Posts by: Staff Writer

This real life update on Huda’s discipleship progress was filmed six months after she became a believer. Dr. Cynthia is glad to report that, counter to many Muslims who revert to Islam, Huda has shown no tendency to return. Huda wants to learn more and more, and Dr. C finds this exciting. Besides daily discipleship contact with Dr. C, she is reading and watching much on the internet, and Christian videos, like the Bible on film. Huda exposes the falsehood of Islam, and shares the truth of the gospel with other Middle Easterners.

For goals for Huda going forward from this point, Dr. C would like to see her become more familiar with the Bible itself, and find a church body that she is comfortable in and regularly attends. Due to language and cultural differences, it has not been easy for Huda to find a church. (There is no Arabic-speaking church near where she lives, and it is also not convenient for her to travel to Dr. C’s church every week.)

In this clip we get a behind the scenes view of a gathering of our ministry supporters. Huda is cooking at her home for them, and will shortly arrive with delicious Middle Eastern food.

Today Dr. Cynthia is discussing the Great Commission. That is what the command Jesus gave to his followers in Matthew 28:18-20 is called. She reminds the Christians gathered there, that although Huda had heard something of Jesus, and believed that the West was better than the Middle East somehow because of him, it was not until Huda came to America that she heard the gospel for the first time. Huda has since implored Christians in America to share the gospel with those who come here, so that they can believe as she did.

Dr. C then asks the group to share about some time they have shared the gospel with immigrants to America. Robin shares how she was in a relationship with some young Pakistani Muslim women and, although she does not know what will yet come of it, she has shared the gospel with them and hopes it will bear fruit in their lives. Just before the group leaves to eat, Dr. C tells them that Balbir and Katrina Subkaram will be sharing about their work bringing the gospel to Indian immigrants in America, especially Sikhs.

Providing the setting for this episode’s reality segments are scenes from a seaside retreat Huda and Dr. Cynthia took together in Northern California. They pray and meditate while walking the beach, and find inspiration to share Jesus with the world.

To explain and encourage forwarding The Great Commission, Dr. Cynthia reads Bible verses from both the Old and New Testaments. With visions from the Pacific Coast for a background, these verses illustrate how it has always been God’s desire that people all over the world should come to know Him and the blessings of following him (Isaiah 51:15 & 42:10-12 & 24:14-16 & 25:7 & 26:3,12 and Habakkuk 2:14).

Some people who were baptized as babies, as is done in certain branches of Christianity, are baptized again as adults. Dr. Cynthia interviews two women who made this choice. Both Christine and Teresa, a dedicated supporter of our work, were baptized as babies. They were raised in nominally Christian homes. When these women heard the gospel as adults and gave their lives to Jesus, they decided to be baptized again to symbolize this change. Christine had ill health and passed away to heaven about two years after this interview. We are so glad that she decided to follow Jesus and will be resurrected like him, not only symbolically, but in reality!

In this reality segment, Dr. C and Huda are picking pomegranates. Expected and unexpected things happen during their activity. The way Dr. C and Huda find lessons from the activities and nature around them, reminds us of how Jesus gave object lessons from every day life, and told stories called “parables.” For example, they seek pomegranates as Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Pomegranates need light to ripen, just as we need the light of Jesus and God’s Word to mature (John 8:12).

Seeking Coffee is a short modern parable. While on a driving trip, Dr. C and Huda need a break. They vigorously search for coffee, but have difficulty finding a place open where they are. This reminds them of Luke 19:10, where Jesus seeks and saves the lost.

Huda tells us that one of her favorite parables of Jesus is that of the vine and the branches. In this clip we show a reality clip of her and Dr. C looking at vines, and hear Barbie explaining why this is also one of her favorite parables.

In John 15:1-8, Jesus uses the powerful parable of the vine and the branches to illustrate the importance of abiding in him. He spoke these words after his last supper with his disciples on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, probably as they were walking through a vineyard. (This is another example of where the context of a story helps strengthen its impact.) He takes the metaphors of himself as the vine and his followers as the branches, and expands it into a parable with the heavenly Father as the Gardener. If we stay attached to Christ, and let his word live in us we will bear fruit. Simply trying to do it on our own, in our own way will accomplish nothing worthwhile for the eternal kingdom of God.

This clip opens up with the real life situation of Dr. C having forgotten something important. That reminds her of Jesus’ parable of the young women who were not ready for the wedding feast and missed out (Matthew 25:1-13). We certainly want to be ready when the Lord returns for us, don’t we?

Dr. C tells shares with us the scientific basis for the power of parables.  Modern psychology has discovered that if we can use a fitting word picture to illustrate a point that touches the emotions it give the story more impact. Huda confirms this by telling us that she loves Jesus’ stories, and that the power of Jesus’ parables is such that she will never forget them.