.jpg)
ACTS 12
ACTS
12:1-5
by Guy Cohen
Leader
of the Acco Harvest of Asher congregation
We read in Acts 12:1-5 of the persecution of the believers in Jerusalem
by Herod. First he called for the execution of James and then Peter was
arrested and his execution planned for after Passover. We see physical and
spiritual persecution under the authority of King Herod.
Herod used his power against the
people of the congregation. Usually when persecution and fear come people
scatter. However in this case we see how the congregation came together to
pray. Their prayer was so intense that even after Peter was released and showed
up at the door they continued. We see how this type of prayer brings change.
This is the vision that God gave us
for Acco, persistent, earnest prayer. What needs to happen for us to come
together and pray in this way? Believers in the land are not widely accepted by
the religious and government authorities. Most have not yet felt persecution to
the extent of losing jobs or being denied services; but it can be felt quite
often. When things are going well we tend to forget the possibilities for
prejudice and hatred not only in the nations but by our brothers.
What will it take for the Body to
rise up and pray together as led by the Spirit of God? We ask that you keep the
congregation of Harvest of Asher in your prayers that we might pray no less
fervently than the first century believers.
. . . . Pray for all those affected by
the end of the ceasefire in Gaza and as Israel launches airstrikes over Gaza.
Pray for God's protection of our soldiers and those who live and work in the
area. We pray that God's hand will be on the hostages and keep them from harm
until their return.
Afterword | ACTS 12:25
by
Donna Diorio
I wanted to share here that this chapter 12 recorded what was a pivotal
event in the ministry of the apostle Paul too. It is one of the many
foundation revelations God has given me that
are the basis for this Israel prayer list.
What happened in Acts 12 was
a pivotal event in the young assembly of disciples of the Apostles of Messiah
Yeshua who continued as a community in Jerusalem. They pooled all their
resources in order to take care of everyone who called upon the name of Yeshua
for salvation. This was a necessity to them because they were already
experiencing levels of sporadic persecution such as the stoning death of
Stephen. Many of the Jewish believers scattered from Israel after the persecution
of Stephen. Among those that stayed were believer widows with no one to take
care of their living needs and many others who needed help, probably many who
lost their livelihoods due to placing their faith in Yeshua.
The Gospel was already repugnant
to the ears of the Jews long before the persecution of Christians against Jews
in the exile, because God had purposely cut off their eyes to see and ears to
hear, as Isaiah 6:10 prophesied – lest they should see and hear and God
should heal them. The Jews could not in great numbers spiritually receive their
own Messiah for God’s purposes until now, as Paul explained in Galatians
3:8 and Romans 11:2 among many other places.
But
in Acts 12, we see the preservation of the Messianic remnant of faith in Israel
despite persecution from their countrymen. Same as it is today. James had been executed; Peter was in prison
and would be next. There was great fear and fervent prayer being made for
Peter’s life . . . and Paul and Barnabas ‘just happened’ to come to town in
order to witness it all.
For
Peter it was a trust building miracle that God worked to save the Apostle. For the other Apostles and disciples
who were praying fervently, it was a confirming miracle that God answers the "the
effective, fervent prayer" of the "righteous … avails much." For Sha’ul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul as he was known among in the gentiles/nations,
it presented a new facet of his ministry
to the Christian churches.
The reason is that Paul knew in
his own heart had been the fervently wrong, having a religious spirit that not
see the Truth, until Yeshua appeared to him, blinding him on his ‘warpath’ mission to Damascus. Paul knew it would not just be his
testimony, but other Jews – religious Jews as he was – would multiply
persecution of the Jewish body of Messiah. The events they just witnessed in
Jerusalem was proof persecution was not going away.
He knew personally how
murderous the persecution would be, as is recorded in Acts 9: 1-2 Meanwhile,
Saul (Paul) was still breathing
out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached
the high priest and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so
that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them
as prisoners to Jerusalem.”
After the stoning of Stephen, Acts
8:2-3 says, "God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. But
Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men
and women and put them in prison."
