PRAY CENTRAL
FLORIDA
Dear
Fellow Prayer Warrior, February, 2008
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Praise God, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment has been
officially certified to be on the November 4th election ballot as
Amendment 2! Please see the e-mail or web versions of this newsletter for more
details or go to www.Florida4Marriage.org.
TheCall on February 2nd was
fantastic. Thousands of people filled most of the Silver Spurs Arena in
Kissimmee for 12 hours of worship, prayer and fasting. The worship was
outstanding with the best worship leaders from the International House of
Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City rotating through the 12 hours. Often the prayer
was Harp and Bowl style led by Lou Engle (TheCall
leader) and Mike Bickle from IHOP. One of the prayer
focuses was the ending of abortion in our state and nation. This is a hallmark
of TheCall and Lou has a teaching on the curse that
comes with the shedding of innocent blood on TheCall
web site – www.thecall.com. TheCall has a prayer that people are asked to pray
regularly - “Jesus, I plead Your blood over my sins
and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America”. Prayer
was also offered for many adoptive families to be raised up. It was said that
if abortion ended today it would totally overrun the foster care system because
thousands of babies would enter it each day without anyone to adopt them. The
schedule of upcoming “Calls”, including TheCall
Jerusalem (May 11th) is on their web site. There is an interesting
message that Lou said the Lord may have in the old children’s book “Horton
Hears a Who”. The little who’s parallel
the cry of the unborn. There are many other parallels you can consider at the
web site www.hortonhearsawho.org.
Before you dismiss it out of hand let me say that Dr. Seuss also wrote
political comic strips and “Horton” is due out in theatres this spring. “A
person is a person no matter how small.” Also at TheCall,
some leaders from the global missions meeting “Call 2 All” (www.call2all.org) came and gave a report
about how they are working together to reach all remaining unreached
people groups. Mike and Lou shared how God wanted to marry the missions and
prayer movements together to see the Great Commission fulfilled in this
generation. They challenged each person to commit to pray regularly for three
missionaries and one missions agency.
Operation Deliverance – February
1 to March 11 in Azalia Park
[Note: The following is from
the Orange County Sheriff’s office] Last year the Orlando Police Department
Chaplains Program conducted Operation Armor All. Various places of worship from
within the city and county gathered to pray for peace and the end of violence.
The prayers were held in the Parramore Street area.
No homicides occurred within those 40 days. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Chaplains Program will be hosting, “Operation Deliverance,” starting February
1, 2008 through March 11, 2008. During these will be 40 days of prayer we will
be asking for the deliverance from crime in our community. We will start this
operation in the Dahlia Drive and Semoran Boulevard
area and eventually spread it to other communities within Orange County. We are
asking you to host one of the days of prayer by gathering members of your
congregation for one hour at the mentioned intersection. You select the time.
The only thing we ask is that you be there for one hour and that a day is not
skipped. Two or more places of worship may select the same day but different
times. Please contact me to schedule your congregation by calling
407-254-7119 or email me at Miguel.pagan [at] ocfl.net. [Editors note: replace
“[at]” with “@”] Sincerely, Captain Miguel A. Pagán,
Chaplain Liaison.
See page 2 for Current Prayer Events
An E-mail version of this
newsletter (with more stuff!) is also available - send me an E-mail to sign up.
See this newsletter on the web at www.christiansnet.com/praycf/praycf.htm.
George Kern, 405 East Jersey St., Orlando, FL 32806, 407-245-1132,
praycf@juno.com
Pray
Central Florida – Praying for Central Florida and encouraging the Church in
Central Florida to pray
PRAY CENTRAL
FLORIDA
Page 2 February,
2008
Please verify the event
details with the contact person or web site before attending.
For
additional Christian events see the Z88.3 events web site - http://zradio.org.
February 6th
– March 16th – Seek God For The City 2008 – praying daily for our city. This
year's focus is on biblical hope, seeking the face of God, and seeking His
Kingdom. A 64-page daily prayer guide is available for $3.00 each from WayMakers, PO Box 203131, Austin, TX 78720; call
512-419-7729 or 800-264-5214 or visit www.waymakers.org.
February 6th - March 16th - Spring 40 Days for
Life. Join in prayer, fasting and participation (at abortion clinics) in
59 cities in 31 states, and for our entire nation (including Orlando)! www.40daysforlife.com/about.cfm.
Local contact: Jonas at 407-358-9218.
Daily – various times
– Orlando House of Prayer - get a
taste of IHOP without having to fly to Kansas City. Location: 120 W. McKey St., Ocoee. Web site
for info and schedule: www.worshiphouseofprayer.com,
or call 407.877.5970, ext. 201.
