Philippians 3:10: “….that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to his death…” The first thing I thought of as I read this Scripture today was the familiar hymn, “It is well with my soul.” The first few words of the hymn are:
“When peace like a river attendeth my way; when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say: It is well, it is well with my soul.”
What most people may not know is that the background of this hymn is a heartwrenching and tragic story. The writer of the hymn, Horatio G. Spafford (1828-1888), was a Presbyterian layman from Chicago who, while still a young man, had established a successful business career and was also a devout Christian. Among his close friends was the famous Dwight L. Moody, also from Chicago. In short, Spafford had invested heavily in the real estate industry and when the great fire of 1871 happened, he lost his entire fortune overnight. This was just after he had lost his son. But, this was only the beginning.
In light of the dual tragedies, Spafford knew he and his wife needed a rest. He also desired to assist Moody and his musician, Ira Sankey, in one of their campaigns in Great Britain. So, a trip was planned for him, his wife, and four daughters in 1873. In November that year, unexpected business developments caused him to have to delay his own trip at the last minute so he sent his wife and daughters ahead on the S.S. Ville du Havre. His plan was to leave a few days later and meet them in Great Britain.
On November 22, the ship that his wife and girls were on was struck by the Lochearn, an English vessel, and sank within twelve minutes. Several days later, the survivors were finally landed at Cardiff, Wales, and Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband two words: “Saved alone.”
Spafford left immediately to join his wife, and it was on that sorrow-filled journey that he wrote this hymn. It is said to have been written as he came near area on the ocean that was reported to have been where the ship carrying his family had gone down.
Later, in 1878, another daughter, Bertha, was born. In 1880 a son, Horatio, was born though he later died of scarlet fever. After the birth of daughter Grace in 1881, Spafford and his wife moved to Jerusalem out of a deep interest in the Holy Land, where they established the American Colony, a Christian organization involved in philanthropic activities.
The reason I shared the story behind the writing of this famous hymn is because of the tragedies that became the inspiration of the hymn. Imagine the pain and grief of losing six out of eight children. We live in a fallen world where we face pain, disease, famine, natural disasters, war, and death. As followers of Christ, we face tribulation and persecution because of the malevolent hatred of the god of this world toward Jesus Christ and anyone who professes His lordship. Question is: Do the experiences we must endure make us bitter, or do they make us better through our faith and trust in our Father God. Our true relationship with the Lord and our submission to Him makes the difference. Are we to experience grief? Of course we will. God created us with emotions — the same emotions He Himself has. Romans 8 describes the groaning of all creation with labor pains, longing for the ultimate revelation of the sons of God. We, as the sons of God, those who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
We in the West, for the most part, have not been subjected to the persecution that so many in other parts of the world have been enduring. But all of us who are true followers of our Messiah and King Jesus, are having to endure whatever is put on our plate for the day, this day. For the House of Blessing missionaries, many do not know if they are coming back to where they had laid their heads the night before. Those of us that have not experienced such things, also do not know what the day holds for us. Only God knows the time of our departure from this earth. We must keep in mind that our journey here is short and we must make the most of the time we have been allotted.
On to the House of Blessing…
The last update sent out was on December 24 and was brief. Today’s update will be split into two parts. The second part will be made available tomorrow. I would like to first share a report that I received from Abdelrahem just before the last update was sent out.
Peace be with you, brother Jack. Peace be with all who prayed for us and participated in this miracle. As these miracles increase, the formation of new believers continues. Throughout the Middle East, especially in Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Syria, tens of thousands of new disciples are learning about Jesus, the power of His blood, how to put their faith into practice, how to build a close relationship with Him, and much more. These new believers are thirsty for the truth because they have never heard it before! They share copies of the teaching booklets among 120-200 people per copy. Unfortunately, we don’t have copies of the Bible, and they are keen to memorize as many of the teaching booklets as possible. We have so much to learn from our new brothers and sisters! May the Lord bless the elders and teachers who have memorized the Bible.
