Month: February 2016

Simple Steps to Share Your Faith with Muslims

Hormoz Shariat Uncategorized, Lives Transformed , , , , ,

In last week’s post, I encouraged you not only to participate in what God is doing to transform Iran but also to share—with love—Reaching-Mosques-Clergythe truth of the Gospel with Muslims in your neighborhoods and cities.
Yes, I know that some of you feel shy since you have never done this before. Many of you want to know how to share the Gospel confidently without being rude.  

There are many ways to share the Gospel. A simple way is to remember that the Gospel is good news. (That’s what the Greek word for evangelize means: “proclaiming good news”!)

  1. Receive God’s heart for them. One powerful weapon we have that is non-existent in Islam is our true Love. I mean the agape type of Love that we can receive only from God. But many of us either are fearful of Muslims or are indifferent—both these conditions result from not having God’s heart for people trapped in Islam. So first pray and say, “God please give me your heart for the Muslims. I know you love them. Fill my heart with your heart and my mind with your teaching.” As you begin to talk with Muslims and get to know them, approach them with love. They sense true love and are touched by it. Be hospitable, friendly, and welcoming.
  2. Look for “bad news” in their lives and give them the Good News exactly where they are experiencing the bad news. Of course, I am not talking about the “prosperity” or “feel good” Gospel. I am talking about the power of the Gospel to truly transform lives, not just make circumstances better or easier.
  3. Be confident about the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit. When you see somebody struggling with personal issues (such as anger, addiction, despair) or family issues (trouble with a spouse, children, or other family members), have confidence in the Gospel and say, “I know something that I am totally confident can transform you, your situation, and your family. It all depends on whether you want it or not.”
  4. Make a simple invitation. When they show interest, tell them, “Jesus came to save you not just from this problem but from this miserable life, from this world, and even from yourself. Wait! I am not talking about a religion. I am not talking about you joining our church nor becoming a religious person. Jesus did not come to give you a religion, but to love you and save you. If you are ready to be saved by being changed, Jesus is more than ready. He is ready now. You can experience a new life even now. He will transform your life.”

If you find yourself becoming tongue-tied, remember that you do not have to explain all of Christianity in one session; you merely need do as Jesus did: invite these persons to follow Jesus in all that He has done and said. Invite them to seek and know Him.

Jesus calls us to love. The best way to do that is to be bold and invite people to know the Author of Love.

A few years ago, a survey of 100 converts from Islam asked about the major factor in their conversion. Eighty-five of the 100 people responded that the overwhelming factor that sparked their interest was “the love of Christians toward them.”

My friends, many Christians in Iran risk persecution, torture, and jail time every day for the privilege of sharing the Author of Love with their family, friends, and strangers. In sharing Love, they are transformed by Love. Won’t you find the courage to do the same?

And please pray for our ministry, that God will reach many hearts through us every day with His truth and love.

We Are Obsessed with the End Times, But Not with Its Author

Hormoz Shariat Uncategorized, Current Events , , , , ,

We Christians in the West seem to have a growing appetite for writing and reading books about the end times. We want to know how the events of the Middle East relate to the prophesies in the Bible. We want to know how nuclear Iran and militant ISIS and Russia are part of the end-time events. End-time prophecies get our attention.

Understanding the end times is a good thing.

But what are we doing with all that knowledge? Most of us are satisfied with just knowing and forget what the Lord commands us about doing. We forget that whenever there is talk of the end-time events in the New Testament, that discussion is for three purposes:

(1) to give courage and comfort to persecuted Christians

(2) to motivate Christians to live a holy life

(3) to remind Christians to get busy doing the Lord’s work

Much is happening around the world that should concern us as Christians because we can make a major difference.news-end-times-google God reveals future events with an intention for us to get busy. He wants His church to be a part of History (His Story) and make history.
Most of us, however, are merely observers, at best keeping ourselves busy by matching Bible prophecies to events. Very few get involved in what God is doing.

Bible prophecies should motivate us to keep occupied with His work until He comes back.

You Are the Solution

Every night, we watch news about Islamic violence around the world: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Mali, Paris, San Bernardino. The list goes on and on. It looks like nothing shocks us anymore. Nothing can make us wake up from our spiritual drowsiness. We hear what ISIS and other terror groups (including Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Hamas, and wings of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard) are doing around the world, not realizing that we are called to be a major part of the solution.

We have the answer to ISIS, and we are quiet.

The military alone cannot stop ISIS and other terror groups. Islam is a religion of violence that feeds on, grows, and gets stronger with violence. We have seen this occur in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and many other places. The answer is the love of Jesus. It’s the love of Jesus through you. As Ephesians 4:15 tell us, sharing the truth of the Gospel with love is the key that unlocks the closed doors of Islam and will set Muslim captives free.

So many in the U.S. (and in this election cycle) want to push Muslims out of our country and let the Middle East destroy itself. Will you decide to reach out to your Muslim neighbor and get to know him? Will you share Jesus with the woman wearing a hijab walking down your sidewalk or in your grocery store? Millions of Iranian Muslims are desperately waiting for you and me to do our part. Will you see what God is doing in Iran and join the cause to transform Iran into a Christian nation in this generation?

You have Jesus’s love. What will you do with it? I pray you will join me and get busy.