SATAN TEMPTS JESUS

Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights . Just at the end of His fasting, He was confronted by the tempter (Matthew 4:2-10).

The devil used three things because they are a very crucial part of us. For Jesus was human much as He was God incarnate. Yet the devil sought to place himself very strategically so he could serve his evil desires. He (the devil) had sought to execute his evil desires in the following ways:

• Asked Jesus to turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:3-4).

• The devil tempted Jesus about His personality and how He (Jesus) would use His power (Matthew 4:5-7).

• The devil tempted Jesus about His view of the things (riches) of this world (Matthew 4:8-10).

Meaning and purpose of each of the above.

Turn stones into bread

Meaning

The devil sought to tempt Jesus at that moment because it was the best time for him (the devil) to do so. For Jesus had just fasted forty days and nights without food. Upon this, the devil hoped that if he tempted Jesus with food, Jesus would easily fall prey.

But the devil found Jesus well aware of the devil's evil schemes and He was well armed with scripture and spiritually and mentally strong to fend off the devil's schemes (Matthew 2:3-4). For it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God (Deuteronomy 8:3). For the devil had attempted to use scripture, but using it by wrong interpretation. How do you use scripture? 

Yet again, much as it presents as a matter of hunger, it is only symbolic of whatever directly touches or does apply to the demands of this life. There is a possibility that if we are denied these things in this life; we are likely to be compromised in our faith and trust in God. 

When the word of God comes to us, it becomes the seed to propagate faith in us (Matthew 13:31-32). But there are also forces of evil aiming to snatch it (word of God) away so we can lose our faith in God, or rather that it becomes ineffective and can't thereby effect faith in us (Matthew 13:24-30). Upon this, Jesus taught us using the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23).

We should never place our bodily demands in any position above God. We ought to deny ourselves the freedom to act just the way we feel or may wish (1Corinthians 9:27). For this is a warfare between flesh and Spirit. Thus scripture urges us to walk in the Spirit so we do not fulfill the lustful desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-18).

We are not to give in to the devil’s manipulations. Our strength can only be traced in doing the will of God rather than seeking to meet our insatiable selfish bodily demands.

The devil convinced Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit because the fruit was good to eat and pleasant to look at (Genesis 3:1-6). According to this, there are two major reasons why Eve succumbed:

• The fruit was good for food

• It looked pleasant to the eyes.

 What do you draw out of this?

• Do you note the power of food? 

• Do you realize that the devil had also sought to tempt Jesus using food?

• Do you note that the devil showed Jesus the Kingdoms of this world so he could tempt Him (Jesus) on this front? Isn't it pleasant if you look at the beauty of the kingdoms of this world? What a beauty to look at, experience and eventually own!!!??? For the devil pretty knew that this gesture would be attractive and pleasant to Jesus' eyes. It only so was that Jesus was not the type of Eve. What type are you?

How many things have you given in to simply because they look pleasant to your eyes? Thus the saying: "not everything that glitters is gold".

It is imperative to note that anything that is without the blessing of God is destructive. Many things can be glittering to look at, but they may not be truly glittering as they appear. And many things may not appear as glittering, but if they have the blessing of God, they will be a blessing as well to the recipient (Psalms 37:16).

The devil used very treacherous language and was very strategically selective of his words when he (the devil) was talking to Eve. For the devil said to Eve:  

“...Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden...’?” (Genesis 3:1).

 Then Eve replies and does so very well:

"...From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die". (Genesis 3:2-3)

Do you note that Eve knew that even merely touching the fruit would breed death for them? Yet the devil did not relent because he knew that it would finally bear fruit, and he said to Eve:

“...You surely will not die! 5“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)


The devil tells Eve that if you eat of this fruit, you will be "like" God. What a promise? So, the woman succumbed because she wanted to be like God???!!! Isn't it that the devil was seeking to set man in a purely self defeating race with the almighty God???!!!

What exactly was the devil's promise meant for? Was it that man would become God, or that he would become like God? If to be like God, how were Adam and Eve to become like God? For man was already like God because he had been created in God's own image!

If being like God was to know between good and bad (just as God is), of what benefit was it to be to them (Adam and Eve)? Rather what is the gain in what you do or believe? Or is it yet time to know it? How exactly did the devil's promise materialize? Lessons from this:

• Consider the consequences before you engage in anything!!!

• Test the spirits, always (1John 4:1-5)

• Take your due time, in everything.

• It is not about the position you are, but it is about how purposely you are positioned.

• Do not go for or into what you do not understand. It is pretty possible that Eve did not understand a thing what the devil was promising or saying.

• Do not hope for promises which are not from God.

• God gives us free will.

Purpose

The insatiable daily demands of life such as; food and water, and bodily dangers such as pain and infirmities, tend to compromise our resolve to serve God’s will. When Jesus overcame the devil on this front, it teaches us that:

• It is possible to overcome the wiles and machinations of Satan.

• That we can overcome the devil even when with stinging pain. 

• We should be able to identify the devil no matter how he masquerades. 

• There is all grace to overcome. 

Job stood even in the face of stinging pain (Job 2:4-6). The word of God is better food and more precious than the lust of the body. For heaven and earth will pass away, but God's word is eternal (Psalms 119:89), (Isaiah 40:8), (Matthew 24:35), (Luke 21:33).

The devil tells Jesus to jump from high as proof that God was with Him (Jesus)

Meaning

The devil sought to tempt Jesus using this front (Matthew 4:5-7). He (the devil) wanted Jesus to demonstrate how He (Jesus) is:

• Unique from all the rest

• Anointed unlike others. 

But this was only a deception the devil had yet again sought to use.

In this, yet again, the devil seeks to interpret scripture the wrong way so it can serve his evil purpose (Psalms 91:12). But Jesus countered the devil's evil schemes with the word of God. We are not to engage in anything that intends or seems to tempt or challenge God  (Deuteronomy 6:16). 

By seeking to tempt us to tempt and challenge God, the devil wishes to ignite the ego in us by using two things:

• Promises of God to us (Joshua 23:14), (Psalms 84:11, 89:34, 103:12), (Micah 7:19), (Luke 11:13, 18:27), (2Corinthians 1:19-20), (1John 1:8-9, 2:25), (Philippians 4:19).

• Assurances of God to us (Job 19:25-26), (Psalms 23:4, 46:1-3), (Isaiah 12:2, 32:17), (Jeremiah 29:11), (Matthew 7:13-14), (Luke 4:18-19), (Romans 5:1, 8:16).

Say for example that God has assured us of protection, it is not true that upon this assurance, we should place ourselves in danger. But if danger comes our way, then we can "remind" God of His assurance of protection to us. Additionally, God's assurances and promises are fulfilled in our lives by way of faith in God, and not by taking instructions from the devil.

