Wednesday, February 21, 2018

WEEKLY Arrows from Zion 2/21/2018


God bless Billy Graham who entered Heaven today

Priority Prayer Focus


Israelprayer:  This is the most significant Israeli public statement regarding Messianic Jews that I have ever seen in 17 years of closely tracking the Israeli Messianic community of faith.

As KehilaNews writes, the Jerusalem Post Opinion writer, Itzhak Rabihiya, was formerly a news journalist for one of the most read newspapers in Israel, Yediot Aharonot (YNet on social media) and still is a spokesman of the Labor Party, a left-leaning political party and major opposition to the right-leaning Likud party of Netanyahu. 

The most astounding statement of all is in the byline: "Perhaps the government of Israel should start viewing Messianic Jews as diplomatic assets rather than a religious threat." This, of course, is the truth. In the nations (diaspora), Messianic Jews are staunch ambassadors for Israel, as are evangelical Christians.  The same cannot be said for a majority in the traditional and secular Jewish community, as in America where Jews tend to ally more along US social issues than issues of safeguarding Israel. 

Itzhak Rabihiya's Op-Ed indicates a major shift to clarity in thinking towards recognizing who Israel's true friends are in the Diaspora, but also within Israel. In times past the Christian community did not pay much attention to what was happening in Israel with their brothers in the faith who are Messianic Jews. Rabihiya's direct confrontation of that issue in this article shows that situation has begun to change. He writes, " "...the [Israeli] Interior Ministry still seems to take pride in preventing Messianic Jews from immigrating to Israel. In the recent well-known case of Rebecca Floer, a Jewish daughter of Holocaust survivors was prevented from immigrating under the Law of Return because the ministry claimed it had reason to believe she was affiliated with the Messianic Jewish community."

Further, he underscores this as a strategic political position change for the Labor party as Israel increasingly appears to about be ready to elect a new Prime Minister. Rabihiya writes,  "It would behoove the Israeli government to recognize that the small Messianic Jewish community in Israel, which apparently numbers less than 20,000 people, has become, since the election of Donald Trump, disproportionately influential and important to Israel’s security and diplomatic standing. Unfortunately, it appears that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nor anyone in his Cabinet, fully understands this new reality. . . . In view of the deep relationship between Evangelical Christians and the Messianic community, perhaps the government of Israel should start viewing Messianic Jews as diplomatic assets rather than a religious threat."

Please read the full article, Evangelicals and Israel, as it contains so many good cues on how to prayer over this issue, which is always a prayer priority for this Israel Prayer Summary, and even the basis of the effort to build up the bonds of brotherhood between Christians and Israeli Jewish believers. -DD
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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.
Praise the LORD for the abundant rain that LuAnne Sayag of the Carmel Congregation begins their monthly ministry letter speaking about. She writes, "As a congregation we kept praying fervently for rain -- both the physical and the spiritual. During the last days of 2017, I received this verse from the Lord: “You crown the year with Your goodness and Your paths drip with abundance" (Psalm 65:11).  I thought that God meant that He was going to finish out 2017 by giving us an abundance of rain, but it was not so.  However, on January 1, 2018, the heavens were opened, and the rain poured down. It was then that I understood that the real reign of a king comes after he is crowned. I believe that God was showing us that He has crowned this new year with His goodness which we are going to see and experience throughout this coming year." Hallelujah! Whatever the enemies of Israel attempt, God's blessings cannot be thwarted. Please continue to pray for the rains that will replenish all of Israel's needs.

Inside the subscription-only, attached Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests from Israeli Ministries, are the rest of the reports from the northern Carmel Congregation about ministry outreaches  and prayer requests over their house of the Lord known far and wide for worship.  One event upcoming is their School of Ministry, March 2 – 13, for Peter and all other speakers and worship leaders, as they impart understanding of God’s heart for Israel and the role of the nations in intercession, to the 120 participants coming from several nations.

