Category Archives: grace

August 11, 2013 · 8:38 am

Inside Israel

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 …

Our computers went out while I was at work today, meaning that neither Molly (her name is actually ‘Mali’ – short for ‘Malcha’ or ‘queen’) nor I could bury our faces in news or email during our quieter moments. Some of you grabbed ahold of ‘Mali’ when I wrote about her and have prayed for her. She is one of the two young secretaries that I work with from time to time. She has been very depressed since her father died suddenly.

“I started taking an antidepressant drug 2 weeks ago.” She said, with a still-depressed expression. “Do you think that would hinder my job opportunities?”

The conversation turned several corners and I shared a bit more about my past with her and how Yeshua flooded me with His Joy. I didn’t expect what came next (be instant in season and out of season).

“So Who exactly IS this ‘Yeshu’ anyway?” she asked.

“I don’t know who ‘Yeshu’ is (that means “false messiah” and is how He is called by not-yet-believers here) but I can tell you Who YESHUA is.” I said.

To my surprise she began asking me how to pronounce His Name – and then… she said “Who was He? Where was He born? Why did He come?”

Where was He born?? Didn’t she know? I asked her what she had heard about Him and she said “I know NOTHING about Him at all. I have never heard about Him.”

I prayed. Mali does NOT speak English and I was going to have to share with her in Hebrew. I prayed for anointing from Him alone and that my poor language ability would not hinder her or stand in the way. “Why, Mali, He was born right here. He is a sabra and He was circumcised in Jerusalem in our Temple before the second destruction.”

She was so surprised! “What? He was Israeli? What happened?”

I told her that He had never left Israel but spent His full life here – how He preached the way to Life and how He rebuked the rabbis for teaching what was NOT written in the Tenach, but the traditions of men. Then I asked “Mali…do you believe that there is a Moshiach (Messiah or Christ)?”

She answered “Yes, but it ISN’T ‘Yeshu’ because the rabbis say it isn’t.”

I grabbed my small Bible and said “But Mali, the SCRIPTURES describe Moshiach perfectly.”

As I told her about Isaiah 53 she wanted to know if it was “our” prophet or “theirs.” I told her that all of the prophecies about Messiah are ours, just as Messiah is ours and that what the Christians read in the Old Testament is our scriptures. Then He opened the door for me to share my testimony with her. She was glued to every (poorly spoken but I trust anointed) word.

When I met Him, He showed me, also someone who knew nothing of Him, why He came. I told her – “Mali, read it yourself. Take the Tenach, and read, but do this: pray first and ask God IF HE SENT HIS MESSIAH AND IF WE KNOW HIS NAME. Pray that every time you read. DON’T read the commentaries, the Mishna and the like, but read the SCRIPTURES. It is NOT hard to understand and you do NOT need a rabbi to lead you. Ask God’s Spirit to lead you. Don’t take my word for it.”

I told her how when I met Him I really thought that I was the only Jew to believe, but now I know so many, and I told her of the many, many sabras (born here) who believe.

Our time of sharing was almost undisturbed and long enough. I was surprised and blessed by this opportunity and have no doubt that He is answering prayer because He Is The I Am.

My time with you to write is so short and I have only a million or two things that I wanted to share. I began writing what is below 9 days ago and left it to finish, but that has not happened, so I will share it and see if I can add on to it:

______________________________________

I greet you dear brothers and sisters on this first of August. May The Lord be blessed and glorified in all of us and may you be blessed.

Sizzling summer is here and so is our Little GRANDDAUGHTER, so thank you for all of your prayers. (I will share about her more at the bottom) She is scheduled to be with us through the 22^nd of Aug, so this will be a quick update as so much is happening here, but at the same time I have really so many observations that may have to wait until after our visit.

