News Update – December 17th

17.12.2011

Hanukkah will be starting in three days! An eight-day holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the temple in the 2nd century BC. So why do we celebrate the success of the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy by eating fried foods; namely donuts and hash browns? You’ll just have to wait in suspense till my Hanukkah post here in the next couple of days

A Time of Endings:

It seems like the past two weeks have been a period of endings. Four of my five roommates have returned to their respective countries, with the fifth’s return ticket shipping him off in five days. Our home group / bible study finishes next week and will be on hiatus for a while. Also, Thursday was the last day of my Ulpan (Hebrew class); for the past five months I have been studying for over 20 hours a week.

The great thing is that it’s pretty easy to guess what comes after a time of many things ending – a time of new beginnings. Bring it on. Pray that God would direct me into His will with my free time.

Galilee Birthday:

Vicky and I had a great time this last weekend on her birthday. We took a trip to the sea of Galilee and stayed in Tiberias. Click for map

My lovely one on the coast of the lake

The primary event of our trip was bicycle riding. We took a 25km trip from Tiberius (west gallilee) down to the southern point of the sea and then back up. Growing up in Linden Arizona, I never really learned how to ride a bike that well, especially on paved roads with traffic and all. It was quite a feat for me to have made that trip without any broken limbs (and only one scrapped knee) – I was proud of myself.

Me and the wild beast I tamed (err.... bike)

It was my first time up to see the sea of Galilee (I’m not very good at this sightseeing stuff, I confess). It was a lot smaller than I would have thought. I read “sea” in the Bible and I automatically thing of something like the great lakes. This is more like a piece of Lake Roosevelt. It felt very personal though. As I was laying on the grass by the beach, I tried to imagine the storm where Jesus appeared to them walking on the water. It was really good for my heart.

The Wedding:

It’s been a frustrating couple of weeks for wedding planning. We have had a location for the ceremony secured for a while – but we have been unable to find a place to host the dinner and celebration. We need to have a location set before we can proceed with a lot of the planning for this blessed event that is only three and a half months away. Enough said. Please pray that God would give us favor and would open up all the doors that need to be opened.

Fire Within:

Once, a teacher of mine told me his life goal. He said, “I want to stand before God on the judgement day and have something real to give to Him. Not money or a ministry or accomplishments. When He asks me, ‘Son, what did you do with your life?’ I want to answer by opening my chest and pulling out from my rib cage a blazing ball of fire, my heart, and say ‘This is for You.’”

You see, we hear all the time about being on fire for God. But where does that fire come from? I’m currently reading a book by Thomas Dubay called “Fire Within”, it’s about contemplative prayer. He makes the case that sitting and talking with God is the way that we get that “fire”: the passion, zeal, desire, commitment, strength, and love. I have to agree with him.

In our Bible study, we were reading from Matthew and got stuck for a while on Mat 26:41, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He doesn’t say, “You’re going to be tempted, so go find an accountability partner” – though that’s a good and godly thing. He doesn’t say, “To avoid temptation, develop a list of rules and regulations to keep you from going astray” – though there is benefit to that as well. Jesus tells us to watch and pray.

To stand before God and watch, listening for His voice. To talk to Him, not just in request and intercession, but to know His heart and His thoughts. To see what He sees and hear what He hears. There is a strength that comes from this type of prayer. It starts out just as a little warm fuzzy feeling, and maybe a little flicker of light every now and then. That smoking flax, with the help of the breath of the Holy Spirit, will become a flame in our hearts that no trial or temptation can overcome. With it, we will move mountains – not for the praise of man, but to the praise of the One we love.

In Romans 8, Paul talks about the love that God has for us, and how it is so strong that there is nothing that can separate us from it – no height or depth, angel or demon, life or death themselves could never break the love of God. And Jesus prayed in John 17 that the love the Father has for us would be in us, that we could love with that same kind of love. His love cannot be conquered, it’s an all consuming-fire, and it is stronger than death and more jealous than the grave. And it can be in us.

To love like Him, we need to fall in love with Him. To fall in love with Him, we have to have a relationship with Him. A few years ago, I asked a number of godly couples “What makes for a good relationship?” The number one answer: communication. Communication with God, communion with God, happens in the place of prayer.

