It is so easy to hear about the war and how horrible everything is. But the message of what God is really doing in this part of the world is hidden from the church and the believers.

I remember one time I was going from one city to another and in the country where I was serving the last few years and the taxi driver started asking me questions about myself. So, I told him I come from a background where I love Jesus and I just want to share His love with people. The driver said, “can you share a little bit about your God and what He did?” So, I started sharing the stories of the prophets and then I went all the way to Jesus and started talking to him about the love of God. As I was talking the taxi driver started crying and I could see tears rolling down his cheeks. When we arrived, I asked him to tell me what happened and what he is feeling. He said, “I wish someone told me this before.” When I heard this, something shook inside of me. People are ready. People are hungry and there is a lot of need. But at the same time, there is not enough people coming and telling them about the love of God and the love of Jesus.

There is a hunger in this part of the nations like I have never seen before.

Inside it is a homemade mixture of fragrant spices, including, so I’ve been told, a resin called frankincense.

Every time I walk into my closet I smell a delicate perfume that comes from this crumpled little ball of foil.

It was given to me by a young Yemeni woman. I had only recently met her when she grabbed my hand and placed a wrinkled package in it. She was a strikingly beautiful woman; her eyes sparkling, with a wide grin on her face. In broken English, and with the help of an interpreter, she tried to explain what the gift was: “The same thing! They gave this to Jesus!”

It was a couple of days later, that I had the opportunity to sit with her and through an interpreter, listen to her story.

She told me how she first heard about Isa (Jesus) through a school friend, and how she came to believe and chose to follow him.

She shared how she was given in an arranged marriage to a much older muslim man when she was just 9 yrs old. How her continual insistence that “I follow Isa” eventually drove this man to divorce her 6 months later.

She told me of her second arranged marriage in her mid teens. How this husband abused her, beat her, and cut her with knives because she continued to insist; “I follow Isa!” And how he divorced her a few years later.

And then she introduced me to her third husband by arranged marriage, a kind man who she later led to Christ, and told me about their escape from Yemen; of how they fled war and famine and persecution and how they now live as refugees.

This Christmas, as I smell frankincense among my clothes, I am powerfully reminded of the fragrance of the life of my Yemeni friend; of her suffering, her smile, her joy, her determination, and of the long journey she has taken to find and follow the Messiah.

I’d like to ask you for a Christmas gift; Would you take a few minutes, to pray with me for my friend, and for all those like her through out the Arab world, who are choosing, at great cost, to worship the King?

Joy and Peace from our family to your’s this Christmas!

The LoveCompels Team

This is what Isa al Massih (Jesus) said to me in a dream I had nearly 20 years ago as a young muslim man.

In the dream, evil spirits (djinn) were attacking me. They violently beat me and fought to overpower me. With all my strength I struggled to escape them. But it felt like I was suffocating and it was hopeless.

All of a sudden, I sensed someone coming towards me. I looked up and saw a man walking towards me. Somehow, I just knew that it was Isa al Massih.

I could see in His eyes that Isa wanted to help me. It was as if He began to draw all the evil spirits toward himself so that I could run free.

He looked straight at me and said,

“GO for now! I’ll take care of this.”

As I ran, I looked back and saw that Isa was allowing Himself to be attacked by the djinn (evil spirits). They were hitting and beating Him, and He was taking all of it so that I could get away.

When I woke up from the dream I had so many questions. I just couldn’t understand it. Why would the Prophet Isa allow himself to suffer like that so that I could escape?

For 16 years after my encounter with Isa in this dream, I kept searching for answers. I met with many of my devout Muslim friends, looking for an explanation for my experience. But I was not satisfied. All I felt was more frustration.

Then, finally, one of my friends introduced me to someone who seemed to know more about Isa.

They told me about what other prophets had said about Isa; how He became our substitute, took a punishment that was meant for us and suffered in our place. I heard how He allowed Himself to be wounded so that we could be free.