We do not whitewash the persecution of Jews against the
Messianic Jews who follow Messiah Yeshua BUT WE DO NEED TO SEE IN RIGHT CONTEXT
that it comes out of God’s own plan not to be able to perceive that
Yeshua was their Messiah. Sha’ul was a young man but he could not see it so
he assumed he was doing God a big favor by persecuting those he saw as
departing from the One true God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Paul understood
there would be many more like him and that the Jewish disciples of Yeshua would
be persecuted on many levels – especially those who lived in Israel.
From the point of Acts 12 going
forward, in all the churches he helped form outside of Israel, Paul began to tell the churches to begin
setting aside a collection that would be earmarked to the support of "for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem."
Romans 15:26
You see, the Apostles in
Jerusalem in that day were doing the exact same thing that ministry and
congregational leaders in Israel do to this day: they provide for the needy
among them. Today they are engaged in declaring the Gospel to the their
countrymen, and of course even before the current wars creating greater poverty
and need in Israel, their humanitarian aid given by Christians who stand with
the body of Messiah in Israel touches their people in practical ways.
The loving care of believers has
always raised hopeful eyes up everywhere in the world. Among Jews it raises
jealousy – jealousy against Messianic Jews and jealousy against the Christians
in the nations that help them. WE
HAVE TO SEE THIS JEALOUSY IN THE CONTEXT OF GOD’S
PURPOSES in order that we not allow ourselves to hate the Jews that
oppose the believers in Israel OR us as those who assist the believers in Israel. This is very important to come to grips
with, because even now many Christians are becoming anti-Semitic because they
do not understand God’s plans to make of two, “one new man” by faith in Messiah
and as co-workers together in the spiritual harvest.
Today the Israeli
Ministries are also providing for the needy in their war stricken nation –
including the provisions of the great number of older reserve IDF soldiers who
have lacked the proper equipment and even things like fire-proof uniforms to go
into battle. These are the things the ministries in Israel cannot do unless
they have the help of the Christian congregations.
I believe this is why God put it
in Paul’s heart to establish a precedent among all the Christian churches he
oversaw. God certainly knew what would be necessary not only in the days
of the early Apostolic congregations getting underway, but also in our own times of a restored State of
Israel and the beginnings of the spiritual restoration of “all Israel.” Exactly as it was for the original Apostles
distributing from their common community resources in order to make a way
for the body in Israel to survive, practical provision from the churches in
the nations is required
now.
Paul
even addresses this in the next breath (Romans 15:27) "For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings,
they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings."
Romans 15:27
We
Christians certainly have shared in the spiritual blessings of the Jews, and we
surely are obligated to send them material blessings for the bringing in of the
harvest in return.
Our giving is not only to raise the
standard of living for the Messianic Jews of Israel, it is to fund the
necessities of living while fulfilling the great commission to preach the
Gospel to all people, including “all Israel” whom God is spiritually
restoring before our eyes. It is, along with prayers for them, our part in
contributing to the return of the Jewish people to God by faith in His Son,
Messiah Yeshua.
Arrows from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of
Prayer Requests Israeli Ministries
Arni Klein writes an important catch up of the Emmaus Way letter – his last was Nov 26
2024 – explaining why the past 4 months he has been unable to write a monthly
letter. To cut to the barest minimum of why, it is because he has been “shut in as even a prophetic picture of the spiritual
season we are in. . . . like a divinely-ordained season of waiting.” Arni
writes, “A
great shift is taking place in the spirit. We
are being called…compelled…to live on another level -- that of eternity.”…
We are impressed that a veil is being removed, and those with eyes to see will
perceive the essence of things as they really are.” [There is no way I can communicate all the
significant insights Arni is sharing in this – I will reach out to get
permission to put it on my blog in full, but you could also write and ask for
it to be sent to you straight from the
Kleins.]
Some
powerful excerpts: “….the time has fully come that we need to engage at a
root (causative) level. Once something is systemic, topical treatments
are essentially fruitless. It’s like casting the enemy from the house while
the door is left wide open. This moment requires a shift in our thinking
accompanied by consequent changes in how we look, what we see, where we stand,
and what we choose to do.
“….Israel is a prophetic
nation existing in both the natural and spiritual realm…. The Law, which is spiritual, went out from Zion,
which is natural. The connection
between the natural and the spiritual…causes and effects…roots and fruits…is
often not recognized as it usually takes time for a seed to grow to maturity. …With
that as a foundational principle let’s move on to consider it in real time….
