WEEKLY Arrows from Zion 7/2/2014

Arrows from Zion

Serving the Body of Messiah in Israel since August 2001 
& Strategically Aimed for the Lord’s Harvest in Israel

Priority Prayer Focus July 2, 2014

Whether it is in our individual personal lives, or in the context of our people as the case is for the whole house of Israel, our greatest challenge in life is the choice of how we process the terrible things of life – the harm done to us, the offenses, the wounds and losses.  Life will either make us bitter or better, and the only way we can truly let life’s hurts make us better is when we take it to Yeshua’s Cross and leave it to God.  The way of the Cross is letting our bitterness go down in death, submitting ourselves to the justice of the LORD and rising up in the life and likeness of Messiah to continue on.  I’ve faced this many times in my life personally, and even as the grief of Israel is so great now, it is encouraging to see many Israeli ministries have laid this at the Cross of Messiah and our Abba who says, Vengeance in mine: I will repay, says the Lord.  When we believe that, we  can let it go to Him.

Please see David Lazurus of Beit Immanuel below on the Aaronic Blessing for times of trouble.

Contact information for all the ministries is included inside the attached Weekly Summary.
Arrows from Zion
Strategically Aimed for the Lord’s Harvest in Israel

Normally Israelprayer puts priority on what the individual Israeli ministries are doing in the Lord’s Harvest rather than on even important events reported in the newspapers.  Many ministries report exclusively on the newspaper events and few report on what is happening in the community of faith in Yeshua in Israel.  However, there are times when Israelprayer/Arrows from Zion must also turn an eye to the events on the ground impacting the believers in Israel as well as the rest of their nation. 

Eddie Santoro of Ahavat Yeshua writes, “After 18 days of extensive searching, the most dreaded and tragic end to the kidnapping of the three teenagers was announced yesterday when the bodies of Naftali, Gilad and Eyal were found in a field not far from where the original kidnapping occurred. . . . Spontaneously, large crowds gathered in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and throughout Israel to share in the grief of this incomprehensible loss. In this nation these boys were the "sons" of every family. All parents here know that it could have been their children and the young know that it could have been any one of them.  Please join us in praying for these families, who like so many here, have paid the highest price in order to see God's promises for Israel manifest in our day.”

Santoro asks, “Please pray for wisdom for Israel's leaders. These are trying times and the fires of war are not easily controlled. They need counsel from heaven to guide them in this day.  Funerals, a grieving nation and ongoing warfare in the South are the picture of life in Israel this week. Bringing forth God's promises in the earth is never easy. Labor pains must come before the birth. But the comfort of God is this; though weeping may last through the night, joy comes with the morning.”

David Lazarus of Beit Immanuel writes, “This has been a hard week for Israel. With barely enough time to mourn the loss of 3 murdered teenagers, war drums are pounding again - both within and beyond our tiny borders.  Where can we find the strength to carry on? How should we pray for Jerusalem in this terrible hour? One of Judaism's oldest prayers, recited more than any other blessing, can help us face the unique challenges of these difficult times. “  David shares the Aaronic Blessing, showing us how to apply the blessing to our own lives in times of trouble.  See more inside the attached PDF Weekly Summary

From Ashdod, we have this good report from Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel on an annual Arab-Israeli pastors and families retreat organized by Tom Hess.   This report came in before the events in Israel unfolded with the discovery of the murdered teenagers:  “A few hundreds of pastors, leaders and minister and their families from all over Israel come together by the shore of the Sea of Galilee for a few days of fellowship, prayer, worship and sharing. It is always such a blessing to be together, be encouraged by one another, spending time with brethren, hearing what God is doing in Israel in our midst, in Hebrew congregations as well as Arab ones. . . . Despite the difficult time of growing challenges, problems and conflicts in our cultures, we continue to spend time together, Jew and Arab, reflecting the unity and the love we have for one another in the Lord.  We encourage you to become a part of it and support this amazing Jew-Arab initiative that has become such a blessing to us in the Land.”

Pochtar writes, “Being a pastor in Israel is not an easy task. Not only is it not exactly prestigious, but it is also unpopular and considered odd to most people in the land. It is also very challenging because of the continuous pressure, criticism and persecutions. Maybe that is why God is blessing the work here in Israel in a special way, giving us special grace and favor. We always come back from the retreat encouraged, refreshed and ready to continue carrying out the task God has entrusted them.”

