“All believers should partner together to share the gospel of Jesus. We need to all partner together as the body of Christ in order to make that happen.”
Joseph, USA – Episode 9
“What I get the most out of interacting with the underground church is joy, because of the fact that I don’t necessarily see them as people across the world, I see them as my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Zara, USA – Episode 40
“It’s hard to put into words.. I definitely sense the holy spirit among us as we talk and learn together. It inspires me to be bolder here in the United States, because the consequences for me are much less. So why can’t I be bold?”
Julie, USA – Episode 51
“Gradually I started to understand how wrong my thinking was in the past. I had told her I don’t want to be how I was… I wanted to be a Christian. After this everything changed gradually. Respect and kindness took place over the hatred in my heart.”
Mina Testimony, Iran – Episode 15
“Following the Christ is not always easy, and we cannot accept without any hardships. The only one you always can trust, and the only one that never leaves you is Jesus Christ.”
Nima Testimony, Iran – Episode 5 & 6
“I was not living.. I guess I was just breathing. Everybody had forgotten me, and I did not receive any kindness from my mother or father… gradually I learned that I needed to talk to God and tell Him about my wants and needs. And He heard me. My God is the God of broken hearts.”
Underground observations shares the thoughts and experiences of persecuted Christians in Iran. These observations of watchers were shared with more than 200 underground house churches in Iranand confirmed before publication.
Essay 1 - We Stand With Israel
We Stand With Israel.
Go and Do, as a ministry of Yeshuah, is called to follow and be a disciple of Him. And in doing this, We Stand With Israel.
The Bible tells us to do this.
Genesis 12:1-3
Now the LORD said to Abram,“Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Notice the words “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.”
Go and Do, in Iran and the United States, chooses to bless your nation, O God.
We Stand With Israel.
Many people today say they support Palestine and the Palestinians, and that Israel unlawfully took their land.
The Bible—the book of Truth, says the land where the current state of Israel resides, was given to them by the God of the Bible.
The terrorist group Hamas attacks Your people—with murder and rape, and yet there are those who support such evil against Your people.
According to the Daily Mail in London, “Israeli girls ‘were raped over their friends’ bodies’ by Hamas terrorists who carried out ‘a second Holocaust,’ British relatives reveal as they condemn those who celebrated the atrocities in Gaza, Iran and London.” (link to article https://tinyurl.com/36cycxsu) People in the United States support these atrocities. (link to article https://tinyurl.com/mr3ptnvn)
We Stand With Israel.
Believers in Iran stand shoulder to shoulder with Your people, the nation of Israel, O God. Protect Israel.
Psalms 83:1-4
O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
We Stand With Israel.
O God, You have promised destruction to everyone who attacks Your people Israel.
Zechariah 2:8
For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:
Please remember Your people in their time of need, O God. Take notice of everyone who wants to cause harm to Israel.
Believers in the United States say that they “support” Israel. How do we really know? They put avatars of “I support Israel” on their social media accounts. Some believers are silent, hoping no one will ask them their opinion on the subject of Hamas attacking Israel. Believers who are silent will face the wrath of Yeshuah.
When the time comes to stand up with conviction and defend Your people Israel to the death, we pray that believers will find the courage to do so. For in doing so, the believer will find a blessing from You.
Go and Do chooses to Stand With Israel, not because we desire a blessing, but because we are a part of You, Yeshuah. And in being a part of Yeshuah… We Stand With Israel.
10/15/2023
We “Iranian underground house churches with Go and Do” Stand With Israel
Essay 2 - No Middle Ground
No Middle Ground
“Your country will be gone in two years! Israel will be gone in two years! My god Allah will make sure that all the Jews are killed!”
My ears are still ringing from those hate-filled words that were meant to intimidate me just two days ago when a Palestinian Muslim approached me at the college where I work in Lansing, Michigan. I’ve known Amal for several years; I’ve helped her learn English and pursue an American college education. Long ago, she forced a conversation between us in which she established herself as a Palestinian Muslim who hates Israel and all Jews, so I established myself as a Christian who is a friend to Israel and loves the Jewish people. There was no middle ground to be had then, and there still wasn’t any two days ago. Fear for my personal safety didn’t cross my mind then, and it didn’t cross my mind two days ago. According to her Qur’an, Amal must hate and kill as it says in Surah 3:151: “We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve (all non-Muslims) …” and Surah 9:5: “Then kill the disbelievers (non-Muslims) wherever you find them, capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush …”; according to my Yeshuah, I must love (Matthew 5:44) and not be afraid (Joshua 1:9).
