Tag Archives: Prophecy

March 8, 2020 · 8:16 am

Inside Israel

Greetings, dear sisters and brothers, fellow living stones being built into His temple for His glory.  May He be seen and glorified and blessed and may you be encouraged and blessed!  May we look at Him more and more that we might become clear as windows for Him to be seen in us.

About a week ago, many rabbis called for the country to meet at the western wall and to pray for God to intervene and drive back the Corona virus plague.  Many thousands did show up in the pouring rain of the evening to ask for God’s mercy.

As I watched the evening news, one of those rabbis who called for the prayer was asked by the reporter, “What they thought that they could accomplish by praying?”

The rabbi smiled at the reporter and said,”The scientists and doctors can search for a cure and prevention…and we must do what we CAN do…but we can pray.  Pray we must, for we are called to be a light to the nations and the nations are in deep trouble.”

And in trouble, we are.  All of us.

I don’t know if any of you are too young to remember that things (ie; people) weren’t always THIS polarized. That there really WERE times in which there was a certain right and wrong that wasn’t questioned and when it was the bad guy who crossed the lines and not the poor misunderstood guy. And yet, there WAS compassion, not the hardness of heart that there seems to be today in response to the other side, but reason in society as a whole.  That is NOT to say that it was idyllic by any means, but it was NOT upside down as it is today.

Some of you, like me, might be old enough to remember plagues and epidemics and stories of dark days in times past.

I do NOT want to step on any toes here or get into any arguments. I see my defined task (in Hebrew the word is taf-keed)  in these letters is “what you see… write.” The older that I get the more I have seen and a certain perspective forms as the time gets longer that I have walked this earth.

You know that I grew up in New York City just after WW2.  My Dad had had polio when he was 2 and by his own confession he had been spoiled because he survived.  I never did see the spoiled side of my dear hard working father who endured so much with a grateful heart. The polio left him badly crippled in the legs, with a deformed back and injured lungs from which he suffered for the rest of his 68 years on this earth.

When summers came in New York, a great fear descended upon the parents  because of polio, which struck down children all summer long.  Parents were terrified. Each year there would be more classmates to visit in the “iron lung” or who would appear in heavy iron leg braces or wheel chairs. It was part of my childhood, and although we children didn’t share the fears of our parents, we SAW their fear.

In the winter it was “the grippe” that claimed the lives of countless.  Sometimes schools were closed.  When I had the measles we were quarantined (as was every family with measles). I remember the first day that I was well enough to see the tape across our doors and the sign saying that no one could enter or leave the premises until the health department cleared us.  Groceries were left outside the front door and my mother made face masks out of old sheets.

I remember the cracks in the ceiling turning into snakes and screaming with fear as my fever rose.  My sister and I were polio pioneers as we were given the first experimental polio vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk himself (we had a photo and a button).  My father had suffered so much. It was the least that we could do.  When the vaccine worked, it seemed as if the world was rejoicing. This terrible scourge had been beaten and the fear could lift and we children could actually go swimming in the summer heat without fear of polio!

Recently I stumbled across a video that made me wonder how I could speak about this.

Last January, I nearly died from influenza and pneumonia.  During that time, The Lord opened to me 1 Chronicles 21. I saw how David stood before The Lord between the death angel and the people of Jerusalem, a perfect intercession after David’s tremendous sin resulting in God’s judgment against the people of Israel.

I was left with many questions and much seeking.  Last January was not the first time that I had influenza.  Before the flu shots were discovered I had it once as a child and twice as a teen- young adult.  People use the word flu lightly for any viral infection, but influenza is no small thing.  The video is powerful and worth watching.  It is the documentation of the influenza impacting Bristol Bay Alaska in 1919, the influenza from which my husband’s grandparents all died, leaving just his mother and father as orphaned children who met in the orphanage.

As a matter of fact, my husband’s uncle had been a teenager and told me years ago how everyone in his village had died leaving him and his small sister (my husband’s mother) and his future wife (a child at the time) alive.  When they were well enough to leave the bodies behind, they walked out of the village, aimless and starving and they met Jesus on the tundra. The Lord strengthened these orphaned children and showed them the way to walk to where people were still alive.  It was a powerful testimony to me, listening to him speak in the cold Alaskan darkness, a story to me –  untold. But he wasn’t the first one to tell me about that influenza.

My mother was born during it in 1918 in a hospital in NY.  I grew up hearing how my Grandmother clutched her newborn baby, praying that she and her baby would live, as death wagons clanged through the streets night and day picking up bodies.

I am not speaking of ancient history, and yet this generation has thankfully little experience with plagues and illnesses of massive proportion…until now.

