Tuesday, November 26, 2013

What is Hanukkah (Chanukah)? (Nov. 27-Dec. 5, 2013)

What is Hanukkah?
Chanukah occurs in the Hebrew calendar month of Kislev. This year, 2013 the date is November 27-December 5.




Chanukah -- the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev-- celebrates the triumph of lightover darkness, of purity overadulteration, of spirituality over materiality.
More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.
When they sought to light the Temple's menorah (the seven branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah (candelabrum) lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled.
On Chanukah we also add the Hallel and Al HaNissim in our daily prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for "delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few... the wicked into the hands of therighteous."
Chanukah customs include eating foods fried in oil -- latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts); playing with the dreidel (a spinning top on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nungimmelhei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there"); and the giving ofChanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children.
Click here for the complete story of Chanukah, and here for a comprehensive "How To" guide for the observances and customs of Chanukah.


From: Chabad.org

Amazing Discovery Just Made Right Outside Jerusalem!

Breaking News - 590x148
2D9787185-22-635x357.blocks_desktop_large 2
Click here to watch: Amazing Discovery


A remarkable archaeological find in the Judean lowlands
southwest of Jerusalem includes a six-millennia-old cultic
temple and a 10,000-year-old house. The ancient sites
were located in routine archaeological digs conducted
ahead of a planned expansion of Route 38, the main
access road to Beit Shemesh. The building is the oldest
 ever found in the area, and constitutes remarkable
 “evidence of man’s transition to permanent dwellings,”
researchers said. Labeling it “a fascinating glimpse into
thousands of years of human development,” the
Israel Antiquities Authority, together with the Netivei
 Israel Company that is carrying out the highway
expansion, invited the public to visit the excavation
site in Eshtaol.


WATCH HERE
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Israel is in My Heart

Happy Hanukkah (Nov. 27-Dec. 5, 2013)


Blessings on ye heads!

With our love,
Steve & Laurie Martin
Love For His People

My life Amazing true love story of Derek Prince, his two wives and 12 daughters



YouTube full length video: 

Kings College in England

 
Lydia Christensen and eight orphan girls
- later Derek's wife and adopted daughters

Derek teaching the Word



Lydia Christensen Prince

Lydia Christensen Prince (1890-1975) was born in North Jutland, at the northern tip of Denmark, the youngest of four sisters in an affluent family. Her father was a successful builder who played an important role in developing their home town of Bronderslev. Lydia became a teacher in the state school system of Denmark and was a pioneer in the field of home economics.

By 1925, she had obtained a post as director of home economics in a large new school in the town of Korsor. While seeking more meaning for her life, she started reading the Bible and received a vision of Jesus Christ that led to her salvation and baptism in the Holy Spirit. After months of earnest prayer and waiting upon God, she became convinced that God was asking her to give up her position as a teacher and go to Jerusalem in the tumultuous days before Israel became a nation.

In October 1928, at the age of thirty-eight, she set out for Jerusalem with about $200 in traveler's checks, no mission or church to support her, and no idea of what she was to do when she arrived.

She soon established herself there, learned Arabic, and founded a children's home, becoming the cherished "mother" to dozens of Jewish and Arab orphans, mainly girls, eight of whom became her own children. She also began ministering the gospel to Arab women and later to the British soldiers who visited Jerusalem during their furloughs in World War II.

In the mid-1940s, she met and married Derek Prince, a philosophy and language scholar, who was serving in the British army and was stationed in Jerusalem. They ministered there together until the birth of the State of Israel in 1948 when they moved to England with their eight girls. The Princes served congregations, taught, and ministered while living in England, Africa (where they adopted their ninth daughter), Canada, and the United States.

After settling in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, they began traveling internationally as Derek preached and taught the Bible in many nations of the world. Throughout these years, Lydia took care of their family, worked tirelessly and faithfully alongside Derek in their ministry, and even returned to her home economics roots when they were in Africa, teaching home economics to the African women students.

Following a stroke and a two-year illness, Lydia Christensen Prince died in October 1975. Her passing was deeply mourned by her family and thousands of people worldwide from a wide variety of backgrounds whose lives she had touched in her nearly fifty years of enthusiastic, energetic, and compassionate ministry.

For more on Lydia, there is a movie production:


Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta) - Walls & Gates of Jerusalem

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)



Panorama of Jerusalem and the walls of the city. Note how few buildings were outside the walls of the Old City.  (Chatham University Archives, circa 1890) Click on pictures to enlarge


The Chatham University is not the only library to digitize their vintage pictures from Palestine.  In recent weeks we have discovered newly-scanned collections at several more libraries and even a European church.  We will present the collections in future postings.

The Chatham University Archives placed all 110 colored slides from the"Holy Land Lantern Slides"online, and in this posting we present a selection to focus on the collection's pictures of Jerusalem's walls and gates.  


