The King of Rome or the King of Israel?

Recently an article appeared in Prophecy News Watch that arrested my attention. The article is entitled, "The Vatican Wants to Lay Its Hands on Jerusalem." We can go back in history and easily discover that Jerusalem has been the target and prize conquest of many ancient cultures and religions. I suppose what is happening right now concerning the Vatican should not surprise us; but even though it is not surprising, it is heart-wrenching because we know how the Father feels about Jerusalem, His City. In His own words, He tells us, “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before Me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there" (1 Kings 9:3), and “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever" (1 Kings 21:7).

The eyes and heart of God are set upon Jerusalem, the City where He put His Name, and the place where He established the worship of His people, the tribes of Israel. The Catholic Pope of Rome is greatly confused about the heritage and ownership of this City. The following are direct quotes from this article:
"Peace negotiations in the Middle East must tackle the issue of the status of the holy sites of Jerusalem," Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican's Council for Interreligious Dialogue, declared several days ago in Rome. The Vatican's former foreign minister asked to place some Israeli holy places under Vatican authority, alluding to the Cenacle on Mount Zion and the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The first site also houses what is referred to as King David's Tomb. Vatican officials are now reiterating their demand for control over the religious sites in the ancient and holy city founded by King David as the capital of ancient Israel and now the capital of the reestablished Jewish state. The Vatican's former archbishop in Jerusalem, Michael Sabbah, just promoted an appeal to the European Union and United States to "stop the Hebraization of Jerusalem."

Stop the Hebraization of Jerusalem? So, Jerusalem is not a Hebraic place? It is not the place where God Himself instructed the Hebrews to build a Temple to worship Him? Was King David the King of Rome or the King of Israel?

Satan is the author of confusion!

Please remain in prayer for the Jewish people. Age after age, century after century, their rightful inheritance has been stolen from them. That ancient serpent, the devil, has one goal and one goal only: to wipe out the race of people from whom the Seed, the Messiah, would come! And he knows his days to accomplish this are short. He attempted to complete his mission through Antiochus Epiphanes, through the Roman emperor Titus, through the evil ruler Hitler, and other anti-Messiah types, but he has not yet won that battle. And so he persists today, through the diabolical plans of Islamic rulers and the greed of the Vatican. One final anti-Messiah will soon rise on the scene and sit in a re-built Jewish temple, declaring Himself to be God (see 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

We are on the cusp of another great war today, I believe. But we do not fear or tremble; we know that Jerusalem belongs to the King of the Universe, and He will come again to rule the nations from Jerusalem. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem - to do this is to pray for His soon return. He speaks to us from the pages of His revelation to the Apostle John: "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem...!" (Revelation 3:11-12). Hallelujah!

(To read the entire article mentioned, you can click on this link):
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2011/December17/1724.html

Crossing the Jabbok River

In this week's Torah portion, in Genesis chapter 32, we see Jacob finally leaving Laban and his years of servitude, in order to journey on and meet his brother, Esau. On his way, angels meet and encourage him. What a picture this is of our own faith journey through the mixtures and difficulties of this world! When we finally decide to completely leave behind our old, selfish flesh nature (known in Hebrew as the Olam Hazeh - eating from the Tree of Good and Evil), we arrive at the River Jabbok. Will we have enough strength to cross? We will need angels to meet us there and encourage us!

In Hebrew the word Jabbok (pronounced Yabbok) means "to empty, to pour out." This is the process we must go through - just as Jacob did - in order to take on the new, heavenly nature (Olam Haba - eating from the Tree of Life)! Jacob had to get another man's blessing (Esau), work for another man (Laban), tend his sheep, and do hard labor for 20 years before he was free to take his family and set out on his own. This long time speaks of our own long journeys through the snares of this world. Jacob would not fully enter into the heavenly realm until he had an ultimate encounter with his Creator and wrestled with Him until he came to the end of himself. This struggle leaves him with a mark (a limp) - but it also changes his name!

What is this crossing of the Jabbok? It is not just our salvation - that is only step one! It is the separating out of the old flesh nature from the new heavenly nature. It is our process of sanctification and regeneration by the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh).

Who has become fully holy, born again and set-apart at the moment he accepted Yeshua as Lord? Genesis 12:1-3 and 17:23 make it clear to us that Abraham was uncircumcised when he received the Covenant from God! The circumcision of both his flesh and his heart still had to be walked out. He was still an old wineskin, needing to be tested and tried in the fire, and then filled with new wine (anointing) from the Ruach (see Matthew 9:16-17). Old wineskins cannot be filled with new wine!

Jacob sent over all his possessions before crossing the Jabbok River, the place of self-emptying. This shows that he realized that all his strength, all his possessions and wealth, and his own good name were not enough to save him! Alone and empty in the wilderness, he wrestles with a man until daybreak. We know this man is Yeshua - God in the flesh. When we are in the wilderness, and God begins to deal with us, we have three options:
1) Stand still (no forward movement, resulting in spiritual death
2) Turn back (back to Egypt, back to the world and the flesh)
3) Press through (become sanctified and delivered, entering the Olam Haba

The wilderness is our place of circumcision, the place where God's promise comes to pass in each of us: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. " (Ezekiel 36:26-28)

It is a one-on-one encounter with Yeshua - and in that place, He alone reveals to us our true identity as Israel - and like Jacob, we will leave that place marked by Him, and we will never walk the same again!

Yeshua's Hands

"Humble yourselves before the LORD and He will lift you up in honor" - James 4:10

Thanksgiving blessings to all my readers! I pray it has been a weekend of gathering with family and friends and counting the many blessings that are yours in Yeshua our Messiah.

For me, the last couple of weeks have indeed been filled with great blessings as the Lord taught me more about humility than I have ever grasped before. True, my time on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem five years ago was a profoundly humbling experience; yet, on the streets of downtown Denver and in the home of friends in Winnipeg, Manitoba, I received even deeper revelation about those whom God will be lifting up in honor!

Every year my dear friend, David Clifton, undertakes the enormous project of feeding a grand Thanksgiving dinner to Denver's homeless people. This year he was allowed space in front of the massive City/Counting Building and across from the Colorado State Capitol building. God gave great favor that day, with sunny skies and warm temps in the 60s, as we stood behind long banquet tables serving hot, roasted turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade stuffing, green bean casseroles, a delightful array of salads and an endless supply of freshly baked pies to over 11,000 people! This year many of these folks looked like your average neighbors and friends - because they are people who have fallen on extremely hard times, losing jobs and homes, not knowing where to turn, or how to keep food on their tables. I had three of my grandchildren with me and the youngest, age 7, was serving cupcakes with colorful frosting and little plastic Barbies to many young children with single moms. All day there were bands playing Christian and Gospel music on the stage behind us. I had been scheduled to sing at 3:00 pm, but other bands kept going up on stage ahead of me, and finally I was told to just keep serving food, and if they needed me, they would call me up.

Close to 5:00 p.m. the sun was setting behind us and most of the people, their bellies full, had gone on to wherever they sleep for the night. The servers had begun the clean-up process; and it was then that I was called up to the stage! I would be the last person to sing, and my 13-year-old granddaughter, Jayde, came up to sing with me. We sang songs of hope and blessing in Messiah Yeshua, and then for the first time, some of the people came right up and crowded around the stage. Most of them were men with scraggly beards and unwashed clothes. One of them had a very tiny bible in his hand and he was thrusting it up to my granddaughter, trying to ask her something. She leaned forward to hear his request: "Proverbs 20! Read Proverbs 20 to me!" Humbly, and without missing a beat, she went to the microphone and began to read: "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise." She paused after these words, and we watched as at least a dozen or more single men came closer to the stage to hear her words. I recognized the look of alcoholism on their faces - that long-drawn look, with sunken, hopeless eyes. How humbling to watch my granddaughter read these words of wisdom to these men! We had been called up last - to sing for just a very few - but in the Kingdom of God, the first shall be last and the last shall be first!

