(The devil said) "If You, then, will worship me, it will all be Yours." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.'" Luke 4:7-8

Many thanks to friend and colleague, the Reverend Doctor Lane Seitz, for calling this story to my attention. Pastor Klaus

Read through Scripture and you will find the Triune God has revealed many attributes or characteristics about Himself. For example, the Bible tells us the Lord is kind, caring, compassionate, just, forgiving, merciful and gracious. There are many others which space does not allow me to list here.

But, there is one adjective which the Lord has never claimed for Himself. He has never said He is compromising. Indeed, the First Commandment tells us there shouldn't be any other gods before or even alongside Him.

That being said, last November 10, at the Memorial Church of the Reformation in Speyer, Germany, an interfaith event was held with the express purpose of bringing Christianity and Islam "together."

Now if the planners of that event had suggested this "coming together" would be to eliminate persecution, bloodshed and hatred that would have been a good thing. But that's not what they did. They planned a worship service ... a worship service which began with a Muslim imam singing out the familiar call to prayer.

Translated, that prayer says, "I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of god. Hasten to worship. Hasten to success. Allah is greatest. There is no god but Allah."

It was at that point a woman in the church balcony called out, "Jesus Christ alone is Lord of Germany." Before she was done she also quoted Luther's uncompromising statement, "Here I stand. I can do no other." To make a long story short, the woman was escorted out of the church, and the imam was allowed to stay.

Now while I am certainly not in favor of people disrupting worship services, in this case I think the woman has a good grasp of the fact which says Christianity and Islam can't both be right. Either Jesus is the Savior as we believe or He is a mere prophet as Islam maintains. Any self-respecting student of the Bible or the Qur'an will tell you the Triune God and Allah are not interchangeable.

They think differently; they work differently; and they certainly have given different instructions to their people on how to be saved. We rightly believe we are washed of our sins only through the atoning blood of the Savior, and Islam believes in the fulfillment of the Five Pillars.

Both can't be right. Both aren't right.

Believing that, Lutheran Hour Ministries is doing its best to bring Christ to the nations, including those whose borders are shut to missionary activity and face-to-face evangelism. We believe only Jesus has won salvation and only His Name can offer eternal life.

In this we do not compromise.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, keep us away from compromise and help us remain steadfast in Your Word. May we lovingly and gently share with those of other faiths the wonders of Your love and the salvation which Jesus has won for us. In His Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Numbers 5-6    Mark 13:1-20

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