Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Even in Advent...

From the Book of Common Prayer, An Order for Compline:
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
Even in Advent, people hurt. As I type and as you read, there are those whose bodies are racked with sickness and even fighting for life. There are those who are writhing on a bed of suffering and those who are giving up the fight for life.

We can never allow ourselves to become so busy or self-consumed that we fail to be cognizant to the needs of those in our midst. The Lord help us if this is, or becomes the story of our lives.

2 comments:

Jeff said...

"Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2)

"She shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins."(Matthew 1:21)

"Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name." (Philippians 2:9)

"All kings shall pay Him homage, all nations shall serve Him." (Psalm 72:11)

Jeff said...

The bad news:

Islamic mosque built at 9/11 Ground Zero

There have been more than 14,000 distinctly jihadi attacks since 9/11 around the world. This works out to 4.7 attacks, on average, per day.

Some have said that Osama bin Laden and terrorists and militants have hijacked Islam. However, those terrorists and militants were indeed Muslims. They were informed and motivated by their interpretation and belief of Islam. And to deny that is to deny the responsibility among the teachers of Islam today, which still teach jihad.

Ibn Ishaq (died 767 AD) was Muhammad's first biographer, an 8th century Muslim writer, who explained that the Qur'an actually has 3 stages of development in its teachings on jihad and unbelievers. The first stage is tolerance, which was the prevailing understanding of the relationship between Muslims and nonbelievers during the period when Muhammad was in Mecca, and the Muslims were merely a small band that did not have a whole lot of power, and were facing a much larger and more formidable enemy. Ibn Ishaq taught that it is a progression, so that the later stages cancel out the earlier, and 'offensive' jihad (in other words, not a spiritual struggle within yourself, but jihad against non-Muslims) is the Quran's word for all time that must be followed, whereas tolerance was only for a limited period. This is the unanimous teaching of the schools of jurisprudence and all the orthodox sects of Islam to this day---that offensive jihad is the highest level of jihad, and the one that is applicable for all time. The desire to bring the entire world into subjection under Allah is where the concept of jihad enters the picture.

Jihadist Muslims believe the whole world should submit to Islam, so, when they come to the U.S., they want to see Shari'a law being implemented. The goal of jihadists, whether they will admit it or not, is to Islamicize America. Strictly speaking, Islam has been on the march since its inception. In the Qur'an, and in the teachings of Muhammad, and in Islamic tradition, theology and law, there are mandates commanding Muslims to wage war against unbelievers. This is the reason there has been all these jihadi attacks against civilians only.

The only answer to Islam and what's happening around the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other solution. The more Muslims that come to Christ, the less Muslims there are for the terrorists to recruit.

And as much as we hear about the progress of radical Islam on the march, there is another story to be told: Muslims coming to faith in Jesus Christ. This is happening in the millions.

THE GOOD NEWS!!!:

Muslims coming to Christ in the thousands

TURKS leave islam for the Truth of Christ

Thousands of Muslims Converting to Christianity (Iraq)

6 MILLION Muslims CONVERT to CHRISTIANITY Every Year

6 Million Muslims convert to Christianity - Al-Jazeerah ! (in Arabic w/English subtitles)

6 Million Muslims

Christianity Growing In the Muslim World (Jordan River)