God-Ordained Margin

I recently returned from the Middle East. I often get disappointed on days overseas when only 1 or 2 brothers schedule a visit. It is reasonable, since the purpose of my trips is to connect onsite with brothers. Yet it also reveals my lack of trust in God's sovereignty over my time, ministry, and relationships. Often, I find that I need that downtime to prepare for meetings in the next city, or to be available for something urgent back home, or to simply process what is happening around me. One day of this past trip, no one scheduled me. But it worked out perfectly because I needed to give the entire day to my host that night, who is struggling in many ways. If others had scheduled me, we would not have had the depth of conversation about several things that we had that day. I also would not have been able to observe him interacting with his kids and the real challenges he has as a dad. Would you pray for him as a husband, father, full-time minister, and friend to many?

Having some margin in my schedule also allowed me to join a Sudanese friend who visits his dad twice a week in Cairo. His dad is bedridden with a condition that has literally caused his fingers and toes to turn black and, eventually, they will fall off. It was quite humbling to see the joy of the Lord in his dad's smile while listening to him tell stories of evangelistic trips inside Sudan decades ago. Please pray for Sabri as he balances caring for his father, his own family, theological study online, and ministry to several former Sudanese Muslims now living in Cairo. Ask for Spirit-led creativity to resume meeting together despite challenges such as Cairo traffic between distances of homes, working long hours as refugees, little income for transportation, and small living rooms in which to meet.

My Typical Day

My typical day (Sundays off & lots of flexibility during the week)...

6:30am breakfast with the fam

7am work- message brothers on Messenger or Whatsapp or Signal to arrange Zoom meetings, tons of voice messaging

10am-ish short walk listening to The Briefing or Truth In Love or Egyptian Arabic Bible or English Bible, etc.

10:30am-ish lunch then work

1pm-ish nap for 15 min then pray

1:30pm-ish second lunch!

3pm stop messaging brothers because it is 10pm in the Middle East but I'll respond to some longer voice messages anyway, maybe short walk again

5pm-ish workout- every 3 days rotate running & stationary bike & old-man burpees along w other lifting or rest body 1-2 days wk

6pm dinner w fam

7pm play Rummikub w my wife or walk w her or by myself, necessary fam conversations or share a verse or things we are thankful for

9pm-ish in bed reading or facebooking or youtubing, sometimes falling asleep to Psalms

Sam's Visit

This month marks 20 years of writing these prayer updates. For those of you who have been reading for any length of time, you know that I very rarely highlight an Arab brother and recommend you financially support him. But let me tell you about "Sam".

Sam is an Egyptian who grew up in Dubai and then studied theology in Jordan, where he met and married a Palestinian sister. He has been serving God full-time in Jordan for the past 18 years, but will soon move to Kurdistan, Iraq, to continue developing leaders, while also engaging online with a very unreached people group in the Arab world, possibly moving there one day if the situation there changes. My wife met his wife earlier this year in Jordan, but I've known Sam for 9 years. He is 42 years old. He is theologically solid, gets to the point, works hard, is a man of integrity, promotes biblical counseling, and wants to see reproducible churches planted.

Over the next 2 months, Sam will be visiting friends in the US to raise support. First, would you ask God to provide what Sam and his wife need to continue their ministry? Secondly, if you live in our city, would you consider gathering a few friends who would be willing to hear from Sam and me about his ministry? Or at least sit down with us by yourself to consider a financial partnership, even if it is a small amount? He will be in our city from Thursday late afternoon, Sept 18, until Tuesday late morning, September 23. It is also possible for us to connect with him online. Reply to this email if you have further questions or are ready to financially support him.

Spanking?

There is not really an Arabic word for "spank". Even Arab evangelicals just use the word "darab" which means "hit". So when talking to dads, I use a phrase which means "lovingly discipline him with the rod". They all know "the rod" from Scripture, though some argue that it is metaphorical. Yet when I ask, "Did you experience from your parents biblical discipline?", none of them say "yes". So I describe for them biblical discipline as explained here. When I ask, "Have you ever seen it modeled by any parents with young children?", I've had one in about 100 parents tell me they have.

