ARROWS from ZION : April 2019

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Arrows from Zion 4/24/2019 The Name of Yeshua

Once again I have more ministry letters in than I can put in one issue-watch for them next week

The Name of Yeshua

To many Christians, the name Yeshua is alien to them. They think it is weird for someone to call Jesus Yeshua. Really it isn't weird at all, because it is exactly the name His Jewish mother Miriam gave Him.

The name Jesus came about as the New Testament was written in Aramaic & translated to Greek where Yeshua became Iesous, or Jesus. But believe me, no one called Him Jesus when He was walking around in Israel because the point of His birth is captured in the name He was given, Yeshua means salvation.

I was reminded of this as we gathered with Tony's mostly Catholic family on "Easter" Sunday and a boyfriend of one of the granddaughters (new to our family holidays) got a quick giggling explanation after Tony ended the food blessing with, "In Yeshua's name."

Years ago, it was probably 1992 or so, when Tony and I associated ourselves with a local Messianic Jewish congregation. That was when we began to transition from calling Him Jesus, to calling Him Yeshua. It was for a very simple reason: because as weird as it sounds to Christian ears to hear Him called Yeshua, it is even weirder for Jews to hear Him called Jesus. That is because the history of anti-Semitic persecution that distances Jews from realizing He is one of them.

In their mind, Jesus is the god of the Gentiles, not a Jewish man born in Bethlehem, traversing Israel healing the sick, casting out demons and speaking of how to enter the kingdom of God.

Tony and I made the transition from calling Him Jesus to calling Him Yeshua, and it has become natural to us. It isn't anything we put on. Sometimes when I'm talking to a Christian who has no understanding of Messianic Jews in the plan of God, I will use the name Jesus, but I have to consciously choose to call Him "Jesus" instead of His real name, Yeshua.

For years at the family gatherings, Tony has always been the one who prayed over the food, and he does it in the name of Yeshua just like he does over our evening meals. It is as natural to him to say Yeshua instead of Jesus as it is for me, even though I am the one who carries the vision for the salvation of the Jewish people which the LORD gave me long, long ago.

We use the name that His parents gave Him — Yeshua. Not to be "accurate" but because we desire for the Jewish people to be able to see that He really is one of them. It is out of sensitivity, not out of some legalistic reason. Also, I want readers to know that I do not share this to pressure anyone to change from using the name of Jesus. It is only an explanation why my husband and I use the name Yeshua. — Donna Diorio

Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries by subscription only donna@israelprayer.com

Avner Boskey tells the secret hidden in the Passover seder in his trademark mashup of humor and prophetic truth. Read Rough-riding against the gods of Egypt at his site

Ron Cantor talks about how the resurrection of Yeshua was celebrated through the Passover for the first three centuries until it was officially ended in 325 at the Nicean Council. See more on Ron's Facebook pg

Adding to Ron's info, I have included information from a Catholic historian who detailed how pope Silvester actually cut the Christian ties with the Israeli Messianic believers in 318. This is critically important because it is the account of the Israeli leaders appealing to Rome to resume the contributions to support their work among the Jewish people that the Apostle Paul established. This pre-dates what was done at Nicea, and if we must put the axe to the root, we cannot ignore the facts relayed by a former Jesuit priest named Malachi Martin in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church (1983). See more in the Weekly Summary, if you have a subscription.

Michael and Dina Beener, City of Life congregation, minister to the people of Sderot, that city close to Gaza so hard hit for years on end by rocket falling all around them. Please pray for this ministry who minister to the humanitarian and spiritual needs of the people of Sderot, also helping them with psychological and emotional assistance. If you can help them with financial support, they would appreciate that too.

Evan and Maala Thomas are returned to Beit Asaph from their time in New Zealand and file a report on all that has been going on in their absence, plus the plans for the future. Evan is also in the midst of writing a book, and there are still many ministry travels abroad upcoming. They write, "Our absence from daily leadership of Beit Asaph gave opportunity for our coworkers Lev and Ora to grow in experience and confidence in their pastoral leadership. Together with a team of younger men and women who have been in training for several years, they provided a caring, stable, spiritual environment for the BA community in our absence. This has also given further impetus to outreach and new-generation leadership, for which we have hoped and prayed. Being founding leaders and spiritual parents of a community requires much wisdom and discernment, especially as we step aside in certain areas to give others the space they need to practice and develop the gifts God has given them." More in the Weekly Summary.

Chuck and Karen Cohen, of the Intercessors for Israel in Jerusalem send their personal ministry letter which expands on topics they are covering more briefly in the IFI Prayer Points. You can read the full ministry letter online here. Chuck talks about the power of intercession, the distortion of history, the growth of anti-Semitism and especially Islamic anti-Semitism, among other topics.

