Memorial Day

I am thankful for the many dedicated military men & women — and chaplains — past and present. It has been my privilege to know some great ones. Let's all continue to pray for them.

Peggy's Surgery for Cancer Is Tues., Jan. 5, 11:30 a.m.

Thank you to the many, many who have contacted us, expressed support and gotten my wife, Peggy, on numerous prayer lists.

Tomorrow she has surgery for breast cancer. We are believing God for the best-case scenario, which is: They get all the cancer. Nothing shows up in lymph nodes or elsewhere. 6 weeks of radiation. No chemo. Done. Healed.

Unfortunately we will not have the pathology right away. Not sure when we will know this.

Thank you everyone for remembering to pray for my girl tomorrow morning. She is everything to me and, while I know God will bring her through, it is hard to see her go through this. My cancer was a lot easier.

I'm glad to be a part of the family of God and grateful for all the wonderful support we receive because of it.

Bless you all.

Peggy's Cancer

Just a few days before Christmas, my wife, Peggy was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has 2 lumps and it is the fastest-growing kind so we got her scheduled for surgery as soon as possible. It will be on January 6. She will have 6 weeks of radiation and hopefully no chemo. The pathology from the surgery will determine if chemo or further surgery are needed.

We have received a huge amount of support from Facebook friends, where we first released the news, and from other close friends.

We would appreciate your prayers.

I am a cancer survivor and Peggy will be too.

Christians in Iran Face Severe Persecution

Sam Yeghnazar’s father was instrumental in planting the Church in Iran’s early days with the Assemblies of God. I have been with Sam overseas. His very important report follows:

November 21-23, 2008: Three Days of Prayer and Fasting for Iran

In response to a year of persecution and the imminent passing of a law making the death sentence mandatory for all Muslim men who turn to Christ and life imprisonment for Muslim women who turn to Christ, Iranian church leaders are calling for prayer and fasting from November 21 – 23, 2008.

They know they have no influence in the courts of men – but they want to take their case to the courts of heaven.

And like Esther of old, the queen of Iran who told Mordecai to ask all the people of God to pray and fast for three days, so Iranian Christian leaders are asking the world-wide church to also set aside these three days for prayer and fasting.

If you are a prayer leader in your church, please contact other intercessors to be involved in these three days, and please approach your pastor to see if special prayers for Iran can be made at your church service on Sunday November 23.

2008: YEAR OF INTIMIDATION FOR CHRISTIANS IN IRAN

The growing church in Iran is under attack. Since April there have been at least fifty three arrests of people whose only crime is their faith in Jesus Christ. The arrests are not localized, but have happened in all of Iran’s major cities…Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kerman, and elsewhere. Sometimes people have been released the same day, others spent months in prison, some still remain behind bars. Many of them have had to pay exorbitant fees for bail and face frightening court cases. Some have suffered physically while in detention and it is believed that one elderly couple died as a result of being beaten up. These are only the arrests that get reported: it is likely there have been many more.


All of this has been happening against the ominous background of legislation going through the Iranian parliament that will make the death sentence mandatory for any man who leaves Islam and chooses another faith. Women will face life imprisonment for the same ‘crime’. Click here to read more about this legislation.

Despite the persecution, the church in Iran continues to grow rapidly. The Word of God is reaching many in the country and many believers are determined to courageously share Christ with their countrymen. Christian leaders in Iran believe that the church will continue to grow very rapidly in the next five to ten years, such is the openness of Iranians to the Gospel.

We urge Christians world-wide to pray and fast on behalf of the church in Iran.
Pray for all those who have been arrested and intimidated. Pray that the Lord will be their Rock, Deliverer and Shield. (Psalm 18:2)
Pray that despite the persecution, Christians will be “encouraged to speak the Word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” (Phil 1:14)
Pray against the law of apostasy. Pray that the severe mandatory punishments regarding apostasy in Iran’s new penal code will not enter the statute book. Pray that many millions of Muslims will see the evil of this law and will hunger for spiritual truth and salvation.
Click here for more details about persecution in Iran in 2008.

Thanks you for praying for Iran.

Sam Yeghnazar
Prayforiran.org/Elam Ministries

Prayer Request

I have received an urgent prayer request from two of our closest friends, Bill and Almie Sparling. I know some of you who follow this blog know them. For those of you who don't, they are very close friends who were with us when we pastored in Davis, California. Bill was our worship leader, a wonderful keyboard player and talented, anointed singer who was a huge blessing to the church and to us. Almie is a prayer warrior who somehow keeps Bill on the straight and narrow. We love them both very much.

The request is for their granddaughter, Justine. She needs healing.

So for all of you who read this and know how to pray, please lift Justine before the Lord.

Thank you.