Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Canada Unequivocally Backs Israel, Urges Others To Do So

Canada Unequivocally Backs Israel, Urges Others To Do So

Wednesday, July 16, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff
Given his behavior over the past several years vis-a-vis the Middle East conflict, it will come as little surprise that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been the most clear and unwavering among world leaders in his support for Israel as it combats the Gaza rocket threat.
“The indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel are terrorist acts, for which there is no justification,” Harper said in a statement issued this week. “It is evident that Hamas is deliberately using human shields to further terror in the region.”
Whitewashing Hamas or drawing moral equivalence between it and the Jewish state will only prolong the conflict, Harper warned fellow world leaders.
“Failure by the international community to condemn these reprehensible actions would encourage these terrorists to continue their appalling actions,” he insisted, concluding with an open call for Canada’s “allies and partners to recognize that these terrorist acts are unacceptable and that solidarity with Israel is the best way of stopping the conflict.”
A day earlier, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird slammed Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for blaming Israel for the civilians deaths in Gaza and for demanding ceasefire terms that would leave Hamas and its offensive abilities intact.
Baird said that Pillay’s remarks were “neither helpful nor reflective of the reality of this crisis.” In particular, Baird took issue with Pillay drawing moral equivalence between a democratic state that is taking extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties and a recognized terrorist organization.
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Jerusalem Neighborhood Explodes After Christians Leave

Jerusalem Neighborhood Explodes After Christians Leave

Wednesday, July 16, 2014 |  Ryan Jones  Israel Today
The Jerusalem suburb of Shuafat was this month the scene of some of the worst street violence the city has experienced in decades. And wouldn’t you know it, the situation exploded just 24 hours after the neighborhood’s only significant Christian presence was forced to leave.
The situation in Shuafat became violent two weeks ago after Jewish extremists kidnapped and murdered a young local Arab boy in retaliation for the earlier abduction and killing of three Israeli youths.
Arab youth in Shuafat and many other neighborhoods took to the streets in a spirit of vengeance.
This war-like scenario erupted less than a day after Calvary Church was forced to relocate from Shuafat, Pastor Steven Khoury told Israel Today. “It hasn’t been the same since then,” he added.
Calvary Church is the local congregation of Khoury’s Holy Land Missions, a ministry dedicated to bringing Palestinian Arabs to genuine faith in Yeshua.
We reported last year that in addition to facing regular arson attacks, Calvary Church was operating out of temporary facilities, and landlords were becoming increasingly hesitant to rent to these Christians.
Earlier this month, these pressures came to a head, and, as Khoury explains in the following video, his congregants had to remove everything from the premises and move elsewhere.
The timing couldn’t have been worse.
In the following video, Khoury is explaining the move and the sudden eruption of violence when he is approached by a young Arab who demands to know who he is. Khoury cautiously and compassionately feels the boy out, informing him that Khoury is a Christian and “comes with a message of forgiveness.”
The Arab youth is having none of it. “There is no forgiveness [for the Jews],” he insists.
It is clear that Shuafat, even more so than most places in this land, is in desperate need of a strong Christian presence. Khoury remains hopeful that his congregation will be able to return in the future.
Watch the video:

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Chuck D. Pierce: A Time to Choose Your Wars Carefully!

Chuck D. Pierce:
The Elijah List

Chuck D. PierceDear Warring Saints:

In Corinth, TX we have three flagpoles in front of the Center. At the Center, 200+ are meeting at 5:15AM each morning and praying into the next move God. There is a Movement that has begun. We just moved the "Appeal to Heaven Flag" to the Miracle Birthing Center where we are praying.  

With Israel in crisis during this time, we raised the Israel Flag. In the last two weeks, I have had this thought in the midst of a changing war season: "You must establish the appropriate standards that represent the warfare you are encountering." 

