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Chricket for Christ Posted on 07/31/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Whether it’s the heat or humidity of August or the heat of the political& social climate in Pakistan - or whether the rising prices of food- this country will always be up for a game of cricket. On dirt tracks, in playing fields, gardens, wasted alley ways - even the middle of main roads- a batsman, a bowler, a wicket keeper& fielders, they just gravitate toward one another& the game commences. Cars drive up, blow their horn& wait for the players to grab their wickets& take their bat& ball, move to a side, let the cars pass& resume the game. A tennis ball for some, for the more serious players a proper hard ball red& shiny. The Tennis balls are taped with white insulation tape, covered to give them better bounce and a smoother surface. The wickets could be a couple of bricks if the real thing is inaccessible but anyone can start a game& it will have players in seconds. Rich, poor all sorts playing to forget the challenges of the day& the times we live in, to put aside what the boss said, what the company wants, what the lady of the house sent them to get from the shops… Abby& Johnny play in the little plot of land at the end of the road with friends. Within seconds there is a tournament in full swing, each one showing off their skill& each one imagining they are in a stadium, playing for 1000s with hundreds of cameras on them broadcasting their skill& excellence to the world. Each one imagines there is a commentator describing their bowling style& speed, their batting ability, their unique way of spinning the ball. Today the papers confirmed that all our cricketers are clear& have not been taking drugs. None the less lately cricket on the national level has become skewed- in fact even a show of the strength of Islam in the country. We have had some sad incidents over the last few years. One Christian brother Yousaf was selected off the streets& trained for professional cricket. He was an amazing& talented player& we all hoped he would be Jesus shining on the field. We hoped but only some of us prayed. He was the only Christian in a team of Muslims. In time the pressure got too much& Yousaf Yohana became Mohammad Yousaf. He converted to Islam, dashing the hope of millions of little Christians who thought ‘one day we will play like him- Christians on the team.’ Now the team are strict Muslims, some have beards after years of being clean shaven. Millions have no hope of ever really having a commentator describe their bowling style - because they believe as Christians they will never be able to hack it- or be recruited onto the team& never be able to deal with the pressure of praying five times a day or observing fasting with the 'boy' even though they are Christians- they will never be encouraged to shine for Jesus on the playing field. The next generation see Yousaf's story as a sign of what happens in the work place. Yousaf's family were distraught. They were heart broken. A poor family with a tiny house, but they refused to move into his new mansion when he declared he had converted to Islam. His wife& children were forced to convert with him, but it is said she soon left him-no one really knows. There are many Yousafs out there. Are you going to pray for them - those sweaty little bright eyed boys, with sure feet, steady hands& a great bowling style, no less than Imran Khan himself, except they are poor, they play barefooted& they wear little tin crosses on black string around their neck. Will we stand in the gap for them& ask God for hope for them or will we just worry about the Taliban& forget to 'strengthen what rem

A cry was heard in the Punjab- parents weeping for their children Posted on 07/29/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

What must it be like to be alone and lost? 13 and 10 year old sisters, snatched away from their parents by men who claim they have converted to Islam. Aleena and Saba two little girls-I was once their age. I rebelled with my whole heart at my parents saying I could not go out to play and bike like my brothers. They would cycle around the neighbourhood and come home sweaty and flushed from their escapades with their friends. I on the other hand was forbidden from cycling outside the main gate of the house. Today I understand better and thank God for those rules, gates and fences when I was growing up. But I ache, I am weeping with Aleena and Saba's parents. There is much I want to say but I am at a loss for words. I just want to ask you to pray for them. Pray for Aleena and Saba. I do not believe they converted to Islam, this is an old ploy used to throw the authority and law enforcement agencies. They will never argue or pursue a conversion case in which a Christian has come to Islam and that is what is being claimed. However it is known that these girls were kidnapped by Muslim men who are involved in a human trafficking ring. Two of your little sisters have been taken away from their family; they are alone, possibly even split up by now. Are they being tortured, at 13 and 10, can they stand up to the pressure of conversion or other humiliation that may be being forced onto them? Can they fight the darkness of the world they are being taken into, can they fight the loneliness, the memories, can they hold fast to Jesus in the face of possible prostitution or domestic slavery? You have a responsibility. Please pray for them - please pray for their parents - please pray that they will be found, unharmed, physically safe and emotionally and spirtually protected. Pray that wherever they are they will feel the body of believers' prayers surrounding them, enfolding and embracing them. Pray also for the millions of others in similar situations. Aleena and Saba's father's lawyer has said clearly that this happened because they were vulnerable. You may be asking what made them vulnerable. What made them vulnerable my dear friends is that they like millions of others are Christians, and Christians are not Muslims, they do not share the same honour as Muslims, they are not valued the same way, their worth is reduced and therefore to sell them as sex slaves or domestic labour is justifiable- that is why thousands like Aleena and Saba are suffering. I have not slept in 4 nights with images of these little ones before my eyes. I do not know what they look like, but I can only imagine. The sound of a wailing mother kept me up, but the Lord reminded me - ' You ache and weep because of two names, - what about the thousands of others? Are these not all taken from their parents and forced to convert and become one of many? One of a world full of slavery, abuse, torture and worse, where their names and religious identity become a thing of the past, and their value is in what they can be sold for?. The reminder did not put me to sleep or give me comfort, but it did direct my prayers and did show me that to me two names made a difference, but to the Good Shepherd every one of those lambs caught in the briers and thorns of slavery are important and He is going out to get them, are we going to be Christ like, are we going to be willing to get involved - are we going to pray that we will see this horrendous crime stop?