I am sure that you all know that we have, once again, been pressed into the compromising position that is opposed to God’s Word: to give up the land that He promised and He restored, in exchange for peace. A friend of mine here, the wife of a pastor, shared a Word that she had received from The Lord (this is NOT a sister who says that much) and it bore such witness to my soul that I asked her to write it out and I would like to share it with you:

“As I shared with you on the phone today how I was troubled by the wording of these negotiations being called “The Final Peace Agreement” and that it does not fit the Jewish people. The Lord spoke to me early this morning and said, “The Jewish people are not the people of ‘THE FINAL’ – THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE THE PEOPLE OF ‘THE ETERNAL!'” Isn’t that amazing

I looked up in the Webster dictionary for the word “Final” as (an adjective), and look what it says,

1. Not to be altered or undone

2. Relating to a conclusion

3. Being the last in a series, process or progress

4. Relating to the ultimate purpose or result of a process

5. Relating to or occurring at the end or conclusion

The word “Final” as (a noun) is as follows:

1. Something that is final

2. A deciding match, game, heat or trial

3. The last examination in a course.

Then of course, I looked up the Webster dictionary’s definition of “The Eternal”, (as an adjective) and look what it says:

1. Having Infinite duration – Everlasting

2. Relating to Eternity

3. Characterized by abiding Fellowship with God

4. Continued without intermission – Perpetual, seemingly endless

5. Valid or existing at all times; timeless

The word “Eternal” (as a noun) is as follows:

1. GOD

Thank you for allowing me to share all this with you today.

While we spoke on the phone she had shared with me that the word ‘’final’’ brought to mind the nazi ‘’final solution’’ and she had begun to pray, “Lord, this word ‘final’ – it makes my blood chill. What is this ‘final?’ You have the ‘final Word’ so please tell me how to pray. What you see above was spoken into her heart to her great surprise. (This is where I stopped writing)

By now we understand that our Prime Minister took what he believed to be the best of 3 evils that the international community was forcing upon us: we are scheduled to release 104 terrorists. NOT the ‘usual terrorists’ but terrorists with blood on their hands, in other words, they have been directly involved in the murder of non military civilians. We have not done this before. It would be as if we told America they had a choice: agree to give up Texas and California before negotiating with the Mexicans, or agree to stop ALL building, or release the Boston Marathon bombers. (Proportion wise? Thousands of them.)

I am afraid that we are not being led by God, but that once again we are bowing to the pressure of the world instead of bowing low before our God and casting ourselves upon Him. God open our eyes.

It is time for me to prepare dinner but I want to tell you that our younger pregnant daughter is responding to the home care that she is receiving and is stable on anti- nausea drugs which she administers by I.V. herself, checked every 3 days by a home visit nurse. Oh thank you for your prayers for them. And also for our Granddaughter Ana. I ask you to continue both. Ana is just 7 and is finally settling in after the ‘l..o..n..g’ trip with El Al’s unaccompanied minor program. We are having quite an intensive little Bible camp, she and I, and I am praying for her to truly come to Know Him and claim Him as her own to love and to follow, and to have fullness of His Joy. She has battled the same deep sadness that I had from infancy, and our family has known, but HE IS THE VICTOR. Thank you.

I am sorry for this truncated letter. I look forward to a portion of time to really write. It does come with much love. His WORD has been so alive and I long to share.

LOVINGLY,

your sis J

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August 9, 2013 · 11:49 am

“It’s About The Economics, Stupid!”

Yes, we should give to the poor out of our love and compassion, following Jesus’ example. But also, there is a economics reason for giving to the poor.

If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD— and he will repay you. (Proverbs 19:17 NLT)

Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord… Ephesians 6:7-8)

If you check any prospectus for investment purposes, there will be fine print, disclosing the possibilities of your losing money. Why? Because bad things can happen to even the best of companies, organizations, municipalities, and nations. No investment on earth can ever be guaranteed 100% safe.

