People Chosen for a Chosen People....

People Chosen for a Chosen People.....this is a catch phrase at Christian Friends of Israel (CFI) - the ministry we have served with for almost 3 ½ years.  It really is quite telling - not everyone can make it in Israel.  It's very intense here.  We've even had some who have said they would come volunteer, but never even make it to the country.  And others don't stay long...  Derek Prince tells the story of when he was sharing his desire to live in Jerusalem with an elderly woman who wisely replied to him, "Derek, you don't chose Jerusalem, Jerusalem chooses you."

So many times we wonder - Why us? What did we do to deserve being here? All we can say is that when we asked, God's reply was - You were willing.... All we can do now is live every day remembering how very honored we are to do what we do, and try to please our Heavenly Father by representing Him well in this Land.

During our time serving with CFI, we have both been in administrative roles, supporting the vision of the entire ministry - both in the projects serving the Jewish people & in the outreach of teachings to the Nations telling them of God's plans and purposes for the Jewish people.  Jim being the Director of Administration - both in oversight and implementation of the vision (which covers just about everything...), and Linda in accounts receivable - receiving the financial gifts from all over the world sent to support Israel and the Jewish people through the ministry of CFI.  Over the past year, Jim has also been transitioning into the role of the coordinator for our Project David's Shield serving Israel's soldiers.  Christian Friends of Israel - Project David's Shield

The many outreach projects of CFI include:

• Project Open Gates – assisting with new Immigrant needs

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• Project Streams of Blessing – assisting the elderly & disadvantaged
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• Project Bridal Salon – assisting with wedding attire & Jewish children’s birthdays

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• Project Forsake Them Not – comforts survivors of the Holocaust
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• Project First Fruits – supporting the “Household of Faith"

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• Project David’s Shield – blessing Israeli soldiers

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• Project Hope for the Future – assisting Ethiopian Jewish Immigrants

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• Project Under His Wings – comforting terror victims
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• Project Communities Under Attack – 
• assisting those families under continued attacks from conflicts in the Land

• Project Wall of Prayer – assignments for prayer in Israel

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• Project Media and Development – 
• reaching the world with positive, truthful and informative information about Israel
• ~ including a tv broadcast Focal Point tv broadcast ~
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The most exciting thing going on in our ministry right now is the move of our headquarter's building in Jerusalem.  When CFI Jerusalem moved to its present location in 2004 they were assured the owners would never sell. In 2012, we were informed differently. A sale took place too quickly for us to raise the funds needed to purchase. Our Jerusalem Board then voted to establish a permanent home for CFI.  

During the next few months we will be working in a transition mode as we look forward to the next season when we hope to move into a permanent home in Jerusalem.  We are believing to be in partnership with others who share our desire to educate the Nations concerning Israel and the Jewish people.  Please be prayer concerning the many details of this joint venture.  More information about this is in our For Zion Sake magazine - page 16 of third quarter 2013 and page 17 of second quarter 2014.    CFI For Zion Sake magazine online

This Wednesday is the last day with computers, as we all continue to pack up our offices and the rest of the three story building.  Friday will be our last working day at our current facility.  We will then begin two big projects - the move of our offices to our temporary location, and our yearly CFI international conference!  Yes - we plan to pull off both projects at the same time!!  

PLEASE pray for Jim, as he will be especially busy and instrumental in the implementation of the move.  He will also be in charge of the set up for the conference on Sunday at the Crowne Plaza Jerusalem, as well as the takedown afterward - right in the middle of our headquarters move.....Only by God's strength, grace and much prayer can this task be undertaken and completed successfully.

We are so very excited as we see the prophetic scriptures of the Bible coming to life in Israel.  Even just recently we can see (what others may think is just normal) preparations for what God is about to do in this Land - and it's going to be BIG!!  There is a huge road construction project going on between the airport (the only international airport in Israel) and Jerusalem.  They are widening the road to double it's current size.  

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) will be moving the home of it's annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration beginning this fall.  The Jerusalem convention center has always hosted this event, but now the Feast - for the Nations who come to support and be a part of Israel - will be held at the new arena Jerusalem has just built.  ICEJ will be able to host triple the amount of people at this new facility!

As we said as well, CFI is believing to partner with an organization with the same heart as ours - to educate the Nations as they come to Israel, to learn the ways of the Lord and the Biblical truths of Israel and the Jewish people.  There is a hunger growing in the world that hasn't been there before for Christians to know more about the Jewish roots of their Christian faith.  Not only that, but we are experiencing a peculiar growth in Jewish people wanting to have Jewish-Christian relations.  More than ever before....they have said they realize that the Word of God says about the Nations coming to learn.....