I challenge you all to set aside 10-15 minutes of your day for Him. Not for a devotional reading or a prayer list (though those are great), but simply to sit before Him, listen for His voice. “Father, speak to me.” “Jesus, I love You.” “Holy Spirit, Come.” It may start small, but I guarantee you that in the end we will stand before Him with a blazing fire within.

Bless you!

Thanksgiving in Jerusalem

25.11.2011

Blessed Thanksgiving has arrived, even here in the Middle East. Today about 15 of us (mostly Americans) gathered together to celebrate the wonderful holiday. We feasted on turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie; the real find was cranberry sauce – it’s a rarity in this nation. Plenty of pictures were taken on other’s cameras, so as I hunt them down over the next few days (the pictures, not the people ), I’ll add them to this post.

Thanksgiving is the holiday that I hold dearest in my heart. When I moved to Kansas City, I had no family to spend the holidays with. I was never that into the holidays, so I didn’t think of it as a big deal. That changed though, due to my good friend Jeremy Styles. His family would invite our whole circle of friends over for a thanksgiving meal every year. And every year I found myself enjoying and anticipating the day of thanks more and more. And now, even on the other side of the world, God has given me a “family” to celebrate with. Praise Him!

A Thankful Heart:

Thanksgiving started to mean more to me while I was at IHOP; one of the main reasons was because of a word that God gave me. I had been going through a difficult time emotionally: God felt very distant, I felt very disconnected from people, and I was struggling with purpose. All three of those put together make for a great concoction of depression and gloom. I had been down in the dumps of my emotions for a while, and was becoming quite bitter and pouty (not a real word, I know… but it should be). I was finding a reason to be mad or frustrated with anyone or anything, including the Almighty. Praise Him – He didn’t leave me that way.

There was one day in particular where I was having a really rough time. There was a lot of accusation and hopelessness in my voice against God. I presented a challenge before Him, waiting for Him to respond. I was expecting Him to come and “comfort” me. “There there, I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry I hurt you, I’m here, would you like a milkshake and a footrub as I make everything magically better?” Though, that response never came. Instead, He was silent for a bit, and then said, “List the things your thankful for.” Yeah right – that’s something they do for Thanksgiving in the movies. Still, after His poking at the subject for a few minutes, I decided that I might as well.

I started, numbering everything as I wrote. I started out with the classics: friends, family, salvation, etc. Although it was all true, it was all rote and I had no emotional connect. After around 20 or so of those sorts of responses, I began to get serious. “Thank you God for the weather today… it was nice.” That sort of thing. I was actually thinking of things that I was legitimately thankful for. Somewhere near my 100th entry to the list, the whole dark shell crumbled. As I was thanking God for my shoes, revelation of His goodness towards me flooded me. I understood that everything I have He has given to me, it’s not as though I deserved any of it. What had I ever done to deserve my first breath? Even moreso, my second? And now, an innumerable number of life-giving breaths later, He still decides to keep my lungs working and my heart beating.

He gave me a very important tool that day. You see, He taught me that a thankful heart is an unoffendable one. He gave me a way to overcome any amount of hopelessness and depression. Thankfulness. I have yet to find any shroud of darkness that thankfulness cannot penetrate. If you’re having a hard time – play the thankful game. The lies of the devil cannot stand before true thankfulness – it’s a guarantee.

Happy Thanksgiving!

News Update – November 11th

11.11.2011

It’s been a while since my last post – there has been quite a lot going on for the past few weeks! What a better day to tell about it than 11-11-11. (Yay for palindromes!)

Happenings in Israel:

The big news in Israel is hands-down that of the release of Gilad Shalit. Gilad is a soldier who was captured in June 2006 by Hamas. They tunneled under the Gaza-Israel border and attacked the post where Gilad was stationed. Two soldiers were killed, and Gilad was captured. http://www.haaretz.com/meta/Tag/Gilad%20Shalit gives a good overview of his capture and time in captivity.

For over five years, Gilad was held captive. There had been many political rallies and events to hasten his return, including a booth manned 24/7 near the prime minister’s residence. Gilad has become a public figure in Israel, he is the icon of the youth in the army. We had all been praying for his safe return. Praise God, on October 18th he was released. It was a high price, the Israeli government exchanged 950 Palestinian prisoners (many of which had been directly involved in terrorist attacks) for the lone Israeli captive (who was taken against all international law and war ethics). However, the vast majority of Israelis were totally behind the deal, Gilad has come to mean so much to the nation. The picture below with the blue and white sign reads “כמה טוב שבאת הביתה”, which means “How good that you came home.” How good indeed.

