Monday, November 30, 2015

All in for Jesus!

What you need to know about Islam #7



Muslims believe lying is ok when you are in war as a means of deception. Especially when you are a minority in a country to protect themselves. Ibn Taymiyah wrote in his book called “The sword on the neck os the accuser of Muhammad” said this:
“Believers when in a weekend stage (minority) in a non-muslim country should forgive and be patient with people of the book (Jews and Christians) when they insult Allah and his prophet by any means. Believers should lie to people of the book to protect their lives and religion.”

Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din (1263-1328)
Ibn Taymiyya was a staunch defender of Sunni Islam based on strict adherence to the Qur'an and authentic sunna (practices) of the Prophet Muhammad. He believed that these two sources contain all the religious and spiritual guidance necessary for our salvation in the hereafter.

So any muslim practicing Islam in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, South Africa, or any other country where they are minorities are in what the muslims called a weekend stage so they will present themselves as loving, caring, and forgiving people. They will claim to support democracy all for the purposes of deceiving and covering up what they truely believe. 

Muslims will portray Islam as a religion of peace, mercy, freedom, fairness, and reconciliation. In reality they are preparing to position themselves for victory. Take Iran for example, do they ever uphold their end of an agreement? They lie! 

Don’t be fooled...Islam wants one world religion and government....Islam! America needs to wake up!

We will look at more lies tomorrow!

Tom

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Thanksgiving week #2

What you need to know about Islam #6



So as we seen yesterday Muhammad’s peaceful side is now gone and he had become a military power. First he took care of those who persecuted him in his home city of Medina. The He conquered those who in the region (The Arabian Desert) who rejected Islam. Finally he gave the commands to conquer the world in the name of Islam as he received revelation from Allah to do so. This is where we are today also. This new revelation from the Quran is this:

Surah 8:39. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.

So Muhammad told his follower this: 

“I heard the apostle of Allah say, I command by Allah to fight all people till they say there is no god but Allah and I am his apostle. And whoever says that will save himself and his money.” Hadith-Al-Nisei

Immediately the Muslims put these words into practice by taking jihad outside Arabia, attacking what was the known world at the time...Asia, Africa, and Europe. Sound familiar? We are seeing these attacks still in our day in the same areas and now the rest of the world including the United States!

No Quranic revelation contradicted this final command of jihad, so it is still the goal od Islam today! That is a key point to remember!

Muhammad died in 632 AD from a fever. After having two leaders of Islam after Muhammad a power struggle took place and Islam was split into two groups....the Shiites, and the Sunnis. Google these two groups to find the differences. It has to do with leadership from the past. 

Tom

Monday, November 23, 2015

Thanksgiving week!

What you need to know about Islam #5



So we left off last time with the question of what do you think the first thing Muhammad did after building up his military power in Medina? If you guessed take revenge and jihad on his tribe Quraysh which had persecuted him in Mecca then you are correct! Muhammad and his newly formed military planned to ambush Quraysh on their return to Mecca after a trade route run. Some how they heard about the plan and went a different route but they were now very angry at Muhammad so they sent their army to fight Muhammad and teach him a lesson at a place called Badr. To Quraysh surprise Muhammad defeated them in a great victory and killed most of their army! Every tribe in the area heard about this battle and knew that Muhammad was now the most powerful in Arabia!

So a new revelation now supposedly came to Muhammad from Gabrieal the angel....this message was: he must fight every tribe in Arabia and make them all submit to Islam as there could not be two religions in Arabia. Arabia must submit to only Islam!
As a result of this of the foretold events, Muhammad’s focus was no longer just on converting heathens and idol worshippers but now Jews and Christians became targets of persuasions as well. This jihad is seen in these verses from the Quran:

Surah 9:29 Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

So to clarify this Muslims must fight four kinds of people:

1. Those who don’t believe in Allah

2. Those who don’t believe in the last day. (The Last Day is the day on which Allaah will resurrect all creatures after their death, and He will raise them from their graves to hold them accountable for their deeds which they did in this world.)

3.Those who do things Allah and Muhammad forbid

4. Those who don’t acknowledge Islam as the truth, people of the scripture, which are Christians and Jews. 

So Muhammad gave people three options:

1. Accept the message of Islam

2. Remain Christians or Jews but pay a tax usually once a year. (Many places really didn’t offer this option but if they did it was a very high tax and you still faced much persecution.)

3. Die

You see any peace here in true Islam? Again I say if there is peace to be had it is forced and true Islam is looking for all to submit to Islam one way or another. We will see more verses to confirm convert or die message later.

Tom

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Dwell in Gods love today! 11-19-15

What you need to know about Islam #4



Today I want us to see how the mind set of Muhammad changed when he went from Mecca to Medina. It is ver important to understand this about the history of Islam.

In Mecca Muhammad never spoke of Jihad. He had no military power at this time to do so! But when He got to Medina and built military power the supposed revelation from Allah changed to jihad and fighting the enemy so the muslims would fight!
Here are some examples of what He did in Mecca and what he did in Medina:

*In Mecca he invited people to Islam by preaching. In Medina he persuaded people to convert by the sword.

