"So are the children of one's youth.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate."
—Psalm 127:4–5
Marriage. A husband and wife coming together as one. Family. Rearing
children. These things are so much of what life is about, our Father.
They give us hours of pleasure . . . and hours of frustration. There's
probably nothing that most of us work harder at and sometimes feel more
guilty about than those things. What a mystery! And yet, You have it all
figured out. Somewhere between what You wrote and what we do, there's
been a breakdown. We need help. We know it won't be easy or quick, but
it'll come as we learn from You. Help us unlearn our many habits and
patterns that are not in line with Your Word and will. Forgive us for
having clung to them.
We like things that make sense. We like things that have a clear ring
to them. We like things that help us feel good. But often, Lord, the
things You have to say about marriage and family are none of the above.
That's tough for us to handle, especially when we feel like salmon
swimming against the stream. We work with people who scoff at marriage.
We live around people who are unfaithful in their marriages. We struggle
in our own concepts of marriage. Help us, Lord.
The family is so important to You. With confidence, we commit our families to You. In Jesus's name. Amen.
See also Exodus 20:12 ; Deuteronomy 6:6–7 ; Proverbs 1:8 ; Colossians 3:18–20 . |
A forum in which Christians can discuss spiritual issues and learn reformed theology. Your opinions are important.
Saturday, 8 September 2012
For Strong Families - Dr Charles R. Swindoll
Friday, 7 September 2012
How To Understand Your Dog - Murray Haven
Many people will testify to the benefits of having as dog as a companion. Indeed there is a saying which indicates that "if you want a friend buy a dog."
A dog is a faithful friend, is great company and nice to have around the house. If you are thinking about buying a dog, then may I suggest a book that I came across and now publish.
This book gives you the low down on how to understand your pet dog. It will give you the advantage with your dog, and you will discover that it is possible to understand the how's and the why's of your dog's behaviour.
A dog around the house, particularly if you live on your own, will bring great comfort. This is a practical suggestion that might well help you on your way.
Have a look and see what you think. Buy the book and you will get it immediately.
A dog is a faithful friend, is great company and nice to have around the house. If you are thinking about buying a dog, then may I suggest a book that I came across and now publish.
This book gives you the low down on how to understand your pet dog. It will give you the advantage with your dog, and you will discover that it is possible to understand the how's and the why's of your dog's behaviour.
A dog around the house, particularly if you live on your own, will bring great comfort. This is a practical suggestion that might well help you on your way.
Have a look and see what you think. Buy the book and you will get it immediately.
Answered Prayer
Let
us praise and thank our gracious Lord for answering the prayers of the
saints. This is a big relief and has brought enormous encouragement to XXXX and also to XXX.
Truly
our God is good; He is merciful and loving and gracious; we can entrust
every aspect of our lives to Him, for He is faithful.
Make every piece of news that indicates answers to prayer a matter of thanksgiving and praise when you next come into the Lord's holy presence.
Spiritual Discipline - Dr Tony Evans
In His Presence: James 1:2-2
When a person’s carnality reaches the point of rejecting the Christian faith, many things can happen. Financial, emotional, social, and mental difficulties are just a few things that could catch up with them. If they live in persistent rebellion against God, God is going to discipline them. “We had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplines us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness” (Hebrews 12:9-10).
The purpose of God’s discipline is to bring us back to Him in reconciliation. He does not discipline in vengeance or because He is angry. Our parents disciplined us the best they could, but God disciplines perfectly every time. He knows everything. He knows what the carnal Christian has done, so God is never caught by surprise.
“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful” (v. 11). A person living in carnality is going to experience discipline that will hurt. What is the difference between a Christian in the will of God going through trials, and a person out of the will of God going through discipline? If we are in the will of God, we can “consider it all joy” (James 1:2). If we are out of God’s will, we will not have joy in the midst of our problems.
One Minute Please
“To those who have been trained by [discipline], afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11).
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Praying for Keeps - Dr James Dobson
“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
John 16:24
My (JCD’s) grandmother prayed for her six children throughout their formative years, but her youngest son—my father—was a particularly headstrong young man. For seven years following his high school graduation he rejected the teachings of the church. Yet my grandmother never stopped praying.