 

 

 

 

Watchman on the Wall:

I’m currently leading 10 hours per week of watches (prayer/worship meeting) at the house of prayer. I’ve been improving my vocal ability and piano skills, and am starting to feel much more comfortable worship leading. My favorite watch in the week is Sunday nights; I lead a team of four: my roommate, two pre-teens, and myself. We have been focusing on meditating on Psalm 27:4, “One thing I desire of the Lord and that will I seek…”, as well as interceding for the youth in Israel.It is great to see a 9 and 11 year old coming weekly to a prayer meeting to sing over and pray for their peers. Please pray that God would continue to send watchmen, people to worship and pray for what is on His heart. Please also pray that God would help me build a consistent worship team - the majority of my watches I’m leading worship by myself. I am convinced that one of the main things that needs to happens in a house of prayer is worship and prayer in unity; having teams is one of the most practical ways to see true unity in God begin to come to fruition in this context.

Right now I’m mainly in the book of Ephesians, it has started to unfold and I am seeing things I have never seen before. I’m starting an in-depth study on it with a friend (three cheers for Todd Butler, a man after God’s own heart!). I’m sure that we will have revelation and teachings on it that we will want to share with you in the coming months.

I’m also a part of a weekly bible study / home group for some of us young adults who are a part of the house of prayer. We have been studying Matthew, going through a few chapters a week. Some of the main topics we have been addressing are the kingdom of heaven (Jesus talks about it a lot, but what is it really?), holiness, and the forerunner/messenger calling. However, by far the most common theme that is jumping out to us is “Don’t worry.” If you’re having difficulty with worrying, take some time and chill with Matthew for a bit, and ask God to show you His heart in it all.

On a more personal note:

Vicky started school last week. She is attending Hebrew University in Jerusalem. It is a pretty good setup, being a citizen let’s her get a dual bachelors at the University for free. Her major is Sociology, with a minor in Education. It’s good stuff, but there are a few difficulties. The foremost reason – it’s all in Hebrew. Vicky speaks Hebrew well, but it still is really difficult for her to learn on a collegiate level in a language she’s not quite fluent in. Another difficulty is the organization (or lack thereof) of the administration in the University. It’s quite a good school and internationally recognized as such, but it still has many complicated systems for the students (registration was a nightmare). Please pray that the language wouldn’t be a hindrance, that she would enjoy the classes, everything would work well with the administration, and that this would all be for the glory of Jesus

The wedding – wow, talk about difficulties. Vicky and I have been trying without success for over a month now to secure a location for the wedding reception (we have a location for the ceremony). It is proving to be extremely difficult, we’ve had a number of places turn us down, and a few other strange occurrences that have kept us from being successful in passing through this crucial stage of the wedding planning. The time frame also makes it difficult, we need to know the location as soon as possible because of all who will need to buy international plane tickets, however the general Israeli culture is not used to planning this far in advance. Please pray that God would open doors and direct us – soon.

On the upswing, Vicky’s grandmother came from Germany to tour Israel, we saw her last weekend. It was a great visit with Babushka (russian for Grandma). She came bearing gifts too: jewelry for Vicky, a Swiss watch for myself, and blessed German Gouda cheese for the both of us. My friend David also came to Israel – it was such a blessing to see him and his wife. Vicky and I shared a great evening of fellowship with them while they were here. Praise the Lord for good family and good friends.

Lastly, my Hebrew studies are continuing nicely, though there is only a month remaining of classes. 20+ hours a week of study has been great, but I am looking forward to its completion. Hebrew is a difficult language, and though I have been putting quite a bit of time to it, it still feels to be advancing slowly. Learning a language is a difficult process, and I find I am quite impatient with it. Please pray that God would help me learn the language of His people – I want to be able to talk with them, you know?

That’s all for now! Blessings and peace to you all!

Sukkot – The Feast of Tabernacles

12.10.2011

A picture of some Sukkahs (picture obtained from wikipedia)

We are in the last few days of Sukkot right now. Sukkot is the time when the Israelites were commanded to set apart 8 days for feasting and rejoicing. Basically, God tells them “Rejoice and feast for eight days and celebrate the firstfruits of your harvest. Take the first and last day off, and praise the Lord. Also, make a booth (or tent) and dwell in it for the week, so you remember the way God brought y’all out of Egypt.”