Another Jerusalem Panorama taken from Mt Scopus
(Chatham University Archives, circa 1890)

Jaffa Gate (Chatham University Archives circa 1890)


This Picture of Jaffa Gate has been featured in previous postings when we found it in other collections

We also determined that the photo was taken prior to 1898 because of a glimpse of the moat wall on the right side of the picture.

The wall was torn down and the moat filled in so that the Germany emperor's carriage could enter. 






Damascus Gate   (Chatham University Archives)
View other historical (black and white) pictures of the Damascus Gate at our previous posting.

There are no pictures of the Zion, Dung and Herod Gates of the Old City. The "New Gate" of the Old City, an entrance built for access into the Christian Quarter, was constructed in 1889, after the photographs were taken.


Lions Gate, also known as St. Stephen's Gate
(Chatham University Archives)

The "lions" carved on both sides of the gate are actually panthers, the symbol of the Mamluk Sultan Baybars (1223-1277). The panthers were believed to have been part of a Mamluki structure and placed at the gate by Suleiman to commemorate the Ottoman victory over the Mamluks in 1517.  View an earlier posting on Lions Gate here


The sealed Sha'ar Harachamim, or the Golden Gate, taken from Gethsemane Garden  
(Chatham University Archives)

See our previous feature on 
Sha'ar Harachamim and the graves 
beneath it here.

Lance Wallnau - 7-Mountain Message - Prophetic Perspective





Changing Perspective








Dave Yarnes & Lance Wallnau

Aired: Monday, November 25, 2013


The foundation of the 7-mountain message is seeing the church outside of its traditional boundaries. We need to broaden our focus on the kingdom.





The Lord is letting those in business, education, government and beyond, know that He has you there for His Kingdom purposes. It isn't a "second-class" job. We are to take the mountain we are in, for His Kingdom purposes and to reach the nations.

Obama Administration Betrays Imprisoned Pastor With Iranian Deal

Obama Administration Betrays Imprisoned Pastor With Iranian Deal

Pastor Saeed Abedini
Pastor Saeed Abedini
The Obama administration betrayed American pastor Saeed Abedini by reaching a deal with Iran that includes easing sanctions and providing humanitarian relief—a deal that leaves a U.S. citizen behind, imprisoned because of his faith, according to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is working to secure his release.
“President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry turned their backs on a U.S. citizen by refusing to secure his freedom before reaching an agreement with Iran,” says Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ. “It is outrageous and a betrayal of American pastor Saeed Abedini, who has spent more than a year in an Iranian prison simply because of his Christian faith. The Obama administration has left Pastor Saeed behind. And by failing to secure his release as a precondition to any negotiations, the Obama administration sends a troubling message to the Iranian government that Americans are expendable.”
The ACLJ sent a letter to Secretary Kerry, urging him to act and noting that “the failure to secure the release and return of Mr. Abedini and the other Americans would be reprehensible.”
Imprisoned for more than a year simply because of his Christian faith, Abedini faces life-threatening conditions in one of Iran’s most dangerous prisons.
Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution calling for the release of this U.S. citizen, and key members of the European parliament wrote a letter raising Pastor Saeed’s case.
And just days ago, the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously approved H. Res. 147, calling for the release of Abedini, allowing it to proceed on to a full vote of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The ACLJ has launched a significant online social media campaign on behalf of Pastor Saeed at BeHeardProject.com.
Abedini is serving an eight-year prison sentence simply because of his Christian beliefs. He has been imprisoned now for more than one year. The ACLJ represents his wife, Naghmeh, and their two children, who live in Idaho.

“More Than Ten Words” - Ahava Love Letter (Steve Martin)

              
    “More Than Ten Words” 


But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction…” (1 Thess. 5:12, NAS)

 Dear family of friends,

There are several people who now and then impact your life in such a way that you want to emulate them, model your life after theirs, or simply appreciate the encouragement they have for you. There are not many among us who give themselves fully to the Lord’s purposes, and lay themselves down for others, nonstop.

I know of such a one. I first met him when I was administrator at an international ministry/church in the Charlotte, NC area. He hailed from Canada. The country where it can be colder more often than I would like it. But even back then, in 1995, his enduring warmth was a heart warmer.

Several years later, in 2002, we both had the privilege of working together with Derek Prince Ministries. He didn’t get the job as Director of Outreach because he was a grandson of Derek Prince, but because he had the gifting and commitment to serve with all his heart. It was that fact which had the Lord put him in the place he would excel in.

His name is Peter Wyns. Now, he officially has the title of “Doctor”, due to his accomplishments in writing and teaching, but I know him as simply Peter, my friend.