One evening my Uncle Willis, who loved Jesus passionately, went looking for my dad (who was visiting his parents’ home) as the family prepared to go to church. “Jim,” he said, “aren’t you going with us to the service tonight?” “No, Willis,” my dad said. “I’m through with all of that. I don’t plan to ever go back again.” Willis said nothing. But as my father sat looking at the floor, he saw big tears splashing on his brother’s shoes. I’ll go, my dad thought, just because it means that much to him.
At the service that evening, James Dobson Sr. invited Jesus Christ into his heart—a decision he never wavered from the rest of his life. God answered the prayers of my grandmother by placing a key person at a critical crossroads. If you pray with persistence and confidence, He will do as much for your children, too.
Before you say good night…
- Do you pray for your kids with persistence and confidence?
- How have your prayers already changed the lives of your children?
- How can you help each other to keep praying even when you’re tired or discouraged?
Listen to today's broadcast of My Family Talk at OnePlace.com.
For more from Dr. Dobson, visit the resource center at familytalk.org.
This devotional is taken from Night Light for Parents. Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.For more from Dr. Dobson, visit the resource center at familytalk.org.
Professions of Faith Create Religious Formalism
The main 'Christian' denominations in the UK are almost as spiritually dead as it is possible for any denomination to be. The insistence upon church membership being determined by one's profession of faith is well established, so well, in fact, that to bring about reform in this regard will be to provoke war from the religious formalists.
To be admitted to church membership on the basis of what an individual says, is not New Testament religion. Of course, man cannot look on another's heart, so must be guided by what s/he reveals about him/herself. But that has become the excuse par excellence for taking little care when it comes to admitting new members to the church.
Further, if church elders were to admit new members on probation and then confirm their membership after they have proved the reality of their profession of faith, this would be a welcome advance on what exists today.
But it seems to me that there is another and better way to weed out as many false professors of religion as possible. Ask new potential members the following questions:
Have you met Christ personally?
Do you know Christ personally?
How do you know Him?
What does Christ mean to you?
What did He say or do to you when you met Him?
Tell me what your life would be without Christ.
How does His importance to you show itself?
When you say you are trusting Him as your Lord and Saviour, are you talking about Someone you've known personally for a while, or is He Someone you just know a few things about?
Are you speaking as a Witness to Christ, that is, from personal experience; or as an Advocate, that is, Someone you know through other people's experiences?
Are you speaking about Someone you have never met personally?
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ intimately?
What does knowing Jesus Christ personally mean to you?
Knowledge of the facts of Jesus Christ is not enough; you need to know also the power of the Holy Spirit in your life if you are to be an effective witness to Him. You needs to know the facts of Christ AND the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Do you?
Tell me about it?
Are you sure you are a child of God? Tell me about it.
Are you sure you are a citizen of Heaven? Tell me about it.
Do you know that God loves you? Tell me about it.
Were some such questions to be asked of prospective church members, there might be a lot less religious formalism in the churches today.
To be admitted to church membership on the basis of what an individual says, is not New Testament religion. Of course, man cannot look on another's heart, so must be guided by what s/he reveals about him/herself. But that has become the excuse par excellence for taking little care when it comes to admitting new members to the church.
Further, if church elders were to admit new members on probation and then confirm their membership after they have proved the reality of their profession of faith, this would be a welcome advance on what exists today.
But it seems to me that there is another and better way to weed out as many false professors of religion as possible. Ask new potential members the following questions:
Have you met Christ personally?
Do you know Christ personally?
How do you know Him?
What does Christ mean to you?
What did He say or do to you when you met Him?
Tell me what your life would be without Christ.
How does His importance to you show itself?
When you say you are trusting Him as your Lord and Saviour, are you talking about Someone you've known personally for a while, or is He Someone you just know a few things about?
Are you speaking as a Witness to Christ, that is, from personal experience; or as an Advocate, that is, Someone you know through other people's experiences?
