However, they have been quite successful with a number of mosques coming to Christ as a whole including the Mosque leaders who have now made the mosque into a church. Although attacks come, their witness is respected and although this movement has not been operating as long nor is it as large as the other two the Christians are strong and successfully living as a Christian witness in their communities even though persecuted. The last group has a carefully planned strategy. They begin with outreach methods such as distributing small notes in the mosque in Arabic raising questions about Issa and having study groups for Muslims interested to find out more about what the Quran says about Issa (Jesus). They teach first what the Quran teaches about Issa (emphasizing the positive) and what it teaches about the value of studying the bible. The Quran itself is much more positive about these things than the Haddith (traditions) which most of the Muslims in Ethiopia base their faith upon. The Quran instructs Muslims to read and honor the Bible whereas the Haddith speaks much about its being corrupted. So once the people understand that the Quran, which is the 1st authority, teaches them to study the Bible and to honor it, that is when they go on to study it together with these “seekers.” Over a carefully planned process they discuss the message of the bible focusing on Jesus and what the Bible says about Him. Over a period of time the people see for themselves the truth and make Christ Lord of their life. This group does intentionally reaches a point of understanding where it is clearly understood that Mohammad is not a prophet, the Quran is a later revelation and Jesus’ revelation in the gospels is greater authority and that he is the Son of God.

The process from beginning seeker to receiving Jesus as Lord may be 6 months to 2 years depending on the situation and the ability and anointing of the teacher. This period is a process of conversion for them in which the understanding is gradually brought into agreement with the scriptures. We are not very supportive of the first approach and do not teach that in our training program. We are happy with the house church concept but the level of contextualization is so high that it seems that the people may never really understand Christian truth. The second and third approach for us are options depending on the nature and character of the one sharing Christ. The outreach that depends much on the Holy Spirit for miracles is appropriate especially for those who do not come from a Muslim background. But it can be dangerous and not everyone is willing to be so confrontational in their approach. In the case of this group I interviewed it has been successful, confrontation has been controllable and the fruit is good. I do not know if every group could have such a testimony of success with this method but they have great faith in Christ to show Himself strong on their behalf. The last group has a very successful method that respects the traditions and culture of their target group and reaches a full understanding of true Christian teaching and doctrine over a process that has been extremely well designed. I think it is the best approach for those who come from a Muslim background and have been trained in how to use this approach. There is not a one-size fits all approach for Muslim evangelism and church planting. Although there has been a great emphasis on contextualization strategies in the past few years, an important factor is the person pursuing the outreach themselves.

Many of the high contextualization methods require a person to be a former Muslim themselves and often from the same cultural group. Cross-cultural missionaries and those who did not convert from Islam themselves cannot really use these methods effectively. Which leads us to the belief that it will be mainly former Muslims who will be the ones to reach Muslims for Christ. We believe that there is a great ground swell world-wide in Muslim outreach and we will see a tremendous harvest in the next few years among Muslim people groups. Many areas are already beginning to see a level of success only dreamed of 20 years ago but there is still much work to be done. Please pray for this outreach as it is a critical time in God’s economy to reach Muslims with the gospel.

Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God (Rom. 6:11). It sounds so easy and it takes such few words to write. Yet this is our struggle in life. In Africa we have idolatry all around. Each year more than 1 million people gather (some say 2 million) in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia (Bishoftu) to celebrate a festival of Irachea. This is a time when new life is celebrated at Lake Hora and around a certain tree at the side of the lake. Such festivals and practices are a part of the ongoing celebration of culture but they are also idolatry. But then in America we have no shortage of greed and that too is idolatry. I doubt if there is more idolatry in Africa than America on this count.

And it is on account of these things (immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed) that the wrath of God will come. Rev. 21:8 reads: But for the cowardly, and unbelieving and abominable, and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. It makes me think again about how careful I am to tell the truth.

These things may have defined your past life but they must not define the present life of a Christian. “But now…” things are different. As Christians we no longer live a life allowing such things but rather we put aside anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech. Again Paul says, “do not lie” since that is part of the old person who you no longer are. There is a clear difference made here between those things that characterized our former life and the new life according to the character of Christ. For those who have died to sin, there is a rebuilding project proceeding in their life. The old habits and practices are being replaced with new ways of living, thinking, acting and feeling.

