My name is Idris Miah. I have a wife named Rahana and four girls, ages seven, five, three, and one. I was a good Muslim man, but I knew a bad Muslim man named Abu Bakkar Sidhikki who would often get drunk. No one in our village liked him, but what Abu eventually did made us hate him: he became a Christian.
Some Christian men had visited his house and told him about Jesus. Abu then accepted Jesus and became a Christian. The village leaders met and decided that what he did was so bad that we would have to kick him out of our village and burn down his house. We formed a group of twenty-five men and went to his house. We were sneaking up to his house to take him by surprise.
As we got closer we could hear him praying. He was actually praying for our whole village. He was asking Jesus to forgive everyone in the village. He said Jesus should forgive us because we did not know what we were doing. This made us angry because we thought we knew what we were doing. Then all twenty-five of us rushed to his house to apprehend him, but there was an invisible force that would not let any of us enter his house to drag him out. We all became scared and everyone ran back to his own house.
When I got home I could not sleep. I kept thinking about Abu’s prayer. He said we did not know what we were doing. Was it true? Was he right? I tossed and turned but could not get this experience out of my mind.
Finally, at 3:00 a.m. I could not wait any longer. I went back to Abu’s house and said, ‘Who is Jesus?’ He told me how Jesus gave His life for sinners and how I could be saved. After three hours of this, I asked Jesus to forgive me and I surrendered my life to him. Jesus saved me!
I rushed to my house and shared what happened to me with my wife and she also became a Christian along with my children. As the news of our conversion spread, the village leaders, including my father-in-law, condemned us. They said that no one can hire me to work in their fields.
I am poor and do not own any land to farm myself. If no one will hire me, how can I support my family?
They said they will give me seven days to change my mind and become a Muslim again, or they will kick us out of the village. Thank God they haven’t done this yet. My children have already been kicked out of school because we became Christians. I have the joy of Jesus in my heart. I give my life and my family to Jesus. I hope this gift is acceptable to my Lord.
If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow… Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Paul the Apostle Martyred in Rome, 65 AD
Romans 12:14,15,21 (NLT)
