Here is the most recent letter from our beloved sister in Israel:
“In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 (there IS no ‘Moslem world’…it is ALL GOD’S world!) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 (EVERY Word…not ‘parts’ of the Word…but all of it is Him…His Light, His Life, His Truth)
Greetings in The Name of The King of Life, Yeshua, Jesus, in Whom IS Life. I greet you from a somber moment in a somber nation. I stood on my merepesset overlooking the square and the train station when the siren sounded for its eternal minute at exactly 8pm. EVERYTHING came to an abrupt standstill…all vehicles stopped and the drivers popped out standing at attention, heads bowed. People lined the street below me and stood on merepessets all around me – only the flags blew in the wind as the siren wailed it’s steady mournful song.
Yom h’zikeron is here.
The day of memory…memorial day for the fallen soldiers and victims of terror. 23,447 is the total given this year since the beginning of the modern state of Israel. At 68 on our birthday, Thursday, Independence day, that number represents multiplied many living, grieving family members…wives, husbands, mothers and fathers, grandparents and yes, the children. I see them all around. Yesterday already the music on the radio had changed key along with the looks on the faces. Slowly the tv stations went off the air and places of entertainment began to close.
What a strange mixture of emotions fly at this time of year…the flags crop up all over in great abundance. People stand in traffic, some selling them, and yes, some giving them away for free. This year I see far more flags then before as at the same time Iran announced the successful launching of a new long range missile and two elderly ladies were stabbed this morning. As words around us seek to crush us and mock us …trying to say ‘See? Your God could NOT take you out of Egypt!’, a new ‘agenda’ was ‘launched’ this week. I listened with joy as someone explained in a radio interview that since the emotions between Holocaust Memorial day (yom h’shoar) and Independence day (yom h’atz’maoot) are so deep and huge, we are going to call them ’10 Days of Thanksgiving‘. Chalk boards will be placed around the country for people to write what they are thankful for and will be encouraged to think on giving thanks. I loved it! Between Rosh h’Shana and Yom Kippur are the 10 days of awe when we are to repent…and these will be called the 10 days of thanksgiving.
I am thankful that it is ALL written in His Word so freely given to us…and we are given such an opportunity to agree with Him and His purposes rather than the world’s!
Tomorrow is a ‘heavy’ day of sharing stories about loved ones taken…of tragedies and of heroes… of orphans and of widows. The streets will be filled with tears as we weave our way toward yom h’atz’maoot , which will begin at sundown tomorrow. The flag that we just lowered will be once again raised and a HUGE birthday party will begin in that strange, fine line transition! It is not at all a ‘party without knowledge’ as everyone knows that we are in far more danger then we have been since WW2…but it is a ‘party’ that says ‘Be strong and of GOOD courage! Strengthen your hands … and I will help too!’
I will try to write more, but yes, we will be busy. I will try however. Below I copied two things that touched me. To read more as these two days progress, here is a link to Yisrael h’Yom online: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/today.php
ENJOY THESE:
“When my oldest was a few months of age I was holding him in my arms at a bus stop waiting to get on the bus when an old man said, “Let the soldier on first.”
I backed up to make way for the soldier when I realized he was referring to my baby!
I’ve carried that moment for over 40 years for that was when I knew for sure that whatever children I had, one day I would have to watch them don a uniform and carry a big rifle.
I also knew, that no matter what, I couldn’t cry until the elevator doors closed.
I am the wife of a soldier–a front line medic; the mother of three soldiers–a paratrooper, a girl attached to the police and a son in intelligence.
I am the aunt of, the neighbor of, the teacher of countless soldiers, and God help me one day the grandmother of.
Tonight there will be a siren–a flat line siren (up and down ones mean war and I’ve heard too many of those) where the entire country will stop, stand at attention, bow our heads and remember our fallen in battle and in terrorist attacks. Tomorrow morning there will be a further siren.
I live in a tough neighborhood but the kids are watching over us
Please God watch over them. Amen.” (Marallyn Ben Moshe. – a friend – not yet a sister)
“What can I say about Israel at age 68 that hasn’t been said yet? This is a land where every person you meet is a hero, where life is drenched with meaning and significance, where the Chosen People constantly wrestle with G-d …, where abandoned people and forgotten history are dragged against their will to shape the future. A land where to give is the norm, where old and wise is cool, where achievement is always preferred over comfort, and where it is forbidden to stop smiling.
Israel’s ancient history shapes our historic duty, but the modern State’s constant barrage of challenges and misadventures come to teach us what it really means to build a world in G-d’s image. It’s definitely not always easy being part of this tremendous project, and it may sometimes look like we are moving backwards, but nothing in the world is as fulfilling.
Happy Birthday Israel” a local columnist
I want to (no…NEED to) recommend to you Chris Mitchell’s newly released book Isis, Iran and Israel. (can be ordered at http://tinyurl.com/j8kuhzd or please ask your Christian book store to order it!) Chris is the Middle East correspondent for CBN broadcasting and a good friend. He is also one of the most humble people I have ever met, wise, gentle and full of His discernment. He speaks what he has seen and knows and ends the book with a clarion call to be walking with HIM! I encourage you to get this important book.
Thank you for listening…God be with you all and may we BE WITH HIM! I send much love, your sis here.
ani b’derek
Burning Fire Shut Up In My Bones 