A Letter To My Christian Brethren - Dennis McCleod, New Zealand

                          A letter to my Christian Brethren by Dennis McCleod 

After much criticism from Christians on protest lines and more, I will never apologise for standing with Israel. Here is why. To do so would be to go against the call of the Lord on our lives. About this time in 1992, after much prayer, the Lord had us give up everything, and I mean everything. So many miracles, too many to mention here, cleared the way to release us for what the Lord had planned for our future work for Him. He called we followed. [Matthew 16:24-26] Penny and I left New Zealand on the 22nd of December 92, with no church support or backing, not knowing when we would return. [Psalm 25:4-11] 

After a very eventful trip, an IRA bomb exploded near Oxford Street, London,  just after we walked by, and an emergency in the plane shortly after leaving Heathrow, requiring the aircraft to return to the airport, we finally arrived in Israel four hours late. We could find no one to meet us, which made us wonder, were we right? On exiting the terminal, there was my name on a piece of torn cardboard, under the circumstances, the greatest sign I have ever seen. [Psalm 33:4-5] Our first stop was Bethlehem, where we were employed as House Parents to around a dozen special needs children, some of whom were blind. 

 

Here, we encountered our first experience with open antisemitism from many Christian Arabs and expats from various countries. [1 Peter 5:8] We also had first-hand experience with terrorism and people being used as human shields, which included my Penny. On my removing the threat, I ended up facing a situation where only calling upon the Lord saved me from serious injury. [Psalm 91] 

During our whole time in Israel, we lived by faith, totally relying on the Lord alone, never asking anybody for anything, including finances. We were given a very small amount of pocket money in Bethlehem, plus food and board. The Lord also supplied us with a car, and as a mechanic, I repaired it for our general use. 

 

After sixteen months, our next stop was Jerusalem, with nothing on the horizon for our future. In a few days after much prayer, we had a roof over our head, food, and soon even another vehicle. [Philippians 4:19] Then we started working for a ministry called Christian Friends of Israel, a Jerusalem-based ministry helping the Jewish people of the Land. The Lord again answered our prayers, with a flat with the rent paid, of course, there were other costs we had to pay, but the Lord took care of all our needs. At the Distribution Centre of this ministry, I was the manager. 

After a month or so, the Lord spoke very clearly to me with the words, ‘You are living Bible prophecy.’ Scriptures, such as I will bring the people back to the Land, [Jeremiah 30:3] Build up the ruined cities, [Isaiah 58:12] Gentiles will help the blind, the lame, the mother with child, [Isaiah 49:22-23] we saw the Bible coming alive. We even had an occasion to see the supply of the loaves and fishes, [Matthew 14:13-21] so many miracles occurred before us. 

 

When it was time to return home, we had no funds to do so. We either walked or prayed; we chose the latter. Within two weeks, we had our fares and money for the trip home. Once home. Our future was bleak, no home, or car, no food, and with the question of how we were to make a living, again the Lord stepped in, supplying our needs, including my old job opened for me to return. It was a journey of miracles and obvious evidence that God was with us all the way. From living in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, we learnt much and grew in our understanding of the word of God. [2 Timothy 3:16-17]. 

For me to now turn my back on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, would be to say He was wrong about His promises to Israel, and the path He took Penny and me on. It was a road of learning about the Word of God and the mindset of the Middle East. Are the Israeli people faultless? Of course not, none of us are. [Romans 3:23] But for Christians to condemn, without knowing their Bible, or the past and present history, or the hurt that the terror has caused by the countless antisemitism attacks that have occurred throughout history. Can never understand the hurt that October 7th brought to the surface. 

 

Yes, to stand with the enemies of Israel is to stand against Elohim Himself. Again, I will never turn my back on the Lord, and the journey He took us on, the miracles we witnessed, the lessons learnt. To do so would be to deny my Lord and Saviour. To call for the destruction of Israel, as many do with their chants, would be to go against the Lord Himself. For the experience we had in serving in HaEretz, The Land, and continue to serve Him within Bible prophecy, all glory goes to the Lord. 

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