Thursday, August 19, 2021

HOPE is the best Medicine | Arrows from Zion | 8 19 2021

 "The Lord is for me among those who help me." Psalm 118:7

Ruth and Naomi (Artist unknown)

HOPE is the best Medicine
by Donna Diorio

I was looking for a scripture to use in Arrows about HOPE after reading the good report “Hope is the best Medicine” from Tents of Mercy about Eitan Shishkoff and Leon Mazin recovering from Covid.
      Something just struck me as profound as soon as I laid eyes on the first time the word “hope” is used in the Bible because of the biblical principle of "First Mention." This gist of this principle: "Under the First Mention principle, the idea is that God indicates the truth that stands in His mind that will not change later on. This means that the initial discussion of any subject in the Bible would have unusual significance."

     Everyone talks about the importance of FAITH, but it is impossible to have faith if we have no hope to start with.
    I found the first use of the word HOPE in Ruth 1 where Naomi is telling her two daughters-in-law, Orpha and Ruth, to turn back and return to their own homes, because she has no HOPE of providing them with two new sons to replace her two dead sons they were married to.
     This concept of replacement of sons is based on Deuteronomy 25:5-6. "the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her."  In case of the death of her husband, the wife was to remain in the family by marrying her husband’s brother.

     Naomi tells her daughters-in-law, 'Even if I found a husband tonight and bore sons,’ it would be a long wait before her sons were grown to marry Orpah and Ruth.  Naomi tells them it grieves her for her daughter-in-laws sakes that she has no other sons who can step up to marry and take care of them. Naomi says she has no hope because "the hand of the LORD is gone out against me."
     Naomi, is of course a type of Israel—life has gone wrong and she is returning to her own land a hopeless and embittered widow whose sons have also died. Sound familiar? Ruth, we know is a type of the Gentile Church who will not be turned away from Naomi's side. She is devoted to her mother-in-law regardless of what the future may hold. Might Orpha also be a type of the gentile church too? Might she represent the part of the church that looks at her mother-in-law (Israel) and says, 'You're right, there is no hope for me with you.  You look out for you and I'll look out for me.'

     Those who have no hope cannot have a merry heart, they are broken [naka] in spirit.  HOPE really is the best medicine.

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is [naka] broken." Proverbs 15:13

"A merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken [naka] broken spirit dries the bones."  Proverbs 17:22

"The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded [naka] broken spirit who can bear?" Proverbs 18:14

     If the dots do connect, then the Church that sticks with Israel is like Ruth:  Israel, like Naomi, has returned to their own land, but Israelis are still essentially hopeless and embittered of spirit. We, like Ruth, have the “HOPE against hope” to trust in the LORD and to stick with Israel come what may.  
     But the Church that turns away like Orpha, does not have the HOPE in the LORD necessary to do what God has called us to do in these last days. They will turn back, away from Israel while the Ruth Church will re-infuse Israel with the HOPE in the LORD that will see both of us through to God’s good end for us.


Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries

Hope is the best Medicine is the title of the ministry report received from Tents of Mercy’s Avi and Hannah Tekle this week. Eitan Shishkoff is Hannah’s dad and they were bringing good news indeed. Even though Eitan and Leon Mazin of Return to Zion congregation had been hit hard by Covid, both have been improving and it my latest report is correct, both are out of quarantine. Also the younger men with the Katzir camp have improved to (and I’m assuming this means Joel Jelski and Cody Archer). 
     In other Tents of Mercy news they reported that they went through many plans for the younger children’s summer camp because of the continually changing regulations in Israel but finally were able to do “Plan C” which was a 2-day, 20 kids success “outside fun in the hot Israeli sun!” Now they are awaiting to see what the upcoming school season will be like – in person or by Zoom.  Regardless the congregation is still out caring for their community, with preparations for “the fall feast food outreach. Please pray that it will bring HOPE and encouragement to the recipients and that God would touch each one on our list in a deep and lasting way that goes far beyond the physical receipt of food items.”

Up next a report from Restoration from Zion, Dan and Patty Juster, and Ben and Lorena Juster’s personal ministry letter.  Dan has been suffering from what is described as a mild case of Covid. Upon re-entry to Israel, he tested positive for Covid, but Patty did not. We are hearing reports that he is improving, although I believe he is still in quarantine – sleeping more than he ever has in his life. In his portion of the ministry letter Dan talks about the great meetings they had with the Chinese Church of Rockland, Co. New York, also with “the time with Jerry Dirman was so fruitful, and the time at Church of the Rock in Anaheim, California was amazing.  Also “in Denver with Pastors Dave and Dee Dee Thompson at Gateway on Mt. Zion was also an impactful time of new connection and unity.”

