Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Teshuvah 29 - Hebrew months of Elul and Tishri - Curtis Loftin


Curtis Loftin - Beit Yehsua in Lincolnton, NC

Teshuvah 29

Shalom Mishpocha,

Today (Tuesday) at sundown is the beginning of Elul 29 and the 29th day of Teshuvah - The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) begins tomorrow night (Wednesday) at sundown.

The month of Elul on the Hebrew calendar has 29 days.  The seventh month on the Hebrew Civil Calendar is the month of "Tishri" - with Yom Teruah occurring on Tishri 1Yom Kippur on Tishri 10, and Sukkot on Tishri 15

Do you know how many days the month of February has?  Sure you do - that's an easy one - "28 days", except for leap year when it has 29.  Well, how many days does September have?  ...or July?  Those are always a little tougher, at least for me, so I rely on an old poem I learned as a child.  "Thirty days hath September, April, June and November, All the rest have thirty-one, Excepting February alone, And that has twenty-eight days clear, And twenty-nine in each leap year." 

The beginning of each Jewish lunar month is based on the appearance of the new moon. Carolyn & I actually wrote a little song years ago to memorize the Hebrew months - those of you who have participated in our Aleph-Bet classes through the years have heard it.  "Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tamuz, Av and Elul". 

The months have either 29 or 30 days ... alternating.
     30-Tishrei
     29-Cheshvah
     30-Kislev (but sometimes 29)
     29-Tevet
     30-Shevat
          (Leap Year month of Adar I is added here 7 times in the 19-year cycle)
     29-Adar
     30-Nisan
     29-Iyar
     30-Sivan
     29-Tamuz
     30-Av
     29-Elul

We have a Leap Year every 4 years on our calendar and an extra day is added to the month of February (February 29th).  The Jewish Calendar has an extra monthduring its Leap Year.  An extra month, Adar I, is added after the month of Shevat and before the month of Adar in a Leap year. A Jewish leap year occurs 7 times in a 19-year cycle. The 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years are leap years in this cycle.

Israel has a Religious Calendar and a Civil Calendar.  The Religious Calendar begins with Nisan and runs through Adar.  The Civil Calendar begins with Tishrei and runs through Elul.

God's Calendar is actually the Jewish Religious Calendar.  

Exodus 12
This month (Nisan/Abib) shall be unto you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.

The Feast of Trumpets is called Rosh Hashanah in Israel (and many places around the world) - because Tishrei 1 is the beginning of the Civil Calendar (not the Religious Calendar).  Rosh Hashanah actually means "Head (or Beginning) of the Year".  Since Tishrei 1 is not the "Head of the Year" on God's Calendar, we usually call the Feast of Trumpets by what we believe is its more appropriate name - Yom Teruah (Day of Shofar Sounding - Day of the Awakening Blast - Day of Trumpets).

So, why the Jewish calendar lesson?  It's impossible to fully understand scripture without understanding the Jewish calendar. I love the Hebrew calendar and I know you will, too, as you become more familiar with it.  It is important to Him!  The Festivals are His appointments.  There are no random dates on God's Calendar.

Now, let's take a closer look at Yom Teruah ...

One reference in Scripture for Yom Teruah is found in Numbers 29. The weekly Sabbath (as you know) is from sundown Friday night till sundown Saturday night, but this scripture in Numbers 29 tells us that Tishri 1 (Yom Teruah) is also a Sabbath - "you shall do no servile work" (no public form of work providing wages).  This means that there will also be a Festival Sabbath this week from sundown Wednesday night till sundown Friday night (two days of Yom Teruah that count as one long day) - then the weekly Sabbath from Sundown Friday night till sundown Saturday night.  (That means that this week, the Sabbath days are from sundown Wednesday till sundown Satruday.)

Numbers 29
1And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.

Psalm 144
15 …happy is that people whose God is the Lord

As we continue to seek the Lord during the final days of the month Elul and "Teshuvah", Return to Him with all our hearts, 1 Corinthians 10, Psalm 145, and Psalm 51 offer some encouraging words to us.

