FORTHCOMING MISSION TRIP TO KISII REGION ON 14TH -18TH JULY, 2021
God opened the door for us in this region as a result of a previous trip by pastors, Charles, Maurice and Jacob. Two House churches were established: one in BUEMBU and the other in KARUNGU.
Maps showing Kisii in relation to Migori where Charles is based
A special invitation has been on our desk now for 2 months, wanting us to take our discipleship ministry back there. After repeated prayers seeking direction and leading from God, we feel led by the Holy spirit to visit this region on July 14th-18th, so that we may fulfil our Macedonian call “come over here and help us”
The need and request was received from five Christian brothers who live in the region, one of which is an ex Muslim. In our last meeting, we resolved to raise Kshs 67,000/ approx. Au$ 658. Until now, the leaders and KHC believers have raised a total of Kshs 37,000 which is not enough. Hence, the KHC movement and the board of elders is requesting our friends, LEN and partners in the work of ministry to help fund our trip with the remaining amount of money of Kshs 30,000/ approx. Au$ 380. Your support for KHC movement will be highly appreciated and will be for God’s glory! Yours, Leader & Founder KHC movement. Charles.
I have been blessed to be able to assist the KHC Movement for sometime now and will continue to do so. I am a pensioner now so am limited in what I can do. I would appreciate any LEN follower out there who feels led to join me in supporting the KHC Movement. You can do so by making a donation on the Donation link on the Home Page.
It is important to remember that persecution come with the territory for Christians doing what God has called us to do. You are a Kingdom warrior in a spiritual war so expect demonic attacks. Moreover, Jesus tells us we should rejoice and be glad for we are blessed and our reward will be great in heaven.
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:12
“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” 1 Peter 4:14
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12
Many times demons work through unbelievers to insult, attack, degrade and persecute believers. This should be expected and how we respond is of course key to our ability to influence them for God. We know that they cannot understand the word of God without the Spirit of God. All we can do is love them, pray for them and return good for evil
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14
“bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:28
It is also important to remember that Satan is a created being under God’s control. He is limited by God as to what he can do to you. Read the story of Job again.
Demons do know your weaknesses, particularly long standing addictions and will challenge you again and again to exploit that weakness. The Holy Spirit will convict you and hopefully repentance is quick in response. Make sure you have a mentor with whom you are committed to confess your sins and will hold you accountable to the path of righteousness.
As we approach the last days before Jesus returns, He has told us that spiritual warfare intensifies. Satan knows his time is short. God uses the time of tribulation to purify His church. Many people who call themselves Christians will fall away and compromise with the world and its changing values.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13
But just as Satan intensifies his effort to deceive and destroy, God likewise intensifies His efforts in the natural and supernatural.Joel testifies to this “prior to the great day of the Lord comes”
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” Joel 2:28-29
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.Joel 2:30-32
The first is God’s judgement of the world with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day.
Uniformitarian geology introduced by Hutton and Lyell in the 19th century is coming under increasing criticism due to the prevalent evidence in the geological record of catastrophism. For example, uniformitarian scientists have several difficulties explaining passive margin uplift. This is especially the case with the Great Escarpment that rims southern Africa. The erosional profile of the Great Escarpment does not fit uniformitarian expectations. However, it fits very well the catastrophic erosion of the Sheet Flow phase of the Recessive stage of the Flood. As well, the best explanation for the billions of dead things all over the world including fossil fuels is the worldwide flood of Noah’s Day which represented the judgement of God on a wicked world.
Jesus tells us that prior to His second coming the world will be lawless just as it was in Noah’s day and that scoffers will not countenance God destroyed mankind with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day. This is exactly the situation we have in the world today. Further evidence we are living in the prophesied “last days” before Jesus return.
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:24
“you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” 2 Peter 3:2-6
Noah’s Ark replica built to Biblical dimensions (510-foot-long,155-meter-long) at the Ark Encounter theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky
The second is God’s judgement of the post flood population at the Tower of Babel when He confused their language and created the nations that exist today.
