Faith to keep on keeping on... 
January 2017 Ministry Update
Shalom,

Wow, another month has come and gone!  The Lord’s return must be near as time appears to be speeding up as the coming of our King is drawing nearer every day.  It has been a very busy, but good month and a good start to a new year. 

We recently had a guest speaker from America preach a sermon at the congregation we are fellowshipping with.  The message was on the faith of Abraham which focused on Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son despite God’s promise that all the covenanted blessings would come through Isaac.

The crucial point of the message was that Abraham was willing to obey God because he had enough faith that God would not only raise his son Isaac but also was looking forward to the day God would raise Abraham’s ultimate seed, Jesus the Christ, up from the dead to save His people.  In Hebrews 11:19 it says “ Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure .”  Fundamentally, even though Abraham didn’t have to physically go through with the killing of his son, it was as if Isaac was already dead in his mind and he knew God would resurrect him. Abraham and Isaac were both willing to do whatever it took to be obedient even if that meant for Isaac to lose his life and Abraham to lose the heir of promise. It reminded me of Romans 12:1 “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service ”.  In a similar sense, God has called us all to give our own bodies as a living sacrifice due to the love we have for our Savior knowing what He has done for us it is our only reasonable response in service to honor Him.  By definition, a sacrifice in order to be a sacrifice had to die.  We, who are believers, also must die but in this case, we are called to be a living-sacrifice which I take to mean that our old life and its desires and passions must give way to the new creature who is now spiritually reborn and alive to live for Christ.  Like Paul said, we must die daily to be more like Him if we too have hope in the risen Savior and are looking forward to hope of the resurrection. 

In 1 Corinthians 15, which is the great chapter on the resurrection, Paul tells us it is the same hope Abraham and Isaac had of the resurrection that drove him to be a living sacrifice for the sake of the gospel.  In 1 Cor. 15:32 we read “ If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die ”.  Paul is essentially saying, since Christ died for him he was willing to die daily for the cause of Christ due to his love and great hope in a future resurrection where he and all other believers, will rule and reign with Christ.  It is only faith in this hope that could possible drive him or us to sacrifice our lives for Him; if we don’t truly believe that God is the rewarder of those that seek and serve him we might as well be like the rest of the unbelieving world with the ungodly philosophy of eating and drinking (living for ourselves not fearing God) for tomorrow we die and have no hope in the resurrection.  Unbelievers seek to save and build lives in this passing world but we are told to lose our lives for a lasting kingdom.  Please pray that we never lose sight of the faith that drove those who have gone before us like Abraham for in due season we will reap if we faint not!

Alan & Hagit Lord -- fellow IBJM workers over for coffee
Mark, now all grown up at 11, doing school
Levi enjoying an ice cream sundae as he turned 9
Abby & Scott feverishly studying Hebrew in the Ulpan class
O pportunities to share the gospel...
The reason we are here...  

Continue to pray for the relationship we are building with the minister of government in the department of absorption.  We had another long talk and he said he would like to learn more and was even willing to have us over his home for a meal (I invited him to our home but due to Kosher concerns he thought it best to have us over).  He also invited me to walk with him through the Old city and talk.  Please pray for David that God would continue to work in his life and we would have opportunity to show Christ through our lives and most importantly through the proclaimed word of God.

Ulpan…  

Abby, David and I are two weeks into our Hebrew language studies and continue to learn humility as we realize more every day that learning another language is difficult but with God all things are possible.  We are trying to take a day at a time and not look to far ahead. 

The best part of Ulpan is the opportunity for meeting people and the opportunity for the gospel.  Most of the people in the class are new Jewish immigrants who have come to Israel for various reasons.  We have met a couple of other Jewish believers who recently made Aliyah and that is really encouraging.  We have also met many Jewish people who seem to be searching for the truth. 

One man came up to me and asked why we seemed so different as I made it a point to speak with him and ask him how he was doing.  I was wearing a hat and he asked if I had a kippa under it as he said “I seemed to be a good person and I must be religious”.  I proceeded to tell him that his and my Bible tell us there is no one good.  He pondered it and asked me to meet him for coffee.  We did and he told me his story and how he felt it would be good for him to search for God in the land of his people.  He indicated he was “stuck” and he didn’t know how to rationalize the need for the atonement and a loving God.  This gave me the opportunity to impart the whole gospel.  Unfortunately, it appears he, like so many other Jewish people, have been highly influence by Kabbalah which draws from many eastern mystical practices.  We didn’t come to agreement how to solve his problem but we agreed to keep talking as he is still “stuck”.  Pray for Shalom that he might get “unstuck” and see the Messiah as the answer to his problems.