"But God's equipment was that of no ordinary warrior: He strapped on righteousness as His breastplate, put on the helmet of salvation...passion as a cloak, GOD PREPARED FOR WAR! When the enemy comes in...He will come on like a torrential flood driven by the Eternal's winds...His standard will rescue those of Jacob's holy line. The Redeemer will come to make Zion right again." (paraphrased from Isaiah 59:16-21 in The Voice).

War is arising in the land. This is a Kingdom war.

I can't say that writing is my favorite pastime. However, I know when the Lord wants me to communicate with those connected and pressing forward in this ministry. I have written several books through the years. As a matter of fact, over 75% of the books that I have written have been related to understanding personal, corporate, territorial, worship, and generational wars in the Kingdom of God.

God's Unfolding Battle Plan has been a prophetic war manual foretelling the wars of God's people in the Kingdom. In fact, I am presently working on three books right now: The Apostolic Church Arising: The Triumphant Reserve's Call to Gather, The Watchman's Call to See and Decree, and A Time to War: The Next Season of Covenant Contending. This third book will help us understand the conflicts through 2026. Thinking about this book, along with the scenario going on in Israel, has compelled me to write you.

I have been asked the question of "WHY?"

"Why do you write about the warfare that the Body is called to enter? Why does war have to become part of our future thought process? 

Some have even said, "I would rather not know the war ahead. I want to live a peaceful life as long as I am on earth."

My answer is usually the same: "I want to live a peaceful life also, but in reality there is conflict; this conflict is accelerating, and the Lord says to be more shrewd than our enemy. He also says that He does nothing without first telling His prophets. Therefore, not knowing is not reality. Reality is linked with true worship in spirit and truth. I would rather live in the reality of His Presence than in denial."

Thus, understanding the reality of the war around you is important as to whether you triumph or experience defeat.  

We have Now Entered a New Reality of Warfare!

via pixabay.comThe Heavens, as well as the Earth, are now in a new dimension of conflict. Nations are in conflict. Generations are in conflict. 

Israel, God's covenant land, is in conflict. 

Our friends and family live there. We feel the brunt of this warfare. Not only is this war personal, but we are devoted to the land of Israel, the people of Israel, and the God of Israel. (Photo via pixabay.com)

Warfare can create great emotional upheaval. For instance, Amber Pierce, with two small children, had to process two rockets exploding above the apartment they live in, in Jerusalem, earlier this week. Our son, Daniel, stayed and has been helping to provide for those in southern Israel, the Beersheba area. Many couples who live in the land are having to process this war.

Norma Sarvis said it this way, "Borders of war are shifting. I have a friend who always guarded the borders far away from Jerusalem. But now the border of war is nearby with the rocket attacks now in Jerusalem as well."
I believe all of our borders and boundaries are shifting in war. 

Warfare can produce fear. War causes our will to make choices. This war is over boundaries. The war in Israel is over a new State trying to form and develop their identity for the future.

On November 29, 2012, the General Assembly accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations. Since that time, this State has been openly and fully opposed to the Hebraic nation that exists. The State has in mind a new type of government in the earth that will use many creative forms of weapons to defeat God's ordained boundaries. 

Frankly, this means that this State is openly portraying themselves as an enemy of the God who made covenant with Israel. If you war along with this State in its formation and development, you are actually warring against God's covenant plan in the earth. This war is not just with flesh and blood but with powers and principalities.

If you are a Covenant Believer, submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ and empowered by Holy Spirit, this war is affecting you in your daily life in some way! You are probably sensing some warfare in your personal life and sphere. So why do we have to war if the work of the Cross defeated all powers and principalities?

A Kingdom By Force to Be Enforced!

When our Lord overcame death, Hell, and the grave, He broke the headship of satan in the Earth. He ascended, gave us gifts, and then called us to enforce this victory! Now, we must enforce! To enforce is to compel obedience to, to obtain by force or compulsion, or impose a course of action on a person or entity, in this case satan (the one who opposes us). Yeshua said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force"(Matthew 11:12).  

