It also raised the question of what makes a country an “Arab” country.  There are really only two ways to answer that:  1. The predominant language is Arabic. 2. They belong to the Arab League – which has 22 nations (all who predominantly speak Arabic).

Iran and Turkey are not Arabs and do not speak Arabic.

“Being Arab” is hard to define as we found out on our recent film trip to four Arab countries.  There is little in common between a rich Sheikh from Dubai and a poor resident of Cairo.  The Berbers of Tunisia and the Maronites of Lebanon are both in “Arab” countries but have a very distinct culture from those around them.

Being Arab does not mean you’re Muslim. There are Arab Christians: Coptic, Orthodox, Catholic, Melchite, Assyrian, Chaldean, Protestant and several others. There are Followers of John the Baptist in Iraq.  Yazidis.  Druze.  Kurds.  And so many others you’ve never heard of.  The “Arab world” is rich in history and diversity.

All that said – I still have my “favorites.” (Note that I have not spent much or any time in Sudan, Algeria, Libya, Kuwait or Oman). All the others I’ve been to many times.

I am partial to Lebanon because it feels like home.  But it’s also the center of all things chaotic.  The 18 official sects and their representation in the government makes for a guaranteed state of near anarchy. The Hezbollah is a state within the state. Prior to them it was the PLO that was a state within the state.  Syria and Israel have controlled much of Lebanon’s past 35 years.  But the people are resilient and amazingly friendly.  The nightlife there is unparalleled in the Middle East.

So I’d say Lebanon is my favorite place if you don’t mind ducking the occasional war and you love going out on the town with your friends.

The most friendly Arabs are the Egyptians. Hands down. They are just downright nice people.  So if you don’t mind crowds and dust, Cairo is the place to be.

If you want nice – fancy…. It’s the Emirates. It’s stable and everyone seems at rest.  (Cause their all rich).   

Palestinians are also extremely friendly and well-educated.  They will typically give you a good overview of that it’s like in the Arab world.  They are well-versed in so many things.

Jordan is great because it’s right in the Middle of the Middle East and the crossroads for  so many things.  Jordan is stable and the people are friendly.

I suppose I could go on and on, describing each country.  Each is unique and has a ton of positive things! Part of what we’re doing with this new film and book project is showing how diverse the Arab world is and how wonderful its people are.  Stayed tuned for more.

We were with the Hezbollah #2 (who we always see). He’s functionally the top guy as the #1 guy has been in hiding for 4 years. We are in his office in Tyre, southern Lebanon. We’ve had three and a half hours of great discussion. The President of Iran, Ahmadinejad, has just landed in Lebanon hours earlier (more on that in a bit). As usual, I ask the Sheikh if we can pray for him before we go and he says “Of course.” I asked one of my pastor friends to pray. He is overcome by the Holy Spirit, falls to his knees in front of the Sheikh, and through tears, prays. We lay hands on the Hezbollah leader and sense the presence of God in the room. An amazing moment etched in my mind.

My first thought (after “Oh my goodness, my friend looks like he’s kissing the guy’s feet”) was, “We are in the presence of The King. Jesus is here. How cool….”

The next snapshot was later that same day as we were hosted by an extremely wealthy Muslim background businessman who has seen visions of Jesus. Our friend Brad broke out into song on the guitar, and while they thought he was doing a mini-concert, he led in prayer through worship. Again, we physically experienced the presence of God in that house (which backed up against the Prime Minister’s house). I asked if the host and his wife would stand in the middle so we could gather around and pray for them. I gave them a bit of instruction: “Don’t pray, just be still. We will pray for you.”

They did, and we did – tears all around.

It was personally sweet as that night, two of the men I’ve poured myself into both confessed to everyone, through tears, how much I’ve helped them find Jesus. That was worth the whole trip for me.

So…back to Ahmadinejad of Iran. He arrived a few hours after we did and left Lebanon a couple hours before we did. Here’s what happened…. (Actually, I’ll come back to this. Sorry.)

In Jordan we had gathering after gathering of young leaders, university students and just good old friends. We prayed. Worshipped. Laughed. Cried. Read the scriptures. Great times of being with men and women who are wanting to love and follow Jesus with all their heart. Our friends are doing amazing work. People giving their lives for the gospel. We are honored to be their friends.

We then drove across the border past Mount Nebo and the baptism site of Jesus into the Holy Land. We stayed in Bethlehem, visited people in Hebron, Jerusalem, Jericho, and then went up north to Nazareth and Galilee. Then we finished it off with a night in Tel Aviv. Lots to tell about that. I think I might do that in the next blog – just too much. And what God did in all the men who came was very cool to see.

We were also in a Jewish Kibbutz where the Jordan river comes out of the Sea of Galilee in the North. The leader of this Kibbutz (the first and most prominent in all of Israel) has become a friend. He’s a secular socialist Zionist Jewish Labor Party leader. (How’s that?). We prayed for him and his wife and kids before we left and Brad led in a song of worship. He emailed me the next day and said, “We have never experienced anything like that. What was that?” THAT, my friends, is the power of love in and through the lives of some humble folks submitted to the King. Pretty cool stuff….

Okay, a lot more to share – the Ahmadinejad story and more stuff in the West Bank and Israel. You’re gonna hate me, but I need to stop. I’m off to do a conference in San Francisco this weekend, so I’ll write more on Monday!

Love you and thank you for your love and prayer.

Carl

I retold the parable of the Good Samaritan and how provocative it would have been in his day. And I finished with Luke 4 – Jesus’ “mission statement.” And how interesting that everyone loved his speech until he pointed out that the Prophet Elijah went to a widow in Zarapheth (modern day Lebanon) and that Elisha healed the leper from Syria. Then they tried to kill him.

The point being that all of us would like to keep Jesus to ourselves. But he continually expanded the thinking of his Jewish hearers by giving them examples of God’s grace for the outsider!

It was so well received. Imagine speaking to 1000 Muslims (mostly from Arab descent) about Jesus, and being cheered on for more. I finished by saying, “If you’ve ever felt that Christians have unfairly taken Jesus and re-packaged him in a way that you can’t understand, then TAKE HIM BACK. He’d love to be yours!”

Thank you for praying!  It meant a lot.

We’ve just posted the 4-minute video of me speaking on Hezbollah TV. You can view that through my YouTube Channel, a link on my Facebook page or the website under “Resources.” Remember this: it was spur of the moment. I was totally taken off guard by the cameraman saying to me, “Tell all of Lebanon and the Middle East that America loves the Hezbollah and doesn’t approve of what Israel is doing.” What you see, is the second after he asked that question and handed me the microphone. He didn’t ask me to “preach” or “share the gospel” – he simply wanted a political statement from me.  And this is my answer….

Two other quick things:

1. Remember to pray for me as I address about 1000 Muslims in Chicago on the 26th.
2. And I will release the video of me speaking on Hezbollah TV on the 28th.  It wasn’t easy, but we got a decent quality live video of my whole talk (5 minutes) to the nation of Lebanon when we were there in November. It went out to the whole region on their satellite station as well. So when I get back, we’ll have a chance to post that.  Should be interesting!

Merry Christmas to you all. Lots of love from the Medearis family,

Carl, Chris and the three kiddos – Anna, Marie and Jonathan