1Corinthians 10
13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Psalm 145
8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy
14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
19 He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry and will save them.
20 The LORD preserveth all them that love Him: but all the wicked will He destroy

Psalm 51:7
Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean; Wash me and I will be white as snow.

White garments represent being in a state of spiritual preparedness.

Ecclesiastes 9:8
Let your garments be always white...

Thank You Abba for the cleansing power of the blood of Your Son, Yeshua, in our lives.  Continue to work in our hearts - drawing us ever closer to You.  B’Shem Yeshua (In the Name of Yeshua) - Amen!

Ahava V'Brachot,

(Love & Blessings)
Curtis

curtisloftin@gmail.com

Worship Opportunity For the Day:

YouTube Video: MARANATHA SINGERS "White As Snow"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPFCosKw1YE

White As Snow
Maranatha Music
“America Worships”

White as snow, White as snow,
Though my sins were as scarlet,
Lord I know, Lord I know,
That I’m clean and forgiven.

Through the power of Your blood,
Through the wonder of Your love,
Through the faith in You I know that I can be,
White as snow.


Blowing the shofars - Feast of Trumpets (Tabernacles)!

“Why Is A Gentile Like You Celebrating the Feasts of the Jews?” - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

                   

“Why Is A Gentile Like You
Celebrating the Feasts of the Jews?”
  
“These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, 
the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim 
at the time appointed for them. 
(Leviticus 23:4 English Standard Version)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great 
multitude which no one could count, from every 
nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, 
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, 
 clothed in white robes, and palm branches were 
in their hands…” (Rev. 7:9 NAS)


Love For His People Editor's Note: As Purim, a celebration
from the book of Esther, comes March 16, 2014, I am again
sharing this article I originally published in Sept. 2013 as one
of my Ahava Love Letters. It is also a chapter in my 2nd book
of the same name, AHAVA LOVE LTTERS (Xulon Press, 2013)

With the Feasts of the Lord coming quickly upon us, a believers
in Jesus (His Jewish name is Yeshua) we can  participate in His
feasts.

This message will give you reason to think on this.

Steve Martin, Author


Growing up as a Roman Catholic, I don’t recall reading much of the Old Testament, or even the New Testament for that matter. I can’t even remember if I had a Bible myself. There was that big, fat white one that sat on our living room table, that we must have bought from the door-to-door salesman one summer. It was filled with family genealogy and had a few photos in it. Mostly it was for looks I think.

We left it up to the parish priests to read a few passages during the Sunday Mass, or the daily Mass for those rare people who attended. We saw it as his job – to read the Bible.

Our priest at St. Patrick’s in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Father Thomas Purtell, did speak to us in the eighth grade of Catholic traditions and rituals every week, but that really didn’t interest me much. Though I was even then considered a “religious” boy, by some standards, it was history, football and baseball, and that cute, petite Lisa which were my main interests. (You should read the story I share further about Father Purtell in my book, The Promise. We had some moments with him! Lisa was another story.)

For the most part, what the Catholics did in and out of church, or the Orthodox Greeks in the domed building across the street, the Protestants which seemed to be on every other corner, and the Jews, who I didn’t really know at all - well, it was pretty much known in town as each group “doing their thing” - whatever that thing was. Probably because of their culture, upbringing, and country’s history, as I thought.

It wasn’t until my only year in college did I begin to seek more, by getting out of my box. The box I had been in for those years in grade school and high school. A nice box, but a box. I discovered that there was more truth to be known, and now I was given the opportunity to seek it further.

Over the years, as I became involved with first a college campus Christian group, then the charismatic church meetings, moving on further to the Messianic Jewish gatherings many years later, I understood that all of the Bible is for all of us who know Jesus (Yeshua) as our Lord and Savior. It is not just the Old Testament for Jews and the New Testament for Christians. Knowing this helped me see that the Jewish feasts/holidays are NOT only historic and prophetic, but they are the Lord’s Feasts, which definitely point to Israel’s and our Messiah. 

