Anyone who has read the latest update is aware that Pastor R is in a serious health condition, with latest information being that he is in a coma. The doctors have said that due to the length of time that he did not receive the oxygen needed, it is a high probability that he has sustained serious brain damage. I do not know the condition of his heart, kidneys, or other organs but hope to hear more in a day or two.
Given this situation, Brother Talal is stepping up to make sure that the mission God has called the House of Blessing to will continue. Leadership adjustments are also being made in the field to make sure the work of evangelism continues as before. Adjustments are being made so that the updates can continue, even with Pastor R being incapacitated at this time. In the next update, I hope to have more details about the continuing ministry of the House of Blessing.
I do want to share a few thoughts. It is always hard to see someone suffer, especially a man that we love and have such respect for as Pastor R’s case. It is possible that he may not survive and there are many tears being shed within the House of Blessing community of believers. No less would be expected. For 2,000 years of the Church Age, believers have suffered great hardships and multitudes have paid the ultimate price for their faith through martyrdom. Suffering has always been, and always will be a companion throughout our sojourn in this dying world. Nobody looks for it, but it finds us…and, quite often, God does not step in to remove it.
In fact it was Jesus who said these words to Simon Peter:
31 “…Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31-33
Jesus prayed for him but did not stop the devil from moving in on Peter. That explains why we often pray for a miracle in difficult circumstances — sometimes even in tragedies that come our way, but Heaven seems silent. God never promised to keep us from difficulties, trials, tribulations, or even persecutions. He said He would see us through them. And…it was Joseph who told his brothers, in Genesis 50:20 that what the devil had intended for evil, God was going to use for good. He will do the same for all those who allow Jesus to have Lordship over their lives.
We often find ourselves in situations that seem pretty bleak and hopeless — but only as it pertains to our sufferings in this present fallen world. The Apostle Paul faced many circumstances in the natural world that would have seemed utterly hopeless except for one simple fact: He knew that when his task which God had given him to do was completed, he would immediately transition from this fallen and corrupt world into paradise. into the Kingdom of Heaven, never to suffer again. Paul, after having been beaten severely and put in prison, sang praises. From another prison he ministered God’s love in hope of bringing salvation to his captors, and yet from another, his writings became the sacred words of Scripture. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write letters that would become parts of the New Testament.
Many years of Paul’s ministry were accomplished while he was imprisoned, bound, shackled, and impeded every time he turned around. Yet, he was never really bound, nor was he ever really stopped from the task God had called him to because the Spirit of God spiritually empowered him, and when he should have succumbed to the injuries inflicted on him, God gave him enough strength to get back up and continue. Even when he was chained, he was never really shackled. And even when he was confined in the belly of some of the worst prisons, next to sewage flows from the city above, he was never really disabled. From his prison, Paul would be used to minister to multiplied millions throughout the Church Age. He refused to be bound by any circumstance. There is not a chain in existence that can bind the will of God!
These very same principles apply to your life and mine. All of us have been called to the purposes of God. Each of us has a path laid out before us that will ultimately bring God great glory and, for us, the satisfaction of having completed our course. Our main job is to be faithful and to trust and obey. He puts the details of the puzzle of our lives together in the plan that He laid out before the foundations of the earth were ever laid.
Much of that said above about Paul can be said about Pastor R. Am I comparing him to the Apostle Paul? Of course not. There was only one Apostle Paul and God only made one Pastor R. We are all totally unique. But, like the Apostle Paul, the journey God has had Pastor R on has been a very turbulent one and would have cost him his life many times over — except for God! Maybe sometime in the future, we will list at least some of the things that God has brought him through, but today is not the time.
Is Pastor R going to pull through? No one but God knows. If Pastor R’s Abba Father chooses to leave him here a bit longer, then God will intervene. If God chooses to take him home, Pastor R will have completed his task and he will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
If that happens, there will be grief on this side of the veil, but not like the grief experienced by those without eternal hope. So, we pray for Pastor R and ask God for a miracle that returns him to the House of Blessing. But as we pray for him, we realize that God may choose to remove him from ever experiencing pain, grief, tears, or the tribulations of life again! That would be a cause of great celebration. It was the psalmist who said in Psalm 116:15: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Precious to God the Father as He welcomes His child home in the time and way that He had ordained from the beginning!
There is one more issue I must cover. There is one person at this time who is authorized to direct the work of the House of Blessing and the distribution of funds. That man is Brother Talal. It pains me to say this, but phone contacts are being made by a person other than Brother Talal who is claiming to be taking the leadership role of HOB. Brother Talal and I have spoken about this issue and are in agreement that this must be addressed for the sake of those who have loved Pastor R and the missionaries of the House of Blessing, and have earnestly prayed for and supported financially. The person referred to here is attempting to usurp authority that has not been granted to him. In reference to this, I received a call from Pastor Terry Sartain from South Carolina, saying that this person is calling other long-time supporters, telling them that Pastor Terry has recommended him as the designated contact point for the distribution of funds for the House of Blessing. This is absolutely untrue. Pastor Terry has not endorsed him, nor anyone who may make such a claim other than Brother Talal.
If anyone has questions on this matter, please feel free to contact me.
With that being said, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued loyal support for the work of the House of Blessing. God has done amazing things over the years and the harvest has been abundant. And, it still is today! Many are finding Jesus as their Savior and Lord before the special communion services that are held from one refugee camp to another, at least five times per day. Those celebrating communion experience wonderful times of worship and many are healed while they worship the Lord! Praise God! Even the children are testifying that they experience changes in their lives because of their newfound relationship with the Lord. From the mouths of the children themselves, they say that the anger and hatred they had for each other has been replaced by a love that comes from their study of the Scriptures and what the teachers have taught them about how to live a Jesus’ kind of life. “Out of the mouths of babes!”
In closing, I will pass on any information I receive concerning Pastor R’s condition as I hear more.
Forever in His Service,
Jake