We had a great "Festival of Lights celebration" declaring that Yeshua is the "Shamash" (the witness or the servant), the first light used to light the other candles and make us all "lights of the world". (Matt 5: 14 ). We then sung the traditional Hanukkah song "we came to rebuke the darkness".
Hanukkah in Hebrew means dedication. It is also the celebration of the re-dedication of the temple to the God of Israel. (The story is told in the two Apocryphal books of Maccabees). Hanukkah lasts eight days, and one of the feast's traditions is to exchange gifts and give money to the poor.
Let your light shine before man that they may see your good deed and praise your father in heaven ". (Mat. 5:16) "
This was a good opportunity to remember our brothers and sisters, who are in need, visit them and bless them with the hope of salvation.
During this week some were also involved in sharing the gospel in prisons.
Studying the book of Joshua
Paralleled with the study of the book of Joshua, both in the home groups and at the Shabbat services, we sensed the Lord is leading our congregation to another level of growth and commitment. God is bringing us across "the Jordan" and taking us to our "Guilgal" to stand in front of our "Jericho’s". We still need to make sure we don't fall into the " sins of Achan ", bringing sin into the camp and making compromise with the "Gibeonites" of the world. We long to see the miracles of redeemed time each day like when the sun stood still in "the valley of Ajalon" so we can enter into our promised inheritance.
Here are some of the practical signs of change we can see right now in our congregation.
New families and the growth of the children ministry
During this last year many young parents with their children have joined the congregation bringing new life and more children. They are also bringing some new challenges and the need of more teachings and training for teachers and parents. The children's ministry needed to be reorganized and a parent's evening seminar is being organized on the subject of:
"Bring up your child in the way he should go…"(Prov. 22:6)
We want to emphasize as a priority, the importance of parenting and bringing up the next generation. We believe that being a parent is the most difficult challenge and job a person can find himself into.
A boy's club
Seeing the need of the young boys aged 10-14, some of them fatherless, the Lord put on our heart to start a boy's club with the participation of some of the fathers. Pray for Moshe as he leads this new ministry. They meet weekly to study the bible, play outside games & pray for one another.
The healing rooms This new ministry has been birthed just a few months ago. Even though we are at the beginning stages we already see great results. Every Wednesday afternoon and evening, whoever needs prayer, counseling and healing can come and meet a praying team trained to minister either in group or as individuals . Their spiritual preparation is of the utmost importance. With fasting we are asking the Lord to prepare our hearts to be his instruments of healing and restoration. The Lord already sent people from another city to receive answers to their needs.
During the last counseling staff meeting the Lord led us to pray for nine different persons encountering hardship and difficulties in their lives. As we look upon the list of people we discover that all of them are fatherless or motherless. Please pray for the spirit of adoption, that each person will know God as their parent.
Opposition to the Gospel
"Blessed are you when people insult you persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me" (Mat. 5:11).
There has been growing persecution against believers from the Jewish Orthodox community in different places in the Land.
In a small town, the cars of some of congregational members have been burnt, members are being threatened with violence and pressure is being placed upon landlords to revoke housing contracts with Messianic believers.
We thank God that the police finally (after a year and a half) found the criminal who tried to kill the Pastor in the town of Ariel and very badly injured his son. The trial is underway.
Another court case also continues in the city of Beer Sheva against the town's chief Rabbi and a group of Orthodox Jews who attacked violently the local congregation during one of the meetings.
Through all these persecutions, the topic of the Messianic believers is more than ever addressed by the media. Every week an article or interview is being published. May our Lord be exalted in the process.
Testimony of a teenage girl
"When I heard about the next youth conference theme "A heart to serve" I got excited, because usually we talk about ourselves and focus on our lives. But this conference was going to deal with society and what we teens can do or should do for other people.
The first message was from the book of Nehemiah with emphasis on the words from chapter 2:20 : “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding". We were taught what it means to have 'a heart to serve' – a heart who is seeking God and thirsty for His Word, a heart that demands holiness even when no one is watching.
We were given the challenge – to build the body of Messiah instead of mocking the builders and stand on the side doing nothing. We should be working people who search after God's will. Serving in a congregation doesn't start with a microphone on the stage, but doing jobs that are more hidden, like cleaning or helping with the children.
I have learnt a lot in this conference and God has really spoken to me and gave me A HEART TO SERVE. "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do". (Ephesians 2:10)
Prayer needs
- Pray for the persecuted believers in different places in the country, especially protection for the new and young believers
- Pray for victory in court cases against some religious Jews who persecute the Messianic believers.
- Pray for the release of the soldier Gilad Shalit from the Hamas prison.
- Pray for the establishing of the Spanish speaking group in our congregation, as well as two other Hebrew home groups in nearby towns.
- Pray with us for more space and facilities for our growing children's ministry.
- Pray for the fatherless and motherless children & youth in our congregation.
- Pray for the Lord to encourage the intercessors and renew their strength and vision.
- We praise the Lord for the way He has blessed the team of young people who just came back from Nigeria, using them to bring salvation and healing to thousands . They all came back very encouraged in their Faith to see that God is still a God of Miracles today .
- Please pray also for J. who is leaving next week for a ministry trip to mainland China to encourage the persecuted believers there.
We would like to thank you for your partnership with us in prayer and support during the past year. Your prayers have definitely made difference.
We wish you a new year 2010 filled with the Lord's blessings.
"May the Lord bless you and keep you and May His face shine upon you" (Numbers 6:24)
