Archive for The Gathering Place "The Gathering Place" is a web community where people can gather and make new friends, share ideas, enjoy a few laughs and learn about many interesting things together. It is a safe place where friends can correspond with each other about what they love.
The other day I was at the photo shop in Walgreen's. The clerk, a 50ish man with a pronounced accent, was friendly and obviously trying to use good English. He asked several times "did I say that right?" "how do you say that?" After we had discussed some of my pictures including why my cat is called Prince Michael and why there is no Princess, I asked him where he was from and how long he'd been here. He told me he came here from Egypt two years ago. So, being nosey, I asked him why he had come here. In broken English, he started to explain the plight of Christians in muslim countries - how Christians who believe in the love of Jesus Christ are pitted against large numbers of muslims who believe just the opposite. In his broken English, he told me that some Christians pay money to the muslims for the priviledge of continuing to worship Jesus Christ without harrassment or conversion, or even worse. Others who don't have the money, are forced convert while still others escaped to other countries.
He was so proud of his new citizenship and proclaimed how blessed he was that he was able to come here and how thankful he was that he was chosen to be a citizen. He showed me his tattooed Cross and proudly mentioned that there were a large number of Egyptian Christians in this area.
His story really put it in prospective for me. Would I have the courage to pick up and move to another country to protect my religion, my right to worship? When so many suffer so much for Jesus Christ, what excuse can we possibly have for not serving God?
texaspampas
What's Our Excuse?
I wasn't sure which forum to post this but this true story really taught me something.
My brother-in-law (Paul) and his sublings are all anti-Christian and have resented the way their mother tried to force Christianity on them as they grew up.
About 10 years ago, their mother was in a nursing home because she needed 24-hour care. While we were visiting her, Paul took her frail hands in his and gently cut her fingernails.
On the way back to his house, he pointed out the spot where one evening after having a few drinks he saw a man, looking dirty and tired, hitchhiking. Paul said he told the man to get in the car, drove him to his house, ran a hot bath for him, and while he bathed, washed his clothes and prepared supper for him. Then, he fixed a bed for the man, and the next morning took him back where he had picked him up.
How many of us Christians would have done that? It's not hard to believe that we would have cut our mother's fingernails. But to pick up a stranger hitchhiking these days, taking him home and trusting that we would not all be murdered in our beds?
It's the story of the Samaritan that Jesus told, all over again.
Who's the Christian? I have to believe that God would have more compassion on Paul than me, who believes in Jesus our Savior, if I don't do as Paul did.
God's Warrior
WOW! Quite brave but that is not what gets you to heaven. Giving your life to Christ and living for Him is what does it and you have done that my dear cousin. Paul will have to do that too or he will never make it through the pearly gates no matter how good he is to his fellow man.
