I'm in the middle of sharing with you all (by all I mean Chad and some friends/family I know read this blog) a few snapshots of what happened while serving in South Africa. Today I am going to talk about something that happened at Friday night Pie.
For those of you who do not know, PIE stands for Pizza, Intercessory Prayer and Evangelism. My husband and I lead an evangelism team at our church and we go out every Friday. This past June we were unable to go since we were in South Africa, so last week was our first week back on the saddle. I was totally excited and ready to go.We went to a local shopping center. It was packed because of the release of the new movie Batman. Some on the team were a bit wary because of what had happened the night before in Aurora, CO. I assured them that God is in control and His will would happen that night.
What was neat about this specific PIE is that it fell on the second night of Ramadan. Ramadan is an Islamic holiday that lasts for an entire month and consists of fasting while the sun is out. They fast from food, drink and sexual relations with their spouses. When the sun is down those fasting are allowed to break their fast and eat food. There are usually large celebrations and parties when the fast is broken. This fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. When I was in Africa this summer, I met some women who were making up some of their fasting the month before Ramadan. One was nursing when Ramadan occurred last year and was unable to fast. Apparently they can "make up" a fast they miss any other month of the year. They can make up each day consecutively or separately. She chose to fast every other day. When she asked about if i celebrated Ramadan, she was shocked that I did not. I was able to share with her about Jesus, and why I fast the way I do. That I fast because I want to, not because it is required of me by my faith. This was a whole new concept for her and one she seemed to struggle to accept.
Before we went out to share the gospel that Friday we prayed. Chad and I have been praying for Muslims every day during Ramadan using this specific prayer guide. That night I prayed that we would encounter some Muslims though I did not keep my hopes up because I knew they had been fasting and we would be out right when their fast would end. Vanessa and I went to our usual spot handing out tracts to those going to or leaving a movie. Then one man turned and said "I like this, it has good questions." The tract is called "What if" and is full of questions starting with What if. Some of the questions are: What if you could live forever? What if you were breathing your last breath right now? What if you had your conscience for a reason? This man was intrigued by the questions and we started talking. His name was Gabriel and he had just got off from work. He told us he had written a book which had passages from the Bible and Koran in it. This instantly sent bells off in my head and I asked if he was Muslim. He was and said he was going home to break his fast. He then shared a bit of his story. He was born into a family of Christians and was raised a Christian. Sometime later, while in prison (for what, I do not know!) he started reading the bible and said he noticed quite a few contradictions. He then said he found a Koran, started reading it and was converted. He then went on for quite a while about random contradictions in the bible such as Jesus never saying He was God (according to him yet we know that Jesus says He is God in John 10:30-31, 10:9, 11, 14:6, 11:25 and this was the very reason He was crucified!) Yet Gabriel was unwilling to accept the truths of scripture. I was just starting to steer the conversation towards the gospel when his wife and son came and he had to leave. Before he left he took my email address and promised to send me a copy of his book. Please pray for Gabriel, that God would reveal Himself to him and that Gabriel would be convicted over his sin knowing that his good deeds will not cover up his bad deeds. I know this because the scriptures say in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil." Please, if you are trusting in your own goodness to get you into heaven you are making the biggest gamble of your life. You and I will never be good enough on our own, but God sent Jesus who was perfect to die in our place and take our punishment so that we could be set free from the bonds of sin. If you have ever lied, stolen, looked with lust or been angry at somebody you (and I) are guilty before God and will be judged for our actions like Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says. The bible says "The wages of sin is death," we earn death and judgement by God for the evil deeds we do here. But God sent His son Jesus down here to live a perfect life and die in your place, to pay your fine. He was crucified and buried and rose again on the third day to prove he was God and had defeated death. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man can come to the father but through me." Trust in Jesus, repent of your sin and put your faith and trust in what Jesus did for you. Do it today. What if you just took your last breath?
~N
For those of you who do not know, PIE stands for Pizza, Intercessory Prayer and Evangelism. My husband and I lead an evangelism team at our church and we go out every Friday. This past June we were unable to go since we were in South Africa, so last week was our first week back on the saddle. I was totally excited and ready to go.We went to a local shopping center. It was packed because of the release of the new movie Batman. Some on the team were a bit wary because of what had happened the night before in Aurora, CO. I assured them that God is in control and His will would happen that night.
What was neat about this specific PIE is that it fell on the second night of Ramadan. Ramadan is an Islamic holiday that lasts for an entire month and consists of fasting while the sun is out. They fast from food, drink and sexual relations with their spouses. When the sun is down those fasting are allowed to break their fast and eat food. There are usually large celebrations and parties when the fast is broken. This fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. When I was in Africa this summer, I met some women who were making up some of their fasting the month before Ramadan. One was nursing when Ramadan occurred last year and was unable to fast. Apparently they can "make up" a fast they miss any other month of the year. They can make up each day consecutively or separately. She chose to fast every other day. When she asked about if i celebrated Ramadan, she was shocked that I did not. I was able to share with her about Jesus, and why I fast the way I do. That I fast because I want to, not because it is required of me by my faith. This was a whole new concept for her and one she seemed to struggle to accept.
Before we went out to share the gospel that Friday we prayed. Chad and I have been praying for Muslims every day during Ramadan using this specific prayer guide. That night I prayed that we would encounter some Muslims though I did not keep my hopes up because I knew they had been fasting and we would be out right when their fast would end. Vanessa and I went to our usual spot handing out tracts to those going to or leaving a movie. Then one man turned and said "I like this, it has good questions." The tract is called "What if" and is full of questions starting with What if. Some of the questions are: What if you could live forever? What if you were breathing your last breath right now? What if you had your conscience for a reason? This man was intrigued by the questions and we started talking. His name was Gabriel and he had just got off from work. He told us he had written a book which had passages from the Bible and Koran in it. This instantly sent bells off in my head and I asked if he was Muslim. He was and said he was going home to break his fast. He then shared a bit of his story. He was born into a family of Christians and was raised a Christian. Sometime later, while in prison (for what, I do not know!) he started reading the bible and said he noticed quite a few contradictions. He then said he found a Koran, started reading it and was converted. He then went on for quite a while about random contradictions in the bible such as Jesus never saying He was God (according to him yet we know that Jesus says He is God in John 10:30-31, 10:9, 11, 14:6, 11:25 and this was the very reason He was crucified!) Yet Gabriel was unwilling to accept the truths of scripture. I was just starting to steer the conversation towards the gospel when his wife and son came and he had to leave. Before he left he took my email address and promised to send me a copy of his book. Please pray for Gabriel, that God would reveal Himself to him and that Gabriel would be convicted over his sin knowing that his good deeds will not cover up his bad deeds. I know this because the scriptures say in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil." Please, if you are trusting in your own goodness to get you into heaven you are making the biggest gamble of your life. You and I will never be good enough on our own, but God sent Jesus who was perfect to die in our place and take our punishment so that we could be set free from the bonds of sin. If you have ever lied, stolen, looked with lust or been angry at somebody you (and I) are guilty before God and will be judged for our actions like Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says. The bible says "The wages of sin is death," we earn death and judgement by God for the evil deeds we do here. But God sent His son Jesus down here to live a perfect life and die in your place, to pay your fine. He was crucified and buried and rose again on the third day to prove he was God and had defeated death. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man can come to the father but through me." Trust in Jesus, repent of your sin and put your faith and trust in what Jesus did for you. Do it today. What if you just took your last breath?
~N
Good blog about Gabriel and reminder about how life can be snatched away at any moment.
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