Life in the First Century

We visited Nazareth Village once again while Paul, Lauren and Noah were in town. The recreation of first century life on an actual vineyard is always interesting, no matter how many times we've visited. Here you can see how they collected water and cooked. As someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen it looks doable, but definitely hard.

October 6th

We obviously feel it's very important to pray for Israel, and specifically Jerusalem. But did you know that there are people all over the world who feel this same way? They've taken Psalm 122:6 to heart and have implemented an international day of prayer for the Holy City. Here's a video and link to help you understand what they're doing and why.

The Great Day of Salvation

Today is Hoshana Rabbah, the Great Day of Salvation according to the Scriptures and the Jewish Calendar. Chag Sukkot Sameach, friends!

What a surprise!

Up Close at the Trial Location

John 18:28-29 says, "Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out to them and said, 'What accusation do you bring against this Man?'"

Take a look at the actual location in this video with Tom:

In case you missed the first half of the teaching, here it is:

Archaeological evidence shows that we do know the most probable place where Yeshua was sentenced to death -- at a rarely visited area just outside the walls of the Old City.

The Trial of Yeshua

Archaeological evidence shows that we do know the most probable place where Yeshua was sentenced to death -- at a rarely visited area just outside the walls of the Old City.

Join Tom as he explains the archaeological proof in part 1.

Shavuot in Jerusalem

Happy Shavuot -- let's celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit!

If you can't see the video click here

A day in her life

Today is Cassidy's 6th birthday! This is just a typical walk to school, speaking Hebrew with Abba while the Orthodox family wonders who we are. In case it doesn't show up (I've been told it's not cooperating) here's a link. She's telling Tom how to ask, "How old is your daughter".

I will cause a hailstorm

Never One to disappoint, this week the L-rd lined up the weather in Jerusalem to reflect His power as told of in the weekly portion. Exodus 9:18-19 says: tomorrow, about this time, I will cause a hailstorm so heavy that Egypt has had nothing like it from the day it was founded until now. Therefore, send and hurry to bring indoors all your livestock and everything else you have in the field. For hail will fall on every human being and animal left in the field that hasn't be brought home, and they will die.

You think I'm kidding...

Curious about the portion? Here's a post briefly explaining what it is. You can always check our left side-bar to find out what the reading is for each week. Hope it blesses you!

Is Christmas Kosher?

Grinding Wheat, Israeli-style

While we were in Capernaum (Kfar Nahum, the village of Nahum) we visited what is supposedly Peter's house, although it could have been Yeshua's home for all that they can prove. It's a religious site, and the Catholic Church built a church over the site, which made it a bit awkward to see the actual remains, but there are ruins all around that we explored and enjoyed. It's amazing to see how they lived thousands of years ago, and how much or how little has changed over time.

For instance, here's an example of how they ground wheat in Samson's day, and in Yeshua's. 50% of their daily calories were from grains and that meant the woman of the home spent several hours (4-6) a day grinding the wheat berries. That's a lot of work...

It's possible to be pro-Israeli without being anti-Palestinian

I don't know when terrorism will erupt in full force — my hope is that it won't ever. But I am convinced today that the disengagement [withdrawal from Gaza] will eventually aggravate terrorism instead of reducing it. The security establishment also expects an increase in terrorism. The withdrawal endangers Israel's security, divides its people and set the standards of the withdrawal to the '67 border.

—Benjamin Netanyahu, 2005

Although he was not Prime Minister during the withdrawal from Gaza, Netanyahu saw the writing on the wall in 2005. Since then, there has been a lot of international controversy over how the people in Gaza have been treated including the highly publicized "flotilla incident." A quick look at the facts brings light to some issues not commonly talked about in the media:

In the video below, Calev Myers of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice (www.jij.org.il/) is speaking to the European Union. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Since the Oslo Accords in 1993 until today the amount of international aid to the Palestinian Authority is 25 times per person larger than the amount of money spent on the Marshal Plan that rebuilt Europe after WWII (taking into account currency value inflation).
• Today, 60% of Palestinian economy is dependent upon foreign aid.
• Large amounts of the money go into the pockets of Palestinian leaders and to stockpile weapons used against Israel.
• This money has not been used to eradicate poverty or to create a sustainable economy for Palestinians.
• The Palestinian Authority is the primary abuser of Palestinian human rights, not Israeli settlers or the IDF.

It's not about discontinuing funds to the Palestinian people, but asking the Palestinian Authorities to be accountable about where all of the money is going. There is currently no accountability!

 

Season of Redemption

Two years ago, five days before Wyatt rode off with Yeshua, Tom gave a phenomenal teaching on the importance of Shavuot for every follower of Yeshua. At the time we believed this was the L-rd releasing him to teach more, but then Wyatt left and we remained in a season of resting in the L-rd and trusting His timing.

