A second century Church father was quoted as saying this: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” From the time that Stephen, the first official Christian martyr, was stoned to death in AD 36, Christians have been laying down their lives for the One who gave His life for them. I believe God has a special […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 1/16/2016
The beginning of the Church Age was tumultuous. Once the Day of Pentecost came and the apostles began to preach and teach with power, the forces of the enemy began to persecute. The enemy here is not the Jewish Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, or even the Roman government at the time, but rather the forces of hell that were unleashed to […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 1/9/2016
After receiving a phone update this week from Pastor R, and thinking about all the things that God is doing through the House of Blessing missionaries in the Middle East, I am reminded of a number of Scriptures. One of these is Ephesians 4. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/24/2015
I am now coming to realize more and more as time passes, that not only is the intensity of world events increasing, but so is the intensity increasing with the work in God’s harvest of souls. For those of us who have direct contact with overseas missions, it is probably easier to recognize; it certainly is for me through my […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/20/2015
Many times Jesus said things that caused His listeners to wonder if they had heard right. One of these times was when He made this statement: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/15/2015 “It Continues!”
I cannot count how many times I have wished I was not 10,000 miles from where the things are happening that I have the privilege to chronicle. Today is another of those days! As I mentioned in the last update, I have been rereading the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. I have purposely been reading it slowly and […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/4/2015
The New Testament story of Saul, the Pharisee and ferocious persecutor of the Christians, who became the beloved Paul the Apostle, is one of the greatest stories of forgiveness in the Bible. The account of the transformation of Saul into Paul, is proof of the enormous grace of God and how He desires to forgive and set us free from […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/1/2015
Yesterday morning, 11/30/2015, I received an unexpected phone call from Syria. Most of the time, my regular weekly call comes on Friday morning (Pacific Coast Time). Pastor R said he called because he wanted to tell me about an unusual event regarding a man named Sheikh Salem. Sheikh Salem had been a Muslim head sheikh for many years. A little […]