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.
As most of us know, Hanukkah commemorates the miracle of the oil. Once the Maccabees restored the Temple to Jewish control, the Temple oil burned for eight days when there was only enough oil to burn for one.
One of the traditions of Hanukkah is to eat foods cooked in oil and to give thanks to God for the miracle He gave to His faithful servants.
The American holiday of Thanksgiving is all about fellowship. It is about spending time with others we care about, sharing all the blessings that God has bestowed upon us, and lets us show the others in our lives the good fortune we have through faith in God.
Let’s look at Leviticus 7:12. This is a passage about the Fellowship Offering and it says, If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil.
As we can see in Leviticus 7, the Fellowship Offering of Thanksgiving involves food with oil! Wow. Not only that, but this type of offering was meant to be eaten in a fellowship meal, much like our Thanksgiving dinners today, The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning(Leviticus 7:15).
This year as we cook the turkey and prepare the other family tradition favorites, you might want to consider adding some Hanukkah favorites as well. Latkes are potato pancakes cooked in oil; they would be the perfect addition to a Thanksgiving meal, and fulfill a biblical Thanksgiving offering of unleavened wafers with oil.
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"Those Were The Nights (of Chanukah)" The Yeshiva Boys Choir
Song Composed, Arranged & Produced By Eli Gerstner (EG Productions) Lyrics By Yossi Toiv & Eli Gerstner Video Edited & Directed By Mario Costabile Music by The Yosis Orchestra Choir Conducted By Yossi Newman Vocals Recorded @ EG Studios By Yossi Newman & Eli Gerstner Mastered By Larry Gates @ Gater Music Mixed By Eli Gerstner @ EG Studios
Bubby burned the Latkes every Chanukah Forgot them in the frying pan each year While we were having fun playing Dreidle Smoke alarms were wailing everywhere Firemen were breaking all the windows Zeidy closed his eyes, began to pray Those Latkes had no luck Our mouths bit down & stuck But Bubby made us eat them anyway
CHORUS: Those were the nights of Chanukah I remember long ago When our family got together Little eyes aglow Multi-colored candles burning As the joyous songs were sung How I miss the Menorah lights When we were all so young
Uncle Jake brought donuts by the dozen He warned us that Aunt Bertha couldn't bake But Uncle Hymie ate one singing Maoz Tzur And that was Uncle Hymie's big mistake Our parents stood there beaming as they called us And handed us our presents one by one Bathed in the light The Menorah burning bright Sweet memories as brilliant as the sun
CHORUS
Where are those nights? Full of fun, full of lights I can still hear their laughter and songs But though they are gone, their spirit still lives on For Bubby's love is still alive and strong
Those were the nights of Chanukah Spent with family and friends Filled with dreams and laughter That we thought would never end So cherish your moments together It's what Bubby would have done And we wish a happy Chanukah To everyone!
An extremely wise man penned these thought-provoking words:
"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1).
Within this short Scripture, we discover an exceptionally significant truth: The righteous are bold as a lion. This truth helps to unlock the mystery of our chronic, spiritual weakness and daily struggles to become Christlike. What is that mystery?
It is a mystery that the devil, the foe of our soul, knows – and a truth that few Believers understand. If the righteous are bold as a lion, then it follows that purity produces power! What else follows? The corollary truth: If purity produces power, then sin produces weakness.
In light of this truth, what is the devil's strategy? He seeks to sidetrack us into as much contamination as he possibly can to render us powerless in the Kingdom of God. Sin brings shame, and shame produces timidity and fear.
By this sobering truth we may judge our true spiritual maturity: If we lack power, we lack holiness. We may have received Christ's righteousness imputed to us at our salvation, but we are still walking in the flesh as carnal Christians. Take this to heart, brothers and sisters in Christ: A lack of demonstrated power is a testimony to our carnality.
We must walk in purity if we are to walk in real power (see Psalm 66:18).
Once we discover the foremost reason for our lack of genuine power – a lack of genuine holiness – we can move forward with a repentant heart. We can ask the Lord to deliver us from everything that separates us from Him, be it carnal thoughts, bitter root judgments, toxic emotions, or disobedient, ungodly habits and attitudes. Without question, our sin is the principle reason for our continual failure to walk like Christ.
The Word tells us, "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). If we are not Christlike – loving like Christ, behaving like Christ, and thinking like Christ – then we have a sin problem, plain and simple. Don't allow sin to rob you of your joy and fruitfulness.
Never forget the devil always attempts to counterfeit the gifts of God. Therefore, if godly purity results in true boldness, the devil's counterfeit is arrogance produced by human pride. God likewise always resists the proud, but offers outstanding, overflowing grace to the humble (see 1 Peter 5:5).
God's warning is exceedingly clear:"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews12:14 NIV).
We must live lives of radical holiness, no matter the consequences – but don't confuse holiness with man-made legalism. True holiness is born of the law of the Spirit and produces overflowing life and peace, while religious legalism is born of the letter of the law and produces only barrenness and death. Remember, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (see 2 Corinthians 3:17).
