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Friday, May 23, 2014
Pro-Israel Bill Stalls in U.S. Senate - ISRAEL365
Memorial Day - started by former slaves on May 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC
KNOW YOUR HISTORY: Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.
Thanks to Abstrakt Goldsmith for this nugget of history that most of us never learned in school.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
"America at a Cross-Roads" - The Lions Roars Prophetic Newsletter - Karla Shrake
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Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day is May 28, 2014
Yom Yerushalayim
- Jerusalem Day
Jewish Holidays: Table of Contents | Upcoming Dates | Festivals in Israel
Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day in Herbew) is the anniversary of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty that occurred during the Six Day War. It is one of four holiday (in addition to Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, andYom HaAtzmaut) that were added to the Jewish calendar in the 20th century. Yom Yerushalayim is celebrated on the 28th of the month of Iyar (one week before Shavuot).
David Rubinger's famous photograph of IDF soldiers after liberating the Kotel (Western Wall) in June 1967 |
The liberation of Jerusalem in 1967 marked the first time in thousands of years that the entire city of Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, was under Jewish sovereignty. The destruction of Jerusalem was a watershed event in Jewish history that began thousands of years of mourning for Jerusalem, so, it follows, that the reunification of Jerusalem should be a joyous celebration that begins the process of reversing thousands of years of destruction and exile. Jerusalem is central to the Jewish tradition. Jews face in the direction of Jerusalem and all of the prayer services are filled with references to Jerusalem.
The observance of Yom Yerushalayim outside of the city cannot compare to its celebration in reunited Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, thousands of people march around the city and walk through the liberated Old City, where Jews were denied access from 1948 to 1967 while it was under Jordanian control. The march ends at the Kotel (Western Wall), one of the ancient retaining walls surrounding the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. Once everyone gets to the Kotel, there are speeches and concerts and celebratory dancing.
Rare in the Jewish liturgy, a festive Hallel is recited during the evening prayers. This practice is only done on the first night (and, outside of Israel, on the second night) of Passover and Yom HaAtzmaut. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared that the holiday version of Pseuki d'Zimra and Hallel should be recited. According to the major religious Zionist halakhists (decisors of Jewish law), even those who do not recite the blessing over Hallel (psalms of praise) on Yom HaAtzmaut should recite it on Yom Yerushalayim because the liberation and reunification over the entire city of Jerusalem is said to be of an even greater miracle than Jewish political sovereignty over part of the land of Israel.
Many religious leaders also hold that the mourning restrictions of 33 days of the omer are lifted on Yom Yerushalayim for those who observe them after Lag B'omer. In the Progressive (Reform) community in Israel, the prayerbook notes that Hallel should be recited on Yom Yerushalayim but the Masorti (Conservative) prayerbook does not. The American Conservative siddur Sim Shalom mentions that Hallel is recited "in some congregations" on Yom Yerushalayim. When it is celebrated in liberal Jewish communities the commemoration tends to include special programs on Jerusalem and festive celebration.
Despite the fact that the religious Zionist community in Israel holds that Yom Yerushalayim is even more important than Yom HaAtzmaut, the non-Orthodox diaspora Jewish community generally does not observe Yom Yerushalayim. This may be because the holiday makes politically liberal Jews uncomfortable as the status of Jerusalem in the international community is debated, and the international community does not recognize the liberation and restoration of Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem as valid.
Sources: Yom Yerushalayim," WUJS; "Overview: Yom Yerushalayim," My Jewish Learning
Website: Jewish Virtual Library
John Belt: How The Prophetic Voice Helps The Church
John Belt:
The Elijah List
A Heart of Pursuit
God is wanting to help churches that have a heart to pursue Him in this hour. He is making great efforts, reaching out to help His people. There are adjustments, renovations, and changes He desires to make in congregations, so He is sending help through His prophets that have eyes to see and ears to hear. Sometimes it takes someone from the outside to get a better perspective of what is going on internally in a congregation.
