We've been out of touch lately, but we have some interesting things to share with you.
Last week we again went for a short holiday in Eilat before beginning all kinds of tests, x-rays and visits to specialists before Ami's left foot operation which will take place on August 25th. Eilat is a tourist town on the Red Sea, on the southernmost tip of Israel. If I stand on the beach in Eilat facing the Sea, I can see the country of Jordan on the left and Egypt (Sinai) on the right! Small country, small world.
It is also the hottest place in Israel, being on the southernmost tip of the Negev desert, and we happened to be there in time for a heat wave!! Thank God for air-conditioning, it was like an oven in Eilat, but we still enjoyed ourselves immensely and rested well.
REPROACH
We had an interesting experience though which I will try to express as clearly as possible. I want to say from the beginning that I am not complaining at all, this has to do with the rejection that we experience in our lives as believers, and very notably as Jewish believers. It is an experience that we are privileged to share with Yeshua, who came to His own, but His own did not receive Him.
John 1:10-12
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
We decided to drive down to Eilat, a journey of about 5 hours with a lunch stop. We stopped at a kibbutz which is called "Yotvata". They produce many kinds of delicious milk products, and have some dairy restaurants around the country. While there, we bumped into a family from Ariel. Their son is in Ami's grade, but not in his class. They warmly greeted one another, and although I don't know his parents personsally, I've seen them around Ariel for many years, and I believe we had other children in the same class at some point. Anyway, they asked us if we were on our way to Eilat or going home. When they learned we were on our way, they said, Oh, we're going home. When we got to Eilat, they were on line for check in at the very same hotel we were staying at!
We were a little shocked, but it really put a damper on Ami's vacation for the first days, seeing the boy with his cousins, we assumed, and ignoring us (out of embarrassment on the son's part). The next morning I woke up with a new clarity.
I realized that the Israeli's see Yeshua as someone who is undesirable to the point of being like a leper. We as His followers are likewise, untouchable. We are so completely outside the camp of Israeli societ y, and the verse that rang in my ears was never so clear as that morning,
Hebrews 13:12-14
12 Therefore Yeshua also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
Psalms 69 speaks of the Messiah. This Psalm is quoted more times in the New Testament than any other Psalm and the word reproach appears several times. I believe that we will need to really come to terms with the wonderful promises we have in the Messiah when we agree to stand for Him 100%, and not compromise with the values of the world. We need to speak the truth in love in these last days, and to be light in this dark and perverse generation. Phil. 2:15
Looking to Psalm 69 - here are some verses which stood out to me:
Verse 4: Those who hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 The humble shall see this and be glad;
And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
33 For the LORD hears the poor,
And does not despise His prisoners.
This Psalm reveals to us the mental and emotional suffering of the Messiah in his life and death on the cross, whereas Psalm 22 gives us a birds eye view of the physical sufferings of the Messiah. Oh what he endured for us, lost sinners with no hope in this world. And we are called to participate in His sufferings as well as His glory. We have an eternal home with Yeshua, and all of this present world will fade away, it is indeed already passing away the Bible tells us-
1 John 2:17 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
MORE AMI NEWS
We met an interesting family in the hotel in Eilat, he is a former NBA basketball player from the Denver Nuggets, who is married to an Israeli woman. They have 3 children and he now is assistant coach for the Maccabi Netanya team here in Israel. They are interested in seeing Ariel and the surrounding area so I hope they will come to visit. Please pray for Willie and his family.
Today we did blood tests, x-rays, bought books for school, and made all kinds of arrangements for this month. Ami is going to a dietician because he really wants to gain weight and doesn't know how to!! I should have that problem! We will also have appointments with physical therapists this month who will give him the OK to work out in a gym, Orthopedic specialist who will be participating in the foot operation, a pre-op appointment with plastic surgeons, and another appointment with the ear specialist.
Ami is very embarrassed of the big scars on his elbows. The were big and bulging scars, and are now flat, but are kind of floppy, and of all the scars, they bother him to the point of embarrassment. Also, being in Eilat was a little harder for him this time because now he refuses to go into the water, he is embarrassed of his scars which are really kind of scary looking, and his foot. We felt bad for him, and went into the pool only when he was occupied with something else. Please keep him in prayer for continued healing in every way - I've noticed that full recovery seems to be stretching a couple of more years into the future, and it is a little hard for all of us, but especially for Ami.
ANOTHER HATE CRIME ATTACK
Last night, an Orthodox Jew came into a crowded counselling center and club for Homosexual and Lesbian teenagers in Tel Aviv with a M16 automatic weapon. He killed 2 and wounded 12, some very critically, before fleeing the scene. He still hasn't been apprehended. This is probably the same group which carried out the attack in our home.
It raises many issues - one of which is the fact that although this act has been loudly and firmly denounced by the Prime Minister and the heads of every ministry in the government, not one government member has ever condemned the attack which took place in our home. However, this is now the first time that this vigilante group has succeeded to murder. Perhaps now something will be done, but we are without words to express the horror that we feel.
These people or person obviously feel untouchable, and they indeed have to this point gotten away with every act of violence that they have perpetrated. They have appointed themselves to be judge and jury when we know that title belongs to the God of the whole earth who has the last word on every situation! We pray for those deceived by and trapped in homosexuality. Please pray that this time the criminal or criminals will be apprehended quickly.
