My Testimony

I am in Christ.  Because my mind is set on the things of the Spirit, I can know that I am in Christ.  There is no condemnation for me; I will never pay for so much as one part of one of my sins.  If I were to do so, Hell would be my dwelling place forever.  Christ however was wrapped in this sinful flesh just as I am, but He, altogether unlike me, was tempted but never succumbed to the things of the flesh.   Had He done so, He too would have been hostile towards God and treated as an enemy.  He however was perfect and perfectly fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the law.  That which should have been death for me was rather conformed to be the fulfilment of the law within me.  I did not fulfill the law, but the righteous requirements of the law were fulfilled within me by my Savior through whom sin was condemned for my sake, rather than me being condemned for the sake of sin.  I have transgressed every commandment of God's law, but the creator of the universe is altogether pleased with me.

In Christ,

Every Christian

The Humanization of Discipline

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace

Most people would agree that the modern western Christian Church is extremely carnal.  So books are written, blogs are updated (there's a little bit of irony here I guess) and twitter accounts buzz with enthusiasm about each day's new self-help guide to holiness.  The only problem is that just like almost everything else that is done in the United States, the very foundation of these things is Humanism.  

We qualify Jesus with man-made using justifications like "some people just don't work that way," or "all those things are true, but you have to be practical."  The practical and simple truth is that the moment you try to make people holy through any means separate from the Bible, it's Humanism.  According to statistics, the world and the Church have the same exact morals.  The reason for this is that the world and the Church are using the same tactics.  We use small-groups, self-help books, and the 'power of positive thinking' in order to keep people from sin.  

What we no longer stress however is that in becoming a Christian, every person has the power through Jesus Christ to not sin, and more importantly, that is the expectation.  Every Christian will inevitably sin, that is shown in Scripture, but that is meant to be the exception, not the norm.  A Christian is different from a person in the world.  They have the power of God inside of them.  This is what saved a believer from sin, and it is the only thing which has power to keep a person from sinning again.

So a believer must every morning crucify themselves to the world and choose to follow Christ.  They must 'look full in His wonderful face.'  Nothing has the power to save besides Jesus Christ alone.

Remember Your Leaders

Dear leader, bear your burdens well.

Dear follower, understand the burdens your leader bears.

Due to the nature of things, the vast majority of people in the world are followers.  Due to that fact, a follower is naturally spoken to throughout the course of their life on what they should do.  How should this sort of person spend their time?  How should this sort of person spend their money?  All the things which we view as so terribly important in this present age are taught according to the majority.  Unfortunately, this leaves a precious minority is a state of incredible difficulty.

To a man who grows up knowing full well that the Lord desires him to do something which other people deem 'great,' he must pave his own way and learn from a great deal of mistakes.  I suppose that in many ways this is simply how life works, and it is through these difficulties that a leader is formed.  But due to the incredibly distinct life the leader lives, he requires a great deal from those around him.

Dear leader, not everyone shares your responsibilities

Dear follower, your leader bears an incredible weight

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.

-Hebrew 13:17-

This is the burden which the leader bears; to watch over your soul.  This is the sort of responsibility which keeps men awake at night.  The desperate urge for men and women to grow closer to Christ drives them.  So dear follower, obey your leaders and submit to them.  Do not aggravate them in the midst of their responsibility but rather do whatever you are able to lighten their yoke.  Dear leader, imitate Christ and joyfully serve the Church.

Dear leader, look ahead

Dear follower, imitate your leader's faith

I Need Thee

There are so many things in this life.  Many things to do, and others to avoid.  Many things to uphold, and others, Oh Precious Lord, are so diminished.  Many wars to fight, tears to weep, and joys to relish.  Oh how these things can grow to consume.  Oh how they may convince the person that in and of themselves they are of value.  Oh, the deceitfulness of life.

