Denied but Redeemed (in a closed country in Africa)
Under torture, a man we will call Mustafa, denied Christ and was permitted to leave prison. He was filled with deep sorrow for having betrayed Christ. He began to pray, "Lord, if you will give me another chance, I will be faithful to your name and not recant."
Of course, he hadn’t denied Christ in his heart, but he didn’t know how to make it right. Shortly after this prayer, the bus he was riding on struck something, flipped over, and caught fire. Mustafa escaped but plunged into the burning vehicle and pulled out a trapped policeman. The injured group of passengers walked to a nearby village hospital. A policeman doing triage on the new arrivals shouted, "Are there any policemen? They will be treated first!" The rescued policeman came up and said, "I'm a policeman, but you must treat this man who saved me. He has been burned."
The policeman doing triage turned and looked at Mustafa. They both froze. Mustafa was looking into the face of the policeman who had tortured him into renouncing his faith when under arrest. This policeman asked, "How could you save a policeman after what I did to you?"
Mustafa’s second chance had come full circle. He responded, "Because I believe in Jesus Christ, and He has told me to love my enemies!"
God’s Word for Today:
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:25
Pray with us:
Pray God will provide strength to those under torture around the world today.
Pray IMM will have more opportunities to encourage believers through media.
Pray you will be strong and clear in your faith as life brings challenges.
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