The day I heard this story, I knew I had found the truth I was looking for. I became a follower of Isa!

Although it took many many years of searching I now know who Isa al masih really is; the Savior of the world!  With all my heart I want my friends to know Him as I do today.

Achi* attended our North Africa Training Intensive in May -June 2018. He is currently leading a church in his 99% Muslim nation and has chosen to go public with his faith.
Would you please take a moment to pray for Achi? Pray for courage and wisdom and that Achi’s love would increase more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.
Pray also that God continues to use miraculous means to draw whole families to the truth about Jesus and that many more disciples of Christ will be bold enough to share the good news with those who are seeking answers.

*pseudonym

One morning, as I was waking up,  I heard the Lord say very clearly;  

“Quit looking at how small you are and start seeing how powerful you are!”

As I pondered those words and what they meant I realized that our church, though small in number, was a very generous church.  From the time we were installed as Pastors in 1996 we began supporting Missionaries who were doing great things for the Kingdom of God. We would have them come in once or twice a year and receive a generous offering for their ministries. We’d then commit to supporting them monthly.

Those offerings always took priority over other financial needs. Sometimes things would get tough financially, but we always had more than enough.   I contribute that directly to our giving to Missions. Why? Because God takes pleasure in cheerful, prompt to do it, givers whose heart is in their giving. (2 Cor 9:7) and He is able to make all grace abound!

We have been partners with LoveCompels since 1997.  I have had the opportunity to personally travel with this ministry. I’ve seen and talked with those they’ve impacted. LoveCompels is reaching people in places most of us will never go.  Yet by sending them we now have a part in the harvest that they are reaping.

As Christ’s ambassadors in our small rural town we are sending other ambassadors to places we have not gone.  As they go to difficult places, and are willing to lay down their lives, not only do they represent our God, they represent us as well!  God positions our small church right smack dab in the middle of this world where we bring light into dark places.

“And the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15

This is the Church’s job: to infiltrate the kingdoms of this world with the Kingdom of God and of His Christ. To make an impact for God in every nation, tribe and tongue.  

Everything we need to accomplish the task, even if we are small,  has been given to us.

I challenge you today; give boldly! Do your part in bringing in the harvest in unreached parts of the world.  Get involved in the Great Commission!

The rewards are eternal and you might just discover how powerful you really are!

Pastor D

Florida, USA

Contact us at office@lovecompels.com

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On fields of war, God can breakthrough with peace for those in turmoil.

In fiercely guarded fortresses, God can suddenly blast an open door.

Over the past few years, we have become convinced that God has opened a great door of opportunity for the Gospel in the region of North Africa and the Middle East.  We’ve had our own personal spiritual encounters. We’ve gathered observations and testimonies. We’ve sat in stirring discussions with numerous workers.

God is clearly doing something extraordinary.  

Some missiologists suggest that more Muslims have become followers of Jesus over the last twenty-five years than in Islam’s combined 1,500-year history.  Amazing reports of dreams and encounters with Jesus just keep coming in.

So why now?

Throughout Scripture God demonstrates an unrivaled sense of timing. Timing that is often unsettling to our natural senses. It is only as we look back that we discover the threads He weaves together that cause something to be perfectly in the  “fullness of time”.

There are many possible explanations as to why God has opened this door to North Africa and the Middle East at this time:

• The horrors of terrorism and Islamic extremism have caused many to become disillusioned and to begin questioning.
• Muslims often place a high value on dreams and are sensitive to what occurs spiritually while they sleep. God appears to be using this as an avenue to reach many who are seeking the truth.
• Those who are searching for answers can now access the internet. The number of Media ministries to the muslim world are increasing and seeing great results.
• The Christian Church in some predominantly muslim nations has sufficiently developed to become a sending church. Christian workers who already speak the language and understand the culture are being mobilized for the Harvest

“One thing is clear, receptivity wanes as often as it waxes.