Weekdays –
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – all day worship and prayer hosted by Love of Christ Ministries (Mack McCambridge). Location: Faith World church, Orlando. Call
407-292-0966 for info.
Tuesdays – 6:00 a.m. - Sanford
Ministerial Fellowship. Info:
Jeff Krall - 407-322-9222, jmkrall@bellsouth.net.
Tuesday and Friday
mornings – Full Gospel Businessmen’s
Fellowship.
Fellowship and bible study breakfasts and monthly evening meeting. Contact Joseph Shaia for info -
407/682-3216.
Tuesday
evenings - 6:00 p.m. – Community Healing & Prayer Service. All Saints Church, 338 East
Lyman Av. Winter Park.
Call 407-647-3413 for info. www.allsaintswp.com.
Tuesday evenings - 7:00 p.m. - Servants of the Most High and
Intercessory Prayer Network of Central Florida. Prayer and fellowship in the Longwood area. For info, call Maureen at 407-332-7286 or
e-mail IPNCF@ruii.org.
Second Tuesday
– 7:00 p.m. – Team Resource –
fellowship of leaders of front-line ministries. Normally meets at Calvary
Assembly, free dinner provided. Michael.Radka@wellcare.com.
Second Tuesday
– 6:30 p.m. – Aglow – women’s
fellowship and prayer meeting for Apopka/Ocoee. Contact: Rhonda, 407-884-0238.
Thursday
Evenings – 7:30 p.m. Oviedo Healing
Rooms - Healing in the Name of
JESUS through the Power of GOD's Presence and Prayer. 145 W. Broadway Blvd., Oviedo. Call 407-529-7111 for
appointment (suggested but not necessary) www.OviedoHealingRoom.com.
Friday
evenings – 7:30 p.m. – International Concert of Prayer – prayer for
Orlando, USA & the world. At Greaterlife Church in
Oviedo, call Pastor Jeff Good for information at 407-365-5950.
Saturday mornings – Aftercare Network Meeting. Networking ex-inmates
and Aftercare Providers. Call Chaplain Fleeks
at 407-529-7500.
First Saturday of month - Prayer
for Muslims - 10:00 a.m.-Noon, Orlando. Peter Shadid
- 240-6272.
Peter has a team reaching Muslims in
Kissimmee and can train people for outreach in Orlando.
Second
Saturday of month – 9:00 a.m. - KNEC (Kingdom Network Empowering
Communities) –Orlando. Contact: Bishop Helligar –
407-299-6677.
Second and Third
Saturdays – 5:00 a.m. City-wide Prayer
Meeting. Hampton
Inn at 7448 International Drive, Orlando. Sponsor: Pastor Mary Norman,
321-276-5352.
Third Saturday of month – Prayer
for the Persecuted Church. Longwood. Email
amystrang@aol.com.
Daily - Lighthouse Report (with Steve Douglass) – on the web at www.lighthousereport.com
Pray Central Florida – Praying for Central
Florida and encouraging the Church in Central Florida to pray
And
here is the extra stuff you don’t get with the snail mail version...
=================================
(1)
“Operation Deliverance” February 1st through March 11th
(2) “Operation Armor All” (Phase-II) February 6th
– March 16th
(3) Great
Awakening Tour with Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne February 19-22, Cocoa
(4) Mission America 2-21 conf
call: Transforming Congregations and
Communities through Marriage/Family Ministry
(5) FUTURE MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIPS - Orlando Feb 22
(6) Orlando House of Prayer Spring
Prayer Apprenticeship February 26th -
May 13th
(7) onething Regional Conference March 28th
and 29th in Lakeland
(8) Marriage Amendment Officially Certified for 2008
Ballot
(9) GOSPEL MESSAGE IN OVER 5,000 TONGUES
(10) Sharing Jesus with Muslims
(11) INDIA: 2007 Most Violent Ever For Christians Since Independence
*NPPN -
NATIONAL PASTORS' PRAYER NETWORK - US
A
Ministry Network Of The Mission America Coalition
OUR
VISION-
Identify
And Encourage Pastors' Prayer Groups In Cities And
Communities
Across
America So That Pastors Lead Their
People Into Praying For And Sharing Christ With Everyone In Our
Nation.
Subscribe
to the NPPN: http://www.nppn.org/subscribe.htm
*************************************************************
(1) “Operation Deliverance” February 1st
through March 11th
January
11, 2008
To
Whom It May Concern:
The
year 2007 passed into history as a violent year for our community. 2008 started
with a homicide and as of today we have already had three homicides. Violence
is also affecting other parts of our nation and our world. All you have to do
is read or watch the news and you will notice that we live in a very violent
and volatile society. What is causing this trend of violence is beyond our
control and belief.
