WEEKLY Arrows from Zion 1/13/2016

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

Arrows from Zion May be copied for use in Prayer Gatherings

Priority Prayer Focus Jan 13, 2016

I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep
Psalm 121:1-4

Arrows from Zion
Strategically Aimed for the Lord’s Harvest in Israel
Contact info for all the ministries included inside the subscription-only Weekly Summary.

Although I was unable to get a 'catch up' edition of Israelprayer out by last weekend, this does put us very close to caught up, and we will be entirely on track with the prayer summary by next week.

We begin with this just in from Martin Sarvis in Jerusalem as Martin writes about how God has been watching over Israel:  "In the last 2 1/2 weeks the Israel security agency Shin Bet has broken open three Hamas cells preparing major attacks within Israel.  In late December a large-scale operation plotting bombings and suicide bombing attacks in Israel was apprehended in the Abu Dis area outside of Jerusalem.  A week ago the agency thwarted a plan to kidnap and murder Israelis in order to trade their bodies for Palestinian prisoners.  This week other plots was uncovered, including one to plant bombs and blow up Prime Minister Netanyahu while he would be speaking in an Arena in southern Jerusalem. Having lived in Israel for many years, the authors can testify that the number of apprehensions such as these are far greater than what makes it into the news media outside the country."

 Sarvis asks, Please Pray:  For God’s mercies upon those men and women entrusted with Israel’s internal security. For alertness, integrity and righteous judgment to govern their actions.. . . For the spread of the Gospel amongst those in Israel’s security agencies, in her police force and in her border control.

Martin also writes about a disturbing development - the appointment of Aryeh Deri of the Shas religious party to the head of Israel's Ministry of Interior.  "Deri held the post 22 years ago, but was forced to resign for abusing his position through bribery.  He later was jailed for around two years for corruption."  Not only is Deri corrupt, but he is bad news for the Good News in Israel, and in the head role of the Interior Ministry which has the say of who can be an Israeli citizen and who has to get out of Israel, Deri is well-known for his opposition to Jews who believe in Yeshua.

Sarvis asks, Please Pray: That no weapon formed against the Gates of Israel through the placing of an anti-Messiah leader in oversight of those gates will prosper  (The MOI is literally a “gateway” into the nation).             The [Shas] party ....is known for its practice of the occult. Pray that the ministry offices will not become permeated with emmisaries of an occult, anti-Messiah (anti-Christ) agenda. Pray: That the gates of aliyah (returning of Jews to the Land) will be kept open for all those who hear the sound of the “great shofar” (Isaiah 28:13) to return – including Messianic Jews! That if it be possible, he [Deri] may be turned to the only One in whom righteousness may be received

 From the Harvest of Asher congregation in Acco, Guy Cohen reports that they have once again begun to hold weekly home group gatherings, so people are able to meet in smaller group settings. They ask prayer for all these groups.  Other prayer requests include intercession for a new pro life counselor that is now being trained to replace the lady who has been in that position as she turns now to working with the Aliyah from Hungary.  HOA children have participated in a couple of great outreaches, including to the elderly and also in preparing gift baskets for the Center for the Blind children and families.  Your support of Israeli ministries makes all the outreaches like this possible - a blessing to the community and a growth opportunity for the believers.

Joel Jelski sends an update on his young family, wife Teresa and their bouncing baby boy Boaz, now 5 months old and entering the teething stage.  You all know what that means! Pray for them all to get rested sleep and little Boaz relief from teething pain.  Joel is in his final year of college and has lots on his plate - family, school and ministry.  They will be traveling to Texas in late February thru mid-March. If you would like to have them share in small group or church group, you will find his contact information inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary   

Ron Cantor brings an appeal for the #Facelift they want to do on the Tel Aviv congregation, Tiferet Yeshua this year (details inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary).  They will be opening their Coffee House Outreach this month...just waiting on the delivery of the furniture now.  One of the special things they did to liven up the coffee house was to shoot hundreds of photographs around Tel Aviv, then print the 70 they selected on canvases to be displayed as art.  The shop manager that worked with them on the art project was so excited about it he plans to come to the Coffee Shop to see the final display.  Pray for him!

