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Week after week I find myself reading
about and reporting on the increase of wickedness. It is vexing, but it is also
reality. We are in
warfare and the battle is pitched, being fought to the finish with our very
lives if necessary.
The physical warfare that Israel is in, is
in fact a mirror image of the spiritual warfare going on all around us in every
nation. Few are oblivious to it now because it has come too close to
us and invaded our personal spaces. Some try to cope by just partying on, but
few of us are unaware that wickedness is growing everywhere.
It is interesting to me that 2 days
after writing this intro article to the Weekly
Summary for this week, I received “An Urgent Shavuot Message” from Tiferet Yeshua’s Moti Cohen that is
pictured here and elaborated on below. Israel
is on the frontlines of both the physical and the spiritual warfare. This
is a confirming word about the subject of this article and issue focus.
It was a blessing over the past couple of days to get
great news from several Israeli ministries of breakthroughs that they really
needed. In the already taxing emotional and concerning
situation of their family members and loved ones fighting in an intense war
on 7 fronts, the ministry leaders in my weekly
summaries are also still pressing forward to advance the Kingdom of Our
Lord in Israel.
Although
the nations of the whole world are critical of Israel’s existential battle to
exist in the Land Promised to them by God, we who honor God also honor these
men and women, our spiritual family laboring in the LORD’s vineyards. The
spiritual vineyards of God in Messiah, which many Christians are still utterly
blind to, believe this is ‘just another people group, just another nation’
completely unrelated to the Israel of God in their own Bibles. Their blindness make them like the little
foxes of the Song of Solomon 2:15, "Take for
us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are
in bloom." Take for us is 'āḥaz and it means “seize,
take possession” – we are implored to take possession of those little foxes who
are spoiling the spiritual vineyard in the time of the spiritual harvest.
Because so many Christians cannot
see who the Israeli body of Messiah really are, they not only do not help
them with their vineyards that are in bloom, they often misidentify them as
either insignificant to Christianity, or
as a dangerous “cult” that traditional religious Jews tell their Christian
supporters Messianic Jews of Israel are. We are implored to seize them,
take possession of them which I interpret as praying for God to remove their
blindness to these important matters.
A
week ago in the power struggles in Israel over the war, we saw the mirror-image
of this same type of spiritual warfare. Not even recognizing how the
damage he was doing to Israel was far greater than any gains he might have
turning people to himself and away from Netanyahu, one of Israel’s
ex-generals and opposition party leader made
the accusation that Israel was ‘killing babies as a hobby’ in Gaza. His
accusation called into question the morality of ALL Israeli soldiers and gave
more ammunition to Israel’s enemies to abuse them with. As a Gatestone
article by Nils Haug called it, the ex-general’s “suspiciously self-serving
ruminations” are a case of 'Foxes in the Vineyards': Israel's
Very Own Subversives
It is a fault and even a sin to
be so focused on our own desires that we are willing to pull our whole house
down to have it the way we see it. We cannot forget in the kingdom of God,
we are one body.
So many times over the years I have watched Christians who raise funds
to bless Israel treat their brothers and sisters in Israel as if they are
nothing. Some have even gone so far as to denounce those that are in the
faith of Jesus in Israel – and it is all in order that the Christian can
maintain their ‘witness’ to unbelieving Israelis. What witness?! The
witness that Christians will betray even Jews who profess the faith of Jesus? How hugely disappointing the Church must be to Messianic Jews! Yet in
Israel these disciples of Yeshua forge ahead with faith that as God has
promised, so shall it come to pass and all Israel shall be saved because they
do not give up. They continue on with the work Yeshua called them to be as
witnesses of Yeshua to Israel. He is the only restorer of Israel, as a nation
and in spiritual unity with Israel’s God.
In Matthew 16:18 Yeshua
told Peter that upon the rock of God’s
revelation to Peter that Yeshua is the Messiah, that "on
this rock I will build My ecclesia, and the gates of hell will not prevail
against it."
When the days are so dark with the
increase of wickedness, of violence, of hearts set on evil, it is taxing on
human emotion not to give up and just lie down in the dust. But those that know
the LORD thrown off the spirit of heaviness knowing that “the gates of hell
will not prevail.”
