"with persecutions" Arrows from Zion 4/30/2020

Sheep grazing near Beer Sheva.

Photo credit: Howard Bass of the Yeshua's Inheritance Congregation in Beer Sheva

Mark 10:28-31 reminds me of the Israeli ministries
"Peter began to say to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”
“Truly I tell you,” said Yeshua, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or
mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along
with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

"with persecutions"

by Israel Pochtar

One would think that during such difficult times, when everybody is struggling and trying to navigate uncharted waters, that Beit Hallel Congregation would get a break from the continuous religious pressure we’ve been under for the longest time now. If you thought that, you’d be wrong.

Unfortunately a few days ago, out of the blue and in the middle of the COVID19 lockdown, we received a closure order from the municipality of Ashdod forbidding us the usage of our new building for humanitarian purposes. The specific section of the new building in question is an area that we have been using exclusively for storage and for the distribution of humanitarian goods.

This closure order comes after we had already received the correct and necessary permits months ago, and had been operating our humanitarian projects out of our new building ever since. We were taken aback by such blatant disregard for the permits we already have, while the municipality claims we have been operating from that space without having the permits for it. Despite them being in the wrong, we have now been turned away from our own facility and are forced to engage in this senseless bureaucracy that might even force us to take city hall to court over this.

Needless to say it is not only unjust, but the timing of it is very odd, seeing how during such intense crisis the humanitarian work we are currently doing is incredibly important and far reaching, within our city and beyond! Currently we have appealed this arbitrary decision made by city hall against us, and are waiting to see if some of our friends at city hall will be able to act on our behalf to reverse the decision before we are forced to take this further.

It became very clear to us that the public pact (seen below in Hebrew) that rabbis and religious authorities made a few months ago, committing to “banishing” us out of the city and stopping all our work, was taken very seriously by them. They have been working very hard to ensure that preaching of the Gospel of Jesus is halted in Ashdod.

Their plans became even more evident when we got a visit yesterday from the police at our main facilities where we broadcast our live services on social media (whilst keeping to all the rules dictated these days by the government). Despite the police not finding any fault in what we are doing, they still prohibited us from using our main congregation building to live stream our services on Facebook, despite the fact that it’s just me and 2 of my associate pastors who usually accompany me during the live streams. A few days ago we saw an article in the local press accusing us of continuing to organize public prayer and “religious” services when it was forbidden to everyone else here in Israel during the COVID19 lockdown.

Beit Hallel has become a real thorn in the side of the religious authorities in our city, seeing how it is the only Hebrew-speaking and ever-growing congregation in the city of Ashdod that actively preaches the Gospel and reaches thousands of families every month through our humanitarian efforts; it’s no wonder we have become such a threat to forces of darkness.

Despite the fact that none of what we have been doing has been deemed illegal, we still face these harsh measures taken against us and each time we have to get more creative relying on God’s wisdom to ensure that Gospel is not silenced in our city, nor in Israel. Even though we are facing these new obstacles and persecutions, we are more determined than ever to continue with God’s mandate to feed and clothe the poor, and spread the gospel to our nation, that is in desperate need of it now. We know God will give us the victory in every situation, but before it He will make us stronger through these challenges.

Our humanitarian work will continue uninterrupted as always from a different warehouse we use for storage and distribution of humanitarian goods. But we will need your help more than ever, to ensure our resources keep coming as the help is going out of our storage houses into families’ homes. This is your way to stand up against the unjust persecutions outrageously taking place during a time when the most vulnerable need our help the most.

However, your prayers are the most powerful tools you have. We really need you to stand with us in prayer during this time against the incessant attacks against God’s work in Ashdod, against the resistance to the Gospel of Yeshua, and for this resistance and animosity to turn into favour from those that currently persecute us the most. We pray with God’s love for them, that Yeshua will reveal himself to them in a powerful way just as he did to Paul on the road to Damascus, changing the course of his life and history forever. Amen!

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

I want to start out first by sharing an article mentioned last week from Arni Klein of Emmaus Way called There Are Two Sons. He has since posted it to a Facebook NOTE. Click to read!

Guy Cohen encourages the watchman by pointing to Paul wishing himself accursed if only his countrymen could come to their Messiah, and Ezekiel whom the Spirit moved to sit among the people of Tel Aviv of the diaspora for seven days before speaking what God told him to say to them, lest Ezekiel would have blood on his hands for not saying to them what God was saying. " Tel Aviv of today needs watchmen no less than the Tel Aviv of the diaspora or any other city or community. It is a wake-up call for the watchmen....We His sons, are His watchmen for this day....The focus is that the heart of man will change to the will of God. He will use us, the watchmen to do that. The heart of God is toward the repentance of man."

