Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Indiana's Mike Pence: Tolerance Is a Two-Way Street

Indiana's Mike Pence: Tolerance Is a Two-Way Street

A new religious freedom law in Indiana has created a political firestorm across the country.
From the White House to Hollywood, critics hit the streets and social media saying the law discriminates against gays and lesbians.
But Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said the purpose of the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act is to protect people of faith, not discriminate against gays and lesbians.
"The issue here is, you know, is tolerance a two-way street or not? You know, there's a lot of talk about tolerance today in this country having to do with people on the left," Pence noted.
"But here Indiana steps forward to protect the constitutional rights and privileges of freedom of religion for people of faith and families of faith in our state and this avalanche of intolerance that has been poured on our state is just outrageous," he said.
In fact, Pence and supporters of the Indiana law say it's similar to federal legislation signed by President Bill Clinton and laws approved by 19 other states, including Illinois where then state Sen. Barack Obama voted for it.
But White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Illinois bill Obama supported did not legitimize discrimination.
Critics say the Indiana law allows businesses like florists and bakeries to go unpunished when denying service to gay couples for religious reasons. In states with gay protections, some Christians have already lost their businesses.
On ABC's "This Week," George Stephanapoulos attacked Pence on the issue.
"Do you think it should be legal in the state of Indiana to discriminate against gays or lesbians?" Stephanapoulos asked the governor.
"George…" Pence began.
"It's a yes or no question," Stephanapoulos challenged.
"Come on. Hoosiers don't believe in discrimination," Pence replied. "This is about protecting the religious liberty of every Hoosier of every faith."
Most people support the idea behind the Indiana law.
One Associated Press poll taken last February showed 57 percent of Americans believe business owners should not be forced to provide services for same-sex weddings if they have religious objections.
Meanwhile, the uproar is expected to continue. The NCAA has expressed concern as Indiana prepares to host college basketball's Final Four.
And other companies and business may soon bow to pressure to boycott Indiana, possibly costing the state millions of dollars in tax revenues.

Did Biden Tell America's Jews to Leave?

Did Biden Tell America's Jews to Leave?

Tuesday, March 31, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff
Was it another of US Vice President Joe Biden’s now infamous verbal gaffes when he told American Jews last fall that they will ultimately be safe only in Israel?
At a time when Western nations are trying to convince their Jewish populations to stay amid rising anti-Semitism, it seems incredible that America’s #2 would essentially warn his nation’s Jews to flee.
But that’s precisely what Biden did while hosting a Rosh Hashanah party attended by senior American Jewish leaders last September.
Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic wrote that Biden began by recounting his first meeting with legendary former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, who told the young US senator that the Jews’ secret weapon in their war for Israel’s survival was that they had no place else to go.
Biden apparently agreed wholeheartedly, going so far as to suggest that even America was no safe haven for Jews.
“You understand in your bones that no matter how hospitable, no matter how consequential, no matter how engaged, no matter how deeply involved you are in the United States…there is really only one absolute guarantee, and that’s the state of Israel,” Biden said to the astonishment of many.
Of course, it can and has been argued that Biden’s point of view is correct, and that ultimately even the Jews of America will have no choice but to flee to the relative safety of Israel.
Much has been made of rising anti-Semitism in Europe, but the same is true of the United States of late. The annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents published by the Anti-Defamation League revealed a 21 percent increase in anti-Semitism incidents in the US in 2014.
Biden’s remarks last fall might be seen as an embarrassing and offensive lapse of judgment, especially given overwhelming Jewish support for his Democratic Party, but they might also be a very prescient warning of things to come.
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.

Monday, March 30, 2015

"God is Singing Over the United States of America" - Kathi Pelton




"God is Singing Over the 
United States of America"
Kathi Pelton, Eugene, OR
The Elijah List

I am an American citizen by birth, but for the past 15 years, God has led me to focus a great deal of my time and energy into praying and working for the establishing of godly destiny in nations other than my own. Canada has become my second home, and I have been involved with teams that prayed and worked together to see that nation come forth into blessing. Much to my surprise, as we approached 2015, the Lord turned my attention and my heart back to my own nation. (I say to my surprise, because much as I would try to battle in the spirit for the U.S., the Lord kept me focused on Canada).

In October 2014, while my husband and I were in British Columbia, God got our attention by giving us a prophetic word regarding our recent move from California to Oregon. This word spoke of God using us like an aqueduct to carry blessing from Canada into the United States. This thrilled our hearts, since we have been privileged to watch the great work the Lord birthed in our northern neighbor through a remnant of His faithful sons and daughters, who have refused to let go of Him until His glory returns to their nation. It has been exciting to walk as part of that faithful remnant.

