If we have anyone out there who's suffering from the delusion that the world has progressed beyond old, conspiratorial fairy tales like the anti-Semitic Protocols, here's a reality check for you: click here
Some of the video is in French (and other languages), but enough of it is in English for you to get the point: the Illuminati is part of a massive Jewish conspiracy to control the world. Even the founding fathers of the USA put mysterious Illuminati symbols on America's national seal, and on various monuments around Washington, DC, so they were evidently part of the conspiracy, too.
Wow, just when we were thinking that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were true patriots! Now we find that they were the unwitting dupes of a Zionist world conspiracy.
The most incredible thing of all is that there are still ignorant, almost childlike people out there who swallow this nonsense--hook, line, and sinker.
No wonder the Apostle Paul repeatedly exhorts us not to be deceived by the "empty words" uttered by operatives of the forces of darkness. Here's an example from Ephesians 5:
"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light" (Eph. 5:6-13).
Notice that he tells us to "expose them." We're supposed to call them out! And it's really not that hard to do. All we have to do is shine the light of truth on these deceivers and they scatter like cockroaches who've been hiding under a rock!
When I was a young preacher, I used to wonder why the Lord, in Matthew 25:31-46, seems to distill the criteria for the end-time "sheep and goat" judgment down to one simple question: How did the nations treat the Jewish people while they were under world-persecution?
But I don't wonder anymore. Now I understand that a non-Jewish person's attitude toward the Jewish people, especially when they are in danger, reveals a lot about what's in his heart.
Keep your seat-belts buckled, folks--this whole anti-Semitic thing is going to get worse before it gets better.
Which side are you on?
Many thanks to our Israeli friend and colleague, David Jacobs, for alerting us to this YouTube video.
Yaakov Kirschen is my favorite Israeli cartoonist. He's been doing his incredible "Dry Bones" drawings since 1973 and has an uncanny ability to reduce the complexities of Jewish life down to a handful of cartoon panels.
I love the title "Dry Bones," taken from the prophecy in Ezekiel 37 about the latter-day rebirth of the Jewish nation.
I don't know if Yaakov is a believer in Yeshua, but I do know that his column is a blessing to many believers around the world.
Here's his Hanukkah greeting for this year (Dec. 2012)
***Pages linked to from this post may not be suitable for all readers. Please use discernment.***
Now that's an interesting question!
Here's what Wikipedia says: "Islamophobia denotes prejudice against, or hatred or irrational fear of, Muslims. The term dates back to the early 1900s, but its modern use originates during the late 1980s or early 1990s. It entered the common vocabulary after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States."
We all know Muslim people who are not extremists. We encounter these folks in our business relationships, in our neighborhoods, and in many other places. When our children were in school, they had Muslim schoolmates--and everyone got along just fine. So in this sense, it is indeed "irrational" to paint all Muslims with the same, broad extremist brush.
After all, the shoe could be on the other foot, couldn't it? We surely wouldn't want to be identified with "Christian" extremists like the anti-Semitic nut job from Kansas who pickets the funerals of fallen US soldiers holding signs that say, "Thank God for dead soldiers." It would be a big mistake to paint all of us with one, wide swath of the "Christian" brush because 99.9% of the evangelical world has very little in common with extremists who preach a gospel of hate.
So no, we're not Islamophobic. We don't have an irrational fear or hatred of Muslim people in general.
For an insightful view of how the mullahs interpret sharia law in an actual "Islamic Republic" (Iran), click here.
If we want to see what the US will look like in a few years, all we have to do is look at the UK. The Brits have bent over backwards to accommodate Islamists in the British Isles. In fact, it has become politically correct in the UK to wink at the excesses of Islamist extremism. Tolerance--it's the prim and proper way to deal with a sticky issue. Here's a look (from YouTube) at how all of that tolerance and magnanimity is paying dividends for our British friends: click here.
I guess I'm Sharia-phobic--and maybe Jihad-ophobic. But there's nothing irrational about it. It's perfectly reasonable to be afraid of someone who says that he/she wants to destroy both you and your way of life and will stop at nothing to do so.
Fear is not always a bad thing. A few years ago, for example, several of us were walking near a rocky creek bed and found ourselves confronted by a large rattlesnake. Did I suffer from Snake-ophobia at that moment? Yes, I suppose you could say that. But that's an instance where fear was an appropriate response. We were in imminent danger. My friend Mike Scalf (a local realtor who also serves on our ministry finance committee) clobbered the snake with a large rock and sent it slithering away into the underbrush!
