fromIslam2Christ

I'm from Ivory Coast so I just want to clarify something. What is happening at the moment started back in 1999 and is the result of a military crisis that lasted 10 years. ... Very different from the popular uprisings in the North African world.

I am grateful for this forum!! Interestingly, here in my Canadian province, there are lots of "bibles" and various books about a so-called "Jesus": some are "the bible of crystals", the bible of angels", angel cards, oracle something-something, the "true story about Jesus", something about the grail and various so-called revelations from archangels and angels about the "missing years of Jesus". All these items are considered cool and non-threatening. So basically, as long as you talk about Jesus in a way that is contradictory to what the Holy Bible says, you are considered cool and enlightened. But the minute, you dare to speak about Jesus as presented in the Gospels... catastrophe!! You have to be silenced. Book stores are filled with all these items mentioned above. No Bible in sight.

First of all I want to thank God for everything He has done for me. I feel as if I am this "oddity" completely among my co-workers and people in my career path. I feel this total disconnect between my "Christian" way of thinking and lifestyle, and my work environment and all these people in my field( atheist, feminist, humanist, "religion is patriarchy", "religion is oppression against women"etc) . It is ok, it is all very clear and I am ok with that. Then today, I attended a meeting with workers from other places who have known me on other projects and here comes the big joke at my expense: in the middle of the meeting, someone says "Let's hope she (talking about me) won't change religious affiliations on us again!" Everyone laughs. Clearly, every one is making a joke out of my conversion from Islam to Christ. And clearly thinking I moved from one backward stupid religion to another. Fine. I collected myself and didnt say anything and brought the conversation back to the topic at hand. Of course, no one laughed when that same lady mentioned the "amber necklace" she got for her 6 month old baby in order to "balance his chakras" so that teething won't hurt. So that is NOT "backward"? What makes people look at Jesus with such contempt? Literally they act as if my belief in Christ means I am retarded. Yet, someone believing in some crystals and chakra balancing theory, somehow, makes them more "enlightened"? Just venting I guess. It gets a bit aggravating at times. It is one thing to see and hear people disregarding God in their own life choices, but it offuscates me to see them being so "close-minded" when it comes to my faith. Let me get back to reading Psalm 146...

Thank you for all the replies. It is nice to put things back in (God's) perspective!

Dear all, I am curious because I am hearing many different things from Christian brothers and sisters. Some are saying that unless you get married inside a church, your marriage is not blessed by God. Others say it is OK to get married elsewhere ( parent's backyard with an officiant, courthouse) as long as you bring in God in your vows. Some basic googling research I did showed that weddings were never conducted in churches until the 12th century when the Catholic priests started officiating weddings inside the churches. No where in the Bible either have I found verses that say a wedding needs to take place in a church building. But being no expert on the Bible, I would love to find out more.

Very edifying post, Nebula. I believe that somewhere in one of the epistles, there is a set of instructions on how to handle "incorrect" or "sinful" behaviours within our Christian community. I would have to look them up, but most of you probably already know what verses I am referring to. The emphasis on love should definitely be the beginning and end of all our actions and words. Ideally. Lately, my pastor said that the difference between our sinfulness and God's holiness is so great, yet Jesus came down to our level and walked among us. The difference between us sinners and other sinners is much less than the difference between God and us, yet we have a tendency to be quick to judge and condemn and exclude. So I feel Nebula's post on the topic is definitely on point.

This has got to be a joke...

Hi Song in the night. I can relate to what you are experiencing. What I have found that has helped me is making sure that peace is present. If peace is lacking, it is an indicator to me that something is not quite aligned with the Word of God and the will of God in my life. Sometimes it means leaving behind things we cherish and habits we enjoy, and even people we liked to have in our lives, when those things are not according to God's will. The biggest indicator is PEACE. These are the verses that help me meditate on the state of affairs in my life and whether they are according to God's will. Psalms 29:11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.

Here is an article published today that I thought would be of interest. ....

That's right. I had checked the option on my profile too, but it wasn't working.

HERE IS THE LINK "It was etched in the blood of a dictator in a ghoulish bid for piety. Over the course of two painstaking years in the late 1990s, Saddam Hussein had sat regularly with a nurse and an Islamic calligrapher; the former drawing 27 litres of his blood and the latter using it as a macabre ink to transcribe a Qur'an. But since the fall of Baghdad, almost eight years ago, it has stayed largely out of sight - locked away behind three vaulted doors. It is the one part of the ousted tyrant's legacy that Iraq has simply not known what to do with."

