How God Is Moving With Dreams and Visions in the Muslim World
“But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to
those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
“For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believers in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come” (2
Cor. 5:17). “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast”
(Eph. 2:8-9).
Hey Gang: How sad
that God provided us with the story of His great sacrifice so that we can be
secure in His hands for all eternity and so many are missing it. Do you find it disheartening to read or hear
that the Gospel of Christ is producing great numbers of souls for Christ in
China, the Muslim world and even in Russia, but huge numbers in our country have
chosen to “go their own way”?
On December 18, 2014 I received an article titled “Why
Muslims Are Converting To Christ in The Face of ISIS Atrocities”. I stuck it in
my ever growing file for future, use which I estimate has grown to fifteen
pounds and continues to grow with each passing day. And then last week I received an article
titled, “Iraq, Despite Thousands Fleeing ISIS, churches Are Full Of New
Believers.”
As I read these
articles it struck me how very stupid Satan really is. Throughout the years he has attempted to
annihilate all of those whose names are recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life and,with
each attempt, the number of names grew steadily and rapidly. You would think by now he would realize he is
fighting a losing battle.
The atrocities by the Islamic State (ISIS) are softening the
hearts of Muslims to Christianity, and evangelistic techniques and technologies
are proving effective, but locally based missionaries say the main reason for
the spike in conversions in the Middle East is simply that former Muslims are
finding God is real.
In war-torn areas of Syria and Iraq, where ISIS is fighting
to establish a caliphate, Muslims refugees to neighboring countries, as well as
those choosing to remain at home, are learning about Christ from native aid-workers,
podcasts and broadcasts. (Modern technology can be wonderfully used.) The Mullahs of Iran have declared the most
dangerous device to Islam is the television dish. Nearly every home in Iran has a dish and
multitudes are coming to Christ through the Christian programming that is
available to every home.
Tent churches among refugees are sprouting like
mushrooms. For people who have suffered
such deep loss, seeing that they can pray to a person, God, whom they can call
Father, has been the critical factor.
The Christians in the refugee camps are referred to as “the Bible
People”.
“You can see the tears in their eyes when we pray and that God
would care” said the director of one ministry working in the region. “It’s the
connection that makes the difference.” Workers say that things have changed; many
refugees now seem to have a peaceful attitude towards those who have done this
to their kids, wife, or husband knowing – “I can pray about it and give it to
God.”
Former Muslims, who once prayed five times a day as a duty,
say they don’t quite know how to describe the difference. The Christian Church in Iran, which is estimated
in the millions, pray that the prophecies of Jeremiah 49:34-39 will be
fulfilled and that will set them free to take the Gospel to all the world.
The soul-crushing loss of loved ones, home and country, that
people have suffered at the hands of ISIS, has helped open Muslims to the
gospel. Another ministry director said
Syrian and Iraqi refugees are more open to the Gospel than at any time in
history, because of the atrocities of ISIS.
The deity of Jesus and the Trinity, by contrast, are the
most problematic issues for Muslims. Having been taught there is only One God –
understanding the Trinity takes time, and, although the director and his teams
teach the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, he said, “…earthly teachers have
little success.”
Then how do you convince them? We were never able to convince them. Only when they read the Bible does it come,
and then suddenly they say, “Now I understand, I get it”.
There have been multitudes of Muslims who have had personal
visitations from Jesus and then sought out teachers to be taught about
Jesus. They are quick to say, “You do
not have to convince me, I talked with Jesus personally but I need to learn
about Him so that I can be an ambassador for Him.”
Wow, is that not awesome.
Does it give you hope that God can do the same here in America? It is
more difficult when people believe ‘born in American’ makes you Christian. I pray it would not take the suffering that
these people had to go through to open eyes to Jesus saving grace; but as
Christians we need to be prepared to go through the wildernesses to see our Nation’s
return to God.
Blessings,
Checkout grampswhatshappeningman.blogspot.com for Saturday's post
Checkout grampswhatshappeningman.blogspot.com for Saturday's post
Gramps
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