A Revolution of Secret Believers in the Middle East

You see it in the news. There is a groundswell of political revolution growing in the Middle East.

There is also a spiritual revolution taking place that is an amazing answer to our prayers. It's the rise of thousands of "secret believers" in the Middle East. It's happening supernaturally as a result of your prayers.

God is giving many Muslims dreams and visions of Jesus Christ. And when they experience a supernatural visitation from Jesus, they reach out for Him and for anyone who can help them to know him.

That's what happened to Efser, who lives in a non-Arabic Muslim country. She has been searching for God's truth all her life. Although she knows the Quran very well, she never found the inner peace she sought in Islam. But then one day she had a dream of a man chopping wood who told her to read the Gospel. And later she dreamed of a wooden cross with blood on it.

Though just a dream, Efser knew that it was Jesus and He was speaking to her. She knows He lives! He's not some dead prophet. He is revealing Himself to people today in our world. What a contrast to a dead religion of rules and rituals, like Islam.

Efser's dream began her quest to know the Lord Jesus and find someone to tell her about Him, which led her to our internet ministry where she is becoming discipled in the Lord.

(from a Christian prayer letter, March 2011)

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Trouble in Kenya, but "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord!"

Our team met a 21-year-old woman who just had a baby. Before the ethnic clashes in 2007 she lived with her family. Her father, a pastor, owned a small shop selling soap, clothing, etc., to pay her school fees. The store was robbed one day forcing her to quit school because of the financial loss. Later, when the clashes occurred, their home was burned down, and they were driven to the refugee camps. Now she lives with her mother, brothers and her new baby in a tent made of sticks and potato sacks. She invited us into their “home,” prayed for us and gave us food from the little bit she had. (One plate for our whole team.) Although her prayer is to go to school again, she said it was too late; she has a baby to care for now. Since she loves music, I wrote down the words to the song “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.” She loved the lyrics and sang the song over and over, afraid we would leave before she memorized the tune.

―Laurie Edwards, summer team leader to Kenya, WEC World Evangelism for Christ
 
(from Operation World Beyond 9/11, reproduced from WEC.go magazine, Spring 2011)

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No Sacrifice Too Great

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

C.T. Studd, Founder, WEC - World Evangelization for Christ

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The Roman Road - the only sure disaster preparedness

Disaster preparedness is a good thing. National and most recently international events have reinforced this idea. Change, like disaster, can come upon us at any time. The question is, are we prepared? The ultimate preparation is being ready to meet our Lord. God has constructed for us the Roman Road, that we may come into his presence:

• "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
• "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
• "God demonstrates his love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
• "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9)

Are you ready?

(inspired by Interact Ministries prayer letter, April 2011)

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Even the Koran’s teaching about Jesus can be a bridge to truth

The envelope had a Canadian stamp and was addressed to “DH” in Indonesia. *Dimyati picked the letter out of a garbage can hoping it contained money. To his disappointment it contained only a tract and a letter. As he was about to toss the letter back into the trash, a voice inside told him, “Put the letter in your pocket. It might be for you.”

Dimyati was an everyday laborer assisting in a house renovation project. Later, while at home, he read and reread the letter and tract, which spoke of learning who Jesus was according to the Koran and the Bible. Would he like to know more? Soon tears flowed down his cheeks, but he hid from his wife lest she see his tears and think him weak.

The return letter that came to our post office box was simple: “My friend from Canada, the letter from your far country was sent to this village to this city to this address—to a place of great need. The words in that tract haunt me. My friend, my religion is Islam. But I am drawn to your [correspondence] course. The tract said it was sent to ‘you.’ Yes, that is me. It also said that it was sent to ‘you, a sinful person.’ That also applies to me. My brother, please help me. Guide me to the path of light away from the darkness. —Dimyati”

A letter along with a study guide was soon in the mail to Dimyati. Reading verses from the Koran, as well as verses from the Bible, he learned Jesus was more than a prophet. He was the only sinless prophet. He was the only virgin-born prophet. He was the only prophet who raised the dead. He was the only prophet already in heaven. He also learned that Jesus was the eternal Word who manifested God’s love by dying for sinners. Dimyati had led a young Christian girl to Islam, then married her. Now they had two small children. As he continued his studies, the sense of his sinfulness increased and his faith in Jesus grew. In one of his letters he wrote, “My faith has moved ahead of me. I already love Jesus Christ. Amen.” As Dimyati asked difficult questions, the Holy Spirit brought conviction. Yes, the obstacles were huge; he would be called an infidel. He would be mocked. Even though he was about to make a costly decision, he chose the path of light.

Soon this happy note landed in our post office box: “Brother, a big thank you to you and to the Lord Jesus who chose me and my family to become His children. Once I was in darkness but now I am in the light. Now I have a heavenly Father, Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer and the Holy Spirit is my Comforter and Guide. Brother, I gladly tell you that I have sealed my commitment to Jesus Christ by confessing the Apostle’s Creed and by baptism here in a local church. My wife was beside me as she repented of turning her back on Christ to follow Islam. Our two young children were also baptized at the same time, and we renewed our wedding vows as Christians. Indeed our hearts and souls were renewed as God’s Spirit touched us, and Christ Jesus our Lord illuminated our hearts. Now I shed tears of gladness and blessedness. Do pray that our faith will continue to grow till someday we will stand in His presence. My wife and I continue to open our home to anyone who is seeking after truth. —Dimyati”

Yes, even the Koran’s teaching about Jesus can be a bridge to truth!

(from The Koran-A Bridge to Truth? by Walter Mohr, reproduced from WEC.go magazine, Spring 2011)

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