In light of all that is happening in Israel, I wanted to share with you some words from an Israeli Sister (Leah Ortiz) and Brother (Aaron Hecht). Both live and serve our Lord Jesus Christ in Israel. Leah is the mother of a teenage son who has miracuosly survived a bomb that exploded directly in his hands. Aaron is an independant journalist. Both are on the front lines in every way of the battle raging against God’s people.
I received this update last night and felt compelled to share it with you, and to ask you to join me in praying – especially for these specific requests. The beauty of the body of Christ is that we can join hearts with these brothers and sisters and play a major role in what God is doing all over the world.
From Leah Ortiz:
“As I am writing, Israel has begun it’s land incursion into Gaza. A general reservist call up was just announced as well, and my two sons, Ariel and Natan are waiting to see if they will receive a phone call to report to a military base. Tens of thousands are being called up, and the many believer’s sons already serving in the army are already in Gaza. . The middle east conflict is very complicated, and is what is called an Ancient Hatred in the book of Ezekiel chapter 35.
Please pray for the innocent and those who are not involved in hate to be spared. Please pray for our sons (in Israel) to be protected. Young men and women do compulsory army service from the age of 18, girls for two years, boys for three. Eighteen year olds grow up fast and become accomplished soldiers, who have the power of life and death in their hands at too early an age. War is a horrible thing that twists, maims and destroys the lives of human beings physically, emotionally and spiritually. We need much prayer.
We also have a Water Crisis.
Winter has come to Israel, and as a matter of fact began in December, for which we are all grateful as we have the most severe water crisis we’ve experienced for 80 years. We have one main water source for the whole country which is the Sea of Galilee, and for several years now we haven’t had enough rain to replenish it, and the underground aquifers and reservoirs. The water level of the Sea is so low that if we don’t have a miracle rainfall this winter, we will have to begin rationing water, or maybe we won’t be able to drink at all from the Sea of Galilee.
The rain has begun early, thank God. However, only an act of God will be able to solve the problem.”
You can read updates and her family’s incredible testimony at Lion of God – Ariel Congregation in Ariel Israel.
From Aaron Hecht (journalist):
(This part comes after an informative, lenghty explination of what is going on in the Middle East. You can read his entire article at the above Lion of God link.)
“…But there is one more major wild card in the Middle East and that is YOU!
YOU are the Body of Messiah. YOU are the citizens of the Kingdom of God and of His Christ, with Israel being the Embassy of that Kingdom in this world. YOU are the ones who will have the victory in the end.
But it won’t happen by itself. YOU have to DO SOMETHING!
I know you want to know what you can do, so I’ll give you three easy ways to get started.
1) Pray, fast and read your Bible every day. This will bring you closer to God and will make you a better servant of Him and better able to build His Kingdom. It will also keep you safe from the spiritual deception which Jesus said would be rampant in the world in the End Times.
2) Make God and your Walk with the Lord the main priority and center of your life. Confess your sin to Him, ask forgiveness and ask Him to help you become the person He created you to be. It will take time and it won’t be easy, but it’s more than worth it. If you want to save the world, you have to start with yourself, and you have to start with repentance.
3) Invest your time, money and efforts into the Kingdom and Israel, the Kingdom’s Embassy. The economy of this world is melting away, and the only investment that won’t fail is when you invest in God.
Invest your time in praying for Israel and the Jews, but also pray for your own pastor and the people in your own church. Pray for the town you live in, for your country, and for the leaders of your city, state and country. Pray for revival all over the world, and pray for the persecuted church in countries that have anti-Christian governments and/or cultures. Don’t forget to pray for the Believers in the Arab-Muslim world and Iran. Of course, please don’t forget to pray for the Believers here in Israel…
Things in Israel, and the world, are getting rough. But Jesus told us that we are not to be disturbed, for these things must come to pass.
So stay strong! Stay focused! Keep praying, and stay centered on Him!
I will see you in the Kingdom, and we’ll spend Eternity in His presence, and the memory of this difficult time will fade into nothing.”
Such incredibly wise words!
If you made it to the end of this long post, I thank you. 🙂 And, if you choose to join me in praying for these specific requests, our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters will forever be grateful!
“Always be joyful and never stop praying. Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.” 1 Thes. 5:16-18 (CEV)
May the Peace of the Lord be upon each of you today….
PS: Frappuccino Fun with Amy (or Friday Fun with Fanny – as my brother calls it) will be back from her break on Friday. 🙂
Jen, Thanks so much for sharing this with us and giving us the awesome opportunity to pray specifically over these folks and all affected.
Praise the Lord for His covenant nation, Israel. I will be especially praying for those caught in this warfare – people’s sons and daughters. Thanks for the link to your friend’s blog.
Thank you for this post! It helps so much to hear from someone inside Israel that you can trust instead of what we hear on the News!
Thank you for sharing this; it puts a “face” to what we see on tv and hear on the radio!
Thanks for your input on the baby’s name too!!!
It’s unbelievable what’s happening in Gaza now. But I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising as we read our bibles. I will be praying for peace and for the many believers who are impacted by this fighting. I didn’t know about the water situation. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer,
I want to thank you for this post! I join in with in praying for Israel. I also posted something similiar on my blog.
Please tell Leah and Aaron that we will are praying with them. I pray that the Lord protect them and their sons(&all others).
Blessings to you,
Miriam
Great post, how awesome to have such a close connection there and hear from the front lines. They’re website looks great too, can’t wait to dig into it. Amazing story!
Keep praying sister,
Sue
Thank you for sharing this post and encouraging all of us to pray. I also like to know how I can be praying specifically for someone, so I appreciate you passing this on.