Pastor Nadrakhani released from prison!!

Praising God for the release today of Pastor Youcef Nadrakhani from prison, after 1062 days, for sharing his faith.

 Here he is with his two sons this morning, after his release from prison.
 

Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart

 by John Newton

Pensive, doubting, fearful heart, Hear what Christ the Savior says;
Every word should joy impart, Change thy mourning into praise:
Yes, he speaks, and speaks to thee, May he help thee to believe!
Then thou presently wilt see, Thou hast little cause to grieve.

“Fear thou not, nor be ashamed, All thy sorrows soon shall end
 I who heav’n and earth have framed, Am thy husband and thy friend
 I the High and Holy One, Israel’s GOD by all adored;
As thy Savior will be known, Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.

For a moment I withdrew, And thy heart was filled with pain;
But my mercies I’ll renew, Thou shalt soon rejoice again:
Though I scorn to hide my face, Very soon my wrath shall cease;
‘Tis but for a moment’s space, Ending in eternal peace.

When my peaceful bow appears Painted on the wat’ry cloud;
‘Tis to dissipate thy fears, Lest the earth should be o’erflowed:
‘Tis an emblem too of grace, Of my cov’nant love a sign;
Though the mountains leave their place, Thou shalt be for ever mine.

Though afflicted, tempest tossed, Comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou canst be lost, Thou art graven on my heart
All thy walls I will repair, Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear, What a God of love can do.

 

I Love Witchcraft

By Michelle Angel (a very dear friend)

I love witchcraft.

Yes, in my heart is the sin of the love of witchcraft. Now before you envision me with a pointy hat dumping vials of animal organs into a boiling pot, let me expand....THAT *kind* of witchcraft is disgusting. Appalling. Forbidden!

What I confess to loving is the subtle, sweet, princess fairy tales where Cinderella is turned into a princess through witchcraft and *gentle* sorcery from her fairy godmother, Belle lives in a magical castle that is cursed, and Rapunzel utters demonic incantations with her magical hair.

But wait! Aren't those just kid movies? Yes. Yes they are.

And I grew up watching them.

And I loved them.

And because of my lack of discernment, my kids grew up watching them.

Awhile ago we lost Tangled. It was a gift we received at Christmas, (possibly purchased by me) and I wasn't sure where it scampered off to. Well, a few days ago the kids found it and my daughter started singing along to the magical song. I was HORRIFIED.

I said "Mikayla! Honey, you can't sing that! She's using witchcraft and a demonic incantation to heal Eugene. We can't watch this any more."

In fact, we couldn't watch almost ANY of our Princess movies anymore, as we couldn't think of ONE that didn't use magic, spells, incantations or curses to promote the girl to royalty. And how many more promoted witchcraft? It's one thing if the Villain is using sorcery and they are evil, and the children know they are evil...but what about when the hero/heroine is using it? We just can't have these types of movies anymore.

But THROW THEM AWAY??? That's just crazy.

Extreme.

Unreasonable.

Or is it? The Lord strictly forbids witchcraft of any kind. FORBIDS. So why do I find it so easy to overlook my favorite Disney movies and make an exception for those? Aren't we self proclaimed Christians?? Don't we profess to Love Jesus with our whole hearts? Then why in MY heart do I find it so difficult to rid our house of our love for godless, pagan, magical movies, like....Sword in the Stone? Peter Pan? Beauty and the Beast?

What IS witchcraft, anyway?

Simply put, it is wanting to be a spiritual "mover and shaker" without submitting to God. James 3:15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Witchcraft is one of the tools Satan uses to lure people away from God. And in my case, it has already worked, since "giving up" several childhood movies seems downright impossible, maybe even unnecessary. Why is it so hard to give up something so meaningless anyway?

All the rest of the day I wrestled with God about our childhood Disney movie collection. My conversation went something like this:

"They're *just* kid movies. They *just* have a little bit of witchcraft/magic/sorcery in them! That's harmless, right?

Right, God?

God?

.....It's sin? Well, can't I just keep a little bit of it?"

And God says, "Are you really asking ME, the HOLY LORD GOD if it's okay to keep a little bit of your sin?" "Please God, won't you just let me keep a LITTLE BIT of my sin? It's warm and soft and comfortable here...with my childhood nostalgia, my popcorn and my sorcery filled Disney movies...that mock Your Holiness and are opposite of Your ways..."

And so the conversation went down with the kids the next day.

There were tears.

There were questions.

("Why did you even let us HAVE those movies if you knew they were bad, Mom?")

There was repentance

...As the children and I got down on our knees before the Lord and asked for forgiveness.

For placing things as an Idol before Him.

For being a willing party to witchcraft which is despicable in the Lord's sight.

For aligning ourselves with Satan in the form of our entertainment and nostalgia.

For not discerning these things SO MUCH SOONER.

The kids rid our collection of MANY movies.

Even the utterance of any "magic words", MUST GO, my kids decided.

