Inclusive Inaugural Prayer

Like many I was compelled to watch the inauguration of the 44th Presdient of the United States "Barack Hussein Obama." And like many I was amazed at the celebrity-type reception that was given to Obama. I was also very disappointed at the immature display of behavior towards out-going President George Bush by Obamanites. However, all that seemed to be expected considering all that took place during the primaries and the campaign of Obama.

What I was most disappointed in was the man-pleasing prayer offered up by so-called evangelical leader, Pastor Rick Warren. Now, I do not have anything against this man. Nor, am I against praying for Obama and his family. What concerned me most was the all-inclusive prayer he gave. I am not opposed to praying for those of different faiths, I pray daily that they would come to know Messiah. However, the Messiah that Pastor Warren prayed to may have been a different Messiah; one, who regardless of belief is Lord of.

Athough Messiah Yeshua is L-rd of all; He is not everyone's L-rd:

"Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of G-d says, "Yeshua is accursed"; and no one can say, "Yeshua is L-rd," except by the Holy Spirit" - 1 Corinthians 12:3

Pastor Warren closed his prayer with the following words:
"I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus (Spanish), Jesus, who taught us to pray"

Now, although I am glad that Pastor Warren called Jesus by His Hebrew Name Yeshua, I believe that Warren was trying to appease the Jewish audience, rather than honor our L-RD Yeshua. Although Yeshua is the Hebrew Name of Messiah, and Messiah is Jewish, most Jews don't accept Yeshua as the Messiah. Instead, He is merely a prophet, a good teacher or a moral man. To most Jews, (except Messianic Jews) He is not the L-rd of all.

What I was most concerned about was his desire to please the Muslims in the audience by calling Jesus "Isa." This name is not the name of the same Jesus that I believe in; Isa is not the Jesus of the Bible for the Messianic Jew and the Christian. Isa is the Jesus of the Koran, who will one day return with Allah (not G-d), as a his servant and convert the world to Islam.

"Thereupon she pointed to him. They said, 'How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?' Isa said, 'I am a servant of ALLAH" - Surah 19:30

In his prayer Pastor Warren also refers to G-d as the "merciful and compassionate one." Again, Pastor Warren decides to call upon the god of Koran, who is called the merciful and compassionate, a title given to Allah.

What Pastor Warren did (in my mind) was give credence to Islam and to their mission; that one day, even those who call themselves Christians and Jews will be converted to Islam. And all will serve Allah.

I can't believe that Pastor Warren was this ignorant in using this name of Jesus, except that he called Jesus Isa simply to please the masses.

This nation is in for some interesting times; and believers should take great care to pray for each other's well-being and safety during the times to come. Yes, change is on the horizon, and it is not going to be good...,

"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of G-d? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Messiah" - Galatians 1:10