As I was reading a daily devotional, the author described what it must have been like for the disciples when they realized that Jesus would be leaving them soon. I have included a short portion of the devotional below.
“Little did the disciples know that soon their lives would be turned upside down. Never could they have envisioned the horror of what Jesus was about to face. Nor did they anticipate their fear would cause them to abandon Him. The Lord they loved would soon be crucified, and the persecution they were about to face would be intense for a long time to come. They would face threats against their lives and imprisonment. It was in this dark hour that our Lord said to the disciples: ‘In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33).
“Jesus’ warning and promise in John 16:33 apply to all believers today as well. Because of our beliefs, we are at odds with the world. We’re misunderstood, mocked, criticized, and wrongly accused. As we struggle with such opposition, we’re reminded of Jesus’ words, ‘You will have tribulation.’ But we also need to remember the second half of what Jesus said: ‘Take heart; I have overcome the world.’
“When opposition arises, we can respond with supernatural boldness. We can take courage in the truth that yes, Christ has overcome the world. We have no reason to be afraid. Our ‘faith and hope are in God’ (1 Peter 1:21), who protects us and has already won the victory.”
Steve Miller (author)
This has been the story of the Church from the day of Pentecost. This has also been the experience of the House of Blessing since its founding by Pastor Rashid many years ago.
Brother Abdelrahem, who is continuing the work Pastor Rashid began, has lately had to send out several warnings for the HOB leaders, teachers, and volunteers to use special caution as they continue their work. Things have changed and so many Muslim people are now finding Jesus as their Savior that it is causing conflicts between Islamic clerics. There are sometimes spies sent in among the new students. In Syria, in particular, Jolani’s Syrian government is attempting to tighten a noose around the House of Blessing. But, Abdelrahem reminds everyone that even though the attacks will increase, what the Lord is doing is greater. Even though there will be accelerated humiliations of God’s ambassadors to the fallen world around them, it really doesn’t matter. The work of the Kingdom will go on.
I received a report from Al-Hanini a few days ago. This is what he had to say (with very little editing):
Hello my brother Jack, we have reached Umm Qaiser and Al-Faw, and experienced a miracle there. We ministered there to bring souls to Christ. We prayed for them, but there was an objection from some of them. I was with the brothers, Sheikh Bayan, Al-Awiwi, and Al-Shumri. We ended up in a big discussion between us and a group of sheikhs, some of them were Sunnis and others were Shiites. We explained to them about Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us.
As all this was going on, we found out that there was a contaminated well in their location which had not been used for over ten years. We went to the opening of the well and prayed over it. As we did, the water began to flow and the water was found to be clean and free of contaminants. The water was so pure that the people drank from it. The local sheikhs’ response was, as is usually expected: “What is this act? This well has been out of service for over 10 years!” After the people had drunk their fill, we taught the people some more about Jesus. More than 300 people accepted Christ and were baptized in the water from the well. There was also the spiritual birth of the well-known sheikhs, Sheikh Tafesh, Sheikh Mahlool, and Sheikh Ali. We thank the Lord for this. The Lord once again opened a door for us. The sisters also prayed for many women, brother Jack, and they accepted Jesus as their Lord as well.
Hanini
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I received another report on the same day as the one from Hanini. This was from Abdelrahem.
Hello my brother Jack, today we were informed that the sons of Saftawi and the Sheikhs were executed and their bodies hidden. There were 14 young men. The mothers were of course suffering great grief with the news but the sheikhs of course had no doubt that they were with the Lord now. We brought the mothers here and prayed for them as well as the sheikhs. I shared Scriptures with them which made it clear where their young men now were. Saftawi and the other sheikhs will not be deterred in their mission to share the Gospel in spite of what has happened. We will not kneel or surrender except to Jesus alone, my brother Jack. He is our support. We will work diligently and actively. The killing of our sons has increased our honor for Jesus. It does not matter. The blood of Jesus Christ is more precious than everything. Let the Lord come, we are waiting! Soon, soon!
