As we begin an already turbulent year of 2024, it is important for all of us, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, to keep our bearing and maintain a proper perspective on what our lives here on this earth are all about and where we are going. We must remember we are just passing through. The Apostle Peter put it this way:
Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven… ” 1 Peter 2:11 (TLB))
In 1 Chronicles we find these words:
For we are here for but a moment, strangers in the land as our fathers were before us, our days are like a shadow, gone so soon… 1 Chronicles 29:15 (TLB)
A devotional in Jonathan Cahn’s Book of Mysteries, which I have read several times over the years, compares our life on this earth to a child being formed and matured for birth in the womb. We often cannot make sense of some of the things we experience in this life, but that is much like the child in the womb. The womb is all it knows; and this life is all we know. Our Messiah Jesus spoke of what comes after this as the day we ‘enter life.’ If we enter true life then, what is this we are experiencing now? ‘Pre-life?’
This life is not what we are destined for. This world is not our home! This life is our preparation time for what is still to come. God will use everything in life in this world, the good, the bad, the pleasant, the unpleasant, joys and sorrows to prepare us and mature us into that child of Heaven we are yet to become. If we can look at this life (which the Apostle James describes as like a puff of vapor) and understand that we are being prepared for our place in the Eternal Kingdom of God, it will help us to see what this short pass through is really all about.
Isn’t it interesting that we are born into this world, never knowing anything else, yet find ourselves not feeling at home here? In fact, the closer we get to the return of Jesus, the more out of place we find ourselves in this fallen world. It’s not just the pain and sorrows, this world’s imperfections, its darkness, its evils, our growing old and weak, and our eventual death that gets us. Even when we experience the best of times, there is still something missing. It’s because it is not HOME. The children of Israel were brought through a vast desert wilderness to their Promised Land. We too, are being taken through a desert wilderness, and it also leads to a Promised Land … Heaven! Everything about God’s gift of Salvation has to do with coming home to Him. We were made to live in God’s presence for eternity. Nothing short of that will ever satisfy. You and I are one day closer to that goal than we were yesterday! Praise God!
The House of Blessing missionaries also know that time is running short until the “catching up” of God’s faithful remnant of believers, and it is on their minds every day as they minister to the people. Brother Talal tells me that the HOB missionaries are grateful for the support sent to them recently and asked brother Omar to pass on their thanks to those who generously sent financial help. It is helping to off-set end of the year expenses and also to help purchase flour, rice, and some other food supplies. The cold of winter also brings the yearly need for additional tents, blankets, and winter clothes, especially for those who minister so many hours, like sisters Mufidah, Hafidha, and Faryal.
The work of evangelism continues as usual, with missionary teams going from tent to tent, sharing the Good News of the Gospel and praying for all who request prayer. There are many who are sick, especially this time of year when there is so much exposure to the elements. There is also a continual need for Bibles to share with new believers and those who are taking Bible Study classes. HOB also tries to provide a Bible to each person that is baptized.
Please continue praying for those who are suffering. Most readers have heard about the two massive explosions in Karman province in Iran just a few days ago. There were more than 100 killed and at least 140 wounded. Mortada, one of HOB’s leaders who is located in Iran, said that a great many of the victims were innocent bystanders. There are also many suffering in Idlib province in northern Syria. There are many of the HOB community of believers represented in that area. Winter has arrived and the needs are great among the refugees. And, of course, we should not forget the innocents within the Gaza strip who are caught in the crossfire between the Hamas terrorists and the Israeli Defense Force. Among these are many Arab Christians. I won’t go into detail in this update but suffice it to say that war is always brutal and the consequences of war are always far reaching. This is certainly the case within Israel today. This is why the Bible instructs us to pray for Israel, and especially for the peace of Jerusalem, because there will be no peace until the Prince of Peace comes to take the kingdoms of this world out from under the control of Satan. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thank you all for your support, both financially and through your prayers. The entire House of Blessing community of believers is grateful!
Forever in His Service,
Jake