Jesus did not hide the fact from the disciples that they would have trouble in the world because of their belief in Him. We find one of these warnings in John 15:
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep ours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. John 15:18-21
Jesus didn’t leave them without comfort though. He gave many encouraging promises.
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3
In the previous two updates I related wonderful stories of God’s direct situational supernatural interventions which in turn brought many hundreds of people to a recognition of Jesus Christ. In today’s update, I will share some difficult details of the heavy price that is often paid to proclaim the message where not all are willing to accept it.
An incident happened a few days ago between the Daraa and Nawa Governorates in Syria. A couple of brothers who had only been believers for some weeks were severely attacked and witnesses that saw what happened provided the basic details. An unnamed extremist leader, with the help of others with him got hold of Al-Fishawi and Al-Hidmi and began torture them, demanding that they deny their faith in Jesus Christ. When they refused, the men were badly beaten. When they still refused, he took a pair of pliers and pulled every tooth out of both men. The militant said he did this so that they could never preach or teach the Word of God again. In fact, he said they would become an example to others. They would be left to slowly bleed to death at the side of the road.
There was, however, a sheikh named Jaoud, a resident of the Nawa Governorate that saw what happened and decided to do what he could to help them. Abdelrahem was informed immediately. He immediately gathered a few House of Blessing people and went to where Sheikh Jaoud had the men. Abdelrahem came with brothers, Hael, Arshid, Dargham, Abu Shaker, and sisters, Ferial and Fatina. By the time they got there, Jaoud had applied coffee grounds to their badly torn gums to help slow the bleeding, which was quite severe. The HOB team reported that the Al-Fishawi and Al-Hidmi had lost a lot of blood and were very weak and in excruciating pain.
Abdelrahem said the men had been willing to sacrifice any price for the sake of the Gospel and had no intention of denying their Lord, to the point of death if necessary. Please pray for these men. At this time, they have no way to eat anything of substance and their healing process will be slow. Their lives are forever changed, but then there is God…
A report was also received from Abdelrahem concerning how the storyline continued with Sheikh Jaoud, the man who had aided Al-Fishawi and Al-Hidmi. It turns out there was quite a tragic history in Jaoud’s family. Sheikh Jaoud and his wife had lost children and grandchildren during the previous regime of Bashar al-Assad. There were others close to them who also shared in the tragic events. Three of the women who lost husbands and children, were Ruqiya, Aziya, and Badia. Between Jaoud’s wife, Khazna and the three women, at least 65 souls were taken to prison and never seen again. Sheikh Jaoud’s wife Khazna, had lost three sons and two daughters and was so grief-stricken that she went blind.
Abdulrahem and those with him were in a mosque with an attendance of more than 700 people when the women were brought before him. As everyone watched, he began to calm them down with the words of Psalm 117:
1 Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! 2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD endures forever.
As Abdelrahem expounded on this short psalm, he asked them to sit and he drew their attention to John 14:1:
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
He encouraged them to trust Jesus totally and allow him to pray for them. As he began to pray, and as the large crowd watched, the women collapsed on the floor and didn’t move for at least 20 minutes. As they began to stir, the women began to share what it was they had just experienced. They said they had experienced the glory of Christ and by vision were shown their children safe, sound, happy, and alive, playing with other children in paradise. They were with Jesus and were not dead! These women had been praying for their loved ones for years but had not been able to find a trace of what had happened to them. Now, they had been blessed with a divine revelation that relieved them of their grief. They kissed Abdulrahem’s hands and feet and life began to flow through them again. The blind mother was also healed of her blindness and sight totally restored! Abdelrahem was so blessed, he shouted: “Glory be to the Lord, all you nations, and praise Him, all you peoples, for His mercy is great towards us!” Praise GOD!
On May 30th I received a couple tragic emails concerning a brother, Al-Sahtouri, who had only been a believer and follower of Jesus for a very short time. The story of how Al-Sahtouri had become a believer is found in the 5/16/2025 Mideast Update, titled: “The Power of the Word of GOD.” The short version of his story is that he had been planning to leave for his pilgrimage to the Hajj when he met with brother Omar. After spending some time together, Al-Sahtouri had asked for a Bible. Omar learned two days later that the reading of the Scriptures had so affected Al-Sahtouri during his two days of searching the Scriptures that he went to his mosque at the 8:00 AM prayer gathering and poured his heart to the 200 or so who had gathered. He was grieved at the time that had been lost in the years he had taught the people wrong, and from a book of deception. He also informed them that he could not go on the Hajj with them.
