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Christ Embassy ROPC

Christ Embassy ROPC

The 2020 Global Rhapsody Online Prayer Conference 18-19 DEC

Article on tithing

Every 3 years, an extra tithe was collected from the people and used to help the poor orphans, widows and new foreigners. A "tithe" means a tenth or 10 percent. In the New Testament, there are not any specific rules on the tithe and since most of the Old Testament law does not apply to Christian religions, the tithe is not often enforced in Christian religions today. Still, the Bible does emphasis the importance of giving. Whether or not a person decides to follow the Old Testament tithe law, it is important to give to those less fortunate and to help support the church. In Matthew 5:42, it states, "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." It also talks about the importance of giving of oneself through talents and abilities as well as financial wealth. It states in Romans 12:6-8, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? With this desire for love in mind, I turn now to the question: Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? Like all good questions, the answer is more complex than most want, but I am confident of my position: Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God, but given the complexity of the matter we all ought to stop demonizing those who disagree with us. I should start by saying this: for years after leaving Islam and accepting Jesus as Lord, I believed that Muslims worshiped the same God as Christians but that they were simply wrong about what He is like and what He has done. After all, I had been taught as a young Muslim to worship the God who created Adam and Eve, who rescued Noah from the flood, who promised Abraham a vast progeny, who helped Moses escape Egypt, who made the Virgin Mary great with child, who sent Jesus into the world, who helped the disciples overcome, and who is still sovereign today. Is that not the God of the Bible? For that matter, the Quran asserts that the Torah and the Gospel are inspired scripture and that Jews and Christians are people of the Book. The Quran tells Muslims to say to them, “our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender” (29.46). If the Quran asserts that Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians, does that not settle the matter? For years I thought it did, but I no longer do. Now I believe that the phrase “Muslims and Christians worship the same God” is only true in a fairly uncontroversial sense: There is one Creator whom Muslims and Christians both attempt to worship. Apart from this banal observation, Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God. I do not condemn those that think they do, but the deeper I delve into the Christian faith, the more I realize that this assertion is not only untrue but also subverts Christian orthodoxy in favor of Islamic assertions. Let’s start with the obvious: Christians believe Jesus is God, but the Quran is so opposed to this belief that it condemns Jesus worshipers to Hell (5.72). For Christians, Jesus is certainly God, and for Muslims Jesus is certainly not God . How can it be said that Christians and Muslims worship the same God? This fact alone is enough to settle the matter, but at the very least, no one should argue as Volf has that “there isn’t any theological justification” for believing Christians and Muslims worship different Gods. There certainly is, and it is the obvious position when we consider the person of Jesus. Another difference between the Islamic God and the Christian God that is quite personal to me is his Fatherhood. According to Jesus, God is our Father, yet the Quran very specifically denies that Allah is a father (112.1-4). In fact, in 5.18, the Quran tells Muslims to rebuke Jews and Christians for calling God their loving Father because humans are just things that God has created. The same is the case when we consider the doctrine of the Trinity. Islam roundly condemns worship of the Trinity (5.73), establishing in contrast its own core principle: Tawhid, the absolute oneness of God. Tawhid specifically denies the Trinity, so much so that it is safe to say the doctrine of God in Christianity is antithetical to the doctrine of God in Islam. Not just different but completely opposed to one another. There is much more to be said about the differences between the Christian God and the Muslim God, but this much can already be said with confidence: the Christian God, both in terms of what he is (Triune) and who he is (Father, Son, and Spirit) is not just different from the Muslim God; He is fundamentally incompatible. According to Islam, worshiping the Christian God is not just wrong; it sends you to Hell. They are not the same God. Why Do People Say Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? So how can people argue that Muslims and Christians worship the same God? By unduly giving priority to the Islamic assertion that this is the same God. The Quran says that Allah is the God of the Bible, so He must be. The Quran says that Allah is the God of the Biblical prophets, so He must be. The Quran says that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, so it must be the same God. Ultimately, this is the reasoning of those who believe, as I once did, that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, and it is flawed. The similarities between the God of Islam and the God of Christianity are fairly superficial, and at times simply semantic. Though Islam claims that the Muslim God has done some of the same things as the Christian God and sent some of the same people, that is not enough to say that Muslims worship the same God as Christians. These minor overlaps are far less essential to the reality of who God is than the fundamental differences of his nature and persons. What God has done or whom He has sent is far less of a defining characteristic than what He is and who He is; though Islam and Christianity overlap at points on the former, they differ fundamentally on the latter. Volf’s challenge in response is that Christians believe they worship the same God as the Jews though the Jews do not worship the Trinity. How can Christians accuse Muslims of worshiping a different God without also indicting the Jews of doing the same? That would be inconsistent or hypocritical. The response should be obvious to those who have studied the three Abrahamic faiths: the Trinity is an elaboration of Jewish theology, not a rejection. By contrast, Tawhid is a categorical rejection of the Trinity, Jesus’ deity, and the Fatherhood of God, doctrines that are grounded in the pages of the New Testament and firmly established centuries before the advent of Islam. Most of the earliest Christians were Jews, incorporating their encounter with Jesus into their Jewish theology. Nothing of the sort is true of Muhammad, who was neither a Jew nor a Christian. Islam did not elaborate on the Trinity but rejected and replaced it. Additionally, Volf’s assumption that Jews did not worship something like the Trinity is unsubstantiated. Many Jews held their monotheism in tension with a belief in multiple divine persons. Though the term “Trinity” was coined in the second century, the underlying principles of this doctrine were hammered out on the anvil of pre-Christian Jewish belief. It was not until later, when Jews and Christians parted ways, that Jews insisted on a monadic God. The charge of Christian hypocrisy is anachronistic. Christians worship a Triune God: a Father who loves unconditionally, an incarnate Son who is willing to die for us so that we may be forgiven, and an immanent Holy Spirit who lives in us. This is not what the Muslim God is; it is not who the Muslim God is; and it is not what the Muslim God does. Truly, the Trinity is antithetical to Tawhid, fundamentally incompatible and only similar superficially and semantically. Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God. #Copied.....