Dov Bikas whose Russian-speaking congregation is located in Beer Sheva and whose outreach to addicts & sexual abuse victims is located in south Tevl Aviv sends a report (plus pictures) of the primary repairs they have finished on the new premises of the Aviv Center.  It takes a special calling to work with those who have hit rock bottom, and these precious ministering angels need your prayers for the taxing work they do among the down and out in Tel Aviv.  Please take the time to open the attached PDF Weekly Summary to read Dov’s report and how they have even been invited by a secular Israeli organization to help abused women and children.  When the agencies that work with desperate people turn to ministries of faith in Yeshua/Jesus, this is the testimony of where help can truly be found.  You can also watch the 7-minute video about their work here.

Great report of 8 baptisms of young people at Yeshua’s Inheritance, the Beer Sheva congregation led by Howard Bass:  They baptized the young people – three of whom will be entering IDF service this year – “at Qasr al-Yehud, the site on the Jordan River thought to be near the baptism site used by John the Baptizer.  Just across within talking distance, on the other side of the Jordan, is Jordan. There, too, baptisms were taking place.  Both sides have military guards on duty.”

Howard writes, “As you probably know, baptizing minors has its own unique risks, and every congregation handles those risks as it sees right.  We will only baptize minors with their parents' consent, and with a clear confession on the part of the young person of believing in Yeshua as being God who came to us as a full human being (Son of God/Son of Man), who died on the cross for their/our sins and are forgiven of all their sins, who was buried and who rose again on the third day, and that He is Lord and Savior of their lives from now on.. . . It was a "great Sabbath" for us all, and we thank God for the joy of knowing Him and Jesus Christ whom He sent!  PLEASE PRAY WITH US FOR D, E, M, E, E, Y, A, and A.”

Bass also notes, “Of course, many of the children and teens will be going to various camps during the summer, which always is a source of rich spiritual blessing for them.  In fact, yesterday at the baptism, two of the teens testified that it was at a camp that God really touched their lives with His love for them and the reality of life with Jesus.  The camp season also puts a severe financial strain on the families and the congregation.  Some families have a tribe-full of children, with several of them at camp age.  It is always a challenge to work out a suitable solution for everyone.  If any of you would like to make special donations towards the costs of sending the children to camps, you can do so knowing that much thanks will go up to God.”

See more from Howard’s report inside the attached PDF Weekly Summary, including a suggested area of investment for those who have investment dollars they would like to also tie to spiritual investment.

Eitan Shishkoff stands with his son and grandson at his Israeli-native grandson’s bar mitzvah at the Ohalai Rachmim (Tents of Mercy).   You’ll enjoy Eitan’s reflections on the 21-year life investment his family has been making in the Messianic Jewish restoration in the land of Israel. 

Shishkof also asks for prayers for the annual summer camp for 14-18 year olds.  The camp is called Katzir (Harvest) and it is one of two they put on for the Israeli believer families in their stream of faith nationally.  Eitan writes, “Touching the hearts of Israeli teenagers, for me, is something that God keeps bringing me back to.  Honestly, I thought that by now, at 66, I would have gracefully exited this portion of His calling.  But He has been persistent in showing me the high value of serving these young people.  I love them and look forward to being with them in barely more than a week.”

Continuing, “There IS warfare over these young people and their families.  Just think, if the Enemy can stop them from loving Yeshua and bringing Messiah's redemption to Israel, he can delay (though never stop!) the installation of Yeshua HaMashiach as the King of Israel and Sovereign of all nations.  Please pray for Financial Provision. Every camper pays a substantial sum.  These shekels, however, only cover about 1/3 of the actual cost. If we were to charge the full amount almost none of the families could afford to send their youth.  So, we believe God for the rest. “

Rick Ridings of Succat Hallel also sends this reminder of the ELAV 2014, our yearly young adult and youth conference, hosted by Succat Hallel, is coming up this weekend! It will be taking place July 5th-7th. We will be having the conference live streaming, and it will be available on the ELAV website.  We want to encourage you to join us, and see what the Lord will be doing this year STREAMING LIVE HERE at

Meanwhile there is the annual MJAA conference going on in the USA, with many young Israelis from Tiferet Yeshua nd Ahavat Yeshua participating this week.  Ron Cantor is taping his podcast from the conference and also shares an article on how releasing terrorists leads to murder – in Israel.   

