So likewise,
whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple.
Luke 14:33
EGYPT
is salām ‘alaykum, hello, today we will learn a little bit about the people in Egypt. Here are a few quick facts about Egypt:
ü The capital of Egypt is Cairo.
ü The official language is Arabic.
ü The unit of money is called the pound.
ü 98.42 million people call Egypt home.
ü 10% of Egyptians are Muslim.
ü The Egyptians invented the 365-day calendar.
ü The pyramids were not built by slaves.
Life for Christians in Egypt and
other Middle Eastern countries is very difficult since the majority is Muslim
and becoming Muslim is encouraged. Still
people with Christian backgrounds usually have it easier than those who convert
from Islam to Christianity. These Christians truly know the meaning of
forsaking all for Christ’s sake. They often face persecution from family and
former friends and sometimes are not even accepted by the Christian community
because of the consequences in converting Muslims. Would you like to meet some of these people?
Check out this book… I’m pretty sure my Dad and I would
both recommend this book. He picked it
up and spent most of Thanksgiving Day reading it. It is a very catching book that kind of pulls
you in and just makes you want to keep reading until it’s done. So this is not
a good book to read when you are needing to get other things done. 😉 In Secret
Believers Brother Andrew introduces us to some of our brothers and sisters
in the Middle East and shares some of the things they face and their incredible
faith through it all. These Christians
don’t ask that their struggles would end but that we would join them in praying
for their persecutors and other Muslims who have not heard the good news of
Jesus yet. Brother Andrew actually
visited the people in this book and helped these brothers and sisters in their walk
with God. To meet more Secret Believers you
can CLICK HERE.
Brother Andrew was not always serving the Christians
in the Middle East neither was he always serving the Lord at all. In his book God’s Smuggler you can read about
Andrews childhood and how he got involved in smuggling Bibles to Communist Countries. He shares many stories of God’s miraculous
provisions for himself and his fellow workers and then invites us to join this
story by praying and even taking Bibles to other countries.
Because of his work in countries where people are persecuted
for their faith Brother Andrew has started a ministry called Open Doors which
you can visit online to learn more about the work he and many others are doing
in other countries.
Open Doors has a project that encourages us as fellow Christians to write letters to those who are persecuted in other countries. So, as a project for this post I am just going to encourage you to use your creativity to make cards.
All you need are paper, envelopes, stickers, tape, or just a good pen. Try out your hand at calligraphy or other pretty handwriting or just doodle with zentangles or stamps. These will brighten anyone's day and you can be as creative as you want.
May you feel God's blessing in your life in the coming week.
ma ‘ is salāma
Sources: World Book Encyclopedia, 1985
Open Doors International
Secret Believers
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