A Risk Worth Taking

It was more than a decade for Saba and her husband Ikhlas.

First, Ikhlas became a believer. Then Saba followed two years later. But when her relatives found out it, they wanted to kill Saba, her husband, and children.

The family had no choice but to flee to another town, cutting ties with Saba’s relatives. Nine years passed as the couple prayed, then God intervened.

Ikhlas and Saba sensed God telling them to return to their hometown. They bought a house and with great caution, invited family to visit.

One of Saba’s brothers was the first to come talk. Each day, Israr listened to Saba and Ikhlas read the Bible and speak about God. Finally, Israr agreed to study the scriptures.

Eventually, they all watched the JESUS film together and Israr attended their house church. His interest grew with each meeting until around Christmas, he began to struggle with his lifestyle and the religion he had grown up believing.

Despite warnings and threats from his parents, Israr accepted Christ and returned home to fearlessly live out his new faith among his family.

He went through training and with the fire of the Holy Spirit, started his own house church, proclaiming the good news to his family. After showing some of his sisters the JESUS film, one accepted the Lord and another sister said she would study the bible and decide later if she wanted to be a Christian.

Habits are hard to break. Ideas adopted and lived out since childhood don’t dislodge easily. But when people living in spiritual darkness get a glimpse of the light of the gospel, they are drawn to it.

Jesus Film Project resources help them explore any questions they have. Our films bring to life the truth of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. And when they see and hear the account of Jesus in their mother tongue, they have an authentic encounter with the Lord.

One-by-one, lives are transformed—over 42 million lives in 2017 alone—because of contributions from people like you. Thank you for allowing Christine and me to be part of what you are doing through Jesus Film Project.

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.

God's Perfect Timing

As Christians, we often never find out what happens to the people with whom we share our faith. If they are not an ongoing part of our life, we may never see them again. This is especially true when we distribute material but don’t get a chance to have a conversation.

This last summer, I went on a Jesus Film Mission Trip^® and had the opportunity to help distribute free Bibles and DVDs to busy shoppers in London. I was discouraged in not being able to have spiritual conversations with many of those who took the gifts I was handing out. Until I heard this story …

Every day Sada*, a Middle Easterner residing in London, would walk by the Jesus Film^® workers and take one of the films and a New Testament. Then, as soon as she was out of sight, she would toss it in the garbage. It was her small way of helping her people avoid the distraction of Christianity.

All summer the Jesus Film workers were there in London. Every day Sada took a copy. Near the end of summer, she forgot to discard it and found it in her bags when she got home. She tossed it up in her closet and forgot about it.

For nine years!

Soon after Sada graduated from med school, she discovered the Bible and the DVD in her closet and became curious. She opened the package and watched the film. Then she began reading the Scriptures. To make a long story shorter, she eventually received Christ into her heart.

Sada is now a doctor and an influential leader in her community in the UK. She shares her faith regularly.

God’s timing is perfect. Had Sada received Christ nine years earlier, before college, she says her parents would have cut her off financially, disowned her and a degree would have been impossible. Her chance of being a doctor influencing other community leaders would never have materialized.

We may share the gospel dozens of times with a friend. We may give away hundreds of Bibles or other materials. We may pray for years for the salvation of a loved one and never see evidence of a change.

But be encouraged; God is at work and He knows the perfect time to draw people to Himself. If you’d like to know more about Jesus Film Mission Trips go to www.jesusfilmmissiontrips.org.

*name changed