Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani Spends 35th Birthday Behind Bars [UPDATE]

Here's another UPDATE on Pastor Youcef. Please keep him in your prayers. The article can be read at Pastor Youcef Spends Birthday Behind Bars.


Today, is Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani’s birthday, and our sources in Iran confirm that he is still alive. Thirty-five years ago, on the 23rd of the Farvardin month of the Persian Calendar, Youcef was born in Iran.

This is the third birthday that Pastor Youcef has been forced to celebrate behind bars, condemned to death in Iran for apostasy – becoming a Christian in a regime governed by Shariah (Islamic) law.

Tomorrow, marks exactly two and a half years of imprisonment – 913 days illegally held in prison for his faith.

Both the Iranian Constitution and the International Declaration of Human Rights, of which Iran is a signatory, not only forbid executing someone for their faith but expressly protect religious freedom. Despite these assurances of religious freedom, Iran continues to imprison Pastor Youcef indefinitely for charges related solely to the exercise of his faith.

Today, Christians and supporters of Pastor Youcef all around the world are holding a fasting and prayer vigil for the persecuted pastor to bring attention to his plight. Just last week, hundreds of Christians and supporters of religious liberty attended a vigil and march for Pastor Youcef’s release in Hamburg, Germany.

These are just a few examples of the increasing international pressure being placed on Iran to release Pastor Youcef. Nations like the United Kingdom, Brazil, and many others are directly demanding that Iran immediately and unconditionally release Pastor Youcef.

The ACLJ’s Tweet for Youcef campaign is now reaching nearly 1.5 million Twitter accounts around the world each day with updates about Pastor Youcef. His story has reached over 91 percent of the United Nations member states, including Iran. The Tweet for Youcef Brazil campaign in Portuguese also continues to see tremendous growth.

Even with this increasing international pressure on Iran for Pastor Youcef’s release, it is critically important to remember that Pastor Youcef is still in an Iranian prison under a death sentence that could be carried out at any time. The only reason that he is still alive today is because of the international outcry against this abhorrent situation. It is not enough that Iran remove his death sentence, rather we must demand his ultimate and unconditional freedom.

Please continue to pray for Pastor Youcef. As a Birthday present for Pastor Youcef and symbol of solidarity for those persecuted for their faith, please let the world know that you support Pastor Youcef by signing up to Tweet for Youcef today.

Happy Birthday Pastor Youcef.

All the Men's Presidents

Hosea 4:1


"...for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land."


Good leaders are hard to come by nowadays. Ben Franklin was asked this question at the Constitutional Convention in 1776: “What have you wrought?” Franklin answered: “… a Republic, if you can keep it.”

All this talk of democracy is really not the point of existence for this great nation; it's about it being a constitutional republic. Unfortunately, a piece of paper is just a piece a paper without something to back it up. Money is just green paper without the gold (back in the olden days, anyhow) to back it up. And the Constitution is just parchment without godly leaders and godly citizens to seek and follow the will of the Lord in all things, public as well as private.

Thus, leadership flows top-down as well as bottom-up. Call it the photosynthesis of politics: What oxygen is to humans and carbon dioxide is to plants (thereby making each element inter-dependent on one another), then godly legislation is to the electorate and re-election is to the elected official. Both sides require a need to be informed. Just like a marriage needs God to make it work, both the electorate and the elected official need God to make government (the verb aspect of it) to work.

Consider what George Washington said: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

And, Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, “I have always said, I always say, that the studius perusal of the sacred volume [ie, the Holy Bible] will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.”

John Adams said: "I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world."

Add to this Bejamin Franklin's statement: "As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and His religion as He left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see."


Patrick Henry commented: "The Bible… is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed."

There are so many other quotes from Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, James Madison, George Mason, etc.

Here's the point: We once had a simple and good Government. This nation once had good and godly government. Yet, I haven't seen it in my lifetime. A good way to gauge a government's stewardship of its responsibilties is to look at that all-time perennial maker for any civilization: liberty. The less government there is, the more freedom there is. With more governmental intrusion into our public and private lives, the less freedom you'll find.

It doesn't take a genius, rocket scientist, or Nobel peace prize winner to see that America is under siege from the cult of liberalism, where they impose their vision of what a just society should be. Their morals, if you can call them that, are focused on restricting your freedoms in order to push their world view. Friends, this is not freedom; it is group fiat.

They claim that the religious right is intolerant. But, God has given us the freedom to choose between reconciliation with Him through Jesus Christ our Lord (II Corin. 5:19) or rejection of the Almighty's salvation. It is not forced upon them. On the other hand, the Left seeks to remove our beloved freedoms because they believe they know what's best for this nation.

So, if you're for freedom, you cannot be for more government intrusion. The two cannot co-exist. At least not according to the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Truly, is government dependence all that it's cracked up to be? I'd rather put my trust in God and let the chips fall where they may. Hey, I think I've seen that on our printed currency!

In the end, the only way to correct our course as a nation is to humble ourselves before the great God who bestowed life and liberty upon us:

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place."     II Chron. 7:14-15

Happy Presidents' Day and God bless America!