Israel’s borders are not completely closed, but our health ministry has called upon the public not to travel unless absolutely necessary.  Some young people are taking it lightly, but more and more are not, as there has not been known before a virus that could spread this rapidly, live for 9 days on inanimate objects (even the sidewalk) and not show infection for weeks.   Great lengths have been gone to to restrain its spread, but should it spread it has the potential to infect virtually everyone…and that would shut everyTHING.

So I ask (and I am sure you do too) “What are you saying, Lord?”

I have no doubt that plague is a sign of God’s judgment.  It is written through out scripture.

I KNOW the promises in Psalm 91 and others, nevertheless I can not take The Word of God as a magic potion. It is The Word of GOD and HE IS GOD!  I heard an interview with some Christian tourists who were in the Old City visiting from the U.S. When asked if they were afraid (Jerusalem is FULL of tourists from all over the world including China, South Korea, Italy and all of the most infected countries), they laughed lightly and one said, “If God told us to come we will be fine.” 

And you and I know this to be true.  But there was a lightness in her speech (as in taking it lightly) that stopped me.  In South Korea the center of the epidemic has been one of the most charismatic Churches.  The precious doctor who became the whistle blower in China and so sadly died  was a young vibrant Christian – a strong believer walking with The Lord – with an 8 month pregnant wife.

God’s Word is sure and true but it is not a magic potion and we are flesh and blood. I BELIEVE that He is saying something to us and my question is: “LORD!  HOW DO I PRAY INTO THIS!  HOW DO I NOT TAKE IT FOR GRANTED!”

Ever so many years ago I remember someone telling me that not a hair on my head would be harmed and I had just been reading about the believers being killed in droves in Africa and there was a discrepancy.  I am NOT a  fear-monger NOR AM I FEARFUL…but I DO feel that He has made a distinction between HIS KINGDOM and the kingdom of this world and I had BETTER be walking IN HIS KINGDOM WHERE THERE IS NO DEATH, BECAUSE THIS BODY OF FLESH WILL DIE.

I stumble constantly (oh Lord of mercy!) but I have LEARNED TO TURN AND LOOK UPON HIM!  I stumble and fall but I MUST get up and run to Him and kneel at the cross again and again and AGAIN.

Oh sisters and brothers, I DON’T know how it is where you are, but for me today, riding the train where so many were coughing and sneezing and getting off at the shuk with Chinese tourists and standing to buy tomatoes between a young couple of tourists speaking Italian, ALARM BELLS GO OFF and I NEED to know how to pray NOW.  NOT that I will be just fine for if I am in Him and in His kingdom, whether I live or die means little to me…but HOW TO PRAY.

To pray for our elections on Monday which are alarming…:

To pray for our borders with Hamas and Hizbollah which are boiling…(although this virus may be closing borders all around us that no human sanctions could!)

To pray for our collapsing health system (atleast we don’t have to pray concerning drought right now)

AND HOW TO PRAY MERCY IN HIS JUDGMENT…

Oh for a heart like King David’s who was able to prevail because of his broken humility and his heart that KNEW GOD.

Sincerely,

Your sister J

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February 11, 2020 · 11:54 am

We Need Heroes (Part 3)

 

John Nelson Hyde was born in 1865. His father, Smith Harris Hyde, was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Carthage, Illinois.

John Hyde graduated from M’Cormick Seminary in 1892. He was not an impressive student until the death of his eldest brother who had volunteered for the foreign mission field. It was then that Hyde prayed: “I’ll go wherever you want me to go, dear Lord.”

In a short while, Hyde discovered a newfound passion for prayer. His soul seemed to be set aflame. Prayer ended up being his pathway to greater things and the foundation of his life and ministry.

In 1892, at the age of twenty-seven, John Hyde departed by ship for India to preach in the Punjab region. After being at sea for a few days, Hyde remembered a letter from a family friend. He opened it and read: “I shall not cease praying for you, dear John, until you are filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The letter angered Hyde because he felt he had everything he needed. He crumpled it up and tossed it on the deck. A few minutes later, he humbled himself and asked the Lord to fill him with the Holy Spirit, no matter what it might cost him.

At that moment, John Hyde became Praying John Hyde.

Hyde was not a good missionary at first. He was slow of speech, somewhat deaf and struggled at learning the language. To the dismay of his missionary mentors, he instead spent most of his time studying the Bible, rather than language. Hyde felt he needed to learn the “language of heaven” first before he learned how to speak to the people. (He eventually became an easy and correct speaker in Urdu and Punjabi.)

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

God used discouragement and fruitlessness to drive John Hyde to spend days and nights fasting and praying for India and its people. His co-workers called him a fanatic and the “man who never sleeps.” Hyde ignored their words because he felt sustained by the Spirit, even though he had little sleep for weeks and hardly any food.

At the end of seven years, he had one solid convert. His missionary friends considered him unsuccessful, but once again, Hyde paid no attention to them. He continued to fast and pray, “Father, give me these souls or I die.”