Then John and I flew off to Canada where we spent a week with our precious friends, Myles and Theresa in Winnipeg. Theresa is a quadriplegic, having been left paralyzed by a brain-stem stroke after the birth of her 2nd son, 27 years ago. I am helping to edit the book she is writing of her faith journey; and her husband, Myles, is helping me to complete some music tracks for the new CD I am preparing to record. We spent a week there and the blessings of God's creative Spirit flowed mightily throughout that household! But nothing and no one impacted me more than Theresa's care-giver, Doris. She came on certain days to cook, clean, and provide Theresa's personal care. One day before lunch I sat at the kitchen table while Theresa instructed Doris on the preparations for our lunch. "Put 2 quarts of water into the pot. Turn the stove on high. Add a pinch of salt. Chop...stir...turn down the stove..." Doris followed every instruction silently and obediently, and I thought I detected a quiet joy in her spirit. But I could not understand it. When we finished eating, Theresa asked how we liked her meal, and I was quite surprised. I thought to myself, "She didn't make this meal. Doris did! Now she is going to take credit for it?"

I lay in bed that night pondering what I had observed and I asked the Spirit to help me understand what I had witnessed. In my spirit I heard Him explain, "Doris is Theresa's hands. She decreases so that Theresa might increase and still be able to do those things she most loves in her home: cooking, sewing, organizing, keeping house. Doris becomes invisible so that Theresa can have hands again." I marveled at this. It was a humility I have not encountered before! Then the Spirit spoke again: "When a man who has led crusades that brought hundreds of thousands of people to salvation stands before Me at the Judgment Seat, I will not be as moved as I will when Doris stands before me. I will lift her up in highest honor in that Day!"

Doris is not just Theresa's hands, then. She is Yeshua's hands!

I know this word extended also to Myles, who has lovingly, faithfully cared for his wife throughout these 27 years, and who exemplifies the role of husband in a way I have also never seen. Theresa is a precious, vibrant, intelligent woman who today ministers over voice-activated computer to many across the globe; and who assists her husband in pastoring a Messianic congregation in their city, gathering every Shabbat for Torah study. It has been a humbling experience indeed to read and edit her astonishing story of faith; but it was an epiphany for me to discover that sometimes behind the stories of great ones are those whose hearts and hands have invisibly and humbly made it all possible.

Waiting On God

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him." (Psalm 62:5)

Like me, you are waiting on God for something, aren't you? Expecting something? Feeling like it is taking a long time to happen?

Psalm 62:5 really spoke to me. I looked up the Hebrew word for the word translated as "wait" in this verse. The Hebrew word is damam. Here is the full definition of the word: "literally to be dumb; to stop, to perish, cease or be cut down. To hold peace, quiet self, rest, be silent, keep silence, be still."

The fullness of this definition truly broadens the meaning of the word "wait" in this Scripture. It does not mean just hanging out and hoping God will answer us pretty soon. It is not passive. We have a part in this kind of waiting - and our part is not twiddling our thumbs or tapping our fingers impatiently! Our part is to "keep silent. To keep our peace. To be cut down."

That doesn't sound like much fun - and it's not! This kind of waiting is the kind that requires the sacrificing of our own desires, the cutting down of our flesh. It requires that we not be talking all the time, but rather listening. It requires that we keep our shalom, even when we are beginning to feel impatient or frustrated. It is a total trusting of the One who longs to give us the desires of our hearts - but will not until He has worked out every detail according to His very best plan for our lives, until we are so dead-to-self that He can be sure we will give only HIM the glory!

Damam. Help me to wait on You, O God, with this damam, this silent, still, peaceful, yielded waiting...

I sense it will be worth the wait! The Lord is bringing forth people who have completely yielded to Him, gone through the fire of self-death, and learned to wait upon Him. This kind of waiting brings forth that which is beautiful, lasting, and worth having.

A Time of Job Testing

I have been hearing the Spirit say, "My people are entering a time of Job testing." Indeed, I see this being manifested in the lives of many righteous people who seek to keep God's commands and usher in His Kingdom. The testings are not the same for any two people - they appear to be "tailor-made" to test that to which we tightly grip, and do not want to relinquish. "Will you let go?" the Spirit asks. "Will you lay your Isaac on the altar by faith, and worship Me in the midst of your testing?"

When God asked Abraham to take his beloved son, Isaac, up the mountain and literally slay him as a sacrifice, we see the word "worship" in this scenario and we are stunned. What was Abraham's sacrifice? It was his willingness to let go of that which he cherished most. It was his righteous prioritizing, placing God above all else. It was his obedience! His great faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob somehow convinced him that God would restore his son to him in the end, as he proclaimed, "The lad and I will go over there and worship and then WE will return to you!" (Genesis 22:5)

Job sat in the dirt, miserably scratching his body sores with shattered pottery pieces; and in the midst of his loss of wife, children, livestock, wealth, and property, he worshiped God and boldly prophesied, "I know that my Redeemer lives and that He shall stand upon the earth!" (Job 19:25)

The days ahead of us will require this kind of bold and sure faith. We must be focused on the glorious in-breaking of the Kingdom of God, instead of the demise of the world and its collapsing economies. The tests of obedience are coming into the lives of God's people, to see how we will respond. Will we praise Him in the midst of great loss? Can we trust Him when we don't understand His purpose? Will we obey when it means great personal sacrifice?

Several of my dearest friends are going through such tests even today. One couple has just lost their home and all that they hold dear. Their response has been resounding worship, saying to God, "We do not understand, but we trust You. Now that we are free of material things, show us how we can serve You." Another dear friend is facing a "death sentence" from melanoma. Her doctors told her she has three to four months to live. Her response? "I believe I am going to be one of God's great miracles. But whether I live or whether I die I want to bring Him great glory in the process!"

To these and many others of you who are going through great tests and trials, I offer encouragement. God restored to Job all that he lost, and more. The obedience brought the blessing. The refusal to follow his wife's suggestion when she told him, "Curse God and die," brought renewed hope, life, and prosperity. Recalling my own great tests of losing husband, ministry, and home, and then going to Jerusalem to experience a total "flesh-death," I can joyfully say, "After death there is always a resurrection for those who follow Messiah Yeshua!"

In the midst of our testing, may we be able to testify as Job did: "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed His steps; I have kept to His way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of His lips. I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread." Job 23:10-12

New Beginnings!

Today is the 8th and final day of the celebration of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. I recall the two times I was blessed to celebrate this feast in Israel. The gaily decorated sukkahs (temporary dwellings, or booths) around the city of Jerusalem gladdened my heart, and the festive atmosphere was contagious. No matter how dismal the real circumstances are around us, Sukkot is a time of joyful anticipation. This season is both a reminder and a prophecy. It causes us to look back and recall a time when our ancestors dwelt in tents in the wilderness and the LORD cared for them with manna for food, fire at night for warmth and protection, a cloud by day to shield them from the sun. What a loving Father He was over His children! And so He is today. In the midst of collapsing economies, threats of nuclear war and joblessness, the season of Sukkot sets our eyes on the Kingdom yet to come - the Bridegroom returning for His Bride, to take her into His sukkah (His Chamber) for the glorious Wedding Supper. Then He will dwell with us forever; His Kingdom shall have no end!

