IRANIANS WE LOVE U: a message to Iran from Israel

[st louis steve]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7agK8MIJ3T0 Please share this video and help it reach all the Iranian people.
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To the Iranian people
To all the fathers, mothers, children, brothers and sisters

For there to be a war between us, first we must be afraid of each other, we must hate.
I'm not afraid of you, I don't hate you.
I don t even know you. No Iranian ever did me no harm. I never even met an Iranian...Just one in Paris in a museum. Nice dude.

I see sometime here, on the TV, an Iranian. He is talking about war.
I'm sure he does not represent all the people of Iran.
If you see someone on your TV talking about bombing you ...be sure he does not represent all of us.

I'm not an official representative of my country. but I know the streets of my town, I talk with my neighbors, my family, my friends and in the name of all these people ...we love you.
We mean you no harm.
On the contrary, we want to meet, have some coffee and talk about sports.

To all those who feel the same, share this message and help it reach the Iranian people


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[Jericho]

It seems the Iranian people want change, the problem is the Mullahs in power. It does not matter who is elected president, the ayatollah holds the real power.

[Sword of Geddon]

If you don't know someone..you can't love them. This is merely sickening sweet propaganda.

If Israel values its existence they will strike and dispense with the barney and friends talk. Makes me want to vomit.

[WalkingWithJesus]

If you don't know someone..you can't love them.

I disagree with this statement.

[lamb7]

If you don't know someone..you can't love them. This is merely sickening sweet propaganda.

If Israel values its existence they will strike and dispense with the barney and friends talk. Makes me want to vomit.

Wow, SOG, you sound so very angry. We have to remember that God is in control and that all that is happening is part of His plan, however we might disagree with how it plays out. It is happening exactly as He wishes it to; there is nothing we can do to change this. The Bible clearly tells us that the nations are going to come against Israel, this is prophecy. Israel's leader will be a false shepherd, it is all there in God's Word. Jesus will come and will intervene and avenge just as He said He would. Don't become worried.

Matthew 24:6
(NIV1984)
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

There is no 'work' that we can do to offset any of this and I do not mean this as a fatalist or doom and gloom view, but we are mature Christians here and to think like you have written isn't showing that we understand from the Bible's point of view, but of our own. Our task is to show the way to Jesus Christ so that all men can be saved....Christ died for all, including the Iranians if they will have Him.

For all (1st Timothy 2:6; Isaiah 53:6)
For every man (Heb. 2:9)
For the world (John 3:16)
For the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2)
For the ungodly (Rom. 5:6)
For false teachers (2 Peter 2:1)
For many (Matthew 20:28)
For Israel (John 11:50-51)
For the Church (Eph. 5:25)
For "me" (Gal. 2:20)

[Sword of Geddon]

If you don't know someone..you can't love them.

I disagree with this statement.

Its simple logic. If you don't know someone, how can you have any sort of feelings for them? Saying otherwise is merely unrealistic idealism.

This extends to salvation and God as well. Unless one knows him..one cannot be saved. How can one love Christ, if they don't know him first?

[LONGINGFORHOME]

Its simple logic. If you don't know someone, how can you have any sort of feelings for them? Saying otherwise is merely unrealistic idealism.

I know this statement not to be true. I have seen many people for the first time that i have feelings of love n care for. If you do not love and care for people without knowing them first, then how is it possible to witness to someone unexpectedly to the exclusion of all other things that you had going on that day.( I think that shows love)

if you do not love people that you do not know, then how is it that people will give all that they have to share the gospel with someone around the world they have never met, and give a little more till it hurts to make sure that same person goes home fed well with a care package. ( I think that shows love)

If it is not possible to love someone and have feelings for them before we know them, then why do we go back day after day to find the person whose face has haunted you all night because you failed to reach them that day, but you noticed they were interested in what you had to say. ( I think that shows love, are u getting my point?)

I say you are wrong with that statement, but thats just my opinion molded thru dozens of experiences just like the ones above.


Patrick

[Sword of Geddon]

I understand what your saying. I meant not having a face-to-face or communication level relationship though.

[GodsStudent]

I understand what your saying. I meant not having a face-to-face or communication level relationship though.

Sword, if we dont love those we dont know, why do Americans unload milions on mankind every time there is a crisis. What makes the lady pull her car over in freezing cold temperatures, tell the homeless man to get in, and take him to the store and buy him a coat? What about the traveling family on Thanksgiving who sees a man walking, and while they cant give him a ride because they are almost at their destination, they empty out their pockets so he can go catch a bus and get off the highway bypasses? I could go on and on with these examples, but you get my point....putting your money where your mouth is, is a very powerful thing.

These are random acts of kindness born out of love for humanity....

