Eating the Bible

Mozafar, a Muslim living in Cairo, had been commanded by his mullah, or Islamic leader, to read the Bible so that he could write an argument to expose and defeat the Christians. The mullah had recognized Mozafar's fierce loyalty to Islam; his zeal had led him to attack churches and to persecute and burn the property of Christians. He had even spent time in prison for his radical actions on behalf of Islam.

But when Mozafar opened the pages of the Bible, he was stunned by the mercy and grace offered by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew. He was so drawn to the gospel that he rented a hotel room so he could read the Bible and other Christian books without interruption.

Mozafar's brothers, angered by the changes they saw in him, took him to a mental institution, where he was subjected to shock treatments to rid his brain of radical spiritual ideas like "loving your enemies." But the greater shock in Mozafar's life was God's truth revealed through his Holy Spirit. Once he had been exposed to the gospel, he was desperate to learn more about Jesus. "I would go into the bathroom of our home and lock the door," Mozafar explained. "Then I would take the Scriptures, memorize them, and eat them so that my family could not find them." (Mozafar's story and the testimonies of other Egyptian converts can be found in the VOM book Into the Den of Infidels.)

Unlike Mozafar, many of us don't have to read Scripture behind a locked door and eat the pages. We have this potential feast lying out in the open in our living rooms and bedrooms. The necessary food for our spiritually malnourished world is right in front of us. Please pray for our workers who risk their lives to feed those hungry for the gospel ... then pass the Bread.

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." - Ephesians 1:13

(Tom White, Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, January 2012)

(To receive new uMarko posts via a daily email, please click Subscribe)