So, the devil pretty knows that we can't believe his word. Thus the reason he blends his (the devil's) word with God's own word so it becomes attractive to us. For the devil is pretty deceptive. The devil pretty convinced king Ahab by deception:

'By what means?' the LORD asked. "'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. "'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.' (1Kings 22:22), (2Chronicles 18:21)

And because the devil keeps closely tracing us (if we allow him to), he pretty knows that we tend to use all material to express our ego. He (the devil) knows that we do.

Yet again, Jesus was well equipped both mentally, spiritually and with the word of God. For if Jesus had done just what the devil was tempting Him into, how well would it have gone? Didn't Jesus have the space to do just that? Did Satan misquote scripture when he said:  

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. ¹² They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone (Psalms 91:12).

Satan did note misquote scripture, but he sought to misuse it for his evil schemes. So then, what does this mean?

• Not every time scripture is quoted, it is so in good faith

• The devil can do anything to get your attention

• Scripture without the Spirit of God can't lead you well

• Take care where from you take instructions. 

• Take care how scripture is to be fulfilled in your life

• The devil is a liar, always

Purpose

The purpose is that much as God would love to use us mightily and exhibit His presence in us, it is not intended to be used to satisfy our personal egos, but to serve God’s purpose and that is it. 

We should understand that it is not about us but about the one we serve and that is God. For we are soldiers in God's army. And if we are soldiers in God's army, we serve to please Him and not us. We must then endure anything which comes thereof (2Timothy 2:3-4). We are to use God's promises and assurances to us not in any of the following ways:

• Wishful

• Serve own personal interests. 

• Selfishness.

We can only have God's purpose fulfilled in us if we keep taking instruction from our commander and that is God, through His Son Jesus Christ. Thus Jesus left us the Holy Spirit who keeps testifying to us about Him (Jesus) (John 15:26).

Riches

Meaning

Everyone in flesh would love to be rich and to own riches. Some people would do anything to get riches. Some of us have gone as far as offering our loved ones for human sacrifices because we have been promised that if we do, it will pave the way for us to acquire the much craven for riches. 

The devil had nurtured a feeling that Jesus would be one of such people. He had falsely thought that Jesus would be overwhelmed if He saw the riches of this world and that He (Jesus) wouldn't have hesitated to imagine how great He would be if He had acquired such riches (Matthew 4:8-10). The devil had only sought to use this to blindfold Jesus.

In Jesus' reply, He showed the devil that His love for God would never be compromised for anything. For it is God alone we are to worship and serve (Deuteronomy 10:20). And everything that we may own either in form of riches or wealth, must be to the honor of God. Rather we must use it to serve God. For it is not to be used for the devil's purpose of killing and destroying.

Yet it is never true that the riches and the kingdoms of this world belong to the devil. The devil has created nothing. For the world and everything therein is the Lord's (Psalms 24:1).  But the devil is master at manipulating and twisting things in the very treacherous way. For if you lack God's word in you, or if you lack proper understanding of God's word, then you will be easy prey for the devil. 

It is upon this that Jesus taught us that riches alone cannot add up a person. For there is life beyond mere riches of this world (Luke 12:13-15).

If some of us can sacrifice their dear ones simply to acquire riches, how easy would it have been if the devil had made it to seem so simple like he tried to make it appear to Jesus? He only wanted Jesus to worship him (the devil) as the only requirement. Yet the repercussions would have never been simple any bit. Take care before you engage in anything, it may not be as simple as it looks or seems for that matter.

The purpose

This teaches us that it is not bad to be rich, but the way and the cost at which one acquires riches is what is imperative to note. For it is of the Lord to make rich (Deuteronomy 8:18), (1Chronicles 29:12), (Job 1:9-10, 41:11), (Proverbs 8:17-18), (Revelations 5:12).

The devil gives earthly riches (if at all he does) as a way to set a trap upon which we can serve his evil purposes. Serving the devil means forsaking God and this is terribly consequential.

Satan uses man's insatiable greed to woo his (man's) allegiance away from God. But it is only a malevolent move because even greed itself is of Satan. It is only a trap. The devil does nothing in genuine terms.

Anything with the intention to get us away from the only true God should be resisted to the tooth.

Names and titles of Satan

 

• Thief and Destroyer (John 10:10)

• The angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon (Revelation 9:11)

• Accuser (Revelation 12:10)

• Adversary and devourer (1Peter 5:8)

• Beelzebul (Matthew 12:24)

• Belial (2Corinthians 6:15)

• Murderer (John 8:44)

• Devil (Matthew 4:1, 25:41), (Acts 10:38)

• Serpent of old (Revelation 12:9, 20:2)

• Enemy (Matthew 13:39)

• The evil spirit (1Samuel 16:14)

• Dragon (Revelation 12:3)

• Leviathan (Isaiah 27:1), (Psalm 74:14), (Job 3:8, 41:1-34)

• Deceiver or deceiving spirit (1Kings 22:22)

• Domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13)

• The world (John 14:30)

• Prince of the power of the air, spirit of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2).

• Force of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12)

• Satan (1Chronicles 21:1), (Matthew 16:23)

• Liar (Genesis 3:4), (John 8:44)

• Tempter (Matthew 4:3), (1 Thessalonians 3:5)

• god of this world (2Corinthians 4:4)

• Unclean spirit (Matthew 12:43)

• The evil one (Matthew 13:19), (2Timothy 2:26), (Ephesians 6:11)

Conclusion

How to defeat the devil

In all such, we should always learn to:

• Be in position to detect the wiles and machinations of the devil. 

• Be equipped with the word of God. 

• Understand that there is nothing good about Satan. 

• Be pure in everything so that Satan has nothing to do with us (John 14:30).

In all that Jesus did, He wanted us to learn from Him in the following ways:

• Have courage to gain strength in the face of stinging pain and want. 

• The devil wants to break our faith in God. 

• Our faith in God will always be tested 

• We should remain obedient to God in all circumstances. 

Additionally, the devil had quoted scripture, and it is pretty true that that is what it says. But the devil had sought to use it for his own consequential treachery. For whether scripture is right or not, it is not the devil to quote it for us. Rather it is not the devil to direct us how to apply scripture. The devil's treachery is ever at play. Note that the devil is already fallen and his only destination is everlasting hell. 

And upon this, even if Jesus were to do just as the devil had sought to remind Him to do (treacherously using scripture), Jesus was not to do anything upon being told by the devil. It is not the devil to tell you what to do, whether using scripture or anything else. For we get instructions from God because we are in God's Kingdom and never again in Satan's evil kingdom.

Recall that when Eve gave the devil some little space, it has translated into very serious consequences for everyone. For the devil presents as if he is an angel of light and he uses many tricks so that he can mislead many (2Corinthians 11:14), (Daniel 11:32). To us Christians, we should all stand well informed that the threat and danger of the devil misleading us is so lively and it is still a possibility (2Corinthians 11:3).

