Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Weather that is seemingly more characteristic of Israeli winters has spilled into April.
The good news is that this means rising water levels for Lake Kinneret, which is another name for the Bible's Sea of Galilee and the country's only freshwater source, according to the Environmental Protection Ministry.
Lake Kinneret has risen 15 centimeters since Thursday and is now 316 centimeters below its maximum level, says the Globes business news outlet, citing the Israel Water Authority. According to this report, the lake is likely to fill up completely as the heavy snows melt on the peak of Mount Hermon through the spring.
The lake had in recent years reached dangerously low levels.
Weather forecasters say that this has been an especially wet winter after several years of much smaller amounts of rainfall and even drought. Most of all, it helps the Israel's water supplies and the livelihood of farmers. However, hikers have also benefited from the tremendous amount of colorful vegetation throughout the country.
The many previous dry winters prompted Israel to construct desalination plants.
Israel currently has eight plants, with the plant in Hadera, a city in the Haifa area in the north of Israel, being the largest seawater desalination plant in the world, according to Interesting Engineering. In 2015, 50% of Israel's water for households, agriculture and industry was from desalination, it says.
Still, experts say that desalination does not solve all of the problems caused by a lack of rainfall and even with conservation, so that Israeli authorities are relieved by the plentiful supply of precipitation this year.
With Passover and then summer vacation approaching, the rains will stop, but the benefits will remain amid hopes that the trend will continue in future winters.
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When trouble comes, we need to know we stand on the unshakable foundation of our faith. Sadly, many Christians today falter in their faith because they lack biblical literacy and a love for truth. First John 4 tells us we must be instructed by the Word so we may discern between truth and error.
Since the late 1980s, God has been speaking to me about a shaking that is coming. My heart aches at all the callousness and brokenness we see today, in both our society and parts of the church. It reminds me of what Paul described in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, that those who refuse to love the truth will be turned over to deception and strong delusion. May our hearts be awakened before we slide down a slippery slope.
Hebrews 12:6, 27-29 encourages us that the Lord disciplines those He loves, and that everything that can be shaken will be shaken so the unshakable kingdom remains. More than ever, I sense an urgency to dig deeper in consecration and higher in expectation in the Lord, clinging to the truth, as every institution we have placed our hopes upon, sacred and secular, is being shaken.
The Lord is searching throughout the church with lamps of His Holy Spirit and shaking up those who are settled in compromise and complacency (Zeph. 1:12). By the light of the Holy Spirit, God is searching out the dross and rubbish in our lives to purge and refine us in preparation for the days ahead.
If we take a look at the spiritual and political climate during the days of King Herod, the similarities are uncanny. When given a choice between Jesus and Barabbas, who was a robber and thief, the crowd was swayed to choose Barabbas. They rejected the truth standing right in front of them and cried, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (John 19:6b).
It's easy to become skewed in our walk because we become skewed in our thinking, just like the crowd who chose Barabbas. The challenge for the church today is to identify what choices we are making that contradict truth, righteousness and justice. These decisions will end up clouding our discernment and judgment.
God has given us periods of peace and prosperity so we can be a blessing to the nations—but many have chosen not to rely on God or rightly steward the resources He has provided. Instead of choosing His way, they have followed the way of the world. But while men reach for thrones to build their own kingdoms, Jesus reached for a towel to wash men's feet.
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul expresses deep concern that many who profess to know the truth will turn away from it to embrace myths. But 2 Timothy 4:5 encourages us to make sure we are not disheartened or discouraged by this and instead to keep our focus on the Lord and His work.
Jude provokes and challenges us to be spiritually fit to contend and do battle for the truth. Only those who are spiritually prepared, grounded and in shape can effectively respond to the spiritual and moral battles of the day.
There is a battle today for the heart of the church and the soul of a generation. We need individual heart awakenings that become a corporate church awakening if we are going to see any lasting healing in the soul of our nation. If our nation's broken foundations are to be fixed, then we, the church, must awaken our hearts and get back to our spiritual moorings and biblical principles. Psalm 11:3 says, "If the foundations are broken, what can the righteous do?"
The Lord's discipline always begins with His own and in the house of the Lord. When the shaking comes, only those things that are part of the unshakable kingdom can withstand and remain. Psalm 112:1-6 (NIV) promises that "those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. ... Surely the righteous man will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever."
