Typical Fourth of July shows last about 20 minutes, but this year’s celebration will go twice as long. Civic displays throughout the U.S. may also stretch longer, honoring America’s 250th year of independence.

Marty Johnson of Warriors Set Free says, for some veterans, “If there’s an event like what we’re talking about, that is going to be twice the amount of sound and twice the amount of everything, that could very well trigger somebody right back.”

Not all veterans struggle, but fireworks usually pose a challenge to combat vets.

“It’s the reminder of combat itself: the lights, the noise. It would cause somebody to react as if they were in combat, whether that be anger, physical violence, withdrawing; they just are not in control,” Johnson says.

“I didn’t have combat [in my military service], but there are some aspects of our flag and our ceremonies, and sometimes Fourth of July, that trigger me in a way – it’s an unsettling feeling.”

Finding freedom

Warriors Set Free helps veterans and first responders heal from the trauma incurred in the line of duty. Learn more here.

As a veteran, Johnson can recommend the ministry firsthand. “For the better part of 38 years after I got out of the Marine Corps, I spiraled out of control,” he says.

Are you a military, veteran, or first responder struggling with your faith, identity, or feelings of loss? When you’re ready to talk, we’re here to listen.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Warriors Set Free)

Johnson gave his rage and trauma to Jesus during a freedom appointment with Warriors Set Free. “I laid it all at His feet, and He has blessed me with the restoration of relationships with my wife, my children,” he says.

“People don’t recognize the old Marty because that guy is gone. They see Christ in me.”

Today, Johnson helps other veterans find the same freedom in Christ that he has experienced.

“It’s beautiful to watch Christ work when I can sit across from a guy and tell him, ‘There’s nothing you can say that is going to surprise me, or make me have judgment on you, because I’ve either been there, done it, or I’ve heard it,’” Johnson says.

Connect with Warriors Set Free here if you or someone you love needs the healing only Christ can offer.

Most importantly, pray for vulnerable veterans. Pray for “a hedge of protection around the mind, knowing that they’re not there [in combat] in that moment, and just a sense of peace,” Johnson requests.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Roven Images/Unsplash.

As the world watches events unfold, Christians inside Iran remain at risk.

“Whenever there’s conflict like this, it strengthens the hands of extremists, and then they go after minority groups,” David Bogosian of the Alliance for the Unreached says.

“It’s already happening; more Christians are being arrested, more Christian leaders are being targeted.”

Yet a deep hunger for truth remains. Many Iranians are responding to the Gospel, even as the government cracks down.

“The extremist elements have taken over the government. Elements that were kept at bay by moderates are unleashed now, and there’s nothing to restrain them,” Bogosian says.

“The extremist elements within Iran don’t like the fact that Christianity is one of the fastest-growing parts of their society; they want to crack down on that and suppress it.”

Reason to hope

(Photo courtesy of Transform Iran)

Iran remains an essential territory in the Great Commission. Unreached people groups comprise over 90 percent of its population. “Iran is the epicenter of an area of the world that we call the Restricted Access Zone, where 3 billion people are denied access to the Gospel,” Bogosian says.

Despite persecution, the hope of Christ is spreading like wildfire in Iran. “The Word of God is being distributed in large numbers; there are people meeting in thousands of small groups all over the country,” Bogosian says.

“In spite of the fact that it’s illegal to become a Christian, it’s illegal to proclaim the Gospel, it’s happening in an epic way as we’ve never seen before,” he continues.

“It’s one of the most incredible things that’s happened in our lifetime for the Great Commission.”

Ask the Lord to strengthen Iranian Christians as they share the Good News with people who’ve never heard about Jesus.

“The first thing for the Church to pray for is that they (Iranian Christians) would not have fear,” Bogosian says.

“[Pray] that they would continue to have boldness in proclaiming the Gospel, and that they wouldn’t be silent, in spite of the fact that so many have been arrested.”

