Wednesday, January 24, 2018

WEEKLY Arrows from Zion 1/24/2018

Priority Prayer Focus

There is an old saying, "It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease." Of course that flies in the face of trusting God to supply all our needs without the need of begging for donations. One thing to know in general about Messianic ministries is that over the top appeals for funding donations that we often see among some in Christian ministry, is an embarrassment in the eyes of most Messianic Jewish ministers. That is a good thing I think in general, but as with every of principle of the Kingdom of God there is balance between the two extreme ideas of never asking for donations and always laying a heavy request for support upon those enjoying your ministry.

We can know the truth of this by what happened in the first century, Acts 6:1 "In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food." As spiritual as the first Apostles were, they had to be told by the people that this discrepancy of distributing resources was leaving a whole group of Greek Jewish widows going without within the community of faith.

God did not speak directly to the Apostles about this need as they devoted themselves to His Word and to prayer, but human beings had to speak up to call their attention to the need. Quite literally, in order to get the needed "grease" the left out "wheel" needed to "squeak" up!

Consider this my own squeaking up for donations to this ministry. And please bear in mind that even though you may rarely are hard pressed with donation appeals for Israeli Messianic ministries, I can assure you that the need exists. Please respond to those that are blessing you spiritually, with material blessing.

Arrows from Zion
Strategically Aimed for the Lord’s Harvest in Israel
Contact info for all the ministries included inside the subscription-only Weekly Summary.

First up, Mazal tov to Eddie Santoro from the Ahavat Yeshua congregation in Jerusalem on his 69th birthday! If you have been on this mailing list then you may remember that Eddie is indeed blessed by God to celebrate this birthday having overcome a literal death sentence just over two years ago when doctors diagnosed him with an aggressive brain cancer that few survive - even with successful surgery. But here it is two years down the road and Eddie continues to amaze with "all clear" in his follow
up cancer screenings.

Not only did God preserve Eddie's life, but He also did a deep work in Eddie's spirit with a deep revelation of eternity, as Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "also He has planted eternity in their heart, so that no man can fully discover all the work of God from the beginning to the end." Santoro, in his 'wrestling' with God in his own life and death struggle, caught a deeper glimpse of eternity - and also a zeal as never before to pray for God's healing to the sick. It is interesting that in one translation of Eccl 3:11, God 'planting eternity' in our hearts is interpreted to mean giving us a "sense of Divine purpose".  That is surely the work God has done in Eddie Santoro's life and I would encourage you to read Eddie's  short word the time we have been given inside the Weekly Summary attachment      

Sally Shiff is an intercessor and liaison for Kehilat HaMaayan in Kfar Saba. Let me explain quickly about her liaison role. There are many Israeli Messianic ministries who began life in the United States and they speak English perfectly. But there are others who are native to other lands like Russia or Brazil. There are also native Israeli Messianic ministries. English is a second language to many but for many it is just enough to 'get by' not great for major communications. This is how Sally is able to bless her on congregation in Kfar Saba, to be a fluent English-speaking representative for them.  So it is good to remember that when dealing with some of the ministries of Israel that not all are fluent English speakers - and that's okay! They are there to minister to Israelis first and foremost. So give plenty of grace when trying to communicate with some whose first language is not the same as yours - we're still family!

Sally does a review of 2017 and looks ahead to 2018 and beyond in her prayer letter this month. She quotes one of the prophetic promises of God to Israel which I long ago latched onto as my own personally too: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11). She also writes, "This year, as it unfolds, I anticipate that we will see things that we have never seen before, yet read in our Bible.  Who would have ever thought that we would see a President of the United States publicly proclaim Jerusalem the capital of the Israel, or pull funding from the United Nations?"  There is something stirring in Israel and we are hearing more of the Messianic ministries mentioning it with excitement. Please read Sally's email which includes prayer points inside the Weekly Summary attachment   

The focus that Katy Smith of the Maoz Ministries weekly email for Ari & Shira Sorko-Ram is about the rise of religious persecution against our faith. She writes, "Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East, thereby the only one that has freedom of religion as one of its pillars.  That means whichever religion a person chooses to practice, they must be treated like anyone else, and enjoy basic human rights.  This is the LAW. However, there are groups of people in this land that disregard the law, especially where Messianic Jews are concerned.  And so, persecution of believers in Israel continues."

