, education and family life (which is also God’s desire and plan for our life). But we forget that in order to experience the Resurrection and Glory of Christ we first have to experience death with Christ and to die to ourselves and selfish desires.

Jesus said to His Disciples: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

This means that we should not do things that we like to do (that God does not want us to do) and to do things that we do not like to do (but God wants us to do) so that He may be glorified.

So in addition to spending our days and night in doing the works of faith as described above, we should also transform our death faiths into living and active faiths through the resurrection of Christ which is an active and constructive love that is effective.

In conclusion, let us resurrect our Dead faiths to living faiths by first dying to our selfish “resurrected” self and experiencing the cross of Jesus. Then we are able to experience the Glorious resurrection with Christ.

A Glorious life with Christ starts only after a painful death (to self) with Christ.

We will start with Christ.

Pastor Saeed Abedini
Prisoner in the Darkness in Iran, but free for the Kingdom and Light

Attorneys and religious leaders continue to call for prayers and for Pastor Saeed’s release from prison. There is a petition that readers may sign to call for his release from the unjust imprisonment.