by Donna Diorio
March 23, 2021: For the
past twenty years beginning in mid-August 2001 I have been preparing the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests from
Israeli Ministries. To my knowledge, it is one of a kind. No one else that I know of has ever taken up the prayers and lives of the Israeli Messianic Jews to
communicate to the rest of the body of Christ.
Many Christians are not
even aware there is a vibrantly increasing body of believers in Israel today
living in much the same circumstances as existed in the New Testament book, The Acts of the Apostles. What existed in the first century of the Messianic Jewish faith in Israel, exists
again. It all started with God restoring Israel as a modern state. In 1948 there were 20 documented Messianic
Jews in Israel and today the estimates are 20,000. That makes it crystal clear
that God is restoring Israel spiritually and Israelis are being restored by faith in Yeshua. Like Ezekiel's
vision of the valley of dry bones, Israel has become a state and a generation
later there is a spiritual infrastructure for Israeli Messianic Jews to
proclaim the Gospel in their own nation. What is the Christian position in
this? It is
to make it our priority to help those Israeli Messianics who are ministering salvation
to Israelis.
God has put me on a path
to learn and experience what it means for a Christian to be committed to the
spiritual labors of the Israeli Messianic community. I built
this email list only after having gone through my spiritual 'Jewish learning curve.' In the late
1980's my Jewish education began on the fledgling internet with Messianic "Bulletin Board" forums. In the early 1990's I joined a Messianic congregation. I heard the Messianic worship trio Israel's
Hope and it lured me into finding a local Messianic
congregation where I could worship to that authentic style of worship. Both of
the churches I attended before that did not consider themselves anti-Jewish,
but in reality they were teaching what has been labeled as "Replacement
Theology."
Growing up in Fort Worth,
Texas, the only Jews I knew of were in the Bible. I had no recognition of ever encountering Jews
growing up, but it is pretty clear in hindsight, I did. I never recognized
meeting any Jews until I was in my
twenties at the start of the Seventies. I
met Jewish doctors from across the country at my first job which involved my
working in six success conferences for chiropractors each year. Late in the
Seventies I worked as a writer in the concerts/music industry, again meeting many Jews who were either the artists or those
representing the whole industry built up around the music makers. Jews
intrigued me from the beginning of meeting the chiropractors who were secular
and also some who were clearly religious Orthodox Jews. In my neck of the
woods, I never even saw an Orthodox Jew much less talk to one! They were a
mystery to me, so turned to a book popular at the time to learn more: The Jewish Mystique.
Maybe you've known Jews
all your life; that was not me. The only Jews I knew about were the ones taught
to me in my Baptist Sunday school growing up. Even if you grew up around Jews,
how much do you really know about the Jewish faith? That is part of the
learning curve Christians pass through and we need to know what it means to be
Jewish. I do believe that for many
Christians who have joined the Messianic movement that there is a common
pitfall and it is to get stuck in a fascination with "all things Jewish."
God wants us move through our learning curve toward His ultimate goal of making
of two, one new man in the Messiah. (Ephesians 2:15) It is not a homogeneous
oneness. God's "oneness" does not wipe out our distinctions which He
made us to be as Messianic Jews and Christians. Instead we complement each
other, like a husband and wife complement each other when the relationship is
according to God's design.
When I returned to my childhood faith in 1983, one of the
first things I wanted to know at church was, "Where are the Jews?" It honestly
surprised me churches weren't full of Jews like the Bible was. I did not know or understand God's plan and it
would take nearly a decade for me to find my way to that plan. There actually were a few Jews at that first
church I attended, but none were Jewish-identifiable. They were
completely blended in to a "homogeneous" Christianity. Even my music
industry friends were mostly identifiable as Jews, but not the ones I found in
churches. At that particular church, the pastors admitted they did not even
read the Old Testament because they didn't think it had anything to do with the
Christian faith. Many are the pitfalls that keep Christians blind to our true
connection and relationship with the Jews.
