13 Friday
Lailat al Miraj
Daniel,
Chapter 6, Verse 27-28
27
I decree that throughout my royal domain the God of Daniel is to be reverenced
and feared: “For he
is the living God, enduring forever, whose kingdom shall not be destroyed,
whose dominion shall be without end, 28 A savior and deliverer, working
signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who saved Daniel from the lions’
power.”
This is the summation of the story of Daniel in the
lion’s den. In this chapter Daniel is a type of Christ like figure. He is
falsely accused by those who are jealous of him. They use legal tricks to
entrap Daniel and have him condemned to the lion’s den. He is even put inside;
the den is sealed over with a giant boulder, thus mirroring Christ’s tomb. In
the end Daniel is not eaten by the lions but those who conspired against him
are thrown into the lions and eaten. The story reflects the glory of Christ’s
victory over Satan and the demons.
Daniel when presented with a law that opposed the
laws of God had to decide whether he would submit or stay true to his
convictions. He chose his life principles. He likely followed the principles
of:
1.
Weighting
out the options before you.
2.
Ask
if those choses force you to compromise personal values.
3.
Seek
wise counsel.
4.
Count
the cost.
5.
Decide
based on principles.
6.
Act
on your decision swiftly and firmly.
Daniel maintained a set of values and principles
that enabled him to make decisions quickly and confidently. If you take too
much time making decisions often it is too late to act. Do not wait to survey
the pulse of your people and paralyze your organization. Do the right thing!
The Mass was the center of life for the disciples of
Jesus, and so it has ever been. The first Christians were Jews, living in a
Jewish culture, steeped in Jewish forms of worship. The liturgy of the new
covenant had been foreshadowed in the rituals of the old. The Mass is
explicitly connected with the Passover meal. There are also parallels between
the thank-offering or todah and the
Mass.
A
todah sacrifice would be
offered by someone whose life had been delivered from great peril, such as
disease or the sword. The redeemed person would show his gratitude to God by
gathering his closest friends and family for a todah sacrificial meal. The lamb would be sacrificed in the
Temple and the bread for the meal would be consecrated the moment the lamb was
sacrificed. The bread and meat, along with wine, would constitute the elements
of the sacred todah meal,
which would be accompanied by prayers and songs of thanksgiving, such as Psalm
116.[3]
The Talmud records the ancient rabbis’ teaching
that, when the Messiah has come, “All sacrifices will cease except the todah.”
In fact Greek scriptures rendered the word todah
as eucharistia, the word from which
we get “Eucharist.”
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The
LORD is my life’s
refuge; of whom should I be afraid?
Lailatul Miraj (Arabic: الإسراء
والمعراج) commemorates Prophet Muhammad's ascension to heaven. Muslims
believe that on this night, an angel came to the Prophet, washed his abdomen
with Zamzam water, and filled his heart with wisdom and belief. Then, Muhammad
was called by God from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he prayed at the Masjid
Al-Aqsa (Jerusalem). From Jerusalem, he ascended to heaven, where he was
honored by being allowed to see God directly, visiting the highest levels of
heaven, and leading all the past Prophets in prayer, including Joseph, Adam,
Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Jesus, and John the Baptist. To get
to his destinations, he rode Al-Buraq, a heavenly animal that was smaller than
a mule but bigger than a donkey. He was given the gift of prayer by God. When
he returned to Mecca, he accurately described a caravan that was headed to
Mecca from Jerusalem to show the Quraish that had actually been there. Although
the exact date of Laulatul Miraj is unknown, most believe it fell on 27 Rajab.
Lailat
al Miraj Facts & Quotes
·
Muslims
believe that there are several levels in heaven. Muhammad was taken to each one
by Angel Gabriel. At each heaven, a gate-keeper asked both the angel and
Muhammad to identify themselves before proceeding.
·
Muslims
believe that Muhammad saw "Al-Bait-al-Mamur" (God's house). Gabriel
told Muhammad that every day since the beginning of creation, 70,000 different
angels pray there daily.
·
Muhammad
is also believed to have seen "Sidrat al-Muntaha" (a tree) in the
seventh heaven. Its leaves resembled elephant ears, its fruits resembled clay
jugs, and from it originated four rivers. Two of them were hidden in heaven,
while the other two were made apparent to man in the forms of the Nile and the
Euphrates.
·
Muslims
believe that God had originally assigned fifty daily prayers. Moses, upon
hearing about this from Muhammad, is reported to have encouraged Muhammad to
negotiate and reduce the number of prayers God assigned, which He graciously
reduced to five daily prayers. (Sahih al-Bukhari, volume 4, Book 54, Hadith
number 429[6])
·
On
the night Prophet Muhammad was taken on a night journey two cups, one
containing wine and the other milk, were presented to him at Jerusalem.
He looked at it and took the cup of milk. Gabriel said, 'Praise be
to Allah Who guided you to the right path; if you had taken the cup of wine,
your nation would have gone astray.' - Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 69,
Number 482 This incidence is used to explain the fact that wine is forbidden to
Muslims.
Lailat
al Miraj Top Events and Things to Do
·
Muslims
are actually discouraged from celebrating or fasting on this day because of two
reasons: First, the exact date is unknown. Second, there are no real rewards
from God for celebrating this day.
·
Read
the award winning book, 'The Sealed Nectar'. It is Muhammad's biography
and tells of the many events that happened on Muhammad's journey from Mecca to
Lailatul Miraaj.
Daily Devotions
·
Manhood of
the Master-Day 6 week 11
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
[1] John Maxwell, The Leadership Bible.
[2] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 4. The Mass.
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