As a magician, Theeran cast spells to manipulate the evil spirits he worshipped. He could make people sick or offer them the facade of healing with the help of demons. The people in his village relied on him as their spiritual leader to offer sacrifices and perform religious rituals to their gods and goddesses on their behalf. And when Gospel for Asia-supported missionary Nandin came to his village, Theeran used his influence to persuade a group of youngsters to create trouble for the servant of Christ.
Nandin came for a five-day visit to Theeran’s village. The first night he arrived, he invited some people to join him in his rented room to talk about Jesus. But Theeran had a plan to disrupt their meeting. He gathered a few young boys and headed over to the missionary’s room. On their way there, however, the boys started to argue amongst themselves, so much so that they never made it to Nandin’s place; they went home that night instead.
But Theeran didn’t give up. Anything or anyone that would get in the way of his power had to be stopped. The following night, Theeran came back with the boys in tow. They stepped through Nandin’s door ready to fight and perform spells, but the words of God’s love stopped them cold in their tracks. As Nandin talked about Christ, the message of Truth began to penetrate into Theeran’s heart and mind so deeply that he continued to listen.
By the end of the night, Theeran felt the Holy Spirit’s stirring more strongly than he ever felt any evil spirit’s power. He sat in Nandin’s room with tears in his eyes as he chose to embrace Christ as his Savior and asked God for forgiveness.
When the villagers found out their beloved spiritual leader gave up his position in order to serve the Christian God, they stormed over to Theeran’s house in rage and started throwing stones. They threatened to kill Theeran for turning his back on them. They even challenged him to come out to fight, but despite the hostility, Theeran stood firm in his service to his Lord.
Today, he actively participates in all the church activities and shares about the radical change Christ made in his life.
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