About Ramadan
30-Days of Prayer Booklet 2009:
Ramadan 2009 / 1430 – The Muslim Month of Fasting
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. It is during this month that Muslims observe the Fast of Ramadan. Dates for Ramadan 2009 (or 1430) are 22 August – 20 September.
Coinciding with Ramadan, we produce a booklet for the Christian world called, “30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim world” (which can be ordered here ).
The first evening of Ramadan
In many places around the world Muslims will be looking to the heavens this evening. They will be interested in knowing if they will be able to see the crescent moon. If it is visible this will be the signal for the beginning of the month of Ramadan. (In most countries religious authorities will make a proclamation concerning the beginning of Ramadan). No fasting will take place till tomorrow morning. Muslims will rise early to eat their breakfast before the day begins. Afterwards they will not have anything else to eat or drink till nightfall. This will be their daily experience during the next 30 days.
Fasting – Ramazan
Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of the religion of Islam and one of the highest forms of Islamic worship. Abstinence from earthly pleasures and curbing evil intentions and desires is regarded as an act of obedience and submission to God as well as an atonement for sins, errors, and mistakes. Called Ramadan (or Ramazan), Muslims fast during this holy month from the moment when it first starts to get light until sunset. Muslims fast as an act of faith and worship towards Allah, seeking to suppress their desires and increase their spiritual piety. Fasting together as a worldwide community – Ummah – affirms the brotherhood and equality of man before Allah.
Islamic Calendar
The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle. The month of Ramadan is the ninth month and begins with a combination of the sighting of the new moon and astronomical calculations. The exact time of Ramadan sometimes varies from place to place as some rely heavily on the moon sightings while others depend on science. An Imam (Muslim holy man) will declare the exact time of Ramadan just prior to its commencement. The fasting period ends upon the sighting of the next new moon, which occurs after 29 or 30 days.
The lunar cycle changes each year. For example, this year Ramadan will be 22 August-20 September, but last year the dates for Ramadan were 01-30 September. (See our Islamic Calendar article for details .)
The Meaning of Ramadan
The name Ramadan is derived from the Arabic word ramida or ar-ramad, denoting intense scorching heat and dryness, especially the ground. From the same word there is ramdaa, meaning ’sunbaked sand’ and the famous proverb Kal Mustajeer minar ramadaa binnar – to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. Some say it is so called because Ramadan scorches out the sins with good deeds, as the sun burns the ground.
The Special Feeling of Ramadan
Ramadan brings out a special feeling of emotional excitement and religious zeal among Muslims of all ages. Though fasting is mandatory only for adults, children as young as eight willingly observe fasting with their elders. Children look forward to the excitement of sighting the moon and eating special meals with their families. Adults appreciate the opportunity to double their rewards from God and seek forgiveness for past sins. As Ramadan emphasizes Muslim brotherhood and community all feel a particular closeness.
Muslims have to change their whole physical and emotional selves during this 30 long days of fasting. A typical day of fasting begins with getting up early, around 4:30a.m. and sharing a meal called Sahur together before the fast begins at dawn, about 5:10a.m. As dawn breaks, the first of five daily prayers, Fajr, is offered.
As the day proceeds, fasting Muslims are constantly bombarded with messages from their stomachs that it is time for breakfast, snack, lunch, and so on. And each time, Muslims remind themselves that they are fasting for the sole purpose of pleasing Allah and seeking his mercy. They offer the second and third prayers during early and late afternoon, respectively.
Fasting helps one to experience how a hungry person feels and what it is like to have an empty stomach. It teaches one to share the sufferings of the less fortunate. Muslims believe that fasting leads one to appreciate the bounties of Allah, which are usually taken for granted – until they are missed!
Throughout the day Muslims are encouraged to go out of their way to help the needy, both financially and emotionally. Some believe that a reward earned during this month is multiplied 70 times and more. For this reason, Ramadan is also known as the month of charity and generosity.
To a Muslim, fasting not only means abstaining from food, but also refraining from all vice and evils committed consciously or unconsciously. It is believed that if one volunteers to refrain from lawful foods and sex, they will be in a better position to avoid unlawful things and acts during the rest of the year.
Breaking The Daily Fast During Ramadan
The fast is broken at sunset. The Prophet Muhammad recommended breaking the fast with dates. Muslims are urged to invite others to break the fast with them. These gatherings are called Iftar parties.