Jesus only defeated the devil with the right approach blended with the timely word of God. Additionally, temptations are a part of our Christian journey, we must not quake when they come. And our shield of faith in Jesus who is but our perfect example will fend off any and every darts of the evil one.

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THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

The Bible is the indisputable inspired word of God. It has a divine origin. It is right from within God Himself. It is God breathed. 

It is therefore incumbent on us to follow what it commands us no matter how hard it seems to fulfill. For in the Bible, God speaks to us. 

I have encountered many Christians who are seeking God's literal voice and face. Such shouldn't be because it is in the Bible that God speaks or doesn't. The Bible is therefore indisputably God's own word.

For there are so many amazing stories in the Bible, quite hard to believe by human understanding, but on account that the Bible is inspired, we go on to believe just what it says. 

The following are some of the most interesting stories ever in the history of the earth to be recorded in the Bible;

• God provides quails to the Israelites (Exodus 16:13)

• God provides quails to the Israelites from the sea (Numbers 11:31-32)

• The donkey speaks to Balaam (Numbers 22:28)

• The waters of the red sea part (Exodus 14:21)

• Manna comes from heaven (Exodus 16)

• Water comes from the rock (Numbers 20:11)

• Joshua instructs the sun to stop (Joshua 10:13)

• The waters of the river Jordan part (Joshua 3:8)

• Jesus walks on water (Matthew 14:22-33)

• Jesus dies and rises again (Mark 15:33-34), (Mark 16:9)

• Jesus stops the storm (Mark 4:35-41)

And these are just a few, yet a lot more is recorded.

Using nature as an example

We all know how nature gets wild on us.  And when it does get wild on us, we then wonder how God can let that happen. Rather we appeal to God. Meaning it has reached a level whereby it is out of our control. So for example when a loved one dies and we are left helpless but to accept that judgment. 

In this, it is like we do believe even when we don't want to that only God can have it under control. And all this is proof that if scripture records a thing in this regard, so it is. For if it wasn't, why do we carry on appealing to God when things go beyond our control. Yet nature will obey at God's word. 

I am saying all this because all such stories should have been taken to be mythical if there is no some of the proof they are in present day times. So it is that some of these things can be witnessed happen today. And upon this, we can reliably believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. 

For when we refer to the Bible, we seem to agree that it is where we can rely. And upon this, we believe what it says. The fact being that there are many other people who wouldn't want to believe what it says. But what else can anyone do? We will all remain limited unless we believe what God tells us.

Science can be used to expound on many of such things. For example in case of a storm, we pretty do have scientific explanations how it all comes to be. But the same science does not tell us the source of its energy. Neither does science give us what to do to stop it except to escape from it elsewhere. Meaning it is beyond what man can manage.

The Boxing Day tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in history which happened in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia and other countries on 26-December, 2004 is quite a good example. How could this have ever been managed (if it were ever to be managed) in the human sense and capability?

A car maker (if at all he is) must know where its energy source is. That he knows where its energy source is, he must know how to stop it if it ever goes wild. So then, to claim that all these things do happen on their own is gravely a mistaken notion. For God's word is the reason everything is. And that word is the Bible.

 Writers of the Bible

But it is also amazing how God used men from different walks of life to pass on His word to so many, among whom are the following;

• The fishermen

• The elites

• The illiterate

• The rich and 

• The poor. 

Yet all they wrote is weighed equally and on that account, we believe it all for the word of God. None of it is treated in a special or a none special way. For in the Bible, how the word written by Peter the fisherman inspires me is the same way how the word written by Luke the doctor inspires me.

Why is it so?

For God used people from all walks of life because He is the God of all. God will never hold casts because what matters to Him is not what we are while here on earth. God loves the treasure in us and that is His spirit in us. Every spirit in every man matters in equal measures.  Thus the very reason Jesus died for all

Whether written by Peter the fisherman or Luke the doctor, both Peter and Luke had the same source of it; and that is but God. Thus then, whether written by Peter the fisherman, or by Luke the doctor, it all commands equal authority and it is all canonical on the fact that it is the word of God. Peter and Luke were just instruments to pass it on.

Had it not been from the same source, which only is but God, the various books of the Bible would have been read on account of the status of the person who wrote a particular book. Isn't this the manner in which we handle many matters in this literal world?

We all believe if we fail to get justice amongst each other (because we are immensely limited in many ways) then we refer to one we believe can see further than we can. And He is unbiased. He is the just judge. And person is none other than God. Everybody therefore will wait on what God says because we pretty believe that God is supreme in everything. We do rightly believe that there is another being who is not biased and does not take sides. And His judgment is just and final.

This is the very reason why world over, no matter how secular it may be, every constitution of any one single government has a bit to do with what the Bible says. Rather in the Bible, we have the guidance that each one of us will need. For because the Bible is widely believed to be the infallible word of God, everybody believes that when we refer to it, we get the view of God. 

This is further confirmation that much as many may stand in opposition of it, many have failed to find an alternative to which they can reliably refer besides the Bible. Many are simply in self denial, but the word of God remains to stand. As years pass on, the Bible is continuously being proven to be the undisputed infallible word of God, yet very many other writings are getting disapproved because they lack any depth in them and they can't stand the test of time.

Many times we can be amazed by the wisdom of the writers of the Bible. For considering the times when they wrote, it would have been inconceivable that it is by their own understanding that they wrote these things.

The Bible talks about the law, governments, social life, people relations and all the rest as we know it. Who else could have done this? For if a father has the responsibility to organize and guide his family, who else should do the same for all of us on this planet? If we claim to know all this better today, it is because we have learnt from God's word. It is upon this that numerous men of God foresaw this and wrote as follows.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works". 
(2Timothy 3:16-17)

Meaning that the word of God shapes us, not only for the service of God to others, but equally for preparation of us to meet our God at the end of our earthly lives. For we accept it to shape us because we reliably do believe that it is from God.  
 

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost". 
(2Peter 1:21) 

So then, no one wrote anything that is canonized in the Bible by their own will. They did so as they were led by the Holy Ghost. But if we happen to spot any variance in the Bible, we should understand that we are human and are immensely limited by human limitations. No one has always taken every bit of instruction just how it is been given. Yet the substance remains important to all of us.

Upon this, it is now reliable that whoever wrote or said anything in the Bible, he did so on God's own instruction. Thus the reason that no matter the seeming differences, there is worldwide ready acceptance of the Bible as appealing to entire communities. The Bible is God inspired!

You have it all in the Bible.

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FOOLS SAY THERE IS NO GOD

One of the Psalms says: "....a fool has said in his heart; there is no God...." (Psalms 14:1).

 Who is a fool?

