The return of the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel from the four corners of the earth, in the last century, was not a fluke, nor simply a random political event.

This virtual human impossibility was prophesied in the Scriptures 3,500 to 2,600 years ago by Moses, the Psalmist, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Remember, it was not just that the Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth.  They were persecuted by a majority of their host nations, suffering expulsion after having been established, having laws passed against them, enduring torture, and even experiencing organized murder.  Spain, Germany, Russia, the Arab lands, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, France and England all participated in this sin of anti-Semitism.

That the Jewish People still exist is a miracle.  Clearly the reason why is the faithfulness of the God of Israel in keeping the covenants He made with them.

He declared a “thus saith the LORD” when He said that the sun, moon and stars would have to be destroyed in order for Israel to cease from being a nation.  (Jeremiah31:35,36)

“The Prophetic Regathering of Israel” lithograph was created to artistically document this modern day miracle. There are scores of prophetic passages on this regathering; I was limited by space and, unfortunately, could not include them all.

Below are the passages that appear “in the map” on the artwork:

Thus saith the LORD who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night; Who stirs up the sea, that the waves roar, the LORD of Hosts is His name:  If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, then the descendants of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.  (Jeremiah 31:35,36)

No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.  (Isaiah 54:17)

Behold, He that keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  (Psalm 121:4)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  (Psalm 122:6)

And He shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  (Isaiah 11:12)

The LORD will go before you and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.  (Isaiah 52:12)

Fear not for I am with thee.  I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, keep not back; bring My sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth, even everyone who is called by My name, for I have created him for My glory.  (Isaiah 43:5-7)

Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 31:3)

He hath remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded for a thousand generations which covenant He made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac, and confirmed to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.  (Psalm 105:8-11)

He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock.  (Jeremiah 31:10)

If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts…from there will the LORD thy God gather thee. (Deuteronomy 30:4)

And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries to which I have driven them and will bring them again to their own folds and they shall be fruitful and increase. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but the LORD lives, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country and from all countries to which I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land.  (Jeremiah 23:3,7-8)

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh, is anything too hard for me?  (Jeremiah 32:27)

In thinking about the uncertainty of these times, I recalled something from college physics:  “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle”.   It states that it is impossible to know both the exact position and the exact velocity of an object at the same time.  The effect is minute and only noticeable on a subatomic level.

You many be thinking, “Who cares?”

But wise King Solomon offered an “uncertainty principle” that everyone of us in 2009 can relate to. He wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter eight verse seven, “If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?”

Talk about uncertainty!  Not even the wisest man knew what lay ahead.

We do know that uncertainty is certain!

So how does one prepare for a bad eventuality if one does not know the what or the when of that eventuality?

The answer for the very real anxiety surrounding the uncertainties of life is to have faith in The Master of the Universe, Who is not uncertain and never will be uncertain of His knowledge of events, people or places.

He knows where everyone and everything is, and knows the when of life.  His awesome power, divine purposes, and overarching love for mankind, as demonstrated in His giving the Messiah, His Son, for us, is the “what” we each must count on in this time of brewing storms.

When Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus) was speaking to a crowd of people, He said:  “The Queen of the South (The Queen of Sheba)…came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.” (Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31)

Yeshua affirmed His ability to have things under control by saying:  “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b KJV)

He also affirmed this, when speaking of His life and impending crucifixion, by saying:  “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again…” (John 10:18 KJV)  He was in full control.

Talk is cheap.  Yeshua said He overcame the world.  How did He prove it?

Through His resurrection, a verified historical fact, He proved His Messiahship and power over our greatest enemy — death.

Yes, uncertainty is certain.

But, God’s love for you, and His power to sustain each of us, is more certain.

Run to Him for true security.  As the Scripture says, “The name of the LORD (YHVH) is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” (Prov. 18:10)

But, what if you are not certain that the Scriptures are the word of God?

What if you aren’t even certain that God exists, let alone loves you?

Here are some critical certainties to consider:

1. Millions of lives, and Western societies, have been positively transformed by the Bible. (Do note that when those societies discounted the authority and wisdom of the Scriptures they “decayed”.)
2. Hundreds of prophecies have been specifically fulfilled regarding the birth, life, death, resurrection and purpose of the Messiah. (See Micah 5:2, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, for example.)  It is a mathematical impossibility that all these prophecies could have been “fulfilled” by chance.
3. Scores of biblical prophecies about the scattering and regathering of the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel, after two thousand years, have been authenticated and borne out by history.  Think May 1948.

So, take a chance.  Tell the Master of the Universe, the God of the Bible, that you want to know Him and the certainty of His love, and the plan and promise of eternal life.  He promised to draw near to those who draw near to Him.  All you have to lose is your uncertainty.

P.S.  Please see some earlier Prophetic Prints posts to learn the “details” on how to freely receive the LORD’s gift of eternal life, grace, mercy, love, etc.

When I was a college student, the Messiah of Israel found me, though most believers like to say we found Him.  I really was “minding my own business” when He began to draw me into His magnificent kingdom, the Kingdom of God, on the same day the Yom Kippur War began in 1973.  Five weeks later I received Him–I was alone when the Ruach HaKodesh, the Spirit of God, revealed the truth and love of Messiah, my need for forgiveness, and His provision of atonement.  After I prayed, I literally felt unseen chains break off.  I was free.

I learned there were 400 believers on our campus of 15,000.  There I met a fellow believer named Mike B.

Fast forward thirty years. My husband and I moved to another state.  A neighbor across the street invited us to his fellowship.

While looking at the announcements in the bulletin I noticed that the speaker for the evening was a man named Mike B.  Same name.  Could it be the same person? I didn’t remember Mike as being the “type” to be serving in some far off place.

We returned early that evening to see if it was Mike.  Sure enough, twenty eight years after having last seen him, there he was.  He had served the LORD in Africa and was now in Eastern Europe.

Mike had a hard time recognizing me in my salt and pepper hair!  But we hugged and rejoiced at the miracle that had just taken place.  Neither of us had ever been in that fellowship before, as I had moved to that state the week before, and he had been living in Africa and then Eastern Europe over the past twenty five years.  He had just gotten back to the States  a week or so before, and this was a speaking engagement that had been arranged for him.

We marveled at the encouragement the LORD us–that He has directed every step of our lives, and knows the times and the seasons of our lives.

I met his dynamic wife, Kathy, and asked her to tell me about the transition to Eastern Europe…to the same country and city where my grandmother was from!

“The ground is really hard there.  It’s a predominantly Catholic country.”

She spoke of the profound hardness of heart that she and Mike encountered there to spiritual things.  This is not difficult to understand.  World War II ravaged the entire continent.  The suffering was unspeakable. Volumes have been written on the subject.

I had a thought…should I tell Kathy why there might possibly be hard hearts or resistance to spiritual things?  Or, would it be interpreted as self serving?