Eli Ben-Moshe of the Ashira Project (along with Kobi & Shani Ferguson of Yeshua Israel Ministries) have a slew of newly produced music and videos from Israeli Messianic worship artists including Eli Haitov's new single, a 7-song album by Tanya Kadin, and a new single from Alix Riback. They also welcome artists new to their production company, Evan Levin amd Birgitta Veksler-Lundvall, you might know her 2015 solo album Le'an Elech. Also announcing: "We are really excited to announce that our entire catalogue is soon to be available on Spotify, Apple Music and more. This has been a long time coming and we are so happy to finally make our artists' music much more accessible to everyone." Please click to 'donate and play a tangible part in flooding Israel with Praise and Worship for the King!

Watch this video of an Authentic Passover, made last year at the first Celebrating Seder in the Wilderness put on by Israel Pochtar's, Beit Hallel and Voice of Judah Ministries. The experience was so profound that they held the traditional Seder meal on Passover eve in the desert like biblical days - and this was not an event for tourists, but for their own congregation and guests! How impactful! Other things Pochtar writes about are the Passover projects, outreach into their community, and also their leadership retreat in the Galilee over the Passover week.

From Avi and Chaya Mizrachi big news in the midst of Passover celebrations as their evangelistic coffee shop in Tel Aviv continues to attract Israelis. They make an appeal for donations to put toward the ability to bring on evangelistic staff ($8000 a month). If you can help, this will free up those people from secular employment to focus on the harvest field which is Tel Aviv. Eurovision will flood the city next month and the opportunities are wide open. They also have sold the 12th floor prayer tower in order to move to a location near the coffee shop. That will take $100,000 in renovations to complete. This is good soil in Israel's "sin city" - remember: That's who Yeshua came to rescue —the sinners!

KehilaNews.com Just a few selections from Kehila: The 6th Israel Business Forum – Experiencing Transformation by Lisa Loden | Are there differences between how American Evangelicals and Israeli believers view Netanyahu and his reelection? byJoel C. Rosenberg | VIDEO: Passover new beginning Dani Sayag, HaCarmel

Orna Grinman, who ministers about the Tabernacle, has a good word on her blog about the Table Vs. Stage. "Strange, for a stage, or BI-MA (the Hebrew word that describes a high place) is exactly where God forbids us to worship Him!"

Revive Israel Ministries sends out a month team report leading with The Esther Fast and Israeli Elections.
I was especially interested in the short piece, Alignment Round Table with Tikkun Global "God met with us in a dramatic way concerning the imminence and magnitude of the coming together of the world-wide Church and the remnant of faith in Israel, in preparation for the release of the greatest harvest of souls in human history."

Evan Levine, one of the new artists mentioned earlier at the Ashira Project, is also a worship leader at the Revive Israel congregation, Ahavat Yeshua. But that's not all Evan is doing because he is also the head of the HaTikva Project which is making a real practical difference in the life of Israel's believing community and also among the needy with projects like HaTikva Families | HaTikva Aid | HaTikva Dental

Click to learn more, and how you can be involved in practically helping Israelis through a Mesianic Jewish organization making a difference.

After 2 weeks in the British islands, Howard and Randi Bass returned just in time for the flurry of activity that always marks the biblical holidays in Israel. Howard gave a brief of their time ministering in Britain, and also put into a spiritual perspective the horrible terrorist murders in Sri Lanka: "We will experience more of this vengeance against the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as the end is more in sight, just as the mother in labor cries out at the climax of her pain for the birth to break forth, and there is delivery and relief and joy on the other side." Soon (May 3) the Shabbat meeting at Yeshua's Inheritance will switch to Friday night gatherings during the heat of the season.

Sally Shiff sends notice of an opportunity to believers in the nations to open their homes to traveling Israelis just out of IDF service and seeing the world. She writes, "I wanted to pass along this information to you if you are interested in joining this and opening your home to travelling Israelis. The person in charge used to go to our congregation and is personally endorsed by Tony and Orna Sperandeo." Learn more at www.chiburim.com/english or by writing info@chiburim.com

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue

Please keep in prayer these Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs

CONTINUED FERVENT PRAYER for EDDIE SANTORO A troubling update does not stop us from believing for total healing in our brother /see update above; and Elisheva's good report last week for Jacob Damkani's rehab | Ronit Bender is home from the hospital and being watched for more definitive evidence of the leaking heart valve. Please pray that no weapon formed against all three of these shall prosper & that miracles of healing will flow. Ruth Nessim has several health issues, one of the most critical is her EYES which has sent her to the hospital many times. Please pray for Ruth in Nahariya| Olga Bikas’s health condition that seems to have become chronic, with no hope from the doctors for any improvement in the future. This, no doubt, puts an additional emotional and physical burden on our family. Please pray for her acute back pain. | Albert a Messianic leader from southern Israel, has had a successful surgery and an amazing recovery but keep praying for total restoration | Rania Sayegh asks for prayer of restoration of strength, energy, and complete healing. | In the Acco congregation: Prayer for 5 year old Leon is still very much needed.

