Kamal Saleem: A Muslim Cries Out to Jesus

Kamal Saleem: A Muslim Cries Out to Jesus


Check out this video via CBN.com radio/television. Here a former Muslim who was raised to bring cultural jihad on America, becomes a Christian. Listen to what he says and how it happens. God is great!


Mission Lighthouse Ministry

What Comes First: Belief/Faith or Every day Living?

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Col 3:2-4).

Os Hillman with www.marketplaceleaders.org shared a story at biblestudy.crosswalk.com called, "Masquerading as a dentist."  This was quite an interesting story and it was also a blessing in understanding what our lives as Christians are all about.  What was being said in this story was that a dentist by the name of Bengel introduced himself as a Christian masquerading as a dentist.  What does that mean masquerading?

We look at the word masquerade as either a costume or a costume party.  We can also look at it as being something that we truly are not.  Spies are one example.  They have a tendency to hide behind something that they are not to complete a mission.  So, as Christians, we are completing a mission. We need to let people know who we are.  

So, in every day living, which is taken care of through Jesus as long as we believe in Him, is one that we should introduce ourselves not as what we do, but who we are.  We are Christians, we are believers in Christ.  This should come first.  What we do in life as is mentioned here is taken care of through the Father.

Here is some scripture that was used in the story that I would like to summarize here:

• God Himself has created a world which is time-bound and temporary (2 Pet. 3:10-11).  Does this not say it all?  We have a short time on this earth.  The clock is ticking, so whatever it is that we want to accomplish in our lives, we better do it quickly.  All that we do in this earth is temporary and not eternal.  Only living in Christ is eternal in His Father's Kingdom.

• God promises rewards to people in everyday jobs, based on their attitude and conduct (Eph. 6:7, 9; Col. 3:23, 4:1).  Attitude and conduct.  Whatever it is that we do we have to do as Christ would.  This means that we have to include Christ-like thinking in our every day jobs.  Can this be accomplished in such a diverse world of thinkers?  Can it be accomplished as we have such a hurry up world.  We want the people in front of us to move faster because we have someplace to be.  We do not say the things we should be saying to them even if we they do not hear us.  Yet, God hears us and He tries to set us straight.  So do what God wants us to do and do it the way He wants us to do it and He will reward us in our everyday jobs.

Just wanted to share this story with you as I received it in my email.  What is interesting is that it appeared in my every day email, not the missionlighthousehouseministry email.  So, the way that I see it is that this story is a good one.  My name is David Brown and I am a Christian masquerading as a free lance writer/photographer.

God Bless and Have a Happy Weekend!

David

Bible Study Series 2011: Jesus Preaches throughout Galilee and Gives the Sermon on the Mount

Jesus preaches throughout Galilee (Matthew 4:23-25):  Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.  News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering serious pain, the demon-posessed, those having seizures,and the paralyzed, and he healed them.  Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.


Well, there is no doubt that if there were true doctors back in the days when Jesus started preaching and performing His miracles of healing, they would have thought Him to be nuts.  How could such a man heal like He did?  Because He was and is the Son of God and with God all things are possible.  

Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12):  Jesus gives the Beatitudes.


Jesus gave the sermon on the mount which was on a hillside near Capernaum.  People came from all over to hear Him and what it was that He had to say.  What He was explaining to the people was that they had to put away their materialistic and legalistic thinking and begin to think about the kingdom and take on faithful obedience from the heart.  As we hear over and over again, what it is that we earn here on earth is only materialistic and when God brings us into His kingdom, we cannot take what we have here on earth with us.

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.  His disciples came to him and he began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, 

Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecute the prophets who were before you."


Money, wealth, power, authority are not the answers to receiving what is great about the Kingdom.  Having faith and obedience from the heart and understanding God and what it is He does for us is what is most important.  Following Jesus is what is important in our lives.  Worshiping and talking with Him is what is important.

Because of these things mentioned above, we are persecuted and Jesus warned us about this.  How did He know?  Again, and only because, He is the Son of God.  He came to us as God in the flesh.  God walked among us in the form of Jesus Christ so that He could teach more about the faithful obedience rather than following the law.  Jesus warned His disciples that they would be persecuted for spreading the Good News of the Gospel and later you will see how they were persecuted and thrown into prison only because they followed and they preached about Jesus.

Next on tap in the Bible Study Series will be Jesus teaching about Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16)

As White As Snow

For the past couple of days, weather forecasters for the National Weather Service have been forecasting a nasty snow and ice event that would take place starting sometime Sunday evening, January 9, 2011 and possibly lasting into the daylight hours of Tuesday, January 11, 2011.  Well, it is now 12:20 pm on Monday, January 10, 2011 and the State of Georgia has seen what the forecasters have been predicting.  The southern tier of the state has witnessed a pretty good ice storm while most on a line north of Macon, Georgia have witnessed a fairly decent snow storm where on average, 3 to 6 to 8 inches of snow has fallen. 