     DD: These interactions with churches committed to standing with Israeli ministries are on the rise in the United States, as I hope they are in all other nations too. In fact, I have an article in the upcoming Messianic Times for Sept about the Gateway Dallas’ Center for Israel which is also urging their network to understand the Divine call to the Church to stand with and support Messianic Israel. We have been waiting for decades to see the charismatic church awaken to our “duty” towards Messianic Israel and what Dan and Ben Juster are engaged in developing relationships is also a huge part of that dream come true. Like Psalm 126:1 “When the Lord restored the captives of Zion, we were like those who dream [it seemed surreal].” Returning the captives of Zion is a spiritual issue, not just a physical return, and it cannot happen without the partnership of the Church with Messianic Israel.

Ben Juster also wrote about their work with teens and young adults “hungry for authentic believers to invite them into relationships with Yeshua and to be challenged to live a life that is sold out for God's Kingdom.” Patty Juster wrote how, “through God's grace, each one of us can walk through the fire, climb high mountains, solve impossible problems.” We may not do what someone else is doing, but God’s grace is there for us in what we stand in.

From the City of Life congregation in S’derot, their outreach to the community needy: their goal is to supply 200 families with food baskets for The Biblical Autumn Holidays and the Back To School Project for young families with small children seeks to supply 70 to 100 kids. Click the links to read more details and to help them. It is a witness to the receiver, but also to their city governments.

A great report in from Ariel & Shayla Hyde for the team at Tree of Life Ministries in northern Israel “Stories from THE HARVEST in ISRAEL.”  They write, “In just the last few months, several million Israelis have heard the Gospel and the pro-life message, and God is using it to transform lives!” Watch and read Saved at the last minute, Redeemed Forevermore about how God is drawing Israelis into eternity by the videos about Yeshua. They ask: Please spread the message of what God is doing by liking and sharing this video from our Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter and on all the new social media outlets!  Also they write about how God is using their Pro-Life and Gospel Campaign to save babies – 25 since the campaign launched just a few months ago. They are saving babies and changing the lives of the mothers too with deep impact.  Prayer Requests:  for their pro-life counselors, two new videos they are about to release as part of the pro-life campaign, and also on several new evangelistic videos – street interviews, an apologetics series, and more! Please pray for guidance and anointing so that these will touch many lives for God’s glory! (Most have no idea how critical ONLINE OUTREACH is in Israel!)

Asher Intrater writing in Tikkun Global and Revive Israel announces that he and Betty are moving back to Jerusalem as a message he has been carrying in his heart for almost 4 decades (the “stake prophecy” from Isaiah 22) is “a fulfillment of our calling; a spiritual "alignment" with God's plan for us and our ministry.”
 The passage “speaks of a man named Eliakim who became a government leader in Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah and Hezekiah. The stake is also symbolic of the cross of Yeshua, who would come to be crucified on a stake and then rule on the throne of David from Jerusalem.  For me the stake also represents the remnant of Messianic Jews in these last days, who stand in faith for the prophecies about Jerusalem and Yeshua. In any case, I have always felt a personal identification with this passage as a calling to serve the Lord in Jerusalem.”  He writes, “The stake is a claim of inheritance by faith in every land. Put your stake in the ground. Believe for your nation. Take dominion in spirit and prayer. Let's stretch our tent and strengthen our cords. This tent has a central "stake" in Jerusalem, which helps to bring unity and alignment to the rest of the stakes. The stakes are connected to keys (Isaiah 22:22; Matthew 16:16-19; 18:18-20). The stake represents a faith claim toward the earth. The keys open the windows of heaven above. Wherever you are, put your stake in the ground beneath and open the heavens above.”  You can also watch the message as Asher presented it on the Global Broadcast last week: Isaiah 22: "The Stake"
     And they are launching the Revive Israel Tikkun Global (RITG) WORSHIP A new sound is emerging from Zion and will go to the ends of the Earth. We will offer the Body of Yeshua a new resource, filled with quality worship music videos. Stay tuned and please pray for our production teams. Worship Now

Avi and Chaya Mizrachi writing for
Dugit Outreach Ministries in Tel Aviv is asking for 2 things: 1. That you would be praying for them: “that the people of Tel Aviv and all of Israel would hear the gospel clearly and embrace   the salvation that God offers in Yeshua | that the youth of Israel would know and grow their God-given identity | that God would prepare believers for the future | that the increase in post-pandemic domestic violence would cease in Tel Aviv and across Israel | that the Israeli government would walk in wisdom and make decisions that honor God, even as we “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).” The second thing is what MUST BE RELEASED TO EVERY ISRAELI MESSIANIC MINISTRY WE KNOW:  Financial support for the ministry. They write, “As God answers our prayers, we are seeing a flood of new opportunities to minister and many doors are opening.  Honestly, the needs we see around us are much greater than we can meet. We need your help to continue to touch as many lives in Israel as possible through our coffeehouse outreach, Distribution Center, media ministry, congregation, and all of our other local outreaches and street ministries.”  
     This ministry is ROCK Solid! “For more than 30 years, DUGIT Messianic Outreach Center has been bringing the Good News of Yeshua to the people of Israel. Our heartbeat is to share the gospel, make disciples, pray without ceasing, and care for the hurting. Our Outreach Center and HaOgen Coffee House are located in Tel Aviv”