Praying John Hyde persevered through his early years until he witnessed thousands of converts and revival break out in the second half of his twenty-year ministry as a missionary to India.

Hyde died in 1912 at the age of 47. Interesting enough, Hyde’s style of praying – intense travail – took its toll on his body. His heart moved out of its natural position on the left side of his chest to a place over on the right side.

Today, Praying John Hyde is known as the Apostle of Prayer.

I believe in the days ahead, we will see God raise up hundreds of prayer fanatics like John Hyde.

(Continued in Part 4)

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February 9, 2020 · 7:32 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 —

Greetings, in The Name of Yeshua h’meshiach,

The Victor, Who, after all is also CREATOR, and Deliverer and Truth and Light. The Living Word. The eternal Way through all of this that swirls around us.  May HE be glorified and blessed!  May you also be blessed and encouraged.

This letter has been a BATTLE to even begin.

Life has been an increasing battle (I have no doubt that you have noticed and that it is the same for you).  As I finally sat down to begin this letter, the mouse and keyboard for my computer gave up the ghost.

I am so completely intimidated by technology that it took a great deal of courage to pronounce it dead, dissect it from the computer (it is wireless (which should speak volumes about my abilities) and bring it downtown.  I told the sales girl, “My keyboard and mouse just died. I want another just like this.’

I told her in a shaky voice, half expecting to be told that these are antique and aren’t made anymore.  Thankfully I had prayed and her maybe 19 year old expertise replied, “Sababa, “(which is Hebrew and Arabic street talk for something like: “Cool, great, no problem, what-ever.”

In no time at all, I was home praying again that I could really do this.  As you see PRAISE GOD. It works.  I ATTACHED A NEW KEYBOARD AND MOUSE AND MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!

The heaviness and reality of the hour that we live in was brought home vividly to me at the shuk today.  It was crowded by the time that I got there. So I went to an Arab vendor whom I have known for many years and trust.  “Where are these clementia from?” I asked.

‘They are NOT from China!’ he answered.  ‘See? Look at the box. Jaffa. They are from Israel.’

As I went to the apples I saw that he had written on the sign” “Israeli apples.”

I looked at him and said, “I work in a doctor’s office and this is serious what is happening now.”  I was afraid that maybe he was thinking I was a bit loony.

He grew very serious.  “I know,” he answered.  “This is life and death but you know what?  It is God’s judgment on the world. How many thousands of years has He sent His prophets to us? And how have we listened?  We haven’t! We cheat and hate and say it is good when it isn’t. Everything that He told us not to do. Oh we agree with our mouths but the day of His judgment is here for the earth.’

Our eyes met in spite of the fact that he is an Arab Moslem man and I a Jewish disciple of Yeshua, there was total agreement. “We get it.  God, God Almighty, God Who is real and alive is not happy with us and we would have to be blind not to see His Hand.  And of course, things like plague cross country boarders, political parties, races, religions, and economic barriers. We can’t say, “YOU did this and need to repent.” It must be “Woe to us for we have sinned and not listened and not turned back to Him with our hearts in our hands.”

THIS is the climate that I see here today.

And with THIS report I will begin the letter.

Most of you thought that I would be at the IFI Prayer Conference.  I did too.  I was hoping to see some of you there although I do not go to visit, for it really is a working (PRAYER) conference.  This is the third our of 4 years now that we had a crisis on the one day that I am able to join the conference and, having truly prayed. I can only say, “Yes Lord.”

It seems to me to be enemy intervention, but I have not prevailed and so I must leave it before Him.  This year my husband VERY suddenly got extremely ill with a fever of above 102 (39) that wouldn’t come down.  There was no warning. He was fine and then suddenly shivering under the covers.  If he were younger, I might have left him sleeping but after consulting the emergency doctor I knew that I couldn’t leave him alone. So I didn’t.

Did the enemy win?  No. I prayed anyway, just not with my brothers and sisters.  All of the messages from the IFI conference are free and easy access to listen to on line RIGHT HERE IS THE LINK.  I encourage you to take advantage and listen.  At the IFI conferences we pray during the day but in the evening there is a message given concerning Israel by mostly local leaders.

And during the time of the conference, (wouldn’t you know it…what perfect timing!)  there was finally the unveiling of the “American Peace Plan.”  Here at home, I listened with the rest of the country. It was quite dramatic, but one thing kept quietly beating in my heart:  ‘THE LAND MUST NOT BE DIVIDED!”

I heard what America said. I heard what The Arabs said. I heard what the Palestinians said and I heard what the Israelis said but I could not forget what I know that GOD has said:  ‘The land is not yours, but MINE.”