The pattern, or blueprint, for this rebuilding project is given as the “image of the One who created us.” Gen. 1:26 says, “Let us make man (or humans) in Our image and after Our likeness.” The building project still continues. Adam was not yet in the image of God which we know because He sinned. There is no sin in God, has never been any sin in God nor will there ever be any sin in God. So Adam was not in God’s image yet. No, if we want to see a human in the image of God we must look to Jesus, the last Adam. He is man in the image of God, as we read in Colossians 1:15 of this series of studies. But when we consider ourselves dead to sin as Paul describes in V. 5 and 8, then the next step is to put on the new self that is being renewed according to the pattern of Christ. Paul uses the idea of “being renewed,” because the work is not being done by us, but by God. You cannot renew yourself, neither can you remake yourself, but God can do both (see Jeremiah 18). If we want to know what the finished product is intended to look like, we must look to Jesus.

As we turn to the last verse in this section it comes to mind that in the church today we find some who are in love with everything Jewish. They love Jewish music, use a Jewish head covering when the pray, blow the rams horn, use Jewish names for God in preference to “Jesus.” May God bless them in their love for the Jews. But there is no special culture more precious to God than other cultures just as there is no special language more precious to God than others. I know Spanish is really the language of heaven but I think other languages are there as well. Some say Chinese is the language of God because more people speak that language than any other. But on the day of Pentecost all heard the glory of God “in their own language,” because Christ and His gospel are fully translatable. If you look at pictures of Christ in European museums He looks European. In China he looks Chinese. In Africa He is black, and in Latin American He appears Latin. Why? He belongs to all of us but is owned by none. We might use the name of Yahweh, or Yah, or Jehovah, or Elohim, or any other biblical name, but I say, Christ is all and in all and His name is above all names in heaven or in earth and there is no other name by which we must be saved.

Paul says, ”If you have been raised…” which is an odd question for us since his discussion from chapter 2 seemed to put that experience in the past. We “were buried with him in baptism.” Yet here we are with this “if,” why? There are many things that have been done for us by Christ at the cross but that does not mean we are experiencing them in our lives today. He had provided all for my salvation long before I received Christ as my savior. When I received Christ I activated the power of God for salvation pertaining to me. The work was done but I was not experiencing it until I received the work of Christ by faith. And so again here, “If you have been raised” means we need to ask ourselves the question, have I received the resurrection power of Christ into my life and experience? The evidence of having received this power would be that I am in the process of overcoming every sin.

And if I have been raised with Christ, then I need to “keep seeking” the things above. So the experience of being raised up with Christ is connected to seeking things above, rather than below. When I put my mind and priorities on Jesus, I begin to experience what it means to be raised with Him. If I continue to dwell on the things “below” then I am not experiencing the resurrection power of Christ but rather I am still fighting it out in the trenches of life on this earth. If, on the other hand, I am seeking what is above then I am participating in the victory represented by Christ’s sitting at the right hand of God. He is seated because His work is finished and I am invited to sit with Him, but then that is up to me.

I choose to “set my mind” on whatever I want. The act of “setting ones mind” is a choice of the will. I can set my mind on failures and mistakes of the past, or on offense or on problems and difficulties or on whatever else the devil would like me to be thinking about at the moment. Or, I can set my mind on the things above and so experience the victory of Christ today. Too much of the church has put off the victory of Christ until heaven or perhaps the millennium, but that victory is for today if we will choose to set our minds on the things above.

The reason we can do this is that we have died and our life is hidden with Christ in God. Paul could have said, “if you have died…” since that really is the issue. When we set our minds on things above, when we seek those things, they become more precious to us than anything of this earth and so we die to this world. When we die to this world we become like Jesus. He was not of an appearance to attract us in the natural (Isaiah 53:2-3) but rather He looked like any other man on the outside. But His life was hidden in the Father. Inside was the power of the kingdom but outside looked like an ordinary person. When you have died to this world, your life becomes hidden with Christ in God. Others may not understand you. Why do you not care about many things of earthly concern? Why do you not fret over your reputation and how can you forgive others so easily? Because a dead person does not worry about such things, in fact the message of Romans 6 is that dead people don’t sin either.

