Aron Visuals via Unsplash
Mark Huey delivers the February 2022 Outreach Israel News update.
Recently, I attended a gathering of individuals who were discussing the forthcoming Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) in Dallas, on March 24-25 this year. It was providential how I greeted Albert Veksler, the founder and director of the JPB, because the day before the meeting, I was asked by two different people to two separate events where he was sharing the vision and history of what has taken place at the thirteen previous prayer breakfasts. When “coincidental” confirmations like this occur, the Lord has my undivided attention!
At the first encounter, I was reacquainted with at least seven people who I have known for years in the Dallas area, who each have a sincere love for Israel, and have actively been praying and working in their respective ways for the peace of Jerusalem and the people of Israel. I anticipated this and was not surprised at all, especially when I found out that a number of these individuals had been to a county just east of Dallas, inspecting red heifers four weeks earlier.
During the evening presentation, the initial speaker, a lady I was unfamiliar with, shared about her participation in the first JPB in Jerusalem, and her fervent prayer support of the efforts since and attendance at some of the JPB gatherings at foreign locations. About midway through her talk, referencing Zoom and Facetime prayers with the director, she mentioned a prophetic word that indicated a significant time of critical decision for America by the end of the first quarter of 2022. When another lady responsible for securing the hotel for the event chimed in, with the difficulty of obtaining a venue because of all the post-COVID events that were now booking hotels for weddings, conferences, etc., the only time available was the locked-in March 24-25 date.
At that point in the presentation, I was led to look at those dates on the Hebrew calendar, and specifically what the weekly Torah and Haftarah readings would be. My primary motivation was to determine what the invited Israeli Knesset and Cabinet members would perhaps be considering in their traditional readings. In addition, because I have a favorable relationship with the Dallas Jewish Conservative organization (who we want to attend the JPB), the thought that some of them would also be mindful of the weekly readings, prompted my curiosity.
Upon turning to the weekly Torah reading schedule for March 25, I discovered that the Jewish Sages and Rabbis consider this Shabbat to be Shabbat Parah, which deals with the red heifer found in Numbers 19:1-22 and is an eighth aliyah or additional reading on that Shabbat. Since I had just been in conversations with some of the JPB advisory committee members, who a month earlier had been in the county adjacent to Dallas on a ranch inspecting some red heifer calves while communicating with rabbis from Israel, my attention was further elevated. Further study found that the reason this Shabbat was the Parah adumah (red heifer or “pure”) is because it was the Shabbat before the Shabbat HaChodesh or Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) of the first Hebrew month of Aviv or Nisan. Apparently, the reading prepares hearts for the Passover (Pesach) celebration on the fifteenth day of that month. Hence, by reading and studying the Numbers 19 Scriptures, the kohanim (priests) and people can contemplate the purification processes required for the sacrifices of Pesach.
Another providential “coincidence” struck me when I noted that the actual Torah portion, Leviticus 9:1-11:47, is called Shemini or Eighth (“new beginnings”). Was it possible that the Lord was indeed allowing the JPB to pray into yet another critical juncture for America at the Dallas gathering? One of the speakers, and reemphasized by testimonies from the director, described how previous JPB meetings in other countries have made some noticeable impact.
Upon reading the designated portion, Leviticus 9 describes the consecration of the altar at the Tabernacle in the wilderness by Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel, with the sacrificial animals including the required ashes of a red heifer. In so doing, Moses initially made this statement to Aaron:
“Moses said, ‘This is what ADONAI commanded that you shall do, so that the glory of ADONAI may appear to you’” (Leviticus 9:6, TLV).
As Moses had declared, at the conclusion of the ceremony, after the Lord’s commands were completed by Aaron and his helpers, the following occurred:
“Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then he stepped down from presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings. Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came back out and blessed the people, the glory of ADONAI appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of ADONAI, and devoured the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:22-24, TLV).
