What's in a Day?

What's in a Day?

But to about 2 billion people, primarily from China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, it’s Lunar New Year, and the first day of a 15-day celebration. It marks a huge migration of people as they travel to be reunited with family. The focus is on family, honoring ancestors and resetting cosmic good luck.

Homes are thoroughly cleaned to remove any bad luck and then decorated with red. Elders give little red envelopes containing money to children as a means of transferring good fortune. People wear new clothes and enjoy traditional feasts, usually including dumplings and fish as signs of prosperity and noodles as a sign of longevity. Dragon and lion dances are performed to ward off evil spirits.

A family reunion festival undergirded by a need to somehow secure prosperity and good fortune--they have no relationship with a loving heavenly Father, our God, who loves and cares for them.

That same night is the start of Ramadan, a month of fasting and spiritual labor to seek the favor of Allah, for the world’s 2 billion Muslims. Wednesday is the first day of fasting, and daytime fasting will continue until March 19. Each night family and friends will gather for the Iftar meal to break the fast together. Towards the end of Ramadan there will be a particular night, called Laylatul Qadr, when it is believed that prayers offered to Allah are more likely to be answered. Some will choose to pray all night in hopes that Allah might hear them.

Muslims adhere to 5 practices that they hope will win them favor with Allah on the day of judgement--but they have no confidence that their efforts will be rewarded. They don’t know about the finished work of Christ on the cross, so they have no assurance of salvation.

This Wednesday is also significant in the Christian community, marking Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent is a 40-day season of spiritual preparation in anticipation of Easter. It honors the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness prior to beginning his ministry. Christians today observe Lent in a variety of ways, but the core focus is to realign our hearts with God’s in a journey of spiritual renewal.

If the 2.5 billion Christians around the world had hearts truly aligned with the heart of God, what would that look like?

We might more eagerly obey Jesus’ instruction in Luke 10:2,

“He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”

We might ask God to show us how to be obedient to Jesus instructions in Matthew 28:18-20,

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Let me invite you in these 40 days before Easter to prioritise praying for your neighbours. Let God fill your heart with love for those who are still lost. If you have neighbours from a different culture, maybe you could ask them about their celebrations this time of year. Maybe you could invite them to celebrate with you at Easter?

Prayer Points:

Here are some prayer resources to guide you in your prayers during these days:

For the Buddhist world:

World Prayer Guides: 15 Days of Prayer for the Buddhist (PDF)

CLICK FOR INFO

Pray for the Muslim world:

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World

VISIT SITE

Love Muslims

by Prayercast

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For Muslims in Canada:

Written in Canada for our context:

READ HERE