Encouragement

For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.

— Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭21‬-‭25‬ ‭NASB2020

The thing about Tribulation is that Jesus told us not to fear, even though it will increase—for He has overcome the world. The believer’s tribulation and the Great Tribulation need not be confused. Just as John said, the spirit of the Antichrist was there in his time. The Great Tribulation and the appearing of the Antichrist are specific events and tied together. This Tribulation is defined as great, has not occurred since the world began, and will not be repeated. It will be the last. It will be so full of deception that if left to continue no life would be saved—even the elect.

In the previous verses, the disciples asked Him, “What will the sign be (singular) of Your coming?”

And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

— Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭3‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

He replied, “Let no man deceive you.” This is the spirit behind the last days and end of the age. We know the devil is the Deceiver, but there will be those who say they are the Christ, or represent Him, and those who will say they are prophets. He simply says these are False Christs and False Prophets. The deception will be so powerful that if it were permitted to continue, even the elect would fall into it. Many will be misled, and this is happening at an alarming rate. There is such a demonic spirit loosed from hell, as Satan knows his time is short. For just as Jesus said, he and this time will be cut short. The Satanic ruler of his kingdom of darkness will enter a time of Jesus’ return and His wrath upon the armies of Satan and nothing shall stand before the armies of God. Satan always comes up short. Hallelujah!

Jesus gives advance notice concerning Matthew 24—the end of the age—that we would know so we would not be deceived. Jesus is our Prophet, our Priest, and our coming King. Thank you Holy Ghost for leading us into all truth. Sanctify us with your truth, who is Jesus! Maranatha! -KC

Be encouraged by this powerful testimony of a young Muslim woman coming to Jesus. I have been blessed to have known her for many years. -KC

His face filled the sky

While a passenger in a car driving in Lebanon’s Beqa’a Valley, I rested my head on the back seat looking out the car’s rear window and spoke silently one word in my heart: “Jesus.” Suddenly, a face filled the whole sky from horizon to horizon looking straight at me, and smiling. I instantly knew it was Jesus. And he made me feel at that moment like I was the only person in the world that mattered to him!

I looked at Jesus’s smiling face and was instantly filled with an indescribable joy that I never knew existed in this life. The vision of Jesus ended but the waves of joy continued. The three other passengers in the car were completely unaware of what had just happened to me. The joy kept sweeping over me, my heart was pounding, but I kept silent. There was no way I could explain what a life-transforming event had just happened to me.

We were on our way to a picnic. My half-sister was playing matchmaker but I was not in the least bit interested in the man who was in the car with us. I just wanted more of Jesus! I wanted more of what I had just experienced and was still experiencing. I wanted the picnic to be over, to return to Beirut, and to start my new life with Jesus right away!

Who are you, Lord?

Why would a twenty-four year old Shi’ite Muslim woman be thinking about Jesus, of all people? Perhaps the reason was because for four long years I cried out to Allah without any results. I poured out my hopes and dreams for the future and there was only silence from Allah. I even offered prayers in the name of our prophet Muhammad. He was just as distant. No matter how fervently I practiced my Islamic faith the surprising result was that I grew depressed, more so every day. What was wrong? What was wrong with me?

Although I was not a Christian, as a Muslim I believed Jesus was a prophet, as all Muslims do. I certainly didn’t believe that he was God incarnate, God in the flesh. Such a concept was completely foreign to me and I would immediately reject such an idea. Indeed, I denied it for years after Jesus appeared to me.

However, I was drawn to him. I wanted to know everything about him. And of course I wanted to know why Jesus appeared to me and poured his love into my disappointed and hurting heart.

The six-year long search for God

During that same six year period while I was drawing nearer to Jesus, I became more and more distant from the religion of my birth. The rituals that I had recently adopted, trying to give meaning to my life, such as prayer five times daily, reading the qur’an, fasting ramadan, covering my hair and my body (hijab), no longer appealed to me, no longer comforted or made sense to me.

Our clan is originally from Baalbeck in Lebanon’s Beqa’a Valley. We are asyaads, that is, our family is related to the prophet of Islam, Muhammad ibn Abdullah. My father, Sherif Sayed Abdallah al-Husseini, therefore was a sayed. Even so, despite our illustrious genealogy, coming from a respectable Shi’ite Muslim family, in the bloodline of Muhammad, we were not observant Muslims, we were cultural Muslims. We lived very secular lives.

I had a home in Africa

I am a Lebanese born outside of Lebanon. My grandfather had a textile business in Nigeria. My father joined him in Africa at age fourteen to work in the family business. When he turned nineteen my grandfather insisted he become a respectable and settled man and arranged a marriage to a tall, beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed Shi’ite Lebanese woman. They had five children together and when the children were grown, my father left his wife and remained single until he met my mother, Shadiya Ali Ahmad. He was forty-five and she was twenty.

My mother had been married three times before she met my father. Her first marriage, at age 12, was an arranged marriage to her forty-year old cousin. She came from the southern Lebanon town of Blat near Marjayoun at the base of Mt Hermon, one of the most beautiful and picturesque areas of Lebanon and walking distance from the border of Israel.

I grew up in the northern Nigerian village called Kano, an hour’s flight from Nigeria’s former capital, Lagos. Despite both of my parents’ previous marriages and children, I was raised as an only child. My parents loved traveling and sometimes took me with them. I enjoyed trips to Europe starting in grade school.

My parents had an active social life and so they engaged a succession of nannies to look after me. In addition to the nannies, we had a houseboy, cook, driver, and a gate man. But my father did all the gardening; that was his main form of relaxation. He also had a vegetable garden. I loved our home with its broad lawns and gardens. It was green everywhere. I had lots of pets including a dog, a cat, a parrot and monkey who lived inside the house in a cage.