(Photo by Jennifer Page His Flame via elijahshopper.com)

From the days of John till now...John started opening up in earth a new realm of aligned conflict that would bring forth Messiah. Jesus and His disciples had to take what John had accomplished and use a new dimension of power to take the movement to a new level. Jesus even connected into John's baptism, but then received a new baptism by going into the wilderness. Jesus' disciples would then baptize their followers into this new baptism.

In Matthew 11, this passage on force has a dual meaning. The question in this passage is:Who will win this enforcing battle, concerning the Kingdom of God? The Lord explains that one form of religion would attempt to produce a force to stop the next manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven in the earth. Conversely, those representing the new movement would have to use power to advance the Kingdom against the religious and civil government. The war of the Kingdom would be: denial versus reality, stumbling versus standing, law versus grace, teaching versus revelation, soft religion versus Kingdom power. There is no place for SOFT RELIGION in war!
Choose Soft Religion or Kingdom Power!

What do I mean by "soft religion"? These are people that have embraced one form of religious moral influence in their lives. This type of individual loves the portion they have received that helped their conscience come alive. They have learned laws and principles. They operate out of the teachings they know. However, they are open to new messages and limited manifestations beyond their last experiences. They will embrace these, if they enhance their personal advancement. Nevertheless, if a manifestation comes that is beyond their ability to understand, they stumble in their advancing.

In this passage from Matthew 11:6, Jesus says, "Blessed is he who is not offended, put a snare or stumbling block in the way because of Me." (In other words, is there something that would hinder you, personally, from continuing to perceive and advance the Kingdom of God?) If any issue threatens their present thinking, religious conscience, and comfortable form of worship, then they shrink back or actually attempt to enforce present boundaries rather than enlarging their territory to receive the new release of God's presence. They stumble, rather than embrace the accompanying change in their atmosphere. The Lord instructed us to not shrink back in times of war.

"Soft religion" embraces what will allow credibility from the world but rejects new power that makes a person uncommon from surrounding familiar relationships, families, and norms. There were many that accepted John's leadership, his message, and the baptism he offered linked with repentance. However, the same ones (including some of John's followers) fully rejected the new wineskin and set themselves to be a stumbling block to Yeshua's movement.

This would become a pattern, from generation to generation. Each generation would have to choose to use the Kingdom force of love and power that comes from Christ, to advance His Kingdom. This is the remnant that is now arising to war and triumph today. We must receive a new anointing and new power to triumph.

ElijahList Prophetic Resources

The Remnant's Covenant War!

This remnant group will always go before the whole, with a mission and heart to see the Good News of the Gospel shared, demonstrated, and embraced. This group would have both Testaments, Old and New, as Torah, for their field manual. This group would allow the government of the Kingdom to form within them. This is the movement that will fully advance and impact their culture.

In every generation, there is a group that has to choose to war for God's covenant. Judges 3:1-2 says, "These are the nations which the Lord left (in Canaan) that He might test Israel by them...this was only so the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formally know it."

A covenant war always includes embracing the ROOT of the COVENANT and WARRING FOR THE FRUIT OF THE COVENANT. 

In our case, that root goes back to the land promised to Abraham, the Hebrew. A land and a people called Israel, and led by Judah, would always be included in the war of all those being grafted into this covenant. The same blessings in the root can manifest in the fruit of your war today.

You do not have to be in Israel to be warring for God's Kingdom plan, nor do you have to be in Israel to receive the same blessings that were offered to Abraham. However, you must know that you are connected to this land and people.(Photo by Jennifer Page His Blessing via elijahshopper.com)

Abraham's blessings included a territory or boundaries, multiplication, generational inheritance, wealth and provision, and a sphere of authority and rule. Your wars are linked with the same blessings that Abraham was given by the Lord.

The Time and Rules of the War!

