Any Other god

“I know the greatness of the Lord—that our Lord is greater than any other god. The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths.” (Psalm 135:5-6)

The Psalmist, in comparing our Lord to any other god, is not suggesting that these other gods are legitimate divinity. These gods are only real in the sense that men have created them in their own minds and errantly worship them. Having said that, we should consider Allah for a moment.

Allah, is the Arabic word for God. Christian Arabs have no other word for ‘God’ than ‘Allah’, so in this circumstance, the God of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, can legitimately be referred to as Allah.

Muslims obviously use the same word, however their Allah is a perversion of the one true and living God. In other words they have taken the God of the Bible and changed His attributes and altered Bible-truth to harmonize with the false, Muslim faith. Therefore, the Allah of the Muslim religion is a false god. I don’t say that maliciously. I surely do not hate Muslims, I am just proclaiming the truth. Their god and their religion is detrimental to their eternal future.

For the record, there are many religions that have hijacked the God of the Bible and perverted His true identity by adding too, or subtracting from God’s Word. Sadly, many of them masquerade as Christian.

Looking at it another way, imagine some one took the likeness of Colonel Sanders (of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame), and began promoting him as a purveyor of hamburgers. We all know the truth, so we could boldly and truthfully say that they are lying; they have perverted the Colonel’s true identity and the person they are presenting, despite the familiar picture, does not exist in real life.

There can only be one God – Jesus made that absolutely clear. You would recall that our Lord and Savior was humiliated, brutally tortured and murdered. His sacrificial death served as sufficient atonement for our sin. God did this to His Son. Jesus asked of His Father if there were some other way. There was not. This was the only way. If there were another way or some other god that could have paved the way for our eternal security, then God allowed His Son to suffer a horrifying death for nothing.

It would all just be a nice story, a myth, or folklore, if Jesus our Messiah had not risen from the grave.

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Nothing Has Changed

“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)

I had a discussion with a man the other day on the street. He was a nice fellow; a banker type, and he professed to be a follower of Jesus Christ and also a Hindu. He shared how Heaven was a place bound within the confines of his mind and that all mankind is on a quest to unleash some kind of inner joy, peace, and knowledge. Our chat was friendly enough, but when I told him that Jesus Christ was the only way, he responded, “Our God is too loving to limit our choices to just one god.”

I hear that a lot.

The truth of the matter is that God has not limited our choices in order to make Christianity exclusionary, but rather to keep the selection process as easy as humanly possible. Our Father in Heaven has made it simple. As the Deuteronomy passage proclaims, there are 2 possible choices: a blessing or a curse. Here we sit thousands of years later and nothing has changed! Vanilla or chocolate; black or white; light or darkness; good or evil; Heaven or Hell; the narrow road leading to life everlasting or the broad way that leads to destruction…

Which do you want?

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

What you may perceive as exclusiveness, God presents as simplicity.

Why?

Well for one reason, the Father knows our covetous frame. God knows that if He provided ten ways, we are wired to want eleven; if He gave a hundred ways, someone would rise to his feet and demand a hundred and one. We know this to be true; I hear it almost every day — the guy who says, “Our God is too loving to limit our choices to just one god,” is really saying, “Why aren’t there a hundred and one ways?”

These folks typically counter with something like, “You mean to tell me that all Muslims are following a false god and are going to Hell?”

The reality is that I’m not sharing my opinion on the matter; I’m telling you what God has declared in His word, the Bible. I’m also telling you that I am very grateful that God has provided One way and that He took the time to tell me about it! And I’m telling you that I understand and appreciate that God kept the choices incredibly simple. And finally I’m telling you, God never changes; He is not swayed by public opinion or our emotions.

God is truth.

God is just.

God is right.

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19)

As of right now, this decision you face is not about anybody else; it’s about you — what are you going to do about your eternal future? Are you going to continue to roll the dice and defend the freedom to choose false gods; false gods by the way that you’re not even following (what do you care)? Or are you going to face the reality that Jesus Christ died for you in order to save you for eternity and that His resurrection is proof positive that He is the real deal?