I knew I had to speak.  “You know, Kathy, during the war, a large majority of the people of that country strongly participated in helping the Nazis destroy its Jewish population.  There is a covenant in Scripture, the Abrahamic Covenant. (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 17)  Here, the LORD promised the Patriarch Abraham three things:  Land, seed, and blessing.  He also stated that “I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you.”  This covenant and promise was reaffirmed to Isaac in Genesis 26; to Jacob in Genesis chapter 28:13-15; 35:9-12; 48:3-4.  Numbers chapter 24:1-9 is very clear:  “Blessed is everyone who blesses you (Israel), and cursed is everyone who curses you (Israel).”

“I am wondering, Kathy, if the way to have softened ground in the country where you are laboring is to join the other believers in confessing the very serious sin of anti-Semitism that led to hundreds of thousands of Jewish deaths.  Innocent blood has been shed in that land…the innocent blood of God’s covenant people is on the soil and on the hands of their ancestors.  Perhaps there is a curse on the land spoken of in Genesis 12.  In addition, the sin of hatred that generations of people in that country have participated in has opened a big door to the enemy of their souls:  Satan.  The people are indeed in bondage.

Kathy listened.  Kathy agreed.  She left to join her husband.

Then it was time for Mike to give the message.  I was amazed.  He had changed the talk he had planned to give, to one that would address what I had shared with Kathy.  He requested prayer for the nation where he was serving…for a spirit of repentance to be granted for the sins that nation committed against the Jews during WWII.

Reader, does it sound strange that the sins of ancestors can have such an impact a generation or two later?

It is not strange, for the Scripture speaks of the principle of curses going to the third and fourth generation (Deuteronomy 5:9), and the blessing of lovingkindness going to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 5:10) to those who love Yahweh (The LORD) and keep His commandments.

One of His commandments is to bless, and not curse Israel!

So, what can we get from this true encounter?

1. The Living God, the God of Israel, is in the business of doing wondrous things.  He literally directs steps/paths of those who seek Him.  It is thrilling to be led by the LORD.
2. When hearts are closed to spiritual things we can’t prejudge and just say, “Oh, they’re not open to Biblical truth.” Such people need us to be the intercessors to help “break up fallow ground” (Hosea 10:12), confessing the sins of a nation or city or people group, so other prayers can be heard on high.  Please note that Daniel, Nehemiah, Ezra, Isaiah all cried unto God, saying, “I have sinned, and my fathers/people have sinned.”  No one exists alone spiritually.  Sin in our lives affects others, including a nation’s destiny.
3. Anti-Semitism is not just a current topic with political implications.  The spiritual ramifications for hating the Jewish people are borne out in history–in nations, as well as, in individual lives.

Dare I ask if you come from a heritage of hate, a heritage of specifically hating the Jewish people?  If so, confess the sins of your ancestors and any residual anti-Semitism that may exist in your heart.  This may be a key to possible breakthrough in your own life.

Shalom!

It was an hour before sundown when Passover would begin this year.  I still needed a few items for our Seder.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with a Seder, “seder” is Hebrew for “order”.  Passover has been observed continuously by the Jewish people throughout the world for approximately the past 3500 years.  The modern seder involves the recounting of the Exodus story, including the essential elements of bitter herbs representing the bitterness of slavery, unleavened bread (matzah), (the bread was unable to rise because the Israelites had to leave Egypt in haste), and the shank bone of the lamb, symbolizing the slain Passover lamb, described below.

The Feast of Passover is an eight day long feast that the Jewish people were commanded to observe throughout their generations (Exodus 12:7).  We learn of the history of the Israelites’ enslavement, leading up to their deliverance,  in Exodus chapters 1-11.  Please note that the command to observe this as a perpetual statute was given before the giving of the Law (also known as “The Torah” or “instruction”) found in Exodus chapters 19 and 20, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Back to my true story.

I went to the dairy aisle to get cheese, as I thought I could make “Matzah pizza” (only unleavened bread is to be eaten during the eight days of Passover).  There was a woman pushing a cart loaded to the brim with frozen pizzas.  I thought, “Well, I know she’s not Jewish and certainly not observing Passover.”

Then I heard her literally crying to someone on her cellphone.  “This is the first time in all my years that I haven’t had a Seder.”  The woman was about seventy years old.

I waited until she completed her call and said, “I’m sorry, but I overheard what you said about not having a Seder.”

She explained that she was visiting from another country.  She had just had the flu.  Her husband, a Holocaust survivor, was a doctor who was back home with his medical practice.  There was really no one to join her here.

We started to chat.  I empathized with her plight of loneliness, particularly during a significant holy day.  I thought about having her to my home, but she was still a bit sick, and I was a bit hesitant to expose my husband and me to her illness.

“You know, I have been in the same situation, Sylvia.”

I tried to comfort her that the same One who delivered our people from bondage is near to her broken heart. (Psalm 34:18)  She continued weeping and wiping her tears.

I then began to talk to her about the primary significance of Passover.

“You know, Sylvia, it’s not just about the Seder.  It’s about the fact that the deliverance of our people was real. Consider what the God of Israel required for such deliverance and for the sparing of the firstborn son of each family…blood upon the door!  He said, “‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments–I am the LORD.  ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 12:12-13)

We decided to exchange phone numbers.  I happened to have some literature in my purse entitled, “How would you recognize the Messiah?”  The graphics on it showed a large fingerprint, for indeed there are many clues in the Hebrew Scriptures describing the Messiah’s birth, life, purpose, death, burial, resurrection.

Sylvia then said two things that startled me.  She asked, “Have you ever read the Zion Chronicles?”

I replied, “Oh, the historical novel series by Bodie Thoene?  No, but I bought one of those books as a gift for someone.  I know they cover the period from WWII to the establishment of the modern State of Israel.”

Sylvia, amazed that I had heard of the series, said these words:  “Well, I read all of them.  Afterward, I was thinking of converting.”  Those were her words!  Implied in the word “converting” was her impression that she had to leave her Jewish heritage and adopt a new one.  The Biblical usage of the term, “to convert” really means “repent” ( “t’shuvah (Biblical Hebrew–’to literally turn around’).  It applies to both Jewish people and Gentiles, for all people need to have a change of heart with respect to who the Messiah is;  and how they can become rightly related to a Holy God.  As God Himself has said through the Prophet Isaiah:

“Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the LORD,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:7)

So, though Sylvia obviously thought she would have to switch “religions”, actually she needed to discover that the “converting” she considered is actually the universal need for rebellious mankind to “turn” from their wicked, sinful ways, and “return” to a Holy, sinless God, and receive salvation through the precious, sacrificial blood of the pure and spotless Lamb of God — the Messiah of both Israel and the whole world.

To my surprise, she then added, “And who is this pastor…?”  She couldn’t remember his name.
I suggested she might be speaking of the very pro-Israel Pastor John Hagee.

“Yes, that’s him!”, she exclaimed.  “My husband and I watch him every week!”

