Book Review: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, by Nabeel Qureshi

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus is the story of the journey of a fervently devout Muslim from unquestioned devotion to Islam to faith in Jesus as his Lord and savior. This was not a quick transition, taking about four years. Nabeel Qureshi was very knowledgeable about Islam, Islamic critiques of Christianity, and Islamic responses to Christian criticism of Islamic beliefs. Over the course of this journey, he had a friend who didn’t pressure him, and they developed a deep relationship.

Nabeel Qureshi addressed the specific beliefs that are the core essential tenets of Christianity and Islam. The topics that he   documents his struggle with include:

• Inspiration and Reliability of the Biblical text.
• Jesus’ death on the cross and the swoon theory.
• Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
• Jesus as human and also fully God, the creator of the universe.
• The doctrine of the Trinity.
• The doctrine of substitutionary atonement.
• The holiness and inerrancy of the Quran.
• The truth about Muhammad.

In each of these areas, the author started as being fully convinced of the validity of the Islamic teaching and position. He then investigated the topic in great detail and discovered, to his chagrin, that the Islamic doctrine that he was taught and firmly believed did not stand up to close scrutiny, but that the Christian position was more credible.  After resolving all of these more or less theological and intellectual issues, he recounts how he understood that Christianity was true in a way that Islam was not, but still struggled with making a decision to change his allegiance. 

At this point, the Lord graciously gave him a vision and three dreams to help him make that decision. Dreams play a much larger part in Islamic faith than in Christianity, so he was very receptive to trying to discern correctly the meaning of the dreams. (As an aside, I have been told by another source that many, many Muslims have had dreams of a man in a white robe.)  He was able, with the help of his friend, to make a decision for Christ. His family relationships were disrupted, as he feared. 

The value of this book is the significant depth of detail that Nabeel Qureshi goes into on each of the topics listed above. Actual decisions are difficult. Each person needs to have, in addition to an intellectual and theological understanding, direct experience with God. That is, each person has to approach God in prayer and ask for Him to reveal Himself, just as the author did. 

The book ends at this point, but there are appendices that summarize the author’s life after his decision for Christ. Unfortunately, as he was preparing for ministry, he was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer, and died in 2017, at the age of 34. There is a dynamic video of his testimony on YouTube. (Warning - this video runs two hours.) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0D8Uz4oQck

Numbers 32:23 A Stern Warning: Be Sure Your Sin will Find You Out

An object lesson for young men

Numbers 32:23 was given in the context of Moses giving promises and warnings to Israel, as they were about to enter the promised land after his death. In this specific case, the sons of Reuben and Gad requested permission to settle in Gilead rather than  west of the Jordan River, which was the land specifically promised. Moses said that the Lord would allow this, on the condition that they go to war along with the rest of the sons of Israel against those living in the promised land that He had designated for destruction.  The warning was “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out”. [Interlinear Hebrew gives this as “and-know-you sin-of-you which she-shall-find you”]

This is a much more general principle of how God works. We have a modern day example on an individual level, with the events and behavior of Robert Morris, the founding pastor of Gateway Church near Fort Worth, Texas. He has admitted that 45 years ago he had a long-term sexual relationship with Cindy Clemishire, who was at the time ages ranging 12 to 17. This was initiated when he was 21, married, with a child. The details of this, as well as the current legal filings are in the news media.  Over the intervening years there have been various admissions of guilt, debate about what really happened, and legal and church leadership initiatives to resolve the open issues. The summary is that he committed adultery with a child who is deemed, both by law and by general social consensus, too young to give consent. Since he was the adult, and also male, it was his responsibility to say “no”, and he didn’t.

The warning Moses gave should be instilled into every adolescent and young person. Although God forgives sin, in human institutions and cultures some sins carry a lifetime onus. Robert Morris is 64 and retired. But it is possible he will spend many years of retirement behind bars. At the very least - despite his leadership and organizational skills, his preaching of the gospel, his achievement in building a widely known megachurch - his reputation is sullied and his future bleak. 

