Our Enfranz, Ethiopia, Medical Outreach is about to begin. There are a number of firsts associated with this trip. It’s our first time in Enfranz; we’ll be camping – which is unusual for our Ethiopia Outreaches; we’ll be housed in two separate campsites.

Creating two campsites will ensure that the needs of our very large group of Outreach staff and partners are met most efficiently. Also at the Enfranz Outreach, we’ll introduce the Zehra Kids Program in Ethiopia for the first time. It’s an exciting new way that we can serve the Jewish community there.

As always, we are aware that it is by God’s grace alone that we can minister effectively in the opportunities He provides. Please join us in prayer for our team, our partners and, most especially, for those we’ll minister to – the Jewish people and their neighbors – in Enfranz, Ethiopia.

Please pray for:

• Safe travel to, from and within Ethiopia
• Protection and ingenuity for those handling logistics
• Good health and the Lord’s watchful love over each person during this Outreach, whether giving or receiving care
• The spiritual ground to be well prepared in the people and region so they will gladly receive the Good News and it will take root and extend throughout the area
• Strength, vigor, courage, and resilience for our team – physically, emotionally and spiritually – as well as wisdom and discernment to overcome every obstacle
• A special outpouring of refreshment and energy for the team members participating in back-to-back trips
• The Lord to set ambushes against His enemies as worship and praise arise daily

Let’s pray: Lord, even though, from our perspective, many of the aspects of our Enfranz, Ethiopia, Medical Outreach fall into the categories of “new” and “big,” nothing is too big or hard for You! We ask that we would see each day filled with miracles, healings and salvations bringing both deliverance to those receiving care and glory to You, the One we serve. In Yeshua’s name we pray, AMEN.

If you would like to pray along day by day, you can find daily prayer points for Enfranz here.

Please help cover the Outreach in prayer and let us know you’re praying! Click here to sign up for a time slot on our Enfranz Outreach prayer calendar.

God gave us the Torah,

His Word and instruction,

on Shavuot in the wilderness.

God put His law in our hearts

when He gave us the Holy Spirit 

on Shavuot after Yeshua’s death.

May you be filled with

the wonder of His Word and

the power of His presence

this Shavuot.

Chag Sameach!  •  Joyous Holiday!

Click here to learn the history and importance of Shavuot.

Think you know Shavuot? Take our fun quiz.

President Trump kept his promise.

The U.S. embassy move – or its first stage – is successfully completed. It was so exciting to be here with our Jewish Voice 2018 Israel Tour as it happened!

But not everyone is pleased.

Hamas incites 50,000 Gazans

Ahead of Monday’s embassy opening, thousands of Gaza residents demonstrated against the move.

The activities at the Gaza border quickly turned violent, and demonstrators burned the border gate and nearby electrical and power stations. The results affected Gaza residents and, as a result, they now have no gas to cook with and no electricity for their homes.

Damage was estimated in the millions. As usual, the Palestinian Hamas blamed Israel for the power outage, which will now cause a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And, as in the past, it will likely be Israel who will fix it.

The Times of Israel reported that 50,000 Gazans demonstrated in 12 locations along the border. Thousands more were gathered at points several hundred meters from the fence, it reported.

Demonstrations soon turned into full-blown riots as Gazans launched burning kites into Israel in hopes of destroying farmers’ crops. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimated that the violence caused $9 million in damage on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

At least 60 people were killed and nearly 1,200 injured during the rioting on Monday, according to the Jerusalem Post. On Tuesday, the border clashes were calmer with two deaths reported in the area. 

Our tour group was in Jerusalem at the time experiencing the excitement of the Embassy opening.

What’s Really Going On?

The riots were part of weekly demonstrations billed as the “Great March of Return.” Encouraged by the terror group Hamas, the uprisings were originally slated to last from March 31 until May 15, the day known in Palestine as nakba (“catastrophe”) because it marks the 70th anniversary of Israel declaring itself a sovereign nation in 1948.

The IDF later closed the crossing, issuing a statement that read in part, “The Hamas terror organization has been carrying out terrorist attacks in the guise of riots. (They are) harming the well-being of Gazans and paralyzing their ability to go about their daily lives. Israel and many countries around the world work to deliver goods such as food, equipment, and fuel to Gaza's citizens, initiatives that are prevented by the Hamas terror organization’s actions.”

