Bryans little world.

Once upon a time I woke up to gifts under the tree and a warm breakfast and my family excited to see our faces when we opened our presents.  And now it is my turn and even though I still am excited to see Kathryn and family open gifts, I am a bit stressed. Why?  Well I want to be a good host to our visiting family.  I want to make sure we don’t spend utility money and end up with no electricity.  I am hoping that the gifts we purchased will indeed make the recipients happy.  And I catch myself having to stop (a lot more than normal) and remember why all this celebration is occurring.  For my belief is that Jesus Christ was born of a young virgin who would end up on the Cross for my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life.  WOW!  That is a lot to think about.  But the birth is the start of the gift of Jesus.  He was born in the filthiest of conditions.  He wasn’t born in Beverly Hills with the state of the art equipment.  Oh no!  He was born in the stench of a barn.  What humble beginnings to a life full of power, grace, forgiveness, and most importantly love.  For God so loved the world……God gave up his Son Jesus not to condemn us but to love us; So that we could have the option of eternal life with Him.  (John 3:16 paraphrased) This is why I should stop and celebrate.  In my life I know that I am not perfect, and I certainly know that I contributed a few stripes across Jesus’ back, and to think that He knowing all of this would be willing to be born in a stinking barn….. I just want to get this one right.  I love buying gifts but lets remember that it is Christmas time and in this time lets be thankful for the gift in which that young baby was born for. 

Bryan

I have had enough….  I see you, yeah you.  I know that things are not peachy.  I know that you are behind in bills.  I know that your relationships are suffering.  I see that you have turned to things that have just caused more pain after the initial relief.  I see that you are confused about your position here on earth.  I see that you are hopelessly searching for something with substance.  You have been looking for a while now haven’t you?  You see a bleak future ahead, if one at all.  You see your neighbors have it together, your friends have it together, and your extended family looks like they are doing well also.  Let me tell you a secret, they, like you, are hurting also.  You know when you go out in public you put off that everything is okay.  You put a smile on and move around like you don’t have a problem in the world.  Well I will tell you that there are more people like you than there are people who actually do have it together.  I see that you are unhappy, disappointed, and even depressed (yes I said depressed).  I see it all. 

This is what kills me, and actually killed my son.  You needed a savior from all this…. I sent him, my son, Jesus.  Now before you go running off screaming because I used my son’s name and you associate it to some psycho church, give me a chance to explain.  Yes it is true that I God made a way for you to put all your problems in the “Recycle Bin”.  And yes I did this even though I didn’t have to.  And no I don’t hold a grudge for acting out this plan I had.  See you have been looking for a while and every once in a while some “religious” figure would pop in and give you a possible solution and you wouldn’t give him or her the time of day.  Why not?  Afraid?  What do you have to lose but a few Sunday’s or a couple of chat’s over coffee or a meal?  Let me tell you something…. I am real, and I know your problems, and I know how to fix those issues that many people go through.  I have put hurting marriages together all the way to making someone feel special just the way they are.  I have done these things for many people and they have been blessed with such love, compassion, forgiveness, and even answers to questions or problems.  Would you please give me a chance to help you.  I did create you and known you even when you where in the womb.  I even know how many hairs are on your head, or lack of, if your Dr. Phil.  I am a real God.  Not some fake far away God, but a real God that wants to form a relationship with you again.  I am a real God, and you are a real person with some hurts that need unloading.  I will take them and give you in replace a love that you have truly been looking for.  I am a real God.

~God

Authors Note:

If you would like to chat with someone about how you can give God your problems and start having a real relationship with Him please e-mail me Bryan@FathersHouseKerman.com.  I am a real person who has had a share of issues and hurts, who turned his life to God, and hasn’t looked back since.   And I would like to encourage you to give God a real chance before turning Him down.  By the way: I am not a religious guy, but rather a guy with a relationship with God.  There is a huge difference!  Thanks for reading.

Bryan Arabian of The Father’s House in Kerman, Ca.

Are you ready for them?

Hi Kermanites.  I have a simple question for you and I would really like you to respond.  As one of the pastors of The Father’s House I am curious as to what you want/expect out of a church?  There is no wrong answer.  Please e-mail me your answers.  I will keep your name confidential. 

Thanks.