The new attraction to be built at the Ark Encounter site, “The Tower of Babel” will “tackle the racism issue” by helping visitors “understand how genetics research and the Bible confirm the origin of all people groups around the world.
“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words... and they said to one another, … come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” Genesis 11:1, 4-
On the fifth anniversary of the Ark Encounter, which features a 510-foot-long wooden Noah’s ark, founder Ken Ham has announced the expansion of the Bible-themed attraction in Kentucky by building a Tower of Babel attraction on the park’s grounds.
“Next year, we will start fundraising for a Tower of Babel attraction that we hope to open in three or four years, where among other things we will help people understand what genetics research and the Bible say about the origin of all the people groups around the world,” Ham, the CEO and founder of the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, says on the website of the Answers in Genesis ministry.
The last seven years prior to Jesus return to earth as outlined in the Daniel 70 weeks prophecy.
There is a lot of controversy over what occurs to start this period and the events that occur during the seven years. Nelson does a great job of looking at the relevant Scriptures and you will be surprised at the outcome. His exegesis is thorough and I would suggest you watch this video several times with a notebook in hand.
What event begins The Tribulation or 70th Week of Daniel? Is it a peace treaty with the Antichrist, the Rapture, the revealing of Antichrist, the start of the twice daily sacrifice, or is it something else? It is crucial that we know because those days are almost here. Watch this Nelson Walters video to find out and why knowing will help prepare us for those times.
Who is the “Prince who is to come”? Is he the Antichrist or could he be Jesus? Could Jesus be is the one who commanded the destruction of Jerusalem and which covenant is confirmed for one week? Could it be Jesus is the one who strengthens His covenant with us by pouring out the Holy Spirit as prophesied by Joel in the last days? Jesus will strengthen believers to cope with the intense tribulation that occurs at this time when Satan is cast down to the earth.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” Joel 2:28-29
Did you know that a whopping 31% of the Bible is God revealing how events will unfold before they happen? Our Heavenly Father wants His children to know what the future holds! Moreover, surely it is sufficient proof the Bible is the inspired word of God.
God’s prophetic Word has excited me and many other Christ centred ministries to alert the church to the events surrounding Jesus second coming. Lamb & Lion Ministries is one that has been faithful for over 40 years now. And they say, that excitement will never abate in the years ahead, for the Good News and hope-filled message about our Saviour’s return is what energizes their passion for evangelizing.
We want you to be invigorated by that same passion as well! And so, Todd Hampson of the Prophecy Prod podcast, and Lamb and Lion Ministries put a list together to share some of the reasons why we believe Bible prophecy exists. Many more reasons exist so I would appreciate your feedback in Comments,
God provides us with the true history of His world and our role in it from Creation to its prophesied end.
Bible prophecy has been given to us to show that God exists. God is God. He is the Creator! He is Sovereign. He exists outside of time. He knows everything. And so, whatever God says, you can take it as the truth. So the first reason that Bible prophecy has been given to us, is so we can live by that truth.
The second reason why God has given us Bible prophecy is to prove that the Bible is God’s word. The fact is that the Bible is the only book ever written that contains genuine, fulfilled prophecies. These prophecies were fulfilled to… the…”T”! Fulfilled Bible prophecy proves the Bible is truly God’s Word and so we can place our faith and trust in it and its Author.
A third reason is to show us that God is in complete control. He is sovereign. Sovereign means that God is ultimately in control of every single detail. Bible prophecy puts that fact on display like nothing else.
The fourth reason for God giving us Bible prophecy is to demonstrate that God loves us and that He has a plan for our lives. We are not just floating around on a big spinning orb out in outer space with no purpose and no meaning, as Atheists claim. God has crafted a purpose for every person He has ever made because He loves His children. God has also planned a destination for the faithful. He wants us to live with Him in Heaven and on the New Earth forever. And so, He gives us prophecy to show how world history will end with the faithful living forever with our loving Heavenly Father in the Eternal State.
