As I write this 2012 is coming to an end. Often, as the year draws to a close we reflect upon the past and look to the future. First, let us look at the past. So, what did I accomplish this year?
Early this past year, back in February, I went on my mission trip to Uganda. That was a great experience. I re-connected to Ugandan soldiers I served with in Iraq. I went on a mini-Safari (at a wildlife park) and I saw the source of the Nile River. (Going to the source of the Nile was a good experience because I had read a lot about Burton and Speke and Livingston and Stanley. (These were important explorers.)) Being in Africa was awesome. I have lived in Egypt, but while Egypt is on the continent of Africa it belongs to the region of the Middle East. (What I mean is that, in a way, Egypt isn't really Africa.) Preaching in Uganda and teaching Ugandan children was wonderful.
What else did I do this year? I've been busy with the National Guard, ministry at the church, giving lectures at the Nathaniel Center in Humble and teaching.
In the National Guard I was finally promoted to Captain. I also attended Chaplain's Captain's Career Course. I also did my annual training exercise. (Annual training was in Fort Bliss. I have lost count of how many times I have been to Fort Bliss for military duty.) I was kept very busy doing chaplain stuff this year. I took my Chaplain Training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina (where I took my Chaplain's Officer's Basic Leadership Course). Before I went to South Carolina, I had to take a huge online portion of the program. The program was filled with glitches. It erased a lot of my work and I had to redo it and then it said that I had not completed it, when I actually had. But, I called the school and they straightened that out. (The problems were their errors and not mine.) It was a huge amount of work that I had to complete in a short amount of time and it was very stressful. Actually being at the Chaplain's School was a good and less stressful experience. So, what do I hope to do in the future in the Army? I am not sure. I almost have twenty years. When I do have twenty years, I can retire? But, will I? Now that Obama is re-elected, I most likely will. However, I want to be led by God. Therefore, I will do what I feel that God is leading me to do, when the time comes. I think that our government is so far into debt and deficit spending that it is likely that I won't collect my retirement when the time comes because the government will be broke. But God is my provider. I rely upon him, and not on the state, to provide my every need.
So, as those who know me know, I am always working on a new book or an art project. So, the question is, what projects did I complete this year? Well, I got a lot of projects almost done. This means that I should have a lot of output next year. The one project that I did finish was my book on Canaanite Mythology entitled "The Epic of Baal." The idea is to explain the cultural context of the Biblical stories, such as Elijah's conflicts with the followers of Baal. I also got a lot done on an illustrated version of the Gospel of John. As I have mentioned, I do have many projects in development. I definitely don't have writers or artists block-I have a lot of ideas that I don't have the time or the resources to complete. But, there are things that I am doing and will publish.
So, what do I have planned for the coming year? This year I will do the Comicpalooza Comic Convention again. I have a lot of fun working the Comic Conventions in the past. This year I met Sean Patrick Flannery, who played Young Indiana Jones, Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddmore, the black "Ghostbuster" and St. Peter in the Word of Promise dramatization of the Bible, and Joe Kubert, the famous comic book artist, who illustrated the Bible, Tarzan and Sgt. Rock. He passed away a few weeks after I met him.
I am going to try to start a radio program. It will be www.blogtalkradio.com/AramaicVoice. We will see how that goes. My youtube channel (www.youtube.com/aramaic12) has gotten over 500,000 hits. I wish I could monetize it, which I may be able to do.
I turned 40 years old this year! And I still haven't married. Is there hope for me? Well, Isaac and Esau married at 40 years old. And Jacob married when he was around 47. I would like to marry. Unfortunately, I haven't had an enduring relationship that developed that far.
I have two major goals for the up-coming year. I am going to start a doctoral program. I am leaning towards a "Doctorate of Ministry" from Liberty On-line University. I also intend on getting my teachers certification this year.
Prayer Requests for the Coming Year
Please pray for the Christians of the Middle East-in Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Please pray especially for the Assyrian (Aramaic-speaking) Christians and the Coptic (Egyptian) Christians. The past four years we have seen a huge increase in Islamic extremism. Christians are in danger in Egypt and Syria. And now, with the re-election of Obama (a primary cause of this crisis in my view) the problem will most likely-unless God intervenes- worsen. (I am always ready to go on an anti-Obama rant, but I am trying to control myself, for now. But, I am very concerned about the devastating effects of his misguided foreign policy. And I thought Bush was bad in that area. Obama's policies are causing a mass exodus of Christians in the Middle East and the end result could be the extinction of Middle Eastern Christianity (not to mention Obama's policies getting our ambassador in Libya killed).) I hope the damage done can be halted and reversed.
Please pray that God will provide for me. 2013 could be a very hard year for me financially. If I enroll in the doctoral program, of course I will need to take out a student loan.
Also, please pray for peace in this world. There has been a lot of bad news lately-and 2012 was a bad year for the forces of good and the people of God. The world needs good news-and we have it in Jesus Christ and his Gospel. A resolution that we should all have for the falling year is to proclaim and to share Christ's message of love to all that we can.