Teaching Articles

In case you are not aware, Tikkun Ministries sends out a goodly amount of short articles via WordPress emailings from various of the Tikkun-affiliated ministries. Truly these contain insight and information you don't want to miss. Here is just a sampling of recent mailings. Subscribe by writing webmaster@tikkunministries.org for WordPress mailings
Alla’s Journey | by Martin Shoub, Tents of Mercy/Tikkun | This is an article that is helpful in understanding why Israel Messianic ministries have such an opened door to mininister among the Russian Jewish immigrants.

The Blood Cries Out | David Shish, Olive Tree/Tikkun | One day in worship at the discipleship training center there was a deep sense of God having brought us out of darkness into His light. As I asked what this darkness includes, I saw that one of the darkest things in us is the tendency to accuse and judge others. This is a serious issue and we must decide conclusively what our attitude will be towards others in this regard.

As Time Goes By | Asher Intrater, Revive Israel | We want to use our time wisely to make the most of it for the kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:16). We need to evaluate what we are investing our efforts in. Sometimes as we look back over years gone by, we can see what has been of eternal worth and what has not.

The Quest for Jewish Authenticity | Dan Juster, Restoration from Zion | The two most noteworthy developments in the Kingdom of God over the last 50 years are evangelistic progress in the Southern Hemisphere and the emergence of the Messianic Jewish Congregational Movement.

Sigid – An Ethiopian Thanksgiving | Avi Tekle, Tents of Mercy | On a high mountain top under the warm Ethiopian sun, swathed in white priestly garb, swarthy, dignified Kessim (Priests) stand before their people reciting melodically the ancient words of Ezra and Nehemiah

In Violation of International Law | Dan Juster | The land of Israel is the promised possession of our people. Yet since the days of Joshua son of Nun we have struggled to attain it. This struggle is in part due to the condition of our people.

Donna Diorio
donna@israelprayer.com or donna@d10r10.com

Please note change in PayPal donations:
paypal.me/DonnaDiorio
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.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Arrows from Zion 4/17/2019

Apologies: Some of the ministry letters that have come in
will have to be carried over to next week.

The Secret of Authority in Prayer
is that God Empowers Prayers of Love
Jerusalem Sunrise & the glorious promise of a new day starting.
Photo by Bonnie Saul Wilks (Messianic Jewish Bible Institute)

Because I love Zion, because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I will not cease to pray for her or to cry out to God on her behalf until she shines forth in his righteousness and is glorious in his salvation.

Isaiah 62:1

For Jerusalem to shine forth in His righteousness and to be glorious in His salvation, it means that the people of Israel will know the salvation of Yeshua and be walking in the righteousness that only comes by the inheritance by Yeshua to the saints. Zion is not the name of some Israel-spiritualized-away false doctrine that Israel has been replaced by the Church. Zion is both together: the unity of the church and Israel - Jew and Gentile - one new man in Messiah. The consummation of what God planned all along from the very beginning!

For Israel to be saved, the Church has got to join in alliance with the body of Messiah in Israel in prayers and support. As Christians we can't just say, "I love Israel" divorcing that love from the men, women and families in Israel who are already walking in the faith of Yeshua as living testimonies to "all Israel." How shallow is our love for Israel if it excludes a genuine heart for the believers in Israel? Our theology about how Israel comes to know the LORD fails us completely if it stands in the way of loving of the family of God, the believers in Jesus right now. What kind of love is that anyway?

Recently I have been considering how prayers that are prayed in the wrong spirit become like curses sent out to the person being prayed over. It is possible in prayers to pray in such a way that instead of sending out angels to help someone, we are really dispatching demons to bring them troubles.

I know that is a controversial thing to say but Yeshua Himself addressed this in Luke 9:54-55:

"When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked,

“Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and said,

"You do not know what kind of spirit you are of."

Clearly our prayers meant to turn people to God are only as powerful as the love we have for the people we pray for. One thing we could ask ourselves, is our prayer for them more about praying for ourselves to be treated better by them or are our prayers coming out of a real heart to see the person redeemed and saved from themselves?

We are all pretty good at justifying our own motivations while cutting no slack for 'human-ness' in others. We do that on a personal level and the Church has done that on an institutional level dismissing Israel as 'hopelessly' sinful and replaced by the Church in God's plan. Really, at every level of life, whether it is one-on-one personal relationships, or inter-denominational relationships, or Church vs. Israel, we justify our own motivations towards others. Of course, God sees through all this, as Proverbs 16:2 says, "All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives."