The cry of our contemporary culture is, "No Fear!" We're not supposed to be afraid of anything! It's like those moronic Johnny Knoxville movies--an entire franchise (based on a TV reality show) built on filming stupid people doing stupid (and often dangerous) stunts. These crazy people want the world to know that they're not afraid of anything. The folks who frequent these movies aren't exactly from the deep end of the gene pool, but fortunately for Johnny & Co., they can afford the price of a ticket!
But for the rest of us, being afraid of some things is reasonable and rational--and it can keep us safe from harm.
If you've been monitoring the news sources we suggested a few days ago, you know that Hamas has been trumpeting their great military "victory" over the IDF this past week.
But who really won? For their part, the IDF hasn't been talking about victory or defeat, but rather about the achievement of their military objectives--which they have declared a success.
So once again, who won the war? Were there any winners or losers? For his perspective as an Israeli believer who lives in Haifa, Israel, we turn once again to our friend Marvin Kramer:
Shalom all,
Operation "Pillar of Cloud" came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday night. Israel abided by the cease fire and stopped all aggressive military action by 9:00 p.m., as agreed. Not so with Hamas, who kept firing missiles into Israel for another 2 hours plus, after the cease fire went into effect.
Who won? Who lost? Those two big questions that immediately followed the announcement of the cease fire properly focused on Israel and Hamas. But, from a very practical perspective, the big winner was Egyptian President, Mohamed Morsi. With the dust finally beginning to settle on the 8-day conflict, we are able to get a better perspective on what happened, what was done, what remains to be done and whether it will be done and the when and where of it all.
The cease fire that was declared this past Wednesday evening was brokered, and announced, by the United States and Egypt, not by the parties themselves. This, in itself, should give us all a clear indication of who was acting behind the scenes while the players themselves continued in the conflict, testing whose missiles would be the first to succeed to achieve their objectives. A joint press conference was held in Cairo, Egypt, by U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, who announced a "de-escalation of the situation in Gaza." The essence of their statements appear in the following:-
Amr: “The government of Egypt will continue its efforts to achieve this noble objective through ongoing attempts to end the divisions between the various 'Palestinian' factions and to assist them in achieving 'Palestinian' national unity on the basis of genuine 'Palestinian' values and interests,” he said. “Egypt appreciates the role of the Arab League, the valuable contributions of Turkey and Qatar, and those of the secretary-general of the United Nations to support the efforts of the government of Egypt to end the violence. At the same time, Egypt calls upon the international community to be engaged in monitoring the implementation of the Egyptian-brokered agreement and to ensure all parties adhere to these agreements.”
Clinton: “The people of this region deserve the chance to live free from fear and violence, and today’s agreement is a step in the right direction that we should build on,” she said. “Now we have to focus on reaching a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security, dignity, and legitimate aspirations of 'Palestinians' and Israelis alike. President [of Egypt, Mohamed} Morsi [who played a central role in negotiating the cease fire] and I discussed how the United States and Egypt can work together to support the next steps in that process....Ultimately, every step must move us toward a comprehensive peace for all the people of the region.”
Neither statement was surprising. Both set forth the national perspectives of the speakers. Amr - Egyptian President Morsi remains allied to the Moslem Brotherhood and to the radical Islamist agenda. Clinton - Israel and "Palestinians" are considered equals and they both should be able to "advance [their] legitimate aspirations ... for all the people of the region." Both statements were clearly pro-"Palestinian". His being contextually more racial and religious in tone, while hers expressed an intention to resume the "two states for two peoples" rhetoric. No condemnation of terrorism of Hamas, who fired missiles into civilization population centers. No condemnation of Hamas, who sent missiles into Tel Aviv, the economic center of Israel. No condemnation, or even specific mention, of Hamas, who fired missiles at Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, with seeming unconcern that sites considered holy to Islam and Christianity, as well as Judaism, might be hit.
Maybe a cease fire was the right thing, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was right and the timing was right. Maybe it was right and the timing was wrong. Maybe it was simply the wrong thing at the wrong time. As with most things, and particularly, with politically-motivated events, time will tell. In a nutshell, the Agreement of Understanding For a Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip (note: even the title of this "agreement" is limited in its geographical area) requires that “Israel should stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals” (Paragraph "1A") and open “the crossings and facilitating the movement of people and transfer of goods and refraining from restricting residents’ free movements and targeting residents in border areas....”(Paragraph "1C"). Sandwiched in-between those two paragraphs is the requirement placed on “[all] ‘Palestinian’ factions”, who are to “stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel including rocket attacks and all attacks along the border.” (Paragraph "1B"). The last paragraph of this short agreement calls for Egypt to act as mediator between the parties in the event of a breach by either side (Paragraph "2C"). In other words, Egypt, acting through its current President, Mohamed Morsi, who played a central role in negotiating the cease fire, will be given the role of mediating violations of that agreement. The verbatim text of this agreement can be viewed at:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/text-cease-fire-agreement-between-israel-and-hamas.premium-1.479653
The failure to refer specifically to Hamas and to its indiscriminate shelling of civilian, population centers, speaks volumes.