A fool is a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person. Or rather a fool is a person who has been tricked, deceived or duped into acting unwisely. And upon this, one is a fool either because it is his own or rather that he is been misled into it by another person.

 

It sounds quite abusive and insulting, but since the Bible has phrased it the way it is; it gives us space to discuss it in those terms.

Is it an expression of foolishness for one to say there is no God?

Scripture and everything else do indeed tell us God is there and He is the creator and the source of everything and of all life. Your existence alone is proof that God is.

The parable of the wise and the foolish builders

Jesus teaches us about the two builders; one who was wise and built his house upon a rock. And that this was made possible for him by way of having and keeping God's word. When there was a stormy down pour, it couldn't break the house because it was built upon a rock and thereby very strong (Matthew 7:24-27).


There was also the foolish builder who constructed his house upon sand. In this way, it rather translates that he did not take and keep God's word to himself. And Jesus taught that this is the foolish builder. When there was a stormy down pour, it swept the house away because the house did not have a strong foundation.

Interpretation

The rock is the word of God. The word of God is Jesus Christ. We build on this rock (Jesus) by way of believing His word, for it is life and food for the spirit. Submit to His authority, for only then are we assured of safety. Deny ourselves the things of this world which are very pleasurable to the sinful flesh but very damaging to the spirit.

So, building on the rock pretty takes patience because a rock is hard to make a foundation on it. It takes time and much resources.

When we take Jesus' word and keep it to ourselves, this word digests in us and transforms us to the liking of God. It rather makes us bear fruit as: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  

The foolish man on the other hand, is not fool for mere say. He is fool for making and taking un-thoughtful decisions. He rushed to build a cheap house. He did not want to labor much. He rather chose to build on mere sand which is not so tiring to dig. He used cheap materials because they did not trouble him to get.

What are these sand and cheap materials.

The sand upon which he built, and the cheap materials are the things of this world which are pleasurable to the sinful flesh but very damaging to the spirit man. The foolish man thought that by having buildings, children, vehicles, women and land, he is stronger. He falsely thought that he was then in a strong position to direct his life.

Worth to note, it is not that the foolish man did not take Jesus' word, but rather he took it so lightly. Say like people who keep saying I know God and I go to church. Yet despite all this, they carry on with the other secretive sinful life.

So, the foolish man knows God's word to be true but will never keep it to himself. He is rather overtaken by the cares of life. He takes the issues of life more seriously than the issues of God.

The stormy rain that hit the weak and cheaply built foolish man's house hard and destroyed it, is death. All the things he chose to use to build his house turned out to be useless, just like a house built on mere sand.

The weak structure of the seeming house built on mere sand had given the foolish man false belief that he had something in the form of a house, but when it was tested, it turned out to be nothing, useless and unhelpful when the critical moment came. Jesus said: "...heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will always remain" (Matthew 24:35), (Mark 13:31), (Luke 21:33).

Basing on how Jesus teaches in this narrative, it appears that foolishness can be viewed in a number of ways. But it pretty much appears that Jesus was teaching us about the heavenly wisdom. So, upon this, there are (in this perspective) two types of wisdom;

• Heavenly wisdom

• Earthly wisdom.

Heavenly wisdom

Heavenly wisdom can be defined as a person's faith in God. Rather that God does exist and that He is the creator of any and everything there is. He (God) is the Alpha and Omega. He is the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and the Omniscient God. And upon this, every creature ought to obey and surrender to Him (Hebrews 12:9). So, heavenly wisdom is believing in and obedience to God.

Earthly wisdom

This is the wisdom of the humans. This kind of wisdom (to the humans), it appears to be leading them well. But according to scripture, this wisdom only appears to be so, but in the end, it is terribly misleading. For if a person uses his ability to make something to challenge the existence of God, then it is terribly misleading (1Corinthians 3:19-20). The ability to make something should rather be used to glorify God but not to defy Him. And if you use your understanding as a way to glorify God, then you become wise both spiritually and literally.

So, upon this, it is terribly mistaken for a person to seek to perceive heavenly or spiritual wisdom in earthly terms (1Corinthians 2:14). For spiritual matters can't be perceived literally. Neither can literal things be perceived spiritually. And it so is that if you seek to know God, the starting point is to believe. That you perceive yourself to be wise is pretty much subject to scrutiny, should you use what you call wisdom the wrong way (1Corinthians 1:20).

Everything in this world begins with a simple idea. The only way to believe that God does exist is to begin to believe. For if you do not begin to believe, then you will never believe. And if you will never believe, then you are doomed. If you are doomed, then you are foolish.

Why am I foolish?

You are foolish because there is a clear way you can save your soul.

Now believe what?

The first step is to believe that there is all reason that God is. Upon this, read scripture and in it, search for the proof. Scripture together with faith will surely guide you the way of God. And with time, you will get and know more facts. Then your faith builds and it becomes strong (Matthew 17:20), (Luke 17:6).

Imagine that one man imagined a car. But now the car is no longer an imagination. For it is now a reality. That means the car was there, but it simply required someone to make it happen and real. The person who imagined this pretty much believed that if he went on to make it, it would become a reality. And now it is.

So it is that for those who love to know and see God, if they search for Him, they will indeed know that He is and that He is the creator and the source of all life (1Chronicles 16:11), (Psalms 14:2), (Isaiah 45:19, 55:6-7), (Jeremiah 29:13), (Proverbs 8:17), (Zephaniah 2:3), (Acts 17:27).

The starting point is to begin to read literature about the true God, or listen to what the men of God say. That literature is none other than the Bible. For if you are a teacher, what can you teach a child who doesn't want to learn? Or how do you handle a child who has no interest in learning but he is also gravely and terribly ignorant. Yet if he submits to learn, then he will indeed learn. But that doesn't mean he should not ask questions if he has to.

In all this, the lead principle must be that an ignorant student must be willing to submit and to learn thereof. If that is so, then they will be equipped with the necessary required knowledge for that matter. But if a student is searching for knowledge but doesn't want to submit to the principles thereof, how else can he learn? Or how will he learn? Rather what else will he do? Except to remain terribly ignorant and foolishly argumentative!

For each one of us is a potential atheist if to say. But the difference is that some of us have submitted and we have indeed found reason to believe what we do believe now. I personally do believe that if to be, there is enough reason that God does indeed exist.

A few questions, though;

• Why does the Bible refer to a person who says there is no God as a fool?

• Was it intended to abuse and insult?

• What is the intention of the person who says there is no God?

Why does the Bible refer to such a person as a fool?

I believe this Psalm was written by David. David loved God wholesomely. He knew Him as his only source of everything. If God is the source of all for David, who is the source of yours? As that, to David and many of us, for one to say there is no God is sheer foolishness. Because we are the very reason that God is.

Now, foolish reasoning is asking where does God come from and who is He?