From Chuck Cohen of Intercessors for Israel in Jerusalem:  Friday Prayer Points  8/13/2021  The Shabbat portion was Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good news, that declares peace … that declares salvation; that says unto Zion, 'Your God reigns!' “ Chuck writes, “Abba, we thank You that all who believe in Yeshua are grafted into Israel's olive tree and are part of Israel's commonwealth, so this verse now applies to believers as well (Rom. 11:17; Eph. 2:12-13).. . . We declare that You, Messiah Yeshua, are Lord of all (Acts 10:36). What an incredible truth that You, Lord Yeshua, love us like Your Father loves You (John 15:9)!”

The Aviv Ministry is for evangelism and ministry to addicts on the streets of Tel Aviv, headed by Dov Bikas. Back in Beer Sheva where their congregation is, Dov and wife Olga are also running a men’s rehab and a women’s shelter. Currently they have 11 in the Beer Sheva rehab. “One of our newcomers is a 28-year-old N. from Arad. Several weeks ago, we got a call from an elderly lady who was looking for a rehab for him. It turned out that she was not his mother or any relative. She simply met him in her neighbourhood and had pity on him, and used to let him come to her place from time to time to eat and rest. She is not a believer and she was helping him even though she was a bit afraid of him as a total stranger and a problematic alcoholic… When she called us (she received our telephone number from her believing neighbours), she was asking such questions about the rehab and the conditions in it as if looking for a place for her son. We were truly impressed by this lady and her heart for N. Today he is in the rehab and is doing really well. He is also attending our church and is very open to the Gospel. Please pray for him and the other rehabilitants.
     In the women’s shelter – including “a native Israeli girl, a Russian Jewish immigrant, an Ethiopian Jewish girl and an Arab lady. We are glad the Lord is bringing us ladies from all major groups of Israeli society, so we can share His light and love with them. Please keep praying for all the residents of the Shelter.”     See the health update for Dov’s wife Olga in the healing prayer section below.

The Aliyah Return Center writes about why we should be concerned about helping the poor and needy. It goes back to Yeshua’s statement in Matthew 25, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’  They write, “Yeshua had an immense heart for the needy and destitute. The author in Hebrews says of Him, “both the One who makes people holy, and those who are made holy, are of the same family. Therefore He [Yeshua] is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11). When we seek after God and share His heart for His world and especially the Promised Land where He chose to put His Name, it is then clear WHY we do what we do. We are doing it TO Him, and FOR His glory.
     “The Aliyah Return Center vision became reality over 8 years ago with only a small group of people volunteering and reaching out to fill the many needs of the new immigrants and needy in Galilee, starting with food clothing and shelter.. .. See the VIDEO and support the work of the Aliyah Return Center.

Ron Cantor also writes with concern for the needy: “Over the past year, we have raised funds for people in Israel suffering because of the pandemic, helping those who were out of work, Holocaust survivors (who have been so lonely), foreign workers, and others. We just heard from a young Messianic leader and his wife, who ran a school that had to close. They have both taken part-time jobs! Because of you, we sent them 2,000 shekels ($622) and have helped so many others!” Then they discovered they had “just over $10,000 still in our Covid fund! I immediately sent out an email to congregational leaders all over Israel, asking them if they had needs. We didn’t want those funds in the bank but distributed to people in need….Within 24 hours, we had given away all of the funds. But the problem is, people kept responding. And I can’t say no. We’ve been making more donations, giving out of our general budget…. All of the requests are vetted by congregational leaders. We do not just send out funds because people ask. We work through local fellowships….. I told our team to stop the fundraising campaign for a studio in Jerusalem—we have received the initial funds needed, and we have a path forward. Now is the time to focus on Israeli families in need. 100% of your donation will go to bless Israelis! Please consider a generous gift today to help Israelis in need. God bless you! Let’s show believers in Israel how much their friends around the world love them.  Just to go to http://www.blessisrael.co to stand with Israeli Messianic Jews in need.
     The need among Israeli Messianics is much greater than you imagine. 

