Tag Archives: Israel

October 23, 2016 · 7:35 am

Inside Israel

Sukka in Jreusalem

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 —

Shalom, mercy and grace to each of you in The Name of our Lord and may He alone be glorified and blessed. May you be blessed and edified.

Well, you can say many things about the religious, and point out many errors and traditions, but one thing is for certain; they sure know how to rejoice.

The greeting for the “in between” days of Sukkot is moedeem l’simkha or “appointment to rejoice.” I love that because that is the scriptural command for Sukkot: you shall REJOICE BEFORE HIM!

So it was, that at just about 6:30 on Wed. night there was a LOUD crackle and bang, then a drum, and then the music started. Talk about LOUD! Across the street from our apartment, a group of Haradi men had set up with musical instruments (actually, the loud speaker equipment was most prominent) in front of the sukka, which stands in front of the market for anyone who wishes to use it. There were maybe 4 bearded middle aged to elderly men with a drum, a guitar, a clarinet and a singer, as is the habit of Haradim, dressed in black and white. I found Maya’s shoes and sox and down we went to join in the fun. For this isn’t my first experience and knowing what to expect, I was not disappointed.

By looking at these serious, elderly, bearded men, you might not expect them to be leading such an event, but this is a big part of who they are. The dancing had begun by the time 2 year old Maya and I arrived and her little feet joined right in. A large circle had formed of Haradi men who were jumping and kicking in a fast moving circle with ever increasing speed to the traditional songs of praise so old and so familiar to our people. With huge glowing smiles and voices lifted, their energy was contagious.

A very old man entered into the center of the circle with a much younger man and they danced almost in a joyous frenzy. Meanwhile, several young fathers coaxed the small children into a circle and Maya was joyfully in the midst. This was neither staged nor learned. It is a command to rejoice before The Lord and this is one of the ways on how they do it. It went on, by the way, unabated, until 10:30 p.m.

It has been a full week indeed. Even with me being somewhat on the outside of the celebration this year due to the current necessities of our family, nonetheless, we are part of the busyness swirling all around the country.

I left from work a bit early yesterday as it was the day of the Jerusalem March and the main streets were to be closed off for a good part of the afternoon. As soon as my bus arrived in the center of town it was evident that the troops had gathered: this year the largest representation of Christians coming up to Jerusalem to join in the feast appeared to be Asian from my vantage point. Large groups of brightly dressed Christians from China, Korea, Viet Nam, Philippines, Islanders from Samoa, Fiji and so on joined believers from Africa, South and North America and yes, other Middle Eastern nations, Europe and the continental Islands – people from 80 nations in all, filling our streets and greeting us locals.

A lady approached me. “Hag Sameach. God Bless you,” she said.

A refreshing wind covered me and I reached out. “Yes, and you too. I’m a local Jewish Israeli believer,” she said.

She hugged me and fumbled in her bag, handing me a lovely blue and white hanky. We shared names. Her name is Leslie and she is from Georgia and I loved her for coming and blessing so freely. “I’ll pray for you,” she told me.

How precious. And I have begun praying for her as well. A very brief encounter but so edifying for me.

On the train again a large group of Mongolian Christians entered. The women were wearing bright tee shirts with eagles on them, and the men’s shirts had lions. Two of the women carried handmade drums and large tree branches. The people on the train watched, amused, and interested. The train stopped and the door in front of me opened to see a group of perhaps Samoans. A rather large man was surrounded by a group as he put the biggest shofar I have ever seen up to his lips. “This should be interesting,” I thought.

But as he blew my skin tingled and the most powerful, beautiful cry split the air. The people on the train around me gasped and looked. We had just a moment before the doors closed on this passing scene. How do you adequately describe such scenes?

I knew that I would not have the strength this year to be at the parade itself, but I have seen in years past how at first many of the old time Israelis are a bit jaded at seeing these rather naïve, often slogan slinging Christians, joining in with our own nationals from around the country. They watch at first impatiently, but soon they are totally melted by the sincere love of the brethren. Israelis are so used to being hated and misunderstood or romanticized, but this overt display of vocal exuberant love never fails to melt the hardest of hearts. It isn’t long before the crowd begins to shout and dance along with the marchers. They begin to receive the flags and candy and souvenirs handed to them and then the embraces and the blessings Lord BLESS and strengthen you. “We are praying for you.” It does something…the streets seem lighter and, well, it is a unique gift.

The parade and the many different Christian meetings and tours are going on alongside all of the Jewish Sukkot events. The families on their day trips exploring God’s gift of the land, the gatherings at the Western Wall, the rejoicing in sukkas all over the land, gathering of friends and families and fellowships to bless and be blessed and to rejoice.

It CAN be a bit overwhelming because in the midst of this, life goes on.

Rima is one of our patients at the Doctor’s office where I work. The second doctor took the week for vacation, so we worked at double pace and it was EXHAUSTING. Rima is a relative of Natan Sharansky, a name that many of you are familiar with. He was perhaps the most famous and beloved of the “refuseniks” who were jailed in the Russian gulag in solitary confinement for many years, tortured for his Judaism and determination to leave Russia and to come to Israel. He survived by reciting the whole book of Psalms, which he had memorized and by playing chess with himself in his head. He survived not only to come to Israel but has held many key governmental positions. He is truly an amazing man whom I love deeply and who I’m honored to know through my work. His whole family are patients of our.

Rima is pretty old, very short and VERY hard of hearing. I love her! She came in and I said, “Rima, you amaze me. You never change, you are beautiful.”

She laughed and I looked down at her age in her chart. “What?” I said. “You are NINETY SIX?”

She looked incredulous. “No no,” she laughed. “I am still only 95. They made a mistake. I am happy that I can still live alone and cook and clean for myself and thanks to these pills I can go to the concerts every night and not worry about where the bathroom is.”

Oh my! What a bouquet of people I am privileged to meet.

Last night, we were finally able to join friends for a meal in their sukka and it was such a joy. I had to laugh as the new neighbors next door to them are religious and were having their joyful shabat meal while we had ours. Their singing and prayers arose and here we were next to them (don’t forget, the sukkas have cloth walls) singing and praising God for having sent His Lamb, His Messiah, His fullness. There is no doubt that they heard and felt the songs mingled together. Praise raising up with prayer that one day the whole people, (yes, it is NOT too big for Him Who can do ANYTHING that He promised) will be praising The Lord, SPEAKING HIS NAME, ELOHIM, GOD, YESHUA, JESUS, names which are forbidden to say out loud by so many, but when we see Him how can we BUT worship Him by Name. And it will happen and we will taste the moisture in the air before the rains begin.

Tomorrow is the last night for eating in the sukka. Sunday night Simchat Torah begins – the “last great day of the feast”…the day of REJOICING IN AROUND AND FOR THE WORD OF GOD. There will be the taking of the Torah scrolls into the streets and dancing and singing around them, thanking God for His Word. I am thankful that “… the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

I send you love with joy, because of Yeshua!

Your sis,

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October 16, 2016 · 7:40 am

Inside Israel

Sukka in Jreusalem

BELOVED Sisters and Brothers,

Fellow travelers who KNOW that He is the same, yesterday, today and forever, I greet you and ask for His grace and mercy to write what will edify and bless you and will also glorify HIM.

ALMOST missed writing to you before Sukkot begins tomorrow night!

Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles:

Leviticus 23:33 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. ³⁵On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. ³⁶For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.

³⁷‘These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— ³⁸besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.

³⁹‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. ⁴⁰And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴²You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, ⁴³that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’”

⁴⁴So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.

(For a few of the MANY other references in scripture see: Deut 31:10,Zech14:16, John 7:37, 2 Chron 5:3 and 2 Chron 7:8-end (amazing celebration)

Ok, yes! It makes me laugh! The world is upside down, spiraling into a chaotic quicksand bog and we STOP (FULL stop, for this is one of the THREE commanded feasts when The Lord, The Lord of Hosts, The Creator, God Almighty, commanded the children of Israel to come together IN JERUSALEM and to present themselves TO HIM with an offering of Thanksgiving. It doesn’t matter whether UNESCO says we existed here as a people or not because GOD has said we did and do.

We are to REJOICE before Him for 7 days while living and eating in a frail hut made of leafy branches, decorated with fruits and flowers, with a roof of palms through which we can see the sky, so that we can REMEMBER JUST HOW SMALL AND FRAIL WE ARE AND HOW HUGE AND BIG AND COMPLETE IS OUR TRUE PROVIDER AND LOVING FATHER. Now THAT is something only God Himself could design.

Of course, we as the stiff necked people that we are, are totally able to pervert that beautiful command into customs galore, however I love this holiday and enjoy sharing with you how it is observed here in Jerusalem, Israel.