In all these experiences
God was leading me to my connection with the Messianic Jews of Israel. He had
placed His hook in my mouth even as I was a prodigal daughter because He was
reeling me toward the path of His choosing for me. In the beginning of my wayward,
wandering twenties, I had a vivid dream I have never forgotten about being on a
sojourn in Egypt. I believe it was a God dream. When I returned to God a decade
later, I received a spiritual baptism. Finally I could understand what I was
reading in the Bible! I devoured the
Bible reading with a 'life or death' fervor to get the Word of God in me. I read the Bible through five times in 1984
cover to cover as if my life depended on it. It surely did. Early on I remember
hearing God say to me that every time I read His Word, He was going to show me
something. He did and He still does. Soon
I wanted to move past the translators' levels of understanding into knowing all
the potential meanings from the original languages. I did this armed with a
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, a Hebrew lexicon and a Greek lexicon. As I learned, I began to do what I always did
from childhood up: I began to write. I wrote my thoughts just for myself in the
form of articles. I hoped for a day when others would be interested to read,
but knew I would always write regardless of readers or not.
It was around 1992 when God showed me something
in His Word that really changed everything. It became my mission because it
seemed like a mystery that none were really seeing. The Holy Spirit showed me in many scriptures
that what I was seeing had become something the apostle Paul began to see, and which
became a priority in his ministry among the Gentiles. It was why and how Christians are indebted to
the Israeli believers to help them in their ministry. Paul taught the churches
that they owed a spiritual debt to the believers
in Israel that would be repaid by material means and there were a series of
events that opened his eyes to what God was showing him.
Romans 15:26-27 "For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased
to make a contribution to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they
were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have
shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to them also in material
things."
Over the years God began
to show me the breadcrumbs Paul left in his letters to the churches. He became
aware that God was directing him to teach the right relationship between the
church and the Messianic synagogue by a series of dramatic events. It all started
when a worldwide famine was
prophesied by a Jerusalem prophet Agabus
to the church in Antioch (Acts 11:28) The church in Antioch took an
offering to "send relief to the brethren living in Judea." (Acts
11:29). Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem to deliver the Antioch offering
to the apostles at the precise moment of a severe persecution against the
believers. Peter was imprisoned and Herod had already cut off the head of
John's brother James. Paul, having been a
persecutor himself, understood God was showing him a new dimension of what He
wanted him to preach and teach among the nations: That the Messianic Jews were
going to be religiously persecuted to
those who God gave them to declare the Gospel to, their own people Israel, and
that Christians were to help them, seeing they had a spiritual debt to do so.
Our spiritual debt is not
to unsaved Israel. God certainly wants us to love Israel whom He is restoring
through the preaching and teaching of Messianic believers in Israel. But Paul
made the distinction whom the churches are spiritually indebted to: saved Israel.
They are the ones we should sending our donations to for the preaching of the
Gospel and for humanitarian distribution.
In the church today we
have it completely backwards because we send relief to Israel and ignore the
brethren in Israel. We have a bag full of excuses of why we do it that way, and
have a rotten attitude about why we think it is our right to do it our way
instead of God's way. Seemingly few Christians have a true revelation from God
about what He really wants from us regarding Israel.
I believe it is time to
get real about Israel. Since the
beginning of the biblical Jewish New Year, Nisan 1, which took place on March
14, 2021, I have sensed God telling the time is now to write and finish the
book I first started in April of 2001. Over the years I have written articles
continuously but I never have been able to complete it in book form. Pray for
me please that God will anoint me for this work and I will not go down the many
rabbit trails on the way.
There are many books about
how Christians are to stand by Israel, even books showing how we are related by
the Blood of Jesus to the Messianic Jews, but I don't know of one book that
specifically makes the case that our first priority is to financially support
Messianic Israel instead of all the unbeliever Israel organizations we support
while overlooking Messianic congregations and ministries. That is biblically
out of order and God wants it set in order.
I won't say that I know everything there is to
know about being an Israeli believer, but I have seen and learned a lot in the
970 issues of the Weekly Summaries and Arrows from Zion that I have produced
since 2001. I do know this: the majority
of churches who support Israel are not supporting the Israeli ministries and
congregations, they are supporting unsaved Israel. God wants that to change because it is only the believers who are
building His kingdom in Israel. I know this will step on toes, but the same is
true of Messianic ministries in the Diaspora. They also are not primarily donating
to support the work of the Israeli ministries, instead they are skirting that
issue in order to make personal friends among the Israeli government and
non-believer organizations. It is not the right thing for Diaspora Messianic
congregations to do any more than it is for the churches to do.
God is waiting for us to
get our priorities right, and then we will see an outpouring of salvation and
blessing like never before. Please pray for me as I begin to assemble from my
writings over the years on this subject.
