July 24, 2020

Good morning church… it’s Friday and the weather should be nice for a couple of days and then I hear the heat will be back.  …. Don’t forget to water your pets and garden.  Also you need to water yourselves.  Funny how heat affects things.. last Saturday I tried cutting wood and said… its not that hot… hour later I was sitting in the shade reevaluating my life choices.  This week one of my daughters was caught up with friends and swimming she forgot to eat and drink most of the day and after some detective work figured that out and then slowly administered the correct food and water to get her back to being human.  For a while we thought she got possessed by a wild animal.  She is fine now.

                We all need the proper amount of water and on our own we can’t handle the heat.  We need something else to help us deal with difficult things.  This was a busy week for me.  Work was busy and I was doing many different things after work.  Seemed to have things to do after work many nights this week.  Long days and early mornings… my point… is to challenge you and myself. 

                When times are difficult and hard, who or what do you turn too?  Is Jesus your first choice?  Is he your second or 3^rd?  I am reminded of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego… they put Jesus first and were able to handle the heat of a massive furnace that killed the guards taking them in,  they put everything in Jesus and He saved them from death!

                Good News Story #1 – there is some fighting/war info in the below article but the beginning and end of the article is again about REVIVAL !!!!!!!

IN IRAN, IT’S A ‘PANDEMIC OF HOPE’ AS THOUSANDS ACCEPT JESUS AMID COVID-19

George Thomas : Jul 22, 2020  CBN News

“We are registering around 3,000 personal decisions by Iranian Muslims to leave Islam for Christianity during this revival.” -Mike Ansari, Mohabat TV

[CBN News] Iran is facing a wave of internal turmoil and covert attacks that are undermining the radical regime’s nefarious plans. Even as the violence escalates, hope is rising among Iranian citizens who are finding salvation in Jesus Christ. (Screengrab image: via CBN News)

Whether it’s the exploding coronavirus, mysterious fires at nuclear and military facilities or protests, Iran’s ruling Islamic clerics are facing unprecedented challenges as the regime tries to maintain an iron grip on the nation.

In the latest military incident, Israel struck an Iranian-backed weapons facility and military positions in Syria today. The missile strike south of Damascus reportedly killed five Iranian fighters and injured a dozen others.

And on Monday, the government executed a man it convicted of spying for the CIA and Israeli intelligence.

Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd received that sentence for allegedly passing information to the CIA about the whereabouts of General Qasem Soleimani. The powerful leader was killed in a US drone strike earlier this year.

“This is a regime that’s facing a possible rebellion in the near future, regime officials talk about it, so they are executing a lot of people to put fear into the public,” Alireza Nader, an Iranian expert with Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told CBN News.

The execution follows a string of mysterious fires and explosions around the country.

On Sunday, fires broke out at a military installation near Tehran, a shipyard in Bushehr, and a key power plant connected to Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan. Similar incidents have happened across Iran since June.

“This cannot be a coincidence,” said Dr. Ronen Bergman, author of Rise and Kill First. “This cannot be just a series of accidents without malicious intent from someone.”

Some pointing to Israel’s ongoing overt, and at times covert war, against the Islamic regime.

“Israel is specifically trying to stop the transfer of very advanced, precise munitions to the regime’s proxies, like Hezbollah, and also wants to slow down the Iranian nuclear program,” said Nader.

And President Trump has reportedly given the CIA a green light to launch more offensive cyber-attacks to cripple or destroy some of Iran’s critical infrastructures.

All this comes against the backdrop of ongoing government protests and a remarkable revival that’s witnessing thousands of Muslims turning to Christianity in the midst of COVID-19.

“That’s why we are calling this a pandemic of hope,” said Mike Ansari, who runs Mohabat TV, one of the most popular Christian satellite channels in Iran.

Ansari told CBN News that Mohabat TV is recording 10 times more online salvations than this time last year.

“We are registering around 3,000 personal decisions by Iranian Muslims to leave Islam for Christianity during this revival,” Ansari said.

That’s 3,000 people each month who’ve decided to follow Jesus Christ since the pandemic began in March.

“People in Iran are just not happy the way their economy is going, the way the government is robbing them of their national resources and exporting Shia Islam to the neighboring countries, so they just don’t trust their government,” said Ansari.

The large number of people leaving Islam is causing a backlash against the church. Dozens of Christians have been arrested and imprisoned for responding to the Gospel message since March.

“During these critical times for the regime, there’s a tendency, historically, for the regime to really crack down on religious communities like Christian converts, and we see that today,” Nader told CBN News.

Iran is one of the world’s most dangerous places for Christians. Yet, Christianity is growing faster in Iran than in any other country in the world.

                I love seeing this pattern of revival over and over and no I am not looking for it, they are just one of the top stories out there.  Have a great weekend and can’t wait to worship together.  If you can’t make it please stay connected via the online message or if you need any prayer or help we are here for anyone who needs anything.

Thanks,

Justin Carr