Genuineness Of Faith

 

We greatly rejoice
in all that still

waits ahead
for us

even while now
we’re grieved by trials

our faith glorifies
Jesus.

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“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,”

“that the genuineness of your faith, being made more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”

“whom having not seen you love.”

1 Peter 1:6,7,8. NKJV

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Faith Tests

 

Let patience have
it’s perfect work

so I may be
complete

lacking nothing
for I know

I have You and You
have me.

**********

Lord, help me see trials the way You do, as opportunities to test my faith and grow in patience.

**********

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,”

“knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

James 1:2,3,4 NKJV

(photo credit: pixabay.com)

Yet . . .

 

When things seem
at their worst

with no end
in sight

help me rejoice
in You, Lord

to joy in the God
of my life.

**********

I can choose to trust You in situations I don’t understand, and rejoice in You, for You are with me.

**********

“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – “

“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Habakkuk 3:17 18 NKJV

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Inside Israel – 10 September, Part 1

 

Hi and welcome to a look inside Israel today!  J of Jerusalem is our sis in Him, living and sharing from a unique place , for such a time as this!  God bless you as you read and pray for Israel  and J!  Now, here’s J . . .

10 Sept 2012

Praise The Lord Who is Faithful to all that He is and all that He says! 

I greet you in the Holy Name of Yeshua h’Meshiach, Jesus Christ, and I particularly thank those of you who remembered to or were called to pray for us during this time (NO condemnation at all to those of you who didn’t!).  The mighty Grace of The Lord has been abundant!  Over and abundantly more then that which I could ask or think… and WHY did I ever quiver at the mountain before me when all I have to do is look back at those behind.  As a matter of fact, as I sat with my Bible just before leaving for work following an all night marathon before the 4:30am plane (this is the first time I have stayed awake ALL night, without even a ‘cat-nap’ in far more years then I remember) I was thanking The Lord and wondering at His faithfulness and power to keep my heart at such peace during intense, emotional and painful time that this has been, and He gently reminded me of the 6 weeks that I was in isolation in the hospital with 3^rd degree burns back in 1982. I was cooking chicken soup in my pressure cooker on 28^th of Dec…still nursing our youngest daughter…and I took the lid off too soon, soaking my right arm and chest in the scalding soup. I can not take much pain meds due to abusing drugs before I knew Him, but at the hospital they insisted that I be drugged as they told me that the intensity of the constant pain could kill me through shock.  I told them that The Lord would keep me and we struck an agreement that as long as I would take one shot before the ‘debrieding’ treatment daily, they would watch me, but they would give me shots by force ‘when’ I began to go into shock.  BUT GOD IS FAITFUL, and He so met with me there and so ministered to me that I was able to share Him with many people and I count those 6 weeks as a chosen fire in which He proved Himself faithful to me in the midst of much physical suffering…HE IS ABLE!  ‘And if I were faithful then, why would I not be the same God to you now?’ He seemed to chasten my heart with these words. So many other memories began pouring in of His faithfulness to keep my heart and mind through painful trials, and I could only praise Him and then go on to work…again embraced by His power as I worked hard with vigor that was not naturally mine.  As I sat again with my Bible before bed I realized that He had answered a prayer, unanswered for 18 years…one I prayed on our El Al flight into what was then the unknown… moving to Israel…making aliyah…having never been here and knowing nothing of the land to which I was going… and leaving our precious oldest daughter, barely 18, behind at her last minute decision to stay.  I thought my heart would break and I prayed and cried during the entire long trip that God would “sanctify my emotions!” All of these years since as I ‘inspected the fruit’…there they still were…’extreme emotions’!  I prayed again and again…18 years. THIS DAY I PROCLAIM, I HAVE EXPERIENCED MY EMOTIONS SANCTIFIED, AND THE FRUIT IS SWEET!  PEACEABLE! It has been a very difficult two and a half weeks, but He has been present and I trust that He will complete that which He has begun in our family.  Thank you for your prayers!  I will not have an address for our children for atleast a month (12 more days in England then 2 weeks in hotels to search for apartment in the Berkley Calif area L ).  Nor do I yet have an address for our younger daughter…now in Canoga Park Calif (LA) I will let you know when I do. (many of you have asked)

