STRENGTH MATTERS/A MUSLIM WHO DARED TO DOUBT

SCRIPTURE OF INTEREST

“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2 NASB).

MY COMMENTARY

The Strength of the Country Depends on the Strength of the Church

Just think, what might be difficult for some of us to understand is that you and I as Christians really determine the destiny for our country. You might agree with that statement but then again you might not. But that is okay because what I want you to see is that we as a body of believers called the church have power to direct what will happen to our province and our country. “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7 NIV).

Let me share with you an example from Scripture as to what happens when people make a decision to forsake God. “The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baal’s; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths so He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around so that they could no longer stand before their enemies” (Judges 2:11 – 14 NKJV).

When Israel followed God and His precepts they were protected and had strength to overcome the enemy. That is a very important thing. As we look at this story mentioned above and apply it to our current times I believe that the strength of the nation depends on the strength of the church. Your relationship with God matters immensely. When Israel began to compromise with their enemies by chasing after other gods God’s hand of support was taken off and the nation became weak and overrun by the enemy. They were not in a position of strength but weakness.

Listen, sin is still sin. Sin separates us from God and we become vulnerable to the ways of the enemy. Again, Scripture says, “If you are willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel you shall be devoured by the sword for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 1:19, 20 NKJV). Jeremiah the prophet also speaks on this topic of obedience, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all my ways that I have commanded you that it may be well with you” (Jeremiah 7:23 NKJV). These passages apply to individuals and a company of believers. As a church our mandate is to preach and teach people to live for God, which is of great importance.

How we live matters. When we compromise with the world and its ways or embrace sin and fail to repent of it and renounce it we weaken our position which then has impact upon our lives, our families, our church family and the nation as a whole. The Bible states this very clearly “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34 MKJV). We are called by God to live and pursue righteousness because that is what we did adhere to when we turned our lives to Christ in the first place. We are to turn from sin and put on Christ every day of our lives. And the beauty in this is that He is there to give us the grace we need to overcome sin and to live above sin.

Unfortunately, I feel most of the church in Canada is not in the strong position that it should be. We have weakened our position because the Word of God has not become the backbone of our belief. Many are saying that we must be relevant to our present culture and the times we are living in. Living together before marriage is not looked upon as sin and so they are allowed to participate in ministry in some circles. In fact, in some cases people that are serving in positions of ministry are no better off than the unbeliever. Our language is the same, our conduct is the same and our sexual behaviour is no different and we serve without any concern about the consequences of our ways. When we read Revelations chapters 2 and 3 we find very quickly how Jesus monitors the conduct of the church and how He holds it responsible for its practices.

Scripture pleads with us to strengthen our position by realizing that the Devil is waging war against us and we must rise up and repent of our complacency of sin. We are slowly surrendering to the whims of the spirit of anti-Christ without fighting against him. I know we preach love but if that is all we do then we are missing the point. We are at war and many of us have been silenced. Scripture says this, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3 -5 NKJV). Another verse which again speaks of the war that we face says, “Put on the whole armour of God that you may stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ruler of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11, 12 NKJV). As we see in these verses there is a war going on and the enemy is hitting you and me with everything he has to weaken us to the point of surrender.

It is time for the church to arise and begin to do battle for our homes, for our young people, for our marriages, for our neighbourhoods, for the salvation of souls, for our province and for our country. Isaiah 60:1 – 3 (NKJV) states this, “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you, for behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and Kings to the brightness of your rising.” For us to be strong in the Lord is to surrender to Him through repentance of our sin and He will have mercy toward us forgiving us and refreshing and empowering us once again with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lou Sheldon, a Washington Watchdog in the late 1900’s said “the strength of America lies in her churches.” He also cited the writings of the French political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, who had come to the United States in the 1830’s to find out what made America great. Lou Sheldon said that “De Tocqueville wrote, I sought for greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world of commerce and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.”

The Apostle Paul made it very clear concerning the place where the church needs to be and he spoke to a church that faced persecution. “Do this, knowing the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:11 – 14 NASB). If this was true for them then how much more for us now. I believe that revival is a must for us to be in a place of strength. I want to leave with you one more verse which is the catalyst for revival “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV).

TESTIMONY OF GOD’S GOODNESS

A Muslim Who Dared to Doubt

When Mark Gabriel was born, his Egyptian family gave him a Muslim name and quickly pushed him to study Islam. They did everything possible to guarantee that this sixth son of a wealthy Cairo businessman would become a devout follower of Muhammad’s teachings.

Mark began reciting the Quran at age 6. He memorized the entire book by age 12. After studying Islam at the University of Cairo he graduated second in a class of 6,000. He was named an imam, a title of honor for a Muslim leader, and he soon became a professor of Islamic history and culture at the most prestigious Muslim institution in the world – Al-Azhar University in Cairo.

But Mark’s scrutiny of his faith led him to discover the dark underside of Islam. He didn’t understand why Islamic nations had been so violent toward one another throughout history. And he wrestled with the many contradictions in the Quran.

At one point Mark said, “I became very confused between the teachings of Islam and the Muslin practice of Islam. This was a very big issue to me, but I was not allowed to question anything. No one is.”

His questioning led to his suspension from the school and eventual imprisonment. “I didn’t know where to turn,” he said. “I had always been told that Christianity is the wrong faith because they believe in three gods. So for one year I was without a god.”

While working for his father, Mark got a chronic headache and started frequenting a local pharmacy for drugs to cure it. The pharmacist, who was a Christian finally asked him what was wrong because she thought he was becoming addicted to the medication.

Mark admitted how he had been searching for a year for the one true God. She smiled and said, “I don’t think this is something you can deal with by taking tablets.” He said. “She handed me her Bible and made me promise not to take any more tablets until I had at least read some of it.”

He began reading the book of Luke when he got home. “I lost track of all time,” he said. “It felt like I was sitting on a cloud above a hill, and in front of me was the greatest Teacher telling me about the secrets of heaven and the heart of God.”

The next morning Mark gave his life to Christ. He tried to keep his conversion a secret, but his father found out and tried to shoot him. With the help of his sister and mother, Mark fled Egypt and made a harrowing journey by truck to South Africa – where he received discipleship training at a Youth With a Mission base.

Because of combined murder attempts on his life, he was forced to move to the United States to seek religious asylum. His background as a former professor of Islam put him in a risky position, but he decided not to be intimidated by those who tried to silence him. In early 2002 he released a book, Islam and Terrorism, which analyzes Islamic history and the roots of violence in the Quran followed by another book entitled Islam and the Jews.

TIDBITS FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE

We have covered three important practices to having a happy marriage:

1). Say goodbye to singleness

2). Consider the feelings of your spouse – learn to be selfless.

3). Learn to listen

Today,

Be quick to forgive

Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Ephesians 4:26, 27 says, “And don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.”

Anger can take a foothold in your life and open the door to strife, resentments and bitterness. Hardness develops leading to unnecessary fights resulting in destruction of the relationship.

If you want your marriage to go well deal with issues by learning to forgive, apologize and by this keep your heart soft.

When your spouse has done something that you consider wrong learn to let go. It is to your benefit.

Sometimes there are issues that need attention and can be resolved through talking so do it. Don’t let it linger. Use wisdom. Pray for wisdom.