Header image depicts an Iranian protest in Canada. Photo courtesy of Sima Ghaffarzadeh/Pexels.

Hezbollah flag
(Photo courtesy mhrezaa/Unsplash)

The agreement said Israel and Lebanon had agreed to launch a pilot program in two areas near the “yellow line,” which marks Israeli-held territory. Under the plan, Hezbollah would be dismantled, and the Lebanese army would gain control of those areas.

Hezbollah, which did not take part in the negotiations, rejected the agreement. Hezbollah MP Hassan Falallah told Al Mayadeen that Beirut would be unable to enforce the deal unless it was willing to risk a civil war.

Next steps

Key military leaders met yesterday to discuss how to implement the pact. The proposed “framework” for future talks between Israel and Lebanon drew mixed reactions from Lebanese citizens.

Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki says Friday’s trilateral agreement between Israel, Lebanon, and the U.S. is important because “Lebanon, as a nation, never has declared a war against Israel, nor has Israel declared a war against Lebanon.”

Instead, Melki says, “It has always been Hezbollah, now, and other paramilitary groups in the past decades, that have used the Lebanese territory as a launching pad for attacks against Israel.”

Civilians pay

Meanwhile, Lebanon is paying a heavy price for Hezbollah’s wars. The current conflict follows fighting that Hezbollah began in 2023 in defense of Hamas.

“For two years, Hezbollah and Israel have been tit-for-tat shelling each other in southern Lebanon. 11,000 homes have been destroyed, more than 4000 individuals have been killed, and more than 13,000 individuals have been injured,” Melki says.

“All those are innocent civilians; we’re not counting militants. Add to it the 1.2 million internally displaced folks, predominantly people from southern Lebanon, fleeing that region to Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.”

Help and hope

Heart for Lebanon helps people caught in the middle, Christian and Muslim alike. Find ways to support that work here.

(Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

“There are more than 33 small villages along the borders between Lebanon and Israel where Christian villagers live and are completely disconnected from the rest of the world,” Melki says.

“We’re one of the very few faith-based Christian ministries that are able to reach these villages.”

Working alongside nongovernmental organizations, Heart for Lebanon helps organize an aid convoy to Christian villages in the war zone. First, the team gathers requests: “We receive a list of the material needed by those villagers through the municipality or elders in the village,” Melki says.

Next, the convoy is assembled: “Every NGO will bring in what they have as supplies, put them in a convoy led by the Red Cross, and then negotiate the safe passage of those trucks to the villages.”

Header image depicts Hezbollah flag. Photo courtesy Paul Keller via Flickr/CC-BY-NC 2.0.

The pressures aren’t due only to the past three-and-a-half months of conflict, or even the past year since the 12-day war in June 2025 between Iran and Israel and the United States.

“For all these years [since 1979], the regime has not been putting the funds back into the economy, back into the infrastructure, back into the water resources of the country,” says Denise Godwin with International Media Ministries (IMM). 

“Therefore, as even worse economic conditions have come into their circumstances, all the things that weren’t cared for all these nearly 50 years are crumbling even [more so]. It’s pretty incredible if you look at how Iran looked and behaved in the 1970s and what it is today.”

Economists and regime-affiliated research institutions have warned of a “poverty explosion” within Iran. Soon, there could be more than 40 million people below the poverty line.

“When you take away the analytical side, it’s not economics. It’s human beings who are trying to live, trying to have jobs, trying to feed their children,” says Godwin.

Even as the Iranian regime continues to express defiance and immovability toward the West, citizens within Iran stand against the regime. The resistance group called the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran has reported that on June 12 it launched a “widespread, highly coordinated anti-repression campaign across Iran.”

Clip from Esther: Queen of Hope (Courtesy of IMM)

“The protests have not stopped. People are trying to choose their times wisely, from what I’ve heard,” says Godwin. 

