Christians in the Middle East make me proud

I would like to think that I would be able to boldly serve Christ if I lived in the Middle East. But I may never know. Christians in the Palestinian territories know. They serve Jesus in the midst of danger and even possible death.

For 16 years Isa Bajalia, a U.S. born pastor in Ramallah (located in the West Bank), preaches the gospel in spite of constant death threats. He notes that threats have increased in the last two months as a resurgence in radical Islam has increased.

"Their anger from those who are more adamant about their Islamic faith, that for some reason it's just a growing tension that Christian missionaries are just unacceptable," he said.

The Ramallah men making recent specific threats on Bajalia were attempting to extort money and land from him. The men told Bajalia, who is already legally blind, they would cripple him for life or kill him. When Bajalia told Palestinian police, they offered protection only if the pastor paid them money.

Pastor Bajalia is taking the threats seriously. Three weeks ago, Rami Aayad of Gaza was martyred for his faith in Christ.

"So it's made us take threats more seriously. And maybe that's one of the reasons I'm here today," Bajalia said. "I'm not taking this as a joke. This is a serious matter for me and at the same time, I believe that God has put in me the heart of a lion. That we will not back down from the sovereign mandate that Christ has given us in Mark chapter 16.

"That this Gospel of this Kingdom has to be preached and we're in Ramallah because we care about the people of Ramallah. We pray for those who are in leadership. We pray for the people in Ramallah that God would bless them and supernaturally visit them."

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