Well, the ground of her heart was prepared.  I told her, “You weren’t able to have a seder tonight, but God sent a Jewish believer in Messiah to tell you about The Passover Lamb.  Do you know that Yeshua of Nazareth was called the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and The Passover Lamb in the New Testament ( 1 Corinthians 5: 7)?

She did not.  I explained the prophetic significance, how the blood on the door of the Israelites’ homes protecting their firstborn sons relates prophetically to the blood of Messiah protecting us from the consequence of our sin — eternal separation from the Holy One of Israel.

She understood.  She was smiling.

She remarked, “This is amazing.  I was crying before, but now I am not sad anymore.  Thank you.”

I told her, “Don’t thank me, thank the One who arranged this meeting, knowing your loneliness, sadness and frustration…He’s the same one that planned the deliverance of the Israelites, and whose eye has been upon you, and who has sought to comfort and encourage you with His personal love.”

We planned to get together before she returned to her country.  I thought I would simply give her some of my Prophetic Prints and that we would chat for ten minutes.

We met the next weekend.  I brought an Isaiah chapter 53 print, matted in her favorite color – blue, and these other prints:  “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit.“  (Psalm 34:18), “A Father of the fatherless is God in His holy habitation.” (Psalm 68:5).  The latter print was particularly appropriate for her husband, about whom she had previously spoken.

“My husband lost his dad during the Holocaust.  His father was killed by the Nazis.  When my husband was thirteen, he was forced to board a cattle car to Auschwicz.  Someone told him and his family to move to the last car.  When the train pulled out, the last car remained; someone had detached it from the rest of the train!!

Then Sylvia continued, “I was three when my father died.  My mom was left to raise many children alone.”

So the print was obviously appropriate.

The ten minute conversation turned into two and a half hours, as we sat on the bench outside the grocery store where we had originally met.  She shared her amazing history.  She grew up in a place where I did not even think any Jewish people lived.  Her family was part of a small, thriving Jewish community there.  I also learned that her mother and my grandmother were from the same city in Eastern Europe.  Her history was richly woven, with much pain and much blessing.  There was interaction between her family and the non-Jewish neighbors.  After her mother had been orphaned, a little non-Jewish girl had compassion on her; upon seeing her difficult situation, she loaned Sylvia’s mom her school books overnight.  The two remained friends into their eighties.  The woman’s son later became famous in that country.

I also learned that Sylvia had been a scientist. A searching one at that!

Finally, she wanted to know how I prayed.  I found this interesting.

“Do you just pray the Shema?”  (“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” – Deut. 6:4), she inquired.

I explained the life of prayer. I don’t pray rote prayers.  I talk with Abba, the Heavenly Father.  I pour out my heart to Him about everything and anything…at any time, in any place!

Then we got back to the Passover.

“Sylvia, remember we spoke about the Passover lamb’s blood protecting the Israelite firstborn son?  Eternal life depends on believing what THE Passover Lamb did for you two thousand years ago on the tree (1 Peter 1:17-20; 2:24).  Even as it says in Exodus 13:8, “You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt‘.”

“Would you like to receive Him now?”

“I’m not ready.”

“I respect that.”

It turns out she just thought of sin as the biggies:  Murder, adultery, theft–which she had not committed.  She did not understand that we are accountable for sins of the spirit:  Hatred, coveting, bitterness, etc.  If we don’t see that we have the sickness of sin, we certainly won’t seek to have the Great Physician’s remedy for this sickness.  In other words, why seek a savior if we don’t think we need to be delivered from anything?

Once that was explained, it seemed like a light went on.

Sylvia, our hearts lie open before Him to whom we will have to give an account (Acts 17:30-31).

“Ooooh, now I understand.”

But she was not yet ready to pray.  That’s OK, because no one can make this life changing decision for another.  We must individually understand, and be convicted of the awfulness of sin, and the awfulness of eternal separation from a Holy God.  A parent can’t do this transaction for a child, a husband can’t do this for a wife, and a friend can’t do this for a friend.

That is uniquely the role of the Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit) — to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”  (John 16:8)

She still wanted to ponder the truths I had shared.  She mentioned her interest in the Book of Revelation, which addresses events in the last days.  I ”just so happened” to have a copy of the Book of Revelation on CD in my purse and gave it to her.  She was amazed!

We parted as friends.  Sylvia will be back here in a few months.  She volunteered her home address and phone number, and asked that we keep in touch.

I just love watching the LORD at work, drawing people to Himself…designing appointments that are so personal to the one is ordained to hear the Good News.  That’s the business He’s in!  And, the Messiah told us to pray and ask that more laborers be sent into fields (of people) to gather in the harvest.  The hour is very late.

*Image courtesy of datafox from Wikipedia Commons. Image was resized to 250×300 pixels.

One of the greatest crises in America is fatherlessness.  Millions of children are born out of wedlock, or raised without a dad, due to divorce, illness, or death.  The scars ingrained on the child’s psyche, and negative impact on society, are incalculable.  Even if there are great moms, grandmothers, aunts, friends, coaches etc., a child’s soul knows something, or rather, someone, is missing.

Loneliness stalks the soul of such children.  This profound emotional pain can carry over into adulthood.  I know from personal experience.

But the LORD is acutely aware of the agony of loneliness in fatherless children.  How do I know this?

The LORD, who is full of compassion, reveals a clue in the Biblical Hebrew word for “fatherless”. Let’s take a look:

The word “orphan” in Biblical Hebrew is ‘yatom’.  It actually means ‘fatherless’.  So, even if a child had a mother, he was considered an orphan if there was no father present.  I was amazed to discover that the root verb, from which the word ‘yatom’ is derived, means “to be lonely”!

Loneliness goes with the territory of being fatherless.  They are an inseparable tandem.  You can be lonely without being fatherless, but you cannot be fatherless without being lonely, according to Biblical truth.

