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Yusuf Estes, Former Christian and Federal Prison Chaplain (part 3 of 5)
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Description: Preaching Christianity to a priest.
By Yusuf Estes
Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 02 Feb 2006
Viewed: 9234 (daily average: 7) - Rating: 4.4 out of 5 - Rated by: 7
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Category: Articles
> Stories of New Muslims
> Men
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Shocking Knowledge - Muslims Believe in the Bible?
One day in the Spring of 1991, I came to know
that the Muslims believed in the Bible. I was shocked. How could this be? But
that’s not all, they believe in Jesus as:
* A true messenger of God;
* Prophet of God;
* Miracle birth without human intervention;
* He was the ‘Christ’ or Messiah as
predicted in the Bible;
* He is with God now and most important;
* He will be coming back in the Last Days
to lead the believers against the ‘Antichrist.’
After “winning souls to the Lord for Jesus” day
after day, this would be a big achievement for me, to catch one of these ‘Moslems’
and ‘convert’ him to Christianity.
Cup of Tea - Discuss Beliefs
I asked him if he liked tea and he said he did.
So off we went to a little shop in the mall to sit and talk about my favorite
subject: Beliefs. While we sat in that little coffee shop for hours talking (I
did most of the talking) I came to know that he was very nice, quiet and even a
bit shy. He listened attentively to every word that I had to say and did not
interrupt even one time. I liked this man’s way and thought that he had
definite potential to become a good Christian. - Little did I know the course
of events about to unravel in front of my eyes.
Agreed to Do Business
First of all, I agreed with my father that we
should do business with this man and even encouraged the idea of him traveling
along with me on my business trips across the northern part of Texas. Day after day, we would ride together and discuss various issues pertaining to
different beliefs that people have. And along the way, I could of course
interject some of my favorite radio programs of worship and praise to help
bring the message to this poor individual. We talked about the concept of God;
the meaning of life; the purpose of creation; the prophets and their mission
and how God reveals His Will to mankind. We also shared a lot of personal
experiences and ideas as well.
Moved to Our Home
One day I came to know that my friend Mohamed
was going to move out of the home he had been sharing with a friend of his and
was going to be living in the mosque for a time. I went to my dad and asked
him if we could invite Mohamed to come out to our big home in the country and
stay there with us. After all, he could share some of the work and some
expenses, and he would be right there when we were ready to go to out traveling
around. My father agreed and Mohamed moved in.
Continued Ministry & Preaching
Of course I still would find time to visit my
fellow preachers and evangelists around the state of Texas. One of them lived
on the Texas-Mexico border, and another lived near lived the Oklahoma border. One
preacher liked to carry a huge wooden cross that was bigger than a car. He
would carry it over his shoulder and drag the bottom on the ground and go down
the road or freeway hauling these two beams formed in the shape of a cross. People
would stop their cars and come over to him and ask him what was going on and he
would give them pamphlets and booklets on Christianity.
Preacher Has Heart Attack
One day my friend with the cross had a heart
attack and had to go to the Veteran’s Hospital where he stayed for quite a long
while. I used to visit him in the hospital several times a week and I would
take Mohamed with me with the hopes that we could all share together in the
subject of beliefs and religions. My friend was not very impressed and it was
obvious that he did not want to know anything about Islam. Then one day a man
who was sharing the room with my friend came rolling into the room in his
wheelchair. I went to him and asked him his name and he said that it didn’t
matter and when I asked him where he was from he said he was from the planet
Jupiter. I thought about what he said and then began to wonder if I was in the
cardiac ward or the mental ward.
Man in Wheelchair - Needed the Lord
I knew the man was lonely and depressed and
needed someone in his life. So, I began to ‘witness’ to him about the Lord. I
read to him out of the book of Jonah in the Old Testament. I shared the story
of the prophet Jonah who had been sent by the Lord to call his people to the
correct way. Jonah had left his people and escaped by boat to leave his city
and head out to sea. A storm came up and the ship almost capsized and the
people on board threw Jonah over the side of the ship. A whale came up to the
surface and grabbed Jonah, swallowed him and then went down to the bottom of
the sea, where he stayed for 3 days and 3 nights. Yet because of God’s Mercy,
He caused the whale to rise to the surface and then spit Jonah out to return
back home safely to his city of Nineveh. And the idea was that we can’t really
run away from our problems because we always know what we have done. And what
is more, God also always knows what we have done.
Catholic Priest
After sharing this story with the man in the
wheel chair, he looked up and me and apologized. He told me he was sorry for
his rude behavior and that he had experienced some real serious problems
recently. Then he said that he wanted to confess something to me. And I said
that I was not a Catholic priest and I don’t handle confessions. He replied
back to me that he knew that. In fact, he said: “I am a Catholic priest.”
I was shocked. Here I had been trying to preach
Christianity to a priest. What in the world was happening here?
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