When I came back to Michigan State from summer break in 1995, I needed a new place to work and support myself.  Within walking distance from my dorm was a new restaurant that would be opening soon – The Sultan’s.  It sounded interesting, and I applied within.  I got the job, and worked at the restaurant which featured Middle Eastern cuisine.  The employees were an eclectic mix of stuffy, white college students, and some the Arabic sort using the position as a temporary gig until they hit their big break.  The owner was originally from Palestine, and was a devout Muslim.  I remember frequently seeing him on his prayer rug in the back of the kitchen, praying toward Mecca.  I had never seen such a thing before, and had no point of reference to understand Islam.  It wasn’t much of a topic of discussion growing up.

     What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word “Muslim” or “Islam” for you?  Is it a terrorist?  Jihad?  A sweaty bearded man in a turban yelling anti-American slurs?  Does the word friend come in there at all… even on further thought?  It actually does with me.  The men I worked with at the restaurant were predominately Muslim, and they treated me very well.   These men were good friends.  At the time that I worked there, I probably held a pretty universalistic mindset in regard to Muslims.  I likely would have thought they were just fine, since they professed to love God and tried to be pretty good people overall.  This was a very interesting time in my life, when the Lord was challenging me on what the truth really was.  Was there a difference between Islam and Christianity?  Was I even a Christian to begin with?  This was part of the journey that God had me on to set my feet on the right path.  This was all a portion of the process that He showed me that I was trying to operate within two different worldviews, that I couldn’t call myself a Christian all the while living for sin/self.  When I came back home to Grand Rapids in the spring of 1996, the Lord made it clear to me that I needed to choose who I would serve, and have been gratefully trusting in His amazing mercy ever since. 

     It wasn’t very long after I moved back that I discovered one of my friends from The Sultan’s got an opportunity to “break free”, opening a wallpaper store in Grand Rapids for his father.  Ali and I had always gotten along very well at the restaurant, and was excited to have him in GR.  I spent a lot of time hanging out at his shop discussing everything from Jackie Chan to the latest unknown R & B tracks.  As a young and growing follower of Jesus, I began to traverse through a scary and mysterious place called the “Evangelism Zone.”  I wanted to see him meet Jesus.  I clearly remember sitting in his store, as nervous as anyone could be, and made the way to tell him the Good News.  I presented the Gospel with the Law preceding Grace, but Ali quickly moved out of the realm of the conscience and into the intellect.  We spent a great deal of time going back and forth on the reliability of the Bible vs. the Koran, who Jesus really was, etc.  In fact, we had swapped books and I still have his.  It’s called, What Did Jesus Really Say?, and makes an attempt to re-write history reading Islam into the Bible where it isn’t, and taking the clear Scriptural text of contradiction to their faith as corrupted.  Ali ended up moving out of state for greater things, and we have since lost contact.  Like a lot of people from this era of my life, I would love to reconnect though it hasn’t been very easy to find some of them.  I actually just found Ali under his Las Vegas performing alias last night.  It turns out that Facebook is actually good for something.    

     So, the next time you see someone you suspect is Muslim, be sure not to forget they are human and prone to fall into deception just like any one of us.  Like many false religions, Muslims are very devout.  Sincerity gets you nowhere though if you are sincerely wrong.  Make the effort to see beyond the façade, and press in to use the Commandments (they believe in Mosaic Law) to bring the understanding of sin and a need for the Savior. 
 

JOHN 20:24-31
ESV

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
 

A FEW LINKS

     Like a lot of different belief systems, it’s easy to get bad information and set yourself on a trajectory for disaster.  Whenever we share our faith, we want to be sure we’re presenting truth, not just circulating unsubstantiated claims (like many sent in forwarded emails).  One of my friends from the restaurant wouldn’t come to my wedding, as he was told that if you went into a church that it automatically made you a Christian.  I suppose that bit of information at least accomplished its goal to a degree.  Muslims aren’t generally comfortable asking questions about their faith structure, since there are dire consequences if they convert to Christianity. 

     I had to start by sharing a link to the Lansing area Islamic site.  I was trying to pull up the website for The Sultan’s to post, but they haven’t gotten that far yet.  The owner and the accountant did come up however on the local Muslim website as leaders.  I had to chuckle at the image on their website at right.  They are fundraising for an addition to the Islamic Center by selling engraved bricks.  Notice the name… how many of those would you suspect would be on the wall they are setting up?  It is an interesting site to see how local Muslims are organized and operate.  The Grand Rapids version is listed below as well.  By the way, the food at The Sultan's is some of the best in the world.  If you are ever in East Lansing (kind of like sinning for some of you, I know) you really should make a stop.  

