Testimony of a believer in the U. S. reaching out to a Muslim
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This was sent by a believer in the United States in response to our articles The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy in New York City and The Kingdom of God comes from within, not from without:
"I have a friend, who I believe with all my heart, God placed in my life for a number of different reasons. He has stretched and grown me in this friendship... letting me understand a bit of another's life. He has changed the way I think and do things because of this friendship.
We met because of a need on her part. She is a Muslim woman, whose husband abused her. She sought divorce for her protection and that of her children (her doing), which in the Muslim world meant she was instantly an outcast - not to be associated with. She lost the connection of her (very dysfunctional) family (who had come to USA at the same time she did, under very horrible circumstances) and all Muslim friends (which is all her very controlling husband would allow her), found herself in need, and reached out to her landlord (who is a member of our church)... asking if anyone might help her to move.
Twelve of us showed up on moving day, to a house that had hardly been packed. We rolled up our sleeves, packed up her entire home and moved it across town. My friend and I connected in a very special way... a very definite God connection. The following week, my friend found out that the original place she lived in would be in her price range after all (with some help she received from a lawyer and some aid). She called her old landlord (the lady in our church) and wondered if people might be able to come and help again... to move her back to where she was before. This was a difficult thing for my friend to ask, but she had no help or support anywhere else.Almost as many of us showed up that following week (most of the same people even) to box up and move everything back. My friend was amazed... had not believed (because of her VERY difficult background) that there were this kind of people in the world. She and I became very good friends... lots of talking, sharing lives, food, laughter. One of the things she shared was about her sister, who still lived in the country from which she came, and who had been trying to obtain a VISA for 17 years to come and live here in the USA. My friend shared how much she missed her sister and her family (not seeing them in over 20 years).
My friend often asked me to pray for her... would call to specifically ask for prayer. She started coming to church with us (already knowing so many people and feeling comfortable and loved, because they were the very people who came to help her move, twice). She said she really liked going... felt a peace in her heart that she had never felt before. She came as often as she could, and everyone loved her and her son.Then my friend got word that her sister's VISA had finally come, and that she would be coming to the USA. My friend was so excited! She shared with her sister, that she'd found some very good people and would like her to meet them. She also told her sister that she had been going to our church. Instantly and with fear, her sister told her she had to stop coming! That if she continued going to church, she would not be able to see her.
An incredible dilemma. Here my friend was, finally able to see her sister after so many years, only to be told to leave the only place she felt true peace. My friend did not call me for almost 2 weeks, which, at that time was very unusual. I kept trying to contact her, thinking something was wrong. She finally got up the courage to call me and tell me she could not go to church with us anymore. She just COULDN'T lose her sister and family after all this time. She thought that in telling me this, I (and the others at church) would not be her friend anymore. I told her that I would ALWAYS be her friend and love her and would be here for her, no matter what she decided to do. She asked if she could still call and talk and pray together as before, and I told her of course!
But something changed in our friendship. She pulled way back... to the point where we would only talk every couple of weeks, and then every months. This made me sad, but I knew that God had planted His seed of hope and light... of peace, in her heart, and that I needed to just keep praying.
Okay... that's the gist of the story. So I have not heard anything from my friend in about 4 months (I continue to call and leave messages for her - no pressure kind of messages... "Hi, thinking about you, praying for you, love you, would love to catch up sometime" kind of calls). But this past week, God continued to bring her to mind, in many different ways. And then she called! We talked for almost 2 hours, catching up on life. Again, many difficult things have happened to her... how can one life experience SO much?? I asked how her sister was doing, assuming she had been spending much time with her.She said she didn't see much of her sister, after the initial meeting and catching up. My friend had been feeling alone again... and remembered. She asked how everyone at the church was doing, and I told her good, and that they often asked about her and were praying for her. This meant a lot to my friend. I knew she still felt she couldn't come to church, which I assured her was fine. I asked if she wanted to come to any of the "outside" things our church body does - to see the people she has been missing... things that aren't in "church". She seemed very interested. I also told her I would love her to come over soon. She again, was very open to that. Yay! I've been missing a dear friend!