All my neighbors were Lebanese Shi’ites and I played with their children. My best friend was a boy, his name was Rida. We played in our tree house and swing set. My uncle, who lived nearby, had a swimming pool and we would splash around for hours. I didn’t know or play with or interact with local children. We lived in a cozy Lebanese community. I attended Kano’s Lebanese primary school where I did well. My favorite class was art class; I still enjoy art. I did not receive religious instruction at school or at home. We never prayed, attended mosque or fasted ramadan.

My parents lived the high life in Nigeria with their Lebanese Shi’ite business colleagues. In the family Mercedes-Benz, the obligatory Lebanese symbol of material success, they visited bars, pubs, nightclubs, took drugs, gambled, and drank alcohol in public. Growing up, there was always alcohol in our house. My parents loved throwing catered parties in our spacious home and would dance the night away with their Lebanese friends.

My home life was chaotic and my mother was concerned for my well-being. When I was ten years old, she decided that I could not remain in this environment. Looking for a solution, she decided that I had to leave Nigeria and go to Lebanon. Through mutual friends, she heard about a Maronite Catholic convent boarding school in southern Lebanon, not far from my father’s village of Jouaya. While I was away at school in Lebanon, back in Nigeria, my parent’s marriage was unraveling. My father had Nigerian girlfriends. My mother had her own social life.

I would return home to Nigeria for summer vacations. At age sixteen, after six years at boarding school, my mother and I flew back to Nigeria to be with my father. At summer’s end, my mother left us. She returned to Lebanon to be with her young boyfriend who was more interested in her money than in a relationship. Although I was a virgin – and he knew it – he tried to molest me, unsuccessfully. I did not see or hear from my mother for six years. There was no social media back then and telephone calls were prohibitively expensive. We communicated exclusively by letters.

My mother leaving us, leaving me, was the hardest period of my life. I lived in Nigeria with my father but I longed for my mother back in Lebanon. My father had the reputation in the Nigerian Lebanese community for gambling and womanizing. He solicited prostitutes and would bring them into our home right in front of me, a different woman every night. I was starved for love and affection. I started to look for love in all the wrong places. Men, acquaintances of my father, tried to take advantage of me.

My struggle

I had the reputation as a party girl in the Nigerian Lebanese community. For a teenage Shi’ite Muslim this is unacceptable. My father wanted to be left alone to live his life his way. This attitude of my father’s was the result of him having a very harsh, strict and controlling father. Therefore, he did not make my private life his concern. He loved me but did not put any boundaries on me. Actually, he didn’t know how to raise a teenage girl. And Mom was back in Lebanon.

One day I was confiding in my first cousin, my father’s niece. Her father was as immoral as his brother, my father. But his wife, my aunt, was a devout Shi’ite Muslim. She and her daughter, my first cousin, both covered (hijab). She said, “Zeinab, you are so miserable. Why don’t you perform your salat (Islamic prayers)? Here is a prayer rug and a hijab (Muslim garb).” This conversation took place a week before ramadan. Perhaps the month of ramadan would be the appropriate time to make a life change, to turn over a new leaf in my life. I decided to practice my Islamic beliefs for comfort.

I went to my bedroom, put on a hijab for the first time in my life. I looked in the mirror and I loved what I saw. What did I see? What was I feeling? I felt security. I felt honor. At 16, I read a book on how Shi’ite Muslims should pray but I didn’t do anything with it. Now, in the privacy of my bedroom, I performed ablutions (ceremonial washing) and then knelt down on my cousin’s prayer rug and began salat, the ritual of calling on Allah.

I did not take the hijab off for the next four years. This garment transformed my life. My former wardrobe was trendy and colorful and caused men to leer, flirt and ogle me. Now, I was invisible. Not only so, I became an honorable woman in the eyes of the Lebanese Nigerian community. I felt safe, protected.

I dedicated myself to our Shi’ite Muslim faith praying and fasting. I was so devout I would not shake the hands of a man – even a male relative’s hand. I tried to be the best Muslim in the eyes of Allah. I had no social life whatsoever. I withdrew from my past life completely. In becoming a devout Muslim woman I was looking for healing from past exploitive relationships. I waited for Allah to send an honorable and loving husband my way to start a family and take my expected place as a Shi’ite woman in the Lebanese Nigerian community. I thought this would be Allah’s reward to me for forsaking my former life and embracing Islam.

While entertaining a prostitute in our home, my father had a stroke. Five days later, he was gone. I was all alone in Nigeria. I was devastated. The shock of my father’s death brought about a deep dissatisfaction towards my religion of Islam. But there were other factors, as well. I felt oppressed. For example, my devout aunt had a million and one Islamic legal scruples. And her legalism was choking me. I couldn’t breath around her. Her faultfinding was continual. If I didn’t perform my ablutions just so, the way she believed was right, she said my salat was unacceptable to Allah. She actually told me that my four years of performing salat was illegitimate because, according to her, I had left out a step and therefore performed it incorrectly. I was not able to express myself freely whether in conversation, dress, or social interaction. Four years of being a mutahajabi (covered woman) left me feeling estranged and empty. I started to wear more revealing and fashionable hijabs. I put on make up. And I felt like a hypocrite. For me, I’m either all in or all out. Either I am going to be the most devout Shi’ite Muslim or a secular woman. Nothing in between works for me. I took my hijab off.

My relatives disapproved. My covered aunt rejected me. She literally told me, “Get out of my house.” It was so hard. Rejection and feelings of insecurity returned. I had no father, no mother (she was in Lebanon), no social life, no expected husband, I was a young lady adrift. Because I disobeyed Allah in removing the hijab I expected him to kill me. For ten days I was terrified, but even so I never put on the hijab again. Ever.

I went back to my former social life. I hadn’t been to the seashore for four years. I went to the beach to swim with friends, to enjoy life again. Since my aunt kicked me out of her house, I went to live with my single uncle who was living the same life my dad used live. I realized this was not the environment I was looking for or needed. I saved money from my job in order to leave Nigeria and move to Lebanon to live with my mother.

