Lashon Hara: Slander

Ron Cantor of Messiah's Mandate wrote, "Over the past few days, a video in Hebrew has been circulating about the evils of spiritual manifestations in the life of the believers. The video condemns 24-hour prayer movements, as well as much of what we see and read about in the book of Acts. The creator of this video took some of the more bizarre videos out there and made it seems as if those strange manifestations were the norm in charismatic congregations. Any normal charismatic believer would look at a video of a person barking like a dog and think it abnormal. The sad thing is that it is causing division in our small body of believers here in Israel. Please pray over this situation."

Back Story | Here's My 2¢ 

Lashon Hara: Slander 

Isn't it ironic. The Charismatic church for the most part has little interest in what God is doing among the Israeli believers, yet the Israeli ministries who operate in the gifts of the Spirit are under an unprecedented attack for connection to Christian charismatics. And not only that, but they are being slandered by an extremely small ministry in Israel as being related somehow to some of the flakiest of the charismatic flakes we've seen in recent decades. These men under attack in Israel have nothing to do with all that craziness.

It is a disgrace what one self-righteous man has taken upon himself to stir great opposition to a group of Israeli ministries. I stand by his targets 100%. They are producing fruit unto salvation, Michael N. is producing slander and great division among the brethren in Israel with his articles and videos.

I am watching his video production right now and I am appalled that the leaders in the body in Israel have brought my friends up for examination based on these accusations, yet they see no problem with allowing this type of slander and accusation to go unchecked. No repercussions for slandering brothers in the LORD, but doubts from false accusations are free to spew out against my friends.

I ask all my subscribers and followers to bring this injustice before the LORD. That God would arise and show who is right and who is wrong. That no weapon formed against my friends shall prosper.

If anyone needs to be exposed for bad acts within the Israeli ministries, it is those who slander their fellow brethren in the LORD who are ministers of good standing and reputation among the Body of Christ worldwide. The division being brought to the body in Israel is not one lick different than the attacks of the ultra-Orthodox against the faith. This is a stain on the whole body that such accusations are being allowed to stir trouble for going on three years now.

No, I cannot keep silent. May God grant repentance to those involved in this slandering of some of the finest ministers I know in Israel.

I must add that I do not back any of the extremes of charismatic Christian ministry shown as examples in this video. Also I have never seen my Israeli ministry friends participate in such excessive displays either. I have long distanced myself from charismatic excesses believing them to be fleshly. I have seen powerful operation of the Spirit in the meetings of Eitan, Dan, Asher and Ron - but I've never seen excess, fleshly indulgences at all.

IN FACT, let me go further: I BELIEVE that the Israeli charismatic ministries are to bring greater BIBLICAL balance and accountability to bear among international Christian charismatics. I believe this is what the apostolic-prophetic Israeli ministries are meant by God to bring to the table as the unity of Jew and Gentile believers - One New Man - continues to manifest.

The Israeli ministries who are being slandered for their associations with some Christian charismatic leaders do not practice the excesses shown in that video. If anything will bring more balance into the Christian apostolic and prophetic circles, it will be their association with these Jewish brothers that challenges them to greater accountability and much less shows of flesh when the Spirit of God is truly moving among us. 

It is flat out bogus to claim these ministries have anything to do with the excesses portrayed in this video, nor do any of them believe as falsely accused that "It's not obligatory to believe." All of them know and teach that it is necessary to come to faith in Yeshua, no matter who you are. For the accusation that they enter into covenant relationships with Christian ministry leaders is a "covenant with death" as this video producer claims is a twisted misuse of scripture. 

The brethren who have been accused, whom I have known personally for years, I stand by their integrity, moral character and fidelity to the LORD Yeshua without hesitation. 

What is most appalling to me is for Dan, Asher, Eitan & Ron to be under a microscope of inspection by elders because of such false accusations, but lying brothers are free to slander and defame to their heart's content. It is lashon hara: slander.

"There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community."  Proverbs 6:16-19  

My Israeli ministry friends fit in NONE of those categories.

That's my 2¢ -Donna Diorio

Re-Claiming Young Christians for Israel

Worshiping the Lord together in Israel:
Jews, Arabs & Internationals at an Elav conference

How are we ever going to re-claim the younger generations of Christians support of God's ultimate plans for Israel? Is it even possible seeing the overwhelming deceptions in the world?
by Donna Diorio

Many young adult Christians have rejected their Christian parents support of Israel, instead believing the propaganda of their social just peers that Palestinians are a poor people oppressed by the evil might of Israel. It is a false narrative that the world leaders have indulged for decades but it is an especially alarming thing that young adult Christians have also been snared in the deception.

There must be a concerted effort on our part to break this deception off of Christian young people & adults, one by making it a constant priority prayer to God. There are other things, like continually declaring the truth and countering the false narrative.

Over the past week I have had a thought about how such a vast amount of elder Christians who support Israel throw all of the resources and support behind UNSAVED Israel. They give their donations, time and attention to the unsaved rabbis, government leaders and good works organizations and all they give the believers in Jesus in Israel is the cold shoulder.

I have been pondering how the sins of the Christian Israel supporters who do this are being passed down to their sons and daughters who manifest the same sin by backing Palestinian false narratives rather than Israel.

You know that the sins of the fathers get passed down and not every generation manifests it in the same way, but it is the same basic sin. In this case it is the sin of being deceived by false narratives concerning Israel.