Here’s what He said:
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month [shall be] the Feast of Tabernacles [for] seven days to the LORD.’On the first day [there shall be] a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work [on it].’[For] seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It [is] a sacred assembly, [and] you shall do no customary work [on it]. [...] Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD [for] seven days; on the first day [there shall be] a sabbath-[rest], and on the eighth day a sabbath-[rest]. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.’” Leviticus 23:34-36,39-40.

Sukkot is referenced a couple of times in the Old Testament. It was when Solomon first dedicated the temple (1 Kings 8). When the captives returned from Babylon, the first reading of Torah was at the time of the preparation of Sukkot (Neh 8). Zechariah prophesied that in the reign of the Messiah, the Gentiles who waged war against Israel would come up annually to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles, and if the don’t there will be no rain on their land (Zech 14:17-18). It’s an important holiday, some even call it the “Feast of the Lord” (it can be translated as such in different verses).

You gotta love the way that God works. About 10 days ago was Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement. It was a day of fasting, mourning, and repentance, the highest and most sacred of all the Jewish holidays. Then God goes ahead and follows it up the next week with 8 days of feasting and rejoicing. A somber day of mourning for over a week of celebration – I’m all for that ratio.

How the Jews celebrate the Feast nowadays:

The most notable thing about Sukkot are the sukkah’s (booths or tents). God gave the command in Leviticus 23 to build a booth with a leafy roof and dwell there for the week. Most of the time “dwell” is interpreted as eating there and spending time in the booths, although some of the orthodox families will actually sleep in them. It doesn’t really matter what the booths are made of, as long as their covering is leafy and organic. They are frequently decorated with hanging lights and fruit ornaments (even with hanging lights in the shape of fruits), they feel very similar to Christmas decorations.

Quite a few families will take part of the ushpizin prayers at mealtime. According to tradition, there are seven guests that they welcome into the sukkah – one each night. These ‘guests’ are  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David. There are special readings from Torah and Tanakh (the Old Testament) about each ‘guest’. Many families will discuss the life of the respective ‘guest’ that night, and what can be learned from them.

There are additional prayer services every day, and every night you eat a small feast in your sukkah outside. ‘Tis a great holiday.

What I’m doing for Sukkot:

Firstly, Vicky and I built a sukkah. It was quite a lot of fun – it was essentially building an outdoor fort. Of course, the only outdoor place we have is her balcony, so there wasn’t much of a choice as to where it was built.

                         
Our Sukkah from the inside of Vicky’s apartment. It’s about 3.5 feet high.

Basically, some sheets for walls, sticks for support, and a beach matt with some palm branches for a roof. It was a lot of fun to build, actually. It reminded me of my childhood, building forts with sticks and sheets

There’s no Ulpan (Hebrew School) during the holidays, so I get to spend more time resting, in the Word, with Vicky, and with my friends. Not to mention sleeping: I slept for a blessed 11 hours last night, praise the Lamb. Sleep has been a hard commodity for me to come by this last month, so I rejoice in the recent abundance of it.

And, in order to dwell in our sukkah, Vicky and I have been eating our meals in there. It has been a lot of fun, I’m grateful for this holiday.

הג שמח לכם (hag sameach lachem), Happy Holidays to y’all!

Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement

07.10.2011

Today is Yom Kippur – יום הכפורים – the holiest of all the Jewish Holidays.

Biblical History:

“Also the tenth [day] of this seventh month [shall be] the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it [is] the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. For any person who is not afflicted [in soul] on that same day shall be cut off from his people.” Lev 23:27-30

“For on that day [the priest] shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, [that] you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” Lev 16:30

Yom Kippur is the day of atonement – it is the day where the Jews seek to be cleansed in the sight of the Lord. In the Old Testament there was the establishment of many different ways to repent of sins and be forgiven, mainly through sin offerings or restoration of that which was lost. However, there was one day that God set apart from all the others in order for the entire nation to come together in repentance, having the priest intercede and make atonement for them before God on their behalf.

I believe it is important to note that this is a permanent statue that God issued, “everlasting” עולם, meaning “as long as the world remains”. (Lev 16:34)

How it’s observed today:

Most of the Jews in Israel, whether religious or secular, will honor Yom Kippur to some extent. The entire west side of Jerusalem shuts down completely – I’ve heard that it’s actually illegal for shops to be open. The streets are completely barren except for the occasional patrol car or ambulance. Today Vicky and I went out with some friends as they took their kids riding bicycles through the empty streets – it’s something that many families do today. Many people wear white to symbolize that they have been made clean.

