Letters from Jerusalem
May 29, 2020
"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." COLOSSIANS 3:8-17
(long…but well worth the read and meditation!)
Dearest brothers and sisters in the fellowship of Yeshua, The promised Messiah, through the precious Blood of His covenant, BLESSINGS to you in Him this day! May the fullness of His Spirit be again seen through out the body for His glory alone, revealing Him in this lost and dying world.
Today is the high holiday (meaning the second of the three, commanded in scripture, 'pilgrim feasts', when all of Israel's men were commanded to come up to present themselves before Him in Jerusalem, with the appropriate offering. The first feast, Passover, is followed (from the day after the first Shabbat) by the 'counting of the omer' for 50 days until the first harvest…and the first-fruit of that harvest is presented as an offering to The Lord.
"And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ “Then you shall set it before the Lordyour God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you." DEUTERONOMY 1-11 (also see Deut. 16:9, Leviticus 23:9, Numbers 15:17, Numbers 28:26 and ofcourse Acts chapter 2…realizing that 'pent' in Pentecost means '50' and refers to the 50 days of the counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot (which is translated into English as 'Feast of weeks'… Shavuot in Hebrew means 'week'.)
I have waited to write to you through Jerusalem Day, which passed before my eyes on the 22 of May…but 'wait' was, and remains the word that I kept hearing. 'Wait' has become an important word for certain.
Jerusalem Day, usually a day of dancing and singing in the streets, was celebrated in many creative ways, considering that large gatherings are not permitted…yet it was celebrated. Flags decked the homes and virtual learning sessions took place along with virtual and outdoor prayer around the country as people remembered the miracle of the return of Jerusalem from her captivity…oh such a short time ago! We have been back for such a short time…and yet we forget so quickly…surely why we are commanded over and over to 'remember'! Outside our window, large trucks sponsored by the city came by…one had musicians leading in wonderful songs praising God for Jerusalem, (I danced and sang on my merepesset - balcony - as I am sure many others did) and the other truck served as a large screen upon which was projected video clips of past Jerusalem Day celebrations. Young people, keeping 2 meter distance from one another, ran through the streets dancing with the flags and giving large flags to anyone who wanted …it was encouraging as they brought celebration from one neighborhood to another…yet is was sobering.
Today also…Shavuot…it is quiet. In years past there was much noise all through the night (and it was NOT always 'holy noise' for sure as many rowdy young people would take advantage of the time to gather for other purposes) as large groups of people would gather to study The Word or a philosophical subject concerning The Word… many walking past our windows in large groups to the Western Wall of the Temple in the Old City, others gathering at synagogues or homes or out doors. Along WITH the command in scripture (what Shavuot is for and how to celebrate it ) the rabbinical teaching has interpreted this holiday to celebrate the day that Torah was given on Mt. Sinai. Since Yeshua IS THE LIVING WORD AND THE BREAD OF LIFE…I kind of like that. This year most of the learning is virtual…there are many all night discussion groups online and others gather in small groups. Those allowed to go to the Wall were chosen 'by lot' as the number was limited. You know. To one degree or another all of you are also experiencing the pressures upon this earth even though different in each county and area … and I hear so many interpretations and opinions.
Pentecost happened just down the road from me…right…over…THERE! The people gathered as commanded into Jerusalem…into the Temple area to offer the prescribed offerings …to praise The God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob for His abundant provision …RIGHT ON TIME…AT THE APPOINTED TIME…JUST LIKE THE HARVEST…AT THE FULLNESS OF TIME! And THERE and THEN "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." Can you imagine?? ALL in ONE ACCORD in ONE PLACE? Surely someone had their own opinion or was 'righteously annoyed' with someone else? Nope! Only The Lord could do that! "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting."..Yep…THAT HAPPENED! Right HERE … right down the road from where I am living!
Part of the rabbinical tradition during Shavuot is to read the short book of Ruth. Probably because it takes place during the harvest. My husband and I read it aloud last night and spoke about the amazing things in the book of Ruth… that the law FORBADE a person of Moabite descent from entering the congregation of The Lord (Deuteronomy 23:3) and yet who sprang from Ruth but David and The Lord Himself! What GRACE and MERCY He shows…beyond our reasoning and best knowledge and understanding.
So this is what I have been thinking about. ALOT!
Since we have been in the house together so much, my husband and I, we have taken up an old good habit that I loved of reading books aloud. The last book that we decided to re-read you may know, called Anointed for Burial by Todd and DeAnn Burke, written in the 1970s. It documents the mighty move of God that took place just before the Khmer Rouge conquered Cambodia and scorched it into the notorious 'killing fields'. It is a very encouraging-toward -The-Lord book that records the faithfulness and display of God's power and love in extraordinary times and ways.
I decided to find out what had happened to this couple who had been so mightily used of God and I was grieved to find that Todd had turned away from The Lord…apparently a seed of bitterness taking root…God knows…and he died in 2006.
I am deeply thankful for Pastor H... who said again and again; 'Do not follow me or any man! ONLY follow Jesus! ALL MEN CAN STUMBLE AND LEAD YOU ASTRAY BUT ONLY ONE CAN NOT!' The work of God in Cambodia was real…and the fruit was real…and yet the man who was used to lead it was not the one who did the work; GOD did (and we leave the sad outcome of the man to Him as well) Just like that Shavuot some 2,000 years ago; it was a sovereign work of GOD HIMSELF! And we KNOW that as we cry out: DO IT AGAIN, LORD!
I only mentioned the writer of the book above because it sobers me and puts the fear of God in me. In the current situation, I am often saddened and even grieved as I listen to the arguments among people, and believers in particular. I don't often hear 'discernment of the Truth'! I more often sadly hear rebellion, opinions, sowing discord among the brethren…and I cringe and beg God for mercy on my own soul that He will press me lower lower…into Himself…for "Though the Lord is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar." Psalm 138:6 and "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9
I cry out for discernment during these days; these are NOT 'normal' days and is there really one of us who feels they are clever enough to discern what is happening and who is right? May God have mercy on us.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I have been touched by some truly godly BLESSINGS that have gone forth, humble honest touches to the body from the body world wide. Oh there IS grace and peace in dear pockets of places and what SALT it is! It brings me to tears as I hear from dear brothers and sisters filled with His grace and peace and wisdom from seeking Him in the quiet place.
Well…if any of you were able to read through this letter, I congratulate you and pray that my meandering thoughts did not confuse you too badly. I am never sure if I should write, but today I felt that 'push'. May His Holy Spirit fill you afresh and may He take these words as an offering, a small grain offering that He can bless and break and make something of food for someone. May you be encouraged in Him and may this season of your life become treasure for His glory. So lovingly, your sister.
"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." COLOSSIANS 3:8-17
(long…but well worth the read and meditation!)
Dearest brothers and sisters in the fellowship of Yeshua, The promised Messiah, through the precious Blood of His covenant, BLESSINGS to you in Him this day! May the fullness of His Spirit be again seen through out the body for His glory alone, revealing Him in this lost and dying world.
Today is the high holiday (meaning the second of the three, commanded in scripture, 'pilgrim feasts', when all of Israel's men were commanded to come up to present themselves before Him in Jerusalem, with the appropriate offering. The first feast, Passover, is followed (from the day after the first Shabbat) by the 'counting of the omer' for 50 days until the first harvest…and the first-fruit of that harvest is presented as an offering to The Lord.
"And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’ “Then you shall set it before the Lordyour God, and worship before the Lord your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you." DEUTERONOMY 1-11 (also see Deut. 16:9, Leviticus 23:9, Numbers 15:17, Numbers 28:26 and ofcourse Acts chapter 2…realizing that 'pent' in Pentecost means '50' and refers to the 50 days of the counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot (which is translated into English as 'Feast of weeks'… Shavuot in Hebrew means 'week'.)
I have waited to write to you through Jerusalem Day, which passed before my eyes on the 22 of May…but 'wait' was, and remains the word that I kept hearing. 'Wait' has become an important word for certain.
Jerusalem Day, usually a day of dancing and singing in the streets, was celebrated in many creative ways, considering that large gatherings are not permitted…yet it was celebrated. Flags decked the homes and virtual learning sessions took place along with virtual and outdoor prayer around the country as people remembered the miracle of the return of Jerusalem from her captivity…oh such a short time ago! We have been back for such a short time…and yet we forget so quickly…surely why we are commanded over and over to 'remember'! Outside our window, large trucks sponsored by the city came by…one had musicians leading in wonderful songs praising God for Jerusalem, (I danced and sang on my merepesset - balcony - as I am sure many others did) and the other truck served as a large screen upon which was projected video clips of past Jerusalem Day celebrations. Young people, keeping 2 meter distance from one another, ran through the streets dancing with the flags and giving large flags to anyone who wanted …it was encouraging as they brought celebration from one neighborhood to another…yet is was sobering.
Today also…Shavuot…it is quiet. In years past there was much noise all through the night (and it was NOT always 'holy noise' for sure as many rowdy young people would take advantage of the time to gather for other purposes) as large groups of people would gather to study The Word or a philosophical subject concerning The Word… many walking past our windows in large groups to the Western Wall of the Temple in the Old City, others gathering at synagogues or homes or out doors. Along WITH the command in scripture (what Shavuot is for and how to celebrate it ) the rabbinical teaching has interpreted this holiday to celebrate the day that Torah was given on Mt. Sinai. Since Yeshua IS THE LIVING WORD AND THE BREAD OF LIFE…I kind of like that. This year most of the learning is virtual…there are many all night discussion groups online and others gather in small groups. Those allowed to go to the Wall were chosen 'by lot' as the number was limited. You know. To one degree or another all of you are also experiencing the pressures upon this earth even though different in each county and area … and I hear so many interpretations and opinions.
Pentecost happened just down the road from me…right…over…THERE! The people gathered as commanded into Jerusalem…into the Temple area to offer the prescribed offerings …to praise The God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob for His abundant provision …RIGHT ON TIME…AT THE APPOINTED TIME…JUST LIKE THE HARVEST…AT THE FULLNESS OF TIME! And THERE and THEN "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." Can you imagine?? ALL in ONE ACCORD in ONE PLACE? Surely someone had their own opinion or was 'righteously annoyed' with someone else? Nope! Only The Lord could do that! "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting."..Yep…THAT HAPPENED! Right HERE … right down the road from where I am living!
Part of the rabbinical tradition during Shavuot is to read the short book of Ruth. Probably because it takes place during the harvest. My husband and I read it aloud last night and spoke about the amazing things in the book of Ruth… that the law FORBADE a person of Moabite descent from entering the congregation of The Lord (Deuteronomy 23:3) and yet who sprang from Ruth but David and The Lord Himself! What GRACE and MERCY He shows…beyond our reasoning and best knowledge and understanding.
So this is what I have been thinking about. ALOT!
Since we have been in the house together so much, my husband and I, we have taken up an old good habit that I loved of reading books aloud. The last book that we decided to re-read you may know, called Anointed for Burial by Todd and DeAnn Burke, written in the 1970s. It documents the mighty move of God that took place just before the Khmer Rouge conquered Cambodia and scorched it into the notorious 'killing fields'. It is a very encouraging-toward -The-Lord book that records the faithfulness and display of God's power and love in extraordinary times and ways.
I decided to find out what had happened to this couple who had been so mightily used of God and I was grieved to find that Todd had turned away from The Lord…apparently a seed of bitterness taking root…God knows…and he died in 2006.
I am deeply thankful for Pastor H... who said again and again; 'Do not follow me or any man! ONLY follow Jesus! ALL MEN CAN STUMBLE AND LEAD YOU ASTRAY BUT ONLY ONE CAN NOT!' The work of God in Cambodia was real…and the fruit was real…and yet the man who was used to lead it was not the one who did the work; GOD did (and we leave the sad outcome of the man to Him as well) Just like that Shavuot some 2,000 years ago; it was a sovereign work of GOD HIMSELF! And we KNOW that as we cry out: DO IT AGAIN, LORD!
I only mentioned the writer of the book above because it sobers me and puts the fear of God in me. In the current situation, I am often saddened and even grieved as I listen to the arguments among people, and believers in particular. I don't often hear 'discernment of the Truth'! I more often sadly hear rebellion, opinions, sowing discord among the brethren…and I cringe and beg God for mercy on my own soul that He will press me lower lower…into Himself…for "Though the Lord is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar." Psalm 138:6 and "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9
I cry out for discernment during these days; these are NOT 'normal' days and is there really one of us who feels they are clever enough to discern what is happening and who is right? May God have mercy on us.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I have been touched by some truly godly BLESSINGS that have gone forth, humble honest touches to the body from the body world wide. Oh there IS grace and peace in dear pockets of places and what SALT it is! It brings me to tears as I hear from dear brothers and sisters filled with His grace and peace and wisdom from seeking Him in the quiet place.
Well…if any of you were able to read through this letter, I congratulate you and pray that my meandering thoughts did not confuse you too badly. I am never sure if I should write, but today I felt that 'push'. May His Holy Spirit fill you afresh and may He take these words as an offering, a small grain offering that He can bless and break and make something of food for someone. May you be encouraged in Him and may this season of your life become treasure for His glory. So lovingly, your sister.
May 7, 2020
"Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.” So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.”He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth." ZECHARIAH 5:5-8
Greetings again, truly in the fear of God as I seek to share faithfully with you, brothers and sisters, what I see and what I hear, without interpretation. May I be found faithful and May The LORD BE GLORIFIED. May you be blessed and provoked into His steadfast BEING.
"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love." 1 Corinthians 16:13,14
How truly the areas of the world are DIFFERENT…responses are DIFFERENT…experiences are DIFFERENT… points of reference are DIFFERENT…opinions and assessments are different…BUT THE SAME GOD IS ONE!
We have lived through, beyond a doubt, a Holy pause…as The Lord has searched deeply. The verse that I quoted above from Zechariah seem to me to agree with the verses from Job that I shared in the last letter. I could only say 'I SEE this Lord…Oh Lord, YOU KNOW!' When I was so sick and in the hospital last week, I asked The Lord if He really needed me to witness all of this. His answer was quick and short, direct and nearly audible: "Yes!" As I sat before Him with the verses above I saw Zechariah's gentle obedience: 'Lift up your eyes now'. What he saw was a basket… a lead disc and a woman sitting inside the basket.' He was well…he described it correctly. It was what was required of him. From this I also received instruction. Like Zechariah, I also do not understand but I am commanded to write what I see.
I see the Holiness of The Lord gone forth. I see a Passover like the very first one. I see clean skies and wild animals roaming the streets of major cities around the world with no fear or tension. I listen and hear silence…and the birds. I feel His deep, DEEP, firey searching in my soul. I seek to sit still and listen.
And then as suddenly as it began…it LIFTED…as if He said 'That is that…it is sealed!' … 'WHAT LORD?' No answer. One month solid of a holy pause and searching Spirit, of rising in the middle of the night feeling His fire burning in my soul…hovering…was it MAYBE like the HOLY PAUSE between the Cross and the Resurrection?? Did you ever think about what that must have been like for those who WEREN'T His disciples? Did they care? Did they question? Did they feel anything while GOD HIMSELF worked His Work of Salvation…life from the dead…beyond even our understanding today…bigger than any of us? I do not know what HE has done this time…I only know that HE has done 'something' and that it is HOLY! I do not want to lose the fear of God…the vigilance… I can not work it up myself; His work, His way.
But I do get to share with you the perspective from Jerusalem…from the Middle East…and from the crossroads with Europe as well.
