Encouraging Signs

The continuing Palestinian narrative as part of the land-for-peace process is that Israel currently "occupies" a country known as Palestine. The United Nations in 1948 offered side by side states to the Jewish people and the Palestinians - Israel accepted, the Arabs refused. This week the Washington Post acknowledged there is "No Occupied Palestine." This is a step in the right direction since most Western media outlets have painted Israel as the "Occupier of the West Bank" which in reality is Biblical Judea and Samaria.

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres has recently organized a friendly soccer match between Israeli and Palestinian children a week after the Gaza War ended. Make a guess who condemned such a demonstration of peaceful co-existence? It was the Palestinian authorities! The match was very special and important since it included Israeli children from the rocket - battered town of Sderot and Palestinian children from Hebron where three Jewish teens were kidnapped and killed.

Another heart warming story is about a badly wounded 12 year old Syrian boy who rode a donkey to safety in Israel. The boy and an older brother were warmly greeted by Israeli soldiers and transferred to the Ziv Hospital. This is just one story of hundreds of Syrians who have been lovingly received by the same Jews they were taught to hate.

Our Lord God is on the move responding to the millions of prayers offered for Israel and the Middle East as a whole. The Gaza War has ended and ISIS is being addressed by a coalition of 24 countries. There are now hundreds of Messianic Congregations in Israel worshiping Jesus as their Messiah and large numbers of Arabs are receiving Jesus as their Savior many times seeing Jesus in visions. We rarely see reports such as these since all the negative happenings make headlines. Additionally, I watched a video on the internet from a Marine base in California showing hundreds of Marines standing and singing with gusto "These Are The Days Of Elijah." Hallelujah! Let us all continue praying and thanking The Lord for His responses to our prayers.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank
 

Four Blood Moons

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon and in the stars. . .Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:25,27. The Word of God proclaims there will be signs in the heavens prior to the "Son of Man Coming." We live in such a day and time as 2014 and 2015 that are within a cycle of Four Blood Moons which coincide with our Lord God's Feast Days.

What is a Blood Moon? It happens during a Total Lunar Eclipse and the moon appears blood-red. Single total lunar eclipses are fairly common, however, four consecutive happening on Feast Days are rare. Each time this has happened in history, a significant event has occurred relating to the Jewish people or Israel.

During the Four Blood Moons in 1493 and 1494, two hundred thousand Jews were expelled from Spain when they did not convert to Catholicism. The State of Israel was founded in connection with Four Blood Moons of 1949 and 1950. The Six Day War of 1967 found Jerusalem reunited for the Jewish people and Israel capturing Judea and Samaria, Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. All took place in connection with the Blood Moons of 1967 and 1968.

This brings us to the current cycle of Blood Moons. One has already occurred in connection with Passover, April 15, 2014. The second will occur on the Feast of Tabernacles October 8, 2014; the third on Passover April 4, 2015; the last on Feast of Tabernacles September 28, 2015.

What does all this mean to us? I believe our Lord God is revealing prophetic signs with the current Blood Red Moons cycle and will bless Israel in the process. "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. . .And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and terrible day of The Lord. . .for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance." Joel 2:28,30,31,32.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank

Prayer and Fasting

Last week a cease fire was declared between Israel and Hamas which appears to be holding unlike numerous other declarations previously. Also during last week Rabbis in Jerusalem declared a day of prayer and fasting. It would appear to me the reason this cease fire is holding is because of the bold declaration of the Rabbis. After thirty days of peace, peace talks in Egypt are scheduled to continue.

Israeli history reveals over and over again that as God's people turn to Him during difficult times He responds. We could do a through study of every war that Israel has fought and won and see the hand of God providing guidance and victory in supernatural ways. Even during this recent conflict in Gaza, Hamas members openly admit that the Israeli God has numerous times re-directed their rockets away from the original target of Hamas.

During the American Revolution there was a theme, "Resistance To Tyrants Is Obedience To God." President George Washington hoped that Americans would never forget God's role in the American Revolution. The Continental Congress regularly called for National Days of "Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer." At one point, the National Capital and Congress were forced to flee. American forces were poorly armed and near starvation, yet they repeatedly survived and prevailed against all odds. British leaders were perplexed by America's unexpected survival. Hallelujah!