Out of Zion Ministries’ David Silver for his Week Ending  Update Video Aug 13, 2021 & Midweek 8/17. Visit their website for more resources including teachings and VIDEOS

Please note new bank restrictions in Israel are imposing much stricter rules on charitable donations and I imagine will be hearing from other ministries in the days ahead. We got this in from the HaCarmel congregation led by Dani and LuAnne Sayag noting, “Only our official govt-registered name, “Kanfei Shahar,” can be used in making wire transfers, on checks, and any other method of donation. Please do not add any additional words such as "Kehilat HaCarmel," "Carmel Congregation," "Or HaCarmel," or any name related to our ministries, as the donation may not be accepted by the bank. [For more details, contact the congregation by email or consult the website (which is currently being updated, probably with this information). ]
     In their ministry news, Peter Tsukahira, a co-founding Pastor, writes about keeping our wine skins “new”  because “Old wineskins are hard, brittle and become cracked. New wineskins are soft and pliable. They stretch. Yeshua meant us to understand that our lives are like the wineskins in His parable. Our hearts and minds can be either hard or soft. We can become rigid in our faith, or flexible and able to stretch to encompass growth and new directions from the Lord. Humility is required for new growth, but a heart unwilling to change may eventually become a heart unable to change.”
     In prayer requests:  Please continue to pray for Israel’s new government as they struggle to find the right path of action in this very difficult (Covid) situation. Another lockdown is being discussed | Both of our borders are very hot right now, especially the northern border. On August 6th, nineteen katusha rockets slammed into areas in northern Israel. Please pray against war, and wildfires fueled by arson as we endure the last days of summer | Lebanese believers need protection right now. The financial and political situation there is in crisis since the blast in the port last summer. Please pray for Lebanon | Last month we posted a prayer request for our maintenance team and a list of needs they have. Since that time, there have been health and family issues which have made it even more challenging for the team. We deeply appreciate your prayers for protection and refreshing for all our staff | We continue to distribute clothing and parcels of food through Hadar HaCarmel, however we have had to pause the Hot Meal project as of this week because of the green pass regulations imposed on Beit Yedidia, because it is registered as a hotel. Medabrim continues to receive thousands of “hits” on their Hebrew-language posts and videos.

Arni Klein’s letter was too long to get into this email by the time it arrived yesterday, so I did a maximum edit on his thoughts about all the chaos going on and the challenges of knowing what is fact and what is agenda, how God is sovereign and thereby “He is never in the position of responding to the enemy....In seeking to understand the present, we find it helpful if not essential to go to the end of the road and look back from there. Everything culminates in the return of the King and must be viewed in that light. Chief among the road markers of what leads up to that day is the removal of Israel’s blindness and blessing the One who comes in the N­ame of the Lord. ...Remembering the spirit of our beginnings in the light of the now is stirring and challenging. Our dynamics in this present crossing over are similar but not exactly the same. ...While pondering all this a word came into my mind: “Eternalize, Eternalize.” Cover it all with the cloak of eternity. Strive to see from Father’s perspective. It’s quite a different picture from there.... . The enemy’s curses and threats and arrows first come before the One in Whom we are hidden. We do not want to superficially simplify a deeply complex matter. The bottom line is more about our inner spiritual state than our visible actions. We want to present all of this for prayer and consideration and not as hard and fast doctrine.” 
     Next week I will resume in the more personal aspects of what is going on in the Emmaus Way ministry.

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue
Please keep in prayer the Israeli believers who are fighting for their lives or other urgent health needs: 

Please Pray for David Friedman in Jerusalem. From his wife, "For all those who know and love my husband, David...now is the time to pray. A doctor looked in on him earlier. The event was a cardiac arrhythmia. At present he is stable, but obviously quite serious. He is in a medically induced coma - intubated." |  Report in for Dan Juster who has a mild case of Covid and is in quarantine.  Eitan Shishkoff and Leon Mazin have improved and are out of quarantine, as have the young men of the Katzir camp leadership. Have not received direct  updates on Cody & Liat Archer & family, several in the Acco youth,  Joel Jelski (Fields of Wheat),  and OrEl, married daughter of Avi and Chaya Mizrachi, but I am assuming the report I got covered them also. Pray for each to recover fully and quickly with no harm and no spreading to families and others.  | Claude Ezagouri of the Morning Star Fellowship who has started a treatment that is due to last at least 6 months for a medical problem he has been suffering from.  Believe in prayer with them as they look to the Lord for complete healing and for  prompt recovery from some other ailments.  Hallel Goldman, daughter of Yariv Goldman, Hallel ministers to young people coming out of an Orthodox life. Hallel appears to have some kind of heart infection. Pray for her healing. Also pray for her dad, Yariv, unspoken prayer. | Ronit Bender finally has seen a new cardiologist she likes because he is caring, she’s taking new meds, feels better but still asks for our prayers | Pray for Carolyn Hyde whose left hand is so pained she can no longer play guitar and it is also sometimes painful to play piano | Silvers: David's knees and Josie's back pain | Rachel Netanel  is still recovering from a broken ankle. She asks for healing & for the pain to subside. Her ankles were weak already, so the process is slow and painful| A prayer request for Naomi, for a dear family that is a part of Israel Pochtar's pastoral team, who was diagnosed with colon cancer. "Despite what this battle entails, we are confident in God’s unfailing Word and promises." Read in her own words| Please continue to pray for Jacob Damkani for the LORD's mercies over Jacob and his dear wife, Elisheva | Dov Bikas – I have been very tired these days: probably as a result of a combination of factors: my age, stress of the days of running to the bomb shelter, work load in the ministry, etc. Olga Bikas: We are grateful that Olga is feeling better these days! Though the doctors never found the cause of the dizziness that put her in hospital a month ago, they did rule out major issues like brain tumors, heart problems, etc., so this is already comforting. Olga’s back also keeps improving and she is able to walk more outside now than she did before.



