“God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” – 1 John 4:16
While preaching one day, out of the corner of my eye I could see Solomon being approached by two black men. I should say two black giants, actually, because they made six-foot tall Solomon look like Tom Thumb by comparison. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but the intensity of it made me anxious; it could have easily escalated into a fight, and Solomon would have been the loser.
No fight materialized, however. After the two left, Solomon explained that the spirited conversation was about the giants’ religion, which turned out to be Muslim. They were discussing the Muslim practice of “honor killing,” wherein a family member who converts to another religion must be killed by another family member – in order to save the “honor” of the family. (Some honor!)
“What a gruesome religion,” he continued. “Stoning people to death for adultery, cutting off their hands for stealing a loaf of bread . . . but the ‘honor killings’ take the cake. I tried to convince them that a loving God wouldn’t allow such punishments, but I was wasting my breath. Guess we’ll never see those two again.”
Turns out he was wrong. One did come back a week later, moved by Solomon’s vision of a loving God . . . and his testimony shattered us.
He started like this: “It happened to the family next door to us in my village in Somalia. Their 21-yr-old daughter Sabaad came under the influence of a British lady in the next town who was a strong believer in Christianity. After meeting with her many times, Sabaad came to believe in Jesus.
“She made a fatal mistake, though. She confided her new faith to a cousin she thought she could trust. The cousin informed on her, and within days, Sabaad’s battered corpse was found outside the village, a bullet through the head.
“They killed her flesh,” we told him, “but they couldn’t kill her soul. She’s in heaven,” we reassured him, “she’s in heaven with Jesus.” And this wonderful truth brought comfort to the giant’s heart – so much comfort that he tearfully asked Solomon to lead him to Jesus Christ. Before our very eyes, he repeated the Sinner’s Prayer and took his first steps as a baby believer.
What a thrilling way to start the New Year! And to think – without your love and support, the Somalian giant might have escaped God’s reach. Happy New Year, Dearly Beloved . . . to Solomon and me, each of you is a giant ! ! !
Brenda & Solomon NY, NY bmilliner10@gmail.com January 2020
Brenda & Solomon Salvation Preaching 