Your pragmatic thinking resonates with me, but everything cant be deduced to the next logical thing. In many of the above stories, the Holy Spirit moves inside the doer....but the soul who does not seek God first isn't looking to be moved by Him...and doesn't rely on Him to use them to work all things to Christs' sake. When an Iranian gets saved, it is the Lord who first and foremost is blessed.....THAT ALONE should cause all of us to love complete strangers....and if we cant feel it, perhaps pray about it and then fake it till we make it.

[Sword of Geddon]

I understand what your saying. Maybe since God is truth, goodness and love..that means all three of these things are interconnected somehow. So when someone does an act of righteousness, it points to the truth and is also an act of love.

[GodsStudent]

Yes, Sword. This morning, I am really focused on work, but looking for something to listen to while I work....thus I am on FP. I say that to say I don't want to botch this post, but in my distraction, I may not give it the attention it warrants.

When people are downtrodden by their own lifestyles and choices, they are often angry, bitter, and dismayed by all that is around them. Our witness, and often our kindness, something they are not used to seeing in the "streets they run" is often times the first kiss of the Lord they get. We, in a way, pick them up, dust them off, address immediate concerns and needs, and tell them why we are doing it....it is the Lord in us that has been shared by others in our own pasts. We create a common thread, being the "nurse" that appears before the Great Physician (Im thinking of the great scripture which tells about him in need of a physician).

My experience is that salvation does not begin with a full and immediate repentance of all sin in a person's life. Sure, conversion takes place, but often times, that is a process that is completed over time. Missionaries go into places and feed hungry people, witnessing to them that it is their love of the Lord that causes them to set aside their lives for a time in order to tend to the lost. This is purely an act of love on the part of the missionary. Then, there are people we run into in a moment, and never see again. If we act in kindness, by word or deed, and give a small witness, we may be planting a seed that someone else will water and nourish in order that the lost person come to know Christ. All of these acts of love for total strangers on our parts add up....we trust the Lord to pull it all together in a way that helps the lost have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Witnessing, in and of itself, is an act born out of love.....our love for the Lord prompts or compels us to move on behalf of the lost, Sword. If we love the Lord, we must also love the lost, because they belong to the Lord, too. Love for the lost is our greatest commission, because in the absence of love, we are giving the lost the same thing they get in their current environment (be it the streets or a highrise on the outskirts of Central Park....both places can be equally grueling).

I remember in my own walk as a Christian getting to a place similar to this. I am a pragmatic personality, too, and my first reaction to the lack of love for the Lord (manifest in disobedience) was practically contempt. It was at this point that I believe the Holy Spirit led me to a greater understanding of, of all things, the seven churches. Every time I read or listened to something about the first church, (read Rev. Chapter 2)....it stung me. Then, of course, I also felt a sting in Matthew 25: 45 and John 6: 26. As we did unto them, we did unto the Lord. If we passed by, in contempt of them and their lifestyle, we were not just passing that person by, we were passing the Lord by, and in so doing, we did that to Him. Of course, the pragmatic application can be found in the scripture that reminds of that those in need of a Physician (Luke 5: 31).

In essence, we have to love a person where they are, not where we want to see them be. A lost person may not take your first witness and run with it....he or she feels they have heard it all before, often times. If we focus on their sin, and not on their need to be free of it, and out of love for them in their lost state, we won't be able to play a part in winning them over to Christ. I have learned that without a true love for the lost, nomatter what their appearance or lifestyle, and nomatter what their attitude, I have no hope of impacting them. I often think of Pastor David Wilkerson, who used to witness to drug dealers in the streets. Some, upon him approaching them, even physically slapped him, and his verbal response was to tell them that the Lord loves them. Those same lost souls eventually ended up in Pastor Wilkerson's church, on their knees before the Lord. If Pastor Wilkerson had responded in a way other than to truly love them enough to turn the other cheek, would they have ended up in his church?

[Exit40]

Beautiful post Lisa.

God bless You

David

[LONGINGFORHOME]

Very nice post Lisa.

[lamb7]

GS, excellent post!!!

[GodsStudent]

Sometimes a thing really resonates with you, and Sword, your thoughts and posts sometimes remind me of my own at an different time in my walk as a Christian. It's not that I have "graduated"....I have just worked through those issues and am now seeing other sin in my life.

I think the greatest part of this is something I haven't said. On July 4th, I was around a large number of non christian family friends and in the midst of such shallow entertainment, I started praying for the Lord to give me an opportunity to witness. I was holding on to the Lord in the moment and all I could think about was witnessing, which I knew wouldn't be possible in the environment I was in (gotta love get togethers with family and friends sometimes!).....I have already witnessed to these people and they are hostile to it. I am left only to pray for them and continue on in the "family" as it pleases my earthly mother and father that I do so.

Well, the very next morning when I got on FP and read new posts on this thread, the Lord gently tugged at my heart to give my own testimony. He gave me a chance to witness.