The Sukkas (or booths) begin cropping up immediately after Yom Kippur.

During the week of Sukkot rain is prayed for and so often arrives to the joy of everyone, even when we are suddenly drenched inside of our sukkas. Israel, being a Middle Eastern desert country, is sunny and hot all summer and hopefully rainy and cold all winter. Now that we have desalination it may not seem as urgent, but nothing is a substitute for God’s gift of rain, waters from above, and it remains a sign of His blessing.

This is a celebration of His gifts, the foods that He provides for us, the fruits of the land, but ALSO a time to remember HIS great deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt and the fulfillment of all of His promises.

Although I celebrated the holidays when I was a child, the celebrations were in a way empty of the experience that is felt HERE IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL. The earthly fulfillment of His covenant promise to the Jewish people: this land. It remains a mystery, and yet a revealed one, only made more beautiful as the scriptures come more and more alive with each successive reading.

WHY would The Lord promise this land to this people? I don’t know, but He surely has done just that and His faithfulness to keep that promise becomes more humbling the more I understand what He has promised, has done, and is doing.

I was touched tonight when my son in law told me that he had built a sukka at his uncle’s apartment down the road – for me. His uncle’s apartment has a garden while our apartment does not have an appropriate place for a sukka. He asked if we could eat there and I was overjoyed. Once again, it will be a festive meal. The shuk will be a mad house tomorrow as everyone buys sprays of dates and pomegranates with stems and leaves, grapes and green clementines, apples and persimmons, dried fruits and nuts.

And then there are the 4 species: a palm, a willow, myrtle, and etrog. They are shaken or waved together in the 4 directions – north, south, east and west – while a blessing is spoken. An etrog is a citron, which looks somewhat like a lemon.

Of course, at the shuk, there IS a lively four species market, a BIG tent is set up, with tables galore selling the 4 items. The tent is jammed with people inspecting the branches and fruit with magnifying glasses to make sure that they are perfect. The more perfect the offering, the higher the price. Many people travel to the Western Wall inside the Old City daily during the feast to present their offering of the four species blessing.

One day during the feast, at the wall, there will also be the blessing of the Cohenim (the priestly blessing). The blessing of Aaron will be prayed over the nation by everyone who can trace themselves back to the priestly tribe of the Cohenim. AND, one more major event is the Jerusalem march or the grand parade of blessing through the streets of Jerusalem. Over the years, the Christians from various nations who have gathered to take part in the Christian Feast of Tabernacles’ activities take part in this march. They have become the main attraction with their God given joy and desire to bless the people. They walk in their native dress according to the country that they represent and throw candy and flags to the delight of the citizens lining the streets. Israeli groups are also well represented, from the banks to the armed services, and from the phone company to the street cleaners. It is a parade of blessing and joy and looked forward to by nearly everyone.

And yes, I have written this letter while being talked to so it feels very much like another poor offering. Our children as yet have not found a place of their own, but I KNOW that HE Who provides, WILL provide and I am filled with joy to see HIS GRACE as we are stretched for His purposes.

I hope that you are all familiar with the insane UNESCO ruling at the UN this week. If not, please look it up. The days are surely running through scripture and we are witnessing His Word coming to life. Hag Sameach or Joyful Holiday, may you be BLESSED with His Presence!

Lovingly,

your sister J

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October 2, 2016 · 8:00 am

Inside israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Greetings dear brothers and sisters in Yeshua,

As the last Shabat of the year 5776 begins to approach, may His Shalom, His Peace, flood your hearts and minds and anchor them in His Presence. May you be blessed and edified and may He be blessed and glorified!

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.'” Matthew 4:8

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” Revelation 11:15

The train has begun running again and the many kilometers of barriers are being swiftly removed. Roads are all re-opening and an extraordinary day is passing into the shalom of shabat.

From my front row seat, just 3 blocks from Har Hertzl (Mount Hertzl), the kings, presidents and prime ministers from more than 80 nations of the world assembled to bury Shimon Peres…master statesman, philosopher, brilliant orator, man of peace, scholar, wise man among the wise, co-author of the failed Oslo peace accords and the list goes on and on. At 93, Shimon Peres was the last of the greats, and sadly, the last of the founding fathers of this, the modern state of Israel.

I was unable to go to work today as we were totally blocked off (sequestered, quarantined) and although I could have walked the distance TO work, coming home would have been far more difficult, so I passed. Instead I listened to the speeches and watched the faces and wondered at the swift running changes and upheavals taking place all around me. Gathered before me was our entire government sitting with leaders from the Palestinians, most of the European nations, African nations, nations from every continent, America, Canada, more then I could keep track of. Presidents Obama and Clinton both gave eloquent speeches, as statesmen do, moving speeches, reflective words, nothing to be mocked, noble human thoughts.

And that snapped me back to the scriptures that I had read the morning before Peres passed from this world.

I have shared many times that when I first came to know Him, it seemed to me that I had to ask Him, “How do You want me to read YOUR book?”

He answered that I was to read every day, in order, beginning at Genesis and Matthew together, reading daily, morning by morning, straight through, from beginning to end and then repeat again, and to CONTINUE that way until He changed it. So I did. For 40 years.

Then He ADDED a Psalm and the Prophets (4 sections, in order, beginning to end…over and over) AND wherever I was also meditating (which HAPPENS to be Revelation right now.) ANYWAY, over the years I have OFTEN stood amazed at the juxtaposition of scriptures that I would read in a day, how they dovetailed and spoke together to the events of the day. I marveled at how He did that as I read in order. So it was on Tuesday morning as I read of the enemy’s temptation to Yeshua and THEN the triumphal heavenly voices proclaiming, “THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD HAVE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST, AND HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER AND EVER!”

Well, I stopped. If I didn’t fall to my knees, well, my heart surely did.

This is why we are instructed to pray: “Thy KINGDOM come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” The battle is on, the battle rages between KINGDOMS, and although we KNOW the outcome, we are not yet living in it but only in part.

Different kingdoms. Completely. The god of this world appears to me to be secular humanism. Man sits in the seat that belongs to God, proclaiming himself to be the center, the wise instructor, the leader, the one purpose worthy of praise.

It will NOT be this way in The Kingdom of God!

Shimon Peres was not a man who chose to follow God. His vision was a world of peace under one leadership of men’s wisdom. He was truly a king of secular humanism, at its best – noble men who seek wisdom. How sad that the imitation is not the goal, but how easy it is to be drawn away from our goal by the glow of other lights.

And so, the great rulers of this world gathered and yes, applauded a man who did indeed do noble things, yes, REALLY noble things. In spite of being the leader of the far left wing and trying to lead Israel away from God’s plan for her, his long history included many important if not great achievements for this country. How very appealing nobility is apart from God’s majesty. Perhaps we get a glimpse of this phenomenon when John marveled at the whore clothed in scarlet and purple and riding on the beast and was reprimanded by the angel who said, “WHY DID YOU MARVEL?”

“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? (Revelation 17:1-7)

The kingdoms battle around and within us. We choose the kingdom of God and our KING. Yet we still walk in this world, don’t we?

You can’t IMAGINE a more inconvenient day for a great man to die or place. PICTURE, please, the entire city of Jerusalem running around like crazy trying to prepare for Rosh h’shana, which begins on Sunday night. THAT MEANS: The last shabat of the year, Friday night and Sat. Shop and prepare like crazy Friday morning and Sunday morning and SUDDENLY…FORGET FRIDAY! Not only that, but BEFORE all of the friends and relatives converge around your table, and you give out all of your gifts, and you say all of your prayers and you make ALL of those preparations. MANY OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH COME TO THE CITY!

Well, they pulled it off.

Shimon Peres was a very controversial figure in life, a lot in so many ways like Barak Obama, who admired him deeply. Indeed, he was admired MUCH more by the statesmen of the nations than the people of Israel. But as all men of flesh, the time is so short and it is over.

What a GREAT GIFT we have received. This mystery of the cleansing of sin through belief in The Blood of Yeshua – the gift of eternal life. How HUGE! My entire nation turns at this season of renewal and repentance and seeking to be written in the book of Life for The Answer that we have so freely received. May we be refreshed by a flooding of our first love and a vision that keeps us from the snares that the kingdoms of this earth have for us.

My own earthly father passed away between the first and last sounding of the shofar on Rosh h’shana. The sages say that those who die during these days of the high holidays are tsadikim (holy). They also say that during the days between Rosh h’shana and Yom Kippur (the “days of awe” – deep soul searching and repentance) THE BOOK OF LIFE IS OPEN AND ALL OF THOSE WHO WILL BE INSCRIBED FOR LIFE ARE WRITTEN, but those not inscribed for life will be taken.