In another Proverb 18: 20-21 God's Word says:

A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

I believe the "it" is a superfluous addition by translators. Not they that love ~it~ but they that love PERIOD. Not lip service, cold love that prayers for others despising them in the heart, but the only kind of prayer that God puts His power behind: a heart of love prayer. Life and death are in the power of our words, and we that love will eat the fruit of the words we are speaking - the words motivated by our love.

Surely it pays to know what kind of spirit we are of. - Donna Diorio

Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries by subscription only donna@israelprayer.com

First up I am beginning with the portion of the report from Eddie and Jackie Santoro on Eddie's health. Eddie's health condition is "some weakening overall but he is a fighter and refuses to give up! ... We are so very grateful and awed at the way God uses us even in our weakest condition," Jackie writes speaking of Eddie's optimism and desire to be a great example of Messiah's love and grace even in his deepest physical weakness. She also wrote, "Someone told us that they had visited four different congregations in Israel and in each one they prayed for Eddie. We are so deeply grateful and humbled by this love that is such a beautiful manifestation of the love of the Father living in his children. How wonderful it is when His Body operates according to God's heart and what joy it must bring Him to see his children loving one another."

Rivers of life flowing out of the mouths of people who love. Please join us in speaking life over Eddie...and also Jacob Damkani, whose update is in the Urgent Healing Needs section.

Sally Shiff, an intercessor and representative for the HaMaayan congregation in Kfar Saba, writes that this is the week that changed our lives, with both the Christian celebration of the Resurrection on Sunday, and Friday night the beginning of Passover for Jews. She also writes, "My heart goes out to France. More and more she is under siege from the enemy and specifically with the Jews in her nation. And it's no longer just the Jews but the Christians too. Notre Dame was not the only church to go up in flames, as there has been accounts of other churches in France that have been burned. And, God is bringing the French home back to Israel. You cannot go to Tel Aviv without hearing French on the streets and buses. The government offices now have a 'French' option for communication. France is just another indication of God’s promise to us that He will always take care of us" even through tragedy and loss "This weekend is a weekend of victory."

From KehilaNews.com just a couple of the many articles featured on the site: Little Hearts in a big city - Jerusalem preschool nurtures reconciliation a loving and nurturing environment that models unity amongst the Arab, Jewish and International populations of Jerusalem. AND [Israel 101] Netanyahu wins again in the complicated world of Israeli elections

The ministry report from David Lazarus at Beit Immanuel in Jaffa is that David and Michaella are retiring as the pastor of the congregation after 32 years. On April 26th at the regular Friday night service, David will lay hands on Aleksey Raikhstadt to be installed as the new pastor of Beit Immanual . Aleksey, his wife Alla and their three children have been a part of the congregation for for 20 years, serving as Elder and part of the leadership team for the past 12 years. Mazel Tov to David and Michaella as they continue to serve the LORD in the Land with a special burden for media for David, and Michaella for the arts.

Israel Pochtar sent a ministry letter prior to the huge Evangelistic Event they did on April 13th with 1700 Israelis hearing the gospel and receiving pray in the Galilee. Last year Evangelism Event 2018 they had 1000 participants and this year almost double that. The people are hungry. Please pray that much fruit would be gathered from this event, discipled and made strong in the things of the Lord Yeshua. Pray also for Israel Pochtar and all their ministry to be protected against all backlash. Pray also for their Beit Hallel Bible School grounding believers in a solid, systemized foundation of faith.

Ron Cantor is so prolific with his writing and vdeos, it is hard to keep up! Here is just a sampling from his wonderful output: VIDEO & Article: Peter’s Vision—Sharing at the home of Simon the Tanner | Our Up To Zion Israel Tour Dec 2019 Price Drop! | Podcast: PART 2 Moshe Dayan: Israel’s victorious yet controversial military general | News focus VIDEO Your Israel Connection April 12 Elections 2019 | Israel is Proof that God will be Faithful to You!

From Asher Intrater's Revive Israel, we are the The Poem of God . Plus the video Path to the Promised Land and Asher's book All Authority which he cites, then writes, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth..." Matthew 28:18. If that was true, then I needed to re-examine every thought I had ever had about authority." From Revive Live Video with Cody Archer: Daphne & Andrew Kirk Through the Eyes of Youth

The Intercessors for Israel in Jerusalem are posting their Friday Prayer Points online. Here is the latest

Ye'shi (Jesse) Reinhardt leads the humanitarian outreach in S'derot and which he writes about in this update. S'derot is right next door to Gaza and the town of fairly poor people has been terrorized for years being bombarded by the willy nilly firing of missiles from Gaza. Fear and trauma is what they are dealing with on top of the neediness of people. You can learn more how to help at the website.