This week the focus is the good news of how the Israeli
ministries are pressing in to advance Yeshua’s kingdom.
|
First, I need to address my comment last week
about the young Jewish couple murdered by a terrorist attack at the Jewish
Museum in Washington, D.C. I
wrote that the targets were a prophetic symbol of one new man in Messiah because
of reporting that identified Yaron Lizchinsky as an Israeli Messianic Jew
and the young woman he intended to propose to the following week in Israel,
Sarah Milgrim. Sarah was reported to be an American Christian. There is a
reason for the great confusion over the faith of this couple, and if you want
to work out what I don’t want to write about here, then I suggest you read this & the highly unusual blog post
in the Times of Israel by journalist-Rabbi Joshua Hammerman (One of the D.C.
shooting victims was a Messianic Jew. Should that matter?)
I accepted the reporting that Milgrim was a Christian because I do
not automatically separate Messianic Jews from “real Jews” as some do. But
when I wrote that we should view their terrorist murders as a prophetic
symbol and a prophetic warning, it was with the background of having
watched over the past month the exposure on X by journalist @AmyMek of the startling level of
Islamist community hubs in Texas and the close relationships with Texas
politicians. It is not just happening in this state, but in many states,
however Texas appears to have been targeted specifically. Probably because of
our STUPID political leadership in this state. My thinking is that the time
has come that Islamists in North
America are ceasing to develop under the cover of darkness. They are coming
out of the closet and they will not just be targeting Jews, they will
target Christians too. This is why I called it a prophetic warning. –Donna
Diorio |
Arrows
from Zion
Summarized from the Weekly Summary of Prayer
Requests Israeli Ministries
HUGE
Congratulations to Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel congregation in
Ashdod for getting a great last minute victory from the LORD raising all the
funds needed to buy the building. Israel wrote, “After
months of prayer, faith, and your incredible support, the final amount came
through and we’ve received the keys to our new spiritual home. This is a huge step
forward for our congregation, and we couldn’t have done it without you. Your
fingerprints are all over this miracle! Watch his
video here.
….With
this breakthrough fresh in our hearts, we’re heading straight into
preparations for Shavuot (Pentecost). Just as the Holy Spirit was poured
out in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, we’re
getting ready to bring busloads of Israelis—many hearing the Gospel for the
first time….And we’re
stepping in to support dozens of local
IDF reservists currently serving in our area. Many of them are young
believers, putting their lives on hold to protect our communities. They’re in real need of basic supplies and
encouragement…. And just beyond
the horizon, an incredible opportunity awaits—Pastor
Israel and a team of Israeli pastors are heading to the Balkans for a special gathering with
church leaders from across the region. It’s a modern-day Macedonian
call…. Also Watch Pastor Pochtar’s
message of Shavuot – A
Feast of Harvest, Holiness and Heart.
Also another ‘nail-biter’ we have been watching for the past 2 months
is where would Avi Mizrachi’s Dugit Ministries land after being given notice that the
landlord would not renew their lease. A 2-month turnaround is near
impossible to raise funds to buy their own building, but they knew this was
ultimately the answer. God is clearly leading the ministries to put down
permanent roots – it is an act of faith not unlike God instructing Jeremiah
(32) to buy a field as the army of Babylon was blockading Jerusalem! Dugit, which means a “small fishing boat,” has
been 30 years in Tel Aviv calling out in the name of Yeshua. They’ve been the
target of persecution in the past, and losing their lease is another
discouraging blow – BUT they put their faith in God’s call and provision and
Avi reports “the Lord has graciously answered our prayers by
providing us with a temporary space that is close by. Thankfully, we will still have a roof over our heads
until we can secure a permanent home. As we approach Shavuot ….we are
reminded of something undeniable: the Spirit of God is still moving powerfully in
Israel today. . . . we see it every day. In the middle of uncertainty, hardship, and
heartache, we are witnessing a quiet but powerful spiritual awakening. People are hungry. People are searching. And hearts
are opening to the Good News of Yeshua the Messiah. Even though the loss of
our facilities has been challenging, we have not stopped doing the work
of the ministry. In fact, we are leaning into it, believing
God to do even more! I believe that now is a time of
spiritual harvest. The same Spirit
who was poured out on Pentecost is continuing through our ministry today—and
we are honored to be His hands and feet in Israel. But
we can’t do this alone! We believe that you are
co-laborers together with us in the Lord. One plants, another waters, but God gives the
increase. Would you prayerfully consider giving a special gift during this
season? Please give your most generous Pentecost
offering today to help us reach the lost and hurting
in Israel.