MAY EACH OF YOU FIND NEWNESS OF JOY IN THE FIRM KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE INSCRIBED IN THE LAMBS BOOK OF LIFE…AND MAY HE BE GLORIFIED IN OUR LIVES! MAY HIS KINGDOM COME AND HIS WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

I send this with much love,

Your sister J in Jerusalem

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September 25, 2016 · 7:22 pm

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Beloved brothers and sisters, shalom.

The word shalom comes from Him alone, The Prince of Peace (Shalom) The One who has made us one together in Himself. May HE be blessed and glorified and revealed in His people. Blessings to you with love, in this, the last week of the year, according to the Jewish calendar.

That’s right. The shofarim (ram’s horns) are sounding their deep calling unto deep throughout the city of Jerusalem anyway, and possibly the whole land.

Rosh h’shana is approaching rapidly.

Next Sunday night marks the beginning of the Jewish new year ‫תשע”ז (tav, shin, ayin, zayin) or 5,777. The main scriptures referring directly to the feast of trumpets (Rosh h’shana) are found in Leviticus 23:23-25 and Numbers 29:1. They don’t say much except that it is to be a high holiday and the ram’s horns are to be blown. Rosh h’shana means literally “the head of the year” and it has become the “new year” in spite of the fact that Moses said that Passover would mark the beginning of the year for us. Since I have discussed this in depth over the years I will NOT go into it now, but will share with you that it is the beginning of the cycle of the Fall Feasts: Rosh h’shana, Yom Kippur (the day of awe…of confession, repentance and fasting), and finally the amazingly joyous week long feast of Sukkot (feast of tabernacles). This is a busy busy season over here.

The shofar sounds daily now as people practice their blowing skills during morning prayers all around the city and in every synagogue. Apples and honey, almonds and raisins − the traditional greeting for the “sweet year” are everywhere filling the air with sweet aromas and tastes. The grapes and pomegranates, dates and persimmons shine colorfully out of the stalls at the shuk and people scurry everywhere buying gifts to give to others, preparing meals for friends, family and the poor and needy. All are preparing to gather together… and preparing hearts and homes. It IS a special time.

But in these days that show every sign that we have indeed entered into the path of God’s judgments, time itself seems to me to have speeded way up. The air is mixed with the smoke of the fires burning all around us in the wars and upheavals on every one of our borders and extending throughout the entire world. Is it just me or is there a tension which seems to be at a deeper level everywhere. The sounding of a warning shofar, calling us deeper into His Presence, to be hidden in The Rock until the fury passes by, but I have a strong sense that once it passes things will never be the same again. Perhaps I am a pessimist and this is all subjective. I don’t speak as a prophet or leader, just a sheep with a profound sense of urgency.

Perhaps part of it is reinforced by a flurry of strange events that have happened to me since our upstairs neighbor miraculously moved out JUST before my husband’s return from Alaska. Then our family moved in with us, creating quite a bit of noise that would have really had us in trouble, had she still been there.

Some of you might recall me asking for prayer for Dalia, a demon possessed woman at the shuk whom I had befriended and was praying much for. She has been very friendly to me for several years and I longed to share Him with her but felt a caution to wait for His timing on praying for her. Suddenly, with no warning, she has begun cursing me and my Yeshua. She sends knives of hatred through me when we see each other, which is almost daily, but how did she know? I never told her. It took me so much by surprise. It also took me by surprise when an old patient from the doctor’s office where I work came in and said, “I have something that you HAVE to listen to.”

She put earphones in my ear. The music played: Jesus shot an arrow of love into my heart and changed me or something like that. I looked up, startled, and said, “How did you know?”

“Oh, you told me years ago and I never forgot,” she said beaming at me.

Then I remembered, some 18 years ago she was going through a terrible time and my boss was trying to keep her out of a mental hospital. I shared with her then, but have not seen her since more than a few times. She remembered. It is curious to me: why NOW?

And along with this, at the same time, persecutions against the believers has picked up. I will not detail this at this point.

Yes, there is more.

With all that is going on in my family I have had NO time to write, and don’t now (it is midnight and I really SHOULD be in bed) but I can not let the new year run in without sharing.

All of the personal news has been stacking up as well: just too much!

Thank you SO much for your prayers!

My husband’s trip to Alaska with our Grandson for his bar mitzvah gift and our son in law being with them, was excellent, a real blessing. I can only trust Him that He is working much in each of them. My husband’s health did not suffer, and my time on my own was excellent, a time that I needed to gain strength, peace and settling in Him.

Three days after my husband arrived home, our younger, very pregnant daughter with her husband and two and a half year old daughter arrived home after 4 and half years in America. (TALK ABOUT HAPPY GRANDPARENTS!!)

That is nearly 3 weeks ago now. They are still going through the bureaucratic hoops of being fully reinstated into the system, but Yitzhak is a sabra (born here) and that makes him so much more able to maneuver the system, so we are hopeful that they won’t get too bogged down, even though the country literally shuts down for the 3 weeks of these high holidays. It is urgent that our daughter and our Granddaughter Maya be fully established into the health care system before the new baby arrives. It would be REALLY GOOD if they had their own apartment, at least with beds and appliances, before the baby comes as well, but perhaps that is selfish of me. Yet I think it is better for them.

We thought that perhaps the apartment above us that Valarie so recently vacated was for them, but the landlady is asking far too much rent and it is really a dump. I had asked some of you to pray that they would get it IF it was His will, but I had a check in my spirit immediately that it wasn’t, so I wasn’t terribly disappointed.

On Friday they found an apartment in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev. Those of you who follow our news may have heard of this neighborhood, one that the UN says is illegal. It is on the seam line and so has seen a fair amount of violence, being in close proximity with some large Arab cities. (At the end of this letter I enclosed a small description)

The 5-room apartment is half the price of our 3-room apartment and is new and lovely, according to Yitzhak, who saw it. It is being renovated and won’t be ready for two more weeks and only then will they know if they can get it, so I again ask for prayer that IF IT IS HIS WILL FOR THEM THEY WILL GET IT. It is at exactly the other end of the train line that runs past our house, so I could just take the train to help her. In times of unrest, it does go through many stone throwing areas and they would be near to these places.

On the bright side, it would be good for them to be in a young community like this one and not too near to his ultra religious family. It is affordable and pretty. Thank you for praying for His will. AND I HAVE A SECRET: I have seen that, yes, The Lord is sending them witnesses here, and yes, I have peace that HE will draw them with cords of mercy.

Our older daughter’s family as well is going through a shuffling. Hopefully I can share about that soon, but it all says to me that The Lord is moving quickly, and He WILL bring His people home to the land that He promised.

Comfortable? Easy? NO! Faithful? OH YES! NOT ONE WORD WILL FALL TO THE GROUND.

Oh my, nearly 1a.m. and I must be up in 4 hours. This letter comes to you with love from the center of “it all.” I am PRAYING that I can get more time to share, particularly with these wonderful fall feasts running toward us. May The Lord of grace and mercy fill you with all joy and hope in believing and refresh us with His own Self for His glory.

LOVINGLY,

your sister J

On the way to Neve Yaakov, you’ll pass through Pisgat Ze’ev, the largest neighborhood in Jerusalem. With over 50,000 residents, Pisgat Ze’ev is a relatively new and popular destination for families and young couples looking to escape the skyrocketing property prices elsewhere in Jerusalem. But with a new development in progress, Pisgat Ze’ev may well become the next hot location for real estate hunters in Jerusalem.

Named for the early 20th century Zionist activist Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Pisgat Ze’ev was founded in 1982. The neighborhood was established to create a link between the Jerusalem center and the outlying neighborhood of Neve Yaakov, which was isolated at the time. Pisgat Ze’ev is located near several Arab villages and the neighborhood of Shuafat. Perhaps due to the ideology of its namesake, many of the central streets in Pisgat Ze’ev are named for Israeli army units circa the 1948 and 1967 wars. In ancient times, the region where Pisgat Ze’ev is now located was once a major source of oil and wine for use in the Temple in Jerusalem.

This neighborhood is now home to many Jewish families with children, and consequently has many kindergartens, elementary schools and a few high schools. The population is a mix of religious and secular Jews, with a significant number of synagogues throughout the neighborhood. A small but increasing number of Arabs have been moving to Pisgat Ze’ev, as well.

In 2009, a luxury building project in Pisgat Ze’ev was approved that has already attracted the interest of several buyers. The project has also attracted controversy, since Pisgat Ze’ev, despite being part of metro Jerusalem, lies beyond the 1967 Green Line and is classified internationally as a settlement. But the popularity of the project indicates an ongoing phenomenon in Jerusalem: local buyers are looking to move away from the city center, going instead where prices are more affordable.