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Thursday, August 12, 2021

Restoring the Captives of Zion | Arrows from Zion | 8 12 2021

Restoring the Captives of Zion is Spiritual Redemption in Yeshua


Photo: Streams in the Desert by Howard Bass | Psalm 126

When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.
Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy.
Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.
 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed,
will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.

Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries

Rachel Netanel (“The House that God Gave”) is thankful for the prayers as her broken ankle has healed just in time for one of the busiest months of her life. She writes with great joy about two nieces—one married in the garden of Rachel and Gilad’s home in an openly Messianic ceremony attended by dozens of mostly unbeliever guests…many who wanted to hear more about the faith of the hosts of the wedding.  The second niece Rachel has been teaching about the Lord since 2004. Rachel recognized the time of faith had come and asked Asher Intrater to come talk to her niece which he did explaining the faith for three hours with her and how she needs to be baptized. “As many of you are aware, for a Jew, the ceremony of baptism is a huge step and many have fallen away because they are afraid to make this commitment and the persecution this brings from family and friends.” The niece said she was ready so a date was set “and made the arrangements for the baptism to be in our garden in Ein Kerem, the traditional home of John, the Baptist (how very fitting). You may recall that when I had led an Arab to the Lord years ago, he build a little pool so that he could be baptized in it,” Rachel writes.
     But here is the best part of the report, “Asher taught and performed the ceremony, but what touched me most was how her husband and children all held her hand as she went into the baptismal waters. The baptism, itself was so very powerful and emotional. First, she started to cry (and did so for 2 hours), then her even her husband was crying and her children and her mother (my sister). My eyes could contain the water no longer as I looked at the tears on many faces. This was a spiritual experience that no one will ever forget, whether they are believers or not… we were all touched by the Holy Spirit. She said that in her whole life, she had never experienced “holiness” like this before. It was better than giving birth to her children. Her husband hugged her and they cried together. Something had happened that I had never seen in my life. Now she cannot stop talking about Yeshua to everyone.”

From Avi Tekle at Tents of Mercy in Kiryat Yam sends a call for prayers over their ministry family and friends suffering from the round of Covid that hit so many attending the youth camp a few weeks ago, including Eitan Shishkoff and Leon Mazin. Leon was in the hospital but has been released – a little better but still in need of prayer as he is still coughing and oxygenation is not normal yet. (Read Leon’s article Multiple Meanings – Prophecies Regarding the Servant of the Lord). Avi asks prayer over the tension from rocket fire from Hezballah in Lebanon as that nation teeters on complete economic collapse. Also asking prayers for upcoming Bible-themed outdoor activity days for our children who have been strongly affected by this season of insecurity. They want to provide some fun and time together as a community. Lastly, they are preparing to the city-wide outreach for Rosh HaShanah where they will be supplying dry goods for 900 needy families. Each bag cost around $75-80 and your participation, prayer and support can really help. To Donate.  Also read Avi’s article Who is Preparing Your Faith for The Last Hour?

Cody and Liat Archer also write from Fields of Wheat in the Golan Heights. They too are fighting the Covid virus from the youth camp – remember it is blazing hot in Israel and the virus brings fever with it. Plus they have a new baby and 3 other small children. Please pray for each and every one of the ministry teams, counselors and youth who tested positive for the virus. BUT THEY WANT YOU TO KNOW  We do not want this virus to rob the spot light of what God did last week in the camp. We had an amazing time and want to share more of our experience, but in the meantime, we encourage you to read this recap written by our teammate Joel, the director of Katzir who also is sick with COVID right now.  Read Here.

Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel and Voice of Judah Ministries writes, “The seeds of revival have been sown throughout the years, and we are now seeing the sparks of revival all across this nation. The fields are white for harvest, and the workers have been sent out to gather in the harvest. Praise the Lord!”
    
