Daily Topic for December 16, 2007
Because of the compelling love of Jesus (cf. (2 Cor. 5:14), this psalm can be the prayer of our hearts, that the whole earth may receive the blessing of Abraham which we have received through Christ. Perhaps this psalm was on Charles Wesley’s heart when he wrote the words to his hymn, “O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise.” The second verse of that hymn reminds us that it is God, our gracious Master, who assists us “to spread through all the earth abroad, the honors of (His) Name.”
Dear Father, may indeed “Your ways be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations” through us, we pray.
Though you may not be familiar with the Hadrami people of Yemen, one of the members of this people group is infamous throughout the world: Osama bin Laden. The al-Qaeda leader is the son of a Yemen-born Hadrami who immigrated to Saudi Arabia.
The Hadramis are Arabs who stringently adhere to Sunni Islam. They reside in the Hadramawt area, located near the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula. There are approximately 380,000 Hadrami people in Yemen.
Lured by stories of easy riches, thousands left their homeland in the l700s and settled in Indonesia. Though they are a distinct minority in that Muslim nation, they have been afforded special status. Indonesians believe the Hadramis to be direct descendants of Mohammad and associate them with the holy sites of Mecca and Medina.
Less than one percent of the Hadramis are Christians and there are no active efforts to evangelize this people group in Yemen, Saudi Arabia or Indonesia. They are without a Bible translation in their dialect.
Learn more at joshuaproject.netPray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into this waiting harvest field. Ask him to prepare the hearts of the Hadramis and gather them to himself. Petition God to bring Indonesian Hadramis into His kingdom and place a burden on their hearts to return and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with their kin in Yemen. Pray that soon they will have God’s Word in their dialect.-CL
Next day: Mahra Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula
Previous day: Yamaneyatain People