Boys and young men should be instilled with this warning. Youth is only a partial excuse, because both the conscience and scripture (in numerous places) warn us against sexual immorality. Teenagers commingling sexually cannot escape ultimate consequences. Adults exploiting teenagers face worse. Once again, Jesus offers forgiveness to those who repent, but not to those who sin repeatedly with the intention of later asking for forgiveness, without true repentance. Throughout human history sexual immorality has been one of the key attributes of decaying and degenerate societies. It is widespread because every young male has these desires and must deal with them. Other defining sins such lust of the eyes (greed) and the boastful pride of life (lust for power and recognition) are more typically temptations for adults. But in all these cases, Moses warned, “be sure your sin will find you out.” 

We need to teach male teenagers in particular, to “just say no” to sexual temptations that are wrong, and that when they become young men, they must make a firm decision to not have sexual relationships with underage girls, even if seemingly consensual. And us old men also need to remember this.

Galatians 6:7

Prayers for the world

 

I have been interceding for intermittently since January, 2025, as follows. It is sometimes hard to discern how God is responding to these prayers. Will you join me in this prayer?

Father, we praise You as the unchanging God, the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). You are King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15), and Your plans for nations cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2).” We look to you for direction, for Your almighty power to rescue our nation from its godlessness and rebellion. We know that we have not faithfully served you as a nation for many decades. We have individually sinned and fallen short of what You have called us to. We plea for humility—both individually and nationally. As Scripture says, humility precedes forgiveness and healing. May we seek Your face and deny our rebellious ways but instead submit to You and learn from You the ways we should walk. Hide us in Your arms of safety as we continue to seek You. 

 Heavenly Father, we plead in the name of Jesus that you would call and appoint godly leaders in our country. We pray for both elected and appointed leaders, including President Trump, vice-president Vance, the cabinet, congressional leaders, and the host of other officials in the government. Father, we ask You to speak to them, and intervene in their lives with Your power to direct them to seek godly counsel and make decisions that are based on justice, wisdom, compassion, prudence, and love for You.  We ask You to work in their hearts to seek Your will for both themselves and this nation. Just as Daniel influenced Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, just as Abraham Lincoln turned to You in the midst of the war between the states, whether they know you or not, by Your sovereign will compel them to honor and serve You.

 We pray, Father, for the people of this nation, that they would recognize Your hand at work in the Sodom and Gomorrah called Hollywood, that they would turn back to You. We ask:

·         That those in church fully commit themselves to You;

·         That You convict those who believe but are not actively practicing their faith of their need to return to Your people and Your church;

·         That You reveal Yourself to those who doubt Your existence or Your nature and character to remove all doubt and confusion about Yourself; and

·         That You make a fresh presentation of Your offer of grace to those in rebellion or under the power of the enemy - please deliver them, Lord Jesus.

We pray for souls to come into Your Kingdom, hearts to melt from anger, & that what is being done in darkness come to the light. We pray that Your standards and Your laws and Your ways become normal for us in our nation. That justice and mercy and holiness and love would be the goal for all of our lives. As it is written, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

 

Lord, we ask that You heal divisions within Your church and among Your people. May we be united under the banner of Christ, showing love for one another so that the world will know we are Your disciples (John 13:35). Let revival start within us, Your people, and spread outward to transform our communities and nation.”

 

Father, we pray for peace in the Mid-East. We thank You that Israel is able to defend her people, and that You have inflicted confusion and weakness on her enemies. Let those who seek evil be defeated and destroyed. We ask You to give grace to any who will receive it from You, and separate them from those who are irredeemably committed to evil. We ask that the leaders of the nations see their need to end the war and that Israel will emerge stronger and safer than ever before. Remove those who will not honor You. Father, glorify Your name through all that happens in war and international affairs. Father, we ask that even the Islamic nations recognize Your hand and Your power, Your nature and character, Your very essence in this situation.

 We ask You, Father, to intervene in the war in the Ukraine, to end it on Your terms. Defeat the aggressors by Your mighty power. Empower those who honor and serve You with the means of victory. Comfort and heal the victims of evil aggression, and hold to account with justice those evil people who have created this war. We ask that the world would see Your justice displayed.