Are you speaking about Someone you have never met personally?
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ intimately?
What does knowing Jesus Christ personally mean to you?
Knowledge of the facts of Jesus Christ is not enough; you need to know also the power of the Holy Spirit in your life if you are to be an effective witness to Him. You needs to know the facts of Christ AND the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Do you?
Tell me about it?
Are you sure you are a child of God? Tell me about it.
Are you sure you are a citizen of Heaven? Tell me about it.
Do you know that God loves you? Tell me about it.
Were some such questions to be asked of prospective church members, there might be a lot less religious formalism in the churches today.
Praying
We are trusting totally in the gracious Lord to see XXX through this
victoriously. At the end of the day, we have no one else. "He is able
to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think," according
to his marvellous grace and mercy. There is no limit to what our God
can do. It is humbling to know that He does not always do as we ask,
any more than we always do what He asks of us. But His grace is
superabundant. He gives and gives and gives more and more. He is the
giving God. He gave His only begotten Son for the world, and did not
spare even Him, giving Him up for us all; so He will not withhold any
good thing from those who fear Him. That's our God.
And
it is to this same God that we pray.
Ask the sovereign Lord to touch XXX with His healing hand. Our God
loves to answer the prayers of His people. Hold Him to that!
For us, it is the end result that counts - God's eternal glory and XXX's good.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Overcoming Fear - Dr Charles R. Swindoll
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." — Psalm 23:4
Lord God, fear threatens to overtake us, to hinder us from trusting
You. We often seek to rely on ourselves, trusting in our own strength to
accomplish our own desires. Because we recognize the realities and the
dangers of this distressed world, we thank You for making Your plan
clear to ultimately remove all fear and anxiety and worry. Thank You for
communicating the truth about fear in terms we can grasp. Thank You for
challenging us to trust You as You unfold Your plan in the teaching of
Scripture. Give us a commitment to Your truth, so that we live
differently and think differently. Help us to be passionate about what
matters so that we care more about the eternal and less about the
temporal.
Shake us awake, our Father, with the reality that the world is heading
in the wrong direction. Remind us that we have the opportunity to make a
difference in the lives of people, despite the lawless times . . . if
we would but trust You. Deliver us from fear that holds us back, that we
might magnify the name of Jesus Christ, regardless of our work, our
calling, and our involvements. For Jesus's sake we pray. Amen.
Huguenots in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland
Are you interested in finding out more about the impact the Huguenots had on Magherafelt, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland, after they arrived from France in the late seventeenth century? Visit this website and discover from this new book by Hazlett Lynch what their contribution was to the development of the town.
Are you from Magherafelt? Do you know the town or do you know someone whose forebears came from this town? If you are interested in finding out about Magherafelt, visit this website and get your own copy of this new research-based book.
Tell you friends and neighbours about this new book about the Huguenots in Magherafelt. Buy your book here, and enjoy the read.
Are you from Magherafelt? Do you know the town or do you know someone whose forebears came from this town? If you are interested in finding out about Magherafelt, visit this website and get your own copy of this new research-based book.
Tell you friends and neighbours about this new book about the Huguenots in Magherafelt. Buy your book here, and enjoy the read.
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Spiritual Reflections
With all that is going on around and in us at present, it has been a real tonic for me today to take up my work on DMLJ
and the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist connection.
This has been a ministry to my soul, to spend time in the presence of men who not only knew God but who wanted to know Him even better.
To be "lost in love, wonder and in praise" is a most wonderful, valuable and energising experience.
Just to 'feel' God near at a time like this helps to quell the other unwanted intrusions that present themselves. To be in His presence, and we have been there in the mornings and evenings, is something we would not wish to miss for anything.
Just what the Lord has planned for us is unknown; but because it comes from Him means it must be superbly good.
This has been a ministry to my soul, to spend time in the presence of men who not only knew God but who wanted to know Him even better.
To be "lost in love, wonder and in praise" is a most wonderful, valuable and energising experience.
Just to 'feel' God near at a time like this helps to quell the other unwanted intrusions that present themselves. To be in His presence, and we have been there in the mornings and evenings, is something we would not wish to miss for anything.