REMEMBER Over the last months we have
shared the needs of many of the Israeli Ministries in similar situations to
being suddenly thrust into the need to move from the rental property
their congregation or ministry has been set up in, or in meeting overly
strenuous demands by the city upon them because of their faith in Yeshua. It
is a
super-prevalent form of persecution the religious opposition
leverages against the Messianic body in Israel. I have seen it more times than I can count! The
only way to deal with the “rental pogrom” is to raise the funds necessary to
purchase a facility. Please remember even as we celebrate God’s answers above,
others await Victory in the LORD’s Answer! We know that Michael Beener of
City of Life needs to raise funds to purchase a building to escape
constant persecution in Sderot. Also
the Tiberias ministry of Daniel Yahav & the 35 yr old school for
Messianic & evangelical families in the Galillee be allowed to reopen
(closed after meeting all upgrade demands imposed by the city!) Here’s the
petition Reverse
the Closure of the Messianic Peniel Primary School in Tiberias, Israel!
REMEMBER Also remember that so
many of the pastors and ministers that are featured in this weekly prayer
summary are doing double duty. Not only
serving their congregations and ministries, but also serving reserve duty in
the war. Recently Israel did one of the largest ever call ups for
450,000 to leave daily life to fight in the war. That includes Chaim Malespin, Moti Cohen, Nati, the pastor at the Tel
Aviv congregation Avi Mizrachi founded, Joel Jelski from Fields of Wheat – so
many more. They need special prayer to be able to go in and out of a war
zone then suddenly back with family and ministry. That is no easy transition!
Pray for all of them and their families – at home with great concern and a lot
more on their shoulders than they are used to. THIS IS ALSO A PRIORITY PRAYER.
Abba
let them be known for their emotional stability and the excellence in every
service. Protect them so that no weapon formed against them shall prosper and
give them clarity of vision in the battlefield – protectors of Israel, never
avengers but mighty men of valor full of the strength and wisdom of the Lord
their God, and filled to overflow with the Holy Spirit.
I hope I can get this out in time (9 pm Israel time) for you to tune into the live streaming Friday (today!) by Chaim Malespin’s Faithful Galileans Shavuot Worship life with Shai Sol. Register here and watch on Facebook or YouTube. Also they have a free gift of Shavuot recipes from a renowned Israeli chef Shani Sanders Download traditional recipes
It was like a confirmation of the cover story I had written two days
prior when I opened Tiferet Yeshua’s
5/29 email “An Urgent Shavuot Message”
and my eyes landed on the picture of the new congregational senior pastor Moti
Cohen standing on a tank with a heading reading, On the Frontlines Physical and Spiritual! Exactly my
focus this week. This is true of all Israel – the tip of the spear in fighting
the physical opposition warfare of Islamism/anti-God evil within the
nations – and it is also true that the Israeli Messianic Ministries are
the tip of the spear in the spiritual opposition warfare against the
body of the Lord – Christian and Messianic Jew throughout the world.
Tiferet Yeshua writes, “Here in Israel, we cannot forget that
we are still at war. Everyone either has a family member fighting in Gaza or
personally knows someone who is. That goes for all of us at Tiferet
Yeshua too – our dear Moti was called up to reserve duty and is serving with
his unit in Gaza. By God's grace, the army agreed that Moti
would only come for a week in order to help train new recruits. The
battle rages on, in the physical but also in the spiritual. In fact, we are
always more or less in a spiritual war, but God has equipped us with the
weapons we need: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty
in God for pulling down strongholds" 2 Cor 10:4 Weapons of the flesh are what human nature
and worldly culture instruct us to fight with when we feel threatened or
attacked: arrogance, dishonesty, money, competition, control, influence,
power and fame. In contrast, the weapons God gives us are weak and lowly in the
eyes of the world…. We can so easily slip back into operating in the ways of
the world – unfortunately it's our natural default. In this special Shavuot
holiday season, we pray that the Lord would give us all the grace to walk daily
according to the Spirit and not the flesh!
Earlier they wrote about an outdoor
grilling outreach they did on the Tel Aviv beach – feeding people great BBQ
and spiritual food too. They also shared the amazing testimony of a
woman new to their congregation who is a fashion designer with nearly a half
million Instagram followers she has shared her newly found faith with! Read More
| The also shared about honoring all the volunteers in their congregation in
One Body, Many Members. To bless this Tel Aviv congregation with support Give Today
Leon Mazin of Return to Zion
in Haifa gives a brief update on what they and daughter congregation, Or Chai
have been up to with a women’s retreat. Leon writes, “Many of us, or maybe all of us, feel tired and even
exhausted for various reasons. In the spring season the body is subjected to
great stress and reacts with fatigue. The other reason is the long-lasting
uncertainty due to the situation in our country. So, special restoration events were organized
for the Congregation men and children.” Last but not least the women enjoyed a
time of refreshing. ALSO another significant event for the congregation as they
ordained an elder among them, Evgenii S, who Leon says had actually carried out
this ministry for many years unofficially and contributed in great measure to
the live of Shavei Tzion congregation. May the LORD continue to bless through
this elder among them.
