Thursday, May 22, 2008

Pursuing the God who is


This is the picture many have of the Muslim faith- radical, violent, angry, intolerant. But the truth is that most Muslims I have met are just normal people who have grown up in the Muslim faith and have not really investigated their beliefs.
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Last night I met with a Muslim man to discuss faith. His wife is a Christian and attends our church. I must tell you that this has been a difficult life choice for both of them. He has now become very passionate in his faith and wanted to meet to convert me. For me it was a very frustrating visit because I could tell he was preparing for his next argument as I talked, and frankly most of his information came from Muslim sources. He had not researched objective sources to see if his beliefs are true. He had made up his mind. I'm praying for him.
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The one thing I told him, and made sure that he heard me, was that there can only be one true God. If you are worshipping a god different from me then one or both of us are wrong. There is only one true faith. The Bible and Quran are both dogmatic about that.
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So here are my thoughts on this day after my dinner with a Muslim friend- I believe the most important adventure anyone can pursue is to pursue the God who is. There is only one. He's easy to find, and has given much proof of his existence. He is not hiding, he's in plain site. Now I will tell you that my visit last night honestly grieved me. He had his "gun" loaded with the best Muslim defense he could find and brought me papers to read. I will read them, in fact I have read much of the Quran in my own studies, but what I find is simply more evidence that the God who is....is the God of the Bible, and the God of the Bible is NOT Allah. A quest for truth with the final answer already decided is no quest at all. It's simply an accumulation of information to support your view. That's where my dinner companion is today- a seeker of the answers he wants. I hope my friend finds the God who is....right now he's not looking......

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