Read (and/or Watch) these:  “By the end of the course, her heart was ready and open; that last night of the course she invited Yeshua into her heart” Discipleship Course Testimony  | Israel’s Vulnerable Borders — Praying for Lebanon | Reaching Hearing-Impaired Arabs in Bethlehem | Worship from Beit Hallel | Back-to-School Project: Helping a Child in Need | God Carries You Through It All | The Garden Tomb - Message from Pastor Israel | Gabriel's Testimony - Shining the Light as an Israeli Soldier | Awake Youth Conference: Investing in the Next Generation

Tikkun Global sends out an update of the Katzir Youth camp where 54 of the 90 in attendance contracted the Delta variant of Covid. “They did everything right. Every participant had to bring a negative test with him. But you never know what is going to happen from the time you get the test until the time you arrive at the retreat. Apparently one participant, through no fault of his own, arrived with the virus.” The good news is that God moved powerfully at the conference and “As a result of the corona outbreak, the youth and counselors are continuing the summer camp on Zoom and WhatsApp, sharing words of encouragement with each other, praising the Lord together, spending time in prayer and hearing the word of God. Many young people returned to the Lord during the conference and are now continuing to connect with the Lord in such a powerful way. Please keep them in your prayers.”
     Also
 
Israel’s Restoration August Edition | Our August edition for the Israel's Restoration magazine is available now! Click here to download the PDF from our website. Including: an excerpt from Eitan Shishkoff's new book, "With All Your Heart" which is on sale now at Amazon

Chuck Cohen of Intercessors for Israel Jerusalem sends his
Friday Prayer Points  August 6, 2021. One excerpt on “Salvation | The Jewish month of Ellul, the month of repentance in preparation for the High Holydays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, starts early next week. During this month, the shofar is sounded every morning and many Jews go to synagogue, asking for forgiveness, repenting of whatever misdeeds they can think of, trying to get themselves right with both God and man. What an awesome time to pray that God would reveal Messiah Yeshua to them.” Two of the prayer points:  Give unsaved Jews both courage and a great curiosity to ask Messianic Jews about what they believe and anoint those believers with a Holy Spirit anointed answer (Matt. 10:19; 1 Pet. 3:15). Turn some radical Jewish anti-missionaries just like You did with the Apostle Paul (Acts. 26:9-19).”

From the Tiferet Yeshua congregation in Tel Aviv read this “one new man” article about how the congregation is putting this goal into practice with
Tearing Down the Dividing Wall of Hostility. Arab pastor Maroon recently spoke at the congregation. His testimony goes from homeless, drug user who hated the Jews to faith in the Jewish Messiah.  Also meet pastor Moti Cohen who they call “the heart of Tiferet Yeshua” because of his generous and kindly character. “In addition to leading outreach to the homeless in south Tel Aviv, Moti prepares the youth for their bar and bat mitzvas, disciples new believers and devotes time counseling and supporting believers who are dealing with difficulties in their lives. If someone is sick, Moti is there with homemade food. If someone is in prison, Moti visits. Moti also has a special gift for supporting believers suffering from psychological disorders.” The ‘mean streets’ of Tel Aviv are scary, if you have never seen them first hand, and it does take people with a special anointing from God to minister in such place of the world. 
     Lastly they are seeing with the new rise of covid restrictions that “the Lord has been teaching us NOT to make plans, and our sense is that this period of uncertainty will continue…. we will have to remain flexible and readjust to the changing situation. God is sovereign and we just keep clinging to Him more than ever!  Help us reach Tel Aviv:
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Ron Cantor writing for Shelanu TV says “A Great Door has Opened Up – Can You Help?” It’s all about an opportunity to purchase a Jerusalem Studio that would “enable us to film in Jerusalem…. The total cost is $1.45 million. We need $200,000 by the middle of September. We have about $30,000 in our ministry general fund. So please consider partnering with us so that we can bring you not only productions from Jerusalem but continue to make high-quality, powerful Hebrew content about the Jewish Messiah for Shelanu TV. ” Because of Shelanu TV over 100,000 Israelis have seen “their fellow countrymen sharing their stories of meeting the Messiah.”  For many Israelis, people from all over the world can tell them their stories of coming to faith, but none will home the way as hearing from a fellow Israeli. Ron writes, “You are crucial partners in this effort to reach the physical brothers of Yeshua with his message! Thank you.  Click here to support.”

