Month: March 2024

“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.”

Joel 2:28 (RSV)

Jesus died for all people, and therefore desires all people to know Him. In nations where Islam is dominant, it is forbidden to become Christian. Christians may live discreetly among Muslims, but there are very few opportunities for open evangelism.

Statistics have shown that 25% of Muslims who do convert to Christianity, do so because of a dream or a vision they had, where Jesus or Isa, appeared to them, inviting them to follow Him. These converts have shared their stories with both Protestant and Catholic circles. When God is doing something marvelous, it crosses all denominations. How do such marvelous dreams and visions occur?

There is a “man in white” who visits some Muslim men or women in a vision or meets them in their dreams. He identifies Himself using the titles we know from scripture, but Muslims do not have access to bibles, and most know very little about Jesus or our scriptures. The man in white evangelizes them by Himself, appearing to them, engulfed in a bright white light wearing a pure white garment. 

The prophet Joel wrote that these dream and vision phenomena would one day occur, and Peter quoted Joel’s prophetic words in his sermon in the book of Acts. It may sound hard to believe, but there are too many documented testimonies, that all share a common image of the man in white, inviting them to follow Him. These Muslim men and women  all converted to Christianity afterward. I am going to share only a few of their encounters.

A Persian migrant who arrived at a refugee center from Iran, had a vision, while he was staying there. He saw a man surrounded by a bright light, dressed in white, extend his hand to him and say “Follow me.” The Persian man asked, “Who are you?” The man in white answered, 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega.”

The man never read a Bible and never heard of the title Alpha and Omega. He learned later from a Christian clergyman that it was Jesus. 

An Indonesian young Muslim woman was praying and promising to follow  God in any way He shows her. She suddenly saw a man in a bright white light, dressed in white, who walked up to her and said, “Follow Me.” She somehow knew instantly that it was Jesus. 

Another Muslim woman dreamed that a shepherd was walking around an empty tomb with a staff in his hand. Then he turned and walked directly towards her, holding a loaf of bread in His hands, which He broke and offered to her, saying, “Take, eat, this is my body.” She never heard this scripture and knew nothing about Jesus. When she woke up from her vivid dream, she contacted the only Christian she knew, who gladly showed her where Jesus said those very words in scripture.

There are many more individuals like a Nigerian man, who had repeated dreams of figures in black trying to kill him, until a man in a bright white light approached him and the darkness left. The man in white took his hand and walked him safely home. In the seventh dream like this, the man in white told him he was Isa.(the name for Jesus)

Muslims believe in the prophet Isa, but He told the young man that He was the way, the truth and life, and his Lord and Savior. 

He quickly told his father the dream, but his father was enraged. He gathered all the Muslim family members together, who decided to poison him, for being an infidel to the Muslim faith. The young man, was always respectful and submissive to his father’s will, yet completely trusted in Jesus. He took the poison they handed him, prayed to Jesus in front of all of them, and then drank it. He slept through the night but woke up alive and unharmed. 

Jesus did many more awesome things for this same young man, who went to live with the few Christians he knew. One day, as his father was dying in a hospital, he sent for his son. When he arrived, his father asked his son’s forgiveness, and confessed his cruel treatment toward him, but he forgave his father a long time ago. Then he prayed with his father who now also believed in Jesus, and then he passed away. 

Christians, who are underground missionaries, last year reported that more than 200 Muslim men in Gaza have converted to Christianity after reportedly seeing Jesus in their dreams. 

God knows best, how to spread the good news of His beloved son, in those nations that ban Jesus from entering. 

The man in white enters the heart of Muslims through a dream or a vision. He doesn’t need permission of any governments. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last. If Jesus calls us to follow Him, He will take care of us, every step of the journey. 

Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” He is doing exactly that today, among all the people that He died to save. 

Lord, thank you for your amazing acts of mercy across the world. Make us more conscious of your presence, the man in white, who although you are invisible to us, we believe you are with us every day of our lives in the same way. Amen

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 (RSV)

I love these scriptures because everyone can relate to being tested by fiery trials. Scripture doesn’t say that believers will have an easy road to heaven. Instead, we are told that our faith is going to be tested like gold, which will endure the purifying fire of tribulations. 

Faith that is totally reliant on Jesus, can withstand the intense fiery heat of what most would consider unbearable. I can think of several people and friends in the faith, who have developed the endurance of a tested faith, that is golden. I want to share one person’s story today. 

Tawana is a recent acquaintance and a most interesting person. Her grandfather was Bob Jeter, who played for the Bears and Green Bay packers in the 60’s and 70’s. 

She is a woman of faith, who has so much joy and love for everyone, but I learned that she has gone through some intense fires in her lifetime. 

