Those who have read the Mideast Updates for any length of time are well aware that God will quite often intervene in supernatural ways. We serve a God who has no limits. He is not like us! Many people are confused by the fact that the Bible teaches us that God is one God and there is none other like Him. We also read Scriptures that describe God as: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How is this possible? This is especially difficult for Muslim people. How can one be three and three be one? One plus one plus one equals three, not one! On the other hand, take one and divide it by three, and it equals one-third, not one! It seems that the math does not work, but you cannot use a h is finite means to define the infinite. There is, however, one simple little change that can be made in the equation that remedies the problem. If you add the infinity symbol ∞ next to each number, the equation works. How? One ∞ plus one ∞ plus one ∞ equals three ∞∞∞. How big is three infinities? It’s an ∞. It’s infinite. Three ∞∞∞ equal one ∞…So three equals one! It works the other way around as well. One ∞ divided by three equals one-third of ∞. What is one-third of ∞? One-third of ∞ is…still ∞!
When we are speaking about God, we are speaking of the infinite. So, in God, the realm of the infinite, one does equal three and three equals one. You can never fit the infinite inside the finite, and you can never fit God inside of your understanding. If you could, He would not be God! We don’t have to figure God out. But, there is one way that the finite can understand the infinite. Believe! (Excerpts of this mathematical concept are paraphrased from Jonathan Cahn’s Book of Mysteries).
The House of Blessing missionaries have learned to live by this infinity principle. Seek to live not limited by the limitations of your circumstances, problems, thoughts, and ways. Live by faith beyond them by believing!
The first report from the House of Blessing today is like none that I have shared in the past. Omar told of an incident just three days ago that showed how closely God walks with His people and how He sometimes intervenes in unusual ways in difficult circumstances. Omar prefaced his detailing of this event by writing these words: “Hello my brother, Jack. The Lord is always able to perform miracles, no matter what the devils do to oppress the earth, but the Lord is able. They are the enemies of God, enemies of the Lord. He is able, through prayers, faith and trust in Him. His hand is above everything…”
Omar then described a situation in which over two thousand people had made a commitment to the Lord Jesus as Savior and desired to be baptized. However, the oppressive government pressures upon minorities and Christians (including the House of Blessing Christian community), included, in this case, restriction of water sources and even the purchase of water. This was happening during the Assad regime and is continuing today with the new Sunni Islamic Syrian government. The government has even destroyed many wells which had been built near mountain springs in order to keep people from escaping into mountainous areas.
Because of the lack of water for this large group of new believers, Abdelrahem and some of the HOB elders left their tent and headed to a nearby mountain along with some of the sisters. They asked for special prayer that the Lord would provide water for this great baptism service. On their walk up the mountain side, they came across an old well that had been badly damaged and sealed up with cement by the Assad regime some years earlier. On locating the old well, Abdelrahem, the elders, and sisters spent some time reading the Scriptures, singing songs and worshipping the Lord. They began praying and asked the Lord to unseal the well. After some time of prayer, Abdelrahem took his walking stick and struck the top of the well where its disabled pump was located. Within a few minutes water began to find its way out of the top of the well but not sufficient for what was needed. Abdulrahem then put baptismal anointing oil on the top stone of the well. After an additional time of prayer of about half an hour, Abdelrahem then instructed Jaafar, Omar, and Zalatimo to prepare communion in preparation for what God was about to do. He then told them to strike the stone. As they did, the water coming up from the well exploded out the top with such force that it blew the priming pump right off the top of the well!!
As the people were gathered, they brought lemon blossom water, rose water, and jasmine to purify the water so they could drink from it. And the people drank water and were refreshed. The abundance of water made it possible to have the great baptismal service they had asked to have. No government, nor even the forces of hell, can stop God’s intervention when He decides it is His will to make a move! Praise God!