Marianna Gol is leading a widows & orphans ministry in the Negev called Streams in the Desert (in English). Currently they are underway with their Passover Hike - 41 hikers with 30 teens and 11 counselors. Here is a Facebook video clip they posted with the teens learning to blow shofars in the dramatic desert scenery. The teens are being taught about "blowing the shofar as a means of prayer and intercession and revealing of the issues of the heart."

Lovely report from Norma Sarvis this week on her time with the Deborah's Clan in Nazareth last week. We have been exposing you to this through the ministries of Rania Sayegh, the Arab prophetic intercessor in Nazareth based House of Prayer & Exploits, and Orna Grinman, the Jewish widows and orphans minister of A Sign & Example. It is delightful to hear from Norma Sarvis on this gathering of Arab and Jewish "mothers in Israel" who are in the faith of Jesus. Norma writes, "Those of us invited to attend were about 25 Arab and 20 Jewish women, all in positions of leadership, multiple generations coming together from the north to the south of Israel. I have attended a number of Jewish/Arab women’s gatherings, but this was by far the most natural, unforced, prophetic." If any can pray in a love motive over the body in Israel and the peoples to be saved in Israel, it is the mothers of faith!

Norma also wrote, "At times I wept as I realized what God was doing in our midst. The result was a clear realization that, no matter our age, we are the current mothers in Israel, we have a voice and God is at this time calling forth that voice to be heard. There was prayer and declaration towards this goal, all done in great humility, while at the same time honoring our brothers, the men whom God has set in leadership here. We sensed the importance of each needing the other in order to accomplish God’s purposes in the land. We left feeling greatly encouraged and empowered. I am so thankful to have had the privilege of being a part of this!"

From the Morning Star Fellowship in Tiberias led by Claude & Michelle Ezagouri, they are praising God for the re-opening of the Galilee Experience - especially because it provided jobs for some of the youth of their congregation. This has long been a prayer priority because many of their youth have to move away to find employment. "This led us to pray and encourage our people to open small businesses." They ask for prayers for their children and teens to resist the pull of the world ...and also the effort of some classmates to attract them back to traditional Judaism. They also write about the unexpected surprise of an non-religious mayor who will not allow the Orthodox to block development of the city. The "new mayor is quite open to develop and encourage Christian tourism." Please pray for their favor with him.

Lastly, and I believe this is a super priority for the body of Messiah in Israel: "We thank God for the recent national pastoral meetings and women conferences that promote unity among believers in the land .... Please pray that God would alleviate the differences and that we would focus on our common goal to see the progression of the Gospel in Israel."

Richard and Carolyn Hyde of Heart of God Ministries share Carolyn's Out of Egypt Music Video as we are about to enter the Passover season. They write, "We long for the testimony of Yeshua, which is the spirit of prophesy, to break forth in this Land again. We are reaching a time in the history of Israel when we NEED the local prophetic believers to rise up and declare His Word, bring healing in Yeshua's name and find the people of peace to share His love and truth with!" It was the apostle Paul that noted, "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom."

Many say signs are unnecessary in this day and age - I couldn't disagree more! Yeshua said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues" and Hebrews 2:4, "While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." We NEED signs and wonders - God bearing witness to the preaching of Jesus!

More from Richard and Carolyn Hyde, "At a local prayer house we are seeing prophetic worship rise up with such a sweet fragrance! If you're in the area and would like to join us, please let me know." Worship Music from Israel | Booklets | Living Stones in Israel

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue

Please keep in prayer these Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs

On April 12th Elisheva posted this update on Jacob: After two days of not sleeping at all, Jacob was able to sleep last night. Having slept he will hopefully be stronger and less vulnerable... Believing for a good day and a blessed Shabbat. Please pray for Jacob. His spirit is tormented, he is attacked viciously. Please pray. I can't explain, don't really know what it is, I can only guess. The Lord knows. Please pray as He leads you. All day long, since yesterday, Jacob is crying a lot. It might be that he is coming closer to consciousness, but there could be other reasons too. Only God and Jacob know...

On the 13th she wrote: We had a good day. Being embraced by the Almighty God in the midst of the storm and knowing that all curses that have been put on us will turn into blessing (expecting abundant blessing here...) - that is material for a very good day! Still hard. Still a battle. Still sad. But good! Thank you so much for your love and prayer. You have a big part in the blessing and the victory.

Donna: Over the past month the Lord has had me considering the effects of our words, in prayer and out, that are like curses sent out to the people we are speaking about - how life and death are in the power of the tongue. In a passage on taming our tongues, James 3:10-11 asks, "Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! Can both fresh water and bitter water flow from the same spring?"

