Before I Became a Christian and Pornography Addiction

My life before Jesus Christ is an interesting story. I was not brought up as a Christian. I used to be a Muslim.  When I was 9 years old, my family moved from Iran where I was born and raised and came to Texas due to a job offer my dad got. In middle school, I started to lose my faith and relationship with God. All of the issues in the world, especially the issues of terrorism and wars over religion caused me to stop believing in religion. I began to just focus on my selfish desires and going after immoral things.  I began to develop a problem with pornography addiction. When I entered high school, my main focus was on pornography and sex chat rooms, instead of God or my studies.

God Used a Movie to Get My Attention

I had lost hope in living my life.  I would ask God to end my life, so I could burn in hell and be punished for my sins. Then everything changed when I saw the movie, Son of God.  God used that movie to help me regain my interest and desire for religion. After watching the movie, Son of God, I asked one of my friends if he knew of good churches in our area. He invited me to go with him to his Baptist church that Sunday. At first, I thought he was joking with me, but he was serious. When I went to that church, I fell in love with it and with God's Word. After that experience, I decided to become a Christian. So, on Easter 2014, I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior!

My Family Was Against my Faith

When my family found out, they argued with me and tried to convince me that Christ is just a prophet, not the son of God.  They wanted me to wait until I was 18 to become a Christian.

However, on August 10th I was baptized against my family's will. My older brother threatened that I would be dead to him if I got baptized. However, I still did it because that was God's will for me. My life after accepting Christ has not been easy. I keep getting persecuted for my faith. Every time I do something wrong, my parents tell me how can you do this and be a Christian or go to church.

God's Message to Me

I have had times in my life where I thought God has given up on me, but through prayer and reading the Bible I was able to learn more about God's great love for me. In my life, I feel I have had many miracles.

My first miracle was on Christmas Eve.  At the end of the service, I heard God's voice in my head saying, come home Reza, come home again to me. After I heard that voice, I went and prayed with a pastor. My second miracle was a time when God told me who I am.  He showed me that I am his child that He loves me and has great plans for me. Another time God spoke to me through his Word.  He told me that I should let him work things out with my brother. The most recent miracle came at a time when I was feeling depressed. As I prayed, I saw Jesus giving me his hand. It was as if he was saying, "put your trust in me and I will help you get through this day."

What I have I learned from being a Christian is that, if it is God's will, it will happen, no matter what. My favorite Bible verses are 

Romans 6:14, "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law but under grace."

Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death, but Gods free gift is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
In Christ Alone, Reza

Are you struggling with an addiction to pornography, know there is hope and Jesus loves you. Through His grace, you are forgiven and you can overcome your addiction.