Learning from Bible teachers and ministers like Derek Prince, Zola Levitt, James Goll, Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda, Barry Segal and others from the 1970’s onward, I grew tremendously in my appreciation of how the Lord revealed Himself throughout history, primarily through the Jewish people. I learned that even Gentiles, as I am, now get to be included in the Lord’s love for family, fellowship and feasts. I learned how He has taught through living examples in the Scriptures, the Torah and the Tanakh, the Old and New Testaments, all primarily to reveal Yeshua, Jesus, as the Christ (or in Hebrew, HaMashiach, the Messiah) for all nations and people groups. Being grafted in, as believers, and knowing of our Jewish roots, is thus life changing.

My good wife Laurie and I enjoy getting with others who celebrate the Lord’s feasts – Passover (Pesach), Shavuot (Pentecost), Purim (remember Esther and Haman?), and especially the fall feasts of Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets/New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and the biggest of all, Succot, or Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths, which is a seven day celebration time!

I encourage you to “discover” your Jewish roots as a Christian. The entire Bible was primarily written by Jews, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), for all of us who believe. Jesus, who was, and is, and is to come again, is a Jew. He celebrates His Feasts. I guess that is good enough for me, and so I will too!

Now think on this.

Steve Martin
Founder/President

     

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA organization. Fed. ID#27-1633858.

 Please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless Israel with our humanitarian ministry. 

Tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation.


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. Box 414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew - Thank you very much.)

Please share this Ahava Love Letter with your friends.

E-mail: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  martinlighthouse@gmail.com

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


Full website: www.loveforhispeople.org

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Ahava Love Letter #73   “What Is A Gentile Like You Celebrating the Feasts of The Jews?”  ©2013 Steve Martin 
Date: In the year of our Lord 2013 (09/03/13 Monday at 7:35 am in Charlotte, NC)

All previous editions of Ahava Love Letter can be found on this Blog:


Here are the last few:

They Are Loved Too (#72)
Oskars Needed Again? (#71)
Little Orphan Chuckie (#70)
Demons & Fire Trucks (#69)
I Like Mike (#68)
Disappointed with Small Beginnings? (#67)
Rise Again (#66)
The Cities (#65)
How can You Mend A Broken Heart (#64)
Anxious (#63)
Hidden (#62)
Get Back in the Boat (#61)

Need Money? (#60)

Happy New Year! Jews Will Blow the Shofar (Ram's Horn) in Synagogues

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


Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:41 AM PDT
Yemenite Jew blowing the shofar (circa 1935)
"Blow the Shofar at the New Moon...Because It Is a Decree for Israel, a Judgment Day for the God of Jacob"  - Psalms 81

Jews around the world prepare for Rosh Hashanna this week, the festive New Year holiday when the shofar -- ram's horn -- is blown in synagogues. 

The American Colony photographers recorded a dozen pictures of Jewish elders blowing the shofar in Jerusalem some 80 years ago.  The horn was also blown in Jerusalem to announce the commencement of the Sabbath.  During the month prior to Rosh Hashana, the shofar was blown at daily morning prayers to encourage piety before the High Holidays.   


Ashkenazi Jew in Jerusalem blowing the shofar to announce the Sabbath














Yemenite Rabbi Avram, donning tfillin for his
daily prayers, blowing the shofar







View the American Colony Photographers' collection of shofar blowers in Jerusalem here.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.
Click on captions to view the original picture.

Receive Israel Daily Picture on your computer or iPhone by subscribing.  Just enter your email in the box in the right sidebar of the Internet site www.israeldailypicture.com

Monday, September 2, 2013

Our Beautiful Daughter Hannah's Upcoming Wedding website

Hannah and Jonathan with Payton

Soon we will have another son-in-law and grand son!
Oct. 12, 2013

Click here: 


How we met

    Jonathan and I met in the spring of 2011. We took things slow, because we wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do with a child involved. I quickly fell in love with Payton (first!) ha :) And before we knew it, we could both see our futures together. Our love for The Lord really ties us together! He is and will be the core of our relationship.
 I know God saved us for one another for many reasons. We are both kind and compassionate about life in general! I am looking forward to the Journey we are about to take together. We thank you all for being there and supporting us too!!! 

Hannah

We are thanking the Lord for His choice of Jonathan Avalos as Hannah's husband. And we love his son Payton also!