PLEASE PRAY over Jacob according to Isaiah 54:17: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in condemnation, you shall judge. This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,' Says the Lord." Wagging tongues be silenced and their curses nullified by the inheritance Jacob has in Yeshua.

Praying the Headlines | Israeli News You Can Trust

No news articles collection this week.

Prophetic Challenge

Sand or Rock - a challenge to the prophetic and apostolic movements | by Avner Boskey, David's Tent | These young and burgeoning movements occasionally manifested immaturity, overstatement and pride. As with most charismatic movements, their strengths did not always lie in knowledge and careful use of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, there were some voices of balance within these groups, and they wooed their enthusiastic adherents to more biblically sound and thoughtful expressions of faith. This article offers a challenge to these movements – to their present leaders and also to their many followers.

Teaching Articles

It’s Not The End Of The World | Moshe Morrison, Tents of Mercy | "In the midst of false prophets, bloody conflicts, out of control nature and persecution, there needs to be a people with a different Spirit. A people whose lives demonstrate that their “citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Yeshua HaMashiach” (Philippians 3:20).

Pretzels For Passover | by Moshe Morrison, Tents of Mercy | There is a lovely Jewish custom that is connected to the process of cleaning and preparing the home for Passover. It is called the search for the leaven. ... The origins of this ceremony are obscure, but what is fascinating is its powerful portrayal of the message of Messiah.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Arrows from Zion 4/10/2019

The Phenomenon That Is Bibi!
by Ron Cantor April 9, 2019

There is a joke about Netanyahu: What is the difference between Bibi and President Trump? Netanyahu speaks good English.That is not a slight against the President, but more the fact that Netanyahu’s English is so good, he could be mistaken for an American.

He is polished to the tee. While the evangelical world loves Netanyahu—who can forget his bold speech before congress, attacking President Obama’s Iran Deal—he is the most polarizing figure in Israel. Walk down any street in Israel and you will get two responses to the elections.

1. Rak Bibi! Only Bibi
2. Anyone but Bibi

But surprisingly Netanyahu is polling well amongst young people. This has intrigued the experts. As a 53-year-old man, I forget that for many young people, Bibi is the only leader they have ever known. While there are clearly domestic problems, no one can deny that he has kept the country safe in the midst of ISIS, Hamas and Iran. Maybe they are simply frightened of a new leader.

Think about it. Bibi has been in power for 10 years. The left wing Prime Ministers before him served two years (Barak), one year (Peres) and three years (Rabin). If Netanyahu wins in today’s elections and makes it to July, he will surpass Ben Gurion, our first prime minister, as the longest serving prime minster in Israel’s history.

Bibi History | Born in Tel Aviv to secular parents, his mother a native-Israeli and his father an American immigrant, Netanyahu enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces just after the Six Day War. He served in an elite commando unit. He fought bravely on the front lines in the wars between 67-73, once getting shot in the shoulder.

His brother, Yoni, is one of the most famous of Israeli war heroes, as he led the raid on Entebbe, freeing Jewish hostages taken by terrorists to Uganda. If you have time to read Shimon Peres’ No Room for Small Dreams, his chapter on the Entebbe raid is fascinating.

Bibi graduated from the illustrious MIT. One of my Hebrew teachers at Tel Aviv university was not only one his classmates, but part of his inner circle of friends. While she is a dyed in the wool left-winger, she had nothing but praise for Bibi as a person.

Gulf War and CNN | The first Gulf War was the first war fought on TV. Elana and I would stay up late at night watching CNN and the latest developments. It was then, that a young, handsome Benjamin Netanyahu won the hearts of Americans. The former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, and present deputy foreign minister, spoke intelligently, with charisma, in perfect English. Everyone knew he was destined for great things.

Then, Rabin was assassinated in 94. Had Shimon Peres called for immediately elections, there is no doubt that Peres would have crushed Netanyahu in the wake of public sympathy. But Peres knew that would be manipulative; an abuse of Rabin’s memory. By the time elections came a year later, Israelis had no faith in Arafat or the PLO and were growing weary of terror. Bibi defeats Peres and becomes prime minister.

He was the youngest prime minister we have ever had and served until he lost to the arrogant Ehud Barak in 1999. Barak was sure he could fix things. However, after he offered everything to Arafat, including parts of Jerusalem, and still Arafat rebuffed him, the public threw him out for Ariel Sharon.

Netanyahu bided his time for the opportune moment to get back the premiership. In 2009 he came back to power and has not let go. Despite leading a country of less than 10 million people, he is one of the most recognized world leaders, right up there with Trump and Putin. Love him or hate him, he is one of the most extraordinary figures in the last 50 years. Over the past couple years, he has managed to build relationships with some of our worst enemies like Saudi Arabia. Recently he was received in the Muslim Majority nation of Oman.