It always amazes me when the glory of the Lord shows up at a gathering! The heaviness of Holy Spirit’s presence is almost palpable to the point, sometimes, when people are literally compelled to get on their knees (and even plant their face in the carpet). Perhaps this would happen at the JPB in March, I thought. The Scriptures were certainly preparing a backdrop for those considering them! By the time one reads Leviticus 11, after some of the unpleasantness of disobedience described in Leviticus 10, the command to be holy as He is holy, resonates in the hearts of those meditating on the text:
“For I am ADONAI your God. Therefore, sanctify yourselves, and be holy, for I am holy. You are not to defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth. For I am ADONAI who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. Therefore, you shall be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44-45, TLV).
Now when one turns to the Haftarah reading for Shemini, the text selected is Ezekiel 36:16-38. This is the section of Ezekiel’s prophecy where he vividly describes the return and restoration of the House of Israel, where God gives the people a new heart and a new spirit, with its responsibilities and its benefits:
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says ADONAI Elohim: ‘I do not do this for your sake, house of Israel, but for My holy Name, which you profaned among the nations wherever you went. I will sanctify My great Name, which has been profaned among the nations—which you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am ADONAI’—it is a declaration of ADONAI—‘when I am sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from the nations, gather you out of all the countries and bring you back to your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. Moreover I will give you a new heart. I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the stony heart from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Ruach within you. Then I will cause you to walk in My laws, so you will keep My rulings and do them. Then you will live in the land that I gave to your fathers. You will be My people and I will be your God’” (Ezekiel 36:22-28, TLV).
As the passage from Ezekiel concludes, there is a vivid reference to the nations of the world observing the return of Israel to the Promised Land. In addition, the appointed times or moadim of the Lord will be evident in the Holy City Jerusalem:
“‘Then the nations that are left all around you will know that I, ADONAI, have rebuilt the ruined places, and replanted what was desolate. I, ADONAI, have spoken it. So I will do it.’ Thus says ADONAI Elohim: ‘I will again be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them—I will populate them with people like a flock. Like the holy flock, like the flock of Jerusalem during her moadim, so the waste cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am ADONAI’” (Ezekiel 36:36-38, TLV).
As I pondered all these Scriptures that will be on the minds of many Jewish people when the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast convenes on March 24-25, I surmised that the confluence of these Scriptures was providentially ordained. Perhaps God will move some hearts toward Himself. After all, the testimonies that the timing of the JPB to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and other Spirit-led situations, resulted in major alterations in some of the different nations at previous gatherings.
Was it possible that the “prophetic word” expressed about the USA coming to a critical decision point by the end of the first quarter of 2022, is something that has merit?
Was the Lord going to use the Dallas JPB to be a heartfelt and repentant catalyst for a paradigm shift back to the roots of faith, established by the forefathers of the American experiment in governance: of the people, by the people and for the people?
Most assuredly, the list of challenges and dilemmas facing the United States of America in 2022 are significant and debilitating. The direct attacks on the Judeo-Christian foundations of the country by the globalist (communist) agenda have done serious damage over the past 60 years. Lamentably, God-less, secular humanists have taken control of most of the influential institutions, programming and then manipulating a vast majority of the population. The compliance and seeming coordination of mainstream media, social media, Big Pharma, Big Government, Big Tech, Wall Street, Academia, Hollywood, Sports, and even many religious organizations, appears orchestrated by diabolical sources. For discerning followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the reality of this statement from Ephesians 6:12 is visibly evident:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, TLV).
In many regards, the spiritual battles facing the Body of Messiah are like ancient conflicts against the forces of evil, reaching back to Nimrod’s Tower of Babel and reminiscent of David facing Goliath. But like then, modern-day Believers who are full of faith in the Holy One and adorned with the armor of God, will secure the victory over evil by God’s grace.
At this point, I could end this testimony with an upbeat conclusion, but that would not do justice to what I received the following morning when I began to dig into the Scriptures. At the evening presentation, my good friend who participated in the red heifer inspection, and attended several JPB gatherings in Jerusalem, the Hague, and San Antonio, heard my excited explanation of the scheduled parashot readings coinciding with the event. He excitedly encouraged me to write about what I was receiving from the ancient texts. After all, each of these providential “coincidences” stirred my pursuit of the Scriptures for analysis and His wisdom. The timing of the Scriptural passages being considered by the greater Jewish community at the time of the JPB, was not by chance. For most assuredly, the Omniscient One orchestrates everything for His sovereign, Divine purposes.