This morning I am pondering the blessing that on the 20th John and I will celebrate 8 years of marriage, as we celebrate the 8th day of Sukkot! The number 8 in Hebraic understanding means "new beginnings." How appropriate! We begin anew to read from the Torah in Genesis Chapter 1; and we sense many new beginnings in our young marriage as the LORD continues to teach us to keep on His path and follow His ways. We turned our back porch into a sukkah, covered in grape vines from my back yard, and decorated with banners and flowers. We put a mattress on the floor and slept there for a few nights until the rain moved in! Watching the moon cross the sky during the night was a beautiful reminder of His care over us, and the steadfastness of His cycles.

Tomorrow we will celebrate the great feast day known as Simchat Torah (joy of the Torah). I know many in the Church still do not yet understand why we take such joy in the cyclical reading of the Torah each year, from Genesis through Deuteronomy. Keren Hannah writes, "The conclusion of the annual Torah reading cycle at this time and the immediate beginning of the cycle for the next year is the central reason and focus of the holiday of Simchat Torah. An old gate is closing and a new one is opening. We celebrate the new beginning and the opportunity to step forward into another year of relationship with our Father, the Giver and Source of Life, and into continuing growth in knowledge of His Word and thereby of Himself. We can lift our hearts and rejoice and sing with the Psalmist:
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things in Your Torah.
Your testimonies are my delight, they are my counselors. …Give me understanding, that I may keep Your Torah and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it.
The sum of Your Word is truth; and every one of Your righteous ordinances endures for ever… my heart stands in awe of Your words.I rejoice at Your Word, like one who finds great treasure.” (Psalm 119:18, 24, 34-35,160-162)

Whatever your circumstance today, find joy in the blessings of God's Word, and His never-failing love and care over you!

A Burden of Grief

I awoke suddenly. The digital alarm clock read 11:38. Was I having a dream? No, I could not recall anything from a dream. Then, what was this aching grief in my heart? My heart felt so heavy that I desperately cried out in the night, "Father, what is it?" Silence. A deepening of the grief. Then tears - a cascade of tears - silently falling across my face and melting on my shoulders. By now John was awakened. "Has something happened?" I asked in a barely audible voice. He told me nothing had happened. Yet I knew there was a foreboding in my spirit and the tears would not stop.

When morning came, sunlight blissfully streaming through my window, I could hear the school busses passing by and I knew it was just another day with children going to school, parents going to work, and birds chirping gaily in my back yard. But the ache was still there. So I began to pray, "Lord, I take authority over this feeling of deep grief and pain." In the quiet of my kitchen the Lord answered me, "You do not need to take authority over it. It is a burden of grief that I am asking you to bear for My people in the days ahead. Stand in the gap for them."

Instantly I understood. The last time the Lord asked me to bear a burden of grief and intercession for His people was five years ago. I did not understand the burden, even as I do not fully understand it now; but it came into full view the day I arrived in Jerusalem and the Jews were expelled from their own homes in the Gaza. As in the days of the Holocaust, they were being dragged from their homes and left to fend for themselves and their children on the streets. My grief was in full force that day, and through tears and prayer I tried to help carry theirs.

What is just ahead, that I should be bearing a burden again? Perhaps it is related to the season we are in - a time when the Jewish people have suffered wars, persecution and much devastaion. It is a time so holy that Satan's rage is always stirred up against God's people. Yom Kippur -the holiest day of God's calendar - will descend upon us when the sun goes down this Friday evening. As Aaron, the High Priest of ancient Israel, entered the Holy of Holies with a sacrifice to make atonement for himself, his family, the tabernacle, and all Israel - so Yeshua, our High Priest, presented His blood to Yahweh to make atonement for all His children.

It is good for us to take some time before Yom Kippur to ask the Lord to examine our hearts and minds, exposing the dark places. Yes, it is true that Yeshua made an atonement by His blood offering once and for all - but should we not continue to offer Him our sacrifices of repentance, turning from the ways we have disobeyed and ignored Him and His commands? Yes, I believe we should. As individuals, as spouses, as families, and as a nation, I believe we should. Our tears of repentance, our willingness to intercede for our Jewish brothers and sisters, and our teshuva (return) to the LORD, our Great High Priest, will produce lasting fruit in the Kingdom.

"How much more then will the blood of Messiah, who through the Ruach L'Olam (Eternal Spirit) offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the Living Elohim!" (Hebrews 9:14)

Those Are My Children!

For nearly an hour and a half we scanned the skies last night, looking for the new moon. Together with visiting friends from Montana we stood at the edge of a local onion field, shofars in our hands, a great expectancy filling our hearts. We had been told it might be visible for a very brief window in time. We must have looked foolish - to the world! We waited and watched, waited and watched. "Was that it?" No, it was a plane! "How about that little spot of light?" No, it's not a crescent.

Though we never did spot it last night, several friends in our congregation did. And in my heart I felt that what pleased God last night was not whether or not we found the new moon, but that we joyfully, expectantly went to search for it. I imagined Him looking down on the four of us at the edge of the onion field, scanning the skies, and saying (with a broad grin on His Face), "Look there! Look at those little ones, searching for the signs I place in the sky! Those are my children!" It is obedience that brings the blessing!

Because the new moon was observed in the sky last night by some, we know that it ushered in the first day of the month Tishrei, and the Feast of Yom Teruah (the day of blowing). Our group will gather tonight at a lake in Loveland to celebrate, and to again search for the tiny crescent of moon and sound the shofar. It is an important feast, which will one day be fulfilled by the sound of the Seventh Trumpet, announcing the Return of our Messiah King! But in the meantime, we will observe and meditate upon the deeper meaning of these "days of awe" which precede Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. These are the ten days in which we are to examine our hearts and ask God to reveal to us the bitterness, unforgiveness, and sin that is contaminating our hearts and our lives. We are to spend these days in a deep repentance, and search out those whom we have offended, asking forgiveness. Tonight we will write these offenses on stones, and cast them into the lake - which our Father calls the "sea of forgetfulness." He promises that once we have repented, He will remember them no more! What a merciful, compassionate God we serve! In these ten days we offer ourselves - our souls and bodies - as living sacrifices unto Him (Romans 12:1) and the Scripture says "this is our act of worship."

As we walk through (rehearse) these prophetic Feasts of the LORD this fall, we proclaim ourselves to be in Covenant with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - a remnant of His inheritance! We are His children and He is our God (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

As we blow the shofar, joyfully anticipating His return and throwing our stones into the water, let us pray:

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea!" (Micah 7:18-19)

Thank You, Father. What an indescribable blessing to know that we are part of the remnant of your inheritance, grafted in by the atoning Blood of Messiah Yeshua!

Walking in Rhythm

The fall feasts are nearly upon us. Perhaps many of you still wonder why I am observing them. What motivates one's heart to abandon the western/pagan holidays and to begin keeping the Feasts of the LORD? The last word there is the key! These are not the "Jewish feasts," nor the "feasts of Israel" These are the feasts of the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. My heart is motivated not by trying to earn points with God (much less trying to earn my salvation), but by the blessings that come from obedience to His Word. It is a heart issue! Where the holidays of my youth might have remained an emotional tie to happy memories, I soon found that it is not MY heart that matters - it is God's heart! And God is calling all His people in this hour to get on HIS calendar, in order to see, know and understand what He is doing in the earth.

Once on His calendar the rhythm of our lives begins to beat with His rhythm. Now we are on His cycle, celebrating each new moon as a gift of another month, and looking forward to each feast as a rehearsal for all that we will one day experience in His kingdom. The new moon that will usher in Yom Teruah (the day of blowing the shofar) is nearly here, expected on the evening of September 28. In the month prior to this (the Hebrew month of Elul) we become aware of times of testing. This is a time period of examining our hearts and making ourselves fully ready for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when we will fall down before the Living God and submit ourselves to a time of deep repentance, that we might be cleansed and restored.