I don't know if what I wrote is for any one person, or who it may benefit, I am just jubilant about the fact that I have a witness. It reminds me of all that the Lord has brought me through, taught me, and I know His Word promises that He will complete a good work....and that means I am His.....for that, I am eternally grateful and satisfied to my core.

[Abiding in His Word]

If we focus on their sin, and not on their need to be free of it, and out of love for them in their lost state, we won't be able to play a part in winning them over to Christ.

Excellent thoughts, GodsStudent!

[Sword of Geddon]

Sometimes a thing really resonates with you, and Sword, your thoughts and posts sometimes remind me of my own at an different time in my walk as a Christian. It's not that I have "graduated"....I have just worked through those issues and am now seeing other sin in my life.

I think the greatest part of this is something I haven't said. On July 4th, I was around a large number of non christian family friends and in the midst of such shallow entertainment, I started praying for the Lord to give me an opportunity to witness. I was holding on to the Lord in the moment and all I could think about was witnessing, which I knew wouldn't be possible in the environment I was in (gotta love get togethers with family and friends sometimes!).....I have already witnessed to these people and they are hostile to it. I am left only to pray for them and continue on in the "family" as it pleases my earthly mother and father that I do so.

Well, the very next morning when I got on FP and read new posts on this thread, the Lord gently tugged at my heart to give my own testimony. He gave me a chance to witness.

I don't know if what I wrote is for any one person, or who it may benefit, I am just jubilant about the fact that I have a witness. It reminds me of all that the Lord has brought me through, taught me, and I know His Word promises that He will complete a good work....and that means I am His.....for that, I am eternally grateful and satisfied to my core.

I admire your courage. I haven't been that bold telling people about the faith in awile..mostly because I feel I already know the reaction people might have.

Sometimes theres "openings", and someone might be curious or want to know more about Christianity, or about God/Christ etc. Those don't happen very often with me..I wonder if my role is different.

[GodsStudent]

IMO, Sword, your role isn't different. For every one person I can witness to, there are literally a thousand I cannot. Then, I plant seeds in hostile ground all the time. I have learned that in doing so, there is every possibility the person I spoke with will return at a later time, often having gone through a good many personal trials, and have a different attitude with me. It's not 100%, but I chalk that up to all of this being in the Lord's Will and good time.

Sometimes witnessing is to a brother or sister in Christ. We edify each other. I was looking at Abiding's post above, where she appreciated my "if we focus on the sin" comment and though I didn't post it, I needed to give credit to "LONGINGFORHOME" as he took the time one day to talk with me on the phone about this very thing. I was approached by a girl who I broke a friendship with over my relationship with the Lord (and her non christian lifestyle). This girl actually called me almost three years after that, crying, telling me she had to talk with someone and she felt I was the only person who could genuinely talk her through what she was going through, and I was reluctant to rekindle the relationship. It was LONGINGFORHOME who told me to stay a little while, witness, be a friend and tell her why I had peace. I was able to dig a lot of ground off that advice, may the Lord enrich it. ;-)

Sometimes witnessing is a passing word or three to a total stranger in the grocery store....followed by a quick prayer as I walk away, that the Lord will grow the witness I just gave....and I will never know what became of it, but I also know very little about my audience in the moment, and what they are or will be going through. I am just obedient to giving a witness. If my words gave cause for pause, perhaps the person will seek out a seasoned Christian (or I trust the Lord will lead them to one). I never know, but I always hope.

Most of the time, in my experience, witnessing is a process and people are reluctant to receive my words in a moment. I keep at it, when able....and I am always here if anyone wishes to return to explore what I've said to them.

I know how you feel, though, Sword....and I know why. It's a rough world we're living in, and the hostilities far outweigh those few times when we see the fruits of our labors....but if we don't labor because we are reluctant to feel the rejection, we'll never see the fruits. I love to look back, because I know I have personally impacted some people along the way. ....and there are quite a few who have helped me grow in Christ, too.

Stay in the circle, dear, sweet brother! Stay in the circle!

[lamb7]

Always, always reminds me of the little "Man On George Street" video and how he witnessed. Sometimes we will never know how what we've said or done has affected other people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkjMvPhLrn8

[Abiding in His Word]

What a beautiful story! Thank you for posting that link, lamb7!

I had a similar "George" approach me at a time when I had backslidden somewhat after moving from NY to Florida. I was coming out of Office Depot and out of nowhere, a little old man came toward me and handed me a little silver cross with the word Jesus etched on it. He never said a word and just walked away. It served as a wonderful witness and reminder that the Good Shepherd was seeking His lost sheep.

It's true that we may never know the lives we touch.

[GodsStudent]

Always, always reminds me of the little "Man On George Street" video and how he witnessed. Sometimes we will never know how what we've said or done has affected other people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkjMvPhLrn8

What a beautiful story. It's so great to have this smile on my face and imagine all of the George's out there, so simple, but yet so powerful.