Revive Israel Global Broadcast from the Holy Land Praise Prophecy Prayer Preaching | Asher's article Yeshua of Revelation One: Jehovah, Jesus and Judgment. The Revive Team Report introduces Raphael & Liel, plus a report from Tikkun-Revive Emissary to Greece, Greta Mavro . In addition to highlights from evangelizing in Greece, Greta also asks us to pray for Greece who is simultaneously warring against the coronavirus and Turkey’s latest moves. The latter is trying to push hundreds of thousand refugees across the border to Greece and its islands.

Also from Revive's Christian Arab Partnership: | Great advances to evangelizing Arabic speakers are being made using social media. It’s reported that last year more than 330,000 Arabs were reached with the Gospel and 305,778 viewed the Arabic Outreach YouTube channel! Many Arabic students are currently studying the Bible weekly in a virtual discipleship classroom. An Arabic pastor and RI friend and associate told us recently: “The Lord has been moving in a new way in the West Bank. The church is growing with fruits and moves of the Sprit it hasn’t been before. There is an eagerness to grow and witness!” Let’s pray for God’s Light to continue to rise over the villages, especially during these trying days of lockdown and Corona virus fears. May He awaken many hearts to search for His truth and salvation!

The Sorko-Ram's & Fergusons of Maoz Ministries are asking prayers for world leaders "Stability is especially important during a time of crisis, so this is why we have prayed for God to deliver nations like Brazil and the UK whose leaders fell ill or were under attack by opposition leaders. This isn't the time for government overthrows and hasty elections. However, there are exceptions, such as when a government begins murdering its citizenry, in which we ask God to deliver the people from their leaders swiftly. If Hitler were alive today, we'd pray just that." With that in mind they pray over rumors of the death of Kim Jung Un - cry for deliverance for the North Korean people.

Another prayer request is for the Sorko-Ram's son (& Shani Ferguson's brother) Ayal, whose company in Singapore has invented a Covid-19 test that uses frequency sound waves to identify the virus within 2 minutes. It is cheaper to make than most lab tests & it can mass test people as many times as they need to be tested. Great testing option for 3rd world countries too. Several countries are interested — now it is all about maneuvering the red tape and speed of production. "We ask that You will clear the fog as this test is presented to them as an alternative.  Father, surely, you have revealed this technology and prepared this company to be ready for such a time as this. Make the path straight – lower the mountains and fill the valleys so that mass production can be done correctly and efficiently."

Chuck Cohen of Intercessors for Israel Friday Prayer Points 4-24-2020: "While for many in the West today China is the enemy, Israel has ties with it just like it has ties with Russia – that other enemy. Many in the West are upset by these ties, but considering how most EU nations deal with Israel… Still, this can be a dangerous relationship and therefore we should pray about it....Lord, Assign experts to review Israel's relations with China to see if there are any dangers... Forbid Chinese money from entrapping Israel's government or its businessmen." ALSO "Israel is continuing to attack Iranian attempts to supply Hizbullah with upgraded rockets and missiles via Syrian territory. It is also conducting other missions that are not widely known to hinder its enemies' plans to destroy this nation. A dangerous development is this past week's successful launch of a military satellite by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, which is another step to Iran having the capability to launch a nuclear warhead on an ICBM."

Lastly Chuck notes, "There are rumors and also articles being written that once this phase of the coronavirus is over, and international travel is restored, Israel needs to prepare for a huge aliyah – with many Jews returning from exile. Is it possible that this virus is one of those hunters which God has released to chase His people back home (Jer. 16:16)?"

Cody and Liat Archer, on sabbatical this year for what is next for them, after 40 days in the Corona isolation quarantine, believe they have heard from God. "We have submitted the new vision to the main leaders in our lives and asked them to be praying with us. So far everyone has been excited and sense this is the Lord. Without going into all the details now, we do want to share some of the broad picture: We would be pioneering a missional community together with a couple other believing families. Our focus would be on ministering to the Lord in worship/prayer, leading a discipleship program for young Israelis that incorporates agriculture, serving youth camps called Katzir (harvest), helping establish a new project called Fields of Wheat and outreach to one of the least reached regions of Israel." This puts the Archer's in the northern branches of the Tikkun Israel ministries. They promise more details to come as all is clarified.

