Christian
Friends Of Israel America
Christian Friends Of Israel America is a registered 501 (C) 3
non-profit organization.
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Christian
Friends Of Israel America
[Home] [About CFI America] [Projects] [Events] [Links]
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“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Watchman's Prayer Letter:
The Everlasting Promise “…then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My Covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land…for their sake I will remember the Covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the LORD made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses” Leviticus 26:42, 45-46. A view, which is often held by sincere Christians, is that the Jewish people are in their predicament because they failed in their Covenant obligations and consequently lost the privileges bestowed on them by God. We suggest here that such is an error! The above passage stands juxtaposed to a long string of retributions from God that would come on them - if they failed in their covenantal commitments. What makes this passage so significant is that it is part of the Torah that was handed down at Mount Sinai–before they even had a chance to do wrong. Key Point: Today we see powerful forces rising afresh whose sole aim is to deny the Jewish people their heritage by delegitimizing their very existence, based on a misunderstanding of those prophecies. As Watchmen we need to be armed with a clear understanding of the Word of God so that we also may pray accordingly. To understand the mind of God liberates us to rise up to stand upon the Word of God, which assures of His everlasting will and purpose. The Scriptures tell us that Israel’s enemies are actually God’s enemies! The Psalmists do not mince words in stating this fact: “…Your [i.e., God’s] enemies make a tumult and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more’” Psalm 83:3-4. If we were to keep on reading, we would also discover that the enemies that surround Israel today have uncannily the same intent as those mentioned in this Psalm. Even King David had already prophesied that nations would form confederacies in order to cast off the yoke of the God of Israel and His anointed one (Psalm 2:1-3). Who Will Stand With Israel In This Hour? Whether the world agrees with the Scriptures or not is immaterial, but the reality is that since 1948, Biblical prophecies have been fulfilled before our eyes in Israel. What matters is who will stand with Israel in this hour of her great need? Although there are numerous Christians who praise God for what He has done for the descendants of Jacob, the prophecy of Psalm 126, has yet to be fulfilled, when at least the Church will rejoice with Israel, as it is written: “…then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’” Strategic Praise and Prayer Points: · Please pray that God would raise up Watchmen with the courage to “blow the shofar” as spoken of in Ezekiel, chapters 3 & 33. Our need is great for our numbers to multiply on the hedge around Jerusalem, which we patrol (in the Spirit) against Israel’s foes. · Please pray also that a deep repentance from God would come upon all Israel and that God would raise up true voices from Godly men (prophetically) in Israel in the manner of Elijah. · Please pray that God would open the eyes of the nations—especially of the Church—that they would see His mighty Hand and His Faithfulness in the restoration of Israel as a nation on their own Land – based on Psalm 126. Pray that the Church will not be in denial about what God has already done to fulfil His Word already in Israel! Dividing Jerusalem “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together … Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.’ For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, ‘Peace be within you. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good’” Psalm 122:1-2; 6-9. Although most of the world does not understand the complexities of the Middle East—especially the Jewish/Arab relationship—nevertheless it insists that a division of the ancient city (of God) is the best way forward to bring peace to the troubled region. The world’s Media, with much assistance from the Arab world, has created a mystical demarcation line by the invention of a so-called East Jerusalem. This demarcation was made without considering the geographic realities of the wider city limits. The fact is that Jerusalem consists of a city within a city and that “inner city,” also known as the Old City, has Jewish roots that date back to King David of 3000 years ago. It is there where the center of the conflict is located, because it also contains the birthplace of Christian belief and a disputed, mystical link to the prophet of Islam: Muhammad. The Old City sits at the edge of the Kedron Valley, at the base of the Mount of Olives, which runs in a more or less north-south alignment. Basically all of Jerusalem lies west of this line – Old and New and the neighborhoods spread to the north, south, and west of the Old City. When we keep these factors in mind and then survey the city with the view of dividing it on an East/West basis, we realize the utter foolishness of such an undertaking. The Scriptures encourage us to be wise in all our actions, and though we are called to “…pray with the spirit, we should also pray with the understanding… not be children in understanding … in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature…” 1 Corinthians 14:15, 20. Therefore Christians, especially those who stand with Israel, ought to be a people who are well informed as to what the true facts are on the ground in Israel. Modern Israel is once more a physical reality—not a mystical, eschatological Kingdom of the future or of a distant past; it is as real as the ancient promises of an unchanging God (Malachi 3:6). To reiterate a statement from a previous WPL as a reminder: ‟The reality here is that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob declared the Land of Israel His personal piece of real estate, i.e., “… the Lord has chosen Zion…as His dwelling place and designated it as [His] resting place forever” Psalm 132:13-14. Strategic Praise and Prayer Points: · Please pray for the courage to stand on Biblical truths and pray that we will not be spending time listening to messages that are not Biblically based. · Please pray that God would grant Christians a right understanding of the realities in the Middle East and that they would turn to the right sources for information for learning.
·
Please pray
for much wisdom among Christian leaders to guide their people along The Complexity of the Middle East “Now it happened, when Sanballat (a Canaanite descendant), Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion” Nehemiah 4:7-8. These verses are only a representative of the struggles the Babylonian exiles faced when they attempted to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple in the days of Nehemiah. However, they are also fascinating to study, because in them we encounter similar nationalities that have been fighting against the attempt by the Jewish people to resettle the land since WW I. Furthermore, they also contain a striking parallel between the two events; the Decree of Cyrus and the Balfour Declaration where benevolent rulers deemed it right that the Jewish people should return to their ancient homeland. A significant factor is that in neither case the non-Jews who occupied the land had any particular interest in Jerusalem while the Jewish people were in Exile. Their interest only sparked when the Jews began to cultivate the land and reclaim their ancient cities—especially Jerusalem. Supporting facts of this can be found in the historical data laid down between 1948 and 1967. For example, when Jordan was in sole control of the Old City of Jerusalem, the King of Jordan did nothing constructive for the city other than gilding the Dome of the Rock in 1959 (and then again in the 1980s). From the Biblical testimony we can see that the hatred of the Jewish people is not just a modern phenomenon. It is an ancient component of Middle Eastern politics and diplomacy. For this reason it is folly in seeking to apply Western principles to try to resolve the conflict. If there is an answer, it can only come from a Biblical perspective, which includes all historical factors that have made the region what it is. The problem, as we see it, is that a large sector of the political and religious spectrum is unwilling to ascribe any validity or consequentiality to Biblical history. Because of this we need an awakening to the plans and purposes of God for Israel and the Jewish people. Please pray into this. Strategic Praise and Prayer Points: · Pray for God’s direct Divine intervention in Israel based on Ezekiel 34:11 ff. · Please pray for great wisdom among all Jewish and Christian leadership in Israel and that there will be a willingness to work together in matters that pertain to reconciliation. · Pray for God’s wisdom among Church leaders throughout the world concerning Israel. In fact, Church leaders need revelation...a true revelation of who Israel is in God’s eyes.
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Pray that God
would raise up much support for Israel wherever the Scriptures are being read
(Romans 11:29-31) and that Christians will realize the “principle and the
promise” involved in standing on the Lord’s side, the right side, and bringing a
blessing to the “apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2:8). Please pray for Ray and Sharon as they prepare for their speaking tour in the USA in November. Please pray for all CFI Representatives throughout the world. Please pray for the CFI conference in 2012. Pray also for Freedom for Gilad Shalit. In Messiah Frank & Karen Selch
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