This past February, we joined with a few Americans who had been invited to a gathering of Canadians who met in the Rockies to worship and pray. Our last day together coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag. That morning, we all stood to sing the Canadian national anthem in honor of the day. As we sang, all five Americans present knelt in the center of this group of Canadians to honor all that God has done in His Church in Canada. What happened next was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.

The worship team began to prophetically sing the song of the Lord over the United States. Canadians began to dance around us, kneel with us and weep over us. As this happened I could feel God's heart of love for the United States more clearly than I had ever experienced, and I had a realization of His longing for her in my heart and spirit. I began to weep and travail for the longing of God's heart that we once again would put our trust in Him. (Photo via Wikimedia)

Since that time, everywhere I look, I see God releasing prophetic words about His longing for the United States to return to Him like never before. 

I have experienced numerous occasions where I could hear God singing over the nation. It has been the sound of His heart that is once again awakening the heart of His people. It is a deep longing, like that of the father waiting for his prodigal son to return. It is a song of remembrance expressing who we once were and who God still sees us to be. It is a song of His original intent for our nation, a nation that proclaimed trust in God as its foundation for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

From Sea to Shining Sea

One night recently as I slept, it was as if my body slept but my spirit was wide awake. I heard, from the song, "America the Beautiful" with the line, "from sea to shining sea" sung over and over. Every time I heard this line in my spirit, I would see God put mud on the eyes of the nation and hear Him say, "See again!" Then I heard, "The United States of America is a seer nation but she has lost her vision." Being a seer myself, I cannot imagine losing my vision; my ability to see. This is an important part of how I function and how I navigate in the spirit realm. If the USA is a seer nation, then we cannot properly function without sight and vision.

As 2015 began the Lord told me to put on my running shoes because the time had come to run. Upon realizing that the nation had lost her vision, I said to the Lord, "How can our nation run if she has lost her vision?"
I remembered the words in Habakkuk 2:2-3:"Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.(Photo via Pixabay)

In that moment I realized that all the words we are hearing for the United States in this hour are words releasing God's vision; vision that has been inscribed in writing so that we may run. Voices like Lana Vawser, Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce are all speaking to the United States about God's heart for the country and His vision for her. With every word our eyes are healing and opening to see so that we might run again.

Two 84's

I recently had a dream in which I was drinking a glass of water with the numbers 84:2 floating in it. I was aware throughout the dream that the numbers represented Psalm 84:2:  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Since the night of that dream I have experienced my heart and flesh crying out for the living God like never before; my soul has been yearning for His courts. I have also been longing like never before to see the heart of my nation cry out for the living God. On March 3rd, as I listened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the United States Congress, my heart burned to see the United States stand and align with God once again. I longed for a government that would stand with Israel and that would seek God for His wisdom. I realize there is a remnant within the nation who seeks the Lord and that calls upon the government of God to rule and reign in the affairs of the nations.

ElijahList Prophetic Resources

After listening to Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech, the Spirit instructed me to find out what happened in the United States 84 years ago from the day that he spoke to congress. I did a search and found out that March 3rd was the 84th anniversary of establishing The Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem. The Lord told me"The 84:2 was showing you that there would be two 84's that would be joined."

I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech released a deep cry in the hearts of Believers in America for our nation to return to the Living God. We are crying out and yearning for our nation to return to trust in God and to alignment with His end-time purposes.
There is a verse in our national anthem that very few Americans are familiar with.

It is the last, and I believe most important, verse:
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!


It will be God who will rescue our land, and it is our praise and His power that will bring us back to our motto, "In God is our trust." 

The day after Netanyahu's speech was the beginning of the Jewish celebration of Purim (March 4th). This is a celebration that commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman's plot to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day. America needs a sudden deliverance from the plot of the enemy. Israel needs another miracle as well.

We need to declare that the words in Psalm 84 will be the heart cry of the nations:
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, ever singing Your praise! Selah. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of Your anointed! For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You!

Now Is the Time

One Nation Under God - Mike De Lorenzo Now is the time that God is calling the United States of America to align with His plans and purposes. Now is the time to begin to fulfill the dream in God's heart to have His family in America come together in unity to release the sound of His voice into the nation. 