I truly do believe it is God's timing for us all to finally Get Real about Israel.
and ends the 7 day festival at sunset on Saturday, April 3rd
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries
Israel Pochtar sends Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 in his video + short articles
teaching series on the Essence of
Passover. There are also video/article combos in his The Greatest Passover
Gift is the Gift of God's Salvation, an invitation to supporters to Become Part of Our
Passover Gospel Outreach in Jerusalem! and Glimmers of Hope as
Israel Slowly Returns to "Normal" as Covid restrictions
begin to lift in Israel. In one last article learn how you can help with their Passover Feeding Project. And lastly you are invited to join
in a ZOOM meeting with Israel for Prayer in
the Desert March 31 at 17:00 to 17:15
Israel Time. Just Sign up in advance online.
Marianna Gol
gives a good report from the Streams in the desert ministry she leads to bless
widows and orphans. Rut(h) and Shirrel are doing well after Ruth decided to
accept the insurance offer for Shirrel's needs. Ruth's most recent blood tests
came back surprisingly good and they are encouraged that the Lord is answering
prayers for the mother and daughter in a miraculous way. Keep praying.
Avi Mizrachi's Dugit Ministry writes about the miraculous recovery of Victor
BahBah, who was at death's door with Covid for weeks. The body set to prayer
for the pastor and even as he was in a coma, he began to get better - then he
was healed of Covid but was still in a coma. Everyone continued to pray and he
finally came out of the coma after being on a ventilator for 2 months - but was
almost completely paralyzed unable to even swallow. Prayers continued and now
he is able to walk and eat by himself. They are naturally rejoicing for his
life. [We may never know why 2 believers from the same city, with great prayers
being lifted for each, why one passes into eternity and the other is almost
literally raised from his death bed. This is the domain of our God; it is not explainable in the natural, but we
can know that our God is always good and His ways are such that we can commit
ourselves to His judgment regardless. If
you would like to make a special Passover offering to the help in the outreach
of Dugit this is the perfect time to do it. "Please donate now to help us provide
food to the hungry and the good news of Messiah to the lost during this
Passover season and beyond!"
Avner Boskey has written the best article I have ever read on Corona Virus—bar
none! He has put together the facts better than any news journalist I've read,
and no spiritual leader have done better to present the situation from the
spiritual side that I have seen. And it
has a tie-in to Passover! Read Moses, the
Exodus and the Ten Plagues on the Boskey's David's Tent website.
Liat Archer writes
about her's and Cody's move to the Golan Heights where they are working with
Eitan Shishkoff and Joel Jelski in the Fields of Wheat ministry. She writes that 4 other young believer
families also moved there soon after their move, all under the leading of the
Holy Spirit. They are building community and Liat shares how the two of the
young mothers helped out the new mother when the new immigrant gave birth. Liat
also is pregnant and the families are becoming tightly knit together as they
are living out their calling in the Golan.
This is probably very different from what you are used to hearing about
ministry in Israel, but it is breaking new ground in an area underserved. Liat writes, " Thank you for partnering with us – your prayers and giving
make it possible for us to invest into these precious families and focus on the
development of community, which cannot be underestimated in these crazy times.
The enemy is trying to separate and conquer, but the Lord has called us to
stick together as one body following His voice – which looks like caring for
one another. "
Ron Cantor
writes something I want everyone to pay attention to: "Messiah’s Mandate
continues to support several pastors in Israel. Just this week, because of your
gifts, we were able to send $9,000 in support to three different leaders in the
Galilee. Our goal is to take pressure off of them, so they can focus on
ministering to their congregation and sharing the good news of Yeshua. Your
participation and partnership makes this all happen. Thank you for Giving Now!"
It cannot be emphasized enough how much
help the Israeli pastors and ministry leaders need the financial support of believers in the
nations. Without our help, many have to work other jobs just to feed their
families while pastoring the congregation. Many of the larger ministries help the smaller
ministries make ends meet. That is one thing that has not changed in the 20
years I've been doing Israelprayer list - except that the Corona crisis has
exacerbated the severity of the lack.
Also from Ron: last Sunday Ron and 3 colleagues held a Facebook live discussion on the Israeli election.
Ron writes on the Shadow War between Iran and
Israel appears to be escalating. Also an appeal to Give to
ShelanuTV where they are reaching many new Israeli with the message of Yeshua
the Messiah.
Rick Ridings of Succat Hallel has a VIDEO A New Wave of Aliyah
Prayer Alert. He gives a historical account of the Waves of Aliyah, beginning in 1881. He
explains about a coming Fourth Wave of Aliyah, and the importance of travailing
prayer to birth this Fourth Wave.
