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.
Correspondent Tom Willcox was tasked with interviewing a Jewish participant in what turned out to be the largest rally in European history when some two million people turned out on the streets of Paris to denounce radical Islamic terror.
That it is becoming increasingly impossible to avoid the fact that most terrorism today emanates from Islam appears to irk many in the mainstream media and other liberal Western elements. And the BBC is no exception.
Willcox’s interviewee was an Israeli-French woman by the name of Chava, a daughter of Holocaust survivors who warned that the anti-Semitic atmosphere in Europe today is dangerously reminiscent of the 1930s.
Willcox cut in, insisting that “many critics…of Israel’s policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffered hugely at Jewish hands as well.”
The remark struck most as either wholly unrelated or a subtle justification of, or at least understanding for, the rising tide of Muslim anti-Semitism in Europe.
Chava, who was taken aback by the suggestion, said that the two situations shouldn’t be linked, to which Willcox replied that everyone sees things “from different perspectives.”
Critics in both Israel and Europe slammed Willcox for his “disgraceful” display, and said the episode was yet further evidence that the BBC could not be trusted to be impartial and objective in its reporting on the Middle East conflict.
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If you seek God, you will hear His voice. Here's how to position your heart to hear that still, small voice. (Charisma archives)
I started hearing God speak to me as soon as I got saved—and I needed to. It would be an understatement to describe my situation as desperate.
See, I got saved in a county jail. I was falsely accused of a crime I did not commit and the state wanted to send me to prison for five years. (You can read my entire testimony here.) God had a different idea and sent a group of evangelists to the jail to offer testimonies of Jesus' saving grace.
I was sold on the gospel—and sold out to Jesus—but I was still facing five years in prison on a false charge. I didn't know what to do, so I just started reading the paperback Bible they gave me after the jailhouse crusade, praying and attending any sort of quasi-church service I could find behind those cold hard walls.
Then He spoke to me. God made it clear that I would be released from that jail on the 40th day. I told everyone who would listen that I would be released on the 40th day. I told my "bunkie." I told the correctional officers. I told my mother.
I didn't know it, but I was warring with the prophetic word—and I won. I was released on the 40th day, completely vindicated. It was just as God said it would be. I write more about my testimony—and share daily prophetic words that Lord used to inspire, comfort and counsel me—in my new devotional Mornings With the Holy Spirit. But in this three-part series I want to share with you some fundamentals of hearing from God.
1. Believe That God Wants to Speak to You
If you don't believe God wants to speak to you, it's likely that you won't hear His still, small voice. The key here is that you expect Him to speak. David said, "O Lord, in the morning You will hear my voice; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will watch expectantly" (Ps. 5:3). The Holy Spirit lives inside you and may be speaking to you more than you realize. Jesus said, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you" (John 14:26).
2. Position Your Heart to Hear His Still, Small Voice
Jesus Himself said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27). Our part is to position our hearts to hear His still, small voice, or to recognize the other ways in which He communicates with us. (God can speak to us in many ways, which we'll discuss in later articles in this series.) Practice the presence of God. Cultivate an awareness that the Holy Spirit dwells in you and He longs to fellowship with you daily. Pray that He would make you sensitive to His Spirit and His voice.
3. Learn the Fine Art of Listening
Many people talk to God but they don't stop to listen—or they don't develop listening skills. Listening truly is a skill that you can learn, whether in your natural relationships or your spiritual relationship with God. You need to "have an ear" to hear the Holy Spirit and that may mean training your spiritual ears to recognize the ways He is speaking.
Jesus said, "He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing" (Matt. 13:9, AMP). Solomon prayed that God would give him a hearing heart (1 Kings 3:9). Many translations say "understanding heart" in that verse but the Hebrew word translated "understanding" in that verse is shama, which translates to hear, understand, listen or obey. Pray that God will give you a hearing heart, then listen and obey.
4. Fellowship More With the Holy Spirit
This is fundamental. If you want to hear from God more clearly, spend more time with Him and His Word. Paul told his spiritual son Timothy, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17, MEV).
Knowing the Word guards us from deception—and from falling into the trap of listening to other voices or even following vain imaginations. If you seek God, you will hear His voice. You don't have to be in a quiet room to hear from God. Your soul just needs to be quiet and focused on Him. Let your spirit dominate. Listen with spiritual ears. You can hear Him!
In my book, Mornings With the Holy Spirit, I share with you many of the words the Holy Spirit spoke to me in my times of devotion, worship, prayer or just everyday living. My hope is that this book will not only inspire you but also show you one way the Holy Spirit speaks. In the next article, we'll look at four ways God speaks to His children. Be sure to sign up for my Plumb Line newsletter so you'll get Part 2 of this series on hearing God's voice. You can also download a sample chapter of Mornings With the Holy Spirit by clicking here.
As we prepare for our upcoming journey to Paris, we feel like we're entering a war zone. Living in Israel, we could say, "So what else is new?!"
The reason we're making this journey is to raise up French-speaking believers who will become fishermen to help bring the
Jewish people home, according to Jeremiah 16:16 and also to visit synagogues and encourage French Jews to make Aliyah.
