Isaiah 11:11,12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush (modern day Ethiopia), from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He shall set up a banner for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
For centuries in Ethiopia, there have lived a people we now know as the Falashas. They kept all sorts of Biblical traditions and call themselves Beta Yisrael (House of Israel). As experts began to study the matter, it became clear that these were descendants of the Jewish people who came to Africa in ancient times and intermarried. Unbeknownst to many, a percentage of them became believers in Jesus over the years. Jesus (or Yeshua, as they called Him) became a part of their identity as Jewish people. Many Falashan Jews worshipped Jesus as their Messiah and continued to practice Jewish tradition.
Amazingly, in 1975, the Israeli rabbinate officially recognized the Falashas as Jews. In the years to follow, a number of circumstances including famine and civil war caused this group of Jewish people to begin facing extinction. In a wonderful effort to save them, Israel began sending planes into Ethiopia and airlifting thousands of these Falashan Jews to the land that they, too, were promised — the land of Eretz Yisrael.
Today, thousands of Falashas live in the Land, serve in its army, raise their children to speak Hebrew, and take part in every day life here in Israel.
The restoration of the Falashas is not only a prophetic sign for us that God is faithful to His Word, but that He will also be faithful to us! God always keeps His promises — and He is in the business of restoration. It doesn’t matter how cut off we are or how far we may have strayed — we can be restored! With one call to the Lord, He can lift us out of whatever circumstance we may be in — whether it be spiritual, physical, emotional, financial or anything else! With a single touch of His hand He can bring complete restoration to our lives and give to us what He has promised!
Be encouraged. We can never be so far removed that we can’t be restored — our troubles are never so great that we can’t be heard — the Lord’s arm is never too short that it cannot save!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The legendary preacher, Charles Spurgeon once said, "Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right."
En Gedi is a nature reserve about 40 minutes from our home. Surrounded by dry, barren, rocky ground, except to the east where the Dead Sea lies, it is an oasis, fed year round by springs of fresh water, and home to some of the most unique wild and botanical life in the world.
A father asked his son to carry a letter from their camp to the village. He pointed out a trail over which the lad had never gone before. “All right Dad, but I don’t see how that path will ever reach the town,” said the boy. “Well son, I'll tell you how. Do you see that big tree down the path?” asked the father. “Oh, yes, I see that far.” “Well, when you get there by the tree, you’ll see the trail a little farther ahead -- and farther down you'll see another big tree -- and when you reach that one you'll be closer and so on until you get within sight of the houses of the village.”
Yesterday was a big day for us, but especially for baby Obi. He was circumcised in the presence of our friends and family (many of them not believers) at our congregation in Tel Aviv. We had the chance to share about the false report we got concerning Obi's health and how the doctors told us to abort him early on. I tied in the faith that Abraham must have had, especially concerning circumcision. There may not have been a dry eye in the house. Thank you, God!
What a week we've been having! We're getting ready to fly to the States for a much needed time, to see our families and to share what's going on here in the Land. Along with all the hustle and bustle of packing, running loads of errands and training a new volunteer, we just got word that the airport employees have begun a strike and customers have not been able to get on their flights all day. Not only that, we've been having computer problems galore! As the saying goes -- when it rains it pours!
I heard a story about a man who was imprisoned during Napoleons reign. While sulking in his dungeon one day, he etched on the wall the words "Nobody Cares".
Many times, our unbelieving family and coworkers -- society in general, can make us feel small and inferior -- like second class citizens -- because we are Christians. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, somehow, we begin to believe it! We become what I like to call "mopey Christians," just moping around, keeping our faith hidden under a bushel, feeling afraid to say a word about Jesus, in fear that we might offend someone! And that's precisely what the enemy wants us to feel!