*In Mecca he acted as a priest, praying, fasting, worshipping, and preaching. In Medina he became a military commander, personally leading 27 attacks. He also continued to preach but more about jihad!

*In Mecca he fought against idol worship. In Medina he fought agains people of the book(Jews and Christians).
It is very easy to see how Muhammad’s revelations from Allah went from peace to war quickly!

Muhammad ran into problems in Mecca that may have influenced this big change from peace to jihad. In Mecca his message of peace, patience, and forgiveness ran into disagreements with the tribe he came from which was called Quraysh. Many people were turning from their idol worship to Islam which other tribal leaders did not like. So the leaders of the tribe tried to compromise with Muhammad. The would make him a leader if he would stop teaching Islam. He refused and actually said “if they bring the sun and put it in my right hand and bring the moon and put it in my left hand, I will not give up my revelation.” He was not going to stop! So the tribe began to persecute him. Even to the point of trying to kill him several times. The Quran makes reference to this: 

Sarah 8:30, And (remember) when the disbelievers plotted against you (O Muhammad ) to imprison you, or to kill you, or to get you out (from your home, i.e. Makkah); they were plotting and Allah too was planning, and Allah is the Best of the planners.

Muhammad then left Mecca to Medina and built up military power. What do you think his first move was?

Next time we meet together we will see what Muhammad does next. 

Tom

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Prolonged life! 11-18-15

What you need to know about Islam #3



Today let’s look at at Muhammad. He is what they call the “Messenger” or “Prophet” in Islam. Basically the founder of Islam as he claims in AD 610 the angel Gabriel spoke to him while he was in a cave near Mecca meditating. Muhammad claims these were the words of Allah. So for 22 years Muhammad had 12 companions that wrote down these words to form the Quran. (12 companions huh? Sounds like copying something from bible.)

There is also another book called the Hadith which are considered holy writings of Islam. These are reports of what Muhammad said and did during his life. They are teachings of Muhammad and examples he set. The Hadith is held as having much of the same authority as the Quran. His friends and wives mostly recored the information for this book.

The first messages of Muhammad were peaceful and kind. This attracted many people. When Muhammad started to have opposition in Mecca from those who disagreed with him, he left in AD 622. He went to Medina. Here he built up military power and a great number of followers. His so called revelations now changed from peace to and cooperation to military power and invasion in the name of Islam (jihad). 

So think about this...in Mecca peace and cooperation. But in Medina military and war. A major shift in Muhammad’s so called revelations from Allah. It is interesting to note he later returned to Mecca with his military power and conquered Mecca and the surrounding areas which changed Islam from just a spiritual religion to a political revolution. 60% of the Quran speak about jihad. So Muhammad received the majority of the Quran after he left Mecca. Jihad is the driving force of Islam. 

Something to note, the Quran is not organized in chronological order, so to know the order of revelations one must go to a different source to get the exact order of revelations!

Tomorrow we will look more at Muhammad. 

Tom

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

To be like God! 11-17-15

What you need to know about Islam #2



To understand Islam it is very helpful to know the culture that it was derived from. Muhammad bore islam from seventh century Arabia. Knowing that it makes me want to ask the question where was Allah up to that point? Modern day Arabia is the countries of Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. 

Before Islam was born in this region it was ruled by tribes. The tribal leaders were the governing authority. There was not any other form of law or government. Each tribe was very loyal to their own tribe and culture. So as Islam was formed loyalty was a deeply rooted trait in the culture. Remember that!

These tribes/Arabs during this time and as Muhammad started Islam were known for being extremists in just about everything....extreme love, extreme hate, and absolutely no tolerance for anyone different than them. Are you starting to get the picture yet?

So once Islam was formed it had embraced the tribal/Arabic characteristics. It was their way or no way. They did not sit down and have diplomatic discussions with those who were different than them! So today we see that even many non-Arab Muslims have adopted the same characteristics such as Iranians, Afghans, Pakistanis, Indians and others.

Islam did not change anything about this tribal culture, and Jihad (striving for the cause of Allah) is a core belief. See how it fits right in? Islam calls for followers to act out their courage and faith in Allah in violent ways. Remember....my way or death! 
Islam taught when they did conquer an enemy they were rewarded with possessions of that enemy and thus this was a big draw for the Arab tribes to come into Islam. It actually became a problem in early Islam on the proper way to divide the enemies possessions as Islamic history tells us.

So Muhammad was born into a culture of conquest and bloodshed, and it was normal. 

This small picture we see so far should already start to help you see the big picture!

John 8:32 “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Tom

Monday, November 16, 2015

Terrorist attack in France 11-16-15

What you need to know about Islam.



Today I am starting a look at Islam. There are many things we as followers of Jesus and non-followers need to be aware of about Islam and what the Quran teaches. I do not claim to be an expert on Islam but will try to give you the very basics.

