"The cost of following Jesus"

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up the cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever would lose his life for my sake will find it."
 ( Luke 9:23)

What does it mean to follow Jesus? Are we to expect a life of health, wealth or prosperity? Do we all quit our jobs and head to the mission field? What really is the calling of the average Christian?
Here in Luke's gospel, Jesus comes right to the point. He lays out the requirements for following him. He doesn't give us a formula for a casual Christianity free from suffering and pain. Instead Jesus says that it could very well cost us our lives.
Jesus says, "deny yourself," that is, if you want to follow me, you must love me more than your life. Jesus immediately exposes what our true motives are for following him. Is it our self-interests? Or is is to please and honor God with a life of self-sacrifice and and obedience?

Then Jesus explains that we must  "take up the cross daily."  The life of Jesus was anything but health, wealth and success. He was scorned, ridiculed, persecuted and finally nailed to a wooden cross. When Jesus says we must take up the cross daily, he means we must be willing to do God's will and not our own. We must  focus our lives on pleasing God rather than ourselves. The life of discipleship is a life of obedience and sacrifice for the Glory of God.
 I have a very precious friend in Tehran, Iran. I cannot mention her name for her own protection. She comes from a Muslim family and explained to me that ever since she was a child she had been attracted to Jesus. In Islam, Jesus is just a Prophet, not the Son of God. Muslims worship Allah. Yet my friend's heart was drawn to Jesus. She shared with me than whenever she was afraid she immediately called out to Jesus. Just recently my friend embraced the Gospel and believed that Jesus died for her sins and rose again from the dead. "I am willing to believe in this because of my love for Jesus," My friend confessed to me.
I am in awe of my friends's courage and faith. She is an example to every Christian. In her last message to me my friend understands the cost of following Jesus. She declared that  "If my country finds out somebody changed their religion, they will find him and kill him."
"Unless you deny yourself and take up the cross daily, you cannot be my disciple."
My friend understands these sobering words of Jesus. She has counted the cost and is still willing to follow Jesus. I am speechless! I am humbled and yet inspired by this young girl's incredible faith. We can learn so much from her.
 Are we as Christians willing to follow her example? Most of us live in a country with so many luxuries and freedoms. We take our freedoms for granted everyday. My christian life has been challenged and changed by my Iranian friend. There is a cost for following Jesus. Are we willing to count the cost like my Iranian friend has done?

"We will control what you see and hear."

"Big Brother is watching you."
(quote from George Orwell's novel, 1984)

 I can remember as a young kid sitting in front of my TV set anxiously waiting for the next episode of the sci-fi classic, "The Outer limits" to begin.
 Suddenly, the ominous voice of the announcer would come on the screen and explain to the audience, "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission..For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control what you see and hear."
Recently Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei created The Supreme Council of Cyberspace, which includes heads of intelligence, militia, and the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Their specific task is to supervise and monitor all internet activity.
A few months ago, Canadian blogger, Saeed Malekpour, was arrested and found guilty of creating and maintaining pornographic websites. He was sentenced to death by the Iranian Supreme Court. Although he "supposedly" admitted on Iranian tv to developing the porn sites, his sister Maryam claims that it was a forced confession after much coercion and physical torture in Iran's notorious Evin Prison.
Almost 70 years ago, British novelist, George Orwell, authored a novel entitled, 1984, which since then has become a cult classic in literature.
The basic plot of 1984 is about Oceania, a society that is ruled by a dictatorial government that treats individuality and reason as thought crimes. The society is constantly subjected to fear, oppression, surveillance and mind control. The fearful theme and reminder of the novel to its citizens is, " Big Brother is watching you."

 The 1984 Orwellian novel is hauntingly similar to the situation in Iran. The government has suppressed individuality and the God-given right of every human being to think for themselves. Iran is now embarking on a National Internet which would restrict and shut down freedom of expression.
The Government claims that it's doing this for morality and security reasons.
Everyday I spend hours chatting with my Iranian friends on line, encouraging and praying for them and just listening to whats going on in their lives. I'm praying that this will soon not come to an end. When I watched the Outer Limits every week as a young boy, I was terrified when the announcer informed me that "they" were taking control of what I was seeing and hearing. Unfortunately this has become a sad reality for my Iranian friends. I don't want my friends living in an oppressive society like the novel 1984. Join me in speaking out and praying for their freedom.