Just what the Lord has planned for us is unknown; but because it comes from Him means it must be superbly good.
How To Stop Bullying - Gail Matthews
Gail Matthews has written a very topical book on how parents can deal with school bullying.
This is the time of years when children return to school, and some will be fearing the prospect.
This book will provide you with the basics of what this social evil is and suggests how this might be dealt with positively and productively.
This book is more accessable than my own book, "Overcoming Bullying at School," which is available only in hard copy.
You owe it to your children to be as well briefed as possible about this potentially life-threatening anti-social behaviour. Buy your copy here and be glad you took this important step to protect your children.
This is the time of years when children return to school, and some will be fearing the prospect.
This book will provide you with the basics of what this social evil is and suggests how this might be dealt with positively and productively.
This book is more accessable than my own book, "Overcoming Bullying at School," which is available only in hard copy.
You owe it to your children to be as well briefed as possible about this potentially life-threatening anti-social behaviour. Buy your copy here and be glad you took this important step to protect your children.
CVs With Real Impact - Lester Watts
If you have young people in your household, or maybe even not so young people, this ebook by Lester Watts might be of interest and help to you. Have a look here and get your copy, and gain the edge when it comes to preparing your Resume or CV for your next job application/interview.
The contents may have to be customised to suit your situation, but the practical guidance will be applicable everywhere. Visit here where you can buy your copy.
Christians ought to aim to be the best they can be. Indeed havinmg Christians in positions of responsibility and influence is most desirable, but onlu provided they work as Christians first, then whatever their chosen career is. Too many believers have lost their 'saltiness' and have thereby become worse than useless; too many have hidden their lights under buckets, leaving the world in darkness.
But when Christians act as salt and light in this corrupt world, they will the price but they will also bring glory to God through their 'good works.' Get the job God has made you for, and make a difference for Him. This book might just be the tool that will help you make that difference.
The contents may have to be customised to suit your situation, but the practical guidance will be applicable everywhere. Visit here where you can buy your copy.
Christians ought to aim to be the best they can be. Indeed havinmg Christians in positions of responsibility and influence is most desirable, but onlu provided they work as Christians first, then whatever their chosen career is. Too many believers have lost their 'saltiness' and have thereby become worse than useless; too many have hidden their lights under buckets, leaving the world in darkness.
But when Christians act as salt and light in this corrupt world, they will the price but they will also bring glory to God through their 'good works.' Get the job God has made you for, and make a difference for Him. This book might just be the tool that will help you make that difference.
ISLAM IS INTOLERABLE - A MUST READ
Tuesday, 4 September 2012, 11:20
Considering
its fantasy origins, diabolical theology and jihadist barbarity, the
rationale for rejecting Islam is irrefutable. The following makes the
sexual and social case.
Since
the now-secular West despises its Judeo-Christian foundations, it has
no defense against Islam. Unless, by the Grace of God in Christ, we
recover our heritage, it's only a matter of time before we are
overwhelmed by the world's most evil ideology.
Remember
too that the Pope's religion is no defense either. Islam and Rome share
a bizarre alliance through devotion to Mary (as Benedict XVI made clear
during his visit to Turkey). Only the Reformed Faith can provide a
challenge to these two false religions, concerning which John Calvin was
right to say: "Muhammad and the Pope are the twin horns of Antichrist."
Dawkins-driven
atheism is also a delusive defense against Islam. So we need to
'escape' from Richard Dawkins's seductive pseudo-scientific propaganda.
He is the wisest fool in academia, as the Word of God states: 'The fool
has said in his heart, there is no God' (Ps. 14: 1).
Join me in prayer to Almighty God for His mercy, deliverance and salvation.
Dr Alan C. Clifford
In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by 9.
The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy.
Even though a woman is abused she can not obtain a divorce.
To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses.
Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family. Husbands can beat their wives 'at will' and he does not have to say why he has beaten her.
The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion.
The Shariah Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman.
By passing this on, enlightened American and British women may avoid becoming a slave under Shariah Law.
