During Advent we sing ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ and prepare our hearts to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of our Saviour Jesus. We honour the most famous Jewish man who ever walked the earth: Yeshua, the Messiah. Yet His chosen people - His treasured possession - have not recognised Him. For them, Advent has not yet come. However 1.7 million Jewish people are now celebrating that the Messiah has come - and his name is Jesus! More Jews believe in Jesus today than in the past two thousand years combined. Despite a turbulent history with the Church that has left many Jews resistant to Christian evangelism, God is healing wounds of the past and creating new relationships of respect and communication between Christians and Jews. Thus avenues are opening that reflect Jesus’ love for the Jews and sharing of the Gospel more lovingly and effectively.

Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has generated aggressive reactions. The PLO are seeking full UN membership again (they failed in 2011), and will no longer accept the USA participating in peace negotiations. Turkey called Israel a ‘terrorist state’. Pakistan’s prime minister said, ‘We hope the demonstrations of rage will not dissipate into passive acceptance of the status quo.’ Many onlookers believe that Hamas deliberately resorts to violence to pursue its ends. The violence is rarely spontaneous, is well organised, and used by leaders because violence achieves their goal. It works because policymakers abstain from making controversial decisions, fearing violent reactions. Meanwhile fighting continues in Jerusalem with ten dead, 2809 injured and 400 arrested. This week a 25-member Bahraini delegation held a five-day visit to Jerusalem, ‘sending a message of peace’, as Israeli military carried out air strikes on Hamas training compounds in the Gaza Strip after rocket attacks came out of Palestinian territory. See

The word ‘shelter’ literally means a house, a tent, or a refuge. It arises from the command of Jesus that we are to ‘love our neighbour.’ This additionally implies providing food, clothing and drinking water to the poor and needy as well as a roof over their heads. For over thirty years Shelter Now has assisted with humanitarian and developmental assistance in Pakistan and Afghanistan, providing emergency relief for war-affected refugees and for victims of earthquakes, floods, drought and other natural disasters. It provides reconstruction, rehabilitation and long term development co-operation. Recently the work in Pakistan was closed, to start helping refugees from IS in Kurdistan instead. In November a staff member, Udo Stolte, visited Yazidi refugees in Sulaimaniya in northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. You can read his report on Yazidi children going to school again by clicking on the ‘More’ button.

On 17 December, two suicide bombers targeted a Methodist church in Quetta, leaving nine dead and over fifty injured. Only one managed to detonate his vest: the second was killed by security forces. Over 400 worshippers were in church at the time. A group affiliated to IS claimed responsibility. Pray for the Pakistani government to take all steps necessary to provide adequate security to Christians during this Christmas season. Pray for God’s healing mercy upon those injured, and His presence to be with those grieving the death of loved ones. Also, Pakistan Prison Mission Society reported discrimination against Christians in prison. Christians are accused of blasphemy only because of personal vendettas or vested interests, and it takes years before courts absolve them of false charges. They are mistreated by other prisoners as soon as it is known they are Christians. Pray for pastors to be allowed into prisons this Christmas.

‘I watched Fulani kill and burn homes with glee. Numan region belongs to us. If the government cannot protect us, then we will protect our land and our heritage. It is all we have to hand on to our children’, said Pwanedo Justin after fleeing his village. The government’s inability to address the plight of Christians, and policies where Muslim victims are given priority over Christian ones, have deepened the sense of injustice. This recent attack was a reaction to a massacre in three villages by Bachama youths. Bachama are predominantly Christian. The Fulani are heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, which are believed to come from outside Nigeria. Thousands were displaced and are now missing. These attacks remain the single most dangerous threat to Nigeria today. On 19 December the federal government announced it will spend $1bn on fighting insurgency.

In just one area of East Damascus over 500 Syrians are in urgent need of medical evacuation from an area which has been under siege since 2013. There are severe food shortages, with 11.9% of children suffering from acute malnutrition. On 20 December, in the western countryside of Damascus province, advances against the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda terrorists were being made and a number of key hilltops were captured. Pray for civilians still trapped in jihadist strongholds. Pray for those living in fear and desperation, where Syrian troops are unleashing machine gun fire from the hills above their towns, particularly Mazaraat Beit Jinn and Mughir al-Mir. Pray for jihadist fighters to be prevented from mobilising any coordinated counter-attack against army advances in key areas such as East and West Damascus.

Ever since former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq said he would run in the 2018 presidential election, many are speculating about his ability to win. Egypt’s religious institutions influence presidential candidates, and journalists supporting President al-Sisi have focused on the ties that Shafiq has with the Salafist Dawa Party and its political arm. The Salafi movement is ultra-conservative Sunni Islam. If Shafiq mobilises the only remaining influential religious blocs of Salafist Dawa and the Copts, his candidacy in the upcoming election might produce a repeat of 2012, when two strong candidates, Shafiq and Morsi, competed against each other. In those elections the Copts supported Shafiq out of fear that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood would win. It is difficult for the largest Coptic bloc not to vote for al-Sisi, who they believe has protected them by overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood.

God has a purpose for each one of us, something unique that He calls us to respond to. Dallas Derksen thought he already had his plan, but then realised that the Lord had another path for him and his family. He faithfully followed God’s calling, and is now leading the MAF team in Mongolia, a vast and beautiful land that is difficult to travel in, with extremely cold and turbulent winters. MAF light aircraft support the work of a small but growing Church, development agencies and government bodies across Mongolia. They provide inflight patient care, training for local doctors, and enable NGOs such as Reaching the Light to offer physical, speech and education therapy to children. Dallas says, ‘Our plane also becomes an air ambulance as we carry out many emergency airlifts for the sick and injured.’

On 9 December, Iraqi forces recaptured the last areas still under IS control along the Syrian border and secured the western desert. This ended the war against the militants, three years after they had captured about a third of Iraq’s territory. The following day a military parade in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone celebrated the final victory, with prime minister Abadi looking on as troops marched in formation, their bodies spelling ‘victory day’ in Arabic. He announced that 10 December would be an annual national holiday. However In his victory speech he did not mention the Peshmerga, who played a big part in the fight against IS. Instead he hailed the Iranian-trained and backed PMF Shiite militias, many of whom are loyal to Iran.

In a world of instant results, it’s good to remind ourselves that the journey of faith is a long one for most people. Let’s make a decision today that, ‘short time or long’, we will use all the opportunities that Christmas brings to care, invite and pray for those we know to come to know Jesus.

(Mark Greenwood, National Evangelist for Elim Churches, HOPE Leadership Team)