Shalom Steve!
Thank you for your letter! Often when you write to a ministry it is my experience you do not get any answer at all. But you answer and that is a comfort.
I was crying because I was longing to Israel not because of the Jewish people that evening. But I am also crying for the Jews. I pray regularly for Israel and Jews and I believe as you said as Jesus did when He wept over Jerusalem that we need tears in prayers for the Jews and Israel. Also for other people. We need tears in prayers for our relatives.
I do not have a congregation and pastor/pastors couple just now. Thank you for your comfort. I have many friends but they live in different places but I and a friend also pray that there will come Christians and live close to each other. There will maybe be a new congregation.
Church for me is not meeting just in a church- building even if we need church meetings but the church is not meant to be the building but Body of Christ and Jesus as the head. We can read in 1 Cor.12 about that we Christians need each other much in friendship -not just meet in any church building but as friends .
As a usual body has differents parts we need each other with different gifts. It is not meant that a man will be the church as you sometimes see but the Body of Christ standing together like one man. Today there is much unpersonality in Body of Christ as least as I have seen here.
There can be club when God wants it to be family. It can take time but God do not want club for years, You cannot know all well but if club is all a congregation have then there need to be a change, The relation - friendship with Jesus is however first. He is not impersonal.
We need to forgive people, not being bitter to anyone and prayer needs for Body of Christ but Jesus say that love we get from God is a testimony to the world. John.17:21. When they see love among Christians they can get saved you understand from this Bible Scripture. We can read in Acts. 2:46 that Christians were breaking bread from house to house. They ate together and had fellowship. We need take that back to the Body of Christ because it has been stolen much from us in the Body of Christ.
Several pastors do not know the father's heart with practical care and compassion because they do not understand just to take a cup of coffee/tea and talk - have fellowship with people and they do not understand the importance of hospitality. A cup of coffee can sometimes save a life for anybody crushed inside and without any friends I think. People can make many mistakes but it is not good when Christian leadership does not understand the importance of this in their thinking.
You must not be bitter or disappointed to this kind of leadership. We are all saved by grace but the sheep are suffering when a pastor/pastor couple have a "money car maybe for a million but the sheep nearly have no food or clothes for their children. Our heavenly Daddy has a lot of love and Christian leaders who have not learned to know God's heart so they understand fellowship and importance of practical care need to get their blind eyes open. I think a real revival is when people who has received Jesus live as they did in Acts as in Acts.2:46.
No one has greater love then anybody giving his life for his FRIENDS, as Jesus says in John.15:13. Jesus showed practical care and had fellowship at the sea in John.21.He likes when we have fellowship -talk with Him and be in his presence -in prayer life. Fellowship with God and fellowship with each other goes hand in hand.
He gave all He had for us - everything for the sheep. He told us in Body of Christ to wash each others feet as I think not just about to be humble but showing care to each other .
Many Christians are wounded today and need love. Also the world is full of people who need love. Sometimes a smile can save a life I think. My favorite chapter is Isaiah.53 because I think about how much Jesus suffered because of love.
You told me about the elderly man who got an visa. I do not have Facebook and I do not know if I will have or not. I did not know that you had at YouTube anything. Will look later. (
Love For His People YouTube)
Steve & John Ebenezer from Hyderabad, India
Nice an elderly man got an visa (from India, for our Ahava Adventures trip to Israel in Nov. 2013.)
I send you my latest poem as I made for a friend some time ago. It's for anybody having pain inside soul, who need inner healing or so.
Thank you for your webpage and showing care to people! Thank you for blessing Israel and the Jews!
Blessings.
JESUS- YOUR HEART WAS CRUSHED FOR ME
The thorns were many on my way.
Suddenly I fell when I thought it could not be worser...
I thought I were alone and You were in a distant place far away.
Then I realised you had not left me...
You were closer than ever...
You carried me like a precios lamb in your arms...
You saw me - as you counted
my hairs you saw every tear-every drop on my cheeks...
Your drops of blood you had in Gethsemane you had for me -
every drop was in deep pain because you knew
what pain you had to suffer- but you
did it for me.
You did not open your mouth.
Your heart was crushed for me...
Isaias.53:7, Isaias.40:11, Ps.23.