I need Thee, oh I need Thee

Every hour I need Thee

Oh bless me now my Savior

I come to Thee

Oh Papa, I know I have desired so many things...  This life You've given me Lord, it consumes me, Papa.  Oh how quickly I forget Lord, that You are my desire.  I love You Lord.  Read it on my heart.  Read it on my lips. In my action, inaction, strength and weakness.  I need Thee!  Oh consume me now my Savior.  One day I will see You Lord, and what would you have of me 'til that precious day?  If you would have me die for Your glory oh Lord I would love it.  So soon I would see You.  If you have me toil and strive to build Your kingdom all the days of my life, oh Lord for You I would.  Only show me Lord, every breath, step and moment what You would desire; that will I do my precious Savior.

Consume me, oh consume me.  In this way make my heart like Yours, oh Lord so that others may love You as well.  Oh Lord, this my only heart, that they would learn to love You all the more.  That every one would come to love You more.  I love You Lord.  

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

I suppose this was spurred on by studying Lordship salvation; the idea that for a person to become a Christian, they must believe in Jesus, and accept Him as their Lord. I am not entirely sure what I think about this, but it certainly has caused me to think about why we fight against this concept. The Church is sorely in need of a return to Lordship Christianity. Enough of fixating on grace and all of the sinful pleasures we can satiate and still be saved, let us return to the place where we boast in the Cross.

As a response to our theology of grace, the underlying problem in our culture is not merely laziness as some would suggest, but a weakened expectation of the believer. Although I have strong suspicions about the theological fallout of his reaction to this, Francis Chan does well to remind the believer of what they should do in response to the gospel. The change our culture needs is not a fixation on what we should do however, as the American mindset can so easily pervert all works into self-gain, but rather we need to re-evaluate once again who the believer should be.

Of our men, we need to demand strength. Strength of character against sin. Strength of wisdom to discern right and wrong. Strength of will to fight all those who oppose God. Why is it that abortion thrives unopposed in a nation fifty-percent composed of Christians? Dear men, we have lost our strength. We must learn once again to speak the truth in love. Not only that, but we must expect the truth to be spoken with conviction.

The Lord is coming, soon and very soon. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness...

Foot-Washing

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it round his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped round him. When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher; have washed your feel, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you."

Never before have I understood foot-washing. Never before have I understood what it is to be a servant. Never before have I understood the grace of God. Over this last year however, I and some of my closest friends have embarked on a beautiful journey to know God more fully. We have begun to learn to love one another. To love with the love of Christ.

The water poured into the basin, the towel sitting nearby, and a single solitary chair sitting in the corner of the room. People exchange awkward looks, wondering who will sit first, and who will first wash the other's feet. At the beginning, jokes and side-comments battle the intense tension filling the room. To wash another's feet requires a servant's posture, you must bow before them. It humbles you to wash another's feet. There is no greater act of service. The true humility of foot-washing though, is on the part of the one whose feet are being washed. As people continue to wash one another's feet, the need for noise is replaced with a pure, and beautiful silence. The only noise is the soft whirling of water in the basin. Sitting in the seat, your spirit is humbled, and you see the grace of God.

Jesus Christ came to the Earth, to wash the feet of mankind. The blood of the almighty righteous King, spilled through a servant's death, in order to redeem the souls of those who caused it to flow. The only sovereign Lord humbled Himself, so that He might humble the hard hearts of those who nailed Him to the cross. He washed our feet, and with a broken and contrite spirit, we must weep and look upon the crimson-stained grace of God for our salvation.

Oh how great is the love of God for us. How great the grace of Him on whom stripes were laid.

Mano's Testimony

The following is a testimony of someone who understands what it means to count the cost of following Christ. He is an inspiration in my life, and a servant to the Church. His identity has been hidden for his protection and the protection of those around him.

I was born in Iran. When I became a teenager, the big question in my life was “when I die, where will I go?” I started to read all the spiritual things in the Koran about life after death, but it didn’t give me any good answers. Are we made only to die? When I was a teenager, I went to the cemetery to see the dead people. It was not a psychological problem, I just wanted to know where I was going. My father died during the war in Iran, and at that time I started studying and reading as much as I could. I thought God was weighing me on a scale. I was thinking “okay, there’s going to be a huge punishment. There’s a very angry God, and he is so far away, that I could never reach him.” I started going to the Mosque, but I just became more confused, it had no meaning.

