Friday, November 27, 2015

Read 1 Samuel 17.

David met Goliath and defeated him in the Valley of Elah. While strong and seasoned soldiers were fleeing, young David courageously went out to encounter the giant. He saw Goliath’s challenge to Israel as a direct challenge to God.

David recalled how the Almighty had rescued him and given him victory in the face of previous grave dangers.

Now, facing the formidable Goliath, David depended totally on God’s power rather than on military equipment. He believed that God would hand his enemy over to him. He refused any trappings of war that would hinder him and slow down his progress.

In the face of Islam, do you feel like David meeting Goliath? Does the giant you face loom bigger and stronger than you? By the help of the Holy Spirit, you can have the victory.

PRAYER

Almighty God, in you we take refuge. There looms a “Valley of Elah” for your Church! Let us never be put to shame (Psalm 31:1). You are the eternal Lord who is able to subdue and overcome any Goliath that stands against you.

Help me to differentiate between Muslims as people and the Islamic system as a giant that opposes the Kingdom of Christ. Give me love for Muslims, sacrificial love. However, I pray that you will demolish the system that stands in opposition to the King of kings and Lord of lords (2 Corinthians 10:4).

This giant is too much for me. I cannot defeat him on my own. I cry out to you. Give your Church strength, endurance and stamina, and use us as your vessels to accomplish your will to bring Muslims to the Kingdom of God.

Help us, after every victory, to give you glory and honor. You alone are worthy. Amen.

PROMISE

Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in [your] way; it will become a level plain before [you]! (Zechariah 4:7, NLT).

Friday, November 20, 2015

God created everything: heavens and earth, man and beast, sky and sea, trees and plants, mountains and valleys, stars and planets, colors and shades, the beauty of sunrise and the glory of sunset, heat and cold, summer and winter, rain and wind.  All are his handiwork!

Muslims acknowledge that. Yet, they seem to view the Creator as disengaged from his creation. They think of God almost like an absentee landlord. The notion that the great Creator would come to earth as Immanuel to dwell among humans is foreign to Islam. They cannot imagine that he would involve himself in their everyday affairs.

PRAYER

Blessed are you, God Most High, Creator of all. You fill the earth with stunning bounty. You adorn the universe with glorious beauty. You alone are Lord and Master of all that is. The entire universe owes its existence to you.

The chirp of sparrows and roar of lions, the stillness of waters and tumult of  waves, the glimmering of stars and clapping of thunders…all join me in proclaiming that you are the Master Creator of all (Psalm 19). Glory and honor, power and majesty, kingship and rule, all belong to you, Lord God. We bow down and worship you. The multitudes of heaven worship you (Nehemiah 9:5-6).

Pour out your grace on Muslims, so that they too will join us in giving glory to Christ, the Son of God, the King of kings. Help them see him in his love and accept his sacrifice on the cross for our forgiveness. May they feel restless until they yield their lives to Jesus. “You made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds its place of rest in you.” ^[1]

May millions of Muslims sense your arms around them and be touched by your compassion and grace. May they praise the precious name of Jesus.  Amen.

PROMISE

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever (Psalm 146:5-6, NIV).

^[1] St. Augustine, Confessions. Book 1, Chapter 1, God’s Greatness.

Friday, November 13, 2015

The best translation of hudud is boundaries or limitations. In Islam, this refers to the limits of acceptable behavior. If you go beyond the limits, you are breaking the law and deserve punishment (Quran 2:187). Hudud crimes are those related to leaving Islam (apostasy), unlawful sex, killing, stealing and use of alcohol.

Punishment includes death by stoning or beheading, amputation of the right hand, imprisonment, flogging and fines. Such punishments are considered “debts” that need to be paid to God. Repentance does not exempt the “sinner” from receiving his due punishment.

The purpose of such penalties is to serve as a deterrent, to stop the “sinner” from repeating his sins, and to put fear in the heart of others tempted to break those laws!

PRAYER

Almighty God, our Father, we stand in awe of your grace and mercy. We are all fallen humans and deserve only condemnation and death. Yet, in your compassion, you sent your only Son to die for us. Thank you for Calvary. Thank you for the cross. Jesus paid our debt and took our punishment.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.^[1]

Thank you for graciously bringing the Islamic teaching of hudud to my attention. I feel for Muslims; they do not know that the eternal Son sacrificed himself to set them free from judgment. Open their hearts to accept Jesus. Help them by your Spirit to repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15).

Let them experience true freedom in Christ and live the life of joy he gives. In his name, I pray.

PROMISE

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 4.19 NIV Luke 4.to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19, NIV).

^[1]Khaled M. Khaled, Successors of the Apostle. Moqattam: 1970, p 66, in Arabic.

Friday, November 6, 2015

This Sunday has been designated as a day of prayer for the persecuted Church worldwide. Christians are suffering severe persecution in many parts of the world. It is estimated that more Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in the prior 19 centuries combined! In Muslim countries, the followers of Christ are often mistreated, imprisoned and murdered.

The Islamic system does not allow freedom of religion. The system’s guardians include the religious, political and social authorities. They have a long arm through the government and police, the mosque and sheikhs, work and family, friends and neighbors and so forth. The system persecutes and disposes of people who leave Islam. Today untold numbers of our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering persecution.  

PRAYER

Sovereign God, as Herod, Pilate and other leaders made plans against Jesus (Acts 4: 27), today rulers and common people are persecuting your children!

My brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering persecution do not love their lives so much as to shrink from death (Revelation 12:11). Perhaps I do not know them personally, but I intercede on their behalf. You told us to “bear one another’s burdens,” so I want to stand alongside them. They are members of the Body of Christ, and when one member suffers, the rest of the body suffers.

O God Almighty, be with those who are going through a nightmare of mistreatment, beatings and abuse. I bring their plight to your attention, merciful Father. Visit them. Soothe their pain. Comfort their souls. Encourage their hearts. May your face shine upon them.

I pray that you will wake up the Church around the world to pray for persecuted believers and come to their assistance. Some Christians occupy influential positions and could act to alleviate the pain of our suffering brothers and sisters. Father, help them not to be silent. Move them to respond to the tragedy of the persecuted Church.

PROMISE

Your healing will quickly appear… the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard… you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I… your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD… will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail (Isaiah 58:8-11, NIV).