The LORD also gave serious instruction in His word, regarding the treatment of those children who are fatherless:

1. He commands that the fatherless not be afflicted. (Exodus 22:22)
2. He expects justice to be executed on behalf of the fatherless. (Deuteronomy 10:18)
3. He promised blessing on the work of those hands (the context was agricultural) who left the corner of their fields for the fatherless and widows to glean. (Deuteronomy  24:19, 20, 21)  In another instance, prosperity in life (not necessarily financially) is promised if the cause of the fatherless is pleaded. (Jeremiah 5:28)
4. The fatherless were to be included in the celebration of the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)!  This feast commemorates the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai.  In the New Covenant,  the Holy Spirit was given to the (Jewish) believers that had gathered for prayer and fasting.  Implied here is that fatherless children should not be neglected spiritually! They must be taught the Scriptures and become part of the Body of believers–all of whom share in the Holy Spirit.  This is a very specific command!
5. The fatherless were to be included in the distribution of the tithe. (Deuteronomy 26:12)  Based on this principle, does your congregation give a portion of the tithe to help the fatherless member in its midst, local fatherless boys and girls, or an orphanage elsewhere?  Job stated that he shared his food with orphans.  (Job 31:17)  Can we find a struggling family where there is no dad, and give food, clothing, a toy, tutoring, or some other kind of assistance to help the fatherless?
6. Cursed is the one who distorts justice due the fatherless.  (Deuteronomy 27:19)   He sees everything that goes on.  People sometimes take advantage of fatherless children because there is no strong dad there to defend them.  Be careful if you are in a decision making position, say as a sports coach, and give preference to those whose dad is there fighting for them.  The Lord is watching!  Twice He states through Isaiah the Prophet that the orphan must be vindicated.  (Isaiah 1:17, 23)
7. In ancient Israel, if the fatherless (and widows and aliens) were mistreated or had violence done to them (and innocent blood was shed), desolation would come to the house of the one sitting on David’s throne–the king of Judah.  Leadership is held accountable for caring for widows and orphans.  (Jeremiah 22:1-7)

We want the LORD to hear us in our prayers.  The Prophet Zechariah declared:

⁹ “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother;

¹⁰ and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’

¹¹ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing.

¹² They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.

¹³ And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts;…  (Zechariah 7:9-13)

As is very clear from the above passage, there are consequences to ignoring the needs of the fatherless.

Pray for the fatherless around you.  They are there.  You have seen them.  They could be playing at the basketball court, in the street, at the mall, at your place of worship.  Can you sense their loneliness?  Could speaking a kind, encouraging word, showing some attention, imparting some much needed wisdom, sharing some quality time, like in a pick-up game, or bestowing some other blessing be the way that the Holy Spirit has prompted you to interact with a fatherless child?  Please do not resist Him and allow your heart to be made like flint, so yourefuse to pay attention, and turn your shoulder and let your ears be stopped from hearing; and thus tragically forsake the opportunity to help lift the heavy burden of loneliness from a young, fatherless person and fail to give him or her the courage to go on another day.

This is serious business.  The LORD stated repeatedly that He is their defender.  Let’s get on His side in practical ways.  Let’s help lighten a portion of the affliction of loneliness carried by these brokenhearted children.

And, what if you are fatherless?  How do you find healing from this grievous wound?

As with any other problem or emotional pain, run to the Lord in His Word.  He is so concerned about you, and unlike others, is intimately familiar with your agony.  He has made several promises concerning you:

Psalm 68:5 states, “A Father of the fatherless, is God in His holy habitation.”

Hosea 14:3 says, “In Thee, the fatherless find mercy.”

Psalm 10:14 reminds us, “You have been a helper of the fatherless.”

Acknowledge the Creator God as your Heavenly Father — Out Loud.  Remind Him of His promises to be a father to you…and watch Him respond.  Claim Him as your source of mercy.  Remind Him that He stated in His word, at least twenty times, that he is concerned that justice be given to the fatherless.  Ask Him to send you sensitive, loving people that will be His surrogate in earthly situations.

Also, please do not be shocked or offended if “religious” people aren’t particularly sensitive to you.  For as James aptly states, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”  (James 1:27)  The book of James is considered the most “Jewish” book of the New Testament.  James surely meant “fatherless” when he wrote “orphans”, since he himself was an observant Jewish man, and was very familiar with the Torah and Prophets.

May each of us become a blessing to a fatherless individual.  This is a true reflection of The Father’s heart!

Back in the 1970’s Phil Keaggy had a beautiful song on his Love Broke Through album–”Disappointment– His Appointment”.  The song was actually a poem put to music. The citation was ‘author unknown’.

I loved the words so much that I typed them up and gave them out as I met people who needed encouragement.

I have to admit that poetry is not my favorite subject.  But, you know there is something amazing about a great poem–that your heart sentiments can be expressed so aptly, so artistically–someone has had your experience or feelings!

Thirty years later, and fifteen hundred miles away from where I first heard the song, someone we had recently met was clearing out old religious books.  He offered them to us.  Weeks later, while looking through my new books I saw The Best-Loved Religious Poems by James Gilchrist Lawson.  (It was published in 1933 by Fleming Revell Company.)

Sure enough, there it was on page 97–”Disappointment–His Appointment”.  It evidently was based on the passage from Job 23:14—”He performeth the thing that is appointed for me.”

The author was Edith Lillian Young.

Here are the words:

“Disappointment–His appointment,”
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God’s better choice for me.
His appointment must be blessing,
Tho’ it may come in disguise
For the end from the beginning
Open to His wisdom lies.

“Disappointment — His appointment,”
Whose?  The Lord, who loves me best,
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test;

For, like loving earthly parent,
He rejoices when He knows
That  His child accepts, unquestioned,
All that from his wisdom flows.

“Disappointment –His appointment,”
“No good thing will He withhold,”
From denials oft we gather
Treasures of His love untold.
Well He knows each broken purpose
Leads to fuller, deeper trust,
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.

“Disappointment–His appointment,”
Lord, I take it, then, as such.
Like the clay in hands of potter,
Yielding wholly to Thy touch.
All my life’s plan is Thy moulding,
Not one single choice be mine;
Let me answer, unrepining–
Father, “Not my will, but Thine.”

After finding and reviewing the original poem on which the song, “Disappointment– His Appointment”, was based, I now offer this insight.  Understand, the poem is not Scripture.  It’s not perfect.  I strongly disagree with, “Not one single choice be mine.” That is frankly bad theology.  Why?  Because we were divinely designed to make choices–our Creator gave us free will.  More importantly, we are told in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 14, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”  We practice by making choices.  It takes spiritual, emotional and intellectual exercise to learn how to choose between good and evil.  We are NOT to be passive as believers.

Also Ms. Young puts forth, “He rejoices when He knows that His child accepts, unquestioned, all that from His wisdom flows.”  Are all of our disappointments His appointments?

Were all Job’s appointments, including his grievous loss of children, possessions, wealth and health, God’s appointments?  We know from the text, in Job chapter 2, that after Satan insinuated to the LORD that, if afflicted,  Job would curse the LORD to His face, that “… the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life’ ” (Job 2:6 italics mine).   Thus, it would appear that the afflictions Job subsequently bore were not the LORD’s appointments, but Satan’s.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 18,  Paul said he wanted to go to the Thessalonians, but “Satan hindered us.”

Blind, unthinking acceptance of whatever comes down the pike is dangerous. Sometimes we think the hand dealt to us is from God, when, in reality, it is simply Satan thwarting or harassing us.  In those instances, we cannot be passive.  Passivity, or passive acceptance of situations, is exactly how the enemy is too often allowed to  gain control over our thoughts, lives, bodies, etc.   The believer is told to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). Why is a list of spiritual armor given in Ephesians chapter 6, if there is no war and we are to simply accept what comes along?

