In our presentation of the gospel, many of us are guilty of diminishing the significance of biblical words, such as “repentance,” “hell,” “Judgment Day,” and “sin.” Perhaps we downplay these words because we fear persecution and are trying to make ourselves more acceptable to the unsaved.
Jeremiah 26:2 Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lords house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lords house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Ugandan Girl Tortured for Christ Regaining Use of Legs
A 15-year-old Christian girl in western Uganda who lost the use of her legs after her father locked her in a room for six months for leaving Islam has begun to take tentative steps.
Susan Ithungu of Isango village, Kasese district, had been hospitalized since September 2010 after neighbors along with police rescued her from her father, Beya Baluku, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released. She and her younger brother, Mbusa Baluku, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother.
In March 2010, Susan had trusted Christ for her salvation – prompting her father to threaten to slaughter her publicly with a knife. Pastor Joseph Baluku of Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese said neighbors who discovered that the girl was locked in a room with almost no food or water notified authorities.
After her release, they took her to a hospital on Sept. 6, 2010. She would not be discharged from hospital care until Oct. 19, 2011.
After Compass published her ordeal on Aug. 11, 2011, several individuals and ministries came forward to help her (see www.compassdirect.org, “Girl in Uganda Loses Use of Legs after Leaving Islam for Christ,” Aug. 11, 2011). She now lives in a rented house in an undisclosed location.
“Well-wishers have been paying the house rent and buying me food and clothing,” said Susan, who added that she has forgiven her father.
A member of the Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese, Biira Dreda, left her own four children under the care of her mother in order to look after Susan while she was hospitalized.
“It is now becoming difficult to meet the school fees for my own children,” Dreda said. “I am praying to get some little funds so as to start an income generating project.”
A member of a Pentecostal church, Susan has begun to walk with support. She cannot squat or stand upright because she lay on one side for such a long time, besides suffering a bout of malaria.
“I thank all those who have continually supported me spiritually, materially and even morally,” Susan said. “I am also thankful to Biira Dreda, who stood by me in the hospital, and to date she is still with me when none of my family members has come to see me. I now take Dreda as my mother because of her care and love. My own people have abandoned me.”
Jacob Mukobi, who works with Uganda police as a child protection volunteer, was tipped off that Susan had been locked up in the house for six months.
“When I got the horrifying message about Susan that she had been put under house arrest for converting to Christianity, I went with the police to the house on Sept. 6, 2010 and took her to Bwera hospital,” he said.
Her father, he said, is not ready to take her back.
“A neighbor heard Susan’s father saying that she will be accepted back to the family only if she recants the Christian faith and rejoins Islam,” he said.
When Mukobi asked Susan’s father about his mistreatment of her, he said only that he was upset by her conversion to Christianity, Mukobi said.
“I do not like my daughter calling herself Susan and leaving her Muslim name, Aisha,” Mukobi said Baluku told him.
On Oct. 22, 2010, Susan was referred to Kagando hospital, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Bwera. Six months later, she was referred to Curso hospital in Kampala. She still could not walk. Surgeons operated on both her thighs, but as a doctor tried to stretch her leg, one thigh bone was so weak that it broke.
She returned to Kagando hospital after two weeks, but with her condition deteriorating, after two months she was referred to Kilembe hospital, about eight kilometers (five miles) from Kasese.
Though she has had to drop out of school, she said she hopes to return this year.
“I am now able to handle a pen and write,” she told Compass late last year. “I am able to sit down for at least one hour, and I hope by next year it will be much better, enough to enable me go to school.”
Pastor Baluku said that “many Good Samaritans” came to her aid.
“Susan at the moment needs a balanced diet to strengthen her weak bones, so that she can go to school soon,” he added.
Susan Ithungu of Isango village, Kasese district, had been hospitalized since September 2010 after neighbors along with police rescued her from her father, Beya Baluku, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterward but quickly released. She and her younger brother, Mbusa Baluku, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother.
In March 2010, Susan had trusted Christ for her salvation – prompting her father to threaten to slaughter her publicly with a knife. Pastor Joseph Baluku of Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese said neighbors who discovered that the girl was locked in a room with almost no food or water notified authorities.
After her release, they took her to a hospital on Sept. 6, 2010. She would not be discharged from hospital care until Oct. 19, 2011.
After Compass published her ordeal on Aug. 11, 2011, several individuals and ministries came forward to help her (see www.compassdirect.org, “Girl in Uganda Loses Use of Legs after Leaving Islam for Christ,” Aug. 11, 2011). She now lives in a rented house in an undisclosed location.