Don't we face the same temptation that Arab believing parents face... to lazily ignore our child's sin until it annoys us to anger? At that point, we are no longer disciplining our children. We are punishing them. Hebrews 12:9-11 says, "We have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Would you pray for Arab believing parents to preach the gospel to their children by lovingly disciplining them rather than punishing them? It is difficult for very young children to understand how Jesus' death on the cross can forgive their sin, but some temporary pain on their backside can help them understand the seriousness of sin more clearly.

Allow Participation? Or Continue To Prohibit It?

There is no Scripture passage describing a monologue sermon during a church gathering. If you can think of even one verse, please tell me. But several verses describe allowing participation in church during the teaching of the Bible rather than prohibiting participation, such as...

1 Corinthians 14:26 "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up... 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged... 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord."

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Romans 15:14 "I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another."

Such participation, described above as happening in the main gathering of the church, is prohibited in most churches today.

It would be difficult to allow time for such participation in a church with more than, say, 25 adults. A church that permits participation could meet in a church building. However, the expense of securing a sanctuary would not be necessary if larger living rooms or basements can be used. Francis Chan talks about house church in this 11-minute video.

In the Arab world, persecution is an added incentive to gathering in private homes. Would you pray that some mature Arab believers from a Christian background would consider planting private house churches so that they can experience and model churches that believers from a Muslim background can attend and also reproduce?

The More The Words

While in Cairo last month, my young Egyptian friend was telling me about a disagreement between him and an American worker. (We say "worker" rather than "missionary" for security purposes, and also because Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful but the "workers" are few.) The American worker had encouraged a mutual friend/believer from a Muslim background to be more open about her faith. My Egyptian friend argued that she should be quieter. He wanted to know what I thought, so I told him that every MBB's situation is unique, so it needs wisdom.

I carefully suggested to my Egyptian friend that the issue may not be the issue at all. The problem might be that he shares his options too quickly and talks too much. This was the fifth time I had met him. I reminded him that I told him he talked too much near the end of the third time that we met. I tried to help him understand that God has given him a very social personality, but that doesn't mean he can't learn how to engage others with questions and then patiently listen rather than always speaking his mind. He received it with humility.

A few minutes later in the conversation, he opened his phone to show me his 5-star Uber rating. To his surprise, it had become a 4.9 because his most recent passenger had written, "Driver talks too much"! I couldn't help laughing out loud when he said, "It's a sign from God!" Later, I sent him these verses....

Ecclesiastes 6:11 "The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?"

Proverbs 10:19 "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent."

James 1:9 "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger"

Would you pray for my friend to have more humility in his relationships, to be patient as he listens to others, and to continue to share the gospel boldly with many Muslims, as he is doing? He truly does have compassion for the lost and a passion for Jesus to be worshiped among all Arabs.

My mom Pat went to be with the Lord on Monday. Her passing was sudden but not completely unexpected. At 87 years old, she had been dealing with high blood pressure, swollen feet, and kidney problems for some time but always kept her joy. She personified Philippians 2:4… “Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others" yet she was also very keen to her sin and need for a Saviour, which she found in Christ. I will miss her but I'm so much more happy for her to be in heaven with my dad, who passed away 8 years ago.

It seems that the technology exists to ensure that gospel content on social media is seen by the unreached Emirati Arabs in Dubai and other UAE cities. I don't feel like I'm the one to do it since I don't live there. Pray that someone in-country steps into this. Perhaps someone already has but I haven't met them yet.

I recently finished listening to the audiobook The Schizophrenic Unicorn by Dr. Daniel Berger... "understanding the diagnosis of schizophrenia, the centrality of sleep, the biopsychosocial diagnostic model of mental disorder & considering a practical & proven alternative." Man, that dude is smart! You can listen to more from Dr. Berger here.