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September 4, 2016 · 8:37 am

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Dear Brothers and Sisters along the path,

I greet you in The Precious Name of Yeshua, Jesus Christ, and risen Lord. May He Alone be blessed and glorified and may we be blessed and edified in Him.

I have something big to share. Yes, I do.

Acts 12 has always been an enigma chapter for me. It begins with “…Herod killed James the brother of John with the sword…” in verse 2. It’s a short sentence, and with the rest of the chapter so jam-packed with His wondrous goodness, I have never heard this event spoken about.

Another sentence that is curious to me that I have never heard mentioned is v.19 :

“But when Herod had searched for him [Peter] and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.”

The REST of the chapter about the amazing and encouraging recount of Peter’s arrest and miraculous release from jail by the angel, along with the humorous, but human unbelief of Rhoda and the praying body, is meat for us, familiar and encouraging. But I always wonder about James. Was he less loved by The Lord so that he wasn’t protected? Was he out of God’s will? Is God a respecter of persons that favored Peter? And what about the guards? Why one and not the other? And then I always hearken back to Job and remember that we INDEED still see through a glass darkly and it does ME good to remember that unless I hear from Him I know NOTHING about anyone else.

That’s why it’s so humbling to share the astounding answer to prayer that I just had right now, especially as we are still mourning along with my friend the horrible death of her Grandson. We don’t understand fully, but I dare not be embarrassed to rejoice over the amazing thing that God has done:

REJOICE WITH ME. I came home from work yesterday and there was a moving truck in front of my building and it SEEMED that my upstairs neighbor was MOVING OUT! By the time I came home from prayer meeting last night, SHE WAS GONE! This is the neighbor who has tormented us for the past 2 years, calling the police on us in the middle of the night SIX times that we were making noise when we were sleeping. She was so filled with anger and rage that I have not had a good night sleep in years until last night.

The oppression has been great, but it did cause me to pray for her daily, and perhaps no one ever has. I am sorry that she didn’t come to Him and become my sister and friend, but I did ask Him that if she didn’t respond, would He please remove her. Like Rhoda, though, when Peter was knocking, she didn’t get it. I am in WONDER of it all!!

AND THERE IS MORE. Our pregnant daughter and family (2.5 year old Granddaughter too J) have tickets to move back home here: NEXT WED! They are in need of an apartment and this one the one upstairs couldn’t be closer. IS IT YOUR WILL LORD? I called the landlady this evening and she was THRILLED. She EVEN said that the upstairs neighbor had refused to allow her to show the apartment for the past 2 months even though she was the owner and had many people interested. She said, “Maybe it was held for your daughter?”

She said that she won’t show it to anyone until they have seen it. BUT IS IT HIS WILL? I don’t know. I know circumstances and my emotions and thoughts, but I DO ask for prayer about this. Please?

So many emotions. Ah Lord, please give me your Balance and Stability and PEACE. YOUR WILL BE DONE. That is NOT a benign non-Spirit filled prayer. It is the prayer that HE prayed. And I do agree with Him from the heart.

My husband is set to return home late Saturday night (motzi Shabat – or “the going out of the Shabat”) from his epic journey. It has been wonderful for them. Thank you so much for your prayers. Prayers make a difference, yes they do. The body is His way and His gift and Himself. We can’t get around it. Even when our prayers go on and on and we don’t see the answer yet. Even when our Grandson dies. Even when Jobs trials rained down on him and when Joseph was in prison and Jeremiah was in the dungeon. But SOMETIMES, the tormenting neighbor moves out. And SOMETIMES the man is delivered from the Legion of demons and SOMETIMES the dead are raised. Some plant, some sow, but it is GOD WHO GIVES THE INCREASE.

Summer (Kii-itz) is quickly giving way to Autumn here and the weather is wonderful. The summer fruits are being replaced with grapes of all colors and sizes and pomegranates. We have been told that there is or WILL BE another tomato blight. An agreement has been made to import TOMATOES from JORDAN. This is an affront to most Israelis because there is NOTHING more Israeli then the Israeli tomato, unless it is the Israeli cucumber.

Prices for tomatoes at the shuk today had already tripled and the comments abounded. ‘Well, I guess THIS is my last tomato for the winter!” one lady commented.

Sigh. We all know that tomatoes are an Israeli staple, so she’ll finally give in and pay and eat Jordanian tomatoes.

And like many of you, our school year began today, with shiny excited faces and brand new backpacks. Armed security guards everywhere, the next generation learns and may they get knowledge WISDOM.

With some mocking loudly, but many of us also grateful, our Prime Minister announced that there will be a new and intensified emphasis placed on the Bible and Zionism (the love of the land of Israel) in schools from Kindergarten up. He reminded us that the Bible is not only our history book, but our reason for being and who we are and that this generation needed to understand our roots.

I’ve heard a number of the youngsters who are believers tell us that their teachers who teach the Bible − a required subject for K-12 − are totally secular and teach it as myth only. BUT THE WORD IS SHARPER THAN ANY TWO EDGED SWORD and WILL perform what it is sent to do. It IS Alive and Quick and we can pray (as we are) that THE WORD will LIVE AND RISE in the hearts of all.

As our nation continues to walk the tight rope which often seems to be a noose in this hyper-connected brave new world, the fall feasts are again approaching: Rosh h’shana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot − the ancient pictures brought to life again and again, faithfully reminding us that HE IS FAITHFUL. The holidays (hagim) arelate this year (being that we go according to the ancient Hebrew calendar and this has been a leap year) and will be in October. Although the next couple of weeks may be way too busy to write, and although this is more of a personal letter then the regular kind, I do very much love you and it encourages ME when I touch bases with you.

Thank you for taking the time to read these and to pray as The Holy Spirit leads. Your prayers for this nation and people ARE according to His Word and His Heart as we see the day approaching.

Lovingly,

your sister J

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August 28, 2016 · 6:38 am

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Shalom.

I greet you with deep love, because of Yeshua Who planted His Love in us and continues to teach us what Love is and how to give it and receive it. I will share further down why this became so clear to me this week. And why you, the body – the miracle of His creation – encourages me so much.

May HE ALONE be glorified and blessed and may you be blessed and edified!

It is THAT TIME’ of year again. I wondered why the train, the bus, and the STREETS were SO CROWDED that I could hardly move. But it wasn’t just crowds. It was FAMILIES. Big families and small, secular and religious, a father with three kids, Grandparents with several, a young family with ten – all together. “LOOK! RUN OVER HERE! HERE IS THE BRIDGE!” a father shouted to his 3 short people, who looked very confused.

“WHERE??” they asked.

“Oh well, you missed it. Let’s go look at the driver.”

They made their way to the front of the train and I chuckled thinking that people who don’t ride the train never realize how SHORT that bridge really is.

This is IT. The two weeks before school begins when the kaytinot – or ever present year around Israeli camps and clubs and activities come to a screeching halt and there are two intense weeks of FAMILY TIME. Kaytina is not quite like anything I have seen in any other country. It is not really optional because it is what EVERYONE does. It is enriching. Maybe science, music, swimming, sport, reading – there are endless options. It is often subsidized (in other words, NO one gets left out because they can’t afford it). It is fun and safe and besides all of the parents are working.

I watched two Grandparents in their upper 70s at least, trying to maneuver the bus passes for their 4 small Grandchildren, who were SO excited to be going to the zoo with Saba and Savta (Grandpa and Grandma). Saba and Savta looked EXHAUSTED already and they were just beginning the journey. Another woman said, “Ah, Mil-oo-eem.”

I burst out laughing. I had never thought of Grandparent duty in Israel as mil-oo-eem but it surely is. Milooeem is our armed services reserve duty. It’s the older soldiers who have a regular job most of the year, but they get called once a year or during a war or crisis for a few weeks to don those uniforms and dust off their skills, to help defend the country until around the age of 50.

Yep! Grandparents are definitely milooeemniks. Some parents can take off from work for all or part of these two weeks, but not all.

When it comes to the train, I must admit to enjoying the training that goes on in religious families. They are known for having VERY large families and of course, a train ride is too expensive to take often with a full tribe, but it does make for a wonderful special outing. Now that I’m older, I see their young ones snap to attention and jump out of their seat to give it to the older person. There is a sign (only in Hebrew) on the buses that quotes from Leviticus 19:32 “You shall rise up before the gray headed, and honor the face of the old man…”

It is not just the religious but many who are just plain helpful. Last night I was squished on the train and getting a bit bruised up. I had a shopping cart with me but was wedged in by a double baby stroller alongside of a single baby carriage. A young woman got up and said, “Come here.”

