Wednesday, June 16, 2021

New Season Commences | Arrows from Zion | June 16 2021

 


New Season Commences

The New Israeli Government Coalition
Whatever else it might mean, what will it mean for Messianic Jews being persecuted by the Interior Ministry—those who are already citizens not having to fight being stripped of citizenship and those trying to make Aliyah (immigration to Israel)?

The Time I applied for Israeli Citizenship
by Ron Cantor, Messiah’s Mandate

In 1996, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me it was time to get my Israeli citizenship. I knew we were not going to move there yet, but I just felt I was supposed to get my identity card and become a more official part of the Jewish nation.

It’s not always easy for Messianic Jews to make Aliyah—immigrate to Israel. Over the years, many have been denied. In the early years, it was much harder for them to identify us. However, with modern technology, Google and social media, it has become much easier.

     Now they might even ask you out right, “Do you believe in Jesus?” Of course, I would have said yes in a heartbeat, if they had asked me that. Some have actually lied. That does you no good, because if God has called you here, no man, or woman, for that matter, can stop you. Read in full online, click title


Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries

Whatever is happening in the Israeli government my first prayer is that it eases the pressures on those ministries who have been targeted by the Interior Ministry for sustained periods of time, trying to kick them out of the country.
This is something the religious parties, organizations and religious nationalists that connect with Christian benefactors never tell you: the persecution against any Jewish believer in Israel is led by the religious parties and antiMessianic activists that oftentimes Christians are financially supporting without even knowing the reality. Wake up, Christians! Really wake up to all of it.

First ministry letter is from Ariel Hyde, Tree of Life, with a video Stories from The Harvest in Israel. Please share it everywhere on social media.  Also during the recent war they write, “Hundreds of thousands of Israelis watched our video, How to Overcome Fear and Anxiety.” This is the Gospel reaching out in Israel —and in the Arab world too. In Israel where abortion is accepted as a normal thing, their Pro-Life and Gospel Campaign is changing hearts, helping pregnant women and saving babies. That’s better than planting a tree, isn’t it? If you want to make a real difference in the life of an Israeli, and if you want to show the love of God for Israel, then tell me please how you can top helping those Israeli Messianic ministries who are doing such things and proclaiming Yeshua Messiah at the same time?

Dov Bikas has a different outreach for Yeshua, that is to go to the most downtrodden people in Israel, those on the ‘mean streets’ of drug addiction and sex abuse. They go out to lift people society has given up on, to life them out of the literal gutter and set them on the Rock of relationship with Israel’s only hope, the Messiah Yeshua. They minister in Tel Aviv, have a drug rehab for men in Beersheva where they also have a Women’s Shelter. They are making a difference in the darkest places, bringing Light to those who lost their way in life and are unable to even help themselves anymore. It is not ministry for everyone, but those God has given a heart to walk among those most hurting of the hurt of the world. Pray for Dov – he needs refreshing from “my age, stress of the days of running to the bomb shelter, work load in the ministry, etc.”  See Dov’s testimony and the Tel Aviv streets where he ministers

I (Donna) don’t know of any Israeli ministry operating today that has not had the recent added stress of living and ministering with way below par financial support. Pray for them and help if you can. Give out of what you have, not what you don’t have.  It is not a guilt trip to state to everyone that the need is great —if you don’t have it, don’t feel guilty by knowing the need, just pray someone will step up to the plate and help.

Arni Klein of Emmaus Way writes about the three portions of scripture that have made particular impression on them over the last many years: 1. God’s response to Israel’s response to the report of the ten spies 2. Jer.3:11 which he writes, “We understand this to be a picture reflecting the dynamics of modern-day Israel and the Church.” 3. The 10 virgins of Matthew 25: “According to the root meaning of the Hebrew word for foolish, the five foolish virgins were dull -- insensitive to the prodding of the Lord. They were stupid -- not understanding how to read the signs and chart the course they were on. And they were heedless -- ignoring the calling and warnings of the Lord. When the bridegroom’s coming delayed, they were found to not be ready and the door to the wedding feast was shut before them.” Arni writes much more, but I was particularly struck with his shedding light on the meaning of “foolish.”
     They have a prayer retreat in the Galilee, near Tiberias, where groups come for extended times of worship, prayer and soaking before the LORD, with no agenda but to hear what God is speaking right now.  He also wrote eloquently on this: “Israel being a prophetic nation means that in some way God’s working in the world will first manifest here.  The Galilee was the spawning ground and primary arena for Yeshua’s ministry. All twelve chosen disciples were Galileans. It was the birthplace of the modern State. As this was planned by Father, we suggest that His reasons and the subsequent outworkings thereof have continued relevance for us today.”

