G. Campbell Morgan told the story of a successful actor named Macready who was approached by a pastor puzzled as to why crowds flocked to hear drama but not to hear sermons. Macready answered, “This is quite simple, I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.”
I was paying for the rent on our office space today. My friend M. and I walked into the office of our landlord, who has just arrived by from Hajj (The Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia), and said hello or in Arabic “asalamualaykum”. Immediately a man in the office asked me if I was a Muslim. I said no and he proceeded to tell me that I have no right then to say “asalamualaykum”, which means “Peace to you”. It made M. mad and they yelled at each other for about 10 to 15 minutes. The man told him that Muslims are the only ones with God so they are they the only ones with peace. The “prophet” Mohamed wrote in the Koran that if anyone says “peace” or “salam” to a Jew or a Christian on accident that they should immediately go to him and demand his “salam” back.
Islam is a religion of peace…if everyone is Muslim. They are forbidden by their prophet to be at peace with any non-muslim. Thankfully after 7 months here this is my first experience with someone who would not even say “salam” to me. But I have to admit, it made me mad. I was offended. Nobody likes it when someone can’t even be nice. The dude was seriously hard to look at with the love of Christ.
So of all the people in the world Muslims seem to me to be the hardest to love. Of all the Muslims, the Arabs rank #1 on the “Hardest to Love List”. After all they are so proud to of their prophet, their language, etc. Only North Korea could equal Saudi Arabia’s intolerance for the Word of God.
So how do you love those who are so unlovable?
I always think about this guy I heard about who God calls his “enemy”. This guy doesn’t look for God and he doesn’t understand or want to understand God. He leads others astray with his pride. He won’t humble himself at all and loves himself much more than he loves God. He is a liar, hateful, jealous, idolater, and a rejecter of truth. The list could go on and on. Then I remember that this enemy of God…was me.
I owe the Muslims a debt. Why? Well, I grew up in a Christian country and in a Christian family in a Christian church reading the Christian book. I heard and they didn’t. That means, I am a debtor to those who haven’t got the truth. There are 1.3 billion Muslims and most have no opportunity to hear and search in the Word of God. Please pray for laborers.
My wife noticed today that our baby sitter, Fatima, was not eating. She asked her why and she told her that it is Nus Sha’aban. “Nus” means “half” and “sha’aban” is the name of this month, the month before Ramadan. Next month, Ramadan is the month of God in Islam so this month is the month of the people. So after digging around we discovered from her and other Muslims and ex-muslims here the significance of this day:
-It is 15 days now until Ramadan starts
-Today the angels that sit on both your shoulders and write down all the good and bad you do, will take that report to God in heaven (I guess that means it’d be a good opportunity to take advantage of their absence!)
-Tonight after sunset God is said (in some Hadiths that the experts argue about their authenticity) to hand to the angels the fate of all humans for the coming year: who will die, who will marry, who will find a job,…everything is determined tonight.
-Fasting today is optional yet desirable (unlike Ramadan when it will be obligatory). To fast today you may procure yourself a better year this coming year.
So after interviewing about 10 muslims and an ex-muslim this is what I have found:
-Only the SERIOUS fast today. Fatima was the only one we could find fasting. Others said they forgot, others that they just didn’t want to cause they don’t have to.
-No body knows what the origin of the teaching of this day is. A couple admitted it is just old tradition.
-Some say that God saved Noah from the flood on this day, other say Mohammed visited a special grave site, and a few other things.
-These days are good opportunities to teach people what Jesus said about fasting. I was able to tell a couple Muslim acquaintances I had just met all about what Jesus said about fasting and instances from my life.
Pray for Bilal, Fatima, Mustapha, and a ton of other Muslims we are witnessing to. Pray that Ramadan will be our opportunity to witness to them and they will open up to God’s Word.
Ramadan is coming up in a couple weeks. For those of you unfamiliar with Ramadan it is the most spiritual event on the calendar of the Muslims every year. For one solid month (and those dates change every year according to the lunar calendar) the Muslims will fast from food, water, sin, and pleasure during the daylight hours. As soon as the evening call the prayer is sounded their off to the races. A feast of food is preceded by everything they had abstained from during the day.