But I told her that I had my cart and couldn’t get through. Immediately some young soldiers lifted my cart above everything and the sea parted again. I was sitting safely in a seat, thanking God and asking Him to give me eyes to see always these kindnesses and then to pass them on.

Eyes to see are a blessing in the physical as well as the spiritual. A blind lady was also at this busy stop when I got on. An older lady and a young girl both eyed her to see how best to help her maneuver the crowd. While we watched, her smartphone informed her the train would come in another 3 minutes. She made a phone call to a service of some kind and told them where she was and which car she was going to be in and when the train would come. “Could someone please meet me at the stop and bring me there?” she asked.

I was again touched that such things were available so that she could be free to move about. The two strangers, one young and one older on either side guided her on to the train where she immediately was given a seat, one of her angles at her side where they chatted easily. Coming from America, it always strikes me here that handicaps elicit no embarrassment at all, either from strangers nearby who may need to lend a hand, nor by the one who might need help. Life is life and this is just how it is. There is a pronounced lack of self-consciousness, which I find delightful.

It’s not only the children who are on tee-oo-leem (tours) during these last summer days. I was at the shuk this afternoon and our new soldiers were there. Young and strong and full of energy in their new uniforms. A major part of their training is to totally tour the country, north, south, east and west. They get to fully know the history, both recent and ancient, the geography, the different populations including cultures and religions and the sensitivities of each group. There must have been a hundred of these handsome, lean, tanned faces as old men and ladies stopped to bless them and young children looked on admiringly. They toured the shuk, a place that has known more than its share of attacks and is unique for its wonderful mixture of populations, Arab and Jew, working side by side and shopping side by side.

This is what a summer’s day in Jerusalem looks like as summer draws to a close. I made my way to a doctor’s appointment and saw a most unusual sight. On a main, narrow two-lane street, one lane was blocked by a line of BUSES. This was a TWO way street, mind you. Perhaps 10 or 15 city buses were simply parked and empty. Shivta’? (strike) I asked a bus driver, lounging near the bus. He smiled, “Nope. They needed buses to take the kids so we volunteered.”

What a line of buses had volunteered! They were parked in front of a religious school. I wasn’t sure exactly what he had said they were going to do, but it had a happy feeling to it. When I got to the end of the road, I saw that the police had actually volunteered the buses by pulling them over and asking them to join.

Immediately I remembered going down town to check our mail in our tiny remote village in NW Alaska when a policeman called me over and said, “We need a jury. You are number 9. Head over to City Hall.” And that was that.

This is a light letter although the things that are swirling around me are not light. I think that is how life really is. Even in times of war, the sun rises and sets and believe it or not, flowers bloom and birds fly. Daily life goes on as we stand beside graves that we did not expect and carry grief that we could not fathom.

In my own life right now, my husband left for the village that he is from in Alaska on Wednesday. Since I haven’t heard otherwise, I assume he is having a wonderful time. He was joined by our grandson and son-in-law yesterday, I believe. I am praying for them all to have a life changing exchange with The Lord and that this trip will impact them for HIS GLORY AND PURPOSES.

Our younger daughter is TRYING to sort through things somehow and be able to move out of their house within a week and into her sister’s home. They plan to return to Israel after 4 years with 3 suitcases each, period. She (who is more than 6 months pregnant) is really struggling to know what to bring. They plan to arrive here on the 7th of Sept and move in with us until they are able to get an apartment.

My husband arrives home the night of the 3rd and I am trying to baby-proof and rearrange the apartment to allow them to be at home here. I am not naturally great at these logistics anymore, and with my neighbor upstairs, I have to be very careful about making noise. These are all small things, but I personally believe that how I am steward of the time and strength and resources He provides for me, all play a role in how I stand before Him. And after 40 years plus, I am still standing on behalf of my family before His throne, as well as this nation and people. Just like you, the myriad of things He entrusts us to pray for. So I am concerned that I am found to be a faithful steward.

As I said before, this is a rather light letter, a picture that I hope you can enjoy. But our purpose is so completely to enjoy HIM and build the Body, sustaining one another through prayer and edification and building up the body and worshipping HIM, FOR HE ALONE IS LORD.

God bless you and encourage each of you.

Lovingly,

your sister J

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August 14, 2016 · 8:19 am

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Greetings from a finally quiet Jerusalem. May you be blessed and edified and may THE LORD be glorified and blessed and adored.

Today is TISHA B’AV or THE 9TH OF THE MONTH OF AV, known by Jews as the day of great grief. A day of fasting, set aside for mourning the destruction of both the first and second temples in Jerusalem by judgments of God and numerous other calamities that have befallen the people on this date since called by God to follow Him thousands of years ago.

From a simple online dictionary: LAMENTATION – “groan, howl, keen, lament, moan, plaint, wail“

“an expression of great sorrow. Mourners uttered lamentations.”

The book of LAMENTATIONS (AEKAH in Hebrew ‫איכה) left for us an agonizing witness by the prophet Jeremiah, is read today, prayed through, and wept over. It’s often done at the western wall of the second Temple – the remnant left standing in the Old City where Jews go to worship and pray. Others meet in homes or out in the open to read, study, pray, search hearts. Study groups form everywhere and some stay all night in front of the western wall expressing grief. The evolving traditions are varied and many.

But on my heart this year is a different sort of cry. I have held it before The Lord as a question for years now: What is in YOUR EYES, LORD? Not just tisha b’av, but how YOU see it all. YOUR purposes. YOUR plan. YOUR grief. YOUR heart for this people, this land and beyond.

One thing that I see so clearly this year is that THE LORD makes plain those things that are an abomination to HIM and where our sins lie, and yet we so often choose to call it something else, and not agree with Him. The Lord stated CLEARLY why Jerusalem was judged and why the people were scattered and cast out into the nations, not once, but twice cast. There was the horror of idolatry, the grievous half hearted or feigned hypocritical worship, and the disobedience of all that was written in Your word. Yet the rabbis have stuck to their decision that the reason for judgment is “sinat chinam” or hatred for no reason. Thankfully they have enlarged on that idea and as I read 1 Corinthians 13 this morning and thought about God’s Love yes, this is such a part of His Heart. BUT once again it skirts the issue and avoids what God was focusing on. We did not TRUST AND BELIEVE. We did not OBEY. Do we today? Perhaps these questions are too big to look at. Thankfully some do.

BUT WHAT ABOUT US?

As the body, how do we pray for this nation, this people, several of you have asked, What is HIS HEART, HIS CRY, HIS PURPOSE?

FRIDAY NIGHT:

I have told you before that we live on a terribly noisy, busy corner. Shabat is a blessing as the train and traffic grind to a halt and the stores close. People go home to their families and shabat comes in with its quiet rest. It should. But this Friday night I was awakened by screams, and hoots, and motorcycles. It was about 2 a.m. I guess that the “hidden bars” had closed. Something about a day set apart for repentance seems to stir up demonic activity, eh? I’m sure that you have all noticed that. It was true here.

From 2 a.m. until around 5 a.m. the voices of alcohol and drugs, rebellion and bondage screamed loudly under my window and I struggled to pray. “Lord! What do You want me to pray?” I cried.

It took me until 5 a.m. to finally have my ears and heart unstopped and I was able to pray that The Fear of The Lord would be established on THIS CORNER of Jerusalem. “That’s IT Lord? Nothing more?”

Sometimes it is only one corner. One corner at a time. Stand where He has placed you and having done all – stand. Meanwhile, there was anger in my heart. I was tired. I wanted to sleep. There was hatred and not love. I did not love the partying howlers outside of my apartment. Natural? Yes!

But NOT the response of The Holy Spirit, Who kept reminding me of my own days of rebellion before I met His mercy face to Face with my sin. Yes, I hooted outside of others windows and disrupted many a resting person.

HIS HEART. HIS PRAYER. HIS FOCUS. LORD! AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS: TEACH ME TO PRAY.

I am tired of “beating the air” and not seeing an answered prayer. Oh, it is NOT “super me answered prayer” that I’m looking for. It is PRAYING HIS HEART. Why don’t I HEAR CLEARLY? Why are MY ears plugged? Come, hear and obey. Do I hear SOMETIMES? Yes. But I for one am convinced that we all have an open door to ABIDE IN HIM ALL THE TIME.

Is there a price? Yes. It is already paid in full, but we still need to make that painful exchange and die to self COMPLETELY. Is it easy? Only once we have done it. WHERE IS THE DOOR LORD? Lead me there. Give ME a willing heart AGAIN. Take the blinders off of MY EYES, AGAIN. And once again, plow up the fallow ground of MY heart.

