Dreamsand Visions

Partners in mission with Middle East Christians

MAGAZINE - ISSUE 2, 2019

Editor: Richard Coombs ©2019. MECO Issue 2, 2019Printed by: The Wizarts

Australia Office: MECO AustraliaPO Box 136 Kerrimuir Victoria 3129t: 03 9898 0077 | e: office@meco.org.auw: www.meco.org.au

For further information, contact the MECOAustralia office, or your nearestState representative:

New South WalesJohn and Magda Ackad Ph: (02) 9822 2303Email: mackad@optusnet.com.au

QueenslandJoshua Aylward Ph: 0439 567 484Email: joshaylward_18@hotmail.com

South AustraliaAnna Shepherd Ph: (08) 8356 9317Email: annashep@bigpond.com

Territories, Tasmania, Western AustraliaNational Office Ph: (03) 9898 0077Email: office@meco.org.au

MECO is an interdenominational, evangelical, Protestant mission agency founded in 1860.

MECO Australia is a member of Missions Interlink Australia and is a charity, registered in the name of Middle East Christian Outreach (Australia) Inc

3 Perry and Karen Shaw4 God’s Surprising Solution6 How God is Reaching

Muslims by Dreams8 Jesus Christ Himself!9 Book Review:

Dreams and Visions Halima’s Testimony

10 Project – Children’s Books (Arabic)

11 Australian workers

Contents

I recently attended a Conference in Beirut. Over lunch I talked

with a young man, Luke*. I appreciate people sharing their ‘faith journey’ and I asked him how he became a follower of Jesus. There was some background but he summed it up stating, ‘Jesus came to me. I saw Him. He spoke to me – and I believed.’This has been no isolated conversation. At the same Conference others from around the Middle East gave testimony to the various ways Jesus had come and revealed himself to them. They had changed their faith from the ‘majority faith’ to become ‘followers of Jesus’.For most of them it had been a costly decision. Relationships with family and friends had been broken. Some had fled their home country and others escaped persecution. ‘…but it was worth it. Jesus is my Lord and Saviour’, they recounted.In the West we have some difficulty, at times, in believing these kinds of stories. It doesn’t fit our ‘theological paradigm’ or the ‘enlightened philosophy’ of our day and culture.Stories of God revealing Himself to people around the Middle East are so common that the reality of it cannot be easily discounted. In this region, for one, there is a long tradition of God revealing Himself to men and women.Think Jacob and the ladder; Joseph (OT) and his amazing ministry of

receiving and interpreting dreams; Joseph (NT) told by God ‘in a dream’ to take Mary and Jesus and escape to Egypt; Saul on the Damascus Road. In all, there are 21 dreams recorded in scripture at various times.I believe Jesus can reveal Himself to people in ‘dreams and visions.’ I have met too many people in the Middle East who have come to faith and heard too many stories from Church leaders and Pastors to not believe that this is a significant way God is reaching out to Muslim people today.This issue of our magazine picks up and re-tells some of these stories. I hope that you are encouraged. I hope that you will pray that God might continue to reveal Himself to people who respond to the reality of Jesus.We also pay tribute and give thanks for the long ministry of Perry and Karen Shaw in the Middle East.The Lord is doing ‘great things’ in many different parts of the world, today. Here is testimony of what is happening in the region of the Middle East today.Your brother in Christ,Rev Richard Coombs Australian Director

Dreams andVisions

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young

men will see visions.Joel 2:28

*not real name

Rev Richard Coombs

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I n August 2019 Perry and Karen Shaw

completed 29 years of service with MECO in the Middle East. They believe that their ministry in the region has drawn to a close, although they will still be in contact with people in their respective ministries.

It was in April 1989 that they were accepted as members of MECO and departed for the Middle East in June 1990.Perry is Australian born and Karen was brought up in USA. They met while studying at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey and after teaching in Melbourne believed God had called them ‘to serve the church in the Middle East’.Breaking tradition, (which they are wont to do!) they did Arabic language study in Damascus, Syria where they were located for ten years. During this time, while focusing on language, they also helped to encourage local believers in Damascus, oversaw the development of centres for the Program for Theological Education by Extension (PTEE) throughout Syria, and led an evangelistic children’s club.

