Month: April 2021

Do you Hunger & Thirst?

On By Mona SabahIn Uncategorized
Original Sketch: Bread and Water of Life

I’ve tried dieting. I’ve even tried counting calories or trying to lose weight. It seems like the harder you try, the more obstacles you face. It seems like it’s a never-ending battle for me.

Many Muslims around the world are fasting for Ramadan. During the month, they abstain from both food and water from sunrise to sunset (they can feast at night). I have written posts about all the rules and regulations in the past (here, here, and here) In my former life as a Muslim, I tried to keep the fasts but I came up with many excuses to be excused from them. None of the excuses were good enough- a “good” Muslim will do their best to ensure that they fast for the 30 day timeframe.

I think it was a mental exercise in discipline for me. At the end of the day, I just didn’t understand why I had to fulfill this particular requirement since I could just do good works to make up for my lack of desire to abstain from eating. Of course, I was admonished by others for having this terrible attitude!

When Jesus Christ saved me in 2007, I began to read the Bible. It was the beautiful Gospel of Matthew that caught my attention. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus Christ says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.” I spent time thinking about this verse because I had never heard anything like this before.
Over 1.6 billion Muslims around the world— even in your own neighborhood hunger and thirst physically… but do they hunger and thirst for righteousness?

If you ask them, I would like to believe that they would say yes.

The truth is that apart from Christ, we have no righteousness of our own (Isaiah 59:1-17 and Romans 3). Our good deeds are “like filthy rags” according to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 64:6). The filthy rags are also translated as “polluted garments” that refer to a woman’s menstrual cloths. This is very significant because in Islam, it is “haram” or sinful for women to pray or fast when bleeding (see islamqa.info/en/answers/70438/rulings-on-menstruation). So, to read that my good deeds are just as worthless as me praying to Allah during a time of being spiritually unclean was eye opening.
In other words, it doesn’t matter what works you do to try to get on Allah’s good side. The Bible is very clear.


Only God is HOLY

Man cannot enter Heaven or be in the presence of God on his own works. Man (or woman) are not righteous. We are mired deep in sin.

So what can we do?

If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, look no further than Christ. We Christians say that we are righteous only through faith- – and even that faith we have was given to us by God. Isaiah 61:10 states “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…

In the Gospel of John (4:14), Jesus states “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

In John 6:48, Jesus states “I am the bread of life.”

If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, look to Christ. Only He can give us spiritual satisfaction and life eternal. Amen.

The Belief of Demons

On By Mona SabahIn Uncategorized

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! ~James 2:19

We spent this morning discussing the beliefs of some in the Church who profess to show their faith without works and those who show their faith through works.

The interesting thing about this discussion was that there are those who believe only in their own works. There are many religions that claim that human beings can work their way to heaven. Islam is one of those that proclaims this very loud and clear. Surah 16:97 states “Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.” Your reward is solely based upon how well you have followed the 5 Pillars of the Muslim faith and how many good deeds you have done.

When I was a Muslim, I used to wonder (and ask others) “what is good?” How do you know? What I might think is good might be considered bad to another. What is meant by a “good life” in the verse above? What does that “good life” look like? Is it prosperity? Is it a guarantee of entering Paradise? How do you know how many good deeds you need to enter into heaven? As someone who was very goal-oriented, I needed to know just how many good deeds I needed- just like I needed to know how many points I needed on my next exam to get an A grade and pass my course. I wanted to get an A on the ultimate course of life and make it into heaven. That was a great desire of mine because much of the Quran speaks about hellfire and damnation.

The basic tenet of Islam, however, is the belief in ONE God, Allah (this is called the “TAWHEED” or oneness). The Shahadah (statement of belief, confession or creed) states that “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Rasul (messenger).” If someone simply recites this statement in the presence of another Muslim, they become a Muslim right on the spot. The big question, however, is “Does this statement get me into Paradise?” The answer is a resounding “NO.”

The verdict is still out in Islam on how exactly one gets to enter into Paradise and who will enter Paradise. This is an even more difficult task for women, since Muhammad said that women don’t have good odds of entering.

If you look at the Muslim question and answer boards like Islamqa.com, there are many who are wondering the same thing – they are left scratching their heads even after having an Imam (Muslim cleric) answer their questions like this one: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/147996/will-every-muslim-enter-paradise-even-if-he-was-a-hypocrite-or-did-not-pray-or-committed-shirk

“Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them” [an-Nisa’ 4:145]. 

But if what you meant by hypocrites is those who fall into some acts of hypocrisy, such as lying or betraying a trust or breaking a promise; or he fell into some kind of minor shirk, such as showing off or swearing by something other than Allah; or who fell into some major or minor sin – such a person does not become a kaafir just by doing that thing. It does not put him beyond the pale of Islam and he will not spend eternity in Hell because of it, if he dies believing in Tawheed. Rather his case is up to Allah: if He wills He will punish him for his sin, then admit him to Paradise because of his belief in Tawheed, or He will bestow His grace upon him from the outset and admit him into Paradise and forgive him for the sins that he committed. Al-Bukhaari (6933) and Muslim (1659) narrated that Abu Dharr said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Jibreel appeared to me at the side of the harrah and said: ‘Give your ummah the glad tidings that whoever dies not associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise.’ I said: ‘O Jibreel, even if he steals and even if commits zina?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Even if he steals and even if commits zina?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘Even if he steals and even if he commits zina?’ He said: ‘Yes, and even if he drinks alcohol.’ And Allah knows best.”

