“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But there was something about this dear lady that superseded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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