To Fast or Not to Fast, That is the Question?

That was a question that I was asked yesterday. Last week Friday marked the start of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. Last year right after Ramadan, Inusah made his decision to become a follower of Christ. This will be the first Ramadan that he faces not being a Muslim.

Since that time, Inusah has been baptized, helped at times with visitation, attends weekly Bibles studies, and has been abandoned by his family. They have not officially called a family meeting and removed him from the family, but they have refused to help him in anyway.

This last few months Inusah has seen that he will have to fend for himself if he plans on going ahead in life. He has always dreamed of being in the military, but without monetary help from his family, it will be difficult for him to pay the application fees. So, Inusah has gotten a job.

As an American reading those words, that does not sound like a very big deal, but here, it is another matter. Currently, we have about 50% un-employment in Ghana. So that means that all employers know that they can get labour cheaply, and that they can have their labourers work many hours, because if the person does not like the arrangement, there will be others that will come in time and fill the gap.

The job that Inusah has gotten is at a lumber mill. He starts work at 5:00 in the morning and works for 12 hours, with a 1 hour lunch break. He gets paid weekly, and receives 3 Ghana Cedis a day, which is about 2 dollars.

I have been very impressed with Inusah and this decision. It would be much easier for him to just yield to his step-father's will, and then ask him for the money. But, he has decided to obey the Lord and take the hard road. Most people in Kumasi will not take these jobs. They say that it is too much work for too little pay.

Back to Ramadan- as I was saying, this is Inusah's first time as a Christian. For those readers that do not know what Ramadan is, it is the Muslim holy month in which all Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset. This month is supposed to teach them how it feels to be a poor person, and also is believed to have power to forgive (abdicate) all the sins of the year before. Ramadan is a central part of Muslim life. Even Muslims that do not live like Muslims at all the rest of the year, fast for Ramadan.

For Inusah this was a big question. He asked if he could fast, but just do it for the Lord Jesus Christ? I told him that the Bible says that we cannot let our good be evil spoken of. If he fasted, even in the name of Jesus, his family and friends that are Muslims would just see it as a Muslim act, not a Christian act. Then he asked me how he should act. To this I told him that he was blessed by having a job. He would leave before dawn, so even as a Muslim he would be able to eat, and when he was at work, he could freely eat. I mainly warned him that he did not need to cause strife with his new found liberty. He did not need to break the fast in his family's presence, that would not be a spirit of love. The Bible commands us to deal in peace with all men. He needed to be a testimony, but in such a way that it would praise Christ.

Please pray for Inusah. Though he wants to do right, it is very difficult. He is the most independent African that I have met. This helps him, but it also makes it difficult for him to open up about his problems. Pray that he will be able to stand as a Christian during this Ramadan time. Pray that he will follow the Lord and continue to grow closer to Him. Please pray that the group of believers will be able to embrace him as a new family and help to strengthen and encourage him.

Christ or Family... You Choose?

Matthew 10:36-38 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Most of people in the United States have little to no understanding of this verse today. The States is a place of tolerance, where even Muslims give way to the Western mindset of tolerance. But for many Christians around the world this is not true. Some lose home, jobs, and even family, and have the great privilege to suffer early for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sunday was Resurrection Sunday, but to my surprise Inusah did not show up for either morning or evening Bible studies. When I went to check him on Tuesday, I found out why.

Very early on Sunday morning, before the morning prayer calls for the Muslims here, Inusah's family called him for a meeting. The Imam was there, and I think a few others from the mosque. After the family and men prayed the tasbad, (this is the daily prayers of the Muslims five times a day, facing Mecca) they called a meeting.

They told Inusah that they had heard that he had become a Christian, and that he was no longer a follower of Mohammad. (If the reader has every worked with Muslims or known others that have, this is the hardest question that a convert from Islam ever faces). I am very glad to say that Inusah did not yield to fear. It sounded from the conversation with Inusah that God gave him a lot of grace and boldness.