Islam Question & Answer

That answer would not give me much hope, since I have said and done hypocritical things in my life!

The passage above references the Tawheed (oneness of Allah). If you look at all the answers in the link, the first answer states that anyone who commits “shirk” (adding partners to Allah) will be in hell-fire.

“Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin. [an-Nisa’ 4:48]. “

This brings us back to the verse from the book of James. It is not enough to simply believe that God is one. James states that “…Even the demons believe—and shudder!” James was referring to Deuteronomy 6:4 which was a creed for the Jews ““Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” Just because you believe in the God of Moses or Abraham did not mean that you were saved from hellfire. A “saving faith” means that you don’t just recite a creed or a confession and go on with your life. Your faith needs to rest in more than that.

That faith also doesn’t rely upon your own “good” works because how does one know they will ever be good enough to please God? Your faith needs to rest in more than that.

The demons shudder because they have knowledge (and faith, dare we say?) that there is only ONE God. However, their fate is not heaven, but hellfire. The truth is that they are utterly condemned and they understand this as a reality… that’s why they shudder.

So what does our faith need to rest upon?

It’s not a creed. It’s not a statement. It’s not a confession. It is a Person.

We believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The only work that will save us and make us right with God is the work Jesus Christ completed on the cross at Calvary over 2000 years ago. He is the only one who is the way to heaven.

We can rest upon Christ and Christ alone.

Your iPhone is telling you it’s Ramadan!

On By Mona SabahIn Uncategorized
Ramadan is for breaking habits

If you own an iPhone, then it has already alerted you that today is Ramadan! That’s not altogether true because Ramadan starts in the evening on the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims use a Lunar year – they look at the shape of the moon to help them determine the start and stop of certain holidays. However, Ramadan is not just a holiday but a month long activity.

For me, Ramadan was a curiosity and kind of a mess. I never looked forward to it but truly detested it. It was a time of people asking me how I was doing while fasting. It just felt like I had a big sign on my chest that told everyone that I was not fasting like a good Muslim should. The image above was a ready made media marketing image that says “Ramadan is about breaking habits not putting them on pause.” That’s another burden that was placed upon me. I had to take a look at my life and abstain from EVERYTHING! No thinking bad thoughts, no lying (although I had to because I was not fasting and did not want to shame my family or myself, so I lied throughout Ramadan!), no smoking (not a problem, since I never smoked — but many do!), no nothing.

Ramadan is a time of physical fasting which means ABSOLUTELY no food or water from sunrise to sunset. It also means another type of fasting – taking a break from your regular routines and doing more spiritual reflection. It is a time of spiritual improvement and stopping yourself from sinning. It is a time of introspection and seeing how you can become a better Muslim.

In itself, it’s not such a bad idea. Shouldn’t we all take a hard look at ourselves and see what we can improve?

Psalm 51:5 tells us that “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” That means from the very moment of conception, we are immersed in sin. I always compare this to the fictional character of Shrek – he was an ogre who was born into a swamp. He didn’t realize any of this until he left. He was immersed in this swamp and it permeated his very being. We tend to think we are alright, some may even say “I’m a good person” but the truth is that we are all born into a broken world that wants to continue to sin against a Holy God. Proverbs 20:19 states “Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?”

Job 14:4 states “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.” He is lamenting the nature of mankind. He knows that like the grass, man will wither and die (Job 14:2). Our life is short. We are not able to “pull ourselves up from our bootstraps” and make ourselves clean. Only ONE can do this and He is the Lord Jesus Christ.

In his letter to the Church in Galatia (Gal 3), the apostle Paul says “10For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”d 12But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirite through faith.”

It is the truth. The law exists to show us boundaries of transgressions. It is there to show us how guilty we are. The law cannot help us. This is the reason we need a Savior. Who can help us from God’s law? God Himself. It is through the death on the cross that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. This means that Jesus took on the penalty of our sin and justified us in the court of God. Through Christ alone can we say “we are good.” We put on His righteousness as a cloak and He covers all our unrighteousness and impurity. In other words, we put on the pure Christ and He allows us to be made right through Him with God Almighty.

Today, if you are feeling like you can never make up for all the lies, cheating, terrible words, or sins you have committed, would you take a deeper look into the life-saving, life-giving message of the Bible? It is not just a book of laws to put chains around you and shackle you down. It is the true freedom and a message that is beautifully proclaimed about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I pray that you will open a Bible today and see what the Lord Jesus has done. It is truly GLORIOUS.