Into the struggle and uncertainty, Godwin says the first episode of IMM’s limited film series on the biblical story of Esther is almost ready. It will soon reach Iranian audiences in Europe as a test group.

“Please pray over that, that the pieces would come together, that we find the right locations and the right people to be with,” says Godwin. The film project is intended to reach Iranians with the true story of the Persian people’s history with Jews. 

“Esther’s story parallels so much of what is happening [today], where individuals are having to sacrifice to bring truth and freedom and release from bondage or death, even to Iran right now,” says Godwin. “Islamic rulers managed to eliminate, or perhaps you could say disguise history, and so a lot of people don’t understand the whole story [of Esther].”

Ask God to show His mighty hand in Iran. Pray for believers to stay courageous in their witness. 

“We hope that the evil being put upon the Iranians, the starvation, the abuse, the lack of religious freedom, the lack of any freedom would be cast down, and that liberty would be brought there, and the hope of the gospel would be brought there,” says Godwin. 

Header photo: Tehran Province, Tehran (Stock photo courtesy of Rayhane Saber via Unsplash)

Contrary to projections that it would end swiftly, the US-Israeli war on Iran is in its fourth month. John Cergnilia with SAT-7 remarks, “To be frank about it, I don’t hear Iranian colleagues talking about this being short-lived.” 

SAT-7 is a satellite TV ministry to the Middle East and North Africa. Its Persian channel (SAT-7 PARS) broadcasts into Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. 

Cerniglia says that the SAT-7 PARS team has heard stories of horrific injustice from Iranians on the ground. Yet Iranian believers also have a sober grasp of what it means to be a Christian. 

One colleague from Iran told Cerniglia simply this: “Following Christ means sacrifice. It means suffering.” 

Recently, the SAT-7 team has shared content especially for grieving or struggling parents. Children in Iran have been killed in US airstrikes and crackdowns by the Iranian regime. Many today are being recruited for military-like security activities. 

“Even when — this is hard for me to even say — even when a Christian in Iran loses a child, they expect it as a Jesus-follower,” Cerniglia says. “Sacrifice and suffering in that context.”

Some contact SAT-7 PARS Audience Relations Specialists at great personal risk to ask for prayer and share their stories. (Image courtesy SAT-7)

SAT-7 PARS content for parents includes a poignant video compilation of how parents have expressed both grief and resilience in the face of loss. SAT-7 has also broadcast a three-episode series called The Passage. One episode talks about how parents can walk their kids through the emotional pressures of war. 

Please stand with Iranians in prayer. 

“Pray for protection over civilians — not just Christians, but over all civilians, 80 million people living in the country of Iran. [Pray for] restraint and wisdom among leaders,” says Cerniglia. 

“And of course, [pray] that God would strengthen the churches and believers. The resilience that we hear about the Church, the spiritual maturity of the Church in Iran, is nothing short of stunning.”

Visit SAT-7’s website to receive a prayer list with further requests.

Header photo of home worship courtesy of SAT-7 PARS.

On Monday, Israel ordered the residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate. Two of the villages are a mere 20-minute drive from Heart for Lebanon’s Hope Center. 

“We still can operate from our center, we still can reach out to people, but you could tell the fear that it can become another battleground,” says Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki.

Peace talks brokered by the United States haven’t fully collapsed yet. However, renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and the threat of Israeli strikes on Beirut, have thrown the talks off track. 

“If things keep getting worse, Israel might push the evacuation line beyond the Zahrani River, which means then our center would become part of those areas that need to be completely evacuated,” says Melki.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Heart for Lebanon’s summer outreach is on the line, including their Summer of Hope programs.

“This is VBS on steroids, a lot of fun activities, a lot of music, teaching, games, Bible stories, drama, singing,” says Melki. These programs give kids the space to be kids again and to learn about God. 

The Summer of Hope has already begun in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. But for their Hope Center in southern Lebanon, the team is developing an alternative plan.