Rocky Road | His life had not been without bumps. He cheated on his first wife who promptly divorced him. He married his non-Jewish mistress who converted to Judaism. However, they soon divorced. Then he met a flight attendant on an El Al flight named Sara. She was studying for her master’s degree in Psychology at the time.

Sara may be the most famous, or infamous, wife of a Prime Minister that we have had. She has made bitter enemies in the political world and has been accused of arrogance and living a lavish lifestyle. She has been under police investigation for corruption for the past few years. For that matter, Bibi was recently recommended for indictment for taking bribes.

He will go before the court in the next several months. If he is elected to a fifth term today, he will be the first sitting Prime Minister under indictment. Bibi’s pitch: No one can lead the country at this time like me.His main rival, Beni Gantz: Our democracy hangs in the balance this election.

By the end of the day, it will either be the end of the Netanyahu era or the next chapter. We will see.

WEDNESDAY: And the winner is Bibi!
Here is Ron's follow up Bibi wins unprecedented fifth term! Here is what it means.

MY NOTE: I love Netanyahu too - BUT this increases the power of the ultra-Orthodox party (Shas) which has been getting worse and worse about harassment and persecution of the Messianic Jewish believers in Jesus in Israel. As Christians we can rejoice that Netanyahu will hold the line for Israel but WE MUST begin to open our eyes to the religious persecution his win imparts to those who actively seek to do harm to the believers in Israel. If we don't make them OUR priority, we are failing the highest purposes of God for Israel.

Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries by subscription only donna@israelprayer.com

Regardless of how the vote turns out today, I am writing on 4/9, this one thing I know: whether it becomes more dangerous or less dangerous for Israelis to share the faith of Yeshua with fellow Israelis, the Gospel will go forth with signs and wonders following. That is why I positioned the first several ministries at the top of this report because each one is emphasizing evangelism. Not one of them is escaping persecution for their ministry of the truth. Each one has experienced many times of religious harassment and persecution because of their ministries, not just recently but going back many years. Guess what. They are still out there spreading the Word because the precious lives of Israelis are too valuable to waste because of fear.

First up is Asher Intrater of Revive Israel writing a superb article on Indigenous Evangelism that gives intercessors a much greater grasp of how ministry in Israel differs from what they are used to. He writes, " By 'indigenous' we mean within the local culture. ...To do this in any culture often means discarding ministry methods and structures that were successful in other countries but are not bearing fruit among the native population. This is what Yeshua meant when He said, “new wine must be poured into new wineskins” (Matthew 9:17). BOOM!

Also from the Revive Israel letter this week: Cody Archer's Preparing for Persecution, Roaring from Zion video with Paul Wilbur & Cody, & Israel, the Church, and the Coming Revival video of Asher teaching

Israel Pochtar, who leads the Ashdod Beit Hallel congregation, has been getting a weekly write up in the Hebrew news media summaries of the Caspari Media Review. Not always mentioned by name, but certainly referencing what is going on from the religious opposers of his ministry, Israel Pochtar receives what I consider high praise from one opposing rabbi, saying that Beit Hallel is one of the "boldest missionary organizations in the country."

However, we need to understand that calling someone a missionary in Israel triggers all kinds of negative response because of bad Jewish historical experience with missionaries and forced conversions. But the main point is, that Pochtar & the Voice of Judah outreaches are ministering to new immigrants from Russia who are not as closed to traditional forms of outreach. The religious anti-missionary activists are the ones with the problem against their outreaches, like the Purim event Pochtar wrote about last week. I hope that will cause you to up your prayers for Pochtar, the congregation in Ashdod and all of the ministries, congregations and outreaches connected with them.

In Israel Pochtar's current ministry letter, they are getting ready for the Passover season and will have a great Passover Seder meal in the dessert with over 300 families, believers and non-believers, celebrating together. In fact, they have 3 Passover events they are hoping you will pray for and help support financially. Watch these 3 videos on the events planned and see if you might help: Watch: Beit Hallel Seder Pesach | Watch: Beit Hallel YouthCamp 2018 | Watch: VOJ Humanitarian Work. They also have an upcoming event in the Galilee for 600 non-believers.

From Maoz Ministries comes this message: "Regardless of the outcome of these elections, the vision of Maoz Israel remains: Reaching Israelis with the Gospel of Messiah Yeshua and strengthening the body of believers in the Land. You, too, have a crucial role to play in Israel's salvation!" One of the ways they bring good news to their city, Tel Aviv, is by Project Feed Tel Aviv. Situated on the border "between Tel Aviv’s booming financial center and southern Tel Aviv, home to some of the poorest, most marginalized and needy communities in the country," their hearts were touched by the dire straits of those so near their congregation. Read more by clicking article title.