IS THIS SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU PRAY FOR THE NEEDS IN ISRAEL, JERUSALEM AND OUR PEOPLE…AND THE NEEDS OF THE WORLD? Well, actually maybe it does. I’ve been writing this for an hour now, struggling with the words, the direction, but perhaps until we are praying HIS HEART, the rest doesn’t really matter. DARE I say such a thing? WHERE IS THE BODY? We are praying here in this city today about the judgment and destruction of the temples and WE ARE THE TEMPLE.

I get letters from people who want to know about the rebuilding of the third temple. More than 20 years ago now I was here praying for the rebuilding of the third temple and understanding from His perspective about Temple Mount when He spoke clearly to me and startled me to my core. It seems so OBVIOUS to me now, but until that moment it wasn’t at all. He said, “I AM building The Last Temple right now and you are to be a lively stone in it, being built without the sound of hammer on stone, outside of the camp, a Temple for Me to dwell in. The Body is now in Jerusalem being built up!”

It was such a shock to me at the time and such a new thing when my focus was on rebuilding a physical Temple here. I went to the scriptures and searched them if this indeed could be true. “Confirm it Lord, in Your Word.” Well, THAT was EASY! As I searched I wondered how I could have ever MISSED it and had my eyes so fuzzy.

SO I KNEW THAT IT WAS HIS PURPOSE AND HIS HEART TO PRAY FOR THE BODY BEING BUILT HERE IN THE LAND. THE INDIGENOUS BODY. THE ONE THAT SAYS, “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD”…AND FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THAT BODY TO BE SHARP ARROWS WITH NO MIXTURE OR PRIDE OR ULTERIOR MOTIVES. FOR TRUE REVIVAL AND FOR A TRUE ON-FIRE BODY THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO REAP A HARVEST IN HIS SEASON.

It is equally important to pray for the body in your nation to see clearly HIS PLAN for Israel and its people at this point in history because it IS a focus of HIS purposes in the last days.

It makes me shiver that I am stating these things as if I had authority. Oh may I not be offending ONE SHEEP. But I am convinced that this is Him. So much I question and say, “Is this You Lord?” But these things are settled in my heart. HIS WAY IS PURE, HOLY, SETTLED, NEVER CHANGING, FAITHFUL – AS HIS NAME – SO IS HE. ALL THAT HE IS CALLED, HE IS. AND IT IS ALL THERE IN HIS WORD. SO DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT – ONLY HIS ALONE.

You all know by heart as He tells us in Mat 11:28 ”Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.“

As some of you are praying for my people today, this scripture has brought so many of us to His rest. It still applies for us believers and for the people here who don’t yet know Him.

I pray that something in this rambling makes some sense to you. For those of you interested in the traditions of tisha b’av and don’t remember my past letters going into that, please google tisha b’av.

May The Lord be glorified in our lives and may He be pleased to dwell in His Temple in all of His fullness. Even so, come Lord Yeshua.

Lovingly,

Sister J in Jerusalem

P.S. I have just returned from running some errands, and, as usual, there were things to observe. I wanted to include them as a very short addendum.

The streets were very empty downtown. Many shops were closed as well, in spite of the fact that this is not a non-working day. On the train, I sat beside a woman who was on the phone, loudly sharing in English with a friend how she had participated in last night’s march around the Old City walls and went to the Western Wall and listened to the reading of Lamentations. “It was such great exercise, a wonderful work out.”

There I sat beside her in my full judging garment of superiority until He smote my heart. Who did I think I was anyway! And I repented. As I lifted my eyes I noticed another woman sitting on the floor (yes, of the train) reading Lamentations. She was neither a crazy nor did she appear to be trying to draw attention to herself. But sitting on the floor is the traditional Jewish position of mourning. Another woman (not on the floor) sat across from me reading Lamentations. I thought about the physical position that I like to pray in and wondered: “where is the line between tradition, drawing attention to one’s self, being self righteous OR self critical, judging other people and just LETTING GO AND LETTING GOD TAKE US INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES.

And with that thought I will close, again.

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Beloved, friends, sisters and brothers, greetings in The Name of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus. May He be glorified and blessed and may you be edified and blessed…Only The Lord can take small portions of bread and fish and make them enough.

As I write to you, it looks as if Jerusalem is in a lock down and maybe under siege. It is definitely a great grief. An outbreak of the cancer in the world today spreading everywhere in all of its various forms − be it this sin or that and this crime or that and this war or that − the source is the same. It’s taking the form at this moment of the gay pride parade, which insists that they must march through JERUSALEM too. THANKFULLY, this is NOT too big for The Lord Who hears our sighs and grief-filled cries for His city to become a PRAISE unto HIM in all the earth.

One year ago today at the parade, a young girl was stabbed to death by a religious Jew stirring great sympathy in the general public, many of whom are there today to support the parents and to stand against such hate. It is a VERY deep rift as being a people under the first Covenant and the fullness of the Law. Those who are particularly zealous for the Law do look to emulate Phinehas, who, if you remember the account in Numbers 25, was greatly esteemed for killing the couple caught in gross sin in the camp as God’s judgment fell. His act stayed the judgment of God.

I will only say that both the spirit and the emotions in the city right now are volatile. I search for The Holy Spirit’s Heart in the midst. What a time we live in! WHAT A RESPONSIBILITY TO PRAY!

This morning Ahuva died and she is being buried as I write. I asked for prayer for her such a short time ago and this morning as my boss read to me the day’s notices concerning our patients that we receive on the computer, he said, “Ahuva is in hospital again…and…she died this morning!”

He was in as much shock as I was as the words spilled out of his mouth surprising him. I gasped, ‘No!’

She was 61 and her daughters, Bat El (daughter of God) and Ma’ayan Nissim (a deep clean spring of water or miracle) are just 33 and 31. The 3 lived together as the girls are both still single. I had seen her last on the 11th when her lung was bothering her. She pulled toward me and I said, “Oh Ahuva, I want to hug you but I am sick and I don’t want to infect you.” So I didn’t.

And sick I was! For the first time in 20 years I was really sick with a plain old germ − sort of strep throat and bronchitis together. So I stayed home in bed for the next week and didn’t call her in the hospital where my boss sent her, suspecting a blood clot following the cancer surgery on her kidney. I prayed for her, but the cancer moved so quickly. She had just been diagnosed but it had spread to her lungs. She had been so scared and I said to her, “We each have just today. Please don’t waste it being afraid. Go out and look at the beauty…” And she did.

But I did not get to the hospital to share Yeshua. The One Who is our Peace, with her and I can only lay it before Him and leave it there.

What a gift this life. How precious. A reflection of His Love for us. He takes us on a journey, NOT to find ourselves but to LOSE ourselves and be found in Him.

Ok…enough! I will get on…the train with you.

After a week in bed, reality hit me between the eyes as soon as I got downstairs to the train station in front of my apartment door. “Train delay due to security reasons. There will be delays. 18 minute wait.” It is what the moving electric sign said in 3 languages.

No doubt about it, the train would be crowded and it was. This was Sunday morning when the soldiers who have been home for Shabat travel back to their bases with their huge backpacks full of a week’s worth of freshly washed clothes and inevitable snacks and homemade goodies. Thankfully, a young person got up to give me their seat. Yes, this is the way it is done here. There are even signs saying: “rise before the elderly” on buses.

“H’Shem tishmor aleyhka hi’al!’ (The Lord watch over you, soldier!)The woman beside me said to the group of soldiers standing in front of us.

Everyone nodded. They thanked her shyly, appreciating the prayers and sloppy love of the nation; their parents and siblings and children. I still love watching fathers traveling with their sons on the train or bus to the central bus station and giving them a big hug and kiss and their big strong boy/man for the week.

I needed to stock up on whole oats so went to the grain vendor and dipped the scoop into the sack. As I did I heard him describing an event. I looked up and caught his eye. “What happened?” I asked.

“On the corner of King George and Yaffo, a te**orist (sorry, it’s a catch-word on internet) with a belt was caught trying to get on the train!”

That’s 2 blocks away from the shuk and that is why the train was stopped. He went on. “They blew up the e*plosi*es and it was a huge boom!” His adrenalin was flowing.

“Thank You Lord!” we both agreed.

I’m sure that you know that we are not known for being politically correct (incredibly liberal, yes, but politically correct − not!) here in too many ways. All of our security people and actually, all of our population, are well trained in reading body language and noticing suspicious actions. This young man had been unusually nervous and several people had alerted the security guards. It was a Druze (like Bedouin, related to Arab) police officer that approached him and became the hero of the hour.

Going for my weekly blood test, I greeted all of the lab technicians. “Ma nish ma? Ma shlom hem?” (‘what’s new? how are you – or more accurately translated, “how is your peace?”)

