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If You Want to Know Where We are Going,
Israel is
Leading The Way
by Donna Diorio
God has given Israel great victories even though we see so much sorrow and pain among the Israelis – even our spiritual brothers and sisters! Who can be so super-spiritual as to brush off the losses of life and limb that war brings even when God is giving victories overall? Who wants to be the person that can do that? Not me. As the saying goes, “War is hell” and all of the Israelis having been living in that hell since the first news of carnage by Hamas began to trickle out into the public.
This war is spiritual to the core – it is a war against God’s restoration of Israel to Himself as satan tries to stop God’s plan. Whatever God wants, that is what the enemy of our souls fights against by rousing up enemies to attack. Over the past couple of decades as Islamists poured in overwhelming Europe and the UK. A great many came not so much as refugees but in the spread of Islamism through the Western World. All the decades of Western leaders turning a blind eye to what Israel was really dealing with would soon be the blind eye in their own nations that threatened all of Western civilization. Reaping what was sown.
It is the same in North America – Canada and the United States don’t truly realize it quite yet, but we have allowed radical Islamism to grow unhindered in our nations too. There is a great network embedded into our culture that will be as huge a problem for North America as it has become for the European continent. Just days ago because Elon Musk took to tweeting about Britain’s ignored problem of the Islamist use of serial rape to dominate and subjugate English girls, has the PM of Britain had to face how authorities all up and down the line of power turned a blind eye to it. By ignoring the serial rape of white British girls, the police, social services, city officials, national officials ALL became subjugated to Islamists. The same serial rape strategy has taken place in European countries, with the same official denials making Western civilization weaker and weaker.
In North America the Islamization of the US and Canada has not been exactly the same as in Europe, but we have our own version of turning the blind eye to the growth of fundamentalist Islamism among us: Fixing terror statistics to misrepresent the true terror threat; failure to acknowledge that there is an aggressive Islamist world domination practice of Islam and the failure to vet those people preventing them from entering the country is another. This is the type of Islamists who have embedded and allied with other grievance groups in the US, like Black Lives Matter or Antifa, the so-called anti-facists who are violent and oppressive themselves.
Even with the changeover taking place in the United States leadership and signs of people being fed up with how mismanaged their leaders have been on issues like this (Canada, UK, Europe) there is little doubt that it is not going to be easy sailing back to sane, just governance. Our enemies are within us, and the terroristic uprisings may startle many who have no idea what has been growing up among us.
I see little Israel, rising up with courage to protect home and family as going before us, against overwhelming odds, yet showing us the way – especially those who appear in this prayer summary whose faith is fixed on the God of the universe. They are people who are building the kingdom of God in Israel with one hand on building tools, and in the other their weapons of war to defeat physical warring enemies. Encouraging each other even when the sorrowing is great, to believe in the God who is our Father, the Father of lights in a world of gross darkness.
There are battles ahead for us in Western nations, I believe in the coming year. I also believe that the ministries of Israel will be lights to us as we make our way through those battles. Let us stand with each other, helping each other as we might, and leaning in together to the will of God in all things.
Arrows
from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer
Requests Israeli Ministries
In Reuven Doron’s latest newletter
“Come Jesus Come” he quoted Zechariah 10:1-12, but this portion (3-6)
especially uplifted my heart: “For YHWH of hosts
will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will make
them as His royal
horse in the battle. From him comes
the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every
ruler together. They shall be like mighty men, who tread down their enemies
in the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because YHWH is with
them, and the riders on horses shall be put to shame. I will strengthen the
house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I
will bring them back, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as
though I had not cast them aside; for I am YHWH their God, and I will
hear them.”
…. This scripture tells the
Elect of God that (1) they cannot trust
in man; (2) That the land is flooded with deceivers and false
prophets who propagate delusions and lies, offering no comfort or healing. (3) That human governments, leaders, and institutions
are too compromised and weak to offer real and lasting solutions to the world’s
troubles. (4)
That the House of Judah shall
remain in war, yet prevail, as the entire Middle East shakes. And (5) that the House of Joseph & Ephraim, the “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16) among the nations, shall
grow in power and in might as God’s purpose unfolds upon the earth. The fact is
that, apart from the reality of the Kingdom of the God among the elect,
the world that most people consider “home” is becoming more unstable and
dangerous as we move further into the end of days.
