By James S. Eagles, President, Intercede International
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snareand from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.” Psalm 91:1-6 (NIV).
Early in the morning hours of the fall of 2018 I heard the Lord Jesus speak to me these words: “A reign of terror is coming to Canada.” At the time, I interpreted this to mean that terrorists were going to attack Canada in a big way. I was very troubled by what I heard and I prayed and told the Lord that I did not want my loved ones and our nation to be attacked by terrorists. But as we entered into 2019 I sensed I needed to understand just what the Lord meant.
Then in December 2019 and January 2020 the News began to report on the Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. In January and February I was traveling across Canada attending mission conferences and I began to research the word “Terror” in the Old and New Testament. In the KJV Bible most references to the word “terror” are found in the Old Testament. I was surprised to find out that although many uses of the word terror, in context, refer to war, many references in Scripture also refer to pandemic diseases otherwise referred to as “pestilence.” Then I finally understood the Lord’s message to me. He was preparing me (and many Christians) to be ready for what was coming upon our nation and the whole world. Disease—as Jesus referred to many times in the signs of the end of the age in the Gospels.
But the good news is that the REIGN of the “Disease” called COVID-19 will END one day. And as Psalm 91 teaches us, and the Lord’s warning to me also, that as Christians we don’t have to be found under the “Terror” of it. Fear is often a greater enemy even than the disease itself. As Christians we must and should do everything we can to honour the legal and government health recommendations and requirements as law-abiding Christians. But one thing we do not have to be under is the reign of fear—that is, the Terror associated with the disease. Many of our Brethren around the world are being affected by the disease in terms of the disease itself, and its impact on their society causing unemployment and lack of supplies and services. But the Lord’s people here in North America this past year have been wonderfully sacrificial and intentional in their Giving to Missions. May you know how blessed you are for ministering to Christ’s Body with your Prayers and Gifts to aid our Brethren in many nations.
Our times are in God’s Hand, and once we have done all we can to show safety and precaution, the Lord Himself will handle the rest for us. Our time to go home to be with our Creator and Saviour is in His Hands and that should give every one of us peace to go forward in the confidence of Psalm 91.
“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’” Psalm 91:14-16 (NIV).
Sincerely for His Eternal Kingdom,
James S. Eagles, President, Intercede International
By James S. Eagles
Jesus …said, ‘A certain man … fell among thieves… But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him… and took care of him. – Luke 10:30-34 KJV
We are living amidst unprecedented change, disaster, calamity—and yet behind all this bad news, a great opportunity—global opportunities that the living God has put in our path by which we as believers can make an eternal difference for the individual souls of men and even the destiny of nations.
As Christians we must take our position now and stand in the gap for the innocent, the downtrodden, the poor and the persecuted—because God has given this task to us. Now is the time for Christians to Intercede—because He is our Immanuel—God with us and He is coming back soon!
In the Bible, Luke, the beloved physician, recorded our Lord’s perspective on this in the story of the Good Samaritan. This story is an analogy of missions work today—reaching out beyond our comfort zone to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. In the pages of this issue you will read about the work of many Good Samaritans with our focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.
Tragedy is a certainty in this world. And certain people are going through all types of it. Affliction, tribulation and great hardship fall as rain upon the just and unjust alike. And whether it be experiencing the horrors of war, as many are in Ukraine and also in many parts of the Middle East, Christians in many developing countries often suffer the same fate or even worse than their non-Christian countrymen. Just recently, a young evangelist street preacher was gunned down by gangs in El Salvador as he declared the Gospel in an open-air meeting. But Christians there are not letting this stop their outreach and their witness—in fact they are increasing their witness to bring a witness of Christ’s love to these street gang members.
The Good Samaritan “as he journeyed, came where he was.” Christ’s message is about opportunity. The Samaritan’s journey was guided by God. God presented him with a great opportunity and a choice. Global opportunities to minister Christ’s redeeming Gospel exist today as never before. We must not lose sight of these great open doors. Right now isolated tribal groups are being reached in Peru, Colombia and Bolivia by Latino missionaries—and we can encourage these missionaries by our prayers and by our gifts of support.
“When he saw him… he had compassion on him.” Christ’s message is about compassion.
The Samaritan himself had experienced attack and discrimination. He identified with this man’s suffering and saw the awful calamity that befell this poor soul. He saw him not as a disturbance to his regular routine in life but as someone to whom the Almighty had directed him to help. The Israelite Survivor suffered the need and the Good Samaritan recognized the need. Compassion then drew them together.
In many poor countries today, Christians are both Survivors and Samaritans. Inside this issue of Mission Gateway I hope you will hear their hearts, see their world ™ and be moved to intercede on their behalf.
“He… took care of him.” Christ’s message is about action. Today we are encompassed about with a great cloud of witnesses who are both Survivors and Samaritans. Intercede exists to introduce them to you. As believers we are called and chosen to Intercede Now on behalf of those outside of Christ and those of His Body who suffer! While opportunities yet remain, the time for Intercession is now. Shall Jesus find our faith in action and us standing in the gap when He returns? Let’s continue to intercede in prayer and with our financial support to rescue the perishing, bring hope to the poor and relieve the affliction of the persecuted and bring an eternal witness to the multitudes whose souls hang in the balance.