It is fairly easy to drive in snow, if you really know how to do it, yet, as freezing rain is now beginning to layer the top of the snow, driving is beginning to get down right treacherous in the state.  The State of Georgia is under a state of emergency.  This day is also the day Nathan Deal, the next great governor is to to be sworn in sometime around 2:30pm.  He was to be sworn in outside, however, because of the inclement weather, he and his staff has decided to move it inside and even decided to cancel some events that were to take place following his inauguration.

I ventured out earlier on foot to get some pictures and video (that is until my Kodak point and shoot died out because of its batteries) for an article I am going to write for the Examiner, as most of you know I am the Atlanta Area Event Photographer for the Examiner.  In the meantime, I will share one of my photos with you here as well as some scripture from The Holy Bible that mentions the word Snow in them.

Here is hoping that you are all enjoying your snow day or days and that you all stay safe.  Remember to trust in Him as He will get you through these tough days.

Here are some scripture that I hope will warm your heart for Him:

Job 9:30 If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean

Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Here are also the lyrics to a song by James Nicholson, 1828-1876, entitled, "Whiter than Snow" as provided by the following website:   http://www.scriptureandmusic.com/Music/Text_Files/Whiter_Than_Snow.html

Whiter Than Snow

1. Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul.
Break down every idol, cast out every foe
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

2. Lord Jesus, look down from Your throne in the skies
And help me to make a complete sacrifice.
I give up myself and whatever I know
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

3. Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat;
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet.
By faith, for my cleansing I see Your blood flow
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

4. Lord Jesus, before You I patiently wait;
Come now and within me a new heart create.
To those who have sought You, You never said "No"
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Chorus:
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

This hymn text was written by James Nicholson, who worked as a clerk in the post office in Philadelphia. He was active in the work of the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The hymn was first published in a pamphlet titled “Joyful Songs” in 1872. The hymn’s popularity greatly increased with its inclusion in the well-known Gospel Hymns series published by Ira Sankey and Philip Bliss.

David Brown and Alex Aleman

David will be back tomorrow with the continuation of Jesus' Ministry.


God bless and God Speed.

Bible Study Series 2011: Four Fishermen Follow Jesus: Jesus' Ministry Continues

My Brother-in-Christ and best friend Alex Aleman and I, David Brown, would like to thank our loyal followers and for those who are new to this blog site for sticking with us through the Christmas season as well as the New Year.  We truly hope and pray that this will be a God blessed New Year for you all and that you will continue to follow us as we continue to post Bible Study and more at the Mission Lighthouse Ministry blog site.  Remember to also follow us at our website:  http://www.missionlighthouseministry.org.  I would like to personally thank Alex for all of his hard work in revamping the website and to getting it back live.  You will really like what we have to offer at the website and check back with us often as I will be posting some interesting insight into my past life as a Conservative Jew and try to answer objections to Jesus through prophecy from the prophets in the Old Testament and to why I have accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, accepted Him as the Son of God and realizing that my Messiah has been here all along.

Speaking of following us, it is time to get into the first Bible Study of the new year and it is entitled, "Four Fishermen follow Jesus."  This study comes from The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4: 18-22, Application Study Bible, NIV.  Here is the scripture and then we will discuss it.

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  "Come follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.  Jesus called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

In reality, the Sea of Galilee is a large lake in Israel.  During the time of Jesus, there were nearly 30 fishing towns that surrounded it.  The largest town was Capernaum.

Are you a follower or are you a leader?  In this case, to be a follower was a great thing.  These four men were willing, so easily and so spiritually to leave their "business" of fishing and two of them to leave their father to follow Jesus who they actually already knew.  They knew what kind of man He was and found it necessary to be followers of Jesus.  Are you willing to leave what is so dear to you materialistically and something that can bring you your fortunes to follow Jesus?  This is something that I personally have been contemplating and feel that God is calling me to do.

You see, presently, I am not working full time.  This is not to say that I do not want to work full-time but as many of you know I have been searching and searching with little to no luck.  This is because I truly believe that God has something so much greater in store for me like Jesus had for his brothers, Simon called Peter, Andrew, James and John.  He is calling me to the ministry which I will be working on by attending school so that I can appropriately learn more about how to bring people to Jesus that need Him in their lives.  

I am looking to be a fisher of men.  I want to spiritually teach people about God and how to find Him if they have not done so already.  I am not saying that I have not been doing this, but Alex and I are working on this through our ministry.  We are doing it through Alex's music and through inspirational public speaking.

You can be fishers of men as well.  Actually men and women can help lead people to the Lord.  It is being done, but we need to "pick up the pace."

Speaking of picking up the pace, at Wednesday night's bible study at Mount Carmel Christian Church, we heard from adjunct professor (Atlanta Christian College) and Pastor Jim Street about what he calls "Listening Posts."  I will talk about them more in a post following this bible study series.

Tomorrow we will be learning about Jesus preaching throughout Galilee and then about His Sermon on the Mount.

Let's Pray:  Father God, we all want to be fishers of men.  You can make four follow Jesus, then there is no doubt that you can make millions more do the same.  We pray that You show us how and guide us as we leave the confines of our secular lives and enter a spiritual world where we can teach more and more people about You and how to follow Jesus.  Father God, thank you for these lessons and thank you for who You are and for delivering to us Your Son Jesus Christ.  In His Name, we pray!    Amen.