“Well-wishers have been paying the house rent and buying me food and clothing,” said Susan, who added that she has forgiven her father.
A member of the Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese, Biira Dreda, left her own four children under the care of her mother in order to look after Susan while she was hospitalized.
“It is now becoming difficult to meet the school fees for my own children,” Dreda said. “I am praying to get some little funds so as to start an income generating project.”
A member of a Pentecostal church, Susan has begun to walk with support. She cannot squat or stand upright because she lay on one side for such a long time, besides suffering a bout of malaria.
“I thank all those who have continually supported me spiritually, materially and even morally,” Susan said. “I am also thankful to Biira Dreda, who stood by me in the hospital, and to date she is still with me when none of my family members has come to see me. I now take Dreda as my mother because of her care and love. My own people have abandoned me.”
Jacob Mukobi, who works with Uganda police as a child protection volunteer, was tipped off that Susan had been locked up in the house for six months.
“When I got the horrifying message about Susan that she had been put under house arrest for converting to Christianity, I went with the police to the house on Sept. 6, 2010 and took her to Bwera hospital,” he said.
Her father, he said, is not ready to take her back.
“A neighbor heard Susan’s father saying that she will be accepted back to the family only if she recants the Christian faith and rejoins Islam,” he said.
When Mukobi asked Susan’s father about his mistreatment of her, he said only that he was upset by her conversion to Christianity, Mukobi said.
“I do not like my daughter calling herself Susan and leaving her Muslim name, Aisha,” Mukobi said Baluku told him.
On Oct. 22, 2010, Susan was referred to Kagando hospital, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Bwera. Six months later, she was referred to Curso hospital in Kampala. She still could not walk. Surgeons operated on both her thighs, but as a doctor tried to stretch her leg, one thigh bone was so weak that it broke.
She returned to Kagando hospital after two weeks, but with her condition deteriorating, after two months she was referred to Kilembe hospital, about eight kilometers (five miles) from Kasese.
Though she has had to drop out of school, she said she hopes to return this year.
“I am now able to handle a pen and write,” she told Compass late last year. “I am able to sit down for at least one hour, and I hope by next year it will be much better, enough to enable me go to school.”
Pastor Baluku said that “many Good Samaritans” came to her aid.
“Susan at the moment needs a balanced diet to strengthen her weak bones, so that she can go to school soon,” he added.
In His Image
Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.
–Psalm 51:10 (TLB)
You were created in the image and likeness of God. You were made for God’s fellowship, and your heart can never be satisfied without His communion. Just as iron is attracted to a magnet, the soul in its state of hunger is drawn to God. Though you, like thousands of others, may feel in the state of sin that the world is more alluring and more to your liking, some day—perhaps even now as you read these words—you will acknowledge that there is something deep down inside you which cannot be satisfied by the alloy of earth. Then with David, the Psalmist who had sampled the delicacies of sin and had found them unsatisfying, you will say, “Oh God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
How I long for You, God, yet so often my heart is drawn away from Your leading. Like David, I desire a clean heart.
–Psalm 51:10 (TLB)
You were created in the image and likeness of God. You were made for God’s fellowship, and your heart can never be satisfied without His communion. Just as iron is attracted to a magnet, the soul in its state of hunger is drawn to God. Though you, like thousands of others, may feel in the state of sin that the world is more alluring and more to your liking, some day—perhaps even now as you read these words—you will acknowledge that there is something deep down inside you which cannot be satisfied by the alloy of earth. Then with David, the Psalmist who had sampled the delicacies of sin and had found them unsatisfying, you will say, “Oh God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
How I long for You, God, yet so often my heart is drawn away from Your leading. Like David, I desire a clean heart.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Gospel - April 3 by Paul Washer
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Your Life: Don't Waste It by John Piper
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Christian Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ in Pakistan Denied Bail
Young man accused after argument with his landlord.
LAHORE, Pakistan, January 30 (CDN) — A judge has denied bail to a young Christian man charged with desecrating the Quran under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws despite the lack of evidence against him, sources said.
Police in Shahdara, near Lahore, had arrested 23-year-old Khuram Masih on Dec. 5 and charged him with desecrating the Quran after his landlord, Zulfiqar Ali, alleged that he had burned pages of the book in order to prepare tea. Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment.