But giving to the poor is a heaven-backed investment, guaranteed by God and His word, which He honors above all His name. Plus, the extra benefits of giving to the poor are better than Medicare or any insurance policy:

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble. The LORD protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity in the land and rescues them from their enemies. The LORD nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health. (Psalm 41:1-3)

So, if giving to the poor is an economics’ issue with you, you just might want to check out the facts before shaking your head.

And while you’re at it, consider Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope Program, where 100% of your investment helps children in India.

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August 2, 2013 · 8:00 am

Pastor Rad

I was praying about some problems here in America three days ago. As I prayed, I was overwhelmed by the size of the problems and the difficulties in changing our attitudes. The problems loomed larger and larger in my mind and began dragging me down into a pit of despair. I wondered, “Will these problems ever change?”

Then, I felt the Lord speak to my heart, “Larry, I’m big enough to handle these problems. Just trust Me.”

Then the following morning, I was praying about some family issues. The problems seemed too big to handle and may take years to resolve, if ever.

Once again, I felt the Lord speak to my heart, “Larry, I’m big enough to handle these problems. Just trust Me.”

This is a four-part series about Pastor Rad and his beliefs that God is big enough to advance the gospel in India and change the nation.

If you’re interested in learning more about Gospel For Asia, click here.

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July 23, 2013 · 11:01 am

Prayer: So Easy To Talk About, Yet So Hard To Do (Part 8)

When my son played basketball in high school, I was a member of the school’s sports booster club. We sold drinks, hot dogs, popcorn, candy, and other treats at sporting events to raise money for athletic needs. Another fund raising activity was the annual 9th and 10th grade basketball tournament held each March.

One year, I coached our 9th grade’s third string basketball team. The youths were energetic and great, but they lacked talent, height, and speed. Most coaches would have considered them cannon fodder, but that’s not how I play or coach.

At our one practice before the game, I told them, “I’m coaching to win the game and expecting you to play to win. We’ll have fun together.” They gave high-fives and loud cheers.

With 30 seconds to go in the fourth quarter of the game, I called time-out. The kids all gathered in a huddle around me. “Coach, do you have a play for us?” said a blond-headed guard.

“Yes,” I said, pointing at one player. “I want Joe to take a long shot and the rest of you to block everyone out.”

We stuck our hands in the middle and shouted, “Let’s go.”

The play worked to perfection with Joe hitting a long shot. The final score: 86 – 14. We lost.

Yet, if you would have seen the two teams on the court at the buzzer, you would have guessed my team had won. They hugged each other and me. Yes, we lost the game, but we were winners when we walked off the court because we did the best we could and had winning attitudes.

Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. (Mark 11:24)

The Greek word pas is translated into the English words all things in Mark 11:24. The Greek actually means each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, and everything. So, there’s no wiggle room in this verse. All means all!

Like the basketball team, our job as believers is to pray in faith, trusting and believing God will move on our behalf every time we pray. If we do our part, God will do His part. Sometimes, we’ll see unbelievable miracles and sometimes, He’ll collect our prayers in a censer to be used later. The choice is His, not ours.

Now, the worst thing we can do is pray without faith, using careless, idle words because we will eventually give an accounting to the Judge for these prayers.

(Continued in Part 9)

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July 21, 2013 · 1:12 pm

Inside Israel

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:16-18)

Blessings to you from quiet, subdued Jerusalem. May The Lord give us His Light into all that will glorify Him.

We had incurred some ‘city hall’ issues that needed to be attended to, and being my day off I needed to go down to city hall to see if they were open during their usual hours or if they were closed for the tisha b’av fast.

Things like that change every year. One year it will be open, and another close. One year everyone will seem to be fasting, and another not. One year I will hear weeping and prayer through the night and another not. This year, our city hall was closed and, interestingly, so were most of the shops on Jaffa Road.

The law states that restaurants and places of entertainment should be closed but other stores do as they wish, so in the past I had only seen restaurants or stores with religious owners closed. Being that so many were closed, I did not have to maneuver the crowds and had ample opportunity to observe. It surprised me how many cafes were open. I understand that there must be service for tourists, but this year I did not see many closed. Many tourists were, in fact, on the streets and some of them were obviously wondering what had happened.