This process is actually illustrated in Torah in Leviticus and Deuteronomy by learning what our God calls clean and unclean, holy and profane. We are to stop being double-minded (James 4:7-8). Yeshua (Jesus) warned that he would rather we be either "hot or cold," as he hates a "lukewarm" person (Rev. 3:14-16)! He says he will spit lukewarmness out of his mouth! I believe He is saying that He hates mixture - a little holiness, a little profanity, all mixed together - what difference does it make?

Let's take a look at what God says: "You shall not sow your vineyard with a second kind of seed, else the crop from the seed you have sown and the yield of the vineyard may not be used. You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together. You shall not wear cloth combining wool and linen." (Deut. 22:9-11). Because most of us are not farmers, not spending our days sowing or plowing with oxen and donkeys - and because most of us are walking around wearing clothes made of many fabric blends, we cannot identify with this. What is God saying to us today? Consider that SEEDS can represent people. He is saying, "Don't be teamed with those who do not love the LORD, for what do the people of God have in common with the people of sin? How can light live with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14). The mixed team of oxen and donkey spiritually speaks to us of our associations with people. Who are you teamed with? Are they people who can build up and edify your life in Messiah, or those who will distract you and lead you astray from the faith?

And what about this mixed clothing? How can we apply this principle in our modern time? I believe this can spiritually represent contamination in our own hearts and lives. Consider the process of contaminated clothing in Leviticus 13:53-56: "If the priest sees that the stain has not spread in the garment, or anything made of skin, he shall give orders for the stained material to be washed, and then he shall put it aside for another seven days. After it has been washed the priest shall examine the stain; if it has not changed its appearance, although it has not spread, it is unclean and you shall destroy it by fire, whether the rot is on the right side or the wrong. If the priest examines it and finds the stain faded after being washed, he shall tear it out of the garment. If, however, the stain reappears in the garment, it is breaking out afresh and you shall destroy by fire whatever is stained. If you wash the garment or anything of skin and the stain disappears, it shall be washed a second time and then it shall be ritually clean."

It is a picture of our hearts, my friends. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and give me a new and steadfast spirit. Wash away all my guilt and cleanse me from my sin," prays King David in Psalm 51. In the Leviticus passage we glean the marvelous news that when our High Priest Yeshua examines our hearts, He washes the stain - and if the stain persists, He allows us to go through the fire in order to teach us how to live a clean and blessed life. In fact, He tears that part right out! And then when our stains are washed clean and disappear, but we fall a second time, He is able to wash us clean again!" This is the marvelous news of the atoning blood of Messiah Yeshua!

As we grow up into Him, the Spirit fills us with a desire to understand the difference between life and death, clean and unclean, so that we can walk in the fullness of His blessings! Keeping His Sabbaths and Feast Days will help us remain in God's blessings, power and authority. Getting rid of the mixtures in our daily lives and in our worship will make us hot for Him, not lukewarm! Getting on His calendar draws us ever nearer to His heart. Can you hear the shofar call about to be sounded throughout the earth? Look for the new moon and anticipate all the blessings of having Him dwell with you in your tent during the Feast of Tabernacles! We are rehearsing His moedim (His appointed times) in order to be ready for the Kingdom yet to come...

Lights and Phones and Comets, oh my!

The Lord spoke to me through a parable today. This morning John's cell phone was stuck in silent mode and would not ring. We both know how to set the ring volume, but neither of us could make it work. It remained silent and as a result he missed several important calls. Nothing we tried would work, so we laid the phone aside and muttered that we would have to locate a 5th grader to show us how to fix it! Suddenly this evening the phone rang and we just stared at each other. How did it get fixed? No one had touched it!

I went into the kitchen to make dinner and my kitchen light would not come on. We tried turning it on and turning it off several times, but to no avail. I left the switch on, but began cooking in the dim, fading light from the window. Suddenly, as I was setting the dinner plates on the table, the light came on. No one had touched it! Incredulous, John asked, "What is going on?" It came to me immediately: "It's a parable. The Lord is saying to us, 'For the revelation waits for the appointed time. It speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it, it will come and will not delay.'" (Habakkuk 2:3)

Our Father delights to rescue us! He led the Israelites to the edge of the sea with the Egyptian army right behind them, the situation seemingly hopeless. And then He rescues them with a miracle, in order that HE might get all the glory! I am convinced that He loves this more than anything - allowing His children to come to the end of their abilities and self-sufficiencies so that He can rescue them and receive the glory. As things grow more and more difficult in these "end times" and the painful birth pangs increase in intensity, our God is calling us to WAIT on Him and trust Him for our deliverance. Unable to make the cell phone ring or the kitchen light come on, HE came in His own timing, and did not delay! It is in these small ways that the Spirit speaks to us and brings encouragement and understanding.

In the midst of all these recent earthquakes and the impending impact of Hurricane Irene, I've been studying the effects of a comet named Elenin. According to the most knowledgeable NASA scientists, the alignment of Elenin with several other planets (as well as sun and moon) has clearly caused the intensity of earthquakes and volcanoes to rise significantly in the past couple of years. Now in the coming months of September and October - not surprisingly near and on the Feast of Yom Teruah (the Blowing of Trumpets) and the Feast of Tabernacles - Elenin will be perfectly aligned within the constellation Virgo with the sun, the moon, Venus and Saturn, to perfectly fulfill the vision in Revelation 12:

"A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet and 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that he might devour the child as soon as he was born."

I strongly encourage you to watch the video from this web link, if you can. It is only about 15 minutes long, and it will astonish and bless you! This vision given to the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos about 2000 years ago will appear in the heavens in our day, and ON the day that will be fulfilled when the Lord returns! God's Word does not return to Him void, and He watches over it to accurately perform it. Who could not believe in YHVH, the King of the Universe, the One True God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?! For the revelation waits for the appointed time. It will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will come and will not delay!

Click here to see the video - and keep watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3DvFkY8bnA&feature=youtu.be

Wise as Serpents

I had a dream a few nights ago that the Spirit has continued to interpret for me. At first it seemed somewhat disjointed, but as He has given me understanding, I see the whole picture and the message He wanted me to get. Now I feel led to pass it on, as it is something we must ALL get! Matthew 10:16: "I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

In my dream John and I were leading a Shabbat service in a big park with large, green rolling hills, a couple of sheltered picnic areas and a BBQ pit. Our usual small congregation was present and we had just begun setting food out on the tables to share, when I looked over the hill and saw hundreds and hundreds of people approaching. My heart leapt with joy! In my great excitement I felt that surely the time had finally come when many would be seeking truth and would come to celebrate the Sabbath and learn of Yeshua, the Messiah. How wrong I was! In our "harmless as doves" state, we forget the Lord's caution that we must also stay fully alert and be "wise as serpents." I suppose you could say having a serpent's wisdom is to be "street-smart," aware of the wolves around you, discerning who really desires truth and who is operating in deception.

As these crowds began to swarm around our tables, we were offering food to the first few who came, and I began teaching from the Word of God. In a loud voice I was sharing verses of Scripture, feeling certain I must be fulfilling the prophecy of Amos when he said, "...there will be a famine, not for food, but for the Word of God." But the food on our tables quickly ran out and the people became angry. They mocked me and derided me, shouting, "We don't want your God! We want real food!" Some threw things at us, others just turned around and left.

Just after this my ex-husband came walking up to our congregation and bitterly scorned me, telling the people, "She is a murderer! She killed my son!" His horrifying lie and the mocking of the crowds was almost more than I could bear; and then I woke up.