The fear of God entered my heart. This is not to toy with.  There is a silence in my heart. I don’t know what to say other than that. To my great surprise, the bus was quiet the next morning, even while the news was on. Everyone was listening but NO one was commenting.  That is unusual.  That happens when things are serious and no one dares to have an opinion.  The look on the faces of the other passengers was serious and stoic.  It continued at work: no comment.

Years ago, I had begun to make a list of scriptures that said that we should not divide the land.  It is incomplete, but here is what I had written down. Some speak not directly but to the heart of the issue:  Leviticus 25:23,  Joshua 9:24 (the Gibeonites knew the promise!), Joshua 13, Nehemiah 9:8, Exodus 34:12, Joel 3:1-3, Acts 13:17-19.

In a way it reminds me of the commands to husbands and wives (Mat 19:6 and Mark 10:9 “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” And yet, it is a hard one to keep. Sort of like the commands concerning The Sabbath and God forbid that we should be legalistic. There is this verse and that verse. BUT IN MY HEART RESOUNDS THE INTENT OF GOD THAT THIS LAND BEING DIVIDED IS A SIGN OF JUDGMENT AND THAT THIS LAND IS HIS AND NOT OURS OR ANYONE ELSES.

And while this is going on (and yes…violent responses are taking place…a car ramming last night injured 12 soldiers…there was  a stabbing attempt against a border officer this afternoon at one of the gates to the Old City). China is brought to her knees by the Corona virus, how itty bitty microscopic.  China is brought to her knees and it remains to be seen if the rest of the world will also follow suit.  It is certainly worthy or more than a pause!

I will NEVER forget last year’s brush with death when I was in the hospital with influenza and pneumonia and how clearly The Lord spoke to me out of 1 Chronicles 21—  the POWER of David’s intercession as he stood between the death angel on the very spot that was to become the temple and PREVAILED over the PLAGUE that God had sent to judge.  TEACH ME, LORD, TO PRAY!  THAT I MAY KNOW YOU AND THE POWER OF YOUR RESURRECTION AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF YOUR SUFFERING, BEING MADE CONFORMABLE TO YOUR DEATH. This remains my prayer and I have no doubt that it is yours as well.

And AGAIN, my Pastor sent out a wonderful prayer letterwhich I will attach rather than go on.  As a personal note, our daughter Sarah and two of the three children, Ana and Asher, are planning on visiting for a week or so from London 15 Feb.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS…FOR US…FOR ISRAEL…FOR HIS PURPOSES…FOR THE LORD TO BE GLORIFIED!  May The Lord FLOOD you with Himself!

Lovingly,

your sister J

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February 4, 2020 · 10:58 am

We Need Heroes (Part 2)

 

The historian Josephus stated that the Apostle Paul was four feet six inches tall. Chrysostom wrote that Paul’s body was crooked, his head bald and that he had a hook nose. The Corinthians said about Paul:

“For Paul’s letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” (2 Corinthians 10:10)

Okay, Paul was not a hunk!

Saul (Paul) was born in Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia (in modern southern Turkey). He was circumcised on the eighth day, a son of a Pharisee and from the tribe of Benjamin. He was brought up in Jerusalem under the teaching of a noted Pharisee named Gamaliel. Paul later described himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews.

As far as zeal for the Law, Saul of Tarsus hunted down believers of the Way. He tortured them, threw them into prisons, forced them to blaspheme and consented to their deaths. He had letters of authority from the chief priests allowing him to  carry out his vendetta against believers of Jesus, even in foreign cities.

Without a doubt, Saul of Tarsus was the most feared man by followers of Jesus.

Then, in one of the most remarkable experiences in the Bible, Saul encountered a light from heaven and fell to ground. He heard a voice say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

Paul replied, “Who are You, Lord?”

The voice replied, “I am Jesus.”

In this short exchange, Paul was turned around 180º, converted and became willing to suffer and die for the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. He wrote almost two thirds of the New Testament before he was beheaded outside the gates of Rome.

In the days ahead, the Lord is going to shine His light on numerous individuals who hate Christianity and its believers. These enlightened individuals will come out of leadership positions in abortion, LGBT, porn, Hollywood, transgender, media, politics and other professions.

And just like Saul of Tarsus, these enlightened individuals will rise up and become zealots for the faith, willing to die for their Lord.

(Continued in Part 3)

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January 26, 2020 · 8:06 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 —

Oh LOVING GREETINGS DEAREST sisters and brothers – beloved – chosen to follow The Lamb and then choosing to follow Him,

May you be encouraged toward Him, blessed and edified and may The Lord, The Light of the world, The only begotten Son of The Father, The Lamb, MESSIAH, The Word made flesh, THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, THE GREAT I AM, MAY HE ALONE BE GLORIFIED, blessed and comforted in His children today.

Greetings! As the year draws toward a close.  Greetings as we choose, TODAY, HIS LIGHT.