“Instead of bringing the students to our center for our Summer of Hope ministry, we will take them to safer areas in southern Lebanon — places where they can play freely, where they don’t hear those drones over them all the time, or hear the air strikes,” says Melki.

Safety is becoming harder to find, however. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Forces issued evacuation warnings for three more villages in southern Lebanon. The IDF has also warned Christian neighborhoods of Tyre that Hezbollah militants are among them. If residents do not expel Hezbollah, the IDF said, they will order more evacuations and take action. Tyre is less than a 40-minute drive away from Heart for Lebanon’s closest Hope Center.

Find your place in the story

Pray that Lebanese believers can continue to share Christ in word and deed.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

“The number of families that we are reaching to help keeps growing. In fact, the resources are very limited in the entire nation. We are coming alongside other churches and other church ministries and faith-based organizations providing aid to those small entities,” says Melki. 

For example, on June 1 alone, Melki says Heart for Lebanon provided 540 food parcels to sister churches and faith-based NGOs who had run out of resources.

“Pray for wisdom, pray for safety, pray for perseverance, and pray for the much-needed resources, so we can continue to do what God has called us to do: help lead people from despair to hope in Christ, and Christ alone,” says Melki. 

Connect with Heart for Lebanon and learn how you can help resource their ministry in further prayer and financial support.

Header photo of Summer of Hope outreach courtesy of Heart for Lebanon via Facebook.

Secretary Marco Rubio attends working-level peace talks with Israel and Lebanon at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)

Tensions reached a boiling point yesterday when Israel responded to Hezbollah attacks, carrying out its deepest incursion since the 2000 war. U.S. President Donald Trump described a de-escalation between the warring sides on Monday afternoon:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to dial back fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with the Lebanese militant group through mediators.

Trump announced the development in a social media post following a call with Netanyahu, whose forces recently made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century. Trump there would be no Israeli troops “going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back.”

Cease-fire hopes falter

As with most Middle East conflicts, the latest escalation doesn’t occur in a vacuum.

“Last Thursday and Friday, a military delegation from the Lebanese army met at the Pentagon with an Israeli delegation, which is the first time in the history of those two nations that military representatives meet together,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki explains.

“We were hoping that the outcome of that meeting would come to a ceasefire and some sort of an agreement on the Israelis’ withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s disarmament,” he continues.

“Unfortunately, things are going in the wrong direction. That’s not what we’ve been hoping for. That’s not what we’ve been praying for.”

On Sunday, Lebanese media reported progress toward a new cease-fire agreement in U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon.

“The Lebanese government needs to figure out a way to contain Hezbollah and convince Hezbollah, for the better of the whole nation, that a cease-fire should be brokered and brokered soon,” Melki says.

“Iran, on the other hand, has pulled away from its negotiations with the U.S., which is not a good indicator at all, because that means even those negotiations seem to be stalled and might lead to further confrontation in the entire region.”

In a season where many feel forgotten, we believe that the Gospel is best shared through a ministry of presence.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Christian villages face shortages

Monday was “A very, very violent day in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, in the Bekaa Valley, as well as in the northern villages of Israel,” Melki says.

“Hezbollah continues to shell Israel using drones and other military means, and Israel continues to retaliate against Hezbollah. We have seen a very high spike in casualties and damage all around.”

Most businesses are closed in southern Lebanon, and essential supplies are hard to find.

“There are a lot of small Christian villages right at the borders between Israel and Lebanon, and they’ve been under a significant economic and military siege. We sent 700 food parcels with the help of the Red Cross to those villages,” Melki says.

Each delivery offers encouragement to believers and a Gospel introduction to those who don’t know Christ. You can support a family in need here.

Pray for an end to the violence in Lebanon.

“Tuesday, June 2, and Wednesday, June 3, a State Department-brokered meeting will take place. Civilian delegates from the Lebanese government and the Israeli government will meet, and we hope that those meetings will turn out a little better,” Melki says.

