Category Archives: God

Blessings to you with love, dear sisters and brothers.  May you be encouraged and blessed, and may The Lord of Glory be blessed and glorified.

The bus was leaking this morning, the morning of the fast of Esther.  No, it wasn’t leaking gas, as our apartment was earlier this week, but water.  No again, not from the radiator.  I contemplated opening my umbrella, but as everyone else was being very stoic about this, I decided that I would be too. True, the rain was not as heavy INSIDE of the bus as it was outside, and I was blessed that this morning my seat was not wet, as it had been yesterday.  Thank God for the rain!  Even if the weather shift causes the rain to fall in torrential buckets for several days at a time rather then being scattered more evenly throughout the winter and spring, the water is a blessing and we are thankful.

And the storms are DRAMATIC to say the least.

Today is the fast of Esther. Purim is rapidly approaching when Jews everywhere celebrate survival, as a people, against all odds. Although Purim specifically celebrates our survival at the time of Esther, it is symbolic of the ancient and ongoing battle, but the means are still the same today. There are always some raised up “for such a time as this.”

The book of Esther will be read in synagogues, homes, on the bus, and really wherever people gather together, and festive activities will follow.  Around the country, Purim begins this year on Saturday night through Sunday, but in Jerusalem (the walled city), Purim is Sunday night through Monday.  Our shops have been filled with costumes as people, especially children, dress up…traditionally as Queen Esther and Mordachai. However, sadly, more and more super heroes and monsters are replacing the Biblical heroes.

Baskets full of tasty morsels are given out (mishloach manoat – sent portions) as gifts, baskets with sweets, humantasin – or oznaim haman (a 3 pointed filled cookie graphically called “Haman’s ears”), small bottles of wine or grape juice and the like.  It is not my favorite holiday because I see it as having veered away from the focus of God’s great deliverance to a Halloween type party, and that is sad.  But on the fast day I think of Esther being called “for such a time as this,” and each of us being called in our own place and purpose.  Who was she?

I had the great and undeserved privilege last July to share with a large international group of praying ladies, and the topic was “for such a time as this.”  As I prayed through my preparation, I was so struck by God’s timing. He said: “And it shall happen in the last days…” and “the time drew near…” and “The time is not yet…” and “As the time approached…” and  “The time is very near…” and “As you see the time approaching… and “AND IT CAME TO PASS…” and many other exhortations.

I think again of the weather outside.  It is very cold, much colder then we would normally expect at this time of year, nevertheless, the trees are bursting forth with new leaves, as are the flowers, and the spring birds have arrived and built their nests.  They do not consider the weather. They KNOW THEIR TIME.

I was reading Matthew 24 again this morning in my regular reading.  I am so thankful for this “roadmap chapter” that lays out so clearly: “Then…” and “Then…” and “When you see this…”  I find His landmarks very clear. I don’t know what the fuss is sometimes between those who wrestle with prophecy because He told us.

And again I think of Esther.  She found herself where she found herself “for such a time as this.” She was given a choice and could have let God raise someone else up.  After all, she began as an orphan, became a queen, but she did not choose this path herself. She let God choose and she walked it out.  I suspect that she would have walked as faithfully as an unknown servant.

Today I know that is what I want: to let God choose the path and then to faithfully walk it out, looking unto Yeshua, The Author and Finisher of my faith.  I have no faith of my own; it is all His.

And in the midst of the path I find sisters and brothers with encouragement for me. Friends come from afar and oh how they strengthen my hands. May I strengthen theirs. His wonderful body in action.

Today in Israel I watch the seasons.  There were 70 or more rockets fired at Israel last night from Gaza.  British Prime Minister Cameron, visiting Israel, dazzled our Knesset yesterday with such supportive words, very unusual from a European leader or any leader. Yet as I listened to his speech, I heard him calling clearly for the return to the indefensible 1967 borders and division of Jerusalem.  I read God’s Word and see that if we obey the world we disobey God.  How will it play out?  How will we walk in the midst?  Will our eyes behold terrible things and if they do, how will we stand?  More agonizing situations in Ukraine, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, we loose track sometimes of all of the problems.

And my bus leaks.

There is humor in watching the rain fall inside of the bus.  May we all find our full strength in Him to keep walking, faithfully, wherever He puts us and may it be ALL for HIS glory alone.

Thanks for letting me share.  Blessing and peace in His Presence to each of you.  

Lovingly,

your sis J

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 …

Beloved sisters and brothers in Yeshua, I greet you in The precious Name of our Lord, may He be blessed and glorified, and may you be blessed today.

Well…where would I begin.  I have missed all of you in this season of personal change and challenge.  Nothing has been comfortable for me, but I strive to rest in the new realities of my life.  This is NOT an attempt to sound spiritually squeaky clean, because I am NOT. But I do want to be transparent as I try to share what is going on, since many of you have been praying for us and I so thank you for your prayers.

In other times of my life, it seemed easier to blend His Life in me with the daily situations.  Oh, I am NOT saying life was easy by any means because we all have our mountains.  But my surroundings always gave me a corner of comfort for myself.  I have been so blessed to live in such beautiful regions where it was peaceful and there were beautiful things to look at.  I  have always had a chair with my Bible beside it, which added to the peace.  Ah, the seasons of life!  How GOOD He was to give me such blessings, and how GOOD He is to take it away now.