The response from the crowd had not been good. He had been accused of being an old crazy man. When he told them that he had finally come to his senses after reading the Bible for himself, he begged them to hear him out before it was too late. The crowd refused to listen to him and attacked Al-Sahtouri, pouring urine on him and insulting him in the most vile ways. The sheikh was thrown out of the mosque, kept from returning to his home, and driven out of the village. His wife and sons who had also committed themselves to Christ as he had gone with him. It was not until some time later that they were able to return to their home.
Getting back to the emails I received on the 30th of May, I was told that Omar, Al-Shjomri, and Bayan went to check on Al-Sahtouri, but he was gone. He, his wife, or sons were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, when they reached his village near Al-Hedaya Governorate, they were found dead on the bank of a river. People had been alerted to their bodies because a flock of white birds had stationed themselves all around them but had not disturbed their corpses. It was like they were keeping vigil over their bodies until they were found. Apparently, Al-Sahtouri, his wife and sons had been arrested in an ambush near their home. They were confronted concerning their faith in Jesus and were told to deny their new faith. When they refused, the attackers became violent. They tried to take his Bible away from him but he held it to his chest so tight, seven militants could not rip it out of his grasp. As they attacked him, breathing him terribly, he screamed out his prayer, “Oh Jesus, come, come and save us from them. They do not know who you are. Come, my beloved Jesus and save us.” They continued to beat him and made him sit on the ground while they tied him up. While he continued calling out to Jesus, they cut his tongue out and then hanged him. They also hanged his wife and two grown sons. After they were dead, they threw their bodies by the river near their house.
There were soon large crowds of people there. Many were crying their eyes out over what had happened. In spite of their initial rejection of his message to them in the mosque, they loved the man because he had served them faithfully for over 45 years.
I will include some of what Omar shared in one of his emails to me. I will edit only enough to make it easier to understand.
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My brother Jack: I have nothing I can say because the truth is very, very bitter. We have lost a dear, precious, and beloved man by the people. The people of the village loved him, and they regretted how they didn’t listen to him, beating him instead. They cried over separating themselves from him as they did. Now they wish he could bring them to faith in Jesus and baptize them. Sheikhs Clay and Al-Adasi say the guilt is theirs because they did not listen to him. We buried his wife in white and we left Al-Sahtouri’s Bible on his chest as we buried him. He is a martyr of the Gospel. The killers were heard saying, “Go ascend to your Jesus, your Lord. Go to hell!” Over 500 people were born again as a result of it all and asked the Lord for forgiveness for their injustice to him. They cried bitterly…”
Omar
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Stories like that are so tragic and they are not only hard to write, but also hard for you the reader to take in. Yet, the work of the ministry continues. Abdulrahem sent an email describing a day of victory for the work of the Lord. He said that he and the HOB missionaries with him preached to more than 1,000 people in Nawa. They prepared food and God blessed the little amount of food they had and it was sufficient for the need. Many people have come to check on the health of Al-Hedmi and Al-Fishawi and witness how the Lord spared their lives. We will see what the Lord does through these loyal servants of Christ. He kept them alive for a reason. Abdelrahem said that they have been honored by a mosque being opened to use as a church in the area. It is now a new site in which to spread God’s Holy Word. He asks us to pray that they can fulfill the task at hand and deliver God’s Word to the people. There is a great hunger and thirst for genuine Truth that can only be found in the Bible.
There is another account that needs to be shared with you all but it will have to wait until the next update. I will also include a listing of teachers and where they are working. The missionaries continue working in Fallujah, Mosul, Kirkuk and even Ninevah. There are a great many people accepting Christ as their Savior and Lord. Many have cancelled their pilgrimage to Mecca, testifying of their commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. Many hundreds are praying the sinner’s prayer but the latest printing of 1,000 Bibles and 900 teaching booklets in Iraq is way short of what is needed. An additional 1,000 Bibles and 600 booklets are being provided for all the governorates of Syria. Much prayer is being dedicated, asking the Lord to provide more. The need is absolutely enormous, but we serve an all-powerful and sufficient God! One of my favorite Scriptures describing God’s gracious sovereignty applied to our obedience to Him when He prompts us is found in 2 Corinthians, the 9th chapter:
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 13 while through the proof of this ministry they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men… 2 Corinthians 9:8-13
Thank you all for your prayers and support. Jesus is coming SOON!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)