As a brief aside, Morsi wasted no time in rearranging the power structure in Egypt for his own benefit, which act provoked protests and demonstrations once again in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Essentially, and among other edicts, Morsi granted to himself new powers that placed him, and his decrees, above the judiciary and ordered that the Moslem Brotherhood dominated assembly, that was writing the new constitution, could not be dissolved by any legal challenges. He also ordered the retrial of former President Hosni Mubarak (now serving a life sentence for his crimes against the Egyptian people) and others and cancelled protections against being tried twice for the same crime, by issuing a special law that set up a new, transitional legal system to handle such retrials. Placing mediation of cease-fire violations in Morsi's hands has caused not a few commentators to indicate that this is a classic instance of the "scorpion on the back of the turtle."
Over the last two days, there seems to be a topsy-turvy kind of response to the 8-day military operation against rocket bombardments from Gaza. We knocked the socks off of them, but they are dancing in the streets. Many here, on the other hand, are hanging there heads low. Whether we agree with the cease fire, or disagree with it, is not the issue. It is a fact and we need to see how it will pan out.
Both P.M. Netanyahu and his ministers did their best to explain to the media the following day how successful Operation "Pillar of Cloud" (wrongfully translation as "Pillar of Defense") was. Their efforts were given assistance by the IDF, whose website contributed greatly to the on-going media, explanation offensive that took place during and following the military Operation.
Notwithstanding the official, government statements of resounding success, still, public opinion polls reflected popular disappointment that Israel did not pursue its campaign to the end, i.e., to the total devastation of not only Hamas' infrastructure, but to Hamas and its leadership as well.
On the whole, during the course of the present operation and until the announcement of the cease fire, the public was appreciative of the performance of Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He acknowledged that the majority of Israelis wanted the IDF to launch as ground assault, he pointed out that “The time is not right for us to go in and conquer Gaza. We may though reach that point at another time.”See the IDF web site for the following list of 1,500 terror sites targeted during the recent Operation, namely:30 senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists19 high-level command centers980 underground rocket launchers140 smuggling tunnels66 tunnels used for terrorist operations42 operation rooms and bases owned by Hamas26 weapons manufacturing and storage facilitiesDozens of long-range rocket launchers and launch siteshttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=490421037647438&set=a.250335824989295.62131.125249070831305&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
In an attempt to further justify the cease fire, he pointed out that previous military operations started out well, with much public support, which support quickly waned, both nationally as well as internationally, as the body count increased. Continuation of the conflict and the sending in of ground troops could again result in such a situation, leaving the government embroiled in military conflict that lacks popular support. There are other factors to take into account, such as the shadow of Hamas' big brother, Iran, and his fraternal twin brothers, the Hisb'allah in Lebanon and the Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt. They may have been discussed, along with other considerations in deciding whether or not to employ ground troops in the recent conflict, and the price that would have to be paid from all perspectives. One such consideration was clearly that sending in ground troops could easily result in canceling the fragile peace treaty with Egypt.
With all of the rhetoric put aside, there is still no clear answer to the question of why the government did not instruct the IDF to launch a ground assault. Perhaps we can glean some understanding from the comment of F.M. Avigdor Lieberman, who stated on Thursday: “We cannot ignore requests by the U.S. president and EU heads of state, who formed an international coalition that supported Israel.”He also stated: “I am sure that under the circumstances, we made the best decision we could have made. We cannot share all of our considerations with the public.”No matter how many try to deny it or get around it, if plain words have any significance, then those of leading, government ministers should be understood as stated. This presumes, of course, that such words are capable of simple understanding and are not clouded by political double-talk. Given such a situation, where pressure was placed upon us by our friends, one would have to question the validity of the statement of Defense Minister Ehud Barak: “If the rocket fire is renewed and they do not honor their promises, we will hit them extremely hard. We will not tolerate another round of fighting every few weeks.”Time will tell whether he will be held accountable to fulfill those words.