Acts 4 is also an encouragement to us; the early church was threatened against speaking the truth of the gospel. Instead of bowing to the threats, they asked God for strength and boldness to persevere in the truth. God sent them a shaking, but in this one, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and boldness (see Acts 4:31).
Keep hold of the truth and keep focused on what God has called you to do to bring positive change. The shakings are coming! And revival will come too, whether by choice, circumstance or consequence. Throughout history, the church has always grown through times of challenge. May we keep our focus on the Lord as these shakings produce a great harvest.
Dr. Doug Stringer is the founder and president of Turning Point Ministries International and Somebody Cares America/International. Click here to listen to his podcast.
CHARISMA is the only magazine dedicated to reporting on what the Holy Spirit is doing in the lives of believers around the world. If you are thirsty for more of God's presence and His Holy Spirit, subscribe to CHARISMA and join a family of believers that choose to live life in the Spirit. CLICK HERE for a special offer.
Be sure to check out Doug Stringer's new podcast, "A Word in Season With Doug Stringer" on the Charisma Podcast Network. Click here or click the podcast below to listen to his episode, "Church-Quake," about the battle going on for the heart of the church in this hour.
Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! #1 John Eckhardt's "Prayers That..." 6-Book Bundle. Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle. #2 Learn to walk in the fullness of your purpose and destiny by living each day with Holy Spirit. Buy a set of Life in the Spirit, get a second set FREE.
Dr. Anthony Levatino is a gynecologist who performed around 1,200 abortions early in his career before a stunning change of heart left him sickened and distraught, transforming him into an outspoken pro-life advocate.
Levatino, who still practices medicine, plays an abortion doctor in the new hit film Unplanned, a movie that tells the real-life story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director who fled her clinic and became one of the most prominent pro-life voices in America.
The doctor recently told "The Billy and Justin Show" all about his background, revealing that he was initially pro-choice in the 1970s and early 1980s when he was studying and later operating his independent practice.
But then his perspective started to change. Listen to Levatino tell his incredible story at the 32:30-mark:
Levatino and his wife were having difficulty conceiving, so they started the adoption process. During that time, he recalled recognizing a difficult juxtaposition: he was performing abortions and ending babies' lives while he and his wife were working diligently to find a child to adopt.
"We were fortunately able to adopt a child after a considerable amount of effort," he said, noting that his wife ironically got pregnant right after the adoption.
With a son and a daughter suddenly completing Levatino's family, he continued performing abortions—until a tragedy changed everything.
"Our daughter, Heather, whom we had adopted, was two months shy of her 6th birthday when she was struck and killed by a car out in front of our home," he said.
It was an event that rocked Levatino to his core. When it came time to return to his practice, he found himself feeling ill after he started performing an abortion.
"I finished that abortion ... for the first time in my career after all those years and all those abortions I looked ... and I didn't see her wonderful right to choose and I didn't see what a great physician I was helping her with her problem," he said. "And I didn't even see the $800 cash I just made in 15 minutes. All I could see was somebody's son or daughter."
Levatino added, "That was the beginning of the end."
Watch the trailer for Unplanned below:
A few months later, the doctor stopped performing second-trimester abortions. Not long after, he stopped performing all abortions.
"Once you figure out that killing a baby the size of your hand for money is wrong, then it doesn't take you too long to figure out that it doesn't matter how big — it's still her son or daughter," he said.
Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! #1 John Eckhardt's "Prayers That..." 6-Book Bundle. Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle. #2 Learn to walk in the fullness of your purpose and destiny by living each day with Holy Spirit. Buy a set of Life in the Spirit, get a second set FREE.
Prophet R. Loren Sandford shares with Jennifer LeClaire an urgent prophetic message from his new book. Watch the video to learn what the church must know in this hour.
Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! #1 John Eckhardt's "Prayers That..." 6-Book Bundle. Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle. #2 Learn to walk in the fullness of your purpose and destiny by living each day with Holy Spirit. Buy a set of Life in the Spirit, get a second set FREE.
The U.N. ambassador to Mexico—a country where Israel rushed aid workers and humanitarian assistance after a devastating earthquake in 2017—will be one of the featured speakers next week at the opening of an exhibition in the U.N. on Israel humanitarian aid around the world.