Wait Patiently On God

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him: do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked ways” – Psalm 37:7 ” You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God. your God has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” Hebrews 1:9 God is faithful and just; he will reward your wait and righteousness. In your life, you may feel that the righteous and ungodly people people are getting high ahead of you in every aspect of life; You may feel that despite your prayers and service to God, evil forces and forces of darkness are still exercising their authority over you. You may feel that your mates and fellows who are living out of the will and direction of God are making great fortune and doing better than you. And you might still be feeling that evil and your enemies will triumph. Where Is Our Conscience? Quit worrying. Stop living in your feelings and start to live on His word and promises concerning you. God is fully aware of what you are going through, and it is not like He is stuck up somewhere, unable to reach you or He is unjust to forget your labour, love and dedication. (See Hebrews 6: 10). Neither is He unfaithful to fulfill His promises to you. But He is actually with you in the rough road, pain, struggles, troubles etc. taking you to your glorious destination. God didn’t have to make Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego disappear into thin air and not go into the blazing furnace. He just had to walk with them in the blazing furnace. (See Daniel 3). He also didn’t have to make Daniel disappear, though He could have done it if He wanted, He just had to stay with Daniel in the lions den. (See Daniel 6). So He is with you in whatever you are going through. Continue to live for God; doing His will and living righteous. And as you wait in patience, God will show up in His time and you would never want it at any time than that moment. “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31. Your wait shall be worth it. People will know that, God rewards loyalty and righteousness. “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong” – Psalm 37 :1. “For the righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bath their feet in the blood of the wicked. “then men will say, “surely , the righteous still are wicked; surely there is God who judges the earth,” Psalm 58:10 & 11. As you continue to do His will, declare His promises to be true in your life and believe in Him. Be confident that He will guide and protect you and bring you to an expected end. Trust Him. He’s got a plan. AMEN!

Who do you say Jesus Is? Who Is Jesus?

Over the years, people have tried to answer this mysterious question about who Jesus is ? Some say he is a prophet, some say he is just like any other servant of God that came to the world, or one of the prophets. Others have said he is a social revolutionist who wanted to overthrow the Roman’s regime and to discredit the laws of Moses and the prophets of old, thus establish his own empire. Some have said he was an usual rabbi(teacher) whose teachings was blasphemy against God and the church. Some thought, they knew him so well that all they had to say about him is that, he is the carpenter’s son from a small and insignificant town called Nazareth. While in the region of Caesera Phillipi, Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say I am?. And after they had said a whole lot about what they have heard people say he is, Jesus asked them further, ” But who do you say I am?” “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”, Simon Peter answered. With this answer, Jesus knew it was a revelation unto Simon Peter; He could not have known unless it was revealed to him by the father in Heaven.(Matthew 16: 13-17), Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21). The demon-possessed man of Gerasenes in Mark 5 fell on his knees and confessed about who Jesus really is, He said, Jesus, son of the Most High God. The Truth Will Set You Free There is every proof that Jesus is the Christ, that was prophesied and talked about by the prophets of old. Simeon, as servant of God was very old and weak but upon revelation had to see the Christ before he dies. This revelation and prophesy was fulfilled when baby Jesus was presented in the temple. These were the words of Simeon as he took him on his terms, ” Sovereign LORD, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people, Israel” Luke 2:29-32. Jesus lived a life devoid of sin. He was without blemish. At his commands, demons flee, storms calmed. He healed the sick and raised the dead people to life. Jesus forgave sins with great authority. He taught mysteries. Jesus was hanged on the cross; He died and rose again. His death united two rival kings. He conquered death and satan. Jesus saved the world. He fulfilled the prophesies about the Christ . He controlled nature like the God He is. There couldn’t have been any better Christ than this Jesus. Jesus is the Christ. He is real and lives today and will live forever more.