By Tom Holland –
George El Khoury was born poor in Lebanon but his idols became money, power and pleasure, which he eventually pursued as a high-flying businessman in Europe.
“I thought in order to be happy I needed to have a lot of money,” George recounts on a video posted to YouTube. “I needed to become powerful and I needed to taste all the pleasures that life could offer and especially the pleasure of sexual relation.”
Because of his ambitions, he left his wife and four children in Lebanon, got a divorce, and moved to Europe to pursue his dream.
“I became rich, very rich, a lot of money,” he says. “I became very powerful. I succeeded so much, I was a founder of five banks in the world.”
His banks were in the US, UK, Bahrain and Switzerland.
With his millions, he indulged in a playboy lifestyle. His mansion in London had a backyard the size of a soccer field with a garden alongside the Thames River, where he could dock his boat. He had a luxury apartment in Paris and another in the Trump Tower in New York.
George had lots of girlfriends and denied himself no fleshly pleasure. He would travel by Concord from England to New York to spend the weekend with his American girlfriend. From the airport, a helicopter took him to the Trump Tower.
He dined with diplomats and politicians, but this was boring. He turned down a dinner invitation from England’s then prime minister, John Major.
“I still was not happy,” he says.
He took up aviation as a hobby to see if that would bring satisfaction.
On one flight over Paris, the plane developed a mechanical problem. He realized the plane could crash and he might die.
“What will a person think that has everything: money, power, pleasures, and sexual relation?” George asks. “What this person will think when he is facing death? What will all these famous people be seeking when they’ll be on their deathbed? I know. I have experienced myself the feeling of fear of discovering what’s after death.”
The plane crashed, and remarkably, George emerged with only minor injuries. He broke a finger.
The brush with death seemed to feed a sense of invincibility, that death could touch him. At the same time deep inside, he never forgot the feeling of abject fear as he faced eternity.
“In his mercy, Jesus Christ saved me from a certain death,” George says. “Without his intervention I will be now rotting in hell for eternity. But he saved me from this because he had a plan for my life.”
After the plane crash, his luxury lifestyle of indulgence came crashing down when one of his old girlfriend’s blackmailed him. She threatened to expose his debauchery to the board of the bank. George feared the scandal would be his downfall.
“This would be the end of my career,” he said. “I would be finished. I would lose my career. I would lose my income. I was terrified.”
At the time, his son was visiting from Lebanon.
“I know someone who can solve your problem,” his son told him. “His name is Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God in the flesh. If you ask him, if you surrender to him, if you follow him, he will solve your problem.”
George prayed and promised no more sex outside of marriage, if Jesus would stop the blackmail.
The next day, the old girlfriend called with an inexplicable change of heart. “I am your friend,” she said. “I will never betray you.”
George was amazed. “The nightmare was gone,” he says.
The founder of five banks bowed his knees to Jesus Christ. He gave his life to Jesus and vowed to keep his end of the bargain: no more sex outside of marriage.
“I stood up. All the pain was gone. All the problems were gone,” he says. “My sins left, and I felt a peace and a joy. I got free of everything. I felt my heart of stone was replaced with a heart of flesh. I noticed the sky was beautiful blue, the grass was beautiful green. The flowers were beautiful pink, white and red.
“What is happening to me?” he marveled. “Why is everything so beautiful? Why am I so happy?”
He was born again.
George returned to the wife of his youth, in accordance with Malachi 2:14: The Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have acted treacherously against her. She was your marriage partner and your wife by covenant.
After being divorced for 31 years, George returned to her and begged for her forgiveness. They remarried. His four children forgave him.
“The Lord gave me back the years the devil had stolen,” he says.
Today, George ministers the gospel in Europe.
If you want to know more about a personal relationship with God, go here
Related content: celebrities finding Christ, Russell Brand baptized in Thames River, motivational speaker Ed Mylett serves the Lord, Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain becomes Christian.
About this writer: “Spiderman” studies at the Lighthouse Christian Academy near in Los Angeles.
