What might you expect to find in the wilderness?

Throughout the Bible, the wilderness can function as an image of discord. In some ways, one would think that to end up in the wilderness means that one has a loss of control on your walk with God, and of separation from the safety of society. However this is not necessarily so. Sometimes God can lead you there for a purpose as indeed the Spirit of God led the Son – Yeshua – in the wilderness.

I remember at one point when I was in a deep spiritual wilderness. I felt little connection with God – which is not good when one is in full time ministry. I can remember at one stage in that strange place that my friend Werner Oder contacted me to ask how I was. I told him that I was struggling and in a wilderness, to which he replied, “Good… God trains His special forces in the wilderness.” And you know what… he was right! So let's go and visit the wilderness through episode 19 of these Eagle's Eye Podcasts.

The former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion once stated back in 1956, “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.” I’ll be sharing much more on the issue of Israel in future podcasts, however, of all the nations in the world over time immemorial, Israel must have seen the most miracles.

But what exactly are miracles? Are they really an act of God to intervene on behalf of man, and if so, why do we only hear a few accounts of these ‘miracles’? If it is an act of God to help certain people, what about the thousands of people who could have been helped but haven’t been? What of all those children I witnessed who died through no fault of their own due to the AIDS crisis in Romania? What of people who have suffered terrible pain through the various cancers and died, being robbed of many years of their lives? I have even known Christians who have faithfully believed in this Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, who can heal, and had many other Christians praying for them, only for them to perish leaving nothing but unanswered questions.

What of the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust – simply for being ‘Jewish’ – couldn’t this God, the God of the Jews have saved them? And what of all those who lost their lives in the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001? Where was God then?

So how exactly can we have hope in the God of miracles - even in the hard times? Find out in this podcast as I wrestle with these tough issues.

It was the early '90's and the AIDS epidemic had took its toll on babies and young children in Romania. There could be no instant deliverance, despite the faithful work of charities such as ‘Romanian Children’s Aid’ (RCA) – a Christian based charity that I had agreed to be a volunteer as the co-Chairman of the UK North East, spending many months raising the much needed money with the precious people from St George’s Church and Christ Church in the outskirts of Middlesbrough.

On my second visit my co-driver and I drove over 3,200 miles to Cernavoda on the Black Sea coast. In 1992 the name had to be changed as the work extended the provision of relief to cover children in other Eastern Europe countries such as Albania.

Romanian Children’s Aid (Children in Distress) was founded by the Reverand Dr John Walmsley, a wonderful humble Church of England Vicar who simply responded to the tragic events within Romania. This man always inspired me. Despite the horror of what he had witnessed on his first trips to Romania, he always seemed to be positive, always smiling, as if to say someone much greater than him was at work in this ministry helping dying children – which of course was true. We will never understand why God allows suffering, but we can be sure He will always use people like the Reverand Dr John Walmsley to work through.

In 1992, I had the privilege to drive a truck all the way from Middlesbrough, via Essex, through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary and into and through Romania. This was the second time I’d been to a small place called Cernavoda where we literally saw miracles take place.

The biggest shock was when we toured the Orphanages that spilled over with unwanted children, many plagued with AIDS or other serious medical ailments due to the re-use of syringes and the generally shoddy health conditions, along with the infected cheap blood that had been brought in from the Africa’s. The horrors that Ceausescu had left behind could not be quickly swept under the ‘proverbial carpet’. The physical and psychological damage was huge and widespread. This is part one of a true story that changed my life.

This is part 2 of The Russia House - podcast episode 15 of The Eagle's Eye Podcast.

It was 1989 and Moscow held an air of mystery over it with the underground metro stations looking like palaces, with beautiful ornate ceilings, marble everywhere and chandeliers so grand they wouldn’t look out of place in the finest stately home. The metro station was directly opposite to where we were staying, and these were used on a daily basis to get to our contacts. The only problem was, getting used to the system. It’s fine if one speaks Russian, but my Russian only consisted of да prounounced ‘da’ (yes), нет - pronounced nyet (no) and спасибо – pronounced ‘spasibo’ (thank you). That’s not a lot of use when one is wanting to get from Сокольническая to Таганско-Краснопресненская.

But we were here to smuggle Bibles to the true Church of Russia - the underground church were Believers were struggling against the backdrop of the Soviet Union Communist control.

In the 1980s, the Soviet Union was engulfed by a multitude of problems. The economy began to fall apart. To reform a broken Soviet Union, the democratisation of the Communist Party was promoted through Party Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of ‘perestroika’ and ‘glasnost.’

For me, Moscow held a mystical air over it with the underground metro stations looking like palaces, with beautiful ornate ceilings, marble everywhere and chandeliers so grand they wouldn’t look out of place in the finest stately home.

Praying silent prayers we approached the fearsome looking Russian customs, and I thought my heart was about to burst out of my chest. Naturally, we were posing as tourists, and once through the dreaded customs, we would distribute our Bibles to a secret network of couriers, who in turn took them round to various underground groups of believers.

The first time we went to Russia in 1989, soldiers guarded the main doors leading into the Cosmos hotel where we stayed on all of our trips to Russia. Just getting past these armed guards felt like I was living out some role in a crazy James Bond movie. And learning to meet total strangers who would be wearing a certain colours and holding a newspaper, just seemed crazy, and yet this actually happened... welcome to the Russia House...

Episode 13 is recorded by Branch FM Radio, and with their permission, the show with Michael Booth and CFI's David Soakell is added here on The Eagle's Eye Podcast.

In the show we discuss what CFI have been doing in 2020 - a year of perfect vision - and how we have not just coped, but excelled even through the Covid-19 plague.

Other topics covered include these 'Podcasts', Siyabonga, Norwich City, David Pawson, The Coronavirus problem, News from Israel, the political situation with the so-called West Bank and more.

Branch FM is a community radio station based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England, which has operated since May 2007. It broadcasts on the 101.8 FM frequency, in the West Yorkshire, area on an OFCOM licence until 2017. It was one of the first Christian radio stations to be given a broadcast licence in the UK. Their website https://www.branchfm.com/

Christian Friends of Israel are are a non-denominational Christian organisation, seeking to bless both for Israel and the Church [Israel means the Jewish people, both inside the nation and in the Diaspora throughout the world. It also means the modern nation of Israel, which includes both Jews and Arabs, all precious to God]. CFI's website is https://www.cfi.org.uk/

In Jeremiah 6:14 we read, 'They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace. (15) Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the Lord. (16) Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it;

Then you will find rest for your souls.' In these days we need to see a 'wind of change'... in these days, we need to find rest for our souls... and in these days, we need to 'Bend the knee' but only to the One Whom should be worshipped!

In the Torah, in Genesis 24:27 we read ‘And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I am in The Way of The LORD. The LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.

I am in The Way of The LORD. By stating this, this servant of Abraham is declaring that he is a disciple of Abraham and is [walking] in the Way of the LORD.

So “Are we truly walking in The Way regarding our calling? Am I in The Way or am I [getting] in the way?

Show me The Way… (Part One)

Suddenly, after opening my Bible, God laid Israel upon my heart. Suddenly, all the stories that Dad used to say about our name being changed made sense. Suddenly the connection with Anne Frank was real, and suddenly I knew why those Jewish kids at Gateshead had such an impact upon me. And I knew God was laying on my heart a calling.

And yet, deep down I knew that with this calling came a huge responsibility. And this was too much.

But can we hear God’s calling and still walk away? And when God calls, do we have a choice? Find out more in this Eagle's Eye Podcast - session 10.