Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Friday, June 3, 2016

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."¹

In, James Michener’s novel, The Source, he describes an ancient family. The father of the family sacrifices his son to Malek, an ancient god. The mother grieves while the father then goes and visits the temple prostitutes. She is deeply grieved at what her husband is doing in the name of religion. She laments: "With a different god, he would have been a different man."

How true these words are in real life. Time and again we've seen the carnage caused by those with a different god. Baliâ€"until the Islamic terrorist attack several years ago which killed almost 200 peopleâ€"was looked upon as Paradise by Westerners.

Even since 9-11 many Western leaders and others have stated how Islam is a peace-loving religion claiming that we worship the same God. The fact is we don't. Allah is not the triune God [God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit] in whom Christians believe. For Muslims Jesus Christ is not God the Son nor is He the Savior of the World. He is only a prophet and second to Mohammad. True, not all Muslims are terrorists by any means and while most Muslims are moderate, there are many who take the Qur'án seriously and are dedicated to the destruction of Jews, Christians, Israel and the West.

As Chuck Colson pointed out in BreakPoint some time ago, "If you want evidence of Islamic extremism, just ask any Indonesian Christian. For three decades, Indonesia's Christians have endured one outrage after another at the hands of their Muslim neighbors. In 1975, Indonesia invaded and annexed East Timor, killing hundreds of thousands of East Timorese Christians. Twenty years later, as East Timor gained its independence, the government again did nothing as more Christians were slaughtered. In the mid-nineties, Indonesia's Christian Chinese were made the scapegoat for the country's economic woes. Again, the government stood by as Christian businesses, homes, and churches were looted and burned.

"And in the last few years, an Islamic militia, the Laksar Jihad, has declared war on Christians living on the islands of Sulawesi and the Moluccas. The militia, which includes members from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Albania, and Bosnia, has attacked Christian villages and forced Christians to either convert to Islam or be beheaded."

So, said Colson, "Overlooking the true nature of Islam is not only wrong, it's follyâ€"the kind of folly that can turn any paradise into hell on earth.â€�²

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, forgive us Westerners for overlooking the plight of Christians in other lands where they have been and are being slaughtered by the thousands. And help us to wake up and realize that if we continue to turn from Youâ€"the one and only true Godâ€"we too (or our children's children) may very well be facing the same kind of terrorism as Christians in other lands are facing. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. I Timothy 2:5 (NASB).
2.  Copyright 2002 Prison Fellowship Ministries http://www.breakpoint.org.

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