Maoz Ministries (Ari and Shira Sorko-Ram) have a weekly prayer letter written by Katie Smith that this week speaks to the sound of sirens, jets and explosion heard in northern Israel last weekend. Everyone in Israel wondered if this outbreak would become a full blown war...as did Katie's 7 year old daughter who came to her admitting, "Mom, I'm scared of dying."  We should understand the toll taken by the persistent threat of war that hangs continually over the very young to the very old and everyone in between in Israel.  Pray for those who know their eternal home with the Father and also for all those in Israel who don't yet know. Pray for God's hand to hold back the plans of the enemy to steal, kill and destroy any Israeli before their time. Read the prayer points from Maoz inside the Weekly Summary attachment where there is also a report on the Maoz project of producing a Narrated Bible in Chronological Order ... in Hebrew.

The report from Rachel and Gilad Netanel in Ein Karim outside of Jerusalem is always a delight to read. It reminds me of the scripture in Daniel 11:32, "... but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." Amazing things happen as Rachel and Gilad open their home with generous hospitality and Rachel shares her faith fearlessly.  I do not share specifics in Arrows which is published online, but I do urge you to open and read inside the subscription-only, attached Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests from Israeli Ministries. Your heart will be uplifted.

From the Revive Israel team in Jerusalem - two videos: Revive Live with Cody Archer & Ariel Blumenthal | How a Jew Met The Messiah in Asia and Asher Intrater teaching on why geography will become more and more important as we approach the end times in Time and Geography. Also, Israel a Prophetic Parable for the Church  by Yoni Koski | If Israel is a parable, then there is much for the Church to learn from, as the world watches the nation’s development and the heating up of the battle for the Land and especially its capital, Jerusalem. The purpose of a parable is instruction.

Also from Revive Israel and invitation to join them for the Esther Fast Live Streaming Tuesday February 27th via FACEBOOK Live for fasting and worship from 16:00 – 22:00 Israel time, for our annual worship, prayer and fasting event in accordance with the pattern of the book of Esther. At the time of the event go to – reviveisrael.org.  |  For more information, watch this video

We also have a short update from Joel Jelski, who along with his wife, Teresa and their toddler, are in the midst of discipleship training on the island of Cyprus with Gateways Beyond. GB is a destination that many young believer Israelis and Messianic young adults from around the world go to for an extended period of discipleship. Joel and Teresa have found it "amazing" but also "challenging" when as Joel writes, "God was really working in our hearts, and it wasn't always a comfortable place." Read more from them including prayer requests inside the Weekly Summary attachment

Beer Sheva leaders of the Yeshua's Inheritance congregation, Howard and Randi Bass have a lovely family of adult children (complete with grandchildren) who are all following the Lord. I mention this because Howard shared a great family photo inside the Weekly Summary attachment along with a little update on what each of their children are doing (KehilaNews.com, Israel Jewish Voice Ministries, final year towards a degree in engineering studies, and a captain in the IDF combat engineering section.  Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. Psalm 127:3

In the congregation, there is a lot going on too with recent guest preachers, Arab brother, Khaled Daleh, who pastors the Evangelical Baptist Church in Kfar Yasif, and from Jerusalem Messianic Jewish Marcel Rebiai spoke on the Kingdom of God within the born-again believer.  Bass has been a great model of an Israeli leader who steps out to engage the diversity of convictions in the body of Messiah, while staying true to his own spiritual convictions at the same time. It is an admirable trait I have seen in him for all the years of this prayer summary.

