In this season of the tenth anniversary of 9-11, we must not let our hearts be troubled. (John 14:1) We must be tuned into the reality of threats but trusting in our God, who always causes us to triumph. (2 Cor. 2:14) He is the same God who stopped Saul in his tracks on the way to persecute the church and revealed Himself as Lord. (Acts 9) Let us pray that He will do the same for many who are seeking the destruction of the church and Israel!
Recently, I was reminded of how love never fails, how “love wins hands down.” (1 Cor. 13)
Several years ago we held a conference here at New Life called “The One New Man”. David and Karen Davis, from Mount Carmel Assembly in Haifa, came and shared how they are seeing Jews and Arabs recover from drug addiction together through their ministry, Beit Nitzachon, the “House of Victory”. At the same conference, Walid Shoebat, an ex PLO terrorist, shared how he had been like Saul of Tarsus, seeking to hurt God’s people. Walid recounted his conversion to Yeshua. Trying to prove to his Catholic wife the superiority of Islam over Christianity, he bought a ten-dollar Bible and began to read. He was confronted with the overwhelming love of God toward the Jewish people and the Jewish people’s imperfect but sincere love for God. He said he was struck by the joy and love that he found in the pages of the Bible, especially the Old Testament. Having been raised in Bethlehem, he had been taught that Jews only hated, but that is not what he discovered. God’s love began to melt away his blindness and hardness of heart so he could see the grace of God. His life is a testimony of God’s ability to transform the spirit of a man.
Because of Walid’s unique voice that challenges jihadist ideology, there were security concerns at the conference. One young Middle Eastern looking woman, (who was unknown to the conference organizers), attended wearing unusual clothing that led to speculation. She was raised a Muslim in Israel and was on the spiritual journey that leads to the deeper Christian life. Some people wondered if she was there to create a disturbance or harm people. I too had a twinge of “I wish we had more security!” To our amazement and awe, God had brought this woman to heal her heart. During the ministry time at the altar, God touched her heart deeply and in a moment of time healed her of the effects of an abusive childhood and the trauma of being personally caught in the Middle East conflict. Her testimony now is “I used to hate ‘the Jewish’ and now I love the Jewish people”. In fact she has become a friend of Beth Shalom and is very vocal about Jewish people having the right to the land of Israel! Our God is amazing!
I find it important to draw on testimonies like these – of people who do not just have a momentary breakthrough of love for the Jewish people, but continue in love and stand with the Jewish people (John 15:9) We need to believe for the best in people and stand for people’s lives to change. As Myles and I travel back and forth to Israel, not only do we pray for the Jewish people, we continue to pray for our Arab “cousins” to find their Savior (John 3:16).
Don’t be surprised if God calls on you this season to pray for the most unlikely people.
Perhaps you were one of them, and someone prayed for you (and me!)