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2025 IN
A SNAP | Regardless of efforts to project a bright and joyful view of 2025,
we found that the caricature below best reflects the attitude of most folks
who are awake, at least here in Israel…
MINDSETS | The Lord told us
that the “fields are white and ready
for harvest” (John 4:35), and
that we are to “… know the state of
your flocks.” (Proverbs 27:23). So, what do we see around us here in
Israel?
It would help the intercessors to
remember that the magnitude of the
October 7 massacre that shocked our
small Israeli society as a Tsunami of pure evil would be equivalent to the
trauma of a terror attack on US soil resulting with about 40,000 Americans
slaughtered, raped, mutilated, burned alive, tortured and kidnapped in one day!
Read excerpt of
the newsletter on Reuven’s FB page, or
subscribe directly to read the full
newsletter, generally weekly.
Evan Santoro is the Shelanu TV
station manager, also the son of Eddie & Jackie Santoro who discipled and
mentored so many of the young ministers who are now in leadership positions in
Israel. He comes from a spiritually rich legacy left by his dad, and which
continues in his mom, Jackie, whose ministry letter is also in this issue, with
news from Ahavat Yeshua congregation in Jerusalem.
As for Evan, he writes about Shelanu
TV, “We are growing
and being strengthened day by day
and we have just begun to make a
difference in the nation of Israel. All our social media channels are
growing and as we continue to produce thought-provoking content in Hebrew, we are receiving more questions and comments
about the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua.
Israel
is a hard and dry land, both physically and spiritually. It is not easy to talk
about Jesus to Israelis and much of our efforts are met with hostility and
anger: “Why are you trying to steal Jewish souls? Haven’t we already
suffered enough in this name? Leave us alone and go back to your Christian
God.”
These are just a few of the many responses we receive daily. We honestly
believe, though, that every response, even if it is negative, is a seed being
planted. It is our job to plant the seeds, and we leave it to God to cause
the seed to grow in His perfect timing.
Evan gives 4 examples of the
Israel’s they have reached with the programming of Shelanu – a young visibly
ultra-Orthodox man; a northern Israeli man who was from a Christian family, but
it was not his hunger to learn more until he began viewing Shelanu programming;
a 34-yr old man in one of the most ultra-Orthodox cities in Israel (Bnei Brak)
who is eager to learn more despite the persecution if he is caught “interacting
with "forbidden" stuff that is related to Yeshua, Jesus”; and
someone from Facebook who thought we were the ultra-orthodox
“messianics” who do not serve militarily
to protect Israel – but was excited to hear we were Messianic Jews who follow
Yeshua – and do serve “in the IDF; many serve as officers, reservists, and
commanders and serve many years beyond their mandatory service time. We
contribute to the country and are committed citizens.”
To support the Shelanu TV
programming of Israeli Messianic congregations and ministries to the Israeli
people IN HEBREW, https://www.shelanutv.com/donate
From Chaim Malespin of the Aliyah
Return Center: “The difference between light and darkness, is that light
gives. And darkness takes. At the ARC, that
is what our aim is to be, is to be light. With God’s help and your help, we
have been able to be true givers! …. Thanks to you, a week does not go by where
the ARC team have not stopped giving! And this directly impacts the lives of so
many in a time of dynamic transition…. Together we will continue to spread the
light and dispel the darkness! | Help us
Build the Lighthouse | Emergency
Aid & Give here
1/5 Here are some
prayer points for this week from The Faithful Galileans:
Hamas
released a video of Liri, one of the hostages that is still being held in
Gaza. The authority and power of Hamas needs to fall in order for the hostages
to come home. And the more they see Israel feeling pressure, the harder they
become in their demands for a hostage deal. | Continue to pray for wisdom for the
government in regards to the Houthis in Yemen. | Please pray for the
Government in Israel. Running a country that was before the war very
disunited, to now fighting a war on seven fronts for their existence is not for
the faint in heart! … that God would bring order to where there is
chaos. | The Religious community in Israel. About 13% of the population in Israel is Ultra
Orthodox. The situation with the community has become problematic as many of
them live off welfare and were exempt from the army until recently. …
please pray that this community would help carry their weight like every other
citizen in Israel. | Also persecution from Religious groups. If
you could also cover the ARC and TFG in prayer in regards to persecution from some of these ultra
religious groups. They have been publishing slanderous accusations and
harassing the work we have been doing, including our partners. This very
stressful to deal with after being on the battlefield.