One comical point of Ramadan is it is a “shuma” (shame) for a woman to wear makeup during daylight. Why? Well, to wear makeup may make a woman pretty. OK? So? Well, if she is pretty she may attract the lust of a man. And that, is a sin they cannot afford on Ramadan since righteousness during Ramadan is worth hundreds more “heaven points” (those points that if you accumulate enough will buy your way into heaven) than any regular day. Since woman can’t wear makeup during this time the naturally ugly can’t leave their homes! That’s right. Ever wonder what your girlfriend looks like without makeup? Well, if she’s real ugly underneath there, she won’t go anywhere during daylight hours. Now, as evening appears she’ll have out the putty knife putting on her mask ready to go out on the town after dark. Pretty righteous huh? Well, fortunately my wife is naturally beautiful and doesn’t need makeup!
Ramadan will begin in less than two weeks. Please pray for the 1.3 billion blind Muslims during this time!
I have found that one of the hardest things to do is to witness to someone while they are witnessing to you. As I write this, my wife is sitting with a friend, Khadija, at our dinner table being evangelized. This lady has been the most persistent at her efforts to make my wife a Muslim. Often I have been asked this questions, “Wsh slmty?” That means, “اش سلمتي؟” or literally, “Have you Muslim-ed?” It is usually asked by a very excited, smiling new acquaintance who realizes I am learning Arabic. Since Arabic is the language of the Koran and that is the only language the Koran is allowed to able truly understood in, anyone who learns Arabic MUST be a new Muslim! At least, that is what they are hoping.
Of all the world religions there are two that are classified as major “missionary” religions: Christianity and Islam. Christ’s command to us is, “Go ye into ALL the world and preach the gospel”. Mohamed commanded his followers, “Go into all the world and spread Islam by force if necessary.”
Well, no one has forced us yet but here are some of the ways they have tried to convert us:
1. Trickery- This was the first way I was “evangelized” since I didn’t speak enough Arabic to do it any other way. A few friends that I had made after about a month in the country were trying to teach me Arabic. We were in their office and I was surrounded by about five of them. I wanted to learn verb conjugation in past tense but they wanted to trick me into saying, “There is no God but Allah and Mohamed is his prophet.” The said it over and over, louder and louder, and demanded I repeat. That in Islam is known as the Shahhada. If you say that (and believer it, which I guess they forgot) then you are a Muslim and all your previous sins are forgiven. When someone wants me to say that I love to shock them by saying, “I believe there is only one God and Mohamed was not his prophet.” They almost can’t take it. I don’t know why but I get a certain entertainment out of watching there emotional reactions.
2. Bribery- This one is the funniest. I have received free haircuts when a barber thought that because I was listening to him tell me about Islam that I might convert. My wife was in the market with a friend and gathered a crowd by merely asking questions about Islam. The crowd was very hopeful that she might become a “Mohammedan”. That day she ate Belgium chocolates and cashews, drank bottled water, and brought a new shirt home ALL for free! So, we are learning one thing: if we become Muslims we’ll be set here for life. Sometimes I am tempted when my support is low. ha ha.
3. The “Everybody’s Doing It” argument- This is the most common. My wife’s friend, Khadija came over tonight armed with this strategy. She is claiming that she saw on new network Aljezeera that a lot of Americans are become Muslim, especially women. Basically implying that if my wife was interested, well, it’s completely normal and acceptable. My wife of course busted her bubble when she informed Khadija that after 23 years in America she has yet to see an American born woman wearing a Muslim head covering. Khadija wasn’t sure what to say about that. My wife was once set up by Khadija when they went to work out. After their workout Khadija had set up my wife with a lady who speaks English to witness to her. That went on for about an hour. Usually when I tell them that thousands of Muslims around the world have become Christian including in Moroccan that cancels that argument and we can move on to other more honest ways of convincing each other.