The two main things revolving around Yom Kippur are fasting and prayer. The standard for all religious Jews is a complete fast, totally abstaining from any food or drink (including water). Many secular Israelis partake of the fast as well – if not in full at least to some degree. It is extremely rude to walk down the street with a water bottle, in some places it is unthinkable. As far as prayer goes: there are five different prayer services/times that occur on Yom Kippur – more than any other holy day in Jewish faith that I am aware of. For the final time of prayer, there is a huge gathering at the Kotel (the Wailing Wall), as they cry out for God to pardon their sins and restore the temple.

My thoughts:

From my standing, the day of Atonement is clearly fulfilled in and through Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. He Himself came and redeemed us to God, making us clean by His blood and atoning for the sins of humanity, which is the whole point of Yom Kippur. That being said, I don’t think that Yom Kippur is to be disposed of. I believe that it is still to be observed, though not with mourning, but with repentance, humility, and thankfulness. It is a time to ask God to cleanse us from our hidden sins (Ps 19:2), that He would convict of us any unrighteousness in our lives. It is a day to live simply and thank God for His sacrifice and atonement.

How I’m praying:

- Asking God that would convict me and show me anything He has against me
- Meditating on Jesus’ sacrifice and thanking Him for His mercy and salvation
- For the Jewish people, that they would come to know their Messiah and find their atonement in Him

News Update – October 6th

06.10.2011

We’re in the midst of the holiday season here in Israel! Last week we celebrated the new year, Rosh HaShana (ראש השנה, literally “Head of the Year”). We had three blessed days off last week, it was splendid. Tomorrow is Yom Kippur (the day of atonement), followed by Succot next week. Tomorrow I will post about Yom Kippur and it’s significance, and then next week I’ll tell you about Succot. Now – for the happenings in the last week:

A visit from Luba:

Luba, my future mother in law, came to visit us

Luba and Vicky at the Tel Aviv Beach.

Our most memorable day was a Shabbat spent at the Tel Aviv Beach. Above is a picture of Luba feeding her poor trapped daughter a slice of orange (don’t ask me who the cruel person was who had the nerve to burry my fiance in the sand! ) Luba lives in Hamburg, Germany where she works as a computer programmer for a local bank. She is a passionate believer and is very active in ministry.

While she was in Israel she spent some time with her cousins, did some sightseeing, and also looked at wedding dresses with Vicky *oohs and ahs*. And, bless her so much, she came bearing gifts. Everyone, please join me in a moment of silence, thanking the Lord for German cheese.

A day at the Jordan:

On Tuesday I spent the day at the Jordan River with Living Bread Ministries – I am working for their media department a couple times a week. A group of Chinese believers have come to visit Israel, both to receive and to minister. They are going to many different holy sites, praying and asking God to remove the veil from His people. One of the primary things they are doing is corporate dance – it is really beautiful to watch. We haven’t finished uploading all of the video that I have been taking yet, but if it is released to the internet (sometimes it’s a little risky for the Chinese, we’ll see), I’ll give you all the link so you can watch them.

As you can see, the nation of Jordan is only a stone’s throw away (literally) when you’re at the river. The Jordan River is quite a bit smaller than I expected, it’s less than 10 yards wide in the picture. It reminds me a lot of the creek behind my parent’s house in Arizona. The place where we were was the baptism site, allegedly where Jesus was baptized by John. Being able to see these places with my own eyes really makes the Bible seem so much more real – the Jordan isn’t something that is ethereal or out of a fantasy book, it’s a real creek about 30 miles up the road.

Studies and Ministry:

Currently Vicky and I are studying Ephesians together, it is quite a practical book for us to dive into. One of the primary reasons is because Ephesians addresses the subject of the “one new man” – Gentiles & Jews functioning together in the Body of Christ. Romans & Hebrews both talk a lot about Jews & Gentiles, but Ephesians outlines the role of the two camps in a much more concise and pointed manner. Please pray that God would show Vicky and I how to walk well in our Jew/Gentile calling, and that we would be a light to others.