Join me in David's prayer and ask God to create within us a pure, clean heart (see Psalm 51:6), knowing that God is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and sin (see 1 John 1:9). He freely gives us the clean heart we desire (see Psalm 51:10).
Lift up your head and rejoice! Reject sin and shame, knowing you have been forgiven. You have been given a fresh start in Christ our righteousness.
God bless you on your journey into Christlikeness!
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Surviving a dramatic abortion attempt by his mother, being rescued again by the hand of God from drug dealing and suicide, the story of Bobby Conner is a display of a man who now walks in his God-ordained destiny to set others free! Highly esteemed as an internationally acclaimed conference speaker, Bobby has ministered effectively to over 45 foreign countries as well as here in the States for many years.
Steve Strang (center) poses for a photo in Efrat, Israel, with (left to right) rabbi David Nekrutman, Anne Ayalon, Sherry Khoury and her husband, pastor Steven Khoury, at the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation.
JERUSALEM, Israel—My sixth trip to Israel makes me realize more than ever the importance of Bible-believing Christians standing with Israel.
Nearly all my adult life, I’ve supported Israel by raising money to help the Jewish people, sponsoring events that foster support for Israel with other leaders such as John Hagee or encouraging people to travel to Israel, as my wife and I are doing this week with our friend and author Perry Stone.
I flew to Israel early, before the tour, to network with key leaders in a whirlwind couple of days of nonstop meetings that will provide story ideas for our print magazines or online. As soon as I have time to digest all I saw and learned, I will write articles about the interesting people I met.
But now I want to give an overview of who I met and what I learned, much of which is important not only for me but for each of us.
1. We must stand with other Christian believers in the land.
I met with Dan Juster, one of the apostolic leaders that is also one of the deepest thinkers in the modern Messianic movement. He helped me understand spiritually what’s going on in the land and how believers need prayer and support.
I then attended the exciting King of Kings congregation in downtown Jerusalem, pastored by my friend Wayne Hilsden. I had time to only attend one service while in Israel. While I would have enjoyed being at a service in Hebrew, I was more comfortable in Wayne’s English service that had the same spirit and style I’m used to in my own church. You can see their worship here.
I also learned firsthand of the opposition and persecution some believers face in Israel. Wayne pointed out an “anti-missionary” standing outside the service to urge young Jewish believers in Yeshua to turn away.
2. We must pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for a spiritual awakening in the land.
King of Kings has prayer 16 hours a day atop a 17-story building. The view over the city was magnificent. What a strategic location! The next day, I visited another 24/7 prayer ministry in a mixed Jewish and Arab area south of the Old City. To avoid attention, this group posts only small signs that say “24/7,” which the initiated know means intercessory prayer is offered there around the clock.
The prayer room is located in the TBN building and has a view of the Dome of the Rock. I didn’t interview anyone there. Instead, I joined the prayers for the peace of Jerusalem for strengthening believers, for nations standing with Israel and for ways to reach the Arab community with the gospel.
3. The Arab Christian community needs our support.
It is well known that at one time, the majority of the population in Bethlehem was Christian. According to a 2012 article in Israel Hayom, the municipality says that 40 percent of the 32,000 residents of Bethlehem are Christian. But, unofficial data suggests the percentage is actually lower. While many Arab Christians are nominal Christians whose families have been Christians for generations, there is a small and struggling evangelical Christian Arab community there.
One of the most impressive meetings I had was with a young Arab pastor named Steven Khoury, whose Calvary Church reaches about 400 people a week in the part of Jerusalem around the Mount of Olives. It is the only evangelical church in that area. They have a hard time even finding a place to meet. Members of his church have been killed by radicals, and he has had trouble raising the funds he needs to operate and buy property. I was impressed by this passionate young man, and I plan to write more about his church later.
4. There is a new era of understanding between evangelicals and some Orthodox Jews.
Steven Khoury is a good friend to a young Orthodox rabbi named David Nekrutman, the executive director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation. In the biblical town of Efrat, it is the first example I’ve seen of the Orthodox community reaching out to evangelicals. That impressed me as well, and I will also write about it later.
My personal experience with the Orthodox has been no cooperation and often hostility. So I’m encouraged to hear about the breakthroughs between the two groups and to hear that at least at this center, the Orthodox seem to value the support that Christian Zionists give Israel.
5. It’s good to know a networker in a foreign land.
The friend who set up most of my appointments is Anne Ayalon, the wife of Danny Ayalon, who has served as an Israeli ambassador to the United States, in the Knesset and in many other important posts. Anne is a humble woman who has done as much as anyone I know to bridge the evangelical Christian and Jewish communities. Born an American, she converted to Judaism when she got married but describes herself only as a “woman of faith.” She declined to be interviewed because she prefers to be behind the scenes, where she is a connector and influencer.
I had many other wonderful meetings, including one with Chris Mitchell, bureau chief of the CBN Jerusalem bureau, who recently wrote an important new book called Dateline Jerusalem, which he calls an “eyewitness account of prophecies unfolding in the Middle East.” I also met some Israeli intellectuals who teach leadership principles from Bible characters to officers in the Israeli Defense Forces. And I got a very quick tour of the Bible Lands Museum by its director and saw the "Book of Books" display. I plan to go back to spend hours learning more about this wonderful land that gave us the Bible, which is God’s revelation to man.
