Sadly, the killing continues in Syria. So does the persecution of the Body of Messiah in diverse places. The stories are becoming almost routine. So the red flag and warning shout that should snap many of us out of our stupor is the news that human embryos have been successfully cloned. Add to this that they were promptly destroyed to harvest stem cells.
Many who pray for Israel are not aware that abortion is widespread here. In fact, the government offers two free abortions to each young woman serving her two years in the Israeli Defense Forces. Be’ad Chaim, a Messianic pro-life ministry in Israel, estimates that every fourth pregnancy in Israel is terminated by abortion. Could this infanticide be tied to the ancient worship of an abominable god?
Tuesday at sunset begins the Jewish Festival of Weeks, called Shavuot in Hebrew. Many of us know it by its Greek name, Pentecost. Pentecost is not an exclusive “Christian” event. Firstly, Pentecost is what the Greek-speaking Jews of the first century called Shavuot. Secondly, the 120 who were the first to experience the comforting Spirit of Truth that Yeshua promised in John 14 were all practicing Jews. So were the 300 baptized after Peter’s sermon that day.
The writer of Hebrews exhorts us: Remember those in prison and being mistreated, as if you were in prison with them and undergoing their torture yourselves. Also, Yeshua lists an increase in frequency and intensity of persecution as a sign of the His coming. So let us pray for our brothers in Messiah even as we continue looking for Messiah’s coming that will make all things right and new.
I was very distressed to read about your recent paper on Israel that concluded that the people of Israel have no right to the biblical land of Israel. I must warn you that you are poking God in the eye. Paul is very clear in Romans 9, 10 and 11 that God has not repudiated his people and that the promises to Israel still stand. That includes promises of the land.
On June 7, 1967 — 19 years after the nation of Israel had been reborn — Israel regained ancient Jerusalem and reunited it with modern Jerusalem. And so the ancient capital of Israel was made whole and under Israeli control for the first time since the Maccabees, 1,900 years since the Romans destroyed the Temple. Why does this matter? Because the re-formation of Israel as a nation is a fulfillment of prophesy.
Syria continues to dominate the international news. The world got a lot more focused on it when Israeli aircraft twice bombed locations near Damascus. The question is how will the other Middle East nations react. Syria and Iran both threatened to retaliate, with Iran encouraging neighbors to stand up to Israel.
The LORD is making it clear to us that even as we learn to love Israel just as He loves her, He exhorts us not to forget Ishmael. Ishmael, even in Muslim tradition, is the father of the Arabs and ancestor of Mohammed. What we too often overlook is that God four times says that Ishmael is blessed. His name means “God hears.” God still hears Ishmael crying in the wilderness and longs to reconcile with him and bring him back into the camp.
In March of 2008, an Israeli teen found a holiday package on his door step. It was Purim, the day Jews celebrate their deliverance from Haman’s plot to rid Persia of the Jews. The boy took the package inside. When he opened it, it exploded, shrapnel ripping his body. Ami Ortiz is a pastor’s son. The family’s offense: believing and proclaiming that Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah of Israel.
The big news of the week was Syria. President Obama and his cabinet members have consistently said the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict constitute a red line. The implication by the United States and some European nations is that crossing the red line would invite international military action in Syria, where more [...]
What a week! Boston was attacked then on lockdown for most of the week. West, a small town in central Texas, suffered a massive explosion in which 14 died and as many as 80 homes were destroyed. My spirit reaction at the end of week, was “All flesh is grass.” There was other news. U.S. [...]
We in the United States were reminded of life’s fragility this week. The explosions in Boston and outside Waco literally blew people down like grass. Lives dried and faded like flowers. Let us look toward eternity, when the true King will finally be revealed to all and will rule in power, truth, justice and compassion.
