Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

  PART ONE The prophesied 70 year Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people had finally come to an end. There were three deportations of the Jews to Babylon including in the years 605, 597, and 586 BC. The Medo-Persian king Cyrus the Great gave a decree that the Jews could return to Judah and rebuild the House of the Lord in Jerusalem. A minority of Jews heeded the call. Among the returnees were an older man named Haggai and a younger man Zerubbabel. Just as there were three deportations to Babylon, so there were three returns from Babylon: Return One : Haggai and Zerubbabel (536 BC); Return Two: Ezra (457 BC); Return Three : Nehemiah (444 BC). As Cyrus encouraged, the returning Jews set about to rebuild the ruined temple of Solomon. The mere attempt of bringing back the sacred precincts stirred up furious opposition from the non-Israelite neighbours, leading to a decree to cease building. The temple languished for about 16 years while the Jews in Judah sought to recreat...

  What to Watch And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do … - 1 Chronicles 12:32 First, let’s get straight to the point. Our world is in great flux, we live in prophetically significant times, and, more than ever, we need to understand God’s prophetic purposes. Related to this is the goal of ‘understanding the times’ - current events and trends. Here’s a couple of good reasons: 1.      Great Commission (Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8): This is the only homework assignment Christ ever gave the Church; and there is no ‘Plan B.’ Since we are called to go into ‘all the world,’ it only makes sense that we know something about this world God called us to. It is our playground and harvest field. 2.      Divine Direction: From the above verse in 1 Chronicles 12, when you ‘ understand the times,’ not just what is happening, but why, then God will download to you what you need ...

  Thou shalt not kill.   It is simple and straight-to-the-point: You shall not kill. This commandment is found in Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17; and reiterated and amplified in Matthew 5:21. Though brief, this commandment is very profound and speaks about the nature of God, the value of human life, and of a great evil that can destroy body and soul. As we continue our series on the Ten Commandments, we focus on the sixth    command. Of course, we need to do a word study. The Hebrew word in Exodus for ‘kill’ is רָצַח ( ratsach ) which means to ’murder,’ ‘assassinate,’ ‘avenge,’ and ‘slay’ in a premeditated fashion. [1] So we can safely say that the sixth commandment means You shall not murder. Regarding ratsach, it is one of 7 Hebrew words for killing. When it comes to proactive, premeditated murder, this is the most active word that is used. In Hebrew and in English, there is a distinction between ‘killing’ and ‘murder.’ The former can include killing th...

  The Way Forward Last month we looked at the topic no one talks about, yet is ever-common, called masturbation or self-stimulation (from now on referred to as SS). We looked at the topic from every angle. Yes, it is correct that the Bible does not explicitly mention the practice, so hence there is no blanket commendation or condemnation. It provides a temporary release of energy and there is no danger of catching sexually transmitted diseases.   Yet, at the same time, we learned that SS is often, even mostly, motivated by lust, visual stimulation like pornography, or worse. It can happen even when the person had not planned for it, at awkward times, hence implying a lack of self-control. It is not an easy habit to quit. Another problem is that there can be a terrible sense of guilt, even though no one (but God) is watching. Along with the guilt is a puzzle: why do many married men practice SS? Do you do SS or know someone who does? If so, it is up to you, and you alon...

The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going — Proverbs 14:15 With Covid-19 (and lockdowns, recession, riots, and election chaos) dominating our year, it was fitting and proper to ask if there was a word from the Lord. We have spent much of the year looking at this very topic, with things like prosperity in crisis, be strong in the Lord, prophetic time and signs, and courage. To these we add another wonderful word: prudence . Those who exercise this quality are called prudent . The word ‘ prudence’ is used 3 times in the Bible, and ‘ prudent’ 24 times. It comes from the Hebrew word aruwn, meaning ‘ subtle, shrewd, sensible, demonstrating preparation and care for the future .’   In short, the prudent person understands the nature of today and starts to prepare for tomorrow. For example, if you bulk buy necessary things during a crisis, you are considered a selfish hoarder. If you anticipate the shortage and store away in the good times, l...