In light of the fact that we’re only weeks from Resurrection Sunday, I would like to share a thought: Many of us miss seeing the perfect storm that was raging while Jesus was on the cross. Satan and humanity gave their worst, and God gave His best. At Golgotha where Jesus died, there was a conflict between the hatred of Satan, the hostility of mankind, and the love of God. In Genesis 3:15, God said there would be enmity between Satan and Jesus. He said the serpent would bruise the heel of the woman’s offspring but the seed of the woman, Jesus, would crush his head. All through Jesus’ ministry, Satan tried to destroy Israel to deny Jesus’ eventual birth. After His birth, he tried to have him killed by King Herod’s decree. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, the devil did everything he could to keep Him from completing His mission. At the cross, Satan poured out all of his malevolent hatred, knowing it was his last chance.
How did mankind respond? They cried out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Yet, at the cross, God poured out all His love, overruling both Satan and humanity. He took the ultimate act of evil and turned it into the ultimate act of good. God’s victory at the cross is the ultimate confirmation of his sovereignty. Evil at its worst was defeated by love at its best. Whenever we find ourselves affected by evil and we wonder whether God can ultimately use the situation for His good purposes, we need only to look to the cross. If God could overrule the magnitude of hatred and hostility hurled against Him there, He can overrule it anywhere!
On to the House of Blessing:
I received six emails within the first two days of March. I am sharing three of them in today’s Mideast Update and the balance tomorrow. My first report from Dr. Nibras was received on March 1, 2026.
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Peace be with you, brother Jack, and with all the followers of Jesus. I would like to begin with a Scripture before sharing what I received from Abdelrahem:
“ You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power, for You are the Creator of all things, and by Your will all things were made and exist.” Revelation 4:11
“Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” Psalm 2:12
I must give a brief summary of recent events. Making the best use of the limited funds available, the House of Blessing was able to provide a shipment of food sacks. By dividing the shipment, HOB was able to distribute sustenance to thousands of people who were in dire need. As has been their custom, the HOB missionaries then shared God’s love with the people upon their arrival, not only by providing food for the body but also by nourishing the soul.
The response to the preaching and teaching was overwhelming. Entire families dedicated themselves to Jesus Christ, the true Messiah of the world. Every day, hundreds of families prayed the Prayer of Repentance and joined the ranks of God’s people! This continued for three days, and was still ongoing after Sheikh Dari received his invitation to come and speak. God was merciful, and the available food began to multiply from the initial distribution. What a powerful testament to God’s love for those who witnessed this miracle!
Sheikh Dari told me about another unusual event that happened to them today. I don’t have many details, but as I was told, Sheikh Dari, his sons, and others entered a mosque, asking if they could participate. This mosque was one that preached and practiced a more fundamental form of Islam, and it happened to be Friday, the day Muslim men usually go to the mosque to listen to sermons and pray.
The House of Blessing missionaries had previously been given the opportunity to participate, but this time it wasn’t the case. They were immediately rejected and angrily told to leave. What happened next deeply saddened Sheikh Dari, Sheikh Naeem, Sheikh Nouri, Munir, Baha, and their companions. The Bibles and teaching materials were desecrated and thrown down. He said, what happened next was strange. It was as if lightning had struck the mosque, setting it ablaze, killing several people inside. I don’t know the exact number of victims, but the scene was enough to bring tears to Sheikh Dari’s eyes and the others.
When Sheikh Dari told me the story, he said something that I had not heard him say before. He said that a change was taking place. What Hajji Naeem, Sheikh Rafiz, Siraj, Nouri, Kazim, and the others experienced was a sign that the Age of Grace was drawing to a close. I agree with him. It’s something I’ve felt myself recently. And I think we will see increasing evidence of this in the coming days.