The eight candles and the shamas, the middle, lifted up servant candles, are freshly lined up in our Chanukiah, waiting for my husband to come home from work. It is the last light of the 8 day celebration tonight.

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. (John 10:22-23)

The Light of the world, walking in His Temple during the feast of the dedication…the feast that celebrates re-dedication of the temple after its desecration by the Greeks who (among other atrocities) sacrificed un-kosher pigs (Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses. Deut 14:8 and Levit 11:7 for just two examples) on the holy altar of God.  Modern Chanukah celebrated the triumph of the Maccabees over the Greeks, but the most important part to mea nd the part that I grew up hearing about most and wondering at was that when the filth was cleaned out of the temple and the Priest went to light the menorah – the eternal lamp – there was only one sealed flask of the prescribed oil.  Enough for just one night!

The oil took a week to prepare. So by faith he lit the one lamp BUT GOD!  WHO WAS RICH IN MERCY THEN AS NOW, MULTIPLIED THE OIL NIGHT AFTER NIGHT. FOR 8 NIGHTS THE LAMP BURNED UNTIL THE FRESH OIL HAD BEEN PREPARED ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIONS THAT MOSES HAD BEEN GIVEN BY GOD AND DELIVERED TO THE PEOPLE.  Chanukah!  The festival of Light, of multiplied Light!  And THE LIVING LIGHT WALKED IN THE TEMPLE.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me… (John 10:27) 

He said during Chanukah in the temple,  the temple that was His.  What a picture!

But He is STILL walking here and where you are as well and STILL reasoning with those who will listen and still speaking to all who will hear.  I think about that in the hustle and bustle of the packed train and bus.  At least I TRY to think about that, to remember that for THIS cause He came, NOT because we were righteous, but because we are filled with sin and darkness. Yet Abba created us for Himself and He still reaches out and loves us.

I looked around at the faces today on the packed train. When I left for work at 6 this morning I was surprised to see the train full.  Usually on my way to work it is reasonably empty but today it was jammed and I wondered what was going on.  Perhaps they were all going for their flu shots?  Influenza is particularly virulent this year.

I didn’t have much time to wonder because once at work I was surrounded by throngs of sick people who had NOT gone for their flu shot and were now at the doctors with influenza.  It was a BUSY day!  Coming home, traffic was at a standstill.  It took me 45 minutes to get to the train by bus.  So many big families, baby carriages and twin strollers crowded the aisles of the train as little ones peered out of the windows with small happy faces.

This year, it didn’t seem as if as many locals were stuffing themselves with sofganiyot (the traditional oily jelly donut),  latkas ( a sort of potato pancake) bunuelos or sfenj (sort of like sofganiyot, a more middle eastern traditional fried sweet dough). None- the-less, the tasty fares were everywhere as Jerusalem hosted a record-breaking number of tourists this year and they wanted to taste it ALL. So our bakeries weren’t TOO impacted by the health concerns of the locals.

Large electric Chanukiahs dot the city neighborhoods and at sundown people gather around them as they are lit and sing traditional songs.  It is a festive time.  We used to have one of these large public Chanukiahs across from our apartment but there was none this year.  When we first made aliyah, they were gas lights.  I loved watching them and their flames flickering in the wind.  Now they are electric bulbs. Times are rougher now. People are rougher. And times change all things.

A friend drew my attention to comments made by Israel’s IDF (military) Chief, Aviv Kochavi this week as he spoke before the conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Hertzliya.  They were sobering.  He spoke of our now open and undercover operations in Syria and around the area against Iran, which have been far more frequent and brazen,”even at the risk of war.”

He warned Israeli civilians to “mentally prepare,  for heavy fire will be directed against our home front….I’m looking people in the eye, and saying, there will be heavy fire.  We have to recognize this and we have to prepare for this…We have to prepare for this militarily… the civil hierarchies have to prepare for this… and we have to prepare for this mentally.”

Yes Lord.  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me…”

We trust You Lord, through whatever fire we must pass that You will lead us and that Your rod and Your staff and Your Voice WILL lead and comfort us and enable us to walk in a manner that will glorify You.

My mind turns to another local news article that I saw: “11 Christian men executed in Nigeria by Isis as retribution for the death of their leader…’

I thought about those 11 Christian men who were chosen because they were Christian, and went with Him into the fire, and came out the other side into His Presence.  ‘Prepare us mentally, Lord, to be part of Your solution and not part of the problem!’. 

 

And time has run swiftly and now it is the eve of 2020!

When we made aliyah, this was definitely a day NOT mentioned.  It was a distinction made on the Western calendar – observed in the west – and NOT on the Hebrew calendar. NOT observed here!  If someone said, “Happy New Year,” everyone around him frowned in obvious disapproval.  We made aliyah during the days of the Russian aliyah, and the secular Russians celebrated New Year (Sylvester) the way that secular westerners celebrate Christmas. Yes, it was frowned upon.