Like the tide, it comes in and it goes out.

Unlike the tide, no one can guarantee when it goes out

that it will soon come back again.”

Donald A. McGavran

We might not ever understand all the reasons why God is working among muslim people the way He is right now, but we can grasp the importance of recognizing the season and seizing the opportunity.

If God is working in the MENA region, shouldn’t we join Him?

Contact us at office@lovecompels.com

Will you help us? Donate Here

You’ve probably heard of some of the remarkable ways God is working to reach the people of this region. We’re thankful for His mercy in sending dreams and visions and for all the miraculous encounters that are occurring. However, the task still requires that workers be raised up and sent into the Harvest. We are laboring both spiritually and practically to help see this happen.

Please join with us in praying for the Holy Spirit’s guidance throughout the remaining time leading up to the Intensive. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we can even imagine! Unite with us in believing for continued open pathways, divine encounters, mutually honoring partnerships, and abundant provision. May the Church in North Africa and the Middle East be enlarged and may Spirit-empowered, wise and resilient church planters and apostolic teams be sent out so that God’s family continues to expand in every direction.

How Your Giving Helps:

$1500 US: average cost of one flight for an overseas instructor

$1000 US: average cost of transportation for a student from the region

$ 400 US: approx fees, full board and accommodation per student

$ 200 US: approx. monthly stipend for operational staff

$ 50 US; approx. cost of local transportation for each instructor

$ 25 US: A Sharif Bible for every student

Contact us at office@lovecompels.com

Will you help us? Donate Here

I learned that she was the youngest daughter of her family and thus, the ‘Cinderella’ of the house. Much responsibility was given to her at an early age and it never stopped. Even when she started working as an adult, she still had to bring all her money home to the family, do all the cooking and cleaning, and solve everyone else’s problems and arguments. She wanted to flee. She had grown up being told by her culture that a handsome, rich man would marry her and provide for all her needs and she would have her own family. That was not her story.

Aisha met Yassin on a plane. Yassin was attractive and smart, and Aisha was as naïve as she was beautiful. She was quickly swept off her feet by this incredible man flirting with her. She believed all his tall tales and knew he must be her way to freedom from her family, and the answer to her dreams of escaping her current reality. Nine months later, Nabil was born, and Yassin was long gone. Aisha had chosen to emigrate during her pregnancy to run from the shame, but it had followed her.

When I met Aisha, she had no money, no permanent job, and was living in a three-bedroom apartment with her jobless older sister and brother. Aisha found cleaning jobs here and there, and again found herself responsible for her family. The pressure to provide for their every need continued, as did the relentless pressure to marry anyone just to eliminate the shame she had caused, and was still causing, her family. When the landlord evicted Aisha and her family for being unable to pay rent for months, I contacted a church and asked if they would donate the deposit for a new apartment. They said yes and, due to that act of kindness, Aisha and her siblings were able to start over. That was when she experienced the power of the love of Christians first-hand.

I eventually asked Aisha to do a four-month Bible study with me. We studied stories all throughout the Bible and she began to learn the truth about Jesus. She now understood that Jesus is not who the Muslims say He is. Near the end of the study, Aisha accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Though the pressure from her family had not ceased, Aisha found freedom from her shame in the unconditional love of her Heavenly Father and her Christian sisters and brothers. She found that the Bible had the answers she needed for all of life’s difficulties. And, for the first time, she had solid hope for the future. She became a faithful member of the church despite her family’s opposing counsel, and she began to raise her son, Nabil, in the knowledge of Christ.

I once asked Aisha what made her decide to follow Jesus. Her response was this, “Muslims talk about loving one another, but Christians actually do it.  That is how I knew that the Christians were speaking the truth.”