Jackie Santoro of Zion's Glory ministry writes of A New Season as the great challenges of the past year of Covid appears
to be receding in Israel, a new round of division in the body of believers has
become acute over the government pressure to get the vaccine. She writes, "...the government has said
that houses of worship would be open to people with a "green
passport" only. This is a serious issue for the leadership as we are so
eager to meet but are caught in a conflict between observing government
regulations and not wanting to stop anyone from attending. Please pray for
great wisdom for our congregational leaders as all these things affect all the
congregations in Israel. Jackie also
notes that the new season shows encouraging signs too: "Although life is so uncertain, we do
know with certainty that this is the time for the Word of the Lord to take
root, for the seeds that have been planted to begin to grow and for the long
awaited harvest to come. Many Israelis are continuing to request New Testaments
and other books each week through the evangelistic media outreaches and so we
know there is something going on in the spirit. We are so yearning to
see the good that God will bring forth from this difficult period that we all
have walked through.
Chaim Malespin of the Aliyah Return Center writes about how the Last Supper in
the New Covenant is the Passover. Yeshua was fulfilling the Passover and this
will be used by God to speak to Israel. Chaim
extends an invitation to join in a Zoom meeting March 27 "as we dive into
the mysteries of the Last Supper that are being unfolded in this Passover
season. Time: at 6pm Israel (UTC time
zone). See the Time Zone Map and the Universal Time Zone Converter to figure out your
time difference. Please click the following link to watch a brief message about
Passover 2021 from
Chaim Malespin. Watch as Chaim Malespin talks about our premier LIVE Passover 2021 on
Facebook & Youtube. More information to follow. We look forward to
celebrating Passover with you. If you would like to support the Aliyah Return
Center and the fulfillment of the mandate the Lord has given us, please click now
Read Chuck Cohen's Intercessors for Israel in Jerusalem Friday Prayer
Points for 3/19 also for 3/26 | One key point in prayers for Security needs: "Iran continually
threatens Israel and then tells the world to condemn Israel when it defends
itself. And most nations, including in the West, do just that. Ex-President
Trump did not, and that was – and still is – one of the main reasons for
Satan's rage against him.... Show Israel's leaders how to respond when the US
rejoins the Iran nuclear deal (Psa. 140:1-8). 3/26 deals with American need to
stand in the gap regarding US Pres Biden: Protect Israel from all well-meaning
"friends" – whether America or any other nation - who pressure it to
do anything that is against Your Word (Psa. 41:9).
Eric Benson writes about the joy of returning to public gathering at the Carmel
congregation and the silver lining of Covid restrictions in discovering a
broader reach with Zoom & other online options. The fellowship of men who are working their
way back to stable life after substance abuse was greatly enhanced by the
purchase of bicycles so they could do nature rides together - after the Bible
study and chores were done. It has proven to be a physical and emotional
strength builder as the men have enjoyed this more intimate, personal type of
fellowship together. Eric writes that
one of men in the program who is 73 has grown noticeably stronger and
healthier. "The 'bike ministry' of House of Victory is strengthening our
bonds of love and unity, as we ride along the shores of the Mediterranean." If you would like to donate,
click here
Revive Israel March Newsletter contains some articles you
don't want to miss including: The ex-Orthodox crisis – update | A high percentage of Orthodox and
ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel feel like
they are dressed in a costume. They may still be living within the Orthodox community, but many do not
believe in what they are doing or even in God. Plus many other articles. Also
3/24: Asher invites all to watch the latest weekly Global Broadcast with Praise, Prayer, Prophecy and Preaching
from Israel. He shares Ron Cantor's article “Cave of Horror” yields new fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls and
Dan Juster's CANCEL CULTURE, Will the Bible Be Canceled?
Maoz Ministries Shani Ferguson also writes about how Passover is about Reminiscing about God’s Goodness—it's not about just remembering how God delivered the
children of Israel from Egypt, it is how He delivered us from 'Egypt'! In the
weekly prayer points she wrote about a
most important point for us to take up in prayer regarding the Israeli
elections: While
many are rightfully focused on who will be the next Prime Minister, as
believers, we always keep our eye on who is given the Ministry of Interior.
This one office affects Jewish believers and Christians more than any other
branch of government. The party in charge of this office has the power to allow
or refuse entry or residency to people even without legal reasoning—which is
why the ultra-Orthodox see it as an important tool to keep Yeshua out of the
country.