Grocery stores, the shuk, public transportation, and so forth all function as normal on tisha b’av and it has been an individual choice for the 19 years that we have been here: to work or not to work. The train was blissfully, well, not ‘empty’, but there were some seats at times and no pushing. So it struck my funny bone to watch a family of tourists from Europe, armed with maps and plenty of food, having succeeded (with the help of passerby) at buying tickets in the automated booth, observe the bright yellow ‘IN-OUT ‘arrows painted on the sidewalks. I told you about our unsuccessful campaign to teach locals to ‘let the crowds off of the train BEFORE you rush on’.

I was reminded just how different life is here as I watched the dad of the visiting family observe the arrows, instruct his family where to stand, push one of the teenagers further back on the arrow, and wait for the train. It was so, well, ‘neat, orderly, and EASY’. Why can’t we do that? Cultural differences can be glaring and humerous and I have found that my response is a test of my walk with The Lord, one I don’t always pass. Yet, He is patient to help me learn.

There are other interesting things. Since it is also Ramadan, Moslems are also fasting during the day hours, and Jaffa Road was full of Moslem Arabs, as well as Jews, strolling along the street. The religious or observant men who are fasting today are obvious. The tradition is not to cut your hair or shave from Shavuot (Pentecost, the feast of weeks) to lag b’omer (the ‘bon fire’ night) when you can cut your hair and shave for one day. Then it begins again until tisha b’av, so, by now the fasting men are obvious not only because they look quite ‘holy’, serious, hungry and sad, but because they are also very shaggy.

It started me thinking even more about fasting and what it is for and WHO it is for.

Probably many of you have read the old book, God’s Chosen Fast by Arthur Wallis, but even if you haven’t, or if you have read others, my favorite text simply came from the scripture mentioned above in Matthew 6, which I interpreted this way:

‘Fast unto ME…secretly…tell only ME…and I will search your heart’s motives and either set them straight (my heart’s motives) or change them. Do NOT appear unto men to fast.’

To me, that seemed simple enough. So in my life, and maybe yours, there have been ‘seasons of fasting’ and ‘choices to fast’, times of regularly scheduled fasting and other times when it seems woefully impossible to fast and even failed attempts. Among the faces that I see around me today there are some whom I am sure are really seeking God. I heard that there were many many thousands at the western wall last night for prayer and reading of the book of Lamentations as well as full synagogues all over the city.

During the news broadcasts there is time given to a rabbi to share a devotional explaining tisha b’av, and since I listen to the news in English I can only hope that what is shared on the Hebrew news is deeper, somehow more meaningful. In my readings of the prophets the reason for the fast rings loud and clear. It is NOT to mourn the destruction of the temples and the dispersion, NOR hatred between brothers, but to REPENT FOR THE SIN that turns our faces away from our God toward other things and other gods and causes our hearts to harden and REQUIRES punishment. The fast itself accomplishes nothing without the heart, eh? And I’m thankful that God can turn our hearts and open the eyes of every hungry heart. I am praying that He will appear to hungry hearts today.

But the grave events that have historically impacted the Jewish people on tisha b’av did not stop today. We were shocked to receive today’s news (article below is part of an article from ynet just now):

EU bans contracts between member states, settlements

New decree restricts any Israeli entity beyond 1967 lines from EU funding, prizes, grants. Housing Minister Ariel: Decision reminiscent of Holocaust

The European Union has decreed that contracts between EU member states and Israel must include a clause stating that east Jerusalem and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) are not part of the State of Israel and therefore not part of the contract, it was reported on Tuesday. (*Please note that they also included the Golan Heights)

The decree, which will go into effect Friday, will forbid any cooperation, awarding of grants, prizes and funding for any Israeli entity in the specified areas.

