Staring down the barrel of a rifle as the Taliban surrounded him in the middle of the Pakistani mountains, the divide between Yaqub's time on the earth and his eternity grew remarkably smaller. Holding on to his life was of little importance now as fear had left his mind. Instead, what mattered most, was witnessing to one more soul about Jesus.
This is Yaqub's story...
Moments earlier, our ministry team was driving through the mountains to share the Gospel in another city. Suddenly, we struck a large stone in the road. As our driver got out to check on the vehicle, men began running down from the mountain with guns aimed directly at us.
Our driver quickly yelled to us, “Stay in the car. These are the Taliban, and they will open fire if you get out.”But I knew I heard the Lord telling me to speak, so I stepped out of the car.
All around me the assailants cocked their guns. Fingers went to the triggers. “Who are you?" one of the men shouted.
“I am a Christian,” I calmly replied. “Then we are enemies," he said confidently.
“No, we are not enemies. We are brothers,” I said.
“How can Muslims and Christians be brothers?” he asked incredulously. “Look in the Quran and the Bible.” I explained, “Muslims came through Ishmael, the oldest son of Abraham. Christians came through Jesus, and Jesus came through Isaac, the youngest son of Abraham. We are not enemies. We are brothers.”
He stared at me, deeply contemplating what he had heard. Finally, after a long pause, he said, “No one has ever told us this. Give me a hug.” I embraced the Muslim man, and then, the Holy Spirit filled me with more boldness as I asked,
“Can I pray for you?”
He agreed, so I prayed for peace and blessings in Afghanistan. I also prayed for peace between the US and Taliban forces. When I finished praying, he was astounded. He said, “No one has ever prayed for us like that before.”We hugged again, and I got back in the car, fully aware that God had bridged an unimaginable gap.
Dare to Ask God to help you see people who cause opposition to your life, as souls who need to hear about Jesus.
Until all worship,
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God’s passion for His people can not be extinguished. Do you embody this same passion?