In Mecca

Friday, July 1, 2022

Embedded in the eastern wall of the Kaaba in Mecca is a black stone that is about ten inches across and twelve inches high in a silver frame. This black stone was worshipped by pre-Islamic Meccans for many generations. Muslims believe that it descended from heaven. It is very possibly a meteorite. In some cultures, the worship of meteorites was not unusual. It seems that the Ephesians in Paul’s time also believed that a meteorite (the goddess Artemis) had come to them from heaven (Acts 19:23-36).

When Muhammad conquered Mecca and took over the Kaaba, he destroyed all the stones and gods that his compatriots had been worshipping for centuries, except for the Black Stone which he kept.

Muslims believe that when the Black Stone came down from heaven it was white, but over time it became black, because it absorbed the sins of the pilgrims who touched it. Actually, this change is consistent with known meteorites that are white but change color over time as they oxidize.

Today, as Muslim pilgrims go around the Kaaba, they try to touch or kiss the Black Stone if they are able to get close to it. This veneration borders on worship.

Prayer

Holy God, the only One worthy to be worshipped and adored, Muslims refuse to listen to your Word; they stubbornly follow their own ideas and attempt to touch a stone to receive remission of sins! They have not accepted God’s way to receive his approval, and they try to set up their own way to get it (Romans 10:3; Jeremiah 13:10).

I cry out to you. Pour out your mercy on them this week. Forgive them for this heinous sin, and help them understand that they can receive forgiveness only through the cross of your Holy Son. Yes, only by the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish or defect, are we saved (I Peter 1:18-20).

Forgive Muslims for rejecting the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:20), to believe in a lifeless black stone. For them, Jesus is a “stumbling block, a rock of offense” (Isaiah 8:14), while they build their hopes on a legend.

May they come to Jesus to receive pardon, healing and wholeness. May they set their eyes on him alone, the source and goal of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). May they become living stones in your majestic edifice of believers. In Christ’s precious name. Amen.

Promise

The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7, NIV).

Friday, June 24, 2022

One day, Caleb reminded Joshua that 45 years had passed since Moses had sent both of them, along with ten others, to spy out the land of Canaan which the Lord had promised to give them. The other ten were terrified by the terrain and the size of the inhabitants! They brought back an unfavorable report. However, Caleb and Joshua gave a positive report and assured everyone that if God was pleased with them, he would give them the cities of that land (Numbers 13-14).

We believe the Lord is telling us today: “Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours” (Deuteronomy 11:24). And part of that land is the “fortified cities” of Islam.

Let us, in faith, claim those areas for Christ and his Kingdom.

Prayer

Holy Father, God Almighty, King of Glory! I bow down before your majesty and come humbly to your throne of grace.

Many parts of the Muslim world are spiritually like cities that have been fortified against the spread of the Gospel.

But we will not allow the enemy to intimidate or discourage us. True, we are facing giants we cannot defeat in our own strength, heights we cannot scale, and a mountain that is impossible for us to cross.

Great and Mighty King of heaven and earth, all things are possible for you. Help us do what you have commanded us to do. Give us this mountain, Lord (Joshua 14:12).

Compassionate Lord, hear my cry and prayer in the name of Jesus, your Son, my Lord. Amen.

Promise

This is the… message of the Lord to [you]…. don’t depend on your own power or strength, but on my Spirit…. That mountain in front of you will be leveled to the ground (Zechariah 4:6-7, CEV).

Regarding the Bible

Friday, June 17, 2022

Over the centuries, Muslims have tried to use the Bible as a witness to the validity of Islam. In order to achieve that, they claim that the original Bible had prophecies about Muhammad and Islam, but both Jews and Christians removed them! So, here we have a dilemma: Muslims want to call “a witness” to testify on behalf of Islam, but they say that the witness has already changed his testimony before even appearing on the stand!^[1]

Muslims fear the Bible. They are forbidden to read it or investigate its claims for fear it might bewitch them somehow to become Christians! Because of that, it is banned in many Muslim societies.

Prayer

Lord God Almighty, the only true God who hears and answers prayers, we approach your throne in the name of Jesus our Redeemer.

You are the source of the Scriptures and the One who guards his Word and watches over it. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for inspiring the writers of the Holy Book to express your mind in words that we understand. I pray that you will open Muslims’ hearts and understanding to realize that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16, NLT).

I pray that many will repent this week of their rejection of the message of life and receive it with joy and an open heart. Help them to come to Christ by faith and build their lives on the solid foundation of your eternal truth. May they stand firm and unshaken in their loyalty to you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Promise

So long as heaven and earth endure, not a letter, not a dot, will disappear from the law until all that must happen has happened (Matthew 5:18, REB).

These are not trivial words—rather they are your life! By them you will live long (Deuteronomy 32:47, SAB).

Footnotes

^[1] Malek, Sobhi, Islamic Exodus, p. 166.

Friday, June 10, 2022

I remember some years ago when I would travel from a North African capital city out to the countryside to visit a few Bedouin Muslims. After I had arrived at my Bedouin friends’ home, a black goat-hair tent, we would all sit together. I would open God’s Word, and they would listen attentively as I read. Most of them were illiterate. A few could barely read. But all were willing to listen.

Bedouin people are nomadic desert dwellers, constantly on the move, searching for pastureland for their herds. When they find pasture, they pitch their tents and settle until their herds have eaten all the grass in that location. Then they move on. Bedouins value honor and loyalty. The vast majority of them adhere to Islam. Very few are Christian.

Because of their mobility, they can be effective as itinerant evangelists in spreading God’s Word!

Prayer

Father, I pray that you will call missionaries and equip them to work among these neglected groups of Muslims.

O God, grant your Church insight and creativity to find effective methods to make strong disciples of Bedouins, in spite of their constant mobility and often limited education.

Move by your Holy Spirit upon many Bedouins. Save them by the power of the cross of Jesus and bring them to the Kingdom of light. May you become their refuge, their rock and their fortress to which they can always go (Psalm 71:1-3).

Make them servants of the Gospel, a force of enthusiastic evangelists who move from one area to another, spreading the Good News of Christ among their fellow Muslims.

My heart is filled with your praise and my mouth tells about your righteousness. Amen.

Promise

The desert tribes will bow down before him (Psalm 72:9, NIV).

God gives the lonely a home. He leads prisoners out with joy, but those who turn against God will live in a dry land (Psalm 68:6, NCV).

Friday, June 3, 2022

Before Jesus ascended to the Father, he promised to send the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and Guide and empower us to witness for him. That promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. This weekend we will celebrate Pentecost Sunday to commemorate the gift of God’s Spirit to the Church. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can draw people to Christ and enable believers to achieve great things in everyday life, in evangelism, and in missions.

Over the centuries, the Holy Spirit has revealed Christ to many Muslims in different parts of the world through miracles, visions, and dreams. The great influx of Muslims coming to Christ in Indonesia in the 1960s and 1970s, and presently in some parts of Africa, can be attributed mainly to the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

O God the Holy Spirit, come upon Muslim converts to Christ, and fill them with your power and presence. Fulfill to them Jesus’ promise of Pentecost. Holy Spirit, sanctify them, guide them to the truth, and help them lead a victorious Christian life. The environment around them is very hostile to the Gospel, and they need the fullness of the Spirit to persevere in their commitment to you.

Help them pray for others and intercede for the lost world. Inspire them with zeal and power to witness for Christ, spread the Gospel throughout the whole earth, and demonstrate God’s majesty through signs and wonders.

I pray that the time will come when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord’s glory as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).

In the mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Promise

I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions (Joel 2:28, NLT).