“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my Gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, He remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Easter is called the Bigger Feast in the Middle East, unlike the West, where Christmas seems to be the more significant celebration. This Easter, we have been preparing our three-year-old granddaughter Ellie to become familiar with the Easter story.
After recounting the Easter story several times, we asked Ellie, “Why do we celebrate Easter?” She answered, “Because Jesus rose from the BED.” Close enough.
It is never too early to tell children the age-appropriate Easter story.
But we, as adults, we listen to the Easter story with nonchalance. We have heard it so many times that we hardly think of its significance and its life-changing impact.
Have we gotten so used to the fact that the Son of God, the King of Kings, the image of the invisible God, paid for what we could never afford?
Two weeks ago, Laila started an online discipleship group for 12 MBBs (Muslim Background Believers). They come from Tunisia, Jordan, Germany, the USA, and Syria. Listening to them pray, Laila recounts feeling embarrassed by the way she prays so complacently, especially in contrast to their prayers of gratitude for the Blood and the Cross and how fresh and dazzling their sincerity is.
At the end of Paul’s life, Paul felt it necessary to remind Timothy of four things:
One, remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead.
This event must change our world view. Although Paul was bound with chains like a criminal (though he was no criminal), we never hear him murmuring or complaining about being mistreated. Paul took it as joy and he “shared” in the suffering of our Lord.
Two: remember that the word of God is not (and never will be) bound.
However, the world tries to muzzle the Gospel it have not been successful and never will be. Jesus said “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
Isn’t it amazing how the world wants to be tolerant of everything and everyone except when it comes to Christ?
Three: Remember that God knows His elect. God knows you. He sees you. He has not forgotten you. If you are suffering for Christ, then blessed are you.
May we see hardships as advancing the cause of Christ. Even if everything seems to be going upside down, even if evil seems to be winning, let us remember that.
“Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.” Psalm 76.10
Four: remember that God is faithful even if we are not. This removes all guilt on our part. God does not want us to follow Him out of guilt but out of love. He is always faithful. That’s what we fall on.
As we celebrate Easter this year, may it be a year of remembrance of the Blood, the Cross, the Resurrection, the Love, and the Liberty that Easter bequeathed us.
“..That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11
Meet George Samir
MELTI’s New CFO
And the Champion for Ron Blue’s Curricula
George Samir is the new CFO at MELTI (The Middle Eastern arm of 4G3)
George Samir is the new CFO at MELTI (The Middle Eastern arm of 4G3). He is a gifted Bible teacher, passionate for the Word, and has a lot of experience in the marketplace.
After working in the business world for 28 years, George decided to dedicate his expertise to serving the Lord, especially focusing on the biblical concepts related to using money in a God-honoring way. George is now pursuing his MBA in Christian Business Administration.
George, who is a part of the Orthodox church in Egypt, met the Lord in 1986. At the age of 18, he was invited to attend a conference where he came face to face with Jesus. In university, he started a small discipleship group, which then grew to a weekly meeting of 120 believers. He has been a part of a Bible study dedicated to businessmen for the past two years.
George currently serves in all denominations in Egypt. He has also served the Lord in Iraq, Algeria, Jordan, and Kuwait. George is married with two children, a girl and a boy, and his dream is to serve the Lord by encouraging men and women on how to use their money in a godly way and also to encourage those in the financial sector on how to work with integrity and to honor God in both their personal and work life.
In preparation for Ron Blue’s coming to Egypt in May to launch his resources in Arabic, George trained two groups for seven weeks each on one of Ron Blue’s courses, Managing Your Money God’s Way.
The first group consisted of 11 Jordanian discipleship institute graduates and was online. The second group was in Egypt with 20 attendees from the Coptic Orthodox, Evangelical, and Catholic Church.
Discipleship Institute graduates in Jordan attend Managing Your Money God’s Way with George Samir
“They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned . . . strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.” -Acts 14:21-2