Am I a criminal? Posted on 07/16/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Living the Christian life in our part of the world brings it with it its own set of issues. Yesterday my brother read to me a teeny little box of news in the paper about Iran. Apparently the new law in Iran states that anyone preaching conversion away from Islam, or putting up anything evangelistic or pornographic on the internet is guilty and will be punished by death. At the time I was deeply saddened but a few hours later it dawned on me about my own role in this. It dawned on me that my blogs to you, my role as 'Epapharus' (Colossians 1:7) makes me guilty of this crime. It made me realise that what I do with such love and passion - and with a desire to serve the Creator God and the Saviour God can in some contexts be seen as a crime - the crime of encouraging Muslims to accept the love of Jesus, encouraging Christians to share the Gospel with Muslims, discipling converts from Islam - and that is equated in the mind of some laws and authorities with pornography. I did not realise at the time that that was exactly what was worrying my brother. Apart from my parents, my older brother and you my dear friends, no one knows about my blogs to you. I do it very confidentially as to be found out would only cause disaster and attract unnecessary attention. I give you information that is very very 'secret' and kept very much under wraps here. However it is important for me to share this information with you - to do as Epapharus did - faithfully share with you what is going on with your brothers and sisters in Pakistan and the rest of the Islamic world. I am careful - very careful- but it is not the punishment that worries me. What grieves me is that in some parts of the world, becoming a Christian and accessing pornographic materials on the internet are as bad as one another. Lets live to honour the name of our Christ and glorify His name in what we do so that the world may never see these things as off shoots of western living but in fact would see our lives as a consequence of JESUS and all HE DOES, DID and stand for. Let us show the world that we are not criminals and more than that our God stands for dignity and all that is clean and perfect and good and of good accord.

Praise God- the God who made mangoes and cool water... Posted on 07/15/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Its hot and sticky. Its humid! I want to complain and complain and complain but how can I when God has been good enough to give me a car unlike my other brothers and sisters in Pakistan who cannot afford even a cycle sometimes. Some of them have to walk miles and miles to get to work. Remember I told you about Sharifa's brother who is a cleaner at the local municipal office. People like him have to be out in the hot sun and it is not very nice at all. Yesterday though when I was coming home from college I saw Sharifa's nephew and niece sitting under the shade of a weeping willow by the side of the Canal with their toes in the water. They were eating mangoes. I was pleased that they were able to find some time to just stop, cool their feet and refresh themselves. There is a wealthy landowner who's fields are irrigated by the Canal water. He is kind enough to put out a few baskets of mangoes and have a water pipe for those who cycle home in the evenings. He does it to earn reward from Allah and though I do not agree with the principle of it doing good works, I see his heart and I see that at least he has noticed the suffering of the poor. I am glad that my brother and sister have not been discriminated against because they are Christian. Sometimes this is enough to turn them away. Sometimes Christians are not allowed to take water from the same source as Muslims so it does my heart good to see some goodness in a world that is going quite crazy. What with the bombs and the terrorism that is engulfing our country - it is so easy to forget that not everyone is bad! Maybe our brother and sister as they sit there eating a ripe juicy mango can by their attitude and their conversation make others wonder about the God who is their God!

