Allah is not Jehovah

The Muslim world would have us believe that they follow the same God we do but they simply call Him by another name. Their view is that God’s blessings promised through Abraham come through Ishmael and not through Isaac. There are several reasons why we can affirm that we do not serve the same God as the Islamic world.

The most obvious one is that they see all Christians as atheists. Their philosophy of jihad (a holy war) is directed against those who believe in the God of heaven. This in and of itself shows that the One in whom we believe is not the one in whom they believe. We are atheists to them, and an atheist is one who does not believe in God.

There is a second reason why Christians and Muslims do not serve the same God (even though some would have you believe they do). The God whom I serve is described in these words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Allah did not send a son to die for me! Allah did not make provision for my salvation through that Son! Allah does not promise everlasting life through that Son!

A third way to know that Allah is not Jehovah is to contrast the “primary prophet” of Allah with the “primary prophet” of Jehovah. Study the life of Allah’s prophet, Muhammad, and you see a marked contrast between Allah and Jehovah. The founder of Islam is renowned for his army of thousands fighting against the enemy. He also had eleven wives and several children. Contrast this with Jehovah’s Prophet whose “army” “…beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4). Contrast this with Jehovah’s Prophet who honored the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman for one lifetime (Matt. 19:4-6).

The final way of knowing that Allah is not God is to look at the devoted followers of Muhammad and the devoted followers of Jesus. The one believes in the jihad, the holy war. The other believes in peacefully touching the hearts of every man with knowledge of a loving God. The one is out to destroy the unbelievers, the other is out to save them. The one believes in retaliation, the other in turning the other cheek.

Do not be deceived! Allah is not Jehovah. To believe in one is not to believe in the other. There is an eternal difference!

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God had a Debt and He Paid It

In 598 B.C., the army of Babylon, led by their king, Nebuchadnezzar, besieged the city of Tyre. This ancient city was one of the wealthiest cities of the world because of their merchant ships which traversed the known world. However, the city did not immediately fall. In fact, it was thirteen years later that the merchants of Tyre sailed away taking their treasures with them. When the Babylonians entered the city, it was abandoned. In anger, they leveled the city and left it in ruins.

Nebuchadnezzar had been God’s tool to bring heaven’s judgment against Tyre, because she had rejoiced when Jerusalem was sacked (Eze. 26:2). The Babylonian king had accomplished God’s will, even though he did not believe in God. He had done God’s will, but he had not been rewarded. Even more amazing is the insight this story gives us into the nature of God. Here the words of Ezekiel, “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army” (Eze. 29:18-19). Here is the truth so many have failed to see. God always pays His debts. The absence of the spoils in Tyre was replaced by the riches from Egypt. God always pays His debts! Even the smallest debt!

Now think about how this applies to your life. “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecc. 12:14). If God notices every idle word a man speaks, will He not also note every kind word you have ever spoken (Matt. 12:36-37)? You have never given even one cup of water (tea, coke, or coffee) to another which He will not reward (Matt. 10:42). You have never brought a single can of food to the church building which He did not see, nor which He will not reward. You have never made a single visit to a hospital, an assisted living facility or to a shut-in which He will not repay (Matt. 25:37-40). He rewards every coin, even the smallest, contributed by the poorest person (Luke 21:1-3).

Think about it. If our God did not fail to reward the deeds of an evil king, He will never fail to reward you! God always pays His debts—just ask Nebuchadnezzar!

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Pleasing Whom?

One of the great challenges facing Christians is peer pressure. We all want to be liked and so the tendency is to alter our lives just enough so we will be accepted by others. How many Christians have compromised values simply because they did not want to stand out and be different?

One lesson each of us must learn is how fickle those around us are. Look at two incidents in the life of Paul. When he cured the crippled man in Lystra, the city erupted in praise for he and Barnabas. “They raised their voices, saying, ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men’” (Acts 14:11). Paul and Barnabas did all they could to stop this action. Luke described it in these words, “They could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them” (Acts 14:18). The very next verse shows that the city then turned against them and stoned Paul and thought they had killed him. The point is obvious. Don’t worry too much about what your peers are saying.

