“So why is this important to know?”

I had just come to the end of a detailed Bible study on the identity of the Little Horn power of Daniel chapter seven. My new Buddhist monk friend Sanga had seemed to understand quite well. After he had showed interest in current events several weeks earlier, I had offered to tell him about the prophecies in the Bible that are particularly relevant to today, and he readily agreed. Now, after four Bible studies, he was asking why all of this was relevant.

I began to explain that the prophecies of Daniel are crucial to making sense of other end-time prophecies. “So what is the major message of Christianity?” Sanga asked. It suddenly hit me that I had missed something crucial. Sanga was failing to see the connection between the prophetic message and the Gospel. I spent the next several minutes talking about Jesus, humanity’s sin problem, and the Gospel solution.

“Sanga, have you ever given any thought to following Jesus?” I asked.

After a brief moment of thought, he replied, “Not really.” He told me that while growing up he’d had no interest in religion at all. However, after serving in the Thai army at age 19, he became ill and almost died. This prompted him to begin spiritual studies, and he eventually became a monk. Now he has an interest in learning about different religions and philosophies, which is why he studies the Bible with me.

Though Sanga has no intention of leaving Buddhism, he has made it clear that he still wants to continue our Bible studies. Please pray that I will have wisdom to know how help him encounter Jesus, his Savior.

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