Just after breaking the fast, and before dinner, Muslims offer the fourth of the five daily prayers, which is called the Maghrib prayer. After dinner, Muslims go to their houses of worship, called Mosques, to offer the Isha prayer, which is the last of the five daily prayers. The day ends with a special voluntary prayer, the Taraweeh, offered by the congregation reciting the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam.
The Last 10 Days of Ramadan
The last ten days of Ramadan are considered highly blessed, especially the 27th night which is also called the ‘Night of Power’, or the ‘Night of Destiny’. It is believed that on this night the prophet Muhammad received the first revelation of the Qur’an. For many Muslims, this period is marked by a heightened spiritual intensity and they may spend these nights praying and reciting the Qur’an.
After 30 days of fasting, the end of the month of Ramadan is observed with a day of celebration, called Eid-ul-Fitr. On this day, Muslims gather in one place to offer a prayer of thanks. It is traditional to wear new clothes, visit friends and relatives, exchange gifts, eat delicious dishes prepared for this occasion, and wait patiently for the next year.
What the Bible Says About Fasting
In the Bible, we do not find any one method of fasting required of us, but the Lord Jesus did say however, “when you fast…” (Matthew 6:16), seeming to assume that His followers would imitate His own example. We fast as an outward symbol of our devotion to God, being willing to deny ourselves food for His sake. Fasting adds intensity to our prayer, and often leads to breakthroughs. We do not fast to convince or persuade Him, but rather to identify with His broken heart and with His desire for all mankind to know Him. “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out.” (Isaiah 58:6 &7)
You can order our new prayer booklet coinciding with Ramadan here …>>
We also have a special version “Just for Kids” and families:
Just for Kids 2009 edition
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i just want to say that non muslims are trying to convert muslims into their religion.i also want to give u website that will help muslims in modern time,it is a kind of website that muslims need today.www.harunyahya.com u can also find his other websites after using this website. mudasir,srinagar kashmir,pin 190001 india. mob 9906710564. asalamu alaykum to all of u.thank you.
Thank you. I have enjoyed this explanation of Ramadan. It has provided me with a greater understanding of my muslim friends and their islamic faith. Coming from a Christian family, they were all distressed when we moved to Dubai a year ago, fearing the unknown and outrageous assumptions that the western world perceive of the islamic faith. I am glad we moved, as we are more knowledgeable on the topic and I feel we have a greater cultural understanding. If people keep their faith strong, they will not stray from their faith, however, fanatics in any faith can be potentially harmful and undo all the good work of all religions. May we all live on this earth in peace and have a greater acceptance and understanding of each other. Ramadan Kareem.
Hi everyone.
Ask anyone who replies and replied the prayers including Jesus, Maryam, the forefathers of Jesus? Who created them all when Jesus was not existing? Who existed before anyone existed? It is Allah is the reply of all. So do not try to fall a victim to someone else’s bigotry or evil scheme. Either you go for Allah’s Guidance (Islam) and Protection or be a loser, because there is none if you delete Allah from your mind who can do all things for you. Ask this question, think before going to bed everynight? And who brings you out alive from your bed? If Allah wished, He could have brought you out on the next morning as a dead body! So give thanks to Allah and do not bring rivals to Allah from here and there. Act on your Allah given wisdom and reasoning. This is the Greatest Sin and Blunder and you will pay accordingly if ever you did it. So beware of your words and acts that you do in relation ot Almighty Allah the Lord of the Worlds.
