December 26, 2005 [for the Feast of Christ's birth]
"A Savior has been born: Christ the Lord!"
PRAISE:
God has done wonderful things in ways we never thought possible. This past week over 50 Chinese construction laborers came to faith in Jesus through a labor dispute. A key Chinese pastor became involved in the settlement of the dispute bringing hundreds of Chinese a chance to ‘see’ the Gospel in action. This is just one of many instances where several hundred Chinese have come to faith across the Arabian Peninsula over the past 2 years.
PETITION:
Pray for the workers here as they reach out and share with friends and colleagues during this Christmas season. Pray for open door and opportunities to share about the birth of the Saviour. Pray for those hosting small events with food and sharing - that God would open people's hearts.
The expatriate fellowships are under surveilence by the local authorities. Pray that the people in the fellowships would not surrender to fear or become entangled by it.
There are a number of local believers in the remote areas of our country. Pray that they would continue to be blessed by the Savior as they walk with Him many times extremely isolated - no fellowship for weeks or months.
Pray for a small Farsi speaking fellowship that is experiencing conflict. The Evil One is seeking to sow division. Pray for the Iranian brother who is providing leadership to this group of young believers.
Pray for God’s intervention in the life of a young Muslim Background Believer who is in the process of "de-brainwashing" by her parents. She has cut off all contact with Christians and isolated herself from any non-family input.
PRAISE:
Three figures, clad in the black, flowing head-to-toe coverings of women came to visit at our home. I [Rhema]greeted them enthusiastically and, although they returned the greetings, I did not recognize any of their voices. Arabic greetings are long, so they were already in the house and into the family room before I could finally say, “Forgive me, but do I know you?” They replied, “No.”
Safely away from the eyes of men, the visitors now lifted their veils and I could see fear on their faces. Their eyes were darting around the room as if looking for something. While the leader of the trio tried to make small talk, another was rapidly going through her prayer beads. I got the idea that the lady visitors were scared to be there, inside the Christians’ home. They did not offer names, as that is considered a more personal gesture of friendship. Instead, they told me who else they knew in the neighborhood, to establish their own credibility, and that they belong to a Pakistani Muslim family 2 doors down.
All three ladies seemed to lighten up a bit when I brought in refreshments. Honoring them through hospitality demonstrated respect for them, and a desire to be on good terms. After some light-hearted humor got them to smile, the ladies finally came out with the reason for their
visit. "Why are you not a Muslim? Would you like to become a Muslim? We have brought you a gift," the leader of the trio blurted out and handed me an Arabic-English copy of the Quran. Is that what they’re so frightened about? I thought they’re nervous about trying to convert us to Islam! These women are here to share their faith and are expecting the worst. I need to make them comfortable. I have to make sure they leave here knowing we are friends and that I want them to talk about their
faith to me. The missionary’s goal for the evening was set.
"A Quran! How kind of you to bring me this. I am so happy to meet women who like to talk about the things of God. That’s one of my favorite subjects!" she glowed with welcome. The trio was visibly relieved. One who had sat tensely on the edge of her seat now leaned back on the
sofa and smiled. "You like the Quran?" the leader asked, surprised.
"Well, I have only read parts of it, and I do have some questions. But my Muslim friends and I talk for hours about the Quran and the Bible."
“What are your questions?” the leader inquired, straightening up. She had had some Islamic training, unlike the others, and could read the Arabic text. (This was important since the Quran isn’t considered the
“real” word of God in any other language.)
I retrieved a Quran from the office, opened to some specific verses and showed them to the neighbor, who read them out loud. "Now, doesn’t this verse 4:136 say that Muslims should believe ‘in the Quran, Muhammad, and in the Book that came before’?" They all nodded agreement. "Well, isn’t my Book, the Bible, ‘the Book that came before’?" All nodded again. "Then why do Muslims not believe my Book?" Everyone smiled and
started talking at once. There was a very simple explanation for this! The leader motioned to the other ladies to be silent, and she very matter-of-factly answered, "Because we believe in the original Bible that
God gave to man, but the Bible you have today has been changed." Her pleased expression seemed to say, "case closed."
“But,” I said “if the Bible was changed before Muhammad’s time, then why did he say to believe it? He would have warned you not to believe it, right?” “Right, it must have been changed after.” Only the leader had offered an explanation that time--and quickly, but with somewhat less
conviction than her first response. “Well, that’s what I would have thought, too,” I agreed. “To make sense, the Bible would have had to be changed after. The only problem is we have Bibles older than the Quran and they are the same as the one I read today. Have you ever been to one of those museums—I went to one in Jordan—where they have some of the Dead Sea Scrolls on display? But, back to the Quran--I don’t know what to do about these other verses either,” I pointed to 6:114 & 155, which the head of the trio also read alooud. These verses state that
God sent down His word from Heaven and that “none can change His words." To make the point clear, I asked with a puzzled tone, "If the Quran tells Muslims that the Bible is God’s word, and that God’s word can’t be changed, and that they should believe it, then why do so many Muslims
believe exactly the opposite? Where does this opposite teaching come from and why would a Muslim accept it? I guess that is basically my question."
The leader of the group, who had been sitting directly in front of the air conditioner the whole time, was now perspiring so heavily that her black covering was darkening. Furtive glances were exchanged between
the three women, "It does say that. Why do we believe that the Bible is changed?" Contradicting the Quran is, of course, not a light thing for them. Noticing that her guests were really starting to think, yet not wanting them to be culturally "shamed," I encouraged them, "Don’t worry
if you don’t know the answer to my question. I’ve been asking lots of Muslim friends this for years and no one seems to know the answer. I should really just make an appointment to talk to a mutawwa (relgious teacher) about questions like these!" It was important that they save face and, after all, they already had plenty to think about. The visit ended on much lighter subjects, and as the women left they gave an open invitation, "Please come to our house and visit us anytime. Bring your Book and we’ll talk some more."
Praise God for this open door! Pray for wisdom as I share with these ladies often.
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Praying Thru the Arabian Peninsula
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Encouraging & equipping believers & churches everywhere to pray through the heart of the Muslim world so that church planting movements will spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for the Lord's glory.
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