One of the disturbing facts that is becoming clearer by the day is that there are those in our world who, even though unelected by the populous, are in a position to make decisions according to their agenda that adversely affect everyone on the planet. A question that inevitably crosses our minds and sometimes plagues people is: Does God not see what is happening in our world, and if He does, when is He going to intervene?”
As I was reading in my Bible this morning, I turned to Psalm 73. I had a copy of my Living Bible close and opened it to see how the passage reads. Even though many of you are familiar with Psalm 73, I would like to share a portion of what I read just before today’s Mideast Update.
8 “…they scoff at God and threaten his people. How proudly they speak! 9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut through the earth. 10 And so God’s people are dismayed and confused, and drink it all in. 11 “Does God realize what is going on?” they ask. 12 Look at these men of arrogance; they never have to lift a finger — theirs is a life of ease; and all the time their riches multiply.
13 “Have I been wasting my time? Why take the trouble to be pure? 14 All I get out of it is trouble and woe — every day and all day long! 15 If I had really said that, I would have been a traitor to your people. 16 Yet it is so hard to explain it — this prosperity of those who hate the Lord.
17 “Then one day I went into God’s sanctuary to meditate, and thought about the future of these evil men. 18 What a slippery path they are on — suddenly God will send them sliding over the edge of the cliff and down to their destruction; 19 an instant end to all their happiness, an eternity of terror. 20 Their present life is only a dream! They will awaken to the truth as one awakens from a dream of things that never really were!” Psalm 73:8-20
And then the writer of the Psalm, Asaph the Seer, reflects on the enormity of God’s love for him, and by extension, you and I —
23 “…You love me! You are holding my right hand! 24 You will keep on guiding me all my life with your wisdom and counsel; and afterwards receive me into the glories of heaven! 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And I desire no one on earth as much as you! 26 My health fails; my spirits droop, yet God remains! He is the strength of my heart; He is mine forever!” Psalm 73:23-26
There are many passages of Scripture scattered throughout the Bible that are meant to be an encouragement to God’s people. I pray that this passage encourages someone today. Our God is sovereign, and always in control!
Now to the House of Blessing…
Brother Talal has had several conversations with Omar and even though there are not nearly as many HOB missionaries in the field as in years past, Omar’s group was able to share the Good News of the Gospel with many during the month of Ramadan. His group of men was able to pray with 48 who accepted Christ as their Savior. They have now been cleansed by the Blood of Jesus and are blessed with a brand new beginning!
Sisters Mufida, Faryal, Hafidah, and Sabiha were able to lead 30 women to Christ whose sins were also forgiven and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Omar said that there are now plans for a program of preaching and teaching the Gospel this spring in 1,500 camps of the displaced located between Idlib and Aleppo. He and Falih, Mahmoud, Taher, Hisham, and Bassam want to tour every one of these camps and preach the Gospel to all who will listen. He is hoping to be able to leave at least five Bibles in each camp for the new converts to read and study.
The female missionaries are also desiring to open training centers this spring for those who want to study the Bible. Omar said there is already a list of 50 names, both male and female, who want to take Bible classes. As always happens, of course, there will be many more as the opportunity arises.
This will naturally require funding to buy food, drink, stationery, pens, notebooks, papers and bags. These loyal and brave brothers and sisters request our prayers and help. The end of the age is upon us and we are running out of time. Multitudes of souls are hanging in the balance.
The situation in the Middle East is not going to get better, even though we would all like to see a peaceful end to what is happening. We are at the time in history that the Scriptures have warned us about for millennia. We have had wars, rumors of wars, and threats of wars for many years, but we are now at a time when these things will escalate in a way the world has not seen before. But, God’s people are in the palm of His hand and His eyes are never off of us. We all have a course to finish and He’ll see us through.
We are witnessing a hatred of the Jewish people today like nothing that has been seen since the holocaust. It is now a worldwide hatred. The Old Testament prophets foretold what we are seeing today. We find these words in Zechariah 12:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 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, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day,” says the LORD,” I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness, I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.” Zechariah 12:2-4
Verse 4 above can be confusing, but allow me to share how the Living Bible words the verse, It adds a dimension of understanding to the passage:
“In that day,” says the LORD, “I will bewilder the armies drawn up against her, and make fools of them, for I will watch over the people of Judah, but blind all her enemies.”
In ancient times, war horses were used to go into battle with the enemy. Today’s military forces launch missiles and rockets from both mobile and stationary launchers or silos. We may have seen an example of verse four already being fulfilled about two weeks ago when Iran shot hundreds of cruise missiles, explosive laden killer drones, and powerful ballistic missiles; 99% were shot out of the sky before reaching Israeli territory. That is an impossible percentage of success against that type of weaponry. Many blew up within their launchers or silos before they could even be launched! God will not allow Israel to be destroyed again. That is because God’s covenant with Abraham has never been rescinded — nor will it ever be!
Verse 6 says this:
“In that day, I will make governors (clans) of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding people on the right hand and ton the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place — Jerusalem.
Note the words we find in verse 8:
“In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them.”
Prophetic Scriptures that have often gone unread, and generally misunderstood in past years because, at the time, they may have seemed veiled or obscure, are now unfolding right before our eyes. A good example is that the Old Testament has foretold the future existence of Hamas. Gaza is also mentioned and its total destruction is detailed in the Old Testament also.
For the House of Blessing missionaries, it is very difficult to be witnesses of the ravages of war and the terrible toll on civilians. At the same time that we, as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, have compassion on those who are suffering and do what we can to give aid and share the hope of the Good News of the Gospel, we must recognize that Hamas uses civilians, including women and children, as their human shields. They have no regard to the sanctity of life. How else can one explain why they would set up their rocket launchers adjacent to hospitals, in school yards, public parks and community centers? Hamas terrorists also commandeer entire convoys of aid trucks — position snipers on top of the trucks and shoot live bullets at the crowds of people to drive them back. They take control of the convoys — not to distribute the goods among the needy civilians, but rather to resupply their underground military caches. There is an abundance of video proof.
The bottom line is, our world is in trouble but God has strategically placed each one of us in this time period for His purposes. We need to consider each action and decision we make in light of eternity. The return of Messiah is imminent. Praise God!
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
Forever in His Service,
Jake