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"We will control what you see and hear."

"Big Brother is watching you."
(quote from George Orwell's novel, 1984)

 I can remember as a young kid sitting in front of my TV set anxiously waiting for the next episode of the sci-fi classic, "The Outer limits" to begin.
 Suddenly, the ominous voice of the announcer would come on the screen and explain to the audience, "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission..For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control what you see and hear."
Recently Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei created The Supreme Council of Cyberspace, which includes heads of intelligence, militia, and the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Their specific task is to supervise and monitor all internet activity.
A few months ago, Canadian blogger, Saeed Malekpour, was arrested and found guilty of creating and maintaining pornographic websites. He was sentenced to death by the Iranian Supreme Court. Although he "supposedly" admitted on Iranian tv to developing the porn sites, his sister Maryam claims that it was a forced confession after much coercion and physical torture in Iran's notorious Evin Prison.
Almost 70 years ago, British novelist, George Orwell, authored a novel entitled, 1984, which since then has become a cult classic in literature.
The basic plot of 1984 is about Oceania, a society that is ruled by a dictatorial government that treats individuality and reason as thought crimes. The society is constantly subjected to fear, oppression, surveillance and mind control. The fearful theme and reminder of the novel to its citizens is, " Big Brother is watching you."

 The 1984 Orwellian novel is hauntingly similar to the situation in Iran. The government has suppressed individuality and the God-given right of every human being to think for themselves. Iran is now embarking on a National Internet which would restrict and shut down freedom of expression.
The Government claims that it's doing this for morality and security reasons.
Everyday I spend hours chatting with my Iranian friends on line, encouraging and praying for them and just listening to whats going on in their lives. I'm praying that this will soon not come to an end. When I watched the Outer Limits every week as a young boy, I was terrified when the announcer informed me that "they" were taking control of what I was seeing and hearing. Unfortunately this has become a sad reality for my Iranian friends. I don't want my friends living in an oppressive society like the novel 1984. Join me in speaking out and praying for their freedom.

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The Longing

"I feel so dry and empty inside. There is no rest from the tears I cry.
 I'm broken and bruised and I feel I've died.
  But I have a real thirst that won't be denied. It's the longing."
          (From the song, "The longing," Randy L. Noble)

The great apologist and Oxford teacher, C.S. Lewis, describes in his books, that inward thirst that all human beings have for something better in life. He calls it a longing. In His classic book, "Till we have faces," Lewis writes, "The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing, to reach the mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from."
Human beings are on a spiritual quest to find satisfaction, an inward longing to discover "that something" that will bring fulfillment and meaning to their lives. Lewis proclaims that, "If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
 In my newest book, "Driven by the wind: The calling of Tara," I explore in depth the quest for spiritual reality, the longing and desire for meaning in life. Tara is on a quest for answers. Her brother Nathan mysteriously disappears in the Indian Ocean during his solo circumnavigation of the world. Tara is devastated. Her Father then dies as a result of mourning. Unable to cope with the twin tragedies, Tara sets out in her sailboat, "The Mistral wind," determined to find the answers to the pain and brokenness in her life.
We can all relate to Tara's situation. We wants answers, we cry out for explanations to the sufferings and tragedies of our lives. There is a scene in my book where Tara is awestruck at the beauty of the sunset as she nears the equator. She gazes into the sky fascinated by the orange and purple colors dancing on the clouds as the sun disappears below the horizon. The beauty of God is staring Tara in her face but she closes her eyes to the truth.

 Do you have a longing, a tugging at your heart? Are you driven to find the answers like Tara? What will your response be? Tara got into her sailboat to answer the longing and the God of Irresistible love pursued her all over the world. You can run from God but He will pursue you because in the end only Jesus can satisfy the longing of your heart. He is the bread of life that satisfies our spiritual hunger. Jesus is the treasure that your heart is longing for. What will your response be?