 Make haste, Lord Jesus, to prepare the way for Your return. Lord, while we long for Your return, help us to stay faithful in serving You. Equip us to shine as lights in a dark world (Philippians 2:15), sharing the gospel boldly and living lives that glorify You. Father, we ask for Your mercy on those who are blinded by the enemy.

 Lord, we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who face persecution for Your name. Comfort them, sustain them, and remind them of Your promise: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:10). And yet we also pray for the persecutors’ redemption and transformation, those caught in deep sin or opposition to God. Open their eyes to Your truth, soften their hearts, and give them the gift of repentance (2 Timothy 2:25-26). Let Your love and grace reach them, so they may turn from darkness to light and glorify Your name.

Post script on July 14, 2025: 

One thing bothers me about this prayer. I cannot reconcile my petitions for the situations in Israel and Ukraine with the  Skye Jethani post in With God Daily on July 2, 2025. In this post, titled  “The Choice Between Faith and Fear”, he discusses Martin Luther King Jr.’s decision in January 1956, to not respond to the bombing of his house with violence. His actions on that night subsequently set the path of the civil rights movement on non-violence, with profound implications for both its success and our nation. Sadly, since the work of God takes much time, he was assassinated twelve years later. But the point is, the one who lives by the sword will perish by the sword. (Matthew 26:52, Galatians 6:7-8)  Jesus won the victory over Satan by allowing Himself to be crucified. In other passages (especially in the Old Testament) God calls for justice, and commands Israel to fight, including against the Philistines.  (E.g. Deuteronomy 20:17) So, how do we reconcile these conflicting approaches to conflict? I cannot, at the moment.

Lessons from the strokes of love

 

I remember as a new believer once asking the pastor of our church why God allowed suffering in a very specific case. He had an aunt in her eighties who was in terminal phase of some disease (I can’t remember what), in great and continuing pain. I asked him why God allowed such suffering in such a godly saint who had served Him faithfully for six or seven decades. Why not just take her home? His response was simple: “Intimacy with Christ.”

We can look at Job, who asked God why he was suffering, and asked for a chance to argue his case before God (that he was being unfairly punished without a hearing). Of course we know that Job’s trials were the result of conversations between God and Satan about Job’s faith being merely mercenary. Ultimately Job cursed the day of his birth, implying that with the nature of existence being like this (suffering without a cause or even an explanation), he did not want to be part of it. And then in the end, God didn’t answer Job’s questions. Instead, He simply pointed to the wonders of creation and asked Job if he could do any of these things, thereby making it obvious that Job was in no position to judge what He did.

All of this came to a head when I was diagnosed with cancer, endured two operations, and went through six weeks of oncology radiation. I had avoided behaviors that increase the risk of cancer throughout my life (smoking, drinking, etc,). I had tried to serve the Lord faithfully for the last fifty years. It didn’t seem fair. When I took this to God in prayer, His answer was simple. When I accept that I can trust Him even when I don’t understand what He is doing, then I will have confidence that I am His even when I don’t feel that way. “When you can’t see His hand, trust His heart” becomes “the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out” (John 6:37).

Even Jesus endured suffering, but with a profound purpose: the redemption of mankind. He was always in constant communion with His Father, until that moment on the cross when the Father turned His face away. (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) The lesson here was not for Jesus to learn, but for us. The cost of sin is separation from God.

Each of us goes through trials in life, some of our own making, some due to others’ actions, and some the vicissitudes of life. We live in a fallen world. The important thing is that we continually seek the Lord to hear directly from Him what lesson He is trying to teach us, in any situation, whether it is a trial or not. But would we learn some of these lessons and take them seriously if they were not taught with the strokes of a loving but firm Father? (Hebrews 12:5-6)

Book Review: Benjamin Franklin, An American Life, by Walter Isaacson

 I initially picked up this because of a comment in one of our Braveco classes, lauding the list of virtues that the young Ben Franklin wrote up as his goal to live by. [The list: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity and Humility.] The unique aspect of this culturally is that Ben Franklin was raised in a very strict Puritan household. Ben Franklin was not a Puritan, but he was comfortable hanging out with them. Whether he actually had a personal relationship with the Lord is hard to discern; his later actions in life suggest that he attempted to live in accordance with his 13 virtues, and did a great job at presenting a moral and respectable lifestyle. Perhaps we could say he was one of those blessed with the earthly benefits of having extremely godly parents and growing up in a god-respecting society, without actually embracing its core of divine spiritual life through direct connection with God.

