Stephen Court

Jesus loves you!

[Shahriq Khan @RealShahriqKhan]

"If Jesus was God, why didn't He just say it?"

I used to ask that as a Muslim.

I thought I had Christians cornered. Then I actually read the Bible I was criticizing.

And I realized I wasn't looking for evidence. I was looking for a specific sentence.

But does God need your preferred wording to still be God?

Because God said: "Before Abraham was, I AM."

The Jews immediately picked up stones to kill Him. Why?

Because they knew exactly what He was claiming.

He wasn't just saying He existed before Abraham.

He was identifying Himself with the "I AM" of Exodus 3:14.

The divine name of Yahweh.

And here's what wrecked me:

The Quran calls Jesus the Messiah: The Word of God. A Spirit from God. Born of a virgin. Sinless and alive today. Returning to judge the world.

Yet I'm supposed to believe He's just another basic prophet?

No other prophet gets that description. Not Moses, David, Abraham or Muhammad.

Then you open the Bible and Jesus forgives sins, accepts worship, claims authority over heaven and earth, and rises from the dead. So no, Jesus never walked around saying, "I'm God, worship Me" in the exact sentence structure I demanded.

He did something far more powerful: He lived it, He proved it.

And honestly, after reading the Scriptures for myself, the problem wasn't that Jesus wasn't clear.

The problem was that I didn't want to hear Him.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

June 7: Ten Things About First Impressions At A Brand New Church (Update - and what became of it) https://t.co/d7MzQpz78W for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/VcHb3XDgyO #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

@KalshiHoops #s 2-5 combine to equal #1.
Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

June 6: Ten Things Against The Defeated Christian Life https://t.co/d7MzQpz78W for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/VcHb3XDgyO #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

June 5: Ten Things In Time And How We Might Optimise It https://t.co/d7MzQpz78W for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/VcHb3XDgyO #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

@JonesOnTheNBA But I was told he is the best player to ever walk on a court. Confusing.
Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

June 4: Ten Things Friends Try Not To Let Friends Do https://t.co/QHpvFkgFKW for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/VcHb3XDgyO #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

June 3: Ten Things (PLUS!) From 'An Older Officer' (Rob Birks!) To Younger SA Officers (And Related) https://t.co/d7MzQpz78W for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/VcHb3XDgyO #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

June 2: Ten Things You Can Be If You Want To Be https://t.co/d7MzQpz78W for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/VcHb3XDgyO #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

June 1: Ten Things In The Brand New Journal Of Aggressive Christianity 'Sage Wisdom' Issue https://t.co/d7MzQpz78W for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/I6jG4z3CR3 #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.

[Shahriq Khan @RealShahriqKhan]

I did not meet Jesus in a church. And I definitely was not looking for Him.

I was not saved by a pastor.

I met Jesus while reading the Quran.

And the wildest part was this:

He was already there.

Surah 3:45 calls Him the Messiah, honored in this world and the next.

Surah 4:171 calls Him a word from Allah and a spirit from Him.

Surah 3:49 says He gives life to the dead, heals the blind and the leper, and creates from clay.

And I remember sitting there thinking:

There is no way this is “just another prophet.”

So I compared Him to Muhammad because I had to.

One gives life.

The other led wars.

One is called sinless.

The other prayed for forgiveness.

One raises the dead.

The other could not overcome death himself.

And I started asking questions I was never supposed to ask:

Why is Jesus the only one called the Messiah?

Why is He the only one born of a virgin?

Why is He the only one coming back to judge the world?

Why does the Quran give Jesus divine titles but never fully explain them?

That tension wrecked me intellectually.

Because the same book telling me not to worship Jesus could not stop elevating Him above every other prophet.

And eventually I realized something:

I did not leave Islam because I hated it.

I left because I followed the clues honestly.

And every single one of them led me to Jesus Christ.

[Stephen Court @StephenCourt]

May 31: Ten Things More In The Salvationist Quadrilateral And The Generals https://t.co/d7MzQpz78W for today's armybarmy insights. https://t.co/VcHb3XDgyO #Everybody should follow Jesus. Much grace.