Out of Africa

Upon arrival in Lebanon, I moved in with Mom and went looking for a job. Beirut International Airport was near our apartment so I applied for a position there. I was hired over more academically qualified applicants because of my fluency in English. I was on salary which included bonuses and comprehensive benefits. I was making money and friends and was so happy to be financially independent. It was my dream job.

Because of my vision of Jesus, and the waves of joy that I had experienced, my own religion, Islam, had no appeal to me. I knew in my heart that the course of my life was irrevocably changed. I knew this even though I hadn’t embraced Jesus as Savior and Lord of my life, yet. But my thoughts were consumed with Him. I thought of Him every single day and joy would fill my heart when I remembered the vision in the car.

At work, I met a Druze lady who told me she had become a Christian after having an encounter with Jesus. She gave me a Bible. I was so excited with what I was reading that I read half of the New Testament in one sitting. Despite the challenges and obligations of my new job at the airport, which were overwhelming at times, I would read the New Testament when I was able. But I wasn’t only reading the Bible. There were other spiritual influences vying for my attention.

Because of my complicated family life, I was looking for answers to my dysfunctional upbringing. I started reading books by the late Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho. Osho saw families as inherently dysfunctional and destructive and so discouraged marrying and having children. He was infamous as the “guru of free love and materialism.” I read books by the television personality, Phillip McGraw, better known as “Dr. Phil,” which I found interesting. I also read John Grey’s books including his bestselling Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus looking for answers as to why my relationships with men lacked depth and were invariably exploitative.

Although these many books on relationships that I devoured did give me insights on the fascinating subject of human psychology there was something missing. None of these people, with their advanced academic training and their rich life experience, could touch my pain, pain I experienced as a child and took with me into adulthood. I tried to cope with the world around me by burying my hurtful childhood memories but, as the saying goes, what is buried alive is still alive.

Compounding my emotional distress was that I was still unmarried in a culture that expected a young woman to behave responsibly by marrying and raising a family. Actually, I was in step with my culture’s expectations. I very much believed in the institution of marriage and desired to be married and raise a family ever since I was a young woman. But I wouldn’t settle for just anyone. I knew in my heart that the man God had for me had not yet come. I had marriage proposals but they were not what I was waiting for. They just didn’t feel right.

For six years I looked for solutions to the life-controlling issues in my life in my many books on spiritual topics and human relationships, but to no avail. I was feeling helpless, hopeless and becoming depressed. Out of sight in my bedroom closet, I kept a picture of Jesus kneeling and praying that I had purchased at the famous Lebanese Christian pilgrimage site Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, which even Muslims visit to receive baraka (blessing). I opened my closet one day and looked at the picture and said out-loud, “Jesus help me! I need you!” Four days later I had a dream.

My dream

I had a dream of Jesus sitting on a rock. As I stood before him, my head was at the same level as His chest. I waited for Him to notice me but He was looking straight ahead and didn’t see me standing in front and below Him. Then, someone appeared on His right side and spoke these words, “Zeinab loves you so much.”

Immediately, Jesus looked down and straight at me. Light was blazing from His eyes and He held my gaze. The light from His eyes stopped and when it did I ran towards the rock and hugged Him with my face buried in His chest. I wept and wept. I woke up from my dream wet with tears. Now I was wide-awake and still crying. This must be a vision not a dream, I thought to myself.

I was thrilled! My depression was gone! The joy that filled my heart left no room for anything else including the pain related to my childhood memories. People would ask me, “Zeinab, why are you so happy?” It was so clear that I was a transformed person but it didn’t make sense to them. I would tell people about my dream, in fact, I was driving everyone crazy telling and retelling my dream. But while they couldn’t deny that my mood had been transformed, they couldn’t understand why.

I had questions, too. First the vision of Jesus in Lebanon’s Beqa’a Valley and now this vivid and life-transforming dream. What had happened to me? Some time later, looking for an explanation to my dream, I typed into the YouTube search engine: “Dreams of Jesus.” I came across testimony after testimony – over a hundred testimonies! – of Muslims who, through dreams and visions, have received revelation that Jesus is God incarnate and the Savior of the world. I was surprised and delighted beyond words. As a Shi’tte Muslim woman, I sincerely believed that Islam was the perfect religion and that Muhammad was the perfect man the, “seal of the prophets,” who exceeded all the prophets who preceded him. Now, suddenly, I realized that Islam is not only not the perfect religion but all that I found objectionable and off-putting about my faith made sense. Watching these video testimonies of my fellow Muslims, I realized that I wasn’t the only one getting the silent treatment from Allah. They supernaturally encountered the same Jesus I did. I was amazed!

I had many questions. For example, did Jesus die on the cross, as Christians believed? Is the qur’an the word of God to humankind, or not?

I also watched videos of Christians and non-Christians becoming Muslims. But their stories did not resonate with me. I found them lifeless.While watching YouTube video testimonies of former Muslims, I spotted other videos that addressed my questions. An Arab Christian theologian, from a Sunni Muslim background, addressed my question concerning the truth about the qur’an. One person’s testimony answered my question concerning the crucifixion to my complete satisfaction.

An unforgettable video of an Iranian believer’s testimony, who was a former member of the Iranian branch of Hizb Allah, talking about his supernatural encounter with Jesus, left me convinced that Jesus is who He says He is: He is the living, incarnate God. I received a revelation of God the Holy Spirit and was filled with Him.

I watched videos explaining the origins of Islam, something I knew next to nothing about. I was amazed to learn that the “perfect man,” as we call the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, was not at all perfect. This shocked me. Also, I learned about the human origins of the qur’an which Muslims believe is of divine origin, the very word of Allah revealed via Angel Gabriel to Muhammad.

The Search for a Church

After a year of watching videos on YouTube I was hungry for knowledge of the Bible. I started looking for a church. I returned to my former Maronite Catholic school and shared with some of the faculty my encounter with Jesus. Their response was one of disinterest. They were polite but unwelcoming. This surprised me. One Maronite priest thought I was hallucinating.