Steve & Laurie Martin

Bill Yount: "I Am the Trackless, Unstoppable Locomotive"

Bill Yount:

September 2, 2013
Steve ShultzFrom the desk of Steve Shultz:

This is quite an encounter that Bill Yount recently had with the Lord... powerful!
I won't give much away and let you read it for yourself... be excited about your region/location as Bill shares here:
"I saw the fire of God falling on every denomination wherever there was a smell of smoke from a flickering flame of love gone out long ago. People in all denominations will be visited by a rekindling, as well as so-called Spirit-filled churches."

Blessings,
Steve


Note from Steve Shultz: People ask me, "How can I support The Elijah List?"

My answer: The Elijah List articles are emailed for FREE to you and your friends  or published on our website  365-Days-a-Year – to readers all over the world. Your support helps to pay for this effort by simply purchasing your prophetic resources directly fromelijahshopper.com.

We appreciate our dear readers and we thank you for supporting your Elijah List staff!

Blessings,
Order the Download
Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News 
http://www.elijahlist.com

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book  Prophetic Stones of Remembrance:
A Legacy for the End Times

by Bill Yount
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Bill Yount:

Bill YountTransported

I woke up shaken. I could not believe I was at home. How did I get back here? I had just been transported physically from a place far away. I had heard about people being transported, but I would laugh it off. My laughter has been silenced by what I experienced. It was the real thing.
I stood in the valley of a highway. 

Suddenly, what appeared to be a huge locomotive train barreled down the highway straight toward me. The wheels shaved the concrete and its power shook the earth in proclamation, "I don't need tracks!" I was paralyzed by the terror of it as highways and overpasses crumbled in its wake. Mountains were shaken and surrendered their strength and majesty. All the earth was vulnerable to this all-inclusive power. I was astounded: My whole world was shaking and yet I was still standing.

I was then transported inside a house on a high hill where a fire had suddenly broken out. I quickly turned the thermostat and gas controls off. The fire seemed to be contained, but I was mistaken. In the distance, which I believe to be the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the tops of tall buildings crumbled and contagious fires raged relentlessly throughout the streets. Then multitudes of cities throughout the earth followed suit. I was then awakened by the terror.

After several weeks of earnest prayer, the Holy Spirit helped me to understand this experience of being transported and provided the interpretation.

"Son, I Am the Trackless, Unstoppable Locomotive"
God is the trackless, unstoppable locomotiveThe Lord was saying, "Son, I have allowed you to experience this vision in person so you would know the full impact and certainty of it. I am the trackless, unstoppable locomotive. I am coming in a way that many of My people will not recognize as Me. Some will be offended.

"The terror you experienced as I came near was the fear of the Lord being released in the earth. The fear of the Lord brings a great shaking. Some people will turn from Me and many more will become deeply committed. This shaking alone will bring in an unprecedented harvest of souls. The crumbling highways and overpasses were man-made structures built in order to reach Me. With great force I will shake those man-made spiritual structures and religious spirits that have prevented Me from coming to them."

ElijahList Prophetic Resources

He said, "You have been faithful in disliking religious spirits, but you have fallen short in loving religious people. I love them. I want to deliver them. Not loving them invites a religious spirit into your life."

I saw the fire of God falling on every denomination wherever there was a smell of smoke from a flickering flame of love gone out long ago. People in all denominations will be visited by a rekindling, as well as so-called Spirit-filled churches.

A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out, til He has brought justice through to victory. Matthew 12:20

"My Fire Is Beginning To Invade These Mountains And Bring Them Into My Kingdom"

God's fireGod continued saying, "The mountains you saw caving in represent the seven mountains of the kingdoms of this world. The Church, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business and finances.

My fire is beginning to invade these mountains to redeem and bring them into My Kingdom. The reason you couldn't stop the fire in the house is because the fire is of Me. I am coming this hour through the fires of adversity and affliction to bring whole families back together again into My Kingdom. Their troubles have come to bless them.

"The pride of man in what he has made are the fallen, far-off city structures. Pride is crumbling. The contagious fires of God raging in the streets of cities are the certainty of the vision in its influence."

Sidewalks and gutters in the streets were now burning with unquenchable fire falling upon the homeless and red light districts. Grave clothes were being burned off those bound in prisons and spiritual cemeteries.