There is a time for war (Eccl. 3). There are rules or laws of war (Deut. 20). There is a commitment and choice to war (Luke 14). There is a garment for war. There is a stand that we must take in war (Eph. 6). There is an age-long warfare (Rev. 12). There is a TRIUMPHANT PEOPLE who must choose today to enforce Kingdom principles on earth!

Yeshua told His disciples in Luke 14:25-33: "...If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."

How to Make a Wise Choice in Your War!

The above passage gives us a list of questions to ponder in the NOW! Take an inventory of your call to war at this time. Know your border. Ask the questions:

1. What is my sphere or boundaries? Is this warfare inside my boundaries?

2. Am I willing to war in those boundaries? Do I go to war or stand and wait? Timing is key. Am I willing to war in these boundaries? What is my responsibility in the war?

3. How does this warfare affect my inheritance or portion? Am I willing to war for my present inheritance or a new added portion?

4. What responsibilities do I have that could clutter my decisions in my present warfare? Children? Job? Debts? Parents? Ministry?

5. Do these responsibilities usurp the voice of God in my life?

6. What emotions are ruling me? Does any emotional alignment in my life stop me from hearing the voice of God? A spouse? A child? A friend? A co-worker? Etc. Am I ruled by fear? Am I decisive or double-minded over every situation?

7. Do I know my role in the Kingdom? How am I serving? Am I communing with the Body or walking independently?

8. Am I advancing or stumbling? What issue has made me stumble or would make me stumble?

To conclude, this is a season of war. I am sure you are experiencing some sort of conflict in your life. The boundaries of your war are changing. Will you choose to triumph in your conflict? Will you join the Lord in the battle around you?

God is calling forth a triumphant people. I choose to believe that you are one of those! Let the TRIUMPHANT RESERVE rise!

Blessings,

Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries

Charles D. "Chuck" Pierce serves as President of Global Spheres, Inc. (GSI) in Corinth, Texas. This is an apostolic, prophetic ministry that is being used to gather and mobilize the worshipping Triumphant Reserve throughout the world. GSI facilitates other ministries as well, and participates in regional and national gatherings to develop new Kingdom paradigms. 

Chuck also serves as President of Glory of Zion International Ministries, a ministry that aligns Jew and Gentile. He is known for his accurate prophetic gifting which helps direct nations, cities, churches, and individuals in understanding the times and seasons in which we live. Chuck and his wife, Pam, have six children and seven grandchildren. He has authored over 20 books, including the best-sellers The Worship WarriorGod's Unfolding Battle PlanInterpreting the TimesRedeeming the Time, and Time to Defeat the Devil.

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'We Must Defend Ourselves:' Israeli Op Continues - By Chris Mitchell CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief

Brit Hume (FOX News) & Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

'We Must Defend Ourselves:' Israeli Op Continues


ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER - Despite building diplomatic pressure to declare a ceasefire, Israel's campaign to eliminate Hamas rockets from Gaza continues.

In seven days, Hamas has fired nearly 1,000 rockets into Israel. To stop the assault, the Jewish state has hit more than 1,400 targets during Operation Protective Edge, which is now ending its first week.

On "Fox News Sunday," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country' actions.

"With this kind of enemy we'll take whatever necessary means that we need to take," Netanyahu said. "I'll tell you, we try surgical strikes; we're not indiscriminate. It's very tough. There are always going to be civilian casualties, which we regret. But we have to defend our people and that's what we'll do."

On the diplomatic front, the U.N. Security Council issued a non-binding resolution asking both Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire.

While U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged Israel's right to defend itself, he asked Netanyahu to avoid further escalation. Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister is due to visit Israel, the first of many trips aimed at bringing a diplomatic end to the fighting.

Meanwhile on the ground, Israeli troops continued to amass on the Israel-Gaza border while the IDF expanded its military operation into northern Gaza.

In order to minimize civilian casualties, the Israel Defense Forces warned civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate. They said the campaign would be short and temporary and designed to attack the place from which most of the rockets have been fired.