The vast majority of the biography covers the major accomplishments of Franklin’s life, which are renowned.

•      In colonial America he was the first to initiate a postal system connecting the colonies.

•      He ran a printing shop and produced Poor Richard’s Almanac.  He also wrote many letters and flyers under pseudonyms regarding various events and political activities.

•      He made three diplomatic trips to Great Britain on behalf of the colonies. These each lasted about five years.

•      He made a diplomatic trip to France during the American Revolution, lasting about nine years, and was instrumental in developing the final terms of the peace accord which granted the colonies independence.

•      During all of this, he did science. One was his famous experiment of flying a kite in a thunderstorm, which led to the invention of lightning rods. He did many other scientific experiments (he was a tester, not a theoretician).

The book also details the rather sad story of Franklin’s personal life. The wife he was away from for so many years (she refused to travel to Europe). The illegitimate son and illegitimate grandson that he was ultimately estranged from (their decision, not his). The daughter he loved and who remained loyal to him, at tremendous personal cost.

In conclusion, the author points out the connection between Franklin’s detaching his ethos and spirit of industriousness from the rigid Puritan theology, while retaining its benefits for society. This became widely accepted as part of basic American culture. He does not attempt to evaluate whether Franklin’s faith included a personal relationship with a transcendent Christ, as his Puritan upbringing would have taught him.

Book Review: The Spirit of our Politics by Michael Wear

Published in 2023, before our current total dysfunction, Michael Wear discusses how Christian spirituality should (and should not) interact with politics. He quotes heavily from several books by the late Dallas Willard (who died in 2013).

The book opens with a discussion of how sick our politics are, and explains it is the disappearance of moral knowledge. He is very clear on what the gospel is (Jesus as Lord comes to save us) and what it is not (a fixer to manage crises and help us manage our sin). Jesus is Lord.  Many are misled into believing various false ‘gospels’ that do not lead them into making Jesus Lord of their life. He is able to deliver from sin and its consequences, but the focus must be on Him, not on what He does for us. Our politics are sick because along with rejecting a political role for the true gospel, we have also rejected any basis for moral knowledge in politics. But people who are not Christians are still capable of understanding right and wrong, and acting based on moral principles, if they choose to.

Perhaps the best summary of the approach Wear advocates is his discussion of Ruby Bridges. She was a six-year-old black girl who initiated school integration at a specific school in New Orleans in 1960. She is perhaps best known through the Norman Rockwell painting “The Problem We All Live With,” which hangs outside the Oval Office in the White House. But her actions during that first year demonstrate the specific characteristics described in the book. She persisted in doing what was right; she smiled at those who cursed and spat at her; she prayed for the people in the mob every night; she trusted God; she had childlike faith, but what she did was part of what changed the nation.

A few key observations:

•  Does Christian politics mean mental assent to a few key doctrines, plus holding a particular position on one or two key issues? Does this view allow us to advance these positions in destructive and deceitful ways? The right and left both try to reduce Christianity to an affirmation of their politics. But Jesus is not a fixer or dispose of a decaying body who cleans the blood off the carpet. He is Lord. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

•  Dallas Willard’s The Allure of Gentleness (which I have not read but the author cites) advances the view that Christians should participate in politics not as an act of imposition but out of a spirit of loving service. We do it to help people, especially those who want to be helped. Jude 1:3 call to contend for the faith isn’t about beating an opponent into intellectual submission. It is about how we live in moral purity.  (See Jude 1:4-7) God is present in our midst and wants us to see our fellow citizens as He sees them.

•  How should pastors address political issues? Wear recommends that they use political and cultural conversations as a prompt to connect the needs and desires that these conversations reveal to God’s heart of love for all people. But it is not essential for pastors to regularly address politics from the pulpit; instead, the issues and needs can and should be addressed in other acts of service, outside of Sunday mornings. Pastors can model how Christianity transcends and confound political frameworks through active participation in civic life.