please could you forward me the calender for salaahs
thank you
Abdul Ghafoor, let me respond to your questions and comments. God (or if you wish to use the Arabic, Allah) replies to prayers, including those of Jesus, Maryam and the forefathers. Jesus has always existed, as He said: “Amen, Amen, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58), even using God’s name, the one God had revealed to Moses, to refer to Himself!!! And like you, I believe that God sustains everything, and gives us life, and we ought not oppose or blaspheme Him, for He will judge us on the final day. So let me also give you the warning Abdul of denying God and His revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ. In worshipping Jesus Christ, we do not commit idolatry or shirk, but worship according to God’s revelation of Himself often misunderstood, maligned and rejected. But beware of stumbling over the precious capstone of God’s salvation, as God repeatedly warned (1 Peter 2:4-8 and especially Luke 20:9-18). I do not find the concept of one God with three non-competing unified ‘persons’ (Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit) -whom the Bible often refers to- to be slanderous or diminishing to Him, but glorious. I do not desire to slander you or show you down, but like you I care greatly about the honor of God, and I also desire that you might know this wonderful, glorious God. I recognize that this issue is not simple (and tried to explain some of it in a post on this website). I encourage you to read the Bible and try to understand what it teaches about Jesus, and how he clearly claimed to be God in various ways (Son of God, Son of Man picking up on and explaining Daniel’s prophecy (7:13), One with the Father, etc). And if you do not accept the Bible, let me challenge you to explain what Jesus’ message was, why he was sent to the cross to die, what the original ‘un-corrupted’ Injil contained, how come the Qu`ran encourages you to learn the Injil when it would have already have had to be corrupted (there are hundreds of manuscripts of the Bible, upon which we base our current translations, which pre-date the revelation of the Qu`ran), and why the the Qu`ran alludes to the Trinity as God, Mary and Jesus (Surrah 5.116) contrary to standard Christian belief in the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit as God (singular) as contained in Christian creeds from several hundred years before the revelation of the Qu`ran. I know that there are lots of issues, but beware lest you reject and corrupt God’s true revelation and malign God.
re-reading what I wrote, I really don’t desire to start an argument, but recognize that our belief and worship of God is very important, about which I care deeply about, and would love to dialogue about it (if you happen to even check back and see my post) -not so that I prove to be smarter, but again, that Jesus would not be maligned (as He so often is, but virtuously lets people laugh and waits the day of judgement when His glory will be all the greater when people see Him as He is, eat humble-pie and are forced to acknowledge Him) and that those who misunderstand who He was and is, might know Him.
I thank you Andrew for your wise and loving response.
What you say is true and I respect you greatly for I can see your wisdom in your response and I can testify to the truth of what you say about Jesus because, along with the Bible, I have had dreams and visions showing me, proving to me, that Jesus is the living Christ; that Jesus is God Supreme.
andrew have a nice day, Peace and Mercy to you.
This video with 5 testimonies in 5 different languages is a powerful tool to help people see how God is reaching muslims through dreams and visions. It is currently available with English subtitles, and I would like to know if it has been subtitled in Portuguese (Brazil)
Ramadan is truly a great month because all duas are accepted by Allah and all sins are forgiven. This month really gives Muslims the opportunity to beg Allah for anything and express their desires. What they wish for in their duas are more readily accepted and they are able to achieve whatever it is that they desire. Inshaallah all of our hopes and dreams are fulfilled through Allah’s consent and we can understand how to be good Muslims. If you are a Muslim, please please fast, pray, and make duas with a hopeful and clean heart so Allah will accept it. You will surely get whatever you ask Him for if you plead with an unselfish and clean heart. Also, the last thing I would like to say is that the most important thing after making a dua is that, if it is something you really hope to achieve, you have to have FAITH in Allah and have a positive mind. So keep saying that He WILL accept my dua. Faith is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. If you have faith and believe that your dua will be accepted, then Allah will accept it, especially because it is Ramadan.So folks… ALWAYYSS HAVE FAITH PLEASE!!!!!!!!
i have a question, im a student and i have afterschool physical activities i try to fast on weekends and the first and last days of ramadan i was wondering if its a sin not to do this because honestly…i cant , its harder when you need all the energy you can get and for that well.. i need food. So am i sinning???
eos – 9-2-08 Yes, you are sinning but not for the reason you think. Please read carefully about the purpose of this site and check ALL the links. They will show you why you will never need to observe Ramandan again!
Eos,
Jesus is the only way to God. With Jesus, fasting is not a requirement. The God of the Bible loves His children so much that He gives His people what they need all the time. This does not mean that if you follow Christ you will always have all of your dreams come true, but it does mean that God will give you what He knows is best for you at the time that He knows it is good. The God of the Bible is full of mercy, grace, compassion, justice, and glory. There is no other like Him. He loved the people that were to be called children of God so very much that He was willing to put a part of Himself, Jesus, who is Immanuel meaning God with us, on the cross to die for the things we do wrong.
You see, in Jesus we can receive forgiveness for the wrong things that we have done because the forgiveness is not dependant on whether or not we fast and pray for a whole month. The one true god, the God in the Bible is the only one who is full of love, so much love that He would give himself up for your sins.
These things I write to you are amazing and true. No longer should you believe that the god of Islam will save you. Only Jesus Christ , who is part of God, can forgive you for your sins and bring you into a close relationship with Himself.