Our Lord God desires to take care of His people, BUT we must turn to Him in prayer and fasting. Psalm 76:1,4,6,8 says, "In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. You are more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse were cast into a deep sleep. You caused judgment to be heard from Heaven; the earth feared and was still."

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank  

Psalm 83 War?

We have addressed the possibility of a war in the Middle East as described in Psalm 83 previously in our Blog, however, current events there necessitate looking at this possibility again. Psalm 83:4 says about the enemies of Israel, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more."

The rise of an Islamic Caliphate known as ISIS who has gained control of Northern Iraq and Northern Syria on a murderous campaign has caused prophetic Bible Theologians to look at Psalm 83 again. ISIS has even had an influence in the Gaza conflict and an ISIS flag has been seen in Nazareth. Their overt stated goal is to invade and destroy Israel and the United States.

Psalm 83:5 continues in describing the enemies of Israel, "For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against you." The next three verses six - eight go on to describe exactly the locations of the enemies of Israel who surround them: vs.6 "Tents of Edom (Palestinians in Southern Jordan), Ishmaelites (Saudis), Moab (Palestinians in Central Jordan), Hagarites (Egypt), vs.7 Gebal (North Lebanon) Ammon (Northern Jordan) Amalek (Sinai) Philistia (Hamas) Tyre (Hezbullah) vs.8 Assyria (Northern Iraq)."

The word of our Lord God clearly indicates that Israel currently is surrounded by enemies planning to destroy them. Now the addition of ISIS causes the scenario to be more dangerous and intense than ever. The last couple verses of Psalm 83 encourages us to turn to our Lord asking Him to protect the people of Israel. Verses 13, 16, 17 say "O my God, make them like the whirling dust, fill their faces with shame, let them be confounded and dismayed forever." Let us pray similar prayers to our Lord on behalf of the people of Israel.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You In His Care This Day,

Frank

      

Ceasefire?

New headlines indicate a five day ceasefire has been declared in Gaza and Israel. However, there is still activity from both sides but much less than in the past. Peace talks also are taking place in Egypt. Hamas keeps asking for the Gaza Seaport blockade by Israel to be lifted while Israel wants Gaza to be declared a Demilitarized Zone. Will a true ceasefire ever come?

Another news headline has surfaced during this past week that is very hard to comprehend. The United Nations is considering investigating whether Israel has conducted any "war crimes." Why are they not considering investigating Hamas or investigating how ISIS is treating Christians in Iraq? By the way, the Israeli Government already is investigating whether their own troops have indeed conducted any "war crimes."

Let us do a mini-investigation for ourselves of the warfare techniques used by both sides. Hamas in the last month has fired 3,530 rockets into Israel with the primary purpose of killing as many Israeli civilians as possible. I am not sure any other military unit in history has had a similar goal during a conflict! Additionally, Hamas fired their rockets from civilian neighborhoods, hospitals and schools using civilians as shields. A massive tunnel network was constructed from Gaza into Israel so that Hamas terrorists could surface and cause a massacre during a Jewish Feast Day.

Conversely, the goal of the Israeli Defense Forces during this conflict was to have the least amount of Palestinian civilian casualties as possible. Prior to an air force attack, leaflets were dropped in the area alerting the civilians to vacate the area along with warning telephone calls. A large medical tent was established along the border to treat Gaza civilians injured during the conflict. At one point during the time when there was no electricity in Gaza Israeli teams worked to restore necessary power. Even during rockets landing in Israel, trucks loaded with humanitarian aid were moving from Israel to Gaza. A Palestinian leader commented, "It is time to get rid of Hamas, the Israelis treat us better."