Ariel Hyde writes about the VIDEO Tree of Life Israel Ministries has just released: God is Drawing His Lost Lambs Back
Home | God promised to cleanse His
people from their filthiness and idols and that He would come live in their
hearts. And we are excited to see this happening in the new discipleship
group we’ve launched. Listen to our new
podcast on your favorite audio
platforms: On Apple, Spotify and on Amazon. Watch it on YouTube and Facebook. And please share this video on all social media
outlets!
Aleksey Raihstadt of Beit Immanuel
congregation in old Jaffa | We cannot
express enough how much your prayers and support has meant to us this past
year. Because of your faithfulness, we have been able to share the love and
truth of Yeshua in powerful ways. We ask that you continue to pray with us
during this season: For peace and safety
in Israel, especially in areas impacted by recent rocket attacks.| Return of
all the hostages.| For hearts hardened by pain to open to the truth of Yeshua.|
For those who came to faith this year to grow strong and bold in their walk with
Him. | May your new year of 2025 be filled with the joy, peace, and hope that
only Yeshua can bring. Let us move forward together, shining His light brightly
for the world to see. In Messiah’s love,
Pastor Aleksey Raikhstadt | To support this ministry in Old Jaffa | Securely on PayPal
| Securely
by Credit Card
. . . . Because of the war the new budget is very severe
and hard for the Israelis who will have to pay more for everything including
electricity, local taxes, VAT tax, and of course everything at the supermarket
while the salaries will remain the same.
Besides, the budget doesn’t facilitate any growth of the economy, but on the
contrary only economy contraction. Last year 70,000 businesses closed,
and it is already forecast that many more will go bankrupt in 2025. We
feel that these are the first economical pains before the end-time tribulations.
However we know that our God answers our prayers and He is faithful to His
promises for His people Israel. We take
this opportunity to thank you for your faithfulness and wish you a year of
peace, of health and Yeshua’s inspiration in everything you undertake. | If
you desire to support this ministry in the Galilee go to (OR B'DARKI)
through PayPal
Leon Mazin of Return to Zion
in Haifa writes their thanks “for your standing
with us in faith and in our difficulties, and in our joy” and prays “for peace
and well-being for you and your loved ones in the coming 2025.” Leon writes, “There
were a lot of worries, the war, frequent attacks and need to run to bomb
shelters, everlasting anxiety about the loved ones serving in the Army.
…there are a lot of worries and concerns about our soldiers in general
and about those who participate in direct fights with those “who wish us
death”. Even if you do not know a victim personally you anyway know his
relatives or friends. Everything is intertwined…. I ask you to pray for us
in Haifa and for our daughter Congregations, Or Chai and Netzer ha-Galil, for
believers in Yeshua in Israel, for our ability to stand in God’s peace and
Yeshua Messiah’s testimony.”…. During 2024 we had three seminars
for inner healing. It was the most highly sought topic. Our Youth conducted regular
meetings, and we can see how stronger and bigger, and more consolidated they
have become.
….Humanitarian projects. We
keep providing hot meals to 58 - 60 elderly people on a weekly basis. ..for
3 – 4 days. Also, every week … we cooperate with the social workers of the
Mayor’s Office to render assistance to certain groups of these people with food
supplies during the National Holidays. The New Immigrants Project has
reached hundreds of people. …But this year we have not just provided
humanitarian aid to them, but we had a possibility to encourage them. Our humanitarian
“Second hand” warehouse has operated full time…. it is in a bomb shelter,
and we had to provide more space for the dwellers from the nearest blocks of
flats during the attacks.
