“My Word…that goes out from My mouth…shall not return to Me empty, but It shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Last week I told you about an Iranian parishioner—I will call him Ahmed—who is undergoing inpatient treatment in a mental facility here in Hamburg. He is now doing better, praise God. But while Ahmed is recuperating, the Lord has given him a wonderful opportunity to witness to a fellow patient—a young man from Afghanistan. Ahmed is eagerly embracing this task. I was curious to hear what Ahmed is telling the young man about our religion. “That Christianity is about love,” he answered. “Indeed,” I commented, “We have marvelous passages like ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:16) or ‘Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13)—which so beautifully describes Jesus’ sacrifice for us.” Ahmed has also taught told his new friend that Jesus paid the price for our sins and rose from the dead. “Wonderful!” I remarked. I know that Ahmed has the Farsi translation of the Bible on his phone, so I asked: “Are you reading Bible passages to him too? Or, better yet, could you perhaps have him read out loud?” “Why? Is that important?” Ahmed wondered. “Yes, it is very helpful. Keep on explaining Christianity to him but remember that the Word has its own power. The prophet Isaiah writes that the Word never returns empty. It always works in a person according to God’s will. If your friend reads Holy Scripture, the Lord will work in him through that Word, whether the guy realizes it or not…” “So,” Ahmed summarized, “If I tell him about Christianity and also ask him to read from the Bible, God will work in him at the same time?” “You got it.” “Wow, I’m going to try that!” Thank you, Lord, for using Ahmed for Your purposes and also for soon working in that young Afghan man—even invisibly. (Image: Isaiah 55:11 in Farsi).
The Tiews in Germany 