The EU’s funding, direct and indirect, of Israel bodies which operate in the settlements has long drawn fire from various organizations within the Union. The EU is severely opposed to Israeli construction beyond the 1967 lines and has acted repeatedly to draw a clear line between Israel and its settlements in the West Bank.

The latest decree resulted from the EU Foreign Affairs Council’s directives of December 2012, which stated that “all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.”

However, the directive will not harm funding for research institutes, such as the Hebrew University, which employs settlers in their staff. Government ministries, which have offices in east Jerusalem, such as the Justice Ministry, will still enjoy the EU’s cooperation as well.

An EU official said on Tuesday that Israel should not be surprised with the directive, as the issue has been repeatedly addressed and forewarned by EU officials.

The new directive, said the official, is in line with opinions in the EU which have been prevalent for several years.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office MK Ofir Akunis said in response: “It’s a wrong and regrettable decision. Such steps – even before the Palestinians announced they are even ready to return to the negotiation table – are pushing the peace talks away, not drawing them closer.”

“Let them know even in Europe – Judea and Samaria are not ‘occupied,’ they’re the homeland of the Jewish nation.”

Housing Minister Uri Ariel said in response to the decree: “This decision is tainted by racism and discrimination against the Jewish people which is reminiscent of the bans against Jews in Europe over 66 years ago,”

Minister Ariel added, “The Israeli government must not, under any condition, be a part of any future agreement which includes a clause that Judea and Samaria are not a part of the sovereign State of Israel.”

The Yesha Council stated that “To our regret, in Tisha B’av Europe has returned to a policy of boycott and segregation against the State of Israel. Europe’s unrestrained support of the Palestinian Authority has turned it into a non-neutral element.

“The Israeli government must instruct the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry to immediately halt all European projects in Judea and Samaria until this unilateral decision is aborted.”

So, the day is drawing toward a close and our landlord just came and told us that she is looking into selling the apartment that we live in and asked if we want to buy it. Thankfully, she told us that we would be able to sign another one-year lease so I have another ‘issue’ to help learn the stance of faith vs. doubt (fear, worry, sin) Again I have not heard more from our younger daughter but I have been overwhelmed with the loving prayerful response on her behalf. God bless you!

I must go so will sign off quickly.

Loving blessings,

your sis J

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July 15, 2013 · 3:53 pm

Prayer: So Easy To Talk About, Yet So Hard To Do (Part 7)

When J. Hudson Taylor was born in 1832, his mother and father prayed, “Lord, grant that he may work in China.”

The parents saw little evidence their prayer had any effect on their son’s life as he grew up in Yorkshire, England. In fact, he became a skeptic and wandered far from his Methodist upbringing. But when Taylor reached his teenage years, God grabbed his heart while he read a Christian tract in his father’s apothecary shop. A short time later, Taylor felt God had called him to be a missionary to China.

Then, Hudson Taylor’s training began in earnest.

Taylor read George Mueller’s newsletter and believed he needed strong faith and a prayer life like Mueller’s to succeed in China. To accomplish this, Taylor moved miles away from home to live in a poor area. He vowed to never ask people for help, but instead, like Mueller, he prayed, asking God to meet his needs. An absent-minded employer and sickness brought him close to starvation and death, yet God proved Himself faithful, delivering and healing him.

In 1853, Taylor sailed as a missionary for a new missionary society to Shanghai, China. The society seldom sent funds and Taylor refused to ask for help. “Depend upon it. God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack for supplies,” he proclaimed.

After seven years of hard work, he built a church of only 21 believers in an inland city. But because of illness, he and his wife returned to England. It was during his stay in England, when he felt defeated and depressed, that God gave him a vision for a new missionary society for China. Struggling with the vision and his lack of faith for it, Hudson Taylor eventually told God: “All responsibility as to the issues and consequences must rest with You. I am Your servant and I will obey and follow You.”