Times change.

It seems to me that the major foreign languages that I hear today on the trains and buses are French and English.  The Hebrew and Arabic/Russian signs have been replaced for the most part by Hebrew and Arabic /French / English.  Is it the dramatic rise in anti-semitism in the west?  Perhaps.

With the rise of western immigration, the New Year according to the western calendar has pressed through.  I hear of and see signs announcing restaurants celebrating, balloons appear with 2020 written on them. Among the western young people on the train I see a party excitement and listen to their plans, somewhat in  dismay. Is it my age?  I think about how He had come into my life just before I was 30 and am thankful that He gave me direction that these poor sheep do not have yet.

And so I pray.

And I pray to pray because I don’t pray enough and can get weary in well doing.

But my people stand at the door of what?  Eternity for sure! And how can I but pray??

Lovingly, your sister,

J

 

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November 17, 2019 · 6:53 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 —

Now also many nations have gathered against you, Who say, “Let her be defiled, And let our eye look upon Zion.”  But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.”   (MICAH 4:11,12)

O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts.  You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord.  They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed.” (EZEKIEL 13:4-6)

Greetings sisters and brothers,

In The Name of Yeshua, Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords, the brightness of the image of The Father, our Peace and our greatly anticipated Joy.  May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be encouraged and blessed too through Him. 

How many times can I say, “What times we live in!” and how can I encourage and share when I know so little?  I must go back to what He told me to do from the beginning: “What you see, hear, WRITE.”  

 I see and hear horns of war and drums of unrest and dismay.  This is what I see and hear all around me etched on burdened faces. 

 We still have no government.  We have not had a government for a very long time and things are heating up around us.  We are still not sure if we will have to go to a third round of elections, and if we do, will the results be the same deadlock?  There is grief and discouragement with the uncertainty. 

 The air is hot and dry as a drying wind is blowing across our country.   There has not been a November like this since 2010 when the Carmel forest fire disaster stunned the country. It is hot and dry like that again.  I always listen when the weather here is strange because it often speaks of strange events waiting around the next corner.

 On the bus I was listening to the morning news trying to explain the re-opening of the Iranian nuclear facility at Fordo…and the name jarred me.  There was something particularly foreboding about that plant being deep underground, having been hidden from inspectors. 

The next morning I woke up with the name “Fordo” ringing in my ears. After prayer I went and looked up the meaning: 

translation and definition of “fordo” (English-Persian Dictionary  online):

fordo

IPA: /fɔːˈduː/; Type: verb;

کشتن

(فقط به صورت اسم مفعول) خسته کردن

(قدیمی)

ازپا درآوردن

مرکز هستهای فردو

نابود کردن

To kill, destroy.

To annul, abolish, cancel.

Fordo has a goal, a purpose that is announced in its name. 

At the Friday morning IFI meetings, Chuck has been saying that God appears to be calling the nations to the threshing floor and we are the bait. You know, it does not feel very comfortable to be bait.  Surely the nations around us are boiling.  We do not have a government but we have a promise that the government will be upon HIS shoulders, and I believe that. 

 GOD also has a goal and purposes that are also announced in His Name! 

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 WELL, I wrote the above two days ago. I was EVEN going to tell you about how our bus drivers individualize their buses, but there is no time to discuss that now.  

You see, we are again in what appears to be the beginnings of a war.  I am sure that most of you know by now (thank you social media even though it’s not always accurate) but I am also sure that some do not know.  So I will share with you what I know.  

 Our south has been under constant increasing low level attack for about a year and a half.  Most of your nations would never allow a few rockets a week or weekly violent riots at your borders or sending of countless incendiary devices over our forests and fields setting them alight to raging fires.  An attack here, a murder there and so many more uncovered and diverted! 

 Apparently the main instigator for most of these attacks has been a charismatic leader of Islamic jihad named Abu Al-Atta. 

At about 4 am yesterday, Israel assassinated him as he was planning an imminent attack.  Concurrently, IT SEEMS, (these reports are less concrete) we MAY have targeted another Islamic jihad leader in Damascus.  The results were and continue to be a barrage of rockets targeting most of our coast into our central region. 

At this point the battle is escalating and Israel is targeting strategic sites in Gaza.  Schools and businesses were closed today for some 2 million people from the Gaza periphery to targeted areas along the coast and into the center.  Tel Aviv was closed down and shelters were opened.  Naturally, we are on high alert. 

At this point, Jerusalem is quiet, but still, Jerusalem is the prize.

So, it is time for prayer, because this is HIS people, HIS city and His nation. HIS plan and purposes are SO much bigger than my puny understanding of it all.  I am thankful for every ray of His light that He shines into me that I might see and understand a bit, but I am finally aware that it is really, only a BIT! 

