As I look over my notes from my last conversation with Pastor R, I once again encourage you not to see the numbers of the newly killed missionaries, as well as the many reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ, as just that…numbers. I pray that these Mideast Updates never become routine reports, just giving an accounting of gains and […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 8/16/2016
The death toll in Syria is now nearing 600,000 according to some estimates. I have not been able to find any statistics for Aleppo and its surrounding area. The reports coming out of this region of Syria, however, are horrific. Clarissa Ward, a CNN correspondent who has reported on wars for more than a decade, provided a testimony to the […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 8/6/2016
One of the things I’ve noticed while writing these Mideast Updates for the last 53 months, is that if I am not careful, the updates become “routine” reports. This is a grave mistake because these are not “numbers” being reported, but rather a written record of events and the people who are the subjects of these same events. These people […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 7/17/2016, Pastor R
Over the past few days, I have had a number of people ask about how Pastor R is doing. As most know, he had endured a brutal attack in which two missionary companions were beaten to death in front of him. Pastor R was also savagely beaten, cut, and left to die a slow and painful death. I do not […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 7/10/2016
As I finish this update, the annual Muslim month of Ramadan ended five days ago. It has now been about two weeks since my last regular update, and 12 days since an urgent appeal was uploaded to this blog. Although there is always great effort put into reaching the lost, there is always a special emphasis and great expectation for […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 6/26/2016
As I began to write this Mideast Update, the Iraqi military was involved in an all-out effort to free the city of Fallujah from ISIS. As I look at the news reports I have on my desk, officials estimate that approximately 84,000 people had been forced to flee their homes since the start of the government offensive in May against […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 6/14/2016
I suspect I have read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, known as the Faith Chapter with 15 verses beginning “by faith,” more times in the last four years than I had during my entire life before becoming involved with the House of Blessing. This “faith chapter”, provided a long list of many of the heroes of the faith and why […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 5/25/2016
I have made reference more than once to the warnings Jesus left us concerning what would unfold in the period of time just prior to His return, but in light of the desperate situations in the Middle East, I would like to do so again. In Matthew 24:3-14, we have these words: Now as He sat on the Mount of […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 5/18/2016
(caution, some photos below are pretty graphic) In the fourth chapter of John we find a passage of Scripture that I would like to use as an introduction to today’s Mideast Update. It begins in verse 31: …His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 5/10/2016
As I write this update, both the chaos of war as well as the supernatural intervention in the lives of people continues. The struggle for control of Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, continues with Syria’s dictator Assad sending the Syrian military in full force, indiscriminately killing militants and civilians alike. Hospitals, clinics, and even refugee camps have been hit, leaving many […]