Two of my friends, a man and his wife, just returned from Israel a couple of days ago after being there to witness and share for six weeks. They glowingly report hungry hearts everywhere in Israel. They contacted old friends there and made new contacts and the people, young and old, were always sorry to the point of tears at times to see them leave their homes. Hungry hearts everywhere in the land where Christ is supposedly anathema!
God always works in individual hearts. That is a great report. Those people will now be one with their Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters. Praise God!
"Two of my friends, a man and his wife, just returned from Israel a couple of days ago after being there to witness and share for six weeks. They glowingly report hungry hearts everywhere in Israel. They contacted old friends there and made new contacts and the people, young and old, were always sorry to the point of tears at times to see them leave their homes. Hungry hearts everywhere in the land where Christ is supposedly anathema!"
Of course, God is dealing with the natural olive tree just as he said he would.
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, Amen. They have been grafted back into the olive tree.
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
All who are not in Christ are strangers and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. This speaks of Christ, the true Israel of God and His Body for Jesus Christ identifies with His Body as being one in and with Him.
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
We are all made nigh or brought close, by being grafted into the Olive tree, the Vine, Jesus Christ.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
There is only one Israel of God that Jew and Gentile alike are being grafted into.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Through the Spirit we are God's habitation.
The Hope of Israel
http://www.messianicgoodnews.org/hope-of-israel-philip-mauro/
Thank You, LORD!
Wonderful.
How do the Israelis feel about the conflict that surrounds their country?
Just wondering.
Sandra
oh oh now that is a topic we can all disagree on
Wonderful.
How do the Israelis feel about the conflict that surrounds their country?
Just wondering.
Doc: From what I have gleamed, They just accept it as a matter of fact way of life if they live in Israel. No country in history has been steadily attacked the way they have since the founding but it's just a accepted way of life. In the last open conflict they had with Islam (why not go ahead and say it straight) I had a type of discernment that the Isareli psyche had begun to tire a bit though. Defending themselves is a way of life but even it gets tiresome and as usual their enemies place their command centers in civilian neighborhoods and hospitals etc. and to get at them you have to appear cruel against civilians and I think this aspect is what has begun to tire those of Israel. I think deep within they are asking is the way it is always going to be?
My friends really don't plan anything when they get there but just to contact friends they ahve already made and help various people with home improvements etc. They work a bit when there and it is a natural witness to the Israelis. They shared one story of walking along one day near dusk and he was speaking on his cell phone while they walked and his wife walking with him noticed a light on in a car in a driveway. So they got up a little courage and knocked on the door and an 80 year old Jewish man came to the door. He thanked them for letting him know about the light and then invited them in and they enmded up talking with the man and his wife for about 3 hours. Just sitting there and talking. The Jewish couple liked them and invited them back and said they were now part of their family. So they came back for dinner on another day and stayed with this elderly Jewish couple for about 9 hours. The man shared that in his younger days he once was in America and was hitchhiking around and coming into St. Louis one day as he was walking along into St. Louis a multitude of church bells went off at once and he has always wondered it that was God speaking to him. When they left after 9 hours the elderly Jewish lady left the table because she had tears in her eyes that they were leaving and she and the husband had defintely sensed God was with this couple from America. They said everywhere they went encounters of a similiar type just presented themselves to them.
My friends also said Israel is a land of confusion as far as the churches go. There are Messianic congregations of course but there seems to be a church for about everything and many different views are in the land. On former trips they met a few Jewish believers who have accepted Christ and are following Him but still have questions as to if He was God. He said there is a definite need in the land for teaching on the divintiy of Christ and the Hebrew Roots Movement has had some mixed fruit in their opinion. I'm not going to debate anyone on the merits or non merits of the HRM, I'm just relaying what was relayed to me. And many of the spiritual leaders in the land believe Israel is going to suffer eventually but only a it and "in measure" whatever they mean by that. It seems to be part of a popular notion that although the land may need defending that in a way it, the land, is inviolable and that is part of where I myself think they are wrong. After WW II it seems the present leaders think nothing like that would be allowed to happen again. Israel will only be inviolable when it is in Christ but we all know that I hope. Perhaps one controversial part of the whole scene is that many Palestinian believers have accepted Christ but still toe the party line of the Palestinain Authority which of course is naturally hostile toward Israel and Jewry. It's nothing new though. Islam has always had this anti-Jewry emphasis since the beginning and this helps fuel the off the charts totally overboard unnatural attitude of Islam toward Jews and Israel. It's the ancient controversy and animosity between Issac and Ishamel that started in the tents of Abraham. It is being played out on a modern stage right befor our eyes. I'm also not saying Palestinians have always been treated fairly but also if you buck the Palestinain Authority you can pay with your life. My friends came back just absolutely glowing and radiant because they had just spent 6 weeks in the presence of the Holy Spirit so to speak. They are different this time after arriving back.
Prayer prayer prayer for the many hungry hearts in Israel!
David, thank-you for answering my question.
I have been told that what one reads on the news does not necessarily reflect reality.
What one reads about the situation in the middle east leaves one conflicted - one is at a loss to know who the 'good guys' are and who the 'bad ones' are. How any political analysis can sort through it all and come to a simple conclusion is beyond me. I am convinced God is involved and maybe that is why nothing makes sense. Since the situation is so complex, I did wonder how the natives there regard their situation and you did answer my question.
Thanks!
Sandra
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