«I never intended to become a Christian»
Mohammad Ahmed took his Islamic faith always very seriously. He hated Christians passionately. Until he has a dream one night. Jesus experienced in a dream and speaks to him .
I grew up in Ethiopia and all my family are very devout Muslims. For generations, we have been building mosques and spreading Islam. I, too, was a very serious Muslim. I even made a pilgrimage to Mecca to fulfill all my obligations as a believer.
I was one of the colonels in the mosque. My area of responsibility included some groups in our neighborhood who encouraged me to make life difficult for Christians. When we found a Bible, we publicly burned it. I myself burned seven Bibles and even attacked a Christian with a knife.
A strange dream
But then one night I had a strange dream. I heard a voice saying to me, “Mohammad, you live in darkness. Come out of your cave and follow me. “When I woke up, I knew it was the voice of the Christian God. On the same day, I visited my mother and told her about it. She was so angry that she threw me out of the house.
I did not really know what to do with this dream myself. I was a good Muslim and I was proud of that.
Jesus does not give up
A little while later, I had another dream when the same voice said to me: “Mohammad, you will leave this darkness and follow me.” But I did not want to. I was a Muslim and I wanted to stay Muslim.
After this dream I suddenly fell into a kind of depression. I could not eat anymore, could not walk anymore and I could not talk anymore. I went to different hospitals to get treatment, but nobody could heal me. I was desperate.
As I rolled around in my bed, the missionaries from our village suddenly came to mind. Although I was afraid that my relatives and friends would kill me, I decided to call them anyway and talk to them.
The message of Jesus
In a weak voice I asked her for help and they came to me as fast as they could. They told me who Jesus is. From his message of grace and that he is saved by faith alone. It was so different from anything I had believed so far, but I knew that was the truth.
Somehow I felt that it was time to give up my pride and acknowledge that only Jesus can save me. The same day my depression was gone.
A changed life
Gradually, I learned more about Jesus. And I felt more and more that I had to ask God for forgiveness because I treated Christians so badly. I also wanted to visit people whom I had wronged and apologize to.
Today I am so thankful that God spoke to me. He is the best that could happen to me. Since my first prayer, I have no doubt at all that Jesus is real. He is my peace and my healing. And most of all, he is my salvation.
Meanwhile, I am a missionary and preacher myself and am moving through Ethiopia to speak of the grace that has changed my life.
* Name changed for security reasons
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