Howard Bass at Yeshua's Inheritance in Beer Sheva asks if the chaos of electing
a Prime Minister who can form a stable government which has plagued Israel over
4 elections now, "Could this be the Lord?" As they prepare at long
last to gather with their families for Passover following all the Covid restrictions,
Howard writes: "The corona vaccination regimen in Israel is
already resulting in sharp divisions within the society, and even within the
Body of Messiah. Being that the whole program is still experimental, we must
stand against separating on the basis of whether you are, or are not,
vaccinated." "(For
those wondering, Randi and I have both been vaccinated, recognizing that there
are many unknowns still at this time.) God willing, we plan to begin physical
services again on the first Shabbat of April, the 3rd. We will probably require two services"
Avi Tekle at Tents of Mercy in coastal northern Israel writes,
"Just four days shy of the eve of Passover,
in the midst of an intensive week of distributing food baskets, we paused today
to cast our votes with the rest of Israel.... Our prayer for Israel, today and
in the days to come, is the establishment of a servant-hearted leadership for
our nation and that our nation will recognize the One True High Priest who was
and is the Passover Lamb. Will you join us in this prayer?"
Senior pastor at the Carmel congregation, Dani Sayag,
writes, "Who is like You, Adonai,
among the gods?” (Exodus 15:11) During that first Passover season, He made
a way for the children of Israel to be delivered from death through the blood
of a Passover lamb that was placed on the doorposts. (Exodus 12) Many years later, through the atoning death
of the perfect Passover Lamb, Messiah Yeshua, He would make a way for us to be
delivered from eternal separation from God. ... Here's a special VIDEO
greeting to each one of you, our Kehilat HaCarmel
family, in Israel, and to the ends of the earth! And,
if any of you are interested in having a Passover Seder in your homes, and
would like a little direction, you can follow along in this VIDEO with Pastor Dani and LuAnne in the Seder they led last year.
Guy Cohen writes about the periods of Exiles and Returns in the history of the nation of Israel, a theme that many Israeli Messianic believers are seeing right now, and since Israel's history is written for our example as Christians, it is good to perk up and take notice. Guy writes, "I see the completion of cycles throughout our history; cycles of exile and return to the land. First there was Abraham and his sons, followed by Yaacov and his sons (the twelve tribes), then the Assyrian exile followed by the Babylonian and the Roman exile. I believe we are in the midst of the last cycle of exile to return and I do not believe there will be another exile. Even though we see chaos in our community and our leadership is questionable, we are all waiting for the Messiah to come and sit on His throne.
From Gil Afrait at Tiferet Yeshua in Tel Aviv, he encourages
in the last commandment given by Yeshua in His last Passover seder (Matt 22:39)
“A new command
I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another.” -John 13:34-35. Also they share an article about Crisis,
Spiritual Hunger and a Prophetic Dream from 20 Years Ago. It reminded me of
the dream I shared in my cover story, Get
Real about Israel when Olga wrote, "When we first went into
quarantine, the Lord had put on my heart a powerful dream that He gave me
almost twenty years ago when I was a brand new believer—a time when I was still
immature in the faith and living in compromise in many ways. However, it is
amazing to me that, despite our weakness and immaturity (think of Peter the
disciple), the Lord will still give us deep and amazing revelations!" That is a powerful demonstration of His
acceptance of us and commitment to us, that He would plant the idea of our
destiny that He is ultimately going to lead us into in our lives.
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
Pray for the Silvers: David's knees and Josie's back pain | Rachel Netanel who is recovering from a
broken ankle. She asks prayers for healing and for the pain to subside. Living in a home with lots of stairs makes it
all the more difficult| A prayer request for Naomi, for a dear family
that is a part of Israel Pochtar's pastoral team, who was diagnosed recently
with colon cancer. "Despite what this battle entails, we are confident in
God’s unfailing Word and promises." Read in her
own words| Ronit Bender wrote, I am feeling pretty
good, but do have trouble climbing stairs and walking is getting
tougher for me because of my heart situation. My cardiologist was
changed by my health provider. He is very unpleasant and I want a new one. | Rachel Netanel wrote, Please pray for me as
well. I have very high blood pressure and the doctors have sent me to have a
number of tests. The results won’t come for a while but please pray that all
will be well. I do have peace in Yeshua. | Please
continue to pray for Jacob Damkani for the
LORD's mercies over Jacob and his dear wife, Elisheva | Olga Bikas is slowly recovering from the operation, but fell and broke
her ankle.
Donna Diorio, November 10, 2020
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.
