(Graphic courtesy of Transform Iran)

First, society says women are worthless. “The women of Iran have been brought up in a Muslim culture,” Lana Silk explains. Silk is the U.S.-based CEO of Transform Iran, an unfoldingWord partner.

“The Muslim culture says that a woman’s worth is less than half that of a man; even a camel could be valued more than a woman.”

Second, feelings of worthlessness often lead to self-harm and reckless living. “Women find themselves trapped in abuse, prostitution, and then looking to drugs to numb the pain,” Silk says.

“Right now, there’s easy access to opiate drugs from Afghanistan, and not much has been done about it.”

Third, there’s the “temporary marriage” rule. This loophole in Islamic law allows a man to marry a woman or girl for however long he wants.

“He can take a 10-year-old girl to [an] Islamic leader and ask that person to bless a temporary marriage. That temporary marriage could be two hours; a week. It creates legalized abuse,” Silk says.

“It cements the sense that women are only good for the pleasure and agenda of men around them.”

Through “Pearl of Persia,” Transform Iran introduces women and girls to a new identity. The program tells women, “You may have heard otherwise, but Jesus says you are worthy of His love; you are a jewel in His crown,” Silk says.

Women aren’t the only ones receiving Christ’s healing and hope through this program. Learn how you can help Iran’s outcasts here.

Header and story images courtesy of Transform Iran.

“We have a little saying here at Set Free: ‘do you want to live with your emotional compass to direct you, or with your truth compass?’” Vander Mey says.

Fear and shame make powerful captors, he adds.

“When we’re filled with fear, we often make wrong conclusions, and we make bad choices that lead us farther away from God.”

Scripture is full of examples. “Think of Peter when he denied Christ three times – out of fear. How was he feeling?” Vander Mey asks.

“What did Judas do when he realized he had sold Jesus for 30 shekels of silver? He threw the silver away, and he hung himself. Who do you think was involved in that? Satan, right? ‘Just go kill yourself. You can’t be forgiven of this,’” he continues.

(Photo courtesy of Jon Tyson/Unsplash)

“Don’t think Peter wasn’t buffeted with the same thoughts: ‘You’re no good. God doesn’t love you. You can’t be used anymore.’ None of that was true. But that’s how he felt based on fear and [shame].”

No matter what battle you’re in, Set Free Ministries can help. Start the healing process here.

“We believe lots of lies about God, self, and others,” Vander Mey says.

“When we learn the truth, that’ll set us free. And the Holy Spirit can empower us, and we hang on to faith instead of fear.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Etienne Girardet/Unsplash.

One Indian father, Danesh, is a day laborer and he noticed many of his coworkers had an alcohol addiction. At first, he didn’t join their excessive drinking. But eventually, Danesh gave in to alcoholism and his life spiraled out of control from there.

(Photo representative, courtesy of Mission India)

Bartholomew* with Mission India says, “He ended up spending a lot of what he earned on alcohol, leaving little for his wife and his son. Unfortunately, he would just get drunk to the point where he would fall asleep whenever he fell. He was drunk to the point he didn’t know where he was when he would pass out.

“That would also heap shame onto his family’s name. Obviously, drunkenness is a sin, and it really heaps shame on his wife and his son and on himself to a point where his wife didn’t feel like they could actually go out in public.”

A church planter with Mission India named Vimesh began building a relationship with Danesh.

“Vimesh over time asked to meet with him, and Vimesh just continued to encourage him to give up alcohol. Vimesh prayed over him and for him [and] he shared the Gospel,” Bartholomew says.

“Over time, Jesus freed Danesh from that addiction and recently he received Jesus as his Savior.”

This father went from being an alcoholic who shamed his family to a spiritual leader pointing his family to Jesus.

“Now his family attends a church, they pray together, and they can go out in public and not be embarrassed. So just that [life change] of Danesh now is also [impacting] his family.”

This father went from being an alcoholic who shamed his family to a spiritual leader pointing his family to Jesus.

An Adult Literacy Class with Mission India. (Photo courtesy of Mission India via Facebook)

“We as an organization love working with fathers and encouraging fathers to come to know Jesus and be changed by the love of Jesus,” Bartholomew says. “Through that change, those fathers then are changing the lives of their kids, the lives of their families, and really, in some cases, changing the entire direction of the family name going forward for generations. So it is quite powerful to see.”

To give a gift to Mission India in honor of your own father, grandfather, or a father figure in your life, click here!

