{"id":161,"date":"2008-08-06T03:24:22","date_gmt":"2008-08-06T07:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lebanesesaints.com\/Home\/?p=161"},"modified":"2008-08-06T03:24:22","modified_gmt":"2008-08-06T07:24:22","slug":"amazing-story-muslim-girl-becomes-a-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lebanesesaints.com\/Home\/christiannews\/amazing-story-muslim-girl-becomes-a-christian\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazing Story-Muslim Girl Becomes a Christian"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1978, Azar came to the United States for an education. She planned to return to her native Iran, but political upheaval in that nation denied that. So Azar, a Muslim, remained in America, and worked very hard to be successful.<\/p>\n

“When you have to make it in another country, you also focus on needing to be somebody. I wanted to do the best and not just settle for anything,” she says.<\/p>\n

Azar worked as hard to be a good Muslim, as she did to be a financial planner. She believed her good deeds would earn her a place in heaven. But after years of ceremonial washing and prayers five times a day, she grew tired of the routine.<\/p>\n

“All of a sudden, I realized I was standing there covered and I didn\u2019t know what I was saying. Was I talking to God? I felt like this couldn’t be it. This can\u2019t be what God wants from me.”<\/p>\n

For 21 years, Azar had little to do with her Islamic faith. Then some Iranian friends invited her to a meeting.<\/p>\n

“Honestly, I\u2019d never heard of Iranians who were Muslims and then Christians. I said, ‘What?’ ”<\/p>\n

Still, Azar was intrigued and agreed to meet these people.<\/p>\n

“For the first time, I saw Iranians who were Muslims and had become Christians. They were singing to God and worshipping. I thought that it was so interesting that they were so free.”<\/p>\n

But more than that, Azar was dissatisfied with her life. Even though she had all the trappings of success, something was missing.<\/p>\n

“I was working six or seven days a week. I was so driven. What was the purpose?”<\/p>\n

Azar thought about the Christian meeting she attended. Soon, she went to another to find out more. There she listened intently to what was being said.<\/p>\n

One Christian at the meeting said, “Who here knows that they\u2019re going to heaven?”<\/p>\n

“Well, as a Muslim you don\u2019t know if you go to heaven or not, because God is going to review your past, and it depends on how much good you\u2019ve done. He decides. I wouldn\u2019t know. So few people raised their hands and I thought, ‘How do you know?’ ”<\/p>\n

What Azar heard was the salvation message of the cross. She didn\u2019t understand and wanted an explanation.<\/p>\n

“After the meeting, I went to him and said, ‘What do you mean Jesus died for me? I wasn\u2019t there. I die for my own sins.’ ”<\/p>\n

Again and again, she begged God to show her the truth.<\/p>\n

“One day out of the blue, I turned the TV on. And I didn\u2019t even know why The 700 Club was on. It wasn\u2019t one of those things I watched everyday. And as soon as I turned it on, Gordon\u2019s face was right on the screen. It had covered the whole screen and he said, ‘Some of you are so confused, you don\u2019t know who the real God is.’ ”<\/p>\n

As Gordon prayed, Azar listened intently.<\/p>\n

Gordon prayed, “Lord God, I don\u2019t know you. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re real. But Lord, if you are real, I ask you to show me.”<\/p>\n

“And then I thought, ‘Wow, I didn\u2019t know if I turned the TV off, but I didn\u2019t hear anything after that. Because it was what I was looking for, I was asking why?’ ”<\/p>\n

As the days passed, Azar focused her thoughts on God. Again, the Iranian Christians invited her to meet with them. They encouraged her to read the Bible, and Azar began to experience God in a new way.<\/p>\n

“There was something about this Christianity. I didn\u2019t know anything about the Holy Spirit, I never opened the Bible, and I didn\u2019t know anything. But it felt so strong. There was something different about me,” she remembers.<\/p>\n

The next day, Azar went to church. She couldn\u2019t wait to get there. This time she came face to face with the truth.<\/p>\n

“As I was talking to God, I said, ‘I have no reason to change. I was Muslim, You were good to me, and I have no reason to change. But if You have any reason, You show me a sign.’ ”<\/p>\n

“I saw a person right in front of me, and his face was right where my face was. I could see his whole body. Gradually he opened his eyes, and they were like two little suns. They got brighter and brighter and started shining on my face.”<\/p>\n

She recognized that the person she saw was Jesus and prayed to accept Him as her Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n

“I felt a way I\u2019d never felt before. I felt like tons of weight was off my shoulders. I was so light and so happy. It was so unusual, so different,” she says.<\/p>\n

Through her faith in Jesus Christ, Azar has found purpose in life. Since then, she\u2019s been involved in her church and serves in a South Florida jail ministry. Today, she glows as she speaks. She knows the truth that set her free.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s just incredible, it\u2019s incredible. Before, I tried to do it on my own. I tried so hard to please God, to be good, and didn\u2019t know that I\u2019d go to heaven. But now it\u2019s Him. Jesus came down for me, and He\u2019s changing me everyday.” <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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