From this point forward, Hudson Taylor began praying for missionaries to join his missionary society: China Inland Mission. By 1895, 641 missionaries and 462 Chinese helpers at 260 missionary stations were the results of his prayers, more than half of all Protestant missionaries in the nation.

Missiologists and historians refer to Taylor as ‘one of the profoundest Christian thinkers of all time’, ‘a visionary pioneer’ and ‘one of the four or five most influential foreigners in 19th century China’.

Taylor’s own assessment was somewhat different: ‘I often think that God must have been looking for someone small enough and weak enough for Him to use, and that He found me.’

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July 14, 2013 · 9:46 am

Inside Israel

What are your thoughts occupied with as we heard toward tisha b’av next Monday night and Tuesday? I’ve been thinking about those little mistakes in communication that snowball into huge conflicts between people and communities. The children that grow up estranged because their parents were too busy to say “I love you.” The couples that stopped listening to each other because they didn’t understand each other. The religious sectors that split apart because they never took the opportunity to learn to value each other.

When we talk about Sinat Chinam (baseless hatred) in Israel, it’s important to realize that so many of our fights can be avoided if we take the time to maintain the relationships we have, and fill them with love and beauty instead of jealousy and suspicion. If we can do that as a nation, we’ll never have to fast on tisha b’av again.

Wishing you an easy and meaningful fast.” (from the local ‘janglo’ weekly letter)

Greetings and Blessings, dear sisters and brothers, May The Lord be glorified, blessed, worshipped… may you be blessed!

As ramadan is being observed by the world’s Moslems, the tisha b’av fast appears on the horizon. Tisha b’av (or 9^th day of the month of Av on the Hebrew calendar) is observed this year beginning Monday night the 8^th through Tues sundown the 9^th. Aside from the fast day of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, this is the most solemn fast day of the Jewish year. It is not observed as widely as Yom Kippur (which is commanded in scripture and actively observed by a large majority of Jews) but it IS observed by a surprising number of even secular or nominally observant Jews as well as the religious.

As I have told you recently, I have been going through this interesting season of having my morning devotional reading ‘disrupted by The Lord’ after 37 years of following His initial directions to me, and have been having an intense time reading and re-reading the major prophets again and again (along with other portions in New Covenant and Psalms), so this day is making a very present and living impression on me this year, even more so then in past years.

The 9^th of Av commemorates the actual date of the destruction of BOTH the first and second temples and the punishment of the surviving remnant being sent out of the promised land of Israel into the diaspora. You can read Jeremiah’s account of the date in Jeremiah 52:6-7 –

6 By the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

7 Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the plain.

I have also shared many times over the past years lists of the unusual number of cataclysmic events that have taken place among the Jews through out modern history on this same date.

People prepare for this time of often very real repentance and heart searching in many ways. The very religious men do not shave or cut their hair from Shavuot until tisha b’av, so there are many fully bearded men around right now. There is also a general feeling of mourning in the air and I have heard many greetings which include a blessing for Jerusalem. The teaching is that the judgment of God comes upon the people of Israel mainly for ‘brother hating brother’ (sinat chinam, in Hebrew). Of course this is partly true according to the scriptures as hatred, or lack of love, produces selfishness, oppressing, cheating, theft and the like. But the Scriptures make it clear that there are other reasons for the judgment of God upon the children of Israel: (I have been writing them down during these 6 months of reading through the major prophets). Some of them are:

Forsaking Him (our first love); serving other Gods (like material goods, the flesh, new age ideas…?), worshipping the work of our own hands, giving heed to seducing spirits (counterfeit works of a spirit other then HIS); defiling His land; rebellion; pride; not finding delight in The Word of The Lord; covetousness; dealing falsely; will not hear correction; following the dictates of our own heart; forsaking Shabat; following Eastern ways; arrogant tongue; despising this inherited land; lack of mercy…oh my, the list goes on.