Ripping the West in Two.
Author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Shariah law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two.
She recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel . He was a high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza .
When he died, he was considered a "shahid," a martyr for jihad. His posthumous status earned Nonie and her family an elevated position in Muslim society.
But Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age. She questioned her own Muslim culture and upbringing.. She converted to Christianity after hearing a Christian preacher on television.
In her latest book, Darwish warns about creeping shariah law - what it is, what it means, and how it is manifested in Islamic countries.
For the West, she says radical Islamists are working to impose sharia on the world. If that happens, Western civilization will be destroyed. Westerners generally assume all religions encourage a respect for the dignity of each individual. Islamic law (Sharia) teaches that non-Muslims should be subjugated or killed in this world.
Peace and prosperity for one's children is not as important as assuring that Islamic law rules everywhere in the Middle East and eventually in the world.
While Westerners tend to think that all religions encourage some form of the golden rule, Shariah teaches two systems of ethics - one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims. Building on tribal practices of the seventh century, Shariah encourages the side of humanity that wants to take from and subjugate others.
While Westerners tend to think in terms of religious people developing a personal understanding of and relationship with God, Shariah advocates executing people who ask difficult questions that could be interpreted as criticism.
It's hard to imagine, that in this day and age, Islamic scholars agree that those who criticize Islam or choose to stop being Muslim should be executed. Sadly, while talk of an Islamic reformation is common and even assumed by many in the West, such murmurings in the Middle East are silenced through intimidation.
While Westerners are accustomed to an increase in religious tolerance over time, Darwish explains how petro dollars are being used to grow an extremely intolerant form of political Islam in her native Egypt and elsewhere.
(In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. and Britain to elect the President and Prime Minister bythemselves! Rest assured they will do so... You can look at how they have taken over several towns in the US... Dearborn Mich.is one... and there are others... Britain has several cities now totally controlled by Muslims.)
I think everyone in the U.S. And Great Britain should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on!
It is too bad that so many are disillusioned with life and Christianity to accept Muslims as peaceful. Some may be but they have an army that is willing to shed blood in the name of Islam. The peaceful support the warriors with their finances and own kind of patriotism to their religion. While America and Britain are getting rid of Christianity from all public sites and erasing God from the lives of children,the Muslims are planning a great jihad on America and Britain.
This is your chance to make a difference! Pass it on to your email list or at least those you think will listen.
Some of those I'm sending it to WILL NOT! Put your head back under the covers so you can't see the boogie man!
This was
written by a woman born in Egypt as a Muslim. Make sure you read the
paragraph (in red)towards the
end.
Joys of
Muslim Women
By Nonie Darwish
By Nonie Darwish
In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by 9.
The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy.
Even though a woman is abused she can not obtain a divorce.
To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses.
Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family. Husbands can beat their wives 'at will' and he does not have to say why he has beaten her.
The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion.
The Shariah Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman.
In the
West World (America and Britain) Muslim men are starting to demand Shariah Law
so the wife can not obtain a divorce and he can have full and complete control
of her. It is amazing and alarming how many of our sisters and daughters
attending American Universities and British Universities are now marrying Muslim
men and submitting themselves and their children unsuspectingly to the Shariah
law.
By passing this on, enlightened American and British women may avoid becoming a slave under Shariah Law.
Ripping the West in Two.
Author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Shariah law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two.
She recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel . He was a high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza .
When he died, he was considered a "shahid," a martyr for jihad. His posthumous status earned Nonie and her family an elevated position in Muslim society.
But Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age. She questioned her own Muslim culture and upbringing.. She converted to Christianity after hearing a Christian preacher on television.
In her latest book, Darwish warns about creeping shariah law - what it is, what it means, and how it is manifested in Islamic countries.
For the West, she says radical Islamists are working to impose sharia on the world. If that happens, Western civilization will be destroyed. Westerners generally assume all religions encourage a respect for the dignity of each individual. Islamic law (Sharia) teaches that non-Muslims should be subjugated or killed in this world.