On the one hand, all here acknowledge that the IDF hit Hamas hard. But, was it hard enough? Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen Benny Gantz said on Thursday: “All the aims of the operation were achieved....”If that is the case and the operation was limited in its scope, then why was it necessary to mobilize tens of thousands of reservists, only to have them return to civilian life a few days later? If it was a scare tactic, it doesn't seem to have worked, as rockets continued to be launched from Gaza even two hours after the cease fire went into effect.
Just to be sure that the wrong message is not being conveyed, we return to the question: Did we win? The answer must be “Yes, in many ways.” For the first time in a long time, the international media, not including Arab-controlled media, gave us almost a balanced representation, at least for a while. That is no small accomplishment. Israeli victims of Hamas rocket attacks, sitting in bomb shelters, were shown to be people with faces, and emotions, while Hamas was shown to be what it is, a terrorist organization. We were shown to be determined not to allow enemy missiles to destroy our resolve to hang in there, no matter how long it takes, even at tremendous cost to us. We sustained loss of life and to property, but remained resolute not to yield to despair. Our intelligence gathering branch did what it was supposed to do and provided information that lead to pinpointing and attacking precise targets and to destroying much of the terrorist infrastructure, both above and under the ground, that had been constructed in the four years since Operation "Cast Lead". Hamas did everything it could to kill civilians indiscriminately and cause as much damage as possible. Our reservists acted like war heroes, displaying the enthusiasm of new recruits, even though they were kept mostly out of the fighting. Our nation did not rejoice when we saw pictures of civilian casualties in Gaza. Yet, Hamas and its ardent followers claimed victory and rejoiced while standing on the ruins of their destroyed homes and the dead bodies of their friends and members of their families. Many more comparisons can be made and we can point to the many achievements in this latest conflict, not the least of which is the effectiveness of the Iron Dome anti-missile system, and the simply exemplary manner in which the Israeli home front conducted itself, even in the midst of missile attacks that brought Tel Aviv (the city that never sleeps - because everyone is looking for a parking space!) to a temporary standstill. I could mention those areas where Israel was less than successful in this recent confrontation, but I would rather concentrate on the glass being half full, rather than half empty.
War isn't a game that is played and then the players pack up and go home. It is serious and deadly. People are killed or injured. Lives are disrupted and family units are torn apart. Homes are lost and property is destroyed. Thoughts run in every direction, but people are driven by the overriding desire to survive. For Israel and primarily for the Jewish people who live here, the present cease fire does not end the war. The battle continues to rage over our right to exist and to live freely in our ancient homeland. This ongoing battle is one for the mind. It is fought not only with weapons, but also with words, caricatures, media campaigns and internet communications and then some.
Given this understanding of the waging of war, why in the world are people looking at Gazans who are cheering over their destroyed neighborhoods and believing their "V for victory" signs and their shouts of victory over Israel? Why would we listen to, much less believe, the absurd rhetoric of Hamas leaders, who claim to have been victorious over the Israeli military establishment, particularly when the rest of the world recognizes that Hamas has suffered a major blow? Probably, because notwithstanding that we won, we recognize that it was less than an absolutely decisive victory. Hamas did not cry "uncle". It called out for its big brother, the Moslem Brotherhood. Morsi showed up and negotiations to end fighting began and pressure was applied to end it before it escalated and multiplied the numbers of casualties. When Operation "Pillar of Cloud" came to an end, Hamas continued to exist and raised its head. Being human and having been involved in war after war, battle after battle and operation after operation, we would have preferred to see it end with Hamas unable to raise its head, because its head was cut off. Things didn't work out that way. Instead, we see that the failures of Hamas and its followers was taken out on members of its own citizenry, who were suspected, but not proven, to be cooperating with Israel, and who were executed and made public examples of what would happen to collaborators. And this, for them, was a reason to celebrate. Then, of course, they celebrated not because they won, but because our missiles stopped.
Before complaining that we did not cut off the head of Hamas, we should reflect on the following story:
“A high-ranking IDF officer was conducting a patrol of infantry positions near the Syrian border. Suddenly the whistle of a bullet came from the enemy’s direction. The commanding officer, an experienced campaigner, jumped into a nearby trench and ordered the company commander to locate the sniper. But the company commander stayed upright and kept on walking, calm as could be.“‘Why don’t you kill him?’ fumed the high-ranking officer.“‘Sir,’ the company commander said, ‘that sniper has been responsible for our sector for the past two months and hasn’t managed to hit anybody. If we kill him, the Syrians could send another sniper who actually knows how to shoot.’”