There is a classic text on spiritual warfare called War on the Saints, by Jessie Penn-Lewis (published by Overcomer Literature Trust, 1977  & Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, PA, 1983).  It was originally written in 1912!

She devotes an entire chapter to The Perils of Passivity.  Here are a few excerpts (pgs. 51-68):

“The chief condition for the working of evil spirits in a human being, apart from sin, is passivity, in exact opposition to the condition which God requires for His working.  ...God requires cooperation with His Spirit, and the full use of every faculty of the whole man. In brief, the powers of darkness aim at obtaining a passive slave or captive to their will; whilst God desires a regenerated man, intelligently and actively will–ing and choosing…

The powers of darkness would make a man a machine, a tool, an automaton; the God of holiness and love desires to make him a free, intelligent sovereign in his own sphere–a thinking rational, renewed creation after His own image (Ephesians iv. 24).  Therefore, God never says to any faculty of man, “Be thou idle”.

God does not need, nor demand non-activity in a man, for His working in and through him; but evil spirits demand the utmost non-activity and passivity.

God asks for intelligent action (Rom. xii. 1-2, “Your reasonable service,”) in cooperation with Him.

Passivity must not be confused with quietness, or the “meek and quiet spirit”, which in the sight of God is of great price.  Quietness of spirit, of heart, of mind, of manner, voice and expression, may be co-existent with the most effective activity in the will of God (1 Thess. iv. 11).

There is a PASSIVITY OF THE WILL; …This originates from a wrong conception of what full surrender to God means.  Thinking that a “surrendered will” to God means no use of the will at all, the believer ceases to (1) choose, (2) determine, and (3) act of his own volition. The serious effect of this he is not allowed by the powers of darkness to discover, for at first the consequences are trivial and scarcely noticeable. …

“Suffering directly caused by evil spirits may be discriminated from the true fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, by a complete absence of result, either in fruit, victory, or ripening in spiritual growth.  If carefully observed, it will be seen to be entirely purposeless. On the other hand, God does nothing without a definite object(ive).  He does not delight in causing suffering for the sake of suffering, but the Devil does.”  (Emphasis mine)

It is amazing and comforting to KNOW that, though some of our appointments come from the enemy of our souls, it is TRUE that God is able to make all grace abound to us in those circumstances, since “… we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28 NASB)

The key to take away today is:  Don’t just automatically presume that the trials that come into your day, or life, have come from the Father’s hand.  We all need to grow up and discern from whence come the “realities” with which we deal.  We don’t want to get to the other side of this difficult life and find that we should have been more actively pursuing wholeness, and more persistently using our authority in Messiah to rebuke the forces of darkness, rather than passively accepting their lies and ill intended appointments.

Yes, the LORD understands.

Yes, everything lies open before Him–there are no surprises and He is omniscient.

Yes, yield your every moment and thought and plan to the love and wisdom of the Spirit of God.

But, be sure your disappointments ARE in fact, His appointments.  You see, if you buy the lie that every disappointment comes from God’s hand, then you are sure to develop an anger or bitterness toward Him…and frankly develop a divided mind:  You know theologically the Scripture says over and over the LORD is good and His mercy endures forever…but your experience shouts the opposite.

Fight the good fight of faith, fight the right battles, and thank Yahveh that His love for you endures forever!

1 John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us:  And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.  When we pray the Scriptures we are praying wisely, because we are praying His will!

The context of the Gospel is Jewish (“Salvation is of the Jews”, said Yeshua–John 4:22) and the Scriptures are replete with verses revealing how to pray for Israel with the Father’s heart. We must ask Yahveh (The LORD) to reveal His love for the Jewish people and His burden for them (He says in Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you (Israel) with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you.”)

The Jewish people are a brokenhearted people and if we intercede for them it must be with a humble and tender heart.  Then we know we are praying in accordance with the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh).

When we pray for Israel, we are praying not only for the country in the Middle East, but for all Jews everywhere in the dispersion (Diaspora).

Here is a sample prayer to guide you in your praying.  Prayer for Israel is a very important ministry in which Yahveh, the Holy One of Israel, wants to engage us in these last days:

“Abba (Father), in the Name of Yeshua, I thank You for preserving the Jewish people.  Truly this reveals Your faithfulness to keep Your Word and Your covenants.  Thank You that the only time Israel will cease from being a nation is when the fixed ordinances (sun, moon and stars) depart from before You (Jeremiah 31:35-36)  Thank You that no weapon formed against Israel shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17).  Israel has faced many enemies over the centuries.  I understand Satan has wanted to destroy Israel because she is the apple of Your eye (Zechariah 2:8) and because Messiah will return when Israel’s eyes are opened and they call upon His name (Zechariah 12:10).

Thank You for Michael the Archangel that You have assigned to protect Israel (Daniel 10:13).  O Yahveh of Hosts (hosts = armies in Biblical Hebrew), please station angels about her borders and the people.  Thank you that You who keep (guard) Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4).

Abba, as the prophets of old, we confess our sins and the sins of our fathers, particularly where Christians have participated in the sin of anti-Semitism, failing to show the love and patience of Your Son to the Jewish people.  These scars formed in history have wounded and confused Your chosen people.  Cleanse us from this sin which breaks Your heart.  Your Word says they are beloved and their gifts and calling as a nation are irrevocable (Romans 11:29).  I ask You to convict church leaders and teachers who have taught that You are finished with Israel.  Please forgive them and open their eyes.  Like the Apostle Paul, let them say, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.” (Romans 10:1).  May I extend mercy to the Jewish people even as Your Word commands in Romans chapter 11, verse 31 that “through my mercy they may also obtain mercy.”

Thank You that only a partial hardening has happened to Israel (Romans 11:25).  Thank You for the remnant (Romans 11:5) that has believed and for those who will come to faith.

I do not beg You for the salvation of the Jewish people, for Messiah Yeshua already died for them (1 John 2:2).  Rather, I wrestle them out of the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13) with the weapons of our warfare which are not carnal but mighty through You to the pulling down of strongholds (II Corinthians 10:3-5).  I cast down the thought patterns of unbelief, fear and  father-rejection.  I take captive these thoughts and all confusion to the obedience of the Messiah (II Cor. 10:5).  As Your Word says, ” …Yahveh (The LORD) rebuke thee…”.  (Zechariah 3:2 KJV)

Father, Your Word says that “… to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Corinthians 3:15-16 NASB)”  Thank You that You are able to take the veil away and please do so for (personalize with the Jewish person, or people, you know).  I pray for religious Jewish people – the Orthodox and Hasidic Jews. In the Name of the Lord Yeshua, I come against the spirits of deception that would tell them that religion will save them.  Reveal to them, Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), that it is only by the blood atonement of the Messiah Yeshua that they are saved.  Have mercy on them O, God, Who delights in mercy (Jeremiah 9:24).

