“Tom, can’t you sense that God is doing something amazing right now? I can feel it.”
I was asked this question as I watched 26 Muslim born-Believers and Lebanese Believers declaring their faith in Jesus through baptism. Twelve of those baptized are in our Missional Leadership training.
I have been coming to Lebanon since 2001, and I can say today we are truly experiencing a movement of God like I have never witnessed here. On a recent Saturday, as I was watching baptisms take place and heard the testimonies presented, I was moved to tears.
God is moving and transforming lives for His glory. Like the early Church, “…and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47
God moves in spite of challenges. Through it all, our God is greater.
Fadi is a 53-year-old Lebanese man from South Lebanon. He’s been married for 18 years and has 4 children. Fadi retired from serving in the internal security forces and is currently a daily worker. He has had a lot of challenges in his life, especially with the recent economic crisis, and he sometimes feels hopeless and that he has lost everything.
Through his friend who attends Bible Studies with us, Fadi got to know Heart for Lebanon. After being invited to go to the Bible Study, Fadi started to attend and felt the need to dig deeper and know more about Jesus and Christianity. He also started attending the Worship Gatherings on Sundays.
When asked about the Bible study he said: “My life has changed for the better after getting to know Christ. After every bible study, after every prayer, I get closer to Christ and learn more from the Bible. The difficult circumstances after the economic crisis helped me get closer to God and improved the way I behave with others. I began to understand the suffering of others and pray for them. The Heart for Lebanon Team treats others with love and respect. I learned from them how to be loving and caring like Christ. I have become familiar with these values and applied them in my daily life with my family and friends.”
Fadi shared the gospel with his family and wants his children to become Believers too. “I was born again. This is thanks to Heart for Lebanon who allowed me to get to know Jesus Christ and get closer to Him. This turned me into a new person. I am now a good person and I am sure that I am saved by His blood, I want to obey God and share the gospel with everyone.” Fadi was baptized on September 23, 2003.
The Heart for Lebanon Team hears it every day from refugees, “the best decision I/we made was to come to Lebanon. We would not know Jesus Christ if we had not come here.”
There is something special happening right now. I pray we can all keep loving, sharing, investing, serving, and staying in the center of God’s will.
Now is the time to be following Him closely and be involved in what God is doing around the world; may He find us faithful to the end.
For more information on our Spiritual Formation, or our Missional Leadership Training, please contact Tom.Atema@HeartforLebanon.org