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:35

 

About the Author:

Sandra Lee is a pastor who spent 15 years on the field reaching out to Muslim people groups. She now holds in-person and online training sessions on the basics of Islam, cultural differences and how to reach out to a Muslim. Contact her to receive training for your church or fellowship @ lovingthemtraining@nym.hush.org

Contact us at office@lovecompels.com

Will you help us? Donate Here

The theme all month has been “collaborative partnerships”. This is nothing new for us , since everything we do is motivated by the profound belief that God created us to be interdependent, that He loves teams, and that His great dream for the Church is that we work together in a way that is mutually supplying, reflecting who He is in the earth.

But this month, we’ve seen new depths of our “ideal” becoming real, as He adds significant partners to our efforts. We now have confirmed trainers from three other global missions organizations, all of which have extensive fruit-bearing experience in church-planting in muslim contexts. These ministries, who have seen whole Islamic communities come to Christ, have joined with us in our first training intensive in May-June. We are diverse but deeply united by our One Lord and One Mandate!

These new collaborations have re-fueled our team on the ground. When you live in cultures that are HIGHLY oppositional to the Gospel you often struggle with a sense of isolation and abandonment. Particularly when you can see on TV the relative ease and abundance that brothers and sisters in Christ have in other nations. They now know they are not alone. That God is speaking to many of His people around the globe to join Him in His mission in this part of the world.

Our field team has confirmed that we have Arabic Church planters coming in for the training from multiple nations in the region. Our goal is to help “hone their skills”; to impart the combined wisdom of other seasoned workers, and encourage and build up those on the frontline of the battle. Try to imagine it: four weeks of intense learning, discipleship, impartation, prayer, worship and camaraderie among Arabic leaders who are laying down their lives for the cause of Christ! We are completely in awe of what God is doing among us.

But more progress is needed. Specifically from the “sending side” of our partnerships. We invest a lot of our time into communicating the size of the opportunity we have and the potential of its impact, in order to assemble a company of senders who will partner with God and us in mobilizing Arabic believers to carry the Message and Spirit of Christ into their region.

We would deeply appreciate your prayers, your advocacy and your financial support.

Will you help us? Donate Here

I began working with LoveCompels in September 2017 when the Lord opened a door for me to assist in pushing digital communications forward. This door of favor that I thought would simply serve to help me on a resume was about to shift my entire world.

Before joining the team at LoveCompels, my worldview was hardly larger than the face I saw in the mirror and the people that I’ve built relationship with over the years. In the business of modern society, it can be quite easy to live with blinders on our eyes to the heartbreak that happens in our world, globally, every single day.

I felt over my head working for an organization that sought to reach the Arab world when I knew nothing about the people or the culture, let alone what it would take to reach them.

How am I supposed to play a part in this?

I remember my heart dropping to the floor when I found out that 42% of our world [3.14 billion people] have never heard about Jesus Christ or experienced His love. The gift of salvation that fills my earliest memories, is unheard of by those who would give anything to know a God who cares for them!

Suddenly, Christianity had an added significance. I saw that it had been just too easy for me to label myself a “Christian” without understanding my God-given responsibility to carry Christ into the world.

When I received Jesus, He turned me into something entirely NEW. He asked me to undress from my old selfish ways and to clothe myself in the divine nature of Christ, so that I could act as a bearer of light for my King.

“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.

God is not a secret to be kept…” Matt 5:14 msg

My internship with LoveCompels has given me a deeper awareness that I am not put on this earth to live for myself, gain a few temporary treasures and die in vain.

When I wrap myself up in the compassionate heart of God and choose to allow my own heart to break for what breaks His, I begin to see that all He’s ever wanted is for every one of us to see the light of His love and come running home to Him.

Friends, we carry that light.

What are we going to do with it?

D is currently a Bible College student and has interned with LoveCompels in assisting us with Media and Communications.

Are you interested in an internship that provides the opportunity to learn the workings of a missions ministry, support a “missionary family” and travel? Contact us at office@lovecompels.com

Will you help us? Donate Here