When I was coming up I use to watch T.V. Shows where folk would wind up on a hot dry desert. One show was called, “Death Valley Days.” It was sponsored by Borax Soap. Just a little history added to see if you remember if you’re over fifty years old like myself. Well, When these people would go for days without water on this parched desert, because the heat had effected their mind and because of dehydration, they began to hallucinate and they would see a mirage. An oasis right out in the desert. Palm trees swaying in the breeze and a pool of crystal clear water. They would step up the pace and fall face down in the sand only to realize it was not real. Disappointment turned to despair and hopelessness. So it is with our walk through life. We seek the things of this old world only to wind up empty. Drifting with a void in our lives. Thirsting for something to give us peace. To fill this void. This gnawing emptiness. Tormented we go from one fix to another, from one high to another, from one seduction to another, from one addiction to another, until we are used up. Out on the desert called the “Shadow of Death.” Death valley. All alone without a savior. Lost and undone without God or His son. Satan fools us as he offers us this and that. Tricking us to follow him down a fantasy path to a mirage of despair, but as the gospel song goes, “Turn around, turn around; God is calling, He’s calling you from a life of wasted years.” There you are in the valley of despair and Jesus comes by. The Savior reaches down for you. He reaches way down and picks you up. He carries you because you’re too weak to walk. One set of footprints in the sand. He carries you to high and heavenly places. To a real oasis. Where the water is cold and sweet and quenches the thirst eternally. You’ll never thirst again. You’ll never walk alone in this old dry desert of life. The cloud of God’s glory will shade you. There’s spiritual manna from heaven that you’ll never hunger again. Oh what a savior! Oh hallelujah! Like the inspirational song, “Fill My Cup Lord,” that says, “like the woman at the well, I was seeking for things that could not satisfy and then I heard my Savior speaking, “Draw from my well that never shall run dry.” Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord; come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of heaven feed me till I want no more, fill my cup - vill it up and make me whole.” What a great and wonderful God! Can you say amen? AUGUST 2026 GLAD TIDINGS 11 GARY TOOLE EXPRESS LOCATION: 1001 N Madison Ave Douglas Ga. In the old Preferred Loan & Tax Bldg Come See Us For Your: Personal Loans - Tax Loans - Filing Taxes LOAN AND TAX SERVICE 912-389-1040 AN OASIS Todd Wade - Owner Jasmine Gusman - Douglas Mgr I HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD 04-08-2026 KELLY WRIGHT/CBN The Iranian regime's ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel and America. Reza Safa is very acquainted with the radical Islamic belief, which views Israel as the little Satan, America as the great Satan, and all other nonMuslims as infidels. Growing up as a Shi'ite Muslim in Iran, he also believed this until experiencing an encounter with Jesus Christ. Recently, he talked to CBN about his transformation. As a devout Shi'ite, he initially came from Iran to America as a college student in 1978. A year later, he went back home to participate in the Iranian Revolution, led by radical cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who overthrew Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Safa recalls how he saw great confusion and chaos in his country then. It caused him to make a lifechanging decision. "So one day I said to my mother, I said, 'I'm leaving Iran, and I don't think ever again I will come back.' And so I left and went to Sweden. And in Sweden, I met two Swedish missionaries that loved on me and took me to their homes and fed me, gave me a Bible in Persian. And I start reading the Bible," he recalled. As he deeply studied the scripture, Safa experienced a divine encounter with God. "I heard the voice of God for the first time in my life. And it, it wasn't audible, but it was as though it was audible. I could hear it as well as I'm hearing you. And the voice called me in Farsi, Persian, perfect Persian accent like my mom used to call me. The voice said, 'Reza, you don't need to pray like this anymore, pray to me.'" As Safa grew in faith, he ultimately became a Christian pastor and began TBN Nejat-TV, a Christian channel in Farsi that airs in Iran and throughout the Middle East. As a supporter of the current military action against Iran, he believes President Trump must stay focused on ending the regime and paving the way to freedom for the Iranian people. "This is a very critical time for America, for our President, for our future, to finish this task and topple this regime," he said. u Permission Granted Christian Broadcasting Network Ex-Iranian Revolutionary Met Jesus, and It Changed Him Forever Along with the celebrations, the White House presents "The Story of America," an original video series of America's history which, according to the President, embodies freedom. "The story of America makes everyone free," President Trump said. Both President Trump and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledge that America's freedom started with the official Declaration of Independence. "With a single sheet of parchment and 56 signatures, America began the greatest political journey in human history," said President Trump. "That Declaration and that pledge were the beginning of the most significant political event in the history of the world, the American Revolution," Rubio joined. Permission Granted Christian Broadcasting Network u FREEDOM 250 - Con’t
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk2NjczNQ==