As the nation to whom the Word and the glory of God has been
entrusted, it naturally follows that Israel would be positioned as the global
gatekeeper. We believe it
also follows that what Israel does or doesn’t do has implications for the
nations. If so, what then would
be the result of freeing hundreds of demonically-motivated convicted murderers
into society? Surely it would open a
gateway to the pit of hell, releasing a spirit of murder into the global arena.
As far as we can tell, nothing like this has ever been done before in human
history. The unprecedented has now become the precedent…. the moral and
spiritual repercussions in the decision to release the terrorists stands in the
eternal court of the Lord….. We pray that all those that love Him and await His
appearing will be hidden in the shadow of His wings with enough oil to carry us
through any longer-than-expected night.
Our next letter will pick up from this point.
Our
emphasis, according to our calling, has mainly to do with the unseen spiritual
realm. But we want to acknowledge the fact that in the Land there
are so many doing so much of great and eternal value. For those of you
also interested in the work taking place on the ground, we’d like to recommend
the digest put out by a longtime friend. …Donna Diorio. She has been at this work
faithfully for some 20 years. It is a well-considered compilation of
highlights from a wide and varied range of Israeli ministries. We know of no
other single address from which to easily get an overview of the work in
Israel. You can subscribe at: ArrowsDDiorio@protonmail.com or
donna@israelprayer.com. This is her
full-time work, so if you are blessed by it, please do consider becoming a
regular supporter.
On a more earthly
personal note, as prices have gone
up everywhere, food costs in Israel have nearly doubled. We would value your prayers for Emmaus Way’s monthly contributions.
[DD: My sincere and grateful thanks to Arni’s recommendation of me to his subscribers, who immediately responded with subscription requests. Perfect timing, Arni. Thank you and Yonit.]
Troubling news regarding persecution from Dugit
Ministries in Tel Aviv, Avi Mizrachi
writes that they are now facing their own “exodus” after their landlord of the
past 6 years will not be renewed and has already been given to someone else. In
less than 60 days they have to relocate “not just Dugit’s offices and one of
our Distribution Centers but is also home to our local Messianic congregation
Adonai Roi, our beloved prayer tower overlooking downtown Tel Aviv, and
ministry Shelanu TV.”
“This decision by our
landlords, while shocking, does not surprise us. As Messianic Jewish believers,
we are all too familiar with this kind of persecution. We understand that pressure from outside
organizations can often lead landlords and businesses to sever ties with
Messianic organizations like ours. This is not the first time we have faced
such challenges, yet even in this trial, we remain confident of God’s
faithfulness and His plans for us.
Last
year, I was with a group gathered in our prayer tower to intercede for Israel,
and during that powerful time of prayer, a man shared an unexpected
prophetic word with me: “This building is not your home.” At the time, I
did not fully understand what it meant, but now it is clear.
We are believing that God
will provide the $2.5 million we need to purchase a multipurpose building of
our own—so that we can continue to minister to the people of
Israel and beyond! ….
So will you pray with us? Will you
give the most generous gift you can during this critical time?
3/20 The
Tikkun Global teaching video with Asher Intrater teaching is regarding the Moral Law
from Mount Sinai … a new series on
Judeo-Christian values and why we need to return to a basic understanding of
God’s law while living in a post moral society.
Chaim Malespin of the Aliyah
Return Center and The Faithful Galileans gives parallels between the story of Esther and
Israel’s current situation: Extensional Threats from Enemies In the story of Esther, Haman set up a
terrible scheme to annihilate all of the Jewish people from the Babylonian
kingdom that extended from India to Ethiopia! Today, Israel has been
fighting seven fronts against enemies that want to see Israel and the Jewish
people wiped off the map. They also had set up an evil plan like Haman to try
to destroy Israel. | Miracles and Divine help Through prayer and
fasting, Esther received much favor from the King, which was also extended
to Mordecai. This favor enabled the Jewish people to reverse Haman’s evil plan.