They asked why had converted. To which he replied, that he had be a Muslim his whole life, and it had never changed him, it would never change him or help him, and he had found that change and it happened by coming to Christ. He told them that the Qu'ran says that if a person has questions they are to go to the People of the Book (this is Christians for those that do not know Qu'ran lengo). He told them that there was only one way to Paradise. The two thieves on the cross both had a choice to make, one did not trust in Jesus, and went to Hell. The other trusted in Jesus, and was told that when he died he would be in Paradise with Jesus. Inusah told them that he had chosen Christ.

The Imam told Inusah that the Bible was full of lies, that the white men changed it, and it was not to be trusted. Inusah told him, if it was not trustworthy, why did Mohammad praise it in the Qu'ran. He told them that the ten commandments give no hope, a man can never be good enough to gain heaven, and that Jesus was the only way. The Imam said that Paul lied and just spoke of his own dreams and ideas. Inusah said that the Bible says that no one can take away or add to the Bible without Gods punishment upon them.

They told him that Jesus never died, but Allah put the face of Jesus on Judas, and they killed Judas. Inusah told them that that was not true, and that even in part of the Qu'ran, it says that Jesus died. He told them that he was a follower of Jesus and would not be turned.

So after a long time, and not being able to attend church in the morning, the family left Inusah for a while.

That night, when they knew that he would go to night-time Bible studies, they called another meeting. The Imam, told Inusah that he was confused. He had been so faithful, (In the past Inusah would call people to prayers over the loud-speakers, and round-up people to pray), he told him that he even still wanted him to go out and talk to people about Islam with him. ( I think this was just bait, to try and win him back by compliments and money). But, we praise the Lord that Inusah was obedient to the faith. Inusah quoted from the Qu'ran and Bible, trying to witness to them. The Imam said that he had never heard those verses before. Inusah said that if he would get him a English Qu'ran he would read them to him.

Overall the meetings went well. I think that Inusah gave a strong testimony for Christ, and in the end the family did not cut him off. This is very amazing to me. I am not totally sure why they have not. One thing I know is that they know Inusah is stubborn and influentially. I think that they fear if they totally cut him off, that he will be somehow made a hero or martyr. Inusah was very influential with a the young men at his mosque and I think that they fear that he might somehow get more of them this way, they all seem to have a little rebellion in them.

Please continue to pray for Inusah. He seems to be growing. Pray that his future is as bright as it appears at this time. Coming from Islam he has a amazing ability to memorize, pray that these abilities will be yielded to Christ and used for His Glory.

Also pray for our future witnessing. Inusah and I will starting visiting soon on a weekly bases. He is interested in starting to learn how to evangelize. Pray for us as we also seek other opportunities here in Kumasi in the future to work in some of the larger Muslim areas in the city.

Courage

When you come from a family that is mostly Christian, and being a Christian is encouraged, it is hard to understand the struggle that people go through around the world to follow Christ. I got to see this struggle first hand this week.

Last week Inusah trusted Christ as his Savior. Friday when I was at his house having a Bible study, his mom came to call him to go to the mosque. He was very bold and told her that he was a Christian now, and will not be able to go. Well, that was Friday.

Sunday came and went, and I did not see Inusah at church. Tuesday when I went for our normal Bible study I asked him why? This is the story that he told me: Saturday the family elder called a family meeting. Inusah did not know what it was all about so he attended. He has a older brother that has been attending a Pentecostal church now for about 6 months, though he is not a true believer. At the meeting the family came to discuss this brother. The family elder said that Inusah's brother was no longer a Muslim, that he was now dead to the family. He went so far as to say, that if the man's mother died, or was dieing, he would not be permitted to she her. He was now dead to them all.

The family meeting really sacred Inusah. Tuesday, when we talked we talked about fear. The amazing thing about fear is that it is Satan number one weapon. In Revelation 21:8, the first sin that is named is fear! I am learning a lot more people go to hell because they are afraid to accept Christ, than any other reason. If you want proof of this, just read up on any nations where there are a large group of Muslims. Anyway, Inusah and I where able to talk, and he seemed encouraged! Near the end, he looked at me and said, "Pastor, tell me what to do!" I told him, that I could not make this decision for him, I showed him what the Bible said, and told him that now that he was a believer the Holy Spirit lived inside of him. He just needed to ask God what He wanted.