Over time the Lord has spoken to me about this dream and said, "You need to be prepared for these days. Do not be so innocent as to think that all people will want to know Me and know the Truth. Narrow is the way to salvation and few will find it; this is because few will even desire it. Do not throw your pearls before swine, and do not give away food that will sustain My family to the enemy's family. Be wise. Be discerning. Listen to My Voice. For many will mock you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil things about you. But you hold fast to the faith and do not be moved. As the days grow darker, you will receive more light."

Unity Restored

I really feel the strong unction of the Spirit to send out this word this morning. Our Torah portion yesterday was a good lesson from God in the importance and urgency of UNITY in all 12 tribes of Israel. This lesson in Numbers chapter 32 recounts the time just immediately prior to the tribes crossing the Jordan River and finally - after their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness - entering into the Promised Land. But the tribes of Reuben and Gad look around at the land just east of the Jordan and decide it looks like pretty good cattle-grazing land, so they go to Moses and tell him "If we have found favor in your eyes let this land be given to us as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan." I can only imagine Moses' sense of outrage and alarm. After all these years of hardship and sacrifice in the wilderness, they have finally come to their promised inheritance - and Reuben and Gad want to stop short of even entering the land, separate from their brothers, and settle down east of the Jordan! Moses' heart must have been broken over this, as he already knew that God was not going to allow him to enter the Promised Land with the people he had been leading for 40 years! He knew he was to experience death before they went in, and I feel certain he must have wanted to know that all 12 tribes would cross the Jordan in unity and receive their long-sought inheritance in the Land of milk and honey!

All througout the long journey Moses had done everything possible to preserve unity in the children of Israel, knowing that the devil always gains a foothold by sowing division among them. In Numbers 32:6-7 he challenges the Reubenites and Gadites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the Land the LORD has given them?"

In the end a concession is made wherein these two tribes must agree to accompany their brothers across the Jordan and fight with them to conquer the land until all the tribes have been settled in their inherited territories. They do make this promise: "We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance. We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan" (Numbers 32:19). Did they speak prophetically, I wonder? We could look at modern-day Israel and clearly see that the land east of the Jordan no longer belongs to Israel, but rather is controlled by the enemies of Israel.

Our words carry power and often can determine our future. Moses was quick to avert disunity among the tribes by admonishing them to go over the river and fight together as one big family. I believe this lesson reminds us today that we must not hold onto offenses and anger against one another, but rather confront it immediately so that repentance and forgiveness can follow and unity can be restored.

Are you harboring anger against someone who has offended you in the past? Are you holding onto bitterness you have refused to deal with? Is there a wedge in your marriage or family because something has not been confronted and forgiven? Ephesians 4:26 says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold."

More today than ever the body of Messiah needs to take these words to heart. In the coming days we are going to need unity with one another more than we can even begin to imagine. We are going to need to fight against the devil as one strong, unified army - and this unity has to begin within our very homes. Let us not stop "short of crossing the Jordan together" - but rather desire the Promise of our inheritance enough to cross over with our fellow tribes and conquer the enemy!

The Spin Cycle

A couple of months ago I wrote about the benefits of the linen garments and bedding made by my friend, Rosemary. Another good friend purchased linen sheets and wrote, "I haven't slept this well in years. And as the instructions said, the linen gets softer and softer with each washing. I thought how like us this is! The more the Lord puts us through His spin cycle, the softer we become toward Him and others."

I told her I would have to write this in a blog! It certainly resonates with my life, ever since John and I walked back down that wedding aisle, hand-in-hand. Literally across continents we have been in a virtual "spin cycle" of the Lord's doing, and through five different countries, languages, foods and currencies, we tried to keep up! Then once we got back home we went straight down to Mexico where we have been getting John's house ready to sell. Scrubbing floors and walls, painting rooms, holding yard sales, hauling trash, and fixing things that didn't work, we continued to spin until we thought we would drop of exhaustion.

In the very midst of all this activity, my mom fell ill and was hospitalized, so I returned home to spend 4 days in the hospital with her, at her bedside. She recovered from her sepsis infection and went home, and the spin cycle went into high gear as I returned to New Mexico to help John finish up. Now that we are finally just on the other side of all this whirling and washing, we look back and wonder: "Did you make us softer, Lord?" The answer is a clear yes. We could not have survived all of that without Him. We were totally dependent upon him from the mountains of Israel to the little neighborhood in Farmington, New Mexico, to my mom's hospital room. In the midst of the spin cycle He quietly worked in us to form us as a ministry team, as partners painting side by side, as lovers, as husband and wife, esteeming the other above ourselves.

Yes, it's true. Like precious linen fabric, we become softer - toward our Master and those He places in our lives for His glory.

Jerusalem Day 5771

Jerusalem Day 5771: celebrating the 44th year since Israel's recapture of the city of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. This year we were there. And this year everyone said it was much more exciting than ever. Why? I believe it is because it came on the heels of President Obama's speech calling for Israel to return to the 1967 borders. This action would literally rip the city of Jerusalem right in half, giving East Jerusalem to the "Palestinians," - including the Western Wall and Temple Mount areas. As Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly communicated, "This is unthinkable. This will not happen!" And so on June 1 the younger generation of Israelis converged by the tens of thousands upon the city of Jerusalem for an uproariously jubilant celebration. It was as if this younger generation truly grasps the meaning and value of this city - the City of the Great King - the place where YHVH put His Name forever.

John and I were unspeakably blessed to and privileged to march through the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old City that night, from the Damascus Gate all the way to the Western Wall, singing songs and chants in Hebrew, dancing, and clapping along with all the young Israelis who proudly and joyfully waved their Israeli flags. When we reached the Western Wall there was a sea of blue stars of David, and a unified rejoicing that made our hearts soar. It felt like a foretaste of the rejoicing in the streets that will someday welcome and celebrate the return of Messiah Yeshua!

But even more incredible than all of this was the rare, even historic opportunity we had to go up on the Temple Mount that Jerusalem Day morning with Rabbi Chaim Richman, Director of the Temple Institute. Jews are not allowed up on the Temple Mount, currently controlled by the Muslims. And the last Jew they want up there is Rabbi Richman, since he is literally the man in charge of all preparations for the building of the 3rd Temple! By the grace of God we were invited to be part of this small group that got to go up to the Temple Mount with this learned and revered Rabbi (after he was detained for two hours attempting to get clearance to pass through security). It was an opportunity of a lifetime - and what I learned about the Jewish temples up there far surpassed a history lesson.

Make no mistake - according to Scripture, the 3rd temple will be rebuilt. And in our tour of the Temple Institute, we were blessed to see the menorah, the showbread stand, the bronze laver, the altar of incense, the High Priest's garments, and many other utensils and furnishings of the temple, constructed exactly according to the instructions given to Moses in the book of Exodus, and ready to be placed in the 3rd Jewish temple. But when this temple is destroyed after being desecrated by the Anti-Messiah, a 4th temple will be rebuilt for the Millennial kingdom; and it was in the description of this Temple in the 44th chapter of Ezekiel that I received such powerful revelation about what the Temple really means in the eyes and the heart of God. I'll let the Lord speak it Himself, as He spoke it to Ezekiel, His prophet: "Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider the plan, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make it known to them the design of the temple - its arrangement, its exits and entrances - its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple." (Ezekiel 44:10-12).

This is exactly what happened to me as Rabbi Richman took us over every part of that holy mountain and showed us where the inner court was, where the brazen altar stood, where the Holy of Holies was. My heart was overwhelmed with the holiness, the awe, the mercy of the God of Israel - and I was deeply ashamed of my sin. I wanted to fall facedown on the hard stone. I knew that above everything else my God was calling me to repent (teshuva), return to Him, and keep His instructions (His Torah), which truly is the law of the temple - and which gives me life and freedom!