During 1994, someone gave me a gospel in Cyprus. I met a bunch of Iranians in 1994 who were believers. I was a Muslim, and I used to drive 40 – 50 KM to argue with them and tell them how wrong they are. We would tell each other how wrong we are. The only good thing I remember about them was that they were always giving pure love – very natural. They gave me the Bible, and told me “you study this and decide for yourself.” I decided to study it, because I always had a book to read. One night I decided to read what it says. I started with the gospel of Matthew. When I started to read from the gospel for the first time ever, my tears started falling down. I thought “if He’s a prophet, He’s the best prophet in the world. If He’s a teacher, He’s the best teacher in the world. I thought, if He’s wasn’t that good, why did they want to crucify Him. He taught to love your enemy.”

In 1998 I went home to Iran. I had kept the gospel and started sharing it with my Muslim friends, while I was still a Muslim. I told them how different it was. Years later, I went for a holiday in Istanbul, during the Christmas of 1999. A new testament was in my luggage. On the way home, they caught me on the border while I was on a bus. They got the New Testament and asked “why do you have this?” They wrote 4-5 pages about me and took everything from me. They put me in prison with the refugees they caught on the border. The prison was 7 feet by four feet… a tiny room. There were 3-4 people in this prison. No heat, no light, no shower, no food (it was during Ramadan). They moved us with other people who were refugees. They were from Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places. I was the only Iranian among 56 people in this room. There wasn’t even room to sit on the floor. After a few days, early in the morning an officer came in. I shouted “sir, I haven’t done anything. I should go, they caught me for no reason.” He pointed at me “oh, you’re the one with the gospel” I said “it is not illegal, it is just a book.” He took me and we went inside a new building. There was a room with four doors. My eyes were blindfolded, and I kept trying to see. Maybe they were watching me, I don’t know. After they investigated me, they sent me to court. The judge asked me “if you become a Christian, do you know the penalty?” I said “yes sir, death.” I signed a paper saying I would never read a book like the Bible again.

After this I went to Turkey in 2001. A man on the street in Istanbul gave me an invitation to a Christmas party at the church. When the guy gave me the invitation and said “you are invited to the Christmas party” I said to myself “I am sure this man is not doing this for the money. If he was, he would do this in different ways.” So I went to the party, and they prayed, and that was the first time I started seeking for the Truth. I went to the classes and prayer meetings for the seekers. One day I gave my heart and believed in Jesus as my LORD and savior. Then I was baptized in Istanbul. I remember when I was baptized, I could see a stranger come in the building and take a photo and walk away. I knew he must be an Iranian working for the government. I thought “now they know that I am a Christian. I will not commit this suicide.” So, I came to Greece illegally as a Christian. I was going to go to England, but I couldn’t make it. So I came here to Greece.

Now, I am working among the Muslims. I work among them and praise the LORD that God is great. As Jesus said “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” I will do what I can for the harvest. I witness among the Muslims. I have the privilege to serve the LORD and be his servant. I pray “God give me enough strength to be a faithful servant.” We are the ones that broke the promise. I just pray “LORD give me the strength to be a faithful servant to the LORD Jesus. The darkness of debt is gone. That huge darkness that was in my heart is gone, and it is replaced with light since I am a believer. I don’t believe in any darkness anymore. I believe God had a purpose to create us in His image to worship and to praise him. I am glad God gave that mercy to me His child and His believer. I am thankful that God gave us that for His glory.

When Jesus said “if you want to be my follower, you must carry your cross every day.” That is true. To be a Christian is easy, to be a follower of Jesus is difficult. To be His follower and reflect His light is difficult. When Iranians become a Christian, we lose our citizenship. First we lose our families, then our friends. We lose our job. There are always troubles. I have seen many families, I meet more every day. They say “sometimes we can’t even meet, because of the punishment” For most of us there are dangers and difficulties. We believe truly in our LORD. We believe and we accept. We don’t become a Christian because our father is a Christian, or because our friend is a Christian. I became a Christian, because I saw the light. I saw the forgiveness. Jesus could have had revenge, but He didn’t. When you believe in something that is the kindest, most powerful, highest love, highest teaching, it cannot be from man, it is from God.