There was a very interesting article in our media: There was an open letter written to Israel from Julian Assange, the infamous author of Wikileaks. He wrote that he was 'shocked' by Israelis response to being 'stripped of their civil rights' and going as sheep to the slaughter. He said that he has always admired Israelis and felt that they were the sharpest people for taking any chance to fight for and stand up for rights and how could WE…of ALL people…have so easily handed over ALL of our civil rights with not so much as a peep, to our government.' Well…what FASCINATED me was the response! It was the same response given to ex US President Barak Obama when he came here and spoke in our Convention center to a hand picked group of college students and educators and called on them for CHANGE! It was his infamous 'Arab Spring' tour and Israel was his last stop. He had been successful in Egypt and other countries, going to the young people and telling them to rise up and overthrow their governments…but here…even these very liberal academics who spoke against our government, did NOT eat the apple. The written answers to Assange went into the hundreds and I read each one, wanting to know what was in the heart of my people. The answers agreed 100% and I have NEVER seen that before. I must sum it up: 'We might fight among ourselves and vehemently oppose policies of our government, but unlike you…WE KNOW THAT OUR GOVERNMENT - like them or not - WANTS ABOVE ALL FOR US TO LIVE! We have fought for our lives together too much to rebel against the leadership in a life or death battle and this is just that; a life and death battle. We are like an army now and we will obey our commanders and we do NOT RESPECT TRAITORS! Who do you think that you are…you who betrayed your own government?' I was overwhelmed by the collective response of the people…and I LEARNED. Over and over I read repeatedly 'Our government wants us to live!' So yes; Israelis handed over their rights, their phones, their freedoms.
Like with you, where ever you liv, there was a huge difference in experience between those who live in cities and those who live rurally. I NEVER thought (or wanted) that I would live in a city again, but here I am because I gave Him full reign to do with me as He pleased…in the center of Jerusalem…with no car, in a small rented apartment up a flight of stairs, on a busy main street…the LEAST ideal place to be 'shut down and locked up.'
Age 74 immune compromised and TRUSTING GOD…We got to watch, front row center. Out age group was NOT allowed out except for necessary medical reasons, and we were fully isolated for 6 weeks. Even now we are not being encouraged to go out unnecessarily and when we do it is with mask and gloves. We were humbled and educated into the most extraordinary grass roots volunteer activity that we have EVER witnessed! Did we have a lot to learn! At first, our only need was for occasional shopping. Young, healthy people both from our kehila and in the neighborhood rose to the task. Bags and baskets were lowered from windows with money and up came groceries and change. NO ONE would accept a shekel for their service!
But then I got sick. And I got sick with an extremely high fever…and that was scary…I did NOT want to go to the hospital at all, but particularly NOT with a high fever! Nor could I rise from my bed to cook. Once the volunteers found out about our new plight…I am simply UNABLE to find words to describe what happened. Meals began appearing at our door…Not one or two but HUNDREDS!!! Home cooked meals, army rations (they eat well!) DELICIOUS meals, cakes, drinks, questions 'Are we kosher?' 'Do we have allergies or preferences?' Phone calls in Russian, Hebrew, English 'What can we do to help? Are you better?' A couple came to our door with big tubs of food and told us that they were doctors at the hospital, could they help? (they were working 24/7 and made time to volunteer!!) I could call at any time.' I was shocked to hear from different places in America of food being dumped because no one was buying….here NO FOOD was dumped or wasted…it was DONATED…GIVEN FREELY…picked, collected, cooked, prepared, delivered, all over the country free of charge, by army, police, young people, scout groups- to Jews, Arabs, Bedouin, homeless…anyone located with a need…dare I say that some of us maybe have never eaten so well…it was a flowing abundance of kindness poured forth: Boxes left at doors to avoid contact: no name…no recognition…caring for one another…that was our experience and humbling to be on the receiving end.
I was trying hard to get a corona test BEFORE going to the hospital so that I would not be mixed in with those who possibly had corona. We had just lost an immune compromised patient who had to go to hospital with a high fever and got mixed in with corona patients and died of it. None the less, I became too ill to wait any longer and I did have the assurance that The Lord was with me. The ambulance came to take me, the drivers, doctor and nurse (Jews and Arabs) were all dressed in the white 'outer space' gear that took them 10 minutes to don before allowing me in the ambulance. Concerned onlookers gathered. The high vigilance was humbling to watch; everywhere it was maintained, and even with strained nerves from great fatigue and the weight of the constant life and death decisions that were being made, compassion and generosity dignified each situation. When I was taken from the ambulance, it was sprayed down and outer clothing of those who helped me was stripped. Inside the emergency ward, as I had feared, I was put in a large area with patients who had either fevers, or shortness of breath. I was thankful to see the pains that had been taken to separate each patient area, so that even though there were 22 in the room, we were isolated and masked. It was obvious that some of those nearby did NOT have corona; There were lung and heart problems as well as anxiety. Most of the people in my large room were over 75. Each of us was immediately given a corona test. All of those entering the area were dressed like spacemen.
When my corona test returned negative and it had been established that I had to be hospitalized, I was sent to a non-corona contagious ward with two people to a room. I had two days where I was alone in my room. I am too tired now to go into as much detail as I would like…but it was like watching a fine professional orchestra, well tuned, skilled and prepared, working in unity. With no visitors allowed the work was doubled. Ramadan began and the Arab staff was confined just as the Jewish staff had been confined during Passover, Yom h'atzmaoot and our two memorial days. There was no grumbling or complaining; This was to preserve life and everyone knew it and accepted it.
A call went out from a young woman living near us: Her mother died of corona…her father was on a ventilator… could someone help with food for the shiva…a mourning time when hundreds gather to comfort the mourners…but everyone was isolated and they had to grieve alone. A strange time; A Holy time… A family with 14 children and another with 9, both sets of parents died…23 new orphans. “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?" Job 38:2 I quote again…often…to my own heart!!
All of the children are learning (probably yours as well) via technology. Our daughter shares with me the daily lessons for our granddaughter (6) from her gan (kindergarten). I was never an Israeli student and these are fascinating (good for my Hebrew as well) and I look forward to each new lesson, song, explanation! N----(3), is not receiving lessons. Her teacher sends a weak, heartbreaking, apology. She and one of her 9 children are hospitalized with the virus. She is so sorry that she can't help the children right now and is confident that they will learn. She tells them that she is praying for them and asks them to pray for her.
I look around me at the numbers coming from Europe, England, France, Italy, Spain…where the virus has been running rampant. Our quick strict measures have thus far made an impact, and helped us inspite of the fact that our tourist industry made us so vulnerable. 'Thank GOD! It is only He Who gives us breath and numbers our days'. Yes, people ARE looking to Him, reading scripture, PRAYING! His Spirit is searching hearts and prayers are melting hearts…MAY IT NOT STOP!
We wonder, as a country, how after all of this drought, davka, this year, we are blessed with so much rain, with cooler weather (thus far) and it pours again and everyone says 'Maybe the Kinneret will fill?' We are 11cm from the top! We have been blessed…and many of us know it. We don't deserve it and all of us know that. AND!! AS OF TODAY OUR GOVERNMENT IS FREE TO BE FORMED AND BY THIS COMING WED. WE SHOULD EVEN HAVE A GOVERNMENT AGAIN, FINALLY!!! WHEW!
I apologize for an inadequate letter… I am still so very tired.
And what is God saying in this? I have read oh so many exhortations, theories, prophecies …. but this I know:
WATCH AND PRAY! HE ALONE IS GOD!
"Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things to profound for me.
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever."
Psalm 131 - A Song of Ascents Of David
"Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.” So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.”He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth." ZECHARIAH 5:5-8
Greetings again, truly in the fear of God as I seek to share faithfully with you, brothers and sisters, what I see and what I hear, without interpretation. May I be found faithful and May The LORD BE GLORIFIED. May you be blessed and provoked into His steadfast BEING.
"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love." 1 Corinthians 16:13,14
How truly the areas of the world are DIFFERENT…responses are DIFFERENT…experiences are DIFFERENT… points of reference are DIFFERENT…opinions and assessments are different…BUT THE SAME GOD IS ONE!
We have lived through, beyond a doubt, a Holy pause…as The Lord has searched deeply. The verse that I quoted above from Zechariah seem to me to agree with the verses from Job that I shared in the last letter. I could only say 'I SEE this Lord…Oh Lord, YOU KNOW!' When I was so sick and in the hospital last week, I asked The Lord if He really needed me to witness all of this. His answer was quick and short, direct and nearly audible: "Yes!" As I sat before Him with the verses above I saw Zechariah's gentle obedience: 'Lift up your eyes now'. What he saw was a basket… a lead disc and a woman sitting inside the basket.' He was well…he described it correctly. It was what was required of him. From this I also received instruction. Like Zechariah, I also do not understand but I am commanded to write what I see.
I see the Holiness of The Lord gone forth. I see a Passover like the very first one. I see clean skies and wild animals roaming the streets of major cities around the world with no fear or tension. I listen and hear silence…and the birds. I feel His deep, DEEP, firey searching in my soul. I seek to sit still and listen.
And then as suddenly as it began…it LIFTED…as if He said 'That is that…it is sealed!' … 'WHAT LORD?' No answer. One month solid of a holy pause and searching Spirit, of rising in the middle of the night feeling His fire burning in my soul…hovering…was it MAYBE like the HOLY PAUSE between the Cross and the Resurrection?? Did you ever think about what that must have been like for those who WEREN'T His disciples? Did they care? Did they question? Did they feel anything while GOD HIMSELF worked His Work of Salvation…life from the dead…beyond even our understanding today…bigger than any of us? I do not know what HE has done this time…I only know that HE has done 'something' and that it is HOLY! I do not want to lose the fear of God…the vigilance… I can not work it up myself; His work, His way.
But I do get to share with you the perspective from Jerusalem…from the Middle East…and from the crossroads with Europe as well.
There was a very interesting article in our media: There was an open letter written to Israel from Julian Assange, the infamous author of Wikileaks. He wrote that he was 'shocked' by Israelis response to being 'stripped of their civil rights' and going as sheep to the slaughter. He said that he has always admired Israelis and felt that they were the sharpest people for taking any chance to fight for and stand up for rights and how could WE…of ALL people…have so easily handed over ALL of our civil rights with not so much as a peep, to our government.' Well…what FASCINATED me was the response! It was the same response given to ex US President Barak Obama when he came here and spoke in our Convention center to a hand picked group of college students and educators and called on them for CHANGE! It was his infamous 'Arab Spring' tour and Israel was his last stop. He had been successful in Egypt and other countries, going to the young people and telling them to rise up and overthrow their governments…but here…even these very liberal academics who spoke against our government, did NOT eat the apple. The written answers to Assange went into the hundreds and I read each one, wanting to know what was in the heart of my people. The answers agreed 100% and I have NEVER seen that before. I must sum it up: 'We might fight among ourselves and vehemently oppose policies of our government, but unlike you…WE KNOW THAT OUR GOVERNMENT - like them or not - WANTS ABOVE ALL FOR US TO LIVE! We have fought for our lives together too much to rebel against the leadership in a life or death battle and this is just that; a life and death battle. We are like an army now and we will obey our commanders and we do NOT RESPECT TRAITORS! Who do you think that you are…you who betrayed your own government?' I was overwhelmed by the collective response of the people…and I LEARNED. Over and over I read repeatedly 'Our government wants us to live!' So yes; Israelis handed over their rights, their phones, their freedoms.
Like with you, where ever you liv, there was a huge difference in experience between those who live in cities and those who live rurally. I NEVER thought (or wanted) that I would live in a city again, but here I am because I gave Him full reign to do with me as He pleased…in the center of Jerusalem…with no car, in a small rented apartment up a flight of stairs, on a busy main street…the LEAST ideal place to be 'shut down and locked up.'
Age 74 immune compromised and TRUSTING GOD…We got to watch, front row center. Out age group was NOT allowed out except for necessary medical reasons, and we were fully isolated for 6 weeks. Even now we are not being encouraged to go out unnecessarily and when we do it is with mask and gloves. We were humbled and educated into the most extraordinary grass roots volunteer activity that we have EVER witnessed! Did we have a lot to learn! At first, our only need was for occasional shopping. Young, healthy people both from our kehila and in the neighborhood rose to the task. Bags and baskets were lowered from windows with money and up came groceries and change. NO ONE would accept a shekel for their service!
But then I got sick. And I got sick with an extremely high fever…and that was scary…I did NOT want to go to the hospital at all, but particularly NOT with a high fever! Nor could I rise from my bed to cook. Once the volunteers found out about our new plight…I am simply UNABLE to find words to describe what happened. Meals began appearing at our door…Not one or two but HUNDREDS!!! Home cooked meals, army rations (they eat well!) DELICIOUS meals, cakes, drinks, questions 'Are we kosher?' 'Do we have allergies or preferences?' Phone calls in Russian, Hebrew, English 'What can we do to help? Are you better?' A couple came to our door with big tubs of food and told us that they were doctors at the hospital, could they help? (they were working 24/7 and made time to volunteer!!) I could call at any time.' I was shocked to hear from different places in America of food being dumped because no one was buying….here NO FOOD was dumped or wasted…it was DONATED…GIVEN FREELY…picked, collected, cooked, prepared, delivered, all over the country free of charge, by army, police, young people, scout groups- to Jews, Arabs, Bedouin, homeless…anyone located with a need…dare I say that some of us maybe have never eaten so well…it was a flowing abundance of kindness poured forth: Boxes left at doors to avoid contact: no name…no recognition…caring for one another…that was our experience and humbling to be on the receiving end.
I was trying hard to get a corona test BEFORE going to the hospital so that I would not be mixed in with those who possibly had corona. We had just lost an immune compromised patient who had to go to hospital with a high fever and got mixed in with corona patients and died of it. None the less, I became too ill to wait any longer and I did have the assurance that The Lord was with me. The ambulance came to take me, the drivers, doctor and nurse (Jews and Arabs) were all dressed in the white 'outer space' gear that took them 10 minutes to don before allowing me in the ambulance. Concerned onlookers gathered. The high vigilance was humbling to watch; everywhere it was maintained, and even with strained nerves from great fatigue and the weight of the constant life and death decisions that were being made, compassion and generosity dignified each situation. When I was taken from the ambulance, it was sprayed down and outer clothing of those who helped me was stripped. Inside the emergency ward, as I had feared, I was put in a large area with patients who had either fevers, or shortness of breath. I was thankful to see the pains that had been taken to separate each patient area, so that even though there were 22 in the room, we were isolated and masked. It was obvious that some of those nearby did NOT have corona; There were lung and heart problems as well as anxiety. Most of the people in my large room were over 75. Each of us was immediately given a corona test. All of those entering the area were dressed like spacemen.
When my corona test returned negative and it had been established that I had to be hospitalized, I was sent to a non-corona contagious ward with two people to a room. I had two days where I was alone in my room. I am too tired now to go into as much detail as I would like…but it was like watching a fine professional orchestra, well tuned, skilled and prepared, working in unity. With no visitors allowed the work was doubled. Ramadan began and the Arab staff was confined just as the Jewish staff had been confined during Passover, Yom h'atzmaoot and our two memorial days. There was no grumbling or complaining; This was to preserve life and everyone knew it and accepted it.
A call went out from a young woman living near us: Her mother died of corona…her father was on a ventilator… could someone help with food for the shiva…a mourning time when hundreds gather to comfort the mourners…but everyone was isolated and they had to grieve alone. A strange time; A Holy time… A family with 14 children and another with 9, both sets of parents died…23 new orphans. “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?" Job 38:2 I quote again…often…to my own heart!!