If you feel that God, the true God in the Bible is calling you to a relationship with Him today, just believe in Him, confess your sins and live a life that loves God… not because you love God, but because God, through Jesus, loved you first.
I have personally had struggled because I was not sure that Jesus is the God, but I know now that He is one with God the Father in the Bible because many many people (as recorded in the Bible) had visions of “the Christ” and also when Jesus came He fulfilled all of the prophesies about Him, like the ones in Isaiah that were written many many years before the life of Jesus.
On top of the prophesies, there is great evidence that He rose again because many people saw it and there were so many witnesses of His resurrection that it is undeniable! Jesus died, rose again, and now still lives today! I know that He still lives because in both Jeremiah and in Revelation (as found in the Bible) are visions of what Heaven is like and both contain very similar descriptions of the risen Jesus!
Check it out for yourself. It will give you greater hope than anything else in the whole world.
sorry kak but i do not believe that Jesus is god, or that there is a trinity or that god has a son ilike you do…bless Jesus as a prophet but Muhhamed was the last and the greatest my God is Allah my prophet is Muhammed and my way of life is Islam, i have no problems with Christians(notice Christ–followers of christ not God) but we are all born Muslims and its the way of life around us that shapes us as it has you,no offense. but we all do have one God and i believe we will return to him. as for Jesus’ resurection???……not yet……Christians may have their pearly gates and streets paved with gold but Muslims have had a closer look at whats there and long for it that much harder.
And i recieve my forgiveness from Allah
and there is no need for god to give himself up for anyone….
It deeply grieves me in my spirit to read of such contention between the children of God. Whether we are Muslim, Christian, or Jew…..are we not all worshipping the “same” Almighty God in heaven? Is “He” not the sole reason for our existence? Or was it perhaps the prophet Mohammad or the prophet Jesus Christ who is able to call a person into “being” from the very dust of the earth? No, it is God and God alone who can perform such wonders! Even Jesus himself stated at times that none is good but God alone and that no one knows the time of his second coming…not even himself….only the Father. The Father is God and to Him belongs “all” things…..our hearts, our reverance, our all. We are “all” called to God, by God, and for God. We are not called to hate one another or to point fingers at one sector of faith and judge. Are we God? NO!!!! So, instead of quarreling with one another; let us exalt God together, let us love one another, pray for each other, and hope the best for our brothers and our sisters. Only when we learn to love regardless of faith, gender, race, or age will we be likened unto God in His image. For from His hand He created all things and all peoples and when He was finished….He looked at all the work of His hands and was well pleased with His creation…..for all was good. During this special time of fasting and prayer let us seek the heart of God with humility. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and Mohammad be glorified this day and may we represent Him well in this world of darkness. Shalom!
Praise the LORD!!! God is good because His Mercy endures forever!
Angela, we are NOT all children of God. Jesus separates us. The Bible says that if you confess with your tongue and believe in your heart that God raised Christ from the dead, you will be saved. (See Romans 10:9) Jesus was certainly a prophet, but he is God. And he is the son of God. The so-called “contention” you mention is not between believers, it is between people of various religions. Tolerance is certainly needed in this day-and-age, but not some new-age religion which says that if we believe in a god, or nature, or good, or being nice that we all get to heaven. Hell is mentioned in the Bible because it exists, for all those who do NOT want to confess Jesus as Christ and Lord. You should be grieving in your heart that you haven’t spoken to Jesus about this yet. Take just a bit of time and ask him. He will tell you, he will talk to you, he will take all grievance away.
IB speaks the truth as stated in the Bible. I would encourage anyone who had doubts to just read the Bible, putting aside any assumptions that you may have about what the verses are trying to say. In fact, I challenge you. Is anyone reading this a man or a woman enough to actually read the Bible, not picking and choosing different verses or sections of the Bible that they like best and basing their “truth” off of those ideas. I challenge you to read the Bible, take it as a whole and to let the truth that is inspired by the one true God, who is one with Jesus, be your guide.
I do not say these things out of my own knowledge, but I say them on the authority of the inspired word of God, the Bible. Today as I read in Jude I was astounded to read something relevant to this discussion. The following is what I read and I would encourage you to read it for yourself…
Jude 3-
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that JESUS, WHO SAVED A PEOPLE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day- just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Yet, if this passage from the one true holy book, the Bible does not convince you your heart is very hard. I will pray that Jesus, the one true God, will soften your heart for repentance because if your faith is not in Jesus, you will be in eternal damnation. I do not write you these things because I will gain anything. Out of truth, if I desired to gain something I would agree with the cleaver lie that says that we all worship the same god and that we will all go to Heaven because it is the same God. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” Jesus also said (found in John 10:30), “I and the Father are one.” Additionally, there are many other places in the Bible that speak to the fact that Jesus is God.