Time after time, agreements have been signed between Israel and her neighbors, including the leadership of those who call themselves "Palestinians". Most of the time, it turned out that such agreements were not worth the price of the paper on which they were written. If Hamas' memory proves to be short and violates the cease-fire agreement, then it will learn the hard way that Israel has the ability to put an end, once and for all, to rocket fire and all forms of aggression coming out of Gaza. And, if it must be done, it will be done. Then, Operation "Pillar of Cloud" will be re-designated as Operation "Pillar of Fire".
And that was The Week That Was.“The LORD bless you from Zion and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.” (Psalm 128:5)“The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion’, says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lam. 3:22-26)
Be blessed and have a Great week,
Marvin
Leah and David Ortiz are friends of ours who live in Ariel, Israel (east of Tel Aviv). Ariel is one of those oft-complained-about Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It's an oasis of prosperity in that area--and many Palestinians are gainfully employed or otherwise blessed because it's there. That's why you won't find many Palestinians complaining about Ariel, even though the Quartet says Israeli settlements in the West Bank are a major obstacle to peace. Never mind that many Arab settlements exist in Israel--it's just unthinkable (to them) for Israeli settlements to exist in the West Bank. I have never been able to figure that out. It's such a double standard! But hey, what else is new in discussions about Mideast peace?
Leah and David's son, Ami, was the victim of a horrible terrorist attack in 2008. A crazy, anti-Messianic man left a Purim basket on their doorstep (a common event in Israel at that time of year) and Ami, who was 15 years old at the time, picked it up and took it inside the house. When he set it down on a table, it exploded, shooting shrapnel all over the room. They had been specifically targeted because of their Messianic faith (that is, believing in Yeshua).
Ami was critically injured but miraculously survived. He has had 14 surgeries over these past four and a half years and you can read more about his amazing story by clicking here.
A couple of years ago, Gideon and I were in the Ortiz's home and had the privilege of meeting Ami. Later that afternoon, David offered to drive Gideon and me to Mount Gerazim, which was the center of worship for the ancient Samaritans (and still is, by the way). He even drove us up the mountain and when the road ended, led us on foot up to the remains of the ancient Crusader citadel that was situated on the site of the ancient Samaritan temple. It was a remarkable experience.
Here's a photo of David gazing down from Mount Gerazim:
Before we returned to Jerusalem, here's Gideon chatting with the Samaritan man who oversees the sacrifices that his community still performs on the mountain. You can see that this gentleman works out of a small, no-frills office! Here Gideon is asking him to write down his contact information so we can be in touch with him.
I guess I'm going "the long way around" to tell you that David and Leah have issued an update on the current situation in Israel (see below). There have been some violations of the cease-fire, but the Israelis have gone the second mile and have been very patient. And as of Friday night (11/23), it's holding. That's actually longer than many observers expected!
I trust we're all continuing to pray for the shalom of Yerushalyim!
AMI UPDATELEAH AND DAVID ORTIZNOVEMBER, 2012 Dear Gary,
David and I arrived back in Israel four days ago from the U.S. where we participated in two conferences in NYC. We also had the chance to visit Ami at school and see the first two basketball games of the season. More about that later - as we were writing this update yesterday, the news flashed on in the media that a bomb had blown up on a city bus in Tel Aviv. This time it was not a suicide bomber, but a package that was left on the bus and detonated from outside. All in all, 28 people were wounded, three seriously. Thank God no one was killed but we personally know what havoc is wreaked by the explosion of a bomb on the human frame. It is still not clear which terror organization carried this out, and the one who left the bomb and detonated it is still at large.
This incident took place in the context of the Pillar of Defense Operation that Israel was waging against the launching of over 1,500 missiles into Israel from Gaza in the past week alone. The offensive was carried out by air power up to this point but we learned last night that a cease fire had been agreed on between Israel and Hamas, and so the ground incursion that was planned as the next step has been averted. News of the cease fire comes with mixed reaction, a feeling that this is again just a temporary measure and not all of Israel's objectives were obtained, and knowing the same scenario will certainly repeat itself in the future, but also relief that the ground offensive is cancelled and soldiers lives will be spared this time. Soldiers who include our sons -and the sons of thousands and thousands of Israelis who lose sleep and pray nonstop for their children, and also their husbands, brothers, cousins, uncles, nephews, fiancées, and friends.
FROM DAVID
Amos 3:6
6 If a trumpet (siren) is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?7 Surely the LordGod does nothing,Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. (cf. Psalms 25:14)
These verses describe very much what is happening here in Israel when the sirens sound, and the panic starts. But as it says, God is on the throne and He uses everything to get Israel's attention. He does it first by revealing it to his close friends.
This was the home front commands instructions for a rocket attack in English from You Tube which was broadcast on TV for English speakers.