There have been countless stories in Israel during this war of miracles
of survival against great odds. Including the two Iranian attacks of several
ballistic missiles into Israel! | The Courage to speak up on behalf of
Israel For Esther to speak up on
behalf of her people before the king took courage! Today for people to speak up on behalf of
Israel also takes courage, as it has become divisive in many circles. For
those in Iran who have spoken out on behalf of Israel, they have been the most
courageous. | Return and Messiah The
story of Esther took place before the Jewish people returned back to
Israel, rebuilt the Temple, and Yeshua was born. Israel today is still seeing the return of
Jewish people back to Israel, preparations for the Third Temple, and signs
of our Messiah’s return.
As I
return back to the army this week after celebrating Purim, I am encouraged
knowing that God is with us!.... We had a wonderful time of prayer and fasting
this past week with Altar of
Prayer.| A modern day Esther! VIDEOS also Esther Moments of Women of Courage. | The Ambassador Academy, hosted by The
Faithful Galileans, is a two-week immersive leadership training experience hosted
twice a year in Israel. | Thank you once again! I hope and pray that you will
be filled with courage and faith this coming week! Sow into The
Faithful Galileans | Also
Visit Chaim’s blog: The Faithful
Galileans
Another congregation dealing with persecution
currently (and for quite a while) over their school for believer children in
Tiberias. The Peniel
Fellowship – don’t let the fellowship
name fool you, this is the largest congregation in Israel – led by Daniel and
Shirya Yahav write of “challenging trials within the fellowship” in addition to
the war “since the enemy in all fronts is continually working hard in order to
recoup its power and resources.”
They could USE OUR HELP in “our ongoing battle for
the license for our messianic elementary school.
Following the last closure order, after several years of battling for it and
fulfilling all the requirements of the ministry of education, we decided to
open a petition and send it to all our friends, to show our officials that we are not alone, and
there are many friends of Israel who are concerned about the injustice in
refusing to grant the messianic parents their democratic right to educate their
children according to their faith in the Old and New Testament. This
petition is still going on, if you have not signed it you can do so at: Petition link: Reverse the Closure of the Messianic
Peniel Primary School in Tiberias, Israel! Please take a minute and sign online now!
God is with them and many good
things are happening in this congregation – even when their accountant’s family
home burnt down, the family who had been sleeping were unharmed and the
congregational accounts were not lost. The village who were opposed to their
Messianic faith came out with great compassion to help the family in many
practical ways, and “the people in their community
were amazed at the peaceful and calm attitude this family had in the midst of
the disaster they faced, and so they could be a living testimony of the peace
of God in the midst of trial.” Pray for them to
get the insurance money to rebuild.
To groups of people they are doing
outreach to in their area are the Druze, a small home group has been
established. Pray for their safety from “different levels of hostility from
their fellowmen and from close relatives, pray for strengthening of their
faith, for the salvation of other family members and for all of that community.
Another small minority that is on our hearts to reach, is the Circassian
community…. There are only two villages of them in the Galilee. It
appears they were reached with the gospel in the 6th century, in the area of
the Caucasus, and gradually turned to Christianity. But in the 16th century
they were forced to convert to Islam, and since then their official religion
has been Islam. Pray for them too, for God to open a way into their
community and into their hearts.
Tree of Life Israel Ministries Ariel and Shayla Hyde write about the debate that fell through that turned into a great witness anyway. They had an Orthodox rabbi set to debate about the Messiahship of Yeshua, Jesus but his rabbi “one of the chief rabbis of Israel, commanded him not to participate.” This was going to take place on the channel of a famous Israeli YouTuber who has come to faith named Rafi.
After Rafi explained the last minute withdrawal from the debate “Israelis
who were watching and commenting were shocked by how the rabbis had apparently
been afraid to engage in a debate with a Jewish follower of Yeshua. It made
them start questioning rabbinic Judaism, and they certainly also received lots
of good insights about Yeshua. Praise God!
Please Pray with Us: For God to continue to work through Rafi
powerfully, helping him walk in humility, wisdom, faith, and purity. Several
of us on the team really consider him a spiritual son and we want to see
him reaching his full potential for God’s glory!”