We keep serving
to children from the former CIS countries who come to Israel for medical
treatment providing food supplies to them. There was much more – including the
music and arts school that is also a ministry to families who cannot afford
tuition, but not enough room to put it all here. Leon writes, “all the things
we’ve done. .. the meaning is to serve our neighbors with the Grace of God
and His Light! I kindly ask you to pray for us and stay with us in the
ministry for the people of Israel. I again wish you a blessed year 2025, peace
and God’s protection for you and your loved ones.| Donations at this link.
From Kfar Saba, the HaMaayan
congregation led by Tony and Orna
Sperandeo, “The year 2024 allowed
us to have a great outpouring of the practical & physical aspects of the
Gospel and also the opportunity to minister to the spiritual & emotional
needs of the people around us. We continued our monthly outreach to the needy in the streets of south Tel Aviv. We
had a special Hanukkah/Christmas event, distributing gifts, clothes & meals
to the homeless & needy. We invited them from the street, to our special
celebration with our Indian/Sri-Lanken & Nepali communities. Many heard the
God's message of Love & Hope for the first time.| We organized a Hanukkah
celebration for 25 Holocaust survivors
who live in our area. We have made a special 8-min video for them that's called
"From Horror to Revival.” After viewing that, we continued with a craft
workshop on this theme of revival & victory. They share with us how blessed
& touched they are by our love & care for them & are looking
forward to return for more workshops & activities. Please pray for spiritual revelation for each
of them. To read the full prayer letter & enjoy their
pictures, go to HaMaayan blog
Israel Pochtar of Voice of Judah
Israel Ministries and Beit Hallel Congregations writes about an exciting
project they are working on in purchasing a building to house their new
Evangelism and Discipleship Center. The reality
is that in Israel FEW congregations own their congregational building and
because of their faith, this sometimes can lead to being kicked out of their
rental! But this is exciting because it is also going to be used by other
congregations for various events. The building they are in now has become too
crowded: “Because of Israel’s war, our ministry is growing through
continuous evangelism and humanitarian support. Our building has become
a hub of blessing for thousands of people, with truckloads of supplies filling
every available space. We are desperate for more room for
discipleship to grow more leaders. Beit Hallel is a center for many
congregations in Israel who arrive weekly to take essential supplies to their
communities from north in Dan to Beersheba and southernmost Eilat. Our
facility has so much humanitarian work that we can only squeeze in one weekly
service on Shabbat.” That is a serious need for a ministry so focused on
evangelism and discipleship! (Here is where to donate) Also watch this special video message Israel prepared about this important project.
PLUS VIDEO Discovering
the Depth of Genesis Through Hebrew | VIDEO A Christmas
to Echo in Eternity: Words of Thanks from Our Jerusalem Evangelism
Tikkun Global sends this short message from Asher Intrater walking the halls of Israel’s Supreme Court with a message Praying for Righteousness and Justice | Also this longer VIDEO teaching The Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives | And an article from Guy Cohen The Land Rested
Avner Boskey of David’s Tent writes everything you didn’t know you need to know about the Islamic Caliphate in The collapse of the Caliphate |
Kobi & Shani Ferguson say you can either Read more or listen to this month's Maoz
Israel Report article:
"Shmuel is Hebrew for Samuel".
Michael Beener of Ir HaHaim (City of Life) congregation in Sderot writes aabout
the camp they are doing for Messianic children who “have endured unimaginable
hardships. The traumatic events of October 7 and the ongoing war have left deep
scars, disrupting their sense of safety and childhood innocence. Many have
experienced fear, loss, and uncertainty, and their young hearts carry the heavy
burden of these turbulent times…. its first-ever camp for Messianic children,
“Negev Camp”, held in a special location in the Negev Desert. Children from
various Messianic congregations in the area gathered for an unforgettable time
of worship, connection, and spiritual growth. Watch this
VIDEO about our Negev Camp “We are witnessing
how God is opening doors for their futures, and we feel deeply privileged to be
part of this transformative journey.” Learn more here and please consider DONATING
You can
also help the ministry team supply “essential support to families facing the
bitter cold in Sderot and the surrounding areas.” Read more here and please DONATE to
help us help them
Subscribe Here to get video updates
of all this great ministry is doing!
