The divine encounter
I said to myself, "This must have something
to do with Jesus."
Noah
December 13, 2004
iranian.com
I am
hesitant to publish any of my editorials since
I have seen so much foul language used in the letters. Due
to respect to your sound judgements and decisions I have personally decided to
send the true story of my life which has been the major interest of great many
people for the past twenty years.
I would like to safeguard the name
of the author for the very obvious reasons that you already know until the
right seasons of opportunity to allow us to publish the complete
book to review.
I
wish you to consider the matter for this Christmas as a true story of
all times since the chances of the story to repeat again in this manner
is only a
matter of faith. I WISH to title the story "only wise men still
seeking Him" and "Persian cats, Persian rugs, non-Persians in heaven".
If
you would like to set up an interview in the near future I will be glad
to meet you in person or to set up a conference for this matter.
My greatest
wish is
to have this story to be published and broadcasted in our home country
as well. If you could possibly assist me in this matter I will
be very grateful
to you. Thank
you.
Be blessed and many blessings to you.I will send or attached
this short story to this e-mail for your.
Thank you.
Noah
THE DIVINE ENCOUNTER
November 1985
This is the true story of a simple and ordinary person and his modern-day encounter
with the most extraordinary person in the history of mankind, the most extraordinary
person ever on the face of the Earth and in the entirety of the Universe.
There was a time in my life when words like "love" had lost their
power to fulfill my heart. Within me, in the most secret place of need for
fulfillment, there remained only emptiness. The lust of the world and its riches
were vanishing away, and its power and promises were diminishing day by day,
as I became a mature man.
The holidays raced by each year on their appointed time to their destinations
on the calendar, just on time, never too late, never too soon. With the passing
of each year, my destiny and purpose in life seemed dimmer and dimmer. As a
child, I had looked for simple things in life that brought me so much joy and
gladness, but now the simple things in life were only a memory, fading further
and further away from my remembrance. My heart had grown empty, my soul hungry,
longing for an unknown something to fulfill that deep desire within me.
The year was 1985, and I found my refuge in silence. I did not even know how
to complain. There was just this once when I raised to my feet, standing tall,
and rushed to say, "Oh God, where are You when I need You? Why are You
so far away? Why is this world so unfair? Why is there no hope in me? What
is it about You that You do not care? Why should I believe that You are even
there? Why should I believe that You are even true?"
An immediate stillness came in that moment of my cry and deep sorrow, and then
suddenly an explosion of His voice thundered in my room. His voice thundered
in my ears and broke the stillness of time with a bursting bang! Loud and clear,
His voice said to me, "What about you? Do you really believe in Me?"
In fear and awe, my heart pounded in the silence, now the only sound I could
hear. "No way!" I said. "God cannot hear! No one ever said that
He can hear! Why should I believe?"
In the absolute silence, I once again took courage and without thinking, I
rushed to say, "Who are You? Tell me why I should believe what You said?
God, is that really You?"
My hearing was perfectly sound, but I just could not believe what I was hearing!
My heart was racing, my blood pounding through my veins, but still, so deep
within me, I could not believe. My mind argued that there was no way this could
be truly happening. Yet, I wanted to believe. Somehow, I knew I had really
heard that Voice.
"Is it really You?" I ventured to ask. "Is God real?"
***
The next thing I can recollect is that I was now sitting in my car, begging
and pleading with God to just take me home to where He was. My life seemed
to be of no value, no worth... something to be thrown away. In my despair,
I was crying and hitting my head against the steering wheel.
Suddenly a great
warmth and presence filled my senses, and I became aware of a "Person" sitting
next to me on the passenger side of my car. Immediately, I became very still,
but I could not see anyone. In a moment of panic, I reached to the car radio,
turned it up as loud as I could, but there was only silence. No sound came
out. I looked at the dial, but it was now on a totally different setting. I
noticed that the time was exactly 7:44 p.m. Finally, a voice broke through
the silence, clear and loud, "If you believe in the name of the Son of
God, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I shall give you eternal life forever."
