My Testimony as A True Believer of Jesus Christ

Hamid Zaseh

            There is no better testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ.  If any person has a desire to truly repent and turn to the righteous way of the Lord, they must be guided and become spiritually free from the bondage of religion, darkness, ignorance, and sin.  They must accept Christ first, then they will be pure.

            I was born and raised in a Muslim country, raised in the Muslim faith.  I thought I knew God because I was a religious person, but I was spiritually dead following man’s ways.  I did not understand the Spiritual Word of God or His Kingdom.  I thought that if I gave to charity and prayed more and fasted, my transgressions would be covered.  In my heart there was no room for the love of God.

            Walking in Satan’s way, I grew apart from my wife and we separated.  My heart was hardened, and I filed for divorce.  It took more than half a year before we were able to consider getting back together, but we were finally able to work out terms of reconciliation.  But then, the woman I loved, the mother of my children whom I had known since we were both children ourselves, was murdered.

            At the age of 42, I was arrested for this crime that I did not commit and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life without parole.  This began a long journey of trying to prove my innocence.

            Still in prison at age 50 by the will of God, a Christian woman visited me and introduced me to the Lord Jesus Christ and the true Word of God.  Because I was not ready and not prepared, every time I read the Bible, I did not understand it.  This good Christian woman advised me, “At any time you want to pray, whatever you need, ask God for it in the name of Jesus Christ.”  So, for the first time I did this in all of my Muslim daily prayers and fasting.  I finished by asking God to bless my case and grant my appeal in the name of Jesus Christ.  I also asked God to send someone to teach me His word, so that I might gain spiritual understanding.

            Seven months after my first visit with this faithful Christian woman, I saw a fellow prisoner, David, sitting alone reading his bible.  I asked him if he had time to answer some of my questions.  He said that he could only give me an explanation, but only the Holy Spirit could give me understanding.  He explained that it was in the authority of God, and when I was prepared, God would see this and give me understanding of His word.  I had to seek and then I would find God’s truth.

            For three weeks I visited David every day.  All day long I asked him about the Word of God, and about Jesus, and about God.  He took the time to explain, showing me verse by verse. I then asked him to teach me the Gospel.  He answered, “I can only give you an explanation.  If you walk in His righteous way, God will teach you His Spiritual Word.” I trusted the Word of God and we completed the Gospel of Matthew after three months.  David answered all my questions with the Bible and showed me the right words.  During this period, I truly repented.  I remember one day that I was crying hard from the bottom of my heart.  Tears came from my eyes like rain from a spring cloud.  I asked God to accept my repentance and in the name of Jesus to forgive me for all the years that I had been far from Him and I was a sinner.

            The morning after we completed the Gospel of Matthew, I was in my cell praying.  Suddenly I was in a vision.  I saw Christ Jesus in Spirit, a white garment covering His body.  He did not speak, He only let His presence warm me and fill me with absolute peace.  When I returned from the vision, I was back in my cell.  From that day forward, by God’s will, I understood the spiritual meaning of His Word.  The Lord Jesus Christ healed me.

            David and I began reading the Gospel of Mark and continued to the end of the Bible.  I do not remember when I stopped praying the Muslim way.  I no longer fasted in the Muslim way, nor did I read the Quran.  Now, by the Grace of God, I have a new understanding of the spiritual meaning of the Word of God.  I have truly repented and become a new person in Christ Jesus.  I have been reborn in the Spirit.

            On August 20, 2006, fourteen months later, I was baptized by Pastor John.  Muslim prisoners were aware of my Christian baptism.  That night, one of them dropped a letter in my cell that threatened me with death.  The next day, I added two hours more to my Bible study with David out on the yard, intentionally making myself available for any Muslims that might want to see me.  But none of them approached me.  God’s Word was fulfilled.  “Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:  for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9

            One day I was reading the book of Revelation and a voice spoke into my right ear, but nobody was standing beside me.  The voice said to me, “Read John 14:15-18 and you will find the answer.”  The question in my mind was about a holy dream that occurred seven months before.  In my dream, in the mirror, instead of my own reflection, it was the face of Joseph, son of Jacob.  I wondered how it was that I recognized Joseph.  John 14:15-18 says, “If ye love me, keep my commandants.  And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;  Even the Spirit of Truth;  whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:  but ye know him;  for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.  I will not leave you comfortless:  I will come to you.” 

            Now I understood that the Holy Spirit gave me recognition of the face of Joseph in the mirror.  It brought tears of joy to know the Holy Spirit dwells in my heart and in my mind and to know God calls me one of His sons through Christ Jesus.

            For one and a half years, I studied everyday with Brother David and Christ Jesus.  Together we completed the Old and New Testaments.

            In 2007, I began sharing the Word of God with other prisoners.  We are now a small group of spiritual Christians who meet regularly for fellowship and study.

            In March 2009, I was led by the Holy Spirit to translate the King James Version of the Bible into the Farsi language. I began with the New Testament which I finished 2 years later.  In March 2011, I started working on the Old Testament, the five books of Moses, and I completed them in November of that same year.

            The year 2017 marks my twentieth year in prison.  I have faith in the Word of God.  I am certain that just as the Lord Jesus Christ saved my spirit by the will of our Father God, He will also take care of my body in prison and bring justice to my case in His time.  I asked God to use me by His will and to give me the honor of servicing Him.  In the name of His son, I pray He helps me to grow in the Spirit of the Lord.  I also asked God to lead me by the Spirit to guide those who are in darkness and bring them to the light of the truth through Jesus Christ. 

            My passion is to share God’s Word with those who are hungry and thirsty for the Kingdom of God.  I will always share how beautiful and powerful His Kingdom is.  Just as I am saved in Christ’s name, I pray everyone will be saved in Jesus’ name.

            I thanked God that after sharing His Word with my sisters, who like myself were Muslim, two of them have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

            I continue to share God’s Word with my fellow prisoners and the guards who work here.  I hope that one day all people will accept the Lord Christ Jesus into their heart and be saved.

            May God bless you all and keep you safe in His loving care in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Truly yours in Christ Jesus

Hamid K. Zadeh