Monthly Archives: June 2019

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June 6, 2019

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Prayer, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

THAT WAS GOD

There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. [John 3:18 (NLT)]

hindu pujaWhen writing about the prayers of Malala Yousafzai’s mother yesterday, I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. Although she was praying to Allah, it was the one true God—our Triune God of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—who heard and answered her prayers. While God is not a fan of Islam, He loves all of His children, whether Muslims, Hindus, Christians or others. Just because the Yousafzais don’t believe in Him doesn’t mean He doesn’t believe in them and their efforts to make our world a place where every girl can learn and lead.

If we believe that Christianity’s major claims are true, then the claims of any other religions must be false wherever they contradict it. Islam condemns the Trinity and denies the Fatherhood aspect of God, the deity of Jesus, and His death. By denying Jesus’s death, Islam denies His resurrection and ascension, His atonement for our sins, His Holy Spirit, and the salvation of His believers: the cornerstones of our Christian creeds! Islam and Christianity can’t both be correct any more than Buddhism, Hinduism or a whole lot of other isms and Christianity can.

My Hindu friends often say, “Well, it’s all the same God!” but it isn’t. Christianity recognizes one God in three person but my Hindu friends believe in a multitude of gods who are a manifestation of various aspects of one god, Brahma. Omnipotent, unknowable and impersonal, he may exist in three separate forms: Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver), and Shiva (Destroyer). While Hinduism views mankind as divine and believes each person is judged and punished by his own karma, Christianity believes that only God is divine, Jesus is the only way and there will be a final Judgment Day.

Saying we all worship the same God is what David Limbaugh calls “intellectual laziness.” The claim that all paths can lead to God is a statement we should never make or accept. It’s an insult to Jesus: God incarnate who came, suffered, and died on the cross for our sins—something totally unnecessary were there another way to God. Jesus definitively said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6] In spite of the Universalists’ claims, all religions do not lead to God. Then again, no “religion” leads to God; only faith in Jesus Christ does!

Our God is a God of love and His benevolence and mercy is extended to everyone. It was our Triune God, not Allah, who heard Mrs. Yousafzai’s prayers and extended His hand of healing to her daughter. Unfortunately, that mercy won’t be extended in the world to come. Simply put, for those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, death means punishment and eternal separation from God. Let us remember, however, that the exclusive truths of Christianity do not mean that we are exclusive in our love. Everyone, regardless of race, faith, ethnicity, sex or culture, is our neighbor and a person to be loved!

The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment. [John 3:35-36 (NLT)]

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. [Acts 4:12 (NLT)]

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June 5, 2019

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, Miracles, Prayer, Trusting God

HE’S NOT A MISER

zebras - great migration -serengetiWhat shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Romans 8:31-32 (NLT)]

Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. [James 4:2b (NLT)]

Yesterday, when writing about Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012, I thought of an exchange between her parents while the girl was being operated on for the removal of the near fatal bullet. The words “the patient may die,” had been on the papers consenting to her surgery and Malala’s father was deep in prayer. Making bargains with God, he prayed aloud, “Even if she is injured, just let her survive.” Malala’s mother, a devout Muslim, stopped him in his prayers with these words, “God is not a miser!” She confidently added, “He will give me back my daughter as she was,” and then returned to her non-stop prayers for a full recovery.

Her dissatisfaction with her husband’s prayers and her confidence in God’s ability to do great things reminded me of something said by C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory. Calling us “half-hearted creatures,” he compared us to “an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” While Lewis was writing about wanting things of the world when the splendor of God could be ours, I think his words apply to prayer, as well. Our prayers often are half-hearted and, like Malala’s father, we are far too easily pleased. We forget that, rather than a miser, God is our generous loving Father.

Pint-sized prayers suggest that we doubt God’s love for us and yet God is love; He loved us enough to give His only son to die for us! Small prayers imply that we think God is puny. A 97-pound weakling God could not have created man from dust and woman from man, made walls collapse and the sun stand still for Joshua, provided both drought and rain to Elijah, or given sight to the blind and raised Lazarus from the dead. Nothing is impossible for Him.