Tony Sperandeo, HaMaayan congregation in Kfar Saba, writes about the new government coalition that includes a Muslim political party, “The response to these major changes in the political arenas of our country, have led to unleashed hatred and accusation and division that threat to divide once again our people, but also the body of Messiah worldwide.” He writes: “The Lord has personally quieted my heart through these verses (Joshua 5:13-15)….He sits on the throne....For many of us who have been praying for moral and social changes in our country, these scriptures are confirming that our Lord has heard the prayers of many of his children during these last many years.     
     Among the many items of prayer for changes here are just a few  | The right and the protection of the unborn children | The open door for Jewish believers of Yeshua worldwide to be accepted as Israeli citizen according to the Law of Return. Also for the return of the Ethiopian Jews | The protection of widows, orphans, needy, citizens ethnic minorities and strangers in the land | The protection of our children in the education of moral godly values. Recognition of Messianic schools, home schooling and preventive programs for teenagers |  Justice in the court of law exposing the deception of mammon’s influence in our society |  The removal of bribes and unrighteous dealings between business corporations and government officials.  I would like to plead with you not to oppose the changes that our God wants to bring to our country.


#IAMWITHISRAEL is the humanitarian helps arm of Revive Israel, Tikkun Global & Messiah’s Mandate. Each month the give a different focus on fundraising for helping various needs. This month has been on the Akko Single Mom Program opportunity the city extended to Guy Cohen who leads the Harvest of Asher congregation (so named because it Acco is in the biblical tribal allotment to Asher). They are also coming to the aid of a Messianic pastor in Beersheba whose home took a direct hit from a Hamas rocket in their War Relief Fund. They helped many in need in the first and second wave of Covid-19  

Marianna Gol runs a Negev ministry to widows and orphans (in modern terminology that is also single mothers with children in fatherless homes). Summer Camp is a really big deal in this ministry as you might imagine. For families just scraping by, a little fun combined with ministry is very healing. This year the camp will be Aug 2-8. Marianna is looking for some who would like to commit to prayer over the camp (she’ll send you specific prayer points) and also financial help by sponsoring a camper. $250 per camper. They have a really large group of kids they minister to and they don’t want any of them left out of this opportunity. Make some kid’s summer brighter.  Please make contact through their streamsinthedesert website

Israel Pochtar of the Ashdod Beit Hallel Family Network of Congregations & Voice of Judah Israel Ministries just does SO MUCH, I am always impressed by how much! Here is a VIDEO  The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast that coincided with the swearing in of a new Israeli government. Held at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, he writes, “God’s times are perfect, as we were able to visit the Knesset, to walk through its halls with Christian delegations from different nations along with Israeli parliamentarians and lawmakers, and we simply prayed, to remind us all that our hope is in God alone!” Read and watch Trying Times...Require a Double Dose of Kindness, a short video on how they believe their congregation is challenged by God to be witnesses in their country and help its people in their struggles.  From the heart of Yeshua through the hands and mouths of His servants directly to the Israeli people.  Yes!  Also a wonderful testimony of salvation with Elena's Story

Chuck Cohen of Intercessors for Israel Jerusalem in his Friday Prayer Points   June 11, 2021 writes, “The last verse of Shabbat's prophetic portion reveals to us why God will not forsake Israel. The context is when Israel demanded a king from the prophet Samuel, so this proves that even in the midst of His people's sin – He will be faithful to fulfill His Word, for His great name's sake. It should be obvious that this is why He never leave or forsake us as well (2 Tim. 2:13). Read the full points online

Chaim Malespin of the Aliyah Return Center sends this replay of their recent grand opening of LiVracha (Translation: For the blessing).  LiVracha is an Aliyah Return Center initiative that provides FREE awesome clothing for new Israeli immigrants and the poverty stricken(due to corona). It is a second hand clothing shop that is located in downtown Tiberias. This is the core mandate of the Aliyah Return Center to help returning immigrants establish themselves in the Land of Israel, (FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER, and more). LiVracha, our clothing outreach is in a more central location where we can bless more people, in closer partnership with the municipality, government, Absorbtion and Aliyah (Return and Restoration) offices, and they get here with ease. You can help them provide for those in need.