She writes about the rabbinic incitement campaign against a small storefront ministry in Dimona, as well as the bureaucratic opposition to the Makor Ha'Tikvah Messianic school which is supported by Maoz ministries. Please read more inside the attached, subscription-only DOCX Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests from Israeli Ministries Plus Maoz prayer points

From the team at Revive Israel, an article by Ariel Blumental 3 Principles of Biblical Leadership from 1 Peter 5, a video from Cody Archer on Rekindling the Fire of our first love, and a short Facebook video from Asher Intrater with Tal Har Report at the End of the AGLOW Europe Conference. Also there is a short piece on Three Ways to Pray for Iran, read it inside the Weekly Summary attachment   

The IFI, Intercessors for Israel are currently in their annual Prayer Conference until February. They ask for prayer covering the intercession in Jerusalem and then traveling to the Golan and the Tel Aviv area is a time to hearing and praying for His kingdom purposes to be done on earth and in heaven.  If you didn't know, there are many such conferences with tours combined that are conducted by Israeli ministries and honestly it is the best way in my opinion to make a heart to heart, spirit to spirit connection with Israel - through the Messianic ministries of Israel. Depending upon the ministry you can connect with ministries whose focus is intercession, worship, evangelism, volunteer opportunities, tours to connect with multiple congregational works - whatever you are drawn to in ministry. And you get to see the real Israel and meet the real Israeli believers and people - not just an exhausting daily bus tour to ancient sites. (Although most also do partial touring of the sites too)  

Please read more of the prayer requests Intercessors for Israel makes for this current conference-tour inside the Weekly Summary attachment. You will also see their prayer points for the increase of spiritual warfare since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital; Security on Israel's borders and how to pray about Iran's agenda to "build a Shi'ite Crescent land bridge from Tehran to the Mediterranean".

Ron Cantor, a young man with abounding energy judging by all the ministry activities he is involved with, has a couple of blog posts we think you will like reading: Replacement Theology is Intellectually Dishonest (or plain dumb!) | Ron Cantor |  Forgive me for the frank title, but in this instance, it is accurate. Replacement theology is the belief that the Jewish rejection of Jesus resulted in God rejecting Israel, in favor of the Church. The Church is the new Israel and the old Israel is simply cursed. All of the promises in the Old Testament to Israel are now to the Church, while the curses remain the property of the Jewish people."

Also: Hollywood ain’t got noth’n on Moses!  | Ron Cantor | The story of Moses could not have been written by Hollywood’s best screenwriter. We have an evil king in Pharaoh. We have an oppressed people in the Israelites. We have a baby redeemer. The story begins with a nervous Pharaoh, trying to stymie the growth of the Israelite people. But the plan backfires. “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.” (Ex. 1:12)

From the Dugit Ministry of Avi and Chaya Mizrachi, Chaya writes about the Women of Hope conference that she and Norma Sarvis have put together for the Messianic ladies across Israel.  This is a special opportunity for the believer women to gather together in the Galilee to be blessed and refreshed in the Word and the Spirit. Please read more inside the Weekly Summary attachment for prayer points and an opportunity to help defray the costs for putting this gathering on.

The new location of the Succat Hallel prayer room is in full swing since New Year's Eve when they hosed a worship night for the youth.  With only one posted invitation, around 60-70 youth showed up to worship in the New Year before the Lord.  Read about it inside the Weekly Summary attachment   and about other news for Succat Hallel.

Ben Juster who is the operations director for Tikkun International Ministries was reflecting on the Tikkun timeline of the 40 years of connection between his dad, Daniel Juster, Asher Intrater, Eitan Shishkoff and Paul Wilbur. It's a powerful heritage that Ben has grown up in and if you have ever heard Ben minister, you will know that it is a heritage that he truly inherited personally with great wisdom in the things of the Spirit.  His Tikkun prayer points cover items for the Acco Katzir Asher congregation that Guy Cohen leads; Pray concerning the team at Revive Israel in Jerusalem, Dan and Patty Juster's US itinerary; and the deepening of all Tikkun-affiliated relationships. See more inside the Weekly Summary attachment     

As mentioned earlier, Norma Sarvis (Jerusalem) and Chaya Mizrachi (Tel Aviv) got together to put on a special ministry event for the ladies, Daughter of Zion Gathering this weekend in the Galilee. Norma writes, "The worship leaders and speakers are from Israel, with one coming from Europe. This being a first-time event, I honestly expected about 80-90 women. As of now, over 150 have registered to come. For Israel, this is a very large group!  Most of the women coming are 40 years old or younger. They are hungry!"  Norma notes with interest that this weekend "the Torah Portion speaks of “Miriam the prophetess” (Exodus 15:20-21), and the Haftarah (reading from the Prophets) begins with Deborah a prophetess to whom the sons of Israel came for wise judgment (Judges 4:4-5) and goes on to speak of Ya’el, whom God used to defeat an enemy captain (4:21-22). We believe that it is indeed time for the women of Israel to come together as an army, to hear the Command of the LORD, and to proclaim the tidings!" Read her prayer points for the event inside the Weekly Summary attachment   

Husband Martin Sarvis gives his usual excellent insights on the news of the day that impact Israel with a report on US VP Mike Pence's visit to Israel where Pence certainly wow'd the house in his Knesset speech.  Please read this glowing report of Pence's visit inside the Weekly Summary attachment  and how it differed in good ways from other senior foreign leaders who have addressed the Knesset. For one thing Pence, in Hebrew, spoke an ancient blessing that Martin notes, "every Jewish person has known from childhood". The Knesset chamber "simply exploded" as the Israeli parliament members jumped to their feet in resounding applause and wide smiles on all the faces.  [see that clip on Facebook here]
Along with other prayer points, Martin encourages all to read the speech for themselves at the Jerusalem Post