I pray today for the approximately 300,000 Jewish people in the former Soviet Union who have not yet left in fulfillment of prophecy (Jeremiah 23:3,7,8).  Protect them from the growing violence against them because they are Jews.  I thank you for delivering approximately 90% of the Jewish people out of the former Soviet Union in faithful fulfillment of Your prophetic Word.   I thank You for the many Russian believers who are now in Israel.  Strengthen them and give them grace in adjusting to their new home.

I pray for the Jewish people of Europe and Latin America who know they need to leave their countries because of growing anti-Semitism and return to Israel.  Please make a way–let every mountain of hindrance be removed so they can depart speedily. I pray for provision and the way of escape to be made clear to them.

I pray for Your Body of believers in Israel– for protection, growth, unity, boldness and provision.  Protect them, dear Lord.

I pray for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – for a hedge of protection, wisdom and courage, as the Gentile nations pressure him to return land that You promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants forever (Genesis12:7; 15:18; 17:8)  Thwart and confuse all plots and plotters against the Jewish people (Psalm 83, Psalm 124, Psalm 129:5).  Bring her enemies to repentance (Matthew 5:44).  Let them henceforth use their energies to build Your kingdom and to comfort Israel. (Isaiah 40:1)

I pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).  Thank You for prospering my life because I love her (Psalm 122:6)  Speak to my mind the ways You want me to reach out to Your people.  Make me a comfort to Your people (Isaiah 40).

I particularly pray for Holocaust survivors who need a revelation of Your personal love after experiencing such devastation.  Holy One of Israel, naturally, I don’t desire to feel the brokenness that the pogroms of Russia or the Holocaust have caused.  I am willing to receive the prayer burdens of Your heart for the Jewish people.  I am willing to stand as a watchman for the nation of Israel (Isaiah 62).  I give You no rest until You make Jerusalem a praise on the earth (Isaiah 62).

I pray for more laborers in this end time harvest, particularly for those to labor among elderly Jewish people in South Florida, New York City, Los Angeles & Chicago.  I pray for those laborers to be wise, tender and kind, full of your Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit).  I pray for divine appointments for them, that their steps would be directed to Jewish people searching for You, Your love, Your forgiveness, Your peace, Your touch, Your comfort. May they be anointed to speak your Word with power, conviction and the Ruach HaKodesh.  May they walk in humility and in the bond of peace with other laborers in the same part of the harvest.  May they be protected from all harm.  May their families be exceedingly blessed.

I pray Lord Yeshua for Your speedy return.  Soon may You hear the Jewish people say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 118; Matthew 23:39). Maranatha, even so come, Messiah Yeshua!

I pray all these things on the authority of the blood atonement and in the name of Yeshua, the soon returning King of the Jews.

Copyright ©1996 Prophetic Prayers by Prophetic Prints.  If you wish to copy this prayer for free distribution, permission is hereby granted to duplicate it provided there are no changes or omissions made to this prayer and this byline is included.  Please note this prayer has a Spanish translation, as well.  Please email us through our contact form to receive a copy.

When I mention “Ethiopian”, those of you who are familiar with Scripture probably think of the apostle Philip’s encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch, as recorded in the New Testament Book of Acts, chapter eight verses 25-39.

There we read how an angel dispatched Philip to a desert road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza, where he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.  This man was in charge of all her treasure. On his return from Jerusalem, where he had come to worship, the eunuch was sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah.  His exposure to the God of Israel undoubtedly stemmed from the influence of the Queen of Sheba, who, more than a millennium before, had brought back the wisdom of Solomon and the knowledge of the Holy One of Israel to Ethiopia!  Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” 

Philip heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
And he said, “Well, how could I unless someone guides me?  And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

“He was led as a sheep to slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he does not open His mouth.
He was humiliated and denied justice.
Who will tell about his descendants,
Since his life has been taken from the earth?” (Isaiah 53 verse 7)

The eunuch asked Philip the same question that has been debated for two thousand years: …”Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this?  Of himself or of someone else?

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Yeshua to him.”

The eunuch believed.  Then they traveled a short distance together and the eunuch saw water — remember, they were on a desert road. “Look, water!  What prevents me from being baptized (mikvahed).  Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

This eunuch who was in charge of a queen’s treasure, was now in possession of a better treasure–He had found the Messiah, the King of the whole earth.  Thus, the Gospel went to Africa through this man!

But who is the other Ethiopian mentioned in Scripture in conjunction with a Jewish king?

He’s a man named Ebed-melech, which in Hebrew means ’servant of a king’.  We meet this amazing man in Jeremiah chapter 38, verse seven.

The context is that the Kingdom of Judah and her king, Zedekiah, were facing judgment because of idolatry and evil.  The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that the LORD would give the city of Jerusalem into the hand of the Babylonian army, and the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.

Zedekiah’s officials told him to put Jeremiah to death because they believed Jeremiah was discouraging the people by his words of warning.  Zedekiah relinquishes responsibility and tells the officials, “Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you.”  (Jeremiah Chapter 38, verse 5) The officials then cast Jeremiah into a cistern.  There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

BUT Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, while in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern.  Ebed-melech went to where the king was, outside the palace and boldly said, “My lord, the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city.” (verse 9)  The king responded and commanded Ebed-melech to take thirty men under his authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet form the cistern before he died.

Ebed-melech took the men, worn out clothes and rags. He told Jeremiah to put the clothes and rags under his armpits.  Jeremiah does so, and they pulled him up with the ropes.

Then the city of Jerusalem was captured.  On the ninth of Av (4th month; approx. August), the city wall was breached.  The Chaldeans (Babylonians) burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people; they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.  The king’s sons were killed and Zedekiah was bound in fetters of bronze.

Amazingly, Nebuchadnezzar gave orders about Jeremiah:  “Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.”  (Jeremiah chapter 39, verse 12)

Now Jeremiah gets a specific word for the Ethiopian eunuch!

“Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD (Yahveh) of Hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.  “But I will deliver you on that day,” declares the LORD, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread.  “For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me,” declares the LORD.’”  (Jeremiah chapter 39, verses 16-18)

What we can learn from this Ethiopian Eunuch’s life:

1. The BOLDNESS  an obscure servant had to speak to a wicked king, because he knew what was right, did not go unrecognized by the LORD (or the king).
2. The Ethiopian’s TRUST in Yahveh (The LORD) in grave circumstances did not go unnoticed by the LORD.  The LORD sees when you trust Him in difficulty!
3. As a result of his trust in Yahveh, he was given a special prophetic word of encouragement and hope to assuage his fears.

In these difficult days of shifting sand (economically, politically, etc.), we must have the wisdom and boldness of Ebed-melech.  We must stand for what is right, even if it means speaking to those who are opening the door to destruction. The LORD knows who are His:  “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Isaiah the Prophet declares in chapter 56 verses 3-5:  “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from His people.  Neither let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

For thus says the LORD, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will
give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.”

The Scriptures have indeed memorialized these men to vast numbers of people throughout the world over the past 2,000 years.