Sanam Posted on 07/12/2008 08:37 PM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Upon hearing the stories of countless women, I thank the Lord for my father - an amazing man. He loves me, holds me, prays with me, provides for me & above all, respects & trusts me - two vital elements in any relationship. However, they are the hardest to come by in my part of the world. Let me share with you a story from my last year in school that resonates with thousands of women in my part of the world. Sanam was married at 15 (After watching Juno I guess that should not surprise you too much). We had just finished school & were dreaming of college & university. I will never forget her bright eyes, tiny frame & the strength of personality. She was something. No one wanted to take her on in debates - she always won! But at 15, just when we were dreaming our dreams of careers (some of us even dreaming of our knights in shining armour) Sanam disappeared. 'She will come when it is time to take her exams' we were told by teacher. Sanam was engaged. Her parents found her a suitable boy, a distant cousin. She rebelled violently begging & pleading to be released from the engagement. She contacted the nuns at school & begged them to help. They tried to mediate but to no avail. This was strictly a family matter & the family did not appreciate any interference. None of us could call her nor visit with her. We would be sent wedding invitations in due course - some went. One Christian friend was invited but she chose not to go because she said she could not have sat by & watched such abuse occur. Sanam had tried to poison herself some weeks before the wedding. That was after trying to climb over her terraced roof & make a run for it - her father found her. By the time it was her wedding day, her heavy jeweled & embroidered lehnga (long gathered skirt worn with a longish top normally all silk) & heavy gold jewelry hung from her skinny lifeless frame. She was forced to marry. No expense was spared. Every relative & friend was invited. But none of them cared that behind the thick make up was an aching soul. She was married to a cousin who knew she was trying to escape so he watched her like a hawk. Even while she took exams Iftekhar sat outside the school to make sure she did not make a run for it. No one saw her for weeks after the exams. Until one day I spotted her in the Market place. I saw her bruised body as she limped out of a fertility clinic. She would not make eye contact with me. Some months later I learned she had lost a baby because Iftekhar had beaten her when he found her talking to her old boyfriend on the phone. I cannot judge them - after all they do not know Jesus. I just know that she was one aching, destroyed girl. She wanted for a heavenly Father, for one who would restore her to who He made her to be & she longed for His embrace, His comfort & His healing. There are many, many women in the Islamic world like Sanam. Please do not forget about them. Though things are changing & there are more opportunities for women, in their hearts, men always view women as the bearers of family honour & so the pressure on them is immense. Violence & abuse is common. Do not forget to pray for women & girls like yourselves, or those in your family. Pray that Jesus would be made known to them & comfort them in their suffering. Pray that the Christian maids in their homes can minister to them, that they remember something an old Christian friend said & are drawn to think about Jesus, have a vision, watch a Christian TV program about Jesus, their husbands meet Jesus- above all that they run into the arms

The Koran in Discussion Posted on 07/03/2008 10:00 PM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Sorry I had to cut that previous blog short. It was just that Ghani came in and I had to hide my note book as he would not have been too pleased to read my notes on the American Koran and its link to fits of epilepsy- I feel blasphemous saying these things - such is the indoctrination we face and the environment's control over us. An argument like that will never change his opinion. These kind of things must come out of gradual and natural discussions with people who have a relationship with you. People who you have shared the love of Christ with – not just the academics of Christ. Hardly ever will an argument win a Muslim. If you ever get into a conversation with Muslims about the Koran it is important for you to know where it originated. I would not throw that information at them unless necessary. But always stick to the Bible which you know can be verified by historical records but also have consistency and moral authority. However I want to encourage you to value the word of God. If you have a Bible, I want to encourage you to really delve into it and make your Bible really count. Think of all those who do not have Bibles and yet give their lives to protect the Gospel and spread it. Do not take it lightly, do not take it simply as a book not its teachings. It is inspired by GOD and is the message of Salvation. Does a diabetic leave his insulin lying around on the floor and walk over it, does he decide not to take it for one day? If he does a diabetic coma is certain. Similarly the Bible which is God’s word is worth a lot more than the floor, disrespect and neglect. I do not say that people who disrespect it should be taken in for blasphemy and killed, but I do think we should fight for the Gospel, honour it with our lives and refuse to accept corruption and perversion that is brought to the incorruptible word of God. We must stick to the Word of God and honour it with our lives in the every day. Not because we are in competition with Muslims and the Koran but because it is God-Breathed and deserves our lives and our obedience. It is the Good News and worth more than diamonds, gold and silver. That is the value of what we have. It is the living Word, it still inspires conversation and transformation today. It helps to make us a uniform body of believers, working in line with the Will and Dignity of God which He has ordained and made accessible to mankind, by beautifully and powerfully challenging, encouraging, healing and restoring His people. It is not just as a manual of do's and don’ts. I love the Bible. I love God speaking to me through His word and giving me wisdom to deal with people like Ghanni, Mariam, Mahak, Shammi and my other friends at college.

