aka Yusaf Islam

aka Yusaf Islam

By Richard P. Joseph

   

   

    One of my favorite musicians of all time is Cat Stevens.   Cat Stevens boomed on the scene in the late 1960s and became a mega star during the 1970s.  His songs were not the run of the mill “get the girl in bed” types such that most of Rock & Roll is made of.  Actually Cat Stevens is more of a folk singer and his songs were deeply reflective and meaningful. It was obvious that he had a serious side to him.   

    That serious side pushed him on a mission to go “on the road to find out”.  It sounds like something similar that I went through during the last two years of my college career.  God began convicting me in a deep and meaningful way. People were praying for me and the messages I was receiving from Jesus Christ were vivid and compelling.  God was calling me and I finally answered in the affirmative and my life has never been the same since. I became a new creation and the old things were quickly dropped.  Stevens seemed to go another path. According to some of his interviews that I watched, “he” began a spiritual search which led him to study various “religions” including Eastern Mysticism, Buddhism, etc.  He finally found the one that suited him; Islam.  

    This reminds me of a high school social studies textbook which lays out the world religions on a platter like horderves in such a manner that you can choose the one that fits your taste buds the best.  None are any better than the others necessarily. The text books make it appear that Jesus is the founder of yet just another world religion. So it appears that Stevens actually found what he was searching for: “RELIGION”.  

    The difference between him and I is this.  God called me but Stevens called god. A man does not have the ability to find the true God.  I could have never found the true God on my own ability, he called me and I said yes once I saw him.  I did not go searching for a god. When man searches for a god he ultimately finds religion. Christianity is not a religion, it is the truth.  There is no religious organization on earth that has a corner on Jesus Christ. Jesus calls out people from the world and they can only respond but no man can find Jesus by his own volition.  Once a person is truly saved by the power of the Holy Spirit his life becomes more productive and useful. On the contrary, once someone finds religion, they become even more of an enemy of God than they were before and things begin to degrade and become unfruitful.  

That is exactly what happened to Cat Stevens.  He may have gotten the break he needed from his fast paced hectic life and I am sure he has a lovely family but he soon became completely unfruitful.  He gave up his talent for music and he drifted off into obscurity. He has finally crawled out of his hell hole to take the stage again hoping he can do what all Rock Stars do; create world peace!  Apparently he learned nothing. So, what would his life have been like if he embraced Jesus Christ instead of a man made religion? 

If he had responded to Jesus Christ he would have become a new and vibrant creation.  His talent for music would have been put to good use and millions of fans would have been able to enjoy the gift that God gave him.  He would have been evangelizing the world over and would have become a positive force in the world but instead he joined a religion that has violence, hatred, oppression, selfishness and war as its pillars.  He became useless. The same thing happened to Cassius Clay; God shut his mouth at the very time he would have been using it to spread his vile religion.  

Recently Kanye West became a born again Christian.  The first thing he did was produce a Christian album.  He didn’t run and hide. He didn’t need to find a religion.  He didn’t need to become an invalid. He became more productive.  He also is attempting to make an impact on others in his community by spreading the gospel and working with Donald Trump to make positive changes in society.  Maybe Stevens tried that but nothing will ever come of it.  

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

    We can only produce real fruit if we are in Jesus Christ.  Try as you may but your own personal efforts are actually an affront to God.  It is not us that does good things, it is Christ through us. In the end, I pray for Cat Stevens that God calls him to the true and everlasting God.  I pray that he responds and leaves his man made religion and comes into the light for Jesus alone is the way the truth and the life.  

    In the end, I am glad to see him singing again.  I only share this article for one reason and that is to point out that Jesus gives life to all things that are his.  When one comes into a covenant with the living God, they become vibrant and productive bearing much fruit. On the contrary, when one succumbs to religion, they end up stifled in life, giving way to oppression and suppression.  Satan is the master of death. Only through Jesus Christ is one freed from the bondage of sin to become fruitful and productive.

  

No More Tears

No More Tears

By Richard P. Joseph

😥

    Rev 21:4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

    The book of Revelation gives a vivid prediction of the soon to occur last days of Judaism and the temple.  In chapter 21 John now sees a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. I, and probably everyone else, really don’t have all of this figured out.  There are many different points of view but one thing is for certain, this “new” Jerusalem was created in heaven, not on earth. The earthly temples were made by men from brick, mortar, wood and gold.  This new temple is made by God himself and can never be destroyed. This New Jerusalem is the new covenant that Jesus established with his blood. Then a voice tells John that the tears in their eyes will be wiped away and that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.   As a Christian I certainly have avoided many tears that others have but by no means do I have no tears or pain. So when will the time come when every tear will be wiped away?

    Well, the futurists believe it is when Jesus establishes his 1000 year reign on earth.  That ain’t gonna happen. It isn’t right now on earth either. The only time it can happen to an individual is in heaven.  But, is that really what the scripture is talking about? I am not sure. However, if I attempt to place myself in first century Jerusalem, I might imagine what a Jew would think. 

    The Jews would immediately think back when King Nebuchadnezzar once destroyed their temple by way of the Babylonian army.  When Jerusalem was sacked in 586 BC, Jeremiah the prophet wrote an entire book lamenting the disaster.  

Lamentations 1:2  

Bitterly she weeps at night,

    tears are on her cheeks.

Among all her lovers

    there is no one to comfort her.

All her friends have betrayed her;

    they have become her enemies.

After the temple was destroyed and the people carried away there was great weeping and lamentation as there should be.  But what strikes me funny is that after Herod’s temple was destroyed and Jerusalem laid waste, God is telling us that there would be “No more tears!”  Maybe, just maybe, God is telling us that these tears are for Jerusalem. And since this time the true temple and Judaic economy of sacrifices will never be established again, it should not bring any tears.  No more death for those under the law.  

Revelation 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

There is a new day that dawned.  No one will ever cry over the old covenant, because a new covenant is now established by the blood of the lamb.  Even the temple is judged differently now.

 In Lamentations 2:8 we read that there was a line of judgement measured against the faltering people of Zion.

The Lord determined to tear down

    the wall around Daughter Zion.

He stretched out a measuring line

    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.

He made ramparts and walls lament;

    together they wasted away.

However, the new city, which had no temple, seemed to be laid plumb and sound. The Temple was God himself.

Revelation 21:15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide….

 This new city and it’s new temple (God) will never need to be wept over.  The city was square and solid and decorated with every kind of precious stone.  The kingdom of Jesus Christ cannot be destroyed and therefore no need to ever weep over it.  We may weep over the world which is trying so hard to destroy it but the gates of hell will not prevail.  God’s mercies are new every morning. Let us rejoice and be glad when we come to the house of the LORD.