The story continued only one day later when some doctors arrived on the scene to check on the sheikhs who had been nearly slashed to death in the mosque (see previous Mideast Update). Doctors in Syria must make a report to the authorities concerning any injured person that they come across. Usually, this is used by the government as a means to ambush dissidents. In this case, it was the doctor who had intended to disinfect and stitch up the wounds on the men stabbed and slashed. Although he himself had become a believer in Jesus, the two doctors who came with him were not. These doctors, who are virologists, asked many very pointed questions. The doctors then proceeded to give the injured sheikhs a physical examination.
After the doctors examined the men, they said they wanted to test the water. In order to get a proper sample, Omar and the two virologists, Dr Abu Jawdat and Dr. Gebran, went down through an access to the underside of the well and took samples of the fresh water that had broken through the cement seal. As they took samples, a bright light shone from an unidentifiable source and dazzled everyone’s eyes. That was the first shock. The second shock came when they tested the water. They looked up mystified and exclaimed, “We have never in our lives seen water like this! This water is sweet. This is impossible! Where did this water come from? This well has not had water in it for a long period of time, at least 10 years! This water is very, very pure! Tell me the story! How was the water in the well and the bottom of the well cleaned?”
Omar explained to them that it had absolutely not been cleaned. He then told them the whole story. After he shared, the two doctors gave their hearts to our Messiah Jesus and asked to be baptized in this wonderful water. They then volunteered to help the House of Blessing in any way they could, wherever there was a need. They also said they would like to learn the Scriptures and eventually would like to join the ranks of the teachers. What a series of miracles, the best of them all being the salvation of men who did not know the Lord. God is good!
Although much of what is written in these updates has to do with miraculous events that happen, such as the one above, not nearly as much is said about the great times of teaching that are constantly going on. Abdelrahem does a great deal of teaching and below is a list of Scriptures that were used in one of his teaching sessions. Due to the great dangers in large group meetings, it has been decided it is best to gather students in large tents, with no more than 50 in each one. Abdelrahem teaches the sheikhs, leaders, teachers, and sisters, and then they in turn pass the teachings on to others. This is one of the lists of Scriptures that was sent to me:
- Luke 9:13-17
- Deuteronomy 10:21
- Exodus 15:26
- Jeremiah 32:27
- John 2:11
- Luke 18:27
- Mark 9:23
- Matthew 17:20
- Matthew 19:26
- Matthew 21:21
- Romans 15:18-19
- Acts 19:11-12
- Job 5:8-9
- Ephesians 3:20-21
Wherever miracles occur before the eyes of people, there are always questions, how do these miracles come about. All the Scriptures above speak to the supernatural interventions of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Because supplies are often very limited, including food for sustenance, HOB leaders and teachers make it a policy to see to it that their students are taken care of. They are their first priority. The leaders have learned to take whatever is left, divide it amongst themselves, and ask the Lord for His blessing. Sometimes it is only a piece of bread, but the Lord takes care of His people. When water is unavailable, which is often the case, the HOB community can sometimes get water from the rivers, although that can be dangerous. The thing the House of Blessing needs more than anything, is to be able to provide Bibles and teaching booklets. These need to be printed and distributed to the many locations all around the Middle East.
With many sheikhs and their followers coming to faith in Christ, there is negative reaction from the new Sunni government in Damascus. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani), does not accept the teaching from Scriptures that speak of Messiah Jesus and also His teachings of love, sincerity, giving, and other principles that are not of Islamic theology. Omar has commented that Christianity is beginning to be looked at as an attempt at a coup of Islam. This is of course not the aim of the House of Blessing, but that will eventually happen when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom. He will be the undisputed GOD / KING of the entire world.