As I write this, there is the piercing scream of a shop alarm going off.  It has been going for over an hour across the street from us.  Although it is Shabat, on this main road the din of traffic is only drowned out by the loud groups of people enjoying the sunshine, children playing, and teens blaring music.

We were blessed by the young people from my fellowship (kehila) who came to help my husband paint while I visited our children in America.  This past Shabat, one of them, Tsaki, said to me, “I really loved your new apartment when I stood out on the merepeset(sort of balcony). It is RIGHT in the middle of everything and you can pray for the whole city.  I choked! Tsaki and his family live in a beautiful, quiet, rural yeshuv (village).

I answered in my head, “Well I have plenty of opportunity to pray for the whole city as I ride the packed trains and buses to my stressful job every day.”Thank God, the words did not come out of my mouth.  But his words burned their way into my heart adding another “nail in a sure place.”

I walked out onto my merepeset later on and looked down.  There were 3 young guys getting drunk.  Across the railroad tracks was the newly widowed neighbor, standing, lost in his grief. “Yes Lord,” I answered.  “Make me willing to embrace all of this change that I didn’t want, that isn’t comfortable.  Give me a new heart to pray for all of these LOUD people. Heal me, Lord, from this tremendous aversion to noise.”

Noise! I told you that I was born in New York soon after the end of WW2.  I remember listening to radio dramas from that time period, maybe  I was 6 years old.  I had 2 favorites: Flash Gordon was one, but the other was Sergant Preston of the Yukon with his dog King. It began with a wolf howl and the sound of the wind and for a space of time it drowned out the noise of the city for me. I determined that SOMEDAY I would escape the noise and live where I could hear the wind and the wolf howls.

I don’t know how old I was when my Mom traded her trusty carpet sweeper in for a modern noisy vacuum cleaner, but that was life changing for me.  Even as a teenager I would put my hands over my ears and scream at the top of my lungs because the noise grated on my nerves so badly.  If I were growing up today there would definitely have been a label for me. My extreme aversion to noise directed my feet OUT of the city to the Northwest as soon as I was old enough to leave.

So you see, The Lord has been so good to me with His dealings. Slowly, slowly molding and changing me toward HIS will and Image as I could bare it.  “But Lord!  I STILL can’t bare it!” I grumble.

“MY grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness,” He answers gently.

And you HAVE to have a sense of humor.

“Bare fruit for the kingdom,” He says.

The ceilings in 3 rooms leaked badly at first. Now there is only one place that leaks and that’s when our upstairs neighbor flushes her toilet. We finally hooked up the washing machine to do a MUCH needed load of wash and the washer was apparently broken in our moving.  My computer crashed. (Thank GOD for a sis who hears from The Lord who GAVE me this laptop while on my trip.) Speaking of laundry: the clothes line is out the back window, but I’m short and can’t reach it. When the washer DOES work, it will have to go in the bathroom and empty into the tub. The kitchen is the tiniest I have ever had, but it is convenient to turn around from the sink to the stove or frig without taking a step. But there is no place to put 40 years worth of active cooking ware or even 2 plates. Then the drains backed up and the door lock broke while my husband was outside in his breakfast clothes with the dog and a cup of coffee.

I am VERY set in my ways.  Who knew?  HE did.  Thank You Lord!

“Change” was the flash word for Mr. Obama and change he has wrought. The middle, far and near east are a broil with anarchy and blood in the streets. The piece…uh…peace negotiations are bringing us dangerously close to the edges of God’s Patience and His Plan.  And in the midst of it, God, the Lord God Almighty, The Eternal I AM, The Way, The Truth, The Light, The Word, The Door ,The Shepherd, The Baby, The Lion, and The Lamb who went to the cross for me, has taken time out to change me, and it ain’t pretty.  But it is GOOD.

It is comforting to know that although the changes going on in the flesh are bringing bloody manifestations of the kingdoms of darkness and the flesh, that The Patient King of the eternal kingdom IS building His kingdom and if He is working so much in me, I have no doubt that many of you are also under His anvil.

I stood at the crowded train station last week grimacing at the thought of the sardine can ride I was facing.  They had just announced yet another “hefetz ha’shood” (unidentified package that would require bomb squad disposal) and after about a 20 minute wait, the train would be a nightmare when it came.  As I watched the people mulling around, 2 young pigeons caught my eye.  In the midst of it all, the young male bird was trying awkwardly to court the young female who wanted none of his attention.  They hurried and scurried here and there in and out of the crowds of oblivious people, dancing about as unconcerned by the people as the people were about them.  Two kingdoms (in this case birds and people) side by side in an odd dance.  My “word” (in this case a phrase) from The Lord to meditate on this year is: “Look away unto Yeshua.”

I had become distracted by the world and now He is weaning me.

So, thank you for your prayers, but don’t pity me because it’s just my flesh which is suffering.  It will continue to suffer until it is dead…that old dead to self but alive to Him is my goal.  To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable to His death, the pearl of great price.

It is time to leave for kehila.  Hopefully I will not soon write another self centered letter like this one, but I do thank you for your prayers.

May His grace and peace be evident in each of us and may HIS kingdom be enlarged.  I send you deep deep love.

Lovingly,

your sis J