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Time Out
for God
Devotional
Ministry
By Danna
Appleby
Jesus Saves!
For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10
(KJV)
Sometime
ago when I went into a dress shop in the city where I live, hanging from
behind the desk was a photograph of two beautiful little boys. When I commented on them to the
proprietor of the store, she proudly told me they were her grandsons and
that their father was from
Masood
came to the
Masood
and Tammy met when he was in his last year of college, and were later
married. After a period of
time, Masood and Tammy were blessed with a son, but as she held her
newborn baby in her arms for the first time, the realization came to her
that with her husband’s beliefs what that could mean in raising their
son. She knew Masood would
want their child to be raised in the Muslim tradition, but Tammy knew
there was no way she could consent to that because of her own faith in
Jesus Christ.
Since
there was no mosque in the area, Masood attended church with his wife and
son. In his way of thinking,
he assumed that it would be better to go to church with her rather than
not attend at all.
After
hearing the Truth preached for a number of years, Masood began to question
the things he had heard.
Tammy became even more determined for his salvation and put a
prayer cloth under his pillow.
She also purchased a Koran so she could better understand what the
Muslim faith was all about.
Just as she suspected,
there was nothing in it at all about the love of
Christ.
Nine
years went by and still Masood had not accepted the Lord as Savior. Tammy was becoming frustrated
because she wanted her husband to be saved with all of her heart. It was at that time that Masood
began to have some very disturbing dreams.
One
dream Masood had was that he could see himself walking in a desert and he
came upon the back side of three crosses. As he walked closer, he strained
to look around to see who could be hanging there, but was unable to get a
glimpse, and then he awoke.
He pondered many times in his mind about the dream and what it all
meant.
Another
disturbing dream was that Masood could feel himself actually flying over
the top of his wife’s church.
As he peered down from the air, it appeared that the church had no
roof. From the church below,
he could hear the happy voices of people rejoicing, shouting, singing and
praising God.
All
of sudden Masood was whisked away and could feel himself flying over a
mosque. Just as before, there
appeared to be no roof. This
time, as he looked downward, all he could see was an open black pit with
nothing but darkness. At that
time, Masood began to feel himself being pulled downward into the
pit. As Masood sank deeper he
found that there was no escaping the force that pulled him. After struggling for sometime, to
his relief he finally woke up.
As Masood was having this terrible nightmare, Tammy was in a deep
sleep totally unaware of what her husband was experiencing.
That
morning as Masood prepared for work, it was obvious that he was shaken and
that something was terribly wrong.
After Masood revealed his dream to his wife, Tammy told him that he
needed to pray the prayer of salvation because God had been trying to
reveal something to him.
Masood told her that he had already prayed the prayer of
repentance. Of course, Tammy
was elated and thankful to God, but Masood was still so fearful over his
dream that he went out the door for work with a Bible tucked under his
arm.
Tammy
called her pastor to let him know what had transpired with Masood and
about his salvation. At the
invitation in the next service, Masood made his way to the front as an
outward sign of his new commitment to Christ. You could hear gasps from the
parishioners as Masood made his way forward.
Afterwards,
the pastor asked if anyone in the congregation had uttered a prayer for
Masood over the years and hands went up from all over the
congregation. It was
confirmation of their love for that young man.
One
thing that affected Masood over the years was the fact that a woman from
their parish never failed to send cards letting him know that Jesus loved
him. That went on for a
number of years before Masood ever came to Christ. There were many occasions that
even though she would go out-of-town, she remembered Masood and send him
cards of hope, love and inspiration, but never pounded the Bible over his
head or used scare tactics to change his mind or beliefs. Masood saw Jesus in her.
Today,
Masood is a strong Christian and for that we can give God all the praise.
We can also see how God was faithful in answering the prayers of a young
wife who wasn’t willing to give up on her husband’s salvation. Of course, we can’t forget those
who continued to pray for Masood over the years and believe that God could
do a miracle.
The
angels in heaven rejoiced when Masood said the prayer of salvation, but
everyone who has ever experienced a newfound faith in Jesus Christ has
been able to sing the joyful song, “Jesus saves! Jesus saves!”
We
have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the
tidings all around: Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every
land, climb the mountains, cross the waves;
Onward! ’tis our Lord’s
command; Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Prayer: Father, thank You for the saving
grace of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin and unrighteousness. Thank You for the Truth found in
Your Word and how Truth will set us free. No matter if we’re walking in
error, You always come to rescue us from all wrong thinking and teachings.
You take great measures to
help us come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We give You praise for what Jesus
did on the cross and for the blood spilled out for our salvation. Thank You for the stripes upon his
back which brings healing and deliverance. Be honored today, O God! Be praised dear Father! Thank You for giving your Son to
save us! Thank You for the
pain Jesus bore all because of Your love for us. We honor and give You praise this
very day for what You’ve done for every person ever born. Thank You for having that much
love for us. Amen.
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