One of my friends from Iraq, I'll call him Adel, shared an incredible story with me recently about Jesus. I've known Adel for about a year now, and for most of that time he's never been interested in the Kingdom of God. He came from an Eastern Orthodox background, and his religious practices were cultural rather than spiritual. About 6 weeks ago I noticed a marked change in his behavior. I started talking to him about it, and he told me his story.
Jesus came to him in a dream. He said it was a very real experience for him, unlike anything he had known before. Jesus said to him "Adel, you must follow me if you want to have life. Follow me." Right there, without help from any man, Jesus saved a soul. That how he does it.
Adel told me that he has prayed for God to give him a clean heart and that he is following Jesus. I can see the change in him as he is forming that love relationship with his Savior. I've been doing Bible studies with him in Arabic, which helps him learn the scriptures, and helps me to improve my Arabic. I might say it compels me to improve it.
Here in the West most of us have forgotten that Jesus is not waiting in our Church buildings, hoping that people will come and seek him out. He is the Lion of Judah, moving in power across the earth seeking out those who will follow him. Jesus comes in dreams and visions, just as it was told by the prophet Joel and recorded at the day of Pentecost:
In the last days, God says,
Now Adel is hungry for the Gospel. He's been watching youtube videos (Arabic) about Jesus because he's not accustomed to reading the Bible. Even though he's had access to it his whole life, he's never been encouraged to read it. He told me he hadn't read the whole thing, or even most of it.
As we visited today he wanted me to watch a video with him about Abraham offering his son Isaac. The video was okay, but it was made for Muslim audiences and didn't dig deep into the story. Adel needs to dig deep into the scriptures now that he's following Jesus -no more pablum, and living only on Chicken Soup for the Soul.
So we opened the Bible to Genesis chapter 22 and read the story of Abraham offering Isaac on Mount Moriah. I had to help him with the Arabic in a few places, which made it pretty obvious this was a new experience for him.
When he got to the part where Isaac asked Abraham "Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" I stopped him. We talked about where the lamb was, and he didn't know. We read further to where Abraham was about to kill Isaac. I asked again "Where is the lamb" and he realized it was Isaac.
I asked him what Abraham was carrying.
"Knife and fire."
"What was Isaac the lamb carrying?" I asked. I had to look up the word for "wood" because it escaped my mind. In case you're wondering, it's:
خشب
"Now, there's something interesting about Mount Moriah," I said. "The highest point on Mount Moriah is a place later called Golgotha, where the Romans executed criminals. This is where Jesus died."
After giving that a chance to soak in, I asked "What did Jesus carry when he climbed Mount Moriah?" In case you're wondering, it's:
خشب
God gave Abraham another lamb on that mountain, but when the time was just right, God gave his own Son for us. We carried the knife and the fire, and the lamb carried the wood.
Praise God for Jesus, the Lion of dreams and the Lamb who carries wood.
Jesus came to him in a dream. He said it was a very real experience for him, unlike anything he had known before. Jesus said to him "Adel, you must follow me if you want to have life. Follow me." Right there, without help from any man, Jesus saved a soul. That how he does it.
Adel told me that he has prayed for God to give him a clean heart and that he is following Jesus. I can see the change in him as he is forming that love relationship with his Savior. I've been doing Bible studies with him in Arabic, which helps him learn the scriptures, and helps me to improve my Arabic. I might say it compels me to improve it.
Here in the West most of us have forgotten that Jesus is not waiting in our Church buildings, hoping that people will come and seek him out. He is the Lion of Judah, moving in power across the earth seeking out those who will follow him. Jesus comes in dreams and visions, just as it was told by the prophet Joel and recorded at the day of Pentecost:
In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Now Adel is hungry for the Gospel. He's been watching youtube videos (Arabic) about Jesus because he's not accustomed to reading the Bible. Even though he's had access to it his whole life, he's never been encouraged to read it. He told me he hadn't read the whole thing, or even most of it.
As we visited today he wanted me to watch a video with him about Abraham offering his son Isaac. The video was okay, but it was made for Muslim audiences and didn't dig deep into the story. Adel needs to dig deep into the scriptures now that he's following Jesus -no more pablum, and living only on Chicken Soup for the Soul.
So we opened the Bible to Genesis chapter 22 and read the story of Abraham offering Isaac on Mount Moriah. I had to help him with the Arabic in a few places, which made it pretty obvious this was a new experience for him.
When he got to the part where Isaac asked Abraham "Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" I stopped him. We talked about where the lamb was, and he didn't know. We read further to where Abraham was about to kill Isaac. I asked again "Where is the lamb" and he realized it was Isaac.
I asked him what Abraham was carrying.
"Knife and fire."
"What was Isaac the lamb carrying?" I asked. I had to look up the word for "wood" because it escaped my mind. In case you're wondering, it's:
خشب
"Now, there's something interesting about Mount Moriah," I said. "The highest point on Mount Moriah is a place later called Golgotha, where the Romans executed criminals. This is where Jesus died."
After giving that a chance to soak in, I asked "What did Jesus carry when he climbed Mount Moriah?" In case you're wondering, it's:
خشب
God gave Abraham another lamb on that mountain, but when the time was just right, God gave his own Son for us. We carried the knife and the fire, and the lamb carried the wood.
Praise God for Jesus, the Lion of dreams and the Lamb who carries wood.
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