The fifth reason , God provides us with many specific details about His plan for the ages. This plan shows how God is working to bring humanity back into a right relationship with Him so that one day we shall dwell in a blessed time of peace, righteousness, and fellowship with our Creator. Bible prophecy is very specific and very purposeful so we can be confident even through the prophesied times of persecution and tribulation that He is refining His church prior to its rapture and the wrath of God being poured out on an unrepentant world.
In the next post we will add another five reasons and any that I receive in Comments that add to the story.
This amazing article by Daniel Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) President of the Middle East Forum appeared in Newsweek magazine Friday, July 9th 2021.
Something religiously astonishing is taking place in Iran, where an Islamist government has ruled since 1979: Christianity is flourishing. The implications are potentially profound.
Consider some testimonials:
David Yeghnazar of Elam Ministries stated in 2018 that “Iranians have become the most open people to the gospel.”
The Christian Broadcast Network found, also in 2018, that “Christianity is growing faster in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in any other country.”
Shay Khatiri of Johns Hopkins University wrote last year about Iran that “Islam is the fastest shrinking religion there, while Christianity is growing the fastest.”
This trend results from the extreme form of Shi’ite Islam imposed by the theocratic regime. An Iranian church leader explained in 2019: “What if I told you the mosques are empty inside Iran? What if I told you no one follows Islam inside of Iran? …What if I told you the best evangelist for Jesus was the Ayatollah Khomeini[, the founder of the Islamic Republic]?” An evangelical pastor, formerly an Iranian Muslim, concurred as far back as 2008: “We find ourselves facing what is more than a conversion to the Christian faith. It’s a mass exodus from Islam.”
As a clandestine phenomenon, the practice of what are sometimes called Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) lacks clergy and church buildings, but instead consists of self-starting disciples and tiny house churches of four to five members each, with either hushed singing or none at all. Its lay leadership, in striking contrast to the mullahs who rule Iran, consists mainly of women.
In another contrast to the government, Iranian MBBs tend to be fervently pro-Israel. They are, explains a documentary, “bowing their knees to the Jewish Messiah—with kindled affection toward the Jewish people.” Converts have even expressed a hope to build a “resistance church” in Iran to counter regime threats to Israel.
Given the Iranian house church movement’s underground nature, estimates of its size are necessarily vague. Open Doors found 370,000 Muslim Background Believers in 2013 and 720,000 in 2020; Duane Alexander Miller approximates as many as 500,000, Hormoz Shariat at least one million and GAMAAN even more than that.
The mullahs have usually responded with predictable repression that includes prohibiting Christian missionaries and Gospel preaching. The U.S. State Department reported in 2012 that “government officials frequently confiscate Christian Bibles and pressure publishing houses printing Bibles…to cease operations.” Also, Christians “reported the presence of security cameras outside their churches.”
Iranian authorities routinely arrest and jail MBBs, often for extended periods; for example, the United Nations reported in 2013 on “more than 300 Christians” who were arrested in the prior three years, mostly for vague security-related offenses. An inquiry found that “those arrested have been subjected to intensive and often abusive interrogation.”
The punishment can be severe: In 1990, for example, the Rev. Hossein Soodmand was executed for apostasy. In 2008, the government advanced legislation to impose the death penalty on anyone born to Muslim parents who converts to another faith. Indeed, “as more Iranians convert,” Khatiri notes, “their situation is getting worse.”
“You’re creating problems in the country,” an Iranian convert reported being told during a 2018 police interrogation. In this spirit, Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi in 2019 spoke of his ministry’s research into conversions to Christianity, its questioning of ordinary people to explain their motives and its efforts to “counter the advocates of Christianity.” Iran’s leading Islamic seminary sees the domestic fight against Christianity as one of its top priorities, and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reportedly once vowed to “stop Christianity in this country.” The supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, blames house churches on “Zionists and other enemies.”
Indeed Lela Gilbert and Arielle Del Turco argue that the regime considers Christianity “an existential threat.” And it should, notes Reza Safa, the Iranian-born founder of Nejat TV (“ministering to Muslims living in Farsi-speaking nations”), who titled a bookThe Coming Fall of Islam in Iran. He sees Iran’s Christians as “an army of God” who are bringing Iran to “the brink of another revolution, this time orchestrated” by a Christian spirit.