Several years later a similar thing happened again. On his voyage to Rome, he was shipwrecked.  While gathering sticks, a poisonous snake suddenly bit him. Now look at what his peers said. “No doubt this man is a murderer . . .” (Acts 28:4). But when God protected Paul and preserved his life the situation changed drastically. “They changed their minds and said that he was a god” (Acts 28:6). Again the point is obvious. Don’t worry too much about what your peers are saying. They are fickle.

So when you are tempted to compromise your principles remember these words of Jesus, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). If we succeeded and had every person around us praising us, we would be a failure!

Jesus said another thing that might help us with thinking that the praises of our peers is so important. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake” (Matt. 5:11). Contrast the words “woe” and “blessed” in the two verses we just noticed. Think about it!

So what’s your goal? Acceptance by others at all costs? Having your peers sing your praises? There is another audience which matters. It is not those around us we should seek to please. It is those who are above us! Cherish that day when you will hear these words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” That’s all that matters.

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Devotion to God in the Midst of Trouble

The psalms are filled with the deepest longings of the hearts of the godly. There are those psalms which shout the praises of God. “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens” (Psa. 8:1). There are those psalms which proclaim the existence of God and bring undeniable proof that He is real. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psa. 19:1). There are those psalms of comfort to which we turn in our darkest hours. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psa. 23:1, 4). Where would we be without these amazing words!

I am not sure if there is any psalm which gives deeper insight into the depth of devotion of the godly than Psalm 137. The words show that this psalm was obviously not written by David, who wrote most of the psalms. It was written by the captives who had been taken to Babylon. The writer looks back to the destruction of Jerusalem when the Edomites (the descendants of Esau and therefore “cousins” of the Jews) watched from the sidelines and cheered that the holy city was being destroyed. The psalm was written as these captives sat under the (weeping?) willow trees with broken hearts. The Babylonians demanded, with no avail, that the Jews sing one of the joyful melodies from Israel.

Read the words and weep with the Jews exiled in Babylon. Then mimic their undying devotion to God!

1 “By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion.

2 We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it.

3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’

4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song In a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!

6 If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth-If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.

7 Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom. The day of Jerusalem, who said, ‘Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation!’”

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20 Reasons to Attend Bible Class

1. To obey the command of God to study the Bible (2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Pet. 1:5).

2. To grow in knowledge (1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18).

3. To grow closer to God and increase faith (Rom. 10:17).

4. To become a more effective teacher (Heb. 5:13-6:1).

5. To be with Jesus and let Jesus be your teacher (John 6:45; Eph. 4:20-21).

6. To be with and associate with the best people on earth (1 John 4:7-8; Heb. 10:24-25).

7. To become stronger (Psa. 119:165; 2 Pet. 1:5-11).

8. To feed my soul (Jer. 15:16; Psa. 119:103).

9. To find answers (Psa. 119:99; John 7:17).

10. To overcome sin (1 John 5:4; Matt. 4:4).

11. To gain wisdom (2 Tim. 3:15; Psa. 119:130).

12. To follow the example of the godly (Heb. 13:7).

13. To set a good example for others (Matt. 5:13-16; 1 Tim. 4:12).

14. To satisfy my love and desire to learn the Word of God (Psa. 1:2; 19:7-10; 119:72, 97).

15. To prepare to give an answer and defend the faith (1 Pet. 3:15; Jude 3).

16. To prepare for and quench the fiery darts of the devil (Eph. 6:10-18).

17. To become better equipped to serve others (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

18. To keep my priorities properly balanced (Matt. 6:33).

19. To follow my shepherds’ guidance (Heb. 13:17).

20. To get ready for the final test (John 12:48; Rev. 20:12).

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