"Muslims Dreaming Their Way To Jesus"

In the Matthew 2:1-23 we find the story of the "wise men" or Magi that were seeking after the place of the young messiah, Jesus. Four times in this chapter of the Bible we find the mention of divine "dreams". These men that came seeking salvation were led to the place of truth through their dreams. They were Parthian Magi from a region in the northern parts of Iran. They travelled for weeks and months seeking the source of their dreams. They were seeking that one that spoke to them in their visions. They were seeking JESUS.

Now, I do not believe that our dreams today can be said to be all inspired by God. Joseph Smith had strange dreams that led to the formation of the Mormon Church, also, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints. This group believes things that are contrary to the Bible. Therefore his dreams may have been inspired, but they were NOT OF THE TRUE GOD! There are dreams that God can and does use to bring men to the gospel of Jesus Christ. These dreams may not not all be inspired of God, but are used as tools in His hands for good.

In the Middle East and in Northern Africa there is an amazing number of people turning to Christ as their Savior. Many of these people have been held in bondage by the false teachings of Islam. Some live in fear of leaving the cultural teachings of their families. Some live in fear of choosing their own way to God. Some want to explore the Bible for themselves, but know the rejection and persecution that would come from their own family and friends if they chose Christianity. So they secretly ask questions to those that are from the Christian World. They lie awake at night and imagine themselves being a part of that other world. They listen intently to Christian radio, television, and internet broadcasts. And when they close their eyes in this world that they live, this world that rejects the teachings of the Bible as paganism, they dream of Jesus.

Thousands of Muslims are dreaming of Jesus. They are seeing images of Him in their sleep. They are hearing Him say, "Come unto me". One man name Ali went to Mecca for his pilgrimage. While there he said he dreamed of Jesus. He said, "I decided I'm not going to finish the Hajj, the pilgrimage. Whatever it takes, I'm going to follow that voice." He returned to his homeland and became a Christian. Six hundred sixty-seven Muslims are turning to Christ every hour. That is sixteen thousand every day that leave Islam and convert to Christianity. Ten thousand Algerians that have recently been saved, say that their dreams of Jesus gave them a hunger to know Him. One-third of the converts in Turkey say before they were saved, that they had dreams of Jesus. What is taking place in the Muslim World that is leading men and women to the Light? Job 33:14-18 proclaims that, "God speaketh... in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction."

Just as the Iranian Magi were led of God by dreams to see the Savior 2000 years ago, so today the Arabians and Africans alike are being led to fath in Jesus. Their hearts are being turned from the false ways of the Koran to the truths of the Bible. They are developing a hunger for God's Word. They are coming into the kingdom of God by the multitudes. They are dreaming their way to Jesus.
 

"I will never leave thee"

In the thirteenth chapter of Hebrews and in verse number five, we are told by our Savior, "I will never leave thee." The writer of the book of Hebrews told us in the preceding two chapters of those who lived by faith, and many that died in faith. We are told of the horrific deaths of some that were stoned for their belief in Christ. We are told of some the were "sawn asunder". The tales of those that have died for the cause of Christ are endless. We have in modern time similar stories.

Muslim radicals beheaded 25-year-old Farhan Haji Mose last year in the southern regions of Somalia. Mose drew suspicion when he returned to Barawa, in Somalia’s Lower Shebelle Region. He had received Christ into his heart. “His body was split into two, then carried away, only to be dumped near the beach of Barawa city,” a Christian source who witnessed the murder told Morning Star News, a newspaper out of Nairobi.

We are told of Bible characters such as the Apostle James in Acts 12 who was beheaded for his love for Jesus. Martyrdom is as much a part of the Bible as the crucifixion of Christ. The blood of beleivers' has been shed by those of different faiths for centuries. Why would God allow such harm to come to the lives of those who believe in His Son, Jesus? Maybe it is so that through their death, the eyes of the unbeliever might be opened to the love of God. It was a renegade, Saul of Tarsus, in Acts 7:58 that observed the stoning of Stephen. God used this event to shape the heart of Saul so that later he would get saved and become the great Apostle Paul. God uses the suffering of the saved to reach the hard-cases for Him.

For the persecuted believer, God's Word tells us that through our torment He will never leave us. God was ever present with Stephen when the stones dashed against his skull and quenched his final breathe. Even Acts 7:55 tells us that as his spirit was conveyed to the Heavens, Jesus rose to his feet to welcome this godly servant home. Is Jesus aware when we suffer loss? Is he present when we close our eyes in death? YES! He was there for Stephen!  He was there for the Apostle James! He was there for Farhan of Somali! He declared for all of us, "I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE". "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15)