Out of Zion Ministries invites you to join David Silver via YouTube for his Midweek Update Video for  August 6 and August 10.  Also in David’s commentary The Truth Will Set Us Free but How to Find It?  he writes about the difficulty of getting to the truth in the days that we are living currently. The pithy version is: “it takes a lot of time and effort, but it is possible. The first thing we should do is ask the Holy Spirit to give us that inner witness as to whether we are hearing truth or not. Secondly, almost all unclassified information is posted on the internet. All you need to do is type the question into your browser and an unending trail of information will open up for you. Now comes the difficult and time consuming part - checking who is the source of the information that was posted, the background of the person or organization who posted it, and then to double check the validity of the facts they are presenting.. . . to repeat the words of Yeshua, please be very careful what you watch, read or listen to - CHECK IT OUT before accepting it as truth, even if it fits with what you already believe.”  For the full commentaries, you can subscribe to the Out of Zion Mailing List.

I love the picture accompanying Revive Israel’s article by Asher Intrater, Three Goals of Teamwork because it hits close to home. It will take all of us to fulfill all that God is calling us to. “God was calling us to be involved, we had to work together as a team. If we could not develop teamwork, we could not fulfill our destiny.  It’s never easy to work in a team. A team involves people, and people have problems. They bring their weaknesses, their differences of opinions, their pride, fears, stubbornness, frustrations, etc. People come with their “baggage” and their “garbage.” | Also the Global Broadcast, Praise, Prophecy, Prayer, and Asher Intrater ministered a message on Isaiah 22: "The Stake". |  VIDEO teaching by Asher Intrater, Honor and Humility. |      Israel’s Restoration August Edition | Our August edition for the Israel's Restoration magazine is available now! Click here to download the PDF from our website. Including: Do You Want to be Shot? by Guy Cohen and What’s in front of you right now? by Tal Haroni 

My friend Sally Shiff at the HaMaayan congregation in Kfar Saba writes with news of her 95-year old mother passing away last week. She was blessed with an ability to go see her for a final time in June, which is a thing one treasures, and so does Sally. She writes, “Mom left a legacy of loving Israel. For it was her father, my grandfather who has family here for over 100 years and would come here every year for the last 10 years of his life for at least 6 weeks to be with our family.  It was through him that my desire to make Aliyah was born. I am honored to be the first one in our American family to make the trip and have made room for the rest to come when God sends them.” My condolences to you Sally.

The next thing up is Avner Boskey’s Nine blind Indians and the Israeli elephant which I believe is a must read because it not only delves into the great number of viewpoints of people on the Covid viruses, but also the thought control  forces at work in the current state. If you read Boskey, you know that he deep dives into research before putting pen to paper, that’s why when he writes, “My wife Rachel began to monitor the rise in Israel of verified harmful medical side-effects of the vaccines collected by The Israeli Public Emergency Council for the Covid19 Crisis. These are headed up by some of the country’s top doctors, professors and researchers. Whereas I had originally cast a critical eye on any of this, I soon came face to face with sufficient and convincing evidence. My own original cynicism had caused me to disqualify real people who had suffered real damage. I came to the realization that I myself was in some ways acting similar to one of our nine blind Indians. It is not enough merely to say, “I’ve heard nothing about side-effects; therefore nothing exists!”   Continue reading more about the Covid Virus online click title

From Marianna Gol, whose Afikim BaNegev is a ministry serving “widows and orphans,” a great follow up report on their recent youth camp. “The messages brought by our wonderful speaker Michael were relevant and thought provoking and impactful for our kids, but probably none of us expected that over half of the campers and some of the counselors would raise their hands to give or recommit their lives to Yeshua after the powerful message in club time of the final evening. The next morning when asked to stand and declare that "I have begun my life anew in Yeshua" most of those same kids stood up and declared this one by one. It was clear throughout the camp even from what we could see with our eyes and hear with our ears that kids were engaging with the word of God, and that they were being lifted up, encouraged, strengthened, convicted of sin, renewed, and transformed.  How much more was going on within them that we could not perceive!  We are so grateful for God's faithfulness. Of course the uplifting camp environment and home are worlds apart. The delicate new growth is fragile when being bombarded by the world all around, by peers, by the media, and by dysfunctional families and challenging circumstances.  Please join us in praying for all those that committed and recommitted their lives to the Lord….pray for those who are particularly burdened at this time including one young person “from his own admission, somewhat suicidal.”

Norma in Jerusalem has a blog post
Stand as One about our coming together as one for the battles ahead.