Eric Benson of the House of Victory rehab ministry is really excited about a donation that made it possible for them to purchase a stainless steel pot with a strong seal that they are able to transport from Haifa to Tel Aviv filled with soup for the outreach they do there among the drug addicts and prostitutes. They are also happy to have the volunteer help of a brother from Scotland who has come to serve in the rehab cooking delicious meals for the men.  Benson also gives us the stories of two men they have been ministering to in dire need of the LORD's intervention.  To learn more about this ministry see inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary

Ruth Nessim in Nahariya - in between her treatments for cancer - is a great friend to the Arab ministries in her town, helping them by writing ministry letters for the works they do.  This week Ruth sends us a ministry letter from Pierre and Maggie Altounian, a Lebanese couple with children who fled Lebanon in 2000.  They now hold services for the many Lebanese in the area in the Hebrew congregation hall that Ruth belongs to.  As Ruth says, "This is a wonderful example of how God is building His Kingdom here in the North with Jews and Arabs praying together, and even one formerly Moslem Lebanese who now proudly wears a cross to show his faith in Jesus. We are a happy family."

Pierre Altounian says through Ruth, " In our City, Nahariya, there are many Lebanese families, and these families desperately need to learn about the way of our Lord Jesus Christ. "The harvest is great but the workers are few". So help us pray that the Lord would send his workers to work in the field of our Lord Jesus Christ. We would love to do much more visiting, but our work week is at least 48 hours, and it does not leave much time for what we would like to do.  I work full time and do not have a lot of free time, so I pray that God would open a way for us for effective service. Today I ask of you that you keep our congregation in your prayers, that God would find ways where there are no ways. We serve a God of miracles, a God that can do the impossible."

David and Karen Davis of the 25 year old Carmel congregation, announce they are now implementing the transition of the Carmel pastorship over to their Israeli-born pastor Dani Sayag and his wife LuAnne. As you may know, David was recently diagnosed with cancer which he is being treated for and it was decided that the transition which they have been planning for now being the time to implement.  You can learn more about the Sayeg's who have served many years at the congregation, also leading a daughter congregation in Beit Yedidia.

As for David Davis, we also received this update this morning as David and Karen are in Tijuana, Mexico at the Oasis of Hope Hospital doing a 3-week alternative cancer treatment run by committed Christian doctors and staff.  You can read about the factors that informed their decision to go the route of alternative treatment instead of massive radiation treatments, and also hear about their delight with the Christian surroundings in the Mexico treatment center where worship is going on in the same room as cancer patients are receiving IV infusion treatments.  Pray for David to be fully recovered from cancer, and also for Karen who is by his side.

From the Morning Star Fellowship in Tiberias, Claude Ezagouri writes, " The new report on poverty was published two weeks ago and the picture is rather grim with 1.7 million Israelis, most of them children, under poverty level, 50,000 more than last year. Please intercede for the government to find out-of-the box solutions to cope with this situation. Pray also for the Messianic believers to be efficient in their humanitarian work to bring some relief to the needy."
"Claude is meeting regularly with other messianic and Arab pastors to strengthen unity between messianic and Arab Christian believers. So far, the meetings have gone well although there were some stumbling blocks on the way. Most of the Arab brothers are from the Galilee but we hope to be able to meet also with others. At a time when terror and hatred are spreading in Israel, the unity of the brothers is essential for us to be able to bring the true message of love and peace and be a living example of brotherhood In Yeshua."  For more about this ministry see inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary

In the Kfar Saba congregation of the Wellspring, Tony and Orna Sperandeo give a great look back at their praise reports for 2015 and look forward to all that lies ahead of them in 2016.  They write, "We believe that God has given us the mandate to be the watchmen over our city and area over looking Samaria. The dream He gave us is to establish a Ministry Center here, where the needs of the people can be met according to Isaiah 61 (our mandate/mission). Having the bomb shelter/youth center is just part of this vision.  This year, He has put on our hearts to purchase the entire building, thus being free from outside influences of other tenants. And it will enable us to meet in a safer place.  Imagine with us:  A building that could be renovated in excellence that will draw the people.  A bomb shelter than can protect not only us but also those around us in times of crises.  A healing center that is based on creativity that would heal hearts and change lives.  A prayer area that overlooks the entire Samarian countryside.  A guesthouse that could accommodate visitors, volunteers, and new immigrants as they learn about Israel and our ministry.  This is our hope and dream for 2016.  We believe with God's help and provision, we can see this as a reality by December."  To see more highlights and prayer requests, see inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary

From Revive Israel in Jerusalem, Asher Intrater writes about Apostolic Alignment and gives a video teaching on The Greatest Jewish Holiday - the birth of the Messiah.  There is a short piece by Betty Intrater on the most popular male baby name in Israel and a report from Revive Team Cody Archer on Bringing the Kingdom in Switzerland.

