Anthem of the Day!

Feeling great this fine morning! Had my breakfast smoothie and a nice run, now off to conquer the day ;)

story of my life.

Dear Iranian Government,

What can I say when it comes to you? Absolutley NOTHING good or remotely decent. Among other things concerning you, I have been keeping up with Yousef Nadarkhani's story when he was first jailed in 2009, and upon reading this news today, it broke my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Totally and absolutley unethical, unmoral, and cruel. SHAME ON YOU, persecuting a man because of what he believes, while using the safety of his wife and children to coerce him into denouncing his beliefs.

This man has not harmed anyone. He wanted his children to be brought up in Christian faith and to register a building as a Church for his congregation. To you, and the people who actually see this as a justified case, tell me one thing: Which of these two people is Christian? Which is Muslim?

You are taking a precious and innocent human life into their your-called "righteous" human hands and playing God. It is out of my comprehension why you must have your dirty fingers in every pie, in everyone's natural born right to personal liberty. You believe in God and yet you don't leave the judgement of this man's soul up to God.
My prayers are for this man, his family, and the fanatical hearts of the men who run Iran... may this pastor be a shining light in a world of darkness.

This article taken from: christianpost.com

Iran Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani Likely to Remain in Jail Another Year


By Anugrah Kumar
Christian Post Contributor

An Iranian court is likely to delay its verdict in a case concerning Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who is facing death penalty for converting to Christianity, to allow authorities to further coerce him to convert to Islam as he remains in jail.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani is seen here in prison in Lakan, Iran. Nadarkhani faces execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith.
Youcef Nadarkhani's Imprisonment Condemned by Mexican SenateThe evangelical pastor’s lawyer has learned that the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, has asked the presiding judge over the trial, Ghazi Kashani, to delay the pending judgment and keep him in prison for another year, Present Truth Ministries said in a statement Thursday.

Nadarkhani, a 32-year-old house church leader from the Church of Iran denomination, was convicted of apostasy last year and was sentenced to death by hanging. However, the Supreme Court of Iran asked for the retrial of his case by a lower court in the city of Rasht in northern Gilan Province.

The deliberate delay is meant to let the case “slip away from international attention” even as the authorities continue to “use whatever means necessary to cause him to convert to Islam,” said Jason DeMars, the founder of the ministry that was first to report on the pastor’s arrest two years ago.

It was earlier learnt that the court in Rasht had asked Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, the highest ranking political and religious authority in Shi’a-majority Iran, to rule on whether the pastor should be put to death.

The pastor was arrested in October 2009 from Rasht for allegedly protesting Islamic instruction in schools for his children, Daniel, 9, and Yoel, 7, and after he sought to register his church. Authorities, however, later changed the charges to apostasy. He has been lodged in a prison in Lakan, about seven miles south of Rasht, since then.

Taken from:

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This article taken from Americanthinker.com

Imprisoned since October 2009, Yousef Nadarkhani was first accused of apostasy against Islam by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2010 he was found guilty "and sentenced to death ... for abandoning the Islamic faith." Yet, according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 18 includes a "provision for the right to 'have or to adopt' a religion, which has been interpreted authoritatively by the UN Human Rights committee as including the right to change one's religion." Thus, Iran is violating its own obligations. Furthermore, the Iranian constitution "sanctions Christianity as a legitimate minority faith." Clearly, however, this did not matter as the Iranian Supreme Court sought to establish that Nadarkhani was still guilty of apostasy because he has Muslim ancestry.



Nadarkhani, who "leads a 400-person house church movement, refused in court on September 25, 2011 and September 26, 2011 to recant Christianity." He had two more chances to recant on September 27, 2011 and September 28, 2011.



Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has highlighted this case, as has House Speaker John Boehner, who urged "Iran's leaders to abandon this dark path, spare ... Nadarkhani's life, and grant him a full and unconditional release."



Journalist Michelle Malkin has asked the State Department several times if it would make a statement about the impending execution of Nadarkhani, and finally Secretary of State Clinton affirmed that the United States is "particularly concerned by reports that Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani is facing execution on charges of apostasy for refusing to recant his faith. This comes amid a harsh onslaught against followers of diverse faiths, including Zoroastrians, Sufis, and Baha'is."
The Christian Solidarity Worldwide group is urging people to send emails to the ambassador of Iran to add their voice to support Pastor Nadarkhani. FrontPage Magazine asks what the Vatican, an "internationally recognized sovereign state with full diplomatic status," is doing to assist Nadarkhani. In fact, according to author Kerry Patton, "[s]ince 2001 alone, there have been well over 2,000 innocent Christians brutally murdered by Muslims," yet "[n]ot once in any of the ... atrocities did the Vatican make a global outcry for the victims" that would "saturate international media news as they should have." Why hasn't the Vatican spoken up on behalf of this Christian minister?
And now, in a most disingenuous display of arrogance, the Iranian state media has issued a statement that Nadarkhani is facing the death sentence not for apostasy, but for rape and extortion!
This, when in fact "there's been no mention of any other charges than apostasy in trial documents." Is the Iranian government "actually leveling these new charges against [Nadarkhani, father of two] or just throwing out new accusations to try and deflect media attention"? But the fact that the state-controlled Iranian media is even acknowledging the trial means that Iranian leaders are aware of the outcry around the world. This could bode well for the pastor according to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which reports that as of early Saturday October 1, 2011, the pastor was still alive.
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/10/pastor_yousef_nadarkhani.html#ixzz1jDTIXInm

ameeeen!

insightful and exactly how I feel.

you and i.

Romans Chapter 8

Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.” Proverbs 24:16

"This is an amazing Bible verse about perseverance. Not only is it a great picture of never giving up, but I love the fact that Solomon, the writer of the Proverb, uses the number seven. Seven, in Biblical terms, is the number of completion. So when Solomon says “Though a righteous man falls seven times,” it could be interpreted as “Though a righteous man falls every time.” That makes this verse a perfect model for perseverance. It’s interesting too that the verse calls perseverance a character trait of righteousness. People don’t often associate perseverance with righteousness. People often associate righteousness with things like strong character, right actions, and unwavering fortitude. People don’t often get the picture of a righteous person constantly falling down."

"That’s why I love this verse about perseverance. It shows not only that righteous people fall and stumble just like everyone else, but also that perseverance is a mark of righteousness."

-Taken From: http://bibleversesabout.net/25/fall-seven-times-rise-again/

 

no joke...this is my laptop wallpaper. new year resolutions and a 4 hour math class at 6am made me do it

 If you've seen the movie "Run, Fatboy, Run", you know what this picture is all about! All through the movie, that very happy man on the yellow motorbike is constantly encouraging, guiding and watching over Simon Peg's character who's training (sometimes reluctantly) for a marathon.

 God is there. He's totally and completely for you. Who or what, then, can be against us (Romans 8:31)? Well, many things. Obstacles, people, circumstances, consequences, ourselves, governments, media, the weather, you name it. Life can be messy, scary, and difficult! However if we take into daily account the ENORMITY of an almighty God who's madly in love with us, the mercy, grace, and obedience that flows from that sets us free to live a completely full and fearless life- falls and fails included.