Iranian teenager heard God’s voice, left Islam and Iran to follow Jesus
By Mark Ellis, Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
IRAN (ANS -- September 29, 2016)
-- He grew up in a Muslim family that was less than rigorous about
their faith. When the still small voice of the Lord began to call him he
resisted, but ultimately, he could not challenge the beautiful truths
he found in Jesus.
“[My family] were Muslims, but never very strict,” Mehdi* told World Watch Monitor (https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/).
“My parents were both teachers and my father had some small businesses
aside from that. My father was always busy finding ways to earn more and
more money. He always followed Islam, except when it had to do with
money; money was more important than religion,” he says.
Like
his father, Mehdi also loved money because he thought it would give him
friends, respect and satisfaction. He tried to be a good Muslim, but
found it difficult.
“Sometimes
I would try to say my prayers regularly, but I soon forgot about them
or skipped them to sleep in, or have fun with friends,” he notes. “As a
Muslim, I often had the feeling that I was failing on so many sides.”
One day he had an unsettling thought: I’m lacking in so many ways. I will not go to heaven anyway. What is the point?
Then one day the still small voice of the Lord called him: Go and find out about Christianity.
Mehdi
was startled by this strange thought. Why would he find out about
Christianity? He didn’t know any Christians. He heard Christianity was
outmoded and Christians were odd people. On top of that, in Iran it was
dangerous to be a Christian. Why would he choose the possibility of
prison or death when he had a good life?
The
unusual thoughts continued, urging him to find out more about
Christianity. One day, out of curiosity, he took a bus to a church in a
different part of the city.
* Not his real name for security reasons.
Photo captions: 1) Underground believers in Iran 2) Mark Ellis with Dan Wooding on their “Windows on the World” TV show.
About the writer: Mark Ellis is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net), and also founder of www.GodReports.com,
a website that shares stories, testimonies and videos from the church
around the world. He is also co-host for “Windows on the World” with ANS
Founder, Dan Wooding, which is aired weekly on the Holy Spirit
Broadcasting Network (http://hsbn.tv).
** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).
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