Testimony of Pastor Paul Ciniraj
Mohamed. If anybody wants, you can publish it in your magazines or web sites. But
it should be published as it is; no editing can be allowed. Also you should
send me the copies of your magazine and inform about your website.
(Prepared and send by Mrs. Mercy Ciniraj by the help of Pastor Paul
Ciniraj).
FOR HIM WHO TOOK AWAY MY
SIN
(Paul Ciniraj Mohamed,
Kottayam-686038, India)
My
Background
As you might have already concluded
from my name, I hail from a Muslim community. I came to the saving grace of the
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ many years ago while I was still a university
student. Some Christian boys there were distributing tracts which explained who
the Lord Jesus Christ was. I, being a Muslim, was dead against their activities
and used to threaten and torment them both physically and mentally. I was young,
self-righteous and rigid in my views and was fully convinced that harassing and
hurting them was the right thing to do.
A Piece of a
Tract
One day I found a piece of tract in
my notebook. It still remains a mystery how it has found its way into my book. I
was about to throw it into a dustbin when my eyes caught the following words:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). These words made me feel uneasy.
Still in spite of myself I read on, "Here is a trustworthy saying that
deserves full acceptance : Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of
whom I am the worst" (1 Timothy 1:15). Until this moment I was convinced
that I was not a bad man, and led my life in a proper way. But now, all of a
sudden, I was full of doubts about my own attitudes, intentions and
conduct.
The
Vision
I went to bed, but was restless and
could not sleep for a long time. When I finally fell asleep, I had a very
strange and disturbing vision: One by one, all the transgressions and violations
I had committed since my childhood began to appear before me, like the scenes in
a movie. Then each one of them transformed into a blister on my body, till I was
completely covered with festering sores. I felt unbearable pain. Realizing not what I
was doing, I cried out "God! Hear me! Save me!"
Then, a person surrounded by bright
light came down from heaven and touched me. I understood that He was Jesus, the
one whom I had been waging a war against. His touch was pleasant, it cooled both
my body and mind. I closed my eyes with a heavenly joy, and when I finally
opened them again, I saw that all the blisters and sores disappeared from my
body. But Jesus, who came in bright and spotless, was now infested with my
sores. I immediately understood the meaning of this vision of mine, although it
was only later, when I began to study the Bible, that I read this verse in the
Bible: "Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made Him share in our
sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of
God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). I woke up a new man. At once I shared my
experience to my father and my mother with a great joy. But my mother said,
it was not from God, but trick of Iblis (Satan). But I was fully convinced that
God the Heavenly Father made me as a new creation and His own child by the power
of Salvation of His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ through the Holy
Spirit.
This is my story how I, and later, my
family too believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. I was called for His powerful
ministry. He filled me with the Holy Spirit and gave me the gifts of preaching
His Word, healing the sick, evangelizing the unreached and many
others.
Facing the
Wrath
But mine was by no means an easy
path. Some of the community I formerly belonged to felt that my accepting Jesus
Christ was an act of betrayal and they tried to take revenge. Once someone
sprinkled sulfuric acid on my body. But by God's grace, they could not do any
serious harm. The other time an assassin attacked me with a knife, intending to
kill me. I survived the attack, though my lower jaw was badly damaged and I lost
several teeth.
I made known that I had forgiven that
person and hold nothing against him. Amazingly, later he had repented for his
act and his own accord accepted Jesus Christ as his personal
Saviour.
Children Not
Spared
I have two sons and one daughter. A
secret terrorist group had sent a man to destroy my entire family. He managed to
make my children consume poison, and all of the three of them were in the
hospital in a critical state. Christian community kept praying for their
recovery. One by one, they began to get better. My daughter, though, remained in
coma for nearly 30 days. Her recovery was just like someone being raised from
the dead. the man, who gave poison to my children, was shaken to see the power
of our Lord in action. He too became a follower of Jesus Christ and dedicated
himself to working among the Muslim nations, particularly those involved in the
acts of terror, and winning them over for the Lord.
Last year I and one of my assistant
pastors were severely beaten in a village by a Hindu and Muslim mob and they
burned down our prayer hall. God alone has saved me. Recently our Lord has
enabled me to overcome a murder attempt. By making an accident somebody tried to
kill me and I am undergoing the treatment. While I was in the hospital my wife
and children also faced a murder attempt at home and God saved them
miraculously.
Rev. Paul Ciniraj & family
(wife: Mercy, sons: Besly &
Lesly, daughter: Hepzy)
Family
Reunion
I must mention that my parents, my
brothers and sisters were all devout Muslims. Most of the seniors are Hajis (man
who did pilgrimage to Mecca is called Haji) and Hajjummas (woman who did
pilgrimage to Mecca is called Hajjumma). Having let Jesus Christ into my life, I
was ex-communicated and for quite some time was not allowed to have any contacts
with my parents and the extended family. I and my wife felt sad about it and
brought this matter to the Lord in prayers. Gradually, I began to re-establish
links with my people through letters and telephone calls. Finally, a day came
when they had accepted the fact that I worship Jesus Christ, visited my place
and stayed with us and their grandchildren. I spoke to them about the love of
God. They left, and we had maintained good contacts since then.
Later I was told that just two days
before his death, my father accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour
because he had had a vision of Jesus with the marks left by the nails and His
hands and feet. My mother too became a believer shortly before her
death.
Rev. Paul Ciniraj & family
along with his father and
mother
Spreading the Message of His
Love
Presently, I work for Him who took
away my sin. My family is assisting me in my mission. Our ministry is called
"Salem Voice Ministries". Jesus Christ is the King of Salem (king of peace) and
priest of God Most High (Hebrews 7:1). We proclaim His voice (Gospel). That is
Salem Voice Ministries. "Injil Ministries Alliance Mission" is a special wing of
the Salem Voice Ministries to reach the Gospel to the Muslims. (For more
details, visit: http://www.salemvoice.bravehost.com
or http://www.salemvoice.com). I am also
helping the Bible Society of India to prepare 'Holy Gospel' in Malayalam for the
special audience.
Like all Indians, we love India as
our mother and we are keen to win India, as well as the third world, for Jesus
by spreading the message of the gospel through charitable and social activities.
We distribute tracts and Bibles, provide missionary training to volunteers, send
out missionaries, run orphanages, help to educate both children and adults. We
are planning to launch some mobile dispensaries shortly to reach remote rural
areas. We do not intend to "convert" people to make them leave their community.
We only want to open their hearts to the love of Jesus Christ and show what the
Almighty can do if we allow His saving grace to direct our lives.
Postal address:
Rev. Paul Ciniraj,
Director,
Salem Voice Ministries,
Devalokam (P.O), Kottayam,
Kerala-686038,
India.
Contacting email id:
salemvoiceministries@yahoo.com .