So your treasure is not here in the earth and your heart is not here either, it is hidden with Christ. But when Christ is revealed, you will be there. Again Paul uses this word “glory.” In chapter 1 verse 27 we understand that Christ in us is the hope of Glory and here again that hope is made more clear that when Jesus is revealed we also will be with Him experiencing and participating in His glory. We cannot take God’s glory, we cannot claim anything of the glory for ourselves, but Christ is willing for you to share in His glory with him as His body, His bride. But who is it that shall have this experience? Paul has just explained it, those who have died with Him and have been raised with Christ.

Can we understand that the purpose of Christ’s suffering and dying on the cross is not simply to provide us a ticket to heaven? Yes, heaven is promised to those who believe but the purpose of Christ is that we enter into His death by choice and through faith, in order that we may also share in His life and resurrection power…here…now! And the promise for us is that if we will receive from Him that resurrection power we will experience His victory now and share in His glory when He is fully revealed.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as he is. (1 John 3:2)

Dr. Gary Munson

BY REBECCA HAMILTON | MAY 31, 2011 | Foreign Policy

SOUTH OF ABYEI, Sudan—”I heard a plane way up high and then ‘Doom!’,
the sound of a bomb hitting the ground,” explained Mary Ajiang Kur,
37. “My neighbor called out: ‘The Arabs are coming!’” recalled Kur,
who said she grabbed her children and hid in the bushes.

Soon after, men arrived in her village, outside of Abyei town, the
heart of a fertile, 4,000-square-mile area that straddles the
provisional border between north and south Sudan.

“They came first on motorbikes and then [Toyota] Landcruisers with
guns mounted on them,” said Kur. She remembers many of the men were
wearing uniforms but said some were wearing civilian clothes. “They
started firing towards us. Bullets were landing beside us. We saw
people being killed.”

Now, Abyei town is eerily quiet. An occasional round of gunfire and
the whirr of a United Nations helicopter are the only sounds in a town
that is usually populated by around 40,000 people. On the weekend of
May 21, according to a U.N. report, the civilian population fled when
northern Sudanese troops assaulted the town with heavy weapons,
including airplanes and tanks. Khartoum’s forces now control the town,
although there is still a significant contingent of U.N. peacekeepers
stationed there. No reliable estimate of the number of killed and
wounded has been produced.

As seen from the air on Sunday, May 29, smoke rose from the remnants
of several dwellings. Buildings made of concrete seemed to be largely
intact. But the charred foundations of many tukuls, the grass-topped,
mudbrick homes that most Abyei residents inhabit, were clearly
visible. Among the smoldering remains, blackened bed frames and chairs
could be seen. Clothes and other household belongings were strewn
outside several homes.

On the main road in the center of town, a handful of men in army
uniforms appeared to be organizing the movement of household goods
onto a pale mustard-colored pickup truck. Others in civilian clothing
were seen carrying goods from houses into large piles on the side of
the road. The U.N. reported widespread burning and looting in the days
after the attack.

Both the Sudanese government, based in the mainly Arab and Muslim
north, and the South Sudan government, based in the largely Christian
and animist south, claim ownership over Abyei, a fertile borderland. A
2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war between north and
south failed to reach a final agreement on its status. The region may
not be as economically important as it once was: At the time of the
2005 deal, Abyei accounted for one-quarter of Sudan’s total oil
production; since then, a court ruling has placed the most lucrative
fields outside of Abyei’s boundaries, and its one remaining oil field
is in decline.

The region, however, has acquired a symbolic value that has made
negotiations over the area particularly challenging. “Abyei has
unfortunately assumed a political character and complexity far removed
from the fundamental dispute on the ground,” says Zach Vertin, Sudan
analyst at the International Crisis Group.