God has set a time limit for evil. According to Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians, the Restrainer will be removed at the end of the Age of Grace, allowing evil to run its course. Who is this Restrainer? It is the followers of Jesus, the true members of the Body of Christ, who are fulfilling the Great Commission through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our world today is rapidly moving away from God instead of drawing closer to Him. Psalm 2 perfectly describes this situation:
1What fools the nations are to rage against the Lord! How strange that men should try to outwit God! 2For a summit conference of the nations has been called to plot against the Lord and His Messiah, Christ the King. 3Come, let us break His chains, they say, and free ourselves from all this slavery to God. 4But God in heaven merely laughs! He is amused by all their puny plans. And then in fierce fury He rebukes them and fills them with fear. Psalm 2:1-4 (Living Bible).
We are on the threshold of the Day of the Lord. This time is when God judges the world for its rejection of Christ and to awaken the Jewish people to acknowledge their Messiah, Jesus Christ, whom they rejected two thousand years ago. Before the Day of the Lord, also known as the Great End Times, there will be a sudden rapture of the true, faithful Church. Be prepared!
Until God catches us up to Him, let us continue to accomplish the tasks to which we have all been called. Thank you all for your prayers and support for the House of Blessing.
Servants of the Lord, Abdelrahem and I, Dr. Nibras, will provide you with a more detailed account of events as we have more information.
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I received additional information about the strange incident that occurred at the mosque in northeastern Iran. In a report I previously mentioned that Hajji Naeem, Azmi, Bayan, Siraj, Bahloul, Nouri, and others went with Sheikh Dari to his large mosque on a Friday, a day when most Muslim men gather to listen to sermons. This particular mosque was frequented by men of a more conservative sect. After Sheikh Dari began speaking, he and the others were immediately expelled from the mosque.
As they were being expelled, they witnessed a flash that appeared to be a lightning bolt from a clear sky, striking the mosque and causing extensive damage, killing and injuring countless people inside. Today, I can share more details of the story with you.
After the HOB missionaries were expelled from the mosque, they began preaching to those outside as they were leaving. After the missionaries had cleared the area surrounding the mosque, they were attacked. There was a lot of confusion and chaos after the explosion, but as time passed, people began to gather around the preachers, asking them about the Messiah they knew nothing about. As the preachers began spreading the Gospel of Jesus, the crowd grew larger. Eventually, the House of Blessing preachers found themselves surrounded by between 5,000 and 9,500 people!
What really happened in the mosque? The preachers know nothing beyond what they saw. The explosion was massive, so it’s possible that hostile Islamic groups sent suicide bombers, or perhaps there were other explosives in the building. They cannot be held responsible for what happened, and none of them were injured in the explosion.
What resulted from this event was that instead of speaking in the mosque, they were given the opportunity to reach a much wider audience of 5000 to 10,000, an audience that was very receptive to the message of grace shared by Sheikh Dari, his sons, and their teachers. As a result, a great number of souls entered the Kingdom of God! The harvest is truly plentiful these last days.
Over time, brother Jack, we became very familiar with the names of many of the missionaries of the House of Blessing organization. Among them are brothers Ma’touq, Hayel, Arshid, and many others. When Pastor Abdelrahem began telling us all this story, tears flowed from their eyes and ours because of God’s deep love for these brave and devoted missionaries of Jesus.
So, please pray for the brothers. Only Jesus can enable them to complete their mission and overcome trials and tribulations that far exceed the physical realm. It is a blessing to have brothers like Hammi Naim, Nouri, Minor, and Fawzi, who have endured and overcome difficult hardships. The Lord will surely care for them.
I must tell you, I have prayed much for the brothers, but I also pray for the attackers. I pray that God will forgive them, so that they may realize their need for the forgiveness of the only One who can truly forgive them. He is the same One they thought was unaware when they wronged the elders, O Jesus! His grace is sufficient!
In other news, the missionaries’ work continues day after day. The House of Blessing was able to purchase two truckloads of wheat and one truckload of rice, distributing them to thousands of people. As usual, the Gospel message reached hundreds of entire families. Once again, the harvest of souls was immense. As soon as people hear the message of God’s true grace and forgiveness through Jesus, they long to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness of their sins. Islam does not promise its followers a guarantee of forgiveness on the Day of Judgment. What a blessing it is for God’s people to know that they are forgiven forever!
