When I Set Foot on the Soil of Israel, I Will Cry Because I Shall Be Home, by Linda Maynard

We are familiar when incidences  happen  that seem to have a serendipity tone to them. WE might even say a happy coincidence happened…but coincidence nonetheless.

As we get used to the ways of God, we realize these “happenings” are not coincidences but are God incidences.

At times, it is very clear that God’s intervention is what happened. We can be very dull at times though. We deserve to be looked at straight in the eyes and have someone say “ DUH!”

Other times the hints are subtle it isn’t until later that we are exclaiming “God DID that!”

This week as we are talking about Israel, I put myself in the first category. As we speak, I can see something beautiful unfolding in my life about Israel.

This week’s topic was chosen a month ago. Monday, I was trying to slog through a loaded email box and as I was scanning the list, one of the posts caught my eye. 

On Monday, women and men from around the world, pray on a Conference call. They are from a highly reputable ministry. I have participated on the call before, but as of late have not been able to.

On Tuesday, a text of the call goes out. Again, I have just been unable to read these texts for a while.
Two of the main issues that are prayed for are Israel and Islam, both of which this ministry has a mandate for.

At the end was a prayer about their upcoming trip to Israel. The prayer had declarations about the Lord tapping people on the shoulder to attend this trip. The prayer continued asking the Lord to remove all blockages their might be. Finances…time off from work…family responsibilities etc. 

My faith leapt. I took a hold of this “offer/gift” and said to the lord “YES, I want to go!”  He knew that has been a dream of mine for years. The difference this time was that I had a deposit of faith poured into me that said “YES! The Lord can provide the funds! I can trust that!”

Israel became a state, the very year I was born. 1948.

Why am I enamored about Jewish people beyond praying for the Peace of Jerusalem? It is because the Lord was Jewish. He has an Everlasting Covenant with His people, which I believe, is still to be completed.

My Uncle “Hoppy”, a Polish Catholic, fought with the Polish Army during Hitler’s reign. He was imprisoned. When asked about those experiences, all he could do was cry. 

I have no way to prove this as I have not had a DNA* test done (yet) but I strongly believe that I have Jewish heritage in my bloodline. Having had my ancestors all from Poland, it makes that a greater possibility.

Having been a supporter of the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, I received a Calendar once that pictures of various that helped their fellow men. I looked at a certain month, my mouth fell open. Starring back at me was my brother Ray. Ok, it was not really my brother Ray, but a “twin”.

You may think…Linda, that’s nice and we know that you “think” you have Jewish in your bloodline. What “proof” do you have? “None, but isn’t that God speak sometimes? Against the laws of nature and human understanding?
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 I thought everyone here agrees it looks like Ray. But why don’t I send it to him and see what he would say.

The verdict? Ray and his wife said, “ Yes!” I thought that was important as if we saw a picture that someone said looked like us, we would be the most likely to disagree.

There is/has been a Haman spirit, that since the days of Esther, that wants to annihilate the Jewish people. I believe Hitler was the embodiment of this diabolical destructive force. I contend that the Haman spirit is alive today and its agenda is the total annihilation of the Jewish people and Israel as a nation. 

Sometimes Christians feel a love for certain people groups The reasons can at times be obvious and other times not.

I am drawn to the Jewish people. Oh yes, I see so many Jews never practice or believe a thing about their heritage. Haven’t our hearts been that way as well…far from God…clueless?

.I am believing and asking you to join me in prayer that funds would come in for a trip.

 I will send you greeting from Israel…April/May 2013!  

*NOTE* I wrote my blog Thursday during the day. Thursday evening there was an offer to get a DNA test at 65% savings. A  coincidence? I think not.

New Covenant: Jesus died for Israel and the Rest of Us

I don't claim to be an expert on the current State of Israel. This is an issue that gets people hot under the collar. I am not trying to stir up anyone's political or even theological juices. What excites me is the Living Word, and if you look there, you will find truth!

This week’s topic is about Israel. Tony C’s post yesterday reflects my own searching over the hot button issue of modern-day Israel. Many evangelical Christians are strongly asserting that we “must” support Israel’s claim to its lands in Palestine since in the Bible they are referred to as God’s chosen people and He gave them the land. Meanwhile, there are others (mainly left-wing, politically) who emphatically believe Israel has no right to Palestine, and consistently blame Israel for the violence in that area.

When I read the history of the Israelites, which you can find in the Old Testament, I have no doubt that God blessed the people of Israel and covenanted with them to lead them, provide for them and fellowship with them.  If you doubt the Bible, Israel’s history is well documented in the annals of other contemporaneous kingdoms.  One of my absolute favorite classes in seminary was Dr. Carol Kaminski’s Survey of the Old Testament. Another is Dr. Gordon Hugenberger’s “Messiah in the Old Testament.” 

