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Published: 29 January 2015

I confess I’m not sure about the question let alone the answer. It does seem like some verses encourage that idea, “Lord increase our faith…” On the other hand our text for Sunday seems to suggest the opposite, that the size of our faith is not as important as the object of our faith. Even faith the size of a mustard seed is sufficient for overcoming any obstacle. I think the amount of our faith may be overrated while the confidence we have in God is over looked. A friend (thanks Julie P.) posted the following on FaceBook this week, "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. " (Psalm 125:1) When God is the center of a kingdom or city, He makes it strong like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken. And when God is the center of a soul, although disaster may crowd in on all sides and roar like the waves of the sea, there is constant calm within. The world can neither give nor take away this kind of peace. What is it that causes people to shake like leaves today at the first hint of danger? It is simply the lack of God living in their soul, and having the world in their hearts instead.”(--R. Leighton) Julie has had plenty to shake her life but there has been a constant calm…she’s living that reality. The psalmist didn’t refer to the amount or size of faith rather simply stated, “Those who trust in the Lord…” Those who trust in the Lord are those who are confident in Him and committed to Him and believe the promises that He has made. In a parallel account of our Matthew 17 text, the father of the boy in question said, “I believe, help me with my doubts” (Mark 9:24 MSG). I like that. The father believed to the extent he was able but confessed he needed some help. The liberation of his son from demonic bondage surely helped with that! Do we believe the Lord today? Are we confident in Him? Do we believe His promises? Do we obey Him? Do we face our adversities with His present, active assistance or turn to our own resources? Those who trust in the Lord are as strong as Mt Zion.

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Published: 22 January 2015

All the chaos in France over the past two weeks is a frightening reminder of what happens when religious ideologies clash. The pluralist who casually says, “We all worship the same god, we just refer to him by different names” has never encountered an Islamic extremist with an assault rifle. Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God! Muslims worship Allah, Christians worship the Triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Muslims follow the Qur’an. Christians follow the Old and New Testament. Muslims believe Muhammad was the most recent prophet. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is Prophet, Priest and King and furthermore believe that Jesus Christ was/is God in flesh—the Son of God. Christians believe that Jesus really died, that He was buried, that He rose from the dead, ascended to Heaven and is coming again. Now, here is where things get tricky. Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet and a good teacher but they do not believe in His deity. So, in their estimation, Jesus was a good but misguided man. He only “thought” He was one with the Father and/or had an over-inflated view of Himself. If that was the case, as C.S. Lewis and others have pointed out, He was either a lunatic in that He thought He was God OR He was a liar because He knew He wasn’t God but said that He was. In either case, suggesting that we “follow Him” is ridiculous. It seems to me it would be better for Muslims to simply reject Jesus all together and call Him a liar and a fraud than say that He was a “good man.” Neither a liar nor a lunatic should be followed. Period. Of course, the other option is that Jesus Christ is Lord and Muhammad was wrong. (By the way, the same discussion could take place over Joseph Smith and Mormonism—Mormons are the Muslims of the west.) I’m not writing about this today because of Paris, I’m writing about this today because of Matthew 17. We get to return to our study of the King and His Kingdom this week and in chapter 17 the Transfiguration of Christ is recounted. This was a super-natural moment punctuated by some rather humorous moments with our man Peter. Quick to open his mouth, Peter suggested at one point that some little shelters be erected for Moses, Elijah and Jesus. That way the visitors from Heaven could stay, they could have a slumber party and a picnic. God the Father broke in and reminded the disciples, “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, HEAR HIM!” Obviously God was not trying to be subtle in His reminder. Moses and Elijah were not equals to Jesus. Everything the law and the prophets pointed to was about Christ. We would all do well to remember that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the King of Glory. He is to be listened to above all others, Moses, Elijah, Muhammad, Joseph Smith or anybody else for that matter. The sad confusion of Islam is not limited to one world religion, confusion will reign wherever people refuse to recognize Jesus Christ for who He really is.