A thought…
Take a moment to contemplate contrasting characteristics of light and darkness. In the Bible, darkness is a symbol of evil. What is darkness? Darkness is an absence — the absence of light. It is the same with evil. Evil isn’t really a reality of its own, but rather an absence of a reality. Evil isn’t a part of creation, but rather a denial of creation; in fact, a denial of the Almighty Creator God Himself. The only way evil can exist is in denial of the good, and what is the origin of all good? GOD. Below is a short excerpt from a devotional on the subject, written by Jonathan Cahn a few years ago.
“Truth exists on its own. It just is. But a lie cannot exist without truth. A lie is a twisting of the truth and so it can only exist by the truth, and in the denial of it. So too life exists without death. But death cannot exist without life. Death only exists as the negation of life. And good can exist without evil. But evil cannot exist without good. Evil is the denial of the good. It is the force of opposition … We can only discern darkness, because light exists, and what is false, because the true exists, and what is wrong, because the right exists. Evil is actually a witness — a hostile witness, that, despite itself, testifies of the truth … Evil is the witness of a shadow. The darkness of falsehood bears witness that the Truth exists. The darkness of hatred bears witness that Love exists. And the darkness of evil bears witness that God exists. So never let your heart lose its focus by dwelling on evil. But seek always to see the Good, which is always there, beyond it and above it, on the throne, to which even evil must bear witness and bow a knee.”
We find these words in the book of Philippians:
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
On to the House of Blessing…
It is the “Light” of the Good News of the Gospel through Jesus Christ that is being brought to a very dark and dying Islamic world by the House of Blessing missionaries. They are sharing with Muslim people everywhere. It is only the true Light of the Gospel that can overcome the deep darkness of such a demonically inspired belief system that is so focused on killing and death. It truly is light vs. darkness; life vs. death; and love versus hate. Although there are fewer HOB missionaries this year, their evangelistic efforts have been quite effective during this year’s month of Ramadan. As I look at the calendar, the month of Ramadan comes to an end early this week with the Muslim feast Eid-al-Fitr. We wonder every year if this is the last Ramadan before the true Church is removed from this earth. Could it be this year? Hmmm…
I am told that there are a number of teams, both HOB men and women, continuing to share the Good News with all they meet as they walk from one location to another. Two of the men, Taher’s brothers, Basim and Hisham, whom we haven’t heard from in awhile, have reportedly been very busy as they have continued to preach and teach people about the soon coming Messiah Jesus and urging people to accept Him as their Savior while there is still time. It was good to receive word from them.
Omar sent word that the physical conditions of the two injured brothers, Falyih and Mahmoud, have improved enough so they could join in with others of the brothers in order to teach the largest number of people possible in the last few days of Ramadan. Omar reported that another 170 became new believers in recent days, and there has been a major effort made to reach as many as possible before Ramadan has officially come to an end.
Omar also sent word that Mufidah, Hafizah, Faryal, and Labiba have been very busy as they move from one tent to another, and from refugee camp to refugee camp teaching women the principles of Christianity and especially, of course, the true identity of Jesus. They have also seen a very good harvest as they share the Good News and pray with the women they come into contact with. Another 54 women were brought to Jesus in the last few days.
Brother Talal was told by Omar that things have been much more difficult this year during Ramadan. He was, however, able to procure some much needed supplies for the most needy. HOB was able to distribute some drinking water, flour, rice, blankets and tents.
Omar mentioned that the missionaries are noticing a very different mood among the people this year. Much has to do with the scourges of war and especially reports coming from Gaza. It bears commenting once again: War is violent, brutal, and the cause of many innocent deaths. The war in Gaza is no exception. We do, however, need to remember that what is driving this war is a demonic hatred of the Jewish people which finally required a harsh response. It is no different than what we read about in the Old Testament when Israel’s enemies had to be dealt with. This ancient hatred has been going on for thousands of years, and it is well documented in Scripture.
Have the Jewish people always been innocent? Of course not. Has the Israeli government always made the right choices? No. Yet, God has a unbreakable covenant with the Jewish nation that is unique, and only with the Jewish nation. God will see them through — not because they deserve it more than any other nation on earth, but because God’s promise to them cannot be broken. He will not fail, nor can He.
A thought to keep in mind when hearing the reports of all the “atrocities” allegedly committed by Israel against civilians. When Israel mistakenly kills innocents in a very difficult urban war situation (which they have), the world calls it “war crimes.” When it is America or Great Britain that mistakenly kills innocents, (as in Afghanistan when a family of ten, including 7 children, were struck and killed by a drone), it is called “friendly fire.” When Hamas indiscriminately shoots rockets aimed at the civilian population of Israel, and there is a misfire (which was not uncommon), and their rocket comes back down on their own people, they are granted the excuse that they are “freedom fighters.” I’m mentioning all this just as a reminder of the “fog of war,” and the abundance of distorted information that comes out of it. All information needs to carefully vetted.
Bible prophecy is explicit in its details of what we are watching on the world’s stage today, and no matter what a person’s viewpoint may be on today’s issues — including international issues — we need to remember that God’s foreign policy works from Jerusalem outward; not from Washington DC, Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, Beijing, or Moscow. JERUSALEM!
Prophetically, we are now watching the first few verses of Zechariah 12 beginning to play out. Note the words the Holy Spirit had the prophet Zechariah write:
2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces…” Zechariah 12:2-3
The “siege” spoken of in verse 2 is not a reality yet, but it’s coming, and very soon. Israel has always faced odds that no other nation has faced and the situation today is no different. The Bible says it is going to get worse — much worse. The above passage in Zechariah goes on to say that God is going to make Israel like a fire-pan in a woodpile; a fiery torch in a pile of sheaves. God is about to do some extraordinary things, and the hatred of the world is only going to escalate to a point where God will have to deal with Israel’s enemies as He did in the days of Gideon and the Midianites, and the days of Hezekiah when he was threatened by the enormous military might of the Assyrians. God intervened then, and He is going to do it again … several times. We know this because Bible prophecy has been accurate 100% of the time, and that is not going to change.
Israel is far from perfect, and we know that the majority of the Jews are still blinded to the identity of their true Messiah, Jesus. So, we pray for them and we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Bible instructs. Israel has no real “friends” in this world other than the true remnant of Jesus followers.
It is easy to see how the worsening situation in the Middle East makes it much more difficult for the House of Blessing missionaries. They have always had to deal with the Islamic hatred of all “infidels” — especially Christians, but now a quickly escalating hatred of Jews as well, and… don’t forget, Jesus came into this world as a JEW. Please pray earnestly for the HOB missionaries, as they do the very best they can in these last moments of time before the true believers in Jesus are caught up. Any and all help is much appreciated! Thank you everyone!
Forever in His Service,
Jake