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The Jerusalem Prayer List - June 30 2011
by Joseph Shulam
Summer has taken over the long spring season in israel. The summer heat is on but it is. bearable in Jerusalem. The streets of Jerusalem are full with tourists from the whole world over, but it is evident that most of them are not from the united states of america. One sees many Brazilians everywhere, many Russian, Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese. Last week while walking in the old city of Jerusalem with my grandson and daughter in law I saw for the see the first time a large group of tourist from India. The women were all dressed in fancy sari silks, and the men were dressed in western suits. These Indians were Christians who came to Jerusalem for pilgrimage to see what they said was the Holy City. I was thinking, what is so "holy" about Jerusalem? Jerusalem is one of the poorer cities of Israel. The traffic is horrendous. the light train that was promised to work years ago is now running but empty, and no one knows when it will actually start active service. The hospital doctors are on a partial strike for two months, and there is a boycott on cottage cheese, and the pilgrims are coming to see the holy city. It is interesting that the Apostle Paul gives us a parable of the two city Jerusalem in the letter to the Galatians. He calls one Jerusalem Sara and the other Hagar. Paul says that the Jerusalem of now is the city that is enslaved and it is Hagar. The Jerusalem that is a free city is that of the future and it is Sara, the wife of Abraham that is legal, a wife of the covenant. In the first century the city of Jerusalem was enslaved for real, the Roman legions occupied the city. Today the city of Jerusalem is not enslaved by foreign forces, but in a way it s enslaved by a spirit of religion and religiosity that has little if any faith. It is possible to be very religious and have very little if any faith in God Himself. People can be converted to their synagogue or to their Rabbi, or to their church, denomination, or their pastor. Jerusalem stands here as a monument to all that is good in God's revelation and faith and all that is bad in religion. The wonderful thing is that people of all three monotheistic faiths are still coming to do pilgrimage to Jerusalem, even now. Now the sword of division and war is rotating over Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority is threatening to unilaterally declare next September a Palestinian State within the 1967 boarders. They have an automatic majority in the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. They want Jerusalem split with a boarder running through it. I grew up in a jerusalem that was split with walls running through it. Big thick cement blocks one on top of the other divided Mamila street in two. The same was true for the bottom of the street of the Prophets in the Musrara neighborhood. I remember well participating in an Arab wedding in the village of Beit Safafa in the south of Jerusalem. The wedding was conducted in two countries, israel and Jordan and a wire fence ran through the middle of the village and through the heart of the wedding. If anyone thinks that it is realistic to split Jerusalem again they must not be realists. David Ben-Gurion, our first Prime Minister, said that in Israel the only way to be a realist is to believe in miracles. We still sing the old Christian Hymn, "Standing on the promises of Christ my King through eternal ages let His praises ring Glory into the highest I will shout and sing . . . ".
Now, before September 2011, is the time to pray for Jerusalem, for the peace of Jerusalem, and not like so many in the world are praying for a piece of Jerusalem. We who trust in the Lord and His promises will seep His Word being fulfilled. Literally fulfilled, is what I believe will really happen. I live here and teach here and know for sure that my God, the God of Abraham does not lie, and His Word is living and everlasting. This is why I get excited to see the hordes of tourists walking in the streets of Jerusalem and proclaiming peace in the city of the Great King. Join us and see you in front of the great white throne. The Jerusalem Prayer List - June 30 2011
by Joseph Shulam
Summer has taken over the long spring season in israel. The summer heat is on but it is. bearable in Jerusalem. The streets of Jerusalem are full with tourists from the whole world over, but it is evident that most of them are not from the united states of america. One sees many Brazilians everywhere, many Russian, Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese. Last week while walking in the old city of Jerusalem with my grandson and daughter in law I saw for the see the first time a large group of tourist from India. The women were all dressed in fancy sari silks, and the men were dressed in western suits. These Indians were Christians who came to Jerusalem for pilgrimage to see what they said was the Holy City. I was thinking, what is so "holy" about Jerusalem? Jerusalem is one of the poorer cities of Israel. The traffic is horrendous. the light train that was promised to work years ago is now running but empty, and no one knows when it will actually start active