“God be merciful and gracious to us and bless us and cause His face to shine upon us. That Your way may be know upon earth, Your saving power among all nations.” (Ps. 67: 1-2)
It is God’s desire to empower us so we can be an expression of His heart to everyone around us. Do you have the heart of the King? Do you love what the King loves? Do you feel the same way about Israel as He does? Do you pray for Israel? Do you know that the feasts of God are not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles, because they are God’s feasts, a shadow of what is to come?
“But if some of the branches were broken off, while you, a wild olive shoot , were grafted in among them to share the richness [of the root and sap] of the olive tree, Do not boast over the branches and pride yourself at their expense. If you do boast and feel superior, remember it is not you that support the root, but root [that supports] you. You will say then, Branches were broken (pruned) off so that I might be grafted in! That is true. But they were broken off because of their unbelief and you are established through faith. So do not become proud and conceited, but rather stand in awe and be reverently afraid.” (Romans 11:17-20. AMP)
I once heard a Jewish Rabbi say: If you let the root wither, the fruit will wither. That is so true. As Christians we have Hebrew roots. The Jews are Gods own people. Marked out and appointed and foreknow by Him from the beginning. (Rom. 11:2) It would be unwise to ignore what the Creator of the Universe revealed to them about His character, after all – He chose them from among all the nations of the earth. He uses symbolism through the feasts, bridal ceremonies, Jewish traditions (etc) - It is all a shadow of who He is. Honoring our Hebrew roots is not to put us back under the yoke of the Law, but to teach us more about His character. “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, ant true circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal matter.” (Rom 2: 29)
Please , please – pray for Israel! Pray that God reveal His heart to you regarding His own people. Pray for His love to enter your heart for all men, but especially for the seed of Abraham, Israel, and the Holy City. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
So many times I see that people do not know or understand God’s heart towards them. He loves you so very much and He holds your heart in the palm of His hand, just as He is holding the whole world in His hands. Close your eyes and see Him holding you, your ministry, your family, your destiny, and every good gift in His hands.
When you understand your identity in Christ (being one with Him, experiencing His love and acceptance and feeling the closeness of God) you will start walking with authority and boldness in the Kingdom. Not prideful, but humbly as a son of God.
Love inspires people. It is love that drives us to pursue our passion. Make sure you fill your heart with God’s love every day. A heart full of God’s love, will lead you to what God created you for. As you start walking in close relationship with God, you will start discovering the depths of who He is. Your heartbeat will be beating in perfect harmony with His heartbeat. What is important to God will become important to you. You will feel what He feels and share the same joy and the same sorrow. What breaks His heart will break your heart.
Through this, your choices will be made simple. What to do and what not to do will become as clear as day. God wants to shed His light your destiny, just stay close to Him so you can see what He wants to show you. Remember, God is not into confusion. His answer will bring peace even if the road ahead holds difficulty.
Aldo is 17 years old, and all the kids in his class are talking about what they are going to do after school. He still has another year of school to go, but they are all excitedly talking about their future and their destiny.
I am only a mother and I truly want God’s will for Aldo’s life. I choose to lay down my own will, and pray, “Father, only Your will be done.” One night at the dinner table we talked about what the future may hold and Aldo made an interesting comment: “Mom, don’t you know? God’s heart only says one thing to me, and that is to tell people Jesus is alive! Read the end of Luke 1, Mom. Mom, we are all called to tell the world Jesus is alive.”
Luke 1:76-79:
“And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell His people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light of heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
John 20:21 says “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
Lord Jesus, as we lay down our lives one by one, we are preparing the way for the King. Thank You for the love of God in our hearts, being poured out by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Your love comes with no pre-condition. Thank You that we can live in Your love and great-grace.
Whenever I look at Aldo I see the love of God in Him. Unconditional love truly brings life. Remember, the miracle’s name is love – and that is to love the imperfect, perfectly.
God spoke to me one day: “Retha, I want you to translate the book “a Message of God” into Hebrew. I will prepare the way and open the doors. I will send you a spirit-filled believer to do the translation and I will help you with every aspect of the printing and distribution. Help My people to see My Son, Yeshua - the Messiah.”
“And even those others [the fallen branches, Jews], if they do not persist in clinging to their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and against nature grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much easier will it be to graft these natural branches back on their own olive tree. Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery brethren: a hardening has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I shall take away their sins. From the point of view of the Gospel, the [the Jews, at present] are enemies [of God], which is for your advantage and benefit. But form the point of view of God’s choice (of election, of divine selection), they are still the beloved (dear to Him) for the sake of their forefathers. For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.”(Romans 11:23-29)
It is our desire to serve God’s chosen people. It is our desire to bless the seed of Abraham. It is our desire to see everyone recognize Yeshua of Nazareth for who He is – the Son of God. Risen Savior. King of kings. Holy and anointed One. Lord and the only way to the Father.
We will be putting more detail about this project on our NEWS column soon. There will be opportunity for you to sow specifically into this project if you would like to contribute to this special call of God.
Go out in the fear of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit and be the hands and feet of Yeshua.(Acts 9:31)
May God bless your spirit.
Retha.