True Freedom

Lately I have been thinking about freedom and what it really means. What is true freedom? Is it being able to do whatever you want? Is political and physical freedom enough to truly set one free?

The truth is that even though we might have physical and political freedom, we still put ourselves in bondage. We are never entirely free, unless we find a way to set our spirits free.  We often chose to put our spirits in captivity for the pleasures of this life. There is indeed nothing that will keep us truly free from ourselves and other harmful things except one thing.

Knowing the SPIRITUALTRUTH is the only thing that can set us free.

John 8:32
………“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The only thing that can set you free is acknowledging the truth of Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can set your spirit free and show you the real and true freedom. Without Him, you will never taste true freedom.

John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

We need freedom….

Psalm 142:7
Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name……

Are You Ready?

 

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword. (Revelation 6:4)

There are so many signs that indicate Jesus’ second coming is near. Even though I would like to know exactly when that day would be, it is impossible to know because that is how God has planned it.

 

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matthew 24: 42-44)

The best thing we can do is to be ready! We might not know the exact date, but we know that day is near. We need to start storing our treasures in heaven, rather than on the earth.

 

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32-34)

This world does not give us any peace; there is always something disturbing or a problem to deal with. That is why we trust in Jesus to give us his peace and prepare us for his second coming.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:330)

Elam

If you have watched the news lately, you have realized that a lot is going on in the Middle East. On February 25th Iran was one of the hot spots. People protested for their long desired freedom.

Last night as I was reading my bible, I came across a passage that amazed me. I had read the passage many times before, but never realized how the prophecies of the Bible come together.

A Message About Elam (Jeremiah 49: 34-39)

³⁴ This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah: ³⁵ This is what the LORD Almighty says: “See, I will break the bow of Elam,
   the mainstay of their might. ³⁶ I will bring against Elam the four winds
   from the four quarters of heaven; I will scatter them to the four winds,
   and there will not be a nation where Elam’s exiles do not go. ³⁷ I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who want to kill them; I will bring disaster on them, even my fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. ³⁸ I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,” declares the LORD. ³⁹ “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,” declares the LORD.

 

Map of Elam (Old Testament time)

 

Map of Elam (Present Time)

 

It is really true that God keeps his promises and that is why I am waiting for verse 39 to happen (“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,” declares the LORD.) God is faithful, he sees all things including the terrible things that are going on in some Middle Eastern countries such as Iran. Yet He never gives up and he will fulfill his plan.

Tiredness

Here is another old Persian Expression.

“It’s Ok to see yourself tired, but always know your friend is more tired than you are.”

Lately I have been really tired. There is a lot going on and a lot to think about. When I get tired I neglect to spend time with God in prayer. I tend to carry the burden myself and the more I try the worse things get.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

The truth is that every time we are tired, and in our tiredness we seek God, He gives us strength and power. I know that the best thing for me to do is to spend some time with God and ask him to strengthen me to help others when they are even more tired than I am.

Fruits of Our Trees

I love expressions and especially old ones! I was going through some old Persian expressions when I came across two which I really liked! Both of the expressions talk about trees which represent a person’s life!

The translation of the first one is:

The tree of laziness only bears hunger!

And the second one:

The more fruit a tree bears, the more humble it will become!

The first one doesn’t really need any explanation. The second one however, is a bit more complicated! The word for “humble” and “lowered” in Farsi (Persian) are the same. So think about it, the more fruit a tree has the heavier it gets and its branches start getting lower and lower till they hit the ground or at least get close to the ground. This expression is often used to signify that a wise person considers himself lower than others and respects others. The fool however, will not bear any fruit, and will never learn to be humble unless he decides to bear fruit! That is why it is said: “The more fruit a tree bears, the more humble it will become!”

Matthew 7:17-19
Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

John 15:4
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Sheep

I saw a picture today which made me realize people all over the world need hope, encouragement, and most importantly something to look forward to! This desire usually leads them to seek God, but unfortunately many are mislead and go the wrong direction. Instead of getting close to God, they go further and further away. We are all just like sheep, without a shepherd we will be lost and perish.

It is really a good to know that there is a good shepherd that we can follow:

 

In John 10:14-16 Jesus says:
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

Merry Christmas Indeed

Today I asked someone I know if she had a good Christmas! She replied, “We don’t celebrate Christmas! Christmas is a man made holiday! Jesus was not born on the 25th of December! It is wrong to celebrate Christmas!”

Her words made me think about Christmas! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I need Christmas! It is true that I don’t know the exact day and moment of Jesus’ birth, but I can rejoice with my fellow believers, on December 25th that a savior was born! After all, isn’t that the whole reason for the season?

Our savior was born to bring us salvation! I want to rejoice and celebrate his birth, every Christmas, regardless of the fact that it’s a man made date and not Jesus’ true Birthday! I want to remember that Jesus was born to save me!

 

 

 

Merry belated Christmas and a Happy new year!

Warm & Safe

Last night my 26 days old daughter slept in my arms for more than 2 hours. She was warm, secure and did not need to worry about anything because daddy had her and would not let her go!!
This reminded me that God the Father has me in his arms and embraces me each day. He will not let me go, so I do not need to worry about anything! Ho loves me more than I love my daughter and he cares for me!

Culture of Service

Lately at church we have been talking about the culture of service. Last Sunday Jim shared about a homeless guy whom he saw. The guy was filthy and was barely able to walk!!! This whole thing made me think about my relationship with Christ!
One of my favorite Christian singers is Todd Agnew and my favorite song of his is “My Jesus”. Every time I listen to this song, it makes me wonder if my relationship with Jesus is authentic or not. The part that strikes me the most is this:
 

“Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
the blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet”

Every day I see people that I could help, but 99% of the time I don’t help them. It makes me wonder, if I saw Jesus as a needy person, would I help him or would walk away from him? If Jesus came to my church, would I accept him as a member of my church, or would I push him away and think he does not belong?
Well, according to Matthew 25: 31-46, the truth is that if I help someone in need, I have helped and served Jesus. 
 

^{.................}‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:45)
 

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If you would like to hear the song, watch the YouTube video below:

Creation

Last week I listened to multiple conversations regarding the idea that “there in no God and those who believe in God are narrow minded.” As I was thinking about this concept I was reminded about a picture that I had taken a while back.


To many this picture might not represent anything, but to me this pictures is real fascinating because you can see a Yellow Crab Spider amazingly camouflaged on a yellow flower.
Now you decide for yourself:
Do you think such amazing creation can come to existence by a big bang and evolve into such perfection?
If you ask me, I don’t think so!!! This represent God’s perfect creation.

Romans 1:20-2

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.