The fuel blockade is part of the current US administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign regarding the Communist nation. US leaders claim national security concerns and a desire to see political and economic change in Cuba. But as usual, everyday people pay the heaviest price. 

Moisés Pérez Padrón is the director of RTM Cuba, Trans World Radio’s partner in Cuba. Padrón and his team record short-form Bible teachings that reach Cubans via radio or WhatsApp. But power outages have complicated the process.

“In Havana specifically, there have been weeks when outages have lasted more than 24 hours,” Padrón says. “In other parts of the country, we know that blackouts can last two or three days.”

Cuban farmer (Photo courtesy of Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz via Pexels)

On top of power blackouts, Padrón says many Cubans are lacking food, medicine, water, and financial resources. 

“For food, we depend on what small private businesses can import, but many Cuban families cannot afford to buy these products because they do not earn a decent wage,” he says.

Believers in Christ don’t escape these realities, yet they persevere. “The Church in Cuba remains focused on helping those in need and the most vulnerable,” Padrón says. 

“The most affected are the elderly, who, in many cases, were left behind by their families who emigrated in search of a better life. But now they find themselves vulnerable, without sufficient resources, and with no one to care for them or look after them.” (More on the situation of older Cubans here.)

RTM Cuba’s team strives to point listeners to the hope found only in God. It’s not easy to work in broadcasting these days. 

“Without electricity, we have had to reorganize our work schedule many times, and on occasion delay recording times,” says Padrón. 

But they know their programs bring true biblical encouragement. Padrón shares a message from a listener named Alexis from Batabanó, Cuba: “He thanks the Lord for the messages of faith and hope, sharing with us that they have been very uplifting for his life.” 

Another listener, Lazarus, has been tuning in to RTM Cuba for 15 years. “He greatly enjoys the excellent Bible studies broadcast there, which he finds very edifying. He is also grateful for having received a new radio a year ago, which allows him to tune into the signal with much greater clarity,” Padrón says.

Please pray

Cuba’s situation is complex and will remain that way. So, how can you pray? Padrón shares these requests:

(Photo courtesy of TWR Bonaire)

“May the Lord sustain His work in Cuba, and the church keep preaching the gospel faithfully. We believe that the gospel is still the answer that Cuban people need,” he says.

“[Pray for] a change in our nation that allows better times in politics and the economy that facilitate the progress of the gospel.”

Pray also for families in need. Ask God to prepare the Cuban church for any changes ahead.

Finally, pray that RTM Cuba’s gospel-centered content will reach more people across Cuba. 

Header photo: “Wonders” in graffiti above a woman walking in Havana, Cuba (Photo courtesy of Emily Crawford via Unsplash)

According to a press release from Middle East Concern, “Yasser, Saheb and Mohammadreza were arrested on 13th May 2016 with their pastor, Yousef, as they were celebrating communion.” In addition to the charges of threatening national security, Miles Windsor of Middle East Concern says the former three men “have been charged and sentenced with 80 lashes for drinking communion wine.”

Yet, Windsor also adds, “For Christians in Iran, it is legal for them to drink communion wine.” So why the charges? “The issue is they don’t recognize these men as Christians; they recognize them as Muslims.”

Sadly, this isn’t the only case of persecution against Muslim converts. “They are the ones largely facing this kind of pressure and this kind of persecution, and we’d certainly appreciate prayer.”

(Photo courtesy of Middle East Concern)

In fact, charges against Christian meetings, public and private, are nothing new. “It can seem as if [officials] have this paranoia that any gathering, any meeting of those who stand contrary to the political and religious nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran can be seen as a threat.

“My experience with Iranian believers is that they’re extraordinarily bold and they’re extraordinarily faithful,” Windsor says. “They persevere in the full knowledge of the situation that could become them for living as believers in Iran.”

In a recent hearing, “the local court officials had been unable to reach a verdict,” according to the Middle East Concern press release. Windsor explains, “During the hearing, the judge informed the men that within 20 days the court would issue a verdict relating to the charge of ‘acting against national security’ which has been made against them.”

In the meantime, keep these men in your prayers as they await a verdict this week. With strong pressure on the court system to convict them, now is the time for believers to stand in solidarity through prayer.