As we mentioned we were in the States at two conferences and visiting Ami, and while waiting for our flight back to Israel, we thought we had plenty of time so we decided to have something to eat before boarding. Suddenly we heard an announcement over the loud speaker that our f light was leaving earlier before its' scheduled departure time and that we had to get to the gate right away. We hurried to our gate, and as we went through security and boarding, we noticed that it was being done in a very rushed manner, and before people were even completely settled on the plane, they announced that the door was shut and we should sit down as quickly as possible as take off was going to commence.
I was speaking to a passenger seated in the row in back of me and he asked me, "do you notice that take off is being rushed? Do you know why?" I told him that I did notice - he said that before boarding he and others read on line on their laptops that flights coming into Ben Gurion Airport would be using alternate routes to avoid any danger of rocket fire. He said this is why the boarding was being done very quickly because already many passengers had cancelled upon hearing this. Because of this we had a very comfortable flight as we all had extra seats next to us to stretch out onto.
Here is one of the articles about flights be rerouted -
Planes 'slightly rerouted' to avoid being hithttp://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4308171,00.html
I told my fellow passenger that I happened to have the best life insurance possible that has already been paid for by the Lord God Himself. That's when he identified himself as a believer. He said he also felt good as he had the same policy from the same Person.
We definitely find that the best time to be in Israel is at times like these. Even before the missiles began falling before we left, there were rumours of war already and people's hearts were beginning to soften and open up. We thank God for this. We also thank God for believers who have put words into action by not only assisting in caring for believers during this difficult time but who have reached out their hands to the people of the land. As soon as we hit the ground, we started being involved in trying to assist people in the South. With the little resources we have, and with the help of the international Body of Messiah, we will continue.
During this time Deut. 20 rings very clear in our hearts.
"When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. 3 And he shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 4 for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'
The phrase "Fear not" appears 380 times in the Bible. Within all those times, it never says to be afraid of man, or of demons, but it specifically says to let the Lord be our fear and Him only. (Isaiah 8:13NLT) Make the LORD of Heaven's Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.
This was the home front commands instructions for a rocket attack in English from You Tube which was broadcast on TV for English speakers.
Israel Home Front Command instructions on protecting yourself during rocket and mortar attackshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiKipcrUXpg
It seems like there is an app for everything -
Subject: App helps Israelis track missile firehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-_5E2a8aSY
We have lived in Israel for 27 years, and the modern technology of internet, cell phones, Skype etc. have made it easier for us to keep in touch with family as we are able to speak to them and see them as if they are in our living room. But we had a very pleasant treat when my 80 year old mother came to visit us for an extended stay in which she not only ministered to us and to our children, but also to those in the community of believers and unbelievers, Jews and Arabs. Sometimes family is something we take for granted especially if they live near to us, but one of the sacrifices that sometimes goes unnoticed is that years pass by and especially the children lack personal contact with their extended families that have been left behind. Like Yeshua said in Matthew 19:29 - And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.DAVID AND LEAH
Our daughter lives in Tel Aviv which has been targeted several times by new, longer range missiles than have never been used before. However, her husband's family lives in Kiryat Malachi, ( like the book and prophet Malachi -http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiryat_Malakhi) which is a town that was relentlessly shelled and is about 20 miles from Sderot and the Gaza Border. Kiryat Malachi was the first town in which an apartment sustained a direct hit a week ago in which 3 people were killed and several were wounded, including infants.
(http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4305658,00.HTML)
Two of her husbands' siblings and their families (10 people in all) ran to Tel Aviv and stayed with her over the weekend to get some relief from the constant sirens and running into the shelters which was traumatizing especially their children.
By the grace of Almighty God many doors have been opened to us but we aren't free to share it with you in this update because of the Anti-Freedom of Religion organizations who monitor believers' websites. We are happy for the fruit we are seeing and the opportunities we have to share the Good News with the people of this land.
AMI NEWS
In the meantime, we did have 3 wonderful days to be with Ami. He is doing very well in school, he's getting the knack of what is expected from him scholastically and his grades are improving. Basketball American style has been a challenge also. He showed us the notebook full of plays he needs to learn, and warned us he wouldn't be playing much in the games we were about to see- this from a young man who in high school played the whole game from start to finish and scored high. But the pace is faster and level of the game is higher in college, and the rules and even mentality of the game and team dynamics are different. So Ami played only a few minutes of the first game we saw, and sat on the bench for the whole second game!! It was hard, but we know the Lord is doing something new in his life, and we continue to pray.