If this analysis is even partially correct, the consequences are enormous. The collapse of Khomeini’s regime would not only fundamentally alter the balance of power in the Middle East; it would also likely terminate the region-wide Islamist surge that Iranian revolutionaries forwarded in 1978-79, ending the malign historical cycle that largely began in Iran.
Jews Have No Connection to Israel,’ Says Palestinian PM. Once again, July 9th, 2021, Palestinian leaders ignore proven historical facts and deny the Jewish people’s connection to their homeland.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation and the Israel Antiquities Authority are enabling the public to view impressive new sections of one of one of the most magnificent public buildings uncovered from the Second Temple period. The discovery – the fruit of archaeological excavations recently conducted in the Western Wall Tunnels – will be part of the new route opened to visitors ahead of Rosh Chodesh Elul and Slichot (Penitential prayers). Part of the structure, to the west of Wilson’s Arch and the Temple Mount, was discovered and documented by Charles Warren in the nineteenth century, followed by various archaeologists in the twentieth century. Now that its excavation is complete, we know that it contained two identical magnificent chambers with an elaborate fountain between them. The walls of the halls and the fountain were decorated with a sculpted cornice bearing pilasters (flat supporting pillars) topped with Corinthian capitals. The decorative style of the building is typical of opulent Second Temple-period architecture. Mordechai Soli Eliav, Chairman of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation says, “It is exciting to reveal such a magnificent structure from the Second Temple period while we mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and pray for its restoration. These chambers are part of a new walk through the Western Wall Tunnels, where visitors will view fascinating finds and walk for the first time along the entire route among Second Temple-period remains that illustrate the complexity of Jewish life in Jerusalem between the Hasmonean and the Roman periods.” According to Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolach, Excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “This is without doubt one of the most magnificent public building from the Second Temple period that has ever been uncovered outside the Temple Mount walls in Jerusalem. It was built in around 20–30 CE. The building, which apparently stood along a street leading up to the Temple Mount, was used for public functions – it may even have been the city council building where important dignitaries were received before entering the Temple compound and the Temple Mount. Visitors to the site can now envisage the opulence of the place: the two side chambers served as ornate reception rooms and between them was a magnificent fountain with water gushing out from lead pipes incorporated in the midst of the Corinthian capitals protruding from the wall. The excavation also uncovered the original massive stone slabs with which the ancient building was paved. The archaeologists believe that the guest rooms, which were also used for dining, contained wooden reclining sofas that have not been preserved. Reclining dining rooms were common in the Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds from the fifth century BCE to the third–fourth centuries CE. They are known in the archaeological record from private homes, palaces, temples, synagogue complexes and civilian compounds. Dining or feasting while reclining is mentioned as early as the Book of Amos – in the first half of the eighth century BCE – when the prophet rebukes the people of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. In the late Second Temple period, before the Temple’s destruction, extensive changes made throughout the area included alterations to the building, which was divided into three separate chambers. In one of the chambers, a stepped pool was installed that was used as a ritual bath.” Shachar Puni, architect for the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Conservation Department explains, “The new route provides a better understanding of the complex and important site known as the Western Wall Tunnels, while emphasizing the extent of this magnificent building. It creates a new visitors’ route that passes through the building and leads to the spacious compound at the foot of Wilson’s Arch (one of the bridges leading to the Temple Mount), which was also excavated by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and the Israel Antiquities Authority. By making the route accessible and opening it to the public, visitors are introduced to one of the most fascinating and impressive sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.”
Ways to stay focused on God’s agenda for your life
1. Holy Spirit Journal: Once you decide to record all the moments the Holy Spirit cautions/blocks/directs/inspires events during your day you will discover the significance of these experiences/miracles. Take your H.S. journal with you so you can jot down the incidences whilst still fresh in your mind and you do not forget to thank God for them. He will love that you do. Too frequently, we miss those God-moments that, whether they seem large or small, are truly phenomenal. Also, take time to review them at the end of every day, the Holy Spirit may give you fresh revelation something you missed at the time.