They also ask prayers for “For
our newest evangelistic videos about the craziest love ever shown and
unconditional love that are just about to be released in Hebrew – for
anointing in final touches and for advertising, that they’d reach all of
Israeli society, that many Israelis would have a powerful encounter with Yeshua
through them, and many would become true disciples!
For
more laborers – we’ve had some beautiful stories of God touching hearts and
bringing salvation through the conversations our team members are having with
Israeli seekers, and we hope to share more of those soon. But there are still
so many seekers we don’t have the ability to even answer. Think of it:
dozens of people who ordered New Testaments and evangelistic orders that we
haven’t had time to call beyond just sending them the orders. These are like
fruit ripe for the picking, but we don’t want to see them have to wait so long
that they become rotten, so we need more harvesters! We’ve sent out ads
amongst the believers in Israel about our need, but we know it’s ultimately the
Lord of the harvest Who has to stir up these laborers to answer the call, so
let’s beseech Him together for this!”
From evangelistic Pastor Israel Pochtar of the Beit Hallel congregation and Voice of Judah ministries, a VIDEO The God of Victory: A Reflection from the Land of the Bible at the site of “one of Israel’s most decisive battles” in Lachish. | Also at the end of March Beit Hallel is doing a significant outreach to some 900 Israeli non-believers in the hometown of Yeshua: Evangelism Outreach in Nazareth. | VIDEO A Purim Thank You “We witnessed families feel the deep reassurance that they are not alone—that they are seen, heard, and deeply loved.” And an article of Irena's Testimony | Find Pastor Israel on Telegram
Kerem-El, of God’s vineyard, is the daughter congregation of HaCarmel
congregation, a highly prophetic and worship-based congregation on Mt Carmel.
It is led by Yonatan Arnold and Stefan & Keren Silver. (Stefan is the son
of David & Josie Silver, Out of Zion). Kerem-El writes that in the midst of
the war “Spiritually,
many are searching for the meaning to life in the midst of great pain, trauma
and uncertainty. There are many amazing testimonies from
released hostages of how they cried out to God for help, and statistics from
online evangelism platforms of seekers watching videos and engaging in
conversations is very high. We've had two new
believers join Kerem-El who found the congregation by searching online.”
You may not know this but it is a
huge step for Israelis to commit to water baptism, the congregation is rejoicing
that “Last weekend we were blessed to baptize three young men in their late
teens and early twenties. We gathered as a congregation at the local beach for
the baptism and it was a very blessed time. One other decided to wait a little
longer due to his family threatening to kick him out of the house if he gets
baptized. Following Yeshua in Israel can come at a steep price.” One of those
that was baptized had “began to search the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) to find
a deeper faith. In his search he came across Messianic websites, and spent many
months on his own listening to messages. It soon became clear to him that he
needed a congregation, so he Googled and found Kerem-El. He has been coming to
meetings and discipleship classes faithfully.” | Another had “begun
believing in Yeshua about three years ago but didn't know that there were
other Jewish believers in Yeshua in Israel. As he was searching for political articles online, he stumbled on
to Messianic platforms. He went through a season of unbearable mental torment
but one night he cried out to Yeshua and immediately the torment lifted. After
this encounter he immediately believed in Yeshua, knowing him to be his savior.
Since then he has been alone with online teachings, and about a month ago he started
coming to the congregation. He also has faithfully been coming to Shabbat
meetings and discipleship classes. Please pray for these young men as they
take this brave stand for the Lord, and especially for the young man who
postponed the baptism for now.
Please consider this
congregation who could really use the support of believers in the nations.
Honestly every and any little bit would be appreciated to help towards the
general ministries of Kerem-El. Or if you would like your gift to go to a specific
cause or need, please add a designation note
with your donation.
Rania Sayegh
is the prophetic intercessor – a “one new man” Christian Arab woman who heads
the House of Prayer & Exploits in
Nazareth. You can find her on Instagram: Hope_nazareth and YouTube. This month she has
come out with a beautiful new prayer letter format that you can sign up to
receive to keep up her ministry among Christian Arab women in Israel. Rania has
great relations with the Messianic Jewish ministries in Israel too.
