As the noise of the café faded into the background, delicious chai sat forgotten in my cup. I leaned forward, eager to hear more from my long-time friend Antar. “Then what happened?”

He continued sharing about a dream where Jesus appeared to him, asking multiple times which Antar wanted more—riches or faith. “The third time I finally answered. I want faith.”

Antar’s story didn’t exactly surprise me, but I still sighed in relief. Though he’d called himself a follower of Christ for months, his focus seemed to be on money-making schemes. As is common among his people, Antar even made deals with spirits hoping for financial gains.

When he first professed faith in Jesus, he had expressed an interest in being baptized, but every time we talked about it, he made an excuse. He had even stopped meeting with me to study God’s Word.

Antar had once proclaimed he would die for Jesus, but I could see no evidence that he was living for Him. I hoped this vision of Christ would serve as the wake-up call he needed.

“What does choosing faith look like to you?” I asked. “Are you going to make time to study the Bible again?”

He nodded. “Yes. Although, I must meet on a different day. Will that work?”

I agreed, and for a month we met every week. Then Antar stopped showing up again. Over the next several months, we rescheduled a few more times. Antar never showed.

One night, I shared my frustrations with my wife. “I don’t want to give up on him, but he reminds me of Judas.”

She tilted her head. “How so?”

“Judas saw the Lord face-to-face, heard His voice, yet chose the things of this world. Antar had an incredible encounter with Jesus but is doing the same thing as Judas.”

Putting her hand on top of mine, my wife said, “Antar still has time. Don’t give up hope.”

The next day I called him and asked if we could meet. As I walked into the same café where we’d had so many spiritual conversations before, I took a deep breath, preparing for the hardest one yet.

Antar sat down with a smile. “How are you, my friend?”

“I’m worried about you,” I admitted, getting straight to the point.

His eyebrows furrowed. “About me? Why?”

“You told me a year ago that you chose Jesus, but have you? Are you still choosing Him?” As I shared some observations that suggested otherwise, emotion filled Antar’s eyes. He covered his face, mumbling regret into his hands.

For the first time, he seemed to show genuine repentance.

As we prayed and talked that afternoon, I did my best to explain that faith meant more than head knowledge. It required devotion, trust in God alone.

“Instead of money?” Antar asked.

“Yes. And any witchcraft or spirits you put your hope in.”

Antar looked worried for a moment.

“Are you ready for that?”

He took a deep breath but eventually nodded. When I asked him about baptism, he quickly agreed to meet me that weekend.

That Sunday, Antar arrived at the river with a necklace I knew others in his village believed held supernatural power that would bring him good fortune. “I don’t want it anymore,” he said. “I want to trust only in Jesus.”

We burned the necklace in a fire on the bank before going into the water.

It was a beautiful day, though it didn’t compare to those that followed. Antar began boldly living out his faith, telling everyone he encountered how he’d seen Jesus alive. Soon, the entire community had heard his testimony, including Antar’s old friends.

Despite backlash, Antar didn’t waver. “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no going back.”

Pray:

• Lift up Muslim-background believers like Antar who struggle to let go of cultural idols and live out their faith. Pray that they will rely fully on Jesus.
• Ask God to embolden believers as they share the Gospel.
• Ask the Lord to soften the hearts of Muslim men and women toward the Good News.

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**

Main photo on iStock: Nikhil Patil

Original article: https://frontiersusa.org/blog/trusting-only-in-jesus/