I ask that we all take time today to pray for Youcef Nadarkhani and other Christians who are facing persecution for their beliefs. If you do not know who this brave man is please look at my post from yesterday,
http://tcavey.blogspot.com/2011/10/if-its-not-apostasythen-what-is-it.html
Thank you for your prayers, I truly believe they make a difference.
In Ephesians 6:20 Paul asked for prayers from fellow believers to help him as he faced persecutions, today that need still exists,
"for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
If It's Not Apostasy...Then What Is It?
Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has made National News Headlines and Facebook postings for his courageous stand regarding his religious beliefs. Until recently, he was facing execution for the crime of Apostasy.
As defined by Wikipedia the definition of Islamic Apostasy is: “According to Islamic law apostasy is identified by a list of actions such as conversion to another religion, denying the existence of God, rejecting the prophets, mocking God or the prophets, idol worship, rejecting the sharia, or permitting behavior that is forbidden by the sharia, such as adultery.”
It’s important to note that Apostasy is not actually in Iran’s Penal Code/Constitution (as far as I can find), but it is punishable by death in various religious texts and fatwas (still doing research on fatwas).
Nadarkhani, who was originally charged with Apostasy in 2009, has faced a long road of court hearings. Last week he refused to renounce his Christian beliefs at his fourth court hearing. Many world leaders have recently released harsh statements against Iran for the impending execution of Nadarkhani for the crime of Apostasy.
Due to the strong backlash from world leaders it shouldn’t be surprising that Iran is now singing a new song.
Nadarkhani is now facing charges of rape and extortion against Iran. These charges however cannot be found in the court documents since the beginning of this journey. Instead, the documents show accusations of Apostasy with Nadarkhani defending his religious belief in Christianity while rejecting Mohammad as prophet and Islamic authority.
Iran is defending its new position by stating the Western Press is distorting the facts, something unlikely unless their own court reports are not to be trusted. Guess we will have to wait and see how Iran will contradict the proof found in the court proceedings.
In my opinion, these new accusations cry “foul play”. It seems to me that they are looking for any reason possible to execute a man for disagreeing with their Islamic beliefs. What do you think?
For more information you can follow these links or Google Nadarkhani.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Priceless Artwork or Priced less Artwork
I love bargain shopping; in fact I rarely buy anything otherwise.
A few years back, my husband and I purchased our first home. I was excited to decorate it, turning it from a house and into a home with each piece of art I purchased. The problem was, I had limited funds, so I set out for bargains.
For months, I scavenged from store to store searching for the perfect vases, pictures, throw pillows and knickknacks to place around the house. Nothing made me happier than finding something I wanted at a good price. It was even better when I would find something with a small imperfection and the store would cut the price even further!
Those small imperfections made a huge impact on my wallet and when strategically placed, no one but me knew there were any flaws.
Recently, I was reading in Jeremiah about the potter and the clay, how we are the clay and God, as the potter, molds us. This made me think about my bargain finds.
Those pieces of art were sold to me at a lower price because of small imperfection that made them less valuable to the general population.
To God, however, we are all valuable. He doesn’t view our worth as less because we are flawed, in fact, He values us despite our flaws.
He loves us so much that he was willing to pay the full price for our salvation. He didn’t ask to pay less because we are flawed, instead, he paid full price. That price was his son.
Once we come into a relationship with him, he doesn’t strategically place us in this world to hide our imperfections. Instead, as the great potter, he molds us. None of us are so flawed that He casts us aside as unusable, unvalued or something to be ashamed of. He knows all our imperfections, loves us anyway and uses us to further his kingdom like a proud owner of a priceless piece of art.
I believe that if God had a mantle; he would place us there for everyone to see, a valued piece of art worth everything to him. He treasures us that much!
I think we sometimes forget how valuable we are to God…after all, it’s a difficult concept to grasp….someone paying full price for us, but He did just that.
Have you placed your life in the hands of the potter? How is He molding you?
I love comments, please share.
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