 I would like to refer you to a fairly accurate site for local news that is continually updates itself on a live basis.  Many of their articles I do not agree with but they seem like the most accurate English source right now:    https://www.timesofisrael.com/

I will close my part of this letter here.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR FAITHFUL PRAYERS INTO THE PURPOSES OF GOD FOR HIS GLORY.  MAY YOU (AND WE HERE) PRAY HIS HEART AND NOT OURS.  MAY WE GLORIFY HIM AND FINISH THE WORK. 

Lovingly,

your sister J

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September 22, 2019 · 6:42 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 —

Greetings with grace and mercy in The Blessed Name of our Lord, Yeshua h’meshiach. Oh Lord, be glorified and blessed.  Oh Lord, give us understanding and Your grace to walk in Your will.  May my brothers and sisters be blessed and encouraged.  Thank You for each one.

I was afraid that someone might ask this question and here it came: “Good evening!  is it possible for you to help us understand the Israeli election system and what this dead-lock means?”

 With The Lord’s help, I will do my best, but please understand that I am an immigrant and my understanding is limited.  You will be getting my opinion and observations.  May He anoint for His glory.

The nightmare scenario that we were dreading – happened; yet another deadlock.

“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations.“ (Numbers 23:8-9)

God DID call us to be a people NOT RECKONED AMONG THE NATIONS and yet that is exactly what we have sought to do more and more.  Just like the body of Messiah is called to come out from among them and be separate, not being conformed to the image of The World, Israel has One Master Who has called us to be separate and different.  As I saw the election results I thought, “We have not sought You, but to be like the nations and we are now JUST like them: DIVIDED!’

I have been praying with Habakkuk –  “Lord, in wrath remember mercy.”  In MY OPINION we are seeing a measure of judgment. I have spoken to others who see this differently.

As I sought to explain, we have 120 seats in the Knesset (our parliament) and our leadership is made up of a coalition government meaning that there is generally a large party (our largest parties for a long time have been the Likud on the right and Labor  on the left.  Labor has become very small but the new party, Blue and White, has risen) which makes agreements with smaller parties and they seek to rule together, to form a coalition.

The minimum amount of seats held sitting in agreement to form a government, must be 61.  The one with less seats forms the opposition.   Each party has a leader.  Prime Minister Netanyahu has been the leader of the Likud, the top party up until now.  It now looks like Blue and White – the newest “biggest party” led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid jointly (in Hebrew ‘cokhol vay lavan’) has 33 seats and Likud 31.  Adding in their natural allies (parties that basically agree with them) so far NEITHER Likud nor Blue and While can gain enough seats to meet the required 61.

Ok.  That is the background in a nutshell.

UNITY GOVERNMENT:  Sounds ideal!

It really DOES work when we are in a war.  Although we are on the verge of war most of the time, we are not currently IN a war.  CAN THEY WORK TOGETHER?  AND WHO IS THE ‘THEY’?  In the past, most unity governments were paralyzed in many areas.

According to the news today, which changes minute by minute and between media outlets, Netanyahu has reached out and asked for a Unity Government.  Our President, NOT a close friend of Netanyahu, said, “That sounded wonderful.”

Benny Gantz said, “NONSENSE” and rejected it.

Somewhere between Sunday and Wednesday, our president, Ruby Rivlin, will name one of them to try to form a coalition government within the 24 or 48 (extended) day period.  The coalition negotiations will begin.  IF NEITHER SIDE CAN FORM A GOVERNMENT … WE MUST AGAIN GO TO ELECTIONS…for the third time.  MEANWHILE, Prime Minister Netanyahu SHOULD find out if he is being indicted or not.

Most people seem to want a Unity Government at this point as the best for the nation, but to get the parties to agree to this and iron it out is more nasty, muddy work.  We have had a fair amount of Unity Governments in the past.  There was one since we have been here and a number of times in the 70s and 80s.  We must now PRAY and wait and see and PRAY!

I will keep this short as I want to write to you about Rosh h’Shana coming a week from Sunday night.

Your sister,

J

P. S. Here are two links that have good explanations concerning our elections:

honestreporting-chaos- Israel Democracy…an explainer

Rivlin: I will do all I can to avoid third round of elections (Explaining President’s role)

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September 21, 2019 · 7:44 am

Will We End Up Being A Part of the Great Falling Away? (Part 6)

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs was written by John Foxe in 1563. It details the deaths and sufferings of the early apostles and other Christians up through the inquisition and the medieval church.

It’s been nearly thirty years since I read the book as a young Christian but I still remember how it jarred my heart. In fact,  I muttered aloud a short prayer. “Lord, if You want me to be a martyr for You, that’s okay with me. I can probably handle crucifixion, firing squad, hanging or being beheaded, but please don’t let me be burned at the stake. I’m not sure I will be a good witness for You if I die that way.”