Tikkun Global leads
with a VIDEO of Asher Intrater and Paul Wilbur sharing in a Netherlands “one
new man” conference. Very powerful – especially enjoyed Paul speaking of the
early days of their relationship. Watch Covenant Relationships in Action.
| Reead Soviet
Siberian Snow Story by Leon Mazin “Sometimes
we feel like our ‘legs are buckling,’ and then an uplifting message comes from
you, and the world around becomes more colorful and joyous.”
Shavuot | Sunday June 1 PM 7:30 PM Israel time/ 12:30 PM
EST | Mark your calendar! Tikkun
Global is hosting a Shavuot online event on June 1, 7:30pm Israel time, 12:30pm
USA EST. We will have many different
worship groups representing the Body of Yeshua in Israel. Translation from
Hebrew to English will be offered during the livestream. Please be sure to subscribe to our Tikkun Global Youtube
channel.
Israel, the
Church and the Last Days BOOK by Asher
Intrater and Dan Juster
Eitan Shishkoff did a wonderful interview with a young mother who has
been instrumental in organizing the Katzir
(harvest) Youth camps for the last 9 years. Eitan calls Moriah “an unsung
hero.” For herself, Moriah says “At age 12 I knew that I wanted to be
involved in youth camps for the rest of my life.” What a blessing to go off to youth camp at that age
and begin to experience God’s call on your life! Moriah says her parents became
believers as young adult Israelis and that impacted her: “I grew up looking
forward to every opportunity to be with other Messianic kids. That’s
when the desire to serve, to be a counselor took root. I remember leading a
group of 3rd and 4th graders, sitting on the grass with them. It felt truly
amazing to be able to help them know God and to encounter His love. I went on
to become a counselor in teen camps for many years.”
When Eitan asked how she connected
to Katzir, Moriah says, “One day when my daughter was only a few months old, I
was looking for work I could do primarily from home. I got a call from
Chaim, then the director of Katzir. ‘We’re looking for an administrator to
help us take our ministry to the next level. Would you be interested?’ This was
a perfect fit. It combined my many years of experience in youth camps with a
love of excellence in organization.”
“My early
impressions were very positive. I felt drawn in. For one thing I noticed
that you, Eitan, and two other mature pastoral couples were present during the
camp. Your presence, being available to the young adult counselors, to our
leadership team, and to the youth gave the entire camp a secure feeling. I
also loved the atmosphere of openness to the Spirit of God.”
Nothing
speaks quite so clearly of excellent ministry as when those being ministered to
are inspired to the same ministry themselves. Your donations help pay Moriah
for the high quality ministry she performs. Donate at
Katzir
One more thing to say about Moriah: Her
brother Amitai was gravely wounded in the early stages of the Gaza war. Four of
his team were killed instantly, Amitai survived by the quick action to get him
medical help although his legs had to be amputated. Moriah says of her brother,
“His incredibly upbeat and resilient response to this life-altering loss has
gained national attention. My husband and I moved to an apartment near the
hospital to assist my brother in his recovery and rehabilitation. He is one
of so many sacrificial heroes.”
SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday, June 11, 2025
We will meet
again for Fellowship & Strategic Intercession.
PLEASE JOIN US! (We’ll send the
link as the date approaches - If you write Eitan from seeing this in Weekly Summary or Arrows from Zion, request to receive the information by emailing and mentioning this prayer list)
From Maoz Israel’s Kobi and Shani Ferguson, they have led a team
into Europe called ISRAEL AND ISHMAEL WORSHIP TOUR—bringing the sound of
Jewish and Arab worship to 16 cities across France and Belgium! | The write about Israel’s external war and
internal division. In our latest Israeli
Insiders podcast, we dive into the
deep challenges Israel faces post-October 7, political unrest and its spiritual
implications. We also discuss why protecting and investing in Israeli
worshippers matters now more than ever. Thank you for standing with us—in
prayer, in support, and in worship! If you haven't already, join us on social
media to catch our ISRAEL AND
ISHMAEL WORSHIP TOUR in France!
