Isaiah 62:6-7 6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Over the weekend, riots broke out throughout Jerusalem as well as rockets fired from Gaza leading into a pivotal week in Israel. On Monday, Israel will observe Jerusalem Day which celebrates the reunification of the city that occurred during the 1967 Six-Day War. This occurs as Muslims throughout the world will be closing their celebration of Ramadan as the feast comes to its conclusion on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Israel is launching its largest-ever military drill simulating war on all fronts over the next 30 days code-named, "Chariots of Fire."
If this wasn't enough, at the end of the week, Palestinians will recall "Nabka Day". This will occur on May 14-15th which is intended to coincide with the Israeli Declaration of Independence of 1948. Nabka literally means the "day of catastrophe" and is held each year remembering the time Israel became a nation.
On May 16th, believers will celebrate the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, in Hebrew. Most Christians recognize this holiday as the Feast of Pentecost -- the time when the Holy Spirit descended and empowered His saints to accomplish the mission of global witness to Yeshua (Jesus).
Throughout the world, there has been a call to prayer and fasting in anticipation of Shavuot and its prophetic significance for believers in Israel and throughout the world, as we long for a fresh outpouring of God's Spirit.
The "coincidence" of these two "calls", one to prayer, the other to war, seems significant.
We believers in Yeshua (Jesus) are called to stand as watchmen. Interestingly, one of the ancient Hebrew words for 'watchmen' is the word 'notzrim' -- which coincidentally, is the modern Hebrew word for 'Christians'. Watchmen are called to vigilance and attentive awareness of the situation. Our present situation is a boiling pot threatening to overflow. Please keep watch with us; "do not keep silence, and give Him no rest, till He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise throughout the earth." This can not happen if Jerusalem is divided and overrun with those who hate the very existence of Israel. The Lord will use this pressure for His own purposes, to test nations and hearts, and to draw Israel back to Himself. Our heart cry is for another outpouring of His Holy Spirit on all flesh. Whatever peace we can hope for in this age will come from Him, and this Divine outpouring...then, finally, Yeshua will return to establish His Kingdom -- and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God.
But for now, please stand as a watchman with us at this pivotal time..watch and pray fervently for a minimum of conflict....and for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit – the Lord will be faithful to answer our cries to Him.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A foreign soldier was brought before his commanding officer and accused of communicating with the enemy. He had been seen emerging from an area where their troops were known to patrol. The poor man summed up his defense in a few words, stating that he had slipped away to spend an hour alone in prayer. "Have you been in the habit of spending an hour in private prayer?" demanded the officer. "Yes, Sir," he replied. "Well" said his commander, "never in your life have you been in more need of prayer than right now. Kneel down and pray aloud so that we all may hear you."
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 14 Now thanks be to God, which always leads us to triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of His knowledge in every place. For we unto God a sweet fragrance of Christ, in ...
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