Your gift will help advance the Gospel among dads in India and lead to new Christ-following legacies that can be passed down for generations.

Bartholomew says, “You can pick any of the programs. I would recommend Adult Literacy Classes or Church Planter Training as those are two programs that deal specifically with adults. Go give a gift of any amount and write, ‘In honor of my father’ in the comment section, and then let your dad know or your granddad know that you’ve done that — that you supported a potential life change of a father or father-to-be in India.”

*Last name omitted for security purposes.

(Photo courtesy of BetterHelp)

Glenn Dunn, Director of Domestic Ministries at Set Free Ministries, an organization dedicated to ministering to people who have suffered from trauma, explains the shared role of both the individual and the Church in the healing process. 

Simply having a desire for healing is not enough. It is equally as important for trauma victims to seek healing as it is for the Church to be open to serving them, Glen explains. “It would be wonderful if we could just simply sit on our couch, ask him to do all the work. But we wouldn’t find that relationship.” 

God does not necessarily “take away” the effects of trauma or illness because we ask him to – instead, Glenn notes, the process of healing begins with Jesus and leads to further healing. This is a central part of Set Free Ministries and guides their mission of service. 

The Department of Mental Health categorizes trauma into three separate types: acute trauma (single incident), chronic trauma (repeated and prolonged; i.e. domestic violence). Unfortunately, despite the availability of both public and private resources for trauma victims, not every incident is reported. Some common reasons for not reporting include fear of retaliation or shame. 

What’s more, the western Church has not always been as significantly involved in serving millions of trauma survivors. Glen suggests that this is partially to do with trauma being associated with having a ‘dirty past’ and often elicits feelings of guilt. People focus on shame instead of searching for the freedom which Christ offers. “The Western worldview has become one that if we’re a Christian, our life is supposed to go a certain way and our past is supposed to be forgotten, and, unfortunately, neither of those are accurate.” 

The association of guilt and shame with those who have experienced trauma undermines the power of the Cross. Christ not only heal our own sins, but also the sins against us. The Church should help begin the process of healing with Christ as well as receiving and serving others who are seeking to walk in the freedom of Christ.

Learn more about Set Free Ministries and what people like Glenn are doing to serve trauma survivors and how you can be a part of the story by clicking the link here

Header photo courtesy of Set Free Ministries.

But Eric Verstraete, president of Life Matters Worldwide, says overturning Roe v. Wade should not be the end goal of the Church. Ultimately, reversing abortion legislation won’t change hearts and bring healing.

“If we stopped just there, we will have failed. It needs to go the next step farther, which I believe is calling the Church and calling those even in communities to step up and support these women and men [with unplanned pregnancies.]

“Whether or not it goes to the Supreme Court, frankly, the bigger issue for me is, how are we creating support within our churches? How are we tearing down the shame walls that have been up for years and years and years so that we can support people in all areas of their life with all the decisions that they’re making? We believe the right decision in the abortion discussion is to save that baby, to not have an abortion.”

Shame causes great harm in the abortion conversation, especially in the Church. Women and men in Christian circles who end up pregnant out of wedlock sometimes would rather abort their child than face the shame. But then women who get abortions often feel so ashamed about their decision, they still suffer silently.

Some women go to the other extreme and become defensive of their decision to abort. #YouKnowMe was trending on Twitter recently as women shared their abortion stories in an effort to normalize and even celebrate abortion.

Instead of responding to abortion revelations from our friends, family, neighbors, and church members with the extremes of praise or shame, the Body of Christ needs to respond with God’s forgiveness, love, and healing.

“Shame is never a good option,” says Verstraete. “We always want to come alongside people with love and honor and respect and give them as much equipping [and] encouraging that we can.”

There are, of course, other factors besides shame that lead women to choose abortion or to hide their abortion. No matter the reason, the Church needs to be ready to stand in the gap for women and men facing unplanned pregnancies.

“[A] huge percentage of people who have had abortions have said [they got the abortion] because it’s not the right time, they can’t afford it, they don’t want to bring a baby into the world and the situation that they’re bringing in. And I can only imagine how difficult that decision is. I know that those women and men who are making those decisions, it’s an agonizing decision for them to do that.

“We’re saying there are so many other options that are out there to help and support. But it has to be the highest priority of churches and other members of the community to support those people going through that really difficult decision.”