service. The hospital doctors are on aire partial strike for two months, and there is a boycott on cottage cheese, and the pilgrims are coming to see the holy city. It is interesting that the Apostle Paul gives us a parable of the two city Jerusalem in the letter to the Galatians. He calls one of the Jerusalem Sara and the other Hagar. Paul says that the Jerusalem of now is the city that is enslaved and it is Hagar. The Jerusalem that is a free city is that of the future and it is Sara, the wife of Abraham that is legal, a wife of the covenant. In the first century the city of Jerusalem was enslaved for real, the Roman legions occupied the city. Today the city of Jerusalem is not enslaved by foreign forces, but in a way it s enslaved by a spirit of religion and religiosity that has little if any faith. It is possible to be very religious and have very little if any faith in God Himself. People can be converted to their synagogue or to their Rabbi, or on the other side to their church, denomination, or their pastor. Jerusalem stands here as a monument to all that is good in God's revelation and faith and all that is bad in religion. The wonderful thing is that people of all three monotheistic faiths are still coming to do pilgrimage to Jerusalem, even now. Now the sword of division and war is rotating over Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority is threatening to declare unilaterally a Palestinian State within the 1967 boarders. They want Jerusalem split with a boarder running through it. I grew up in a jerusalem that was split with walls running through it. Big thick cement blocks one on top of the other divided Mamila street in two. The same was true for the bottom of the street of the Prophets in the Musrara neighborhood. I remember well participating in an Arab wedding in the village of Beit Safafa in the south of Jerusalem. The wedding was conducted in two countries, israel and Jordan and a wire fence ran through the middle of the village and through the heart of the wedding. if anyone thinks that it is realistic to split Jerusalem again they must not be realists. David Ben-Gurion, our first Prime Minister, said that in Israel the only way to be a realist is to believe in miracles. We still sing the old Christian Hymn, "Standing on the promises of Christ my King through eternal ages let His praises ring Glory into the highest I will shout and sing . . . ". Now, before September 2011, is the time to pray for Jerusalem, for the peace of Jerusalem, and not like so many in the world are praying for a piece of Jerusalem. We who trust in the Lord and His promises will seep His Word being fulfilled. Literally fulfilled, is what I believe will really happen. I live here and teach here and know for sure that my God, the God of Abraham does not lie, anis that His Word is living and everlasting. This is why I get excited to see the hordes of tourists walking in the streets of Jerusalem and proclaiming peace in the city of the Great King. Join us and see you in front of the great white throne.
In Netivyah we have started to work on a new book on the subject of “The Angel of His Presence.” It is a subject that is not often discussed but significantly mentioned in the Torah and in the Prophets and in the Writings and deeply connected with the Messianic advent. Please pray for this book to be finished before the end of this year. Udi Zofef is doing the writing with my guidance. I really believe that it is going to be a very important book.
The Anussim / Marrano Jews are still very high on our agenda and we are planning the next conference in Israel for December 2012. The topic is picking up steam all around the world and specially in central and south America and Portugal. Israel is beginning to wake up to the plight of millions of people who are direct descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to Catholicism and were punished for their holding on to their Jewish Identity, and often the punishment was death by burning in the public plaza. Please start to pray for the success of this conference and for a significant number of scholars and political and public figures from Israel and from Portugal and from Brazil and other parts of the world to participate and contribute to this gigantic effort for a gigantic cause that will have a gigantic implications for Israel and for the World.
The Shulam family will have most of our family at home here in Israel very soon and I ask you to pray for our family and a peaceful and meaningful time with our children and grandchildren and daughter-in-law. Barry our son is staying in the United States because he has to work and does not have enough time this year, but we hope that he will come next year.
Please continue to pray for the sick among us: In Jerusalem, Lev, Liora, Ahuva, Leah, Sarit, Sara, Zvi, David S., and David, Marcia, Ludmila, Meyrav from Jerusalem, Yasmin, and Tania. We pray for Ruby, and Liz, and Horace and June, and for Paulo in Brazil, and Tim Tucker in Finland, and Ishiida San in Japan, and Mrs. Sadoko, Abe Kazuhiro's mother-in-law.
Thank you all for your prayers and support and work for the salvation of Israel and the whole World.
God bless you all,
Joseph Shulam
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