Demand for the Bible has Exploded in Iran, You Won’t Guess Where From - Israel, Islam & End Times

Demand for the Bible has Exploded in Iran, You Won’t Guess Where From - Israel, Islam & End Times  Dec. 13, 2015

THOUSANDS of Iranians are risking their lives to gain access to one of the countries most contraband items—the Bible; and they’re getting it from an unexpected source.

The monumentally popular YouVersion Bible app has officially topped 200 million installs across the globe, with developers announcing that the most popular verse in the app’s history is Romans 12:2.

That scripture, which is both the most read and shared, reads as follows: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Produced by Life.Church, an Oklahoma-based megachurch that has made a name for itself by streaming its services throughout the world, founders say that the tool is transforming lives, with increases of up to 1,886 percent in usage in places like Iran over the past two years.

“What God is doing through YouVersion is incredible — changing mobile devices into Bibles that people carry with them everywhere they go,” app creator and Life.Church pastor Bobby Gruenewald said in a statement. “As we see the magnitude of 200 million installs, what we’re really celebrating is what that number represents: countless moments of individuals transformed by their time in the Bible.”

The YouVersion Bible app has been downloaded over 200 million times.

Perhaps the most notable development is the locations in which use of the digital Bible is continuously thriving, with the most prevalent searches among users overall involving “marriage, love, faith, prayer and fasting.”

The exciting aspirations of Life.Church in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The YouVersion Bible app, which allows people to read the Bible and connect with like-minded believers, has been installed among individuals in every nation on Earth, reported “triple-digit growth and beyond” in places like Cameroon, Iran, Suriname, Bulgaria and other locations, since hitting a 100 million download benchmark in July 2013, according to a press release.

The app downloaded by Iranians has gone up a staggering 1886%!!

The remarkable growth has expanded the initial offering of 12 Bible versions in two languages to 1,237 versions in 900 languages. Find out more about the YouVersion Bible app here.

Arabs, Iranians Voice Support For Israel In Trying Times

Wednesday, October 14, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

The pro-Israel advocacy group Stand With Us is using its Facebook page to conduct a #StopIncitement campaign aimed at getting people around the world to pressure the Arab leadership to stop encouraging the murder of Israeli Jews.

Those responding are asked to send in a photo including a note of support and the cover of their passport.

A number of the respondents have been from Arab and Muslim nations that are officially at war with Israel, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and even Iran.

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How to Avoid the Middle-Eastern Shuk (in dealing with Iran)

How to Avoid the Middle-Eastern Shuk

8/26/2015 SUSAN MICHAEL/ICEJ  charisma news

Why weren't Israelis like Benjamin Netanyahu brought in to help broker the Iran nuclear weapons deal? (Reuters file photo )

Two out of every three Americans, and 75 percent of Israelis, are opposed to the administration's deal with Iran because it does not block the world's No. 1 sponsor of terrorism from acquiring nuclear weapons. On the contrary, it legitimizes the very nuclear program Iran denied they had, and allows for their full acceptance as a nuclear state at the end of the agreement

There is a very good possibility that in early September, Congress will be able to muster the votes to at least bring about a show down with the administration, if not actually produce a veto-proof majority vote. One thing is for sure, during the week of the vote, the halls of Congress will be filled with thousands of American citizens lobbying their members of Congress against the deal thanks to a number of groups planning lobbying days, press conferences and rallies then.

Opposing the deal is one thing. But, the question that everyone wants answered is: What is the alternative? Its opponents say the alternative is to broker a better deal. However, the fact is that the American negotiating team will not be able to broker a better deal unless they learn to negotiate like an Iranian.

The Middle-Eastern Shuk

Most Middle Easterners can negotiate Americans under the carpet, because they literally grow up negotiating everything, from the cost of fruits and vegetables in theshuk (market) to higher-priced items like appliances and home goods. Americans only negotiate when they purchase a car or a house. So, what can we learn from the Middle-Eastern shuk?

No. 1: Never pay the stated price. A shopkeeper will not quote the price that he expects you to pay but an inflated price that leaves room for negotiating. Never agree to the stated demand. Always offer less.

No. 2: Never start where you want to end. Once a price has been stated, respond with an offer that is so ridiculously low that it is embarrassing. This is where many Americans stumble, because they do not want to look like they are cheap, nor do they want to insult the poor merchant. But if you do not counter low, you will end up paying too much.

