Category Archives: Gifts of the Spirit

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Once again, it’s time to hear from our sister in Jerusalem about what she is witnessing there as a believer in Yeshua. Put your prayer shawls on and pray for Israel and Sister J. Now here she is —

Greetings, DEAREST Sisters and Brothers in Yeshua, King of kings and Lord of lords.  May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be blessed and encouraged.

I road to the airport with our oldest daughter for a bittersweet parting following a very short but wonderful five day visit. On the way to the airport the sheroot (ten seater van) was full of talkative Israelis, Hebrew flowing back and forth.

Now the return trip was carrying tourists, mostly first-timers, up to Jerusalem.  I dozed on and off, hugging my daughter in my mind while listening to the hum of English and German and the driver’s radio droning on in Hebrew.  I listened to the comments and questions that the visitors. Suddenly I picked up the words on the radio … discussions, interviews, dates…1967, 1973, 1976, 1954. My ears tuned in.

There was a discussion going on about our history: the wars, attacks, and events.  As we drove past the farms and forests I began to pray for the land and for the visitors. There is just so MUCH history here, line upon line, event upon event. It becomes way too hard to even begin to explain, to share with newbie’s.  We passed the tank- sentinel memorials to the War of Independence and the battles for Jerusalem.  We passed the huge cemetery high on a hill coming into Jerusalem, but they were looking out of the other window, snapping photos of a large group of ultra orthodox waiting for a bus.

“How much will they understand, Lord?” I prayed.  “Open their eyes, and the understanding of their hearts.  Give them divine appointments. Give them discernment, concerning both facts and Truth and guard this Your land where You chose to reveal Yourself.”

I thought about how the recent history of our nation was being proclaimed on the radio at that very moment, but in a language that was not understood by those who did not know this land that were visiting.  It crossed my mind to take over and give them an unasked for tour and history lesson, but I was so tired. It wasn’t HIS Spirit pressing me, but my own thoughts. So I sat and prayed.

WHAT’S UP IN ISRAELI CURRENT EVENTS

My thoughts turned to our borders: the events heating up on all of them, on the BDS movement, on the destruction of housing in Judea and Samaria, the tunnels being built under the border from Gaza into Israel, the huge Isis attack in Egyptian Sinai, Iran on our Northern border in Lebanon, and so forth. Did you know about the tunnel that Israel destroyed from Gaza into Israel and about Israel attacking Iranian bases in Syria…

I often get the impression that most of you keep up with Israeli news and don’t need to hear any of it from me.  Indeed, some of you are better versed than I am concerning our history, geography and current events.   But then I receive emails and input from MANY others who say that they don’t find a source that they can depend upon, and ask many good questions. I’m sharing this section for you.

It would SEEM as if the apparent ending of the awful, heart wrenching Syrian war would be a good thing for Israel and none of us dare say that it isn’t. We ALL want peace and grieve because of the bloodshed.  IN FACT, I was surprised to find out how MANY people don’t know about the thousands of Syrians that have been treated in Israeli hospitals through an fascinating network. It has been nothing but miraculous, as our two countries are still in a declared state of war and have no diplomatic ties.

It began with desperate Syrians approaching the border fence under cover of darkness with their wounded children. Israeli soldiers take the injured to our hospitals and bring them back when they are well.  It has grown to include adults, pregnant women, the ill, and so forth. Soon provision were being sent from here to there. WHO?  We have never asked.  People needed help…we helped.

I stand to testify that this is what Israelis do.  Silently, secretly, the stream got surprisingly wide: the results even more surprisingly.  Over and over Syrians said, “We have always been told that Israelis are our worst enemy, the cruelest ones on earth, but we see that we have been taught lies…” In the midst of this awful conflict something amazing has been taking place, face to face and one on one.

In the mean time, Iran (Syria’s ally, Biblical Persia with the avowed goal of our destruction) has been building huge military bases on our northern border, within our sight.  This is quite a dilemma: ISIS fighting on one side and Iran on the other, both in pursuit of our total destruction.  While other nations joined forces to defeat the awful foe ISIS in the Iraqi/Syrian area, they unwittingly became enablers of Iran, a VERY smart country historically, ancient and part of the Biblical scheme.  It is painful to admit that while they were all fighting one another, we were relatively safe.  They are poised to turn their attentions toward Jerusalem – the prize.

Another result of the defeat of ISIS to the north of us is that ISIS has scattered, splintered, and of course, used the Internet to recruit.  Egypt, directly on our Southern border, is experiencing awful waves of attacks, mainly in the Sinai (the area that we returned to them). The last mosque attack just 2 weeks ago killed at least 300 people.  These violent militant groups are spreading across our southern border, to the loud applause of the people of Gaza.

GAZA!  How interesting it is to read the Biblical thread strung by Gaza throughout the scriptures.  So the world applauded the peace between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (Abbas’ Fatach party, recognized by the west) and militant Hamas so that restrictions upon Gaza could be lifted.  BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM.  Hamas has not changed

A TUNNEL was destroyed.  It was a tunnel being dug from Gaza into the Nation of Israel under the border into a border village. It was to exit under a kindergarten in Israel.  These tunnels into Israel serve ONE purpose only: to murder and kidnap.  Israel has developed a method of detecting and destroying these tunnels. There were 12 engineers in the tunnel at the time of this one’s destruction, whose bodies were on our side of the border.  Some of these engineers were higher ups in the terror network.  The ire of Gaza was released against Israel because we would NOT return these bodies for an honorable burial.

You MAY remember that Gaza has held the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul since the last war with Gaza, leaving their families anguished.  They also are holding 2 mentally challenged Israelis, one of Ethiopian descent, Avraham Mengistu, and a Bedouin man, both of who crossed into Gaza of their own accord during the conflict.  They are presumed alive, but we don’t know.  Israel has been trying to bring about their release to no avail, and now this cry went up from the Palestinian leadership, “See how inhumane these Israelis are? First they dare to blow up our tunnel and now they refuse to release our poor murdered sons.”

If it were not true, it would be laughable, but there is much support from the international community for these claims.

To our East there is much talk about our relations with Saudi Arabia and other nations who recognize the threat of Iran, but I have lived here long enough, and actually LIVED long enough to learn that where there is much talk, there is much speculation and TRUTH is a rare occurrence. So I will not comment.

I share these things with you – the events here often sound fearsome – but as believers here we are NOT AFRAID!  His promises are real bread and there simply IS no fear where perfect love exists.  His grace IS sufficient, so I hope that my sharing of the events around us does not leave you with any feeling that we are in fear.  GOD IS FAITHFUL and we believe HIM.  Period.

May we each be ones who refresh each other’s spirit.  May we be empty vessels, so easily broken that His Torch may burn brightly to those sitting in darkness. May the horn we blow be only HIS and may HE RECEIVE ALL OF THE GLORY!

Lovingly,

your sis J