Consequently, upon arising early the next morning, I perused many Scriptures for insight, wisdom and understanding. As I prayed and processed the previous evening presentation and conversations, I had more Scriptures come to mind. My heart and spirit were dealing with the following input:
- the unique timing of the JPB on March 24-25 when the Shemini Parah portion (Leviticus 9:1-11:47) will be considered, in conjunction with a prophetic statement about America at a crossroad by the end of March
- the “eighth day” (new beginnings) and consecration of the ancient altar as described in Leviticus 9:23, when the glory of the Lord fell
- the maftir (additional reading) of Numbers 19, which describes the ashes of the red heifer required for purifying the altar, priests, including the ger or sojourner among the people of Israel (Numbers 19:10)
- the Haftarah from Ezekiel 36:16-38 with an emphasis on new hearts of flesh and the Spirit/Ruach indwelling the people of Israel
- meeting the JPB founder and director, with two additional encounters scheduled for a luncheon, and helping him meet the keynote speaker of the JPB at the Dallas Jewish Conservative meeting later that day
As I meditated upon the Word and contemplated the providential confluence of these encounters and the upcoming events, some additional Scriptures bubbled up in my spirit. For unknown reasons, I was led to review what happened in Ancient Babylon recorded in Daniel 5, where Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, requested Daniel to interpret the confusing handwriting on the wall during a regal feast at the royal palace. The following key verses caught my attention, when Daniel translated the words and proclaimed the consequences:
“But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. Instead you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of His House brought before you, and you and your nobles, your consorts and your concubines have been drinking wine in them. You have praised the gods made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. Yet you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways. Therefore, the hand was sent from Him that wrote this inscription. Now this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL UPARSIN. This is the interpretation of the inscription: MENE: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. PERES: Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians” (Daniel 5:22-28, TLV).
As I contemplated this passage, considering the previous evening presentation and the early morning search through the Scriptures, I began to query the Lord about what all of this meant. Why was I led to look at Daniel 5? Since there were several incredibly encouraging answers to tangential prayers at previous JPB gatherings, is it possible that the timing of the Dallas JPB was going to have a similar positive response to the prayers of the saints and Israeli dignitaries? Is the USA at a critical moment in history, where our numbered days are being weighed and the counsels of Heaven are determining our destiny?
Certainly, America is in a precarious place, with the population substantially divided about its future path. For the past year, it is obvious that the current leadership has implemented policies which have resulted in serial societal damage, both domestically and internationally. After two years of fervently following the pandemic crisis and the political turmoil resulting from a stolen election, I am already convinced that the future of the constitutional republic established on Biblical principles is on a precipice of an abyss. It appears that our beloved country can go one of two distinctly different directions. I have been involved with many prayer initiatives that pray daily and throughout the week for revival, return, renewal, and restoration of our former way of life. I have heard several prophetic prayer and intercessor groups forecast the coming of a great worldwide revival of sorts. While I will not discount these words of encouragement, I also know from historical precedent, that throughout the millennia, with many Biblical references and American and worldwide testimonies, oftentimes, persecution precedes and enhances heartfelt revivals. Obviously, suffering and torment are things which I personally do not want to see and especially do not want to participate in. So, I asked the Lord, why did the Holy Spirit have me read the Daniel 5 Scriptures? No distinct answer was forthcoming.