Why is all this a big deal??  We are at the birth pains of not only witnessing, but being a part of these scriptures as they begin to come to pass in larger numbers than ever before:

"Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."  Micah 4:2

"They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’"  Jeremiah 50:5

"Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."  Isaiah 2:3

"Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and pray before the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”  "  Zechariah 8:22,23

HOW CAN WE BE ANYTHING, BUT FILLED WITH EXCITEMENT, AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THIS NEXT SEASON IN JERUSALEM??

Tears and Joy

Psalm 126 ~ A Joyful Return to Zion (Israel)

A Song of Ascents.

126 When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.

4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.

5 Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
6 He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

We already included this song in a previous post, but it is so very appropriate for this season.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfo-R_jkffo

Last Monday, in Israel, was Holocaust Remembrance Day.  There was a two minute siren sounded all over the country.  Everyone came to a standstill, whether on foot, in a car, train or bus - stopping in remembrance and respect of those who lost their lives, and for those who survived.

Last night at sundown began Memorial Day - remembering the soldiers who have given their lives in the wars fought since 1948, and also terror victims.  There was a siren both last night, and at 11 am this morning, just as there was last week.  When it was time for the siren last night, Jim was on a bus with a friend.  At 8 pm sharp, the bus driver stopped the bus and turned it off.  The siren began, and everyone on the bus stood together.  Wow.  That is a solidarity we've witnessed nowhere else, and our 3rd year experiencing it.

Last night and today all over the country there have been Memorial services held.  Tonight, the mourning turned to dancing as Israel shifted from Memorial Day to Independence Day.  66 years ago the modern state of Israel was declared a state - and immediately were drawn into war the next day with the neighboring enemies who did not want a Jewish state to exist in this Land.  

We want to share a video of a dance that our daughter and her team performed at an army base during their visit here a month ago.  They choreographed a dance to Hatikvah - Israel's National Anthem.  We also took a short video of the siren beginning and ending last Monday to add at the beginning and end.  It represents a people that show solidarity, have a heart that yearns for peace in their God-given homeland, fight when absolutely necessary, and go about normal life in the midst of it all.

Hatikvah (The Hope)

As long as in the heart within,
The Jewish soul yearns,
And toward the eastern edges, onward,
An eye gazes toward Zion.
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope that is two-thousand years old,
To be a free nation in our land,
The Land of Zion, Jerusalem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckCfDqZ0DPY&feature=youtu.be

Here is another great video celebrating the heart within the people of Israel: 

Am Yisrael Chai! ~ The People of Israel Live!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voO3DXnPc-U

As we sat in our apartment in southern Jerusalem tonight, we heard the fireworks outside from downtown in city center.  As we went to the window we were able to get a pretty good view:

As Israel turns from mourning loved ones lost in the holocaust, wars, and terrorist acts, they live the Psalms as they truly "sow in tears and reap in joy".  As God brings them back to Zion, they are like those who dream - their mouths filled with laughter and their tongues with singing.  And they know that...

The Lord has done great things for them ~ and they are glad!

COMING & going

Okay  ~ so it's been TWO months since we last posted a blog......BUT - as most of you know, our daughter, Stephanie, came to visit for almost 3 weeks!!  We had much preparation for the visit, a completely non-stop amazing time while she was here, and then have been TRYING to recover since she left... :(   

To be perfectly honest, we have yet to recover.... Spending time together was beyond anything we could have dreamed up, but watching her leave was also more painful than we would have imagined as well.  As we attempt to "get back at it", every now and then there is a tear to shed.  There is, however, many smiles and joy in our hearts as we relive the experiences we had together.  

We are still going through the over 6,000 pictures taken by us all.... and we are hoping to share some with you in another blog.  Don't worry.....not all of them. :)  In the meantime, we thought we'd just post these few.

Arrival day at the Israel airport.

During the week that the Arts Evangelica dance team came, we were blessed to have a private time at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem for them to film a dance.  Our AMAZINGLY, awesome "son-in-love" Travis - who is a professional videographer & editor with his own business in North Carolina -  http://stewartmediallc.com - filmed and edited the dance.  We thought we'd share it with you all.  It's a YouTube video, and you can make the screen big by clicking the icon on the bottom right corner to make the video full screen.  Enjoy!!

http://stewartmediallc.com/how-great-thou-art-garden-tomb-easter-dance-video/

Later that same day, we all went to an army base where the dance team both performed and danced with the soldiers.  More pictures to come in a later blog....