Puzzled by the response or lack of response on the part of Lebanese Maronite Catholics I stopped sharing my story with them. If the Maronite Church would not accept me perhaps He has another plan? I decided to ask for direction, to seek the Lord’s guidance on this matter very specifically. I prayed, “Lord, which church do you want me to be part of? “ Although I prayed a specific prayer I didn’t receive a specific answer. Nevertheless, I trusted God to lead me. It was my habit to exercise on Beirut’s corniche or seaside sidewalk. Beirut lacks parks and green spaces so thousands of Beirutis walk the corniche all hours of the day and even at night. One day, I met a Dutch evangelist and his family and shared my testimony with them. They were thrilled. Later, I met an American couple who were distributing Arabic and English tracts. I had seen videos on YouTube of persons that were just like this Dutch and American couple. I felt they were the real thing, the genuine article. I wanted fellowship with them. I wondered, What church did they belong to? Would they accept me as a member? I was afraid they would reject me, too.

The American couple invited me to a Lebanese congregation that was bi-lingual, Arabic – English, but I hesitated and did not accept their invitation. I continued to pray. “Lord, I want to be part of a church that You have chosen for me.” I also wanted to be baptized by a pastor who really knew Jesus. I also prayed that the Lord would make it possible for me to be baptized in the Jordan River and on a special day for Him. Lebanon and Israel have been in a state of war since 1948 so I would not be able to go there for my baptism. But I could be baptized in the River Jordan in the country of Jordan. Anyway, I left the details in God’s hands. I simply prayed and waited.

My mother broke her arm. Three times a week I would accompany her to the physiotherapist. On one of the visits I met a woman who was also bringing her mother for therepy for a sprained arm. She introduced herself and started sharing the Lord with me. I was amazed! When I shared my testimony with her she was even more amazed than I was! I told her that I wanted to be baptized and she invited me to her congregation. I was determined to go to the church of God’s choice, could this be the one? She promised to talk to her pastor about me and assured me that her congregation would be delighted to meet me: ahlan wa sahlan (Arabic for Welcome!). When I asked the woman why in a crowded waiting room she walked up and greeted me she replied, “The Lord spoke to me these words: ‘That woman over there and her mother will be in heaven together with you.’”

Over the years, I had watched videos of wonderful singing in churches and wondered if such churches existed in my country. I googled “American Evangelical singing church, Lebanon.” I discovered that the church, the American couple I spoke to on the corniche had invited me to (but didn’t go), and the church this woman I met at the physiotherapist’s clinic, was inviting me to was the same church that turned up on the Google search engine. It is a Lebanese congregation with Arabic and English worship and preaching in Arabic. Perfect!

The next Sunday, I went to visit the congregation, which was approximately thirty minutes drive from my home. I walked into a room full of music performed by a live band. I immediately recognized the worship as exactly what I’d seen and heard on the Internet. I started worshipping, arms raised high, with waves of joy rolling over me. I’d finally found what I was looking for. The Lord answered my prayers. After the service the Lebanese woman introduced me to the pastor. I excitedly shared with him how I came to the service and of my desire to be baptized. The pastor promised to baptize me upon his return from a brief ministry trip to Jordan. We agreed on the following Saturday, which was Easter weekend. This was the answer to my prayer that it would happen on a special day for Him! But what about the Jordan River?

As we gathered for my baptism on the agreed day, the pastor announced that he had a special surprise. He held up a bottle of water and said, “I’ve made many ministry trips to Jordan over the years. However, this trip I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to bring a bottle of water from the Jordan River back to Lebanon which I will use in our service today.”

I couldn’t believe my ears! Water from the Jordan River? The pastor had no idea that I had asked the Lord specifically to be baptized in the Jordan River. Here he was holding a bottle of water from the Jordan…oh-my-goodness!

I was baptized in the sea at Byblos (Arabic Jbeil) along with twenty others from our church wanting water baptism. We were also joined by lots of curious onlookers wondering what was going on as they watched us one-by-one immersed into the sea and brought up again accompanied by prayers, declarations, songs and hugs. What a day of rejoicing!

Soon after finding a church, the Lord opened up an opportunity to take a Bible intensive course on the island of Cyprus. I joined other Muslim background believers from Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. I now travel every year as volunteer staff (we are all volunteers) to help with this discipleship program.

The Adventure Continues

The Bible says, “Honor your mother and your father that your days may be long on the earth (Exodus 20:12) .” Is there anything more challenging than family members? You can share your testimony once, but after that you must show them the proof of Jesus’s redemptive work in your life every single day. My mother has had a hard life. Her childhood was abruptly interrupted at age twelve when her parents married her off to a man of forty. Naturally, she resents this. And the root of bitterness has borne its fruit. Although still an attractive women, her four marriages have left her scarred and she struggles with life-controlling issues. The Lord has used my mother to polish the rough edges of my character. I have learned that love is a choice, not a special way of feeling. I long for the day when my mother will experience salvation and receive Jesus’s healing touch in her life.

Although I’m the only believer in my family, they nevertheless love me. They don’t understand my relationship with Jesus, who is only a prophet to them – one of many in Islam, but they are accepting of me. I invest particularly in the lives of my nieces and nephews: they love their Auntie Zeinab! Their parents have even allowed them, on several occasions, to accompany me to my church.

I am passionate about helping young women from a similar background as my own in their relationship with the Lord. I’m learning how to communicate in a loving way, showing patience, understanding and forbearance as they grow in their walk with Jesus. The Lord has also given me a burden for trafficked women and the LGBTQ community here in Lebanon. I am trusting the Lord to open doors for me among both groups.

Locally, I am part of a weekly home group of Muslim background seekers. They enjoy the worship, Bible study and fellowship. Each one is on a journey towards Jesus. What a joy it is to meet and encourage them to know the lover of their souls, Jesus.

