Shabbat Shalom
Dear Family,
Two big birthdays were celebrated this week! Israel turned 64 on Thursday and I (Devin) turned 31 today (4/28). When I look at these two events, I am just amazed at how faithful the Lord is. Israel should not have survived the first week of her existence as far as the world is concerned. Yet, here we are 64 years later. We can see that despite everything that happens, the Lord has been faithful to His Word that says He will plant the Jewish people back here with all of His heart and all His soul (Jer. 32:41). Just as an aside, this passage in Jeremiah is the only place in all of scripture that the Lord says He will do something with all His heart and all His soul. Pretty amazing! I also see the Lord's wonderful faithfulness through my own birthday. Each year brings new challenges, but I can look back and see that the Lord has been with us through it all. We still covet your prayers as I run full into my new job and while Callie is finishing her Master's Thesis. Callie is in the final stretch now and we look forward to when she will complete this work the Lord has given her to do.
Israel is still facing a looming threat from the country of Iran. There are nuclear "talks" going on right now which are reported to be very positive. The only problem with this is that talks have been reported as positive before. Every round of talks has resulted a wonderful stalling period in which Iran could continue to do what they wanted unchecked. Israel's window of time is closing fast before Iran has nuclear capability. Please pray that the Lord would act sovereignly on behalf of this nation. Nothing would be better than seeing an act of God swallow up these nuclear facilities. Please pray as well for the leaders of Israel. They are given the enormous task of safeguarding this people against all those who would seek their destruction. They need wisdom to know what to do and when it needs to be done.
As a father, I am continually struck by the huge responsibility it is to "raise a child in the way he should go". Proverbs says that if we do this, the child will not depart from good direction he is given. I don't know about any of the rest of you parents, but this starts to worry me if I think about it too much. The thoughts run through my head, "Well, what if I don't handle a situation correctly and it affects him for the rest of his life!?" These are those little freak out moments that I think everyone has from time to time. I take my relationship to my son very seriously and I try to weigh all the decisions I make concerning how to raise him. Callie and I are united in this and we have had a lot of conversations about it. I paused when I started to think about this in relationship to how our Father in Heaven considers our welfare. I as an imperfect man, take very seriously the raising of my son and all the decisions that we make for him. How much more is the Lord mindful of us and care for every single aspect of our lives? He has a plan for us that is so unique and so intricate that it would astound us if we could behold it all. We struggle so much sometimes against the Lord that it is amazing that He just doesn't give up on us. Being a father myself now, I can get a glimpse of this love. I would never give up on Aviel, no matter what he does. The Lord never gives up on us and He promises that He never will. We are His children ad He is mindful of every detail in our lives. It is about time that we all stop the struggle against the Lord and what He wants for us. Because in the end, what ever we want for ourselves, could never come close to the magnificence that He wants for our lives. Seek first His kingdom, and all else will be added to you. Blessings!
In Yeshua,
Devin, Callie, and Aviel
Abba and Aviel under the Israeli flag in Shiloh.
Two big birthdays were celebrated this week! Israel turned 64 on Thursday and I (Devin) turned 31 today (4/28). When I look at these two events, I am just amazed at how faithful the Lord is. Israel should not have survived the first week of her existence as far as the world is concerned. Yet, here we are 64 years later. We can see that despite everything that happens, the Lord has been faithful to His Word that says He will plant the Jewish people back here with all of His heart and all His soul (Jer. 32:41). Just as an aside, this passage in Jeremiah is the only place in all of scripture that the Lord says He will do something with all His heart and all His soul. Pretty amazing! I also see the Lord's wonderful faithfulness through my own birthday. Each year brings new challenges, but I can look back and see that the Lord has been with us through it all. We still covet your prayers as I run full into my new job and while Callie is finishing her Master's Thesis. Callie is in the final stretch now and we look forward to when she will complete this work the Lord has given her to do.
Israel is still facing a looming threat from the country of Iran. There are nuclear "talks" going on right now which are reported to be very positive. The only problem with this is that talks have been reported as positive before. Every round of talks has resulted a wonderful stalling period in which Iran could continue to do what they wanted unchecked. Israel's window of time is closing fast before Iran has nuclear capability. Please pray that the Lord would act sovereignly on behalf of this nation. Nothing would be better than seeing an act of God swallow up these nuclear facilities. Please pray as well for the leaders of Israel. They are given the enormous task of safeguarding this people against all those who would seek their destruction. They need wisdom to know what to do and when it needs to be done.
As a father, I am continually struck by the huge responsibility it is to "raise a child in the way he should go". Proverbs says that if we do this, the child will not depart from good direction he is given. I don't know about any of the rest of you parents, but this starts to worry me if I think about it too much. The thoughts run through my head, "Well, what if I don't handle a situation correctly and it affects him for the rest of his life!?" These are those little freak out moments that I think everyone has from time to time. I take my relationship to my son very seriously and I try to weigh all the decisions I make concerning how to raise him. Callie and I are united in this and we have had a lot of conversations about it. I paused when I started to think about this in relationship to how our Father in Heaven considers our welfare. I as an imperfect man, take very seriously the raising of my son and all the decisions that we make for him. How much more is the Lord mindful of us and care for every single aspect of our lives? He has a plan for us that is so unique and so intricate that it would astound us if we could behold it all. We struggle so much sometimes against the Lord that it is amazing that He just doesn't give up on us. Being a father myself now, I can get a glimpse of this love. I would never give up on Aviel, no matter what he does. The Lord never gives up on us and He promises that He never will. We are His children ad He is mindful of every detail in our lives. It is about time that we all stop the struggle against the Lord and what He wants for us. Because in the end, what ever we want for ourselves, could never come close to the magnificence that He wants for our lives. Seek first His kingdom, and all else will be added to you. Blessings!
In Yeshua,
Devin, Callie, and Aviel
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