By Erich Bridges —
Once a hard drinker, soldier and martial artist, Abdel found trouble on a regular basis in Tunisia, birthplace of the “Arab Spring.” He still does from time to time. The difference: When he gets in trouble nowadays, it’s usually for telling people about Jesus, not for picking fights.
Abdel’s personal revolution began nearly three years before the national revolution that launched the Arab Spring.
Born into a Muslim family, he often prayed at the mosque as a young person, but argued with his father about his future. He wanted to seek higher education; his father wanted him to make money. He joined the army, but got kicked out of military school and spent a month in jail for getting into trouble. After finishing his army service, “I felt like I lost everything — my school, my future job, my relationship with my family, everything.”
Abdel found a survival job in Tunis, but drank every night. Like so many other frustrated, angry young men in the Arab world, he faced a bleak future. Then a young Muslim friend revealed to Abdel that he had decided to follow Christ. Abdel exploded at him: “What? No way! You cannot! It’s wrong. We have Muhammad.” His friend insisted he would not turn back, so Abdel demanded to meet with him and his other Christ-following companions to “change their minds.”
Instead, Abdel found himself being challenged to change. He heard for the first time about God’s passionate love for the world and plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. He talked for hours with the believers, peppered them with questions — and went away thoroughly confused.
“I didn’t know how to figure out it,” he remembers. “Who was the right one? Who was the wrong one? Muhammad? Moses? Jesus? What am I going to do? I asked God, ‘Give me a sign, give me something, because I’m going crazy. I want to have a special relationship with You but I don’t know how. Tell me.’
“Two nights later, somebody came to me as I was dreaming. He said, ‘Son, come to Me. I am the way.’ I woke up in the morning and said He must be Jesus, but there was something in my heart that said, ‘No, don’t believe it.’ But when I opened my Bible, I found [Christ’s words]: ‘I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.'”
He immediately called his friends and declared, in classic Abdel style, “I want to believe. That’s it. End of story.”
“That was four years ago. It was the best decision I ever made. I still have some problems but they are not like before because whatever I do, I know that I have Him. When I’m tired, He will hold me. He can help me. He’s the real meaning of hope. He is always with me.”
Today, Abdel has a new philosophy straight out of Matthew 28, his favorite Bible passage. “Go, baptize, and teach them how to live and obey Me,” he says, summarizing the last two verses of that chapter. “That’s it. We really need to follow those words.”
He follows them, even though the decision has cost him. He was expelled from his family for a time when he revealed he was following Jesus as Lord. They have since allowed him back but still treat him warily. He prays for them daily. He’s been threatened by Islamists, but that’s common for any Muslim who declares faith in Christ. For Abdel, there is no turning back.
“I’m going to follow Jesus until the end of my life — that’s it,” he says. “God said they will persecute you. I’m happy with that. I figure if I don’t have a hard time, something is wrong.”
“Sometimes I even get calls from Salafists [militant Islamists],” Abdel reports. “They just want to know who is the right God. They want to figure out how to do this, but they don’t know because they are afraid to read the Bible. So I think God is really working after the revolution.”
That’s why, on a clear spring day, Abdel and some of his young friends don’t hesitate to sing praise songs to Jesus outside at a bustling street-corner coffee shop — something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, even in secularized, European-influenced Tunisia.
“They are absolutely fearless,” observes an admiring friend. “They are going to speak.” — Erich Bridges, International Mission Board’s global correspondent.
If you want to know God personally, go here
Sir,
I am the secretary of “HHH” (Helping Hands for Handicapped). I am Ryne Max from India. We serve the ministries, churches, schools, houses and different people to translate and proofread or recheck their words (written and recorded) and websites into our languages, Korean, Hebrew, Greek, French, Turkish, Nepali, Arabic, Hindi, Persian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Urdu, Punjabi and many other languages.
If you need any assistance please feel free to see http://indiahhh.webs.com/
Thank you.
Ryne Max,
Secretary HHH,
Bali, Rajasthan India.,
I’m also a convert and my family have been persecuting me. I pray every night that Jesus manifest himself to me. But I haven’t gotten an answer no dream nothing what am I doing wrong?
First u would have to pray for it…cos JESUS speaking”BLESSED are those who thirst and hunger for righousness for they shall be filled” then i would advise u to read the gospel of JOHN to the end….
I’m non religious I despise religion however I follow god and Jesus I’ve never seen the bible until 8 days ago I now see the bible I just wanted to say that if your truly believe in Jesus and god you need to be strict and do what Matthew said its either god or money you can’t serve both
PLANTING CHURCHES INSIDE MUSLIMS COMMUNITY
Email: [email protected]
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Dear Director / Pastor / Brother / Sister in Christ,
Greetings to you in the most precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
We are in great need of your kind prayers for our own lives and ministry specifically among the Muslims. We are very glad to share with you that our Living God has filled our hearts with His burden & vision in our lives to reach specifically to The MUSLIMS by The Gospel of Jesus Christ & plant House Churches inside Muslim community. While Muslim terrorist groups such as Islamic state , Taliban, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram are killing Christians in different countries, He is leading us to reach out to the Muslims for His own glory and help them to know that Jesus Christ is The Only Living God and Saviour.
Our Lord Jesus is using us to fulfil His plan & will in and through our lives. By the grace of God, already Several Muslim men & women accepted Jesus in their hearts as their Lord & Saviour. They are following His teachings in the midst of different types of physical tortures by the militant Muslims. They are witnessing about Jesus and they are sharing their testimonies to their relatives &neighbors. God is adding more men & women to our worship services almost every week for His own glory.
Militant Muslims are often torture and try to harm physically to the believers from Muslim background for their new faith in Jesus. Even though we are facing heavy persecutions & threats by the Militant Muslims, but our Lord Jesus is using our lives for the extension of His Kingdom and He has protected us for His own glory. Militant Muslims are constantly trying to murder us. Our lives are in danger at this moment.
We are in great need of your kind prayers in our own lives and for the persecuted believers. Humbly, we request you kindly pray for God’s protection from the hands of Militant Muslims. Please also pray that we might be always faithful to His call in our lives and grow in Him.We are prayerfully expecting to have at least 500 believers from Muslim background at our fellowship.
Please write few words for us.
With regards,
Bashir & team
KINDLY PRAY FOR: House Church Fellowship, Discipleship Ministry, Women Ministry, Children Ministry, Health Care Ministries for the women & Children and Compassion Ministry (such as Distributing Clothes & blankets to the poor children & poor woman, Free tuition to the needy students, Feeding to the poor children , helping to the persecuted believers those who lost their sources of income & houses for their faith in Jesus, Educational help to the poor & needy students, Providing Nutrients for Malnourished children)
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