The Hasdey (Mercy) of Yeshua congregation in Arad love their mayor because he is a good and just mayor for all people, including Messianic Jews. That's why they are rejoicing that he has weathered contracting the Corona virus and is now back out organizing volunteers to bring thousands of hot meals for Arad's poor, elderly residents...and donating plasma for those who have recovered from the virus. The congregation is staying in touch via WhatsApp and Youtube. "Praise God for modern technology! Here is the Shabbat message, "Signs of the Times” from elder, Joe Finkelstein." They are even continuing discipling via phone for the Bedouin woman who lives in deep poverty with her 7 children. They are helping some of their congregation who usually live paycheck to paycheck, but have now been furloughed because of the virus. " Please pray that we’ll be able to continue meeting these emergency needs."

Like so many people and organizations around the world, the Caspari Center has been hit hard by the Coronavirus. "For the past couple of decades, it has been our honor to send out the Media Review as a free resource to people around the world who are interested in reading the uncensored news as it is published in Israel. It is an expensive project, costing approximately $950.00 USD per month. If this review is of value to you, please consider making a donation (one-time or ongoing) toward this project."  In a couple of items I plucked out or recent Caspari reviews, they speak of a JPost article Pandemics and anti-Semitism. Did you know Jews being blamed for pandemics is as old as the "Black Plague"? 

Also, they report on the same thing we noted in our cover story: Billboards protesting missionary activity were put up in Haredi neighborhoods in the city of Ashdod. Yad L’Achim released a statement saying that the extent of missionary activity in Ashdod is abnormally high; in response, Yad L’Achim has announced that it is putting significant effort into combating missionary activity. The article also relayed one protest event against missionaries, in which dozens of volunteers gathered in front of a missionary center, and with the amplifying help of sound equipment, sang songs."

news.kehila.org is another valuable resource not only for the Israeli believer community but also for the worldwide Christians who care about Israel. Not many believers from the nations get how critical online ministries works are, it will remain that way until Christians in the nations realize that the believers in Israel are GOD's frontline workers in His "All Israel Shall Be Saved" plans.  Please support this ministry. Some of the recent items from Kehila are : Tuvia Pollack's  Messianic organization launches hotline for troubled youth in Israel and Israel – my first love | Carolyn Hyde's White For Harvest

From Ran Silberman's blog False Prophets Today? "In the Bible we read about false prophets that unlike true prophets, do not hear from God, but rather from their own mind....The undisputed leader of today's false prophet is a Jew, of course. He was born in Israel. He wrote books that became best-sellers. Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama, Bill Gates recommended his books. His name is Yuval Noah Harari."

Rania Sayegh is a Christian Arab prophetic-intercessor, there is much to share from her ministry letter but this is what I can share in Arrows: Rania’s Vision of the Dragon and Coronavirus: 15th March 2020 | During a night watch on the 15th of March (the National Prayer Day in the USA), Rania had a vision of a dragon’s face whose mouth was open and spitting out poison. The poison was the COVID 19 virus. Then she saw God sending a rope from heaven which wrapped around the neck of the dragon. God’s people joined with Him and began to pull the rope together to make it tighter. She saw the rope looked like DNA. When the body of Christ joins together in unity and breaks bread with prayer, the rope (DNA of the Blood of Jesus) tightens around the dragon and ultimately chokes and kills it.

From Orna Grinman's blog Adom, Dam, Adama, Adam Red, blood, soil, Adam - the play on word is clear in Hebrew. Since Red is “Adom” and Soil (Dust, Earth) is “Adama”, some scholars believe that in the beginning the color of the earth was red, due to its richness and fertility. Hence “Dam” (blood), and of course “Adam”, who was created from this red earth.

Tikkun Global remembers Sean Carmelli on Israel's Memorial Day. Ron Cantor writes, Sean "was a soldier who went to school with my youngest daughter. He was killed in Gaza in 2014. His family had moved back to the US, but he returned to Israel to serve. There was concern that not many people would attend his funeral. The Haifa soccer team, his favorite team, heard and asked people on Facebook to attend. Afterward, a songwriter wrote, 'Sean, you have two sisters and 20,000 brothers.' More than 20,000 Israelis came to remember him."

