Shabbat Shalom
Dear Family,
Callie was playing with her belly the other day and she was surprised when the baby kick back for the first time! It is incredible to see how quickly this little one is developing in its mother's womb. I consider myself to be blessed among men to have such a wife who is carrying the promise of a new life that will glorify our Lord. The longing that is there in the lineage of every Jew, to live in Israel and bring forth children, is being fulfilled in front of my very eyes. I am blessed that this child will be the first of my family born here in Israel. The Lord has given this Land to Abraham and His descendants as an everlasting inheritance. Our child is now a part of that great covenant in action. Praise God for His faithfulness to those who will trust in Him!
Succot (Feast of Tabernacles) has come to Israel again and all over the city we see sukkot (booths or tabernacles) have been built. All of Israel will eat in these booths during the week and many will actually sleep in them. Israel is reminded through this that during the Exodus from Egypt, they lived in temporary dwellings with the promise of home in their own Land. Metaphorically, the booth represents the fact that even though we live now in temporary dwellings (or physical bodies), we look to the time when we will live in our promised dwellings (our glorified bodies). Sukkot also carries with it a sobering message for Israel during this time in it's history. While in these booths, there is not much protection. Israel sees the mounting threat of Iran and knows that there is not much protection for them. Their only hope is that the God of Israel would defend them as He has promised to. Please pray that the people of Israel will turn to their God and truly cry out for His salvation. Pray that as they cry out, Yeshua woujavascript:void(0)ld appear to them as their one and only, true Savior.
I was thinking the other day about the mountain of believing material there is available to all of us now. Some of it is good, and some of it is not so good. You would think that after 2000 years, and all the literature available, that the Body would be seen as being close to God. The truth of the matter is, that Abraham did not have all the written material. He did not have all the wonderful testimonies and miracles that were performed in front of his eyes. He did not have a believing community around him to point him in the right direction and hold him accountable. I am not saying that any of these things are wrong, I am merely pointing out the fact that even without all these things, Abraham was called a friend of God (Is. 41:8). We all tend to get lost in our religion and forget about the fact that we are called to be like Abraham. We are called to have such a relationship with the Lord that all who see us would know that we are "friends of God". It does not depend on the material we have (even though it is good), and it doesn't depend on the expression of our faith (which is also good). It depends on our fervent desire to wait on the Lord and act on what He says to us. Many of us are willing to do what the Lord says, but there are very few who are willing to wait on Him. When we are waiting on an answer to something specific, I know that I tend to focus my prayers on that one thing. It is good to persevere in prayer, but it is not good to neglect the other aspects of our relationship with Him, and focus on getting an answer. We as a Body must find again the simplicity of this faith so that those around us can see that we are friends of the Most High God. Blessings!
In Yeshua,
Devin and Callie
Callie was playing with her belly the other day and she was surprised when the baby kick back for the first time! It is incredible to see how quickly this little one is developing in its mother's womb. I consider myself to be blessed among men to have such a wife who is carrying the promise of a new life that will glorify our Lord. The longing that is there in the lineage of every Jew, to live in Israel and bring forth children, is being fulfilled in front of my very eyes. I am blessed that this child will be the first of my family born here in Israel. The Lord has given this Land to Abraham and His descendants as an everlasting inheritance. Our child is now a part of that great covenant in action. Praise God for His faithfulness to those who will trust in Him!
Succot (Feast of Tabernacles) has come to Israel again and all over the city we see sukkot (booths or tabernacles) have been built. All of Israel will eat in these booths during the week and many will actually sleep in them. Israel is reminded through this that during the Exodus from Egypt, they lived in temporary dwellings with the promise of home in their own Land. Metaphorically, the booth represents the fact that even though we live now in temporary dwellings (or physical bodies), we look to the time when we will live in our promised dwellings (our glorified bodies). Sukkot also carries with it a sobering message for Israel during this time in it's history. While in these booths, there is not much protection. Israel sees the mounting threat of Iran and knows that there is not much protection for them. Their only hope is that the God of Israel would defend them as He has promised to. Please pray that the people of Israel will turn to their God and truly cry out for His salvation. Pray that as they cry out, Yeshua woujavascript:void(0)ld appear to them as their one and only, true Savior.
I was thinking the other day about the mountain of believing material there is available to all of us now. Some of it is good, and some of it is not so good. You would think that after 2000 years, and all the literature available, that the Body would be seen as being close to God. The truth of the matter is, that Abraham did not have all the written material. He did not have all the wonderful testimonies and miracles that were performed in front of his eyes. He did not have a believing community around him to point him in the right direction and hold him accountable. I am not saying that any of these things are wrong, I am merely pointing out the fact that even without all these things, Abraham was called a friend of God (Is. 41:8). We all tend to get lost in our religion and forget about the fact that we are called to be like Abraham. We are called to have such a relationship with the Lord that all who see us would know that we are "friends of God". It does not depend on the material we have (even though it is good), and it doesn't depend on the expression of our faith (which is also good). It depends on our fervent desire to wait on the Lord and act on what He says to us. Many of us are willing to do what the Lord says, but there are very few who are willing to wait on Him. When we are waiting on an answer to something specific, I know that I tend to focus my prayers on that one thing. It is good to persevere in prayer, but it is not good to neglect the other aspects of our relationship with Him, and focus on getting an answer. We as a Body must find again the simplicity of this faith so that those around us can see that we are friends of the Most High God. Blessings!
In Yeshua,
Devin and Callie
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