Salvation for the Garbage Dump People

Someone pointed me to a neat story about how God used a missionary couple to reach hundreds of people who lived in a garbage dump in a Muslim country.

A missionary couple had been laboring in a certain Muslim country that I will not name for purposes of protection. They had become terribly discouraged in their attempts to share the gospel with the Muslims there, and they were about to quit and go home. However, they first decided to take a few days to fast and pray, asking the Lord for direction and guidance.

To their surprise, during this period of seeking, the Lord gave them this simple instruction, “Go to the garbage dump people.” The garbage dump people lived on the outskirts of this large Muslim city, the last people group anyone would normally ever want to visit. There are thousands of people there who literally live in the garbage dump.

. . .

They soon began an outreach to the garbage dump people. God’s anointing was obviously on the effort because after only a short time they had 30-40 people gathering around them for a Bible study in the garbage dump. In less than a year, 800-900 people were gathering every time the missionaries went in to preach and teach, which was three times a week.

Read the whole story.

HT: Asia Harvest

Two thoughts:

First, the convicting words of James 2:1–5 come to mind:

2:1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

Second, what a beautiful picture of the condescension of Jesus, who, “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” —2 Corinthians 8:9 (cf. Phil 2:6ff)

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Rev. Ann Holmes Redding: Christian and Muslim

The Seattle Times has a story about Episcopal priest Ann Holmes Redding, who has recently made public her commitment to both Christianity and Islam.

Shortly after noon on Fridays, the Rev. Ann Holmes Redding ties on a black headscarf, preparing to pray with her Muslim group on First Hill.

On Sunday mornings, Redding puts on the white collar of an Episcopal priest.

She does both, she says, because she’s Christian and Muslim.

Redding, who until recently was director of faith formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, has been a priest for more than 20 years. Now she’s ready to tell people that, for the last 15 months, she’s also been a Muslim—drawn to the faith after an introduction to Islamic prayers left her profoundly moved.

. . .

“I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I’m both an American of African descent and a woman. I’m 100 percent both.”

Redding doesn’t feel she has to resolve all the contradictions. People within one religion can’t even agree on all the details, she said. “So why would I spend time to try to reconcile all of Christian belief with all of Islam?

“At the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That’s all I need.”

She says she felt an inexplicable call to become Muslim, and to surrender to God.

“It wasn’t about intellect,” she said. “All I know is the calling of my heart to Islam was very much something about my identity and who I am supposed to be.

“I could not not be a Muslim.”

Read the whole story.

See also this article by David W. Virtue at Virtue Online: On being a Muslim and a Christian . . . Not.

HT: SermonAudio

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