Last
year the Orlando Police Department Chaplains Program conducted Operation Armor
All. Various places of worship from within the city and county gathered to pray
for peace and the end of violence. The prayers were held in the Parramore Street area. No homicides occurred within those
40 days.
Prayer
without a doubt is a strong tool to reach peace and harmony. Even doctors tell
patients and relatives to use prayer as part of the healing process of their
patients. We too could use prayer as a tool to bring peace, harmony and the end
of violence in our community.
The
Orange County Sheriff’s Office Chaplains Program will be hosting, “Operation
Deliverance,” starting February 1, 2008 through March 11, 2008. During these
will be 40 days of prayer we will be asking for the deliverance from crime in
our community. We will start this operation in the Dahlia Drive and Semoran Boulevard area and eventually spread it to other
communities within Orange County.
We
are asking you to host one of the days of prayer by gathering members of your
congregation for one hour at the mentioned intersection. You select the time.
The only thing we ask is that you be there for one hour and that a day is not
skipped. Two or more places of worship may select the same day but different
times. Please contact me to schedule your congregation by calling
407-254-7119 or email me at Miguel.pagan@ocfl.net.
Your
cooperation is vital. Please join us in this effort in making a difference in
our community and ending violence once and for all.
Sincerely,
Kevin
E. Beary
Orange
County Sheriff
Captain
Miguel A. Pagán
Chaplain
Liaison
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:33:43 -0500
Subject: Email request from Chaplain Fleeks
Hey Everybody,
Chaplain Fleeks has asked me to send out the following:
The Sheriff Office of Orange County
has called for 40 days of prayer for our city. It's called
"Operation Deliverance". It is from February 1 to March 11,
2008. It will be held at Azalea Park that's near Dahlia and Semoran Blvd. Orange County Jail Ministry's days are February
7th and March 6th from 6 to 7 PM. Any questions you have may be addressed
to Chaplain Fleeks. His phone number is
407-836-0384.
Thank You and Blessings,
Kaycee Clancy Office Administrator
Main Facility Chaplain's Office
407-836-3330
**********************************************************
(2) “Operation Armor All” (Phase-II) February 6th
– March 16th
Orlando Police Department
Public Information Office
Media Releases
Date of Release: January 31, 2008
Time of Release: 4:45 p.m.
Date: February 6, 2008
Time: 5:30 pm.
Location: Northwest Community Police Office
4801 Silver Star Rd (corner Silver Star Rd. and Willow Bend Blvd)
Event: “Operation Armor All” (Phase II)
Summary:
The chaplains are asking citizens to join them in 40 Days of Prayer to reclaim
our city from violent crime. “Operation Armor All”
(Phase-II) is being launched on Wednesday, February 6, 2008 and will run
through Sunday, March 16, 2008. They are asking churches of Orlando to commit
to pray diligently for these 40 days. Forty (40) churches are needed to commit
to one of the 40 days to lead a one-hour prayer and praise time in a target
community.
The Faith-based community has asked to get involved in making Orlando a safer
city. This initiative as with Neighborhood Watch, Citizens on Patrol, and other
volunteer programs is another way to engage citizens, who want to make a
difference in our community,
Contact for this event /media release
Andrew T Wade
Senior OPD Chaplain
407-246-3029 (office)
407-808-6471 (cell)
**********************************************************
(3) Great
Awakening Tour with Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne February 19-22
From: eric [at] dccim [dot] com
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:26:15 -0500
Subject: Great Awakening Tour with Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne UPDATED SCHEDULE
We wanted to let you know about an exciting event
that will be coming to the Space Coast NEXT WEEK. Dr Rodney
Howard-Browne has been traveling all over America with the “Great Awakening
Tour” seeing massive salvations through the work of the local bodies of
Christ. Just before Christmas they held a one week event that became a
two week event in Miami that saw more than 800 people trained to go out and
share the gospel through one-on-one evangelism with a resulting 33,000 plus
commitments to the Lord! Check out the reports from Miami and other
cities at www.revival.com The Great Awakening
Tour is about seeing people brought into the kingdom of God, and not just by
one or two big names coming and doing all the work, but training anyone who
wants to be a soul winner and sending them out.
The dates for this event are:
February 19-22, 2008 – Tues – Fri @ 7PM
Soul-Winning Training and Outreach – Mon – Sat @ 9
AM & 10:30 AM
Location:
Cocoa Expo Sports Center
500 Friday Road
Cocoa, FL 32926
Check out www.greatawakening.com for more on the event!