It’s time to decide. Today is the day of your salvation. You are not promised a tomorrow where choosing is still an option. If you die today, where you end up will be based on the choice you make right now.

Choose Jesus.

Ask me how.

These articles may or may not be related:

• The Kingdom of Heaven (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)
• Depart From Me. I Never Knew You. (inspirationalchristiansfortoday.com)
• LISTEN: Jesus Christ: The Son of God, the Savior of Man (blackchristiannews.com)
• The Blood Of Jesus Christ (bummyla.wordpress.com)
• Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ (bummyla.wordpress.com)
• I am blessed (broomformybrain.wordpress.com)
• Heart Soul and Mind (dedicated2jesus.com)
• When You Know Who You Are (afriendofjesus2013.com)
• Freely Obeying (mypathtowalk.com)
• Understanding the Cross of Christ – Part 6 (Christ Arose!) (graceofourlord.com)

If you enjoyed the blog please like, share it, subscribe to it, or leave a comment. If you’d like to know how receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, drop me a note and I’ll get back to you. God bless!

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Who Told You to Say That?

It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes. Psalm 118:9

Had a little chat this morning with a lady about our religious differences—it was polite and respectful, but it still had that ‘Christians-aren’t-tolerant-and-everyone-else-in-the-world-is’ cloud hanging over it. That attitude of course comes with the territory and I’m at peace about it. After all, I consider myself an alien—why should I take up a dispute regarding the planet’s collective mindset. It is what it is and there are more important things to be concerned about…like salvation.

We danced around the tolerance issue a little more, but then I asked a question that ended our conversation.

“By whose authority do you speak?”

She asked what I meant.

I told her that in our zeal for our respective religious positions, we were both guilty of lovingly throwing around language that was absolute. I used one of her phrases, “pluralism in religious faith is necessary,” as an example. I pointed out that the use of the word ‘necessary’ was exclusionary as it implied that her remark was absolutely correct and my remark was not. For the record I wasn’t objecting to her remark or even her right to say it.

To clarify I told her that God was my authority. Oh not that God had specifically ordained me to say the things that I was saying, but rather that the words were His, that they’re found in the Holy Bible, and I was merely repeating them (or paraphrasing them as it were). In other words, what I was sharing was not a personal philosophy, tradition, or contemplation.

After my explanation, the conversation ceased and I have not heard from her since. Why? I suspect she realized that her authority was her own and that she had been sharing from her heart what she believed and what was relevant to her–She had in fact created for herself a religion that best suited her needs. The Book of Romans describes her behavior:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man–and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Romans 1:18-23

Look around. God is obvious and to deny Him is to declare that you are wiser than Him. Currently there are over four billion people roaming this planet that do just that—they proclaim supreme authority over themselves. Professing to be wise, four billion people are playing god while simultaneously playing the fool. I spoke to one of them today.

I don’t say that mockingly or even condemningly—I pray that this lady will come to understand that there is only One Authority, not billions and that she would wisely submit herself to Him. Honestly, how can we make sense of this world or our lives when there are billions of us who believe that we know better than God? Our God is not a God of confusion and probably the main reason why there is only one of Him.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18

These ramblings are typically (but not always) a byproduct inspired by God through my personal Bible study at SearchLight with Pastor Jon Courson and with my pastor at my home church, Calvary Chapel Coastlands

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What Jesus Are You Following?

But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers. You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. Psalm 50:16-21

Didn’t I just write about Psalm 50 a couple days ago? Yup, but I felt drawn by the Spirit to come back to this particular passage and peel back another layer because of its crucial significance; these are prophetic words of our Lord Jesus and he is addressing a very special group of people. Who are these folks? Those who believe in a different Jesus.

Oh, I’m not talking about Mormons, Muslims, or Jehovah Witnesses, although we could make a case for their inclusion here. No, we’re talking about the guy who may be sitting next to you in church who believes in another Jesus. The Jesus he believes in either winks at sin or says that what he’s doing is no sin at all. Like the Psalmist wrote, ‘they acquiesce with thieves, dabble in adultery, proffer evil, lie, and defame,’ all the while falsely believing Jesus is ok with it all. To that Jesus says, “You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you.”