However we have a great miracle to report. We wrote about the laser surgery for scars that we found out about, and how we found a surgeon the States who is an expert in her field and came highly recommended from the developer of the surgery. We received word from her office that Ami will be put on their VIP pro bono list!! We are so blessed, and the next step will be for Ami to to meet the surgeon and have a check up!! Hallelujah!
Remember to check out www.amiortiz.com for all up to date articles, information, pictures and videos. Thank you for your continuing prayers and love for Israel, our family and the Body of Messiah here.
Leah and David Ortiz
Many of our readers have been asking about what news outlets we monitor (in addition to our own sources in Israel) for news from the Middle East. Here are a few of them:
Dennis Prager breaks the so-called "Middle East problem" down into easy-to-understand bullet points--and he does it in just under six minutes.
This is the most concise, accurate explanation of Mideast geopolitics that I've ever heard. Anyone, even a middle school student, can understand this. It's not rocket science, folks!
Note especially what he says about "one of the most important things that nobody talks about."
It's something that's verifiably and undeniably factual, and it's one of the keys to understanding the Middle East problem, yet it hardly ever gets any attention.
That is, until now. I just hope somebody is listening!
Everyone is on pins and needles as the Egypt-brokered cease fire approaches between Hamas and Israel.
Only time will tell how long the cease-fire will hold. Part of the problem in this regard is that the Hamas alliance consists of so many crazy and rabid anti-Semitic factions, they can't restrain them all. Sometimes they even kill each other (we have reported on this in the past)! They are uncivilized and unpredictable. And that's precisely why we've been saying for years that the Palestinians are NOT ready for statehood.
Giving the Palestinians their own autonomous state would be like turning an 8-year old loose on the highway behind the wheel of a big, tractor-trailer rig. It's not only dangerous for everyone in the neighborhood, but also for the Palestinians themselves.
While we wait on the implementation of the negotiated cease-fire, here are some insightful words from our friend and colleague, Marvin Kramer. Marvin is an Israeli believer in Yeshua and received his law degree here in the USA. He lives in Haifa and has been doing much of our legal work in Israel for many years. Here's his latest report from earlier today:
Shalom all,
This was not one of Israel's better days.
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, just addressed the nation and informed it that Israel agreed to a cease fire. In my opinion, this is sheer folly. If anyone should know well the mentality of those who seek our destruction, Israel should. But, instead of pursuing its original objectives, to insure that Hamas will not be able to continue to assault Israeli cities and local municipalities, we stopped short of accomplishing our original, stated goals. If history, and recent history in particular, has shown us anything, it is that every agreement that we entered into with the "Palestinians" has been violated by them.
Netanyahu was followed by Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, who was followed by Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman. They spoke of the international legitimacy of "Operation Pillar of Cloud", as well as of the military accomplishments of the IDF. This is not the time to dissect all of what was said by the trio of politicians. The P.M. is well aware that public opinion is, on the whole, in favor of pursuing a military end, once and for all - or at least for an extended period - to the seemingly unending launching of projectiles into Israel and disruption of life in the south and now, in the heart of the country. This could have far-reaching consequences at the polls before too long. Just how long this latest cease fire will last is a matter of conjecture. It won't take long before we'll know.
It is clear that political considerations have come into play in agreeing to the cease fire. Tens of thousands of reservists were activated, at tremendous financial cost to the country, as well as to the private sector in terms of lost man hours of work and productivity. If the goal of activating them was to frighten the folks in Gaza, then we failed to achieve this goal as well. According to news reports and interviews with "Palestinians" in Gaza, they remain resolute and are fully supportive of Hamas, who is responsible for the indiscriminate rocket and missile assaults upon Israel. Hamas is not even mentioned in the cease-fire arrangement and, as a result, they are not bound by it. The authorities in Gaza executed six people who were suspected of cooperating with Israel and they had their bodies dragged through the streets. Can anyone seriously expect that they will honor another cease-fire agreement?
Hilary Clinton is once again in our neck of the woods. In a public statement that she made this evening, she expressed hope that the present cease fire will bring about a period of calm and enable both sides to work together and allow for pursuing of the "legitimate aspirations of the 'Palestinian' people and of Israelis." That's nice, political double-talk for pursuing a two-state solution to the conflict.
All of this has come in the backdrop of a bus bombing in Tel Aviv, which injured over 20 Israelis, some of them seriously. Our cities have been pelted with over a 1,000 rockets and missiles. There has been loss of life, including one Israeli soldier, and tremendous loss of property. People here don't want another cease fire. They want an end to the threats and attacks from Gaza. That, apparently, is being put on hold until another day.