PLANS FOR 2013
Nathaniel Center Lectures
JAN: Jesus and John the Baptist
FEB: Babylon and the Bible
MAR: Yahweh Verse the Gods of Egypt
APR: Yahweh Verses the Gods of Canaan
Seminar in Florida
Session One: Egyptian and Hebrew Culture in Ancient Egypt
Session Two: Egyptian Religion and Magic
Session Three: The Exodus, History and Archeology
Session Four: Yeshua (Jesus), Passover and Melito of Sardis
Sermon Series
Exegetical Preaching from the Gospel of Mark
Radio Program
Promotion of my books and then "Aramaic School of the Bible"
Top writing/art projects for 2013
- Restoration of the Lost Ark
- Seven Signs (from John's Gospel)
- Saint Thomas in India
- The Ring of King Solomon
- My "Chapel" book-about the military chaplaincy
- Chronicles: Facts from the Bible
- Moses
- The Baal Cycle
- The Gospel of Mark: from the Aramaic Version
- Maccabees: The Battle for Religious freedom
Inspirational Thoughts
"Attempt Great Things for God, Expect Great Things from God."-William Carey
"Little is much if God is in it"-Jack Chick
"The question isn't who is going to let you, the question is who is going to stop you." –Ann Rand
"I have not yet begun to fight!" –John Paul Jones
The Complete Works of Stephen Andrew Missick
The Words of Jesus in the Original Aramaic: Discovering the Semitic Roots of Christianity (Xulon Press, 2006)
Mary of Magdala: Magdalene, the Forgotten Aramaic Prophetess of Christianity (Xlibris, 2006)
Treasures of the Language of Jesus: The Aramaic Source of Christ's Teaching (Xlibris, 2006)
Aramaic: The Language of Jesus of Nazareth (Xlibris, 2008)
Christ the Man (Xulon Press)
The Hammer of God: The Stories of Judah Maccabee and Charles Martel (Xulon Press, 2010) ( Charles Martel: The Hammer of God and Judas Maccabeus: The Hammer of God (Createspace 2011) are also available.
The Ascents of James: A Lost Acts of the Apostles (Create Space 2010)
The Second Adam and the Restoration of All Things (Create Space 2010)
Saint Thaddeus and the King of Assyria: The Aramaic Origins of Christianity (Create Space 2010)
A Soldier in Iraq (Createspace 2011)
The Lord's Prayer in the Original Aramaic (Createspace 2011)
Jesus the Poet (Createspace 2011)
The Ennead and The Art of the Ennead (Createspace 2011)
The Secret of Jabez (2011)
The 613 Commandments (2011)
The Assyrians: The Oldest Christian People (Createspace 2011)
The Epic of Baal (Createspace, 2012)
KINDLE BOOKS
(These books are also available in hard copies.)
The Language of Jesus: Introducing Aramaic (2010)
Judas Maccabeus: The Hammer of God (2010)
NOOK BOOKS
Christ's Language: Spiritual Insight from Aramaic (2011)
ARTICLES
(Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies www.jaas.org)
The Assyrian Church in the Mongol Empire, Mar Thoma: The Apostolic Foundation of the Assyrian Church in India, and Socotra: The Mysterious Island of the Church of the East which were published in the Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies (Volume XIII, No. 2, 1999, Volume XIV, No. 2, 2000 and Volume XVI No. 1, 2002).
VIDEOS
(Crossover Videos: www.thecrossoverproject.org)
Iraq's Christians in Crisis
The Armenian Genocide
COMIC BOOKS
(www.comixpress.com)
The Assyrians: The Oldest Christian People
Chronicles: Facts from the Bible
The Hammer of God: Character and Historical Reference
The Hammer of God Coloring Book
The Hammer of God Mini-Comic
The Hammer of God: The Battle for Religious Freedom
The Ennead 1
The Ennead 2
Maccabee (createspace, 2011)
BOOKLETS
Aramaic: The Language of Jesus of Nazareth
Exploring the Semitic Roots of Christianity
Is the Cross a "Pagan" symbol?
BROADSIDES (tri-folds)
Hammer of God
Aramaic: the Language of Jesus
TRACTS
The Glory of Coptic Egypt
The Splendor of Christian Ethiopia
I am an Assyrian!
Web-sites
www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com
I am also on "face-book"
Stephen Andrew Missick
Reverend Stephen Andrew Missick is the author of The Assyrian Church in the Mongol Empire, Mar Thoma: The Apostolic Foundation of the Assyrian Church in India, and Socotra: The Mysterious Island of the Church of the East which were published in the Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies (Volume XIII, No. 2, 1999, Volume XIV, No. 2, 2000 and Volume XVI No. 1, 2002). (See www.jaas.org.) He is the author of The Words of Jesus in the Original Aramaic: Discovering the Semitic Roots of Christianity, The Secret of Jabez, Saint Thaddeus and the King of Assyria, The Ascents of James: A Lost Acts of the Apostles, The Hammer of God: The Stories of Judah Maccabee and Charles Martel. He is an ordained minister of the gospel. He graduated from Sam Houston State University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Rev. Missick has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and has lived among the Coptic Christians in Egypt and Aramaic Christians in Syria. He also served as a soldier in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and 2004. While serving as a soldier in Iraq he learned Aramaic from native Aramaic-speaking Iraqi Assyrian Christians. Rev. Missick is the writer and illustrator of the comic book "The Assyrians: The Oldest Christian People," the comic strip Chronicles: Facts from the Bible and the comic book series The Hammer of God which are available from www.comixpress.com. The Hammer of God comic book series dramatizes the stories of Judah Maccabee and Charles Martel. He has also served as a chaplain in the Army National Guard in Iraq during his second deployment in 2009 and 2010. He participated in an archeological excavation of Bethsaida in Galilee in 2011 and went on a missionary trip to Uganda in 2012.
PO Box 882, Shepherd, Texas, 77371
BLOG: www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com
YOUTUBE CHANNEL: www.youtube.com/aramaic12
King of Saints Tabernacle: Messianic Congregation
2228 FM 1725
Cleveland, TX 77328
(218)592-4104
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