Now is the time to see His righteous government render the judgment of mercy within our borders. Now is the time to put our trust in the Strength of the Lord rather than the strength of our nation.(Photo: One Nation Under God by Mike De Lorenzo via Elijah List Shopper)

I believe that God will lead many throughout the nation to gather together to worship and pray for our nation, and for all the nations of the earth. These will be family gatherings where we come with one heart to worship and humble ourselves before our faithful Father as His children. We aren't coming with a cause, or our own agendas, but are responding to His longing and invitation for His family to gather as one.

Listen for the sound of His voice and the beat of His heart inviting you to gather family and friends for times of worship and prayer. God is calling His faithful remnant forth to stand for our nation and for all the nations. Now is the time to respond to His invitation.

Kathi Pelton
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Website: oceansinthedesert.com

Kathi Pelton has a passion to encourage, uplift, and serve. As well as being a published writer, she has traveled extensively with Watchmen for the Nations, spoken at conferences, been a member of a national prophetic round-table, and co-directed a house of prayer. Her favorite pastime is to spend time with her husband and children.

To subscribe to The Elijah List go to:http://elijahlist.com/subscribe


Cindy Jacobs’ Prophetic Vision Reveals Key That Unlocks Wisdom

prayer
Are you diligently seeking God and spending time in His presence? (Lightstock)










I just had a vision as we were worshipping of a door that seemingly shut and sealed. And then I saw a picture of a key, and on this key was written the word wisdom.
And the Lord would say, "Have I not said that wisdom is the principle thing. For you have been trying and trying to get doors open that are stuck. You do not know what to do, you feel like no matter what you do nothing happens." But the Lord says, "I want you to understand that there are keys to your success and keys to your future that cannot be obtained through earthly knowledge, but there is a higher way.
And the Lord says, "If you will come up higher, if you will spend time in my presence, if you begin to worship Me, I am going to show you wisdom that is from above and not from below." And the Lord would say, "If you could get everything in your natural knowledge you would not seek Me, you would not spend time to seek Me."
But the Lord says, "If you stand, I am going to show you what to do as you enter in to that place of intimacy with Me. I am going to put keys in your hands. Cry out for wisdom. Seek my face because I say it is the principle thing. If there was something else that was meant to be the principle thing, I would have told you that was the thing." But the Lord says, "There is wisdom that is not earthly that will put others in awe. They will say, 'How did you find that solution?' "
The Lord says, "Even as you enter into this new wisdom realm that I have for you. I will give you keys even through dreams I will give you keys through someone coming and speaking that one thing you need. You see, wisdom attracts. Wisdom is supernatural attraction for the things that need to take place in your life for your future," says God.
So the Lord says, "Even as you enter into worship and you begin to pray and say, 'Lord, you say if I ask for wisdom, you will give me it.' And as you begin to honor My word by seeking Me for wisdom." The Lord would say to you, "I am going to supernaturally reveal your steps. And others will say, 'How did you do it?' But it's me," says the Lord. 
Cindy's Follow-Up
As I begin to pray for wisdom, it's almost like I begin to see my way form before me. It's like if God puts a concept for a book in my heart, I way not know where to go with getting it published or where to go, there are pieces of that I need. I may not know sources I need to source. I may not know whom to interview. But as I seek God on wisdom on it, which is really that supernatural word of wisdom, all of the sudden that book will come into my hand, that interview will open up. 
You see, when we pray for wisdom, wisdom manifests. People don't understand there's a manifestation of wisdom and it's as supernatural as any gift of the Holy Spirt. Wisdom gives us knowledge that we need and then we get understanding. But the wisdom is the door opener, it is the way maker, it is the direction that you need and then you get knowledge behind that wisdom how to make it happen.
So I pray for you today, and I pray for those here, Lord, we ask for wisdom. And we ask for wisdom that will be supernatural that will give us those keys that will open the door that will be the way maker for our future, for our provision, for our success, for us to know what to do.
And the Lord says, "You will not attain this by spiritual laziness, you have to seek My face and when you seek Me, you will find what you need," says the Lord. Amen.
Cindy Jacobs is a respected prophetess who travels the world ministering not only to crowds of people but to heads of nations. Her first calling is and always will be prophetic intercession. Each year, she travels and has spoken on nearly every inhabited continent to tens of thousands. Yet in her heart is the memory that Jesus left the 99 to go to the one. Generals International is an international church movement, reforming the nations of the world back to a biblical worldview. It achieves societal transformation through intercession and the prophetic. Jacobs has authored seven books and loves to travel and speak, but one of her favorite pastimes is spending time with her husband, Mike, and their children, Daniel and Mary Madison, along with her five grandchildren.
For the original article, visit generals.org.