And while our little family went through our personal deep waters, turbulent waters swirl all around us and people silently begin to store up stocks of water and food and prepare their ‘safe rooms’ or shelters.  I felt ‘steel enter my soul’ during this season of trial, and as I look around me that is what I see; people ‘steeling’ themselves toward what lies ahead before us.  Will there be w­_r (I leave out the ‘a’ there because it is a word that computer ‘spies’ pick up) or not?  Everyone has their opinion…but it is the main topic of conversation here. It is less then a week until the high holydays begin with Rosh h’shana, the new year or the feast of trumpets.  It begins at sundown this coming Sunday night and lasts for two days.  For the entire month according the Jewish calendar, people have already been seeking God, searching their hearts, preparing. Rosh h’shana is followed quickly by Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, of chastening one’s soul…the day that the books in heaven are open and judgment scales are seen…the day of awe… of fasting and prayer.  Shortly after that, our week of Thanksgiving begins…Succot…Feast of Tabernacles…when we sit in the ‘succa’, the small structure outdoors and eat and share and rejoice and sing and give thanks. (I will share scriptures references in my next letter, Lord willing) What a time to be alive.  Thank You Lord for the gift of life… something that I thought that I would never thank You for…having hated life before knowing You…I am more thankful for it the more that I grow to love You…life…and expression of Himself! So the scurrying begins (actually is in full progress already!) – preparing food for so much feasting…as much as possible ahead of time.  The whole nation visits and eats together…first at your place and then at mine.  We are thankful…and the year is new…and we are forgiven…or…are we?  May THIS be the question foremost in the hearts of the people this year, this week, this day:  “WHERE IS THE LAMB??? WHERE IS THE SACRIFICE FOR MY SIN?? Is it this chicken when The Lord our God called for A LAMB??”  Pray with us…pray for our Prime minister to KNOW HIM WHO IS WISDOM as he is making decisions that WILL affect the entire world.

J of Jerusalem, continued next Sunday!

Escape?

“Then Mordecai told them to answer Esther, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.””  Esther 4:13

We can come to feel that we won’t have to face what others are going through.

Lord, we desire to be trained and prepared by You, for all that lies ahead of us.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

For Such A Day

Do not think
what is happening elsewhere
cannot happen to you

for you are Mine
and because of that
you will suffer too

though trials,  persecution
and hardships come
your way

I have planned
and placed you here
for just such a day.

 

Inside Israel – Bits, Pieces and Thoughts, Part 2

Hi and welcome to our Sunday look inside Israel!  Thank you for being here as J of Jerusalem shares some of her insights and experiences as a Jewish believer in Israel.  God bless you and yours today as you pray for Israel and for J!  Now, here’s J . . .

On our southern border, we now have Egypt…lead by the Moslem Brotherhood…the parent organization of Hamas, (which was birthed out of it) ‘Democracy’, Gaza style.  I watch Syria with disbelief at the reaction of the world, siding blindly with el kieda linked rebels and accusing the government of all of the ‘crimes and massacres’, quoting ‘human right’s watches’ as the sources… the same ‘human right’s watches’ that is constantly accusing Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’.  Meanwhile, we are waiting as the rockets hitting our south ‘slow down’ again.  But the polarization is definitely not just international…in each country around the world.  The divide between the secular and religious seems to be widening.  There are some very large issues facing this, the only Jewish nation on earth, pertaining to drafting of Haradi (ultra orthodox) and Arab students, shabat desecration and even circumcision – the very ‘covenant’ made between God and Abraham.  We just saw the “Ulpana” neighborhood in Judea and Samaria, evacuated on the basis of a judicial ruling that the secular court passed down while facts still were not established.  We have deepening tensions between the rich and poor with the social protests starting up again (the weather is now conducive to it!) sadly, more often then not, politically instigated and agitated by outside groups. 