Out of love for you do I write these things to you. Not because I love you by my own desire. If I were on my own I would be loving without a standard and therefore I would only love those who make me feel good. Instead I love because Christ, the everlasting God, loved me first. So much did he love me that He was willing to die for me. I am not trying to start another argument, but I know the truth because I have found it in the Bible- it is the word of God. That is why I tell you that there is only one God and He is Christ Jesus and if you do not believe in Him, I do pray that you will find Him.
Please, if you do anything, read the Bible. You can hate me for saying this but, I know the truth and the truth has set me free! Find the truth, there is only one.
I am very happy for this website giving information About Ramadan. Today as I was reading my daily portion from The Holy Bible, I found some thing related to this discussion. Hence I thought of sharing these words. That through Adam Death came into this world and Through Jesus resurrection from the dead. All who are related to Christ means who has a relationship with Jesus will be given new Life. Christ comes back to raise his people. After that the end will come. For the Scriptures say, “God has given him authority over all things.” (Of course, when it says “authority over all things,” it does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)Then, when he has conquered all things, the Son will present himself to God, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere. God has Jesus Christ to save us and to unite us with Almighty God. Its only thorugh him no one else. In Jn 6:46, 47Jesus said that “No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life “. and in Jn 14:10 ” Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. that means If you trust me you will trust the Almighty God. So its clear if I dont trust Jesus, I dont Trust God. If I dont know Jesus I dont know God. Its he who revealed God to us. Shalom.
1 Cor :15: 21-28
21.So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ.
22.Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life.
23.But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will be raised.
24.After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind.
25.For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.
26.And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27.For the Scriptures say, “God has given him authority over all things.” (Of course, when it says “authority over all things,” it does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)
28.Then, when he has conquered all things, the Son will present himself to God, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.
still dont believe Jesus is God……….i’ll comment later to explain……..just need an easy way how…..just as long as you believe in God and follow His path, He will accept you and love you…arent we all the same????
For Eos…I would like you to know that I struggled with similar thoughts as yourself before I gave my life to Christ…And we are all the same! How very smart of you to recognize this fact…We are all born with the propensity for doing bad stuff…that is what Christians refer to as sin…We none of us will ever be able to do anything ANYTHING to save us from G-d’s judgement. Not one thing. Not fasting. Not giving money to charities, nothing…It is a very hard, sobering truth to accept, isn’t it? That I can’t do one blasted thing to save myself…When you invite Jesus into your heart and your life, you will realize that you have Someone who provides you with everything you need…I wish I could show you how I have been saved from all kinds of things through the blood of Jesus, His scarifice for us all…Anyway, just think about this all. All of us would not write these things to you if we did not know Jesus…I pray you will begin to understand and continue to seek the truth of Islam…G-d bless you.
No, we are not all the same, the Bible says, in Acts 4:1-12 that salvation is found in no one else other than Jesus. If there is no Bible handy, I have taken the following text from an online Bible page.
1And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and(A) the captain of the temple and(B) the Sadducees came upon them, 2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming(C) in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3And they arrested them and(D) put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4But many of those who had heard the word believed, and(E) the number of the men came to about five thousand.
5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6with(F) Annas the high priest and(G) Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired,(H) “By what power or(I) by what name did you do this?” 8Then Peter,(J) filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today(K) concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that(L) by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,(M) whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11(N) This Jesus[a] is the stone that was(O) rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b] 12And there is(P) salvation(Q) in no one else, for(R) there is no other(S) name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
How could God be divided against himself? If we were all worshiping the same God, then He would be a liar to say in one place that Jesus is God and in another to say that Mohammad is greater than Jesus. It should eventually become clear that we are not worshiping the same God and therefore we need to search for the truth. The question then becomes which is correct.