The L-rd re-opened that door of teaching for Tom in the last 8 months, in a bigger way than we could have imagined. We don't have the original teaching he gave in May of 2010, but here is a brief version of the importance of Shavuot, in relation to this season of redemption. May it bless your spirit as we approach the day of Shavuot, beginning Saturday night.

The Name, Hashem

We included this video in our e-newsletter last month, but in case you don't get it, or didn't read it, here is a video about why we hyphenate the name of G-d. We've had good feedback on it and hope it sheds some light on the subject.

Independence Day, 64 Years Young

Cassie's school has been preparing for Independence day this week: she made this incredible Israeli flag (notice her name she wrote in Hebrew at the top, ), as well as did a numbers worksheet that included counting airplanes and tanks.

Today we went to Gan Sacher (Sacher Garden) to celebrate with the people of King of Kings Congregation and it seems that every Israeli in Jerusalem was there.

 They literally camp out all day. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky (which is becoming very common) and the breeze was cool. It was the perfect day to spend playing at the park.

  Israeli flags are everywhere, even on the people.

 We celebrated by letting Cassidy consume more sugar than she has ever had in her entire life. She loved it. Her very first cotton candy; Happy 64th Birthday, Israel!

 Then we headed on over to the playground to let her run off the sugar. Check out how tall that slide is. Cassidy enjoyed herself thoroughly while Tom and I sat in the shade and watched a little boy come down the slide, pull his pants down and pee in the sand. Must be normal around here, because no one seemed to mind.

And it wouldn't be Independence day in Israel without the lemonade stand guy packing heat.

The irony of the two following videos is pretty funny. The first one is from our day at the park. They flew over for about 10 minutes and it was incredible to see their tight formations and hear the roar of the planes. And then there's the fireworks. I think they speak for themselves...

Hoshana, Please Save Us

In Israel people are preparing for a very important week: Friday is Passover and Sunday is Resurrection Morning. This year the celebration of Yeshua's death and resurrection line up with the Hebrew calendar so the anticipation for this weekend is thick.

Last Sunday we participated in the pilgrimage walk from the Mount of Olives to the Old City, through the Lion's Gate. Thousands of people were there: Orthodox Christians, Arab Catholics, Roman Catholics, Franciscans, Protestants and different ethnicities as well. Some groups sang or read scripture and many had large palm branches that they waved. It was about a two hour walk and we enjoyed walking through this area of the city, feeling the excitement of the day and explaining different things to Cassidy.

As we approached the entrance at the Old City and passed the tombs Tom recalled the passage about Yeshua's return to the east quoted in Zechariah 14:4 & 9, "On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east of Yerushalayim; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, to make a huge valley...Then ADONAI will be king over the whole world. On that day ADONAI will be the only one, and his name will be the only name."

Once we got close to the Old City the crowd became more dense and Tom put Cassidy on his shoulders. Entering the Lion's Gate shoulder to shoulder amongst so many people with Yeshua at the forefront of our minds was a meaningful moment. According to Ezekiel 44 when He returns He will come through the Golden Gate again (not the Lion's Gate), but the Muslims have closed off this gate...as though that will stop Him!

We hope this season will remind you of G-d's faithfulness to His people -- from the exodusout of Egypt to the resurrection of the Messiah, He is the same powerful Creator who calls us into covenantel relationship with Himself! Hosanna in the highest.

Purim

Tonight we attended King of Kings and were blessed once again by the atmosphere of hunger for the L-rd and their deference to Israel. The children celebrated Purim (a little early) and Cassidy was thrilled to be able to observe it by dressing up as a ballerina. Tradition is to dress up in costumes, to hide your identity the way Esther did and then act out the story of Esther. They did this at the children's service and she got to be Queen Esther!

The story of Esther is a remarkable one: one man seeks to destroy the entire nation of Israel but because of one woman (and one man, too) they are saved. At some level it is the story of Israel. As followers of Yeshua Purim reminds us that we have a gracious King who desires for us to come before Him and ask for the lives of His people. Please join with us this week as we ask G-d to move on behalf of His people Israel, as Iran and Ahmadinejad seek to exterminate the Jews once more. We know He hears the cries of His people! The Messianic community in Israel put together a helpful guide for interceding on behalf of Israel this Purim. There is a traditional fast that goes along with Purim (Esther actually fasted 3 days) and we are using this time to seek His protection for the nation and the people. The fast that leads up to Purim is sundown Tuesday night to sundown Wednesday. Here is a link you can visit for more information about joining in prayer: http://mishkanelohai.com/esther/

In the meantime, something to make you smile. We don't know if it's the fact that she's dressed up, she had chocolate, or she got to be Queen Esther that made her so excited, but we enjoyed it.

Menorahs in the Portion Terumah

Some thoughts on the menorah described in this week's portion, with Tom.

The Golden Menorah, created by the Temple Institute.
Visit www.templeinstitute.org for more information