To see the promo video use this link: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9faf3ad81522ad617cff
Also take a moment to watch this one as well: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=503f6c946f68b7c72b17
Thank you to the 20 plus churches and
60 plus people who came out to hear Dr. Howard-Browne for our Pastors
Breakfast! We are seeing real excitement in the churches and individuals
as we are expecting an open heavens and transformed lives during this event.
If you have people in your churches who want to
volunteer during the night meetings, they need to be at the Cocoa Expo Center
at 5:30 p.m. on the nights of the meetings.
If you still need information about this event
please feel free to call us or email and we can talk to you and or get you
flyers and video (the same video I have posted in the link above).
Pastor Eric Mellert
Assistant Pastor
Destiny Christian Church
P.S.
Churches that plan on sending teams for the daily
evangelism are encouraged to make flyers for their own church to include in the
Evangelism packets that will be given out.
************************************************************
(4) Mission
America 2-21 conf call: Transforming Congregations and Communities through Marriage/Family Ministry
From: "Carolyn O'Brien"
<info@cityreaching.com>
Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2008 10:56:31 -0600
Subject: Cityreaching
Conf Call February 21 on Marriage & Family
Subject: Transforming Congregations and Communities through Marriage/Family Ministry
You are invited to join us for a highly anticipated conference call Thursday, February 21 when our guest will be Eric Garcia, President of the Association of Marriage and Family Ministries. To confirm your spot on the call, email info@cityreaching.com requesting the dial-in number. The one hour call begins at 11 a.m. Eastern time, 10 Central, 9 Mountain, 8 Pacific, etc.
Many social experts say
that the breakdown of marriage and family is directly linked to the spiritual,
moral, and social declension in our cities and communities, including the
spread-growth of crime, failed education, poverty, to name a few. Are we
seeing our cities and communities reached and transformed through reclaiming
the divine institutions of marriage & family? The Association
of Marriage and Family Ministries is committed to encouraging, training and
equipping the church to build marriage and family ministries that are relevant
to the needs of the culture. They believe that where and when the church
comes together in cities/communities for sustained marriage and family
ministry, the spiritual and social decline can be turned for the
positive.
This call promises to
provide some of the most encouraging stories, transferable models and proven
true principles to contribute to local congregation and collaborative cityreaching ministry. Eric will also share how God
is using the ministry of Marriage Co-mission for city-wide church mobilization
and outreach.
Prior to launching AMFM,
Eric spent the past 25 years as a business owner, board member, business and
ministry consultant, and executive.
We welcome your participation in this
(third Thursday) monthly call hosted by Jarvis Ward and Glenn Barth.
Carolyn for
MAC City/Community Ministries
*********************************************************
(5) FUTURE MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIPS - Orlando Feb 22
Subject: Brigada - FUTURE MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIPS - Orlando Feb 22
1) FUTURE MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIPS -- Only
one out of 100 potential future
missionaries eventually join mission agencies and serve on the mission
field. What if those who want to be missionaries met together in
fellowship groups until each member joins a mission agency? In January
and February of 2008 discussion groups will be meeting at 16 locations
across the USA both to learn about and critique this ministry concept
before introducing broadly in the USA (the concept has been tested and
developed in Korea since 2001). To learn more about this ministry
concept see the website:
http://www.seeoursite.org/pcf/
The list of cities hosting these discussion groups is
posted on the
website. If you would like to participate in one of the discussion
groups please write to:
pcfquestions(at)gmail
(dot)com [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the
preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with
@ and (dot) with .
then reassemble the address onto one line.]
Click
to http://www.brigada.org to read this issue & more on the web!
************************************************************
(6) Orlando House of Prayer Spring
Prayer Apprenticeship February 26th -
May 13th
From: "Orlando House of Prayer (formerly WHOP)" <events@worshiphouseofprayer.com>
To: praycf@juno.com
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:34:08 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Spring Prayer Apprenticeship
Finding God's Heart
Spring Prayer Apprenticeship
February 26th - May 13th
every Tuesday, 6:30 - 9:30pm
Right understanding of the will of God is critical for the life of
every believer and more so as we approach the end times. Paul prayed for
the Colossians that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's
will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. This training is designed to
equip you in spiritual wisdom in the context of scripture based prayer &
worship. Whether your desire is to become a prayer watch leader,
worship leader in the prayer room or you are just seeking more of God,
this training is for you.
Sessions include scripture based teachings, personal
intense training and activation in various areas of prayer room ministry.
Weekly, students will meet from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM for :
Location:
Orlando House of Prayer
485 Silver Star Road
Ocoee, FL
COURSE COST: (classroom materials not included)
Individual - $40
Student - $20
Married Couple - $60
Family - $75
OHOP watch leaders - $0 free
PLUS $35 for classroom materials which includes:
The pleasures of loving God by Mike Bickle
Pursuit of the Holy by Corey Russell
Rewards of the fasted lifestyle
Prayer Apprenticeship handbook
To register and for
more information email us at equipping@worshiphouseofprayer.com
************************************************************
(7) onething Regional Conference March
28th and 29th in Lakeland
It is our
desire for our onething conferences to act as a
catalyst that would provoke young adults into a greater reality of who God is.
