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News From Jerusalem 1
February 4th, 2005
“For the body is not one member, but many.” 1 Corinthians 12:14 (NASB)
Shalom from Jerusalem! Our Lord has been doing great things here, and I’ve been so encouraged to see how He’s been answering our prayers. The Scripture above reminds us that we are all part of His body… no body has only one member. I praise and thank God, and I thank you all for your prayers and support; when you read this report, may our Wonderful God reveal to you how much you’re a part of the amazing things He’s doing here! I don’t want to overload everyone with information, but I couldn’t fit everything into just one page. See how greatly He is answering our prayers!
Our work week here at For Zion’s Sake (http://www.forzion.com/) is basically 8-4, Monday through Friday, though there are also some evening things as well. Saturday in Israel is called ‘Shabbat,’ and almost everything totally shuts down for this day of rest. On Sunday (1/30), I took a taxi (they’re way cheaper here than in the US) to the Old City, the area most commonly shown in photos of Jerusalem (see the Western Wall at: http://www.bibleplaces.com/westernwall.htm). After leaving the Old City, I crossed the Valley of Yehoshaphat/Kidron Valley and walked up the Mt. of Olives. I met a very nice older Arab man in the village on top of the hill, named Ibrahim, and he invited me to his house and provided some tea and food. We talked a bit, and he said he could find 10 kids there that I could teach English to, if I was able to commit to doing so. I’m praying about this as I believe it could be a good opportunity for building relationships, but I want to make sure I don’t commit myself to something that would hinder other work here; I’m thinking about doing a short ‘Conversational English’ class, maybe once a week for a month. Please ask our Lord to guide me in this.
I walked back down the Mt. of Olives, and re-entered the Old City. God opened the door for me to speak with Khelid, an Arab Muslim selling souvenirs, and we talked for maybe 20 or 30 minutes. He asked how I had become born-again and why I had left the Catholic Church. I explained how most Catholics don’t truly know where they’ll go after they die, but that The Bible gives us a promise; I told him, ‘If you believe in Jesus, Jesus promises eternal life.’ Khelid seemed very open, and he commented on how certain people don’t eat this kind of food, or they wear this kind of clothing, but that he doesn’t think God cares about those things. I said, ‘Right… He sees your heart.’
There’s an Arab man, Fareed, who sometimes works here at For Zion’s Sake fixing things. He lives very far away, and has to walk two hours each way when he works here. He usually is here for two days at a time, so he often just stays overnight in the guys’ dorm. By The Lord’s blessing, we’ve become pretty good friends. Fareed stayed overnight on Monday (1/31), and I prayed that God would give me the opportunity to witness to him. God answered quickly - right off the bat, we started talking about The Bible, Jesus, and differences between Muslims and Christians! Fareed told me, ‘I am Muslim, but I believe in Jesus.’ I explained about how Muslims believe in Jesus as a Prophet and Messenger, but that The Bible says He’s The Son of God. I asked Fareed what he thought, and his answer blew me away. He said he wants to open a school for small children; in the first year, he’d teach them The Torah, The Injeel (‘Gospel’), and the Koran – that way, they could easily see which one was right. For the kids who understood which one was right, Fareed would teach them for another 3 or 4 years. I asked which one he thought was right, and he said The Injeel (‘Gospel’)! I asked him why, and he explained that Muhammad wasn’t a bad man, but that he was still just a man. He shared about how Muhammad loved women, and had even married a very young girl; Fareed told me that Muhammad is not a prophet. Wow! To hear a ‘Muslim’ man say such things is almost impossible. Please keep Fareed in your prayers; having talked with him several times, I’m convinced that he truly believes in Jesus. I’m not sure that he has all the correct information yet, but he is more than open and told me that he reads The Injeel.
On Thursday evening (2/3), Our Savior gave yet another opportunity to talk about Him! I went across the street to the small electronics shop to pick up the electricity converter I had ordered, and prayed before going that He would give me an opportunity to witness. The converter hadn’t arrived yet, but I stayed for quite a while and talked with the owner, Osama, and with some of the other Arab men hanging out in the shop. Osama, knowing I was a believer, asked me a question about Who Jesus was – God, or just a Messenger. I told him, ‘Both,’ and explained about The Trinity. They seemed very interested, and though I don’t know that any of them changed their thinking, I believe that they understand Him a little more (as if any of us totally understand God). I, in turn, told him a story about Muhammad that’s found in the Hadith (a record of what Muhammad said and did); Muslims believe the Hadith to be sacred. A woman’s son died, and she told Muhammad that her son was now with God. Muhammad rebuked her, explaining that even he – as ‘God’s messenger’ – didn’t know where he would go when he died… so how could she know where her son was? The guys listened and understood what I was talking about, but Osama asked what my point was. In hindsight, I failed in that respect… it’s like when you witness to someone, and you sort of lose track of what you’re really trying to get at, and afterwards realize, “Man! I should of said…” Anyways, I couldn’t quickly link that to my main point, being that Osama couldn’t know for sure where he was going either. Osama asked me, ‘Did Jesus know what the Jews would do to Him before He came?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He then asked, ‘So why did he come?’ I looked directly at him and said, ‘God loves you!,’ in a sort of “Duhh!” way. He chuckled and smiled, but it didn’t appear to be a smirking or mocking kind. I also explained, ‘If I want to help an ant, I must (be) an ant. But I’m not an ant.’ They all understood, and after the discussion, they talked together intensely for a few minutes. I couldn’t understand what they were saying because they were speaking way too fast, but they appeared to be very involved in some kind of deep discussion; not a bitter fight or anything, but intense none-the-less. Afterwards, we still talked a bit, and they didn’t seem angry or resentful in any way. In fact, Osama told me that he was going to invite me for some family dinner sometime and introduce me to his relatives!
I give God all the glory, and I don’t want you to think too highly of me – my Arabic often sounds like very broken-English, and I still have my daily battles with things. But our Lord, Able and Desiring to use us all, is opening these doors, and He is The One making these things possible. And you are sharing in the amazing things which He is doing! Your prayers and your support are being used by our Father in awesome ways, and I often thank God for you and pray for you.
He has been amazing me in how quickly He’s been answering our prayers, and so I want to encourage you: keep calling upon Him, keep seeking His Face, and keep believing in Him and His Goodness. If you know His Name, place your trust in Him, for YHWH (The LORD) has not forsaken the ones that seek Him (Psalm 9:10)!
Glory to The Only God,
Jason
God - our Savior - wants everyone to be saved, and to come to know the truth! 1 Timothy 2:3-4
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God's love is eternal
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