Peace and prosperity for one's children is not as important as assuring that Islamic law rules everywhere in the Middle East and eventually in the world.
While Westerners tend to think that all religions encourage some form of the golden rule, Shariah teaches two systems of ethics - one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims. Building on tribal practices of the seventh century, Shariah encourages the side of humanity that wants to take from and subjugate others.
While Westerners tend to think in terms of religious people developing a personal understanding of and relationship with God, Shariah advocates executing people who ask difficult questions that could be interpreted as criticism.
It's hard to imagine, that in this day and age, Islamic scholars agree that those who criticize Islam or choose to stop being Muslim should be executed. Sadly, while talk of an Islamic reformation is common and even assumed by many in the West, such murmurings in the Middle East are silenced through intimidation.
While Westerners are accustomed to an increase in religious tolerance over time, Darwish explains how petro dollars are being used to grow an extremely intolerant form of political Islam in her native Egypt and elsewhere.
(In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. and Britain to elect the President and Prime Minister bythemselves! Rest assured they will do so... You can look at how they have taken over several towns in the US... Dearborn Mich.is one... and there are others... Britain has several cities now totally controlled by Muslims.)
I think everyone in the U.S. And Great Britain should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on!
It is too bad that so many are disillusioned with life and Christianity to accept Muslims as peaceful. Some may be but they have an army that is willing to shed blood in the name of Islam. The peaceful support the warriors with their finances and own kind of patriotism to their religion. While America and Britain are getting rid of Christianity from all public sites and erasing God from the lives of children,the Muslims are planning a great jihad on America and Britain.
This is your chance to make a difference! Pass it on to your email list or at least those you think will listen.
Some of those I'm sending it to WILL NOT! Put your head back under the covers so you can't see the boogie man!
Monday, 3 September 2012
Ramadan: Islam's 'Holy Month' of Christian Oppression
Ramadan: Islam's 'Holy Month' of Christian Oppression
by Raymond
Ibrahim
The month of Ramadan, which ended earlier this week,
proved to be a month of renewed Muslim piety on the one hand, and renewed
oppression of non-Muslim minorities on the other. In Nigeria, for example,
Islamic militants are living up to the assertion that "Ramadan is a month of jihad and death for
Allah," proving that killing Christians is
not only reserved for Christian holidays—like Christmas and Easter, when militants bombed
churches killing dozens—but is especially applicable during
Islam's Ramadan.Usually, however, Ramadan-related oppression has to do with Muslim perceptions that Christians do not "know their place"—either because the latter openly do things forbidden to Muslims during Ramadan, or because they dare object to the things Muslims do during their holy month.
When it comes to these aspects of dhimmitude, Egypt offers countless examples, past and present, simply because it houses the Middle East's largest Christian minority, the Copts, and thus offers more opportunities for the intolerant face of Ramadan to reveal itself. Two recent examples follow:
First, according to Coptic websites, on July 27, a diabetic man in Egypt was driving his car in Maadi, a suburb of southern Cairo, when he was struck with great thirst, "which he could not bear" (a side-effect of diabetes, further exacerbated by Egypt's July weather). He pulled over by a public water source and started drinking water. Soon three passer-bys approached him, inquiring why he was drinking water (among the many things forbidden to Muslims during daylight in Ramadan). The diabetic man replied, "Because I am a Christian, and sick," to which they exclaimed "you're a Christian, too!" and begun beating him mercilessly. Other passer-bys began to congregate to see what was happening, but no one intervened on behalf of the diabetic non-Muslim, until he managed to make a dash for his parked car and fled the scene.
Though water is not forbidden to him, this infidel Christian openly violated a principle of Islamic Ramadan, which was deemed a great affront and punished accordingly. This idea that non-Muslims must show respect for Islamic observances is commonplace. Around the same time this story took place, a Christian Lebanese singer was taken to police while in Algeria for smoking in public, and "failing to show due respect to Muslims." She was released after police warned her that "she was not allowed to smoke in public during Ramadan in Muslim Algeria, even though she was a Christian."