Lansing and Grand Rapids Islamic Sites: 
www.lansingislam.com
www.grmasjid.com

Get a little taste of the Koran online here:
www.quranonline.net

Q & A on Islam:
www.carm.org/religious-movements/islam
www.christiananswers.net/islam.html

Former Muslim, Emir Caner. convert to Christianity’s site:
www.emircaner.com

Former PLO terrorist, Wallid Shoebat’s site:
www.shoebat.com

Living Waters page on islam with a few witnessing tips:
www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/islam.shtml

 

STREET REPORT 

 By Valerie Windemuller

     Today my husband Jason and I had our first official doctor’s appointment during our pregnancy, we are having our first child and I am 17 weeks along. We were so excited because we got to hear the heartbeat! Wow! We were both in such awe and then just laughed with joy and were slightly scared because, Whoa! There’s a real baby in there!

     There comes a lot of new emotions with having a first child...we’ve never done it before! And I was thinking tonight as I write this, it’s kind of like evangelism the first time you are going to share your faith. You don’t know what’s in store, you just have to trust and rely on the Lord to see you through; and just like others have told me about the JOY of having a child, (and yet I’m still slightly fearful of the unknown); I’m going to tell you, one thing I have experienced: and that’s the JOY in evangelism and sharing Christ with strangers, family and friends for the glory of God!

     One of the biggest mission fields for anyone on a day to day basis is strangers! You can find someone you don’t know everyday! Are you a busy mom and think, “How can I ever make time to go out witnessing?” One way of sharing your faith is just giving out gospel tracts. Many times it can lead as an ‘ice breaker’ into a spiritual conversation with someone if you do have the time, but if you don’t, you can still leave someone with the message of eternal life! The Lord uses gospel tracts to save people; some of my friends were saved through a gospel tract and even the famous missionary Hudson Taylor was saved by the written word on a tract.

     I think I had a pretty typical day for any busy housewife, but here’s just how I was able to still share Christ with many different people throughout my day, (please forgive me for the run-on play-by-play). 9am-laundry mat, gave a million dollar bill tract to the owner and said “Thanks a million!”, and then gave two more to the other ladies in there who wanted one too. 10am-breakfast with my husband Jason at the restaurant, our waitress had a tattoo on her wrist that said ‘VERITAS’ (which means “Truth” in Latin) so I told her about Truth Tank and gave her a booklet called Scientific facts in the Bible and wrote www.truthtank.com in the front of it, please pray for her, her name was Katherine. 10:40am Dr. Appt. gave tracts to the nurses and others waiting in the hospital. 2:00-4:00pm went garage saleing with my sister-in-law around this huge subdivision, gave out almost 100 tracts to all the moms pushing strollers and people everywhere looking for deals...and then I ran out of tracts. 7:00pm got home, just sat down for supper and a telemarketer called, I wasn’t going to answer it, but out of frustration did, and this was kind of bad of me, but I thought to myself, “if he’s going to interrupt dinner time, I’m going to interrupt his sales pitch with the gospel” Oh, he was a nice kid named Alex, he said he was going to wait and repent right before he dies. I said “Alex, you don’t know when you’re going to die right?” “You might get hit by a truck and not have time to repent, today is the day of salvation”, please pray for the Lord to save Alex.

     I definitely think its best whenever we can sit and talk with someone, but at least there are so many opportunities for us, even if it’s just handing out gospel tracts throughout our busy day! Go share your faith while you still have time! And may you experience the JOY of the Lord as you trust Him in helping you give witness of Him today!

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10:14

TRAINING UPDATE

     We are planning a one day evangelism training for Saturday, June 6th.  It will be held at Searchlight Ministries (www.searchlightministries.org) and will conclude at the Festival of the Arts downtown Grand Rapids.  Training will take place from 8:45-12:30, with the outreach portion going from 1:00-2:00.  We expect to be out until 4:00 for those that can stay, but want to make this a manageable day for you.  Take a look at your schedule, and plan for the date now.  You will be encouraged!  There will be a $10.00 charge for this event, and can be paid on the day of the event.  The class is designed for all believers, and you are guaranteed to be further equipped to share your faith on a daily basis. Email us (tom@truthtank.com) for more information or to RSVP.  The church address is 4020 22nd Ave. in Hudsonville.

 

SLIPKNOT CONCERT
 

    As many of you know, this coming Sunday May 3 we are planning to be at the Van Andel Arena from 6:00 until probably 11:00 range for the Slipknot / Devil Driver / 3 Inches of Blood concert.  This will be our first ever organized outreach for a Sunday.  We don't want to pull anyone away from Sunday night services or other ministry, but if you have interest in coming out with us please email.  We would really appreciate your prayers during this event, as it is expected to be more demonic than the normal events we are at.  God will be glorified! 

     Our schedule through the end of May will likely continue to be Friday nights, hopefully with Griffins games involved if they can keep the playoffs rolling.  Keep an eye on the schedule online for updates.

AN INTERESTING

VIDEO

     In addition to getting the book mentioned above, Ali had given me a video touted as the “great debate” between Muslim apologist Ahmed Deedat and Jimmy Swaggart.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think very many would ever consider Jimmy a valid contestant to debate in something like this, even before the scandal.  They debated “Is the Bible God’s Word?” and it is painful to watch Swaggart stumble through this one.  The youtube.com link for the video is here in case you ever have an extra 2 hours to kill.  I would actually recommend watching (or listening) to at least portions of items like this to get a feel for what to expect with different groups.  How would you respond if you were in Swaggart's shoes?
 

