An ISIS fighter who says he “enjoyed killing Christians” has told missionaries that he has been having dreams of a man in white. The man told him, “You are killing my people.” Before the fighter murdered one Christian, the believer said, “I know you will kill me, but I give to you my Bible.” He killed the Christian, then took his Bible and began to read it. Jesus appeared to him again, calling him to become a Christian. Now the man is asking missionaries how he can become a follower of Christ and be discipled.
Muslims the world over are having such dreams of Jesus. God is miraculously at work around the world—missionaries are reporting record numbers of conversions within Buddhist and Hindu cultures as well. And the Spirit is also working dramatically among the Jewish people.
I returned last week from leading another pilgrimage to Israel. I love the Jewish people and their land, and rejoice to learn from missionaries that more Jews have come to Christ in the last 20 years than in the previous 20 centuries. Many are “Messianic Jews”—they remain within their Jewish traditions, but follow Jesus as their Messiah and Lord. Their numbers don’t show up on Christian church rolls, but are growing around the world.
“I Met Messiah” is a website dedicated to sharing their stories through video testimony. One man tells of his brother’s miraculous healing and conversion experience, then explains: “It was so apparent to me that this was a God thing . . . that I said, ‘Whatever this is, I have to have it.'” He came to Christ and later pioneered a messianic synagogue.
Another describes the anti-Semitism she experienced as a teenager during World War II, which led her into absolute self-reliance. She got a job in Hollywood, working with the greatest stars of the day, but there was a deep emptiness in her soul. She then became a teacher. A student’s paper on virtue especially impressed her, so she asked to meet with him. The student explained that Jesus had changed his life. She “wanted to be part of whatever he was part of,” and came to church with him. There she encountered “the nicest people I ever met,” and came to trust their Lord as hers.
Another convert admits, “I thought Christians were idiots. . . . I didn’t know any, but I’d seen them on television and in the movies. So I knew what they were like. . . . It was the Christians who killed the Jews in the Holocaust.” Then he was robbed while sleeping in a hostel, and found himself without money or identification of any kind. He waited to see if God would show mercy on him, which is exactly what happened.
The man met a young woman who was a committed Christian. She offered to buy him lunch, and told him the story of the Jewish Messiah. He says that the gospel “naturally flowed from her being.” Wanting to know more, he began to read Scripture and pray. Eventually he came to accept Jesus’ suffering and his life was transformed.
Have you prayed today for more Muslims and Jews to meet Jesus? Have you asked God to help you make Muslim and Jewish friends where you live? Will you share with them the grace that someone shared with you?
Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” Scripture declares, “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). The good news is also urgent news. Is it so for you?
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