Abdelrahem
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The next two stories I have to share with you came to me in several segments. The first story involved Omar, and the old sheikh named Ailut Aban we mentioned in a story in the previous update. This man is the nearly 90-year-old blind hunchback sheikh whom God had healed. (As you might remember, he had secretly studied the Scriptures for many years and knew them very well). There were also other brothers traveling with them. The men had arrived in Morand, which is located in northeastern Azerbaijan province, Iran. Omar said that when they arrived in the city, while looking for a bathroom, they found an open lot next to a mosque where they decided to spend the night. In this empty lot, there was a fig tree that had no fruit on it. The old sheikh (Ailut Aban), mixed honey with water and watered the fig tree as well as a number of olive trees which were on the same lot. He then prayed over the trees. After doing this, the men spent about two hours in prayer, not knowing they were being watched by the main mosque sheikh named Abu Nawas. The sheikh later admitted that he had watched them and noticed a strange light around the men as they prayed. He knew there had to be something unusual about these men.
The next day, Abu Nawas found that the fig tree had produced fruit overnight. He summoned the people of his mosque to come and witness the miracle that had happened. He said that a God who can cause a fig tree that has been barren for five years to bear fruit deserved their allegiance and worship. More than 700 people ate from the abundance that was on the fig tree. Not only that, there were ten olive trees that had also not had fruit for years. All ten now had olives on them that will be ripe for harvesting next month! Praise God for His miraculous intervention for the sake of lost souls. In one day, over 700 were reached with the Gospel!
The next report was from Ahar, Iran, not very far from Morand where the miracle of the trees happened. I have Omar’s rendition of what happened below (again with very little editing):
Hello my brother Jack, this is Omar. We arrived at the Ahar area and brought Abu Nawas (the head sheikh from the mosque in Morand in the story above). We entered a mosque where there were sheikhs known by Abu Mawas. Their names were Sheikh Hijran, Sheikh Fidadi, and Sheikh Abel. There were over 1,000 people gathered and this is where the story of the preaching to the people began. The occasion was the celebration of the birth of the prophet Muhammad. As they entered and began, they ended up in a big discussion. Just to inform you, Jack, the Gospels had been delivered to us printed in the Farsi language.
Sheikh Ailut Aban began reading the Gospel and took turns with Murtada, Shahbandar, Dhargham. There was colored glass in the building and the sunlight was bright and strong. Our old sheikh instructed us to sit and each one of us read a chapter in his Bible. Believe me, believe me! Everything we were reading was showing up, written on the walls of the inside of the mosque and there was a light shining! Each wall had a chapter. Sheikh Ailut was praying:
“Oh Jesus, show them your miracles. Show them your power. Their hearts are closed and their hearts are black. Enlighten their hearts with your light. Make your words enter their minds and hearts, and make the words of the Gospel on their tongues and eyes. Show them your miracle, oh Jesus, our Lord.”
The people were amazed and they began repeating the words they read on the walls. Every time we turned a page, they were reading and repeating the words. The elders wept saying:
“Greatness upon greatness! What a great day! That light is coming from out of a book?! What is this book? And out of a book that is more than thirty years old belonging to the old man?”
Everyone in the mosque was amazed and their voices became very loud. “Oh my God, Oh our God, what is this?” And, of all things, a white carrier pigeon entered the mosque, singing, and the people began praising God. “O Lord, Oh Lord, Oh Forgiving One, forgive us!” They had never seen a day like this. Light is coming out of the elders and the books. From the brightness of the light, they could not look except at the walls of the mosque and read the chapters. They all believed and confessed that Jesus is their Savior.
Our old sheikh explained to the people the birth of people brought to faith in Jesus, much like a woman giving birth to a child. He said to the people, “Ask any woman, when they want to give birth, they see death in their eyes, and when they give birth and see the child, life returns to them in the vision of the child. This is how people are born when they choose Christ. All the past goes away and what is new comes in its place — the love of Jesus and the love of goodness.”