I have particular joy in exercising my gifts, the gifts of helps and service, in my church here in Beirut. I have a handicrafts business which is not only a source of income but an outlet for my passion to create and my passion for art. This includes the design of jewelry and crochet products.

I look to the future with confidence and with peace, the peace I always looked for never found until the vision of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, in the Lebanon’s Beqa’a Valley. God’s assignment to me is to love. To love God, love others, and make disciples. The adventure continues!

Zeinab al-Husseini
Beirut, Lebanon

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
‭‭
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬

But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, Sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may rejoice in You. For You bless the righteous person, Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.
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Psalms‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of mankind; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, For He has shown His marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged city.

Psalms‬ ‭31‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NASB2020

From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy. Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. — Selah — For You have heard my vows, God; You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.

Psalms‬ ‭61‬:‭2‬-‭5‬ ‭NASB2020

One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!

Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NASB2020

This phrase, “Shelter in Place,” has become a common warning in our day. Usually used during dangerous weather threats and catastrophes, as all creation groans for the manifestations of the sons of God. The increase in these worldwide catastrophes cannot be denied. Being here in the Middle East, it has a different use. The threat of wars and rumors of wars have swirled for years over the region as all of the nations of the world are being gathered for a final confrontation of the Satanic forces and King Jesus with His Kingdom to come.

Be not deceived, HE IS COMING AGAIN! Even as rockets are being launched into Israel and controlled strikes in southern Lebanon and Beirut by Israel.

In the verses above, the shelter in place for the people of God is He Himself. They run to Him, into His name. The word of the Lord describes Him as our refuge, tower, bulwark, shelter, fortress, shield, and a secret place that He only knows. What a great blessed assurance we have being hidden in Him. His name is above every name and He has given it to us.

As we face the uncertainty of these times, where the heavens above are full of the last battle for this globe — God’s creation and Satan’s false claim — we have a place of safety and protection. In Him, there is no darkness at all. He has provided for us, and in this place is fullness of joy, not just survival, but so much more. For the righteous, when we look up we do not see catastrophes, but we see:

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
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Luke‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬-‭28‬ ‭NKJV

Fear not and run into Him! Hallelujah the King is coming!

-Keith Curlee

But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but are you unable to discern the signs of the times?”
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Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
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2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

How is it that such a pagan act as was displayed in Paris, framed by the spirits of other gods can be reasoned away by some who do not see the demonic spirit behind it? The scripture is clear concerning the visible and invisible.

And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.
‭‭
Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

The invisible is reality for us as believers. The natural eye cannot see nor ear hear what God has prepared for us—only the eye and the ear taught of the Holy Ghost.

For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.
‭
Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

The events of the opening ceremony in Paris were pagan and a form of worship to other gods. The spirits of Ishtar, Diana, and Aphrodite were manifested and acknowledged. This was not the first time this has happened in a world event. During the opening of the 2022 British Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham England, Prince Charles, representing the Queen, officially opened the games with Baal worship, and the woman riding the Beast was paraded before the nations. It begins with falling stars coming to the earth in the form of crystals. The woman takes it in her hand and prays to it.

The 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremonies contained full-blown Babylonian worship of Baal. The Tower of Babel has been replicated. The invisible war for who will be worshipped is the ultimate warfare of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

The sexual revolution of my generation opened the door to all kinds of spirits of perversion that were practiced by Ishtar, Aphrodite, and Diana. The temple worship of those days included men dressing as women and sexual perversions. These occurred even during June when her festivals were celebrated and parades were held in the streets. In their ancient writings, her sign was a rainbow 🌈.

It is no coincidence that President Barack Hussein Obama, who supported the Respect for Marriage Act, lit up the White House as a rainbow in June. His administration repealed the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress and signed by then-President Bill Clinton in 1996.

The continued display of pagan worship at the largest worldwide broadcast of a sporting event is so blatant and is watched more than any other. From the Super Bowl to the Olympics the “influencers” of these days have a demonic agenda that cannot be explained away nor denied by the city set on a hill, believers in Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God.

Shine Jesus Shine, that the whole world shall see!

-Keith Curlee

Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, because the vision pertains to the days still future.” –Daniel 10:12–14

I have been in the Holy Ghost in these passages. Daniel’s prayer was heard when he spoke it from his mouth and from the first day heaven responded. They heard Daniel‘s heart was set on understanding and humbling himself before God. 

Prince Michael was sent then but was met in the heavenlies by the prince demon of Persia, who fought him for 21 days. The prophetic word to Israel concerning the last days and their promised future was in Daniel’s answer. Satan sent his prince demon to thwart this prophetic vision and word to Daniel and the people in Israel. 

This stronghold is what is loosed over the Middle East and at war now over Israel and the entire region. This principality is what we are to bind in our spiritual warfare — our struggle. I have many times encountered this spirit, especially in the last eight years as I have come. 21 days Michael fought this spirit to bring this prophetic revelation. It is why the Holy Ghost sealed it up until this appointed time: 

But as for you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the end of time; many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.” -Daniel 12:4

The meaning of number 21 in the Bible is that it represents great wickedness of rebellion and sin. After the children of Israel left Egyptian bondage, they had twenty-one major rebellious events as they wandered the wilderness. 21 days describes the strength of the principalities’ gyration of wickedness and rebellion. 

The spirit of prophecy is the spirit of Jesus. Of course, Jesus reveals Himself in revelations and is not thwarted and by the Holy Ghost shows what is to come — the seal of Daniel is opened. This war is going to bring the whole world to see the glory, might, and power of the only true God and His glorious Son; the reigning King of heaven and earth: Jesus. 

We, like Michael, rebuke you, prince demon of Persia, in the name of the Lord. Iran is Persia, and its demonic spirits are Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Jihad, the PLO, etc.

How humbling it is to serve and be a part of the ministry here in the Middle East for the last 30 years for this day. 

Hallelujah to the King!

The world today, human society, is not God’s world.