It is from the seedbed of night and day prayer that we call this generation to
a wholehearted pursuit of God, challenging them to seek the Lord with lives of
prayer, fasting and fulfilling the Great Commission.
Why this
generation?
Statistics
predict that in next 5-7 yrs this entire generation will no longer consider the
pursuit of God a priority in their life. At this point in history a personal
revival in the lives of a whole generation is crucial. We desire to see a
movement of young adults who will return to a radical pursuit of God with lives
of wholehearted devotion and focus. This generation has a clear destiny and we
are fighting to see it come to fruition.
Why Come?
By
attending this conference you are going to get a clear clarion call to this
generation to live wholly before the Lord. You will receive clear teachings on
God, His attributes and His nature with the intent to awaken a Psalms 27:4 cry;
“One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in
the house of the LORD All the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the
LORD, and to inquire in His temple.”
We
believe that radical worship will introduce and usher a generation into the
presence of the Lord, leading them into encounter with Him in a lifestyle of
worship and prayer. When young adults hear and understand who God is, they will
extravagantly turn to Him.
We have
received numerous testimonies of onething being a
vehicle of furthering an individual’s destiny and dream in God. We are striving
after a genuine and true encounter in worship and in teaching, downplaying hype
in hopes of meeting God face to face. In coming you will receive a clear and
profound approach to going after this generation and seeing a real, authentic,
no-frills Christianity in young adults.
Focuses:
Our
messages primarily are fascination with God (Psalm 27:4) and a lifestyle of
prayer and fasting. We are living in a critical time in history when we will
see the Spirit of God break out in our midst in an unprecedented way. We also
center on practical ways to walk out the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle (Matthew
5-7).
It is our
heart that young adults would have an encounter with the living God; that would
leave them awakened to His extravagant love. We desire for this generation to
be challenged and encouraged to pursue Him with all their hearts, giving them
tools to cultivate this kind of holy living.
For more
info see the following web site.
www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?id=1000023026
************************************************************
(8) Marriage Amendment Officially Certified for 2008
Ballot
From:
"Florida4Marriage.org"
To: "George Kern"
<praycf@juno.com>
Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:03:28 -0600
Subject: Breaking News: Marriage
Amendment Officially Certified for 2008 Ballot
Florida
Marriage Protection Amendment
Now
Officially Certified to be on 2008 Ballot!
A record breaking 92,000
petitions collected in just 13 days!
Vote YES On Amendment 2
November 4, 2008
(Tallahassee,
FL) Friday February 1, 2008. Tonight at 9:17 PM, the State Division of
Elections Director called John Stemberger, State
Chairman of the Florida4Marriage.org campaign and informed him that the Marriage
Protection Amendment was officially certified for the November 4, 2008 ballot
with a total of 649,346 petitions certified. 611,009 are needed by
law.
Stemberger said, "We are grateful to God first,
and to our supporters second, for this amazing victory. What our people did was simply remarkable.
They collected 92,000 petitions in about 13 days. That is about 7,000 petitions per day. No paid petition collectors could ever match
the force of this effort. This is real
proof for grassroots momentum for marriage as the union of one man and one
woman in Florida."
While a
shock to many, the emergency push was actually a major
blessing for the group. "It better
organized us, galvanized our infrastructure and created more awareness by
Floridians about what the amendment is really all about." Stemberger remarked.
"Children need a mom and a dad. It is just that simple. When
you create a same sex marriage, you are simultaneously creating a same sex
family. Same sex marriages subject children to a vast, untested, social
experiment. Homosexual marriage proponents must take the position that
there is no inherent value or importance to human femininity and human
masculinity when it comes to the socialization of children. They
believe dads and moms are optional. This is the assumption of their
position."
Accordingly to elections officials, 15 of 25 congressional districts also met
the required numbers to be certified. Only half of the 25 congressional
districts are required to meet a certain number of petitions.
Stemberger said, "I just wish there was some way
I could meet each of the hundreds of thousands of supporters across this
state who have worked so hard and personally thank
them. The people have spoken -- twice now -- and they will speak again on
November 4, 2008. We will now proceed with our campaign plan to
overcome the final and most serious hurdle -- 60% popular vote passage of
the amendment."