In our current human setting, it is impossible to know all this. And not only this, but a lot more. It is not the time for us to know all, and not in this form that we are (1Corinthians 13:12). When each of us was in the womb, none of us knew a thing. But when the right time came, we now know so much. And it is that when the right time comes, we shall know all about the heavenly setting.

So, the logic of the atheists just doesn't add up. For the atheists are only struggling to make a point which can never be made. But if to argue for the case of logic, then the existence of logic is also the very proof that God does indeed exist.

Why is it foolishness to say there is no God? 

It is foolishness to say there is no God because there is every proof and evidence that God is there. Science is limited and we have nothing more than that in the human means.

What else is there we can do to believe God is there? Is there anything more? Yes it is there. But we can't search for God using means of science or human intellectualism. God can never be found in science, albeit science can be one of the tools we can use to ascertain God is there. For God is Spirit and those who love to see Him must enter in the spiritual (John 4:23-24). 

Does God want us blindly to believe He is there?? No. If it was so, Jesus wouldn't have come and the Bible wouldn't have been written.

Now that human capacity is limited in approving or disapproving much, then what?

I believe;there must be a being over and above and who is in charge of all (the Alpha and the Omega). If I can't even tell what my wife thinks, despite the fact that I share so much with her! Who is that other person in me or in you that can't be seen by anybody else? Where is that invisible person? Who is he responsible to? That other person must be only visible and responsible to somebody else who is also invisible and not human. 

Human science has failed to tell us of such. The conclusion that a person who says there is no God is a fool is because it is foolishly a tiring task, an expression of an empty headed head, it is null and void to try to prove God is not there. No one sets in battle with God will win. History pretty proves that whoever seeks to get in battle with God has failed or rather been defeated.

Will you balance your mind, meditate and ponder carefully? For what is your share in all that God created? Rather what is your portion of all this? What is your contribution to the creation of this earth? Where were you when this earth was being created? (Job 38:4-7). What explanation do you have?

NB For the wisdom of God is none but to know that God is and to obey Him.

God is not telling us to believe blindly. I do believe God is there because even if I wasn't to, there is overwhelmingly enough proof for me to believe God is there. What can I change? How much control do I have over myself and all the rest? The fact that I do not have all the control is pretty evidence that there is another who is. If even air, which is not in solid form is counted as matter!

Was it intended to abuse and insult?

No. It wasn't. It was only for explanatory purposes. It is more meaningful and better understood when phrased and asked that way.

Many people only come to such a conclusion as; "...there is no God.." because they want to assume doing away with God. They feel they should be independent of God. They have a dangerous false denial that they should not be responsible to anybody. Such people only wish to own their lives. Yet in their hearts, they pretty do believe that God is there, but they do not want to submit to His power and sovereignty (Romans 1:20-21). It is simply rebellion! 

But God is all loving and patient with us in the hope that our life journeys will become a testimony upon which we can build our faith in God. That is why even if you are an atheist, you still live, because God means well for you. If you really do own your life, you would not die!!!??? Would you??? Do you want to die? I do not believe anybody fancies death, but it comes anyway. Why don't you stop it? Why do you become so terribly helpless during that time?

No body in this world has no spiritual lenience. Even atheists you will realize they readily accept an opposing spirit to the power of God. Such are all the devils schemes. To deny God is there is simply to try to resist God's overwhelming power and manifestation. It actually tells there is a voice in you which you are trying to quiet up. 

Mark you, to deny Obama is US President is not to say he is not. Even though you hate and do not like him, it doesn't make him any lesser a president of the USA.

God's power and sovereignty will always act on you, even though you deny He is. That is why you will helplessly die anyway. Not so? There are many things we would want to have under our control, but we can't. We can only pray about them if we are to. 

I wish you had the power to manage every bit of your life...! When a child is attacked, he looks to an adult for help. For that matter, the adult can do what the child can't do. Not so? To be atheist is only to wish and be rebellious.

What is the intention of the person who says so?

The intention of the person who denies there is God is simple; just trying to use their little energy to fight God back. But He remains God anyway. It is indeed fools who say there is no God.

The duty of man 

The duty of man is to believe, albeit not blindly. But it is not time for us to know everything. The secret things belong to the Lord (Deuteronomy 29:29). But even literally, there are top secrets. Families, organizations and Nations have top secrets. Meaning not everything is to everybody. Jesus said He had had a lot to tell His disciples, but it was yet time to tell all to them (John 16:12).

God has prepared the time for us when we will see and know everything. When that time comes, every bit of a question will be answered (1Corinthians 13:9-12). We are rather wasting time and energy on the issue that its time to be answered is yet to come. For everything has its own timing.

It is imperative for us to understand that there are sums of questions to which there will never be answers while in the flesh. For the answers are not meant for the flesh.  

As that, once again, to deny God is there is to be foolish more to God and less to us. He would do whatever, and He has whatever it takes to drown you. He is only giving you space to get to know by yourself. Mark you, He is watching closely! So it is foolish to deny God is there because it means you have not thought harder. Think beyond mere thinking! Meditate freely. All tells God is there, how about you? What about your very existence?

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SHOULD A MAN HAVE SEX WITH A MENSTRUATING WIFE?

I believe a sensible noble man can’t go ahead and sleep with a wife who is in her monthly periods. Whether we can back it up in the scriptures or not, it is wrong, spiritually, logically, it is wrong. A man must not sleep with a menstruating woman (Leviticus 15:191-23, 18:19, 20:18), (Ezekiel 18:5-6, 22:10).

Menstruation is usually only a few days, three, sometimes four days. After that, you are together as much as you wish. The argument that it is an affair between two willing adult lovers is similar to homosexuals seeking to promote their (spiritually and morally) wrong agenda.

To ask that what issue should I have with two consenting adult individuals is totally to miss the point. Consent is not necessarily proven right. If someone consents that I kill them, and indeed I do, would the law exonerate me because the dead person consented? 

If that is the case that every time there is consent it makes it right, everybody would find liberty to engage in any behavior they wish or of their choice. 

The claim that scripture may say nothing about it can be so unappealing. For what matters most is the conviction and not the letter (John 16:8), (2Corinthians 3:6). For it is not written only, but also the Spirit is convicting of. We can't wish away the Old testament (OT), because without it, the New Testament (NT) is groundless.  For the OT gives us the idea and the direction, and then it is fulfilled in the NT.

How can we do things that do not even meet worldly standards? Jesus CHRIST says; “For I say to you, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

There are many issues where we do not only have to search for scriptures for, so that even though we do not get them (the scriptures), we should never nurture a feeling that we are at liberty to act the way we would wish. The Holy Scriptures (the word of God) are very important, though. For scripture is but the basic guide, it is not an end in itself.