Where Did the German Army March in Jerusalem on Good Friday, 1917? Help Find these Locations

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


Posted: 30 Mar 2015

    Good Friday, April 6, 1917 was also Passover Eve.

The Jews of Jerusalem were destitute.  Money from foreign Jewish communities had been cut off because of the war.  Breadwinners were absent, many forcibly conscripted into the Turkish army or hiding from the army.  But Jewish families did their best to prepare for the Passover holiday.

A parade of soldiers and a military band from the German army marching down the middle of Jerusalem broke the routine and brought Jerusalemites into the street, especially the young boys.  These soldiers were on their way to church services in the Old City on their holy day before Easter.

German fife, drum and horns lead the soldiers to Good Friday prayers. Note the onlookers.
Where was the picture taken in Jerusalem? (UK Imperial War Museum)
The Germans were allies of the Turkish rulers of the land. They served as advisors, commanders, and pilots in the war against the British and their allies.

These photos were taken by an "official German photographer" and were found in the archives of the British Imperial War Museum.

Where was the picture taken in Jerusalem?  Note the onlookers and the children, probably Jewish because of their caps.
(UK Imperial War Museum)

We invite our readers to study the photographs recently digitized by the Ottoman Imperial Archives.  Exactly where did they take place?  Photograph the modern-day location and send it to israel.dailypix@gmail.com

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Intimacy - Now Think On This by Steve Martin


Intimacy
- Now Think On This
by Steve Martin


“My beloved responded and said to me,
'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
'For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
'The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
'The fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!'"

Song of Songs 2:10-13 NASU)


As my bride came down the church aisle that beautiful early evening, I sang these Scriptural words to her that I had written in my song, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along.” Though I had intended to sing several verses, I choked up on the second one. My heart was just overwhelmed at her beauty, her movement in that flowing white laced gown, and the presence of the Lord’s Holy Spirit in that place of matrimony. The time had come for us to be joined together as man and wife.

What seemed to have been a decade long wait was about to be fulfilled in that moment, as we were acknowledging the Lord’s plans and purposes for unity. Out of our desire to share the love in our hearts, He would also bring forth a family to demonstrate His love on the earth, in preparation for the eternal love in heaven.

From that day forward, we have grown in our care and provision for each other, sharing the gifts and spiritual fruit we each have had to give. In physical, emotional and spiritual intimate moments, we have experienced a touch of what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have shared for all eternity. Believing that through the times of trials and required persistency, our hearts have been bonded together, the intimacy becoming more real in our lives together.

Being intimate with one other is not an “overnight sensation” that one can have with another simply out of a physical act. To participate in the intent of the Father’s love for mankind, there must be that commitment to be joined together for the long haul; to stand strong when the temptation is to flee; to keep the promise that was spoken at the altar years before. Intimacy is not for those who are looking for a quick satisfaction of one’s emotional lust, but is given to committed hearts who have been and continue to be willing to sacrifice for each other, time and time again. From that solid promise to stay through sickness and health, riches or poverty, until death do we part, the intimate moments are fully experienced, fulfilling the longing in each heart to be accepted, nourished and kept in committed and submitted love.

In today’s society there is the prevailing belief that there can be emotional intimacy without having a strong commitment to one another beyond a sexual act. When the Lord says that sex outside of marriage is wrong, it is because the Creator knows that a deep soulish tie will occur, bringing hurt and lasting pain when an improper joining happens. We were not created to share this intimate act in a non-binding relationship.

The emotional and physical act also carries with it a spiritual bond that has to be kept within the protected walls of marriage. Thus doing that which was intended only within the committed relationship of sacred marriage will produce an emotional scar, keeping us from experiencing real love. It will also leave a strong imprint that will need to be healed later. Our loving Father thus has warned over and over again that sexual intimacy is for the marriage bed only.

Laws are made to protect us, not to keep us from the Lord’s goodness and favor. Abiding in His laws of love and protection will bring eternal satisfaction, keeping our hearts pure and emotions strong. Breaking His loving laws will produce destruction in our spirit, soul and body.

Intimacy between a man and a woman is a beautiful gift from God. Keeping it that way is a protection for our society and the good of all mankind.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin
Founder
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.

Click 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. Box414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)
Please share Now Think On This with your friends.

