“Bibles for Mideast” is an underground ministry serving the Middle East and several nearby countries. A total of 17 nations make up the Middle East, with an estimated population of 411 million (as of 2016). While Islam remains the largest religion, thousands of people secretly believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Living in mostly highly restricted areas, they hunger and thirst for the Word of God.
By God’s grace, we distribute bibles free of charge and establish house churches for new believers. We have volunteer ministers and a number of gospel teams in the Middle East and some other countries in Asia and Africa.
Many of our gospel team members have converted to Christianity from Islam, and operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Experienced in effective personal evangelism, they also conduct crusades and pastor house churches.
Christianity and Islam have much in common, but a few very fundamental differences well-elucidated in the discussion below.
Pastor Cliffe Knechtle speaks with a young Muslim man who asks, "Why is my religion wrong?' and many other q's. I found their interaction so enriching and helpful, and trust you will too.
Taysir "Tass" Abu Saada, a former terrorist and once aide to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, believes revival is already breaking out in Gaza (as shared a few days ago on CBN News). His team and many others, including our own with Bibles for Mideast, know of many Palestinians who have seen the Lord Jesus in their dreams, visions, and even in the clouds.
Saada said he believes hearts are turning to Jesus and confirmed a report late last year that hundreds of Gazans encountered Jesus in their sleep.
"I have a report from one of my team members that 200 Gazans gave their heart to Jesus in one lump sum," Saada expressed. "The Lord appeared to them in visions and dreams and they were hugging each other and rejoicing. [They] realized all of them had the same vision! Obviously, the Lord is doing His work and the believers in the land are doing their work.”
Ex-terrorist Tass Saada (l) and a refugee family in Gaza (R) /AP Photo by Fatima Shbair
Bibles for Mideast pastors and believers in the region corroborate these reports as they and teams from other Christian organizations work with the many caught in the crossfire.
According to Bibles for Mideast Director Pastor Paul, many report dreaming of Jesus explaining to them the way of salvation, and their responding. Imagine going to sleep a Muslim, and waking up a Christian!
Prayers for exactly what is happening were a large part of the seven days of prayer and fasting for the region held recently by Bibles for Mideast, as reported in our most recent post: The power of prayer and fasting: deaf woman hears and speaks for the first time!
+++++ If you are able to help, please click here: BLESSING Bibles for Mideast. +++++
Last summer, one of our Bibles for Mideast leaders, Pastor Riyaz*, was brutally attacked while ministering among Muslims and Hindus in East Champaran, India—an area of India along the border with Nepal. Pastor Riyaz and his family are all former Muslims and so well-understand that faith system. He ministers mainly to Indians and Nepalese, with many Muslims and Hindus having received Christ through his, his family’s and his team’s efforts.
On this particular day, a mob of angry Muslim fundamentalists attacked him, then threw his seemingly lifeless body into a ditch, leaving him for dead [that story here: A beyond-astonishing story of God’s redemption!].
But God! Some Christian believers found him lying in the ditch and, noticing signs of life, rushed him to the local hospital. Barely alive and with one knee damaged beyond repair, once he was stabilized somewhat, doctors replaced the pastor’s knee.
More problems—and excitement—followed during his stay in hospital, which you can read about here: Going above and beyond with ‘Bloom where you're planted’: hospital miracles continue.
MANY OF PASTOR RIyAZ’S* CONGREGATION GATHERED FOR PRAYER when he was hospitalized
Bibles for Mideast Director Pastor Paul recently joined Pastor Riyaz (now almost completely recovered) and his congregation at the pastor’s home in East Champaran.
Amazingly, even some of those who had attacked Pastor Riyaz and his church attended. Tears flowed as they confessed before him and the congregation. The once-disabled pastor then shared the saving gospel with them, and they accepted Jesus as their personal saviour and Lord!
The group had originally planned for three days of prayer and fasting, to include sharing testimonies and hearing the gospel each day from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and then again from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
As more and more people came, the group grew so large Pastor Riyaz’s home could no longer accommodate them. Services were then moved outdoors, with worshippers gathering under the sprawling branches of a huge tree as even more joined in from the neighborhood. The projected three days stretched to seven full days because of the growing numbers of attendees—including the many people from the hospital who had felt the touch of the Lord as Pastor Riyaz recovered (and ministered!) there.
Last Saturday, as the seven days came to a close, Pastors Paul and Riyaz joined with two other pastors to hold a remarkable baptismal ceremony in the nearby Gandak River.