Read her article
about Purim “highlighting its strategic alignment with biblical
history. This year, Purim falls on March 13 (Adar 13)—the same date mentioned
in Esther 3:13, when a decree of death was issued against the Jewish people. Yet, five chapters later, after Esther and
Mordecai’s intercession, God overturned the decree, transforming it into a
miraculous victory” | Also Crisis in
Syria: Latest Updates on Conflict, Displacement, and Persecution | Syria is at a critical crossroads, facing
escalating violence and deepening instability.
“Sow Into HOPE | At HOPE, we passionately mobilize prayer and
worship in Israel and beyond, equipping leaders and communities to fulfill
God’s calling. Your generosity has enabled impactful prayer gatherings,
worship, and outreach. Recently we’ve been blessed with new premises to expand
this work, but meeting our $5,300 monthly operational costs remains a step of
faith. Thanks to the support of our global family, $20,000 has already been
given toward sustaining our mission. Every gift—large or small—makes an eternal
impact. Give securely via PayPal or credit card. Give in
Israel | Give in the
US | Tax
Deductible Giving “
Rachel Netanel - Beit HaNetanel - "The House God Gave" - writes
about the change she has seen in her son over the years: “my son Gili, used to
be embarrassed whenever I talked about my faith in front of his friends. He
would not even stay in the same room. Now he is so proud and comes as often as
he can with his friends and co-workers. What a miracle the Lord has done in his
heart.” She shares the stories of several groups her son has brought over the
last few months. One group she wrote, “Gili came with five of his friends. All
of them were religious Jews. We wanted to have a BBQ but they would not eat
from my grill as I was a Messianic Jew and nothing I could cook would be kosher
for them. So, they brought their own portable BBQ and their own kosher meat. We
cooked together and later we sat and talked for hours. They listened to my
testimony and asked so many questions. I heard their point of view and it
was such a blessing as they really did listen and want to know how I as a Jew
could believe in this Yeshua. How can I still be a Jew? We may not agree on
some things but just to know that they listened is awesome.”
She has so many encouraging stories,
including: “A couple of weeks ago, my grandson, Amit, came to visit us in Zukim
with 12 fellow soldiers who had just been fighting in Syria. We gave them mattresses to sleep on and we
sat up and talked about Yeshua until one in the morning.” She writes: “Remember evangelizing is not
just to speak to the people but to build relationships. Through these
relationships, they will begin trust you and want to hear more. They bring
their friends and thus the gospel is spread and continues to grow. I am truly
amazed at how I no longer need to go to the streets to share the Gospel. People
keep coming to our door. I have so many opportunities to share from my own home
and I know that only the Lord can do this. May His word become alive in the
hearts of all of those who hear the Gospel. I pray that you too will have
opportunities to share His good news to all who come your way. The Lord will
give you the words to speak if you are willing to take a chance.”
Rachel and her husband Gilad have a
gift of hospitality in their houses in Ein Karim outside of Jerualem and in
Zukim in the south. Both houses are
devoted to hosting all kinds of people who come to break bread over a meal
Rachel and Gilad prepare, and to hear Rachel, who is a natural and anointed
personal evangelist. They host groups – even tour guides bring them groups –
mostly Israeli and from all walks of life. You can watch Rachel's life story on GodTube Videos | To support them, | Paypal:
beitnetanel@gmail.com | Tikkun https://www.tikkunglobal.org/emissaries/netanel
Lastly, a word I really could use this past several days, (maybe you too?) from Revive Israel’s Youval and Valerie Yanay: “You Belong. You Matter. | Paul paints a powerful picture of unity in diversity: the Body of Messiah, like the human body, is made up of many different parts, each with a unique and essential role. Just as our physical bodies are intricately designed, so too is the spiritual body of believers—every person placed with purpose by God Himself. But what happens when those differences make us feel out of place? Many of us have wrestled with thoughts like, I don’t fit in. I don’t have a clear role. Maybe I don’t belong here at all. Paul addressed these very struggles in his letter to the Corinthians. At the time, spiritual gifts had become a source of division. Those with outwardly dramatic gifts—miracles, healings, prophecy—were elevated, while others felt inferior, overlooked, and unimportant. Instead of strengthening the Body, these comparisons led to competition and isolation.”
No comments:
Post a Comment