For the elder Christians the false narrative is that God wants them to court unsaved Israel and not worry about what is going on in the remnant of faith in Israel. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God's PERFECT plan is for the Christians who support Israel to stand and support the believers in Israel FIRST & FOREMOST. They are the ones who will win Israelis to faith, not you - or at least not you anywhere compared to how effectively they do.

For the younger adult Christians who value the false narrative of Palestinians as David and Israel as Goliath, their generation sin of being deceived by false narratives is also a rebellion from seeing that their Christian parents have veered off the path of God regarding Israel. Maybe they can't put their finger on it exactly, but they know your obsessions with helping to rebuilt the Temple Mount, of funding and following the un-redeemed Israelis only, that these are ALSO not of God.

If the Christian parents repent, will the curse be broken off the young Christian adults who believe the false narratives about Israel? We must find the answers to breaking this curse of Christians following the paths that resist the very work and plan of God in Israel. Christian young adults must be activated to stand with the body of FAITH in JESUS in Israel.

Who knows what could happen if Christians who support Israel but ignore the soul-winning Israeli Messianic ministries, began to speak of spiritual salvation in Israel rather than talking about the latest effort to build the Third Temple, who knows if the younger generation of Christians might find that way more exciting. Rebuilding a stone temple versus a Living Temple. To me it is a no-brainer. 

For the Israeli believer ministries, there is great focus placed on overcoming the political walls with the spiritual bonds of peace that we have only in Jesus. That means the both adult believers and youth believers participate in conferences and worship events for that purpose of making from two, one in the Messiah. Who knows what would happen if Israel supporting elder Christians focused on those things rather than the Israel-issues that they prioritize now.

Every individual is responsible for their own sins, even the generational sins that are passed down because of the sins of the fathers. Another reason I see for the deception among the social justice Christian generation is their departure from God's Word establishing the standard for ALL social justice. Those who dismiss the Old Testament Hebrew scriptures as done away with and irrelevant, will never that a true north on their moral compass. God's Word establishes the parameters of justice according to our Creator. Unfortunately, the strongest feature I see in social justice circles, Christian or non-Christian, is that they have made their own opinions of justice higher than God's. It is a sure-fire path to injustice.

Pray for deception to cease, and speak the truth in love. Some will see and hear. Many will break from the path that resists God's plan for all the nations in Israel.

My 2¢ | Christian Israel-Supporters Treating Israeli Messianic Ministries Lo-Priority

People have always complained that I express myself too strongly, too adamantly.
So in recognition of the need for humility of opinions & interpretations, here's

My  2¢ 

Christian Israel-Supporters Treating Israeli Messianic Ministries as Low-Priority
Christians whose hearts are stirred by God toward Israel can be so vulnerable to be led astray from Jews of faith in Jesus, to Jewish unbelievers who have set leading Christians AWAY from Jews of faith in Jesus, to a simple fascination with Judaism.

Why would I want to sit at the feet of an unbeliever Israeli Jew, even if he were a rabbi? I wouldn't. That person has nothing to offer me but to dazzle me with Jewish lore. I want only what has been given to an Israeli person of faith, downloaded from God in Heaven into the redeemed spirit of a Jewish disciple of Jesus! But some think they are bridging the gap between Jews and Christians. How can that be when they ignore the Messianic Jews of faith and latch on to the hem of the garment of some Israeli Jew who behind their back spits at the name of Jesus?

I know a lot of Christians ignore Jews of faith because they say, 'We don't need to go to them, they've already been saved. We need to make the ones who haven't been saved "jealous" of our faith by befriending them (and showing them how sweet we are).' Uh-no. That is not working for you because they are not going to be impressed with how you are willing to throw Messianic Jews under the bus in order to be friends with them.

Why should they be jealous of the faith of Christians who treat Jews who believe in Jesus as it they are insignificant and less important than the Christian being able to befriend unsaved Jews?

Others seek out unbeliever Jews for teachings. They like to financially support unbeliever Jewish Israel- projects rather financially supporting the Israeli Messianic believers carrying the Gospel in Israel. Why? Why is it so hard to get Israel-supporting Christians to see that supporting the Gospel to Israel is greater than all the other endeavors together? Why do Christians make Israel the ONLY exception to that understanding in a lost world?

I am not against being friendly to unsaved Jews, quite the opposite. But I am not going to financially support ANY projects in Israel that are led by unbeliever Jews, and I am sure not going to go to them for spiritual enlightenment. Wake up. This is so wrong, how can you honestly be fooled by such situations?

It would be the same thing as Christians flocking to the Sanhedrin in the book of Acts, as the Sanhedrin was actively seeking to persecute, jail and put to death the Apostles and the followers of Yeshua in the first century of faith. Absolutely the same thing, same situation today with Christians falling all over themselves to make Israel jealous of our faith when it is the Israeli Messianics who are winning souls and making disciples. 

If you want to make Israel jealous of our faith, you will support Israeli Messianic ministries ONLY. You will get spiritual understanding from those Israeli Jews who are actually filled with the Spirit of Jesus, not from those who are trying to drive all those believer Jews out of Israel. Again, I say: Wake up! It doesn't mean you can't reach out to unsaved Jews, but if you don't have inclination to the Israeli community of faith high in your priorities, I question if you really get God's plan for Israel. 

That's my 2¢ —Donna Diorio

Photo: Ashdod pastor Israel Pochtar standing in front of anti-Messianic posters targeting him and his ministry staff at Voice of Judah.