The answer to this is found in the Bible, a book that is to be taken literally and is the word breathed into men by God himself!
ummm..hey kak maybe Jesus ment follow what i am telling you belive in God and not belive that I am God John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” oh and didnt Moses rescue slaves from egypt and not Jesus… remember him…the red sea…and rose i partly agree with your comment there will be a judgement day but we can save ourselves from eternal punishment through Islam..you need to read more
when JESUS said I am the WAY, the TRUTH and LIFE and that no one comes to the FATHER but by HIM it does mean that either HE was; a) saying the truth b) lying or c) a lunatic
i think option ‘c’ can be ruled out as that hardly seems to be the issue of contention for most people who choose not to believe in HIM. even for people who consider or may have considered this option HE still remains faithful to their salvation if they believe and accepted the above verse to be true! amazing grace.
considering option’b’ would mean that there is a possibilty that HE repeatedly lied, lied often or even lied occasionally to get a point through to HIS disciples and the people of HIS time. hmmm….is that a possibility? then consider this…if this JESUS CHRIST really did lie and was not all who HE claimed HE is, then what would have caused 11 ordinary men(HIS disciples) to go out into the wide world and claim that salvation can come to all men only through JESUS CHRIST, a truth they were willing to die for, be persecuted for? if JESUS CHRIST,son of the LIVING GOD did not really and truly die and attain ressurection as attested by hundreds of witnesses then it would be likely that every single one of those who believed and accepted HIM propogated some hocus-pocus theory or conspiracy for the continuity of a legend, a folklore of some sort. thats possible. but going back to history it should be known that if in any way there was the slightest bit of fallacy in what they believed in then atleast one person would have squealed and said that it was not true!!!! the resurrected JESUS, the JESUS who died on the cross for you and me is not the figment of so many of our imagination. if you can believe blindly that the word of GOD can come through the PROPHET MUHAMMAD(PBUH), who is just one individual then what is the difficulty in believing the actual account given by several of JESUS’ witnesses?? like i said its difficult to propogate a lie by so many people with constant threat of torture, persecution and death. think about it!
i chose option ‘a’ because GOD did not lie to me in the person of JESUS. i believe HE is the only WAY, TRUTH and LIFE.no man can come to the FATHER except through HIM. its the same invitation open to all of mankind…
goerge maybe your the lunatic
What’s your religion?
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. I immediately ran over and said “Stop! Don’t do it!”
“Why shouldn’t I?” he said.
I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”
“Like what?”
“Well … are you religious or atheist?”
“Religious.”
“Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?”
“Christian.”
“Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”
“Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
“Baptist.”
“Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”
“Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
“Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!”
To which I said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him off.
This is what it will come to found on a joke site
Yes, it was Moses who led the people, but who was it that Moses followed? He did not follow himself. He followed God and that is what the verse in Jude is saying. The passage in Jude tells us plainly that Jesus is indeed God!
I can tell you this, I have read the Quran, not much of it though because it was not true. At the same time, I know that you have not searched the Bible on these things or else you would hear the truth and then hopefully God would open the eyes of your heart to know the truth. The Bible is a book that speaks and not only can I testify to this, but so can many others.
If anything, I would ask you to read the Bible, beginning to end, leaving your presuppositions behind and see if God does not speak truth into your heart.
I pray that the God of the Bible, Jesus, would soften your heart and bring you into a wondrous love relationship with Himself, the only being who can save your soul from eternal damnation. I pray these things, not because I will gain anything, but because I love you with the love that Christ has for His children, those who believe that Jesus died and rose again and is now glorified!!! To Him be the glory forever and ever!
I know that these things will be so and so much more because I have the part of God, Christ, who loves me so much that he gave His holy self up for me, to advocate for me at the throne of God! To Christ be all of the glory forever and ever!
Amen, these things are so!
My friend you may be wondering why all these people are saying the same thing again and again, which you are unable to grasp. May the following scriptures will help you. The following is the the message to the believers. May be by reading this you will know the divine plan of Almighty God. Its about the people like me and other who follow The Almighty God through JESUS the High priest and Advocate………….
1.Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins.
2.You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3.All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God’s anger just like everyone else.
4.But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much,
5.that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!)
6.For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms ? all because we are one with Christ Jesus.
7.And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus.
8.God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
9.Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
10.For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
11.Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders by birth. You were called “the uncircumcised ones” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.
12.In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from God’s people, Israel, and you did not know the promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
13.But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ.
14.For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us.
15.By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups.
16.Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17.He has brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to us Jews who were near.
18.Now all of us, both Jews and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
19.So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
20.We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
21.We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
22.Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians Chapter 2
taken from the Online Bible.