I confess, they were more strict than I was... which shames me.

Our idols will be dealt with.

It is no sacrifice.

The Lord is gracious and merciful to us as we seek to purify ourselves before His Holy throne, so that others may see us and proclaim that He is the Lord.

He forgives our sins!

He heals our brokenness.

Joy comes with the morning.

And so does new movie shopping.

 

Can We Be More Merciful Than God?

Scott T. Brown of NCFIC,  April 18, 2012

My fellow elder Dan Horn, in speaking about church discipline said this: We need to consider the nature of authority, love, justice and mercy. Our understanding must start with the fact that we can never be more loving than God, more just than God or more merciful than God. When we look at the texts of scripture on church discipline, it is easy for us to lean toward our own view of what is merciful, rather than trusting that following the commandments of God is always the most merciful and loving act. Christians always must bear in mind what the Lord requires of us, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). We also need to keep in mind, that if we do not fulfill the responsibility of the authority that we are given, we are showing hatred, not love (Proverbs 13:24).                        
 

How Does the Church Respond to Evil?

(This is an outline from our pastor's sermon yesterday. He sent it to everyone in a newsletter today.) Great sermon. I encourage you to read the outline and accept the challenge. (SFNchurch)

At some point in our lives each of us will face the reality of evil and suffering, whether through the heinous actions of another individual, an accident, or an attack on our physical bodies from a disease. As I mentioned on Sunday morning – none of us are exempt – we live on a fallen planet filled with sickness, death, and decay and we are all subject to its effects. The important things for us to remember are:

1. God is not the source of our suffering. When Adam & Eve sinned they rebelled against God’s authority and stepped outside of His protective boundaries and subjected themselves to the authority of another, one hell-bent on their destruction. That enemy, Satan, is the source of the evil and suffering in this world.

2. One glorious day God is going to liberate this world from its bondage to decay. Paul tells us that one day God is going to set the world to rights and rid this earth of pain and suffering (Romans 8:18-24). One day this world will be set free!

3. Because of this glorious hope, we will continue to fight the good fight. Paul reminds us that “Our present suffering does not compare to the glory that awaits the Sons of God” (Romans 8:18). No matter what hardship we are facing, we know that we can endure it just a little while longer. Why? Because we know that it pales in comparison to the glory that awaits those who place their faith in Christ.

Having this hope of future glory, how do we respond to the evil and suffering in the here and now? First of all, we pray as Jesus did, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Second, I believe that prayer is also a call to action as the Church responds to circumstances in the world around us that are in conflict with the will of God. We seek to advance the Kingdom of God on earth by fighting against the evil and suffering in our world.

This reminds me of the passage of Scripture in Micah 6:8 which says, “And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” I recently heard this passage of Scripture shortened to a three word motto for the church, “DO – LOVE – WALK”. These three words are all verbs, they are actions, and I believe that God has called the Church to action in responding to evil and suffering in the world around us. How will you respond?

I want to encourage you this week to look for ways that you can respond to evil and suffering in the world around us. You don’t have to travel half way around the world; it may just be next door. There is evil and suffering all around us, just open your eyes and ask God how He would have you respond. It may be in the form of comforting a hurting friend, neighbor, or co-worker. It may be through volunteering at the hospital or the local shelter. Whatever it is, know that when you do so you are the hands and feet of Christ to a hurting and broken world.

Isaiah 41:10 Seven promises from God-one for each day of the week

Sunday- "Do not fear,

Monday- for I am with you;
        
Tuesday- Do not anxiously look about you,

Wednesday- for I am your God
      
Thursday- I will strengthen you,

Friday- surely I will help you,
        
Saturday- Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'


My thanks go to Nancy Campbell for pointing this verse out today on Facebook.

Follow up to Jailed Christian in Afghanistan...May God be PRAISED!!!

JAILED CHRISTIAN CONVERT IN AFGHANISTAN FREED

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — 

An Afghan man who was jailed for nine months for converting to Christianity has been released after an intense campaign by international diplomatic missions and Christian activists, an official said Friday.

Sayed Mussa, a 46-year-old father of six, left a Kabul jail earlier this week and was taken to see Afghan prosecutors, who did not have enough evidence to charge him, said Gen. Abdul Qayum Safi, director of the detention center.

Aidan Clay, regional manager for the International Christian Concern, cheered Mussa’s release but said another convert, Shoaib Assadullah, was still in detention in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Assadullah was arrested in October after allegedly giving a copy of a Bible to a friend.

“It has been encouraging to see the international community, including churches, reporters and government officials in Europe and North America work together for the common goal of freeing Sayed,” he said. “Many sleepless nights, prayers and tears have paid off, however, the battle has not yet been won. Shoaib is still imprisoned in northern Afghanistan and fears the death penalty.”