Here’s the result of the faith of two Ethiopian eunuchs:  One brought the Gospel to Africa; the other saved a major prophet’s life…a prophet that still speaks in 2009!

Never think your acts of faith and obedience are insignificant.  They can yield fruit and have far reaching powerful, amazing consequences–even spanning many generations.

We were in a Walmart Superstore by the dairy section.
My husband remarked, “This yogurt has 45 grams of sugar. That’s a lot of sugar!”

A heavy set man chimed in, “Hey, in three hundred years it won’t mean a hill of beans.”

I reflected on his answer and quietly prayed to the LORD.  What can I say to him?
I asked him his name and spiritual background.

“Peter.  I’m Catholic.”  He intellectually knew the facts about Yeshua–you know, “He died for our sins…”, but I did not sense there was a heart commitment.

How could I reach this man?

He had just dismissed the conversation with a quick and easy answer by reciting what he remembered from his childhood religious training. Then a thought came to my mind that I knew could help me demonstrate how urgent and relevant the Gospel was for him at that moment.

“Have you ever had a lawsuit, Peter?”

“Yes, I am actually having issues with my divorce and an old injury.”

I followed with the question, “Have you ever heard of pre-paid legal?  You know it’s a service where you pay about a hundred dollars a year and if you have some minor situation, or need a lawyer’s letter, they help you.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of it.”

Peter, which do you prefer–representing yourself or having an attorney represent you?”

Then I quoted what the Apostle John wrote about in his first letter (1 John).
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, the righteous.”  (1 John chapter 2, verse 1)

I told him that the word “advocate” actually meant “attorney”.

“You know Peter, some day you will have an appointment in God’s court.  You will be standing before a holy and just Judge.  That Judge will have reviewed your life and cited all you have done–good and bad.  He says that “the penalty of sin is death” (Romans 5:8), that is, separation from God forever.

What I’m telling you about is The Pre-Paid Eternal Legal Service.  You sign up to have the legal services of the Attorney who knows all about you and wants to represent you before the Judge.  He not only wants to represent you before the Judge, but He already paid what you owed when you sinned against the One who is Master of the Universe. And besides, he doesn’t even charge you a fee, since He already paid for it two thousand years ago when He gave His life a ransom for many. (Matthew chapter 20, verse 28)

Or, you can come to the Judge on your own merits.”

Peter “got” the analogy.

I asked, “Would you like to pray now, acknowledging that when you come before a Holy God, you want Yeshua the Messiah to be your attorney.  That he already paid your debt for sin in full, and will forever represent you?  That you can then know for certain that you have eternal life and forgiveness through the Messiah?”

“No!”, he replied.

“Would you mind if we prayed for you?”, I persisted, knowing that this man’s eternal destiny was at stake.

“No!”, he said calmly.

So my husband and I prayed for him…for his family and his physical ailments.  He thanked us and we went our separate ways.
We occasionally prayed for him after that.

Several months later I bumped into him in the same Walmart.

He said, “Hey, I went home and prayed to receive the LORD that same day!”

I sent him a Bible and “The LORD is Near to the Brokenhearted” Prophetic Print because he truly was a man with heartache.

Peter will never have this appointment in Court:  The Great White Throne Judgment mentioned in Revelation chapter 20 verses 11 -15:

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Are you scheduled for your day in Court…or has that appointment been erased by your having signed up for Messiah’s Pre-Paid Eternal Legal Service?

If you, like Peter, would like to know for certain that you are not scheduled for judgment, that the penalty for your sins is already “covered”, here’s what to do:

1. Speak to the Creator.  His name is Yahveh…the God of Israel…the God of the Bible.  The call is free!
2. Agree with Him that you deserve to be judged for actions, thoughts and/or words that you have done that have violated His law.
3. Tell him about those actions, thoughts and/or words.  This is what the word “confession” means:  “to agree with”; you agree with Him that these things violated His Holy standard and are worthy of judgment. Reviewing the 10 Commandments may help jog your memory. (See Exodus Chapter 20 verses 1-17)
4. Acknowledge your rebellion toward Him and that in many respects you did not realize that in HIM you live, and move, and have your being.
5. Believe that Yeshua the Messiah, loved you so much that He gave His sinless life for you.  Acknowledge that His work alone, not your good deeds, are sufficient to soothe a Holy God, who, though HE IS LOVE, must punish sin.
6. In prayer, receive Messiah Yeshua into your life and heart.  (Say audibly:  “Messiah Yeshua, I believe you died for my sins and I receive you now into my life and heart”)
7. Tell someone else what happened.  For it is written in Romans chapter 10, verse 9 – 13:  “that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says,  “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD (YAHVEH) WILL BE SAVED.”

We recently went to a wedding out of state.  We prayed that the trip would be a blessing and that we would be used by the Living God to touch lives.

While traveling from the wedding ceremony to the reception, we passed a church called Mars Hill Baptist Church.

I commented to my husband, “I really love how Rav Shaul (The Apostle Paul) gave us a plan for how to communicate with people who have no knowledge of the Bible or the God of the Bible.  Paul addressed pagan Greeks in Athens at Mars Hill (the Areopagus–’Hill or Ares’, the god of war) in the Book of Acts chapter 17.  While we drove, I opened my Bible to Acts and outlined the principles Paul delineated in sharing the truth with people who were totally disconnected from Judeo or Judeo-Christian thought.

Here’s what I told my husband.  First, please read what I told my husband; then see how, later that evening, the Chinese waiter we met found great fortune!

Acts 17:16-23:  A Summary

Paul was in Athens waiting for his companions, Silas and Timothy.  The Scripture says that “…his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.”  He was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day. Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him and saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?”  Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,” — because he was preaching Yeshua (Ieosus in Greek, Jesus in English) and the resurrection.”

They brought Paul to the Areopagus (the Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war) wanting to know what this new teaching was.  They told Paul he was “bringing some strange things to our (their) ears; so we (they) want to know what these things mean.”  So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.  For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’  Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

Paul’s Style and Wisdom In Communicating

• First, his radar equipment was on — “his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing a city full of idols.”  Are you provoked when people are deceived — spending their time, talent, energies & money worshipping idols/false dreams/false gods, etc.?
• Then, he built a bridge. He acknowledged what was important to these people and their culture:  Religion.
• He spoke after studying their interests and told them that he checked out what was important to them (“examining the objects of your worship.”)
• He did not shrink back though he was with “sophisticated” thinkers: Epicurean and Stoic philosophers — knowing that the Truth of the Word, the Gospel, is stronger than the most sophisticated or arrogant thoughts of man.
• He also did not take offense and get sidetracked by their nasty words, having been called an “idle babbler”.  Instead, he had a spirit of boldness, stood in the midst of this famous place and began to speak.