As Rabbi Richman pointed out the exits and entrances, the design of the temple, it came alive for me. I understood in some deep chamber of my heart the words that God Himself proclaimed for all the generations upon the earth: "This is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever." (Ezekiel 43:7) O God, may it be so! May it be in our day!

Re-gathering the Flock

"But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:3-4)

We had the great privilege of seeing these verses fulfilled before our very eyes as we spent the day helping Brian Slater (Chosen People Ministries) with his outreach to the Jewish Russian immigrants of Netanya, Israel. For a couple of hours we unpacked boxes of good, used clothing and set the garments on tables. In the kitchen two lovely Russian women of the Beit Asaph congregation were cooking soup and making salads and bread for those we would soon be serving. Then Brian arrived with his SUV loaded to the gills with fresh carrots, the most gigantic beets I have ever seen, boxes and boxes of cookies, sacks of fresh bread and big red cabbages. We carefully laid these foods, as well as tubs of hummus and some chocolate pudding cups, on tables from which the guests could pick and choose what they wanted to take.

When the doors opened, many local Russian Jews came bursting in and it was such a blessing to serve each one dinner, pour water for them, and sit down to visit with them. Yes, they had left their lives of poverty behind in Russia, but the cost of living in Israel is so tremendously high that it is extremely difficult for them to survive here as well. Yet, as the Scripture prophesies, there are a few shepherds who have a heart for these dear people whom the LORD has regathered from all the nations where He scattered them. Brian is such a shepherd, and he works tirelessly all week to reach provide for the needy and reach the lost to bring them to Messiah. The pictures show one of the volunteers with a giant beet (God grows things supernaturally large in Israel!), Brian to the left of a table of guests, and myself at the keyboard. I sang worship songs in Russian while they dined, and we could tell they were greatly blessed by hearing the love of Yeshua sung in their own tongue.

We were generously blessed by the hospitality of a mother and daughter from the Beit Asaph congregtion while in Netanya. Neris is from Cuba and she and her daughter have just made aliyah to Israel. We worshiped in this congregation last Shabbat, and heard Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, English and French spoken in one service, with headsets to translate into all these languages! Surely God HAS re-gathered His people and truly is bringing them back into their folds!

Waiting in the Jaffa Gate for transportation we were struck by the many teenagers of the Israel Defense Force. Military service is mandatory for both girls and boys at the age of 18. Can you imagine going to your child's high school graduation service, only to kiss them goodbye and send them off to defend the most hated nation on earth? We encountered them everywhere, usually with AK47s or M16 machine guns strapped to their backs. We always stopped to thank them and tell them we are praying for them; here we got a picture of some of the girls, looking like any of our high school girls back home. For a mother like me, it was heart-wrenching to know what they face.

Today we had the great joy of returning from Netanya to Jerusalem and meeting up with Marty and Michael Gale and their Celebration Dance team at Jaffa Gate. One hundred thousand young people are converging upon Jerusalem today, gearing up for Jerusalem Day tomorrow (commemorating the re-capturing of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War). As Marty's dancers whirled and twirled joyfully to the Hebrew music, Israeli kids of many backgrounds were drawn to them, and began to join in the dancing. It was obvious they had never seen these dances before, and they were so very excited to be part of it! I smiled as I observed their eagerness to learn the steps and become part of the jubilation; truly this Gentile dance team was provoking the Jews to jealousy!

A young generation is rising up in Israel with a new courage and a new heart. Pray that they will be the generation to come to faith in Messiah Yeshua and usher in His return! Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!

We will be winging our way home to Colorado June 4. Thank you for all your many prayers over us as we have traversed Europe and Israel. It has been a very fruitful trip.

A Fountain in Israel

I mentioned in a previous blog the place in Budapest where many Jews were shot and tossed into the Danube River in December 1944. John and I walked up the river later and visited this simple, deeply stirring memorial. There they stand in the silence, on the riverbank: men's shoes, women's shoes, and the shoes of little toddlers. All I could do was weep. There were no words....

Now we have made it to Haifa, Israel, where we have spent the last four days on Mt. Carmel participating in the conference "The Sound of the Abundance of Rain." This ministry led by David & Karen Davis is multi-faceted and filled to overflowing with God's grace and favor. Together with other devoted, gifted staff members (too numerous to mention) they are truly the hands and feet of Messiah Yeshua in this Land. They are taking the Gospel to Jew and Arab alike. Their worship team is made up of Jews, Arabs, Russians, Japanese, Americans, and Germans worshiping Yeshua together on the mountain where Elijah once called down fire from heaven and proclaimed, "The LORD He is God!" They also have a women's shelter filled with women, children and babies who are refugees from Sudan. And the House of Victory, the original beginning of this ministry, is still in full force there, delivering countless men from alcohol and drug addiction. We heard so many testimonies from these men who were once hopeless, and are now serving their Savior by bringing others off the streets and helping them to find a full life in Yeshua. One young ex-Muslim man named Mohammed touched us deeply with his testimony, and his new-found love for his Jewish brothers.

We are spending hours in worship and prayer, calling forth the "one new man" of Ephesians 2, and literally seeing the fruit of these prayers lived out in Haifa. Not only are Jews and Arabs being reconciled here in the love of Messiah, but there is also a ministry of Jewish youth going into Germany, visiting the areas of the concentration camps, and offering love and forgiveness to the Germans. This ministry was introduced to us today by Eliel, a young Jewish man married to Lydia, a young German woman. Their adorable one-year-old daughter Sapir was a living testimony to the power of repentance and forgiveness!

Also yesterday the staff of this ministry went into the poorest area of Haifa and delivered food and supplies to 250 people, spreading the pure love of the Lord.

Tonight as the Shabbat settles in over this beautiful Israeli city on the Mediterranean Sea, I find myself asking God for mercy for the United States of America. Following Obama's devastating announcement that Israel and Jerusalem must be divided, and the land carved up, we can know for certain that judgment will be soon-coming just as it came in the form of Hurricane Katrina a few short days after the Jews were expelled from their own land in the Gaza. This is heavy on my heart -- but I am consoled by the great fountain of salvation and unity Yeshua is opening up in Israel. Truly we are in the days spoken of by the prophet Zechariah, and it is most amazing to be alive in these times. PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM - the ONLY PEACE THERE CAN EVER BE: THE RETURN OF THE KING OF JERSUALEM!

"The LORD who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth and who forms the human spirit within a person declares, 'I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. On that day when all the nations are gathered against her I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it with injure themselves.'" (Zechariah 12:1-3)

Restoration!

The message of Restoration continues unabated in Bulgaria! Yesterday we ministered first in Christian Centre Sofia, where I again had opportunity to sing my song "Two by Two" and illustrate for the people the two sticks of Ezekiel 37, becoming ONE in the Father's hand. They received this message with joy and were on their feet dancing and singing! We blessed the children under the tallit (right) and following the service both of us had opportunity to pray with the people and most of the congregation came forward for prayer. The pastor of this congregation strongly supports Israel, but now I believe they will understand how they are also a part of Israel!

When evening came we were taken across the city of Sofia to a totally different area, and ushered into a very small building where we had one of the most amazing spiritual experiences of our lives. Both of us felt we were given a rare opportunity to glimpse the Restoration work that YHVH is doing in the earth right now in our time, and it was a fulfillment of the parable in Luke 14:16-24: "Then he said to him, 'A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at suppertime to say to those who were invited, 'Come for all things are now made ready.' But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' And another said, ' I have bought five yoke of oxen and I am going to test them. I ask you to excuse me.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.' So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind. And the servant said to the master, 'It is done as you have commanded, and still there is room!' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house might be filled! For I say to you that none of these men who were invited shall taste my supper.'

