Sometimes I feel like I have neither suffered nor done anything for God. Today we heard a Pastor Jules from Baghdad, Iraq speak on having a dream. (I preached nearly the same message last Saturday at a church dinner). But what was amazing about him was his life story and suffering. He started a church while Hussein was still in power, and was constantly harassed. His church even met on buses, which they rented and then held services on while they traveled. He was imprisoned and tortured, and given a death sentence, but released when the last Iraq war happened.
Their church has grown to about a thousand today. Pastor Jules has had 3 car bombs go off in front of his home, and buried many members killed by the violence. One of his deacons was just shot in her car. These are not random, by the way, but targeted killings of Christians by Muslims. Pretty much every week some members of his church leave the country for their safety and freedom of worship.
Pray for Pastor Jules. We received an offering at the end of the service for them to buy land for a building. He is committed to staying in Baghdad regardless of the safety threats to him.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment