We are in the middle of the month of Ramadan here in Indonesia. Ramadan is an entire month of fasting for our Muslim neighbors and happens to be the exact month of September this year. The Muslims cannot eat, drink or swallow your saliva between sunrise and sunset. Sentani isn’t quite as strict as other parts of Indonesia, but we still try to be respectful and not eat or drink anything when we are out in public. We make sure Cale doesn’t bring a juice or snack out to the stores as well. Eating in front of people that can’t eat is rude.
The women get up about 3:30 am and cook a very hearty breakfast and everyone eats as much as they can before there is any light at all. (by 4:30 am) Then, an absolute fast until 6:40p.m. when an alarm goes off, kind of like a distant tornado siren to let everyone know they can break the fast. According to Muslim tradition, if you do a “perfect fast” (30 days without flaw) you can erase 1000 months of sin.
I believe quite differently. I believe that Jesus is the only One that can forgive my sins. He died on the cross to pay the price of my sins so that I would have a chance to get to heaven by believing in Him. The Muslims are bound by the laws here and feel that they can control the forgiveness of their sins by being good enough. They work so hard to try and be good enough to enter heaven, but in the Bible Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” How free they would feel by believing the truth instead of a lie.
Off to the market
Rachel
1 comment:
Read from other perspective:
and how free they would feel to commit more sins, as Jesus has erased all their sins anyway, just by believing in Him.
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