Does that sound like anybody you know?

More importantly, does it sound like you?

Know that this is not an exhaustive list of offenses. Anyone who claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and habitually does things that are contrary to His word and/or contradicts His holy character is not a true believer. They have in fact taken the name of God in vain, just like the promiscuous woman who marries a man, takes his name, vows to be faithful, but then continues in her licentious activities.

Here’s the bottom line — if your Jesus has different attributes than the Jesus of the Bible, then you have made up your own God. You may call your god Jesus, but he bears no semblance to the one true and living God; he is a god of your imagination who ascribes to the lifestyle you desire to live. Look around, the world is full of them. The currant governor of New York [for one example] would fit the bill. He attends a church, regularly takes communion, all the while living with a woman who is not his wife. He has decided all on his own, that his activities are not sinful. The Jesus I follow would never approve, but the Jesus he has created apparently does. Again, Jesus will say…

You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you.

“But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15

That’s the trillion dollar question! Who do you say Jesus is? Does your Jesus line-up with the Father’s Jesus? If not, don’t panic, repent. Change your mind and God will change your heart. On the other hand, if you continue to hold onto your fairytale Jesus, one day you will most certainly hear, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

*These ramblings are typically (but not always) a byproduct inspired by God through my personal Bible study at SearchLight with Pastor Jon Courson and with my pastor at my home church, Calvary Chapel Coastlands

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A Christian’s Folly

Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; and they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. Judges 10:6

Quotes For Today

“I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words…When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint”

“What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?”

These would be such precise assessments of today’s youth, had they not been penned well over a thousand years ago. The first quote is attributed to the 8th century Greek poet Hesiod and the second to the 5th century Greek philosopher Plato. Apparently there is nothing new under God’s sun. Things have not changed one crumb, except to say that there are now billions of people in the world making the perversity appear a billion times worse. We should not be surprised. In the Book of Judges the Lord raises up deliverer after deliverer and each time, the children of Israel repeatedly do evil in the sight of the Lord. If we weren’t so culpable ourselves, we might be shocked.

Why Does This Happen?

Well the short answer is that we’re all sinners, however for the born-again believer, that excuse no longer floats. A true follower of Christ Jesus; one who is enveloped in the components of the faith, should know better. So what happened with Israel? In their case they were recurrently guilty of what we’re so often guilty of: complacency. God would save them, there would be peace in the land for forty years or so (the length of a generation), and then the next generation would fall away into idolatry. Why? Because the previous generation kept their faith to themselves; they were self-satisfied and made little or no effort to carry on the oral traditions of their faith. God warned them (and He warns us today) that this would happen…

When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest–when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage… Deuteronomy 8:10-14

We Have an Advantage

Today, we have Israel’s example recorded for us in God’s word. Back in the day, Israel relied on their own oral tradition. Not an excuse mind you, but nevertheless, they did not have the Bible to refer to. I only mention that fact as a reminder—the Christian has God’s Word and His Holy Spirit living inside of us. It does make you wonder why we make the same brainless errors though.

And the children of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray.” So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. Judges 10:15-16

The Good News

Like I said earlier, nothing much has changed through the years—God’s formula is still the same: confess, submit, and repent. Confess our sin, submit to the consequences (and there are always consequences), turn away from sin and turn towards Jesus Christ with an obedient heart. Ladies and gentlemen, we serve the God of second, and third, and fourth, and…chances. A horrible experience is the best teacher, but it does not have to be your experience.

 

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Swat a Fly, Go to Jail

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ’Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. Leviticus 20:1-3Did You See This Today?

I read this today at Comcast.net news and almost fell out of my chair. Check out these excerpts from the story……

The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants the flyswatter in chief to try taking a more humane attitude the next time he’s bedeviled by a fly in the White House.

PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside (*insert laughter here).

“We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals, ” PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. “We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals.”

During an interview for CNBC at the White House on Tuesday, a fly intruded on Obama’s conversation with correspondent John Harwood.