Irena and Stefan, the precious couple who invited us to minister in their Reformed Eastern Orthodox Church, had invited about 20 people to come for the Sunday evening service and hear about the Hebrew roots of their faith. We wondered what the Lord could be doing in this small place, in a church that has been Orthodox in the past, but has a priest (pictured at right with his family) whose heart is now filled with a longing to bless the Jewish people! As the evening progressed we became more and more awed by the Presence of the Ruach (Holy Spirit) and the work that He is doing here. Many of the people originally invited did not come. So who were the 55 people John counted who did come? It turns out many were Jewish people. Some of them told me they were from Jewish families who were forced to confess Christianity in past generations. And many were literally "street people" - the homeless and the poor, the lame and those suffering with addictions. Just as in the parable, the Servant had gone into the streets and invited all who would come fill His hall, when those in the Church remained apathetic and asleep!

On the altar of this church was a lit menorah and two flags: one of Bulgaria and one of Israel. When I went to the piano to worship I sang the great old hymn "Holy, holy, holy" in English and they sang in Bulgarian. Then we sang "Kadosh" all in Hebrew and I explained to them that we were able to join in worship in ONE language because as Zeph. 3:9 tells us, "For then I will restore to the people a pure language." Those whom the Father is drawing into His hall to be made ready for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb are also learning to worship Him in His one pure Hebrew language!

When I taught this group of people they entered in with great hunger and enthsiasm and began to embrace one another in total UNITY of spirit, in one accord! The priest came forward and delivered a message of the history of the Jewish people, from their captivity in Babylon through their persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes, to the Spanish Inquisition, the Russian pogroms and the Holocaust! He called this small gathering of people to unite themselves with Judah as one family in prayer and blessing for one another. Then all came forward to share the Body and Blood of Messiah and the priest called John and me forward to lift the bread and the cup and say the Hebrew blessings! The Kabod of the LORD filled this place and when John prayed over the people at the end, we know that miracles were taking place, not only of physical healing, but also of salvation for those who did not yet know their Messiah! And in fulfillment of a prophecy that has been spoken over Bulgaria as a "healing for the nations," a Russian woman embraced me in sobs and said, "I am Russky...you are American. Hate! Hate!" And I consoled her and said, "I love you and you love me." It is a beginning!

Already our dear friend Lyubka has begun to organize a Hebrew Roots conference for youth and adults in Varna, Bulgaria for summer 20121 The foundation is being laid. We thank you for your continued prayers as we travel tomorrow to Budapest, Hungary where we will minister in three churches, spreading again the message of the Restoration of all Israel (Romans 11:25)!

Life of Victory in Bulgaria!

After 18 hours of travel we reached Sofia, Bulgaria safely, but utterly exhausted. Our dear host, Lyubka, left her apartment to us and went to stay with her mother so that we could have 12 hours of quiet and uniterrupted rest. This is the gracioiusness of the Bulgarian people.

Yesterday we traveled by train from Sofia to Russe, Bulgaria, on the northern border of Bulgaria and Romania. The Life of Victory Christian Centre welcomed us with great joy and I write to you with overwhelming excitement about all that God did among the people there last night. Without a doubt I now see and understand why He brought John and myself together - to be a team of missionaries who can teach His Word, lead the people into deep worship, and intercede in the power of the Holy Spirit. I taught this congregation the Hebrew roots of their faith from the Scriptures and they received this message with great excitement. Pastor Iliawas especially thrilled to learn the true meaning of Ephesians 2:15 as the Restoration of all Israel when "the two become one!" John led a time of prayer afterward while I continued the worship music and he tells me he prayed over many with depression, diseases and curses over their families. Almost every single person in the church came forward for prayer, and the Lord God met each one and answered!

Pictured here are Pastor Ilia, Kelly, John and Lyubka. Continue to hold us in prayer as we speak to the businessmen here in Russe tonight. They are all Jewish men from Israel who have businesses in Russe. It will be an amazing time for testimony of our faith and encouragement to them that many of us pray for and stand with Israel in this troubling time. Please pray also against the threat of a third intifada in Israel on 15 May. The Palestinians and Arab peoples are organizing an uprising against Israel on this, their day of Independence. Pray Psalm 83 over Israel each day, my friends.

On Saturday we take a train back to Sofia and on Sunday we will minister in Christian Center Sofia. Monday Lyubka is going to take us to the Sofia Concert Hall for a musical concert of various Slavik artists. We are being graciously cared for in this humble, beautiful land. The people have very little, living in poor conditions left to them from the Communist era; but these churches are filled with great faith and courage and they are so hungry to learn how they are grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel! They pray for her with passion and I believe the seeds we are sowing here will spread far and wide to help stamp out anti-Semitism in this land.

Love and greetings to you all from Bulgaria!

Kelly & John

Come out! Be free!

I have been astonished before by the LORD's powerful confirmations in my life, but never more than this morning!

Our contacts in Hungary informed us that a new door has opened for us to minister in a Pentecostal Church there; but our contact in Bulgaria wrote and asked for fervent prayer because it seems the door to minister in the church in Bucarest, Romania was closing.

We wrapped ourselves in a tallit early this morning and went before the LORD. We prayed powerful, mighty proclamations and prophecies over the nations of Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary where we will soon minister the love of Yeshua and teach His Truth to the churches. As we moved into the flow of the Holy Spirit, I began speaking these words over our ministry there: "Father, You have had us hidden for several years now; we have been abiding in Your Word and hiding it in our hearts. Now You have called us to go and so with joy we go to wrap Your arms of love around the people of Eastern Europe. O God, we pray that scales would fall from their eyes and their ears would open to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. We call down the strongholds of anti-Semitism and we go to teach the people to learn of their inheritance in the promises given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and celebrate their grafting into the olive tree of Israel. Remove the stones! Raise up the highways!

Father, I believe you called John from his mother's womb and then caused him to spend all these years filling his heart and mind with your Word. Now make your Word to be like an arrow in our hands, that we can shoot into the hearts of Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian people! We know you have a great destiny for these nations, and You are calling out a remnant. Abba, make us to be the Light of Yeshua, dispelling darkness in these nations, beckoning the tribes of Israel to learn of their Messiah and return to worship You on Your Holy mountain!"

Then I began to sing in the Spirit and in my vision I saw John and me putting our arms around children and elderly people; and I saw some being healed and others receiving salvation for the first time. When my singing stopped and we sat in the stillness, I heard the Spirit say three times: "Now read Isaiah 49 as I AM speaking this over you for this trip." Although we know these words were originally written as prophecy about Yeshua the Messiah, God's words from this chapter echoed the words of our prayer in such exact detail that our hearts were moved to tears!

Isaiah 49:1-2, 5-6, 8-9

"Listen to me, you islands, and hear this you, distant nations: before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth He has made mention of my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver....And now the LORD says - he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength. He says: 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth'...This is what the LORD says: 'In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!' I will turn all my mountains into roads and my highways will be raised up."

What thrilling confirmation of all He is planning to do as we journey now through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Israel! We covet your prayers - and believe that they will form a shield of protection over us. Pray that the doors for ministry in Romania will fling back open and all hindrances be removed. When next you hear from me, it will be of great testimonies of restoration and salvation!

Spring Cleaning

The fact that John and I seem to continue tracking with the feasts of the LORD in our everyday lives has not ceased to amaze me! Last week he went down to his house in Farmington, New Mexico and spent four days going through all his stuff and cleaning out. It was an exhausting process of throwing out all the old, unwanted items from his past life, but holding onto that which still matters, such as childhood and family photos, books, and bibles.

In addition to getting rid of all the junk in his house, he was dealing with the damage from a swamp cooler that had busted last summer, leaving cracks in the ceiling and possibly some mildew damage.

What a picture that was of our preparation for the Passover, and the Torah portion we read this past week! It just seems like we keeping walking out in the physical what God is desiring to do within our hearts in the spiritual.

Leviticus 14:33-42: "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land, the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, 'I have seen something that looks like mildew in my house.' The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house. He is to examine the mildew on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house."

The house in these verses most certainly represents ourselves; more specifically, our hearts. As we clean out our physical houses prior to Passover, we ask the LORD to get rid of those old, unwanted things we are holding onto, such as unforgiveness and resentment against those who have hurt us, or bitterness over old wounds. These things can look like mildew in our lives, rotting away at our spirits and even bringing illness into our lives. Perhaps the "greenish or reddish depressions" upon the house with mildew is a picture of us and those places in our hearts that still harbor unforgiveness, guilt, or anger.

God says we are to get rid of all these things and ask the Priest to come in and inspect the house. Who is our High Priest? Of course, He is Yeshua (Jesus), and we are to call upon Him to send His Holy Spirit to inspect every dark corner of our hearts and do a cleansing work in us, scraping off all the walls of our hearts and dumping back into the unclean place from which it came! Only then can He rebuild us with new stones and plaster, as we see in 1 Peter 1:4-5: "As you come to Him, the Living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood..."

As we move closer to the Passover, our Redemption from bondage and darkness into the glorious Light, from slavery into freedom in Messiah, let us all be about the work of cleaning our houses from mildew and leaven. "And therefore let us keep the [Passover] Feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Cor. 5:8).

His Hand Moves the Brush

My days are consumed with learning to be a wife again. I am reminded that this is one of God's highest callings. Making two people into one flesh is always going to require more "flesh-death," more compromise, more laying down of one's own needs and wants and embracing another's. But within that process lies God's greatest victories!

This morning I received a prophetic word from Pastor Matutis in Berlin, Germany. Through him the Lord spoke, "Learn to filter out the negative. Recognize My way of handling your challenges. My wonders are hidden within your problem. My victories are hidden within your fights. My Word has the answer to all your questions. I am rounding things off and harmonizing them. Do not force anything. Do not let it stress you out. My hand moves the brush, putting the right color combination in your life. I am placing you in front of situations and challenges and helping you with the outcome."

I felt this word was speaking about the timing of my marriage. John and I are not having fights or facing great challenges in our home life. We are, like all newlyweds, learning how to please one another and set aside our own wants. But the greater message of this word from the Lord was, in my estimation, His instruction for how we are all to navigate through the treacherous days ahead of us. Watching the news on TV can be entirely negative and fill us with fear. The verses of Habakkuk 3 are being fulfilled before our very eyes: "He stood and shook the earth, He looked and nations trembled. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed (Japan). His ways are eternal! I saw the tents of Cush (Libya/Ethiopia) in distress, the dwellings of Midian (Yemen, Arab peoples) in anguish. In wrath You strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations."

Yes, the earth is shaking, the sea roaring and the nations trembling! But then Habakkuk 3:13 gives us the great, good news: "You came out to deliver your people, to save your Anointed One. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot!"

The world stage is being set for the Anti-Messiah to step up with a "solution for world peace" and the desperate nations will follow him and worship him. But we know who wins in the end! And so we filter out the negative that we hear and see - we do not stress out - we allow the Creator to move His brush in our lives, putting the right color combinations together! How blessed I am that He put John and Kelly together - (we call ourselves "Jelly!") We will continue to die to ourselves, learning to serve one another, and together to serve our King, the Anointed One, whose Kingdom has no end!

The Bride Price

I promised you more stories and parables from our wedding, so here is another.

My 87-year-old father was to accompany me up the steps and present me to John, my Bridegroom, so that John could hand him a velvet bag filled with five pieces of silver, in payment of the mohar or bride price. As we rehearsed this the day before the wedding, my dad's knees became very wobbly going up those steps, and I knew he was leaning heavily on my arm, trying to steady himself so he would not fall. That evening he wrote me a note and had my sister deliver it over to me. In his note he expressed his worry about falling on the steps, and asked if I would be willing to have him walk me just to the foot of the steps so John could come down and give him the bride price there.

Little did we know the picture we were now painting, as the Bridegroom descended down to pay the price for His Bride, in order to then bring her back up to live with Him! One person wrote to me, "I was so moved watching the Bridegroom, as my Messiah, coming down those steps, as if descending down to earth, to pay the price for His Bride! Then He brought you back up the steps and into the bridal chamber to dwell with Him!"

Again, it was something unplanned. It was changed at the last moment. And yet God, in His infinite wisdom, used it to share this beautiful illustration of His love and grace toward the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb! He had to come down among us to die - so that we might one day ascend up to Jerusalem to live with Him!

1 Peter 1:18-19: "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

Preparing the Bride

Shabbat Shalom dear friends!

It is my first blog since before our wedding! I would struggle to find words to share with you the power and joy of our Kingdom wedding ceremony, but fortunately quite a few people wrote to tell me the Kingdom pictures and parables they experienced while witnessing our wedding. Little by little I want to share these revelations with you.

This week's Torah portion is centered around the mishkan, or tabernacle in the wilderness. Carl & Julie Parker's Torah commentary this week states, "If we are looking for freedom in Yahweh we need to let go of our own ways and trust in His faithfulness. In so doing, we will see Him in far deeper depths of revelation and experience the building of a tabernacle/mishkan that cannot be destroyed. May we thus enter in to such an experience of His Presence. May our pattern and building be exactly as the Children of Israel built it so long ago. May it be after the pattern of the heavenly Tabernacle that Yeshua serves in today, the bridal chamber of the bride who is getting herself ready for the return of her Bridegroom (Ezekiel 43:10-12; Hebrews 8:1-13).

Reading this certainly brought back the memory of the seven circles I took around John while he was under the chuppa. This tradition is from the ancient Jewish wedding, and it is symbolic of the bride hemming her new husband in with prayer and protection. But those witnessing our wedding saw something even more incredible as I circled John. After I had made six rotations, John thought it was seven, so he reached out for me with his outstretched arm, but I quietly shook my head and kept walking. I knew I had one more rotation yet to make. Although we did not plan this, the Father used it to illustrate some profound revelation, which we received from friends Angie and Philip. Angie wrote, "As you were circling the Groom and you came around the 6th time, John held out his hand for you to join him, BUT you had to complete one more circle before entering in...I was suddenly filled with the intense awareness of how "patient" our God is in waiting for His Bride to enter the wedding chamber with Him. And, how much He longs for us to be with HIM as He says in Matt. 23:37...how he longs to gather us, but we are not willing...and so Yeshua must "wait" until the circling/time is complete and we (the Bride) can enter in, under the Chupah! The time is coming and He is preparing His Bride...Oh how I felt HIS desire and longing for us and HIS sadness when we "are not willing". This brought tears to my eyes, as you continued your journey and the Ruach filled my spirit with HIS longing! It was intense!"

And my precious friend Philip from Kenya, who was with me at the Jerusalem House of Prayer wrote this: "One thing that stood out and painted a picture for me was during the seven circles, you kind of got playful dancing away from John in a manner that seemed to say 'You want me? come get me!' When you didn't go in, but had to make another circle around, he slammed his thigh, playfully expressing a longing and a desire for you in a manner that portrayed he just could not wait any longer! And as much as we all are eagerly waiting for Messiah's return, I can imagine how much he slams His fist on His thigh, waiting for the Father to say, 'Go get your bride, Son!' I know He is longing for me even more than I am longing for him.'"

How thrilling that in our own wedding the people saw this picture of the Heavenly Tabernacle, and the Messiah's yearning desire to bring us into the bridal chamber with Him!

Sabbath Blessings,

Kelly