Christian Funerals

"...we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:8.

After I finished reading this verse during the graveside/committal service for my aunt, a trumpeter played TAPS as a farewell. I think it is an honorable way of saying good-bye to a loved one.

Recently people who came to show respect and sympathy to the family whose son/brother was tragically drowned while on vacation in Mexico received a much different message. The message basically was that his soul was on a journey and one didn't know when he would arrive at the final destination. In the Bahai faith there is no message of hope of ever meeting again. How tragic...

The subject of death and dying is eery for most people. Especially for Muslims. They have much reason to grieve. Not only do they lose a loved one physically but the Qur'an gives no assurance of the soul's destination. Their belief is that everyone will spend at least some time in hell(Qur'an 19:71). Only Muslim martyrs can expect to enter paradise directly. Similar to Catholicism, Muslims are told that they can reduce the time suffering in hell if they do good deeds in their lifetime and pray for Muslim souls after their departure. As one of our Muslim friends said, "Don't think we are doing all these things for this life...on the contrary, its for the next life." On Thursday nights, especially Shias have a vigil at the grave of loved ones and pray for the time in hell to be reduced. Muslims do other good deeds like serving a big meal for the neighborhood to get God's favor. Also, there is a hadith(2nd to the Qur'an) that says if a person suffered a lot in their lifetime it reduces punishment. Still, the uncertainty leaves most Muslims insecure and afraid of death.

I was at the bedside of a dying Muslim man, an acquaintance. The room was packed with mourners. Rahmat recognized me but was not lucid enough to understand much of what was being said. I shared the Gospel message with him one more time--probably more for the ones gathered in the room. Then I prayed for him. It may have been too late for him. He had just returned from the Haj and likely was banking on merit from completing this requirement. At any rate, I was not allowed to come to the grave. Only Muslims are allowed that close.

We just said our earthly good-bye to my brother. On his last day on earth he weakly uttered 'Amen' after one of the family members prayed for him--his last word. He gave assent to the hope declared and for his heavenly Father's will to be done. Later in the day my wife prayed as he closed his eyes that he'd see the lights of heaven and hear the music of heaven. And now he is with Jesus--totally healed from his cancer.

Hallelujah! We do have much reason to be thankful for, don't we? What a privilege to proclaim this Good News--if we place our trust in Jesus, he'll safely bring us home to heaven at the end of our life.


Dear Lord, thank-you for the hope we have in Jesus...for the sure salvation. Help my Muslim friends to be drawn to Jesus' simple and clear invitation. Amen.

Good Came Out of Tragedy

“…I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” Romans 1:17.

Our friend and colleague Nadeem was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a loving Christian family. He gave permission to share his story. When Nadeem was 11 years old, he accompanied his mother to a wedding celebration where there was a lot of hoopla including firing a shotgun into the air! When everything was over his mother urged him to go home with her but he insisted on staying on with friends. A young man sitting across from Nadeem in the open courtyard picked up the idle double barrelled shotgun assuming it wasn't loaded. Immediately when he pulled the trigger an unspent bullet fired and sprayed the crowd across from him and hit Nadeem in both eyes. In spite of doctors’ best efforts, they couldn't save his eyesight.

In an instant, Nadeem's world went dark. How could he go on living? With time he learned to read and write Braille. He starting reading the Bible and understood God’s wonderful plan for him...that God wasn’t finished with him yet.  Nadeem made a decision to follow Christ. That was the start of a new life for him.

Nadeem worked hard in his studies and beat the odds against him—finished high school, graduated from Bible College and then with a Master’s degree in World History. God gave him a brilliant mind to retain things that most of us forget shortly after hearing or reading it. He also has a heightened ability to identify people by their voices and a general sense of what is going on around him.

Loss and tragedy did not keep Nadeem back from ministry. Soon he started sharing his story and proclaiming the Gospel message that changed his life. He volunteered to pastor a church in the Middle East and served there for more than a decade. Back in Canada, along with his supportive wife who has the gift of hospitality, Nadeem continues in a unique ministry in person or on the phone to those who are searching for meaning in life.

Some years back we were both relating to a group of Kurdish Muslims. A young couple asked Nadeem to marry them and also to give a ‘good word'. He has shared a 'good word' many places including his testimony to the boys of All Nations Sports Club. The boys, mostly from the Middle East were awestruck by the transformation in his life. He has a fatherly way of ministering.

Not long ago a Palestinian Muslim woman had several dreams about the Cross. Her Christian friend found Nadeem by 'Googling' Arabic Church, Winnipeg and asked him for an Arabic Bible! A variety of believers from Christian background and Muslim background attend Nadeem's weekly Arabic fellowship. They are encouraged by the humble testimony of a seasoned believer.

May this be an encouragement. God has shaped each of us for a reason. He can even bring good out of tragedy. Hallelujah!

Dear Jesus, Thank-you for our Brother Nadeem and his wife. They are a blessing to many people—even to Muslims. To God be the glory. Amen.

Wise Words

"...say only what helps, each word a gift." Ephesians 4:29b

Rodeo Season has passed. Brave men ride bucking broncos that charge out of the gate. The experienced hang on for dear life but the novice is tossed off very quickly. And then it's over.

We don't want this to be the fate of our relationships with Muslims, do we? I want to cultivate them long term. But how does one avoid a relationship to be derailed?

A no brainer is not to say something that insults their religion or prophet. There may come a time when it's appropriate to bring up shortcomings in Islam to a friend who is moving towards Christ but certainly not at the beginning of a budding friendship. The old adage "It's easier to attract bees with honey than vinegar" applies here.

Because honor is sooo important in the East, humor needs to be used sparingly. Jokes often cast a bad light on something or someone. And anything like 'one up-man-ship' can easily be misunderstood. To tease by telling an 'untruth' and then turn around and say 'just kidding' is a no-no. It can cause distrust or the listener feeling stupid that he fell for it.

Taboo subjects at the Centre where I volunteer include religion, politics, and sexual orientation. Recently during the first summer conversation class I had each student write something special about themselves, put it into a bag, and then when all the papers were collected they drew one paper. The task was to find the person who wrote the statement. I discovered later that one student from Africa wrote "I love Jesus." Can't you picture the student who pulled his paper going around asking "Do you love Jesus?"

One lesson I've learned is to be careful about talking about a Muslim friend with another Muslim. You'll get further if there is trust that conversations won't be shared with other Muslims. I became inactive on Facebook because of this. I had ESL contacts from a closed Muslim country who wanted to befriend me on Facebook. I didn't want to risk losing an opportunity with individuals who would see who all my friends are.

Using a proverb in their language properly can have the opposite effect. I planned to buy something from a Pakistani Muslim from his kiosk in a mall. When he refused to take my money I reminded him of an Urdu proverb "the heart is not at rest when one receives something for free". So, I flatly refused to take the item I had asked for. Finally, he begrudgingly took some money. He was trying to honor me.

I watched a seasoned missionary to Somalis relate to them by telling stories. They were sitting on the edge of their chairs spellbound. I am learning to cultivate story telling. Highly desirable are stories that teach something. For example, one story that works is "the day I cheated in school" and the punishment I received. It really gets my friends' attention and is a good opportunity to talk about sin--my sin.

Get them curious--what do you do? If we play it safe, we may never have an opportunity to be viewed as a spiritual person who will pray or study the Bible.

Lord, help me to use wise and inviting words when I'm with my Muslim friend. Amen.