Header and story images courtesy Heart for Lebanon. 

Who will blink first?

Lana Silk with Transform Iran says, “What we have here is an American side who wants to believe Iran is weakened enough militarily and economically to be more amenable to concessions, and an Iranian side who wants to believe they have enough leverage through their control of the Strait of Hormuz and the US resistance to full-scale war to come out of this with their pride and their objectives intact. But it’s a risky game on both sides.”

Tehran, Iran (Photo courtesy of Khashayar Kouchpeydeh/Unsplash)

Even with negotiations underway, the threat of escalation is still present.

“I believe the critical components of what the US wants from Iran – so stopping sponsoring regional militia, stopping enriching or stockpiling uranium – Iran will never be willing to give. Though it’s also quite possible Iran will say what she has to say in order to get what she wants.”

Silk explains, “We’re also dealing with a Middle Eastern culture here. Preserving honor is extremely important. It would be unthinkable for Iran’s leadership to surrender after such heavy losses internally without something to show for it.”

For Iranian Christians and others living under the ayatollah’s rule, the future feels deeply uncertain.

“From the perspective of the people of Iran and the Church in Iran, without regime change, none of this matters. And if Iran is left with this regime intact, albeit weakened, then we can expect much greater control and oppression internally in the years to come.”

Still, the Church presses on.

(Photo courtesy of Zahra Amiri/Unsplash)

“We keep doing what we have always done,” Silk says. “We pray in faith, we pray with authority, we pray for our leaders on all sides, and we remember that God is not surprised by any of this. He still has good plans for Iran and all the nations caught up in this. So we just do what we do. We share the Gospel courageously and uncompromisingly, [and] we disciple the many who are turning to Jesus.”

Pray for protection and boldness for Iranian believers as tensions continue. Ask God to use uncertainty in the region to draw many Iranians to Christ.

Learn more about Transform Iran at the ministry’s website.

Header image generated with AI.

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)

An Iranian court has suspended the presidential order for further judicial review, but shifts have already begun.

Edwin Abnous with Heart4Iran said on Tuesday, “Even though NetBlocks confirmed that there has been a partial restoration of internet connectivity, even then this communication is still not back to the normal [levels] yet.”

Photo of Tehran, Iran courtesy of Hamid Mohammad Hossein Zadeh Hashemi via Unsplash.

Meanwhile, the United States strikes on southern Iran this week have stirred up more uncertainty for Iranian families. Abnous says they already carry a heavy load. 

“The economic pressure, the fear of another round of strikes or retaliation, and just not knowing what tomorrow is going to bring, it’s there,” he says. 

The US strikes (which it claims were defense measures) have not derailed a potential deal between the US and Iran. If agreed upon, the deal will set a 60-day negotiation period for further dialogue.

“They’re really worried about their future. They don’t know what this war is going to bring them,” says Abnous about Iranians. “They thought it was a short-term war [where] they’re going to change the regime around, and we’re going to experience freedom in the country. But the war is dragging longer than what they expected.”

Lost school days, soaring food prices, and gaps in medical care are all part of the daily human cost of war for Iranians. Yet Abnous says tragedy has opened peoples’ hearts to God. 

“People [who] might not have been interested before suddenly want to talk about hope, about what happens after life,” says Abnous. “They want to have peace in their hearts, and naturally, especially for Iranians, they gravitate towards God more.” 

Heart4Iran’s Christian satellite TV signals can’t really be jammed by outside forces. Please pray that the gospel reaches more families in Iran. Pray for them to find their hope and future in God, whatever political events unfold. 

“That is where they hear the message of the gospel,” Abnous says about Heart4Iran‘s broadcasts. “They’ll understand [the gospel] is the place they can rest in God and receive assurance for the future — and also for their soul and spiritual needs.” 

Header photo: Babolsar, Mazandaran Province, Iran (Stock photo courtesy of Amirhosain Gazor via Unsplash)