— Part One —
The story of Stephan’s death in the 7th chapter of Acts is one that is familiar to most Christ-followers. After Stephen’s answer to those accusing him of blasphemy and giving the Jewish crowd a history lesson of God’s dealings with them over the centuries, he was stoned to death. The last few moments of his life were recorded for us in the last verses of Acts 7.
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord, 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:54-60
Due to the volume of information that has been passed on to me over the past few days, this update will be broken up into multiple parts. .
In the previous Mideast Update, I told the story of Sister Shukria. For those that have read the story, you will remember that she was murdered because her husband’s four grown sons and friends started spying on her movements after she had become pregnant. Because her husband was quite elderly, the sons accused her of having committed adultery. But, instead of finding her visiting another man, they found out that she was part of the underground Christian community. Rather than kill Shukria themselves, they hired four evil women to do the deed. Reports are that as these women approached Shukria, they saw a glow around her and assumed it was something evil. This only gave them greater reason to kill her. They brutally beat her until she was nearly dead and then suffocated her. To the very end, Shukria refused to deny her faith in Jesus, her Savior and Lord.
As happens so often, the story of Shukria and her elderly husband, Gaaga, has greatly expanded. Shukria, as pointed out previously, was one of the nurses who helped to take care of Pastor Rashid until he passed away in October 2023. She was also known as a mother and sister to many people, not only for her medical knowledge but also due to her knowledge of natural remedies and many other ways she helped people. Her death has caused quite a stir.
One of the things reported was that the women who murdered Shakria are plagued with all kinds of issues, including the inability to sleep, some paralysis, and even an inability to determine night from day. People around them said they were repeatedly getting lost and seemed to be losing their minds. We pray that they will recognize that there is only one answer for them and that is to humble themselves before the One for whom Shakria was willing to sacrifice herself. He is the only source of true forgiveness. Many have found Jesus as a result of what happened with Shakria and there will be many, many more. The ripple effect continues.
The next part of the story concerns her husband, Gaaga. He was not aware of any of what had happened because he had been working on his farm. He was really shocked when he learned of her murder. Because it was known that he was also part of the underground believing community, the House of Blessing sent brothers to take him out of the vicinity. They immediatedly took him to a good-sized HOB community a distance south of where Shakria was murdered and put him under the care and protection of an elderly former sheikh named Abdelrahim. He is a man that I and our readers have not become acquainted with previously. I was introduced through phone communications and have found out that he was an old friend of Pastor Rashid. They knew each other long before my wife, Anne, and I connected with Pastor Rashid early in 2012. I found him to be a wonderful Christian brother and a genuine lover of Jesus, our Messiah.
As we continue this story, I received news from Abdelrahim that the four grown sons of Gaaga, along with some others, came to retrieve their father and take him back up north. During a meeting with the leadership of the community, the brothers admitted that they had had a great deal of trouble with their consciences over the death of Shakria and had hardly been able to sleep. They came prepared to offer a sacrificial gift in order to earn forgiveness for their responsibility in her death. They offered over 100 sheep and 20+ cows. Abdelrahim said no, forgiveness cannot be earned by giving animal gifts to pay for the bloodstain of their sins on their conscience. True forgiveness can ultimately only come through the Blood Sacrifice freely offered by the Perfect Lamb of God, Jesus the Messiah. Yes, they needed the forgiveness of their father, Gaaga, but they were even more guilty in the sight of Almighty God. They had not expected their “sacrifice” for the murder of Shakria to be rejected but the brothers decided they were not willing to humble themselves to that point and left the meeting.
As Pastor Rashid had taught them for years, such a “blood gift” could not be accepted, nor was it acceptable. Abdelrahim said it really was a sacrifice for them to reject such a provision of the animals because, just by value alone, the animals were worth about $70,000 in the Mideast. But, he added, Jesus was their source of blessing. A piece of bread and a little yogurt was sufficient for them if it had God’s blessing on it.
The next thing the community learned was that the men that had come with the brothers kidnapped Gaaga and no one had any idea where they had taken him. It was revealed later that they took him to a place where they could force him into denying his faith and return to Islam. They saw Gaaga as being responsible for the conversion of many Muslim people and was even responsible for his sons having a problem with their conscience. Gaaga was going to have to pay for betraying his Islamic faith. In spite of all their threats and torture the men began to put him through, Gaaga refused to deny his Lord. The more he refused, the angrier the men got until they were in a rage. They brutally beat him with clubs and then stoned him to death. As this 79-year-old man was dying, it was reported that he shouted “Come, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, save us from injustice. Rescue us from this world. Light our way! We need You more now than ever. You are our only hope for salvation.” Then Gaaga died. The Bible tells us that he was instantly taken into the presence of His Savior and Lord.
It did not take long until Gaaga’s sons found out what had happened to their father. It was at this point they decided they needed to bow their own knees before Jesus and repent. All four sons, Ashraf, Ayhab, Dhiab, Amir and all of their wives became believers and followers of Jesus. Each of Gaaga’s sons had two or three wives. Gaaga’s sons have now decided, with the help of HOB leaders, to turn Gaaga’s house into a place for people to study the Bible and learn about Jesus. It is now effectively an underground church. Initial reports are that already 157 people have accepted the Lord through the death of Gaaga. Through some tragic events, God has raised up another light in a very dark place! Once again, God has taken what the devil had intended for great evil and turned it into good. In this case, the beginning of a series of miracles.
Gaaga’s sons once again offered the goats and cows as a gift. This time, however, it was not as a sacrifice to earn forgiveness, but rather as a gift to help the work of the missionaries. The animals were accepted and became a part of a series of stunning miracles which will be detailed in Part Two of this Mideast Update.
In conclusion to Part One of this amazing story, I would ask once again for prayers for all of the House of Blessing; all the missionaries as well as the entire community. It is a very dangerous time for all Christians in the Middle East. I include names given to me so that we can pray for them specifically. God knows their names, and He knows how their names are pronounced, even if their names are unfamiliar to many of us from the West. There is a very great need also for more Bibles. The month of Ramadan is once again only days away. As you know, the House of Blessing missionaries prepare every single year to take this month as a special time of evangelism. Even though studies are provided as teaching materials, nothing can replace a real Bible to put into people’s hands.
Please pray especially for the HOB leadership, people like Talal, Omar, Abdelrahim and scores of others working behind the scenes to further the work of God’s Kingdom. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
— Continued in Part Two —
Forever in His Service,
Jake
Is there any news of Sarah in Gaza?