While in Syria they added Chris and Phoebe to their family.From 2001 they have been based in Beirut, Lebanon. They have engaged in a number of ministries, including teaching in local churches, involvement with Tahaddi ministries, and teaching at the Near East School of Theology and the Mediterranean Bible College. Most significantly Perry and Karen have been on faculty for the last 12 years at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS), where they have played key roles in the innovative training taking place at ABTS. In more recent years Perry has also been a key leader in the evaluation and renewal of theological curriculum in significant Bible Colleges and Seminaries in the majority world.In recent years Karen has been involved with International Community Church in Beirut as its Associate Pastor and, more latterly, its Pastor. She has been much appreciated for her pastoral ministry and concern.

Across these years, both Perry and Karen have earned their doctorates and been published: Perry with ‘Transforming Theological Education’ and ‘Challenging Tradition’ and Karen with ‘Wealth and Piety’, as well as numerous articles in scholarly and popular journals.They will be much missed in the Middle East but have been encouraged with the growing maturity of the church in the region.Back in Australia (located in west Sydney), Perry will continue his ministry consulting with Colleges and Seminaries regarding their training of pastors and church leaders. Karen hopes to find a pastoral ministry that will keep her engaged with people from a multi-cultural background.To Perry and Karen, we say, ‘Thank you for your ministry ... good and faithful servants.’

Perry and Karen ShawFaithful Servants

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I magine you meet a couple - former

Muslims, Amir* and Rasha* - who fled from Syria after the ISIS takeover.While you’re talking to them, Rasha claims the couple converted after she had a vision of Jesus Christ. “I was sleeping and all of a sudden, I saw Jesus Christ in white. He said ‘I am Christ. You will have a beautiful daughter.’ I was eight months pregnant, and a month later we received our beautiful daughter.”Just as she recounts her experience, her husband adds that he, too, had a dream. “I saw Jesus Christ.

He was dressed in white. He said to me ‘I am your Saviour. You will follow me.’”

If you live in the developed, Western world, such a conversation might seem so out of place it almost sounds like fiction. But to Amir and Rasha, this is real life.

And these experiences are not limited to Amir and Rasha. Many sources have reported the same phenomena – Muslims coming to Christ through dreams and visions. One person said he could feel God wrapping himself around him in a dream. Another said a cross appeared out of the sand.

While to many of us, these dreams seem strange and maybe even hard to believe, Columbia Theological Seminary’s professor emeritus Walter Brueggemann reminds us that dreams were viewed as significant in the ancient world.

“The ancients understood that the unbidden communication in the night opens sleepers to a world different from the one they manage during the day. The ancients dared to imagine, moreover, that this unbidden communication is one venue in which the holy purposes of God, perplexing and unreasonable as they might be, come to us.”

For Evangelizing Muslims in the Middle East

God’sSurprising

Solution

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It’s not difficult, of course, to think of examples of biblical dreams that reinforce Brueggemann’s point. God appeared to Abraham in a vision in Genesis 15 in order to reinforce the covenant. And the story of Joseph contains several dreams: childhood dreams that foretold his future role, the dreams of the cupbearer and baker, and Pharaoh’s dream that predicted famine.

The New Testament, too, is full of dreams - particularly surrounding the birth of Jesus. In Luke 1, Zacharias had a vision that communicated his son - John the Baptist - would play an important role. Joseph had a dream

telling him to take Mary as his wife and also two more instructing him to keep his family away from Herod. Later, Peter famously dreamed about clean and unclean animals, which led to the disciples expanding their witness to the Gentiles. In addition to these well-known dreams, Pilate’s wife, Ananias, Cornelius, Paul, and John all had dreams or visions.

We know God uses dreams, as we’ve seen throughout Scripture, but He is not bound to them or always uses them. He is a God of mystery and truth, and focusing on His Word will help guide us in the truth of dreams. These dreams helping Muslims coming

to Christ are truly awe-inspiring.Perhaps as we think about dreams like those of Amir and Rasha, then, we’d be wise to remain open-minded about how God can reveal himself. After all, in Acts 2:17, the Bible clearly foretells that as the world progresses, there will come a time where ‘old men will dream dreams….’As a result, even though many living today have access to the Bible and therefore have more information about God than their ancestors, there is no reason to believe God cannot or does not still use dreams for his purposes.Sarah Cunningham (Middle East)

*not real name5

One of the most well known prophecies in the Bible is found

in Joel 2 where Joel the Prophet wrote that ‘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).