No. 3: Make them think it really hurts. Middle Easterners love to play along with their opponent by telling how much the counter offer hurts while displaying great emotion and perhaps emphatic gestures. Compare this to the average American who usually avoids any display of emotion. They are not used to such reactions, so they will quickly give in and pay the high price thinking they may have insulted or hurt the feelings of their negotiating partner.

No. 4: Don't trust your opponent. Americans are at heart a very honest people, and look down on any type of lying. So, they assume everyone else is telling the truth like they are! In the Middle East though, truth can be sacrificed to achieve the goal of leaving the negotiations with honor and respect back home. Therefore, don't believe everything your opponent says.

No. 5: Be prepared to walk away. When the stakes are high, and the deal being brokered is just not good enough, then the buyer has to be willing to walk out the door. The merchant knows then that he has lost the sale, and he will run after the buyer with a new offer. Being too eager to make a deal is perceived as weakness and will be taken advantage of. Always be willing to walk away.

Only those privy to the negotiations know how well or how poorly the American team did. But, based on their eagerness to close a deal, and the response of the Iranians, who said they got everything they wanted, it appears the American team was out-negotiated.

To broker a better deal with Iran, perhaps we should consider bringing in the Israelis to negotiate for us. They have much more experience in the Middle Eastern shuk.

Susan M. Michael is U.S. Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, icejusa.org.

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Joel Rosenberg - The Church's Call to Stand with Israel - Watchmen on the Wall Conference

Published on Jun 1, 2013

Watchmen on the Wall Conference 2013
Joel Rosenberg - The Church's Call to Stand with Israel

Joel Rosenberg's website

ABOUT JOEL

Joel C. Rosenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels—The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, Dead Heat, The Twelfth Imam, and The Tehran Initiative—and five nonfiction books, Epicenter, Inside the Revolution, Implosion,Israel at War, and The Invested Life, with nearly 3 million copies sold. 

The Ezekiel Option received the Gold Medallion award as the "Best Novel of 2006" from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Joel is the producer of two documentary films based on his nonfiction books. He is also the founder of The Joshua Fund, a nonprofit educational and charitable organization to mobilize Christians to "bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus" with food, clothing, medical supplies, and other humanitarian relief.

As a communications advisor, Joel has worked with a number of U.S. and Israeli leaders, including Steve Forbes, Rush Limbaugh, Natan Sharansky, and Benjamin Netanyahu. As an author, he has been interviewed on hundreds of radio and TV programs, including ABC's Nightline, CNN Headline News, FOX News Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Sean Hannity Show, and The Glenn Beck Show. 

He has been profiled by the New York Times, the Washington Times, the Jerusalem Post, and World magazine. He has addressed audiences all over the world, including those in Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, and the Philippines. He has also spoken at the White House, the Pentagon, and to members of Congress.

In 2008, Joel designed and hosted the first Epicenter Conference in Jerusalem. The event drew two thousand Christians who wanted to "learn, pray, give, and go" to the Lord's work in Israel and the Middle East. Subsequent Epicenter Conferences have been held in San Diego (2009); Manila, Philippines (2010); Philadelphia (2010); Jerusalem (2011); and Albuquerque, New Mexico (2012). 

The live webcast of the Philadelphia conference drew some thirty-four thousand people from more than ninety countries to listen to speakers such as Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon; pastors from the U.S., Israel, and Iran; Lt. General (ret.) Jerry Boykin; Kay Arthur; Janet Parshall; Tony Perkins; and Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of the founders of Hamas who has renounced Islam and terrorism and become a follower of Jesus Christ and a friend of both Israelis and Palestinians.

The son of a Jewish father and a Gentile mother, Joel is an evangelical Christian with a passion to make disciples of all nations and teach Bible prophecy. A graduate of Syracuse University with a BFA in filmmaking, he is married, has four sons, and lives near Washington, D.C.

To visit Joel's weblog—or sign up for his free weekly "Flash Traffic" e-mails—please visit www.joelrosenberg.com.

Please also visit these other websites:

www.joshuafund.net

www.epicenterconference.com

and Joel's "Epicenter Team" and the Joel C. Rosenberg public profile page on Facebook.

- See more at: http://www.joelrosenberg.com/about-joel/#sthash.U3me2oU9.dpuf