At the time, I worked at a motel-restaurant and drove a catering van, delivering meals to senior citizens.

One day, I was running behind schedule and in a hurry. Using only pot holders, I removed a large pan of roast beef from an oven. My hand slipped and the pan’s liquid drenched over my hand. 170° of scalding juice.

I quickly set the pan down and looked at my hand. It was red, there was pain on the surface of my skin, but no inner pain. It did not bother me in the least.

Two cooks rushed over and wanted to rush me off to the hospital. I shook my head and put it under a cold water faucet. No problems.

That experience and the following testimony by Corrie Ten Boom has kept my heart open to the possibility of being a witness until death (martyr) for Jesus:

When I was a little girl, I went to my father and said, “Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.”

“Tell me,” said Father. “When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?”

“No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train.”

“That is right,” my father said, “and so it is with God’s strength. Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need – just in time…” (Tramp for the Lord)

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

The fourth reason for becoming a part of the Great Falling Away – now or in the future – will be fear that God’s grace cannot help us in our suffering.

(Continued in Part 7…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

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September 19, 2019 · 4:02 pm

Will We End Up Being A Part of the Great Falling Away? (Part 5)

Recently, I talked with a youth pastor of a large denomination. “What are you reading right now?” I asked.

She mentioned the name of a book.

“Oh, is that a book on inner healing?” I replied.

“Yes,” she said, ” and it’s very good.”

“I struggle with inner healing. Every book on inner healing that I’ve ever seen is a takeoff on John and Mark Sandford’s book, one that I don’t recommend to anyone.”

“Well, a pastor in our denomination recently committed suicide. So our pastor wants to be proactive and help our staff handle the everyday stress of working with our church’s members. Plus, a counselor meets with each of us every week to help us.”

“Oh dear, I struggle with counselors, too.”

Thank God, the conversation died without me putting both of my feet in my mouth.

I understand there are numerous mental problems, such as bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and others, where we believers can’t heal the person by simply speaking in faith and saying, “Go, in Jesus’ name.” We just aren’t there yet! Maybe soon though!

But this was not a case of handling severe mental disorders, this was a pastor trying to protect his staff from stress and emotional strain. And what does he do? He reaches for what the world considers its best answer for these problems: psychology.

Although considered a science, psychology is anything but that. There are hundreds of different methods for every problem. Most of them backed by the works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Both were ungodly men!

So, why not fast and pray and trust the Lord? Isn’t He more than able to protect a church’s staff?

I assume this same pastor preaches a sermon each Sunday telling the congregation to trust in Jesus, right? But shouldn’t the pastor be honest enough to declare his staff’s lack of faith in Jesus?

How would that play out? Probably not well.

Can you imagine telling Christians in North Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan and other nations where Christians are tortured and killed for their beliefs that they also need psychologists to help them handle their stress and anxiety? They’d laugh at our weak faith!

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord]. (Matthew 6:24 AMP)

The number three reason for becoming a part of the Great Falling Away – now or in the future – will be trusting in the world system more than in Christ and His ways.

(Continued in Part 6…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

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September 18, 2019 · 9:33 am

Will we End up Being a Part of the Great Falling Away? (Part 4)

I am seventy-three years old.

You can call it pride or whatever, but I have always wanted to see the Lord return in my lifetime. That is until recently when I felt the Lord speak to my heart, “I am not returning in your lifetime. Help prepare your children and grandchildren for the End-Times.”

Whatever disappointment I might have felt at the time was erased by the urgency of His words.

Many preachers talk about the “great falling away” as if it will be just a slight bump in the road for the American church. After all, America has the greatest concentration of Christians within its borders of any nation in the world. 80 to 90 million Evangelical or born again Christians by many estimates.

Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed] (2 Thessalonians 2:3 AMP)

Do you actually believe the Apostle Paul was talking about a slight bump in the road when he wrote about the “great falling away?”

I don’t.

It’s my belief that if we don’t take drastic steps that 50 to 75% or more of America’s Christians will abandon their faith during the soon coming End-Times period. That’s forty to seventy million believers!

Why such a large number?

Corrie Ten Boom’s 1974 letter about the Rapture explains most of my reasoning:

There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days.

In China, the Christians were told, “Don’t worry, before the tribulation comes you will be translated – raptured.” Then came a terrible persecution.  Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly, “We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution, rather than telling them Jesus would come first. Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when tribulation comes — to stand and not faint.”

Somehow, most American believers have swallowed the same poisonous Pre-Trib Rapture doctrine and believe we won’t suffer even though Jesus said –

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. See, I have told you beforehand. (Matthew 24:21-22, 25)

We believers are the elect and He is warning us to prepare ourselves ahead of time.

The number two reason for being a part of the Great Falling Away – now or in the future – will be holding onto bad teaching not supported by scripture.

(Continued in Part 5…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)

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