Pentecost ignites a Movement

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth..." John 14:16&17a

Coming up is Pentecost Sunday. Jesus fulfilled his promise of sending the Holy Spirit.  

Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches emphasize the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Likely due to current and past excesses Evangelical Churches lag behind in welcoming the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, this has caused boredom for some--it's all too predicable! We forget that without Pentecost, we are left with 'the law'. Without the Holy Spirit, God would be more transcendent than imminent--like in the Old Testament. Without his indwelling, we would have to fend for ourselves in representing God on earth.  

But the Spirit is here. He blows in wherever He wishes and is coming to our friends from the Muslim world. Abdul, from North Africa has been on a spiritual journey for many years. For a while he contemplated atheism but he couldn't reconcile that with what he inherently knew. Yearning to be close to God, he joined a Sufi movement and was deeply involved with ecstatic worship and left all 'worldly' attachments. Abdul left that group but remains spiritually hungry. It was timely that we ran across The Way of the Seven Fold Secret and gave that to him to learn about Jesus. Lilias Trotter wrote the booklet specifically for searching Sufis.

Those uninvolved may think that Muslim ministry is not very fruitful. On the contrary we are amazed at all the signs of the Holy Spirit moving and speaking. We get excited at the smallest sign! For example: we had just about given up on Mohamed and Fatima, a Muslim couple from Africa. There were no apparent signs that anything spiritually was happening and then wow, she disclosed that they had been sending their children to a Bible day camp the last few years for two weeks and this year want to do it for a month! Or: after having a Bible study with a Muslim couple on Jonah the man divulged his dad had a big story book on the prophets with drawings and the story of Jonah came back to him. It was his favorite book growing up. It really sounded like a Bible story book. We are also amazed at the hidden secrets that are exposed and come to the Light without prying or questioning. Muslim ministry really has produced a strong belief in the work of the Holy Spirit. He is moving, exposing, speaking, healing, refreshing, transforming, and blessing.

The Holy Spirit is active in hearts today. Not just in the past!! Notice our examples are about reaching out. Many Christians trust better arguments to win over Muslims. A few Muslims are persuaded in debates but not so many. Spiritual vitality will return for those who 'let go' and depend on the Holy Spirit to empower them to reach out with the love and truth of Jesus. Not a lot of power is needed for a 'holy huddle'.

The tongues of fire falling on the 120 in the small room in Palestine was the beginning of a very dynamic outward movement--a church growth explosion! Let's join in God's Spirit at work today!

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here! Amen.

*50 days after Passover/Crucifixion

Did Jesus Die on the Cross?

"...I(Jesus) am the living one. I died, but look...I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and the grave." Revelation 1:18.

We frequently hear the phrase 'fake news'. Now we are extremely dependent on trustworthy journalists to do the research in a world where there is lightning speed communication.

There are many reasons why I continue to trust in the New Testament(Injil) accounts of the crucifixion, death on the cross, and resurrection of Jesus. What are some reasons:

1. Many prophecies about Jesus that were fulfilled in the Easter events. Isaiah 53:7 states "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter..." These prophecies about the suffering of Jesus were given 700 years before his birth.

But they were fulfilled hundreds of years later in verses like Matthew 27:30-31, written by a follower of Jesus. "They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again...Then they led him away to crucify him..."

2. During his lifetime Jesus did not have many followers. A Muslim friend told me recently that the number of followers after Jesus left was very small. On the contrary, after his resurrection and ascension the number of followers exploded. On one day we are told that 3000 people were added to the church. Wow. If the death and resurrection was fake news, people would not have taken the risk of great persecution and consequences.

3. Isa al Masih's students who wrote the Gospels(Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) were tortured before being killed yet not one of them denied what they had written. It's highly improbably that these men would be willing to be tortured to death to defend a lie! Would you be willing for that? I don't think so. This was one of the deciding factors in Lee Strobel(Case for Christ) coming to faith in Christ.

4. Non-Christian historians like Josephus and Tacitus wrote about the death of Jesus, thereby confirming the record in the Gospels.

Our former Muslim friend showed us the question mark she put beside Surah 3:55 in the Qur'an. She knew that correctly translated the English should read “And when Allah said: ‘O ‘Isa! I will cause you to die and then raise you to Myself…”

I confirmed this with an Arab friend who knows the meaning of "mutawaffika". The root of this word is "tawaffa". This word means "to die" or "to cause one to die". Never should it be translated, "to take"(to be taken up). This is confirmed again in 19:33: "...blessed was the day I died, and blessed was the day I was resurrected."

The answer to the question is "Yes, Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected 3 days later." Therein lies the 'Good & True News', my friend. And now Jesus is alive to offer mercy for Christians, Muslims and all of humanity. Receive this gift from God.

Dear God, Thank-you for the fulfillment of scripture that a Saviour would be born and would fulfill the requirements of purification by his perfect sacrifice--himself. Amen

The Real Message

We live in a land of many churches. Since Muslims don't understand separation of church and state, most assume the West is 'Christian'. Its confusing for them when Christians identify themselves as 'Baptist', 'Mennonite', etc. etc. Some wonder, "What is the real Christian message?"

In Unshackled and Growing Nabil Jabbour gives an illustration of "What is the Gospel?" It is written with a Muslim audience in mind.

"I...wrapped a tangerine with paper. I taped it and wrote on the paper, “Change my name from a Muslim name to a Christian name.” Then I wrapped another paper around it and wrote on it, “Abandon my Muslim family and join Christianity.” Then on another paper I wrote, “I need to be ready to attack Islam,” and I continued with another one and another one. By the time I finished, the tangerine became almost the size of a volleyball...I went back to the group telling them there was something inside that symbolized the Gospel. I showed them what I had written on the outer sheet and asked, “Is this the Gospel?” They said, “No.”...I kept unwrapping the layers one after the another until there was only one wrapping sheet left. By then, they could see that there was a tangerine inside, and they started laughing. When I got to the last sheet, I asked them, “Is this the Gospel?” and they shouted, “No!” Finally, I unwrapped the last sheet, leaving only the tangerine, and asked, “Is this the Gospel?” They screamed “Yes!” I surprised them by saying, “No.” Then I peeled the tangerine, threw the peelings away, and said, “This is the Gospel.”

Yes, Jesus is at the core of our message from God. He demonstrated perfectly what God is like. Leaving the political, cultural and even religious wrappings, Muslims can get a better glimpse of what the Gospel is all about.

"One summer, D.L. Moody invited a young English preacher, Henry Moorhouse, to preach at his Chicago church. The young preacher spent the entire week preaching on just one verse--John 3:16: 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." 

Each night, the auditorium was filled to capacity, and many were saved. D.L. Moody was initially puzzled by the incredible response to Moorhouse's sermons but later confided to a friend, "I never knew up to that time that God loved us so much. This heart of mine began to thaw out; I could not keep back the tears. I just drank it in. So did the crowded congregation. I tell you, there is one thing that draws above everything else in the world, and that is love." 

At 11 years old, I responded to a message on this very passage. I said 'yes' to Jesus and He began to change my life! 

My friend Samir was trying to be polite. He didn't want to say anything negative about my faith. I helped him understand terms he knew about Jesus from the Qur'an--Word of God, Messiah, and Jesus had the Spirit of God. I think God used my testimony to help him understand Jesus in a new way. I continue to pray that he and many of my Muslim friends would long for the Jesus we as believers know.

Dear God, help me to communicate the 'heart of the Gospel message'. Amen.