We are also a part of a young adult study group that is focusing on the forerunner calling and the end times. Next week we will be going through the book of Matthew, seeing what Jesus has to say about all of this “end of the age” and “kingdom come” stuff. I am looking forward to studying eschatology once again, it is something that I haven’t pressed into much for about a year and a half now, and I can tell that my heart is missing it. Jesus’ return is referred to as “the blessed hope” by Paul (Titus 2). There is such a hope in looking forward to when Jesus rules and reigns on the earth, it is something that will encourage and strengthen every believer. Please pray for our young adult group, that we would have grace and strength to run hard after the Lord.

Our young adult group is also continuing our weekly street worship sessions, where we go and worship downtown on the weekend nights. I won’t say much about it in my blog because of the sensitive nature of some things, but in my next e-mail update I’ll elaborate more on some of the vision behind what God is doing there. If you’re not on my e-mail list and you would like to be, please e-mail me at loganbentley@gmail.com. Please pray that God would move in the streets during these times and that the Holy Spirit would reveal Jesus!

Bless you!

Prayer Alert – Update on Palestinian Statehood Bid

26.09.2011

I jumped the gun last week when I said that the UN vote would be happening. The word had been stretched a bit on the grapevine, and the news articles were also unsure of what’s going on. Here’s the run-down of what is going on with the UN and the bid for Palestinian Statehood, and some ways we can be praying for it.

An overview of the status of the Palestinian Statehood bid:

The twentieth of September was the alleged day that Mahmoud Abbas was planning on presenting his country’s bid for recognized statehood before the UN. It actually didn’t happen till the 23rd. Now we are waiting for the UN Security Council to schedule a vote and go through with it. “The UNGA meets each year in regular session, intensively from September to December, and resumes in January until all issues on the agenda are addressed – which often is just before the next session starts.” (http://www.un.org/en/ga/sessions/) Basically, the vote is likely to happen within the next three months, it could be next week or near the new year, the Lord only knows at this point – I have not been able to find an official release of any dates.

A little more about the vote – there are 15 members on the Security Council (the United States being one of them). In order for the vote to pass, 9 of the 15 members will have to vote for it. Currently, it is expected that the vote will pass 9-6, however nothing is set in stone. Also, there are 5 members on the Council that are permanent members and have the ability to singlehandedly veto a decision – the UK, France, China, Russia, and the US all have this power. In an interesting turn of events, the US has declared intentions of  vetoing the vote if it is passed, claiming that only direct negotiations between Israel & Palestine will ever solve anything. “President Barack Obama says that now the US will veto the application if ever it comes to the vote in the Security Council. He made a speech that was so pro-Israeli it shocked even the Israelis.”  -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15045011 

If you’re interested in learning more about the Palestine UN Statehood happenings, here are some resources to get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Palestine#Planned_2011_United_Nations_recognition_vote
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13701636

My thoughts on the issue:

I still am rather undecided on many factors of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Obviously I have a bias favoring Israel: between being a Christian(opposed to replacement theology), living in Israel, and being engaged to an Israeli, my natural leanings toward Israel should be more than expected.

I am not innately opposed to the existence of a Palestinian state, however I do think that it would be very unbalanced to grant them a recognized statehood while they still officially do not recognize Israel as a nation. Fun fyi – only 2 of the 22 members of the Arab League have recognized Israel and have some sort of peace treaty with her (Egypt & Jordan). Living in Israel, I can tell you that it would be awful for us if Palestine became a nation while there was no existing peace treaty with Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the UN on the 23rd, I highly recommend it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebOsg9CCj6c. He states why he believes it would be immature to give Palestine statehood now and in this way, and I (for the most part) agree with him.

However, God really loves the Palestinians and the Arabs. He does not love any of the injustices that have been committed against them, nor does He want delight in their suffering. God created them for a great purpose.

How to pray:

I don’t believe this is as simple as a “Yes/No” vote and one answer is the one that will please God. I think it largely has to do with the heart behind the vote, and that is therefore how I would like to direct you to pray:

- For the UN and national leaders from Psalm 2, that they would be wise and instructed and worship the Lord with their decisions
- For the nations to receive God’s heart for Israel and to stand with her rather than assail her
- That the leaders would be motivated by love, compassion, and the fear of the Lord rather than elections, finances, or wickedness
- For Palestine, that God would bring those beautiful Arabs into their calling and their destiny
- For the peace of Jerusalem

I’ll let you know as more develops on this. Thank you all for your prayers! We appreciate them so.