I ran from the car, to hide myself in the house, but the "Presence" followed
me. In the darkened house, I shut all the doors and windows. I was shaken in
the awesome power of God's presence. Not knowing the difference, I thought
the Angel of Death had come for me already!
Thoughts were rapidly running through my mind. "Maybe God IS real; maybe
He really hears; maybe He wants me to hear Him. But why?" I did not know
if I was going to die, but those words echoed deep within me like a rushing
river, over-flowing my being, "If you only believe in the name of the
Son of God, Jesus Christ, you shall have eternal life."
I jumped up and shouted loud! "Yes, yes, yes! I do believe, if that is
what I need to believe! Please take me home now where You are! I believe!"
As soon as I said those words, I crumbled to the floor and surely died!
I was dead as a dead man can be.
I saw my body collapsing. As my eyes closed, I saw angelic beings and arrays
of demons fleeing from the "Presence" that was now embracing me.
I was a flame of fire like a torch, and I was being saturated in a substance
like hot honey pouring over me. The Spirit was smearing and immersing and covering
me in the "Presence."
It was hours later when I returned to life. I rushed out of the house late
at night to tell everyone that I knew what had happened to me, but there
was no need to speak. I was like a torch, a beam of fire, and a pure light
was
glowing from me just like Moses. I found myself unable to verbalize what
had happened to me, so I ran back home to my hiding place.
I asked God, "What happened to me?" I did not recognize the person
in the mirror. "Was this really me?"
Suddenly, a vision opened up to me, and I saw a Lamb crucified and hanging
on a cross. I asked God, "What is this?" and He said to me, "This
is your Lamb; your sacrificed Lamb for your forgiveness and repentance."
I said to myself, "This must have something to do with Jesus." I
opened my just-received Bible, and the page opened to the picture of a man
standing with His hand outstretched to another man on the floor. I read, "Unless
I put my hands in His wounds and nail marks, I will not believe." As I
read on, I began to weep.
Finally, those very words that I read became my first honest prayer on
my knees. "Jesus,
may I please see Your wounded hands?" I slipped into bed but I slid right
back out and onto my knees again. "Jesus, please... I do not want to be
afraid if You do."
So it was in the middle of the night, before the dark broke into dawn,
that I heard His gentle voice calling me. As I heard my name, I gently
turned and
opened my eyes to see who was calling me. I had to shut my eyes very quickly
in the presence of His great brilliant heavenly light. I was truly shocked
and shaken, but I could not avoid the radiance of warmth and power and glory
and true love. I felt His presence, so warm and so gentle, yet so powerful.
I was stricken by the great awesome and unexpected presence of His Glory.
I was nailed and frozen in my bed, sitting without moving, just watching.
I could
only hear my heart beat, and my heart was jumping out of my chest toward
Him as if I was receiving a new heart transplant in my bed. Words cannot
explain
the power of the moment, nor could any tongue utter the words. Deep within
my heart, I heard His voice. He said to me, "Do you want to see the wounds
and marks on My hands?" He stood before me with both hands outstretched.
I could not speak, but could only whisper in my heart, "Is that really
You, Jesus?" He said to me, "I am He." I knew immediately it
was He, Jesus Christ my Lord. I said, "Ouch! Holy God, Lord Almighty,
help me now! I must be really dead now."
It did not seem that I could be in Heaven yet, since I pinched myself
very carefully in the flesh. So I said these words to Him, "If this is really
You, Jesus... " I said it very slowly... . "Then please give me something
that I could always keep with me." Then He raised His hands toward me,
and gently got very close to me to touch me. As He was getting closer to me,
I was moving backward. He said to me, "My peace I give to you. My peace
you shall always have with you. Rest now, and remember that you have work to
do for Me from now on. Do the work that I have for you. That is why I have
come to you."
So I have seen my Lord and Savior face to face.
And I was put to rest in bed for the most memorable and beautiful, peaceful
sleep of my life. How did He
enter through the locked doors and windows and through the solid walls?
No other way except through the door of my broken heart. There would
have been
no other way to enter, if that door had been locked within me.
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