There's a whole lot riding on this train.

Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministries

Bill Yount has been a member of Bridge of Life in Hagerstown, Maryland, for the past 33 years where he is now an elder and a home missionary. He is currently an advisor at large for Aglow International. Bill faithfully served in prison ministry at Mount Hope for 23 years and now travels full-time, both in the U.S. and internationally, ministering in churches and Aglow circles. 

"Humility and humor" characterize his ministry as he brings forth a fresh word that is "in season," proclaiming the word of the Lord! The shofar (or ram's horn) is often used in his meetings, breaking the powers of darkness over regions, churches, and households. The shofar represents God's breath blowing into the nostrils of His people, reviving them and awakening the lost. Many of God's messages, which Bill ministers prophetically, come out of his everyday life with his family and friends.
Bill Yount's Itinerary:
Note: Events are subject to change at the ministry's discretion. We suggest you always check first with the event contact listed here and/or directly visit their website for latest updates on each event.
September 8, 2013 (7pm)
Bill Yount will be speaking
Cumberland Valley Church (The Barn)
1704 Fisher Road, Mechanicsburg, PA
Contact: 717-790-9377


September 10, 2013 (6:30pm)
Bill Yount will be speaking
Lebanon Aglow Lighthouse
515 Cumberland St, Lebanon, PA
Contact: 717-865-8037


October 13, 2013 (10:30am)
Bill Yount will be speaking
Believer's Fellowship Family Church
551 Cambria Ave, Revloc, PA
Contact: 814-471-1897



On the front lines in Israel...

This was shared yesterday in an e-mail from Jerusalem. I have kept the names private, for protection and security, and edited it as such. 

I absolutely agree with his following statements also included about the USA President's recent action (or lack thereof). May the Lord give us USA leaders with a backbone to lead!!! (I hold my tongue and heart back, to pray, as the Lord Yeshua (Jesus) Himself commanded us to, while at the same time letting it be known that we will FULLY stand with our friends, the Israelies!)

We will join our friends in November in Israel, as already planned months ago. 

Steve Martin
Editor

P.S. Artwork and photos added by me.



Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013

Shalom from Jerusalem - the City of Peace!

We wanted to send out an update as the world waits to see what actions will or will not be taken against the Syrian government for using chemical weapons on its own people, including children.  

Because the United States in such a large country, it is good to keep in mind the size of Israel couched in the middle of its Arab enemy nations.  Israel is in effect only the size of New Jersey, with Syria being place about where NY City would be.  Damascus, Syria's capital, and where the chemical weapons were used, is only 134 miles from Jerusalem, Israel's capital, about 2 hours.  However, Damascus is only 67 miles from the Sea of Galilee and only half that distance from the Israeli border.

Due to the fighting in Lebanon as well - two Muslim terror group fighting each other like in Syria, the Sunnis and Shiites - Israel has been on high alert on that northern border as well.  Rockets were even fired at Israel from Lebanon last week.  Egypt continues to be a mess with internal fighting as well - the military government fighting against both the Muslim brotherhood and the terror groups in the Sinai.

Last Sunday, we met with a soldier from a unit to hand off dry-fit ball caps that were requested by the commander.  We were supposed to deliver the caps to the base near the northern border, but due to the rockets fired into Israel a few days prior, they were not allowing any civilians on base, so we met at a neutral site in Tel Aviv.  While we were with the soldier, the commander called to share his appreciation with our organization, saying he'd like to schedule a base visit sometime in the future, but it was much too dangerous right now.  

IDF - Bibles and weapons of protection

When we asked the soldier how they were doing, he shook his head and said they have had to cancel all leaves, nobody was going home for the weekends, and they were on high alert.  Please pray for these watchmen on the borders, that they get the rest they need for their bodies and minds.  We made sure to tell him that there are people all over the world that support what they are doing, praying for them, and sending money to help meet their needs, like these caps.  

He said for us to please tell these people all over the world a big thanks

To know they have love and support means more than you know, and we always make sure they know it's from Christians around the world. 