On the other hand, though, there are so many controversies in the world today about which many people are seeking answers. Many of such controversies have no clear cut scriptures for us to be able to have clear answers for them. 

But why do we struggle to seem to have an answer for every bit? Where is the work of the Holy Spirit who was promised to us by our Lord Jesus CHRIST (John 14:16-18)? Isn't this an age of the Holy Spirit? Why are Christians struggling for written evidence?  What more space are we looking for? For if scripture alone was enough, why did Jesus send us the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit can guide us much more in such controversial issues than anything else.

The answer to this question may not necessarily be traced in the New Testament just like many other issues, but shall we also conclude that there would be no conviction at all if we went on to act in that particular way? 

And if we are solely to rely on scripture, shall we only have to rely on the New Testament (NT) and always declare the Old Testament (OT) irrelevant? God forbid. The Bible is a whole book, each bit relying on the other. Both the OT and the NT still do apply to us as much (Matthew 5:17-18). 

We are not much different from the people that lived before the age of our Lord Jesus the CHRIST. For why would God refuse the people of the OT to do it but then allow us to do it? The very reason they were instructed not to sleep with menstruating wives is the same reason we of today should not. The law may not strictly be applicable today as it was in the OT, but neither should we be at liberty to act whichever way we would wish. 

There are many things we have given ourselves freedom to do yet if we inquired of the Holy Spirit, the answer would be much different. That is why Jesus could never leave us to guide ourselves, we could easily go astray, just as history has proven. He knew if He left us without the Holy Spirit and in His (Jesus’) absence, we could easily come to many unfounded conclusions.

Additionally, I strongly believe that sex is a game of the mind. Unless a person is possessed, what sexual pleasure can you have with a menstruating wife or woman for that matter? I mean it is a game that requires a strong but free mind in order to be able to carry it on to the end. 

Otherwise, people even have the strength to sleep with fellow men, animals, to rape. Someone may easily conclude that; since there is no scripture in the New Testament barring me from sleeping with a beast, I have the freedom to go ahead and sleep with it. How acceptable could such be? 

Did the NT have to go into all these details as was the OT so that we can satisfactorily conclude that scripture does or does not allow us to do this or that? 

Could having the strength to have sex with a menstruating wife or woman for that matter be justification enough to do just that? If someone can defile a two year baby! If someone can sleep with a pig or any other beast for that matter!

Christians must avoid doing things that aren’t exemplary in anyway. Scripture says we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16), (Philippians 2:14-16), (1Thessalonians 5:5), (1Peter 2:9). That we are the salt of the world (Matthew 5:13). How is that? What is the light supposed to be? We must raise the bar over above the rest of the world. That is the one sure way we can appeal to so many yet to accept the gospel of truth. 

We must remain as Christians in all aspects, much, much more when we are isolated, say when in our living rooms. Not so? Avoid uncontrolled appetite. Uncontrolled appetite is the reason most people are disarraying in many issues.

My conclusion is that; noble men do not sleep with their wives when they are menstruating. It is just not right, whether scriptural or not.

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LIVING AS A TESTIMONY FOR JESUS

What is a testimony.

A testimony is the evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something. Or rather the evidence of having tested or undersgone something.

There are two forms of testimony:

• Testimony of what the Lord Jesus has done for us (Luke 8:39), (2Timothy 1:8-9).

• Testimony for what we become in Jesus Christ. Rather when we become exemplary to the rest because of how our submission to Christ has shaped us (Matthew 10:32), (1Peter 3:15-16), (1John 5:11), (Revelation 12:11). 

 Living as a testimony for Jesus

To live a life as a testimony for Jesus is a way we could liken a person who is looking in the mirror. What do you see when you look in the mirror? Now suppose you are looking at Jesus as the mirror, what do you see? 

In this perspective, we look at Jesus as the mirror and then we can see how we do appear in reflection, with Jesus as the standard measure. For just like a mirror gives the true image of someone, so it is that if we focus on Jesus as the mirror, it is then that we know if we are living our lives as a testimony for Him or not. 

Yet much as a mirror will give you the exact image of who you are, in Jesus as the mirror, you may not get the same. For if we look in Jesus as the mirror, the mirror who is but Jesus will give us the image which either is like or Him or something else. And if Jesus as the mirror gives another image that is not Him, then we are not living a life as a testimony of Him (Jesus). For it is Jesus who makes the better of us (2Corinthians 3:18). This is that we must not only testify, but we must be the testimony as proof of the Jesus in us.

In brief terms, to live a life as a testimony for Jesus is to be like Jesus. Rather to acquire the character of Jesus Christ. And if we acquire the character of Jesus, it pretty much testifies that Jesus is real. 

Jesus put on human flesh and came on earth, solely to remit  man of sin. He (Jesus) died shamefully on the cross purposely for this. How this sacrifice shapes us (when we submit to Jesus), is what we should call; living our lives as a testimony for Jesus. Not accepting Him (Jesus), should be another matter altogether.

And this is not about what position one may be. It is not about those so craven for titles as bishop, pastor, apostle or anything of that kind. Neither is it about the so craven for political titles as president, vice president, speaker, minister or whatever.This is a matter about submission to Jesus Christ.

The case of sacrifices in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament times, sacrifices were done once a year at Jerusalem. They required animals (only those sanctioned in scripture). It was done only by a sanctioned priest who would go to the Holy of Holies. This exercise had to be done routinely; year after year. 

One of the key requirements of this exercise was that a peace sacrifice would not apply for a sin sacrifice. There was a sacrifice for every single issue. But when Jesus came, He changed this arrangement. Jesus' one sacrifice is whole and holistic. For these requirements would have been too much for many of us. We would have surely ended up eternally condemned.

The blood of Jesus flows endlessly, everywhere. With the sacrifice of Jesus, all have access to God, you only need to accept and confess the powerful name of Jesus. This should be good enough for all of us who submit to CHRIST as Lord and Savior. We should live the way that reflects the effectiveness of the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus.

Man had been separated from God by sin and was awash in it with no hope by any self means to overcome it. There had been no holistic sacrifice as that offered by Jesus on the cross. The blood of animals only covered on sin with no enough cleansing power as does the blood of Jesus. 

Yet the glory of animals could not measure up to the glory of man. But the blood of animals at least covered upon sin because it is at least cleaner than that of man. Animals are innocent and therefore their blood is acceptable as lesser a sacrifice, but only to cover upon, not to cleanse away. 

Yet God's grand plan was; not only to cover upon, but to cleanse away altogether, all sin. The sacrifice of Jesus therefore was the only remaining assured option to set man free of sin. The blood of Jesus was required because in it there is no sin. Jesus is God and His glory is way far over and above. His sacrifice is readily acceptable and perfectly fitting. In it is enough power to cleanse us of all sin.