Quieting My Soul

I remember memorizing Psalm 131:1-2 as a college student...

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up (proud);

my eyes are not raised too high (haughty);
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

In my own pride and haughtiness, I can often try to occupy myself with
things too great for me, when I should be bringing those things before
God in prayer. Like holding a child who has not yet been weaned by
his/her mother, I can become restless and easily distracted before God
in prayer, thinking about what I need to DO rather than BEING in His
presence. A wise person once said that we are human beings not
human-doings!

Please pray for my time next week with a Saudi brother who is in full-time ministry online and will visit us with his family. Also, pray for a Saudi/Pakistani brother who will move from his family's home to another location due to some mild persecution. And pray for yet another Saudi believer whose marriage I will attend in Ohio this weekend, while also visiting a Lebanese brother who is now coaching basketball for Athletes In Action.

So often we get our news from sources that may or may not be indwelt
by the Spirit of truth. I've been reading The Pour Over email three
times a week. It's "Politically Neutral, Christ-First News"... and
it's free.

Traveling With My Wife!

It was great to have my woman with me on this trip. She has taught kindergarten 3 days a week for the past several years. But this year, the youngest two are homeschooling only & working, therefore, she could join me.

I traveled to Saudi for a week before she and I met in Cairo for 4 days, then Beirut for 3 days, Jordan for 4 days, then Nazareth for 2 days. It was different than previous trips as I usually try to stay in one location and receive as many brothers who can visit as possible. But since most of these brothers have younger kids, we needed to visit them and their wives in their homes. Some of these guys with whom I've been tracking for 5+ years but never met their wives or entered their homes!

She says, "I was encouraged by the many families that we met. Two Arab believing women stood out to me because of their passion and dedication to sharing the Gospel with the unreached. These women have many more “obstacles” in their lives that could be excuses to not sharing Christ but instead they do so with joy. Would you pray that when they share the gospel, that the Holy Spirit prepares and opens hearts to the truth?"

A Believer From a Sunni/Shia/Sufi Family

Through a mutual friend in the Arabian Peninsula, I was connected with "Y". He is an Egyptian whose father is an Egyptian Shi'a and his mother is a Jordanian Sunni Sufi. Interesting combination. His dad worked in Saudi so he grew up there. In high school, he became curious about the Christian faith, but there were only five students who identified as "Christian" in his school and they were either unwilling or unable to answer his questions. One told him to read Revelation so he began reading the Bible. He had a vision of Jesus. Later, he went to the Orthodox church in Egypt to be baptized. Later he was thoroughly discipled in an evangelical church in Dubai. He recently moved to the US to get a passport in 3 years and then to return to Egypt to serve in ministry. Would you ask God to give "Y" the determination to follow through on his plan? It is encouraging to know Arab brothers who could choose comfort and affluence yet choose to be a light among their people.

Ultimate Reconciliation

Have you heard of the doctrine of ultimate reconciliation? It is the belief that God will eventually cause all souls to come to a saving knowledge of Christ and spend eternity with Him. During a recent conversation with a missionary friend in Jordan, he told me he believed this. He said that he might be willing to discuss it later. God has given my friend the privilege of disciplining several new Syrian families from a Muslim background. Would you pray for their protection from this heresy and for my friend to be willing to wrestle together with Scripture about this? He is a wonderful husband/father and is faithful to Christ in so many ways.

A friend in Saudi Arabia from a Muslim background has been hyper-critical of other believers in his city, even to the point of cutting off fellowship. One of his complaints has been that they don't respond immediately to his texts. I said to him, "Brother, I've texted you many times over the past two years, and many times you haven't responded to me. And these brothers have families and other responsibilities, unlike you as a single guy." To my surprise, he accepted my words with complete humility, evidence of the Spirit's work in his life. Over the Christmas break, he spent time individually with two brothers who are mature enough to love him well and understand the importance of his committing to a local church.  Please pray that God gives him the grace to trust others and commit.