QUESTIONS AND

OBJECTIONS

How to Witness to Muslims

In Acts 17:22–31 the apostle Paul built on areas of "common ground" as he prepared his listeners for the good news of the gospel. Even though he was addressing Gentiles whose beliefs were erroneous, he didn’t rebuke them for having a doctrine of devils— "The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God" (1 Corinthians 10:20). Neither did he present the great truth that Jesus of Nazareth was Almighty God manifest in human form. This may have initially offended his hearers and closed the door to the particular knowledge he wanted to convey. Instead, he built on what they already knew. He first established that there is a Creator who made all things. He then exposed their sin of transgression of the First and Second of the Ten Commandments. Then he preached future punishment for sin.

There are three main areas of common ground upon which Christians may stand with Muslims. First, that there is one God—the Creator of all things. The second area is the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet of God. The Bible makes this clear: "And He shall send Jesus Christ,…For Moses truly said to the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you of your brethren, like to me; him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say to you" (Acts 3:20–22). The Qur’an (Koran) says: "Behold! The angel said ‘O Mary! Allah giveth you Glad Tidings of a word from Him. His name will be (Christ Jesus) the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah’" (Surah 3:45). In Surah 19:19, the angel said to Mary, "I am only a messenger of thy Lord to announce to you a gift of a holy son." Surah 3:55 says, "Allah said: ‘O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself." It is because of these and other references to Jesus in the Qur’an that a Muslim will not object when you establish that Jesus was a prophet from God.

This brings us to the third area of common ground. Muslims also respect Moses as a prophet of God. Therefore, there should be little contention when Christians speak of God (as Creator), Jesus the prophet, and the Law of the prophet Moses. Most Muslims do have some knowledge of their sinfulness, but few see sin in its true light. It is therefore essential to take them through the spiritual nature of the Ten Commandments. While it is true that the Law of Moses begins with, "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before Me," it may be unwise to tell a Muslim, at that point, that Allah is a false god. Such talk may close the door before you are able to speak to his conscience. It is wise rather to present the Law in a similar order in which Jesus gave it in Luke 18:20. He addressed the man’s sins of the flesh. He spoke directly to sins that have to do with his fellow man.

Therefore, ask your hearer if he has ever told a lie. When (if) he admits that he has, ask him what that makes him. Don’t call him a liar. Instead, gently press him to tell you what someone is called who has lied. Try to get him to say that he is a "liar." Then ask him if he has ever stolen something, even if it’s small. If he has, ask what that makes him (a thief). Then quote from the Prophet Jesus: "Whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:27). Ask if he has ever looked at a woman with lust. If he is reasonable, he will admit that he has sinned in that area. Then gently tell him that, by his own admission, he is a "lying, thieving adulterer-at-heart." Say, "If God judges you by the Law of Moses on Judgment Day, will you be innocent or guilty?"

At this point, he will more than likely say that he will be innocent, because he confesses his sins to God. However, the Qur’an says: "Every soul that has sinned, if it possessed all that is on earth, would fain give it in ransom" (Surah 10:54). In other words, if he possessed the whole world and offered it to God as a sacrifice for his sins, it wouldn’t be enough to provide atonement for his sins. Imagine that a criminal is facing a 50,000 fine. He is penniless, so he sincerely tells the judge that he is sorry for a crime and vows never to do it again. The judge won’t let him go on the basis of his sorrow, or his vow never to commit the crime again. Of course, he should be sorry for what he has done, and of course, he shouldn’t break the law again. The judge will, however, let him go if someone else pays the fine for him.

Now tell him that Moses gave instructions to Israel to shed the blood of a spotless lamb to provide a temporary atonement for their sin; and that Jesus was the Lamb that God provided to make atonement for the sins of the world. Through faith in Jesus, he can have atonement with God. All his sin can be washed away—once and for all. God can grant him the gift of everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ on the basis of His death and resurrection.

The uniqueness of Jesus of Nazareth was that He claimed He had power on earth to forgive sins (Matthew 9:2–6). No other prophet of any of the great religions made this claim. Only Jesus can provide peace with God. This is why He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
God commands sinners to repent and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, or they will perish. To try to justify himself, your listener may say something like, "The Bible has changed. It has been altered. There are many different versions, but the Koran has never changed." Explain to him that there are many different versions, printed in different languages and in modern English, to help people understand the Bible, but the content of the Scriptures remains the same. The Dead Sea Scrolls prove that God has preserved the Scriptures.

Tell him that the 100% accurate prophecies of Matthew 24, Luke 21, and 2 Timothy 3 prove that this is the Book of the Creator. Your task is to present the truth of the gospel. It is God who makes it come alive (1 Corinthians 3:6,7). It is God who brings conviction of sin (John 16:7,8). It is God who reveals who Jesus is (Matthew 16:16,17). All God requires is your faithful presentation of the truth (Matthew 25:21).

Excerpted from the Evidence Bible