If you believe in Jesus, you have to understand, it is something you have in your heart. The price has been paid already to be clean and be faithful. It doesn’t mean you should put your knowledge above God’s teaching, it means you should obey. Be holy. I think it is important that we are holy in our life. We cannot be perfect, but every day we must pray that He will change us and keep us from temptation. We must walk away from the sin. We must be holy.

Ten Resolves

1. I resolve, to love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength.

2. I resolve, in all things, to fear God more than men.

3. I resolve, to account my relationship with God as so great a treasure, that in any season, I would be gladly willing to forsake all and seek His face.

4. I resolve, to remember every day, whether for a moment or an hour, the sacrifice of Jesus upon the Cross.

5. I resolve, by the grace of God, to be holy as He is holy.

6. I resolve, in all things, to live a life beyond reproach.

7. I resolve, knowing full well that God accomplishes all things, to glorify Him in everything.

8. I resolve, to never turn the truth into a lie.

9. I resolve, to never live a life which claims, 'God cannot.'

10. I resolve, to live life in such a way, so that if at its end this faith is found untrue, that very life will have been wasted.

The Competent Crew

For new people entering Morning Star Ministries, a training weekend is held every year. This exists to train everyone on the team, the new guys are taught how to tie knots, act as lookout, hook buoys, and everything else imaginable that is needed to man a sail-boat.

I would be shown a knot, I would try it, I would fail, I would have to ask for help, I would be shown again, I would fail again, and I would ask for help again. This is the cycle of learning that occurred while the weekend was underway. In some ways it was very frustrating. You begin to feel inadequate. You can sometimes feel as though everyone knows what to do but you. This however, was the best example of discipleship I have ever seen. Those who had spent time on the boat would come alongside those who had not and show them what they needed to do.

This was all done so that the captain, Alex, could have a competent crew. How much more should we train those around us in their faith, so that God may have a competent crew?

Joseph, David, and a Life Sacrificed in Love for Jesus

One of my classmates, Kara, and I had an amazing opportunity around a month ago. We were invited by one of our teachers to hear him speak at Oasis, an Iranian fellowship. Oasis is found in one of the more 'sketchy' parts of Greece, as it is entirely made up of believers from Iran who are now refugees in Greece, and few of them have opportunity to many of the amenities which much of the rest of the country, let alone those in the United States, are used to.

The fellowship consists of around thirty believers, and every single one of them have a story to tell. The strange and beautiful consequence of that story, is that few desire to tell it, but rather want to speak of Christ instead. The first man I met in Oasis is named David. The moment I walked in the room, David, dressed in a huge, many-colored jacket, introduced himself to me, and immediately started telling me about Jesus. He talked about how glorious God is, about everything He had done for him; not about what he had done for Him. For maybe fifteen minutes, he told about why he loves God. At the end of our conversation, I told David that above everyone else I had ever met, his name fit his character, because the David of the Bible loved God with all of his heart. Once I said that, tears started streaming down David's face and looking up he whispered, "praise God."

I then met one of the most joyful men I have ever met. Kara and I were introduced to Joseph by our teacher, and we have the beautiful opportunity to teach him English weekly. Talking to him the first time, firmly forgetting what he had probably come out of, I assumed that a man so joyful as Joseph must have never experienced any suffering in his life. As we all sat in a coffee-shop talking, we asked him about his life story. No more than two and a half years ago, Joseph was baptized as a Christian. As my dear classmate once said, "When Iranians become a Christian, we lose our citizenship. First we lose our families, then our friends. We lose our jobs." Such was the case with Joseph. When he was baptized, his parents disowned him, his wife left him, and he was forced to leave his country. But yet, he is the most joyful man I have ever known. How does this sort of thing happen? How can so much pain, coincide with such incredible joy?

My classmate's words summarize all of this much better than mine ever could:

For most of us there are dangers and difficulties. We believe truly in our LORD. We believe and we accept. We don’t become a Christian because our father is a Christian, or because our friend is a Christian. I became a Christian, because I saw the light. I saw the forgiveness. Jesus could have had revenge, but He didn’t. When you believe in something that is the kindest, most powerful, highest love, highest teaching, it cannot be from man, it is from God.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in chains throughout the world.