4. The “Obvious Truth” Argument- This one completely denies logic. Talking with two Muslims last week I gave the 5 or 6 reasons I believe Jesus was the “last prophet”. Then I asked them what proof Mohamed gave that he was the last prophet. They were mostly silent, quoted some verses from the Koran where Mohamed said he was the last prophet. So, I restate my question and they say, “Because he was the last prophet.” That is about the answer I get from everybody who tries to defend Islam. It seems that there is no argument against blind statements.
5. “The Koran Miracle”- They often think that if someone reads the Koran that they’ll be enraptured by the beauty and truth of Koran and become a Muslim. Only problem is when I read it is not so beautiful because it is not true. When I tell them I have already read the Koran and don’t believe it is from God it causes mixed reactions. That’s the major reason anyone coming to work with Muslims should read the Koran. Literally NO ONE here has ever read the life of Christ in the New Testament. Until your read the Koran they’ll always be waiting for you to consider Islam before you can really know the truth. Once you’ve “considered Islam” and rejected it they are always very surprised and interested to know why. They believe that before Jesus Christ comes back to the earth a second time that the whole world will turn to Islam.
6. “Back to your roots”- Muslims believe that everyone is born Muslim and through time and environment are turned away from it by their weakness. So everyone since Adam has been Muslim at birth. To become Muslim is to “return” to Islam.
There are many more but these are some of the most common. What I or my wife have yet to encounter is a Muslim who can show us from the Koran why they are a Muslim and why we should be Muslims. The only thing I have found to cause people to listen is not answer them. A barber once insisted that I tell him why after reading the Koran I was not a Muslim. He point blank asked me what I don’t like about Mohamed. So I replied, “You don’t want me to tell you, really.” He is begging me now weeks later to tell him. After he reads the New Testament I promised to give him his answer. I am sure by then it will be obvious.
What will make all the difference in the world for a Muslim who has blindly followed his religion is to read the truth of the Word of God. Please pray for the thousands of Muslims who will recieve the “Message of Hope” being sent by volunteers this week.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c67CPNcNNPU]
Vision News
There are some interesting truths Steve Jobs has learned that we should know because the Bible already said it
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA]
Control your thoughts.
Force yourself to think about people.
Put a globe in your pocket.
You need to work at it.
You need things to remind you about people.
You need to watch people–see their faces.
Fall in love with God.
You will fall in love with people–dirty, rotten people.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPdXE-DnYJs]
These humorous videos are made by the guys that are preparing to be missionaries at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Dawsonville, Georgia.
This came in from Joe Kotvas.
Team:
I just wanted to let everyone know that we are back to normal here at Efata. All services are up and running and the minor damage repaired. However, sadly enough, that is not the case for our neighbors to the south.
Many of you have written and called and asked if there is anything that you can do to help. The answer is YES.
We would like to assist in relief efforts to help those who have lost everything. There are several churches and pastors who no longer have a church or home. Everything was lost. We would like to help them. There are families of members in our church that need help and we are working out a plan to do so.
We need your help! Please, if you can, send a special love offering to help us buy water, food, clothing, and supplies for the victims of this tragedy. We want to help the churches rebuild and we will do all we can. We will be coordinating with other missionaries and churches here in Peru as well to get this relief to those who need it.
We are looking to coordinate bringing three families, relatives of members of our church, with 15 kids who lost their homes and possessions here to stay at Efata until they can stabilize their situation. We would like to provide food, new clothing and personal items to help them begin to rebuild.
If you would like to help, please send the funds to:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions
P.O. Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517.
Designate it “EFATA/Peru Earthquake Relief Fund”.
The account will be set up Monday. The sooner we receive it the sooner we can get the help dispersed.
Thank you so much for your care for us. Please help us care for them.
We do so much together to help one another; let’s again work together to help others that Christ will be glorified.
Call or e-mail me with any questions.
God Bless,
Bro. Joe
(770)530-9410
jkotvas@efata.org