The Bible tells us that Satan the devil is “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). This evil being is the one who reigns in the world system today! He deceives all of humanity into following his ways rather than God’s (Revelation12:9). God tells us that, “The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one”—under Satan’s powerful influence and control (1 John 5:19).

We are to declare the Kingdom of God, the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation.

Our God desires to have a holy people, a nation.

He has and continues to call unto us to become all that He desires and has birthed us to be. His new creation.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”‬‬

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭NASB2020

In all the political and religious confusion and deception being released in our land daily, we as believers have this everlasting word of our God. The promise of the Holy Ghost and His being poured out on all flesh, who is in us and with us. Whom the Son, Jesus, sets free is free indeed.

As was evident in the debate, there was little reference to what made this country free. Its foundation is “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” It will not be any party’s policies or ideas that will bring this nation to the truth, but an unprecedented move of the Holy Ghost bringing repentance and a true change in direction.

It is simple: our nation has experienced times of repentance and true revival in our history.

Jesus has freed us from sin and all unrighteousness through the power of the gospel of the kingdom of God. The sin of this nation is fomenting like the stench of a garbage dump. The smell of such defilement and adulteration can only be endured by Him for so long.

We, as those who have been set free, must not be silent as if our freedom can be accomplished by not preaching the gospel. We cannot be ashamed while the world and those among us call the condemnation of sin judgmental.

In the economic system of the world, the wages of sin is death. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, for it is condemned already. It is lost in its sin and doomed to eternal damnation, separated from the love of God, its redeemer, Savior, and Lord.

Today, let freedom ring, let the voice of the redeemed freely declare, with a shout, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

Father in heaven, grant us repentance in our land. Turn us back by your great power—the power of the Holy Ghost! Freedom!

-KC

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him

Matthew 7:11 NIV

Our God is not a ceremonial God that can be so empty, repetitious, and a form that denies the power of Him and what He has done. He is a celebratory God and He ordained feasts to celebrate His everlasting covenant with creation and those who have chosen Him.

In our day we call them Holidays to commemorate and celebrate victories and historical events in our various nations’ histories. They are there for one generation to acknowledge what God has done and what those who came before us accomplished. 

Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, for us in the U.S., are two of the most important celebrations. In them, the first and fifth commandments in our relational behavior are declared. The first four have to do with our relationship to God and the next six are to one another. The first of these is the command to honor your Father and Mother and it is the first and only commandment with promise. The promise of God’s favor on the children’s lives, “so that their days are prolonged on  the land which the Lord thy God has given you.”

First, we have the destruction of the family institution that was and is created by God. When He created them male and female and gave the marriage covenant to bring forth offspring, their children, it was good — out of His goodness. The first attribute that is testified of God is that HE IS GOOD. Everything He created was amended by His  goodness. It is this promise to children that the evil one hates, and his evil purpose is to target the innocence of children to destroy the family. No greater evidence is the genocide in the birth of Moses and of Jesus. In our lifetime it is the legalizing of abortion.

History shows that in the changing and overthrowing of governments, a ruler’s whole family was annihilated. Honor brings favor and promise to those children who, even when a Father is not honorable, God and His authority and sovereignty remain. He contrasts the difference between earthly fathers and the Heavenly Father. If you fathers, being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more your Father, wills to do more than you can think or ask, so much more. He is not saying fatherhood or motherhood is evil, but He is drawing a comparison that, in terms of His goodness, the heavenly Father’s goodness is so far above It can never be measured nor be compared between the two. It will always be seen in this light. As Jesus responded when He was called good,

And He said to him,Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

Matthew 19:17 NIV

The rejection of the fifth commandment is based on earthly fathers’ evil disobedience and not acknowledging the authority and goodness in God the Father. We as fathers need to see our place to be like Him. Otherwise, we rob our children of the promise of God to them. It is a huge stumbling block placed before them as children to overcome in their lifetime.  “Forgive me my Father,” I would say. Fatherly offenses far outweigh and are more prevalent than motherly ones. Unforgiveness, seeded in them as children, is the devil’s scheme to keep them from receiving the Heavenly Father, sending the Son to be their Savior and Lord. Everyone in the family unit is to keep this commandment and celebrate fatherhood, which was the priority of Jesus. When He taught us to pray, He first brought honor to the Father,

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:9-10 NIV

I pray that we will as fathers, seek to fulfill the last two prophetic verses in Malachi,

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

Malachi 4:5-6 NIV

The hearts of the father and children are restored so that the children and the land are preserved. Honor and happiness to all fathers on this: an important day set aside for celebration.

Hallelujah! -KC

”So they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, nor a sheep, ox, or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts in number, and both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to ruin it. So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

There cannot be any denial according to the Word of God concerning God and His people. All the theology, traditions, and scholars who search the scriptures and think they testify of man’s knowledge, and what He thinks about God, does not change God and His Word. Our righteousness is as filthy rags.

I simply want to point out the geographical place, the land, Gaza included, in God’s promise to them. Many years before Mohammed, the Quran, and Islam. This scripture, for me, is a current picture of what is happening in Israel and Gaza There is no regard — the mentality of Hamas is to ruin it. Israel is suffering from their disobedience and again, Israel was brought low. God’s judgment comes to them in Him lifting His protection. The God of Israel is waiting for them to call upon Him again.

The paradigm has changed not just to ruin, but to eradicate, to annihilate. As a Syrian Senator told me at one time, “Israel will be like sugar in water.”

The same spirit is in replacement theology, the Church has taken the place of Israel. The Church is the Bride of Christ, His body, and His representation in the earth. We are strangers and aliens. This is not our home or land. The earth is the Lord’s, He owns it. He gave the land, and set its boundaries to the Hebrew People.

Remember Israel oh Lord, out of all his trouble. Let him not be ashamed. Let not his enemies triumph over him. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered. Hallelujah!