Tiferet Yeshua, the congregation founded by Maoz, is also planning for a congregational Passover Outreach. But for "many Israelis who don’t consider themselves religious, the holidays serve as a cultural touchstone". This is a key time to reach family, friends and neighbors, in the method that Asher Intrater and Rachel Netanel found to be the most natural form of reaching Israelis: breaking bread and sharing your life and testimony." There is a famous Jewish joke about Jewish holidays: " They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat!" Fellowship and food is a key in sharing faith in Israel. Read more online

One of the ways the Shavei Tzion (Return to Zion) congregation in Haifa ministers is through its Eagle Project which ministers to young adults. Designed for spiritual growth it is a discipleship program that incorporates journeys to and with those from other nations. Their ministry trip this month will cost $25,000 and they write the would be grateful for financial support and prayer.

Kehilat Hamaayan (Congregation of the Wellspring ) led by Tony and Orna Sperandeo in Kfar Saba post their ministry letter online here

Arni and Yonit Klien of Emmaus Way write about their passion for worship, and the 37th group they welcome at the end of the week for a time of unplanned, unrestricted worship. Then, "the next gathering is designated for German speakers and will be from May 16-26. Please pray about joining as there are a number of places yet to be filled." They also write about their "ten-session course entitled 'Israel Revealed.' There has been some wonderful feedback from groups going through the course in the US, the UK, and Australia."

Daniel Juster writes in his personal ministry letter, Restoration from Zion, about how he is continuing to minister during his 8 months in Israel, then 4 months in the USA (plus world travel). Dan not only breaks down his responsibilities to the Tikkun ministries in Israel and the US, but also how the donations from his personal ministry are applied, and also the donations of the Tikkun ministries are applied. They have precise designations that pay for the travel costs for the equipping ministry he does, as well as travel to minister in foreign nations, and as part of unity movements. If you want a lesson in how to order your life, read this in the Weekly Summary!

I was tickled to see that Dan is currently writing a book "aimed particularly at Millennials on the subject of social justice, based on what the Bible says about social justice and slicing through and refuting the almost Marxist ideas of social justice in our western culture." I believe the great challenge Israel loving Christians have before them is the departure of their children - believer and unbeliever - from biblical values through social justice peer pressure. If you love your young people, I would advise buying a stack of these to bless Millennials with. We must see a turnaround!

Avi Tekel, who leads the Tents of Mercy, or Ohalai Rachamim congregation in the Kiryat Yam, writes about their planned Passover Outreach: "This year we are gearing up to help 800 families in our local community celebrate the Passover with a bag of food and household items worth more than $80. Among the recipients are single parent families, new immigrants, Holocaust survivors, families in financial difficulty and lone soldiers (soldiers without family in Israel) and pensioners." Would you consider a special gift PARTNER for PASSOVER (choose "Humanitarian Needs" in the drop-down box)

Joel Jelski writes about the next Katzir youth camp coming up in a few days, and Passover. Pray for Joel as he is the director of this camp for the first time. The camp will take place in the Golan Heights and will be focused on Bible Meditation. They are delighted to be in the Golan right after the unexpected and unprecedented recognition of Israel sovereignty over the Golan. Joel and family have a prayer request which I am going to leave unnamed in public forum - but which I know you would be happy to pray over them for no complications and a quick, good report from the deciders.

Barry and Batya Segal of Vision for Israel are also delivering humanitarian aid to needy Israelis for Passover. They hope to reach 1,000 families at $150 for Passover food. Donate here

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue

Please keep in prayer these Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs

Elisheva update on Jacob Damkani Beloved friends out there, Grace and peace be with you. For a long time I didn't write, there wasn't much new... Today it has been nine months since that surgery - July 9, 2018.

Nine months since I received back my husband alive after a 11 hours surgery that was so difficult and dangerous that no one in the operating theatre had believed he could survive it.

Nine months after his brain suffered from a lack of oxygen - carelessness maybe but surely not out of God's control. And my God promised that everything (!) will have to serve for our best!

Nine months of many hopes and doubts, faith and desperation, great support and people that burdened me.

Nine months in which we saw friends disappearing while others came very close to our hearts.

And nine months in which many days God was closer to me than I was to myself and other days He seemed to be so far away, out of reach...

And here we are today...With great hope and with unsolved questions. With great accomplishments and with many problems that have to be sorted out. With good plans for the future and issues I don't know how to even approach them....

(Read in full on Facebook here or in the Weekly Summary, if you are a subscriber)

Praying the Headlines | Israeli News You Can Trust
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