About 28 years ago, her husband stopped after work, with his friends to have a drink at a neighborhood bar. For whatever reason, a shooter walked in and killed every single person in that bar. Tawana became a widow that day, left with a three year old boy, while pregnant with twins, that were due any day. The day after her husband’s funeral, she gave birth to her twins, a boy and a girl. 

One twin had a heart problem and spent a longer stay in the hospital, but he survived over time and with prayers. In one day, her life totally changed because of a senseless act of random violence. As a widow, she raised her children, trusting in the help of God, her relatives and her church. She told me she could never have made it through those difficult times without faith and the family of God who kept her lifted up in prayer. Her three children never knew their earthly father, but Tawana made sure they would know their heavenly one. 

Decades later, when her children were grown and caring for their own children, Tawana had a stroke and couldn’t talk. With therapy and prayer, she eventually recovered and was able to speak again. She was grateful, since to this day, she calls each of her children every day, to stay in touch. 

Some years after that, she began to have headaches and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and was told that the tumor was cancerous. After she underwent brain surgery and chemo treatments, Tawana was sent to rehabilitate in the Nursing Facility that my son is currently living in, and that is how I met her. 

With such an upbeat and joyful personality, I could never have imagined what Tawana has been through. Her mind is sharp and though she walks with short shuffling steps, her overall health is now good. Yesterday was Karaoke day and she selected the song, “Oh Happy Day.”She shared her words of hope and faith with everybody in that room, by singing the words, 🎵 “Oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away… “

She’s an inspiration of a tested and enduring faith of gold.

Tawana’s prayers are still being answered. She just learned that she is now cancer free and will soon be going home to live with her son, daughter in law and grandchildren. 

I’m thinking of all those who are also struggling with a fiery trial right now in their life. I want to encourage them to keep their trust in Jesus, who loves us and suffered in all ways that we do. We can learn from people like Tawana, that total reliance on God brings us through trials with a faith of gold. God will turn every situation around for good, and there will be better days ahead. 

Lord, thank you for all the good you bring out of the lives of those who totally rely on you. Help us to have a persevering faith of gold, that withstands all the fiery tests and trials of life. Amen

“All who see me mock me;
 they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
 “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
 since he delights in him.”

Psalm 22:7-8 (NIV)

1,000 years before Jesus ever appeared, David wrote of the mockery that the Messiah would suffer. The description in the Psalm above fits with the gospel of Matthew’s description below:

“Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:39-49)

Jesus suffered intense mockery from the time of His arrest to His death on the cross. I have always been affected by watching the crown of thorns placed on His head in movies.

The crown of thorns was a laughing matter of mockery to the soldiers, as sharp thorns pierced his scalp with violent blows. It was such an intense form of both mockery and physical abuse. Jesus, the King of kings, has always been ridiculed by those He came to save.

Mockery and ridicule of anyone is a violent blow to a person’s God given dignity. It is also an insult to God, in the same way mocking artwork is an insult to the artist. 

I learned a lesson last week, as I was visiting with the group who sit at the table next to Jon’s chair. They started telling me stories about bizarre things that some residents at the Nursing Facility do. They told me about one person who occasionally walks out of their room completely naked, and another person who spits on people with no warning and for no reason. 

They were laughing as they related different stories to me. My first reaction was to laugh along with them, until I realized we were laughing at people who cannot help themselves. 

I quickly felt bad and determined not to participate in a conversation that mocks residents, ever again. 

Despite their state of mind, they are all created in God’s image, and like the rest of us, we’re all meant to live life with dignity and faith in Christ. People lose their God given dignity and their faith, for various reasons. Even though they don’t have sound minds, they do not deserve to be mocked. 

Each person in that Nursing Facility has their own story. Some have a substance abuse history and some have brain injury, either from birth or from trauma. God knows every person’s story from the beginning. He knows what led to the state of mind they are in, and He wants to restore human dignity to every outcast of society. I do not judge them, but I’m not going to mock them either. 

As I thought about the conversation later that day, I came to a conclusion that mockery is very diabolical. The mockery that Jesus suffered was incited by Satan himself, and so is the mockery of any human being. Satan’s scheme is to continue to make a mockery out of the pearl of God’s creation, humanity. 

Paul warns us not to be ignorant of Satan’s schemes, and one of his schemes is to steal from, kill and destroy what God made. If he cannot do it in a physical way, he attacks their dignity.  (2 Corinthians 2:11)

It’s amazing how much dignity has already been robbed from humanity. We see it each time we observe a homeless person who has been living on streets for decades. We see it when we hear of a drug addict, so desperate for the next fix, that they will do or sell anything. I see it in some residents of the Nursing Facility, who have confessed to years of substance abuse, and now are abandoned by their adult children. Some others are the wounded victims of abuse, by factors outside of their control. 

