ramadan- do you hear the call?

It's Ramadan.


Most of us have heard this Arabic term, a reference to a special time for the Muslim world.  Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the month in which the Qur'an was revealed.  It is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, a time for fasting, prayer and devotion to God. 

Throughout the month (August 1-30 this year), Muslims will refrain from food and drink during the daylight hours, and will attend services in the evenings, along with eating together throughout the nights.  Their aim is to draw closer to God, finding favor with him through these disciplines, and using introspection and devotion to become more consecrated.  They recognize fasting as a means to develop greater self-control, as well as a way for greater recognition of the needs of the poor throughout the world.  Ramadan is a time for the Muslim community to draw closer to God and to each other.

As the Muslim world prays, what will Christians do in response?  My hope is that the community of Christ-followers worldwide will lift their Muslims neighbors before God's throne, asking Him to indeed reveal himself in power and in truth to those who are seeking his face.  Unfortunately, the sad reality is that too many Christians find little impetus to pray for Muslims.  We too often view them with suspicion, fear, or from a safe distance.  After all, it's easy to not really care about those you don't really know.  But a recent comment from a friend put it all in perspective.  He told me, "I have a friend who's a Muslim and he's a great guy. I sure don't want him to go to hell."  That's the key isn't it?  To change your heart, your attitude, your outlook, you must enlarge or change your circle of friends.  Because you gain a completely different perspective when someone you never knew, maybe never cared to know, becomes connected to your life.

Why not use the month of August to pray for followers of Islam, to pray that they may find the truth and hope for life in Jesus?  Pray that God may reveal himself in dreams and visions to Muslims who are looking for a closer spiritual connection. Pray that walls of separation that exist between Muslims and Christians may begin to crumble.  Pray for your own life and your opportunities to share the love of God with Muslims around you, that God will bring you into meaningful contact with someone from Islam, that you will learn to see these people as God does.  

Because it's Ramadan...and it's time to pray.

shaking the etch-a-sketch

Remember this device (or do you even know what it is?!)? It's an Etch-a-Sketch, a great toy from the 60's that allows you to sketch a picture using knobs that direct a stylus across a field of aluminum powder and plastic beads. The cool part is that when you are finished with what kinda looks like the picture you were imagining (really, how good were you with this thing anyway?!) you simply turn the surface upside down and shake, the picture is erased and you begin again. Ah, the memories...

Whenever we have a national election, there is a sort of Etch-a-Sketch phenomenon that seems to overtake us. Regardless of what has taken place the last four years, or even during the campaign period, we grant ourselves permission to "shake the Etch-a-Sketch" and try again. This year it's no different. Obama's election marks a shift, a shaking of our culture in a number of ways. And idealists, optimists, and hopefulists (I know it's not a word, but I like it) envision the days ahead with a new, better picture drawn. At least better in their eyes, and hopefully in the eyes of most. Whether our newest artist to hold the national Etch-a-Sketch is any better at drawing a picture than what has been produced so far this century remains to be seen.

In a time of cautious optimism and certain uncertainty, there are two items that stand out for me. First, I'm prouder of my country today because of its maturity to see beyond the color of a person's skin in choosing its next leader. I know there are differing opinions of the character and competency of the candidate chosen (isn't that almost always the case?). But it's important to recognize the fact that, given our history and struggle with race, a choice was made that has caught the attention of the world and has prompted them consider that maybe, just maybe, the qualities we say exist here really do.

The other item that stands out to me is that, as a person of faith, I am now expected (by the dictates of that faith) to respect, honor and pray for my new president. I may or may not like him, may or may not have voted for him, may or may not agree with him, but the Scriptures tell me that I have a responsibility toward him (you can check out passages like Roman 13:7, Titus 3:1-2, and 1 Peter 2:13-17). And if you also are a person of faith, that same responsibility is yours as well.

So regardless of our position, stance or opinion, we all have a role in helping draw a new picture for our future. Will we draw it perfectly, just the way we like? Probably not- we rarely do. But if not, at least we can hope to shake it at some point and try again. After all, practice makes perfect...or at least, better.