All of the children are learning (probably yours as well) via technology. Our daughter shares with me the daily lessons for our granddaughter (6) from her gan (kindergarten). I was never an Israeli student and these are fascinating (good for my Hebrew as well) and I look forward to each new lesson, song, explanation! N----(3), is not receiving lessons. Her teacher sends a weak, heartbreaking, apology. She and one of her 9 children are hospitalized with the virus. She is so sorry that she can't help the children right now and is confident that they will learn. She tells them that she is praying for them and asks them to pray for her.
I look around me at the numbers coming from Europe, England, France, Italy, Spain…where the virus has been running rampant. Our quick strict measures have thus far made an impact, and helped us inspite of the fact that our tourist industry made us so vulnerable. 'Thank GOD! It is only He Who gives us breath and numbers our days'. Yes, people ARE looking to Him, reading scripture, PRAYING! His Spirit is searching hearts and prayers are melting hearts…MAY IT NOT STOP!
We wonder, as a country, how after all of this drought, davka, this year, we are blessed with so much rain, with cooler weather (thus far) and it pours again and everyone says 'Maybe the Kinneret will fill?' We are 11cm from the top! We have been blessed…and many of us know it. We don't deserve it and all of us know that. AND!! AS OF TODAY OUR GOVERNMENT IS FREE TO BE FORMED AND BY THIS COMING WED. WE SHOULD EVEN HAVE A GOVERNMENT AGAIN, FINALLY!!! WHEW!
I apologize for an inadequate letter… I am still so very tired.
And what is God saying in this? I have read oh so many exhortations, theories, prophecies …. but this I know:
WATCH AND PRAY! HE ALONE IS GOD!
"Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things to profound for me.
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever."
Psalm 131 - A Song of Ascents Of David
March 19, 2020
"The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes." Leviticus 26:43
"… to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years." 2 Chronicles 36:21
Shalom! PEACE be to you dear brothers and sisters, His Peace in the midst of all storms…HE IS our ROCK and our strong tower, whether here on earth or home with Him, may His Peace keep us and may the fruit of that Peace bring GLORY to HIM! MAY HE BE BLESSED AND GLORIFIED and may you (and I) be encouraged and strengthened to endure to the end, rejoicing in Him…for His mercy endures forever!
I wish that I could forward to you a video that I saw of Lake Kinneret (The Sea of Galilee) with her waves overflowing the nearby sidewalks! After years of seeing her dry, she is so very near full to the upper redline (just a few more centimeters and the Dganya Dam will need to be opened for spill over). With rain predicted for the rest of this week and snow on Mount Hermon, it is such a glorious witness to the steadfast love of God…His Faithful mercies, His Steadfast Word and promises that endure forever, how can we but praise His Name, even in the midst of plague! As we are facing TOTAL shutdown and I looked over our water supply, I thought how merciful of God to fill the Kinneret!
I have wondered about the untimely, late blooming of our almond blossoms. I am used to seeing them appear the second week of January, just as the Intercessors for Israel annual prayer conference is about to begin. They have been like a herald of God's faithfulness to speak …a sign of 'HIM'…" Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Jeremiah 1:11 The designs in the Temple were graced with almond buds and blossoms. I always smile seeing them, smelling them in the midst of January and knowing that the Spring lies ahead. Not this year. Where were they? My heart was sad! And now, in the midst of this crisis, they appear, snowy white and fragrant…the promise of the almond in them; full of health and beauty…but so out of season this year. What was that 'saying?' I asked morning by morning, with no reply…as of yet.
And there are other wonderful things to report…even as a result of His Hand heavy upon the earth. On the 5 minute English noon news blurb a couple of days ago, it was reported that 15 years ago (and I do recall this) an ancient catapult stone was stolen from the Tower of David Museum. Two days ago, the man brought it back to the antiquities authority saying that he was scared…that his sin had weighted heavily on him and He needed to be right with God … and just maybe this was the end of the world. (this was reported on our news!)
For nearly 21 years I have worked for two doctors and have learned and seen so much! I have met the most interesting people and have grown to love them. One of our patients came in with an expression of wonder on his face. He said 'You won't believe what I just witnessed in the beit merkhakhat(pharmacy)!' I braced myself …'Ok…what?' I asked. He told me that the man in front of him was quite elderly and he watched as a very large number of prescription drugs were being stacked in front of him…his regular medications. Once the pile was complete the pharmacist gave him the bill and he looked at her and said 'I can't pay that! I don't have it.' She told him that this was no different than every month and they discussed it a bit more. Finally she sighed and said 'Well how much CAN you pay?' He quoted her somewhat less than half. She said 'Ok. Give me that.' he answered with a shocked look, 'Well … I don't have that TODAY!' She asked him when he WOULD have it and he said 'Tomorrow.' She began to put the medications in a bag for him and said 'Ok. Will you bring it to me tomorrow then?' . He answered 'Yes, but…I need some money for TODAY!' She sighed again and said 'How much will you need for today?' He thought a minute and said 'Well…50 shekels should make it.' She reached in her purse and handed him 50 shekels along with his bag of medications and he left smiling.
We were all smiling.
But I was taken TOTALLY by surprise on our election day, which took place as the dramatic events that are now changing our lives began to snowball. I know that many of you have asked about our elections and I have had people write to congratulate us on a Netanyahu win. SADLY, we STILL do not have a government…and I will try to explain that later on, and why (oh God forbid!) we may have to go to a FOURTH round of elections. But for now, one more BEAUTIFUL story… a moment in time: My boss called me 2 weeks ago Sunday morning and told me that he had been confined to quarantine (bee'dood) for 14 days having been to synagogue with 'case #29'! I have shared in the past with you the story of the second Doctor…. He is from a Yemenite background and was actually the first Doctor from the Yemenite community…He is a very special man and the Yemenite Jewish culture is rich! We have been at his children's weddings and bar mitzvahs and I have shared with you the diversity with much wonder. ANYWAY! This was election day…the day before Purim…and Dr. was about to leave me alone in the office when 'one last patient' pushed him back in asking for an urgent prescription. Laughing, he made his way back to his office, and all of the sudden this tall, elderly, well dressed, dignified Mizrachi man (he too was Yemenite, Moroccan or Algerian … MIZRACHI… the eastern Jews, have more passionate traditions as opposed to the more intellectual traditions of the ASHKANAZI Jews) spread out his arms and began to SING AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE in a most impassioned way… THE PROVERBS 31 BLESSING over ME!! I was reduced to a pool of oil I'm afraid…just putty…overcome. He looked at me when he finished and said…'Ok?' like maybe I was embarrassed. With tears in my eyes I assured him 'Oh no! Thank you SO much!' Suddenly…he burst forth again…this time a blessing upon the Doctors! That their hands and hearts would be blessed and filled with God's healing…I was witnessing a hidden moment that I felt was holy! But it didn't end! Dr. came out and said to him…'One more please… For the GOVERNMENT!'. Together, these two older dignified men began to dance and to sing a blessing and a prayer for our Government…and I joined in weeping…praying also that the government would be upon His shoulders!
A hidden moment in time…to remember as we watch…
The enemy that we can't see has brought us to our knees and our earth to a standstill! I remember the resolve with which we encouraged one another to be strong and of good courage and stand together during the intifada, (the bloody war in our streets) and the wars with Lebanon and Gaza…when the enemy had a face that we could see! We encouraged one another with the heroes of today and days long past… of David…of soldiers who fought on after they had been pierced through: But this now? AND YET LOOK! THE EARTH WILL HAVE HER SABBATH RESTS! There are NO planes and so few vehicles and the air quality is so quickly clean! As of TONIGHT at 8pm (this is Thursday 19 March now) our public transportation is to be stopped. The only places supposed to be open at this point are medical and food, but we do not know how much longer they can function. The streets are empty. People over 70 (as we are 74) are instructed NOT to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. I did not expect my prayer request concerning my husband's tax hearing to be answered this way…but it was! It was scheduled for this morning and last night it was POSTPONED INDEFINITELY!! After being a week too long (in my opinion) exposed to the virus by riding the train and bus daily to work at a clinic…my boss FINALLY told me on Tues that I should no longer come into work! My work IS considered 'essential' but he felt that my vulnerability would need to cause it to be absorbed in some other way. We have had unseasonable cleansing pouring rains and hail washing the earth and with the fragrance of the out of season almond blossoms…the earth literally is breaking forth in singing, so green and full and free of the burden of all of our filth…and she is KEEPING A SABBATH REST!
We have implemented (so the media tells us) some of the most 'Draconian' rules that any country has dared to implement…and yet we still have no government! Our system is a system of 'coalitions' and any ruling coalition needs to have a government with a minimum of 61 seats. Our final vote tally (if I am not mistaken) was Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud 36 and Benny Gantz's Blue and White party 33 or perhaps 34. BUT, with all of the politicking, Likud has not been able to muster a coalition with more than 59 seats. Blue and White CAN muster more IF they include the Arab block …which offers 15 seats…along with the extreme left wing parties. Forming a coalition with the Arab block which is often VERY anti Israel, has been unacceptable until now…but with an election weary country in the midst of coronavirus shutdown…THE LORD ALONE KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN. Benny Gantz has been tapped by the President to try to form a government within the next 28 days. We have been praying that WHATEVER IS NOT OF GOD WILL BE UNRAVLED BY GOD. (like a tangled ball of yarn). What many mistook for a government was the fact that our Knesset was sworn in. The legislators are sworn in after every election…government or no. Now I KNOW that is confusing…but trust me: We do not yet have a government.
THE EARTH WILL HAVE HER SABBETH RESTS!!
My husband had still kept his shop open on Tuesday and one of his clients came in and said 'Why are you open? You are 74 and have heart disease! You must close NOW!' He is a believer as well as being a medical Doctor and my husband called to tell me and said that our friend also wanted to talk with me. He said to me 'Besides this being medically such a crisis…this is a HOLY TIME SPIRITUALLY!' Now…although I KNEW that, his words arrested me and sank in deeply silencing my noisy heart. I had been thinking about the fact that we are rapidly approaching Passover and the miracle of HOW the people were saved…enclosed in their homes with just the blood of the sacrificed lamb applied to their doorposts, and the following of the instructions that were given to them was what kept them in life as the angel of death descended upon the Egyptians...a plague… passing over the homes of those who stayed inside, obedient and with the blood applied. I had been thinking about Noah and the ark and how so few were saved…only those safely in the ark. As we scurried around to make sure that we had at least some essentials, I thought about THE RISEN LAMB OF GOD…THE MESSIAH CRUSHED AND BRUISED AND CRUCIFIED UPON THE CRUEL CROSS multiplying the loaves and the fish and telling us that HE IS The Bread of Life and that HE IS the same yesterday today and forever. I thought of the 10 virgins and the 5 who had no oil…while the 5 wise ones did and I read in Leviticus 24:2 "…pure oil of pressed olives for The Light to make the lamp burn continually…" while He, Who was crushed and pressed said I am The Light of the world…that PURE OIL WITH WHICH OUR LAMPS MUST BE FULL.
I have one more thought to share as we all enter The Rock…the secret place…under the cloud and pillar of fire. For me, this seems to be a time of stripping away and exposing ANYTHING that isn't pure in His eyes…actions, words, thoughts, intents of the heart. I am praying for the faith that pleases God…the prayers that please God and the walk that pleases God…and I find a lot of filth. My morning meditation verses have brought me to Zechariah 3 and they deeply touched me. Please forgive me for sharing with you such a large portion of scripture…but look how the filth was removed and at the result…and think how our filth is removed through the touch of Yeshua whenever it is exposed!
"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by. Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here. ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,
You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
Zechariah 3
May we all be able to say…at the end "It is THE LORD!" and He has lead us ALL THE WAY.
May The Lord be glorified and seen through each of us.
Please forgive me for taking so much of your time, but thank you for reading and praying.
Lovingly, your sister (still) here.
"The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes." Leviticus 26:43
"… to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years." 2 Chronicles 36:21
Shalom! PEACE be to you dear brothers and sisters, His Peace in the midst of all storms…HE IS our ROCK and our strong tower, whether here on earth or home with Him, may His Peace keep us and may the fruit of that Peace bring GLORY to HIM! MAY HE BE BLESSED AND GLORIFIED and may you (and I) be encouraged and strengthened to endure to the end, rejoicing in Him…for His mercy endures forever!
I wish that I could forward to you a video that I saw of Lake Kinneret (The Sea of Galilee) with her waves overflowing the nearby sidewalks! After years of seeing her dry, she is so very near full to the upper redline (just a few more centimeters and the Dganya Dam will need to be opened for spill over). With rain predicted for the rest of this week and snow on Mount Hermon, it is such a glorious witness to the steadfast love of God…His Faithful mercies, His Steadfast Word and promises that endure forever, how can we but praise His Name, even in the midst of plague! As we are facing TOTAL shutdown and I looked over our water supply, I thought how merciful of God to fill the Kinneret!
I have wondered about the untimely, late blooming of our almond blossoms. I am used to seeing them appear the second week of January, just as the Intercessors for Israel annual prayer conference is about to begin. They have been like a herald of God's faithfulness to speak …a sign of 'HIM'…" Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Jeremiah 1:11 The designs in the Temple were graced with almond buds and blossoms. I always smile seeing them, smelling them in the midst of January and knowing that the Spring lies ahead. Not this year. Where were they? My heart was sad! And now, in the midst of this crisis, they appear, snowy white and fragrant…the promise of the almond in them; full of health and beauty…but so out of season this year. What was that 'saying?' I asked morning by morning, with no reply…as of yet.
And there are other wonderful things to report…even as a result of His Hand heavy upon the earth. On the 5 minute English noon news blurb a couple of days ago, it was reported that 15 years ago (and I do recall this) an ancient catapult stone was stolen from the Tower of David Museum. Two days ago, the man brought it back to the antiquities authority saying that he was scared…that his sin had weighted heavily on him and He needed to be right with God … and just maybe this was the end of the world. (this was reported on our news!)
For nearly 21 years I have worked for two doctors and have learned and seen so much! I have met the most interesting people and have grown to love them. One of our patients came in with an expression of wonder on his face. He said 'You won't believe what I just witnessed in the beit merkhakhat(pharmacy)!' I braced myself …'Ok…what?' I asked. He told me that the man in front of him was quite elderly and he watched as a very large number of prescription drugs were being stacked in front of him…his regular medications. Once the pile was complete the pharmacist gave him the bill and he looked at her and said 'I can't pay that! I don't have it.' She told him that this was no different than every month and they discussed it a bit more. Finally she sighed and said 'Well how much CAN you pay?' He quoted her somewhat less than half. She said 'Ok. Give me that.' he answered with a shocked look, 'Well … I don't have that TODAY!' She asked him when he WOULD have it and he said 'Tomorrow.' She began to put the medications in a bag for him and said 'Ok. Will you bring it to me tomorrow then?' . He answered 'Yes, but…I need some money for TODAY!' She sighed again and said 'How much will you need for today?' He thought a minute and said 'Well…50 shekels should make it.' She reached in her purse and handed him 50 shekels along with his bag of medications and he left smiling.
We were all smiling.
