An Amazing Fact: In 1977, the Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched with the mission to explore our solar system. Thirteen years later, after passing the orbit of Pluto, one of the last commands the satellite would receive was to turn around and capture a picture of the Earth—from 3.7 billion miles away! Earth appeared in the photo as a tiny “pale blue dot.” Sometimes we think our planet seems so vast, but on my recent missionary trip, I got a new Voyager-like perspective of the shrinking size of the world … and I can’t wait to tell you about it.
How to Shrink a Planet … and Reach a World!
His name is not Omar ... but that’s what I’ll call him here to protect him and his family. You see, if any one of his nine uncles discovers that he got baptized as a Christian, he and his wife could easily be imprisoned or even killed to uphold the honor of their Muslim family ...
... and all simply because they have accepted Jesus into their hearts.
Omar came to meet me when I was preaching in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ... and he told me that you played a direct role in bringing him to that Amazing Facts event!
I was invited to speak in both the UAE and Jakarta, Indonesia, in late August and early September. Before going, we knew that the entire Middle East had been rising up in volatile revolution. From Libya and Egypt to Syria and Yemen, many Muslims in these regions are crying out for freedom and justice. So I wasn’t sure what I would find in Dubai.
But everywhere you turn in Dubai, there is mind-boggling opulence, with gold plating on fixtures and roads filled with exotic cars. Yet at the same time, the glaring materialism reflects a corresponding spiritual vacuum. So many people looked empty, weary of trying to satisfy the deep inner longing for God with another trip to the mall. I believe that is one reason why the Word of God is spreading among many Muslim nations so fast.
And largely due to the Internet and satellite TV, the world is getting smaller—and that is how Omar heard the good news.
Two years ago, curious about Christianity, Omar began working his way through our online Study Guides and watching our sermons on satellite TV. Omar came to the realization that there was little hope in the faith of his fathers ... and that “Jesus had a better offer than Mohammed.” When he found out that I was coming to Dubai, he and his wife, who was already a believer, struggled to attend every session.
As I talked with him, it was very clear to me that his faith was deep and genuine. Though it was an agonizing decision for him ... one that threatened his very life ... he chose to get baptized.
A Hunger for the Real Jesus
It is hard for us here in America to understand the sacrifice believers in other nations have to make sometimes to follow their spiritual convictions. But Omar and his family are willing to follow Christ, no matter what.
While in the UAE, I spoke 10 times in Dubai and four times in neighboring cities—all in six days. At one service, nine people came to faith in Christ. For each one of these people, getting publically baptized in a Muslim country is a bold step of faith. It was an honor to be a part of that wonderful day!
It was also amazing to be able to see how God is using our satellite television and Internet outreaches to bring people to Christ half-a-world away. It’s a big globe, yes, but also a small world that Amazing Facts is blanketing with the good news.
On to Indonesia
From Dubai I flew to Jakarta, which has more than 15 million people—it’s a huge metropolis in the world’s most-populated Muslim country. Yet through your Amazing Facts support the gospel is spreading there exponentially.
Among the many people I met was a retired doctor, Dr. Budi. He found our programs on satellite TV and began watching them. He instructed his servants to tell him whenever “the bald-headed guy was on.” This devout Catholic physician listened for months, then, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he turned to the truth. In fact, since then, Dr. Budi has helped build a thriving Sabbath church in one of the wealthy neighborhoods in Jakarta!
In fact, you would be shocked to see how much Amazing Facts is already doing on the other side of the planet. Over and over again, I talked to people who are watching our programs, doing our online Bible studies, and reading our many translated materials.
In these Muslim countries where witnessing and open worship are discouraged … if not banned outright … you are helping us take the good news to those who have never heard it before—and we’re seeing some amazing results!
A Long Way to Go, Not Much Time
This trip helped me to appreciate in a new way how through media ministry we are reaching the world… yet I also realized how many more people have still never heard about Jesus. We have a gigantic assignment from Christ to take His gospel to every nation and family on Earth. It’s a big task—a vast globe and growing population.
But thanks to technology, the world is getting smaller and easier to reach! Will you please help me take advantage of this moment, foreseen by our Creator, to reach the world for His kingdom?
Click here to share a gift.
You might not be able to travel across the globe to share your faith, yet He has called you and me to work together to take the everlasting gospel to these places languishing in spiritual confusion.
God is giving you and me the opportunity to bring the gospel of everlasting life within their reach!
You can help reach the world with the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission by supporting Amazing Facts. The gifts you invest will change lives and touch hearts all across the globe.
Yours to fulfill the Great Commission,
Doug Batchelor
Please Give Today
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This is a big planet—but the world gets a
little smaller when we work together. Billions still live in
darkness, longing for the light of truth. Your gift today
will shrink the planet and bring the message of salvation
within reach of the whole world.