# # #
Would you help us pay for the
enormous overnight mailing costs of this emergency effort with a secure online
contribution? We sent overnight mail boxes to 67 counties for
three straight days. Click HERE:
ARE YOU AWARE OF THE OUTRAGEOUS THINGS ARE OUR OPPONENTS ARE
SAYING? To see short video clips from a Fox News debate
between John Stemberger and the homosexual marriage
group Florida Red and Blue's leader go the bottom of the home page HERE:
*****************************************************************
(9) GOSPEL MESSAGE IN OVER 5,000 TONGUES
Subject: Brigada - GOSPEL MESSAGE IN OVER
5,000 TONGUES
5) THE GOSPEL MESSAGE IN OVER 5,000
TONGUES -- Global Recordings Network
now has recordings of gospel messages and basic Christian teaching
available in 5,693 languages and dialects. They have also placed 4,515
of these languages on their web site for free listening or downloading
to your MP3. Check out their web site at:
http://globalrecordings.net/
You can also write to
info(at)globalrecordings
(dot)net [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the
preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with
@ and (dot) with .
then reassemble the address onto one line.]
Readers in the USA can also call toll free 888-444-7872.
Click
to http://www.brigada.org to read this issue & more on the web!
************************************************************
(10) Sharing Jesus with Muslims
Subject: On the spot: Sharing Jesus with Muslims
GoWorld
On the spot: Sharing Jesus with Muslims
It was clearly a set-up.
I’d been invited to
the house of a neighbor for
dinner. When
I walked into his
sitting-room, there were
about 20 men from the local
mosque, reclining
on mattress-type cushions
placed
against the walls. The only spare
seat was
beside the bearded imam at the
far end of
the long room. I often listen
to his fiery sermons
broadcast through the public
loudspeakers
into our neighborhood. He
motioned
me to sit down beside him. He
then
gave a little sermon for me on
the benefits
of Islam and invited me to
submit to Allah.
Through stories, I
explained how Christ
had saved me and fulfilled all
my needs.
“But what about Mohammed?”
he asked.
“We accept Christ as a
prophet—why don’t
you accept Mohammed?”
Everyone leaned forward.
They wanted to
know what this foreigner
thought. “The
answer is simple,” I said.
“Imagine you are
going somewhere
you
haven’t been
before. You
come to a
fork in the
road. You are
unsure which
way to go.
Fortunately
there are two
people at the crossroads. One of
them has
been before to the place you
are going to,
and he is alive. The other one
has never
been there, and he is dead. Whom will
you ask: the live person, or
the dead one?”
Everyone leaned backwards.
The analogy
was obvious, since Muslims
believe that
Jesus never died, but was
taken up alive to
heaven.
The Imam continued, “Even
though Mohammed
is dead, he was still a
prophet, a
messenger from God.” I nodded, “Yes,
you
believe that, but I don’t,
otherwise I would
be a Muslim. But what did
Mohammed
claim for himself? In the Qur’an he says to
his followers: ‘I am no
innovation among
the prophets, and I do not
know what will
happen to me or what will happen
to you’
(Surah
46:9). Mohammed, as great a man
as he was, did not know
whether he
would enter Paradise or not.
Whereas
Jesus says: ‘I am the way,
the truth, and
the life, no one comes to the
Father except
by me’ (John 14:6).
Mohammed
claimed to bring nothing new, and
Jesus
came to open the gate to
heaven.”
The widespread frowns
showed me that
this idea was not accepted. The
imam
spoke for them all: “No,
everyone must get
to heaven by their works. No
one can be
the mediator for anyone else (Surah 74:48).”
“That’s interesting,” I
replied, “because I
have been reading the Hadith, the sayings
of the prophet recorded by
his companions.
One day Mohammed said: ‘The
good
deeds of any person will not
make him
enter Paradise,’ i.e. none can
enter Paradise
through his good deeds. The
Prophet’s companions said,
‘Not even you,
O Allah’s Apostle?’ He said,
‘Not even myself,
unless Allah bestows His favour and
mercy (rahma) on me’ (el-Bukhari 7:577).”
This saying was well known,
because several
of the listeners recited the
last sentence
along with me. I continued, “And
who, according to the Qur’an, is the mercy
(rahma) of God? It is one of the titles of
Jesus (Surah 19: 20, 21). Just like
Mohammed, each one of us
needs Jesus,
the mercy of God, in order to
be saved.
There is no other way. God
is one, and the
path of salvation is one.”
At the end of the evening I
rose and went
around the room, shaking hands
and kissing
everyone, as is the local custom. I
asked their forgiveness if I had
offended
anyone, which they all assured me
was not
the case. Afterward, one of
the men came
and asked if I could give him
an audiotape
of the Gospel since I had
given one to the
host of this meeting on a
previous occasion.