Please pray for Inusah. Pray for courage. Pray that God gives him grace to be a disciple of Christ. He is young in the Lord, but he will have to make his decision soon. Pray that when he does come out for Christ, that he will sense and know God's mercy and hope when the family seeks to punish him.

Also pray for the Muslims of Ghana to come to Christ. There are ruffly about 600,000 of them!

Am I Faithful With One???

I had a reminder again today about something that God showed me in college. I remember one day after chapel, I was really excited. I was walking down the sidewalk thinking about the thousands of people that I would love to lead to Christ. Then God gave me this thought, or should I say that He hit me with this 2"x 4", "Why should I give you thousands to lead when I cannot trust you with one!?!"

Today I think that He wanted me to learn this truth again. Today is the end of Ramadan. That is the period of fasting that Muslims do, and it is very important to observe if they want to go to paradise. At the end of Ramadan, all Muslims go to the mosque and pray, then go home and feast, breaking their fast. Before I went visiting today I had to walk through a large Muslim community to see my mechanic. As I was going to his house I passed by one of the mosques. The scene was amazing. There were about 3,000 - 4,000 people outside. The mosque could not hold them all. There they were, mostly dressed in white, facing east, men in one group, head-covered women in another. They were bowing, heads pressing against the ground, and reciting the prayers as the Imam prayed into the microphone "Allah Ahk-bar..." I just stood there and watched for about 15 minutes. As I walked away before they dismissed I started to think how they needed to be reached. Oh, how great it would be to start a church in Aboabo (a large Muslim community).

After checking the mechanic (who was not home), I started visitation. From that point everything started to go wrong. My first few people were not at home or at work. I could not get cars because the taxi and tro-tro (mini-bus) drivers are Muslim and were not working. Let's just say that by the time I got to Anloga, I was not very Spirit-filled.

I finally made it to Inusah's house (this is a Muslim man that I have been working with for 7 months to lead to Christ), and when I got inside I found two Jehovah's Witnesses there. I decided to stay to make sure these men did not impart any false teaching to my friend. This is a good time to say that I was visiting by myself. My partner has started university classes and cannot go with me, so I just visit men on Tuesday. Well, here I am with two JW's and one man that I love, that I hope to see saved. They both speak Twi and English perfectly. I felt like a guy that comes to a gun fight with a knife and a bum leg. Inusah asked me to join in and asked what I thought about what they were saying. Basically I explained to Inusah that just like Islam and Christianity are different and that they both do not lead to Heaven, so also Jehovah's Witness teachings and Christianity are different (keep in mind that this guy does not know much about the Bible, to him a Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, or Mormon are all the same). I told him that if he decided to follow their teaching, that it was a totally different faith. They were not going to Heaven.

To make a really long four hours of Bible discussion and debate short... it finally ended. I left, Inusah followed me out, and the JW's stayed. Inusah walked with me, and we chatted as we went. I told him that I loved him and just wanted him to know the truth. I told him that I would be praying for him. We said our goodbyes and then I took a taxi home.

As I was going home, this thought from the Word of God kept running through my mind... Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Then it hit me... here I was asking God for this great thing, but I had been careless in the things that He had already given me to do. He has given me one man, one of these Muslim souls. And when his time of need came, I needed to be Spirit-filled, full of grace so that I could know how to answer these men. I was not.

You never get today back when it is done, and you might not have tomorrow. You know, when you are young, you think life is made up of the big things, but the truth is that life is like lace. It is the small threads that make up the pattern and really make the thing beautiful. Today I am asking God to help me to do the small and do them well.

***(This reminds me of a story that I read in the Book of Virtues, but it is really long. Maybe I can type it out someday and put it in here, but for now I hope a word is enough for the wise. Let's just pray that this is one lesson learned quickly).***