Jesus doubled the food to feed several thousand people on at least two documented occasions. And this same thing is happening today! What a great honor to live in this time! We are honored to participate in this great divine movement, if we choose to. God will call us to prayer, especially at certain times, to be a small part of His great works today. I stayed up several times last night, praying for the missionaries of the House of Blessing organization, but I didn’t know why it was so urgent. Now I know why, and I’m sure many of you have woken up too. If you are willing to participate in this great divine movement, God will touch you in times of need as well.
Please, Brother Jack, share these stories. They are true stories, and they are happening today. The needs are so many, of course. So many people… so many needs… for everything! But no need is beyond God’s ability to meet. What a great honor it is that God chooses to shower us with His grace!
Abdelrahem, servant of the Lord
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Four days after I received the above message from Abdelrahem, I received a Telegram message of an attack on a gathering of believers in Homs, Syria. It appears there is trouble ratcheting up again in Syria and one of the mosques that had become a gathering location for House of Blessing believers for a while was targeted by ISIS. Many of you were sent a short video showing the inside of the building after the explosion and a request for prayer. The latest official report that I have seen was of 8 dead and 18-20 wounded. At least five of the dead were HOB teachers. I have no information of how many of the injured were HOB missionaries, although there undoubtedly were some. There is still a considerable lack of information because of the sudden danger. As I receive more information, I will be sure to share. Below, you will find the first two short messages I received.
Peace be with you brother Jack. Please pray for Abu Layla, Shaker, Hisham Taher, Khalil Dargham, Ikhlas, Labiba, and Kafaya. They were attacked while praying in a church that had formerly been a mosque in Homs.
Abdelrahem
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Peace be upon you, brother Jack. This is Durgham, Hisham, and the brothers. The mosque that was hit was one that we have been to several times and have been able to bring souls to faith in Jesus. Today, while we were praying and baptizing people, and successfully leading them to Jesus, the enemies of the Lord planted an explosive device. We were baptizing them when it exploded. We cried out, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Have mercy on us and save us!” There was no time. At the time of the explosion, Bibles and booklets were being distributed to them. Unfortunately, five teachers died and more than 30 were injured. Please pray for us. We will continue our journey until the Lord comes.
Durgham
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Abdelrahem and the brothers are trying to get more information but, as I stated above, the danger level is very high right now. There is still a discrepancy in what exactly the explosion was. There are reports that an an ISIS homicide bomber came into the building, yelled “Alluha Akbar” and triggered his explosive belt. Another report said an explosive had been planted in the building and from the looks of one wall, that might be the case. Those that saw the video sent out will also have seen the pile of books. These were HOB Bibles and teaching booklets that had been passed around the crowd of at least 150 or more people in attendance.
Most readers will remember a report I shared of 3 sheikhs (newly Christian leaders) and 125 HOB teachers who were captured at one of the baptism locations in northern Iran last week. No one had a clue what had happened to them other than the fact that they had been severely beaten before being taken from the baptism location. Brother Aylout was able to locate them with the help of some mullahs that were able to get the information. Aylout sent me the report below:
Peace be upon you, my brother Jack. This is Aylout Eban. Just to clarify, we, along with Mullah Ma’touqa, Shahbandar, and Murtada, have done our best to find out they are in a prison. I was imprisoned there before. They sleep 20 people in a room consisting of a toilet and only two and a half meters of space (about 8’ square). There is no light, and they may have been stripped of their clothes, as they did to me. They only receive one loaf of bread (to share), three olives, and a small cup of water per day. Please pray for them to remain steadfast in their faith. They may put 30 people in each room. They cannot sit down so they can only try to sleep while standing. Pray, you and the brethren.
Your brother Aylout and the brothers, servants of the Lord
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There is new information that I have received today regarding the prisoners. They have been imprisoned in Isfahan. The reports include glorious supernatural interventions as well as tragic events. I will share the details in tomorrow’s update. Please keep the House of Blessing in your prayers. They are in the midst of a violent spiritual battle that spills into their physical world and threatens on all fronts. Their physical lives are constantly threatened. But, we serve a big God!
Many thanks and much gratitude to you all for your continued prayers and support!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)