But I was taken TOTALLY by surprise on our election day, which took place as the dramatic events that are now changing our lives began to snowball. I know that many of you have asked about our elections and I have had people write to congratulate us on a Netanyahu win. SADLY, we STILL do not have a government…and I will try to explain that later on, and why (oh God forbid!) we may have to go to a FOURTH round of elections. But for now, one more BEAUTIFUL story… a moment in time: My boss called me 2 weeks ago Sunday morning and told me that he had been confined to quarantine (bee'dood) for 14 days having been to synagogue with 'case #29'! I have shared in the past with you the story of the second Doctor…. He is from a Yemenite background and was actually the first Doctor from the Yemenite community…He is a very special man and the Yemenite Jewish culture is rich! We have been at his children's weddings and bar mitzvahs and I have shared with you the diversity with much wonder. ANYWAY! This was election day…the day before Purim…and Dr. was about to leave me alone in the office when 'one last patient' pushed him back in asking for an urgent prescription. Laughing, he made his way back to his office, and all of the sudden this tall, elderly, well dressed, dignified Mizrachi man (he too was Yemenite, Moroccan or Algerian … MIZRACHI… the eastern Jews, have more passionate traditions as opposed to the more intellectual traditions of the ASHKANAZI Jews) spread out his arms and began to SING AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE in a most impassioned way… THE PROVERBS 31 BLESSING over ME!! I was reduced to a pool of oil I'm afraid…just putty…overcome. He looked at me when he finished and said…'Ok?' like maybe I was embarrassed. With tears in my eyes I assured him 'Oh no! Thank you SO much!' Suddenly…he burst forth again…this time a blessing upon the Doctors! That their hands and hearts would be blessed and filled with God's healing…I was witnessing a hidden moment that I felt was holy! But it didn't end! Dr. came out and said to him…'One more please… For the GOVERNMENT!'. Together, these two older dignified men began to dance and to sing a blessing and a prayer for our Government…and I joined in weeping…praying also that the government would be upon His shoulders!
A hidden moment in time…to remember as we watch…
The enemy that we can't see has brought us to our knees and our earth to a standstill! I remember the resolve with which we encouraged one another to be strong and of good courage and stand together during the intifada, (the bloody war in our streets) and the wars with Lebanon and Gaza…when the enemy had a face that we could see! We encouraged one another with the heroes of today and days long past… of David…of soldiers who fought on after they had been pierced through: But this now? AND YET LOOK! THE EARTH WILL HAVE HER SABBATH RESTS! There are NO planes and so few vehicles and the air quality is so quickly clean! As of TONIGHT at 8pm (this is Thursday 19 March now) our public transportation is to be stopped. The only places supposed to be open at this point are medical and food, but we do not know how much longer they can function. The streets are empty. People over 70 (as we are 74) are instructed NOT to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. I did not expect my prayer request concerning my husband's tax hearing to be answered this way…but it was! It was scheduled for this morning and last night it was POSTPONED INDEFINITELY!! After being a week too long (in my opinion) exposed to the virus by riding the train and bus daily to work at a clinic…my boss FINALLY told me on Tues that I should no longer come into work! My work IS considered 'essential' but he felt that my vulnerability would need to cause it to be absorbed in some other way. We have had unseasonable cleansing pouring rains and hail washing the earth and with the fragrance of the out of season almond blossoms…the earth literally is breaking forth in singing, so green and full and free of the burden of all of our filth…and she is KEEPING A SABBATH REST!
We have implemented (so the media tells us) some of the most 'Draconian' rules that any country has dared to implement…and yet we still have no government! Our system is a system of 'coalitions' and any ruling coalition needs to have a government with a minimum of 61 seats. Our final vote tally (if I am not mistaken) was Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud 36 and Benny Gantz's Blue and White party 33 or perhaps 34. BUT, with all of the politicking, Likud has not been able to muster a coalition with more than 59 seats. Blue and White CAN muster more IF they include the Arab block …which offers 15 seats…along with the extreme left wing parties. Forming a coalition with the Arab block which is often VERY anti Israel, has been unacceptable until now…but with an election weary country in the midst of coronavirus shutdown…THE LORD ALONE KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN. Benny Gantz has been tapped by the President to try to form a government within the next 28 days. We have been praying that WHATEVER IS NOT OF GOD WILL BE UNRAVLED BY GOD. (like a tangled ball of yarn). What many mistook for a government was the fact that our Knesset was sworn in. The legislators are sworn in after every election…government or no. Now I KNOW that is confusing…but trust me: We do not yet have a government.
THE EARTH WILL HAVE HER SABBETH RESTS!!
My husband had still kept his shop open on Tuesday and one of his clients came in and said 'Why are you open? You are 74 and have heart disease! You must close NOW!' He is a believer as well as being a medical Doctor and my husband called to tell me and said that our friend also wanted to talk with me. He said to me 'Besides this being medically such a crisis…this is a HOLY TIME SPIRITUALLY!' Now…although I KNEW that, his words arrested me and sank in deeply silencing my noisy heart. I had been thinking about the fact that we are rapidly approaching Passover and the miracle of HOW the people were saved…enclosed in their homes with just the blood of the sacrificed lamb applied to their doorposts, and the following of the instructions that were given to them was what kept them in life as the angel of death descended upon the Egyptians...a plague… passing over the homes of those who stayed inside, obedient and with the blood applied. I had been thinking about Noah and the ark and how so few were saved…only those safely in the ark. As we scurried around to make sure that we had at least some essentials, I thought about THE RISEN LAMB OF GOD…THE MESSIAH CRUSHED AND BRUISED AND CRUCIFIED UPON THE CRUEL CROSS multiplying the loaves and the fish and telling us that HE IS The Bread of Life and that HE IS the same yesterday today and forever. I thought of the 10 virgins and the 5 who had no oil…while the 5 wise ones did and I read in Leviticus 24:2 "…pure oil of pressed olives for The Light to make the lamp burn continually…" while He, Who was crushed and pressed said I am The Light of the world…that PURE OIL WITH WHICH OUR LAMPS MUST BE FULL.
I have one more thought to share as we all enter The Rock…the secret place…under the cloud and pillar of fire. For me, this seems to be a time of stripping away and exposing ANYTHING that isn't pure in His eyes…actions, words, thoughts, intents of the heart. I am praying for the faith that pleases God…the prayers that please God and the walk that pleases God…and I find a lot of filth. My morning meditation verses have brought me to Zechariah 3 and they deeply touched me. Please forgive me for sharing with you such a large portion of scripture…but look how the filth was removed and at the result…and think how our filth is removed through the touch of Yeshua whenever it is exposed!
"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by. Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here. ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,
You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH. For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
Zechariah 3
May we all be able to say…at the end "It is THE LORD!" and He has lead us ALL THE WAY.
May The Lord be glorified and seen through each of us.
Please forgive me for taking so much of your time, but thank you for reading and praying.
Lovingly, your sister (still) here.
February 27, 2020
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27
Greetings, dear sisters and brothers, fellow 'living stones' being built into His temple for His glory. May He be seen and glorified and blessed and may you be encouraged and blessed! May we look at Him more and more that we might become clear as windows for Him to be seen…and not us!
I take a moment to scan through the breaking news: 'More than 60 rockets in the south'… 'Corona virus shuts borders'…'Polls are mixed as Israel approaches 3rd election this year'…'Health system near collapse'…'WATER LEVEL OF LAKE KENNERET (Sea of Galilee) RISES TO LESS THAN ONE METER BELOW FULL!' (HUGE collective sigh of relief!) Everybody smiles and breaths deeply…almost.
I got on the train today in the midst of a Biblically scaled downpour. Soaked, along with everyone else, I sloshed my way to click my card, thus paying my fare. 'Sit here' called an older-than-I-man to me. Before I could get to the seat offered to me a younger-than-I Haradi man sloshed on and sat beside the other. I found a seat across from them . The older man smiled broadly and pointed upward speaking to the Haradi man, but loudly he said; 'God is blessing us mightily! He is pouring down His precious water upon us!" I smiled and nodded. The younger man beside him scowled and said something like 'Well…He could pour out a little less as far as I'm concerned!' The older man would have none of it and chastened him with a glorious lecture on the blessings of water from Heaven and the necessity of giving thanks. I listened with joy in my heart, nodding my head, thus encouraging the older man on.
It is an Israeli 'thing'.
It is the Israeli way of public transportation…the place of the lessons…the exchanging of precious stories … wisdom…knowledge and stupidity…strangers remembering that they are all related after all: It all happens on the bus and train. BUT…the key is being able to understand it. My Hebrew is NOT great. I can not read or write well…but my spoken Hebrew is good enough for my work and for the street. My accent is not bad, meaning that people don't switch to English as soon as they hear me and that enables me to join in and understand so many of these precious conversations that would otherwise be nothing but a bunch of unintelligible noise to me. I can become part of these exchanges and feel the pulse of the people around me. These conversations are a window for me into the heart of the people that encourages me to pray for them…may I pray MORE, and MORE EFFECTIVELY, more FERVENTLY.
And yet, with my prayer for people and my nation, I am only more convinced that the key HAS to be true 'revival' IN THE BODY! The pouring out of His Holy Spirit … The Spirit of holiness…of power in prayer and victory over the flesh that makes way for the kingdom of God on earth…believing, but tired hearts longing for Him but hardened to Him through day to day life, to be made again hearts of flesh and tender, broken yet on fire…BUT HIS HOLY FIRE ALONE! THEN what I say may, by His grace, have His anointing. Then…when they SEE Him…oh then they will come.
I myself found Him during such a time. YES there were others who somehow turned away, but it wasn't man that I saw nor the words of man that I heard and that grabbed my heart…it was HIM! And the people in the body at that time were ONLY pointing to Him…so we had to LOOK…and looking…we SAW! Oh may HE do it again! We can do all that we know to do to warm our own hearts…reading The Word, singing The Word, praying The Word, writing The Word, speaking The Word and gathering together around that Word to encourage one another- (for HE IS THE LIVING WORD!) but we can not set our own hearts on Holy Fire. That, only He can do. And for that we must pray.
About a week ago, many rabbis called for the country to meet at the western wall and to pray for God to intervene and drive back the Corona virus plague. Many thousands did show up in the pouring rain of the evening to ask for God's mercy. As I watched the evening news, one of those rabbis who called for the prayer was asked by the reporter 'what they thought that they could accomplish by praying', he smiled gently at the reporter and said; 'The scientists and doctors can search for a cure and prevention…and we must do what we CAN do…and we can pray. Pray we must for we are called to be a light to the nations and the nations are in deep trouble.'
And in trouble, we are. All of us. I don't know if any of you are too young to remember that things (ie; people) weren't always THIS polarized…that there really WERE times in which there was a certain 'right and wrong' that weren't questioned and when it was 'the bad guy' who crossed the lines and not 'the poor misunderstood guy'…and yet…there WAS compassion…not the hardness of heart that there seems to be today in response to the 'other side'…but 'reason' in society as a whole. That is NOT to say that it was idyllic by any means…but it was NOT upside down as it is today.
Some of you, like me, might be old enough to remember 'plagues' and 'epidemics' and 'stories of dark days'.
I do NOT want to step on any toes here or get into any arguments…I see my ' defined task' (in Hebrew the word is 'taf-keed') in these letters is 'what you see… write' and the older that I get the more I have seen and a certain perspective forms as the time gets longer that I have walked this earth.
You know that I grew up in New York City just after WW2. My Dad had had polio when he was 2 and by his own confession he had been spoiled because he survived. I never did see the 'spoiled' side of my dear hard working father who endured so much with a grateful heart. The polio left him badly crippled in the legs, with a deformed back and injured lungs from which he suffered for the rest of his 68 years on this earth. When summers came in New York, a great fear descended upon the parents because of polio, which struck down children all summer long. Parents were terrified and each year there would be more classmates to visit in the 'iron lung' or who would appear in heavy iron leg braces or wheel chairs; it was part of my childhood, and although we children didn't share the fears of our parents, we SAW their fear. In the winter it was 'the grippe' that claimed the lives of countless. Sometimes schools were closed. When I had the measles we were quarantined (as was every family with measles) and I remember the first day that I was well enough to see the tape across our doors and the sign saying that no one could enter or leave the premises until the health department cleared us. Groceries were left outside the front door and my mother made face masks out of old sheets. I remember the cracks in the ceiling turning into snakes and screaming with fear as my fever rose. My sister and I were 'polio pioneers' as we were given the first experimental polio vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk himself (we had a photo and a button). My father had suffered so much…it was the least that we could do. When the vaccine worked, it seemed as if the world was rejoicing; this terrible scourge had been beaten and the fear could lift and we children could actually go swimming in the summer heat without fear of polio!
Recently I stumbled across a video that made me wonder how I could speak about this. Last Jan. I nearly died from influenza and pneumonia and during that time The Lord opened to me 1 Chronicles 21 and I saw how David stood before The Lord between the death angel and the people of Jerusalem…a perfect intercession after David's tremendous sin resulting in God's judgment against the people of Israel. I was left with many questions and much seeking. Last Jan. was not the first time that I had influenza. Before the flu shots were discovered I had it once as a child and twice as a teen- young adult. People use the word 'flu' lightly for any viral infection, but influenza is no small thing. The video that I stumbled across was no small thing, and I include a link for you…it is powerful and worth watching. It is the documentation of the influenza impacting Bristol Bay Alaska in 1919…the influenza from which my husband's grandparents all died…ALL…leaving his mother and father as orphaned children who met in the orphanage. As a matter of fact, my husband's uncle had been a teenager and told me years ago how everyone in his village had died leaving him and his small sister (my husband's mother) and his future wife (a child at the time) alive. When they were well enough to leave the bodies behind, they walked out of the village, aimless and starving…and they met Jesus on the tundra…Who strengthened these orphaned children and showed them the way to walk to where people were still alive! It was a powerful testimony to me, listening to him speak in the cold Alaskan darkness, a story to me - untold… But he wasn't the first one to tell me about that influenza. My mother was born during it in 1918 in a hospital in NY. I grew up hearing how my Grandmother clutched her newborn baby, praying that she and her baby would live, as death wagons clanged through the streets night and day picking up bodies.
I am not speaking of ancient history, and yet this generation has thankfully little experience with plagues and illnesses of massive proportion…until now.
Our borders are not completely closed, but our health ministry has called upon the public not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Some young people are taking it lightly, but more and more are not as there has not been known before a virus that could spread this rapidly, live for 9 days on inanimate objects (even the sidewalk!) and not show infection for weeks. Great lengths have been gone to to restrain its spread, but should it spread it has the potential to infect virtually everyone…and that would shut down…well…everyTHING!
So I ask (and I am sure you do too) 'What are you saying, Lord?'
I have no doubt that plague is a sign of God's judgment. It is written through out scripture.
I KNOW the 'promises' in Psalm 91 and others, nevertheless I can not take The Word of God as a magic potion…it is The Word of GOD and HE IS GOD! I heard an interview with some Christian tourists who were in the Old City visiting from the US - on last night's news and when asked if they weren't afraid (Jerusalem is FULL of tourists from all over the world including China, South Korea, Italy and all of the most infected countries) they laughed lightly and one said 'If God told us to come we will be fine.' And you and I know this to be true. But there was a lightness in her speech (as in taking it lightly) that stopped me. In South Korea the center of the epidemic has been one of the most charismatic Churches. The precious doctor who became the 'whistle blower' in China …and so sadly died… was a young vibrant Christian - a strong believer walking with The Lord - with an 8 month pregnant wife. God's Word is sure and true but it is not a magic potion and we are dust…flesh and blood and I BELIEVE that He is saying something to us…and my question is 'LORD! HOW DO I PRAY INTO THIS! HOW DO I NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED!' Ever so many years ago I remember someone telling me that not a hair on my head would be harmed and I had just been reading about the believers being killed in droves in Africa and there was a discrepancy. I am NOT a 'fear-monger' NOR AM I FEARFUL…but I DO feel that He has made a distinction between HIS KINGDOM and the kingdom of this world and I had BETTER be walking IN HIS KINGDOM WHERE THERE IS NO DEATH, BECAUSE THIS BODY OF FLESH WILL DIE. I stumble constantly (oh Lord of mercy!) but I have LEARNED TO TURN AND LOOK UPON HIM! I stumble and fall (yes, sadly, yes!) but I MUST get up and run to Him and kneel at the cross again… and again… and AGAIN!