Stand with
Israel
From Avner Boskey of David’s Tent He writes Running the race well about the deaths of – Israeli Yaron Lischinsky (age 30) and his soon-to-be fiancée American Sarah Milgrim (age 26). | Also Avner writes about the (mindboggling) denial of an American Jewish friend about the explosion of anti-Semitism in the USA. Read it in Never Again?
Reuven Doron has started sending out short videos which I greatly appreciate. Watch Reuven speaking from his backyard in Israel on the Sabbath
of God’s faithfulness – even in the case of the Fishers &
Hunters of Jeremiah 16. Reuven speaks to the “ongoing cycles of “Fishers” and
“Hunters” as the prophetic
Word continues to unfold according to God’s promises from age to age. And though the
path may be difficult and seeded with suffering, God’s Spirit carries His
people through “from grace to grace and from glory to glory,” even to the end
of days.” The whole email was a great encouragement that God’s
promises are true and faithful. He also sent a catch up the war focusing on the
various fronts Israel must fight from. You can read Reuven's War Report online at Facebook
This is quite an enlightening ‘day in the life’ account of an Israeli best friend of Orna Grinman on her blog: How are we doing? | Here is a peek into the reality we live in. Talk about a roller coaster ride in a normal 24-hour period! It will help you to relate to them so you can pray better.
And Norma S writes in her From this
Mountain blog post about the delight of resting on Shabbat – part of
what Norma calls a rhythm of life that God wants us to enjoy and be refreshed
in. Finding Rest and Rhythm
Howard Bass of Yeshua’s Inheritance
in Beer Sheva also writes about “The terrorist
ideologically-driven murderer of the two US Israeli Embassy staff members last
week in Washington, DC -- Yaron Lichinsky and Sarah Milgrim -- were both Jewish
believers in Jesus/Yeshua. Yaron lived in Israel and was part of the Messianic
body here. (It's a small world, a small
land, and a small remnant of believers in Israel: Yaron's brother is married to the wife of our
daughter-in-law Eden's best friend on the moshav where she and Tal live.) They
were planning to get engaged here this week.
I don't
know if the murderer knew that they were believers in Jesus, but that was
not the issue with him: they were Jews
who identified with Israel. That's all it takes to be a target. Hitler didn't
care either what type of Jew someone was; it only mattered that their DNA was
Jewish enough only as far back as a grandparent from either side. And, today,
just being "for Israel" is good enough to be suspect enough to
eliminate.
…. One thing that reveals the
"world's way" and its hypocrisy is how the nations and the
churches during the Nazi years generally left the Jews at the cruel mercies of
the Nazis, and did little, if anything, to protect and save the Jews; but
they were determined to defeat the Nazis. Afterwards, the US led the way to
"hire" Nazis to work in the government and in the military-industrial
complex, compromising their resolve against an ideological enemy.
Today,
we see how much the Muslim nations, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE have for
decades been encroaching by their vast wealth and precious "black
gold" into American society -- in academia; local and state and national
government; the media; sport and culture; alluring vacation destinations. We
also know by now how much they support Hamas, while at the same time playing as
mediators, "wanting peace" on their terms. And despite all this,
Israel's leading "friend and ally" is being played by these same
ideological enemies of Judeo-Christian "rules of life and living" to
become as all the other "exceptional" world leaders and empires of
their time.
Howard
had a great many excellent observations – which I wish I had room to share.
Write him to subscribe to his list. He also shared good news – of the
ladies’ meeting last week and also the baptism of their two oldest
grandchildren, Aviyah and Natan. Howard and Randi are blessed with children who
serve the LORD, and grandchildren who are also following in the spiritual
family of Yeshua.
Last, but not least, I must make mention of Michael and Dina Beener whose ministry in Sderot is so generous to their community in humanitarian care – which makes the local ultra-Orthodox enraged with envy at their goodness to people in the name of Yeshua. That is why I want to point out this: Persecution and Plans | We are facing ongoing pressure from local authorities, influenced by ultra-Orthodox extremist groups like Yad L’Achim, trying to shut down our distribution center and congregation. They see our work and the support we receive as a threat. In the midst of this, we believe the Lord is leading us to something greater, acquiring our own building. This would give us the freedom to continue serving, supporting the needy, and proclaiming His name without restrictions. Watch our video & learn more | Also Watch Our Exclusive Video About Jerusalem Day
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