One Way

There is only one way to heaven. Both the Koran and the Bible agree on this point. They differ significantly though, on how you actually get to heaven.

For those following Mohammed and the Koran, there are five pillars of faith. They include praying five times a day, giving to the poor, fasting during Ramadan, giving a testimony and going to Mecca once in your lifetime. All are required to follow these pillars to demonstrate their faith. The tricky part, I am learning, is that God is not guaranteeing salvation even in these clearly laid out pillars. A person could devote themselves to these for a lifetime and still not be granted salvation. (EDIT: Sorry to be redundant. I just realized Bobby already talked about this. )

The key for me is the prophet Mohammed himself. He stated that he did not know how God would deal with him upon his death, even though he is considered the greatest follower of God to have ever lived. He was God’s appointed prophet and yet he still had no assurance that God was pleased by his spirituality. I understand that people continue to pray for him that he would find peace.

I am confronted again with the knowledge that all ways to heaven are not the same and do not lead to the same god. They most certainly do not. There is no hope or joy in a life of devotion to a god who may or may not be pleased with your acts of righteousness.

Tonight, I lift my hands in praise of a living God that walked on earth as a man named Jesus. Jesus knew exactly who he was and where he was going. He told the man on the cross next to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” He performed miracles then and he has done a great miracle in my own life pulling me from a pit of sin. I rejoice in the life of freedom he has given me now as well as the sure hope of a life with him for eternity.

The Bible is clear that we have no righteousness of our own. Jesus offers us his own righteousness, or perfection, so that we don’t have to rely on ourselves. There is no amount of praying or giving that gets us any closer to perfection. We are hopelessly flawed without the covering of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I understand that the Koran teaches that Jesus was a prophet of God that is alive in heaven. We pray they come to know the ONE who is still alive.

May all peoples know the hope that is in you, Jesus.

--t






Soccer Shirts

We have joined the rest of the world in cheering for football. And by that, of course, I mean soccer.

The boys wore their national jerseys around town today after the team beat the USA yesterday. Actually, that was not on purpose. They just haven’t taken them off since I bought them. They attracted more attention than normal from the men here. They clapped and cheered, patted the boys on the head and blew them kisses. Some just laughed. They were pleased I guess.

Did anyone in the states even know we had a game?