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 …
Dear Brothers and Sisters, beloved in Yeshua,
I greet you so lovingly, so thankful for each of you and for HIM Who is the same in tumultuous times as He is in peaceful times. May HE be glorified and blessed and may you be blessed…and dare I say…feel some of the love that I have for you, His body.
I will try to share carefully what is on my heart and not take too much of your time.
Crisis upon crisis, crisis upon crisis, this land, His land, is in turmoil but He has the answer. It is Himself. It has always been Him, but how often have you and I run this way and that until we fall at His feet? How much more for the nations who don’t yet know Him?
I am sure that you know that our government has collapsed and called for new elections. I have often tried to explain our form of coalition government, which is less than desirable, always fiery and messy, and now, at this time, unworkable. It literally flew apart at the seams, culminating with our Prime Minister firing the finance minister and justice minister. Then, other ministers, from their respective parties, stepped down and the government was dissolved. New elections will be March 17 with Prime Minister Netanyahu remaining at the helm until then. Given the unstable situations within and without, a LOT can happen between now and then.
My uneducated assessment: I do NOT know how Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood under all of the criticism, slander, betrayal, and hatred up to this point. I pray it has been − as is rumored − that he is looking to God. Surely there is considerable world-wide prayer for him.
It has seemed that from the time that Mubarak of Egypt was overthrown, effectively beginning the now festering “Arab Spring,” that outside forces, such as other governments, have been very active to bring about a similar situation here. It is subtle, but not so subtle as to go undetected. There has been a undermining by the media to support opposition politicians and thus strengthening these politicians to undermine the existing government. It is alarming to watch, but GOD IS WATCHING. It hasn’t taken Him by surprise.
Because Israeli elections are particularly disgusting with their gross and indecent mudslinging, anything goes. The public soon becomes depressed and discouraged and it is easy to understand why. No one can hear this much negative talk about anyone and still remain unaffected. May God have mercy on us!
Predictably, the expression of anger among the Arabs has increased. Not that their anger has increased, but that they now perceive weakness and division and a sympathetic ear from the world. So we are also hearing ever-increasing diatribes daily. Such lies as that we should go back to where we belong, that there was never a Jew in the middle east, that there was never a temple on Temple Mount, that there was never such a people. We are made up and a conspiracy is what we are. Get out…you are hated…go back to where you belong. Your Bible is a myth and a counterfeit.
“And The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:3 NKJV
IN THE MIDST OF THE UPSIDE DOWN, STRESSFUL, BATTLE FILLED LIFE, strings of lights begin to appear. First I saw the Chanukiahs, the eight branched Chanukah with the ninth branch in the center, strung up along the road. “LOOK!” I yelled to my husband “the Chanukiahs are up.”
Sure enough, it is almost Chanukah. It is easy to forget Chanukah if your children and grandchildren aren’t around. We old folks can forget to become excited, but, sure enough, the diet busting sovganioat is here. This traditional Chanukah gut-buster used to be a sort of deep fried jelly donut covered with powdered sugar and filled only with a dab of raspberry jam, but over the past few years it has evolved. It is now a virtual wedding cake affair, with each bakery vying for 1st place in the local newspaper as best sovganioat available in Jerusalem. Iced in all colors and elaborately designed they are now filled with chocolate, caramel, vanilla, etc.
How could I have missed seeing them in the shuk? And then, there are the dreidles, the four-sided tops with Hebrew letters on the sides saying: “Nes gadol hayah shin.” This is unique to Israel and means: “A great miracle took place here.” The tops in the other parts of the world say: “Nes gadol hayah sham,” or “A great miracle happened there.” What a blessing to live in Jerusalem!
And this great miracle, which is still being celebrated, was celebrated by Jesus or Yeshua:
“Now it was the Feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And JESUS walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.” Jn. 10:22-23.
It was the miracle of the multiplication of the oil for the menorah in the temple, the LIGHT in the center of the temple. There was no Light due to occupation by the Greeks. BUT GOD, WHO IS THE LIGHT, did what only HE could do and multiplied the Light. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (YESHUA) WHO WALKED IN THE TEMPLE DURING CHANUKAH, and who multiplied food for the thousands in the same way that the oil was multiplied, IS STILL THE LIGHT BEING MULTIPLIED, JUST AS QUIETLY, JUST AS MYSTERIOUSLY, IN DARKENED HEARTS, FLOODING THEM WITH LIGHT, DAY BY DAY.
Did you know that Israel provides free Christmas trees for Christian citizens? AND there are Christmas lights strung up as well in areas where there are more Christians, not that these symbols are anything, but a reminder that The Light of the world CAME into this dark world. While in the west people are fighting for the right to MENTION Christmas or have a manger scene or singing carols in a public place, it is TOTALLY different here. We sort of celebrate religion here in that there is a great curiosity about Christmas. So rather then being a battle about materialism, pagan traditions and the like, the holiday becomes a wonderful opportunity to share the LIGHT with hungry hearts. And OH HOW WE NEED HIM NOW!
This election and the chaos that it brings with it has truly plunged the people into a despair of need. We are surrounded by enemies that HATE our very existence. The world consensus is that we are the source of all of the turmoil, and in the midst of all that, our LEADERSHIP battles for the authority to lead our nation. How GOOD God is that He wedges us into a place where we can only look up.
Iran seems to be pulling the wool over the world’s eyes while their stated goal is: 1) destroy Israel, and 2) establish Islam on earth. The UN has a list of cases against us and is poised to declare a Palestinian state, as the Palestinians prepare to take us to the world court for war crimes. Europe is ablaze with fresh anti-Semitism. The scuffle to keep food on the table and roofs over heads becomes more difficult each day. These are all signposts and the good news is that they are signposts to HIM.
I love it that every time we get into a deeper mess. God then turns us toward Him with another holiday, as if He were saying, “Come children and I will tell you a story and it will bring you to Me.” And I LOVE that it is time to look at The Light.
First and Second Peter speaks SO CLEARLY to the times that we are all living in. My heart pounds as I read them because we are NOT being told to KNOW AND UNDERSTAND everything, such as the seasons, the signs, or the answers. We are told clearly HOW TO WALK.
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you…Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope FULLY upon the grace that is to brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…Coming to Him as a living stone…proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…Finally all of you be of one mind…be serious and watchful in your prayers…fervent love one for another…if anyone speaks let him speak as the oracles of God…all of you be submissive to one another AND BE CLOTHED WITH HUMILITY…humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…casting all of your cares upon Him…
This could be farfetched but is this perhaps Israel’s ultimate purpose? Is this HOW we are to ultimately be the Light to a chaotic world when it sees HIS great FAITHFULNESS to His covenants and His Word and His people and His land and glorifies His Name just as He said He would when all else is impossible?
So perhaps it is NOT a matter of having a store of food and water on hand, or of knowing the times and the seasons or of being wise but:
“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…”…Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace without spot and blameless…” (2 Peter 3:11,14)
Welcome to the season of LIGHT. In His Light may we see Light. I hope in the coming days to describe to you the scenes around Jerusalem. I wish you were all here and thank you for your prayers and gracious love.
Your sis in Jerusalem,
J
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Larry Who 