By Sean Toomey –
As a boy, Denis Falcon began questioning his faith in Islam.
In Islam, a person is considered an infidel if they leave Islam for another faith. Such an action is punished by ostracism or even death. He knew if he left Islam, there would be a heavy price to pay.
Both Denis’ mother and father were born in Istanbul, met in New York, and eventually landed in Florida, where Denis was born. His mom verbally abused him and his dad was rarely present. His parents believed in Allah as a distant, judgmental god. They believed that they had to do as many good things as they could in hopes they would make it to Paradise.
As Denis got older, he lost his interest in having any connection with Allah. “I was one of those kids where I was never going to believe in something simply because my family believed in it,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Over time, he drifted further from his family’s beliefs.
He tried many other things: Buddha, Krishna, Law of Attraction, manifestation. “I tried everything else, it didn’t work.”
Denis examined Jesus as a last resort, a last option.
Originally, Denis hated Jesus and wanted nothing to do with him. But because he was so thirsty to find the truth, he began reading the Bible, despite the caution he felt as a result of living in a Muslim household.
He woke up at 4:45 to 5:00 am and began “hunting” God as he puts it.
His goal? To figure out who God was.
He was reading the Scripture, but it wasn’t until he had personal encounters with Jesus that he gave his heart to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Tensions began to grow with his mother as she noticed changes in him and began to suspect he might be a Christian.
He knew he would eventually have to tell her, but he kept pushing it off. Eventually, he recognized he was denying God, and this brought him a great deal of guilt.
One day he told his mother he wanted a Christmas tree for their home. “What did you say? Are you a Christian?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m a Christian.” he said, finally freeing himself of this burden he carried for so long.
This was followed by an onslaught of attacks by his mother and father. It was at this point where he was disowned by his family. “You’re not my son!” his father yelled. Looks of disgust and verbal abuse continued, and his relationship with them was severely damaged.
Denis came to a realization. The consequences of losing his parents didn’t even come close to the positives of openly confessing his belief in Jesus.
He has since shared the gospel and his testimony with them, and remains hopeful in what they choose to do with that, for he confessed his beliefs and his “hands are now clean.”
“I pray that the Lord fills you with boldness and gives you strength, comfort, and peace, that you minister by the help of the Holy Spirit and share the word and share your faith with others. Don’t be a secret agent Christian. Don’t have blood on your hands,” he says as he ends his testimony.
Denis quotes the bible verse that flipped the switch in him. “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33).
If you want to know more about a personal relationship with God, go here
About the writer of this article: Sean Toomey studies at Lighthouse Christian Academy near Hollywood, CA.