Just so you know, the sheikhs of the mosque smuggled the brothers out of the mosque for their safety. The news has already been broadcast and there are many enemies of God who want to catch us and execute us. I will tell you something, there are many religious sects. There are Kurds, Khorasanis, Rastadis, Baluchis, Chalaks, Laks, Mazandaranis, Lurs, Tats, and Talish. There is no safety here and they do not know God. Pray for our safety.
Omar
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Abdelrahem had this to add concerning the above story:
Peace be upon you, my brother Jack. We have received very, very beautiful news from the brothers on the path of Al-Hanini. The Lord of Prayers was revealed as He came down on the sheikhs and the readers, who never tire of mentioning the words of the Gospel. He is a merciful Lord. I told you that it was a vision from the Lord. The sheikhs, while they were reading the Gospel, the words appeared on the walls of the mosque. The size of this mosque is one thousand square meters and it is very beautiful. It is wrapped in colored glass which led to the blessing of the place by the words of the Gospel and then the birth of a thousand people or more. This is evidence of the brother’s love for God’s words. The people raised their heads and looked with amazement at the words they saw on the walls and the truth they possessed. It is as if a screen was being displayed on the walls of the mosque. It is great, my brother. It is a message of His coming very, very soon. May the Lord honor you and bless you and all who pray for us and support us.
Your brother Abdelrahem
Servant of the Lord forever
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Just a quick note about one of the things Abdelrahem said in the message above. He mentioned that he had seen this event in a vision. I remember him mentioning it to me, and a few others were told about it ahead of time. At the time, it was not totally clear what he meant when he said it, but as we now know, it happened in real life, just as God had shown it to him. Praise God!
I want to share one more message from Abdelrahem, again with very little editing.
Hello brother Jack, peace be upon you and peace be upon the people of good hearts, the heirs of Jesus and the sowers of goodness and the sowers of the love of the Gospel in the hearts of people. As follows: I worked and established our first private school to teach the children of believers who sacrificed their lives for Christ and are on the path with us. We opened six schools, each school teaches 150 students — some a little more, others a little less. We thank the Lord for this. New booklets were copied for them and we brought school supplies. $4,000 was borrowed through the print shop owner to buy school supplies and they have just now opened. The Bibles were distributed according to the need in the regions. The need is great. Each region was given 100 Bible and 40 teaching booklets. Pray for us to be able to provide more Bibles. 500 Bibles and 200 booklets were sent to Omar. There is a great need to supply Al-Hanini. May the Lord bless you,
Abdelrahem
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There was more to share in today’s update but I will have to save it for the next episode. As you can see, the Lord is bringing the harvest in by the multitude. I believe that the harvest has been escalated because we are out of time. We are at the end of the Age of Grace. As faithful followers of Christ, as we live and make plans, we must keep in mind that the Lord could surprise us anytime. Many are talking today about the Lord’s imminent return for His remnant. There are those that might scoff because their own theological opinions and beliefs don’t allow that possibility — at least not now. But, what if?? What if He is right at the very door? I believe He is at the door and the world’s situation today is one strong evidence that Bible prophecy is about to turn a very important page. There is a very dark storm beginning to surround our world. Watch and Pray!
Please keep the House of Blessing in your prayers. And for those that would like to help with the financial burden HOB is carrying, please inquire the best way to do so via either of the two email addresses below. Thank you!
Just a side note: Some confusing emails are still being sent out — this time by someone claiming to be a daughter of Pastor Rashid. Pastor Rashid was never married and did not have any children! Please be cautious. The updates written through my website, keeplookingupward.com are the only official updates representing the missionary work of the House of Blessing. I am in contact with the leadership several times every single day.
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)
[email protected] [email protected]
Jake Geier 3206 SW 45th Street Redmond, Oregon 97756 USA