I was born in Pakistan, but I have lived in the United States for the past 40 years. I used to be an atheist. It was an influence of some other people. I have a brother. He is deceased now. He had a Ph.D. He didn’t believe in Him. So, were all the people around him, they were extremely educated people. He had a hobby. He had to read a book. His goal was to read a book a day. He was a very scholarly person. One night I come home. I’m disappointed, I’ve lost money. There was nothing there to watch but the 700 Club, so I change the channels. There’s nothing else on, so I say, “Okay, let’s listen to it.” The message didn’t much interest me. A couple of days later, I tried to do the same thing again. This is not the same time. This is a different time. Same story. I said, “Oh gosh, what’s happening to me!” So I turned it off again. Next day I watch. It’s again a different time. Same story. So, this time, I thought, “I’m going to listen this time and see what happens.” So I listen to them, and they say, “If you have any problems, give us a call.” So I said, “Heck, let’s laugh at these Christians.” So I called them thinking I was going to make fun of them. So a lady asks me, “Do you mind if we pray for you?” I told her my problems. I said, “I don’t think anything good is going to happen, but if you want to pray with me, I’ll pray with you.” So I prayed with her. I felt such a soothingness coming through my body that it’s beyond any description.
In 2006 I lost a lot of money in a business. Lost everything. I almost became homeless. I had a million-dollar business, myself and my partner. We had a lot of money invested. My specialty was diamonds, so I started thinking, “What was that I had that time?” I used to come home, read the Bible, then it went away. This time, when I got it, it’s not going away. The best thing that happened to me was the loss of business. It taught me things I can’t replace, and I thank God for losing my business.
My brother, before his death, he became a very good Christian. He changed his ways, too. He had something happen which he never shared with me, but all at once he was reading the Bible. He had a Bible this thick. He would read it. He has told me at times he has finished the Bible in one month, so obviously he was reading a lot. Happiness is something you can’t buy. It comes from within you. It comes from above, and that’s where my happiness comes.
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