From Yeshua Israel ministries, Kobi and Shani Ferguson Why Jerusalem Matters to You | by Shani Ferguson | If Israel is the apple of God’s eye,  Jerusalem is the apple of Israel’s eye.  The center of the center.  The core of the core.  The physical location where the presence of the only Living God dwelt among men.  It is the place where God asked Abraham to offer his only son - and the place where God himself would ultimately offer His... Read more online. Also listen to and purchase Shani's new worship song Sapphire Skies

Lastly, a few of the great selections from KehilaNews.com this week:

The cost of following Yeshua in Israel and around the world | One For Israel Staff | Though we are not killed for our faith in Israel, and very rarely physically hurt, opposition through social, political, judicial and economic means puts believers under great pressure. ALSO see the VIDEO from One For Israel as Orthodox Jewish "anti-missionaries" attempt to ridicule Eitan publicly

Messianic Believers are among women joining the Israel Air Force fighter pilot course | Kehila News Israel Staff | The IAF is now actively seeking to recruit more women to its fighter pilot course and believers, too, have answered this call.

Celebrating Be’ad Chaim’s 30th Birthday (Israel's Pro-Life Movement is Messianic!) | Be'ad Chaim Counselor | Only God knows how many babies this wonderful work has actually saved over the last 30 years. Some of those babies are parents themselves by now. Some of the Mums have chosen life through reading a leaflet on the street, or been caused to reconsider by just looking on the website, and never contacting the office. We give thanks to the Lord for them all.
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Urgent HEALING Needs
Life and Death is in the power of the tongue

Please keep in prayer the Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs including the fight for their very lives: 

We're hearing of many in ministry teams in Israel battling with seasonal colds, flu, etc.
Pray for a shield of protection around them all - their families, the old and the young | Olga Bikas continues to suffer from chronic, acute back pain. She is getting medication and physiotherapeutic treatments but without any substantial improvement, doctors are now beginning to talk about surgery| Lebanese Christian Pastor Najeeb Attieh had two surgeries on his thighs & a hip replacement Pray for full recovery| Rick Ridings daughter, Esther Moore, miracle needed for cancer battle |  Esther Ridings Moore for cancerous tumor to yield to treatment and prayer with full healing | PLEASE CONTINUE PRAYER FOR for HaMaayan congregant Danny Meyuseff suffering poor health on several fronts,  David Ortiz, Ami Ortiz, Ruth Nessim| LONG TERM BATTLES |  David Stern,  David, Leah and Ami,  Moshe M.;  Michael E, Claude Ezagouri; Baruch & Karen Maayan, Judy, wife of pastor Yaakov K.

Praying the Headlines
In the realm of infuriating news headlines, there's this from the Jerusalem Post
:

Kerry to Abbas confidante: 'Stay strong and do not give in to Trump' | JPost | While the White House confirms that since the "Jerusalem Declaration" there has been a complete disconnect between the Palestinian Authority and the Trump administration, it turns out that the previous administration actually maintains contact with PA officials. Ma'ariv reported that former US Secretary of State John Kerry met in London with a close associate of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Hussein Agha, for a long and open conversation about a variety of topics. Agha apparently reported details of the conversation to senior PA officials in Ramallah. A senior PA official confirmed to Ma'ariv that the meeting took place. . . . The former US Secretary of State also surprised his interlocutor by saying he was seriously considering running for president in 2020.

Teaching Articles 

Betting on the Wrong Horse | By Avner Boskey | January 17, 2018 | Speaking the truth to politicians is often a daunting and thankless task. Kings and prime ministers have been known for trying “to make lies sound truthful… and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind” (as George Orwell once said) – while they ignore the wise counsel of YHVH and bet on the wrong horse.



Israeli Ministries on Tours 


1/20/18  Marc Chopinsky
MARC CHOPINSKY helped define the sound of modern Messianic praise & worship music as one of the primary songwriters and founding members of Israel’s Hope (along with Paul Wilbur and Rene Bloch). A worshipper at Tents of Mercy in Kiryat Yam, Israel, Marc has put out a re-release of the top Israel's Hope music. 

April 27 & 28 | Houston/Kingwood, TX - The Crossover project with Mitch and Rozalie Jerome and their new congregation called 'My City on the Hill'. I will minister in music as well as speak on 'Destiny, Calling and Identity'.
April 30 & May 1 | Richmond VA - Israel focus fellowship with Q&A and refreshments. A little music too.
May 2 & 3 | Ashburn VA - Worship Concert and sharing at Ashby Ponds retirement center in Ashburn VA. Mixed Jewish and Christian folks.
May 5 | Rockville, MD - Son of David Messianic congregation -  at 10am - Music and speaking
May 6  @ 11am| Bluemont VA  Village Church  Music and sharing.
May 12 @ 11am | Washington, DC  - Ahavat Yeshua Messianic congregation - Music and speaking
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 Donna Diorio 
 arrowsfromzion@gmail.com or donna@d10r10.com
 

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Israel Prayer  P O Box 111302 Carrollton, Texas 75006 
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