Now before you start thinking this is just another piece that pits Islam against Christianity with, of course, Christianity coming out on top, I’ve got to say I’ve spent the last 48 hours considering this conversation from every angle I could imagine. And that’s not where I’m going with this. Instead, I’m wondering how resolute are we Christians in our claim to stand with Israel? At what uncomfortable point will some Christians decide that standing with Israel isn’t really that necessary?
So let’s begin here. How familiar are we with the situation, or should I say the murderously antisemitic attack, that began October 7, 2023, when Hamas brutally killed Israeli citizens at a music festival near the Re ‘im kibbutz near the Gaza Strip? Probably most of us have kept up with the number of those killed, wounded, and kidnapped. There’s been no shortage of news outlets giving account of those numbers daily. Maybe we’ve even read reports of the tortures, rapes, and beheadings. But how many of us have had the stomach to watch the videos of these atrocities? I’ve watched. I’ve been sickened. I’ve cried my broken heart out and asked God to be merciful to them. Any of us can go to YouTube and do a simple search that will lead us to rather short videos released by Hamas terrorists, documenting these gruesome horrors. I’d link to them here, but I’m afraid they’ll be removed at some point in the near future. Thanks to some political commentators such as Ben Shapiro at The Daily Wire, we can watch a collection of these same videos at his podcast The Ben Shapiro Show, episode 1824, “The Face of Absolute Evil.” The podcast is lengthy; the horrifying videos begin at the 14:30 mark. (link to podcast: https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1824-the-face-of-absolute-evil3). You stand with Israel? Then you must watch these videos. But I will warn you: they are disturbing. And if you watch the first fourteen minutes, you’ll hear what Ben Shapiro, a Jew, expects of us. He leaves us with no middle ground. He demands we watch his people be slaughtered. Here’s where we have to get tough with ourselves and recognize that maybe standing with Israel means more than saying it on social media. Maybe at the very least it means giving the Jewish people the honor of watching their suffering—their last moments on earth—and mourning them.
According to multiple news outlets, antisemitism is on the rise. Same old story. Has there ever been a headline like, Surveys Indicate a New-Found Love for Israel and the Jews? The Anti-Defamation League states there was a 36% increase in antisemitism in 2022, with a 41% increase on college and university campuses (link to article: https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/us-antisemitic-incidents-hit-highest-level-ever-recorded-adl-audit-finds). Since the recent Hamas attack on Israel, however, tensions are especially high. Jewish students on college campuses in the United States are fearing for their lives. On October 25, 2023, at Cooper Union, a New York City college, Jewish students were locked inside the library as a pro-Palestinian (don’t be fooled….that’s pro-Hamas) rally pursued them (link to article: https://www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-colleges-jewish-students-seen-locked-inside-library-anti-israel-protest-moves-building). It was reported that even the police were afraid to get involved. Despicable. Cowards. Earlier on October 13, 2023, tearful Jewish students at the University of Washington had to explain to college administrators, “They want us killed!” in response to a pro-Hamas rally on that campus (link to article: https://nypost.com/2023/10/13/jewish-uw-students-in-tears-at-rally-for-palestine/).
Now ask yourself—what if you were on either of those campuses? Maybe as Christian staff or faculty; maybe as a Christian student. What would your options be? Call the police and hope they aren’t too afraid to get involved? Protest the protest? Quit your job? Drop out of school? Do nothing? There are always choices; we are never left without any options to do the right thing. But doing the right thing will likely come with a cost when there is no middle ground.
Do you know why it will be too hard for some Christians in the United States to take a stand with Israel when the going gets tough? It’s because we aren’t already living under persecution. Consider our Iranian brothers and sisters. They know what it’s like to be hated, targeted, persecuted. That’s how they know they can stand with Israel. What’s the difference between them and us? Persecution. What if standing with Israel doesn’t mean supporting them with our words from afar? What if standing with Israel means accepting persecution with them? If standing with Israel in perilous times is our first experience with risking anything as a Christian, then yes, it will be difficult. But it comes with a blessing as promised in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” There is no middle ground.
11/01/2023
You can say it but not me, even in my own country!!