Revelation 2:1-2, 4 To the angel of the Church of Ephesus write, "These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 'I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil...Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.'"
Looking at the Churches addressed in the Book of Revelation, we see that each Church had issues to be dealt with. I love the way God deals with things because He always begins, not by listing what is wrong,
but encouraging them with things that are right.
It is at the end that He brings the tough stuff that the Churches need to deal with. We can also see this in the letters of Paul. He begins with greetings, salutations, and encourages them in how great they are doing in various areas – then he speaks the hard truth that they need to hear and the adjustments that they need to make to keep them on the narrow path that properly represents the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Embrace The Prophetic Voice
So it is in this hour. Leaders of local congregations must wisely, prayerfully, and discerningly open themselves to legitimate exterior prophetic voices that have eyes to see what is going on in their congregations.
Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. As we move into this new hour of the Church, those that will fully and wisely embrace the five-fold ministry will enjoy the fruit of living by God's scales and balances. All of the offices (apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, and evangelist) bring the fullness of God's scales and balances to a congregation so that people may grow into the fullness and stature of Christ (see Ephesians 4:11-13).
God loves His Church. Therefore He brings help from the outside to sustain that which remains that it may grow rather than be taken away. There is cutting edge of the prophetic voice that brings a clear challenge to pastors, because so many times it goes against the grain of who they are or how they would typically view things.
Just as Jesus comes in forms that may offend our natural mind, we must be humble enough to recognize the form that He chooses to reveal Himself to us.
What we can know for sure is that it is always for our good, to help us grow, to prune us as needed that we may flourish in the courts of His presence.
As Paul said, pruning is not pleasant at the time, but later bears the fruit of righteousness in our lives. A wise man loves good, helpful correction. We must learn to love His pruning, because we know that it will help us dramatically.
(Photo © Copyright Richard Williams and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons License)
Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
If you are a pastor, I would encourage you to open your heart to pray that God would give you eyes to see and ears to hear what He is wanting to show and say to you. What adjustments need made? Maybe He will reveal these things directly to you, or maybe He will come to you in a form you may not expect that would be contrary to your normal culture.
God knows how to shake us up and shake things up so that we won't find our confidence in anything other than Him.
Prospering Through Prophetic Release
In the Book of Ezra they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah. Here we see the power of the prophetic voice in action. The people heeded the prophets and they prospered in building.
Ezra 6:14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel...
Local congregations represent people, the living stones, that God is building for a habitation of His presence. God is looking for local congregations that will commit to the prophetic preparations necessary to be sanctuaries of His presence.
(Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
The Holy Spirit cannot be a side item, rather central, as He is God manifested in the earth. He is Christ in us the hope of glory. As we welcome Him into our hearts and congregations, we welcome the nature of God in His holiness in our midst, because He is the "Holy" Spirit.
The litmus test of whether we are welcoming the Holy Spirit is if we are rejecting that which is displeasing to God, profane and unholy. Jesus did. The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil and sin (see Proverbs 8:13). God wants a pure people that are committed to His heart in purity. Anything less is settling for less than the best God has for us.
Welcome the Holy Spirit, ask the Lord for grace, wisdom, discernment, and His prophetic input into your life and congregation. Be honest, and see what God sees from the outside that you cannot see from the inside. As we yield our hearts to His presence, He is faithful to lead us in His ways, help us on our journey, and build up His Body for His glory.
His Love Never Fails!
John and Brandi Belt
Overflow Global Ministries
Overflow Global Ministries
Overflow Global Ministries is the ministry of John and Brandi Belt. The heart of their message is that God's greatest desire is to indwell His people with His presence. They believe that man was created to be inhabited by God through His Spirit. With a sincere devotion to God through the Holy Spirit, people can live in a place of overflow in His presence.
This overflow translates into touching the lives of others through living encounters with God. When John and Brandi minister, the intimate presence of God is manifest – being accompanied with demonstrations of God's power to heal, revive, and restore.
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