They sent leaflets which said in part: "The civilians are requested to evacuate their residences immediately … those who fail to comply with the instructions will endanger their lives and the lives of their families."

So far, nearly 180 Palestinians have died during the weeklong campaign. But Israeli officials said Hamas was to blame for the deaths for putting their civilians in the heat of the battle.

"We are telling them,'Get out of this house. This house is going to be targeted and used for Hamas infrastructure' and Hamas is ordering exactly the opposite orders: 'Stay in the house, defend the house,'" one IDF official explained.

"So of course we are doing whatever we can to avoid hitting civilians, but in the fog of war with this kind of instructions from Hamas, accidents happen, and this is of course is very unfortunate," he continued.

"The international law is very clear," he said. "If you are involving your civilians in the combat, in the battle, you take responsibility for the consequences."

On the Israeli side, the rockets from Gaza are nothing new. Twenty-six-year-old Kosta has lived half his life under the threat of rocket attack from Gaza.

"It's always in the back of your head," he told CBN News. "I think that I don't remember myself - 13 years of my life. I'm 26 today - I don't remember doing everything where's the closest bomb shelter. I'm thinking about going to the toilet, to the shower, the really, really basic things."

Whether or not quiet comes to Kosta, the goal of Israel's operation is to stop the rockets out of Gaza one way or the other.

While the IDF prepares for a ground offensive, the diplomatic clock keeps ticking. And it remains to be seen if a ceasefire will come before an invasion.

O maiden of Zion - ISRAEL365

How can I comfort you O maiden of Zion? Your ruin is as vast as the sea.

LAMENTATIONS (2:13)
 

מָה אַשְׁוֶה לָּךְ וַאֲנַחֲמֵךְ בְּתוּלַת בַּת צִיּוֹן כִּי גָדוֹל כַּיָּם שִׁבְרֵךְ

איכה ב:י’’ג


ma ah-VE lakh va-a-na-kha-MAYKH b'-tu-LAT bat tzee-ON kee ga-DOL ka-YAMshi-v'-RAYKH

Today's Israel Inspiration

On the Jewish calendar, today marks the bitter fast day known as the 17th of Tammuz which begins the ‘Three Weeks’ of mourning leading up to day when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. During this period, we remember not only the ancient loss of the Temple, but pray for an end to the dangers plaguing the State of Israel, the devastation and “ruin” being sought by our enemies time and again. Respond to our enemies with the rebuilding of the Land, and plant a tree today.
 

Meaning Behind the Tears

Gain deeper insight into the mourning period of the Three Weeks, along with practical life lessons derived from Bibical verses, in this engaging video.
 

Rabbi Tuly Weisz & Readers Visit Auschwitz

"Having lost so many family members in the Shoah, this was a particularly personal pilgrimage for me," stated Rabbi Tuly Weisz on last week's tour to Poland with Israel365 readers.
 

Memoir of a Heroine

Hannah Senesh was a brave heroine who volunteered to leave the relative safety of Palestine to fight with the partisans against the Nazis. Her precious poems, diary, and family accounts, are weaved together in this unforgettable memoir.
 

Israel Photo Trivia

Hillel van Leeuwen captured this spectacular sunset at one of Israel's beaches. Can you name the Sea that borders Israel, and which makes up the majority of Israel's 273 km coastline?Send me an email or post your answer onFacebook!
 

Thank You

Today's Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Frank Buckman of New York. It is also sponsored by Rebecca Shaw of Michigan in honor of her friends who love and pray for Israel. And by Bobbie Stephenson of North Carolina in honor of the beautiful Land of Israel. Toda raba!
 

“Wonderful, Encouraging Daily Messages”

It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!
 
 
I want to assure you that we in South Africa Pentecostal Centre love Isreal and we stand with you. We pray for the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem.  Shalom, Jaars R.

Many thanks for your wonderful, encouraging daily messages. They are a blessing to me. Eric H.
Shalom,
Rabbi Tuly Weisz
RabbiTuly@Israel365.com
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