Daddy getting to share with his baby what he's doing in Israel with the soldiers at a base.

Needless to say, the days went far too fast....we did cherish a few days at the end of the trip with just the three of us - picnic & swimming at the Dead Sea, hiking Mount Arbel, visiting an underground cavern, and many more precious times together as we enjoyed being with each other.

It was starting to get difficult when we knew the time was coming near for Stephanie to back to North Carolina.  We could all feel it....but we pressed through to not allow any joys of the moments be stolen.  But whether any of us were ready or not, the time came to say good-bye ~ for now that is.  The four of us agreed that we would not allow that much time to pass again before we saw each other.    None of us know when, but God has the details - and our hearts are in His Hands, and we shall trust Him.  Thank you for your prayers, support and encouragement.

Not wanting to let go at the airport.

A blessing will be on your coming in 

and on your going out.

Deuteronomy 28:6

Has war been declared on God?

Shalom dear friends,

Sorry it's been so long since we've written.  Much is going on in the "City of Peace"!  And as you will see from this lengthy posting, we have a lot stirring within us.  We do realize it's time consuming to read something this long, however, this blog will explain some of the challenges we face in what we do here in Israel.  

An article in an Israeli paper recently has really sparked some interest. To explain the phrase used below - "hard-line nationalist rabbis" are men that believe both God and the Bible to be true in the promises given to the Jewish people concerning the Land of Israel - and we agree as well.

From a Jerusalem Post article, 05 February 2014:

A group of hard-line nationalist rabbis wrote in an open to letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry that through his current mediation efforts between Israel and Palestinian negotiators he had declared war against God.

The rabbis warned that the secretary must cease such activities, to avoid divine punishment.

“Your incessant efforts to expropriate integral parts of our Holy Land and hand them over to Abbas’s terrorist gang, amount to a declaration of war against the Creator and Ruler of the universe! For G-d awarded the entire Land of Israel to our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in order that they bequeath it, as an everlasting inheritance, to their descendants, the Jewish people, until the end of all time,” the letter reads.

The letter was sent by the Committee to Save the Land and People of Israel– an activist group opposed to any political accords with the Palestinians involving territorial concessions – founded by Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo, who also founded the far-right Our Land of Israel party.

The rabbis argue that Kerry’s plan endangers Israeli Jews by bringing them within close range of potential rocket and missile fire from the West Bank should it be ceded by Israel to the Palestinians.

“If you continue on this destructive path, you will ensure your everlasting disgrace in Jewish history for bringing calamity upon the Jewish people,” continued the rabbis, comparing Kerry to Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II and Roman commander and future emperor Titus, the two enemies of the ancient Jewish kingdoms who destroyed the temples in Jerusalem and Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel along with them.

“By the power of our Holy Torah, we admonish you to cease immediately all efforts to achieve these disastrous agreements – in order to avoid severe heavenly punishment for everyone involved,” they threatened.

The letter was signed by Rabbi Wolpo, along with four other rabbis including Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the founder and chairman of the Temple Institute; Rabbi Yigal Pizam, the dean of a yeshiva and a leader of the Chabad community in the Haifa neighborhood of Kiryat Shmuel; Rabbi Gedalya Axelrod, the emeritus head of the Haifa Rabbinic Court; and Rabbi Ben Tziyon Grossman from the town of Migdal Ha’emek.

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Kerry-has-declared-war-on-God-say-hardline-rabbis-warn-of-divine-punishment-340419

We must say that as we read it, it seemed to be a prophetic Word from the Lord.  Time will tell... What needs to be realized is that this is not a political issue, meaning that it shouldn't matter if one is a democrat, republican, independent, etc., but rather it's a national and spiritual issue.  God gave this Land to the Jewish people thousands of years ago, and promised it to their descendants as an everlasting covenant.  If God were to break His promises to the Jewish people whom He made this covenant, how could we have any assurance that He'd keep His promises to us?

Genesis 17:7-8

And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:19

Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

Genesis 48:3-4

Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

Deuteronomy 32:48-49

Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession;

And this is what we are now experiencing each and every day - prophesy being fulfilled in our days......

Jeremiah 31:3-4

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

Jeremiah 31:35-36

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

Isaiah 44:21

“Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!"