Most of my information comes from a book written by Mark A. Gabriel, which is a name he took after converting to Christianity. Mustafa was his first name. He was a conservative Muslim in Egypt and had memorized the Quran by age 12. He went on to earn a doctorate degree from Al-Azhar University and was given a teaching position. Al-Ahar University is the oldest, and most prestigious university in the world on Islam. Mark got his degree in history and culture so he knows what he is talking about. If you want to go deeper on Islam I highly encourage you to purchase and read his book called Islam and Terrorism. 

Let’s start out today with a few terms we need to get a good grasp on:

1. Islam-the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.

2. Muslim-a follower of the religion of Islam.

3.Quran-the Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic. The Koran consists of 114 units of varying lengths, known as suras ; the first sura is said as part of the ritual prayer. These touch upon all aspects of human existence, including matters of doctrine, social organization, and legislation.

4.Muhammad-Arab prophet and founder of Islam. Muslims regard him as God's messenger through whom the Koran was revealed. Muhammad established a theocratic state at Medina after 622 and began to convert Arabia to Islam.

5. Allah-(Islam) Islam the Muslim name for God; the one Supreme Being

Tomorrow we will look at the cultural background of where Muhammad came from as it helps us get a mindset of how the culture influenced his thought process.

Tom

Thursday, November 12, 2015

What are you living on?




You got to have food to live, right? Well according to God there is also one other thing you need to truly live:
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
We basically need to food and water each day to function properly. According to Jesus whom I believe above all we must also have the Word of God consistently. It also will help us function properly according to God!
So the question for us this day is....are you functioning properly according to God by living daily upon His word which means you must be reading it and applying it?????
It is vital for life!
Tom

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Count your blessings! 11-11-15

What are you holding onto for hope?



Folks if you are holding onto anything besides Jesus for hope, you are going to be let down!

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

There is only one thing in this world that is 100% sure and that is Jesus. Everything about Him and everything He has said will be done! Why do we put our hope in anything else? It does not make good sense! Look at the above verse again.

Don’t waver in your hope in Christ, keep your focus brothers and sisters! For what Jesus has promise WILL come true or already has come true. A reminder of a few things:

* Eternal life- ]ohn 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

*needs met-Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

*preparing a mansion-John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

*coming soon for followers-Revelation 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

I know where my HOPE is!!! Oh how blessed we are by the King of Kings!!

Tom

Monday, November 9, 2015

Are you hearing Gods Word? 11-9-15

Walking with God?



This is an interesting verse to think about concerning us and God.

Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

Can we truly follow Jesus unless we are in agreement with what He has said and what He did? No we can not. So if you disagree with the Word of God, you can not be walking with God. Yes it really is that plain and simple.

God’s Word is 100% truth, and in this world we have very little truth. Why would we go anywhere else??

So are you walking with God or not? 

Tom

Friday, November 6, 2015

Love and seek! 11-6-15

Thankful for forgiveness!



I come across this verse this morning:

Hebrews 10:17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

I want you to really think about this. If somebody does you wrong you may be able to forgive but do we really ever forget the wrong....no. God does forget! When we receive the forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus our sins and lawless deeds are gone from God’s memory! Whoooo hoooooo! That should make you want to shout some praises this morning! PRAISE THE NAME OF JESUS!

Oh how good it makes me feel this morning....I am forgiven and my sins are remembered no more by my God!

Tom

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Going to be with Jesus! 11-5-15

Know God-know His promises!



Look at these promises from God!

Psalm 91:14-16


“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

1. When we love God, He will deliver us.

2. God will protect us because we know His name. (Personal relationship)
3.When we call out to God, He will answer us.
4.When we are in trouble, He will rescue us and honor us. (Faithfulness in serving Him)
5.When we have salvation in Him (through Jesus), He is our satisfaction! (long life-eternity)

Wow! What a God! Do you know Him personally? You can just ask Him! If you even need some assistance just give me a shout! Would love to help you.


Tom

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Pay attention to what you have heard! 11-5-15

Where ever I go...God is with me!



Whooooo hooooooo! What a promise to be reminded of this morning!

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

No matter what this day may bring you....good or bad....stand strong and courageous in the Lord. He has your back! Nothing to be afraid of or overwhelmed by because God is right there by your side. Now seriously what better news is there than that? Nothing that I know of!!! I got Jesus and I am secure as secure can get no matter what happens this day!

So join with me this morning and give God praise for His promise that He is ALWAYS there!

Tom

Monday, November 2, 2015

Do you love you enemy?



Have you really thought about these words from Jesus before?

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

Wow. It isn’t a joke, Jesus meant it. This is not up for debate, it is a command from Jesus. If you are a follower of Jesus, you were once an enemy of Jesus. Yes you were a sinner, the very reason He went to the cross, thus demonstrating for us that He loved His enemies so much He was willing to die for them. Think on that for a bit!

You see if we love our enemies it is the only way that we might reach them with the good news of Jesus. They see we are different and care about them and maybe just maybe will wonder why we do good to them even when they do bad to us.

This is possibly the hardest thing in life to do....love and do good to those who are not kind and loving towards us, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, it is just the way we can win the world for Jesus!

Love your enemy today!

Tom

Give Thanks everyday! 11-2-15