Displaying items by tag: Salvation

Most Muslims fall into one of two camps - Sunni or Shia. The term Sunni means laws and comes from the word ‘sunnah,’ which means ‘way of life’. This refers to the way of life of the Prophet Mohammad. 90% of Muslims around the world are Sunni. A movement of the Gospel among Sunni Muslims could impact nearly the entire Muslim world. Today, God is doing just that. He is drawing unprecedented numbers of Sunni Muslims to Himself in every region of the world. More Muslims have turned to follow Jesus in the past fifteen years than in the previous 1,400 years combined. But there are still 1.8 billion Muslims living without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Ramadan ends on April 21. During Ramadan, Muslims have been intentionally seeking God through prayer and fasting. Pray for an incredible number of Muslims to encounter their Saviour Jesus.

‘Hussein comes from Baghdad. A while ago he communicated with us for the first time and accepted Jesus as his Saviour. We put him in communication with a partner on ground for face-to-face discipleship in Jordan. He wanted his family to encounter Jesus and arranged for them to meet his mentor, resulting in all his household becoming believers. Recently, he contacted us again. His son was to travel to Egypt for school, and he wanted us to disciple him. To everyone's surprise, Mo, Hussein’s son did not only want to be discipled, but also wanted the same for his friends whom he evangelised. His father, who is now in Iraq, wanted another family he was preaching to be discipled. Therefore our ministry decided to let them both, father and son, to be group discipleship leaders, though they are not yet baptised - which is being arranged now.’

He dressed as a woman, wore makeup, called himself Danielle and competed in drag queen pageants. But there was no happiness in the gay lifestyle. ‘I looked into the mirror and couldn’t recognise myself. It scared me.’ Could God forgive him? He stepped away from pageants and went to church one Sunday. At the end of the service, Daniel walked forward to the altar to receive Jesus into his heart. The pastor gave him a warm, welcoming handshake. ‘I wept on his shoulder and he kept saying, “The Father loves you. He loves you. He loves you”. My heart began to break and I said, “Jesus, I submit, I surrender to you”’. Daniel cut ties with the LBGT community and destroyed every vestige of his former lifestyle. ‘I knew that the Father loved me. I've never felt so at home in my skin.’ He is now with Living Waters Ministries, helping people around the world to overcome brokenness through Christ.

As the church’s global growth continues, leaders must disentangle its ‘health message’ from views on salvation. Many Seventh-day Adventists believe you must be vegan to be saved. While Adventists around the world have heeded their co-founder’s teachings on eating a plant-based diet, for some of them veganism has risen to a place next to godliness. Researchers found that many members in South Asia believe salvation is ensured two ways: through Jesus Christ (92%), and through giving up meat, animal products, alcohol, and tobacco (80%). Within the denomination’s East-Central Africa division - which has the second-most vegan or vegetarian members (42%) - 74% of members maintain that dietary choices contribute to salvation. Adherents in North America and Europe were far less likely to believe their healthy lifestyle contributes to salvation. While over half of Adventists in North American are vegetarian or vegan - more than any other region of the church - just 4% see the diet as necessary for salvation.

Twelve-year-old Matt Martinson truanted from school, experimented with drink and drugs, and spiralled into a life of crime. Petty offences escalated to drug dealing, burglary and armed robbery. He was jailed for 11 years following an armed raid on a post office in York. After serving nearly four years - during which time he drew alongside a prison chaplain and came to faith - he was released. After study and much commitment he was eventually ordained as a priest. Matt, now aged 44, explained, ‘I remember being in prison and hearing God say to me, “One day you will be a vicar”. I burst out laughing saying, “Didn’t you hear what the judge has sentenced me to?”’ He now ministers to people who are hurt and lost, reaching out to them with grace and telling them, ‘No matter what you may have done in the past, there is a loving God to turn to’.

Aisha (not her real name), 27, grew up in a Muslim family. Her father was devoted to Islam but constantly mis-treated her mother, and Aisha never heard him speak even one kind word to them. The more she watched the oppressive treatment, the more she asked why Allah had created her a girl. She began to reject Allah and his rules. One day she asked her mother why she allowed her father to beat her. 'Allah gave him that authority,' her mother replied. 'Then I don’t want to be a Muslim,' she cried. In response, her mother slapped her in the face. 'That is profanity against Allah; you were born as a Muslim and you will stay a Muslim till you die.' Later, talking to a friend at work who was a Christian, Aisha noticed that her friend frequently mentioned God’s name in their conversations. She described her home life, and her friend referred Aisha to her pastor. In time she gave her life to Jesus, accepting him as Saviour and Lord.

Mahmoud believed that all Christians lied and killed Muslims, but he embraced Christianity after experiencing the love and compassion of believers firsthand. He was forced to flee Iraq after IS invaded the country; the terrorists tortured him because he refused to support their ‘caliphate’. While travelling by dinghy to Greece his boat sank, plunging him into the sea, but Greek coastal authorities rescued him. Mahmoud was terrified: ’I knew they would kill me because I am a Muslim - this is what I had been told.’ But they pulled him from the water and gave him dry clothes and food. Eventually, Mahmoud was connected with a Christian ministry and they told him about Jesus. ‘For 40 years my people have lied to me’, he said with tears in his eyes. ‘I need to know the truth. I need to know about Jesus.’ He accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

‘I realised that we are all bearing the cross in different ways, just like Jesus did. It’s a humble reminder of the sacrifice He made for our salvation.’ Iman, a Christian refugee from Iraq, had a crisis of faith when she was driven from her home by militants. But with the help of a church in Lebanon, her trust in Jesus was restored. Iman shared her dramatic story with SAT-7 documentary series From East to West, offering hope and encouragement to other struggling Christians.

Chinese pastors are on their way to North Korea in the New Year to spread Christianity. While remaining anonymous for security reasons, the pastors claim that they have been through the worst of times in life and have only received salvation through God. One pastor was a second-in-command of a mafia gang before coming to Christ. Since then, he has been preaching the gospel to whomever he meets in house churches; some are North Koreans who fled their country to find refuge in China. He and other Chinese pastors are going to preach the gospel in North Korea itself. He said, ‘Before, the North Koreans came to China, but now, we send Chinese people to North Korea through a Christian brother who has a registered travel agency. So, as Christians, we can travel to North Korea.’