The Knowledge about the only true God

The knowledge about the only true God was only limited to the Israelites. But when Jesus came, He commanded that all nations should be brought to the knowledge of God, all Gentiles inclusive (Matthew 28:19). If therefore we deny to live our lives as a testimony for Jesus Christ, it should be aggravated betrayal and severely punishable by eternal death.

In Jesus, we have a priceless opportunity to live anew (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we are set free of sin, it tells the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Jesus. Our new precious lives therefore become a testimony for Jesus.

On the other hand, though, if we submit to Jesus, but continue to willingly and consciously dwell in sin, we are only abusing this sacrifice. We are only trying to imply it was not sacrifice enough for us to live free of sin. As if we are appealing for a better sacrifice, which there is not (Hebrews 10:26)! Jesus' is the only sacrifice to be accepted because He (Jesus) is God. 

If not, what then would it call for besides the blood of God? With Jesus, you can't fail. If you do, you have only failed yourself and you are condemned!  Jesus is coming back again, this time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him (Hebrews 9:28). That I have submitted my life to Christ, it becomes no longer mine, but the one of Jesus Christ. And that is that no more of me and it is all of Jesus (Galatians 2:20).

To be a testimony for Jesus is to keep learning from Him when you submit to Him (Matthew 5:13-16). For Jesus is our perfect example.

When we live our lives after the life of Jesus, we are glorifying God. It is a testimony that Jesus' is perfect and effective a sacrifice. And this does pretty testify that submission to Him is a project worth taking. We will have lived our lives as perfectly as we should. We begin to bear fruit (Galatians 5:22). With this, it is a way we pull many to Jesus. To the glory of the Father.

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CAN THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM LEAD THE MUSLIMS TO PARADISE?

In the very first place, I believe the underlying truth is in the fact that Faiths/Religions have different beliefs, teachings and perceptions of many issues. This is because each Faith/Religion is built around a person or a spiritual power of its own kind. 

The Christian Faith is all about Jesus the CHRIST, the Islamic religion is all about Muhammad, etc. The Muslims therefore have a different perception of what heaven is. The requirements for a Muslim faithful to get to heaven are rather far incomparable with those of a Christian faithful.

The Muslim god could be able to lead them to a certain type of “heaven” should they keep those pillars. Such is not the case when it comes to God who also is YAHWEH (Exodus 6:2-3). And this God YAHWEH is the Father of Jesus Christ. 

The God YAHWEH, through Jesus Christ deals with the heart. He is not a God after keeping a certain law for the sake of it; He is not a God of rituals. 

Upon all the above, it could pretty  be true that we may never have an answer satisfying to all parties.

In basic terms, let us list these pillars and thereafter discuss one by one in more critical terms;

• Shahadah- Confession that allah is god and Muhammad is his prophet.

• Swalah- keeping the daily five prayer sessions.

• Zakat- Giving to the poor

• Swaum- The annual fasting of the month of ramadhan

• Hajj- Visiting the “holy places” of Mecca and Muhammad’s tomb in Medina.

Shahadah

This is to confess that Allah is god and that Muhammad is his prophet. By this, you have confirmed that you know no other god but Allah and Muhammad is the “lead prophet”. Mere confession of Allah and his prophet Muhammad in Islam is a guarantee to heaven. 

Christians on the other hand are also required to confess CHRIST Jesus as Lord and Savior. However, in Christianity, mere confession is not an end in itself, it is to be matched with actions of holiness. As that, in Christianity, nobody is simply led to heaven because he has confessed; it is the spirit in which you do so and how you act thereafter. 

The devil also believes and confesses Jesus is Lord but he is not accepted as a Christian (James 2:19), (Luke 4:41).

Additionally, the content of what we confess is different, the Muslims confess Allah and Muhammad. On the other hand, Christians are required and do indeed confess CHRIST Jesus as Lord and Saviour of all (Matthew 9:6-8, 28:18-20), (Luke 10:19). 

All these differences are clear indications that we are referring to very different deities. Allah is not YAHWEH neither is Muhammad a "prophet" of the same (YAHWEH).

Swallah

This is to keep the five daily prayer sessions throughout the life of a Muslim. It is a repeated recitation of a certain surat alfatiha and any other surah from the Quran followed up with additional memorizations in all these prayer sessions. I mean the same phrases are repeated in all these "prayers". 

On the other hand, though, the God of the Christians is not about memorizations or recitations. He allows you to pray from your heart. It is about the one praying not God. Rather we pray from within us because we want to reconcile and reunite with God. And if that is, it is that prayer has to come from within us and not from God.

To Christians, prayer is out of the desire to have a relationship with God. So then, prayer is not an end it itself and can’t therefore by itself lead you to heaven. Prayer is simply a tool (if used well with knowledge) that can help build the much needed relationship with God. For Christians, it is not simply to pray, but the prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). This is what eventually paves the way to heaven.

While they "pray", Muslims are commanded to face in the direction of the Kaaba in which also is the black stone. To the Muslim faith, doing this alone earns a person credit from Allah. If you pray not facing in the direction of the Kaaba, then your prayer is null and void. Rather it doesn't count at all.

For Christians, you are free to pray facing anywhere. For God YAHWEH is Omnipresent and Omniscient. He connects with the Heart and not by merely facing or being anywhere. 

There are immense differences in perceptions of prayer between Christians and Muslims among which are the following:

Christian God                                                                Muslim god

It is out of the need to                                                   It is a command
Prayer comes from the heart                                         Prayer is by Allah, memorized and recited
Not an end in itself                                                        It is an end in itself
Prayer is formed by the individual                                  Prayer is formed by Allah
God directs how to pray                                               Allah commands you what to pray
You can face anywhere in prayer                                   Face the Kaaba only

Simply to pray can’t lead anybody to heaven.

Zakat

This is giving alms. It involves giving to the poor. However, in the Islamic teaching, it is more of a command than out of passion, love, care. It is a command from Allah. 

On the other hand, giving whether as a command or not is a way of worship. Worship is not forced on someone, it is out of one's realization how great and good God is to us. As such, giving sometimes is out of such encounters. However, many people of all sorts give; witches, homosexuals, Muslims, Christians, etc. So to say someone may simply be led to heaven because he has given is not realistic.

So then, a Christian should give because he is Christian. Rather, as Christians, we give because of what we are in Christ and not because it is a command from anybody. We do give because of the life of Christ in us. That means the giving alone can't translate into justification.

But if we give because we are Christians, it means we are giving because of the Christ in us. And if Christ is in us, then our giving pretty makes meaning and sense. For we are nothing of our own. It is all about God.

Swaum

This is fasting during the “holy” month of Ramadhan. In fact, in the Muslim faith, it is alleged that during this month, the devil is tied up and the “heavens are wide open, and any Muslim who dies during this month has his direct way to Jana (paradise). But so to say, such are simply religious beliefs that have no any root at all. 

