Matthew 20:23

“Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

The Obama administration faced renewed criticism Thursday for entering nuclear talks with Iran without first demanding the release of U.S. citizens, following reports that imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini is facing threats on his life from other prisoners.

“It is unconscionable that senior American diplomats, including the secretary of State … could not bring themselves to even mention his name, or those of fellow Americans detained in Iran,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a statement.

The State Department earlier faced criticism after a six-month deal with Iran was announced that rolled back sanctions in exchange for a pause in parts of Iran’s nuclear energy program. The department acknowledged that the status of Abedini, and other American prisoners, was not part of those discussions.

On Tuesday at NATO headquarters in Belgium, Kerry defended the department’s efforts, saying the release of American prisoners in such countries as Iran, North Korea and Cuba remains a high priority.

“One day is too long to be in captivity, and one day for any American citizen is more than any American wants to see somebody endure. This has been too long in every case, and we will do everything we can and continue to,” he said. “But these things are often best resolved in quiet diplomacy, under the radar screen, behind the scenes, and that is exactly what we have been pursuing.”

He said that “when, in fact, we secure their release, the track record of those outreaches and those initiatives will speak for themselves.”

But Jay Sekulow — with the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents the Abedini family — wrote on FoxNews.com that “our diplomacy is worse than ‘quiet.’ It’s inept.”

The ACLJ claimed Tuesday, after Abedini’s family visited him at Iran’s Rajai Shahr prison, that he’s facing “constant threats” on his life. The group said that since being transferred to that prison, the pastor has woken up “several nights” to see “men standing over him with knives.”

According to the ACLJ, the pastor has been robbed repeatedly, has suffered from internal bleeding as a result of beatings at the last prison, and is once again being deprived of critical medication.

Further, according to the group, he is “covered” in lice.

Cruz, in his statement, noted that President Obama personally raised Abedini’s case in a historic phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

But he said: “The president’s action should not have been an end unto itself but rather the first step in a sustained effort to get these men home. Their unconditional release should be central, not peripheral, to any further agreement with Iran.”

Abedini, a U.S. citizen originally from Iran, has been imprisoned since late 2012. Earlier this year, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

His case is one of several drawing the attention of not only groups like the ACLJ but also Congress. Former FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing for six years after visiting an island off the coast of Iran, and former Marine Amir Hekmati is also in an Iranian prison, and supporters have been appealing for their release.

From the  Author:  Many of us could not drink of the cup that Pastor Saeed has had to endure.  For the most part, we as Americans have it all enjoying the comforts of a secure home, ample food and one another.  We have no clue what real persecution is all about nor do we want to know.  In our comfort, we ignore what is all around us whether it is a battered child, a widow in need, or a  beggar pleading for a handout.  When all the time, it is our creator tugging at our coat-tail prodding us to further compassion for our fellow-man.  What happened to LOVE one another and “Love your neighbor as yourself”?

The Bible says much about the poor, the orphans and the widows and there is scripture after scripture on persecution.  We’ve read that persecution is coming but in denial, we pretend it will never happen to us.   We are already being persecuted for saying words that contain Jesus, G-d, etc. and more persecution is coming to America.  We’re being criticized for it, jailed for it, and who knows what is around the corner.

How many of us Christians have prayed fervently for Pastor Saeed and his family?  I would imagine that the numbers are very few.  I encourage  you today to remember Pastor Saeed in your prayers and even if you have to make a note to yourself.  Pray every day on his behalf and for his wife and children.  We all are suffering some form of tribulation, but to suffer for Christ is  the greatest sacrifice of all.  These are the children that G-d has His eyes on and to Him, there is no greater LOVE.

Are you willing to drink of the cup?  Think about it…

This article:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/05/state-department-hit-for-leaving-abedini-out-iran-deal-as-condition-worsens/