In 2010, the first year of our newborn ministry Love For His People, Peter had became the Senior Pastor at Antioch International Church in Fort Mill, SC. Knowing of our shared love and support for Israel, Peter asked Laurie and I to join with them and head up a new weekly gathering called Beit Tikvah (House of Hope), which we did.

As part of the meeting, we shared the Shabbat candle lighting, bread and wine, and then the Messianic worship with our Ahava Love Band. Peter followed with his enthusiastically spoken, truthful words on Israel, our debt to the Jewish people, and of his own Jewish lineage. (His Jewish mother  was born in Israel, one of the first adopted daughters of Derek and Lydia Prince.)

Peter and his good wife Joy amaze me with their zeal, constant travel to take the Gospel to the nations (44 and counting), and their faithful love and grace for the people of Antioch. (I once called Peter the real “Energizer Bunny”, as he sometimes wore me out just watching him! And as for Joy – she is the perfect help mate for her husband!)

In a Thanksgiving Sunday message, Peter encouraged the congregants to share a thank you with each other, but to make it more than just the normal two words “thank you.” He motivated us to use at least ten words, which would then let the other know you had thought about it, and meant it.

And so in this Ahava Love Letter, Laurie and I truly give thanks for his faithful friendship, his committed care, and for the long lasting legacy we know is and will be that of Peter Wyns.

We love you Peter and Joy!

Ahava to my family of friends,

Steve & Laurie Martin
Founders
Love For His People,Inc.


Dr. Peter Wyns is the President and Director of Ministry for"Christians for Messiah Ministries." He has been ministering to people and teaching God's word for more than 35 years. He has served as a pastor for 30 years and has ministered in more than 30 nations around the world.
Most of his present work is that of an international Bible teacher and an apostle. He travels extensively with his wife Joy to churches and conferences around the USA. He loves to visit both large and smallgroups. He is a friend to many and a great encouragement for pastors and congregations.Whenever he teaches, people are inspired. They are challenged to step out in faith and believe God for great things.
Peter and Joy Wyns
Although he teaches on a wide variety of themes, he is often called upon to speak on "Israel in the Last Days", "Breaking Generational Curses", "The Power of Prayer", and "Equipping God's People for the Work of the Ministry".

View a list of commonly requested teaching topics
Contact Us about scheduling Dr. Wyns for your ministry event





PO Box 36324
Rock Hill, SC 29732
704-608-7793

E-mail: ReachUs@PeterWyns.com

PO Box 36324
Rock Hill, SC 29732
704-608-7793

E-mail: GreatReward@PeterWyns.com




Sunday morning at Antioch International Church
Fort Mill, SC

Festival time!

On the mission field

Prayer for the people

Teaching in the country fields

Annual Israel tour!

Peter Wyns and Steve Martin




Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA organization. Fed. ID#27-1633858.

Please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless the known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. 

Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation.

Go here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH  OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People

If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 
Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box 414   Pineville, NC 28134
Todah rabah! (Hebrew - Thank you very much.)

Be sure to get my two books The Promise (CreateSpace/Amazon 2013) and Ahava Love Letters (Xulon Press, 2013). Both available through Amazon.com Xulon Press.com , plus other website book stores.

You can also order both books, The Promise (on Amazon.com for $7.19 plus $3.95 S/H) and Ahava Love Letters Xulon Press for $14.90, plus $3.80) or you can get both from our office for $29. Send check to the address above. I will autograph all copies ordered through our office. (Hey, and please include a contribution for Israel too!)

Please share this Ahava Love Letter with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin  and  Love For His People  
  
Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople and ahavaloveletter 

            Ahava Love Letters
           
  
Full website: Love For His People


Ahava Love Letter #89   “More Than Ten Words”  ©2013 Steve Martin 
Date: In the year of our Lord 2013 (11/26/13 Tuesday at 7:30 am in Charlotte, NC).


All previous editions of Ahava Love Letter can be found on this Blog, and our newest website: Ahava Love Letters


Will Jerusalem Be Divided Again?

Will Jerusalem Be Divided Again?

By Scott Ross and Julie Stahl
CBN News Middle East Bureau
Monday, November 25, 2013



JERUSALEM, Israel - Jerusalem. Its name means "City of Peace," yet it's been destroyed, rebuilt, conquered, and re-conquered more times than any other city in history.

"The city has a role to play," Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told CBN News. "It's the center of the world."

For 19 years, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan with the Old City on the Jordan side. In 1967, the Six-Day War led to the reuniting of the city under Israeli sovereignty.

Now, part of the U.S.-backed peace process seeks to split the city once again. Dividing Jerusalem is the most contentious issue in Middle East peace talks.

Israel maintains Jerusalem is its eternal, undivided capital. Palestinians want the eastern part for the capital of a future state.

CBN's Scott Ross recently asked Mayor Barkat and others about dividing the city. Barkat said dividing the city is impossible.