Today, it is apparent that He is drawing Muslims to Himself by means of dreams. There seems to be a pattern - they have a dream or several dreams…some have had visions - then they contact someone to find out more about Jesus; and finally, they hear from Scripture about Christ.Here are a couple of testimonies (names have been changed to protect their identity). Abdullah lives in Iran - one of the most closed nations in the world, and perhaps one of the most hostile toward Christianity. Abdullah wrote:Greetings, I’m a Qurani Muslim, in Iran. I respect Christianity, I read the Old

Testament before many years…however, I had dream last night. I dreamt of me in desert alone and I was starving. A long walking alone and I found someone with plenty of food and drinks but I couldn’t reach him because he was surrounded by many people. But they let me pass and called me “lucky” I didn’t understand but they were pointing at my chest, when I take a look at what they were pointing at, I found a very huge cross tattoo in my chest. And I felt so happy and warm inside, and I had this feeling like I wasn’t Muslim in that dream So my question is, “can someone in Christianity feels like that in his sleep? And what does it mean?”I am no interpreter of dreams but this man’s dream sounded like Jesus was calling Abdullah to Himself, with the cross on his chest, and a special feeling inside.Possibly the food and drinks were sources about the Bread of Life and the Living Water that made him into a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), and why he didn’t feel like a Muslim in the dream. The tattooed cross on his chest…and over his heart, may represent that new birth (John

How God Is Reaching Muslims By Dreams

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How God Is Reaching Muslims By Dreams

3:3-7), or God’s given him a new heart…not a heart of stone, but of flesh (Ezk 11:19, 36:26; Jer 31:33; Heb8:10).The Apostle Paul went from being the destroyer of the church to a missionary, planting churches along the way, so God can change any human heart He desires (Prov 21:1). Even the most unlikely (in our eyes), but God may use dreams when no human witness is available or bold enough to witness for Christ, and so here is Muhammad (not real name). He wrote:My name is Muhammad. I live in Qatar. I wanted to know why I was having a dream about Jesus. He stood in a boat and waved to me to come to Him. I looked for dreams and visions on the Internet and found one. I asked a man what this dream of Jesus means. He told me it could be from God and that he is calling me to Jesus. I wanted to believe but had fear, but after knowing why Jesus came, I wanted Him and He is my Saviour now. He loves me so I do not practice Islam any more. Now, I want Jesus alone. I know this dream was from Him. I know Jesus more and why He called me…and why the cross. God is still using dreams and visions to reach those who cannot otherwise be reached. These are two examples but these are very much like the rest of them. There are some things that show up in almost every one of these dreams…Jesus, a desire to know more about Him, the cross, and a feeling of peace, warmth, and love. Jesus is calling people from every tongue, tribe, nation, and people…and calling them to Himself to be a people who were not once a people, but now are the children of God (1 Pet 2:10). These are among those whom God is calling…a veritable multi-coloured patchwork quilt. If God is calling someone to Christ, then nothing can stop this call…not hostile nations or people, not time or distances, and in some cases, not even a lack of a witness. God is God and He can do as He pleases, and nothing is too hard for the God-of-the-impossible.

Halima’s TestimonyMy Encounter with Jesus

I was born in a Muslim family (Sunni) and my father was a high Muslim scholar. In October 2017, I had a very vivid dream of Jesus. In my dream, I was standing with my youngest daughter looking at some women who had just come from Hajj. It was dark, and all of a sudden I looked up, and there I saw this huge light, so bright it was brighter than the sun. In this light was a figure sitting on what looked like a horse with a sword in his hand. I knew it was Jesus. I could feel His intense love, love that I couldn’t explain; it felt so comforting.I ran and looked up again and saw the clouds open, and this huge figure came out. He was sitting on a big metal chair and on his lap was a big golden book opened in the middle. There was a huge light coming from him, and I fell on my knees and started weeping and asking for forgiveness, and I could feel the love. It was as if the love had life and my whole being was washed by this love.Since then I have had another encounter with him, but the good news is I have given my life to him. But I have been cast out from my family, and my daughter nor father wants nothing to do with me; nevertheless, it is my witness today that my Jesus is worth more than anything, and his grace is sufficient for me.

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Christian missionaries

spreading the faith in the Islamic world, particularly in the Middle East, have found a very powerful ally: Jesus Christ Himself!More and more reports are received that Jesus is personally leading thousands if not millions of Muslims into the Christian fold, appearing in their dreams and visions as the ‘Man in white.’“God is moving very powerfully using dreams and visions Muslims are having of the Man in white, of Jesus Himself,” author Joel Rosenberg told CBN recently.He cited a recent study showing how Muslims are turning to Jesus in great numbers, with some of them saying Jesus Christ Himself made them to turn their backs on Islam.“From 1960 to 2010, the number of Muslims that have converted to faith in Jesus Christ has grown from fewer than 200,000 to some 10 million people” Rosenberg said.