 

 

 

Prayer Alert – UN Vote for Palestinian State Tomorrow

19.09.2011

Many of you have probably heard of the vote that is going to take place in the UN tomorrow for the statehood of the Palestinian people. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14951026

I’m neither a political guru nor biblical scholar, so I will not even begin to try to unravel thousands of years of racial tension and decades of the most complicated of modern politics. I’m going to keep my position quite undefined on this issue – though not due to a fear of stepping on people’s toes. I honestly don’t know what God thinks about all this – and any guesses I could make are uneducated and more founded on popular opinion that on Scripture and historical knowledge.

I will say that I believe with my lack of background on the issue, it would be very immature of me to declare it is ungodly and any nation who accepts the Palestinian bid and that they will be judged. I also know that God has put nations into a role of authority over Israel before, both to keep her as well as judge her. God poured out wrath and crushed any of them who judged harshly or had their own agendas.

The world is in a position to judge between Israel & Palestine tomorrow. I don’t know exactly what their decision should be – but I do know that they need to come to it through the fear of the Lord, otherwise He will bring judgement on the nations. Please pray that God would have mercy on the nations by visiting their leaders and filling them with the fear of the Lord. It says in Proverbs that when a righteous ruler is in place, the people rejoice. Pray that God would give the UN members dreams tonight, that He would encounter their hearts and cause them to do His will.

Aba, I pray that Your will would be done tomorrow in the UN. Have mercy on the nations by causing their rulers to reign in righteousness. Please fill them with the fear of the Lord. God, give them Your heart for Israel, as well as Your heart for Palestine. I ask that You would cause the plans of the wicked to cease, that any votes tomorrow that are from bribes or treachery or other unrighteous and hidden agendas would be silenced and brought to nothing. Let Your will be done tomorrow. Bashem Yeshua, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

News Update – September 18th

18.09.2011

It’s been quite a full two weeks. Here’s some of the happenings:

Wedding Date!

Vicky and I have finally set a wedding date. *drumroll* – April 1st, 2012!

*waits for laughter and April Fool’s Day jokes to subside* Not quite a standard day for a wedding, but on the upside – neither of us will ever be able to forget our anniversary.

We will be having the wedding in Israel, with receptions to follow later in the summer in America and Germany. The planned location is to be:

The Garden Tomb (http://www.gardentomb.org/)

The Garden Tomb is a beautiful location right next to the old city – it’s alleged to be the tomb where Jesus was buried and rose. Viktoria has been working there for the past year. Normally the garden does not host weddings, but Vicky’s boss has made a special exception for us. We still need to figure out catering & a reception area and all, so nothing is set in stone yet, however we’re well on our way into the start of wedding planning. Please pray for us, for grace, patience and skill in planning the wedding. Also, for time, both of us have pretty busy schedules (Vicky is starting University in a month).

Ulpan – Hebrew Language School

I’m continuing to go to Ulpan full time. For more than 20 hours a week I am in the classroom with around thirty other students, be drilled on tenses and vocabulary. Hebrew is a very difficult language for the American mind – though by the grace of God I am starting to get the hang of it. The class I am in will continue til the end of December, in theory I will come out conversational. I’m also trying to study some outside of class, but because of a lack of time I haven’t been able to study much outside of class. One of the lighter “study methods” I enjoy is watching Hebrew cartoons. Aladdin, Shrek, Nemo, and the Lady & the Tramp are all helping me to learn Hebrew. I can probably understand between 10 – 20% of the shows, so I’m getting there. Please pray that I would learn the language quickly and well.

New Interns 

We have eight new interns at Succat Hallel. For the next three months the will be attending classes, touring the land, and serving in the house of prayer. Last year I was in the same internship with my friend Connor – I remember how excited I was to be in a new country and to get to stand before the Lord in Jerusalem. Seeing the new interns here for their first time puts a smile of my face. Please pray that God would bless the new interns, that they would be able to encounter Him in the land and He would reveal His plans & purposes to them.

New interns also means new roommates. In the past month over half of the people in our apartment have turned over due to internships and school semesters changing. Of the eight people in the apartment currently, only three of us have been living there for more than two weeks. It’s a little difficult having so much change in the apartment, but I’m getting used to it. In my house in Kansas City, we had the same four guys for over a year and a half. Now we have new people every 1-3 months. I didn’t expect it to affect my heart so much, but it does. It’s amazing how much you can get attached to people within a few weeks, and how difficult it is to see them go time and time again. Ah – praise the Lord though, in roughly 6 months, 13 days, and 3 hours of this writing (not like I’m counting or anything), I will have one very-long term roommate whom I like very much

That’s all for now! Auf wiedersehen, שבוע טוב, adiós!