Masih’s previous lawyers, Muhammad Farhad Tirmizi and Liaqat John, on Jan. 3 petitioned for his bail. In their petition, they stated to Additional Sessions Judge Anjum Raza Syed that police had registered a false case against Masih based on hearsay, and that police had not found any incriminating evidence.
Judge Syed, however, refused to grant bail to Masih on grounds that the case was “very sensitive, and bail to the accused would fan religious sentiments and cause a great mishap.”
Asif Aqeel, executive director of the Community Development Initiative (CDI), an affiliate of the European Centre for Law and Justice, told Compass that the lawyers hired by Masih’s relatives should not have petitioned the trial court for Masih’s bail so soon.
“There’s no use moving for bail in the trial court, because the lower courts cannot sustain pressure in such cases,” Aqeel said. “The judges in trial court are under extreme pressure from religious quarters and simply cannot set a blasphemy accused free on bail after just a month of the incident.”
He added that, similarly, trial courts in blasphemy cases tend to deliver guilty verdicts due to the same pressures from Muslims.
CDI lawyer Niaz Amer, who has now acquired Masih’s power of attorney, would make efforts for his bail in the Lahore High Court once the proceedings begin, Aqeel added.
“It is very unfortunate for those accused of blasphemy, but this is how the legal system of Pakistan operates,” he said. ‘The accused have to spend several months, even years, in jail without bail, just because the judges are unwilling to put their own lives at risk from religious extremists.”
In their petition for bail, Masih’s lawyers stated that in First Information Report (FIR) No. 1211/2011, complainant Ali had claimed that Masih’s neighbors had tried to stop him from burning the pages of the Quran and had ignored their requests, and that the Christian ran away when Ali arrived at his home.
“It is further alleged in the FIR that the petitioner [Masih] was arrested later from the same spot when the police arrived,” the bail application states, adding that the charges against Masih were concocted and baseless because the complainant had not witnessed the alleged incident. No other person is mentioned in the FIR to substantiate the allegations.
At the same time, Napoleon Qayyum, a Christian rights advocate and field officer of CDI, denied reports that Masih has been tortured or mistreated by prison authorities.
“Someone has misreported that Masih has been tortured at the District Camp Jail, where he is currently being held,” Qayyum said. ‘I am in regular contact with Masih and his family, and he has not been harmed by anyone in jail.”
Masih has said that he was falsely accused in the case because he had had an argument with his landlord, Ali, earlier in the day over the rent of the house in which he and his wife, Bano, a convert from Hinduism, lived along with five other families.
A Christian rights activist in Shahdara, Khalid Shahzad, had earlier told Compass that police had shown unnecessary haste in registering the case (see “Christian Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ after Argument,” Dec. 26, 2011).
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Police in Shahdara, near Lahore, had arrested 23-year-old Khuram Masih on Dec. 5 and charged him with desecrating the Quran after his landlord, Zulfiqar Ali, alleged that he had burned pages of the book in order to prepare tea. Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment.
Masih’s previous lawyers, Muhammad Farhad Tirmizi and Liaqat John, on Jan. 3 petitioned for his bail. In their petition, they stated to Additional Sessions Judge Anjum Raza Syed that police had registered a false case against Masih based on hearsay, and that police had not found any incriminating evidence.
Judge Syed, however, refused to grant bail to Masih on grounds that the case was “very sensitive, and bail to the accused would fan religious sentiments and cause a great mishap.”
Asif Aqeel, executive director of the Community Development Initiative (CDI), an affiliate of the European Centre for Law and Justice, told Compass that the lawyers hired by Masih’s relatives should not have petitioned the trial court for Masih’s bail so soon.
“There’s no use moving for bail in the trial court, because the lower courts cannot sustain pressure in such cases,” Aqeel said. “The judges in trial court are under extreme pressure from religious quarters and simply cannot set a blasphemy accused free on bail after just a month of the incident.”
He added that, similarly, trial courts in blasphemy cases tend to deliver guilty verdicts due to the same pressures from Muslims.
CDI lawyer Niaz Amer, who has now acquired Masih’s power of attorney, would make efforts for his bail in the Lahore High Court once the proceedings begin, Aqeel added.
“It is very unfortunate for those accused of blasphemy, but this is how the legal system of Pakistan operates,” he said. ‘The accused have to spend several months, even years, in jail without bail, just because the judges are unwilling to put their own lives at risk from religious extremists.”
In their petition for bail, Masih’s lawyers stated that in First Information Report (FIR) No. 1211/2011, complainant Ali had claimed that Masih’s neighbors had tried to stop him from burning the pages of the Quran and had ignored their requests, and that the Christian ran away when Ali arrived at his home.