Also from Tikkun: ISRAEL CORONA RELIEF FUND. Tal Rubin A Personal Perspective on Memorial Day for Israel’s Fallen | Leon Mazin Are These the So-Called Last Days? and Dan Juster's Jezebel’s War Against America

From Avi Tekle at Tents of Mercy in Kiryat Yam, northern Israel, he remembers Shai, a young Israeli IDF soldier who lost his life six years ago in action shortly into his active tour of duty. "The last day I spoke to Shai, he was sitting in our youth and young adults room, playing a song he had written on his guitar. I didn’t know he could even play the guitar or that he wrote songs. He was about to go into the army, so I sat down and spoke to him about his impending army service and about his faith. We would then bless him in his induction day and basic training. Shai grew up at Tents of Mercy from his childhood, youth, to the young adult stages. Little did I know that would be the last time I would have a personal conversation with him.... Everyone here knows someone who has lost his life, either in active duty or due to an act of terror. It is very personal for us, and on this day, in addition to our own stories, we are transported by media outlets into the homes and stories of families who have personally experienced the loss of their loved ones. Story by story we become acquainted with the 23,816 fallen soldiers of Israel.... It is days like this that help us understand this verse: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn...” (Zech. 12: 10-14)

A thought provoking article from Streams in the Desert' Marianna Gol, "Years ago I was praying in tears and great fear about a very, very intimidating issue the world was facing then. I remember the Spirit speaking to my heart in a surprising, even shocking way. He said that the authority of the forces I was so afraid of is shallow, and they are much less powerful than what I think. The reason I am so intimidated is because I am afraid of suffering. As I was weeping face down on the floor, I heard a smile in the voice of the Lord and sensed His hand on my back. “I am not afraid of suffering,” He said very gently. I am afraid of suffering, of loosing things and people; I am afraid of change. I am afraid of poverty, hunger, loss of dignity, of being helpless to elevate human suffering even in the tiniest of measures.....The Kingdom is approaching. The rules will be changing! This ride is getting faster and faster. The birth pains are going to bring suffering. It’s already here. The only reason I don’t feel it in my every bone is because I have been cushioned by the sedating comfort of the Western world. But the coming Kingdom also brings justice and righteousness, and full restoration of God’s plan for Israel and the Nations. It brings healing and joy, and above all, the full open revelation of His face, His presence, His glory. The King is coming! The One we love is approaching! Maran Ata!"

Marianna asks for prayers for her mother's salvation and healing from severe kidney disease; stability of her finances, and need for another vehicle; for the migrant workers and asylum seekers so vulnerable in Israeli right now and abused women and children stuck in their homes with their abusers.

Avner Boskey's latest is called Gold, jewels and wax and I especially liked the section on God's Jewish Jewels, "In an earthshaking prophecy regarding God’s loving restoration of Israel, YHVH declares: “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted – behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11-12).

This is a special prayer request that has been an ongoing prayer request for years at this prayer list and needs a reminder every once in a while: PRAYER REQUEST for the sons and daughters of Israeli ministries who are prodigals. Now don't be judgmental Christians in the nations because the dynamic is completely different in Israel, but a great many (80% or more) of the most effective Messianic Jewish ministry leaders have adult children who are prodigals. Surely the devil wants to target them as a dis-courage-ment to their parents in ministry. Let's remember to lift up the prodigals to return to their faith to be a blessing to their God, their countrymen and their parents.

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

URGENT PRAYER NEED from Ronit Bender whose cardiologist told her that her irregular heartbeat is SEVERE, and is suggesting further tests. Please intercede for Ronit: No weapon formed against her shall prosper! | Olga Bikas severe back pain has kept her in "quarantine" for the past 4 years or so! Please pray for God to do a miracle of healing for Olga. | Please pray for Rachel Netanel's brother who is in dire health | Please continue to pray for Jacob Damkani for the LORD's mercies over Jacob and his dear wife, Elisheva  | Continue please to pray for Ruth Nessim Critical prayer need she is losing sight! Prayers for a miracle for Ruth.| Pray for Rania Sayegh who asks for prayer of restoration of strength, energy, and complete healing.

Strong Admonition

PLEASE don't just support some cause in Israel that is unconnected to the cause of the kingdom of Yeshua.

It is not enough just to love Israel, we must love GOD's PURPOSES in and for Israel — that is not just political Israel advocacy, or supporting the causes of unsaved, non-Israeli Messianic Jewish organizations raising funds for Israeli businesses, or giving to humanitarian needs, or planting trees or sending IDF soldiers a pizza or even towards Jews making aliyah!

God's purposes for Israel is that ALL ISRAEL shall be saved. When you make your donations for Israel to Israeli CITIZEN Messianic Jewish ministries, you can find all of the above things being done by them. In letting your donations flow through them, YESHUA is getting the glory from your contributions...the kind of glory that unsaved Israelis notice. It draws their interest in what is going on among the saved believers in Israel - this is kingdom of God building, not just supporting Israel unconnected to the spiritual beckoning towards Yeshua.

Your donations directed toward Israeli Messianic congregations and ministries will so let their Light shine that the Holy Spirit will wash over eyes in their community to see Yeshua!

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Donna Diorio  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.