My meetings have not ended. Later, I’m meeting with leaders of Magen David Adom—the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross which is the first responder in disasters—and with leaders of Operation Lifeshield. Both are charities for which we’ve raised money in the past. I also am meeting the head of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and a local publisher.
As I process what I’ve learned and do more research, I’ll write more. And I’ll tell you about this amazing tour with Perry Stone. My head is spinning after the first day of visiting the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of the Ascension, the Hill of Ill Counsel, the recently discovered Pool of Siloam, a kibbutz where a pivotal battle was won in the war of 1948, and some archeological digs south of the Temple Mount with actual pavement where Jesus would have walked. I can’t wait until tomorrow. I have six more days before the trip ends!
If you stand with Israel, if you’ve had a life-changing trip to Israel or if you learned anything from this column, leave your comments below.
Steve Strang is the founder and publisher of Charisma. Follow him on Twitter at @sstrang or Facebook (stephenestrang).
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Your prayers work wonders for us. Right before our New Jersey ministry trip our car wouldn’t start. Triple A road service hit the starter with a hammer and it started right up. Being too late for a mechanic to put a new starter on our car, I asked a seasoned mechanic, “What should I do?”
He said, “Take a hammer with you and if it doesn’t start, hit the starter with a hammer!” I said, ” Do you mean I am going to New Jersey by the way of a hammer?” The next morning we left and never had to use the hammer. The car kept starting for us.
God spoke to me on the way. “I want to release a ‘hammer anointing’ throughout the state of New Jersey.”
I used the hammer in every meeting to hit some things that God wanted to start back up that had stopped such as ministries and to start some new things for His kingdom. His word like a hammer came down on injustice, generational curses, the political realm and so many other things.
His hammer struck so hard that I heard the Liberty Bell ring in Philadelphia. The claw of the hammer was used to loosen things in the Spirit. God really does use the foolish things for His glory. Who knows how far God’s hammer will travel across this nation and around the world. Again your prayers did it.
A precious brother there put a new starter on our car as a gift from the Lord before we left. Thanks for your prayers.
Israeli ministers this week were hotly debating what to do about the European Union's rejection of an Israeli proposal on how the Jewish state can participate in a major upcoming research program without legitimizing the dreaded "Jewish settlements."
As part of its new anti-Jewish settlement policy guidelines set to go into effect in 2014, the EU will ban cooperation with all Israeli research institutes that have a presence in Judea and Samaria, the so-called "West Bank."
That means Israel won't be able to participate in the important upcoming Horizon 2020 program, which it has already poured hundreds of millions of euros into preparing for.
Israel tried to propose that all Horizon 2020 events in the Jewish state would take place inside the pre-1967 borders, but the EU recently rejected that offer.
Some, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, are of the opinion that Israel should fully shun Europe over its new wave of boycotts. Others, like Science Minister Yaakov Peri, insist Israel must do everything possible to be included.
Where ministers from both sides of the spectrum agree is that the state of relations between Israel and Europe has never been more troubling.
An urgent ministerial meeting called by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday decided that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni would continue for the time being trying to reach an understanding with the Europeans.
We would like to remind our readers of Israel Today's efforts to help lessen the impact of the European boycott on both Israelis and Palestinians. While European claims to be imposing the boycott in the service of the Palestinian cause, the reality is that many Palestinians will lose their jobs as a result.
Happy Thanksgivukkah :) Take part in the ancient tradition of lighting the Menorah as well as celebrating this once in a lifetime event!
Features:
Easy to use
Appropriate for all ages
Light candles with the touch of your finger
Automatically shows the right number of candles per day of Chanukah / Hanukkah
Beautiful graphics and animation
Candles melt down over 30 minutes
Fully internationalized
Supports iPhone® Retina, iPod Touch®, iPad®, iPad Mini®, iPad Mini with Retina Display®, iPad Air®
Works smoothly on both iOS6 and iOS7
The menorah that has taken the world by storm now has an app!
Commemorating the rare overlap of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, the Menurkey was conceived and designed by 10-year-old New York resident Asher Weintraub. After an incredible Kickstarter campaign & a Wall Street Journal cover, Menurkey has teamed up with the creators of iMenorah to bring you iMenurkey. Celebrate this epic mash-up holiday in style :)
Editor's Note: I removed all of the Google Ads from our blog. I tried controlling the ones I didn't like, wouldn't support, or didn't want to imply that I did, but was not totally successful. So I just removed them all together. The Lord will provide with other support for His work.
I will not compromise our beliefs to gain a few dollars.
Blessings on all ye heads who read our Love For His People blog!
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People
An extremely wise man penned these thought-provoking words:
In light of this truth, what is the devil's strategy? He seeks to sidetrack us into as much contamination as he possibly can to render us powerless in the Kingdom of God. Sin brings shame, and shame produces timidity and fear.