To fast or not to fast can’t be reason why someone should or shouldn’t go to heaven. This is because it is about the one fasting, it does God no good for someone to fast. Rather it doesn't benefit God in anyway if someone fasts. For fasting aids the individual. 

Much more so, the period during which to fast also raises questions. The God of the Christians allows them to fast as and when they believe and realize it is paramount to do so, it doesn't matter when. Rather Christians fast because the need is there to do so (Matthew 17:21), (Luke 9:29). All time is God’s.

But Muslims can only do their fasting during that particular month. And it is a must that you wake up in the wee morning hours and eat. If you don't, you miss the fast. Equally so, you have to break the fast when the sun goes down. If you don't break the fast at that time, your fast is declared null and void. Not so?

Yet mere fasting can't be guarantee to heaven; it is how and the intent with which you do so (Isaiah 58:1-14), (Matthew 6:16-18, 9:14-15). Neither should fasting be about rituals of some sort. For fasting is simply about punishing the body and subjecting it to the will of God. How long you fast can't be reason to or not to be rewarded.

And according to the Christian doctrine, once you have fasted, the reward is the result or bearing fruit for that matter. Rather when you fast, the fasting must be helpful to shape you and make you a better person. It is rather about reconciling us with God. 

Many people have fasted and will still end up in hell because they much more do it as a command rather than as out of passion and love for a good relationship with God. 

You could fast because it is a command or ritual but continue to dwell in sin. Additionally, many people of other different faiths do fast. The witches, Buddhists and many others do fast, but they can't go to heaven because of their fasting? Rather the difference will come in how and the intent with which it is done. It is this "how" and the intent which brings reward but not merely having fasted.

Hajj

This is visiting the “holy” places of Mecca and Medina and perform certain rituals by those who can financially afford. Actually the word “Hajj” is translated as visitor. In Mecca is where the Kaaba is. In the Kaaba is the black stone. Every pilgrim must kiss this stone if to be counted as having done Hajj. This is why the pilgrim is rewarded.

NB According to the Muslim faith, if a pilgrim dies in Mecca or Medina during Hajj, he directly goes to "heaven". Muslims do believe that Mecca and Medina is the direct gateway to Jana. Upon this, many Muslim faithfuls do relish to die in this part of the world.

In Mecca, there is also stoning the satanic pillars. You must stone the pillars if to count your Hajj. For you must fulfill all the rituals. Most of the very crucial rituals are done in Mecca. In Medina, there is Muhammad's tomb. So pilgrims go to Medina mostly to visit the tomb of the "greatest prophet" ever to be. The body of "great prophet" is in the grave in Medina.

Christians do not have this as a reason to go or not to go to heaven. A wealthy Christian who may have never wished to go to Israel can’t be held in bad faith for not doing so. The God of the Christians is Omnipresent. I don’t need to go to anywhere to have an experience of God (Matthew 18:20, 28:20), (Revelation 3:20). The moment I confess His name (Jesus Christ), He is right here or there with me. For Jesus gave us the promise that where we are, He will always be with us. 

What brings Him (God) to us?

He comes to us because our hearts and that of His do connect. For it is not because a person is in this place or that place that God will listen to them. Rather a place where one is does not matter at all. God listens to me in Uganda much as He doe listen to a person who is Israel, Europe, America, or anywhere else.

For Christians, worship is in the heart and not in a particular place or of a particular person. The only difference is in righteousness which only is but in the heart. We worship God in the spirit (John 4:23-24). And we worship Him anywhere we are because He (God) searches for the heart of a person (John 4:19-22). That is how we get to heaven.

A broken and contrite heart God does not despise (Psalms 51:17). But a proud heart will lead one to hell whether so prayerful, so giving, so fasting, etc. A broken heart is of one who accepts his wrong doing, forsakes it, gets transformed and become that person, the type that Jesus formed on the cross at Calvary. 

On the other hand, Allah can allow whoever person into his "heaven" with whichever heart they have as long as they keep his laws, no matter with which heart. A person who beheads another is not, (according to Allah) answerable in any way if that person keeps all these pillars. He could even do it in the name of Allah. Note that according to Allah, if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim, he has not committed any crime. He is rather rewarded for that act by Allah.

Do you realize that none of these Muslim pillars is spiritual? They are all literally. Rather there is nothing in them that ever mentions the heart. It is all about; if you do this or that. As such, well as Allah can allow his followers into his "heaven" for simply performing certain rituals and keeping certain laws, YAHWEH God can’t do the same. He needs the heart, He loves a broken one.

The case of sin

In more critical terms, keeping the five pillars of Islam does not meet the penalty for sin. That Adam and Eve (of whom we are the offspring) sinned, sin is passed on from one generation to another (Romans 3:23). And when God provided the only way in Jesus for the remission of sin, it was not meant for one category of people and not for the other. One to claim not to or to have sinned is therefore totally baseless.

The Muslims do agree that indeed Adam sinned. But how this kind of situation is not explained how it is dealt with by our Muslim brothers raises serious questions. Rather according to the Muslims, when and how is the sin of Adam paid for?

If one commits a crime in the secular world, he is either sentenced or he is pardoned. And it is not that when he is pardoned, that there is no price to pay. There has to be a way that is acceptable to all parties to allow the pardon to be effective. Rather if one is given amnesty, he is issued with the amnesty certificate. That person is rather certified to have been forgiven. If to have been pardoned, how are the Muslims pardoned? Who certifies their amnesty?

Thus the reason that God provided a way in Jesus who is sinless that in Him who is sinless, the sinful man can find a way to be set free from the generational sin. For a criminal can't stand surety for another. A sinner can't stand surety for a sinner. Thus only Jesus qualifies for this. That is why it is pretty a condition that we submit to Him so we can be cleansed of the consequential sin. For it is only (the sinless) Jesus who underwent the process of cleansing man of sin. Who has done what for the Muslims?

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life. The gift of life is in Jesus (Romans 6:23). Keeping the five pillars of Islam does not meet this standard. Only when do we submit to Jesus that we have the assurance that our sin is adequately paid for and subsequently forgiven and cleansed away.

Conclusion

Observing the five pillars of Islam by Muslims is simply their effort to please their god Allah. Christians do not struggle to keep laws and observe rituals to please their God because they can’t please Him by works. Laws can be kept and rituals can be observed carnally and all such can only be justifiable to the human eye, but God does not judge by what we can see.  God judges by the heart (Psalms 51:10), (Matthew 5:8), (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26), (Jeremiah 17:10),

The five pillars of Islam aren’t about the heart or transforming someone, they are simply a way of keeping laws and observing rituals designed only to give a sinner some sort of comfort.

It is therefore pretty true that keeping the five pillars of Islam can’t get you to heaven.

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