He said many Muslims have become disillusioned by the seemingly unending conflict and bloodshed in the Middle East.

“In the last 10-15 years, many Muslims are deeply uncomfortable with the idea that ISIS, or Iran’s leadership, or Assad are the type of people that represent Islam,” he said.

Despite the Muslim public’s disillusionment, Christian missionaries are still finding it difficult to reach out to them because of the danger involved and the many restrictions imposed by Islamic leaders.

But now Christian missionaries and evangelists have found a most potent ally in spreading the faith - Jesus Christ Himself!

Reports that come feature numerous accounts of Muslims encountering Jesus through dreams, visions, and even personal visitations.

One church leader stated, “In our country it is illegal to try and convert people from the Muslim faith. Whenever we have a prayer

meeting, brothers and sisters pray that God will be the great evangelist. We can answer the people’s questions but it is God who opens their heart.”

These are just a few examples showing how many Muslims are encountering Jesus.

Jesus Christ Himself — the ‘Man in white’

These encounters include:● Jesus showing Himself

to Muslim families in refugee camps

● Muslim refugees aboard a boat seeing Jesus among them while crossing a stormy Aegean Sea

● Jesus appearing before an Islamic fighter and stopping him from killing a Christian pastor

● Jesus showing Himself to a bedridden Muslim mother

● A descendant of Muhammad meeting Jesus in his dream

● A fiercely anti-Christian imam who turned to Jesus after seeing Him in his dream

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Tom Doyle has spent a lot of time in predominantly Muslim countries ranging from Egypt to Afghanistan. And what he has noticed repeatedly is that Jesus has found a back-door way into the heart of Muslims whose country is basically closed to Christianity, or worse, martyrs any Muslims who become followers of Jesus.

When I say back door, I don’t mean undercover missionaries or secret shipments of Bibles, though that can be involved as well. I mean direct divine intervention through visions and dreams of

Jesus himself. Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World (Thomas Nelson 2012), is one of the more moving and eye-opening books I have read in quite a long time, and I say that as a person whom has spent a lot of time in the Middle East, and helped a couple of Muslims embrace Jesus as Lord.

At first, you may be forgiven for being skeptical about people claiming to have visions and dreams of Jesus - that is until you remember the stories of Pharaoh and Joseph, or Daniel and the King, or for that matter Saul on Damascus Road. God most definitely does use dreams and visions to reach the unreached, and even the adamantly opposed. And this book is filled with such stories from many countries.

The book is arranged, telling these personal testimonies country by country - Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, the Holy Land,

Afghanistan. When you are confronted by so many similar stories it becomes impossible to simply dismiss them with a wave of the hand. And as Tom Doyle rightly suggests, it reminds us, even in an age of horrible Islamic extremism at the hands of ISIS or Boko Haram or Al Quaeda etc., that God loves Muslims, and Jesus died for them too. In other words, the present world situation provides Christians with a test of their own faith - just how much do we really believe in John 3:16 and the Great Commission.

I would strongly urge all Christians at this juncture in history to read this book. When you really think about it, the one thing that could really stop Islamic terrorism most effectively, is of course if those folks would come to embrace Jesus.

Ben Witherington

(Book available from Koorong)

— the ‘Man in white’

Books

‘Dreams and Visions’ The Muslim Encounter with Isa

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Over 60% of the population in the

Middle East North Africa is under the age of 25. Meeting the needs of children and young people - in all aspects of their lives - is therefore crucial. This is doubly important for Christian children, as Christians comprise only 6% of the more than 407 million Arabs in the region. As a minority group life can be hard with discrimination and persecution common.

Two years ago, MECO Australia, helped financially to distribute in Syria alone, and through our partner churches, over 40,000 copies of the Arabic version of ‘The Illustrated Picture Bible’. The demand today is for more resources for children.

We now have the opportunity to partner again in helping publish a series of 6 books written in Arabic by local authors. Each has a different theme that speaks of issues children face in their everyday lives. It is with these children in mind that we solicit your support in the publishing of this series of 6 books that

plant the seeds of values such as forgiveness, respect for the other… in children ages 5 to 7, and 7 to 10.