From the Revive Israel team, Ariel and Jeremiah are teaching and sharing at a series of conferences & leaders meetings in China and Japan. Please pray for all these meetings and that deep connections in the Lord will be made.  Other material from Revive Israel: Asher Intrater continues his video teaching on how covenantal love is sacrificial love.  Watch  |  Cody Archer writes on the Acts 1:8 sending of the disciples to the ends of the earth  |  Dan Juster teaches on the Life of Power in this article

Evan Levine posted on Facebook yesterday about how the HaTikva Project is financing the tuition for a young believer. A year of medical struggles left her penniless and she could not afford to go to school. She will now be learning a trade that will provide income for many years to come.

Ye’shi (Jesse) Reinhard of Hands of Mercy and Tents of Victory humanitarian aid and ministry to Sderot writes about the bombardment of missiles from Gaza that Israelis are dealing with.  One of the members of the Hands of Mercy team, an Iraq war vet, shares their experience when a Kassam rocket hit a plastics factory nearby their home.  It is one thing to experience these things in war next to fellow soldiers, but entirely different in your own home surrounded by your young children.  See more inside the attached PDF Weekly Summary

Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power of the tongue

Please keep in prayer the Israeli believers who are fighting for their lives or other urgent health needs: 

• Prayer request from Hamaayan Congregation for D, one of our youth to have a perfect recovery from a dangerous illness.

• Pray for Messianic leader Marcel Rebiai of Shemen Sasson congregation in Jerusalem as he recovers from major back surgery. 
• Arni & Yonit Klein of Emmaus Way request prayers for staff in the U.S. (Becky and Keith) and in Germany (Hannah) as they heal from extremely serious injuries received in accidents.
• Four elder ministry leaders in Israel, are dealing with Parkinson’s which is a neurological syndrome.  Since they have not shared this information, I will just ask for you to please pray for them each to be able to continue to live normal lives, and for the hand of the LORD to bless them with healing.
• Please pray for the wife of Ariel Ben David, who leads an Eilat Congregation, and also for his worship leader, both of whom were recently diagnosed with breast cancer.   It has been quite a long while since we heard any update, if any of you in Israel can input new information it would be appreciated.
• Pray for Ami Ortiz for ongoing issues from the Purim 2008 bomb blast –  all this time later there are still painful procedures, lack of recognition from the government of this terror victim status.
• Guy Cohen of Harvest of Asher asks for continued prayer for Marlene’s physical healing and financial miracle needed. For Misha, who has diabetes & was hospitalized w/infection and blood clot in his leg; for V’s son; for O who fell on the bus.

Inside the attachment of the
Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests from Israeli Ministries
Arrows from Zion can be shared freely.  Just copy and paste this email into a Word document to make it easy to print.  However, we ask the Weekly Summaries not be forwarded or information republished without consent of the specific ministries. The Weekly Summary is by subscription only, write arrowsfromzion@gmail.com or donna@d10r10.com

Teaching Articles

Because of the swirl of excitement that is being generated in the religious Jewish and Christian world about the birth of a perfect Red Heifer, we are bringing up this article from July 2001 by Asher Intrater as the teaching this week.  I hope you will avail yourselves of the wisdom in it.

Red Heifer, Or Just Plain Bull? 

“I have been shocked to find out that many born again, Spirit filled believers in Yeshua (Jesus) have been duped into donating hundreds of thousands of dollars toward quack projects to groom a perfectly red haired little cow. Redemption will come to Israel through sharing the gospel of Yeshua, not through donations to groom a red heifer.” – Asher Intrater

Praying the Headlines

From our friend Martin Sarvis in Jerusalem  |  Two weeks ago in the June 16th Update we wrote, "The landscape is changing quickly in the Middle East-spiritually, demographically, perhaps soon to be geographically as well." The following day, during a watch at Succat Hallel in Jerusalem devoted to intercession over the "Isaiah 19 Highway," our friend Rick Ridings received a vision regarding the shifting of boundaries in the Middle East. We find the elements of this vision to be of critical importance and submit it with Rick's analysis for your prayerful consideration below. Certain aspects of that vision appear already to be moving into place:   Read more inside the attached PDF Weekly Summary

Also Rick Ridings vision is now available online Re-Drawing the Middle East Map.