Whatever the story and whatever was robbed or lost, I believe that there is a fountain of mercy that flows from the throne of God, to gather, cleanse and forgive every person, whatever they’ve done, turning no one away. Jesus paid a great price to restore our human dignity. 

He knows what it is to be mocked and abandoned. He told the story about going out into the highways and byways to invite every outcast to the banquet of a great king. We all know a person, who is living on the highway or byway of an estranged life, who doesn’t yet know that there is a king or a banquet. They have been separated from society by a gap. That gap is the distance between the life they are living and the life of dignity that God intended for them.

The Lord once said: “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap…” (Ezekiel 22:30)

God is looking for people who will stand in the gap for Him and pray for those outcasts. As we recognize the schemes of the devil, and the ones who were robbed of their dignity, we will know what God is leading us to do, while we are standing in the gap for them. I know now, who the Lord is asking me to pray for. 

Lord, you have touched our hearts, as we read how you were mocked, abused and abandoned. Help us to stand in the gap for those who need to find their dignity in you. We pray today for all the outcasts to discover your redemptive love and endless mercy. Amen

“Then the Lord said to Moses: I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion…”

Exodus 16:4 (NIV)

There was a specific portion that God sent to the Israelites, which appeared on the ground each morning. It was the perfect portion that could fill their stomach for a day and fully nourish their bodies as well. They were camping out in a barren wilderness with no other food to eat, while passing through to a better land, promised to them by God. 

In that new land, there would be an abundance and variety of food available to them. There, they would dwell in their promised land, with all the conveniences and comfort of home. Joshua and Caleb even brought samples of the huge grapes that grew in that promised land, but for the time being, God sent His people manna, a highly nutritious daily bread from heaven, to sustain them.

There is so much for us to learn from this miracle of sustenance, sent from heaven. Whenever I read this story, I learn something new. God’s word is inexhaustible, and so is His grace and love for us. I see it throughout scripture, but especially in the story of the manna, sent to the Israelites. 

All that the Israelites went through collectively as a people, we go through individually in our personal walk of faith. Every believer experiences some type of wilderness period. It’s a part of our journey in life, but not our permanent dwelling. They were saved from their enemies and freed from the oppression of slavery in Egypt. God saved and fought for His people then and He still does today. They had many good times of dancing and rejoicing with thanksgiving for that miraculous deliverance.

We have had good times and given God thanksgiving for the deliverance and blessings we received. We have danced and rejoiced in the joyful times of our life, but we have also faced trials, similar to being in the wilderness, where we hunger for God’s provision in many different ways. God sees everything we go through, He hears us every time we call upon Him and with abundant compassion, He answers His people. 

It’s the way God sometimes answers us, that is hard to understand. The Israelites asked for food, but God sent them manna. It wasn’t the food they imagined. It wasn’t the roasted lamb with herbs, fresh veggies, or the breads they used to bake. It was a strange looking thin sweet wafer that appeared on the ground each day. They were instructed to gather as much as they wanted to eat, as their daily portion of food. 

God knows what we need, and can do anything, so His daily provision is always what we need. The manna tasted good, satisfied their hunger and contained every nutrient the human body needed for the day. Some have called it the bread of angels, and Jesus referred to it later, calling Himself the new bread from heaven. 

The miraculous manna sustained them, but they were warned against hoarding it. Some people tried to store enough to last longer than one day, but whatever they hoarded, became rotten. God intended for them to gather it once a day, as much as they could eat, but only day at a time. It was their daily portion, provided by God, who loves His people. 

We are also expected to gather our daily portion from God. The daily portion can be applied to so many areas of our life. We see this message of daily provision throughout scripture.

In the story of the widow who received a miracle provision of oil and flour, she also received it one day at a time. Jesus taught us not to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34) 

He was basically reminding us that our needs will be met, one day at a time. 

One day I asked the Lord why I have to ask each and every morning for that day’s inspiration, to write a meditation. Couldn’t He just give me a week’s worth of ideas at once? After I asked that question, a thought came to my heart saying, 

“I want you to come back every day.”

I learned through the stories like the manna and the widow’s oil and flour, that God wants each of us to come back and talk to Him every single day. He is saying to everyone, 

“I want you back.” Whatever God provides for us, He wants us to return to Him for more the next day. When we ask for our daily bread, we will receive our portion of His provision for that day. 

It can apply to whatever we need; a daily portion of physical well being, or peace of mind, or our spiritual nourishment for the day, and even meeting our financial needs. We also receive the daily portion of patience, mercy and endurance needed for the day. 

God loves us too much to give us a lump sum and have us come back once a week. He loves us so much, He wants us to communicate with Him every day, as He provides us with our daily bread.

Lord, thank you for our daily portion of sustenance and for loving us and providing all that we need today. We will come back each day and stay in communication with you, our daily bread. Amen