In the meantime, our forces remain on standby. As soon as there is a violation of the present cease fire, they will be ready to act. But, they will need a "go ahead" order from the government. We can only wait and see what will happen.
With all of the politicking that went on during the last few days, we seem to have forgotten that the mentality of our enemies is this: If we didn't lose, then we won. If our enemy didn't win, then it lost.
More later.
A happy and healthy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate this holiday.
This past week marked the beginning of the Jewish religious year with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah (lit., "head of the year").
The term Rosh Hashanah was adopted during the Babylonian Captivity, but the biblical name for this observance is Yom Teruah ("Day of Blowing [the Shofar]"; Lev. 23:24-25).
Now we're on the 10-day countdown to Yom Kippur (the "Day of Atonement"), the most holy and somber observance in Judaism.
Here's a commemorative stamp from Israel marking the observance of Yom Kippur:
For a traditional and informative look at Yom Kippur, click here
That Jewish FAQ site (link above) includes an audio file so you can hear the liturgical singing of the Kol Nidrei ("All Vows").
Messianic believers recognize that Yeshua (Jesus) died on Calvary as our sin-bearer and Yom Kippur sacrifice.
However, He was actually more than that. The Yom Kippur sacrifice was an annual observance—it was performed every year. In fact, the word "atonement" (as in Day of Atonement) is actually plural in the Hebrew (Yom haKippurim). It was many sacrifices rather than just one.
But when Yeshua died, He died once and for all (Heb. 7:27). It never has to be repeated—ever. Hallelujah!
During the future Millennial Age, the Temple in Jerusalem will be a busy place! There will be burnt offerings, guilt offerings, and sin offerings (Ezek. 40:38-39)—and of course, there will be the numerous offerings associated with Sukkot when the nations come up to worship the LORD every year (Num. 29:12-38; Zech. 14:16).
But there is no mention in the prophecies of future Yom Kippur sacrifices. If you can find it, please let me know!
As we approach the most holy day of the Jewish year on Yom Kippur, may you be blessed in the assurance that Yeshua the Messiah has not merely covered your sins for another year, but He has taken them away permanently through His own sacrifice on Calvary.
"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood [Yeshua] entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:12).
Now if that's not cause for celebration, I don't know what is!
In Messiah's love,
Gary Hedrick
P.S. For more info about these traditional Jewish observances throughout the year, get one of our Messianic Jewish Home Calendars. The new one is hot off the presses!
About a year ago (April 2011), Israel's Channel 1 did a three-part report on the activities of the anti-missionary organization Yad L'Achim. The programs are available on YouTube and they're well worth the time it takes to watch them. (Each segment is roughly ten minutes in length.) It's all in Hebrew, of course, but with the English subtitles it's very easy to follow the discussions and interviews.
Since the horrible attack on a messianic family in Ariel, Israel, in 2008 (click here for background info), the spotlight of media attention in Israel has been riveted on Yad L'Achim, an extremist anti-missionary hate group. It's encouraging that the Israeli mainstream media—at long last—is calling attention to the activities of such extremist groups. They are a small minority, thankfully; however, as we saw in the Ami Ortiz case (mentioned above), they're capable of inflicting pain and suffering that is hugely disproportionate to their small numbers.
As you watch, note that there are still extremists who, even on TV, out in the open, defend the actions of Yad L'Achim. In their way of thinking, the Messianics are essentially "asking for it" because they're trying to lure unsuspecting Jewish people away from their faith and "convert" them to Christianity. That's how they see it. To them, it's a war.
Actually, if the Messianics were trying to "convert" Jewish people to some form of non-Jewish, institutionalized Christendom (like Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, or any one of a number of others), Yad L'Achim's frothing at the mouth might be slightly more comprehensible.
But they're not. Not even close. Most of the Messianic believers in Israel are simple, down-to-earth Jewish Messiah-followers. They're not part of any "Christian" denomination or church. In Hebrew, they are Meshichi (Messiah-followers) rather than Notzri (denominational "Christians").
Are some of them supported by churches (whether in North America or elsewhere)? Yes, of course—some of them receive support from Christians outside of Israel. What's wrong with that? The United Jewish Appeal has received significant support (to the tune of millions of dollars) from US churches (including, perhaps most notably, Pastor Hagee's Cornerstone Church here in Texas)—and we don't hear anyone complaining about that, do we?
But I digress. Getting back to the topic at hand, here are the three installments of the report from Israel's Channel 1:
He's been doing his incredible "Dry Bones" drawings since 1973 and has an uncanny ability to reduce the complexities of Jewish life down to a handful of cartoon panels.