There is a lovely display of the traditional mixture in Israel working together there. Very secular Russian immigrants, very religious middle eastern Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druzim, immigrants from France, all working in harmony as is so well displayed in all of the medical profession here. It never ceases to bless me. I was greeted by Oria (Light of God). “Hi! My daughter had twins,” she beamed.

“Brachot rah’bot,” I answered (many blessings).

We spoke about the blessing of the thwarted attack and the abundant shifts going on all around us, the sad events in France, the boldness of Brexit, our political events, the extreme moves in Turkey and the upheaval all around us. It is amazing how much you can talk about in the short time that a blood test takes. But thankfully it ALWAYS ends with uplifting joy. “What a blessing to know that Elohim takes care of us all and is watching over us. He is just so good.”

I must admit that I ENJOY going to our lab.

It had touched me that the Arab beggar who has come to me for nearly 20 years now, said the very same thing. I found myself concerned about him and praying for him in the extreme heat spell awhile back. He and I are the same age and I know that he isn’t feeling very well. I hadn’t seen him for a week and when he finally came in I asked him how he was and told him that I had been concerned for them. He also said, “h’Shem tshmor alenu.” (God watches over us) and I thought about that: Yes, He DOES care for those who can’t care for themselves, the simple, the broken, the sparrow, the Arab and the Jew.

As I returned home from my first outing on my still unsteady legs, with some hot pita and some basic fruit and vegetables everyone on the train was saying, “God bless those Druzim police. That could have been awful, but God watched over us.”

May The Lord add His touch to this offering out of physical weakness. I miss you all…your fellowship is sweet. May we be a blessing together to Him Who is the All in All.

Lovingly,

your sis J

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Filed under Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare

Tagged as Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Spiritual warfare

July 3, 2016 · 8:24 am

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

I greet you dear sisters and brothers in The Name above all names, Yeshua h’Meshiach, Jesus Christ. He IS Lord. May He be glorified and blessed and may you be blessed and encouraged; HE IS HOLY.

“There are just too many people, Lord…I can’t love them all…or even a few…How do YOU love this many people?…Lord?…I NEED a baptism into Your Love to be filled with YOUR love for others. I don’t have it! Fill me with Your Spirit. I am lacking and in need. ”

This was my desperate conversation with The Lord on the crowded train earlier this week, BEFORE 13 year old Hallel Yaffa Ariel was murdered in her bed by a 17 year old knife wielding terrorist. And then 48 year old Miki Mark, father of 10 was gunned down in his car, his wife and 2 of his teen children badly wounded.

Yet I think that it was AFTER the British vote to leave the European Union, which I and most of the Israelis felt was VERY brave. A moral decision in the face of each one knowing that it was going to hurt them financially. In spite of losing MONEY, standing, face and free travel and trade, they did it ANYWAY! BRAVO! We applaud you for taking a difficult moral high ground in the face of the immoral decisions being made by the EU. We read that it was a vote for hatred and against immigration, but we KNOW how the press works. I pray that God will honor this move and send revival! Israel is (generally) impressed!

Moving on: I think it was also just AFTER our agreement with Turkey and then the horrific bombing in Istanbul airport, the running of critical events one into another. And in the midst of all of the oppressive heat wave here and floods around the world, a world at the door of judgment eh? Upside down and tumbling over, but WE HAVE AN ANCHOR!!

Yes, it was in the midst of all of this that I was on the train. It was HOT. It was CROWDED. I was TIRED! Again I looked at the assortment of objects vying for space with people around the train car. Aside from all of the back packs, the shopping carts in all sizes, shapes and colors, there was a bicycle, a seeing eye dog, baby carriages and in came three boys juggling a super sized cage for raising canaries.

There is a unique type of baby transporter that was widely used on the kibbutzim. It is actually a large playpen on wheels with a handle for pushing and can easily transport 6 two year olds. They take up a LOT of room,but are VERY handy. Thankfully there was none on the train THAT day, but that was when I looked around and said, “I do NOT love all of these people, Lord, but You do! HELP!”

I began to think back to when I first became His disciple. Did I love then?

It was MUCH easier to love the neighbor down the dirt road and the people in the feed store. There just were NOT so many’ of them. One at a time, I could pray. One at a time I could love.

I remembered a time when I sat outside a mall with my Baby waiting for some people shopping inside. I sat there for a long time and began to pray for all of the people coming in and out and wonder if that was really praying when suddenly I felt The Holy Spirit say to me, “That one is Mine!” And I looked and sure enough, He was hearing my prayers and assured me that He DID know the hearts of each one.

But now? “THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY LORD! WHERE IS YOUR LOVE IN ME?”

Revival! That is what I have prayed about for YEARS! And perhaps I more than anyone need it now in MY heart. A fresh outpouring and infilling of His Spirit. I met Him during real Revival. Indeed I am a product of the prayers of that time…and the … well… I really feel it was (is) too Holy to taint with my words of description. Because I had no experience BEFORE that time, I thought that was the normal state that every disciple walked in all of the time. Praying 24/7, filled constantly with His Words, moving from leading one to Him and then another. Meetings full of those falling on their faces before His holiness. I did not know that this wasn’t “normal Christianity.”

But even when I was removed from that wondrous season, I had seen and tasted enough to know that there was no other place for me than by His heart. HOWEVER, there is nothing we can do or work up or pray up imitate. It is only something that we can hunger for and cry out for until He opens the heavens and pours Himself down upon us!

“LOVE, Lord! Do I even REALLY love my BROTHER, which you command that I must?”

I have found myself waking in the night praying for Him to pour out His Spirit and send Revival. Oh, I know I’m NOT alone. I’m sure that there are many of you praying the same thing also for years. But if not now, when? The times are surely desperate and changing so quickly.

It makes me wonder how long I will be able to continue these letters? So few even read email anymore, with social media being so popular. Snail mail has become almost unheard of and cell phones have replaced landlines. Will this all collapse with the door closed?

So, while I can be, I am happy to be your “street walker and train rider here,” offering my eyes and ears AND my heart, although in poverty of love, still seeking His love.

My work place has become more intense lately. I guess since my boss has had his practice for about 35 years now. His patients [as well as all of us workers] are aging as I have been there nearly 18 years. Death and impending death open up many opportunities to point toward the door of LIFE and I seem to have more and more opportunities like that lately.

I am shocked at how bold I have become at addressing death and HIM with those who suddenly find themselves approaching it. Surely those of you who are health professionals in your countries find yourselves in such positions. The main challenges that I find are:

1) language (although I can now function well in Hebrew I am not fluent with a depth that is needed to touch on deep things and 2) His Name to my people. Still a wall, a veil, blinders, and an offence.

Ahuva (pronounced Ah’hoo’vah, which means God’s love) was the last patient in the office on Friday before we closed for Shabat. Thankfully the office was now empty and when she came in I instinctively got up and put my arms around her and went and sat down with her. She began to weep. The single mother of two unmarried daughters in their early 20s, she finds herself with a new and advanced cancer. She just got the diagnosis. She begins to speak through tears: “I’m scared. I find I am suddenly scared of everything. I have never been like this but I am scared and without hope.”

I prayed silently. Words began to come about how we have been through the doors once already when we are born and we know that our time here is finite. She relaxes in my arms.

“But it is so dark,” she said gazing into my eyes.

I begin to tell her about my life BEFORE I met Him and how I had no hope, while praying how to share. I said, “Then, I had an experience with God. Whom I hadn’t believed in up to that point, which changed my life. I could look AWAY from the fearsome pits and at the things in front of me NOW and suddenly see the beauty in birds and flowers again.”

As I spoke it came to me, how to begin to share with her. “Ahuva, it is so much bigger than us. We are just for a moment, only God is forever and He really knows. Talk to Him. He is the source of our lives. Turn your face toward Him and ask Him to show Himself to you…”

I couldn’t believe that I was saying such things at work to this woman, but she was being truly comforted, so it MUST have been HIS Words and NOT mine.

Please pray for her and for an opportunity to share HIS Name with her OR THAT HE WILL HIMSELF.

Then there is Danbi. She is exactly 6 weeks older than I am and the picture of health until she got a stomachache and was diagnosed with an incurable fast moving cancer this past week. Talk about a shock! I called her to see how she was doing and she said, “Please pray for me.”

She does not know that I am a disciple. “Of course,” I said, and I have been.

There are many others.

But there was yet another- a different kind of interesting encounter when I went for my weekly lab test as I still have not yet been healed from my blood disorder. I am friendly with the lab technicians. Most are either religious Jews (dati) or Arabs. I get a hug from each of them.

Last week I saw Rivka. We got to talking about being thankful. I enjoy her. She has a big heart for God and seems to truly trust and love Him. I do not know yet how to share His Name, but we speak much. “I have a tool for praising Him while I’m on the bus,” she said. She held up her hand with her fingers spread. “One, two, three, four, five. I take five words.”