“Get out of here, ” the president told the pesky insect. When it didn’t, he waited for the fly to settle, put his hand up and then smacked it dead…

Friedrich said that PETA was pleased with Obama’s voting record in the Senate on behalf of animal rights and noted that he has been outspoken against animal abuses. Still, “swatting a fly on TV indicates he’s not perfect, ” Friedrich said, “and we’re happy to say that we wish he hadn’t.”

Have We Gone Insane?

It is absolutely no accident that this passage from Leviticus 20 was a part of my bible study today. In it we read about God’s absolute disdain towards those who would worship false gods, especially the false god Molech. Why Molech? Well according to a Jewish rabbinic commentary on Jeremiah 7:31 the brass idol of
Molech was super-heated from a caldron within his hollow body. Parents then would ritually sacrifice their infants on the idol’s molten-hot, outstretched arms. In the back ground a drum was beaten loudly to drown-out the screams of the babies.

Modern Day Molech Worship

Nobody worships Molech anymore, but sadly the practice of burning babies has not ceased. What has changed is our methodology; we now conveniently murder
with saline solutions inside their mothers womb where drums are no longer needed to cover the screams. We may not be worshipping brass idols, but we are selfishly worshipping ourselves as we partake in this horrible ritual that defends our pursuit of happiness. Considering the practice, it is the same exact behavior God said He despised in the Leviticus passage.

Yet sadly, we have become a society which absurdly defends the life of a fly over the life of an innocent child. When did this happen and when will we as a Christian nation correct this outrageousness. Certainly PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich should be publicly spanked for his response to President Obama, but what is our response; when will we say enough is enough?

Where do we start?

As always, we start and continue in prayer. If I could borrow a quote, “If God does not react to what’s going on in America, He owes Sodom an apology.” I repeat the quote here not to prompt God to judging us, but rather so that we might judge ourselves for the purpose of restoration.

 

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To Tell a Lie

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives…”When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women…if it is a son, then you shall kill him…” But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt…said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?” And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them. So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.” Exodus 1:15-22Does God Honor Lying?

No. God does not honor, sanction, or turn a deaf-ear or blind-eye to any sin we commit. To suggest otherwise perverts the truth and these perversities set in motion the practice of manufacturing counterfeit gods; the world is filled with these man-made, Christian-like deities who wink at our sin. Sadder still is that the producers of these idols point to today’s scripture (and others like it) and erroneously surmise that sin; under certain circumstances, is acceptable. They could not be more mistaken.

What God Approves

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Matthew 10:28; Hebrews 13:6

The Exodus text is extremely clear, these women were blessed because they feared God–period. God is never mocked and we will always reap what we sow, but God, having weighed the impulse of their hearts, chose to focus on that which they did correctly rather than that which they did in error. We should never assume that because the consequences of their lies were not recorded [in the Bible] that there weren’t any. The truth be told, their lies had little impact–Pharaoh was merely determined to kill the babies in another way.

The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established….Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. Proverbs 16:1-3; 21:2

An Application For Us

Is there ever a situation where a lie would be justified? What about those who hid Jews in their attics during Hitler’s reign and then lied to soldiers who came looking to carry them off to concentration camps—did they sin? The answer is still the same—sinning is never justified and (not but) God weighs the heart. To our disgrace, there will always be consequences for sin and to God’s glory, there will always be blessings for our obedience. Consider this truth in 1 Corinthians 10:13…

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Understand the implication of the verse. It does not declare that ‘God will not give us anything we cannot handle, ’ but rather that He will not give us anything that He cannot handle.

Submission to Authorities

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Romans 13:1-2

I am kind of back-tracking, but this verse often comes up in defense of the women who lied. It is common church doctrine that we are to obey all authority unless that authority is in contrast to God’s authority. The argument is often that these women, in defiance of an illegal order, were authorized to lie. No, they were not so authorized. A more accurate policy is that we are to deny the illegal directive and willingly suffer the consequences. Am I suggesting that under similar circumstances I would not lie? I knew you were going to ask me that. I hope I would proceed as Peter, but if I fail I know I have already been forgiven…that’s my answer and I am sticking to it.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this (Jesus) name?… But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men….And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Acts 5:27-29, 47

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