Michael and Dina Beener of the City of Life congregation in Sderot— city with the most bomb shelters in the world on the border with Gaza —are doing many things to help the shell shocked and needy citizens of their town. One is raising funds for a day of rest, relaxation and fun at a waterpark for families with children. DONATE & Read more here  “According to a recent study close to 56 percent of Sderot residents have suffered in some way from Palestinian rocket attacks. Over 4, 000 Sderot residents and 86.6 percent of Sderot children aged 12-14 are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD).” They have been bearing the brunt for years. Another way they reach out with blessing is by supplying infant and senior diapers A Blessing For Children And Adults. Learn more on their website

Sarah Singerman writes for the Revive Israel team about this past week when arson fires swept through close to the Revive center in the Messianic Kibbutz Yad Hashmonah. Although “dozens of firefighting teams and planes worked tirelessly for hours,” she writes, “the main line of the fires was right across from our offices and discipleship center.” Sarah adds, “We started to receive preparation warnings for evacuation from the police. Our team was right in the midst of worshipping in our global broadcast exactly as the fires were blazing around us. We saw this as kind of a surreal acute picture of the intensity we will go through as Yeshua’s return draws near.” Also from Revive, Asher’s article All Israel Will Be Saved and the VIDEO Global Broadcast | Praise, Prophecy, Prayer, and Preaching from our team in Israel. This week, Asher Intrater ministered titled "The Rise of Anti-Semitism".   Partner with us.

Tel Aviv Tiferet Yeshua congregation is led by Gil Afrait, but the full team includes his wife, Tamar, Moti Cohen, Victoria and Kosta. In the weeks ahead they will be sharing a little about the individuals in their team. It is always good to know more about the people in the ministries we are supporting, to see how God has knitted hearts together for one cause: for Israel’s salvation.  The first of these profiles is about the Tel Aviv food outreach and Discipleship through Outreach. It is a Testimony by Moti Cohen with an appeal to Help us Feed Tel Aviv with your donation.  The whole congregation is so happy to be back together now that Covid restrictions are lifted.  

Joel Jelski with the Fields of Wheat team and director of the Katzir national youth camps is happy that the first camp will take place the last week of July. “We feel this will be an important time of encouragement and encountering the Lord for many youth after such a long time of isolation and such a challenging season.” Pray for them and for the leaders.  He notes that Fields of Wheat were not able to get the parcel of land they negotiated over, the owner deciding not to sale. This has been a vision for a long time now – one the LORD gave for “a place set aside for the equipping of the body of messiah in Israel for the harvest.” Please pray that God will make a way – that whatever place He has chosen will be made available (even if it is the one that was pulled from sale!)
     Joel, and also Eitan Shishkoff, will be traveling in the US during August —some together, some separately. Joel is asking for referrals for him to be able to speak and connect churches, small groups or even individuals to the local messianic believers in Israel.  Joel asks for prayers over his wife Teresa, with a medical issue – God knows! 
     LAST MINUTE NOTICE: Join us June 17-18 online for the Father's Covering Conference. Eitan, Joel and Cody will be speaking. More info on the Fields of Wheat Facebook page.  The conference will be streamed live on this YouTube channel

LASTLY FOR THIS WEEK (OTHERS THAT CAME IN CARRIED OVER TO NEXT WEEK) We got in a ministry letter from Daniel and Shirya Yahav of the Peniel Fellowship in Tiberias. Don’t let the name “Fellowship” fool you as this has for a long time been the largest congregation in Israel. They are grateful to be able to meet together at long last, but before that happened, they decided to make a day in the park on Pentecost. It was a camp out so everyone could be together but the timing was such that war on the Gaza broke out, as well as rioting in some of the cities and villages. The park they chose was close to the Lebanon border, so they wondered if they should cancel. ..until Daniel woke up with Ps 23:5 on his heart, “"Thou prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…" They took that word as from God, went to camp out where their congregation enjoyed the run of an empty park—everyone stayed away except the IDF running off some Hezballah youth trying to break down a fence around Metulla, a few kilometers from their camping site.
     They also wrote a number of testimonies of how some of the congregation members, because of restrictions that their jobs and businesses, were able to be fluid and work out other solutions that proved to be great improvements for dealing with things – freeing up more time and also making more income potential possible. This really has been a lesson from Covid, that we need to adapt to new ways, and if we do we can reap greater fruit from our changes. Finally, their youth camp also gets under way at the beginning of July. Prayers appreciated, also for the children’s club. If you want to hear their messages in English, German, Russian and Spanish go to the Peniel website and on our YouTube channel.

