Paid to Betray Their Country

Nadia and Neesha* are two women in Central Asia who are passionate about sharing their faith. In the face of great danger, they would secretly hand out Bibles and tell others about Jesus, even though their country was hostile toward Christianity.

One day they spoke to a man who was an undercover policeman. He arrested them and discovered eight Bibles in their purses. Sitting in a basement jail and fearing for their lives, they began to pray.

Then Nadia said, “I read that when Paul was in prison, he sang. So let’s sing!”

One of the prisoners down the hall yelled, “You’re crazy! They are going to rape you both and then kill you. How can you sing?”

But the women kept singing praises to God. Suddenly, the undercover officer came down the stairs. He unchained them and took them to a private room for interrogation.

“You risked everything to give these Bibles away. You have betrayed your country and your family. No one would risk all this unless being paid a lot of money. Who is paying you to do this?”

Nadia replied, “You are right, someone did pay for us to do this. I will tell you everything.”

“Who is it?” the man pressed.

“His name is Jesus, and He gave His life to save mine.” Nadia continued sharing all she knew about Christ and how He came to save the world.

Finally, the policeman interrupted, “Stop! If you keep talking, I’ll end up believing this story too.”

With that, he returned the eight Bibles to Nadia and Neesha and, incredibly, released them to go. Astonished and suddenly standing free outside the prison, the two women quickly separated, each going a different way in case they were being followed.

As soon as Neesha turned the corner and was out of view from the prison, she ran face to face into the undercover officer. She stopped and gasped. He had been waiting for her at the prison’s back entrance.

“Give me one of those Bibles!” he whispered.

“Excuse me?”

“May I please have one of your Bibles? I must know more about this Jesus.”

Neesha smiled, dug down into her purse, and handed him a copy, along with a card giving instructions on how to download the Jesus Film^® app.

“Thank you,” he said and then he disappeared inside.

Nadia and Neesha need your prayers as they continue to risk everything to spread the gospel.

You can download the Jesus Film app here.

*For security reasons, Nadia and Neesha are composites of two unrelated incidents.

Respecting the Bible

I grew up in church and my family was very devout. I recall my father telling me to never place my Bible on the ground. We were to respect God's Word as a holy, living love letter from God to us.

One time I remember using it like a coaster by placing my glass of water on it. My mother almost flipped out as she scolded me. This was the last time I made that mistake. To this day I am careful to treat my Bibles with respect, even if I mark them up inside with highlighters.

I've been through a lot of Bibles over the decades. Sometimes the binding gives way, the pages fall out and the cover fades or cracks. Not from misuse, but from daily use. Tape and glue can only go so far before I need to buy a new copy.

Some people, however, are not so excited about God's Word. Check out this story of how one tiny Bible changed a man's journey.

It was hot and Lonalynn was tired of being rejected all day whenever she tried to spark spiritual conversations with Middle Easterners.

During this Jesus Film^® mission trip, Lonalynn handed an Arabic New Testament to Mo, a Muslim man on the street. He took it, glanced at it briefly, then promptly threw it down on the curb.

That was the last straw for Lonalynn. Infuriated, she yelled "Hey! No! You do not treat a holy book that way!"

Mo stopped and waved his hand at her, "It is not the Koran. I have no use for it."

"This is the Word of God and you must respect that," she said as she picked it up from the street.

When he saw her passion, he changed his mind, took the Bible from Lonalynn and asked for more information. They spoke for a long time about the one true God and his Word.

Mo walked away that day eager to read this book from God and to watch the Jesus film Lonalynn gave him.

More conversations have been occurring as Mo continues to meet with local Jesus Film workers. Pray for Mo as he embarks on this new spiritual journey and reads his new Bible.

Check out this link to learn more about the Bible and its power to transform lives.