Day: February 21, 2024
Middle East: A Former Aide to Arafat Believes Revival Will Break Out After the War
Source: God Reports, February 8, 2024
A former sharpshooter Muslim and aide to Yasser Arafat, Taysir “Tass” Abu Saada strongly believes a revival will break out after the Israel-Hamas war.
“We are looking at a good revival going on already in the Gaza Strip due to what has happened,” [Saada] told CBN. “Despite the destruction that is taking place, I believe God has a purpose to get the Palestinians in Gaza to wake up and look at different alternatives to what they believe.”
[Saada] is himself a Palestinian, though born in Qatar. He passed through the Palestinian militant ranks from sharpshooter to aid to former PLO Chairman Yassar Arafat. Today, however, he is a Christian overseeing teams who evangelize in the West Bank and Gaza.
In the CBN report, [Saada] confirmed an earlier story that 200 Gazans received Jesus en masse when they all received the same dream about Jesus on the same night.
The full story includes a link to an interview with Saada. More of his personal story is told in a 2010 Tyndale House book, Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life.
A Missions Catalyst reader asked if we’d heard the reports that 200 Gazans dreamed of Jesus on the same night in November. We had our doubts and couldn’t confirm the story. This one seems a step closer to the source. Pretty wild, though. Let’s pray for God to bring revival by any means he chooses.
USA: What Happened at Asbury University?
Sources: Asbury University
On February 8, 2023, what began as a routine Wednesday morning chapel service with the student body turned into a multi-week outpouring that some have described as a revival. Led by students, the services attracted college students from hundreds of other colleges and universities, beginning as soon as Wednesday evening.
Then, news of the continuous services spread around the world, and attracted people from as far away as Russia and Japan. Media outlets arrived en masse to cover the spiritual awakening among young people. Countless reports of life change, salvation, and re-dedications to Christ were some of the amazing results of the outpouring events. Asbury staff, faculty, students and volunteers worked tirelessly to welcome the visitors to campus, with orderly lines to get into Hughes extending a half mile long around campus.
Since then, the community has worked to share what God did, and spread the gospel and testimonies of life change. Also, Asbury’s pastoral care staff is working to disciple and mentor students impacted through the outpouring through different initiatives on campus.
The events lasted for 16 days, culminating in a service specifically for Gen Z students on February 23, 2023. Yet, the Lord continues to move across the Wilmore community, Kentucky, the United States, and the world.
A page on the Asbury University website includes at least a dozen links to articles reflecting on this event and its impact a year later.
Of course, we saw some more skeptical responses to the anniversary, too. This author claims none of the churches in the area saw significant growth or transformation (Samuel Sey).
Iceland: After 1,000 Years, a New Temple Built to the Norse Gods
Source: Religion News Service, February 6, 2024
With the 2011 movie “Thor,” the Avengers film franchise made Thor, Loki, and Odin the equals of Iron Man and Black Panther, transforming these ancient Norse gods into mythic Marvel superheroes.
But followers of Ásatrú, or Norse paganism, still honor their gods, and in Iceland, where Ásatrú is the second-most-practiced religion after Christianity, a new temple to the Norse deities is rising now on Öskjuhlíð, a hill overlooking the center of the capital city of Reykjavik. Dedicated to the whole pantheon of Norse gods and nature spirits, it is the first pagan temple to be built in more than 1,000 years.
The opening of the temple was initially planned for 2016, but the 2008 financial crash, which hit Iceland hard, delayed construction, and progress was further inhibited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Magnús Jensson, the architect of the Hof Ásatrúarfélagsins (“the Temple of the Ásatrú Fellowship”) and a member of the pagan community, said that the plan now is to open the temple in stages over the next few years.
Read the full story. Religion News Service recently ran another interesting story about sacred items smuggled out of Nepal being returned to that mostly Hindu nation.
Infographic: 2024 Will Be a “Super Election” Year
Source: INcontext, February 16, 2024
Did you know 2024 may be the biggest election year in history? The year is notable for a large number of elections, with seven of the world’s ten most populous nations voting. According to Anchor Change, these countries are home to nearly half of the world’s people. Only 38% of elections listed for 2024 are expected to be [fully] free and fair.
Check out the infographic below for fuel for prayer. See also the interactive election cycle tracker map at Anchor Change.
USA: A Buddhist Monk Asked How to Share the Gospel
Source: OMF, February 14, 2024
Every two years, a new cohort of Buddhist monks shows up in Atlanta to participate in a university program. I was able to meet them through the international coffeehouse ministry I have been a part of, which focuses on learning about other cultures in an open and welcoming environment.
I had the opportunity to have several gospel conversations with them. We talked about God and his plan of salvation through Jesus. We talked about Buddhism and their beliefs in reincarnation and the process of eliminating suffering from your life. We asked questions. We listened. We learned.
As their time in Atlanta was coming to a close, I could feel the burden to share the gospel becoming heavier and heavier. They were leaving to return home, and I didn’t know whether I would ever see them again. Would they ever think about Jesus again after they left Atlanta? Would they ever get to hear the gospel again once they were back at the monastery? My burden felt heavy and urgent.
During our last meeting together, a group of us discussed a Bible story with [one of the monks]. He [asked] us to share with him a summary of the central message of Christianity so when he goes back home, he can share with the other monks what Christianity is all about.
Hear how the writer summed up the gospel for her Buddhist friend. Pray the message sticks with him and that he shares it with others.