As we come to the end of February 2017, I received news for this update through a phone call as I was traveling south along the Dead Sea. As is usually the case, I have received both good news and also tragic news. Before I get to the actual House of Blessing update, it will be helpful to give a […]
PRAYER UPDATE
I received a phone call from Pastor R this morning with some additional information concerning the men that have been taken in custody. Two of the House of Blessing leaders took it upon themselves to go to the Iraqi police to see if they could find out what happened and why. Because there had been no recent problems with the […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 1/21/2017
I have used Ephesians 5:14-17 as a passage of Scripture lately in Bible studies and even mentioned it on occasion while writing these Mideast Updates. The passage reads like this: Therefore He says: “Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 1/9/2017
As I think back to the events that have transpired during 2016 in the lives of Pastor R and the House of Blessing missionaries, I am struck by what an eventful year this has been. Many true life stories have been chronicled and then retold. These accounts describe how God honored the trust, faith, and obedience of His loyal servants […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 1/2/2017
As I get ready to send out the first Mideast Update for 2017, I want to first say thank you to all the people around the world that have responded to the urgent prayer need for Pastor R in the last few days. I have sent out several short urgent prayer notices, and judging from different comments I’ve seen, there […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/19/2016
I find myself turning to John 14:1-3 more and more these days as a counterbalance to the supply of bad news available through the news services on a daily basis. This is how these three verses read: Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/13/2016
In one of the calls I received from Pastor R this past week, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with three of the new graduates from HOB’s School of Ministry. These three men, whose names were Mahmud, Abdullah, and Gaze, knew very little English but were able to greet me on the phone. They felt it a blessing to […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 12/4/2016
As I read one news article after another, I think of a great event that is soon to come. Soon, the Lord of Glory will return to this world which today is spinning out of control, and He will take full control over it once again. The Psalmist penned these words in Psalm 24: The earth is the LORD’s, and […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 11/22/2016
In Joel 3:14, we find these well known words: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. This is the scene all over the world today as millions face the valley of decision. In the Mideast, most people have lost all hope of life ever becoming normal again. […]
MIDEAST UPDATE, 11/15/2016
In the Mideast Update dated 11/9/2016, the story was told of a young 28-year-old graduate of the House of Blessing’s School of Ministry named Same (pronounced Sammy). Same felt it was God’s task for him to go to his elderly father’s mosque and share what God had done for him. The story of Same reaching out to the 82-year-old head-sheik, […]