“We have a God who is sovereign and has authority even in Iran, so we’d appreciate prayer that a just verdict would be given and that these men would be allowed to go free,” Windsor says. He asks that we pray that “Iran would change and open up. Pray there would be opportunities for freedom for Christians and other religious minorities so they would have the freedom to live as Christ and honor God with their lives.”

But no matter where you land on the political spectrum, how should Christians biblically respond to our immigrant neighbors at the community level?

“I think in the political realm today, the subject of refugees — particularly refugees from the Middle East — can incite a lot of fear in our lives. In fact, many people I’ve talked to are quite afraid of the implications,” says Carl Moeller, CEO of Biblica. “This is a real problem, but I believe if we are diligent and spend our time remembering what God’s Word says about these issues, then I think we’ll be different, and we may have a more loving response to those that are in such a desperate situation.”

A wise approach to national security is good and critically necessary for countries all over the world and their citizens. But if wisdom is clouded by fear hindering Christian outreach to our neighbors, then it’s probably time for a spiritual reassessment.

(Photo courtesy of Beth Rankin via Flickr)

“As Christians, when we’re faced with fearful or potentially fearful situations, we’re called by God’s Word to remember that He is our security,” says Moeller.

“We need to, in that first moment of fear, turn to God in prayer and say, ‘God, I trust You. I put this in Your hands.’ Secondly, to bolster that faith and to reinforce it, we need to open God’s Word. And when we open God’s Word, we will find there the strength to address the issues, whether that’s a personal condition or situation, or whether it’s a political or cultural situation. God’s Word has the resources available to each one of us to make our lives much more faith-filled rather than fear-filled.”

Community Bible Experience

Biblica is passionate about helping people live out God’s Word by reading the Bible well. One of Biblica’s programs aimed to facilitate group engagement with Scripture is the Community Bible Experience.

“At Biblica, we’ve been able to do the Community Bible Experience now for several years, and almost a million people have gone through this program of reading the Bible together in small groups that encourage and enable people to read not just short passages, and not just read the thoughts of other people about the Scripture, but to really read God’s Word the way it was intended, the way it was written to us, with long passages that flow because there’s no chapters or verses to distract us away from the pure message of the Word.

“When we do that, God’s Word sinks deep into our souls, and when that happens, we are strengthened in our inner person. And that really makes us able to face fears much more biblically and much more faithfully rather than fearfully.”

As Christians dive into God’s Word with an open heart to the Holy Spirit, we gain a clearer picture of God’s sovereignty, His plan for redemption, and of His Great Commission for believers to spread the Gospel. And that can instill a faith-filled courage that enables us to share Christ with others who are different from us.

“The Word of God continues to amaze me with its ability to be as relevant as the daily newspaper or daily email bulletins that come out of our news services, because it is in fact the most important tool for us to address the challenges of life, including the challenges that come when we are faced with the situation of world events today,” Moeller reflects.

“This is something the Community Bible Experience is really designed to help, and that is to have people spend more meaningful time reading God’s Word and being transformed by God’s Word as a process.”

Biblica has heard positive feedback from Christian leaders and churches who have utilized the Community Bible Experience.

“We’ve seen churches wholly transformed. We’ve had pastors write us and say, ‘My congregation is different today because they’ve been able to read the Bible in this way and they are now making a huge difference for their community in evangelism, in community engagement, and yes, they’re bringing more hope to their communities. They’re bringing more encouragement to the people around them, not inciting fear or even hatred. That’s what we see happening when people, when churches take up the Community Bible Experience, and when individuals read the Bible together with their small groups. It’s a powerful program that’s changing lives.”

(Photo courtesy of Wycliffe Associates)

If you’d like to bring the Community Bible Experience to your church or small group, click here!

“I would encourage anyone listening to go to our website and to find the materials there for the Community Bible Experience and bring that to your small group, bring that to your church, and say, ‘Maybe we can do this together, and in light of all that’s happening in the world around us, we really do need to read the Bible better and we really do need to have more strength in our lives of faith rather than fear.’”

Moeller offers this final thought: “I just think this is a time where the people of God must turn to the Word of God so we can be the people of God in strength and faith rather than a people who are cowering in fear. Our God has empowered us through His Word to make a difference in this world and to reach out in love and faith, not to shrink back in fear.”