However, as my morning quiet time routine proceeded, I got my coffee and went outdoor to our covered patio, where for three years I have sat looking toward the eastern sky sunrise, with Israel and Jerusalem in the distance. As I settled into my reflection and meditation, I received and looked at a text video link from a native Israeli friend who lives in Florida. Unexpectedly, the video showed an unusually heavy snow falling in Jerusalem, something that had not happened for nearly five years. As I sat there praying and inquiring of the Lord, I was prompted to call an American friend, who has permanent residence in Israel, to ask him if he happened to know the director of the JPB. Coincidently, he was outside shoveling snow. Then, upon asking him, he replied that he not only knew the director, but had encouraged him to make aliyah back in the late 1990s and early 2000s with his wife and three children. My friend from Israel also indicated that he had attended the JPBs that had been held over the years in Jerusalem at the Knesset. Small world, I thought. What a blessing to know that God has His people connected in so many ways, and how wonderful was it that a technological tool like WhatsApp could affordably let us communicate around the world, and Jerusalem in particular!
Then, after refreshing my cup of coffee and returning to my perch on the porch, the strangest thing happened to me. Now understand that for nearly three years I have had this daily routine of sitting and communing with the Lord in this very chair. I have also been faithfully feeding the small birds like the cardinals, finches, and starlings with bags of bird feed sprinkled on the deck and railings. Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, as the dawn sky was beginning to glow, a huge (with a four-foot wingspan) brown owl came under the ceiling of the porch, and smashed into the window just over and behind my head. I could feel the wind from its wings as it bounced off and flew back out and then over the top of the roof of our house. I was still on the phone with my friend, and I jumped up and tried to see where the owl was going, and I saw a second owl up high following in the first owl’s wake. I was still on the phone with my friend in Jerusalem, and he was a little distracted because his wife was having some problem with snow on an electrical air conditioning unit nevertheless, I quickly shared with him what had just happened.
This was something extremely unusual, because for three years, I had never seen an owl, but just the small birds I had been feeding. I was quickly prompted to ask my friend on the phone a Scripturally-based question, “What do you think this means? Don’t the Jews look for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom?” Regrettably, my distracted friend had an abbreviated response because he was dealing with snow related issues in Jerusalem, so our call ended without any specific words of insight from him. Quite frankly, I was astonished, but without a noticeable adrenaline rush. So, I thought, was this unusual owl incident a sign, or maybe a sign of wisdom? Are not owls considered wise? And how strange was it that this surprising and odd occurrence took place on this very morning when I was trying to sort through all these Scriptures and when I was talking with a friend from a freaky snow-laden Jerusalem. Bizarre coincidences once again got my attention.
Of course, I was not asking the Lord for a sign, but perhaps I got one when the Scripture ushered forth from my heart and mouth. After all, I was seeking Him for understanding and interpretation on what I was considering earlier in the morning, with the genuine hope that Jews and Gentiles coming together to pray for the peace of Jerusalem would touch hearts. I contemplated all of this, and realized I had blurted out a Scripture reference almost immediately after the owl nearly hit me. Perhaps by reviewing the context of where that specific word was written, would reveal some clues to my conundrum. I found the verse in the opening statements made by the Apostle Paul to the Believers in Corinth, where the members were contending with significant divisions in their assembly, because of loyalties to various teachers. While the parallels are not exact, today the divisive topics of yes or no to vaccinations, and election integrity or fraud, generate much strife and acrimony among congregants in many Jewish congregations and American churches. Perhaps Paul’s admonition and exhortation to the Jews and Greeks in the Corinthian assembly might help clarify this strange confluence of events.
Here in concise language, the Apostle to the nations described the contrast between the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of the world, and how the Jews and Greeks seek the Creator God with diverse approaches:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the intelligent.’ Where is the wise one? Where is the Torah scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For seeing that—in God’s wisdom—the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased—through the foolishness of the message proclaimed—to save those who believe. For Jewish people ask for signs and Greek people seek after wisdom, but we proclaim Messiah crucified—a stumbling block to Jewish people and foolishness to Gentile people, but to those who are called (both Jewish and Greek people), Messiah, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men’” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, TLV).