Bass reports that the Dimona controversy is still ongoing and also that their congregation is taking on the problem so widespread among believers probably around the world - pornography. It is not a minor thing seeing how in Numbers we see that Balaam could not curse the children of Israel, but when they "began to commit whoredom" with the people that hired Balaam to curse them, they brought themselves under a curse. It is a tremendous need in the Body to get out from under the curse of pornography which is sexual immorality.  Read more from the Beer Sheva congregation inside the Weekly Summary attachment

There is a shift in ministry focus for the House of Victory rehab ministry that is run by Eric Benson and connected to the Carmel Congregation. The shift is to concentrate its ministry efforts within their own city of Haifa instead of working with the coalition of congregations at a Tel Aviv center.  This seems like a great move because no major city is without its own desperate addicts and alcoholics living on the street and alone in the world. Eric Benson confides in this prayer letter which we urge you to read to catch the vision of the work they are doing, that "in the recent months we have been facing a serious challenge in the finances of Beit Nitzachon" (House of Victory).  The work that is done among the addicts, prostitutes and street people is the most un-glamorous of all the types of ministry that a believer can be called to but it is also exactly the kind of ministry that it is easy to envision Yeshua doing.  Benson shares 3 videos you can watch inside the Weekly Summary attachment including this one video of our work in Tel Aviv and Haifa. We encourage you to read this prayer letter in full.

As promised, we have the second report on the outreach to Refugees that is being done by Lebanese pastor Najeeb and his wife Elizabeth, who also run the Immanuel Church and Bookshop. Last week we shared that Najeeb is still in Germany recovering from hip surgery that he had to have done suddenly. Elizabeth continues to carry on with all their ministries in Haifa which she shared last week and now this week with a different outreach of that to refugees harbored in Jordan - especially the children. You can read it in full inside the Weekly Summary attachment

Orna Grinman has a new blog post called All Alone. | Loneliness. Such a clear and simple word, familiar to almost everyone. We go a long way in our attempts to ease it. My personal man-made answer to it used to be chocolate. Well, sometimes it still is. Or a good TV series, one that can numb my feelings for a weekend, suck me into someone... Read more online by clicking the linked title.

From KehilaNews.com  Here are just a few of the items on KehilaNews.com this week:

Yeshua Israel enables modern-day psalmists to inspire the world | Cliff Keller | Kobi and Shani Ferguson, both accomplished musicians, refined their vision for the Worship Initiative by asking themselves what they would have most liked made available to them as they began their journeys; among the most important, they decided, were affordable recording, musical resources, well-wishers, encouragement and leads.

Messianic school Makor HaTikvah makes finals in Jerusalem robotics tournament | Kehila News Israel Staff | The only Messianic day school in Jerusalem, Makor HaTikvah, recently attended the First Lego League (FLL) Robotics Competition. The team of Messianic believers completed an amazing comeback to go from 24th place to 5th place to make the finals!

Wonderful events demonstrating God's overflowing blessings | Eddie Santoro | Eddie writes, "As we trust in God and lay hold of his infinite power, our lives are filled with overflowing blessings. Here are just a few of the many wonderful events that have filled the past few weeks and allowed us to be 'The light of the world!'

KNI Israel Prayer Corner :: Feb 20, 2018 | Kehila News Israel Staff | Prayer for Israel News Concerns of impending war remain high in Israel and not just on Israel's northern border, but also in a serious escalation of violence out of Gaza. In a meeting of the UN Security Council, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told that body it was a "wake up call" to improve the situation on the ...
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Urgent HEALING Needs
Life and Death is in the power of the tongue

Please see
inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary to keep in prayer the Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs including the fight for their very lives: 

Rick Ridings daughter, Esther Moore
continues to need prayer in her ongoing battle with cancer. Now part of the Succat Hallel staff, there are encouraging signs in her healing. | Eduardo, an elder in the Beer Sheva Yeshua's Inheritance congregation, has been bed-ridden with a newly discovered  congenital spinal defect which has him in severe back pain. He has already outlived the typical 25-yr life statistic and also has been able to father three children. Please pray for this serious condition: a healing miracle from God |  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 |  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.

Israeli Ministries on Tours  |  BOOKING meetings now (See open dates)  for Kobi Ferguson, Marc Chopinsky  and Ronit Bender 




 Donna Diorio 
 arrowsfromzion@gmail.com or donna@d10r10.com
 

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