Pray for the seed to fall
on fertile
ground.
From an Interserve
tentmaker
May the Lord bless you and
give you new insights as you read this issue! Click on the link below.
http://www.globalopps.org/goworld/GO%20World%2017-1.pdf
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(11) INDIA: 2007 Most Violent Ever For Christians Since Independence
http://groups.google.com/group/apostlesroundtable/browse_thread/thread/2ffe7f4a95412d0d?hl=en
== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Jan 10 2008 10:29 am
From: Apostles Roundtable
INDIA: 2007 MOST VIOLENT EVER FOR CHRISTIANS SINCE INDEPENDENCE
More than 1,000 attacks reported as Hindu extremist party grows in
power.
With more than 800 attacks around Christmas time in Orissa state, the
number of attacks on Christians in 2007 crossed
1,000 for the first
time since India's Independence in 1947.
At least 200 incidents of anti-Christian attacks, including four
murders, had been recorded before violence
erupted in Orissa's
Kandhamal district that killed at least four
Christians and burned 730
houses and 95 churches, according to a report
of a fact-finding team
released by Christian leaders yesterday (January
8).
The report, released by the All India Christian Council (AICC) in
conjunction with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of
India (CBCI) and
the Christian Legal Association, says that
while four Christians were
confirmed dead, at least six were seriously
injured and numerous
others are missing who are presumed killed by
Hindu extremists in the
rampage that began in Kandhamal
on Christmas Eve.
"It is a matter of serious concern to the country that
violence has
been widespread in different parts of the
country in general and
against the Christians in particular," said
Dr. Babu Joseph, the CBCI
spokesperson.
The report notes that the violence could have been averted if
authorities had enforced the law.
"In all the villages we have visited, people testify that the
attacks,
destruction and looting was done in the presence of
the police," the
report says.
It states that Hindu extremists from the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP)
attacked members of the minority community with
guns, knives,
tridents, bombs and other weapons.
The AICC report charged there was "conspiracy to hide the
bodies of
Christians killed by VHP cadre to destroy evidence . . . Many are
missing - both adults and children - in every
village."
The worst hit area was Barakhama
village, about 12 kilometers (seven
miles) from Baliguda,
where 415 of the 450 houses belonging to tribal
Christians were burned down, and six of the seven churches were
vandalized, said the report.
The AICC report notes the first killing of a Christian, describing
how
50-year-old Bhogra Naik
of Barakhama was "cut into three pieces"
after
his house was destroyed.
Violence Up in 2007
Joseph of the CBCI told this correspondent that 2007 saw no
improvement in security despite the efforts of the
federal government
to address issues concerning minorities by
creating a separate
ministry of minority affairs - there were more
cases of physical
intimidation, murder, destruction of property, arson,
looting and
other heinous crimes against Christians than
in the previous year.
According to the figures of India's home ministry, between 1950
and
1998 there were only 50 recorded anti-Christian attacks. The
number
shot to 100 in the year 2000, and from 2001
to 2005 at least 200
incidents of anti-Christian attacks were reported
every year. The
number of anti-Christian attack stood at 128 in
2006, according to the
AICC and CLA.
"What is most distressing is the regularity at which these
attacks are
meticulously planned and almost clinically executed
in order to hurt
the Christians in the country," Joseph
said. "In all these instances
of atrocities against Christians, it proved
beyond doubt that some
right-wing Hindu organizations were behind them;
they indulge in
unhindered hate campaigns creating bad blood
between communities of
different faiths, and that has caused immense
social rupture in
India."
Dr. Sajan K. George, national president
of the Global Council of
Indian Christians (GCIC), attributed the rise in the incidence of
anti-
Christian attacks to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya
Janata Party's
(BJP) endeavors to bring more states under its power.
"The BJP, which does not believe in the constitutional value
of a
secular democracy, hopes to come to power in
many more states riding
on divisive Hindu nationalism, its basic
ideology," George told this
correspondent. "It has retained Gujarat state,
taken Himachal Pradesh
state, and is waiting to come to power in
Karnataka state in south
India."
The BJP won elections in four states in 2007. While it came into
power
for the third consecutive term in Gujarat
state, it defeated the
Congress Party in Uttarakhand, Punjab
and Himachal Pradesh states.
In Punjab, the BJP formed government in coalition with a local
party,
Akali Dal.
"Fundamentalism of the BJP and groups associated with it
threaten the plural and secular fabric of India
like never before,"
George added. "Saffron clouds appear to be gathering on the
horizon."
The color saffron is associated with the Hindu nationalist
ideology,
known as Hindutva.
According to Hindutva, India belongs to the Hindu
majority community, and religious minorities,
mainly Christians and
Muslims, are outsiders.
