Idul Adha

Today is Idul Adha, the second biggest Muslim holiday of the year. It is the day on which they commemorate the time God sent a ram to Abraham so that he wouldn't have to sacrifice his own son. Of course, they believe that son was Ishmael, while the Christian Bible states that it was Isaac, the son through whom the blessing was to come. They mark this day by staying up all night the previous night having parades and marching around town chanting, "ALLEHU AKBAR!" It's pretty loud. Then on the day of, they go to the mosques and sacrifice goats and cows and pray a lot, then after all the blood has been drained out of the meat, they cut it up and divide it between themselves, any other friends who have come (including white people who are there watching) and enough to give the poor. On this day, everybody eats meat.

Anyways, I want to ask prayers for one man. He's the friend of a friend, an older Javanese man, and he recently became a believer. They don't call him a Christian, just a believer. He's been reading his Bible a lot lately, and he's really felt convicted about the verses about feeding the poor and also, "what you did for the least of these, you did for me." So on this day, he, as a believer, is going to butcher several goats himself, then take the meat to some different parts of town and give it all away to the poor while sharing his testimony and the fact that he didn't have to sacrifice these animals to Allah, because his God already sent the ultimate sacrifice.

Telling people about Jesus in the biggest Muslim country in the world is never easy. In fact, proselytizing is illegal. And through his actions, he could very easily face persecution on a large scale. Pray that his words would fall on open ears and ready hearts and that God would protect him! He's already put his plan into action as I type this, so as soon as you read this post, get praying! : ) Thanks!