What If It Hurts?

Are there times in your life where something just hurts you from deep within? Perhaps something that someone did, or a relationship just causes you to hurt. At times you feel like you want to cry, and you can't stop thinking about it. You just can't focus! You keep asking yourself, "When is it going to stop?", "Will I ever have peace?"

I wish I had a magical solution for this kind of pain, but the reality is that there is no cure other than God. There are times that you might feel all alone, yet He is with you and knows the hurt and pain in your heart. I know that you have probably heard what I am writing here before. Perhaps when you were hurt, some of your Christian friends told you to not worry because God will give you peace!

The reality is that God will truly give you peace, however, it is not always as you think it would be. Sometimes, pain and hurt is good for us to develop character and patience. So, here is my suggestion, if you are going through  a hurtful situation, remember that everything in this world is just temporary. Nothing lasts. There is only one thing about you that lasts forever an it is your soul. Make, the decisions to use the pain and hurt in your life, to draw closer to God. Forgive. Because you can spend eternity with Him.

James 1:12
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Greatness of His Sacrifice

If we truly understood the greatness of Jesus' sacrifice, then our lives would look much more different than they are now. Many can't stop but think to themselves, wasn't he God? The creator of everything? Then why is it a sacrifice to create a way for his creation to go to heaven?

Instead of asking the above question, ask yourselves, if God hates sin, why would he create a way for the sinner to come face to face with Him? Why would he love me and you? The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was the most difficult thing for God to do. God had to create a bridge between his holiness and our unholiness. A bridge that would cost Him a lot of pain and grief. A bridge that would cost His humiliation.   Think about this for a second, if you are the owner of of a very large company, would you humiliate yourself so you can raise the lowest of lows to be in the same office as you? Yet, the owner of existence humbled himself as a man. His sacrifice is something you and I will never understand because we barely live a life that represents sacrifice. Don't get me wrong, there are many people who live their lives for God and give up everything they have. They do it because they have understood a bit of what Jesus sacrifice was really meant to be, but for the most part, Christians just live their lives like anybody else. But like I said earlier, if we truly understood the greatness of Jesus' sacrifice, then our lives would look much more different than they are now.

Kindness Never Fails!

Many years ago, when I still lived in Iran, my dad and I along with a couple of my cousins went fishing in a small beautiful pond in the city of Babol (Northern Iran). While Fishing was my favorite thing to do, I always enjoyed goofing around and catching frogs or playing in the mud to find warms to use as bait.

In one occasion as we were fishing, one of the natives of that area, who spend most of his time around the pond to provide for his family, asked my dad for help with something. To be honest, I don't even remember what he needed, but I do remember that my dad was happy to help him. As soon as his problem was solved, he took his shirt off, jumped into the water (the same pond water that we would not dare to jump into due to all the plants that your feet could get caught on, or all the leaches). After staying down there for a little while he came back up with some green plants in his hands which he handed one to each one of us. He had gone down there and collected lily pad seeds. He taught us how to eat them, and I have to tell you that after trying them, I fell in love with the flavor immediately. He had returned a small favor to my dad, by jumping into that water and getting us each some lily pad seeds.

This story might not have a significant meaning for you, but as a child, I learned that when you bless someone, you get blessed even more. In this case, my dad blessed someone, and through that, his whole family was blessed with something new and unique. There is always a reward for an act of kindness.

Luke 6:38 
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I Am Yours!

So many people often do things in pursuit of love or being loved. People make decisions upon decisions to feel wanted, needed, and loved. Yet, often, it just seems like there isn't any love left in the world. Often it seems like you are all alone surrounded by a lot of people whom do not know how your heart really feels. You desire love, but no one loves you the way you want. Then you start asking yourself  "What is wrong with me?", "Why doesn't anybody want me?". When you start asking yourself these questions, the enemy knows that you are an easy target, and tries to lead you to a trap of hatred. You start looking at people differently. The love you desired so long, becomes a vivid memory which you have given up on. Life becomes nothing, but YOU! It becomes all about you and you forget others. You say to yourself, "If no one loves me, then I will love myself the most?". You start doing everything for your own.

The sad reality is that you, forget who you really belong to. You forget your true love. You forget that God has never left you. He has never stopped loving you! He wants you in His arms and wants to show you the affection that no one else can give you. You seek love, but you have forgotten the source of it's existence is within Him. What if you go back and let Him love you? What if you give yourself to Him and instead of all the silly questions you ask yourself so often you tell Him, "I am yours!". Would you still lack love! I guess you can never find out until you try! 

Psalm 31:7-10 

I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.

Know That Your PM

A couple weeks ago I wrote about your AM (Attitude Matters). Today I want to remind you of the importance of knowing that your PM (Prayers Matter).
Often we underestimate the power of prayer, but the reality is that prayers do work. Your prayers are one of the ways that God unleashes His power in your and other people's lives. If your prayers were not important, would God constantly tell us to pray in His word. In fact through out the scripture, the power of prayer is evident and we need to take prayer seriously. If you don't believe me, do a Google search on "Prayer in the Bible".

One of the most important things to know about prayer is that prayer is the way you communicate with God. That is why Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-8 "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." If you don't talk to the person you are trying to have a relationship with, then you won't have much of a relationship. The same thing applies to God. If you want to have a close relationship with Him, then you need to make sure you pray continually.

So, perhaps every time you see PM, you can remember that your prayers matter and God enjoys talking and listening to you. 

Why People Leave a Church

Lately this question has been in my mind and I have been wondering about the reasons why people leave a church? As I thought about this and compared it to my own church, I came up with four reasons that cause people to leave a church.

1. Too far of a commute
People often leave a church, because they either move to a different location or after going to a church for a while they see that it is too long of a commute for them, so they choose to go to a church closer to where they live.

2. Called somewhere else
Some leave a church, because they are called to go into a different ministry, such as planting a new church, missions field, or other ministry opportunities that God puts in front of them. This is a noble reason to leave the church; however it needs to be done in the right manner. Unfortunately many use this reason to justify the third reason that I am going to talk about.

3. Disagreement with someone or something
The sad truth is that many leave a church because they are in disagreement with a person (in leadership or church attender), or they leave because they do not agree with the church polity. Although there are occasions that this is done correctly, in most cases these people leave to their own selfishness and their own desires. Just because the church, or the leadership and the people do not operate the way these people like, they choose to leave the church. They don't involve God into the equation and ask Him what he wants. This is usually a sign of immaturity in their faith. What if God wants to use the thing you disagree with to grow you in your faith, or to make that church a better place by having you voice your concerns?

4. The Cult church
Many go to a church and later on find out that the church they attend is not based on a biblical foundation, the church simply makes up things as they go, follow certain traditions, or their focus is on someone/something else other than Jesus. The church is a cult. The reality is that there are so many churches that are not Bible based, so it is easy to fall into the trap of cult churches. That's why maturity in faith, and reading your Bible will help determine whether or not you should go to a church or not to begin with.

These are the four reasons that I came up with. Regardless of what you ever decide now or in the future, make sure that you understand the importance of being in the church body. Think about this for a minute, When wolves attack a herd of animals and try to hunt, their tactic is to separate one from the herd, then they can kill the animal. It is the same for us, if Satan can separate you from the church body, then it is much easier for him to lead you to spiritual death or an eternity of torment.