Oh sisters and brothers, I DON'T know how it is where you are, but for me today, riding the train where so many were coughing and sneezing and getting off at the shuk with Chinese tourists and standing to buy tomatoes between a young couple of tourists speaking Italian, ALARM BELLS GO OFF and I NEED to know how to pray NOW! NOT that I will be just fine…for if I am in Him and in His kingdom, whether I live or die means little to me…but HOW TO PRAY!:
To pray for our elections on Monday which are alarming…:
To pray for our borders with Hamas and Hizbollah which are boiling…(although this virus may be closing borders all around us that no human sanctions could!)
To pray for our collapsing health system (at least we don't have to pray concerning drought right now)
AND HOW TO PRAY MERCY IN HIS JUDGMENT…
Oh for a heart like King David's who was able to prevail because of his broken humility and his heart that KNEW GOD!
"Let us burn continually as lamps before the Lord pressed down and overflowing with His anointed oil."
**********
Lord, I long for Your Holy Spirit fire to burn continually in me.
**********
"Command the children of Israel to bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light [of the golden lampstand ], to make a lamp burn continually."
"He shall keep the lamps burning in the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually. [Rev. 1:12-18] "
Leviticus 24:2,4 AMP
1919 Alaska
MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING…AND MAY HIS PERFECT LOVE, THAT CASTS OUT ALL FEAR, BE SO GLOWING OUT OF US ALL THAT WE RADIATE HIS ANSWER; OUR GOD REIGNS!
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27
Greetings, dear sisters and brothers, fellow 'living stones' being built into His temple for His glory. May He be seen and glorified and blessed and may you be encouraged and blessed! May we look at Him more and more that we might become clear as windows for Him to be seen…and not us!
I take a moment to scan through the breaking news: 'More than 60 rockets in the south'… 'Corona virus shuts borders'…'Polls are mixed as Israel approaches 3rd election this year'…'Health system near collapse'…'WATER LEVEL OF LAKE KENNERET (Sea of Galilee) RISES TO LESS THAN ONE METER BELOW FULL!' (HUGE collective sigh of relief!) Everybody smiles and breaths deeply…almost.
I got on the train today in the midst of a Biblically scaled downpour. Soaked, along with everyone else, I sloshed my way to click my card, thus paying my fare. 'Sit here' called an older-than-I-man to me. Before I could get to the seat offered to me a younger-than-I Haradi man sloshed on and sat beside the other. I found a seat across from them . The older man smiled broadly and pointed upward speaking to the Haradi man, but loudly he said; 'God is blessing us mightily! He is pouring down His precious water upon us!" I smiled and nodded. The younger man beside him scowled and said something like 'Well…He could pour out a little less as far as I'm concerned!' The older man would have none of it and chastened him with a glorious lecture on the blessings of water from Heaven and the necessity of giving thanks. I listened with joy in my heart, nodding my head, thus encouraging the older man on.
It is an Israeli 'thing'.
It is the Israeli way of public transportation…the place of the lessons…the exchanging of precious stories … wisdom…knowledge and stupidity…strangers remembering that they are all related after all: It all happens on the bus and train. BUT…the key is being able to understand it. My Hebrew is NOT great. I can not read or write well…but my spoken Hebrew is good enough for my work and for the street. My accent is not bad, meaning that people don't switch to English as soon as they hear me and that enables me to join in and understand so many of these precious conversations that would otherwise be nothing but a bunch of unintelligible noise to me. I can become part of these exchanges and feel the pulse of the people around me. These conversations are a window for me into the heart of the people that encourages me to pray for them…may I pray MORE, and MORE EFFECTIVELY, more FERVENTLY.
And yet, with my prayer for people and my nation, I am only more convinced that the key HAS to be true 'revival' IN THE BODY! The pouring out of His Holy Spirit … The Spirit of holiness…of power in prayer and victory over the flesh that makes way for the kingdom of God on earth…believing, but tired hearts longing for Him but hardened to Him through day to day life, to be made again hearts of flesh and tender, broken yet on fire…BUT HIS HOLY FIRE ALONE! THEN what I say may, by His grace, have His anointing. Then…when they SEE Him…oh then they will come.
I myself found Him during such a time. YES there were others who somehow turned away, but it wasn't man that I saw nor the words of man that I heard and that grabbed my heart…it was HIM! And the people in the body at that time were ONLY pointing to Him…so we had to LOOK…and looking…we SAW! Oh may HE do it again! We can do all that we know to do to warm our own hearts…reading The Word, singing The Word, praying The Word, writing The Word, speaking The Word and gathering together around that Word to encourage one another- (for HE IS THE LIVING WORD!) but we can not set our own hearts on Holy Fire. That, only He can do. And for that we must pray.
About a week ago, many rabbis called for the country to meet at the western wall and to pray for God to intervene and drive back the Corona virus plague. Many thousands did show up in the pouring rain of the evening to ask for God's mercy. As I watched the evening news, one of those rabbis who called for the prayer was asked by the reporter 'what they thought that they could accomplish by praying', he smiled gently at the reporter and said; 'The scientists and doctors can search for a cure and prevention…and we must do what we CAN do…and we can pray. Pray we must for we are called to be a light to the nations and the nations are in deep trouble.'
And in trouble, we are. All of us. I don't know if any of you are too young to remember that things (ie; people) weren't always THIS polarized…that there really WERE times in which there was a certain 'right and wrong' that weren't questioned and when it was 'the bad guy' who crossed the lines and not 'the poor misunderstood guy'…and yet…there WAS compassion…not the hardness of heart that there seems to be today in response to the 'other side'…but 'reason' in society as a whole. That is NOT to say that it was idyllic by any means…but it was NOT upside down as it is today.
Some of you, like me, might be old enough to remember 'plagues' and 'epidemics' and 'stories of dark days'.
I do NOT want to step on any toes here or get into any arguments…I see my ' defined task' (in Hebrew the word is 'taf-keed') in these letters is 'what you see… write' and the older that I get the more I have seen and a certain perspective forms as the time gets longer that I have walked this earth.
You know that I grew up in New York City just after WW2. My Dad had had polio when he was 2 and by his own confession he had been spoiled because he survived. I never did see the 'spoiled' side of my dear hard working father who endured so much with a grateful heart. The polio left him badly crippled in the legs, with a deformed back and injured lungs from which he suffered for the rest of his 68 years on this earth. When summers came in New York, a great fear descended upon the parents because of polio, which struck down children all summer long. Parents were terrified and each year there would be more classmates to visit in the 'iron lung' or who would appear in heavy iron leg braces or wheel chairs; it was part of my childhood, and although we children didn't share the fears of our parents, we SAW their fear. In the winter it was 'the grippe' that claimed the lives of countless. Sometimes schools were closed. When I had the measles we were quarantined (as was every family with measles) and I remember the first day that I was well enough to see the tape across our doors and the sign saying that no one could enter or leave the premises until the health department cleared us. Groceries were left outside the front door and my mother made face masks out of old sheets. I remember the cracks in the ceiling turning into snakes and screaming with fear as my fever rose. My sister and I were 'polio pioneers' as we were given the first experimental polio vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk himself (we had a photo and a button). My father had suffered so much…it was the least that we could do. When the vaccine worked, it seemed as if the world was rejoicing; this terrible scourge had been beaten and the fear could lift and we children could actually go swimming in the summer heat without fear of polio!
Recently I stumbled across a video that made me wonder how I could speak about this. Last Jan. I nearly died from influenza and pneumonia and during that time The Lord opened to me 1 Chronicles 21 and I saw how David stood before The Lord between the death angel and the people of Jerusalem…a perfect intercession after David's tremendous sin resulting in God's judgment against the people of Israel. I was left with many questions and much seeking. Last Jan. was not the first time that I had influenza. Before the flu shots were discovered I had it once as a child and twice as a teen- young adult. People use the word 'flu' lightly for any viral infection, but influenza is no small thing. The video that I stumbled across was no small thing, and I include a link for you…it is powerful and worth watching. It is the documentation of the influenza impacting Bristol Bay Alaska in 1919…the influenza from which my husband's grandparents all died…ALL…leaving his mother and father as orphaned children who met in the orphanage. As a matter of fact, my husband's uncle had been a teenager and told me years ago how everyone in his village had died leaving him and his small sister (my husband's mother) and his future wife (a child at the time) alive. When they were well enough to leave the bodies behind, they walked out of the village, aimless and starving…and they met Jesus on the tundra…Who strengthened these orphaned children and showed them the way to walk to where people were still alive! It was a powerful testimony to me, listening to him speak in the cold Alaskan darkness, a story to me - untold… But he wasn't the first one to tell me about that influenza. My mother was born during it in 1918 in a hospital in NY. I grew up hearing how my Grandmother clutched her newborn baby, praying that she and her baby would live, as death wagons clanged through the streets night and day picking up bodies.
I am not speaking of ancient history, and yet this generation has thankfully little experience with plagues and illnesses of massive proportion…until now.
Our borders are not completely closed, but our health ministry has called upon the public not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Some young people are taking it lightly, but more and more are not as there has not been known before a virus that could spread this rapidly, live for 9 days on inanimate objects (even the sidewalk!) and not show infection for weeks. Great lengths have been gone to to restrain its spread, but should it spread it has the potential to infect virtually everyone…and that would shut down…well…everyTHING!
So I ask (and I am sure you do too) 'What are you saying, Lord?'
I have no doubt that plague is a sign of God's judgment. It is written through out scripture.
I KNOW the 'promises' in Psalm 91 and others, nevertheless I can not take The Word of God as a magic potion…it is The Word of GOD and HE IS GOD! I heard an interview with some Christian tourists who were in the Old City visiting from the US - on last night's news and when asked if they weren't afraid (Jerusalem is FULL of tourists from all over the world including China, South Korea, Italy and all of the most infected countries) they laughed lightly and one said 'If God told us to come we will be fine.' And you and I know this to be true. But there was a lightness in her speech (as in taking it lightly) that stopped me. In South Korea the center of the epidemic has been one of the most charismatic Churches. The precious doctor who became the 'whistle blower' in China …and so sadly died… was a young vibrant Christian - a strong believer walking with The Lord - with an 8 month pregnant wife. God's Word is sure and true but it is not a magic potion and we are dust…flesh and blood and I BELIEVE that He is saying something to us…and my question is 'LORD! HOW DO I PRAY INTO THIS! HOW DO I NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED!' Ever so many years ago I remember someone telling me that not a hair on my head would be harmed and I had just been reading about the believers being killed in droves in Africa and there was a discrepancy. I am NOT a 'fear-monger' NOR AM I FEARFUL…but I DO feel that He has made a distinction between HIS KINGDOM and the kingdom of this world and I had BETTER be walking IN HIS KINGDOM WHERE THERE IS NO DEATH, BECAUSE THIS BODY OF FLESH WILL DIE. I stumble constantly (oh Lord of mercy!) but I have LEARNED TO TURN AND LOOK UPON HIM! I stumble and fall (yes, sadly, yes!) but I MUST get up and run to Him and kneel at the cross again… and again… and AGAIN!
Oh sisters and brothers, I DON'T know how it is where you are, but for me today, riding the train where so many were coughing and sneezing and getting off at the shuk with Chinese tourists and standing to buy tomatoes between a young couple of tourists speaking Italian, ALARM BELLS GO OFF and I NEED to know how to pray NOW! NOT that I will be just fine…for if I am in Him and in His kingdom, whether I live or die means little to me…but HOW TO PRAY!:
To pray for our elections on Monday which are alarming…:
To pray for our borders with Hamas and Hizbollah which are boiling…(although this virus may be closing borders all around us that no human sanctions could!)
To pray for our collapsing health system (at least we don't have to pray concerning drought right now)
AND HOW TO PRAY MERCY IN HIS JUDGMENT…
Oh for a heart like King David's who was able to prevail because of his broken humility and his heart that KNEW GOD!
"Let us burn continually as lamps before the Lord pressed down and overflowing with His anointed oil."
**********
Lord, I long for Your Holy Spirit fire to burn continually in me.
**********
"Command the children of Israel to bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light [of the golden lampstand ], to make a lamp burn continually."
"He shall keep the lamps burning in the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually. [Rev. 1:12-18] "
Leviticus 24:2,4 AMP
1919 Alaska
MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING…AND MAY HIS PERFECT LOVE, THAT CASTS OUT ALL FEAR, BE SO GLOWING OUT OF US ALL THAT WE RADIATE HIS ANSWER; OUR GOD REIGNS!
February 6, 2020
"Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
"Then he said to Him, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.'”
"And he said, 'Please, show me Your glory.'” EXODUS 33:13,15-16,18
Greetings, in The Name of Yeshua h'meshiach…The Victor, Who, after all is also CREATOR, and Deliverer and Truth and Light …The Living Word… The eternal Way through all of this that swirls around us. May HE be glorified and blessed! May you also be blessed and encouraged.
This letter has been a BATTLE to even begin. Life has been an increasing battle (I have no doubt that you have noticed and that it is the same for you!) As I finally sat down to begin this letter…the mouse and keyboard for my computer gave up the ghost! I am so completely intimidated by technology that it took a great deal of courage to pronounce it dead, dissect it from the computer (it is wireless…which should speak volumes about my abilities) and bring it downtown where I told the sales girl 'My keyboard and mouse just died. I want another just like this!' I told her in a shaky voice, half expecting to be told that these are antique and aren't made anymore. Thankfully I had prayed and her maybe 19 year old expertise replied 'Sababa!' (which is Hebrew and Arabic street talk for something like: 'cool, great, no problem, what-ever') and in no time at all I was home praying again that 'I could really do this'! As you see PRAISE GOD! It works! I ATTACHED A NEW KEYBOARD AND MOUSE AND MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!
The heaviness and reality of the hour that we live in was brought home vividly to me at the shuk today. The shuk was crowded by the time that I got there so went to an Arab vendor whom I have known for many years and trust. 'Where are these clementia from?' I asked him. 'They are NOT from China!' he answered. 'See? Look at the box; Jaffa…they are from Israel!' As I went to the apples I saw that he had written on the sign 'Israeli apples'. I looked at him and said 'I work in a doctor's office and this is serious what is happening now.' I was afraid that maybe he was thinking I was a bit loony. He grew very serious: 'I know!' he answered. 'This is life and death…but you know what? It is God's judgment on the world! How many thousands of years has He sent His prophets to us? And how have we listened?? We haven't!! We cheat and hate and say it is good when it isn't…everything that He told us not to do…oh we agree with our mouths but the day of His judgment is here with the earth!' Our eyes met in spite of the fact that he is an Arab Moslem man and I a Jewish disciple of Yeshua, there was total agreement: 'We get it! God…God Almighty…God Who is real and alive…is not happy with us and we would have to be blind not to see His Hand! And ofcourse, things like plague cross country boarders, political parties, races, religions, economic barriers…we can't say 'YOU' did this and need to repent'… it must be 'Woe to US for we have sinned and not listened and not turned back to Him with our hearts in our hands!'
