My Hindu Background, Conversion and Christian Journey

Revelation 12:11 says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony….”

Satan is a defeated foe, but he still makes mischief and does not give up easily. But God has given us weapons, the weapons of His warfare. According to this verse, one of the weapons is giving our testimony. The other weapon mentioned here is the blood of Jesus Christ. We must apply these two in our lives.

I want to share my testimony with you. I want to share with you the Scriptures that helped me overcome trials and tribulation in my early Christian life. You know that the Christian life is filled with joy, and yet, at the same time, it is full of trials and tribulation. The more you grow spiritually, the more severe the intensity of the trials and tribulation.

But there is good news! We have a Savior named Jesus! And He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

We are never alone in these trials and tribulation! And the One who is with us has already won the victory! As you go through them you must depend on the Scriptures. When you depend on His Word He will always give you the victory! You will also pass through trials and tribulation and enjoy His peace.

I want to share my experience because it may be of help to you.

I was born and raised in Ahmedabad, India, in a place called Dhal-ni-Pole. I was raised as a Vaishnav Hindu. I knew no other religion. I didn’t know about Christianity except that I received a holiday on Christmas. I knew some about Islam because I had Muslim friends. But, I did not know as much as I know now. I was a normal Hindu and did what my parents did. I had not studied the Hindu scriptures, nor did I have any inclination to do so.

At the age of 27, when I was doing my general practice in India, I had the opportunity to go to England and America. I stayed in England for seven weeks. My son was born there. We took him to America when he was only three weeks old.

I had a desire for God and searched after Him. Every human being has a void inside which causes him or her to seek and search for God. Many people try to fill that void with drugs and alcohol, or by immoral acts. I tried to deal with it by attending meetings wherever God was preached. Although I was Hindu, I used to go to church occasionally because there were no temples where I lived in America at that time. I’m really not sure why, but I sent my son to church even when I couldn’t attend. He became a Christian at the age of six. During that time I remarried and my wife was a Christian. We had a beautiful daughter. At that point, my search was still going on.

I used to take my family to a center called PTL. PTL stands for “Praise the Lord.” PTL was started by Jim Bakker. This complex had two beautiful hotels, big theaters, a television center, a shopping mall, a large lake with palatial lawns. Jim Bakker had also built an “Upper Room,” which was a replica of the one in Jerusalem. By the way, if you have never been to Israel, I would strongly recommend you visit if you ever have the opportunity. The Bible really comes alive to you there. Our Lord Jesus was born and raised there. Ultimately, He was crucified, buried and raised from the dead there! You can see all those places as well as the empty tomb.

The “Upper Room” that Jim Bakker had built also allowed visitors. There were beautiful stained glass windows and stunning décor in the room. It had a beautiful view. Under this room was an auditorium where the preachers would minister on Sundays.

You may not know the whole story of PTL, but ultimately that gentleman fell. It was big news in the media for a long time. And the media used it to try to make Christianity look bad.

My wife and I were there the week before the scandal broke. On Saturday evening we were enjoying a quiet meal together at one of the restaurants when we happened to strike up a conversation with another nearby guest. In our conversation and that peaceful atmosphere the Lord began to find His way into my heart even though my mind disagreed. During the course of our conversation the other guest gentle asked me to pray with her. She led me in the Sinner’s Prayer to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. It may sound strange, but it all seemed quietly supernatural as I received eternal life. It was almost as though my mind was only an observer of what was happening to me.

The next morning my mind continued to wrestle with what had transpired the night before, almost unsure of what really happened. The next morning was Sunday and we attended the service at PTL. I remember listening to the preacher that was there. He preached from 9 to 10 am. After it was over he invited anyone who wished to go to the Upper Room. Immediately, my wife got up and went. I had no desire to go. I had seen it as a visitor the day before. After about ten minutes it seemed as if the Holy Spirit was nudging me. He said, “You go up…” and I said, “It’s late and everyone has gone.” But suddenly I got up and went to the pastor and said, “Sir, can I still go up?” He said that I could. Looking back, I am glad that he said that. I went up and sat next to my wife. I remember experiencing so much peace in that Upper Room.