"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? Psalm 2:1 is occurring all around us - the news is like reading the Bible and watching it come to pass.  And at the same time, Syria and Iran promise that if the United States attacks Syria, that they will attack Israel.  Israel has been reiterating all week that we are not involved in this conflict, BUT - we will respond fiercely if attacked.  We truly believe that they will not be stupid enough to attack Israel if they are attacked by the US, it would mean their downfall and they know it.  Therefore, it's most likely propaganda to scare other countries from acting.  The news has been showing Israelis en mass getting gas masks this week in light of a possible US attack.  Media has made it appear as a panic, but it's more truthfully frustration...long lines of people who waited too long to get what they should already have in their possession.

And now, as the entire Middle East region has been holding their breath all week waiting for a response from the US, instead a retreat is announced.  Whether you believe the US should strike Syria or not, this doesn't bode well for many reasons.  First, Syria and Iran are almost giddy - they view this as weakness.  Second, they can now gauge the response the US may have with a nuclear Iran.  Third, Syria now has until at least September 9th to not only continue killing, but to move & hide chemical weapons.  And lastly, Israel now sees the kind of response the US (Obama) could potentially have concerning Iran, and we know we cannot trust him to "have our backs" in an emergency situation. 

Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hevron (Hebron)

We were also scheduled to visit a base in Hevron today.  After dropping off the dry-fit shirts the commander requested, we were going to be given a tour/escort of the Tomb of the Patriarchs where Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebecca, and Jacob & Leah are buried.  It's not easily visited, because Hevron is a Palestinian city, and both Jews and Arabs share Abraham as their father.  I was on the phone last night with the commander of the base making plans for where we were to meet and everything was scheduled.  Then we heard Obama's speech.  It wasn't long before the commander called back and said we need to reschedule the visit....

So, as we trust in the the God of Israel - Adonai Tzva'ot, Lord of Heaven's armies - we do as a Torah scribe spoke to our organization staff this week --- "We pray, and then we do."  And as our Prime Minster has encouraged us - we trust our government (Israeli) and the Israel Defense Force to protect us, we continue on with our daily lives, and prepare for a month of the High Holy Days, beginning this coming Wednesday evening.

We pray and we do - in the meantime, we have also made preparations personally.  The new apartment we have just move to has one bedroom that is a bomb shelter.  We have made sure it is stocked with food, water and necessary supplies.  We have a plan on who gets what (phones, computer, internet, etc) to get to the bomb shelter in the 90 seconds allotted for Jerusalem. We've had our gas masks since we got here, they are issued to all long term staff upon arrival. Be assured - we are not afraid or concerned - just using wisdom to "pray and do".  Now we watch and see.  But mostly...we will enjoy God's appointed times - Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and the joyous Feast of Tabernacles!!

Jerusalem volunteer worker

Fall Feast Meetings with Beit Yeshua (Curtis Loftin and Doug Willams)

Curtis Loftin - Beit Yeshua


Shalom Y'all,

Just a reminder that Beit Yeshua has several meetings in the upcoming weeks - three in a row - for the three Fall Festivals.

Friday, September 6th - 7:00 pm - YOM TERUAH / Feast of Trumpets - Chuck & Janice Anthony's home

Friday, September 13th - 7:00 pm - YOM KIPPUR / Day of Atonement - Chuck & Janice Anthony's home (NO FOOD AT YOM KIPPUR)

Friday, September 20th - 7:00 pm - SUKKOT / Feast of Tabernacles - Family Life Center at Covenant Bible Church - Warren Marcus guest speaker

Warren Marcus - One New Man leader
Charlotte, NC

I hope you'll make plans to join us at one - or all three - of the Fall Festivals.  Time 7:00 to 9:30 (with food & fellowship afterwards - except Yom Kippur)

Chuck & Janice Anthony's Home
2121 Gastonia Hwy, Lincolnton, NC  28092

Covenant Bible Church
2168 Gastonia Hwy, Lincolnton, NC 28092

Bring a kosher snack & come join us.

Shavuah Tov, (Have a Good Week),

Curtis

curtisloftin@gmail.com

Shofarot blowing

Machol dance team

Check this out:







"The Feast of Booths"
"The Feast of Tabernacles"
"THE Feast"

Tishri 15 - 21

Sukkot (pronounced “sue-coat”) is a Hebrew word that means “booths” and refers to the temporary dwelling the Jews lived in on their forty year journey from Egypt to the promised land. This feast is the seventh and final feast of the Lord.