2. Before every new challenge, every new day, pray. Pray and fast if necessary. Remind yourself of God’s faithfulness! Every prayer He has answered. Replay every victory He has given you before you make a critical decision. Make sure you have “put on the whole armour of God each day so that you can stand against the evil forces of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10 The devil and his minions will do their best to get you thinking negatively to produce the wrong outcome.
3. Keep a visual image of what you’re aiming for—the outcome the Bible promises. Do this and watch what happens.
What are some daily habits you employ to stay connected to the Holy Spirit and living eternal now?
available on Amazon as an ebook or trade paperback edition or request one from me at ron@bakb.com.au and make a donation on Home page
Nasser Navard Gol-Tapeh was convicted by an Iranian Court May 2017 to 10 years in prison on charges of “acting against national security through the formation and establishment of an illegal church organization in his home,” according to the Jubilee Campaign.
He has been in the notorious Evin Prison since January 2018 and had appealed his detainment and conviction, which was rejected.
Nasser has written open letters to the Iranian authorities, questioning his conviction.
“Would it even be possible for a committed Christian — who was born and raised in Iran and whose forefathers lived in this land for thousands of years, and who is a servant to the God who has called him to a ministry of reconciliation — to act against the national security of his own country?” he wrote in August 2018, according to World Watch Monitor.
“As the charges against me in my indictment states: ‘Action against national security through establishment of house churches,’ is the fellowship of a few Christian brothers and sisters in someone’s home, singing worship songs, reading the Bible and worshiping God acting against national security?” he continued.
“Isn’t it a clear violation of civil and human rights, and an absolute injustice, to receive [a] 10-year prison sentence just for organizing ‘house churches,’ which is a sanctuary sanctified as a place to praise and worship God due to closure of churches in Iran?”
Fortunately, Jesus told us that persecution of His children, Christians will increase in the “last days” before His return. Satan knows His end is near and is doing His utmost to take as many of the people God created in His image down with him. Note the strong warnings in the following Jesus prophecy, but also, that only when the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is proclaimed to all the world then the end will come. The Saints are taken up to heaven and then the wrath of God is poured out on an unrepentant world.
Only a Christian who knows his salvation is assured can smile and declare “I’m proud to be a Christian” before being put to death
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14
God is behind a massive wave of Muslims coming to Christ in the past 30 years according to David Garrison, executive director of the evangelical missions group Global Gates and author of A Wind in the House of Islam. Garrison has described his three years traveling the Islamic world and interviewing more than 1,000 Muslim-background believers. “What I discovered was this remarkable surge and movement towards Jesus Christ coincided with the beginning of 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim world, 28 years ago this year,” Garrison said. He travelled 250,000 miles investigating movements where at least 1,000 Muslims in a community had been baptized into the Christian faith, but he never made the prayer link until he shared his findings with Paul Filidis of World Christian Concern, who helped launch the 30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World in 1993.
THE VERY FIRST EDITION OF THE 30 DAYS PRAYER GUIDE, FROM 1993
“I’d come back home and sit down with my friend Paul and I told him about these movements that we’re seeing probably 84% of all the movements that have ever happened in history have happened in the last 30 years, and that’s when Paul looked at me and said, ‘David that’s when we began 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim world.‘” While Muslims might not know that Christians are praying for them, God knows and He’s listening, Garrison said. “And as He promised our prayers are tearing down strongholds, they’re opening up hearts and they’re aligning us as Christians with God’s desire for the Muslim world to know His Son, Jesus Christ.”
All About 30 Days of Prayer
The purpose of 30 Days is to call Christians to pray with love and respect for Muslims around the world. In doing so, we hope to see:
+ Christians gain a better understanding about Muslim people, their faith and their various, diverse cultures. + An increase in efforts to respond with love and compassion to the needs of Muslims around the world. + A greater interest in Jesus among Muslim peoples.
We do this by hosting an annual prayer event coinciding with Ramadan each year, and creating prayer guide that enable Christians to pray regularly.