It is like you shared in the article about "The Kingdom of God comes not from without, but from within"... you don't need to be doing things to fit into the western idea of church... that you can be discipled in other places... that the Holy Spirit will take seeds planted and grow them, and it doesn't have to look like how everyone else (churches) are doing it. I appreciated what you said, because God has given me a little glimpse into the life/culture of another. And I am okay with loving my friend, and letting God love her through me... to the point of her asking questions and wanting more - wanting truth - not trying to force her into someone else's something.
All this friendship was before I met you and went to one of your trainings. So I have been praying and am open to God using that in this friendship He's placed in my life. I'm praying for His timing and His plans (not my own), because I truly want my friend to find God... from the inside outward!
You have encouraged me... a confirmation that I was correct in not trying to force my friend into something she was not able to do (I did NOT want her to "become a Christian" to please me, any more (I told her) than becoming a Muslim follower to please her sister - she seemed to be very thankful for this, and was very thoughtfully looking at her relationship with her sister, too).
So thank you, again, for taking time to write out what God is teaching you. I would appreciate your prayers/wisdom in this very precious friendship God has placed in my life. It's one of those 'I don't care what you say until I know that you care' kind of things. She KNOWS I care and I love her, and will listen to what I say. I want to be wise in how I share my God - my very best Friend and Father - with her. Pray that God would continue to soften her heart and draw her to Him. And pray that I would see and understand what God needs me to do... what He wants me to say."
Our reply to this believer:"I don't think it's a problem for the Lord for her to tell her family that she is a Muslim. That does not mean she has denied Jesus Christ (or Isa Almasih) as her Lord and Savior. It simply means that she has not "converted to Christianity"---which as you know is not a requirement for salvation---especially when to Muslims, Christianity is the religion of the Europeans who conquered and occupied their lands, and currently the religion responsible for Hollywood. It has very little to do with the Christianity which you and I know.
I am convinced that people who call themselves Muslims can be saved if they confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and obey His commands as found in Scripture. Along those same lines, calling oneself a "Christian" does not guarantee eternal life. There are many professed "Christians" today who are not saved.
But if your friend, if and when pressed by her family, tells them that she now follows Isa Almasih, that is not necessarily a problem for them since Isa is their prophet according the Quran. For Muslims, the outward meaning of words mean much. That's why we steer away from the hot button words "Christianity", "Christian", and "church" (which for Muslims means the physical building or facility where Christians practice their religion). But according to Scripture, "church" means a gathering or body of believers. Our western traditions have changed the original meaning of the word to include the meaning of the physical buildling where Christians meet.
By remaining a "Muslim", your friend will continue to have a relationship with her family, and be able to reach them for Christ in the same manner that you are reaching her. But if for the sake of our western Christian traditions she converts to Christianity, then she will be cut off from her family and community and will have no opportunity at all to be a witness to them!
I suggest that you don't encourage her to go to church, but that you disciple and teach her in a home---perhaps yours or hers. Then when she is saved and strong, she can reach out to other Muslims in the same way. Perhaps one day you will be leading an underground "house church" of believing Muslims!"
Articles: Reaching Muslims for the Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God comes from within, not from without
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/Kingdom_of_God_comes_from_within.htmChristianity or Jesus Christ?
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/5-Christianity-or-Jesus-Christ.htmA new paradigm for fulfilling the Great Commission to the Unreachable
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/A_New_Paradigm_for_Fulfilling_the_Great_Commission.htmThe inexorable advance of Isl--m in America & the West
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/4%20The%20Inexorable%20Advance%20of%20Isl-m%20in%20America.htmTravis on Contextualization
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Contextualization%20-%20Travis.pdfReaching the unreachable---the world's largest unreached people group
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Reaching%20the%20Unreachable.htm
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