THIS is the climate that I see here today.
And with THIS report I will begin the letter.
Most of you thought that I would be at the IFI Prayer Conference. I did too. I was hoping to see some of you there although I do not go to visit, for it really is a 'working' (PRAYER) conference. This is the third our of 4 years now that we had a crisis on the one day that I am able to join the conference and, having truly prayed…I can only say; 'Yes Lord'. It seems to me to be enemy intervention, but I have not prevailed and so I must leave it before Him. This year my husband VERY suddenly got extremely ill with a fever of above 102 (39) that wouldn't come down. There was no warning…he was fine and then suddenly shivering under the covers. If he were younger I might have left him sleeping but after consulting the emergency doctor I knew that I couldn't leave him alone…so didn't. Did the enemy win? No… I prayed anyway…just not with my brothers and sisters. All of the messages from the IFI conference are free and easy access to listen to on line RIGHT HERE IS THE LINK. I encourage you to take advantage and listen. At the IFI conferences we pray during the day but in the evening there is a message given concerning Israel by mostly local leaders.
And during the time of the conference, (wouldn't you know it…what perfect timing!) there was finally the unveiling of the 'American Peace Plan'. Here at home, listened with the rest of the country and it was quite dramatic…but one thing kept quietly beating in my heart: 'THE LAND MUST NOT BE DIVIDED!". I heard what America said…I heard what The Arabs said…I heard what the Palestinians said…and I heard what the Israelis said…but I could not forget what I know that GOD has said: 'The land is not yours, but MINE!' The fear of God entered my heart…this is not to toy with. There is a silence in my heart; I don't know what to say other than that. To my great surprise, the bus was quiet the next morning…even while the news was on; everyone was listening but NO one was commenting. That is unusual! That happens when 'things are serious' and no one dares to have an opinion. The look on the faces of the other passengers was serious and stoic…set. It continued at work: no comment.
Years ago I had begun to make a list of scriptures that said that we should not divide the land. It is incomplete, but here is what I had written down should you wish to study them for yourself. Some speak not directly but to the heart of the issue: Leviticus 25:23, Joshua 9:24 (the Gibeonites knew the promise!), Joshua 13, Nehemiah 9:8, Exodus 34:12, Joel 3:1-3, Acts 13:17-19…In a way it reminds me of the commands to husbands and wives (Mat 19:6 and Mark 10:9 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” and yet…it is a hard one to 'keep'…like the commands concerning The Sabbath…and...God forbid we should be legalistic… and there is this verse and that verse…BUT IN MY HEART RESOUNDS THE INTENT OF GOD THAT THIS LAND BEING DIVIDED IS A SIGN OF JUDGMENT AND THAT THIS LAND IS HIS AND NOT OURS OR ANYONE ELSES.
And while this is going on (and yes…violent responses are taking place…a car ramming last night injured 12 soldiers…there was a stabbing attempt against a border officer this afternoon at one of the gates to the Old City) China is brought to her knees by the Corona virus…how itty bitty microscopic. China is brought to her knees and it remains to be seen if the rest of the world will also follow suit. It is certainly worthy or more than 'a pause'! I will NEVER forget (I hope) last year's brush with death when I was in the hospital with influenza and pneumonia and how clearly The Lord spoke to me out of 1 Chronicles 21…the POWER of David's intercession as he stood between the death angel on the very spot that was to become the temple…and PREVAILED over the PLAGUE that God had sent to judge. TEACH ME, LORD, TO PRAY! "THAT I MAY KNOW YOU AND THE POWER OF YOUR RESURRECTION AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF YOUR SUFFERING, BEING MADE CONFORMABLE TO YOUR DEATH" remains my prayer…and I have no doubt that it is yours as well.
And AGAIN, my Pastor sent out a wonderful prayer letter which I will attach rather than go on. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS…FOR US…FOR ISRAEL…FOR HIS PURPOSES…FOR THE LORD TO BE GLORIFIED! May The Lord FLOOD you with Himself! Lovingly, your sister here. (no time to read this over…please forgive mistakes)
MY PASTOR'S MESSAGE- PLEASE READ
"
"Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
"Then he said to Him, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.'”
"And he said, 'Please, show me Your glory.'” EXODUS 33:13,15-16,18
Greetings, in The Name of Yeshua h'meshiach…The Victor, Who, after all is also CREATOR, and Deliverer and Truth and Light …The Living Word… The eternal Way through all of this that swirls around us. May HE be glorified and blessed! May you also be blessed and encouraged.
This letter has been a BATTLE to even begin. Life has been an increasing battle (I have no doubt that you have noticed and that it is the same for you!) As I finally sat down to begin this letter…the mouse and keyboard for my computer gave up the ghost! I am so completely intimidated by technology that it took a great deal of courage to pronounce it dead, dissect it from the computer (it is wireless…which should speak volumes about my abilities) and bring it downtown where I told the sales girl 'My keyboard and mouse just died. I want another just like this!' I told her in a shaky voice, half expecting to be told that these are antique and aren't made anymore. Thankfully I had prayed and her maybe 19 year old expertise replied 'Sababa!' (which is Hebrew and Arabic street talk for something like: 'cool, great, no problem, what-ever') and in no time at all I was home praying again that 'I could really do this'! As you see PRAISE GOD! It works! I ATTACHED A NEW KEYBOARD AND MOUSE AND MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!
The heaviness and reality of the hour that we live in was brought home vividly to me at the shuk today. The shuk was crowded by the time that I got there so went to an Arab vendor whom I have known for many years and trust. 'Where are these clementia from?' I asked him. 'They are NOT from China!' he answered. 'See? Look at the box; Jaffa…they are from Israel!' As I went to the apples I saw that he had written on the sign 'Israeli apples'. I looked at him and said 'I work in a doctor's office and this is serious what is happening now.' I was afraid that maybe he was thinking I was a bit loony. He grew very serious: 'I know!' he answered. 'This is life and death…but you know what? It is God's judgment on the world! How many thousands of years has He sent His prophets to us? And how have we listened?? We haven't!! We cheat and hate and say it is good when it isn't…everything that He told us not to do…oh we agree with our mouths but the day of His judgment is here with the earth!' Our eyes met in spite of the fact that he is an Arab Moslem man and I a Jewish disciple of Yeshua, there was total agreement: 'We get it! God…God Almighty…God Who is real and alive…is not happy with us and we would have to be blind not to see His Hand! And ofcourse, things like plague cross country boarders, political parties, races, religions, economic barriers…we can't say 'YOU' did this and need to repent'… it must be 'Woe to US for we have sinned and not listened and not turned back to Him with our hearts in our hands!'
THIS is the climate that I see here today.
And with THIS report I will begin the letter.
Most of you thought that I would be at the IFI Prayer Conference. I did too. I was hoping to see some of you there although I do not go to visit, for it really is a 'working' (PRAYER) conference. This is the third our of 4 years now that we had a crisis on the one day that I am able to join the conference and, having truly prayed…I can only say; 'Yes Lord'. It seems to me to be enemy intervention, but I have not prevailed and so I must leave it before Him. This year my husband VERY suddenly got extremely ill with a fever of above 102 (39) that wouldn't come down. There was no warning…he was fine and then suddenly shivering under the covers. If he were younger I might have left him sleeping but after consulting the emergency doctor I knew that I couldn't leave him alone…so didn't. Did the enemy win? No… I prayed anyway…just not with my brothers and sisters. All of the messages from the IFI conference are free and easy access to listen to on line RIGHT HERE IS THE LINK. I encourage you to take advantage and listen. At the IFI conferences we pray during the day but in the evening there is a message given concerning Israel by mostly local leaders.
And during the time of the conference, (wouldn't you know it…what perfect timing!) there was finally the unveiling of the 'American Peace Plan'. Here at home, listened with the rest of the country and it was quite dramatic…but one thing kept quietly beating in my heart: 'THE LAND MUST NOT BE DIVIDED!". I heard what America said…I heard what The Arabs said…I heard what the Palestinians said…and I heard what the Israelis said…but I could not forget what I know that GOD has said: 'The land is not yours, but MINE!' The fear of God entered my heart…this is not to toy with. There is a silence in my heart; I don't know what to say other than that. To my great surprise, the bus was quiet the next morning…even while the news was on; everyone was listening but NO one was commenting. That is unusual! That happens when 'things are serious' and no one dares to have an opinion. The look on the faces of the other passengers was serious and stoic…set. It continued at work: no comment.
Years ago I had begun to make a list of scriptures that said that we should not divide the land. It is incomplete, but here is what I had written down should you wish to study them for yourself. Some speak not directly but to the heart of the issue: Leviticus 25:23, Joshua 9:24 (the Gibeonites knew the promise!), Joshua 13, Nehemiah 9:8, Exodus 34:12, Joel 3:1-3, Acts 13:17-19…In a way it reminds me of the commands to husbands and wives (Mat 19:6 and Mark 10:9 "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” and yet…it is a hard one to 'keep'…like the commands concerning The Sabbath…and...God forbid we should be legalistic… and there is this verse and that verse…BUT IN MY HEART RESOUNDS THE INTENT OF GOD THAT THIS LAND BEING DIVIDED IS A SIGN OF JUDGMENT AND THAT THIS LAND IS HIS AND NOT OURS OR ANYONE ELSES.
And while this is going on (and yes…violent responses are taking place…a car ramming last night injured 12 soldiers…there was a stabbing attempt against a border officer this afternoon at one of the gates to the Old City) China is brought to her knees by the Corona virus…how itty bitty microscopic. China is brought to her knees and it remains to be seen if the rest of the world will also follow suit. It is certainly worthy or more than 'a pause'! I will NEVER forget (I hope) last year's brush with death when I was in the hospital with influenza and pneumonia and how clearly The Lord spoke to me out of 1 Chronicles 21…the POWER of David's intercession as he stood between the death angel on the very spot that was to become the temple…and PREVAILED over the PLAGUE that God had sent to judge. TEACH ME, LORD, TO PRAY! "THAT I MAY KNOW YOU AND THE POWER OF YOUR RESURRECTION AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF YOUR SUFFERING, BEING MADE CONFORMABLE TO YOUR DEATH" remains my prayer…and I have no doubt that it is yours as well.
And AGAIN, my Pastor sent out a wonderful prayer letter which I will attach rather than go on. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS…FOR US…FOR ISRAEL…FOR HIS PURPOSES…FOR THE LORD TO BE GLORIFIED! May The Lord FLOOD you with Himself! Lovingly, your sister here. (no time to read this over…please forgive mistakes)
MY PASTOR'S MESSAGE- PLEASE READ
"
January 23, 2020
"You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it." PSALM 65:9
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." REVELATION 22:1-2
Greetings with grace and mercy in The Blessed Name of our Lord, Yeshua h'meshiach. May He be blessed and glorified and may you (and I) be encouraged toward Him for His glory. May you (and I) be TRULY planted beside His River, drinking of the fullness of it and producing HIS fruit for His glory!
Well…the longer I put off writing this letter because there is just too much to write about…the more there IS to write about: It only multiplies daily!
I have not written to you since our torrential rains claimed 7 lives; nor since the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis; not since our electioneering started again intensely for the THIRD time in a year…nor since the 49 (according to Miki Levi - the police spokesman) Kings, Presidents, Prime Ministers and assorted dignitaries and heads of state solidified their participation in events marking the 75th year since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp; named The World Holocaust Forum. That began today and perhaps I will begin there and work backwards.
'There will be major traffic disruptions this week, especially on Wednesday and Thursday.' all of the media informed us to a collective groan. 'You are advised to leave vehicles at home (not in tow away zones) and take public transportation if you have to leave your houses.' …'Public transportation will experience delays and disruptions…' (they neglected to add 'and insane overcrowding') I watched as sharp shooters staked out roof tops and popped up from under man hole covers. Security vehicles inspected every corner of the city…and under every rock. At the bus stops the flashing sign read (in Hebrew, Arabic and English) 'The bus lines will experience significant delays and interruptions on the 22 and 23rd. For specific information call *8787'. My boss insisted that I could make it to work, so I called *8787. After about 20 minutes of music (EVERYONE was calling *8787!) an annoyed worker told me that they HAVE no information concerning Jerusalem buses and that I should just stay home. When I gave my boss what information I had gotten he just rolled his eyes and said that he'd pay for a taxi. NOT SO EASY! You see… I work across town. My memories of the visits of US Presidents Obama and then Trump are still quite vivid; walking to work isn't as bad as walking home when I am tired…about 1.5-2 hours each way…and I am older and less agile.
But why are they gathering?
Our President, Reuven Rivlin, hosted them as anti-semitism has been rising at a most alarming rate while the number of Holocaust survivors is dropping rapidly: 'Never Again' and 'Never Forget' seems nearly forgotten and our nation seeks a way to prevent what appears inevitable.
HOLD THAT THOUGHT! (or perhaps drop it!)
I am incredibly thankful and humbled by The Lord's restraining Hand! I had tried my best to write and send this letter yesterday…but interruption after interruption put an end to ALL of my best efforts.
Last night before going to sleep I listened to some of the events and was deeply touched…and learned things that I hadn't known. This morning as I prepared to write, my husband turned the proceedings on and said 'Come and see! You need to see this!' …I had 'INTENDED' to write…but I went and saw and could not stop watching and listening.
As I sat down to work on this letter yet AGAIN…there was an email from my Pastor concerning what I was watching and it was said so much better than I ever could that I will include it and only add one fact that I learned from the conference that sent chills down my spine and I hadn't known: A historian and researcher at Yad Vashem exhibited meticulous notebooks filled with lists, photos, information and even fingerprints! Ofcourse I KNEW about the lists that they kept; the 'inventories'…but I never thought of it in this light: He said how IRONIC it was that the stated intent of the Nazis was to wipe ALL MEMORY of the Jews from the earth…to eradicate their names…their ways… their lives. Instead…preserved IN JEWISH JERUSALEM…are their names, information, even photographs and fingerprints recorded as witness by the Nazis themselves…Oh my! I was overwhelmed by the impact of what I was seeing. God sovereign will: 'They will NOT be forgotten! You will be defeated!' It is as if I am in a dream to realize that, yes, we are a PART of this huge spiritual battle…and I share with you from Jerusalem…restored to the Jews after 2,000 years!
Yesterday, while I was still only thinking narrowly…I confess…about the traffic jams and being 'sequestered' - my own selfish interests, I was waiting in an office across from a woman older than I, perhaps 85. She was speaking English, it seemed as if perhaps she was doing a phone interview with someone in America. I was able to make out both sides of the conversation. She was quite serious and it was her intensity that touched me. She said 'I never thought that I would live to see this day. I never dreamed that such a thing would happen, but it is and ha'Shem (God) has brought it about! Do you understand what we are witnessing?' I understood that she was speaking about this gathering and I was ashamed for my narrow thoughts. I looked at her and realized that she was indeed a Holocaust survivor and began to think about what it must feel like to her; could it be even like Joseph seeing his brothers coming, bowing down to ask for food?
So, these two days have passed with, in my opinion, minimal inconvenience considering the amount of astounding security; I can't imagine HOW they pulled it off, protecting all of these dignitaries and escorting them around the city as well as in and out of the country.
And rather than comment further I will attach my Pastor's letter…it is more important to digest Truth than added words. May The Lord TRULY keep you in His perfect will, tender of heart and before Him for His glory… and me too please Lord! Lovingly, your sister.
