Religions and the Christian Faith

December 26, 2013
Uncategorized
Religions and the Christian Faith
Kindly Pray for the Prayer Point at the end
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Today’s Scripture
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“If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” – (Matthew 18:12).
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Thoughts for Today
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What do the religions of the world have in common? They all attempt to pursue and appease their gods, who have distanced themselves from humanity. That is a key difference between these religions and the Christian faith. Christianity is the only faith in which the one true God reaches out to humanity. He pursues and seeks us out; we are the ones who are lost—not God.
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We can rejoice not only because God seeks us out, but also because we can know our Creator personally and have a thriving, fulfilling relationship with Him. We can talk to Him as we would a close friend. We can know the very heart of our true God. In essence, Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship.
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In the Gospels, we see Jesus conveying this message over and over again. At the beginning of Luke 15, we see the religious leaders murmuring against Jesus: “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them’” (v. 2). The Pharisees considered anyone who admitted his need for God’s forgiveness to be ignorant and weak. Though they studied the Scriptures, they were far from knowing and comprehending the heart of God.
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Prayer: Our Loving Heavenly Father, thank You for pursuing me when I was lost in sin. Thank You for being an intimate and loving God. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully, In Jesus Loving Name I Pray, Amen.”
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Have a Blessed Tuesday and God Bless you.
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In His Service,
Daily Dose Devotionals Team
“Encourage one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13)
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Will you Pray for this
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NEPAL, SOUTH ASIA
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Although Christian Believers face social pressure and persecution, Christianity is growing, particularly among young people. Nepalese youth are attracted to Christianity because it does not discriminate against different castes. Diko Tamang, a twelve-year-old boy, says, “In my opinion, there should be no discrimination of any kind in a religion. In Christianity, there is none. In all castes and ethnic groups, each person is treated the same way. This is what I like and what inspired me to become Christian. When I grow up, I want to be able to spread the message of God’s equality in our society.”
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Praise God for the growth of the Nepalese Church!
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Pray for Believers in Nepal to reach out to young people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
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Pray for a large harvest of souls in Nepal.
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, ARABIAN PENINSULA
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The United Arab Emirates is known for cities like Dubai and its luxury hotels. But there are Emiratis who desire the country to move away from such openness to the outside world. Security forces in the UAE arrested members of a cell made up of militants from Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. Islamist sentiment has risen in recent years, and Dubai could make an attractive target.
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Pray against any rise in militant Islam.
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Pray for the security forces to continue to thwart the plans of these militant cells.
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Pray for the growth of the Church in the UAE; there are very few Emirati Christian Believers.
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ALBANIA, SOUTHEAST EUROPE
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The 15th century tradition of vendetta, or “blood feud,” is still carried on in Albania. According to Albanian belief, a victim’s family can pursue justice on their own by killing all male members of the rival family, including children. These children are “imprisoned” by their families in order to spare their lives. They never leave their homes and have few links to the outside world. An Albanian teacher says, “The children of vendetta are condemned to death.” Approximately 600 Albanian children remain home from school because they are hiding from vendetta threats.
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Pray for the government to outlaw the brutal custom of vendetta.
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Ask the Lord to protect these children and bring true freedom into their lives.
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Pray for Albanian Christian Believers to earnestly share their faith with their friends and neighbors.
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MOROCCO, NORTH AFRICA
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In Morocco, the younger generation is pushing the public decency laws for a Muslim nation. On Facebook, one youth posted a picture of two friends kissing, a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl. All three are now charged with indecency in public. The case ignited outrage on social media websites. Human rights groups condemned the arrests and asked for the charges to be immediately dropped.
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Pray for a healthy view of affection in public.
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Pray that there will be a growing dissatisfaction with Islam among the youth.
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Pray they would look toward Jesus Christ.
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IRAQ, MIDDLE EAST
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Militants continue to repeatedly target mosques, markets, cafes, football fields, and any other place where crowds gather. Shi’ites target Sunnis and Sunnis target Shi’ites.
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Pray against this increase of violence.
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Pray for the hope and peace that only Jesus Christ can give to be released more across Iraq.
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Pray that the Christian Church will grow stronger and be a light in a very violent and dark place.
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SRI LANKA, SOUTH ASIA
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A report by the Minority Rights Group (MRG) states that “Rape and sexual harassment of women in former war zones in the north and east are continuing even after the end of a twenty-six-year civil war in 2009, and that 89,000 widows are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment, exploitation and assault by army personnel, domestic tourists, and others due to the women’s poverty.” Farah Mihlar, South Asia expert for MRG, says the women “have little course for redress since they fear reporting attacks against them to the authorities.”
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Pray for an end to sexual violence against women in Sri Lanka.
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Ask the Lord to financially provide for the women in Sri Lanka’s north and east.
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Pray for these widows to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
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