Lord, Increase Our Faith

"The Bible has not changed, but whoever reads it, he is changed."

This statement was made by a young Pakistani boy recently at a special assembly called at his public school. His school is in the Punjab province, which is along the Pakistani-Afghanistan border, a stronghold of the radical Islamic movement and purportedly where Bin Laden is presently hiding. Amidst a sea of radical Muslim students, this boy stood for Truth, as his teacher stated the New Testament of the Christians has been changed so much that there is nothing correct in it now.

2 percent of Pakistan's 147 million people are Christians, many of them in the Punjab province. These people are boldly proclaiming the Gospel, as some even banded together to invite 300 Muslim men and women to a dinner commemorating Pakistan Independence Day. There, they presented a drama, "Freedom from Sin," shared songs, and gave testimony about how Christ had set them free, even handing out gospel literature, Bibles, and Jesus CDs.

A Quiet Witness

Parveen, a young Pakistani woman, is a Christian worker in a Muslim home. Upon learning of her faith, they beat her, bribed her to convert, threatened her, and locked her in a room for three days, away from her family. Her response: "When I was being persecuted, I didn't feel their insults. I was happy to suffer for the witness of Jesus Christ. I was feeling so proud of Him I didn't realize I was in pain from the beatings. I was praying and reciting Psalm 23 in my heart, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, I will not be afraid.'"

Redemption is Nigh

Threatened by police, imams, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, "Salim" still distributes thousands of New Testaments, Bibles, and tracts. He has helped to establish five Sunday schools and eight house churches, in an area that is home to 27 madrassas, which are Islamic schools. Salim's prayer is, "O Lord, use my last drop of blood and build Your Kingdom here."

No wonder such a brother has been used to reach those like "Rafiq," who was trained by the Taliban and even met Osama Bin Laden. Nevertheless, Rafiq's mind began to change when he met Red Cross workers saving his life, while he had wanted to kill them. Now, Rafiq is working to teach his Muslim wife about his newfound faith, and is even preparing a comparative study of the Bible and the Koran to reach well-educated Muslims with the hope of Christ.

Pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters, and be emboldened by them.