Before reading a book in the Bible, do you read the introduction to it in your Bible? Only recently I started to make this practice a habit. It does wonders in deepening my enjoyment of the Scriptures.
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“My brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” Romans 7:4
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Since COVID started, we have been using Zoom with individuals and couples who live all over the world. Our weeks have been very full, and it looks like to the rest of our lives, our calling is to “Polish and Equip the Saints for Life and Ministry.” Basically, we are witnessing the Holy Spirit doing the polishing and the equipping in our lives and in the lives of others.
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Farid, our older son, was a boarding student for six years at Black Forest academy (BFA) in Germany during our years in Egypt. BFA was a school for sons and daughters of mostly Evangelical, American Christian missionaries.
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In my last blog, I addressed the journey towards maturity in 14 principles. In this blog, I would like to focus on the first two principles by highlighting some books and quoting some truths that are transformative.
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Cyprus is an hour flight from Cairo, Egypt. Cyprus was our favorite place as a family for vacations during our years in Egypt from 1975 to 1990.
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Among other responsibilities, Roy Oksnevad is the director of the Coalition of Ministries to Muslims in North America (COMMA). He invited me recently to be one of the speakers at the COMMA consultation which will take place in Orlando in September 16-19, 2019. The topic I was asked to address is: “Viewing Islam through Muslims’ eyes.”
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In 2014, I launched a website and have used it since then with monthly blogs. In 2017, a physician friend of mine who used to help me with my website, informed me how frustrating it was for him to work on the website because it was extremely slow, and the platform was outdated.
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We are coming to the season when we remember the events of the birth of Christ then later his crucifixion and resurrection.
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Many people believe that there is no solid evidence for the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ. They assume there is no proof for the authenticity of Christ as he is presented in the New Testament. At a certain time in my life, I had my doubts too.
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In April 2018, I wrote a blog with the title “Agonizing Over A Decision.” I was facing a toughdecision, not between a right and a wrong optionbut between two right options. What you will read below in this blog, will not make sense unless you go back and read or reread the blog of April 2018 with the title “Agonizing Over a Decision.”Please read that blog now.
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In July 17-22, 2018, I taught my course on Islam and the Geopolitics of the Middle East at our home. It was my privilege that Doug Bastian was willing and eager to take the course. From the first day of class I have admired Doug for his humility, his passion for God and the clarity of his thinking.
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In June, I attended another class by Nabeel Jabbour. His class is ordinarily taught at seminaries and titled “Islam and the geopolitics of the Middle East.” He now makes his class available for free to those who invite him to teach in their city. He has invited me to attend his class multiple times with the hope that I’ll be able to teach the material myself someday.
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In the course that I teach on “Islam and the Geopolitics of the Middle East” we address, among many other things, the Israel/Palestine conflict. As I was reading this article which appeared on “Al-Hewar” on June 18, 2018, I wanted very much for my friends and for those who have taken my course in the past to read it. The older I get the more I love to read history and the Jewish Rabbi Warshal, did a good job in this article addressing a very much needed historical background to the situation in Gaza.
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Early in 2018, I had the privilege of teaching at our home in Colorado Springs, my course on Islam and the Geopolitics of the Middle East to seven leaders. My wife and I felt very privileged to be in the company of those men and women of God. One of those who took the course was Mateen Elass who was in my blog three months ago and another is Melanie Boudreau who wrote this blog and shared her evaluation of the course.
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The year 1979, is a very important year in the history of modern Islam. In that year three events happened that impacted the Middle East, the Muslim world and the world in general. The three events were:
1. The Khomeini revolution in Iran.
2. The Muslim fundamentalists’ attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
3. The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union which lasted for ten years.
I am agonizing over a decision. It is hard for me to say NO to an amazing opportunity and privilege in 2019, and it is very hard for me to say YES.
The photo with this blog indicates a choice between a right decision vs. a wrong decision. My agony is because I need to choose between two right decisions. If the choice was between a right and a wrong decision, it would have been very easy to decide.
For many years, I have taught an intensive course on Islam and the geopolitics of the Middle East at several seminaries in the United States and Canada. I continue to teach that course at Columbia International University, in Columbia, SC and at Denver Seminary. Since June 2016, I started teaching this course, free of charge, to non-seminarians who are eager to make more sense of Islam and the Middle East.
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There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the Sharia or the Islamic law. Christians in the West are usually fearful, suspicious and confused. What if Muslims in various parts of the world begin to demand the application of the Sharia. In my blog of October 26, 2017, I presented the argument of a Muslim scholar on the subject. Today I would like to consider a Christian perspective on the subject coming from Nigeria. Why Nigeria?
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In addition to spending time with our sons and their families during Christmas 2017, my wife and I enjoyed watching videos of flash Mobs (where people sing songs in a shopping mall or in an airport) on YouTube. Our favorite by far was the Hallelujah Chorus. Then I discovered that YouTube has a great deal to offer in terms of documentaries and favorite songs in Broadway musicals.
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