There was a preacher there as well. I can still picture his face, his beautiful blue eyes behind his glasses. He had a very distinguished looking face. Whether he was preaching or singing, I don’t remember, but suddenly I started speaking in unknown tongues. This went on for a few minutes. I didn’t know what was going on. After it was over I asked my wife what had happened to me. She told me, “You are blessed by God.” I asked her why. She said, “You have been searching for God and He knows your heart. He is blessing you.”

Later, I read about my experience up in the Bible. At that time my knowledge of the Scriptures was zero, so much so that I didn’t even know what the “Upper Room” was.

I did not know what the purpose of speaking in tongues was. Anyway, I looked it up in the Bible and found that it was one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Afterward, when I started attending a local church, I started interpreting too. This was the second gift of the Holy Spirit. The Lord had given me an experience I could not refuse. I also realized then that I could not turn my back on God, because He was real and He was blessing me.

After approximately six months of wrestling in my mind I accepted Jesus as my Lord. He had become my Savior at PTL, but I had not given Him control of my life. Then I got officially baptized. The delay was because of the struggle I was experiencing after being a Hindu for 47 years. I had been studying the Hindu scriptures more seriously in America than I had ever done in my entire life. I had become an expert on the Gita and I knew the Mahabharat and Ramayan. I only touched the Upanishad and Vedas, which I did not understand. I had gained enough knowledge to argue with anyone from another religion. But the Lord is greater than Dr. Shah. He gave me an experience I could not refuse. It just blew my mind. What a great blessing that was. I started studying the Bible regularly. There are two verses I initially read and acted upon. The first was Malachi 3:8-9:

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.”

God was talking to the nation of Israel, because they did not give Him their tithes and offerings. But He gave them a way out. He said in the next verse, “‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’” (Malachi 3:10).

Remember, God has given us everything; He’s given us one hundred percent and He wants us to give back ten percent. Why so? God is so rich; He doesn’t need the money. God is simply testing our obedience. When you give His money back, you honor Him, and you establish a covenant with Him.

While we are discussing this important subject let me clear something up. Some people give ten percent of their income after the government removes taxes, etc. In other words, they give ten percent to God from whatever is left over after the deductions. Another way people calculate their tithe is by using their adjusted gross income. I believe both are incorrect. I believe we must tithe from our gross income to truly tithe.

Second Corinthians 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” You cannot argue with God when you write out the check for the tithe. Some say, “I have to pay bills with that money,” or, “I have to make my house payment,” or, “My electricity bill is due – I’ll tithe later.” My dear brother or sister, God wants the first ten percent of your income. And He loves when we give it back to Him cheerfully!

Many are confused about what is an offering. The offering is separate and beyond the tithe. The offering is anything we give after we bring our tithe, or ten percent, to God. According to the Bible you can also give alms (charitable deeds). Alms are gifts to the poor given in His name (Matthew 6:1-4). Start giving offerings and alms and see what happens. God has given us many wonderful and gracious promises for each; the tithe, the offering, and the giving of alms to the poor.

Let’s look a little closer at what the Scriptures have to say about the tithe. God says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.” The storehouse is the house of God.

Many years ago I had a question about my tithes and offerings. I know my question was very common to the minds of many Americans. In America, as in many parts of the world, we have Christian television and “television ministries.” For example, I watch television all the time in my house. There is a channel called Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) which is a Christian channel. By the way, do you know that there are thirteen Christian satellites orbiting our earth? They are all owned by TBN. TBN also has about 2300 television stations all around the world. So now the Gospel is being preached world-wide through TBN. If you don’t have access to the TBN channel, I highly recommend that you request it from your channel provider.

My question was not about the money, or the ten percent, but about where to give it. At the time, I was being fed more spiritually from the Christian television I was watching then by my local church. Don’t misunderstand me; I loved my church family, but I wasn’t getting fed there. On the other hand, the local church can do what television ministries cannot, that is, be there physically when you need them. This is a great disadvantage with television ministries. However, I have found out that if you need someone to pray with you at any time, you can use the telephone and call TBN, or another television ministries, and they will agree with you in prayer.