“It is further alleged in the FIR that the petitioner [Masih] was arrested later from the same spot when the police arrived,” the bail application states, adding that the charges against Masih were concocted and baseless because the complainant had not witnessed the alleged incident. No other person is mentioned in the FIR to substantiate the allegations.
At the same time, Napoleon Qayyum, a Christian rights advocate and field officer of CDI, denied reports that Masih has been tortured or mistreated by prison authorities.
“Someone has misreported that Masih has been tortured at the District Camp Jail, where he is currently being held,” Qayyum said. ‘I am in regular contact with Masih and his family, and he has not been harmed by anyone in jail.”
Masih has said that he was falsely accused in the case because he had had an argument with his landlord, Ali, earlier in the day over the rent of the house in which he and his wife, Bano, a convert from Hinduism, lived along with five other families.
A Christian rights activist in Shahdara, Khalid Shahzad, had earlier told Compass that police had shown unnecessary haste in registering the case (see “Christian Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ after Argument,” Dec. 26, 2011).
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Why is there pain and suffering
"In one-on-one witnessing encounters, a common question asked is, ‘Why is there pain and suffering?’ If you have your Bible with you at the time, open to Isaiah 24:5-6, and have the person you're talking with read it aloud. When he finishes reading, explain that the Bible tells us that because human beings have broken God’s holy Laws, the entire earth is suffering under a curse. You can then redirect the conversation by asking him how many of God’s Laws he thinks he has personally broken.” Anna Jackson
Isaiah 24:5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant.6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.
Isaiah 24:5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant.6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.
Life Eternal
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.
–Titus 1:2
Life is a glorious opportunity, if it is used to condition us for eternity. If we fail in this, though we succeed in everything else, our life will have been a failure. There is no escape for the man who squanders his opportunity to prepare to meet God. Our lives are also immortal. God made man different from the other creatures. He made him in His own image, a living soul. When this body dies and our earthly existence is terminated, the soul lives on forever. One thousand years from this day, you will be more alive than you are at this moment. The Bible teaches that life does not end at the cemetery. There is a future life with God for those who put their trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Thank You for the eternal life in Christ and for the peace that comes over me because of this triumphant promise! Today help me relay this joyous news to those around me.
–Titus 1:2
Life is a glorious opportunity, if it is used to condition us for eternity. If we fail in this, though we succeed in everything else, our life will have been a failure. There is no escape for the man who squanders his opportunity to prepare to meet God. Our lives are also immortal. God made man different from the other creatures. He made him in His own image, a living soul. When this body dies and our earthly existence is terminated, the soul lives on forever. One thousand years from this day, you will be more alive than you are at this moment. The Bible teaches that life does not end at the cemetery. There is a future life with God for those who put their trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Thank You for the eternal life in Christ and for the peace that comes over me because of this triumphant promise! Today help me relay this joyous news to those around me.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Rock of Salvation
To those who fear God, Jesus Christ is the Rock of Salvation, the chief cornerstone upon which everything else is built. But to the proud, He is a rock of offense, a stumbling stone. Truly, blessed are all those who are not offended in Him.
Isaiah 8:14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
Isaiah 8:14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
Working together for Good
We know that all things work together for good to them that love God . . .
–Romans 8:28
We might never have had the songs of Fanny Crosby had she not been afflicted with blindness. George Matheson would never have given the world his immortal song, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” had it not been for his passing through the furnace of affliction. The “Hallelujah Chorus” was written by George Frederick Handel when he was poverty-stricken and suffering from a paralyzed right side and right arm. Affliction may be for our edification and Christian development. Sickness is one of the “all things” which work together for good to them that love God. Don’t resent it. Don’t be embittered by it.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
You do not make mistakes, Father. If sorrow comes into my life, let me use it to help others know about You.
–Romans 8:28
We might never have had the songs of Fanny Crosby had she not been afflicted with blindness. George Matheson would never have given the world his immortal song, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” had it not been for his passing through the furnace of affliction. The “Hallelujah Chorus” was written by George Frederick Handel when he was poverty-stricken and suffering from a paralyzed right side and right arm. Affliction may be for our edification and Christian development. Sickness is one of the “all things” which work together for good to them that love God. Don’t resent it. Don’t be embittered by it.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
You do not make mistakes, Father. If sorrow comes into my life, let me use it to help others know about You.
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