 

Jeremiah 29:10-14

For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive."

Isaiah 11:11-12

It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.

Ezekiel 36:24-28

For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.


Jeremiah 23:3

“But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase."


Isaiah 49:22

Thus says the Lord God: (to Israel) “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders" (back to the Land)

Isaiah 14:1-2

For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.

Isaiah 60:10

“The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, And their kings shall minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, But in My favor I have had mercy on you."

Jeremiah 31:16-17

Thus says the Lord:  “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, says the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country.

Acts 3:25

You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

Romans 9:4

They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;

Romans 11:1, 28-29

I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.  Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Want to know why our work here is so difficult?  Because not only do we have to deal with the past history of how Christian Europe treated the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years, but also how current denominational Christianity is speaking against and persecuting the Jewish people even in our days.  The wording has changed; from persecuting the Jews to now persecuting Israel as a nation: with boycotts, divestments, forcing "peace" negotiations and calling them occupiers. What we must realize is that when the Jewish citizens of Israel are again told to leave or give up their God given Land, it's simply a modern day scene from 'Fiddler on the Roof' - except it's playing out in their homeland. We cannot politicize this issue, there is no "separation of church and state" here.  God gave this Land to the Jewish people and it is called Israel. 

If only we'd saved all the articles we've read in the past 3 years concerning this around the world...below are links to just some in the past few months. They not only bring frustration, but make it difficult to convince the Jewish people that we, as Christians, truly are their friends.  

http://www.timesofisrael.com/presbyterian-church-group-zionism-is-the-problem/

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/an-open-letter-st-jamess-church-at-christmas/

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-pans-outrageous-rewriting-of-christian-history-by-abbas/

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Canadian-church-boycotts-3-Israeli-companies-314833

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-duplicity-of-the-British-Methodist-Church-328905

Even just this past Friday, when Jim was walking home, he saw a demonstration of the "World Council of Churches"  calling for an end to the "occupation."

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/what-we-do/churches-in-the-middle-east

If after all the scriptures above, there are thoughts that Israel may possibly be occupying "Palestinian land", we would refer you to a previous blog we posted concerning what the Bible says about the "Mountains of Israel" - which is in fact the same land some call the "West Bank."

http://adventures-in-israel.blogspot.co.il/2013/05/is-gods-word-true-relevant-for-today.html

What many Christians also don't realize is that when a Jewish person looks at us, we are lumped together with all of "Christianity" - all that they have known, learned, or heard about - whether it's the Catholic Church (many think the Pope is our leader...) or from Jewish history of the inquisitions, pogroms and holocaust.  And now most recently, large denominational churches' anti-Israel comments and positions.  

We actually had to put great thought into how to "label" ourselves in order to help them realize both what we believe and where we stand concerning them - Israel.  The best way we can describe ourselves is: Christian Zionist.  This lets them know that we are a believer in Jesus, but also that we believe that they have a right to be in this land and defend it.  Labels are difficult and sometimes dangerouus.

The main crux of our ministry (other than showing care and compassion to the Jewish people) is to remove the stones of stumbling that have been put in their way over the many years. Isaiah 57:14 "And one shall say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”  We believe that not only was this what John the Baptist was accomplishing in his time, but what many of us are doing in our time - preparing the way of the Lord - removing what would cause His people to stumble and not receive Him.  We truly have our work cut out for us.  

God - our God - has an eternal covenant with Israel and the Jewish people.  It's important that we understand His Word and His promises to them, and be in agreement with Him - not oppose Him.  We are saddened each time a Jewish person tells us that they thought Christians believe the following: "God has given up on Israel and now, instead of Israel, the Church is now the chosen people with all the promises God made to Israel."  Sadly, many Christians do believe this.  By choosing to be a part of the family, we can partake of the promises, but the Church has not replaced Israel.  Gentile Christian believers who have received the Jewish Messiah (Jesus/Yeshua) as their savior need to always humbly keep in mind the words of Ephesians 2:11-12, 19 ~

"Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth — called the Uncircumcised by those who, merely because of an operation on their flesh, are called the Circumcised — at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra’el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God’s promise. You were in this world without hope and without God.  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household."

We truly, with all our hearts, believe this is such an important subject that affects us all in these latter days.  God is looking to see how we will treat His Chosen people.

~ with love, grace and shalom from Jerusalem ~

  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 

May they prosper who love you.  

Because of the house of the Lord our God

 I will seek your good.

Psalm 122:6,9