Yours in the Messiah,
Leah
Last week we again went for a short holiday in Eilat before beginning all kinds of tests, x-rays and visits to specialists before Ami's left foot operation which will take place on August 25th. Eilat is a tourist town on the Red Sea, on the southernmost tip of Israel. If I stand on the beach in Eilat facing the Sea, I can see the country of Jordan on the left and Egypt (Sinai) on the right! Small country, small world.
It is also the hottest place in Israel, being on the southernmost tip of the Negev desert, and we happened to be there in time for a heat wave!! Thank God for air-conditioning, it was like an oven in Eilat, but we still enjoyed ourselves immensely and rested well.
REPROACH
We had an interesting experience though which I will try to express as clearly as possible. I want to say from the beginning that I am not complaining at all, this has to do with the rejection that we experience in our lives as believers, and very notably as Jewish believers. It is an experience that we are privileged to share with Yeshua, who came to His own, but His own did not receive Him.
John 1:10-12
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
We decided to drive down to Eilat, a journey of about 5 hours with a lunch stop. We stopped at a kibbutz which is called "Yotvata". They produce many kinds of delicious milk products, and have some dairy restaurants around the country. While there, we bumped into a family from Ariel. Their son is in Ami's grade, but not in his class. They warmly greeted one another, and although I don't know his parents personsally, I've seen them around Ariel for many years, and I believe we had other children in the same class at some point. Anyway, they asked us if we were on our way to Eilat or going home. When they learned we were on our way, they said, Oh, we're going home. When we got to Eilat, they were on line for check in at the very same hotel we were staying at!
We were a little shocked, but it really put a damper on Ami's vacation for the first days, seeing the boy with his cousins, we assumed, and ignoring us (out of embarrassment on the son's part). The next morning I woke up with a new clarity.
I realized that the Israeli's see Yeshua as someone who is undesirable to the point of being like a leper. We as His followers are likewise, untouchable. We are so completely outside the camp of Israeli societ y, and the verse that rang in my ears was never so clear as that morning,
Hebrews 13:12-14
12 Therefore Yeshua also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
Psalms 69 speaks of the Messiah. This Psalm is quoted more times in the New Testament than any other Psalm and the word reproach appears several times. I believe that we will need to really come to terms with the wonderful promises we have in the Messiah when we agree to stand for Him 100%, and not compromise with the values of the world. We need to speak the truth in love in these last days, and to be light in this dark and perverse generation. Phil. 2:15
Looking to Psalm 69 - here are some verses which stood out to me:
Verse 4: Those who hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 The humble shall see this and be glad;
And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
33 For the LORD hears the poor,
And does not despise His prisoners.
This Psalm reveals to us the mental and emotional suffering of the Messiah in his life and death on the cross, whereas Psalm 22 gives us a birds eye view of the physical sufferings of the Messiah. Oh what he endured for us, lost sinners with no hope in this world. And we are called to participate in His sufferings as well as His glory. We have an eternal home with Yeshua, and all of this present world will fade away, it is indeed already passing away the Bible tells us-
1 John 2:17 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
MORE AMI NEWS
We met an interesting family in the hotel in Eilat, he is a former NBA basketball player from the Denver Nuggets, who is married to an Israeli woman. They have 3 children and he now is assistant coach for the Maccabi Netanya team here in Israel. They are interested in seeing Ariel and the surrounding area so I hope they will come to visit. Please pray for Willie and his family.
Today we did blood tests, x-rays, bought books for school, and made all kinds of arrangements for this month. Ami is going to a dietician because he really wants to gain weight and doesn't know how to!! I should have that problem! We will also have appointments with physical therapists this month who will give him the OK to work out in a gym, Orthopedic specialist who will be participating in the foot operation, a pre-op appointment with plastic surgeons, and another appointment with the ear specialist.
Ami is very embarrassed of the big scars on his elbows. The were big and bulging scars, and are now flat, but are kind of floppy, and of all the scars, they bother him to the point of embarrassment. Also, being in Eilat was a little harder for him this time because now he refuses to go into the water, he is embarrassed of his scars which are really kind of scary looking, and his foot. We felt bad for him, and went into the pool only when he was occupied with something else. Please keep him in prayer for continued healing in every way - I've noticed that full recovery seems to be stretching a couple of more years into the future, and it is a little hard for all of us, but especially for Ami.
ANOTHER HATE CRIME ATTACK
Last night, an Orthodox Jew came into a crowded counselling center and club for Homosexual and Lesbian teenagers in Tel Aviv with a M16 automatic weapon. He killed 2 and wounded 12, some very critically, before fleeing the scene. He still hasn't been apprehended. This is probably the same group which carried out the attack in our home.
It raises many issues - one of which is the fact that although this act has been loudly and firmly denounced by the Prime Minister and the heads of every ministry in the government, not one government member has ever condemned the attack which took place in our home. However, this is now the first time that this vigilante group has succeeded to murder. Perhaps now something will be done, but we are without words to express the horror that we feel.
These people or person obviously feel untouchable, and they indeed have to this point gotten away with every act of violence that they have perpetrated. They have appointed themselves to be judge and jury when we know that title belongs to the God of the whole earth who has the last word on every situation! We pray for those deceived by and trapped in homosexuality. Please pray that this time the criminal or criminals will be apprehended quickly.
Yours in the Messiah,
Leah