BJP's Use of Religion
The BJP's turn towards hard-core Hindutva became visible early
December.
On December 10, the BJP named senior leader Lal
Krishna Advani as its
prime ministerial candidate in the next
general election in 2009,
reported The Indian Express newspaper.
Advani, leader of the opposition coalition at
the federal level, the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is seen as the leader who
revived
Hindutva in the early 1990s.
Advani was allegedly behind the demolition of a
14th century mosque,
Babri Masjid,
in Ayodhya area of Uttar Pradesh state in 1992. This led
to an era of divisive politics, as it
became a "successful experiment"
of the BJP to polarize people along the
religious lines.
Due to the polarization, the once-marginal BJP gradually emerged
as a
mainstream party. It came to power at the federal
level through the
NDA in 1998.
In 2003, however, the BJP slightly changed its strategy. The party
began using religion at the national level,
but only covertly, to
maintain its ties with allies in the NDA, which
is secular in its
ideology. But to please its parent organization,
the Hindu extremist
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the party continued to overtly
inflame religious passions at regional levels.
After the Congress Party defeated the BJP-led NDA in the general
election in 2004, the RSS tightened its grip over
the party and has
been trying to bring it back to become an
explicit pan-Hindutva
party.
After assembly elections in Gujarat on December 23, 2007, Advani
reportedly asked party members to replicate the
combination of
Hindutva and development as a
major plank in other states.
Gujarat is seen as a BJP's
"laboratory of Hindutva." In 2002, Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP colleagues allegedly allowed
Hindu extremists to carry out anti-Muslim violence in which at
least
2,000 people, mainly Muslims, were killed.
The killings took place after a train carrying Hindu extremists
was
allegedly torched, killing 59 people in Gujarat's Godhra town on
February 27, 2002. Hindu groups blamed a Muslim mob for the fire.
Gujarat is also infamous for a spate of anti-Christian violence in
its
Dangs district from December 25, 1998 to
January 3, 1999.
Murders
At least four Christians had been killed across the country in
2007,
prior to the Orissa
violence.
On November 19, the body of 21-year-old Aayatu
Kashyap, a Christian
and distant relative of a pastor, Suduru Kashyap, was found about
15
kilometers (nine miles) from his village in Chhattisgarh state's
Bastar district. A day earlier, the pastor and believers
were attacked
by Hindu extremists.
On September 19, local villagers in Jharkhand
state arranged for a
Christian worker, Ajay Topno, to be shot
to death for converting three
tribal families to Christianity. Topno, who worked for Christian media
organization Trans World Radio, was found dead with
bullet wounds in a
jungle near Sahoda
village in Ranchi district.
On July 29, after launching a series of attacks on a Dalit Christian
pastor, Paul Chinnaswamy,
from Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu
state, Hindu extremists allegedly murdered his
brother Amos.
On July 1, unidentified assailants suspected to be Hindu
extremists
beat Hemanta Das, a 29-year-old Christian worker, to death in Guwahati
in Assam state.
Other Attacks
In April, Christians in India were shocked by two attacks launched
by
Hindu extremists before TV cameras. On April 29, extremists from the
VHP and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, severely beat an independent
pastor, Walter Masih,
at his home in Nandpuri area in the heart of
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state, even as
a private news channel
filmed the attack.
A few days later, on May 7, VHP extremists beat two Christian
workers
in Maharashtra
state's Kolhapur district before a TV camera and a
large crowd.
Another setback to Christians was the implementation of the
"anti-
conversion" law by the Congress Party
government in Himachal Pradesh
state in September. The law requires any person
wishing to convert to
give a prior notice of at least 30 days. The
move brought the number
of states with anti-conversion laws in
India to four: Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Orissa
and Himachal Pradesh.
In Chhattisgarh state, by February the
administration in Jashpur
district harassed local Christians by filing 271
property complaints
against their institutions, allegedly misusing a
state land law.
Mainly targeting Catholic churches, educational institutions,
hospitals and social work centers that help tribal
people, these cases
were filed in the name of verifying the
credentials of the land
purchasers.
Yet another disappointment for Christians came when the Supreme
Court
deferred a hearing on the rights of more than 16
million Dalit
Christians. The hearing was deferred for the ninth time despite
the
fact that an advisory panel, the National
Commission for Religious and
Linguistic Minorities, had in May favored affirmative action
benefits
for Dalit converts
to Christianity.
The year was not without some good news. Ending a long era of
absence
of adoption rights for non-Hindus, the
government in October cleared
the way for all religious communities in all
Indian states to adopt
legally.
Apostles Roundtable
http://groups.google.com/group/apostlesroundtable?hl=en
apostlesroundtable@googlegroups.com
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