Each has a different theme relevant to children as they grow up, based on issues they face in their everyday lives. For instance, the first book, tells the story of one young girl who is made fun of because she is not good at academic work. However, she discovers that everyone has unique gifts and abilities and each is a gift from God. The second book – ‘The Lion’ - teaches the importance of putting others first and tells the story of Jamil, a young lion who is saved through the sacrificial death of another older lion. Other themes will be explored through the 4 remaining books in the series.

This series of six books is for children aged from 5-7 or 7-10. While each is written from a Biblical perspective, they are suitable for children from any religious background. The less overt approach to sharing our faith means a wider prospective audience for these important topics and will allow our partners to distribute in countries normally closed to Christian resources.

A parent commented how blessed they had been by the children’s Puzzle Bible. Not only did the children enjoy putting the puzzles together and reading the stories but it also brought the whole family closer as it was an opportunity for all of them to take part together. He also said that after completing the puzzles they often opened their Bibles and read the whole passage together, something they had rarely done previously.

We are looking for support of AUD $7,500.00 in order for the first book to be published. If you would like to support this project, send your gift to MECO Australia earmarked for ‘Children’s Book Project’ (Arabic).

Project – Children’s Books (Arabic)

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Australian Workers

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As mentioned elsewhere, Perry and Karen have completed their ministry in the Middle East after 29 years faithful ministry. They are now in Sydney. Continue to pray for them as they settle back into Australian life. Perry will continue to consult and travel to Theological Seminaries in the majority world. Karen will be visiting her mother in USA and then looking for pastoral opportunity in west Sydney. Perry is keen to continue their association with MECO Australia while he continues his consulting ministry.

Darren has been on home assignment with family, friends and church in

Brisbane. He has returned to his teaching and ministry role at the ‘School of the Constant Lighthouse’ in Lebanon.

Vicki has recently been speaking with government officials in Australia and New Zealand with regard to our persecuted brothers and sisters in the Middle East. She has had very positive responses from a number of these people. She leaves in September to join the team at MEC (Middle East Concern) in Luton, UK.

Rebecca has been on home assignment from the ‘School of the Constant Lighthouse’ in Lebanon. She has been catching up with family and friends and

speaking at churches and home groups developing her financial and prayer support.

Noel and Ros Uebergang (Perth) continue to have excellent opportunities In their ministry to Western Australia among people from the Middle East. Folk can help with their support by forwarding gifts to our office.

John and Magda Ackad (Sydney) are available for speaking at churches and other groups and can be contacted on (02) 9822 2303 or 0404 058 569. Folk can help with their support by forwarding gifts to our office.

Donations and SupportWe have a variety of way in which our work and ministries can be supported.

Legacies – Legacies are a significant way for Christians to continue support of taking the gospel to the people of the Middle East. You can have an “ongoing support” of MECO and its ministries by remembering MECO in your will

On-line – donors can use Visa and Mastercard www.meco.org.auDonations by Credit Card can also be made direct to the office by calling 03 9898 0077

Internet – directtransfer to our account BSB: 704 874Account: 100009416

Our magazine is available on-line at www.meco.org.auIf you wish to receive notification of the next issue by email let us know. Send request for notification to office@meco.org.au

• Prayer Points – monthly Prayer Points for the Middle East are distributed by email and print. We would be delighted to add your name to our list – please forward an email to: office@meco.org.au requesting the Prayer Points and specify how you would like to receive them (email or print).

• Prayer for the Persecuted Church through our partnership with Middle East Concern (MEC) we get regular up-dated prayer requests for people in the Middle East who are in difficulty with the authorities. If you wish to be part of this prayer ministry, please request to be placed on the mailing list – office@meco.org.au

MECO Australia – www.meco.org.au

A MECO tour to the Middle East is taking place from 10 December – 1 December, 2019.The tour takes us to Turkey where we will visit the Seven Churches of Revelation, Colossae, Istanbul and Gallipoli.We travel to Israel and visit major biblical sites – Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Galilee – and historical sites such as Masada and the Dead Sea.The tour cost is $4620.00 plus flights - this includes accommodation and entry to sites.We currently have 25 people booked for the tour. If you have enquiries, please contact Richard (richard@meco.org.au)

If you wish to book for the tour, contact PlanetBlue Travel (02 9126 9444) or George (george@pbt.com.au)

Middle East TourTurkey and Israel November 2019

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MiddleEastTour