While reading this passage, it dawned on me that the ancient dilemma for Jewish people and the world at large, has not changed since the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of the Messiah of Israel. Obviously, the concept of someone who claimed to be the king of the Jews, executed by the Romans, to atone for the sin of others, makes little sense to the natural person. Paul explains how it is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to Believers who are being saved, it is the power of God. Of course, the religious Jews practiced the sacrificial system established in the Torah of Moses, but even learned teachers of the Law like Nicodemus were confounded by the notion of being “born from above” (John 3:1-21). This universal human problem of unbelief in the only solution (gospel) to their lost estate, was endemic to both Jews and Greeks because they were all by birth, “natural” people entrapped by the spirit of the world, and not yet indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Hence, Paul offers the diagnosis and the remedy when he contrasts the difference between the natural and spiritual person, and elaborates on why to one the claims of the Messiah are foolishness, but to the spiritual person the revelation makes redemptive sense:
“For who among men knows the things of a man, except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the things of God except the Ruach Elohim. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God—so we might come to know the things freely given to us by God. These things we also speak—not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Ruach, explaining the spiritual to the spiritual. Now a natural man does not accept the things of the Ruach Elohim, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is discerned by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of ADONAI, that he will instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Messiah” (1 Corinthians 2:11-16, TLV).
As Paul expounds, for the spiritual follower of the Messiah, it is stated that there is a Spirit-led ability to discern, judge, or examine all things—including, perhaps, evaluating when a confluence of events occurs, combining natural or spiritual “signs,” and the wisdom of God derived from the Holy Writ and other sources. For example, one godly friend who is a lifelong farmer, told me that the sign of an owl can mean a transition of sorts, and even stational owl statues can be a positive influence on crops to ward off other birds which pilfer the seed and early growth of fruit bearing plants.
Still, the impetus for this article is the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast and why I was invited to participate in some capacity, it is imperative to look at the Psalm which reflects the heart of the prayers. After all, the place on the planet where the Almighty One has put His Holy Name is Jerusalem, the city of David mentioned 643 times in the 66 books that compose the Holy Scriptures:
“A Song of Ascents. Of David. I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the House of ADONAI.’ Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem—Jerusalem, built as a city joined together. There the tribes go up, the tribes of ADONAI—as a testimony to Israel—to praise the Name of ADONAI. For there thrones for judgment are set up, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem—may those who love you be at peace! May there be shalom within your walls—quietness within your palaces.’ For the sake of my brothers and friends, I now say: “Shalom be within you.” For the sake of the House of ADONAI our God, I will seek your good’” (Psalm 122, TLV).
In addition, there are 34 Bible verses which reference God’s name being placed on Jerusalem. Undoubtedly, this makes this city the most treasured of the cities on Earth from God’s perspective. After King David secured the site, in due time, his son Solomon built a Temple that became the House of Adonai. But despite the eventual destruction of both the First and Second Temples, coincidentally on the Ninth of Av, it has been the practice of Jews around the world, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem on a regular basis, while looking in the direction where it is located.
Even the lamentation of the Jews residing in Babylon after the destruction of the First Temple captured in Psalm 137, reflects the cries of their tormented hearts:
“By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors demanded songs and our tormentors asked for joy: ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’ How can we sing a song of ADONAI in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I cease to remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, ADONAI, the children of Edom, what they said on the day Jerusalem fell: “Strip her, strip her to her very foundation!” O daughter of Babylon, the devastated one, happy is the one who repays you as you have paid us. Happy is the one who seizes your little ones and dashes them upon the rock’” (Psalm 137, TLV).
Thus, with Jerusalem the focus of prayers and pleadings, is it possible that the Holy One of Israel pays special attention to those supplications? Certainly, the testimonies of significant alterations in policies in foreign countries where the JPB has been held over the years, indicate somewhat of a pattern. In addition, since the gatherings are attended by Jews and non-Jews, who either know the Messiah as Savior, or are still in the natural state of mind, could it be that the Omniscient One has prearranged the weekly Torah readings as the timing for multiple purposes for those in attendance and the country where it is being held? Is it conceivable that the prayers already invested in the event, and the words of warning about America coming to a point of decision by the end of March, reflects a transition of sorts for the host country this year?
