(Public domain image taken from Wikimedia Commons)
Lebanon (SAT-7/MNN) — Middle East news source Al-Monitor says Lebanon’s believers fear the rising tensions between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims. At the same time, a new TV show tackles tension on a different front: the homestead.
Along the Lebanon-Syria border, Christian villages are increasing security. Al-Monitor’s Justin Salhani reports that the head of al-Qaa, one of Lebanon’s largest Christian villages, recent received a death threat via text messaging.
A man associating himself with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) said that “rockets would rain down on al-Qaa if anyone from the village stood against his men.”
As external pressure ratchets up for Lebanon’s believers, a new SAT-7 show is diffusing tensions on the home front.
SAT-7, a Christian satellite television ministry to the Middle East and North Africa, is airing a new counseling show called Dear Jessy. It brings biblical counseling to SAT-7 viewers throughout the world.
Each episode of Dear Jessy takes place in a different location in Lebanon.
(Image courtesy SAT-7)
Show host and marriage facilitator Jessy Tohme draws on her own learning experiences as a wife and mother to minister to viewers. Like many in the SAT-7 audience, Tohme experiences periodic struggles.
“I believe God intentionally lets me pass through [hard times] to let me relate to people…. This helps me be down to earth and sensitive and, at the same time, have expectations and help them to change,” Tohme states.
It wasn’t always common for Lebanese couples to attend marriage counseling, but things are changing. A high divorce rate and widespread marital problems are pulling families apart, and people are increasingly open to getting help.
Anger, finances, miscommunication, and unmet expectations are just a few of the challenges that Dear Jessy discusses. Tohme uses Scripture and simple illustrations to demonstrate God’s will for a righteous life.
As part of the TEACH Project (Theological Education for Arab Christians at Home), this drama series is designed to show pastors and other believers how to offer and receive counseling. Early episodes show the benefits of seeking pastoral care and Christian counseling, while later episodes address ethics and couples’ therapy.
The program has just begun airing, and already, viewers are writing on the Dear Jessy Facebook page to express their excitement. A Jordanian woman shares, “I watched your program on SAT-7. I really enjoyed it because I found it very rich, making people read and understand God’s Word. God bless you.”
Pray that God will move in the hearts of viewers watching this program so that He can strengthen their relationships within the home and, ultimately, His Church.
With your help, 10 viewers can receive encouragement and teaching through SAT-7 for a year.
I read in the Jericho Walls prayer bulletin of your ministry in marriages.
I just want to introduce to you that GOD called me to draw the marriage triangle, symbolic of when man and wife draw nearer to GOD they will draw near to each other.
GOD Himself gave all the Word and HIS heart for the marriage. May be I can send you a sample of this triangle…..it was just while I was praying that the Holy Spirit leads me to let you know of this.
GOD bless you richly in this wonderful word you are doing in HIS kingdom.
Ina Vermaak