An Israeli soldier Oron Shaul was captured August 1st. There was jubilation in Gaza as women and children pranced and danced. At the same time, sweets and pastries were given out to all the celebrants. In Israel thousands of Israelis gathered at the Western Wall and prayed Psalm 121 and 130 for the safe return of Oron. Unfortunately, Oron did not survive. Psalm 121 says, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help. My help comes from The Lord, Who made Heaven and earth. He Who keeps you will not slumber, behold, He Who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Let us be those who pray similar prayers for Israel during these challenging times.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank  

        

"The Hiding Place"

I would think most of us recognize the title of today's message which is also the title of a book written by Corrie ten Boom. Corrie shares how her family in Haarlem, Holland in the early 1940's, after the Nazi invasion of Holland, helped the Jewish people evade persecution. Most of us know the story but I want to share how their deep faith and trust in God protected them.

The ten Boom family owned a watch repair shop but before the doors to the shop were opened at 8:30 every morning father ten Boom read one chapter of the Bible and the family prayed. This was repeated at 8:45 each evening. This was Corrie's heritage. 

Corrie remembers vividly the night of the invasion as she was in bed and an explosion shook her bed. She immediately went to be with her older sister Betsie and the two prayed many hours for their country. Betsie even prayed for the invading Germans. For five days people came to the watch shop to have the ten Boom family pray for their husbands and sons who were in battle.

During the first year of the Nazi occupation, there were growing signs of the persecution of the Jews. A shop window said "Jews will not be served," a public park sign said "No Jews," and a Synagogue was burned down. The ten Boom family befriended a man who everyday walked his three bull dogs in the neighborhood. One day the dogs were gone. He said he put the dogs to sleep so when the Nazi's came to take him away they would not be left alone.

Word spread that the ten Boom family were friends of the Jews. Suddenly, Jews would show up at the watch shop door saying they had no place to stay. They were always welcomed to live with the family as long as necessary. The living quarters were expanded and hiding places were constructed that were impossible to find.

As all this started happening, Corrie wondered "How should a Christian act when evil is in power?" She then made a commitment to her Lord Jesus, "I offer myself for Your people, in any way, any place, any time."

Corrie and her sister Betsie eventually ended up in concentration camps where they led Bible studies and prayer meetings. By mistake Corrie was finally released as it would appear The Lord intervened. After the war, she administered a large home in Haarlem, Holland where those needing physical and spiritual recovery received continual ministry. She even opened a similar place in Germany.

The story of Corrie ten Boom is an extraordinary example of a child of God sharing His love in difficult and challenging surroundings. Isaiah 62:1 says, "For Zion's Sake. . .I will not remain silent." Are we willing to be those who speak out on Israel's behalf as many countries in the Middle East are determined to destroy them; terror attacks are happening again in Israel; and Anti-Semitism world wide is similar to the Holocaust Period?

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You In His Care This Day And Each Day,

Frank    

Call A Time Of Prayer

The conflict in Gaza is now in the third week with Cease Fire talks taking place in Egypt. However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared this week the goal of Israeli Defense Forces is to destroy all tunnels in Gaza and those leading into Israel. Hamas keeps demanding for the "shipping blockade" imposed by Israel in the waters fronting Gaza be lifted. So it does not appear an end to the conflict is near.

Joel Rosenberg, Messianic author and journalist, wrote recently that Netanyahu needs to call for a time of prayer and fasting in Israel. He referenced 2Chronicles Chapters 6 and 20 when Kings prayed with the people of Israel and Judah.

King Solomon shortly after the construction of the new temple was completed "Stood before the altar of The Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread out his hands and said 'Lord God of Israel there is no God in Heaven or on earth like you, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.'" 2Chronicles 6:12,14. Solomon went on to pray "When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You toward the temple which I have built for Your name, then hear from Heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause." 2Chronicles 6:34,35.

"It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites came to battle against Jehoshaphat. So Judah gathered together to ask help from The Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek The Lord. Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before The Lord." 2Chronicles 20:1,4,13. Then The Spirit of The Lord came and said "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat! Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. You will not need to fight in this battle. Now when they began to sing and to praise, The Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated." 2Chronicles 6:15,17,22.

Let us pray the leaders of Israel take the advice offered by Joel Rosenberg and call for a time of prayer and fasting and then observe how their Mighty God responds.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank