Happy Chanukah & Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
God is our refuge and strength, A very ready help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes And the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth quaked. The Lord of armies is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah - Psalm 46:1-7
Here we are in December, and the “pandemic” has been with us for just about one year. Not much has changed. 2nd and 3rd waves have come and gone. Businesses continue to struggle, many vaccines are on the horizon. The battle for the Office of The President in America is still in question. The government here in Israel is threatening to go to new elections, the 4th in just one year. Ben Gurion airport remains closed to tourists.
Regardless of our personal beliefs regarding the severity of the virus, the validity of masks, fraudulent elections, properly tested vaccines, the deep state, etc., etc., one thing is clear. We must remain focused on the goodness and promises of God. As the challenges and trials continue, meditating on the word of God and much time in your prayer closet is critical in these days. In addition to the above 7 verses in Psalm 46, Psalm 18:2 reminds us that “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.”
I came across two great examples, one from the bible, one from history, that we can learn much from.
One of the greatest prophets of the Bible, Elijah, experienced his share of victories — but he also knew that sudden feeling of defeat. If you recall, Elijah was on Mount Carmel, the only prophet of the Lord standing against four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. (2 Kings 18) When it was all said and done, Elijah was absolutely victorious! But wouldn’t you know that in the next chapter, we find Elijah under a juniper tree saying — “Lord take my life!” (2 Kings 19:4)
We’re so quick to forget the victories that the Lord has given us, aren’t we? There are countless examples of great men of God who struggled this way. If they can go from victory to defeat so easily, how much more are we susceptible to the same attacks of the enemy? We must remember that this is precisely what they are — attacks of the enemy upon our lives — attempting to draw our attention away from all that God has done.
Harvard College was founded in 1638 by Puritans, for the purpose of training missionaries for the gospel. Up until the year 1700, over half of its graduates went into ministry. By the mid-19th century, the last members of spirituality were quickly disappearing. Yale University was founded in 1701. From the beginning, its president taught students on subjects such as “The Bible is the Word of God.” A gospel group from the university traveled the country preaching salvation. Yet, like Harvard, Yale’s evangelical stand soon disappeared. In one graduating class, 54% said they had no belief in any God. All these universities eventually left the gospel and became secular. They all were founded for one purpose, the glory of God – yet they all ended up completely forgetting the purpose for which they were founded. It happens all the time, not just to universities, but to believers. Let’s stay focused on the things of God, and not the things of Man.
Our home prayer meetings in our village of Har Adar continue, and we actually have 3 mission teams scheduled for 2021 in anticipation of the re-opening of the country. Our contacts in the travel industry here in Israel think that could happen as early as March, or as late as June…the Lord willing.
We continue to make inroads and key contacts, as we move forward with our vision of assisting new immigrants with their absorption into Israel by making available our home as their first landing spot, it addition to hosting short-term mission trips.
Despite ALL that is going on around us, I’m choosing Ecclesiastes 3:4 for our mental, physical, and spiritual health…”A Time To Laugh !”
It Could Be Worse!
We could be experiencing the “The Great Bagel Famine” which is what happened in 1951 when a dispute between the members of the Bagel trade union and the Bagel Bakers association in New York led to the closing of 32 out of 34 of the city’s bagel bakeries.
As a result of the bagel outage, the sale of lox dropped nearly 50%. Murray Nathan, who helped resolve an earlier lox strike in 1948, was brought in to mediate the situation. The outage lasted until February. I remember it like it was yesterday. Now that’s Tribulation!
If you’re interested in bring a team in 2021, send us an email at LarryAndBess@Gmail.Com
If you would like to support our efforts here in Israel, you can DONATE here.
We greatly appreciate all who have stood with us during these challenging times.
Blessings From Jerusalem
Larry & Bess
