Because He Lives In Me And I In Him

 

Dear friends, and visitors to the Electronic Tabernacle,

Shalom shalom from Beer-Sheva.  Arrived back home safely on November 11th from one month away from home. My first visit was to Osnabrueck, Germany, where I arrived at ^o10 Celsius (^o50 Fahrenheit) after our vacation at the Red Sea at temperatures of ^o30 C (^o86 F) - ^o35 C (^o95 F). Talk about temperature shock! In only two more days it dropped to ^o2 C below zero (^o28 F). Brrrr!

Nevertheless, as the rain and clouds gave way to heavenly blue and sunshine, I braved the cold and wind and went to check on my mother’s grave in Hollage¹, a pretty town belonging to the county district of Osnabrueck. Armed with a folding chair and some Burbon to warm myself up from within, I sat down by the grave. A picture of my mother, young and beautiful, with an endearing smile, is mounted into the gravestone of her choice. Looking at her picture I would talk to her, as I feel quite sure that we can be seen and heard by the those in Paradise. I think that Paradise is not distant from earth as measured by miles or kilometers, but is just in another dimension adjacent to ours. Perhaps this is not scientifically correct, yet the many testimonies of people who had died and came back make this more than plausible

For 3 days I thus visited with my mother. People, overcome by curiosity, would approach and talk with me, intruiged by my sitting there in this cold. It was a wonderful opportunity to share of my and my mother’s faith in Yeshua and about who, what and how she had been before Alzheimer’s reduced her to this pitiful, lost old woman. 

I went to see the gardener for him to know that I regularly check on the grave, and to give instructions about the care of it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with German cemeteries, graves are kept like miniature gardens, planted with seasonal flowers, blooming shrubs and small ornamental trees, often decorated moreover with little angels, bird bowls and the lamps of “eternal light”. Since my mother’s grave is in a “mixed” cemetery and not an only Jewish one, it needs to be maintained in keeping with the custom at that cemetery.

As usual, I stayed at my friend of many years who also had been there for me at the time of my mother’s death and burial². She pampered me and helped me with some of the tasks and shopping I needed to get done. Without her hospitality I would not be able to make this trip to Germany, as I cannot afford a hotel.

I visited again with the “Fit Gemeinde”, a small congregation in Osnabrueck, and brought them news from Israel, in particular about the Beer-Sheva trial. I had put together 4 major prayer points – listed here very abbreviated: 
A. The unity of the Body of Messiah in Israel – a major problem: 1. Yeshua’s Prayer in John 17:20-23, for oneness of His followers; 2. Being of ONE Body, not two - 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 2:14-19; 4:4, 16; 3. being members of one another - Ro 12:4-5 . 
B. To go where our Jewish brothers (non-believers in Yeshua) go: 1. For Messianics no longer to keep separate; for how are our brethren to meet Yeshua if they can’t meet and experience Him in and by us? To realize that Messianics have not forsaken our G-d nor our fold but hold the same hope they do? A short historical overview for explanation follows; then a) to go where our brethren worship G-d and read the Scriptures – in Synagogue; b) to participate in events and activities important to our people; c) to participate in activities that unite our people.
C. The Court-case in Beer-Sheva - Important prayer points: 1. For Judge Iddo Ruzin not to succumb to pressure, threats or bribes, but to render a just, fair and righteous judgment on behalf of the plaintiffs, and Messianics in general. 2. For the Judge to rule that Messianics have the same right of expressing their faith as Jews of various streams of Judaism have. 3. That this ruling will lead to the elimination of the law that divests Messianics of their right of return to Israel and can automatically annul their Israeli citizenship. 4. That this ruling will lead to the equal standing of Messianics with all other Jewish Israelis. 5. That this trial will bring about a greater unity among Messianic leaders and therewith among the congregations.
D. The dividing up of G-d’s OWN Land, which is the inheritance of the Jewish people and their Messiah and King, Yeshua, Son of David: 1. Strengthening and wisdom from the Lord for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 2. Israel is best served with a strong unity government, without the meddling of ultra-orthodox parties who don’t care for the nation, only for their own constituents. 3. Praying Psalm 9:16-17, 20-21; 7:15-18 with view of the division of the Land of Israel for a Palestinian State; Ezekiel 25:15-17; 28:25-26; 34:11-16; 35:5-6, 10-13; (Edom refers to today’s Saudi Arabia; Edom was Esau’s nickname. “Esau” instead refers mainly to Gentile Christendom, especially Rome, which declared the Jewish people as rejected and claimed their inheritance for themselves [the replacement theology]). Ezekiel 36:3-15, 22-32; 37:21—23; 39:25-29

The Osnabruecker congregation is networked with many other congregations in Germany and abroad. They promised to share the prayer points with them.