According to YNetnews.com, a Palestinian source said; “Hamas was encouraging rioters to damage crossings.” As crossings run by the Palestinian Authority (PA) are closed, the PA loses revenue from customs and other taxes. Closings also re-route goods to the Hamas-run Rafah Crossing, giving Hamas the income it needs to continue its actions against Israel.

In short, the riots provide cover for Hamas’ terror activities, which have as their sole purpose the destruction of Israel. Hamas used publicity surrounding the U.S. embassy inauguration in Jerusalem to convince tens of thousands of its own people to risk their lives and livelihoods by attacking Israel.

Middle East nations are among those that condemned Monday’s violence, and the UN Security Council met Tuesday in response. During that session, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, defended Israel, saying, “No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.”

How You Can Pray

• Pray for the safety of Israeli and Gaza citizens in the crosshairs of Hamas terrorism.

• Pray that Gazans will see that they endanger their own children when they allow Hamas to use them for its terror purposes.
• Pray for young people in Israel’s military, who are Hamas’ targets.
• Pray for quick repair of the Kerem Shalom Crossing, both to allow the free flow of humanitarian supplies and to starve the Hamas terrorism treasury.

Shavuot (SHAH-voo-ote) is the last of the Spring Feasts. It was one of three pilgrimage Feasts of the Jewish year when all physically able Jewish men were to bring to Jerusalem the first of their harvest as an offering to the Lord. Along with the harvest offering, Shavuot observance also included a Sabbath in which no work was to be done, a holy gathering of the people and sacrifices.

It is also a time when Jewish people commemorate God giving the Torah (TORE-ah) to His people. The Torah consists of the first five books of the Bible in particular and God’s collective instructions to the Nation of Israel. When God gave them the Torah, He revealed Himself further to the Jewish people and called them into a closer relationship with Himself. His Word highlighted His holiness and provided instruction for righteous living. God’s Law further set apart the Jewish people as His chosen ones. Today, Shavuot commemorates both God’s provision of food and the gift of His Word.

The date of Shavuot is tied to Passover. God’s instructions for setting the date for this Feast were to count seven weeks from the Sabbath after Passover. The Hebrew word Shavuot alludes to this. It is translated as “weeks,” which gives the holy day another name: the Feast of Weeks. Shavuot has one other name – Pentecost – because it occurs on the 50th day, the Greek word for 50.

“Then you are to count from the morrow after the Shabbat … seven complete Shabbatot. Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbat you are to count fifty days, and then present a new grain offering to Adonai.”

―Leviticus 23:15–16

 

In Shavuot, as with all the Feasts, we see a picture of a future event within God’s plan of redemption. God gave the Torah at Shavuot to instruct His people. Centuries after God gave the Law on Mount Sinai, He promised there would come a day when He would write His law on the hearts of His people. At Pentecost, after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to Heaven, God fulfilled that promise when He gave the Holy Spirit to indwell all who place their faith in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).

 

“’This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ it is a declaration of Adonai, ‘I will put My Torah within them. Yes, I will write it on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be My people.’”

―Jeremiah 31:32

 

“When the day of Shavuot had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues like fire spreading out appeared to them and settled on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh (ROO-akh Ha-koh-DESH) and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them to speak out.”

―Acts 2:1–4

At Shavuot after Yeshua’s resurrection, Jewish people from all over the region were in Jerusalem making their harvest offerings. Thousands heard the Good News preached in their own distinct languages as the Ruach (Holy Spirit) descended on the disciples and caused them to speak in tongues they had not previously known. God planned the gift of the Holy Spirit to coincide with the pilgrimage Feast of Shavuot. Thousands came to faith in Yeshua that day.

Today, Messianic Jews observe Shavuot with this insight. It is a time to offer our first fruits to the Lord, to recommit ourselves to His Word, and to celebrate the gift of His presence in each Believer through His Holy Spirit. It is a time to rejoice in fulfilled prophecy and to hold dear the rich Jewish roots of our faith in Yeshua.

May you have a blessed Shavuot as you celebrate the astounding gifts of the Torah, God’s Word and His presence through the Holy Spirit.