FROM DESERTS TO OASES Posted on 07/03/2008 02:05 PM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

All over the world people are feeling the pinch in terms of petrol prices. Ridiculous! What on earth is going on? Is there any way to put a stop to this craziness?! A BBC Pakistan Radio broadcast (I do not remember the exact figures) shocked me. While everyone is cutting corners, can you believe what I heard? They said that Saudi Arabia is probably most comfortable as they are nearly making more than $ 1 billion a day! Believe that? My brother says my recollection of the figures is way off because in an article he read in KHALEEJ TIMES which is the UAE newspaper, Saudi Arabia’s economy is on a par with Switzerland! With all this money they plan to build amazing new cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia- transforming the desert into beautiful cities which will be economic & educational centres. The radio report said that each year 50,000 graduates will come through these new Universities & academic establishments. Why blog about this? Because I am annoyed that Muslims are becoming so powerful? Well maybe- more than that I am a little sad about the 50,000 who graduate. One would think as a Christian who advocates education I would be happy about this huge figure. That’s very nice. But what is not very nice is that that education is not likely to be open to Non Muslims. No Christian students will be given admission into these institutions. They are likely to happily recruit western teachers but not non Muslim students. I am almost certain because some years ago when a cousin of mine applied for a medical school degree in the United Arab Emirates her phone call was entertained initially because she was Pakistani. When they asked her name & she said Rebekah they said sorry we only take Muslims & hung up the phone. She was applying for this UAE- based school because it was less expensive & closer to home. She was shattered. People are going spare from the cost of living, stressing over the future for their children and then a Kingdom is flourishing & no Christian is going to benefit from it. I AM a little annoyed, perhaps even resentful of their success. Do you know the number of labourers & construction workers, engineers & unskilled Christians who go from Pakistan, India, Africa & Far East to Saudi Arabia & the UAE working hours in the hot sun so they can send home their wages & live only on the tea & bread that is provided for them at their camps on the oil grids & construiction sites. These men are up at 3 am everyday, piled onto a bus, taken to their sites. There they work in the scorching heat, sometimes 3 shifts at a time so they can send home more money. They only get to bed at like 10 pm eating nothing all day but bread & tea or rice & tea. No luxuries of living in these rich & lush places. Theirs is the sweat that makes these places look so beautiful. No one gives them the option of going to church on Sundays. Worship happens privately in their camps if they have time for that and sometimes has to be in secret. Brothers & sisters do not become hateful toward the Arabs, just pray that these thousands of Christians in these countries would be filled with the Spirit & shine for Jesus and share His love with their fellow workers. From there may a flood of love & the Gospel go out, touching thousands more, bringing Salvation to the Arab lands & with each brick that is laid, living stones may rise up & His body may become established & the spiritual desert may be filled & turned into an oasis of God’s love, not just high rise buildings & hi-tech cities, but lives transformed by the everlasting water.

Share this at Church Posted on 07/02/2008 09:14 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Uncle Hameed brought news about a family we are praying for. He is a spiritual father to the family. Tabassum is about 50, has 8 children & 4 grandchildren. She met Jesus & became a Christian when she was about 20 years old. When her husband found out the persecution began. His solution to the problem was making sure she was always pregnant! Every time she had a baby, a few weeks after recovering she would be pregnant again! Shocking! But she just kept dedicating her babies to the Lord even the 6 she lost. Every one of them is walking with the Lord. For the last 4 years it has been difficult& they have been on the run. Four years ago Hameed found her in a hospital recovering from serious acid burns & stab wounds. It was the children who first met him & shared the story of their lives. Hameed, saw that the Lord had brought him to the city & hospital, reached out to them & took them under his wing making it possible for them to go into hiding after she recovered some. At home we were on our knees praying & weeping before God. Tabassum’s family is influential- they are related to people even you would have heard the name in the US. However, I do not think it is safe to actually tell you who exactly. Just pray urgently with us. Tabassum & her family have continued to worship & declare Jesus their Lord & Saviour. In spite of her ugly scars, she is beautiful with a beaming smile & beautiful heart that just shines for Jesus. But she is a woman with young daughters & sons & is on the run. Her daughters were once kidnapped from her & forced to marry Muslim relatives of their father. However God in his goodness made it possible for Tabassum to get to them in time & help them escape. It was only God’s goodness & power that saved them from these marriages. I love my country but it is not the kind of country where someone like Tabassum can live a Christian life without trouble. Last year Uncle Hameed arraged for them to leave Pakistan & go to another country where they did not need an entry visa. This country also houses a UN base. They are in hiding there. The situation is getting worse. Their Muslim family is closing in, writing letters to Embassies & the UN discrediting their story, saying they are fakes & frauds. Please click the ‘Email a Friend’ option. Get the world to pray. They are very alone & very afraid in a land where they do not speak the language- where those promising to help the needy have abandoned them & where they are now illegal residents. If they are sent back they will be kidnapped, tortured or even killed on arrival. Oh please get your families, friends & churches to share this story. Let’s get a lot of prayer going for this family. They really need it. I cannot even imagine what it must be like in a strange land, in a tiny crammed living space, in hiding, unable to speak the language and unable to go to the shops to get food, uncertain about finances etc… Please pray for this. Can we pray that in the days to come the Lord will stir up the heart of someone to do something for Tabassum & her family? Pray for protection, that the Pakistani’s there would stop looking for them, following them, threatening them and they’re able to slip away & make a life as God has purposed for them. We do not advise running away & leaving your home country, but sometimes you are forced out of the country as was their situation. Pray God can give them a home and in the place God has for them. Last time Uncle Hameed spoke to her, her son Ibrahim was crying with the concern in his heart for his mother & sisters. Please get pra