Sukkot (which can also be spelled Succoth) was one of the three Pilgrimage Festivals when all males were required to go to Jerusalem to worship the LORD. The Jewish people built booth-like structures and lived in them during the feast as a reminder of the temporary dwellings the Israelites lived in while traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land. Today many Jewish and Messianic Believers build open-roofed three-sided huts for this festival and decorate them with tree branches, fruit, flags, and many other personal items.

Leviticus 23:34, 39

34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. 39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath.


The Feast of Sukkot occurs on the Jewish Calendar from Tishri 15th to the 21st - coinciding with September or October.

Our Discovery of Sukkot

Sukkot was the first Festival of the Lord that Carolyn and I had the opportunity to experience back in the 1980s. We had gone to Resurrection Lutheran Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a Feast of Tabernacle celebration, not really knowing what it was, or what to expect. At the time, I was serving as Minister of Music in Catawba County and we had actually gone for the praise, worship and dance opportunities, but the Lord had other ideas.

Imagine walking into a church and there in the foyer was a wooden structure with leafy tree branches on the top and fruit hanging everywhere. It was wonderful, like nothing I'd ever seen before. I wondered why, if the Festivals of the Lord were mentioned in scripture, the church had failed to incorporate them into our yearly worship cycle.

Thus began our own personal journey to better understand the Hebrew roots of our Christian faith.

Curtis Loftin



[RUDDICK SHIELD] INTERIM REPORT - INDONESIA - Morris Ruddick

Morris Ruddick

September 2, 2013

Dear Steve, 

Thank you for praying. Every prayer has been vital. The spiritual warfare has been beyond the ordinary; but so have the opportunities. The Lord has truly exceeded our expectations at every step.

A day after our arrival, we were conducting our first workshop on a Tuesday evening. It was organized as a "by-invitation only" gathering of business owners, entrepreneurs,


leaders and potential business owners from a wide mix of churches. Our host wrote the host on the second island we're leaving for today.

So after the first night of this downtown Jarkarta workshop, our host wrote: "There is very thick anointing. No one is going home. We have 300 people here, many successful business owners."

After the second night, he wrote: "Ruddick is amazing. Everyone returned, eager for more and there are more than 300 tonight. In his very first trip to Jakarta, he is bringing meat (not milk) and the Indonesia audience is eating with an appetite. Ruddick is methodical, meticulous and very well organized ....and speaks with a captivating intensity that keeps people in their seats during the entire four hour session. No one leaves."

On Thursday we spent a very long and packed-out day ministering first to the leaders of CBN Indonesia. These leaders and their director play a major, cohesive role in the incredible dynamic underway within the mobilized, dynamic church in Indonesia. Then following a luncheon meeting with the Director and the ministry's chief spiritual advisor, there was in-depth ministry to the core group of intercessors behind this vibrant ministry. That evening I brought a message of exhortation to a group of local pastors.

On Friday we traveled to the beautiful mountain city of Bandung for the second God's economy workshop. I'd already been impressed by the expansive network of committed business people tied to everything we've been doing. Our stop for a meal at a unique restaurant was one of seven restaurants owned by a sold-out man of God putting his faith into practice.

The second workshop was a multi-church mix of business owners and entrepreneurs. It was hosted by a very large fellowship that specializes in their people playing key roles in the city's community activities. Bandung is one of the most heavily populated and strongly-influenced Muslim cities on this island. Yet, it is that very fact that makes it a seedbed for opportunity.

Sunday brought us back to Jakarta where I brought the message to two hungry and very eager downtown congregations. The theme of both messages was the process and the cost of spiritual maturity needed to change a city and to change a nation. With that goal in mind, I was reminded of a company which we had association with in the 1970s which was the result of a $10 million business acquiring a $90 million firm. The Wall Street Journal likened it to a minnow swallowing a whale.