It is difficult to discern exactly what the Lord has in mind, because in my lifetime there has never been a more confusing time for the citizens of the USA. The list of problems and concerns both domestically and internationally are too numerous to list and discuss. A nation founded upon Judeo-Christian Biblical principles, with one obvious primary objective (from God’s perspective)—to protect and support the reconstitution of the State of Israel and the Holy City of Jerusalem—is indeed teetering on a cliff, if we have not already edged over into a freefall. The uneasy question that comes to mind is difficult to ask: Has America’s usefulness to fulfill God’s plans for Israel and Jerusalem been completed?
From multiple discussions with my wife, we both agree that our country can proceed along one of two diametrically opposed ways. The first and preferable route is back towards the paths of righteousness that our merciful Father most desires—perhaps even the ancient paths (Jeremiah 6:16). Certainly, the millions of prayers uttered by godly people humbly beseeching the Lord for grace, have been heard in the Heavenly realm and filled up the bowls with incense (Revelation 8:3), which we know is a pleasant aroma to our Maker. On the other hand, it appears that the wicked kings of the Earth are taking counsel among themselves against God’s anointed to control the world population. Thankfully, the Lord sits in the Heavens and laughs at them with derision (Psalm 2:2-4). But the fact that God watches and is aware of their evil machinations, does not necessarily mean that He will not let the Adversary and his minions execute some of their plans to chastise and purify His bride for the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9).
Biblical and historical records abound with examples of God allowing His followers to suffer the consequences of disobedience to His ways. Hopefully, His promises and ancient covenants with the patriarchs will outweigh His righteous judgments. But remember, His beloved children must maintain an attitude of forgiveness and mercy to those who oppress and persecute the saints for the sake of the gospel:
“For judgment is merciless to the one who does not show mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13, TLV).
Finally, a few questions to ponder came to mind, as the heartfelt prayers for the everlasting peace of Jerusalem flow incessantly into the Heavenly realm. Is it possible that the Holy One has been numbering the days of the American experience, weighing the pros and cons on scales, and found it wanting? Are the obvious divisions fomenting anger and distrust throughout the US population, a forewarning and reminder that a house divided cannot stand (Mark 3:25)? Could the recent coalition of foreign rivals/enemies bound and determined to destroy, then remove US dominance in the world, coupled with domestic collaborators, be an indication that God will allow the demise of America at this time? Is the handwriting on the wall, or is it time for the Almighty One to exhibit His mercy and power like He did at the Red Sea or in the days of Queen Esther? Is the planet’s invisible war consisting of psychological, informational, biological, and digital/cyber components employed by unseen powers and principalities in Heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12), overwhelming the followers of the Holy One of Israel? God forbid.
When one reads/listens to the Prophet Jeremiah, and recognizes the incredible amount of suffering he witnessed and endured, considering the messages he was called and commissioned to convey to Ancient Israel—even in his darkest hour he recalled the reality of God’s mercy to those who wait upon and seek the Lord’s face:
“This I recall to my heart—therefore I have hope: Because of the mercies of ADONAI we will not be consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning! Great is Your faithfulness. ‘ADONAI is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ ADONAI is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:21-25, TLV).
Because only our all-knowing Heavenly Father, ultimately allows the absolute timing of every action and reaction in the created order, His followers must relinquish their “rights” to know what and when He will permit preordained events to occur. Hypothesis and conjecture about certain deadlines regarding the future of America, might be tainted by the cacophony of voices interjecting ideas and thoughts that blend the wisdom from above with worldly wisdom from below:
“Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct let him show his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, not hypocritical. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in shalom by those who make shalom” (James 3:13-18, TLV).
Enough said! Let the assembled saints and visitors pray for the peace or shalom of Jerusalem at the JPB in March, and let God be God, regarding what will transpire in the world in the months to come. May our trust be in Him alone without any reservations, or handwriting on the wall, or owls colliding into windows by your head, or whatever, until the restoration of all things (Acts 3:19-21)…
Please join us in praying for the peace of Jerusalem, the healing of America, and that the revival and salvation of souls will abound as 2022 proceeds.
Regardless of what happens this Spring, always remember ”the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30, TLV).
Blessings and shalom,
Mark Huey