In lieu of an agreement over the region’s status, the people of Abyei
were supposed to decide for themselves in a referendum in January. It
never took place. The South Sudan government argued that only the Ngok
Dinka, a settled, non-Arab group who are ethnically and politically
southern, should get to vote. Khartoum wanted the Misseriya, a nomadic
Arab group who travel through the Abyei region to graze their cattle
in the dry season, to also vote, believing that this would secure
Abyei for the north. The dispute was being addressed through political
negotiations until the north seized Abyei outright, sending thousands
of Ngok Dinka fleeing south in terror.

Many of those displaced described a pattern of invasion: after aerial
bombardment, armed men advanced in pairs on motorbikes, “one was
driving, the other was shooting,” followed by larger groups in
Landcruisers.

Some of the displaced said they were fired at from the air as they
tried to flee. “There were planes shooting at us,” said Nyek Atar, 17.
Others expressed guilt that they had to leave behind those who were
too old to run. All said that they left with nothing but the clothes
they were wearing.

Those who hid within Abyei town report seeing tanks rolling into the
center on Saturday, May 21. One woman says she saw a tank drive over
the bodies of three young men she knew who had been shot earlier by
troops in a Landcruiser.

Many who fled say that after realizing they were under attack and
running for some distance, they hid in the bushes until it was dark.
What followed were days on the move. Aid workers stationed in the
neighboring town of Agok, about 20 miles southwest of Abyei, say that
this was where many thousands first congregated. But on May 22, rumors
circulated that northern troops were going to advance on Agok. The
displaced took off again, heading further south.

In the panic to escape, many became separated from their families.

In Turalei, one of the main collecting points in South Sudan, people
are desperately seeking news of missing relatives. Aluel Nyoul, who is
unsure of her age but looks to be about 10, clung tightly to the hand
of her cousin. “I started running with my parents, but we lost each
other on the way,” said Nyuol. “I don’t know where they are. I don’t
know where anyone is. Just my cousin here.”

Many sustained injuries as they ran. Mothers tell of how difficult it
was for their young children on a journey of up to five days with no
food or water. Sunday Taban Lobaya, interviewed in the South Sudan
town of Wau, said her two-year-old son died of dehydration on the way.
“I had to just bury him and keep going with my other children,” said
Lobaya, who is seven months pregnant.

At first glance, it all sounds and looks awfully reminiscent of
Darfur, the western region where the Sudanese government and its
allied janjaweed militia committed atrocities against non-Arab
residents that the U.S. government in 2004 said were tantamount to
genocide. One should be cautious about rushing to draw the Darfur
analogy, however. The testimony of the (admittedly moderate) sample of
Abyei’s displaced population I have spoken with in recent days
suggests there may be important differences between the two
situations.

None of the Ngok Dinka people I interviewed reported being subjected
to any of the racial slurs that characterized the janjaweed attacks on
people in Darfur. To my knowledge, no sexual violence has yet been
reported, although this certainly does not mean there was none. And
death from direct violence does not seem to be a primary feature in
the eyewitness accounts to date, though this may be only because so
many people I met with started to run the moment they heard bombs
falling in the distance.

Despite many years of violent tension with the Misseriya, the
involvement of Misseriya militia in the attacks, and the general sense
that “the Arabs” did this, many displaced seem to be clear that the
primary culprit is the Sudanese government.

“The Misseriya do not have Antonovs” one woman told me, referring to
the planes used in the initial assault. The same message was echoed by
South Sudanese politician and Abyei native Luka Biong. “It was good
that it was not the Misseriya who launched the attack on Abyei. It was
clearly the NCP [Sudan's ruling party]. It shows the Misseriya have
just been used by them.”

This is the second time the people of Abyei have been forced to run
for their lives in just three years. In 2008, Abyei was razed by the
Sudanese government and its allied militia. The violence followed a
dispute between northern and southern soldiers stationed in the town
under a joint administration set up by the 2005 peace agreement.

“In 2008 everything was burnt and destroyed,” explained Aker Chol
Deng, 20, who was displaced again by the recent violence. Deng says
that her family had just finished rebuilding their home this year.
Asked if she would return to Abyei again, Deng answered quickly, and
with some frustration at the question. “It is home.” Then, placing her
hand on the leg she injured as she ran, she added, “But only if it is
safe.”