The last two weeks has proven to be harrowing in many ways for House of Blessing, and for its leadership. I would like to share a Scripture that fits the situation well before sharing a few details. In 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 we find these words penned by the Apostle Paul:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed–always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
Pastor R***** just went through another bout with his health and had to spend a few days in the hospital once more. The hospital was able to make a determination as to what was ailing our brother and just in time, it seems. God always proves that He is in control, and only He knows if this beloved pastor would have survived if he had not been taken into the hospital when he was. He was at death’s door once again, but an army of praying people petitioned the Master on his behalf and two things happened. There is no denying that God suddenly intervened, but the Lord also gave the doctors the wisdom to find the source of the problem and provide some medication to help deal with at least some of the causes, at least as I understood it from a direct conversation I had on the phone.
I know there are questions, asking why God did not just heal him outright. I don’t have the answer to that today. I do know that often there are other factors involved in all of our individual situations that have a bearing on what happens. I do know that this brother has taken care of everyone else and has ignored his own needs. Our physical bodies are not invulnerable and they will wear out, and they will break down. But, the answer to prayer was obvious when it happened. I know that there were groups praying all around the clock, some folks getting little sleep, if any. God honored these prayers once again! Hallelujah! How many times death has been defied due to God’s intervention in the past many months is becoming hard to count! We find a passage of Scripture in James 5:13-15 that we always want to put into practice. It says this:
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray, Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
The nearer we get to the return of the Messiah, the more the need for us to pray for one another. Times are going to continue becoming more and more challenging. The evil one knows full well that his time is short. His attacks on the true remnant will become more and more intense. But, God answers prayer. God is good!!
In my last update I mentioned a couple men who had approached Pastor R*****. These men had a condition which left them looking deformed due their skin condition. This was the best way I could describe it based on my phone conversation with our friend. It was bad enough that people did not want to get close to them, and of course, they had learned to avoid making close contact with others as well. If you read the story, you might remember that Pastor R***** felt they had been brought to him by the Master. As he befriended them, he was able to break bread with them, making sure that he and the men handled the same food. In time, he was also able to pray for and with them before they left. I remember making the comment in my update, “I am looking forward to finding out what happens with these two men.”
I found out in my last phone conversation that these men came back to Pastor R*****’s tent within a couple days or so and would have been very difficult to recognize if the facts were not so well known among those who saw these men before and afterward. They were completely healed, from the top of their heads to the bottoms of their feet! There was not one single blemish remaining and all seeming deformities had completely disappeared. These two men came back, not only to show the miraculous thing God had done, but also to ask to be discipled. What a miracle!! This is no different than the stories we read in Scripture of the lepers, the blind, the deaf, and lame being healed. Jesus Christ truly is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and we read in Hebrews.
The time that has elapsed since my last update has once again been a time of triumph and tragedy. Twenty five more volunteer missionaries were lost to martyrdom in Iraq, and seven more in Syria. The supernatural dream my good author brother had months ago about these martyrs filing toward and under the great massive altar just past where we were able to observe them, continues to be fulfilled. This was a detailed dream the Lord provided three nights in a row to my friend. This was not a dream of a one day event, but of a continuous flow of martyrs (in this case House Of Blessing missionaries because we were the ones watching), marching down and under the altar pictured by the fifth seal in Revelation 6. It is still happening today, but not for very much longer!
The joyous news, of course, is of the multitudes that continue learning about Jesus, the true Messiah, and their commitment to His Lordship over their lives. The Lord God is also backing the work of the ministry with great miracles of every kind imaginable. There continue to be reports of those that have even been raised from the dead, particularly through the ministry of the “Widow Sisterhood”. God is pouring His Spirit out in some of the most difficult places on earth to minister the love of Jesus. The gates of hell are not prevailing!
Please pray earnestly for these courageous people as they hold nothing back from the Lordship of Jesus, the Messiah, including their very own lives. We must do the same!
God bless you all abundantly,
Jake Geier