Perhaps we ask far too little of God because we’re afraid that He will think we are asking too much. Yet, without asking, we won’t receive. Malala’s mother said that God isn’t a miser and, with 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone, creation tells us that’s true. A miserly God wouldn’t have given us nearly 10,000 different species of birds, 950,000 species of insects, and even 16,000 species of mushrooms. He’s a “more than enough” God who loves to give gifts to His children. Why are we so easily pleased asking for a little bite when He’s waiting to give us the whole cake?

Mark’s gospel tells of a man who brought his demon-possessed, deaf and mute son to Jesus. He didn’t ask Jesus just to stop the convulsions or only to give the boy hearing or speech; he asked Jesus to heal him, but added, “if you can.” Assuring him that, “Anything is possible if a person believes,” the father’s reply was, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” [9:23-24]

Knowing that nothing is impossible with God, and remembering that God is not a miser, let our prayers be bold ones. Let us also pray that He helps us overcome our unbelief!

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. [1 John 5:14 (NLT)]

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. [Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)]

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June 4, 2019

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

ARE WE TOO CONTENT?

The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment. [John 3:35-36 (NLT)]

For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. [1 Timothy 2:5-6a (NLT)]

leopard lacewing butterflyYesterday, when writing about discontent, I realized there is one area in our lives about which Christians are too content. It appears that we’re quite content to keep our salvation and God’s grace to ourselves and allow others to miss that grace and experience eternity in Hell.

Malala Yousafzai is the Pakistani girl who, because of her outspoken passion for girls’ education, was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012. Last month, when reading her autobiography, I am Malala, I couldn’t help but compare the author’s dedication to her cause with Christian complacency. This courageous young woman began her campaign at the age of eleven and, in spite of death threats, continues today. At the age of sixteen, just nine months after being attacked, she addressed the United Nations and urged world leaders to take action against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism. The following year, because of her crusade for all children’s right to an education and her fight against the suppression of children and young people, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace prize. As I read her story, I was continually impressed by this Muslim girl’s faith, courage and dedication to her cause. I couldn’t help but feel guilty about my lackadaisical attitude about evangelism. For the most part, we Christians seem quite content to leave Jesus’s message unheard. Would that we all were as passionate about salvation as Malala is about education!

When Jesus gave us what’s known as “The Great Commission,” He was commanding, not suggesting. He expects our faith to take action. If a young girl, living in a restrictive society, has courage enough to speak out and defy terrorists, we should be able to speak about Jesus in our free nation. We don’t have to stand on street corners handing out tracts or go half-way around the world on a mission trip. We just need to open our eyes to the opportunities around us and speak with people, one on one, as Jesus did with people like Nicodemus and the woman at the well. As content as we might be with our circle of Christian friends, perhaps it’s time to take a few steps out of that circle. We could start by walking across the street and inviting a neighbor to church. A personal invitation from someone they knew is the most frequent reason given for a first-time visitor at a church.

Not resting on her laurels, Malala continues to raise her voice on behalf of the millions of girls who are denied the right to an education. If we truly believe that salvation is in Christ alone and not in our own goodness, works, rites, crystals or anything else, why do we remain silent when there are many who will be denied eternal life through Christ? Let us never forget that Jesus is not an option, an accessory, or an alternative. Not one of the ways, He is the only way. Are we content to keep Him to ourselves and go to heaven alone?

Don’t go to heaven alone Take someone that you know;
Friends and neighbors in sin Are you trying to win?
Your home is in heaven ’tis true But heaven was made for them too;
So don’t go to heaven alone Take somebody with you.
[“Don’t Go to Heaven Alone (Take Somebody with You)” (Gorden Jensen)]

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)]

And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. [Mark 16:15-16 NLT)]

Copyright ©2019 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.