Also from Revive this Prayer request | From January 21-24, Asher, Betty, and Youval, together with a worship team from Gateways Geneva will minister in Rome, Italy in the All European Leadership conference hosted by Aglow International. Please pray for the success of these gatherings, anointing on Asher as he speaks and for a fresh empowerment and sending upon the leaders who attend to see revival in their nations.

Ruth Nessim has also sent her January prayer letter writing that she has been able to send off her life story book, "The Roofed Gate" for editing and printing. She also writes, " The Esther and Ruth children’s book has been well received and we have received some very positive acknowledgements. It may be obtained from: CJF Publications, 611 Broadway, San Antonio, Tx78215, USA, Tel:210.226.1075,Fax 210.226.2140, or from me at POB 269, 22102 Nahariya, Israel.  The price is $10 plus postage.

Ruth is being treated for Lymphoma and is at the half-way mark of treatment (three weekly treatment with two days at the hospital and four days’ treatment at home).  She says her hair is thinning but still on her head, and apart from a cold has been feeling fine... except not being able to sleep after the chemo and "wanting to work non-stop". (To tell you the truth, we think this is Ruth's natural state & don't know how she does it all!).  You can read more about Ruth's wonderful spirit of devotion to those the Lord puts in her path inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary.  Please pray for this wonderful woman of God who is always pouring herself out to help others.

Howard Bass in the Yeshua's Inheritance congregation in Beer Sheva writes, "We had a very interesting mix of believers and unbelievers join us yesterday: an Israeli Jewish family who found us through the internet: the wife and her mother are believers, but the husband is not, yet they all came out with two babies in strollers; a former Muslim Bedouin woman with her daughter, whom we had not seen for a while because of her husband's disapproval; an inquiring Holocaust survivor who has been part of the bus tours that one of our members conducts; a couple of 'street people' from the neighborhood; visitors from different parts of the world, some on their way to other parts."  Pray for the Bass family as they minister to whosoever comes across the years in Beer Sheva.

Howard will be heading for "southern England from Feb 1-8, speaking at the Prayer For Israel (PFI) Brunel Conference. The focus for me is the challenge of proclaiming Jesus in a world -- and a lukewarm Church -- that is unwilling or uninterested in speaking out the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but seem to give more honor to false gods so as not to offend their believers. What about offending our God and Father who has given equal honor to His Son, and the name above every name?!"

He also reports that son, Tal, has returned to his unit - eye pressure is good, but the iris is still not narrowing to light. Interestingly, his vision in his good eye is normal, but in his damaged eye his vision is better!  About the pupil's recovery - it may recover soon, it may recover in a while, or it may not fully recover at all, but again this is already much better than how this all started. We all thank you for your prayers for his healing and recovery.

Bass gives one correction to the interview last week about the 10-year anniversary of the religious attack on the congregation:  " The correction is: we did NOT have the financial resources for such a lawsuit, but went in faith that we were in obedience to the leading of the Lord. And He did help us with all the expenses, as the article indicates."

Dov Bikas, who has a Russian-speaking congregation in Beer Sheva, as well as Tel Aviv outreach to drug addicts and sexual abuse victims, writes with the story of a young Muslim woman who was a former victim of human sex trafficking.  Responding to an ad in Uzbekistan while in her late teens for "job opportunities" in Israel, she ended up trapped by sex traffickers.  You can read her story inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary but after attending the Bible studies offered by Bikas' ministry team, this young woman became a believer and was baptized.  Now she is trying to be re-united with her daughter in Uzbekistan, and caring for her young children her. Dov has several prayer requests for this woman's situation - who has come so far, God's mercy is clearly towards her.  Find out how you can pray and also help/

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

Please see inside the attached DOCX Weekly Summary to keep in prayer the Israeli ministry leaders and believers with urgent health needs including the fight for their very lives:  

David Davis; an unnamed forefather of Messianic Judaism; Ruth Nessim; Eddie Santoro;  Evan Levine; Rachel Slater; Judy, wife of pastor Yaakov K; Moshe Morrison;  Shelly wife of pastor Eitan; Claude Ezagouri; Patti, wife of Dan Juster; Baruch and Karen Maayan; Michael E and unnamed Israel-related ministers; Jacob Damkani.  Pray also for Ghazi, the son of an Arab pastor, who is suffering from Leukemia. Tal Bass.

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Donna Diorio 
 arrowsfromzion@gmail.com or donna@d10r10.com
 
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