 |
The Jerusalem Prayer List – July 21st 2011
by Joseph Shulam
In the last three days my family has been traveling in the Galilee. Danah my daughter and Noaam my granddaughter joined Marcia and I for this trip to the Galilee. It is totally amazing to see the Biblical stories through the eyes of an intelligent child who has read these stories before and knows them. We also traveled with Joseph and Beth my grandson and daughter-in-law a few weeks ago and it was a similar event. These children who are raised with the Bible from an early age look at the places mentioned in God's Word and attach the stories to these places and they have no problem at all to visit Capernaum and immediately ask “Where is Peter's house?” Children have that pure faith, or as they say, a “child like faith.” It is the faith that accepts and there is nothing more tangible to see and accept than the geography and historical and biblical sights in Israel. Everywhere you turn there is something that happened there and it is described in the Word of God. You drive through Nazareth and come out on the road facing the Jezrael Valley. In one short scene looking at the valley you see Mt. Morre, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Gilboa, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Jezrael, the Kishon river, and more. It would be easy to just stand there and recount for several hour the biblical stories that just a scan of your eye can see and mention. Just look toward the South East from Nazareth and point to Mt. Morre and remember Gideon and his 300 men who came down at night holding torches and clay pots and just as the Midianites were finishing their celebration for the night – these 300 men of Israel came down that mountain breaking their clay jars and flashing the light from their torches. In Mt. Carmel – Elijah showed the prophets of Baal that the God of Israel is the One and True God who brought fire from heaven and devoured the sacrifice and the alter on top of Mt. Carmel. The Land of Israel really brings out the Bible from the realm of religious stories for Sunday school to a reality of a four dimensional historical fact. Visiting Israel for those who read the Bible is an encounter of the first kind – you see that what you have been reading in the Word of God is not religious myth but a living reality. This is the very reason why it is important for people to visit this land. Marcia and I have enjoyed so much the visit of our family and grandchildren and we enjoy seeing our grandchildren recount the Biblical stories with such wonderful zeal and excitement that we wish the same for all the children of our brothers and friends. It is a bit sad to see some of the Christian Universities establish study extensions in Europe and forget that the realy arena where the majority of the Biblical stories were carried out is the land between the Mediterranean sea and the Jordan River – the land of Israel. I strongly urge all to really study and especially read and read and read the Word of God and come and visit the Land of Israel and walk through the biblical places with the Bible in your hand. I have been living here for 64 years in this land and every time that I visit the Land and read the Biblical stories on sight I learn something new but I also have a affirmation of my faith in a way that no classroom teaching or sermon has ever given me. The Land of Israel speaks the Bible in a way that nothing else and no one else can do it. It is four dimensional with a fifth dimension added by the Holy Spirit that brings it all to life.
Last Friday our dear sister Liora has gone to be with the Lord. She was past 85 years old and one of the most amazing women of our congregation. During World War II, as a 16 year old girl she was active in the Resistance in France. Liora was active and faithful in our congregation in Jerusalem for more than 30 years. She was buried on the Mount of Olives and the family and all the congregation is honoring her and remembering Liora and her example and service with great longing to see her again and spend eternity together. May Her Soul be bound in eternal life. Please pray for Liora's family during these days of grief and longing for their mother and grandmother.
Next week on Wednesday, the Lord willing, I shall be traveling to Brazil to teach in a special seminar on the topic of the Anussim / Marrano Jews and also do several seminars on complex topics like the Logos, and Luke and Acts and the People of God. I shall also visit Vitoria and the Rechovot Congregation there, and Curitiba and the Sar-El congregation in addition to the Har-Zion congregation in Belo-Horizonte. I need your prayers for this trip and I ask you to also pray for Marcia during my absence. She will be at home in Israel. I also ask you to pray for the whole Netivyah staff and the Roeh Israel leadership. We need to strengthen the congregation and all the people who participate in the leadership of Roeh Israel. I confess that I am not a good administrator or manager and it is only by the grace of God that the leadership of the Roeh Israel congregation has been able to get anything done. We need another wave of God's Spirit to wash us and equip us and revive the talents for this congregation to keep functioning and being a good witness and an example to so many around the world. Please pray for our older generation members – pray for their health and strength.
We continue to pray for all the sick on our list: Ahuva, Leah, Ilana, Sarit, Zvi, Sara, Merav, David S., and David, Tim Tucker, Paulo, Ruby, Ishiida San, Sadako San, and Liz, Horace and June Marcia's parents, and for Marcia.
Today I got the news that the District Court of Jerusalem has passed a very important decision in favor of both democracy and our civil rights as Disciples of Yeshua. For many years the Israeli Ministry of Interior has been receiving information from “back channels” supplied from the Yad LeAchim Orthodox Jewish Organization that has spread hate against any Jew who believes in Yeshua and against Christians in Israel. The District Court decided it is not legal for Organizations from outside the government Ministry of Interior to influence and instruct the Ministry of Interior and that only missionary action that is against the Law (i.e. to give money or worth money to anyone for the purpose of conversion to another religion is against the law) is not legal, every other presentation or evangelism is legal and allowed under the law. This is something big and we are all very thankful to the good offices of Israel Institute for Justice under the guidance of Calev and Mike for the good work that they are doing.
The work load in Netivyah is so very big this summer and we are praying for God to guide us and provide for us at least one full time new worker for the Netivyah office. Yuda is working much more with the Soup-Kitchen and distribution of food for the poor and also keeping up with the new bunch of Munchkins. Yuda has a new crop and although their number is smaller than the previous generation the challenges are not smaller. We have the previous Munchkin bunch now in the Army and all of them are doing so well in everything that they are involved. This generation is so much better than my generation where people were fearful to declare their faith in the open. I ask you all to pray for our soldiers. We have eight young people in the military now and we are proud of all of them and pray for God's protection on all of them.
Well, God bless you all and please, please, keep us all in your prayers and pray for the seminars in Brazil and my teaching in Brazil that is starting next week-end for ten days. I need strength and wisdom to be able to keep up with the schedule and do a great job.
Shalom from Jerusalem,
Joseph Shulam
P.S. - Please pray for Danah and Noaam who are flying out back to Los Angeles, California, very very early on Sunday morning.
Your Subscription:
ABBA COPY YOUR STUFF HERE
|
|