Dr. Kaminski, through use of her amazing tool, CASKET EMPTY, explains the chronological history of Old Testament Israel, something that is difficult to figure out if you attempt to read the OT in order (the books are primarily in length order, not in chronological order). Dr. Hugenberger, on the other hand, unveiled for blind eyes that the plan for the Savior Jesus is evident even from the Garden of Eden.

Those were exciting classes for me! I finally understood what the deal was with all those kings, why the nation divided, and why Israel was consistently taken captive in the years after the nation divided: SIN and REBELLION. I mentioned the covenant earlier: a covenant goes both ways: God said he would do such and such, and Israel promised to do such and such. The problem was that Israel consistently broke the covenant over hundreds of years. They would turn back to God when things got too harsh and then rebel as their hearts again grew hard.

That is why Jesus is decrying the disobedience and murderous hearts of a covenantal people: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate.”

Jesus died for all the world, both Jew and Gentile, for every nation and every people group (John 3:16).  The New Covenant spoken of by the OT prophet Jeremiah (chapter 31) came to fruition through the death and resurrection of Jesus: “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). I believe salvation, desperately needed by each one of us to free us from the chains of darkness and death, is for all who look on that cross and believe.

Only God’s love can transform Israel, Palestine and the rest of this planet, one person at a time. So, when I am tempted to think I know God's mind about the Palestinian people, or the Muslims, or the Jews, or Americans for that matter, I am reminded of my own penchant for hatred or ignorance or misunderstanding, and I must return to the words of Jesus: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:43-48).

Image of green door in the old city Zefat, from wikimedia.org.

Is Israel Today the Same Israel of Jesus? By Tony C

Have you ever been to the Holy Land? Do you have an opinion either way on the position of Israel's relationship to Christianity? This week your Kingdom Bloggers will be exploring the topic of Israel and what personal connection, if any, each of us has to the nation.


Once again, I might be using my current position of picking weekly topics for Kingdom Bloggers a bit selfishly. Israel has been a topic of great interest to me over the past year. While I feel I have a good grasp on the political issues surrounding our close ally, the deeply rooted evangelical support for the state still somewhat baffles me.

I have several relatives who have travelled to the Holy Land. Of course, that was in days long ago when tensions and violence were no where near current levels in the country. Each one of them has related a tremendous spiritual experience being in the same areas that Jesus walked 2,000 years ago. I get that.

Where the ground gets a little shaking for me is the seemingly blind allegiance evangelical Christians have for the nation/state. My Sunday School class just finished a series in the books of Joshua and Judges, so I understand the biblical history and the significance of Israel in God's overall plan of salvation. But is the nation of Israel today the same Israel spoken about in God's word?

I'm not so sure and here's why. The Children of Israel were chosen by God, and despite tremendous efforts in disobedience, and were to be the bloodline from where Jesus would be born. Mission completed. But the same descendants of Judah that joined Jesus' ministry are also the same descendants that demanded His crucifixion. What gives?

The connection and continuation between the Old and New Testament or unmistakable and undeniable. I clearly see and understand that. Where I get a bit clouded is the comparison to the nation of Israel of the Old Testament, the Jews of the New Testament, and the current make up of the country of modern day Israel.

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the population in 2011 was 75.4% Jewish, 20.6% Arab, and 2.1% Christian. That means, by definition, that 96% of the nation does not believe that Jesus Christ came and died for the sins of the world. Adding to the confusion is an additional statistic that shows only 65% of those claiming to be Jewish also state a belief in God. Now what gives?

While my quest for more understanding on the connection between God's covenant with Abraham and the modern day state of Israel is far from over (if there actually is a connection), I will still lean for now on the words of Paul in Romans:

It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their (the Jews) spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.  

The is no denying Jesus was forthcoming about His Jewish heritage, and I completely understand why. God endured great long suffering with His chosen people, and they obviously hold a special place in His heart. Jesus came to minister to the Jews, but He died for all of mankind. I don't, however, buy the argument of Pat Robertson and some other Evangelical Christian talking heads who frequently quote the scripture from John 4:22 as contemporary support for Israel when Jesus tells the woman at the well ...salvation is from the Jews.

First, Jesus is clearly speaking of His role in God's plan of salvation for all and the fact that He is a Jew. Eternal life would not be found in the Samaritans or any Gentiles for that matter.

Second, are the Jews Jesus refers to in this passage the same self-identifying Jews of today's Israel? Honestly, I don't know, but I will continue to study while I support Israel for the obvious political reasons I do understand.