“How do you do this?” I asked.

‘Well,” she said holding up finger number one, “this is my independence. I was very sick and could do nothing for myself when I was a child, but God healed me and now I can walk and take care of myself and my family. I am not dependent upon others for my daily life, and I am so thankful, so I thank Him for all of the things I can do.”

I had never thought of that before. “What is the next?” I asked.

“Two is for my body and the wonder that it is. I thank Him for my eyes, I can see, hear, speak, move, and that it knows how to heal itself…it is wonderful!” She went on, “Three is my family. I am so thankful for my family and I thank Him (ha Shem…which means “The Name”) for each of them and bless them. Four is for provision. I have a roof over my head, enough to eat, a job, all of these blessings are from “ha Shem. And FINALLY Five is Faith. That too is a gift from ha Shem and I am so thankful for the gift of faith as so many do not have this. It is the most important.”

I could only agree with her and we hugged and smiled broadly at one another. I thanked her and wrote her 5 points down. What a wonderful way to keep a tender heart while on the bus and train.

Perhaps titling this letter as a “street walker” in the midst isn’t quite appropriate, but as I walk these streets, the streets of earthly Jerusalem praying, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, even in the earthly Jerusalem as in the heavenly,” I truly think of you and try to record what to stash in my memory so that I might share it. You help me to look for His perspective as I sometimes feel a little like a beaten up Ping-Pong ball.

I told you awhile back how He had exercised me in reading the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel along with Revelation), straight through over and over again for about a year. THANKFULLY I was also reading through New Covenant and Psalms at the same time or I surely would have lost my balance. However now, looking at world events, I find I am almost not concerned. HE REALLY DOES HAVE IT ALL UNDER CONTROL!

I feel that even though, yes, we are important to Him, our little lives are so small in the hugeness of His plans and purposes. Oh, I pray into the events, and roles of countries and leaders, but I remember clearly the words of Campbell McAlpine, a wonderful man of God, who said “Never be moved by circumstances. Only be moved by God!”

How incredibly important that is as we watch it all sigh and heave and tremble, to keep our eyes fixed on Him. I think how Elijah sent his servant to search the sky while he himself put his head between his knees, toward the ground, and prayed for rain. Finally a small cloud the size of a man’s fist appeared, but he didn’t have to look at it. He was looking at The One Who sent it.

May we be found of Him at PEACE, which is so elusive to the world and so longed for by men. It comes freely through the Precious Blood and we have the great privilege of being “contagious carriers” of that Peace, reflecting it, in a lost and dying world. Lord, shine on us so that we would reflect YOU Alone.

The Lord bless you and keep you and encourage you (and me) closer to Him.

Lovingly,

Your sister J

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Tagged as Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Israel, Jerusalem, Kingdom of God, Prayer, Prophecy, Spiritual warfare

June 12, 2016 · 7:53 am

Inside Israel

The Shuk in Jerusalem

Shalom Brothers and Sisters,

I greet you with thanksgiving that we are “one loaf of bread” together before Him, for His purposes and glory, sisters and brothers, family, in this together to encourage one another all the way home. May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be edified.

Today is Shavuot, called Pentecost in the New Testament and in the English “Old Testament” translated as Feast of Weeks. It is one of the three holidays when all men of Israel are COMMANDED to come up to the temple, NOT EMPTY HANDED, and to bring an offering and rejoice before God. The other two “Pilgrim Feasts” are Passover and Sukkot. Of the three holidays, the least is written about Shavuot, and what IS written could cause one to scratch their head. and say, “Huh?” It acts like a minor holiday and yet GOD called it one of the three MAJOR ones, so it is wisdom to listen to and hear HIM.

The Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) were all songs that were sung (and still are) by the children of Israel as they made the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem from north, south, east and west, up the trails toward the temple mount. Undoubtedly Yeshua (Jesus) and his family sang them as they came up to Jerusalem for Passover as is recorded in Luke 2:41-52. Of course, there WAS no New Covenant yet, so He was brought up according to the Old Covenant, as were his disciples, who later added their writings.

Because there are so few scriptures, I have written them out in full for you at the end of this letter, beginning with Acts 2, because I have found that God does NOTHING in a shallow manner. It is all in seed form, and we do well to wait for the ripe fruit.

So, what IS Shavuot basically? Well, it seems to me that it is “the joyful offering to God of the first fruits in the place that HE has set.” This is an act of obedience. The temple is not here. Of course it also wasn’t yet built when He first set this commandment. The first fruits and grain, two loaves of bread made with the new grain, the best with joy. These words are familiar to us and I find Shavuot a wonderful time to examine my own heart, How much of my joyful offering is rote or flesh. But the first fruits, our first love…Ah ha! What an opportunity to refresh, revive, examine, and offer again our all and best.

BUT HOW IS IT CELEBRATED HERE?

Now, THAT is a good question, because it sure has taken its twists and turns over the years.

Milk! It’s the dairy holiday. We make tons of cheesecake, cheese blintzes, quiche, and more exotic foods. We eat dairy and dress in white. Why? No one knows.

There is a second modern tradition that is evolving into something interesting though. For years there has been a tradition for religious Jews to stay up all night and the following day to study the Torah. But mostly Mishna and Talmud (the commentaries on the scriptures written by the sages, so the students study and argue concerning the interpretations of the rabbis).

Over the past few years, many secular study groups have been rising up spontaneously throughout the country with young and old reading the scriptures for themselves and discussing them. This is exciting to me. People seeking answers outside of the mainstream rabbinical framework. The scriptures promise us that hungry hearts seeking Him will indeed find Him.

Several days ago the following article appeared in our local newspaper Israel h’Yom:

THE BIBLE IS SPREADING ONCE AGAIN by: Dr. Gabi Avital

Over the Shavuot holiday, synagogues and places of Torah study will fill up with worshippers and those eager to learn. Many, even those considered secular, will try to maintain the growing tradition of studying Torah throughout the night.

This spectacular display goes completely against the academic predictions from more than 60 years ago. For example, Prof. Zvi Adar’s “The Educational Values of the Bible” states that “past generations did not speak about the Bible, but they lived in its ways, whereas we, who speak highly of it every day, live outside of it, and so it too is outside of us.”

Later in the book, Adar proposes another approach, a humanistic one — according to which mankind is at the center and God is pushed to the sidelines — to teaching the Bible and adapting it to the nation in Zion. The central reasoning: “The decline of traditional religion in the world as a whole, and in Israel in particular, has also led to the decline of the religious objective for teaching the Bible.”

His reasoning is not completely unfounded. Europe underwent deep secularization, the influence of which is evident in every poll and study, including among Bible researchers and students in the Holy Land. What has happened to the Bible since the early years of the state? What was the result of the painful experience of creating a melting pot of people? Was the Bible also crushed in the mix? As the places of Torah study were only beginning to internalize the depth of the impact the Holocaust had on yeshivas and religious institutions, the academic community took the lead.

The scientists made “critical commentaries” about the Bible. They compared it to the Code of Hammurabi and the Epic of Gilgamesh; dismantled it into verifiable passages; took over its soul with an enlightened scientific spirit; wrote articles, and attended conferences. And yet some say it is precisely because of this that the Biblical Studies departments at the universities emptied out.

However, among the “ignorant,” those who see the Bible as a holy book, the situation is the exact opposite of what the concerned academics are claiming. Bible study is growing and flourishing like spring flowers in a year blessed with rain. Young Israelis are learning Bible verses and passages by heart; the International Bible Contest is taken seriously, and each Shabbat people are reading the weekly Torah portion.

And why is this? From the moment that the future of the Bible was “deposited” into the hands of academia, its fate was sealed: The science that forced its way into Bible research wiped out its soul. Those who remove the soul — that is, God — from the Bible are left with a confusing, violent and irrelevant book. Biblical researchers from academia and the secular seminaries have decided that we must first read the “criticism of the text” and only later a verse on love or social justice. They do not realize that the Bible is not a “biblical text.” It includes some elements of a history book, but that is not the heart of it. The Bible is the foundation of the Jewish people’s soul. The Bible and the Talmud, the Mishnah and the

are amazing creations that any nation would be proud of.

Ahead of Shavuot, the holiday during which we celebrate receiving the Torah, it seems that the Bible is not as scary as people think. Recognition that the Bible is also the foundation of international support for the existence of the sole Jewish state is becoming more and more apparent. The archaeological finds are growing in number and contributing to the verification of events that took place in this land in past generations. More and more people are refusing to believe that the people of Israel are nothing more than a wandering tribe. The spread of the Bible is no longer just a theoretical concept.” (this was in our secular newspaper on the 9th of June)