Pastor Bryan Arabian (Life long Kermanite myself)

BJArabian@Kermantel.net or Bryan@FathersHouseKerman.com

Sorry for not blogging more often.  I will try to do better…

Let me start this out by giving a small disclaimer….  I work on this all the time.  I am not the poster child for this.  And I fail badly all the time in this. So what is “this”: Standing Firm.  The scriptures in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 says: “Meanwhile, we’ve got our hands full continually thanking God for you, our good friends – so loved by God! God picked you out as his from the very start. Think of it: included in God’s original plan of salvation by the bond of faith in the living truth. This is the life of the Spirit he invited you to through the Message we delivered, in which you get in on the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ. So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught.”  From this scripture I do find a few “between the lines” messages.  First one that I notice right away is the life is not easy.  Whenever we need to “take a stand”, there is always some sort of opposing force out there.  It could be a simple decision or it could be something huge and ugly getting ready to attack you.  Whatever the case there is always a force to be reckon with.   It reminds me of that great song that my father-in-law sings, “As the Anchor Holds”.  If there was no force (wind, waves) then there would be no need for an anchor.  So standing firm is not because we have everything on easy street.  Quite the opposite.  There is this rumor out there that when you become a believer in Jesus that everything will become easy.  Let me tell you the truth of this matter.  It isn’t.  When you are facing problems it is easy to give it to the Lord (and free by the way).  But by being a believer doesn’t make you exempt.  So Jesus knows this but confirms to us that if we stand firm we will get through it.

I have a friend of mine that once told me that, “storms come and go but it is how you stand in them that determines where you faith lays.”  We lean way too much on our own understanding for too many things.  We (and I) need to stop acting that way.  We need to “stand firm” on something.  In my walk in the Lord, I have strayed.  I almost strayed to the point of no return to be honest with you.  But I kept coming up with the question, “Where do I place my future?”.  In my experience, it didn’t matter how far off the path I found myself from living out God’s will for me, He was still there trying to get me back.  And when I found myself strong in the Lord or ”Standing Firm” if you will, I found myself with more of an inner peace and happiness.  So I stand on Jesus.  And as I stand , I realized that my stance needs to be firm (this part is hard). 

The scripture in 2 Thes. tells us that we need to hold tight the things that we have been taught.  You know it and I know it, that it is fun to rebel every once in a while.  And believe me when I tell you that rebelling can be fun, but it is always at a cost.  I need to be firm.  I need to stand on the things that I have been taught.  We all do! We know in our heads what is right and what is wrong.  Why is it some much harder to place that in our hearts and ultimately in our actions?  For me it was the pay out.  Let me be honest.  There was somethings that I tricked myself to believing that the payout for rebelling was greater than obeying God.  But that wasn’t being true to what I believe.  See my answer to the question of where I placed my future came in this form.  I don’t like hot places,  in fact I hate the Central Valley this time of the year, so I know that Hell would not be a place that I want to stay.  That was tongue in cheek.  The real reason is because I have a debt.  I have a debt to pay back to God for getting me this far in my life even though I didn’t deserve a bailout.  He bailed me out of some pretty miserable places, emotionally and spiritually.  He gave me access to Heaven that on my own I wouldn’t have. And so I have this debt.  I want to serve God.  I can’t use him any longer as some sort of convenient 7-11 store.  I choose to stand firm on Him.  How about you?  You know Christianity has this reputation that you have to wear suits to church and have to put a fish on your car after you become a Christian.  That simply isn’t true.  I started to ride a Harley Davidson and I am proud of that.  I am who I am because God created me that way.  I like to make slip and slides down river embankments, and I like to camp.  And I can do all those things and still love the Lord.  I do have to follow what the Bible asks of me, but after Jesus did what He did for me, I am willing to do anything He asks.  Oh, and the payout.  The payout for being a believer in Jesus is Heaven.  An eternal peace, and a place of true living.  And you get to be with the Lord forever.  This is the payout (even though we don’t deserve it).

Standing Firm give us hope, happiness, and eventually eternity if we are standing in the right spot.  Where are you standing?  What motivates your direction in your life, if you have one?  Let me encourage you to seek God, for He is on standby waiting just for you.  STAND FIRM IN CHRIST.