Israel's ambassador, Danny Danon, said the photo exhibition "showcases how far Israel will go to help others in need, regardless of who they are or where they live. We are often the first to arrive after disaster strikes when time is of the essence and aid is most crucial." Danon said. "Our continued humanitarian activities have saved the lives of thousands of people throughout the world. This exhibition is another opportunity to show the U.N. the true and beautiful face of the state of Israel and its moral values."
Danon said the event was "another example of how we are bringing Israel to the U.N." He said that "over the past few years, U.N. ambassadors that have visited Israel, learned about our technology and been exposed to our traditions have changed their disposition towards Israel in the halls of the U.N.
"Mexican Ambassador Juan Ramon de la Fuente will speak at the exhibition's opening on March 27, 2019, of Israel's large-scale operation in Mexico City following the major earthquake there a year and a half ago. Israel has, over the years, sent humanitarian aid and rescue missions around the world, from Greece and Turkey to Haiti, the Philippines, Nepal and, most recently, Brazil, following the collapse of a dam there in January 2019 (Jerusalem Post).
There are many ways in which Israel is a blessing to the nations of the world. Some additional examples are: Israel's unending contributions to the world of high tech, providing innovations from which we all benefit daily and Israel's endless scientific and medical innovations that are saving lives worldwide. Per capita, Israel produces more Nobel laureates than any other country. Israel generously provides its renowned agricultural advances to developing countries, creating sustenance, profit and independence to nations trying to become self-sufficient.
Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! #1 John Eckhardt's "Prayers That..." 6-Book Bundle. Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle. #2 Learn to walk in the fullness of your purpose and destiny by living each day with Holy Spirit. Buy a set of Life in the Spirit, get a second set FREE.
Recently, in a time of corporate prayer, the Lord spoke three words to me: build, transformation, transition. The Lord has been speaking to me about the word "build" for several months now. In November 2018, the Lord was speaking to me about how the first 90 days of 2019 would be a season to build, move forward and accelerate. So, when the Lord spoke the word "transformation" to me after this, I knew that what He was saying is that it not only a time to build, but whatever we are building will be transformational. Whatever you are building in this season, God is going to use it, and it will bring transformation to your sphere of influence.
Transformational growth must come in order to prepare us for transition. Whenever God builds anything or prepares anyone, He is preparing them to be strong, because God builds for longevity. God is building foundations in this season. In order for a tree to grow tall and remain healthy, its root must go down deep into the soil to sustain its growth. Whenever an architect builds a skyscraper, he must dig deeper down and lay a firm foundation in order to support the height of the building. God is building individuals, businesses, ministries, marriages, families and organizations in order to bring transformational growth.
God is building firm foundations of character and integrity in many people in this season. You need to be seeking the Lord in holiness and in preparation for the transformation God will work in you and through you. The transformation is for the transition.
"Transition" is a trendy word in the church culture today, but I really believe that God is preparing many in this season for an upcoming transition. But don't transition out of one thing into the next without clear direction from the Lord. Transition is coming to you in order to advance the kingdom of God. If God transitions you into something new, it is to bring transformation to that area. Whenever God places us somewhere, God is strategically placing us not just for ourselves, but for everyone around us. God transitions us to bring shifts to wherever He places us.
This is a time to build for transformation and for transition. This is a time to build whatever God has asked you to put your hands to in this hour. I really feel like this month is a time where God is completing things and establishing many for the transformation and transition that are coming in the months ahead.
Joe Joe Dawsonis the founder and apostle of ROAR Apostolic Network and ROAR Church Texarkana. Joe Joe is married to the love of his life, Autumn Dawson, and they have three children: Malachi, Judah and Ezra. The Dawsons live and teach a lifestyle of revival and awakening. Their desire is to see every believer fulfill their God-given destiny and live life to the fullest in God. Joe Joe is also the author of Living Your God-Sized Dream and Recipe for Revival. To connect with Joe Joe or for more information, visitjoejoedawson.net.
Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! #1 John Eckhardt's "Prayers That..." 6-Book Bundle. Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle. #2 Learn to walk in the fullness of your purpose and destiny by living each day with Holy Spirit. Buy a set of Life in the Spirit, get a second set FREE.