Hi Dave That would be great ! How about Grateful1 Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it.

I scrolled through the forums and I am wondering how to change my screen name to something else. I feel that having "islam" in my name is not representing who I am right now. It was appropriate 18 months ago when I first joined, but that's not how I want to define myself today. Thank you for letting me know if this is possible. God bless.

Very interesting! Thank you. Could we say that Joseph was also a pre-figure/ type... As he was made captive and sold into slavery, so he could later save his brothers who had rejected him from death? It came to mind while reading your presentation.

What's next? Churches getting closed in certain neighborhoods because it may be offensive to the values of the community? Political correctness is turning into a dictatorship.

I have seen the Good Shepherd one in a stained window once while Internet browsing.

Since my move to this apartment 5 months ago, I have decided to re-decorate and my walls have been left blank with no paintings, except two portraits of my daughters. I have wanted to have Christian art in my home, and have always been drawn and very moved by icons. I am referring here to icons used in the Orthodox traditions. There are two icons (see below) in particular of Christ that I find very moving: one is Christ The Good Shepherd and the other is Christ Pantocrator (sorry if misspelt). The thing about icons is that they are considered to be "written" and tell a story, inscribed within each gesture, each posture and position. I was wondering if anyone else shares this taste for eastern icons.

Actually, the Catholic church doesnt teach that only Catholics are saved. They believe that protestants (that is the rest of us) are also part of the plan of salvation. And that Muslims are also part of the plan of salvation. I read it myself in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, during my RCIA classes. Actually rachel did state on this board that the only saved folks are those who belong to the RCC church. Oh, ok then. Oh, so basically there are different beliefs within the Catholic Church... How confusing for me!!!!

Ok the passage about Muslims and other religions in the Catechism:

Actually, the Catholic church doesnt teach that only Catholics are saved. They believe that protestants (that is the rest of us) are also part of the plan of salvation. And that Muslims are also part of the plan of salvation. I read it myself in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, during my RCIA classes. 1260: "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."63 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity. (Catechism) 847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.(catechism) My two cents I am looking for the passage about Muslims that I saw once...

Am wondering the same thing...

Shallevet, sis, yes! And he was most likely healed! They can love Jesus that young! Matter of fact, she said a prayer along these lines today: "Please Jesus can you give my mother a job in this city, and please also send you Holy Spirit to my whole family... even if at my dad's house they don't like Jesus, send them the Holy Spirit too...." To God alone the glory....

As I was praying with my two daughters (8 and 5) tonight, for the FIRST TIME, my 5-year-old waited for us to say "amen" and said she had something she wanted to say. "Oh Jesus, thank you for the television and for all the stuff you have given us in this apartment. Jesus, thank you because you have saved the whole planet.. (she starts getting emotional then) so I want to say thank you because you saved all the planet from danger. The same you did with Israel. You closed the sea behind them. Amen" My mouth went and stayed wide open... If you only knew how much of a busy-buddy this child is, you would understand my shock... I know it is the Holy Spirit who inspired these words. When they go to their dad's, they are forbidden from saying the name of Jesus or singing Christian songs... So for me, this is God answering my prayers...

We can dream spiritual dreams from God, but also we can dream false dreams from the flesh or the devil. Thats why we have to test the dreams and also ask God to help us interpret them. There are many exemples of dreams from God in the Bible: - Genesis 28 and Genesis 31: Jacob is being shown hidden things and given guidance through dreams. - Genesis 37 Joseph is shown his future in his dream... - in the book of Daniel - Matthew 1 and 2: Joseph has a dream to show him what to do - Acts 10: Cornelius and Peter receive information from God through dreams. - Acts 16: Apostle Paul also gets direction from a dream. I think there are many many other examples in the Bible that show that dreams can be revealed by God to us Christians. But dreams also can be false. Zechariah 10:2 says that there can be false dreams sent to false prophets. Also many times, we dream about something because we watched too much TV, or have anxiety issues in our daily lives, or we have eaten unhealthy food, or because we have secret desires. Personally, I am a dreamer and God has used dreams to reveal Himself to me in many ways, to direct my decisions, and also to show me Bible verses I needed to meditate or use in prayer... I could write a whole book of testimonies about the dreams God has sent to me.

I am disgusted that this is happening here in Canada!!!