ISRAEL UPDATEMay 9, 2004 - Shiite cleric Ayatollah Muhammad Baqr al-Muhri has urged Kuwaiti authorities to allow the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” to be shown without restriction to everyone in that Muslim nation.
He states, “It's a good opportunity to reveal the crimes committed by Jews against the Christ and many other (religious) prophets.” This clerics' comment warms my heart beyond measure. . . at his concern for how Jesus was treated.
Actually, all sarcasm laid aside, it is this monumental hypocrisy posed by the fundamental Islamic mentality that both angers and causes me to declare its fallacies. If the Kuwaiti government, as well as other Islam/Arab countries were truly concerned about the treatment of Jesus, these nations would treat His followers in much better fashion.
For instance, women who refuse to deny Jesus and accept the tenets of Islam are raped, have their breasts cut off, and are left for dead.
The wholesale slaughter of Christians has continually transpired since this religion started in the seventh century. To this day, you cannot find a Christian bookstore in these countries. You may be fortunate enough to find one Christian church in each capital city, but you certainly will not find an open display of anyone wearing a cross.
In fact, the only Christians treated well by Muslims are the ones in compliance with these nations in their stance against Israel.
Therefore, if these fundamentalists were truly concerned about how Jesus was treated 2000 years ago, they apparently have no regard for the time since his death… since they continue to rape, murder, and confiscate in the name of Allah. This is most definitely not in the name of human rights.
May 9, 2004 - We have seen G-d move miraculously in the lives of several people in our church over the past 18 months, some with financial miracles, and others with healing of physical ailments.
Within that same time period, we have seen no less than four miracles with babies - some as young as one day old where G-d intervened. These precious gifts from G-d were spared from death, or from constant connection to life-support equipment.
It could be stated that we are now a “healing Church,” where the emphasis could be put on healing, but that is not G-d's plan.
Some churches have gone so far as to designate one night such as Tuesday, as “healing night,” and Thursday as “deliverance night.”
The reality of G-d performing miracles is not for the sake of performing miracles, but is rather the confirmation of the declaration of the Gospel. Jesus said, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;" Mark 16:17
Therefore, the church as whole needs to realize this basic tenet - the signs follow them that believe. Therefore, the Gospel must be declared, the people must believe in Jesus, then the signs will follow as positive fruit.
Unfortunately, we have produced a generation like that of Jesus' day. . . people seeking food and miracles, rather than the life-changing message of the Gospel.
I hope and pray that there will come an awakening in the Church in these Last Days to declare the Gospel and let the signs follow – the way Jesus intended it to be.
To be continued…