The second story from Egypt concerns a young Christian doctor, Maher Rizkalla Ghali, who was shot by riotous Muslims, including easily-identified Salafis, resulting in the loss of one eye and the likely loss of the other. According to Watan Voice, the perpetrators live downstairs and regularly fired bullets in the air while feasting during sahur (the time before dawn when Muslims are permitted the things they are forbidden in daylight, including food, water, and sex). One night the raucous was so unbearable that the Copt spoke to them from his window, saying that their actions were disturbing to children and the elderly.
Their response was to "insult his religion" and open fire at him, severely disfiguring him. The Muslims then tried to break through the door to attack and plunder the Christian household. Although the family filed a police report, "security forces have not taken any action towards the perpetrators." Likewise, though they tried to admit the blinded Christian man to several hospitals, they were refused admission until Kasr Hospital accepted them.
This story is almost identical to what happened to a family in Turkey around the same time. According to Hurriyet Daily News, the home of an Alevi family "was stoned and their stables burned down by an angry mob" because they "told a Ramadan drummer not to wake them for sahur, the meal before sunrise," resulting in a quarrel. After local Muslims found out about the family's temerity, "a mob of around 60 people" gathered around the house hurling stones, setting the stable on fire, and chanting Islamic slogans, including "Allahu Akbar!" "They came to lynch us," explained a family member, and "told us to leave and threatened to kill us if we did not."
The above anecdotes demonstrate the stark antithesis between the West and the Muslim world concerning the notion of being "sensitive" to religious minorities during the holidays of the dominant religion: whereas almost every year, stories appear of Christmas being suppressed to accommodate Muslim sensitivities in the West, in the Muslim world, Christians themselves are being suppressed to accommodate Muslim sensitivities.
Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Supporting Norman Boyd's Excellent Letter
Norman
Thank
you for such an excellent letter in the Newsletter on Saturday on the
role of church leaders in the current marching issue. Where those guys
are living I just don't know. If they were as intelligent as they
imagine they are, they would surely have ascertained the facts before
going public about an issue about which they had only the barest of
information.
Norman, these guys are, in Stalin's unforgettable phrase, "useful idiots" in the hands of the government and the Stormont
pawns. They are obviously, not a spiritual and religious or even a
moral agenda, but a political one. These men ought to be giving clear
biblical leadership at a time in our country when we are bereft of
leadership. But instead, they play the political card, clearly to pay
back what Stormont did vis-a-vis the PMS debacle. Secular politics is
dirty, but church politics is no different - it is just as dirty.
What
makes it doubly sad is that the Christian members of these churches see
no wrong in what these men have said and done, and will still support
them and their church no matter what. Had the sixteenth century
reformers taken the same line, where would we be today!
I
have a letter submitted to the Newsletter ref. the same-sex marriages
which might go in this week. I am also sending in one in the form of an
open letter to all the church leaders on the same situation.
Northern Ireland Church Leaders and the Loyal Orders
31st August 2012
An Open Letter to Rev Roy Patton and Archbishop Alan Harper from former MLA for South Antrim Norman Boyd,
As
a long standing member of the Orange Order and Royal Black Perceptory
who took part in the last Saturday of August Royal Black Perceptory
parade on the traditional route in to Belfast City Centre I am disgusted
and angry at your comments attacking the Loyal Orders and would ask you
both the following questions;
1. Were either of you in attendance at last Saturday's Belfast parade ?
2.
Did you bother to establish the facts and hear the views of the parade
participants and the Protestant community who were in attendance ?
3. How many Royal Black Perceptory and band members did you contact to hear their views ?
4.
Did you establish how many republicans were actually local residents
and how many were bussed in to create agitation and trouble ?
5.
Why did you not condemn attacks on the parade by republicans who threw
missiles such as bottles of liquid ( probably urine ) which hit members
of the Royal Black Perceptory and band members ?
6. Why did you not condemn the chanting of pro IRA slogans by republicans ?
7.
Why are you both silent when members of the Loyal Orders and band
members are continually attacked in Ardoyne and elsewhere by
republicans?