Guy Cohen pastors the congregation Harvest
of Asher in Acco and shares from a deep spiritual heart. I always enjoy his
messages – like the 12/16 message on jealousy that ended with the word “We must be cautious not to fall into the trap of
jealousy. Despite the physical or spiritual gifts and accomplishments of another,
our hearts should be set on serving God as He leads and calls us as individuals.”
As I wrote last week, Guy’s own
mother recently passed into eternity. He just completed the seven days of
mourning (sitting shiva) for his mother who passed on the first day of
Hanukkah. Guy writes, “Hanukkah is a feast of light and joy. My mother's
life reflected exactly that. She loved her family, to sing and to embrace and
host others in her home. She was a person who loved and accepted everyone. I find comfort
and joy in knowing that after over 3 months of suffering, she, during that
time, came to know her Jewish Messiah and entered into the Light of the world.” Thank you LORD.
Guy comes from a family of
traditional rabbis in the very city his own Messianic congregation is located.
The name is, the Harvest of Asher, and it is because it sits in the land that
was allotted to the tribe of Asher. Guy continues his message for 1/5 with the
blessings that were spoken over the tribe of Asher and related to the region he
is now reaching out to with the good news of Israel’s Messiah. One is from
Genesis 49:20, another from Genesis 30:12-13 and lastly from Deuteronomy 33:24.
They indicate for the harvest of Asher “richness of bread” (“wheat was
the currency and had value like gold has value”); “The
word Asher in the Hebrew reflects the meaning of happiness and blessing. I
see this as an implication from the beginning of Asher in the physical and
spiritual as a place of happiness and blessing….and anointing”; lastly “let him be acceptable to his brethren, and
let him dip his foot in oil." We see here a spirit of
reconciliation which dwells in the oil of anointing over this area. Moreover,
there is a greater calling for this area to fulfill the call of bringing the
oil of the anointing in Yeshua's name throughout the region. I see growth and
unity, many home groups, houses of worship and people joined together through
the light of Yeshua offering the Bread of Life.”
God's Judgment on Hollywood? Reality Check on the Prophets Saying So.
by Donna Diorio at https://figtreefruit-israelwatcher.blogspot.com/
Lastly from Jackie Santoro, Zion’s Glory and
Ahavat Yeshua begins with a video of a young woman hostage that should have
brought only joy, but the clear distress and fear of the girl has “once again
pierced the heart of the nation” as Israelis saw “the reality of their intense
suffering.” The cry has gone up: “Bring them home now! How long O Lord?”
Even
as Jackie recounted the many sorrows, shock, trauma, and heartbreak, she also
writes, “In the midst of those painful times, we did have many wonderful
victories. Our army accomplished mighty exploits doing what no other army had
even dared to imagine! Our soldiers
fought bravely and resolutely in every situation, knowing that they were coming
against the face of evil itself and for the hostages they yearned to find and
bring home. With supernatural bravery, they gave their all and indeed were able
to rescue some, filling our hearts with joy. Intense sacrifices were made each
day as the reserve soldiers left their homes, families and work to fight
selflessly on the battlefield day and night.”
[DD: This is so true – and to the
point of the reason I wrote that as believers in the nations begin to
experience their own national distresses of the end times, that it is little
Israel who are leading us in the way to deal with our distress, fear and pain:
by trusting in God and in being the beloved of God.] Jackie continues, “As hard as it was, Israelis remained optimistic,
long suffering, hopeful, resilient, and amazingly humanitarian as some of the
terrorists were actually cared for in Israeli hospitals, while our hostages
continued to languish without food, medicine and sunshine. Many Gazan children
have also been treated in Israeli hospitals. In spite of what Israelis endured,
there were no hate protests against the Palestinians, no calls for the
destruction of Gaza or Lebanon. We were fighting terrorists only. No matter how our hostages were suffering,
the families never screamed epithets at Hamas, as compared to the hateful and
often violent anti Israel, pro Palestinian demonstrations around the world. Israelis
love life. In this last year of struggle, there was a 10% increase in births!
To support Jackie in her ministry, donate, and to receive her prayer letter email here
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