Your thoughts are not My thoughts and your ways are not My ways, saith the Lord.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine mixed with bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

In 1974, Betsy and I were blessed to go to Israel for the 2000-year celebration of the Feast of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. We had the privilege of eating a meal with Hogn Vanderboven, the keeper of the garden tomb, nephew of Corrie Ten Boom. I remember going into the tomb and while we were coming out you could see Golgotha, the place of the skull.

Many scholars believe that after David killed Goliath he paraded Goliath’s head throughout Israel and brought it to Jerusalem and placed it there. The name of Goliath of Gath is a name derived from the two words “Gola Gatha.” One can say fairly confidently that David took the head of Goliath (the head of the serpent) and after displaying it on the highest hill in Jerusalem for all to see, buried it in a place called Golgotha. It is still known today as “the place of the skull.” Seeing the rock formation with two hollow eyes — resembling eye sockets in the skull of man.

This so illustrates to us how, in juxtaposition, man’s thoughts and man’s ways are not our Lord’s thoughts and our Lord’s ways. This was the fall of man, who was deceived and disobeyed by thinking there was a better way. The lies of the evil one mixed with Adam and Eve’s choice to believe the Satanic discord caused the mind of man to fall from the fellowship and ability to know God. His soul died, separating himself from God. No longer to be a living soul, bringing death, and the Adamic, inspired by the Satanic, mindset of man. Humanity was lost.

When I looked upon the hill, I saw so clearly the cross as a sword thrust into the place of the skull. Our thoughts are eternally opposed to His thoughts and so are our ways. As Isaiah said, they are so much higher as the heavens are higher than the earth. Only the cross of the Son of God, God’s lamb could take away our sin and redeem us to become the children of God. Jesus redeemed us from the curse.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭14‬, ‭16‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 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, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬-‭11‬ ‭NKJV

Jesus, lover of my soul. He Is Lord.

1 What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain: O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know;
nothing but the blood of Jesus.

2 For my pardon this I see:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this my plea:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]

3 Nothing can for sin atone:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]

4 This is all my hope and peace:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness:
nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Refrain]

”And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying, “Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom [of royal subjects] and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth.”“ ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Worthy Worthy is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world and cleanses me from all unrighteousness for His Name Sake.

Hallelujah! Good Passover to all!

*Art: Psalm 124 by Kari Langford.

Excited to have an update video on all the renovations happening at the Tent of Praise in Lebanon. Blessed to support and be a part of the work the Lord is doing in Beirut and the Middle East. Praise the Lord!

“And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭26‬-‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

How do you see Jesus in the storm? The disciples thought they saw a ghost, a spirit, and were troubled. It says they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke, “It is I, the Lord.” The storm cannot hide Him nor muffle His voice. Peter cried, “If it is you, bid me to come.”

Jesus responded, “Come.”

In this time, no matter the storm we find ourselves in, we are in the same boat and the same storm. Jesus walks in and on the storm. His call is to come, for He is here.

He says, “It is I.”

Jesus is in the midst of whatever we are going through as He walks on the water at the height of the storm. He demonstrates, “Nothing is too difficult for Me.” The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost call to us, “Come.”

Keep on coming to them. Glory to God! Hallelujah! Jesus!!!

-KC

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:5‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

David, in this great passage, identifies his relationship as one of the Lord’s sheep. The Lord is his shepherd. Jesus, speaking in His time, identifies His followers as sheep. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, another they will not follow.” David, during his years as a shepherd, received this revelation of God, the Shepherd of His sheep.

This morning, pray and receive your Shepherd. Ask Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to anoint your head with oil. A Shepherd anointed the sheep with oil not once, but many times, to keep flies from constantly tormenting them as they followed. We think of the anointing for ministry only, but how effective can we be with tormented thinking? This is for our daily protection. This was to keep the flies from laying eggs in the sheep’s mouth, where they get small cuts from blades of grass.

Jesus called Satan Beelzebub, lord of the flies, tormenters. Flies would lay eggs in the cuts and maggots would hatch and bring infection. The anointing is what keeps the evil one’s lies from tormenting our soul (mind, will, and emotions), where our thinking and decisions take place. David says God anointed his head with oil, and his cup runneth over with the anointing of spiritual thoughts and truth. Our cup spills over from us into our lives with His anointing renewing our minds. Without this, the devil and his lies begin to attack our heads and make us vulnerable to the world around us. It spills over into our marriage, family, friends, brothers and sisters, and the world.

The continued anointing, and sanctification of spirit, soul, and body will keep our hearts and minds. In this time we need our heads anointed. Our Good Shepherd, Jesus, the lover of our souls, is faithful to do it as we follow Him. We are the sheep of His pasture and we hear His voice.

Hallelujah! -KC

Blessed Valentine’s Day to all. This is one of my favorite celebrations. Of course, honoring the love of my life Betsy, but also because I am reminded of this word of the Lord:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I am thankful for how wonderful our God’s mercy and truth are to us. Jesus told us to love God with all of our hearts. ♥️ We are not to be as men and women who see people by their appearances or circumstances. Love to all. -KC

Remember these things, Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.“‬‬

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭21‬ ‭NASB2020

As we see in this passage, God refers to Jacob and Israel as His servants, He made them: “You are MY Servant Israel.” He has chosen Israel to serve His purposes in the earth. It is the epicenter and focus of the only wise God as the gap between history and the prophetic is narrowing in time. It is vital that Israel’s resolve to eliminate Hamas, which in Hebrew means violence, continues to victory.

Hamas started this war, massacring some 1400 innocent civilians. The narrative of the media, fueled by the Islamic proxies of Iran and the United Nations, under the guise of humanitarian issues, is illustrated in Secretary Blinken’s statement regarding Israel “dehumanizing Palestinians.” Even the narrative of denial that October 7 did not happen.

The continuing evidence that the IDF is discovering is revealing the darkness that has been hidden in those tunnels of darkness. Armories of weapons, manufacturing of rockets — all that have rained down on Israel — and an underground system of tunnels and rooms. It is now coming to pass as Jesus said: “That which is being done is being shouted from the housetops.” The fact is Israel, for years, has been in a war declared by Islam. Their Jihad, holy war, for the genocide and extermination of Israel and the Jews.