Among the 327 people baptized that day were hundreds from the hospital where Pastor Riyaz had received treatment—including four Hindu doctors, two Muslim doctors, and a number of Hindu and Muslim nurses—plus many others from the nearby Indian and Nepalese communities.
After the baptismal service, the group began making preparations to celebrate the Lord’s Supper—750 people partaking on this final day of their week of prayer and fasting.
As they prepared, Pastor Riyaz’s deaf and mute sister Saira* (who lives with the pastor’s family due to her disability) suddenly stood, vigorously moving her hands and lips. She kept this up for a couple of minutes. While all could see she seemed desperate to express something, they grew increasingly anxious at her inability to do so.
“The Holy Spirit then insisted I go and pray over her,” Pastor Paul recalls. “Holy Spirit is moving on her to say something!” he explained to those gathered. He then asked that everyone pray for her while he went to lay on his hands and pray.
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” It only took a few minutes for Saira to voice the name of the one who had healed her! She went on to speak for about 15 minutes, every word either praise or thanks to the Lord.
Further, she could HEAR herself speaking; she could hear the murmurs of the crowd around her. As she continued in praise, the Holy Spirit moved on and filled every person in attendance, with absolutely glorious worship ensuing.
Pastor Paul then gave the people a message on his heart from the Lord, and went on to conduct the Lord’s supper.
Please keep all of these believers, new and seasoned, in your prayers. And when you pray, please pray for Pastor Riyaz’s church: that they would find their sorely-needed dedicated place of worship.
________________
*Names changed for security reasons
+++++ If you are able to help us financially, please click here: BLESSING Bibles for Mideast. +++++
We have an exciting, crazy-encouraging update on Pastor Riyaz*! If you aren’t aware of his story thus far, please read our earlier post, A beyond-astonishing story of God’s redemption!
As only God can orchestrate it, the injured and hospitalized pastor’s story has gotten even more astonishing.
First of all, he has been improving quickly (from both the original attack and the attack in the hospital), and if all continues well, hopes to be released next week. The most astonishing part is that his mission work has continued in the hospital!
A few Sundays ago, Pastor Riyaz asked permission to have a worship service in the hospital hall. Since many staff had already become Christian through his ministry, hospital authorities were happy to provide the hall space for worship.
So at about 10 a.m. those gathered—some 300 staff and patients—began to pray. The Holy Spirit hovered and moved powerfully. Pastor Riyaz shared a gospel message from his wheelchair, while his wife conducted the overall service.
One of the hospital’s security staff shared his testimony about the previous Sunday service. He had prayed as best as he knew how to God for his wife, who has been paralyzed and bedridden for three years. He and his children were trying to care for her, but his income from the hospital work wasn’t enough to manage both looking after the house and his wife’s treatment. In an attempt to support the family, two of his young daughters worked as sales girls in a local cloth shop, but it was still barely enough.
When he returned home after his hospital shift, his children excitedly reported that their mother had been shaking her legs and fingers around midday! The security man knew it had to be around the time he had prayed for her during the worship service. The Lord Jesus had touched her! So he shared all of this with his family, as well as about the salvation possible only with Jesus.
He and his children then joined hands and prayed aloud for his wife. It was really the first time he prayed consciously and knowingly to the Lord Jesus. Since the family belonged to a Hindu priestly family, none really knew how to pray. But the Holy Spirit ‘taught him’, giving him the words, as he prayed.
And then suddenly, his wife stood up from the bed and praised the Lord! As the security guard shared his amazing testimony in the hospital that Sunday, he wept over all the Lord had done for him.
Many others then shared exciting and powerful stories of what they had experienced as well.
So until he is released from hospital, our dear pastor will continue leading people to the Lord as well as powerful Sunday worship services!
Please keep all of these dear people in your prayers. Pastor Riyaz still needs total healing, and all the brand-new Christians need discipleship as they move forward in the Kingdom.
_________________
*Name changed for security reasons
+++++ If you are able to help us financially, please click here: BLESSING Bibles for Mideast. +++++
Bibles for Mideast has six underground churches in Palestine. As Christians in an Arab land, members of those churches have never ‘had it easy’ but now, having fled to the West Bank from their now-destroyed homes in Gaza, they lack food, water, clothes, medicine and electricity. Thankfully though, all are safe! While their situation is precarious, our Lord protects them mightily.
With their mental and spiritual support resting with Israel, they assure us they can palpably feel the Lord’s Presence. They spend much of their time praying for a stop to the war between Israel and Palestine. Kindly remember them in your prayers.
Lisa Loden’s words about hostilities in the region back in May of 2021 are as true today as ever.
“It is a time for intercession and lament. May the Lord have mercy on us all.” (Lisa Loden co-chairs the Lausanne Initiative for Reconciliation in Israel/Palestine)
Billboard in Jerusalem features Arab and Jewish children, with the slogan written in Hebrew and Arabic: “Growing up together”
If you are able to help us financially, now direly needed due to the war in the Middle East, please click here: BLESSING Bibles for Mideast
We are an underground ministry serving the Middle East and a number of nearby countries. A total of 17 nations make up the Middle East alone, with an estimated population of 411 million (as of 2016). While Islam remains the largest religion in the region, thousands of people secretly believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Living in mostly highly restricted areas, they hunger and thirst for the Word of God. By God’s grace, we distribute bibles free of charge, and establish house churches for new believers.
We have volunteer ministers and a number of gospel teams in this area and other countries in south Asia and Africa. Many of our gospel team members have converted to Christianity from Islam, some from Hinduism, and all operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Experienced in effective personal evangelism, they also conduct crusades and pastor house churches.
You may republish articles from our site, but only with attribution and a link back to the site. Thank-you!
ALL AT A GLANCE: ARCHIVE OF BIBLES FOR MIDEAST STORIES
DID YOU MISS THESE?
Reflections on the Cross of Christ: the crux of history
Boy’s dramatic dream of wounded lamb leads to salvation of his Islamic terrorist father
Warrior angels just one factor in many connected radical salvations
Former Hindu ‘snake goddess’ now powerful witness to Jesus
Muslim father kills daughter; Jesus raises her from the dead
Stoned by terrorists, protected by a lion!
Mohammed finds Jesus in Mecca!
Terrorists JOIN church after Jesus terrorizes their plan to burn it down!
Jesus was born, that
we might be born again.
He became poor, that
we might possess wealth.
He became homeless, that
we might have a mansion.
He was stripped, that
we might always have clothes.
He was forsaken, that
we always should have friends.
He was bound, that
we might have perfect liberty.
He was saddened, that
we might have full joy.
He descended, that
we should be lifted up.
He became a servant, that
we might be sons forever.
He was made sin, that
we should share
His righteousness.
He died, that
we should not taste
eternal death.
He will come down, that
we might go up.
All of this—that
He might display in us
the riches of His grace,
and so we can dwell
with God in heaven.
Have you given
your heart to Jesus?
If not, allow Him
to come into your heart.
Accept Him
As your Lord and Savior
with your heart and mouth.
Our Lord Jesus’ return
is very near.
Be ready to receive Him.
Even so, COME, LORD JESUS.
Amen! Amen! And amen!
HOW THE CROSS CHANGED AN IRANIAN WOMAN’S LIFE — from SAT-7
Ministers in Ukraine Are ‘Ready to Meet God at Any Moment’
Pastors and church leaders who stayed behind serve as if every day might be their last
—from Christianity Today
“I plant secret house churches because I was saved into one.”
How an Iranian teenager found Christ and launched a mission to equip persecuted believers. [Christianity Today]
Four things persecuted Christians can teach us about gratitude — Open Doors
Christian devotees pray during Easter Sunday at a church in Chennai, India in April/Getty Images
“I grew up a fervent evangelist for Islam. Now I’m living out the Book of Acts.” —An astonishing story of the son of an Imam, as told to Christianity Today.
OUR LIFELINE: “The Bible is the rope God throws us in order to ensure that we stay connected while the rescue is in progress.” [Revisiting an old article by J.I. Packer, new citizen of heaven — Christianity Today]
He prayed for the death of Christians and Jews then learned to love Jesus and others through Christians’ love for him — Christianity Today
Transformed! Former drug smuggler now Bible smuggler and secret pastor — Open Doors
“The numbers of God’s people who are suffering should mean the Church is dying—that Christians are keeping quiet, losing their faith, and turning away from one another,” stated David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA.
“But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, in living color, we see the words of God recorded in the prophet Isaiah:
‘I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert’” (Isa. 43:19, ESV).
Muslims in Northern Iraq embracing Christianity thanks to witness of their young children — The Gospel Herald
Kenyan boy and his mom find ‘a love that does not exist in Islam’ — Samaritan's Purse
Jesus rescues Christians AND Muslims: an astonishing tale from the Middle East straight from the book of Acts — three Bibles for Mideast stories in one, from a Canadian Anglican site