Following is their discussion.

Barkat: It cannot be divided, it will never function as a divided city. It has to be one physical city enabling all to worship their faith, their way, to respect each other. There's room for all.

Ross: Can you convince the Palestinians of that?

Barkat: The Palestinian residents that live in Jerusalem understand that, and you know I'm also a high tech entrepreneur, a venture capitalist. It will never work. There's not one good example of a city that was split that ever functioned. And, unfortunately, Jerusalem did not function for 2,000 years when it moved from conqueror to conqueror until it was reunited.

Jerusalem is mentioned by name more than 800 times in the Bible -- even more if you count synonyms like the "City of David" and "Zion." Six hundred sixty of those references are in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament.

Ross also asked author and businessman Moshe Kempinsky about the Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

Kempinsky: I remember this to this very day, [I] sat in the park, my kids were playing in the park, and I realized when Zechariah said there would yet be a time when old men and old women would rest on their canes and children would play in the streets of Jerusalem, maybe my kids were what he saw.

Ross: What does Jerusalem mean to the Jewish people? I mean, like, it's an inane question, but you know, why Jerusalem?

Kempinsky: Well, it's inane because it could be inane, because why Jerusalem? Why not a city next to road resources, on the shores, which is where most people put their capital cities -- but God chose it.

Ross: The city being divided at one point, reunited again in '67, will it be divided again?

Kempinsky: I don't think it can be. Psalm 122 says, 'Jerusalem is built as a city that compacted together.' But in Hebrew it doesn't say compacted. In Hebrew it actually says shackru bara meutad, that is 'reunited together.' God is saying this is a city that will be torn asunder, but then I'm going to bring it back together.

Ross spoke with Israelis in Tel Aviv, Israel's largest city. They told him they're willing to share the city but not divide it.

"In my heart, it's something I cannot agree with -- that my town gonna be separated again," Jerusalemite Oren Naim said.

"We believe Jerusalem is supposed to be Jewish forever, but I do believe that there's supposed to be a solution that's going to be good for the both of the people," Yigal said.

"Both side[s] will never agree with it. Palestinian[s] want Jerusalem as the capital and we will never do this," said Jonathan Nissim Malcha, who immigrated from France.

Kempinsky says God has a plan for the city whether the world believes in it or not.

Ross: What do other nations say when you or other groups say when you speak the way you're speaking now, with your argument, your point of view ... how does a Palestinian respond to that?

Kempinsky: I think the secret to understanding this country is that facts are completely irrelevant.

Ross: Facts are irrelevant?

Kempinsky: Facts are completely irrelevant. Reality is not what counts here. Perception of reality is what counts. And I believe that to understand what goes on here, especially with the Palestinians, is you need to understand what they perceive. They really believe what they believe because they've been told that's what they need to believe. So dialogue with the Palestinian[s] today has become almost impossible because Islam has moved into an area that has become impossible.

Jerusalem is never mentioned by name in the Koran [Islam's holy book], but Muslims interpret a reference to the furthest mosque as being al Aksa mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount.

At the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, Ross asked Muslims and Arab Christians how they viewed their connection to the city.

"What took by force, we'll come back by force," one man said.

"Well there you go," Ross commented.

Ross asked a second man if he thought the city should be divided.

"I believe that they have the two sides sit together and speak together, leave the Arab countries aside and they can come to peace. Jerusalem is not a big problem," the second man said.

"It is not a big problem?" Ross asked.

"No. They make it a big problem. It's not a big problem. It's for all the religions," he said.

"This is all Arab town [city]. This is [an] Arab town. Can't be divided," a third man said angrily.

And then, two of them began to argue with each other right in front of Ross and the cameras.

"I didn't say to give. Never, ever I say to give [up the city]," the second man said.

"You can't divide the Old City. Jerusalem, I said, is only for Palestinians. Not Israelis. Israel [is] outside the occupied territories -- where is Zion gate," the third man argued.

"You have the Wailing [Western] Wall. What you are going to do with the Wailing Wall?" the second man asked.

"The Wailing Wall, they could have the Wailing Wall and the Armenian quarter," the third man shouted.

Ross noted that this was a perfect example of the explosive nature of the issue.

As one of the most contested places on earth, the Bible says Jerusalem will be a stumbling block to the entire world.

Ross: We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. What are we praying for?

Kempinsky: The word for…for peace is…

Ross: Shalom?

Kempinsky: Shalom, it comes out of the word shalem. Complete. We're praying for that completion -- when the heavenly and the earthly will be clearly seen as being united. It's not a future event. It's a future revelation.

Ross: Do you think it's going to happen in your lifetime?
Kempinsky: I believe it's imminent.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Oldest and Largest Wine Cellar in Ancient East Uncovered

Tel Kabri Team Uncovers Huge Wine Cellar