The end aim is that, even as we are building the kingdom of God on earth, with the church as a community of His people being His dwelling place, ultimately the new heaven and new earth will have people living in the light of the Lord, needing neither lamps nor sun. They will reign forever. (Revelation 22:3-5)

 

Migrant Deportation and China’s one child debacle

While seemingly unrelated, beware of the folly of defying God as a matter of national policy. 

From 1979 to 2015 China had an official policy limiting families to one child. This was motivated by concerns of overpopulation and the economic cost of large numbers of children to be raised. Implementation included economic coercion, various birth control measures, abortion, etc. In the natural course of things, the consequences included a preference for sons and a shortage of young marriageable women, and an age demographic distribution with fewer young adults to provide for a comparatively growing population of the aging. This includes a shortage of young workers, and in general the need for young people, especially men, to staff the military, which will persist for a generation from the end of the policy. This is not to say that China’s economy is struggling, because it is currently booming. Raising children is an investment in the future (very costly as parents can testify from experience), so having fewer of them increases resources available for present consumption at the cost of future return on investment - eating the seed corn. It appears that China finally realized this.

Satan tried to kill Moses (Exodus 1:16 & 22) and Jesus (Matthew 2:13-18), but he is impotent in eliminating God’s anointed. Satan’s effort in China similarly failed, and China’s deliverer will be revealed in due time. Lest we be tempted to judge the evils of abortion and infanticide associated with this policy in China, we must remember that Roe vs. Wade was decided in 1973, and legalized abortion ran amok for almost fifty years in the United States.

In 2025 we have an initiative to deport illegal migrants from the U.S. The basis for this seems to be concern about crime, and economics such as competition for employment and higher burdens on social welfare systems, health systems, housing and public schools. Most studies that I can find referenced on the internet show no correlation between crime rate and birthplace or immigration status (other than the basic crime of undocumented immigrants not having legal status by definition). The hard work of immigrants is ubiquitous in our workforce, indicating that most migrants did not come here for a hand out, but for freedom and opportunity to work hard and make something of their life.

A policy of not showing hospitality to immigrants contravenes Scripture:

•  Exodus 22:21: You shall not oppress a stranger nor torment him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (See also Exodus 23:9, Leviticus 19:34, Deuteronomy 10:19.)

•  Matthew 25:34-35 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in. …  41-43 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ (see also Hebrews 13:2.)

The Old Testament commands from God cite Israel’s time as strangers in Egypt, a practical view that circumstances change and a cultural ethic of hospitality or lack of it will eventually be repaid. This is not a biblical command to allow for uncontrolled and unlimited immigration. Abraham brought trouble on himself when he went to Egypt during a famine without God’s direction. (Genesis 12:10-20). This contrasts with the blessing on Israel in Egypt beginning in Genesis 41. Joseph matured through trials before he was blessed and served God faithfully, also blessing Egypt during their famine. (Genesis 41:41-56) Israel was later invited by Pharoah to move to Egypt. (Genesis 45:16-20) And God also told Jacob to go there (Genesis 46:2-4) More fearsome is the judgment when Egypt treated Israel as slaves, refusing to let them leave. (Exodus 7-12)

In the context of Biblical values, immigrants must respect the basis of our culture and society, for example the U S Constitution and the legitimacy of elected officials they disagree with. To invoke God’s care and protection, migrants must honor and respect Him, and live accordingly - they need divine sanction for migrating.

The New Testament turns to Jesus repaying in kind those who welcome and care for strangers, or don’t. This points to a spiritual dimension of causation that should be a warning for us. Even if society as a whole does not acknowledge Jesus as Lord and live accordingly, there are cause and effect consequences to obeying or defying His moral law. A century ago, the roaring twenties were followed by the Great Depression. The debauchery of the 1920’s is of a different sort than mistreatment of strangers. And yet God cries out to us to not go this road, because of His love, He asks us to repent. He gives us object lessons – Scriptural and recent history. He offers us love and blessing if we respond to Him. We can only speculate what form God’s discipline will take for rejection of His ways. Are we on a path to find out as described at the beginning of this post?