A friend of mine, of indeterminate faith, recently said one of the best pamphlets he’d ever seen was from Jews for Jesus.  It was simply titled : “Jews for Jesus : What??”

This comes from another of their pamphlets.  And because it mentions my favourite non-holiday, I thought I’d share it.

What shall we do?

What shall we celebrate?

Hanukkah, Christmas, … Festivus ?

If I choose Christmas I can go with the flow.  With Hanukkah I get more presents. And with Festivus…for Seinfeld fans…there’s an airing of grievances and feats of strength.

Religion and ritual.  What do they have to do with reality?

Amidst the dreydls, the candles, the wreaths, the ribbons and whatever other traditions you may hold…there’s a feeling that there’s got to be something more.

Holiday traditions fill us with a nostalgic longing for a reality that many of us have never experienced.  A hunger and thirst that can’t be satisfied with latkes or eggnog or anything we can see or taste or touch with our physical senses.

That’s because our souls really long to be right with the One who created us.

The best gift of the season can only come from God…and the dilemma is whether you are willing to receive it.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should be perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16

It’s not a matter of whose holiday or what culture to celebrate…but whether or not you open your heart to that Jewish baby that God sent so that people of all cultures and backgrounds could know God and experience His forgiveness and peace.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called : Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince Of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6

HT: Jews for Jesus

Posted via web from Preposterousness

Posted via web from Preposterousness

Do you think this is actually about religion, or culture?

I think it’s fascinating that a country known for not taking a stand on anything at all has taken this stand… 

Swiss voters have voted overwhelmingly to impose a constitutional ban on minarets, barring construction of further mosque towers in a vote that put Switzerland at the forefront of a European backlash against a growing Muslim population.

Muslim groups in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote as biased and anti-Islamic. Business groups said the decision hurt Switzerland’s international standing and could damage relations with Muslim nations.  Omar Al-Rawi, an integration representative for Islam said his reaction was one of ”grief and deep disappointment”.  

The initiative was approved 57.5 to 42.5 per cent. Muslims comprise about 6 per cent of Switzerland’s 7.5 million people. Many are refugees from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and about one in 10 actively practises their religion.  The country’s four existing minarets will not be affected by the ban as they do not traditionally broadcast the call to prayer outside their own buildings. The sponsors of the initiative provoked complaints from human-rights group by claiming that the growing Muslim population was straining the country “because Muslims don’t just practise religion”.

“The minaret is a sign of political power and demand, comparable with whole-body covering by the burqa, tolerance of forced marriage and genital mutilation of girls,” the sponsors said. They said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared mosques to Islam’s military barracks and called “the minarets our bayonets”. Anxieties about growing Muslim minorities have rippled across Europe in recent years, leading to legal changes in some countries. There have been French moves to ban the full-length body covering known as the burqa.  

Some German states have introduced bans on headscarves for Muslim women teaching in public schools. Mosques and minaret construction projects in Sweden, France, Italy, Austria, Greece, Germany and Slovenia have been met by protests. But the Swiss ban on minarets, sponsored by the country’s largest political party, was one of the most extreme reactions. Mohammed Shafiq, the chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a British youth organisation said he was concerned the decision could have reverberations in other European countries.  

Amnesty International said the vote violated freedom of religion and would probably be overturned by the Swiss supreme court or the European Court of Human Rights. The seven-member Cabinet that heads the Swiss government had spoken out strongly against the initiative but the government said it accepted the vote and would impose an immediate ban on minaret construction. It said that “Muslims in Switzerland are able to practice their religion alone or in community with others, and live according to their beliefs just as before”.  

“The sponsors of the ban have influenced a change in the relations with Muslims in a negative way,” said Taner Hatipoglu, president of the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Zurich. “Muslims indeed will not feel safe any more.”  Geneva’s main mosque was vandalised on Thursday when someone threw a pot of pink paint at the entrance.  Earlier this month, a vehicle with a loudspeaker drove through the area imitating the call to prayer, and vandals damaged a mosaic when they threw cobblestones at the building.

Source: Compiled by APN from various media reports

Posted via web from Preposterousness

Most of you probably know my wife Diane is from a town around 10 miles from Belfast, so it’s extra exciting for me to read things like the following article.  God is so much bigger than all the political turmoil that has ripped apart the island of Ireland for centuries, but especially during the 20th century.  Let’s pray the legacy of the 21st century is a return to Christ in an awesome revival. They’ve experienced revival before, with some amazing testimony, but like all these revivals, it ended.  I’m praying that next time, it lasts.

Jack McKee, pastor of New Life City Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has shared an exciting testimony of salvation on the streets of his city. The pastor describes a providential encounter one night when five young men from”across the wall” had an altercation with the police in the street where McKee had been playing Scrabble with some friends. McKee had the opportunity to intervene in the situation and ultimately invited the young men into the home where he and his friends proceeded to witness to them.

“They came in,” said McKee, “sat down and with the greatest respect they listened as we prayed and explained who we were and where we were from, and as Boneyard (an ex-prisoner and ex-gangster) shared his story.”  The following Sunday 15 youth from “across the wall” came to McKee’s church. “At the end of the service two of the young men from the Falls, who had come into the home on Friday night, committed their lives to Christ., Several people came to the front and knelt in the presence of God as they worshipped and received prayer.”

“I was amazed to see that one of the young men who had just given his life to Christ was the person we had identified on the Friday night as the leader of the group. He had seemed agitated at times as he got up three times and went out before coming back in again. It seemed he was wanting his mates to leave with him, but none did.” Concluded  McKee, “If God could do it for Nicky Cruz, he could do it for that young man. There he was on his knees with his hands raised in worship and with tears running down his face. You cannot put a price on this, although Jesus did!”

Source: Inspire Magazine via Australian Prayer Network

Posted via web from Shaping The (Posterous) Space