The Principles (Acts 17: 24-31)

• Paul distinguishes the God of Scripture from their gods:
  1. He lays the foundation that God created the heavens and earth and He is in charge!: “There is a God who made the world and all things in it.  He is Lord of heaven and earth.”
  2. This God is different than their gods for He does not dwell in temples made with hands.
  3. This God does not have needs (as opposed to pagan gods which need to rest, be fed, be fashioned and be fastened down!
  4. This God is not provincial:  He gives to all people life and breath and all things.
• Paul discusses how this God relates to them
  1. God made every nation of mankind from one man, establishing the unity amongst us…we are all related! (And, as he states a bit later, we all need to repent or we each will face judgment.)
  2. God determines appointed times and boundaries of their habitation.  These are not random boundaries, neither is this determination for random purposes, but in order “that people would seek Him if they might grope for Him.”
• Paul states mega-truths about God’s relationship to people:
  • God is not far from each one of us — no matter what our nationality or thinking system is!
  • In HIM we live, move, and have our being (exist).  Every breath comes from Him.  We are not our “own person”.
• Paul relates truth to their own Athenian experience to build an intellectual bridge:
  • “Even as some of your own poets have said, “For we also are His children.”
• Paul builds on their experience to distinguish truth from pagan thought:
  • “Being children of God we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art or thought of man.”
• Paul moves into the principles of the Gospel:  People will give an account for their lives and must repent
  • “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.”
• Paul declares that judgment is coming:
  • “He has fixed a day in which He will judge the inhabited earth in righteousness.”
• Paul reveals who the Judge is:
  • “…He will judge the inhabited earth in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed.
• Paul proves why the Judge has authority to judge: The Fact of the Resurrection
  • “..having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Some people, upon hearing about the resurrection of this Judge from the dead, sneered.  Some wanted to hear more.  Paul left.  He didn’t beg people.  He didn’t argue.  He also did not want to engage in fruitless conversation where people are “forever learning and NEVER coming to a knowledge of the truth.”

The Chinese Waiter

A few hours after the wedding reception we got hungry.  The weather was cold and damp.  Chinese food with hot Chinese tea sounded great.
We found a restaurant close by, went in, and ordered.  We asked for chopsticks.  I know about five or six Chinese words, and said, “thank you” in Chinese.  The waiter asked where I learned how to use chopsticks and the few Chinese expressions.  I shared that I have had Chinese friends since high school.

“Where are you from?” I asked.
“Beijing.  But, I lived in Chinatown in NY for a little while.”

“What is your religious background?”
“My parents are Buddhist.”

(He did not take ownership of that religion.)

“May I share something with you?”

I then took him through as much of Acts 17 as I could remember.  I told him how God loves him and though He spoke the universe into being, created the boundaries for the nations and knows the number of hairs on his head.  The waiter marveled at this truth about God knowing the number of hairs on his head!

“He does?”

“Yes, He does.”

I shared as much of the rest of the above principles as I could remember and gave the waiter opportunity to receive forgiveness from the Judge, because the Judge also paid the penalty for the waiter’s sin.

I don’t do easy believism stuff – “Ask Jesus into your heart.”  Acts 17 and many other passages of Scripture emphasize repentance.  I took him through the Ten Commandments – a good thing to do – because even if people think they haven’t sinned since they haven’t murdered, committed adultery or stolen, who has not lied or secretly coveted what someone else has?  (Commandments 9 and 10!)

The waiter humbly bowed his head, eagerly confessed his sins and believed and confessed Yeshua as his savior.  He kept saying how thankful he was.
We sent him a Chinese New Testament and Psalms, and a Chinese book on apologetics.  When we called him to see how he was doing, he related how grateful he was.

What can we learn from this experience of reading the Scripture and seeing an immediate application?

Don’t categorize or prejudge people.  Don’t assume people aren’t open because they come from a culture whose thought is so radically different from Biblical thought.  Let your spirit be provoked as Paul’s was that people were in bondage to falsehood and would be facing an eternity separated from the Lord of heaven and earth.

You never know what God’s purposes are for you in everyday situations.  So, if you are a believer, remain open to whom the LORD of the Harvest wants to send you on a daily basis.

God’s ways are not ours with respect to whom we think we are equipped to minister.  Remember, Paul was “advancing in Judaism beyond many of his contemporaries among his countrymen, being more extremely zealous for his ancestral traditions. (Galatians 1:13-16)  He was “A Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the Torah (Law), a Pharisee.”…yet with all his sophisticated Jewish learning, the LORD sent him to the Gentiles, to reach out to people who neither knew nor cared about Paul’s intense rabbinic training and knowledge of Judaism.  God’s economy often does not make sense.  Peter, an unlearned (in terms of Judaism, Torah, etc.) fisherman, was made the apostle to the circumcision (Jewish people).
You never know to whom you are talking, or to whom the LORD wants you to speak.

There is a rich harvest for Yahveh’s glory out there.  Yeshua said the fields were white unto harvest.  Therefore, beseech the LORD of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest…even into a Chinese restaurant!

If you are seeking to know the LOVE God has for you and the TRUTH and would like to cancel that “Judgment” appointment:

Perhaps you have searched high and low for “that crazy missing part”, knowing that something is missing in your life.  You may have dabbled in different religions and read all sorts of philosophies (as the Epicureans and Stoics of old – one indulging, hoping to find happiness, the other withholding and living stoically, hoping to find meaning).  Perhaps you have even paid money for self improvement seminars and have come away feeling even emptier.  Please consider what you have just read: that the Scriptures declare that all people have an appointment with the Judge of the whole earth.  Believers in Yeshua had that appointment, but they will never be judged for their sins because the Sinless Messiah was judged two thousand years ago on the tree (cross) for them.  He made atonement for their sins and yours… the difference is they took the offer of forgiveness, love and eternal life.

If you, too, want to clear your conscience, find LOVE that lasts forever, and have everlasting life, then:

1. Speak to the Creator.  His name is Yahveh…the God of Israel…the God of the Bible.  The call is free!
2. Agree with Him that you deserve to be judged for actions, thoughts and/or words that you have done that have violated His law.
3. Tell him about those actions, thoughts and/or words.  This is what the word “confession” means:  “to agree with”; you agree with Him that these things violated His Holy standard and are worthy of judgment.  Reviewing the 10 Commandments may help jog your memory. (See Exodus Chapter 20 verses 1-17)
4. Acknowledge your rebellion toward Him and that in many respects you did not realize that in HIM you live, and move, and have your being.
5. Believe that Yeshua the Messiah, loved you so much that He gave His sinless life for you.  Acknowledge that His work alone, not your good deeds, are sufficient to soothe a Holy God, who, though HE IS LOVE, must punish sin.
6. In prayer, receive Messiah Yeshua into your life and heart.  (Say audibly:  “Messiah Yeshua, I receive you now into my life and heart”)
7. Tell someone else what happened.  For it is written in Romans chapter 10, verse 9 – 13:  “that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says,  “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD (YAHVEH) WILL BE SAVED.”