Thanks for reading,

Bryan

This is a video used in the massage, “Grace”.  I really enjoyed using this video as the message behind it is really strong.  God Bless you all this week.  Let me know what you think about it by commenting on my blog or facebook. 

God really has a way of showing up in the right places.  Today was that day.  You know there isn’t  a “Being a Pastor For Dummies” Book.  If there was I would own a couple of them. Not because I am not up to the challenge but rather I am up to it.  It isn’t because I don’t feel that I am called because that isn’t it at all either.  The reason is because you never know, if what you are doing is effective.  But last week God gave me a message to speak on concerning faith.  The scriptures are found in Hebrews 11.  You don’t have to be a christian either to experience the same feelings of  emptiness or even feeling like you are just running in the mud.  We all have felt that way.  Hebrews 11 shows us that you may be feeling like you are not accomplishing anything, but if you following God’s will in your life you are probably getting ready to climb over that hurdle.  God has been really been hitting that message into me.  And in this crazy economic time I know that you are probably been looking at your past and kicking yourself in the butt for some decisions from your past.  Don’t.  We need to learn from our experiences but we need to actually look forward. But not just looking forward is even correct.  I know this is a revelation to me as well.  Looking forward is not going to cut it with God.  After a great message given at the bi-annual convention by Pastor Tom Horton, he gave a word to challenge us even further.  His message was right on point and hit me between the eye.  We need to walk into the future with big expectations and walking in faith.  In Isaiah we find God telling us to extend the ropes and strengthen the stakes of our tent because God was going to give increase.  God shows us that if we are healthy spiritually then we can expect growth.  So let keep walking, in faith, expecting growth in every part of our lives, because we are faithfully trying to stay healthy spiritually.  God Bless 

This is a real cool video by two of my fav. skit guys. Let me know what you all think

Today was definitely a day riddled with challenges… and it started to make me think a bit.  Pastor’s do a lot.  This is by no means a pat Bryan on the back blog but rather an appreciation to all pastors everywhere.  Today for instance I was called to deal with a family tragedy, received mail from a family celebration, went to a meeting with other pastors, and was involved in the community.  Oh, and also was given extra responsibility, which will make an impact in Kerman.  All in one day.  This is just for a rather small church of 100 or so people.  Can you imagine the responsibility of a pastor of a bigger congregation?  This is why us pastors need your help.  We need the participation of everybody.  The bible says that we are many parts that belong to one body.  We need you.  You may say that you are not spiritually ready.  I have a saying, “God doesn’t call the mature, but rather, matures the called.”  You need to go.  Let go of yourself, and allow the Holy Spirit to move you.  Yes, you may be surprised at where you end up.  But at the end of the day you will be pleased in knowing that God is pleased with you for accomplishing His will for your life.  So the day of the pastor can be a hard one, full of excitements and heartbreaks, and that is what pastoring is sometimes.  But at the end of the day, I would bet you, that a pastor would love his/her ministry that much more knowing that there is a support system behind him.  That is why I love The Father’s House.  We are full of young couples, and young people.  And we don’t gossip, tear-down, or kick when anyone else is down.  We lift up, encourage, and love each other.  Yes, we can always improve but at the end of the day this Intern Pastor knows that we love each other even through our differences. 

Good Morning! Last night was a completley horrific night for me.  Last night I was given an email that just killed my drive.  It killed me so much on the inside that it just took me to a place of wanting to quit.  This place was nasty.  It put thoughts in my head that shouldn’t have been there, and it made me question my faith.  See I have been battling for Kerman and to win Kerman for Christ for a long time now.  Way longer than my interm Pastor position, when I was involved in youth ministry at the Father House and before I was married.  Kerman is needing hope.  In the economy such as this, when forcloser is a common term, and when I recieve a call almost every week from people looking for work, we all need hope.  This morning in a fresh and relevant way…God came.  He showed up, like always to clean up the emotions that we have had and to make things right again.  My drive is back, and stronger.  I am not a quitter, and God has shown me to keep pressing forward towards the prize.  For when God is with you, who can be against you.  Yes, the desert place hurts.  But it is not a place to stay.  Below is a video that helps me get back to the heart of God.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Not only for the entertainment value but the context of the song.  God Bless!