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue
Please keep in prayer the Israeli believers who are fighting for their lives or other urgent health needs: 

Pray for Ronit Bender whose heart arrhythmia sent her to ER! She is home now with new meds but still needs our prayers | Pray for Carolyn Hyde whose left hand is so pained she can no longer play guitar and it is also sometimes painful to play piano | the Silvers: David's knees and Josie's back pain | Rachel Netanel  is still recovering from a broken ankle. She asks for healing & for the pain to subside. Her ankles were weak already, so the process is slow and painful| A prayer request for Naomi, for a dear family that is a part of Israel Pochtar's pastoral team, who was diagnosed with colon cancer. "Despite what this battle entails, we are confident in God’s unfailing Word and promises." Read in her own words| Please continue to pray for Jacob Damkani for the LORD's mercies over Jacob and his dear wife, Elisheva | Dov Bikas – I have been very tired these days: probably as a result of a combination of factors: my age, stress of the days of running to the bomb shelter, work load in the ministry, etc. Olga is getting better slowly, but still has a long way before her, so please keep praying.



 Last Word
by Donna Diorio

When you are a writer, you can always give yourself the last word. You bring up a point, state it and press send. Usually, only the ones whose toes are stepped on take the time to give you feedback. I know this last word that I’m giving myself is going to step on some toes, but really truly I am not trying to denigrate ANY works in Israel, but just stating what for me seems to be obvious. 
     I remembered an old favorite song from 1965 by Jackie DeShannon. The reason was that I saw a local 24/7 prayer church that has recently awakened to God's heart for the salvation of Israel announcing they have a fundraiser started for "Jerusalem Land."  I knew that must mean another Christian ministry, newly awakened to God's heart for Israel, had set its focus on Jerusalem real estate to set up their own operation there.
     That's when I thought of Jackie DeShannon's, What the world needs now is love:  "Lord, we don't need another mountain, There are mountains, And hillsides, enough to climb. There are oceans, And rivers, enough to cross, Enough to last 'Til the end of time."  
So I made up own lyrics to fit this occasion.

Lord, we don't need
Another Christian ministry HQ in Jerusalem
There are 24/7 prayer Houses
And Church orgs enough to eat up all actual funding of the Gospel
There are denominational
And non-denominational enough to not preach
Enough to just do good works in Israel
'Til the end of time

What Israel needs now
Is love, sweet love from Christians supporting ISRAELI ministries
They're the only ones
That have just, too little support.
What Israel needs now
Is love, sweet love of Christians supporting the 20K Israeli body
They're the only ones proclaiming Yeshua to Israel
A witness every one.

Not snappy lyric writing, but you get my drift. In every land in the world God raises up a testimony to salvation through His Son. He sends people to witness, but it is the people in each land who become the sustaining witness of salvation. Every missions organization understands that EXCEPT when it comes to Israel. Because there is a Divine timing to the great outpouring of salvation in Israel, some think that Israel would already be saved if they were just exposed to "our" witness. No, that is not the truth; that is an arrogance that keeps Christian ministries wanting to set up shop in Israel to reach Israel, then failing to support the Divine Mandate that is upon the Israeli Messianic Ministries and Christian Arab Ministries to do even more sharing of their faith than they can afford to right now.
     I just wish the "Jerusalem itch" didn't infect every person who awakened to God's love for Israel and instead they would awaken to the laborers He has ALREADY set in that harvest field. Go. Stand alongside the ministry leaders of Israel and pour into those that are open to what you have to share - but it is their mandate from God to preach the Word to their own people, their own nation, it is not yours. Plus, every Christian organization that goes into Israel to set up a presence in Israel, most often Jerusalem, they soon learn Israel is not going to allow them to win souls. It is just that simple, and the Christians who realize this, and then get behind supporting Israel ministries in a myriad of ways, they are the ones who love Israel the most...at least that is what I think about it.


Donna Diorio, April, 2021
donna@israelprayer.com or donna@d10r10.com
THANK YOU to those who support this ministry with donations.
Donations appreciated | on PayPal donna@israelprayer.com
Or by postal mail make donations payable to the order of Donna Diorio
P O Box 111302 Carrollton, Texas 75006  |  I do not have tax exempt status. 


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