Char Chadarein (4 Shawls) Posted on 07/01/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Welcome to Sharifa’s world. She became part of our family when I was 3. Times were hard & Christian women were easily employed by Muslim families as cooks& sweepers & were then open to much ill treatment, abuse, sometimes raped& beaten. Sharifa had been struggling to keep food on the table for her 4 daughters, 1 son & husband sat all day in the corner of the house watching movies, smoking & eating sweets worsening his diabetic condition. This forced her to leave the four walls of home to search for work. That’s when she was led to Amma. Amma (mum) had her own difficulties. Dad was travelling for work, God had called mum to teach & share Jesus with her students & the young people from Cchurch. She also had 4 kids at home (us) who were a handful. It meant that daado (paternal grandma) watched us but her arthritis & angina meant she was slowing down. Sharifa was the Lord’s answer to Amma’s prayers & Amma the answer to Sharifa’s! Amma asked Sharifa to come help with the cooking and cleaning. She would bring her 22 day old baby with her. Sharifa, an ethnic Christian never thought she needed to give her life to Jesus. Soon Amma & Sharifa became friends. Amma felt led to share Jesus with her. One day as she was chopping up veggies in the kitchen for Ddado’s lunch, Sharifa felt God speak to her. When Ama came home forom sSchool, she asked her if they could talk privately. As a little girl I wanted to be in the know of everything & tried to go in too but Amma said ‘no’. I sat outside in the hallway, annoyed because I hated secrets & not knowing stuff. I just liked nosing even at 3! Sharifa & Amma often recount that day when I sat outside the bottle green wooden door. I remember hearing Sharifa cry as mum prayed- though I couldn’t say what it was all about. After a while I got bored & went off to talk to Dado who was knitting. I complained about the secrecy of this ‘chat’& sparked dDado’s interest too. She would fish for me! Over the years I discovered- that day she Sharifa had asked Amma what she needed to do to invite Jesus to be her all & all, & in that hour & a half she had shared her heart& life with Amma & come to call Jesus her Lord and Saviour. Amma counselled her & prayed with her. From that day on Sharifa’s life was changed. Over the years I have also come to appreciate the struggles of a woman who now walks miles every Sunday to share the gospel with people in the villages & slums. She never complains about the fact that her husband will often hit her, but often she will weep with us as we pray for the Lord to provide the needs of a mother who still has 2 daughters to get married. It is not easy. She said to me some weeks ago, ‘most of my life my head was weighed down by the burden of 4 chawdars (shawls are the sign of honour- and daughters and women are the honour of a home & need protection and safe passage to their new home) two I have adorned and placed in the hands of men who serve the Lord, now I am praying that God will bring two more worthy men for me to adorn their heads too’. I invite you to think about the image of a beautiful shawl. The shawl as a symbol of women, a woman as the honour of a household. That Shawl jeweled by her Chistian prayers & her walk with Jesus & persecution as the adornment on that Shawl, fine as the finest embroidery. Let the Lord minister to you as you think of this & of women in the Muslim world where Honour & Shame is such a major issue and yet Jesus does not weigh down heads, He raises them.