8. Why are
you both continually silent when the police are attacked by petrol bombs
and gunfire and are injured on a regular basis by republicans in
Ardoyne and elsewhere after our Loyal Order and Band Parades pass by
peacefully ?
9. Why
have you both been strangely silent over many years when hundreds of
Orange Halls have been badly damaged or destroyed by republicans who
continue to carry out these heinous hate crimes against the Protestant
community ?
10. Why were you both silent when the Orange arch in Glengormley was attacked by republicans a few months ago ?
11.
Why have you both not condemned the sustained nakedly sectarian hate
campaign against the Loyal Orders orchestrated by IRA / Sinn Fein over
many years ?
12. Do you
both support the strategy of IRA / Sinn Fein to make North, West, South
and East Belfast and other areas of Northern Ireland no go areas for the
Loyal Orders and the Protestant community ?
13 Why do you not condemn the intolerance,hatred and sectarianism by republicans in places such as Ardoyne and Dungiven ?
As a former member of a Protestant Flute Band I fully understand the anger and frustration of our bands.
The
reality is there is no true peace in Northern Ireland, only a
corruption of democracy when civil and religious liberty has been
replaced by appeasement to republican violence.
The
truth is that there is a sustained campaign by republicans against the
Protestant Reformed Faith and sadly many Protestant church leaders are
too busy embracing republican terrorists rather than taking a stand for
the Open Bible and for what our forefathers fought for and obtained at
great sacrifice.
Instead
of standing firm for the Protestant Reformed Faith you are simply
puppets doing the propaganda work of republicans whose hatred of
everything Protestant and British continues unabated every day.
The
Protestant People have had enough and will not tolerate any further
attacks on our Reformed Faith. I trust you will both have the courtesy
of answering these questions publicly and apologise to the Loyal Orders,
Band Members and the Protestant Community for your biased and deeply
hurtful comments.
Regards,
Norman Boyd
Proud Loyal Order Member
Newtownabbey
Labels:
Moral Issues,
Spiritual warfare,
The Church,
The Gospel
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Your Guide to Good Sleep
If you want to know how to get a better night's sleep, then Ps.3 might help you. The Psalmist has been troubled by wicked people, and his problems have increased and many have risen up against him, v.1. He is being attacked on every side and his problems are becoming worse and harder to deal with. His neighbours are taunting him by saying of him that God will not help him, v.2. Ridicule and mockery abound, and these are hurtful. It is very difficult to switch off when such things are like an ear-worm in your head.
Yet, this man knows that the LORD is his shield of protection to keep these bad thoughts from him, v.3. He prayed to the Lord and He heard him, v.4. Our God hears and answers prayer from His children. Try Him and see for yourself.
Then with God as his shield, his glory and his encourager, he can place his head on his pillow, and enjoy a good night's sleep, v.5. With God at your side, you can sleep in peace. Then in the morning when you wake up, you feel refreshed for the Lord gave him the sustenance he needed. With such resources, he fears not the greatest army, v.6,7. He knows where his salvation lies - with and in the LORD, v.8.
To know really good sleep in the midst of great problems, trust the LORD as your shield and defender, call out to Him in prayer, and experience His grace to you.
Look at this website and discover some practical hints that might help you get better sleep. Tie these in with what the Psalmist says in Ps.3, and see the difference.
Yet, this man knows that the LORD is his shield of protection to keep these bad thoughts from him, v.3. He prayed to the Lord and He heard him, v.4. Our God hears and answers prayer from His children. Try Him and see for yourself.
Then with God as his shield, his glory and his encourager, he can place his head on his pillow, and enjoy a good night's sleep, v.5. With God at your side, you can sleep in peace. Then in the morning when you wake up, you feel refreshed for the Lord gave him the sustenance he needed. With such resources, he fears not the greatest army, v.6,7. He knows where his salvation lies - with and in the LORD, v.8.
To know really good sleep in the midst of great problems, trust the LORD as your shield and defender, call out to Him in prayer, and experience His grace to you.
Look at this website and discover some practical hints that might help you get better sleep. Tie these in with what the Psalmist says in Ps.3, and see the difference.
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