A warning to the nations; a wake-up call to the Jewish people, and to the Body of Christ(If you want to read this on the web, click here)
Fifth World Holocaust Forum - The largest diplomatic event in Israel’s history!
The Forum this year will commemorate the 75th liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
It theme is: “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism,”
The peculiar thing about this year’s Forum:
It was hoped that 10 or 15 world leaders would agree to attend. Instead, it has become the largest diplomatic event in Israel’s history.
Delegations from 49 countries, including 41 heads of states, are in Israel at this moment. The US vice president, Mr. Pence, Russia’s president, Mr. Putin, Prince Charles of Britain, French president Mr. Macron, and many other kings and heads of states.
Why is this significant - A warning to the nations
First: We are in a time of growing denial of the Holocaust, and an alarming increase of anti-Semitism in the world. Significantly, the leaders of the nations are acknowledging it.
Second: We are living in the time of Israel’s restoration, and this could be God, calling the nations to warn them before they descend into deeper darkness and further rebellion against God, His people, and His unfolding plan. It will be very destructive, Psalm 2:10-12
Here is why I think this is the case
Last night, on Wednesday, Prominent Holocaust scholar, Professor Yehuda Bauer, delivered the keynote address at a festive dinner held for about 45 heads of states that were present. (Putin and Pence came only this morning on Thursday.)
He claimed (rightly I believe) that the deadliest military conflict in history, claiming anywhere between 70 to 85 million lives, including 6 million Jews, was caused by hatred for the Jews!
He was given eleven minutes to do this, eleven Minutes! They spent far more time eating than listening to what I believe is, a warning from God.
The most chilling part is Prof. Bauer’s quote of Hitler: “Today I will once more be a prophet: If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war” – as we all know, World War I was caused by the Jews, right? – “then the result will not be the bolshevization of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe” Die Vernichtung der jüdischen Rasse in Europa. So, the Jewish capitalists rule the West, and what they want is the victory of Bolshevism. The result will be the annihilation of the Jews.“
And here is the warning: “Anti-Semitism is not a Jewish illness, but a non-Jewish one; it is a cancer that kills and destroys your nations and your countries.” And, this, “…..fight anti-Semitism. Not because of the Jews, but to protect your societies from a deadly cancer.”
The caption for the text in the Times of Israel was: Holocaust scholar’s speech to world leaders: Anti-Semitism destroys your nations
Read more about it here
Will it be heeded? Will the nations respond? Have they read Psalm 2? Will your country respond!
Personally, I believe that although diplomatic activity regarding these things is important, these efforts will never win the battle against Israel-hatred, and antisemitism. It is a spiritual battle that is leading to the final confrontation between the nations and God. We as believers have an important role to play, we are called to stand before the Lord and call upon His name.
"Israel is God’s Spectacle to all the world, by which HIS MERCY SHALL BE MADE KNOWN - a Visible Demonstration in The Last Days - to “the nations of them that are saved,” Rev. 21:24. Israel - The Mystery Nation - carries through into The Revelation Prophecy. THERE appears those who are SEALED IN THEIR FOREHEADS, and “who follow the Lamb, whithersoever He goeth.” Redeemed? Yes. Washed in The Blood of The Lamb? Yes. Saved by Grace through Faith? Yes. BUT the ONLY NATION mentioned BY NAME among the Ransomed Throngs in The Revelation Vision. For these very reasons, we declare that the anti-semitic spirit - HATE THE JEWS - is one of the most deadly spirits in the world." (Rex Andrews, The Mystery of Israel")
We must pray!
But this is also a warning to Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora
In March of 1939, weeks before Britain published the ‘white papers’ (May 1939) effectively slamming shut the doors of Palestine to the Jews of Europe, the Jews of Poland, sent a desperate telegram to London, begging the British to keep the doors of Palestine open!
It went unheeded. You can read about it here.
[I thank God that my grandmother, a dentist in Poland, saw the dangers already in 1933 when Hitler came to power and pushed the family out of Europe. By 1935, her family was already in Palestine. Just four years later, the doors were slammed shut!]
Just as most of the Jews of Europe delayed dealing with leaving Europe for Palestine, so today, millions of Jews are refusing to read the signs of the times and are delaying their decision to come to Israel.
We must pray!
The Body of Christ must wake up!
Instead of being so taken up with their comfort, welfare, and seeking of blessing as their highest goal in life, Christians should awaken to the dangerous times they are living in. Dangerous to their nation, dangerous to the believers, and dangerous to Israel.
Christians must learn to seek the face of God, make the Bible their primary book, and learn to pray with understanding!
While some focus on praying for the political side of these things, I prefer to pray the scriptures. There is no indication that Daniel, for instance, ever used his political ‘connections’ to try to influence the king of Babylon to restore the Jews. He prayed from the Word (Jeremiah). Neither did Esther. Her act was not a political one but an intercessory one. They prayed according to the Word of God, and even risked their lives to do so! So should we, (pray I mean.)
Pray for the gathering of the Jews from the nations. There are many other scriptures and promises regarding God’s gathering of the Jews from the lands where they willingly remain in exile. Take some time, find them, pray them, I urge you. See for instance Ezekiel 39:21-29
Pray for your nation. God’s warnings are not idle threats. Remember the devastation of Germany in WWII. Take a look at the condition of the nations around Israel at this time. See how the cancer of the Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred has devastated their lands.
Psalm 2 is an example, See also Zechariah 12, especially Zech 12:10
Pray for the salvation of Israel Ezekiel 39:21-29, Zechariah 12:10-13:1
Pray for the Body of Christ in the nations. You can find many places in the scriptures that speak of the spiritual condition of Israel; there are great parallels to the condition of the Body today.
Read Malachi. Is the Church offering God worthy sacrifices? Is the Church wholeheartedly serving the Lord in the Word? Is the Church faithful to God’s view of marriage, money? Is the Church faithful to God and serving him wholeheartedly?
Will you pray for the purifying work of the Lord in your own life? In your fellowship’s life - Malachi 3:1-5.
Will you trust the Lord to work in this fiery way in your own life. Do not be afraid to yield to His nail-pierced hands as He works to sanctify you and prepare you for the things ahead.
Blessing from Jerusalem,
"You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it." PSALM 65:9
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." REVELATION 22:1-2
Greetings with grace and mercy in The Blessed Name of our Lord, Yeshua h'meshiach. May He be blessed and glorified and may you (and I) be encouraged toward Him for His glory. May you (and I) be TRULY planted beside His River, drinking of the fullness of it and producing HIS fruit for His glory!
Well…the longer I put off writing this letter because there is just too much to write about…the more there IS to write about: It only multiplies daily!
I have not written to you since our torrential rains claimed 7 lives; nor since the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis; not since our electioneering started again intensely for the THIRD time in a year…nor since the 49 (according to Miki Levi - the police spokesman) Kings, Presidents, Prime Ministers and assorted dignitaries and heads of state solidified their participation in events marking the 75th year since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp; named The World Holocaust Forum. That began today and perhaps I will begin there and work backwards.
'There will be major traffic disruptions this week, especially on Wednesday and Thursday.' all of the media informed us to a collective groan. 'You are advised to leave vehicles at home (not in tow away zones) and take public transportation if you have to leave your houses.' …'Public transportation will experience delays and disruptions…' (they neglected to add 'and insane overcrowding') I watched as sharp shooters staked out roof tops and popped up from under man hole covers. Security vehicles inspected every corner of the city…and under every rock. At the bus stops the flashing sign read (in Hebrew, Arabic and English) 'The bus lines will experience significant delays and interruptions on the 22 and 23rd. For specific information call *8787'. My boss insisted that I could make it to work, so I called *8787. After about 20 minutes of music (EVERYONE was calling *8787!) an annoyed worker told me that they HAVE no information concerning Jerusalem buses and that I should just stay home. When I gave my boss what information I had gotten he just rolled his eyes and said that he'd pay for a taxi. NOT SO EASY! You see… I work across town. My memories of the visits of US Presidents Obama and then Trump are still quite vivid; walking to work isn't as bad as walking home when I am tired…about 1.5-2 hours each way…and I am older and less agile.
But why are they gathering?
Our President, Reuven Rivlin, hosted them as anti-semitism has been rising at a most alarming rate while the number of Holocaust survivors is dropping rapidly: 'Never Again' and 'Never Forget' seems nearly forgotten and our nation seeks a way to prevent what appears inevitable.
HOLD THAT THOUGHT! (or perhaps drop it!)
I am incredibly thankful and humbled by The Lord's restraining Hand! I had tried my best to write and send this letter yesterday…but interruption after interruption put an end to ALL of my best efforts.
Last night before going to sleep I listened to some of the events and was deeply touched…and learned things that I hadn't known. This morning as I prepared to write, my husband turned the proceedings on and said 'Come and see! You need to see this!' …I had 'INTENDED' to write…but I went and saw and could not stop watching and listening.
As I sat down to work on this letter yet AGAIN…there was an email from my Pastor concerning what I was watching and it was said so much better than I ever could that I will include it and only add one fact that I learned from the conference that sent chills down my spine and I hadn't known: A historian and researcher at Yad Vashem exhibited meticulous notebooks filled with lists, photos, information and even fingerprints! Ofcourse I KNEW about the lists that they kept; the 'inventories'…but I never thought of it in this light: He said how IRONIC it was that the stated intent of the Nazis was to wipe ALL MEMORY of the Jews from the earth…to eradicate their names…their ways… their lives. Instead…preserved IN JEWISH JERUSALEM…are their names, information, even photographs and fingerprints recorded as witness by the Nazis themselves…Oh my! I was overwhelmed by the impact of what I was seeing. God sovereign will: 'They will NOT be forgotten! You will be defeated!' It is as if I am in a dream to realize that, yes, we are a PART of this huge spiritual battle…and I share with you from Jerusalem…restored to the Jews after 2,000 years!
Yesterday, while I was still only thinking narrowly…I confess…about the traffic jams and being 'sequestered' - my own selfish interests, I was waiting in an office across from a woman older than I, perhaps 85. She was speaking English, it seemed as if perhaps she was doing a phone interview with someone in America. I was able to make out both sides of the conversation. She was quite serious and it was her intensity that touched me. She said 'I never thought that I would live to see this day. I never dreamed that such a thing would happen, but it is and ha'Shem (God) has brought it about! Do you understand what we are witnessing?' I understood that she was speaking about this gathering and I was ashamed for my narrow thoughts. I looked at her and realized that she was indeed a Holocaust survivor and began to think about what it must feel like to her; could it be even like Joseph seeing his brothers coming, bowing down to ask for food?
So, these two days have passed with, in my opinion, minimal inconvenience considering the amount of astounding security; I can't imagine HOW they pulled it off, protecting all of these dignitaries and escorting them around the city as well as in and out of the country.
And rather than comment further I will attach my Pastor's letter…it is more important to digest Truth than added words. May The Lord TRULY keep you in His perfect will, tender of heart and before Him for His glory… and me too please Lord! Lovingly, your sister.
A warning to the nations; a wake-up call to the Jewish people, and to the Body of Christ(If you want to read this on the web, click here)
Fifth World Holocaust Forum - The largest diplomatic event in Israel’s history!
The Forum this year will commemorate the 75th liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
It theme is: “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism,”
The peculiar thing about this year’s Forum:
It was hoped that 10 or 15 world leaders would agree to attend. Instead, it has become the largest diplomatic event in Israel’s history.
Delegations from 49 countries, including 41 heads of states, are in Israel at this moment. The US vice president, Mr. Pence, Russia’s president, Mr. Putin, Prince Charles of Britain, French president Mr. Macron, and many other kings and heads of states.
Why is this significant - A warning to the nations
First: We are in a time of growing denial of the Holocaust, and an alarming increase of anti-Semitism in the world. Significantly, the leaders of the nations are acknowledging it.
Second: We are living in the time of Israel’s restoration, and this could be God, calling the nations to warn them before they descend into deeper darkness and further rebellion against God, His people, and His unfolding plan. It will be very destructive, Psalm 2:10-12
Here is why I think this is the case
Last night, on Wednesday, Prominent Holocaust scholar, Professor Yehuda Bauer, delivered the keynote address at a festive dinner held for about 45 heads of states that were present. (Putin and Pence came only this morning on Thursday.)
He claimed (rightly I believe) that the deadliest military conflict in history, claiming anywhere between 70 to 85 million lives, including 6 million Jews, was caused by hatred for the Jews!
He was given eleven minutes to do this, eleven Minutes! They spent far more time eating than listening to what I believe is, a warning from God.
The most chilling part is Prof. Bauer’s quote of Hitler: “Today I will once more be a prophet: If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war” – as we all know, World War I was caused by the Jews, right? – “then the result will not be the bolshevization of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe” Die Vernichtung der jüdischen Rasse in Europa. So, the Jewish capitalists rule the West, and what they want is the victory of Bolshevism. The result will be the annihilation of the Jews.“
And here is the warning: “Anti-Semitism is not a Jewish illness, but a non-Jewish one; it is a cancer that kills and destroys your nations and your countries.” And, this, “…..fight anti-Semitism. Not because of the Jews, but to protect your societies from a deadly cancer.”
The caption for the text in the Times of Israel was: Holocaust scholar’s speech to world leaders: Anti-Semitism destroys your nations
Read more about it here
Will it be heeded? Will the nations respond? Have they read Psalm 2? Will your country respond!
Personally, I believe that although diplomatic activity regarding these things is important, these efforts will never win the battle against Israel-hatred, and antisemitism. It is a spiritual battle that is leading to the final confrontation between the nations and God. We as believers have an important role to play, we are called to stand before the Lord and call upon His name.
"Israel is God’s Spectacle to all the world, by which HIS MERCY SHALL BE MADE KNOWN - a Visible Demonstration in The Last Days - to “the nations of them that are saved,” Rev. 21:24. Israel - The Mystery Nation - carries through into The Revelation Prophecy. THERE appears those who are SEALED IN THEIR FOREHEADS, and “who follow the Lamb, whithersoever He goeth.” Redeemed? Yes. Washed in The Blood of The Lamb? Yes. Saved by Grace through Faith? Yes. BUT the ONLY NATION mentioned BY NAME among the Ransomed Throngs in The Revelation Vision. For these very reasons, we declare that the anti-semitic spirit - HATE THE JEWS - is one of the most deadly spirits in the world." (Rex Andrews, The Mystery of Israel")
We must pray!
But this is also a warning to Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora
In March of 1939, weeks before Britain published the ‘white papers’ (May 1939) effectively slamming shut the doors of Palestine to the Jews of Europe, the Jews of Poland, sent a desperate telegram to London, begging the British to keep the doors of Palestine open!
It went unheeded. You can read about it here.
[I thank God that my grandmother, a dentist in Poland, saw the dangers already in 1933 when Hitler came to power and pushed the family out of Europe. By 1935, her family was already in Palestine. Just four years later, the doors were slammed shut!]
Just as most of the Jews of Europe delayed dealing with leaving Europe for Palestine, so today, millions of Jews are refusing to read the signs of the times and are delaying their decision to come to Israel.
We must pray!
The Body of Christ must wake up!
Instead of being so taken up with their comfort, welfare, and seeking of blessing as their highest goal in life, Christians should awaken to the dangerous times they are living in. Dangerous to their nation, dangerous to the believers, and dangerous to Israel.
Christians must learn to seek the face of God, make the Bible their primary book, and learn to pray with understanding!
