Finally! Back home in Israel
Elana and I are in the air. We woke up early and our hosts, Shimon and Darja, took us to the airport. Marseille is an amazing city, but if I had to stay there one more day while Israel is at war, I might have jumped from our fourth story roof.
On the plane (Rocket alerts were going off on my phone before take off)
What is interesting is that most of the Israelis on this plane are French speakers. In other words, they are French citizens who live in Israel. They could stay in France, but they are choosing to come back.
As the days more forward, despite watching certain US-based “prophets” assure the world that God is with Netanyahu, he will have to face the music. Leaders get credit when things go well. They must be held accountable when they don’t. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government fell asleep at the wheel, distracted. There are reports that Egypt’s spy agency warned Netanyahu ten days before. Netanyahu denies this, but Egypt is holding firm.
This morning a headline for the Jerusalem post said: Poll: “Majority blames gov't for Hamas massacre, says Netanyahu must resign.” Eighty-six percent of Israelis blame the Netanyahu coalition. Fifty-six percent want him to resign after the war. If elections were held today, his Likud would be in the teens (seats in the Knesset) for the first time in decades, while the center-right Benny Gantz, would get over forty seats. The far-right racists Ben G’vir and Betzalel Smotrich would only barely cross the 3.25% threshold to have seats. This is good for Israel. They should have never been in the government and I fear their words and actions may have left Israel spiritually uncovered. Both have been involved in violent acts against Arabs. We must remember: Arab does not equal Hamas.
(In fact, while Israeli warned Gazan Arabs to go south to escape being hurt, Hamas told them to stay put. In other words—Israel is trying to save Arab lives while Hamas is willing to sacrifice them!)
How are the families whose loved-ones are in Gaza supposed to feel about this government? Or the families of the soldiers (including 46 officers) who have been killed? And if we invade Gaza, more soldiers will die. I don’t have all the answers but one thing is clear—this could have been prevented! How do 1,500 to 2,000 machine-gun-toting terrorists break through a secure border? I am sure there will be a 9/11-like commission to get answers.
We don’t hang politicians who mess up in democracies, but we do fire them. For many Christians, Israel and Bibi are synonymous. They look at any other politicians (even ones stronger on security than Bibi as suspect). They don’t even remember anyone but Netanyahu. But things are changing. Elana sat next to a lady on the plane. “I voted for Bibi all my life. Someone has to pay. Someone has to take responsibility.”
That being said, as long as he is prime minister, we need to be praying for him. We need to pray hard for him. Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and head of the army, has joined the government, to work directly with Netanyahu, overseeing the war. This is good.
TIME STANDS STILL
Enough about the political situation. Don’t get me wrong—a nation's leadership is important! But they are important because they serve the people, and it is the people we need to help. Dr. Tsangan, whom I have told you about, sent me this picture this morning.
It says, “‘Time stands still... A direct hit on the Child Development Institute.” This is the second rocket to hit our local Ashkelon hospital. He told me that this hit just a few meters form the neonatal department. That God, no one was hurt. “I have spent the whole last week in Barzilai (Hospital). We are OK. We will prevail! Let’s hope for better days...Shabbat Shalom.”
One of the reason I really love this man is that he loves life. He loves babies. Through your generosity, we just sent their department $20,000. I would love to send him $100,000! Also, because of you, we donated $3,000 to the community of Shaar Hanegev. This town that borders Gaza has suffered beyond words—death, kidnapping, torture and destruction. Together, we will help them rebuild. Lastly, we gave $500 to a ministry that makes cookies for soldiers and shares the gospel.
The needs are massive, but we can be Yeshua’s hands and feet, and wallet! Please open your heart and give at www.IsraelinCrisis.com. We want to share the good news of Yeshua and we want to be the good news of Yeshua!
Thank you!
To our new subscribers…whenever anyone subscribes, they automatically get four emails about our ministry and tours. It probably comes across as if we are not aware of what is happening…we will seek to suspend that for the time being.
Lastly, Elana and I have been so amazed at your concern for us. I can’t even get through all the emails, notes, WhatsApps, etc. It means so much.
When we got off the plane, we hit the ground running. We are at a moshav (community) where they are feeding soldiers a warm Shabbat meal tonight. Here is my interview with their captain.
Here’s how you can join us in prayer:
Pray for the hostages to be freed and returned to safety.
Pray for our troops – it looks like they will be entering Gaza tomorrow in battle.
Pray for minimal loss of life, and that the demonic evil that was unleashed Saturday would be eliminated.
Pray for the people of Israel that Yeshua would reveal himself during this time. They would find all the testimonies on Shelanu TV and believe.
Pray for those who are mourning, grieving, angry, anxious. May they know God’s comfort and strength.