So it is in the Kingdom that God uses the most unlikely candidates; as He gives them the most unlikely strategies; to then bring about the most unlikely results. Ten years after the minnow swallowing the whale acquisition, the company had grown to be a $1 billion. That was really big in 1977.

The pastor who hosted our first workshop very much fits the model of the minnow swallowing the whale. God led him to move his church to a central, downtown location. In this Muslim nation, churches don't build buildings like in the West. They have to be more discrete and more often than not, they locate in commercial areas.

Having heard from God, this pastor signed the contract to purchase a floor in a high-rise office building. As the deadline approached and the money required only partially materialized, he sold his home to pay off the difference. Then in building out the space, the same thing happened and he sold his car to meet the obligations.

These are the type of people I relish working with. Let me explain that more fully. Many years ago, during a very challenging time in our walk with the Lord, I arrived at 6:30 one morning for a men's prayer group in the conference room of an Omaha business. There was special speaker, a very prophetic man-of-God. We had never met.

When this man of God began his time of ministry he pointed to me and said: "That is a man of God. That's what the Lord spoke to me when I saw him walk through the door." Then he spoke directly to me: "You sir, have a spirit of prosperity on you. You might be a millionaire or you might be broke." The reality was that I had just lost my job and was "in the hole" financially. He continued with the words: "Prosperity has nothing to do with money. A spirit of prosperity comes from the heart and it will overflow into those around you."

Over the years, we've watched as again and again, the Lord has uniquely blessed those he has sent us to minister to. The Lord called me as a consultant. It carries a strong

 

prophetic gift that I've seen in instance after instance to operate far beyond my understanding. I've been involved at the helm in a number of corporate turnarounds. I've been involved at the start of the launch of numerous initiatives and new ministries.

So it has been that this dynamic has extended into the nations in which we've been sent; as the Lord has connected us with those who are at a stage of turning/ of transition in walking out His blueprint for their mantles. There's no earthly way I can explain it, but we've seen the result and we've seen the change as we have played small roles in speaking into and establishing God's order in these divinely appointed relationships.

So it is that we see this same expectation in operation as we plant our gift among these most incredible leaders and pioneers that we're serving here in Indonesia. The Indonesians are amazing!

We are only at mid-course for what we came to Indonesia to do. We still have before us more than another week; and another workshop, key leaders to minister to, two mini-workshops in the Myles Munroe Kingdom Leadership Conference and ministry in a very pivotal church. Please continue praying. Your prayers and the anointing are what counter the spiritual forces trying to undermine these efforts. These are strategic times and these are strategic opportunities. Thank you, thank you for praying.

In His love and mine,





Morris Ruddick
Global Initiative Foundation
www.strategic-initiatives.org
www.strategicintercession.org 

Sunday, September 1, 2013

4000. Nice number. Good connections. His purposes.

4000 friends on Facebook - 09.01.13

Greetings to my family of friends,

Having "4000" of you now on my Facebook page, as of Sept. 1,2013, is just another opportunity given to continue to share the Lord's love with more people. I am grateful for those we can call friends, whether we really know each other or not. Connections are important. I will use all means to make them!

Someday I hope to meet a lot of you, my friends, in person, and give you a big hug - for the times we each shared on our pages, the encouraging artwork and honest photos posted, and especially the joys and sorrows written about on Facebook.

There are some who care not for FB and social media. As far as I am concerned, even as the Lord used Rome to pave the roads and spread the language in the first century when the Messiah Yeshua came the first time, He is now using the "airwave roads" and "Internet language", through Google, Facebook, Twitter and all others, for His ultimate purposes. They may not know it, but it is His idea. He is the Master Creator! He is spreading His truth and love, and I am riding along with Him!

The Lord will certainly continue using social media to get His Gospel out to the nations. His plans and purposes will not be hindered, even as we see the people around the globe seeking more. May they all find Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) - before He comes back the second time! 

Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King!

Ahava to my family of friends,

Steve Martin
Love For His People

P.S. On Aug. 31, 2013 (yesterday at the time of this posting) this blog also surpassed our 88,888 page view. I like numbers, if you haven't known that by now (I am an accountant by trade.)

The Lord likes numbers too. He keeps creating more people every minute, to share His love with!




The Glory of the Lord is rising!