The L-rd called us to this assignment by giving Carolyn several very specific dreams about Paris. Some may discount the meaning of dreams, but throughout Scripture, G-d often spoke to His people through dreams. Jacob dreamt of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. Joseph had dreams as a youth that led to betrayal by his brothers and yet the L-rd used Joseph to deliver His people from the famine and bring them to Goshen in Egypt. The L-rd appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wished, to which he replied, "Give me wisdom to rule Your people." Daniel 1:17 says that Daniel understood all kinds of dreams and visions. Joel 2:28 says, "In the last days I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh and your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
Now we're in no way saying that Carolyn is like these prophets of old! But here are some brief portions from these dreams from last fall:
Awakening from a dream I understood that we were to enter or leave France via Germany. (The day after this dream an intercessor called to say that she saw us in France and we'd either enter or leave France via Germany! Now that's a confirmation!)
In one dream I saw us at the Eiffel Tower blowing the shofar but I heard that the warfare before doing this would be extremely intense. (So we bought a purse-sized shofar so that we could accomplish the mission!)
I saw a map of Paris with many dots in it; a bit west of the city center was to be our focus area. Avoid the far northern area, the L-rd said. (We later found out that we'll be staying with two intercessors - a bit west of the city center - and that the far northern area of Paris is primarily Muslim.)
I saw arches in Paris where we're to stop and pray. We looked up the word for arch in the Hebrew Bible and found that one of the meanings is - עליה - Aliyah.
Please click on photo of Natan Sharansky of the Jewish Agency to read an article about the urgent need to make Aliyah from France.
Please click above for photos. G-d bless the good folks at Constant Contact for this free template based on our website!
The outreach booklet that our son Ariel and Richard wrote, "Supernatural or Just Remarkable" is now available in French and so is the Aliyah brochure that Richard created! We have recently reprinted more booklets in Israel due to requests for boxes of booklets to various congregations and outreach centers. Praise G-d for the Word going forth!
Ariel and Shayla and family are coming out of Zion this spring! If you'd like to get their updates, write to: arielandshayla@gmail.com
Our son Avi's furnished apartment in Jerusalem is available from Jan.27-Feb.18 - writeoatmeal11000@yahoo.com for details. A great hideaway for intercessors!
In Hebrew the word for journey is - דֶּרֶךְ - derech, which can also mean direction or a way of life. May we all enter into a way of life that is completely sold out to the L-rd in all that we do!
Testimony from a rabbinical student whom we met when he was visiting in Israel,
"Have you made any more music? I listen to your music when I need to spiritually meditate."
We write L-rd and G-d in this way because it's a Jewish custom that Carolyn grew up with and it's done only out of reverence and honor for the name of the L-rd. Thanks for understanding.
“'He
will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest
One…”
Daniel
7:25 NASU
The devil is constantly directing his henchmen to use any means
possible to wear down the saints of God, the believers in Jesus Christ (Yeshua
HaMashiach). Their goal is to get us to quit the fight, to lay down our
weapons, and to take us out from fighting the good fight that rages on in the spiritual
realm. They will use both natural and spiritual weapons of war to push us down,
cause us to grow weary in doing good, and keep us from standing strong on the solid,
eternal foundational truths of God’s Word.
I became even more so aware of this during a time of personal
sickness. The constant coughing that nagged me for days, both day and night,
wore me out in my mind, my emotions and my physical being. During a particular
night of constant coughing, robbing me of valuable sleep, the Lord was making
me even more so aware of the same tactics which the enemy of our soul does use
to wear us out. It can be that ongoing pounding at our beliefs, which brings
such weariness at times that we become discouraged in the fight and want to
give up. That is what the lying accuser of the brethren confronts us with as we
chose daily to walk in faith.
In the 2014 movie Unbroken,
which portrays a portion of American Louis Zamperini’s World War II endurance
– surviving first a plane crash, enduring 47 days in the Pacific Ocean
lifeboat, and then living through brutal captivity in the Japanese POW camp - brings
a stark demonstration of being beaten down, to wear one out, in the attempt to
break the spirit and bring mental surrender. But from a strength that had to
come from the Lord, Whom He ultimately accepted as His deliverer, Louis survived.
Today, as the world around us continues in its fast moving
plunge into darkness, we see the rise of evil realities being exposed through
godless forces. Believers are being left homeless, tortured, raped and murdered,
as they will not bow down to the false, wicked god of the destroyer. These
martyrs are choosing life over death.
We have these Scriptures from our Lord to stand on from Matthew 24:7-14
(NASU).
"For nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be
famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth
pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you
will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall
away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will
mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow
cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations,
and then the end will come.”
Our faith will be tested. The
enemy is increasing his attacks against the Lord’s anointed, to wear us down. But
by the grace of God we can endure to the end, and see our God’s kingdom come.
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Love For His People. Inc.
Love For His People,
Inc. is a charitable,
not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love
of the Father in the nations.
If these
messages minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25
today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom
we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax
deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.