One of the events within the last day or so that proves the point above, involves a number of the sheikhs that have just recently come to the Lord. They were on their way from the north of Syria, headed to the Sweida region when they came across a group of men who recognized them. Sheikhs Ershad, Hael, Al-Kilani, Musa, Ballout, Dhargham, Abu Shaker, Habraman, and Azmi were all together. Hayal and Ershad were, however, recognized by some because they had been Druze sheikhs. These men who recognized them came to kiss their hands, but then a discussion began which soon became volatile. It was revealed that Hayal and Ershad were now believers and followers in Jesus instead of Allah and his prophet Muhammad. Things soon got out of hand and the Islamists demanded that Hayal and Ershad renounce their faith in Jesus. Of course, they absolutely refused. When the HOB group left, they traveled with a large group of teachers from Idlib. They were watched and then pursued by the Islamists. Some of the teachers were killed because, like Hayal and Ershad, they refused to return to Islam. Most of them managed to get to safety but, tragically, nine teachers were caught and executed. Proper burial could not be provided for these nine because the Islamists incinerated their bodies.
Some might think these types of incidents are a rare event because the western media rarely mentions such things. But, if you have read these Mideast Updates for any length of time, you know of the thousands of HOB missionaries and volunteers that have been martyred since early 2012. Because I was not associated with the House of Blessing before 2012, I have no record of the many who lost their lives for their faith since Pastor Rashid founded HOB.
I did mention in the previous update that there was a large celebration planned in the Deir ez-Zor region, with at least 3,000 HOB community people expected, plus whoever else showed up. It was very crowded. The brothers elected to shorten the celebration quite a bit to avoid too much attention by the merciless regime. Omar, Zaltimo, and Jaafar plan to be in Erbil with Sheikhs Al-Tutunji and Al-Awiwi in Mosul, Iraq, also with Sheiks Bayan and Al-Shammari in Kirkuk, Iraq, and finally also with Sheikhs Al-Sudani and Al-Akari. It has also been agreed to limit classes to 50 students. Each class will be given 10 Bibles and 10 booklets. May God multiply the Bibles and Booklets available.
I was sent a long list of the names of leaders, teachers, teacher’s volunteers, and all the many locations where there are underground Bible classes being taught. Because of the length of this update, I won’t include the extensive list, but you would be amazed at what God is doing! It would be overwhelming if God were not the One providing the wisdom and Holy Spirit power needed for the task. Things are definitely not easy, but the HOB leaders intend to keep going as the Lord gives them the ability. Although I am not including a list of all the leaders and teachers, I will mention that there are many families being helped by HOB, besides the Bible classes being provided. Just a sampling is: 168 Alawite families in Latakia, 478 families in Idlib, 675 families in Aleppo, 357 families in Daraa, 800 families in Deir ez-Zor, 366 families near Hama and Homs, and 390 families in Hasakah. That amounts to a lot of people!
Brother Abdelrahem sent me a message yesterday saying that the Syrian government has their eyes on the northwestern part of Syria and also the suburbs near Damascus. The Sunni government hates the Alawites as well as the Druze. Abdelrahem said that the Syrian regime is totally against Christianity and especially hates the fact that so many of the Alawites have become believers. The same can be said about the Druze. Many have become believers in the past weeks. Abdelrahem continues to ask for intercessory prayer for the mission they have been called to, and also for the means of getting Bibles and Booklets printed for distribution. He emphasized again: “Brother Jack, Jesus is coming, coming, coming! Please help the people wake up!”
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Please keep all of the HOB missionaries, leaders, teachers, volunteers and the entire Christian community in your prayers. These are perilous times for them all. The brothers and sisters asked me to thank you all for your generous help. Souls are being saved by the thousands. The return of Jesus for His faithful remnant is at the door!!
In closing I would like to share this thought. In late March 2012 when my wife, Anne, and I became acquainted with Pastor Rashid and the House of Blessing through brother NR, the Lord spoke these words to my heart: Every single Bible provided will bear fruit; in fact, it will bear much fruit.” God has done that ever since, just as He promised He would. What an eternal investment! Anyone interested in donating, please contact one of the emails below. Thank you!
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)