And in the midst the pomegranates form their crown! 

What a time to seek to walk in BALANCE!  A dear friend of mine recently was told by her grown married child, that they were no longer going to be seeing them or allowing them time with their grandchildren as they felt that they had ‘ideological differences’ which made them a ‘bad influence’.  I will tell you nothing more about this particular family (whether they live in the country or out of the country etc) except that they all claim to be strong Christians and the parents stand firmly with Israel.  I asked them permission to share this much of their painful story as a stepping stone to something that I have mentioned before but has been deeply on my heart…and I share it with serious trembling.  It is this:  I have grown to believe more and more that Israel, as The Lord Himself, has become very often a ‘dividing line’ and a source of real testing.  Indeed, some people who suddenly see the place of Israel in God’s economy have gone to extremes…even to the turning away from The Lord and becoming identified (they feel) with the Jewish people, embracing Judaism.  But we have all seen this among new believers as well, have we not?  Someone will get seemingly gloriously saved, but then they have gone off on some strange tangent, and many whom we have been praying for drag The Precious Name through the mud as a result…satan laughing!   And how satan also laughs when this happens concerning Israel.  Satan loves extremes…division…lies ‘Has God REALLY said not to eat that fruit?’ … a little ‘twist’ here and there and the Truth becomes NOT the Truth!’  This incident, though, has had me thinking of all of those who have had their eyes open and see The Lord’s plan WELL…and begin to pray and to stand in understanding…and suddenly personal disaster has hit!  I can think, off the top of my head, of atleast 8 of you whose situations I would site as examples, but you are reading this letter and I do not want to cause added pain.  But it is through YOUR lives that I have come to believe that God IS bringing many of those who understand into true ‘identification’ with the sufferings of Israel and the Jewish people.  I pray that that does NOT sound strange, particularly because I know that there has been abundant teaching over the years for a long time now of ‘blessing’ in the form of physical blessing being a sign of the ‘spiritual believer’ and suffering being looked at as ‘lack of victory or of faith or even of sin being present’.  “…And I will give you the hidden treasures of darkness…”  I look at all of the prophets…all of the Apostles…and Our Lord Himself and I see acute suffering, so I personally am not sure where this understanding came from…except perhaps a fleshly fear of pain (don’t we all have that!) coupled with (also perhaps) memorizing our favorite verses and shying away from those that balance them…the ones that are ‘more difficult’ and express ‘the other side’ of God’s intricate character?  And SURELY everyone who loves Israel with His understanding and even would willingly embrace suffering is NOT given such a path!  No no!  I am NOT trying to put forward a ‘new doctrine’.  But sometimes we do think it ‘strange when a fiery trial tries us’…and others speak with scorn about the ‘cults’ who stand with Israel- coming within the body this is particularly painful. May God strengthen each of us to STAND in the place that He has given us…and having done all…to STAND! 

with love from our Sis in Jerusalem

(more of this letter next Sunday!)

Received As Angels

“And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 4:14

I am continuously amazed by those under going trials, yet bearing such an intense praise and worship for Jesus.

Thank You, Lord, for Your angels who despite trials in their flesh, minister to us in Your name so beautifully.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

Suffering Saints

While bodies undergo
pain and distress
minds and hearts focus
on their beloved Jesus
ministering to us
in Your Holy name
suffering saints
bringing You glory and fame.

The Authority and The Glory

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” Luke 4:5
“And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish’.” Luke 4:6

The devil offering authority and glory to THE Authority and Glory? I blink hard.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, that even when You had gone through fasting and temptation for 40 days, You never forgot Who You were and all You had. And here’s a simple poem . . .

His

When the trials rage
and persecution comes
and I lose my senses
and come undone
may I yet remember
it’s by Jesus I’m claimed
and I have all I need
as I call on His name.