In a Feb. 13 letter, disclosed by International Christian Concern, Mussa said representatives of the U.S. and Italian embassies in Kabul visited him in the detention center and offered him asylum. Mussa wrote that after the foreigners left the room, three Afghan officials told him he would be released within 24 hours if he signed a statement saying he regretted his conversion to Christianity. Mussa refused.

“I laughed and replied ‘I can’t deny my savior’s name,’” Mussa wrote in the letter. “I am 100 percent ready to die.”

The Christian group said they received a call from a U.S. official in Kabul on Monday, confirming that Mussa had been released and was safely out of Afghanistan.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul had no immediate comment on Mussa’s release.

Mussa, a slight man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard, was arrested in late May after an Afghan television station broadcast images of alleged Christian baptisms in Kabul. Proselytizing is illegal in Afghanistan.

A number of Afghan Christians fled the country after the broadcast, but Mussa was arrested before he could get away. His case made it into the news after a group of international Christian activists pressed their governments to push Afghan President Hamid Karzai to release Mussa and the other convert.

Afghanistan is an Islamic state but the country’s constitution is unclear on whether Christian converts are breaking the law. The document says freedom of religion should be protected, but it also states that the ultimate authority in legal matters is the Muslim holy book, the Quran, which condemns conversion.

Mussa recounted his conversion in an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month at the detention center. He was wearing a brown zip-up sweater, gray shalwar kameez and plastic yellow sandals and had a prosthesis on his left leg – the result of a mine explosion 23 years ago when he was a young army officer in southern Afghanistan.

Mussa said his move to Christianity began during the Afghan civil war when the house of his neighbor, a porter with eight children, was bombed.

He saw two foreign women arrive in a white vehicle who were not afraid to search through the rubble despite the presence of armed men nearby.

“Many tried to hide, but the women didn’t,” said Mussa.

He was curious about the women, who were able to find one person alive in the rubble. He later learned they were Christian aid workers who helped Afghans in a clinic.

That prompted Mussa to learn more about the Christian faith. He met a man named Mohammad Hussein, who had recently returned from Iran and was a Christian convert. Mussa pressed him for religious books and other information about Christianity.

In the interview, Mussa said that if he was freed, he would rejoin his wife and children, who are living with a brother in Pakistan.

“I want to have a normal life again,” he said. “Of course I love all my children. And I’d like to see them.”

“I will stay here in Afghanistan and will ask my family to come home,” he said.

—Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

Children Are a Gift From God

Instead of the American Dream, the Church Should be Living God's Dream

"...many of us are realizing that Jesus has different priorities. Instead of congratulating us on our self-fulfillment, he confronts us with our inability to accomplish anything of value apart from God. Instead of wanting us to be recognized by others, he beckons us to die to ourselves and seek above all the glory of God.
In my own faith family, the Church at Brook Hills, we have tried to get out from under the American Dream mindset and start living and serving differently."

Read this article about a church who is truly getting the vision for what the church should REALLY be about.

God Came to Rescue Us

"I stand on the field’s headlands, snow crusted up to knees, and pray the combine can keep pushing through. Pray that we'll somehow haul the corn up onto glassy roads. Pray that the temperatures stay low enough.

Pray about the absurdity of all this, the craziness of a December harvest and a Christmas tree hanging with the symbols of the wildest story of all: A God pulling on flesh, wading out into the muck of this world, the stench of the barnyard, all to wrench us free from endless winter."

Read this beautiful story written by Ann Voskamp at Holy Experience. She is a gifted writer and takes some great photos too.

Is What I Write Honoring to God, My Husband & My Family?

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks."

"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless."

--Ephesians 5:1-4, 22-27

When I began to blog, almost a year and a half ago, I did so to let my family and friends see what was going on in our lives and to sometimes put my own thoughts out there and share articles that I found interesting. One thing that is important to me though, is to make sure that what I say honors God and doesn't give people the wrong impression about Him. I also want to make sure I don't embarrass my husband or disparage his name, for he is my head and the leader of our home. I also want to make sure that my children will be able to look back and see what I have written and not be embarrassed or surprised about what their mother wrote about. I find the first four verses in Ephesians 5 very inspiring, as well as the verses in Philippians I shared the other day. I want to try to be as positive and uplifting as possible, at the same time speaking truth. So I hope that you find this blog a safe place to come and a place where you can enjoy what is written.

Remarkable Talent Used for God

Listen to this remarkable young man sing. He is using his talents to honor and bring glory to God's name.

Daniel Craig Sings a Mighty Fortress Is Our God from Vision Forum on Vimeo.

Muslim Demographics

What happens when Christians refuse to "be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth"? (Gen. 1:28). Muslims do. Watch this shocking video. ~ Luke Otterstad

The "Me Time" Myth

"I once heard a talk show host give a very compelling argument for why moms need time away. He said mothers give and give to the point of empty. They must refuel themselves so they can continue to give." To read the rest of this article by Amy Roberts go to: http://www.crosswalk.com/homeschool/11598542/