In a devotional that I read this morning, I found these words by A.W. Tozer:
“The essence of spiritual worship is to love supremely, to trust confidently, to pray without ceasing and to seek to be Christ-like and holy and to do all the good we can for Christ’s sake. How impossible for anyone to hinder that kind of ‘practice.’
If we find ourselves irked by external hindrances, be sure we are victims of our own self-will. Nothing can hinder the heart that is fully surrendered and quietly trusting, because nothing can hinder God.”
We find these words in 1 Peter:
16 “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter….19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:16, 19
Whether we live in a place where there is great persecution for practicing faith in Christ or in a culture where there is still some relative freedom to practice our Christianity, it will always be God who ensures that His Word never returns void. Nothing can hinder God! We will see more evidence of this in today’s stories from the House of Blessing’s missionaries on the front lines.
The first message I received a few days ago was from brother Hanini, passing on a rather unusual story. As I usually do with these messages, I do as little editing as I can so that you, the reader, can receive the messages as close to the original as possible.
“Hello my brother Jack, this is Hanini. Two sheikhs, Farid and Abel, from Azerbaijan, tell me they knew Al-Sahturi, the sheikh who died at the hands of treachery. (Note: for those who don’t remember the story, Al-Sahturi had his tongue cut out by militants for not denying Christ. They then hung him, his wife, and two grown sons earlier this spring). Farid also says he knows Omar, Bayan, and Al-Awiwi. His story is that he took a copy of the Bible before Sahturi’s death. He happened to be a passerby returning from Mecca to his home country via Iran. He took the Bible but didn’t really care about it. In spite of that he began to pray for people with the Bible in his hands for about the next two months. He says that people were miraculously healed from diseases such as cancer, leprosy, and scabies. He healed people who had hair loss because of worry, and their hair quickly grew back very thick. Farid is the sheikh of a mosque, sells spices, and makes medical preparations. The power to heal, however, came from the Bible.
Farid decided one day to take the Bible to a Jewish translator and asked him to translate the Book. Farid is from Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan county in Iran, not Azerbaijan, the nation) and reads Arabic very weakly as his native language is called Shabo and is of Kurdish origin. The Jewish translator asked him for $2,000 and Farid told him he didn’t care if it would cost $5,000. The translator asked him for a week. After a week, Farid went back and found that the Jewish man had become a believer in Jesus as he did his translating work. He informed Farid that it was a Christian Bible he had asked him to translate. They then spent time in prayer and reading the Bible. They found themselves not tiring of their reading. When they finally stopped, the Jewish translator refused payment for his work. He wouldn’t accept a single dollar. He was now a believer in Jesus and because of this, a door has now opened in Zardab to teach the Gospel where there are about 80 believers. Thank the Lord for this blessing!”
Hanini
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I received a short message from Abdelrahem a couple days later. This is what he had to share:
“Hello my brother Jack, we spent the night praying and it was an unforgettable night. While the elders slept, it sounded like they were talking to Christ, even in their sleep. We have never seen people who love the Lord so much. I, myself, Al-Fishawy, Al-Hedmi and the brothers watched them. They love the Lord, even in their sleep! They pray and intercede and quote chapters in Aramaic. Yes, yes, it is another proof that the end of time is coming. It is the love of the Lord that we are seeing. He is calling His righteous servants. They are ready to study the Word of God without stopping, without sleeping. My brother Jack, they are a sign of the Gospel. In one month, they memorized the old and new Gospels. What greatness, joy and happiness for all of us. What an honor it is to spread the Gospel through them. They are a role model of strong faith for the next generation. They will never be shaken.”
Abdelrahem, servant of the Lord and His work forever
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Another message received from Al-Hanini just a couple days later details another unusual event.
Hello my brother Jack, this is Al-Hanini. We have arrived in the Al-Aziziyah area, the birthplace of Sheikh Al-Minyawi near Baghdad, and he insisted on giving the confession of his faith in front of large crowds. It was me, Jaafar, Bayan, Al-Awiwi, and Zalatimo. He stood up before prayers at the mosque and started telling them how Jesus had been coming to him in his dreams for a month or more and taught him the Gospel. He told them that the Bible is a book of Truth. This house should now become a teaching house for the Gospel! This caused a reaction and loud shouting and screaming. The sheikhs around him intervened and told the crowd to listen to what he has to say. He said to Al-Minyawi’s uncle, the mosque sheikh, to come and sit down. He sat with about five other sheikhs. Al-Minyawi was then encouraged to “give them a gift and show them the strength of faith in Jesus.” So he began to pray for them: “Oh Jesus, show them your favor. Show them your paradise. Show them your loved ones who sacrificed for you.” He prayed for them with a prayer like the apostle Paul would pray. People thought he was crazy and just rambling. Then the mosque sheikh saw some of the martyred loved ones of theirs in paradise and as he did, the crowd became aware of a divine light emanating from the ceiling of the mosque. What they saw was enough for the people to cry out to Jesus, asking Him for forgiveness and for Him to become their Lord and Savior. What a miracle!
Al-Hanini
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I received a little more information about the above story. There were over 450 people who committed themselves to Christ as a result of what God did. The sheikhs that were given a vision of paradise also came to faith. Because the situation is so sensitive and dangerous, the names of the sheikhs cannot be disclosed for this update. I was told that it was Al-Sahtouri, his wife, and sons that they saw in the vision of paradise. These sheikhs knew them quite well while alive.
There is another story that needs to be told and it is about a sheikh named Haj Faraj. This story takes a little longer to tell and it will come out in a subsequent update in a day or two at the latest. It is quite a story!
In conclusion, please continue to keep the House of Blessing leaders, teachers, and the whole House of Blessing community in your prayers. And if you, like Anne and I, have loved ones who have not yet opened their hearts to the truth of the Bible and the person of Jesus, know that we include them in our prayers also. God knows their names even if we do not. Let us pray that God will answer our prayers in such obvious and miraculous ways as we read in these stories. The time is so short!
As usual, the financial burden is very heavy as HOB now must print Bibles and teaching booklets in several languages with new doors being opened. Please contact either one of the email addresses below if you have any questions. Thank you for your help and, most especially, your prayers.
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)
[email protected] [email protected]
Jake Geier; 3206 SW 45th Street, Redmond, Oregon 97756 USA