My rather common question was answered when I saw this principle in the Word of God – your tithes belong to the storehouse from where you are being fed. If you are not sure where you are being fed from then ask yourself the question, “Where am I learning about God’s Word from the most?” At the same time, ask the Lord for direction. He is faithful and He wants you to be a partaker of all His promises concerning tithes. Maybe He even wants you to tithe to both. Also, once the Lord shows you, you should direct your offerings to the same place because Malachi 3:8 says “tithes and offerings.”

Let’s see what happens when we do what God says. Malachi 3:10 states, “‘Try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of Host, ‘If I will not open up the window of heaven….’”

God says to try Him. What does that mean? Another translation says to test Him (NIVUK). It is important to recognize that this is the only place in the entire Bible where God invites His people to test Him. If you have never tithed to the Lord, I want to encourage you to do it the next time you receive income. I have tested the Lord by faith, and I have seen others do the same, and He always comes through! You see, we can never out give God.

Notice the phrase, “If I will not open up the window of heaven.” Another time God opened the windows of heaven was in the time of Noah. Before then there had been no rain in the earth. The earth was watered by the dew from heaven. We can’t imagine how big the windows of heaven are; it rained for 40 days and water covered the entire earth. We don’t know how deep it was, but everything on earth was submerged in water. Only the ark that Noah built was left floating with its living cargo. Imagine blessings like that when you give your tithes and offerings. There will be spiritual revival in your life! God says He will pour out such blessings that you will not be able to receive them all. You will have material as well as spiritual blessings. You will get so many blessings you won’t have room enough to receive them. However, you need to remember that we live to give; we do not live to get. Covetousness should never find a place in our hearts (Colossians 3:5).

God goes on to say that He “will rebuke the devourer for your sakes” (Malachi 3:11). This is an Old Testament Scripture. During that time the devil was also active in troubling God’s people. We can use the same Scripture when we are attacked by the enemy. I use this Scripture even though I know Satan was defeated 2,000 years ago through the work of Christ. When all hope is lost, I fall on my knees and remind God that I have been obedient. According to this promise, He has to rebuke the devourer for my sake, and He does just that. God wants you to remind Him of His Word. The Bible also says that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but the devil can use people to devourer things in your life. For that reason, we must remain vigilant (Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8-9).

Let’s see what other blessings God wants to give us. He said He would rebuke the devourer so that the devil would not be able to destroy our businesses or steal our resources. God will protect your family. He goes on to say, “All the nations will call you blessed” (Malachi 3:12). This means you can be a blessing all around the world. God says you will be a “delightful land” (Malachi 3:12). He will use you in His ministry. You will receive all the blessings He has promised if you are obedient.

Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

“Give” is mentioned only one time, but look what will be given back to you – good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, men will put into your bosom. With the same measure you measure it will be given back to you seven times. Seven is the number of God. Seven is the number of perfection. The Word of God says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17).

Giving is not only measured in terms of money, but also in other things. When we give love, we get love. If you want friends, you need to give friendship. If you are kind, people will be kind to you. It works in the opposite too. If you are angry, people will be angry toward you. If you have a sad countenance, people around you will look and act sad. If you have Christ in you, you will have joy, and people will notice the inner light shining from within.

The Bible says that you are the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). What will happen when you give your salt and light? You will bring many people to the Lord.

Look what God has done for us. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

He gave one Son and got millions and millions of sons back. See how big our God is and what a big giver He is! When you start giving you will never be in want of anything (Psalm 112).

Remember the widow who gave the only two mites she had? (Luke 21:1-4) She was a poor woman. She gave everything. Rich people around her gave twenty-five percent or thirty percent and had seventy percent or seventy-five left over. But this woman had nothing left. Her faith and love drew the attention of Jesus. Since then, her gift of two mites, recorded in the Scriptures, has been an example for us for two thousand years. God said that heaven and earth will pass away, but His Word will never disappear (Matthew 24:35). Therefore, her act of love will be remembered forever!

We have a God who loves us and died for us. If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have died for you. He would have come to die for you and save you from going to hell so you could be with Him for eternity in heaven.

Continue To Chapter 2.The Christian Journey Continues 

Chapter 1. My Hindu Background, Conversion and Christian Journey • Chapter 2. The Christian Journey Continues • Chapter 3. My Prayer Life • Bibliography