The nation no one thought would last celebrates her 70th anniversary

On May 14, 1948, the fledgling nation of Israel declared her independence. The United Nations granted the Jewish people a national homeland in the Palestinian region of the Middle East. Israel was encompassed by Arab neighbors determined to see her fall, and governments around the world wondered how the tiny nation-state would fare.

Immediately, surrounding Arab countries attacked, confident they’d quickly overpower Israel. But the Jewish State emerged stronger than expected, and this year marks the 70th anniversary of Israel’s rebirth.

The number seven and its multiples figure prominently in the Scriptures. Seven indicates completeness, as God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The number 70 bears prophetic significance throughout the Bible: Israel’s 70-year captivity in Babylon, Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Many believe the 70th anniversary of Israel holds prophetic meaning as well.

Interestingly, there are two days each year that celebrate Israel’s independence. May 14, 1948 was the date on the Gregorian calendar on which Israel became a sovereign nation. On the Hebrew calendar, the date was the 5th of Iyar, which falls in late April or early May each year.

Israel primarily celebrates her Independence Day – Yom HaAtzmaut (YOHM Ha-AHTZ-mah-OOT) – according to the Hebrew calendar and enjoys such festivities as parades, flags, free public shows, and a torch-lighting ceremony. Families gather for picnics and outdoor recreation, the president delivers a speech, and the prestigious “The Israel Prize” is awarded. This award recognizes individual Israelis who have uniquely contributed to the country’s culture, science, arts, and humanities. In 2018, Yom HaAzmaut was April 19th.

You often hear that Israel became a nation “overnight.” It’s true. However, there was much going on in the decades before May 14, 1948, that prepared the soil for the “instant appearance” of the state. For instance:

1897 – The First Zionist Congress met in Basel, Switzerland, organized by Theodore Herzl. The assembly served to unify a previously fragmented movement aiming to establish a Jewish homeland. After the congress, Herzl wrote in his diary, “At Basle [sic], I founded the Jewish state … If not in five years, then certainly in fifty, everyone will realize it” (Jewish Virtual Library).

1917 – The Balfour Declaration was a British statement of support for establishing in the Palestinian region a national homeland for Jewish people. Arthur Balfour, the British foreign secretary, made the declaration in a letter to Lionel Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community.

1937 – The Peel Commission sought to resolve the opposing aims of Jewish and Arab people in the area. Both sides had objections to the proposal – the Jewish people because it allotted them significantly less land than originally considered, and the Arabs thought it would make some of their people subject to Jewish “domination.” “Nevertheless, the Zionists decided to negotiate with the British, while the Arabs refused to consider any compromises” (Jewish Virtual Library).

1947 – Since 1922, the British had been charged with governing the Palestinian region and helping establish a Jewish homeland there. Their attempts to reach an agreement suitable to both Jews and Arabs had failed. In February 1947, they turned the matter over to the United Nations. A delegation to the region discovered that the conflicting goals of each party could not be reconciled, and voted to recommend two separate states, Jewish and Arab. In November, the U.N. announced the approval of its Partition Plan giving land to the Jews for a new state. Arab protestors responded almost immediately initiated with a violent backlash.

May 14, 1948 – On the date that the British governance of the Palestinian region expired, Israel proclaimed its independence as a sovereign nation-state. David Ben-Gurion wrote the Israeli Declaration of Independence and read it aloud that Friday afternoon during a short ceremony.

 

With trust in Almighty God, we set our hand to this Declaration, at this Session of the Provisional State Council, in the city of Tel Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the fifth of Iyar, 5708, the fourteenth day of May, 1948.

 From Israel’s Declaration of Independence (PBS.org)

People danced in the streets because it “was one of the most remarkable, inspiring achievements in human history: A people which had been exiled from its homeland 2,000 years before … but which had refused to relinquish its identity … was returning home as sovereign citizens in their own independent state” (New Essays on Zionism, “Ben-Gurion and the Return to Jewish Power,” Michael B. Oren).

Israel as a nation is a miracle. In fulfillment of Bible prophecy, God brought His people back into the Land He gave them so long ago. We celebrate with Israel the joyous occasion of her return to the Land and independence as a free nation. Happy 70th Anniversary, Israel! Happy Independence Day!