Please continue to pray for the well-being of all the missionaries and volunteers of the House of Faith. They need your continued prayers.
Finally, I would like to share a passage from the first epistle to the Corinthians, which serves as a reminder that we do not own ourselves and that we are passing through this very short life on our way to a much greater one.
19 “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Thank you again to everyone who prays for the House of Blessing around the world and to all those who support this work financially. May God bless you all! Education has begun there as planned, according to Abdelrahem’s last report, and there is a very urgent need to provide more teaching booklets and Bibles.
Your brother, Dr. Nibras,
Servant of the Lord forever.
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Received on 3/2/2026 from Dr. Nibras
Peace be upon you, my brother Jack, and upon all the friends of Jesus. When we opened the Bible to read this morning, this passage caught the attention of Hayel, Arshid, and Ma’touq. I will leave it to Dr. Nibras to explain and provide you with the report.
Thus says the Lord, the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard — because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD.
These events, I believe, take place during the reign of King Josiah over Israel, who ascended the throne at the age of eight. His reign followed directly after that of the wicked King Amon. At the age of sixteen, Josiah began his earnest search for God, and at twenty, he set about eradicating all forms of idolatry in the land. After about six years of purifying the land, King Josiah took the money he had saved and hired workers to begin restoring the completely cleansed Temple. Then the Book of the Law, written by Moses centuries ago, was found. When it was presented to the king, he ordered a scribe to read it to him. After it was read, the king was overcome with grief and tore his clothes in his humiliation and sorrow, crying out that God’s wrath was great upon the nation because of their complete disregard for God’s laws and their replacement of them with idolatrous practices.
The above passage is an example of national repentance, which God blessed. But God also honors the humility and repentance of every individual who acknowledges him for who He truly is and calls them to His sovereignty in their lives. We find these words in John 1:12-13:
12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
This is the core message that the House of Blessing missionaries delivered to Muslims in the Middle East, both Shia and Sunni, during Ramadan. The message of God’s love, as told through the life, death, resurrection, and imminent return of Jesus Christ, was shared with thousands of families in their tents. As planned since the beginning of Ramadan this year, each missionary team spent hours in each tent. This allowed ample time to share the Gospel, answer questions, and pray with everyone who asked to pray with them.
The HOB missionaries also took some of their special oregano tea blend to distribute. The results were amazing! The missionary teams reported seeing hundreds of people healed from the flu, viruses, and many other illnesses.
You may recall the story of the fighters who kidnapped us. These men, who are now followers of Christ, and the men who attacked the teachers and Sheikh Dari in the mosque in eastern Iran, are now recovering from their spiritual deception and receiving instruction in the teachings of Christ. I was told they are eager to learn and are doing well in their studies. Their outlook on life has been radically transformed after experiencing God’s love, and they have now become instruments for spreading this love.
Brother Sheikh Dari and his fellow students have been able to intervene in people’s lives during the days of Ramadan, dedicating themselves to teaching and distributing themselves among the students despite the American and Israeli bombing. Teaching continues, and the Lord is their protector. What a great blessing, especially as we are now halfway through Ramadan, and the evangelization campaign for this month continues with Omar, Aylout, Shabandar, and Murtada! May God bless them!
Now that half of Ramadan has passed, other HOB missionaries will try their hand at evangelism and give a little rest to those who have been working night and day throughout the past few days and are physically exhausted.
Pastor Abdelrahem has continued his meetings with his key leaders throughout the month. Great efforts have been made in prayer, fasting, and planning over the past few weeks. Perhaps we will not fully realize the greatness of what God has done in the past weeks until the Lord calls us all to him. The time for harvest has come!
Thank you all for your prayers and support. God still answers prayers! There is a great need for Bibles and teaching booklets.
Your brother,
Dr. Nibras, servant of the Lord forever
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Dr. Nibra’s final words suffice as a conclusion to today’s Mideast Update. If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to contact either of the email addresses below. Thank You!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)