Rick Ridings at Succat Hallel writes about their youth ministry, called Dor Haba which is Hebrew for “Rising Generation”.  Dor Haba seeks to develop a rising generation of young Jews and Arabs who:  draw close to Yeshua, pray for their people, and use the creativity He’s given them to spread His message of love, forgiveness, and salvation in the Middle East. Follow this link to read an exciting update about what God is doing with Dor Haba
 

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue
Please keep in prayer the Israeli believers who are fighting for their lives or other urgent health needs: 

Please pray for Eitan Shishkoff, Leon Mazin (hospitalized) & family, Cody & Liat Archer & family, several in the Acco youth,  Joel Jelski (Fields of Wheat),  and OrEl, married daughter of Avi and Chaya Mizrachi, plus others who were infected with Covid at the Youth Katzir Camp last week. Pray for each to recover fully and quickly with no harm and no spreading to families and others.  | Claude Ezagouri of the Morning Star Fellowship who has started a treatment that is due to last at least 6 months for a medical problem he has been suffering from.  Believe in prayer with them as they look to the Lord for complete healing and for  prompt recovery from some other ailments.  Hallel Goldman, daughter of Yariv Goldman, Hallel ministers to young people coming out of an Orthodox life. Hallel appears to have some kind of heart infection. Pray for her healing. Also pray for her dad, Yariv, unspoken prayer. | Ronit Bender finally has seen a new cardiologist she likes because he is caring, she’s taking new meds, feels better but still asks for our prayers | Pray for Carolyn Hyde whose left hand is so pained she can no longer play guitar and it is also sometimes painful to play piano | Silvers: David's knees and Josie's back pain | Rachel Netanel  is still recovering from a broken ankle. She asks for healing & for the pain to subside. Her ankles were weak already, so the process is slow and painful| A prayer request for Naomi, for a dear family that is a part of Israel Pochtar's pastoral team, who was diagnosed with colon cancer. "Despite what this battle entails, we are confident in God’s unfailing Word and promises." Read in her own words| Please continue to pray for Jacob Damkani for the LORD's mercies over Jacob and his dear wife, Elisheva | Dov Bikas – I have been very tired these days: probably as a result of a combination of factors: my age, stress of the days of running to the bomb shelter, work load in the ministry, etc. Olga is getting better slowly, but still has a long way before her, so please keep praying.



Dust-busting  | by Donna Diorio | Tony and I are in the midst of major changes around our house. We finally got our waterbed out of the bedroom and a new bed moved in. We started sleeping on a waterbed in 1981 and loved the comfort level for decades, but as we have aged, it has become a real pain to our bodies. Finally we are rid of it, but in taking it down was a two-day, extreme physical process. Both of our computer rooms were turned into utter chaos with all the overflow furniture and miscellaneous stuff from the bedroom. To do one bedroom makeover we had to wreck all three rooms. 
     Now things are going back into place and we are all - our two little old dogs included - happy now that things are coming back together. Especially me! I feel so good because the changes have allowed me (okay, I confess: have motivated me) to do the deep-deep cleaning that was so needed.  Dust be gone! Our house produces an incredible amount of dust and I had years ago let it get away from me. Now it is undergoing a major dust-busting and I am amazed at how much dust is being removed from our house.
     Yesterday I saw a Facebook meme about the Genesis 3:13-15 curse on the Serpent, how the Serpent would devour dust all the days of his life because of beguiling the woman. Of course, dealing with all this physical dust in my house, made me think about what the spiritual dust means to me too.
     By "beguiling" it simply means the Serpent told the woman a lie and she believed it. That's the Serpent's M.O. lie-telling. Every thought that goes wandering across our minds is not our own reasoning but many times it is the lie-telling of the serpent. The "dust" in our lives that the Serpent feeds on are the lies we believe that are counter to what God's Word tells us.
     Do you remember that old saying, "Repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it." We see that happening at fever pitch in our days on a macro-level, because the days are short. But the truth is, the Serpent has been devouring us at micro-level since Eve in the garden of Eden. Whether we realize it fully or not, our minds are the battlefield where the enemy of our souls wins or loses the battle for our lives. That is where the enemy eats our lunch.
     That is why the apostle Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we MUST "throw down thoughts (or the walls or embankments raised as a defensive fortification against/in opposition to) the deeper more perfect and enlarged knowledge of God, and we capture the thoughts of our own mind to come into compliance and submission to Messiah."
     That was my translation take on what the original language words were communicating to us in verse 5.  I was especially struck with the options for "and every pretension" because as I read the options, what I got was "defense mechanism."  Because defense mechanisms are that we ourselves throw up as walls to self-protect. This too is based on a lie because the walls we erect are always in opposition to the knowledge of God. Plus self-protection itself is a Serpent’s lie that we believe will protect us but instead is meant to harm us.
    I think all of this is the spiritual parallel to "cleaning the dust out of my house" and that I must look at where the dust bunnies are collecting in my own thought life.  Our thought lives must undergo some spiritual dust-busting too, so our minds are clean and set on the LORD as the only source of truth in life. If the Serpent feeds on dust, let him not find it in the dust collecting in our thought life.

For we are both the "dust of the earth" and the very breath of God
     Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7
     By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:19
     As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed; He remembers that we are dust.  Psalm 103:134-14
     Remember Him (your Creator) before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:6-7


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