Verstraete recently heard the story of a woman who’d had an abortion in her past. She wanted to pray with and counsel other post-abortive women in her church and asked the pastor to announce her services from the pulpit.

“This pastor, at first, said, ‘I would know if there were any women who have had abortions in my congregation.’ But after weeks and weeks of this woman pleading, the pastor finally absolved and said, ‘Okay, I will tell people that you’ll be available to help.’

“After the service, 12 women walked up to get prayed for [and] to get some counseling from this woman. Thankfully, the pastor had the humility at that moment to realize, ‘I was wrong.’ He went to this woman who had been pleading with him for months, and said, ‘I’m so sorry, please forgive me. Whatever you need, we’ll move forward.’”

If you have had an abortion, Verstraete wants you to know this: “I am so sorry that you were in a situation where you felt that was your only option. And I’m sorry that you didn’t have the support, love, and encouragement from your community to make a different choice in that matter. But right now, your life is what matters to me. I can’t tell you that I understand what you’re going through, but I want to walk down that road with you of healing, for you to better understand just how much you are loved — and more importantly, how much you’re loved by the Father. He does not want you to carry this burden.”

If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and considering abortion, “I would beg them to reconsider. I would beg them to say, please do not make this decision based on your current circumstances. There’s help out there. There are pregnancy centers that are out there. There are churches who are out there who will not shame you…. We want to be there. We want to support you so that you don’t have to live with the lasting consequences of the decision that you’re going to make in the moment right now. I’m sorry, you’re in that position and I can’t begin to tell you that I understand. But let someone come alongside and walk with you in this really difficult time of your life.”

Finally, Verstraete emphasizes, “This would be a call to the churches as well. What are you going to do to help that unplanned or that crisis pregnancy that’s out there? Now, we believe that there’s no such thing as a crisis pregnancy because all pregnancies are created by God. But what are you going to do with that unplanned pregnancy, Church, that’s coming to your congregation? I would beg churches not to shame those people.”

Click here to learn more about Life Matters Worldwide and their pro-life resources!

Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs says, “We received last week an urgent request for prayer from one of our contacts living in a Muslim nation. A female university student whom he had contact with who was a Christian suddenly broke off contact. She suddenly kind of disappeared.”

Since then, the contact has learned that the young woman is under heavy surveillance from her family. Upon learning that she was a Christian, they forced her to their mosque and made her break her engagement with her Christian fiancé.

She is now waiting for her father, who is currently out of the country, to return and decide how she will be punished.

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs)

Nettleton says, “She’s very concerned about what happens when he comes home.”

Sadly, this woman’s story is just one of thousands.

In strict, traditional Muslim cultures, individuals turning to Jesus will face pressure from families if they are not cut off completely.

“For someone in your family to leave Islam and become a Christian is a shame, not only on that person, but it’s a shame on your entire family,” Nettleton explains.

They must take care of the problem in order to restore honor to the family. Sometimes this might even result in murder, something evidenced in several recent news stories.

According to CNN, a young Pakistani woman was reportedly strangled by her brother last month for bringing shame on her family through her social media posts.

While the shame culture does occasionally drive people to murder, Nettleton says it isn’t as big of a deal for a woman to be killed as it is a man.

Strict rules starve the soul

In some of the strictest Muslim communities in the world, the Gospel message is like fresh rain falling on parched ground.

“One of the great things about the Gospel is that message of salvation, that message of love.”

Nettleton explains that the god of Islam is a rule-giver, and that anyone disobeying the rules will be crushed. He contrasts this with Christianity.

“The God of the Bible, Jehovah, sent His own Son and sacrificed Him in order that we can have relationship with Him. There was nothing we could have done — God did it. He did the work, He gave His Son.

“That love, and that sense of God rescuing us, and loving us enough to rescue us just really speaks to the heart of Muslims.”

This message welcoming people into a relationship is so wonderful and necessary that it trumps the fears of going against society. That is why people follow Jesus, even knowing the social consequences.

(Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs)

Nettleton says it’s encouraging to know this woman found a Christian man she wanted to marry. It signifies the potential for Christian families to grow in Muslim-majority areas.

For believers all around the world, this is a call to prayer for our brothers and sisters.

In this particular instance, be praying for God to soften the hearts of this woman’s family. Ask God for her protection and witness to her persecutors. Pray there would be reconciliation with her family and with her fiancé.

“It’s ultimately the Holy Spirit that softens people’s hearts and makes them receptive to the Gospel message,” Nettleton reminds us.