While some focus on praying for the political side of these things, I prefer to pray the scriptures. There is no indication that Daniel, for instance, ever used his political ‘connections’ to try to influence the king of Babylon to restore the Jews. He prayed from the Word (Jeremiah). Neither did Esther. Her act was not a political one but an intercessory one. They prayed according to the Word of God, and even risked their lives to do so! So should we, (pray I mean.)
Pray for the gathering of the Jews from the nations. There are many other scriptures and promises regarding God’s gathering of the Jews from the lands where they willingly remain in exile. Take some time, find them, pray them, I urge you. See for instance Ezekiel 39:21-29
Pray for your nation. God’s warnings are not idle threats. Remember the devastation of Germany in WWII. Take a look at the condition of the nations around Israel at this time. See how the cancer of the Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred has devastated their lands.
Psalm 2 is an example, See also Zechariah 12, especially Zech 12:10
Pray for the salvation of Israel Ezekiel 39:21-29, Zechariah 12:10-13:1
Pray for the Body of Christ in the nations. You can find many places in the scriptures that speak of the spiritual condition of Israel; there are great parallels to the condition of the Body today.
Read Malachi. Is the Church offering God worthy sacrifices? Is the Church wholeheartedly serving the Lord in the Word? Is the Church faithful to God’s view of marriage, money? Is the Church faithful to God and serving him wholeheartedly?
Will you pray for the purifying work of the Lord in your own life? In your fellowship’s life - Malachi 3:1-5.
Will you trust the Lord to work in this fiery way in your own life. Do not be afraid to yield to His nail-pierced hands as He works to sanctify you and prepare you for the things ahead.
Blessing from Jerusalem,
December 31, 2019
"Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” John 10:22-30
Oh LOVING GREETINGS DEAREST sisters and brothers- beloved, chosen to follow The Lamb and then choosing to follow Him! May you be encouraged toward Him, blessed and edified …and may The Lord…The Light of the world…The only begotten Son of The Father…The Lamb…MESSIAH…The Word made flesh…THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY…THE GREAT I AM…MAY HE ALONE BE GLORIFIED, blessed and comforted in His children today.
Greetings! As the year draws toward a close. Greetings as we choose, TODAY, HIS LIGHT!
The eight candles and the 'shamas', the middle, lifted up 'servant candle', are freshly lined up in our chanukiah waiting for my husband to come home from work; it is the last light of the 8 day celebration tonight! "Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch." The Light of the world, walking in His Temple during the feast of the dedication…the feast that celebrates re-dedication of the temple after its desecration by the Greeks who (among other atrocities) sacrificed un-kosher pigs -("Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses."Deut 14:8 and Levit 11:7 for just two examples) on the holy altar of God. Modern Chanukah celebrated the triumph of the Maccabees over the Greeks, but the most important part to me…and the part that I grew up hearing about most and wondering at was that when the filth was cleaned out of the temple and the Priest went to light the menorah…the eternal lamp…there was only one sealed flask of the prescribed oil… enough for just one night! The oil took a week to prepare…so by faith he lit the one lamp…BUT GOD! WHO WAS RICH IN MERCY THEN AS NOW, MULTIPLIED THE OIL NIGHT AFTER NIGHT…FOR 8 NIGHTS THE LAMP BURNED UNTIL THE FRESH OIL HAD BEEN PREPARED ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIONS THAT MOSES HAD BEEN GIVEN BY GOD AND DELIVERED TO THE PEOPLE! Chanukah! The festival of Light…of multiplied Light! And THE LIVING LIGHT WALKED IN THE TEMPLE! "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me…" He said during Chanukah in the temple… the temple that was His. What a picture!
But He is STILL walking here…and where you are as well…and STILL reasoning with those who will listen and still speaking to all who will hear. I think about that in the hustle and bustle of the packed train and bus. At least I TRY to think about that…to remember that for THIS cause He came…NOT because we were righteous…but because we are filled with sin and darkness and yet Abba created us for Himself and He still reaches out and loves us.
I looked around at the faces today. The train was PACKED! When I left for work at 6 this morning I was surprised to see the train full. Usually on my way to work it is reasonably empty but today it was jammed and I wondered what was going on. Perhaps they were all going for their flu shots? Influenza is particularly virulent this year. I didn't have much time to wonder because once at work I was surrounded by throngs of sick people who had NOT gone for their flu shot and were now at the doctors with influenza. It was a BUSY day! Coming home, traffic was at a standstill. It took me 45 minutes to get to the train by bus! So many big families…baby carriages and twin strollers crowded the aisles of the train as little ones peered out of the windows with small happy faces. This year, it didn't seem as if as many locals were stuffing themselves with sofganiyot (the traditional oily jelly donut), latkas ( a sort of potato pancake) bunuelos or sfenj (sort of like sofganiyot…a more middle eastern traditional fried sweet dough)… none- the-less, the tasty fares were everywhere as Jerusalem hosted a record breaking number of tourists this year and they wanted to taste it ALL… So our bakeries weren't TOO impacted by the health concerns of the locals.
Large electric Chanukiahs dot the city neighborhoods and at sundown people gather around them as they are lit and sing traditional songs. It is a festive time. We used to have one of these large public Chanukiahs across from our apartment but there was none this year. When we first made aliyah, they were gas lights. I loved watching them lit and their flames flickering in the wind. Now they are electric bulbs. Times are rougher now…people are rougher…and times change all things.
A friend drew my attention to comments made by Israel's IDF (military) Chief, Aviv Kochavi this week as he spoke before the conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Hertzliya. They were sobering. He spoke of our now open and undercover operations in Syria and around the area against Iran…which have been far more frequent and brazen…"even at the risk of war." He warned Israeli civilians to "mentally prepare" for heavy fire will be directed against our home front"…continuing "I'm looking people in the eye, and saying, there will be heavy fire. We have to recognize this and we have to prepare for this…We have to prepare for this militarily; the civil hierarchies have to prepare for this ; and we have to prepare for this mentally."
Yes Lord. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me…" …'We trust You Lord…through whatever fire we must pass…that You will lead us and that Your rod and Your staff…and Your Voice WILL lead and comfort us…and enable us to walk in a manner that will glorify You!.'
My mind turns to another local news article that I saw '11 Christian men executed in Nigeria by Isis as retribution for the death of their leader…' I thought about those "11 Christian men" who were chosen because they were Christian…and went with Him into the fire…and came out the other side into His Presence. 'Prepare us mentally, Lord, to be part of Your solution and not part of the problem!'.
And time has run swiftly and now it is the eve of 2020!
When we made aliyah, this was definitely a day NOT mentioned! It was a distinction made on the Western calendar - observed in the west…and NOT on the Hebrew calendar/ NOT observed here! If someone said 'Happy New Year' everyone around him frowned in obvious disapproval. We made aliyah during the days of the Russian aliyah, and the secular Russians celebrated New Year (Sylvester) the way that secular westerners celebrate Christmas…yes…it was frowned upon.
Times change.
It seems to me that the major 'foreign languages' that I hear today on the trains and buses are French and English. The Hebrew (and Arabic)/Russian signs have been replaced for the most part (in Jerusalem anyway) by Hebrew (and Arabic) /French / English. Is it the dramatic rise in anti-semitism in the west? Perhaps. With the rise of western immigration, the New Year according to the western calendar has pressed through. I hear of and see signs announcing restaurants celebrating, balloons appear with 2020 written on them…among the western young people on the train I see a 'party excitement' and listen to their plans…somewhat with dismay; is it my age? I think about how He had come into my life just before I was 30 and I am thankful that He gave me direction that these poor sheep do not have yet.
And so I pray.
And I pray to pray…because I don't pray enough and can get 'weary in well doing'.
But my people stand at the door of … what? Eternity for sure…and how can I but pray??
My boss announced to me that he plans to retire this coming October. There are not many places for a 74 year old to find fresh work…and so as the new year lies ahead I am reminded that none of us EVER knows what is ahead. James reminds us of that so well: "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:13-17
HOWEVER…KNOWING THE GREAT MERCY OF GOD…I look ahead to the year before us…for us and for you…and I know that as I ask Him to glorify His Name…I am asking according to His will. If I ask Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit daily…I am asking a good thing…and with THAT RE-ASSURANCE I pray that you and I will walk into this new year with BLESSING!
I truly miss you…your fellowship…and I am thankful for each one of you who prays for Israel and our people… who remembers our family…and who even takes precious TIME to read these letters! May they be a sweet smelling savor for His glory alone! God Bless you and Keep you and make HIS Face to shine upon you…and give you (and me) His Peace.
Lovingly, your sister here
PS. The IFI yearly prayer conference here in Jerusalem is set to begin 20 Jan…IF…by any chance…He is still prodding any of you to come…please do as He says.
"Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” John 10:22-30
Oh LOVING GREETINGS DEAREST sisters and brothers- beloved, chosen to follow The Lamb and then choosing to follow Him! May you be encouraged toward Him, blessed and edified …and may The Lord…The Light of the world…The only begotten Son of The Father…The Lamb…MESSIAH…The Word made flesh…THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY…THE GREAT I AM…MAY HE ALONE BE GLORIFIED, blessed and comforted in His children today.
Greetings! As the year draws toward a close. Greetings as we choose, TODAY, HIS LIGHT!
The eight candles and the 'shamas', the middle, lifted up 'servant candle', are freshly lined up in our chanukiah waiting for my husband to come home from work; it is the last light of the 8 day celebration tonight! "Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch." The Light of the world, walking in His Temple during the feast of the dedication…the feast that celebrates re-dedication of the temple after its desecration by the Greeks who (among other atrocities) sacrificed un-kosher pigs -("Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses."Deut 14:8 and Levit 11:7 for just two examples) on the holy altar of God. Modern Chanukah celebrated the triumph of the Maccabees over the Greeks, but the most important part to me…and the part that I grew up hearing about most and wondering at was that when the filth was cleaned out of the temple and the Priest went to light the menorah…the eternal lamp…there was only one sealed flask of the prescribed oil… enough for just one night! The oil took a week to prepare…so by faith he lit the one lamp…BUT GOD! WHO WAS RICH IN MERCY THEN AS NOW, MULTIPLIED THE OIL NIGHT AFTER NIGHT…FOR 8 NIGHTS THE LAMP BURNED UNTIL THE FRESH OIL HAD BEEN PREPARED ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIONS THAT MOSES HAD BEEN GIVEN BY GOD AND DELIVERED TO THE PEOPLE! Chanukah! The festival of Light…of multiplied Light! And THE LIVING LIGHT WALKED IN THE TEMPLE! "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me…" He said during Chanukah in the temple… the temple that was His. What a picture!
But He is STILL walking here…and where you are as well…and STILL reasoning with those who will listen and still speaking to all who will hear. I think about that in the hustle and bustle of the packed train and bus. At least I TRY to think about that…to remember that for THIS cause He came…NOT because we were righteous…but because we are filled with sin and darkness and yet Abba created us for Himself and He still reaches out and loves us.
I looked around at the faces today. The train was PACKED! When I left for work at 6 this morning I was surprised to see the train full. Usually on my way to work it is reasonably empty but today it was jammed and I wondered what was going on. Perhaps they were all going for their flu shots? Influenza is particularly virulent this year. I didn't have much time to wonder because once at work I was surrounded by throngs of sick people who had NOT gone for their flu shot and were now at the doctors with influenza. It was a BUSY day! Coming home, traffic was at a standstill. It took me 45 minutes to get to the train by bus! So many big families…baby carriages and twin strollers crowded the aisles of the train as little ones peered out of the windows with small happy faces. This year, it didn't seem as if as many locals were stuffing themselves with sofganiyot (the traditional oily jelly donut), latkas ( a sort of potato pancake) bunuelos or sfenj (sort of like sofganiyot…a more middle eastern traditional fried sweet dough)… none- the-less, the tasty fares were everywhere as Jerusalem hosted a record breaking number of tourists this year and they wanted to taste it ALL… So our bakeries weren't TOO impacted by the health concerns of the locals.
Large electric Chanukiahs dot the city neighborhoods and at sundown people gather around them as they are lit and sing traditional songs. It is a festive time. We used to have one of these large public Chanukiahs across from our apartment but there was none this year. When we first made aliyah, they were gas lights. I loved watching them lit and their flames flickering in the wind. Now they are electric bulbs. Times are rougher now…people are rougher…and times change all things.
A friend drew my attention to comments made by Israel's IDF (military) Chief, Aviv Kochavi this week as he spoke before the conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Hertzliya. They were sobering. He spoke of our now open and undercover operations in Syria and around the area against Iran…which have been far more frequent and brazen…"even at the risk of war." He warned Israeli civilians to "mentally prepare" for heavy fire will be directed against our home front"…continuing "I'm looking people in the eye, and saying, there will be heavy fire. We have to recognize this and we have to prepare for this…We have to prepare for this militarily; the civil hierarchies have to prepare for this ; and we have to prepare for this mentally."
Yes Lord. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me…" …'We trust You Lord…through whatever fire we must pass…that You will lead us and that Your rod and Your staff…and Your Voice WILL lead and comfort us…and enable us to walk in a manner that will glorify You!.'
My mind turns to another local news article that I saw '11 Christian men executed in Nigeria by Isis as retribution for the death of their leader…' I thought about those "11 Christian men" who were chosen because they were Christian…and went with Him into the fire…and came out the other side into His Presence. 'Prepare us mentally, Lord, to be part of Your solution and not part of the problem!'.
And time has run swiftly and now it is the eve of 2020!
When we made aliyah, this was definitely a day NOT mentioned! It was a distinction made on the Western calendar - observed in the west…and NOT on the Hebrew calendar/ NOT observed here! If someone said 'Happy New Year' everyone around him frowned in obvious disapproval. We made aliyah during the days of the Russian aliyah, and the secular Russians celebrated New Year (Sylvester) the way that secular westerners celebrate Christmas…yes…it was frowned upon.
Times change.
It seems to me that the major 'foreign languages' that I hear today on the trains and buses are French and English. The Hebrew (and Arabic)/Russian signs have been replaced for the most part (in Jerusalem anyway) by Hebrew (and Arabic) /French / English. Is it the dramatic rise in anti-semitism in the west? Perhaps. With the rise of western immigration, the New Year according to the western calendar has pressed through. I hear of and see signs announcing restaurants celebrating, balloons appear with 2020 written on them…among the western young people on the train I see a 'party excitement' and listen to their plans…somewhat with dismay; is it my age? I think about how He had come into my life just before I was 30 and I am thankful that He gave me direction that these poor sheep do not have yet.
And so I pray.
And I pray to pray…because I don't pray enough and can get 'weary in well doing'.
But my people stand at the door of … what? Eternity for sure…and how can I but pray??
My boss announced to me that he plans to retire this coming October. There are not many places for a 74 year old to find fresh work…and so as the new year lies ahead I am reminded that none of us EVER knows what is ahead. James reminds us of that so well: "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:13-17
HOWEVER…KNOWING THE GREAT MERCY OF GOD…I look ahead to the year before us…for us and for you…and I know that as I ask Him to glorify His Name…I am asking according to His will. If I ask Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit daily…I am asking a good thing…and with THAT RE-ASSURANCE I pray that you and I will walk into this new year with BLESSING!
I truly miss you…your fellowship…and I am thankful for each one of you who prays for Israel and our people… who remembers our family…and who even takes precious TIME to read these letters! May they be a sweet smelling savor for His glory alone! God Bless you and Keep you and make HIS Face to shine upon you…and give you (and me) His Peace.
Lovingly, your sister here
PS. The IFI yearly prayer conference here in Jerusalem is set to begin 20 Jan…IF…by any chance…He is still prodding any of you to come…please do as He says.