News Update – September 3rd

03.09.2011

Wow – a lot has happened in the past week and a half. This post is going to be a quick blast of all the new developments, next week I’ll talk about everything in more detail.

Praise Reports:

First – the Elav 2011 Conference has officially been payed for! *wild cheering*. Last week I was leading an intercession watch, focusing on praying for the house of prayer in Jerusalem. One of the things that we specifically asked for was that God would pay off the Elav Conference (about $40k). The following day the head administrator for the prayer room told me that a few unexpected gifts had come in the day before (the day we were praying for it); the conference was completely payed for. Thank you God!

Next – God’s favor for Vicky and me. We are engaged and looking to be married in the spring of next year, however there are some legal complications; there are some weird laws in Jerusalem about a Jew & Gentile getting married. It comes down to us needing a good Messianic lawyer and favor with God and the government. The problem – good lawyers are expensive. Now for story time: Vicky’s mom was going to church (she lives in Germany) and there was a Russian Jew from Israel speaking that day. She talked with him and found out that he is a good friend of the lawyer that Vicky and I are going to meet with in two weeks. She put us in contact with one another, and this man ended up getting us the needed consultation meeting free of charge. Thank you God!

House of Prayer – Watch Leader:

Since the Elav conference, I have been given charge of a number of prayer watches at the house of prayer. Currently I lead 6-8 hours a week, attending approximately the same amount. It is so good for my heart to be back in the prayer room on a consistent basis. There are so many other things to be done and areas to serve, but I know that in the end God has called me to be a watchman (Isa 62) and minister before Him – specifically to be a watchman for Israel (Eze 3). Though there may be many other things that need to be done in this season, the prayer room is still my home.

My main focus for the next month or so is to begin building a harp and bowl team. Harp and bowl is a style of intercession and worship (it’s what they use at IHOP) which combines prayer and worship in a way that lets other people in the room engage and go deep in the Word and in prayer together. We are focusing most of our energy singing and meditating on the beauty of God (Rev 4, SoS 5) as well as praying for the youth in Israel, specifically Jerusalem.

House of Prayer – Tech Manager:

This week I officially became the Tech Manager for the prayer room. That means I am now responsible for maintaining the sound equipment as well as lots of other various things with buttons, knobs, and cables. It has been a while since someone has had a position focused on this, so there are many things in disarray to be brought into order. The soldering iron is my new best friend.

I also am now responsible for building a team of sound and tech engineers who can operate all the equipment and fix minor problems. I am really thankful for my time with IHOP-KC media, there are many valuable skills that I learned there which I will now employ. It’s almost as if God has been preparing me this whole time and is in control of it all…

A Wedding and Some Work – A Great Combination:

Thursday I attended a wedding for one of my good friends, Cody. He and I came to Israel in the same internship last year. He started dating a local Israeli woman, Liat, a few months after Vicky and I began dating. September 1, they were wed in a picture-perfect wedding at a beach in Natanya (about 15 miles north of Tel Aviv). It was breathtaking.

I was helping to orchestrate the sound for their wedding (no pun intended). They had hired a professional to help set everything up and operate it, however he needed an assistant. It was a long day (about 17 hours of work all in all), but in the end we did a good job and everything went smoothly. The man I was working with thought I did well, so he put me in touch with his boss – a Christian man who runs a media company. They are in need of another sound guy for events every now and then, and would be willing to hire out an American freelance. This is a huge blessing – it means I may have the opportunity to make a little money on the side without neglecting my calling to the house of prayer. Thank you God!

Please Pray:

- That I would be strong in the grace of God found in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1)
- For Vicky and I, that we would grow in the Lord together
- For a release of finances for Vicky and I – Israel is expensive, I have little income, and there is a wedding to be had
- That God would continue to reveal His calling to me – I want to know where He wants me so I don’t waste my time on the things that I think are good ideas, but He’s not in agreement with
- That God would move on the youth in Jerusalem, specifically with our Thursday night outreaches (I’ll tell you more about those next week).

Bless you all! Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום!