On Tuesday evening at the Christ Church in the old city of Jerusalem I attended a meeting of "At The Crossroads" conference. It was a full house under the scrutiny of security people because of the majority of people attending were ex-Muslims who are now followers of the Jewish Messiah Yeshua.
The worship time was heavenly as the Lord came down showing His pleasure in this gathering of His people Jew and gentile worshiping together. It reminded me of a prophetic word I had heard almost 23 years ago from Steve Lightle. The vision the Lord has given him that one day he would stand on the black rock of Mecca and preach the gospel of Yeshua The Messiah.
On Tuesday night Andrew White (Anglican Vicar of Baghdad) shared several testimonies of his 6,000 member congregation which meets in Baghdad Iraq. How in times past how these people were trained to hate Israel and the Jewish people and today pray regularly for Israel and her security. Then there was a man who shared his testimony of how he met Yeshua.
by; Charles Gardner
A Turkish Muslim who made a pilgrimage to Mecca in a desperate attempt to get his life back on track returned as a Christian to the great astonishment of his family.
Now a pastor, Ali Pektash (pictured) has been addressing a conference in Jerusalem called At the Crossroads, and sees it as part of his mission to help re-unite the sons of Abraham.
Ali, a Kurd, suffered from alcohol addiction when friends persuaded him to make Hajj (pilgrimage) to Islam's holy city. It was in Saudi Arabia, where liquor is banned, and the religious ritual might cure him, they suggested.
When he got there, he cried out to God for help (if indeed He was there) and fell asleep.
Jesus then appeared to him in a dream and touched him, saying: "You believe in me now; leave this place."
After taking a shower next morning, he discovered what he thought was dust on the part of his chest Jesus had touched, but in fact the hair on his chest had turned white in the shape of a hand! At the traditional celebration marking his return from Hajj, he announced to his incredulous family that he had seen Jesus in Mecca and had come back a Christian.
He burst out crying in front of his wife and asked forgiveness for the way he had treated her, clearly demonstrating a dramatic change in his life.
But for three years he had no access to a Bible and it was seven years before he met another Turkish Christian.
He eventually started a church in Ankara, the capital, which he has recently handed over to trusted elders in order to begin a new work in Eastern Turkey, where he was raised.
At the Crossroads, hosted at Christ Church in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City, is aimed at deepening the bonds of reconciliation between Arab Christians and Jewish followers of Jesus and is being attended by delegates from a number of Middle East countries including Iran, Egypt, Cyprus and Jordan.
Speaking in Turkish (translated through headsets for those who needed it), Ali spoke of how Abraham was also his ancestor, and how he saw it as part of his mission to help re-unite the children of Isaac and Ishmael (Abraham's children by different wives).
Illustrating how family division can cause lasting conflict among the children affected, he said it was no different for the descendants of Abraham who continue to be embroiled in much strife and contention with each other.
But now it was time for reconciliation. "We have a very important ministry - to reconcile the world," he said.
But it could only be done through Jesus. "Everybody in Turkey says they believe in God," he said. "But people are persecuting me!"
In a further example of reconciliation, a Palestinian delegate from Hebron (where Abraham is buried) said: "I was one of those who hated the Jews, but Jesus changed my life."
A number of Israeli pastors responded by laying hands on him in prayer and offering words of encouragement.
Speaking for myself, I was profoundly moved when during a communion service the previous night I was surrounded by a Turk, Egyptian, Iranian, Armenian and an Israeli originally from South Africa.
Although there was a language barrier in some cases, we embraced each other without words during the traditional 'peace' greeting that immediately precedes the sharing of bread and wine.
The conference - including worship sessions - is also being held in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
full story here
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