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

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

Full website: Love For His People

Now Think On This #169 “Intimacy” by Steve Martin 
Date: In the year of our Lord 2015 (03.29.15) Sunday at 12:30 pm in Charlotte, NC


All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Saturday, March 28, 2015

A Day to Praise: Join Israel in Thanking God For His Continuous Protection

A Day to Praise: Join Israel in Thanking God For His Continuous Protection

Israel celebration
Join the world in celebrating God's love for Israel on April 23, its Independence Day. (Flickr)
Standing With Israel
It is unprecedented when a chief rabbi of an Israeli city invites Christians to praise God for the miracle of the State of Israel with the Jewish people. This is exactly what the chief rabbi of Efrat, Shlomo Riskin, is doing in his latest initiative the Day to Praise.
Over six and half decades ago, the chief rabbinate of Israel initiated Israel's Independence Day, a sacred holiday within the Jewish calendar whereby Psalms 113 through 118 are invoked in corporate liturgy. The last time the rabbinical establishment instituted a holiday was 22 centuries ago with Chanukah, known in the New Testament as the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22).
Psalms 113-118 has a rich history in Jewish liturgy. It is recited during the morning prayers on biblical feasts such as Passover, Shavout (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and is also mentioned during the Haggadah, the liturgy of the Passover meal (this is the hymn in Matthew 26:30). These series of psalms are entitled Hallel, which means "praise." The purpose of Hallel is to demonstrate our gratitude for God's redemptive acts within Jewish history.
Part of the Hallel mandate is for the nations of the world to praise God for His covenantal love for Israel (Psalm 117). It makes sense that the recipient of God's loving-kindness should be the one to thank God. However, why does psalmist require the nations to praise God for what He has done for Jewry?
The shortest of all the psalms is theologically one of the most profound for it includes the notion that the fullness of praising God for what He did and continues to do for Israel incorporates humanity to be involved in the practice of it. It also gives insight into the notion of blessing God for a miracle.
"Although Psalm 117 is a short psalm, its range is universal. The nations are enjoined to praise the LORD because he has shown his steadfast love to the despised little nation of Israel."[1]
According to one Jewish commentator, there are two types of miracle blessings: thanksgiving and praise. The former is said by the beneficiary of the miracle itself. The latter is invoked when a person sees something awe-inspiring. Psalm 117 is dated by some in reference to the defeat of the Assyria Emperor in 2 Kings 19; a mighty and vicious dictator who murdered and exiled the populations of the countries that he conquered. Psalm 117 also has a prophetic voice that applies to our lives today—the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel.
The Jewish people have been divorced from their land for nearly 2,000 years. During that time, the nation suffered immeasurable atrocities by the hand of other empires. It seemed that Jewish history was coming to an end when a third of its population was exterminated in the Holocaust. Then in one day a nation was reborn as stated in Isaiah 66:8.
No other rational explanation in the world can explain the phenomenon of Israel's existence today except that God continues to be faithful to His covenantal promise made thousands of years ago to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God never repents of His gifts.
The miracle of Israel today should serve as an inspiration to other nations to bless the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob since they can fully comprehend His kindness to the Jewish nation. The nations of the world have the revealed and hidden historical record of what occurred in the past to eradicate God's elect. They also know of what is presently transpiring to undermine its status today.
Yet, through it all, the State of Israel continues to be a beacon of light to help the world in all areas of our daily living. God has always been with Israel and will continue to protect "the apple of His eye." The existence of the State of Israel should serve as an inspiration for other nations to praise Him. It is our hope that one day the fullness of Psalm 117 will be witnessed in our lifetime.
As Rabbi Riskin's liaison to the Christian world, it is my honor to serve this vision that God has put into our hearts. We both realize that the remnant within the Christian world that supports Israel and the Jewish people is the one of the greatest miracles next to the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel. In a time that Israel is being isolated on the world stage and media pundits are forecasting disaster ahead, committed Jews and Christians are fully aware that it is God who protects Zion as stated in Psalm 91.
We just celebrated the holiday of Purim in Israel, which begins the season of redemption in the Jewish calendar that lasts until the end of Shavout. The difference between the Hallels of biblical feasts & rabbinic holidays and the Hallel recited on Israel's Independence is that the former is about the remembrance of miracles done to us in the past.
The Hallel on Israel's Independence Day is about thanking God in the present for His continuous protection and deliverance. It is our hope that Christians will recite the six psalms of Hallel on April 23.  Please let us know by visiting daytopraise.com.
David Nekrutman is the Executive Director for the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation.
[1]Willem S. Prinsloo, "The Psalms," in Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, ed. James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2003), 421.
Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive Charisma Magazine by email.