Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Been Fishing Lately?


 “Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks” (Jer. 16:16)

Hey Gang:   One of the very high points, in our volunteer services, was our tenure with the Ebenezer Fund in North Carolina.  The focus of this ministry is to assist the “olim” (meaning Jews in the “diaspora” which means anyplace other than Israel),  who want to return to the land of their heritage and who are seeking to make “aliya (meaning return to the Land of their heritage). 

One of the very special memories I recall was of an elderly woman who was found in a remote village in Siberia. She was in poor health and some administrative staff, that had no hands on contact with her, felt that investing the needed dollars to transport her to Kiev and then placing her in one of the limited slots on the ship to Haifi was not considered a good usage of their limited funds.

But there was something about this dear lady that superseded all of that good reasoning .   She had a radiance about her that melted the hearts of the folks choosing who would go and who would wait for the next available ship. 

Witnessing to the olim aboard ship was forbidden for, if a person was converted in route, the Israeli government would not permit them to enter the Land of their Heritage.  A policy that has since been changed, for the Israel government now recognizes that Christians are rapidly becoming the only friends they have in the world.  

But, even though there was no witnessing allowed, the olim knew the hearts of the workers were committed to Jesus as their Lord and many would say, “We know who you are and we are learning about your Jesus through your witness.”  A good lesson for each of us who name the name of Jesus – it is not what we say but how we carry ourselves that will draw all men unto Him. 

Although there were very few verbal commitments on those voyages to “The Land”, there were many heart commitments.  God called this dear lady home, several days after her arrival in Haifa.  A waste of money? Right? Only if money is your idol.   She died in the land that she loved all her life with a passion.

It has been interesting to note that most of the governments of the world have bought into Replacement Theology, the belief that God has turned His back on Israel and the Church has taken its place as the apple of His eyes. They teach that the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS Movement), whose intent is to isolate Israel from the economies of the world, will eventually win the day and starve them out.  Interesting, because the governments of the world in their rhetoric are against Israel; BUT, but the people on the street are supportive.  Such is the case in America and other nations.

What a wondrous blessing it has been to be alive on earth during this period of history and see the fulfillments of God’s words.  I was fifteen at the time the United Nations decreed that Israel would once again have a home land.

We were there to celebrate Israel’s 50th &60th Anniversaries. One has to be totally blind, if they cannot see the hand of God in the reestablishment of “The Land” and the ever increasing return of the Jews to the land of their heritage. Important in this is the restoration of the Hebrew language which had been dead for thousands of years.

What a wondrous day it was when the Al El 747 touched down at the Ben Gurion Airport and my feet touched the sacred ground of Israel for the first time.  I believe, with all my heart, all of His children will soon reside in the New Jerusalem and will forever be with the Lord, in His presence.  What a glorious day that will be my young friends.

Blessings,

Gramps

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