The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement was issued on August 18, 1988. The Islamic Resistance Movement, also known as the HAMAS, is an extremist fundamentalist Islamic organization operating in the territories under Israeli control. Its Covenant is a comprehensive manifesto comprised of 36 separate articles, all of which promote the basic HAMAS goal of destroying the State of Israel through Jihad (Islamic Holy War). The following are excerpts of the HAMAS Covenant: 


Goals of the HAMAS: “The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.” (Article 6) 


On the destruction of Israel: 
”Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” (Preamble)

We have ourselves, the United States, during Ayatollah Khoemene’s reign of terror, were held hostage during the Carter administration. The hostages, 52, were held for 444 days, from November 4, 1979, to their release on January 20, 1981. Not to mention the terrorist attack on the Marines on October 23, 1983. 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy sailors, and 3 U.S. Army soldiers lost their lives in the Marine Barracks at the Beirut Airport. Since then Iran has continued to be emboldened and has continued in Jihad directed at Israel and the United States. They have not ceased one day since then.

In the early 1950s, the Arab governments organized paramilitary commando groups — fedayeen — which undertook raiding and sabotage missions into Israel. In our lifetime we have seen Hamas, Hezbollah, Isis, and the Houthis, to name a few. All of these, proxies of Iran, carry the declaration and vision of Jihad, their Holy War, aimed primarily at Israel and any allies, especially the United States. It has never ceased, but has gained more and more momentum, and exploded on October the 7th of last year.

This is Islam’s eschatology and world view, to bring the nations under Shariah Law. These events, nations, and terrorists are all part of the prophecies concerning the end times in which we live. May Israel continue to stand in its resolve. Not only in its resistance but its goal to eradicate Hamas from its borders. Remember Israel out of all its trouble, let Israel not be ashamed, let not its enemies triumph.

Hallelujah!

As I was watching New Year’s Eve celebrations across time zones, I was struck by the continual spiraling down of the world’s approach to the New Year. I was reminded of Jesus’s words, “As in the days of Noah.” The contrast of the two calendars in terms of the approach of the people of the world and the people of God is telling. The Jewish calendar begins with, “Rosh Hashanah,” which means, “head of the year” in Hebrew. The two-day holiday is considered a time to reflect and repent in anticipation of the coming year versus the revelry and merriment displayed in most of the world at the New Year. The time of introspection according to the Hebrew calendar, Tishri, has a different spirit. It brings to mind God’s time in contrast to man’s.

In this post, I want to address the attitudinal approach, not the issue of the two calendars. Although the Church’s lack of celebrating the Feasts, which mark God’s calendar, is lamentable. I want to address our attitude toward our plans and strategies. Our labor in this could be called dead works: labor done in vain.

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.

Hebrews‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ NASB

The beginning of the Hebrew year calls for introspection and repentance, which are elementary principles and foundations for maturity. It is receiving, without condemnation, the truth brought to us by the Holy Ghost. Our thoughts that are not His and seeing where we went our way and not His — these produced dead works in the year. The saying that is often used, “How is that working for you?” minimizes sin and repentance. Sins cannot be called just “mistakes.”

In dealing with situations put before me, minimizing missing the mark and continuing to go our own way, rather than receiving correction, is labeled judgmental. Only in this course correction will enable us to go on into maturity, which can only be done in repentance.

All the New Year celebrations, good intentions, resolutions, and our will, cannot produce a happy New Year. So many resolutions and good intentions are verbalized yet lack a repentant attitude, which keeps us from pressing on to maturity.

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.“ ”For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬-11 NASB

The contrast of godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world is night and day, life and death, maturity and immaturity. Paul refers to them as points of reference:

For [you can look back and] see what an earnestness and authentic concern this godly sorrow has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves [against charges that you tolerate sin], what indignation [at sin], what fear [of offending God], what longing [for righteousness and justice], what passion [to do what is right], what readiness to punish [those who sin and those who tolerate sin]! At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in the matter.“

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭7‬:‭11‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Paul tells them to look back, to see what true repentance and godly sorrow have produced in us. Vindication, free from accusation, indignation at sin, fear of the Lord, not offending Him, longing for righteousness and justice, a passion for doing right — not just being right, readiness to call ourselves and one another into account, not tolerating sin. He goes on to say that in every one of these points they have proved to be innocent. One free from guilt or harm. I am not saying whatsoever that I am innocent in any of these points, only that I see my lack of maturity and a desire to press on to turn from that which hinders me in my relationship to Jesus and His Body.

There is no Happy New Year without our repentance and renewed faith toward God.

Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-2 ‭NASB

In closing, be sure that as you look into your heart with introspection, you finish by looking up and only to Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith. He has made a way for us to continually be made new.

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!

-KC

Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬

He is faithful to His plan — not man’s plans and strategies. They are set in His heart and no circumstances or ideas will change this. The plans of man are what dead works are made of and our only response is to repent.

Onward and upward into His plans in 2024.

Praying for all of us. He is faithful to the one and only plan: His! Jesus!

-KC

Join us in this series with Keith Curlee and Ben Ward discussing classic Christmas carols and their amazing, deep theology. Today we are looking into “O Holy Night” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7pyD68dZPF8U4Fe8i6nuqc?si=W9jTio7oSpiJw-DIuElZHQ

Previous episodes:
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
“Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”
“Hark the Herald Angels Sing”

Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Ben’s podcast: https://benwardmusic.com/morningprayer

Join us in this series with Keith Curlee and Ben Ward discussing classic Christmas carols and their amazing, deep theology. Today we are exploring “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” by Charles Wesley.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3qjgSYSKCcPd4T16vt3gey?si=2ad1f56c185140c1

Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Ben’s podcast: https://benwardmusic.com/morningprayer