At the top of this letter I copied a small paragraph that opened a local weekly email information site, and similar exhortations and encouragements are appearing in newspapers, in short messages on radio and tv and on billboards (at least in the Jerusalem area). ‘Prepare your heart to seek The Lord…do not let Jerusalem go again…’

I was in the Old City on Tuesday and many large groups of youngsters, soldiers and older folks as well, were on ‘learning tours’, reviewing the history surrounding the destructions of the temples. They stop to read scripture and pray. On tisha b’av itself, the book of Lamentations is prayed/read during the fast and many people stay up all night weeping and even dressing in sackcloth and ashes. We can scoff at what is ‘religious show’, but I, for one, know that God hears hungry hearts and my prayer is that this will NOT be a religious tradition, but that there will be breakthroughs in hearts; that The Holy Spirit will convict, and draw the hungry to Yeshua, Whom He is well able to reveal! AND… that He will indeed, CREATE hunger in the hearts of those who may be crying out of tradition only. He is able.

I have not been well, so will close and go to bed now. What a season we live in, eh? His ways are so above our ways and His thoughts so above our…and I am thankful for that! I send you much love. God bless you and keep you and make HIS FACE to shine upon you…and give you (HIS) Shalom.

Lovingly,

your sis J

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July 8, 2013 · 3:51 pm

Prayer: So Easy To Talk About, Yet So Hard To Do (Part 6)

One morning the plates and cups and bowls on the table were empty. There was no food in the larder, and no money to buy food. The thirty children were standing, waiting for their morning meal, when George Mueller said, “Children, you know we must be in time for school.”

Lifting his hand he said, “Dear Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat.”

There was a knock on the door. The baker stood there, and said, “Mr. Mueller, I couldn’t sleep last night. Somehow I felt you didn’t have bread for breakfast and the Lord wanted me to send you some. So I got up at 2 a.m. and baked some fresh bread, and have brought it.”

Mueller thanked the man.

No sooner had this transpired than there was a second knock at the door. It was the milkman. He announced that his milk cart had broken down right in front of the Orphanage, and he would like to give the children his cans of fresh milk so he could empty his wagon and repair it.

(Life and Ministry of George Mueller by Ed Reese, Reese Publictions, Christian Hall of Fame Series)

George Mueller (1805 – 1898) pastored the same Baptist church in Bristol, England, for over sixty-six years. Yet, he is best known for his orphan ministry, with stories like the above being common in his life. His orphanages cared for over 10,000 orphans at a time when destitute children were locked up in prisons to keep them off the streets.

Armed only with prayer and faith, he went through daily spiritual battles to provide for the increasing number of orphans under his care. He admitted his faith was nothing special and any believer could do it. What he did was simple enough in that he meditated in scriptures and then prayed the promises before God’s throne. He continued praying until He had peace about his prayers being answered by God.

God never failed him.

Near the end of his life, Mueller stated he had received over 50,000 answers to specific prayers from God. The amazing thing is that George Mueller never once asked people for money. Never once. Every prayer request was made alone before God.

Thousands of believers have been encouraged by the many books on George Mueller’s life. We’ll talk about one of them next time.

(Continued in Part 7)

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July 6, 2013 · 10:50 am

A Mother Shares Why She Sponsors Children

In the above video of 2 minutes and 49 seconds, a mother explains why she sponsors children in Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope ministry.

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June 29, 2013 · 2:05 pm

Pictures Tell Stories Better Than Any Writer Could Ever Do

(Click on the photo)

By clicking on the above photo, a window will open, revealing a monthly archive of photos. Choose any month. The pictures reveal life in India for millions of people, most of whom have no hope in life unless they meet Jesus. And how will they meet Jesus? Someone will have to go and preach to them. And how will someone be able to go and preach? Someone, like you and me, will have to help missionaries with our prayers and financial offerings.

If you are interested in helping, check out Gospel For Asia.

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Tagged as Christianity, Church, India, Kingdom of God, Poverty