There is a lady who we met many weeks before Ulpan started who is, by God’s providence, in our class.  We enjoyed talking with her the first time we meet and were upset we didn’t get her contact information as we thought she might be open to the gospel then.  It appears she may be in our class to hear the gospel.  She really likes Beth and I got her number and told her Beth would contact her.  She was so concerned that Beth would be encouraged that she was telling me about a couple of books that changed her life.  She brought me a copy of one.  It was by a Rabbi that appears to follow many of the principles laid out in the gospel with one exception – it doesn’t tell of Christ and relies on self-righteousness to accomplish the desired change implored in the book.  What an opportunity!  When a Jewish person tells us they are seeking and thinks the found an answer through a book written by men it gives us the opportunity to show her the greatest book ever written and that we know beyond a doubt it provides all of the answers to her questions if she would read it and believe.  Pray for us to have the opportunity to open the Bible with Esther, especially the New Testament, which most Jewish people have been taught to avoid since they believe it just talks about Santa Clause and the Easter bunny.    

There are many others in the class that we have been talking to and we pray for more opportunities with them as well.

Beer-sheba…

We have been going through Genesis as a family and have recently read about the ancient town of Beer-sheba where both Abraham and Isaac made covenants with Abimelech.  Bĕ'er Sheva` actually means well of seven or oath of the seven wells.  Living in Israel gives us an amazing opportunity to see the Bible “in color” so to speak and visit sites spoken of in the Bible.  Today Beer Sheva is the fourth largest city in modern day Israel but just outside of the city is a national park where there are many well preserved ruins from the times of Abraham and Isaac so we decided to go see it for ourselves. 

The park was amazing and really did give us a picture of what life was like back then but the best part was meeting three students from MIT.  Amazingly, they were the only others we saw that day but God had a purpose for us to meet them.  There was an American Jewish girl, an Indian Hindu and a Canadian Atheist on an extend study tour from MIT in Boston to study abroad.  The Jewish girl, being American, was very friendly and asked us where we were from.  We could tell them I was a Jewish believer in the Jewish Messiah.  We got into a discussion about truth and faith.  I was able to admonish them to truly study to find out the meaning behind the question of why.  They were very smart young people studying advanced science in one of the most renowned universities in the world. I told them they were given much from God and they were required to use it wisely and search.  The Jewish girl told me she loved Judaism but never reads the Bible.  I told her and her two friends they had a problem that needed to be solved that won’t be found in science books.  We discussed some scientific ideas that they couldn’t answer so I implored them to seek the truth in the Bible.  I especially admonished the Jewish girl to search the Bible as she knows it to be “the Book”.  She admitted she, like most Jewish people, were taught to question things and study it out for themselves but she hasn’t questioned those things she has been taught and must do so. 

The three students weren’t anticipating that encounter but, by God’s grace, they heard about Jesus and the need to search the Scriptures for themselves and understand the meaning of life. Like so many Jewish people we have talked to, they will believe just about anything rather than the truth that Jesus, the greatest Jew of all-time, has all the answers to questions any one would need answered whether they be Jewish or not! 

Please pray that they, like so many brilliant young minds, would be delivered from the Satanic lies of the anti-God, evolutionary based teaching they are getting at our so-called “renowned” universities and turn to God through His Son and come to a true knowledge of one truth that matters!  We don’t have time to tell of the many others who we have had opportunity to tell of Christ.  The fact we live in the “Holy Land” brings so many who are searching from all walks of life whether they are Jews coming home or others seeking answers they think can only be found in the land of the Bible.  Please pray for boldness and the Spirit’s guidance as we want to be faithful to never shrink back from proclaiming the truth.
Life in the Land...
Praising God for His protection and continual provisions as we are settling into life here in Israel. 
  • Abigail took her placement tests for the IDF and apparently scored well which means she will have more opportunities to pick from which will ideally keep her based close to home allowing her to live and serve from home.
  • Very sad news of the terrorist attack which hit close to home literally and figuratively.  Four new recruits lost their lives less than three kilometers from our home.  This senseless act of hatred driven by Satanic forces at work in the world was heartbreaking.  By God’s grace, we are safe and like the rest of the Israeli people we will do what we must to maintain “normal” lives.  It reminds us that we are all in the Lord’s army and must maintain a vigilance and war-time mentality for our adversary, the Devil, is seeking to destroy us.  
  • We had a great time visiting with Alan and Hagit Lord who live near Tel Aviv.  They are fellow IBJM Ambassadors, who run project Nehemiah which provides humanitarian aid to the poor. Alan and I are working on ways to bring relief to both Jews and Arabs here in Jerusalem and Samaria as we have opportunity.
  • We continue to make headway through the red tape of transitioning to life as Israelis.
    • We got our medical insurance worked out.
    • Got our medical exams done to apply for an Israeli driver’s license which must be completed very soon. 
    • Many other things which are foreign to us from America have been worked out and completed, praise the Lord!
  • Our container from America finally arrived after traveling over two months and half way around the world.  Everything was in great shape thanks to our good friends back in Maui who helped oversee the packing.  We are thankful for our personal belongs because it helps make our house a home but as we continue down the path of life we realize we persist in  having too much stuff and need to keep downsizing – living in a small but comfortable home continues to remind us that less is more!
  • Mark turned 11 the end of December and Levi just turned 9.  We are so thankful for our little guys who are quickly growing up.  Beth continues to home-school them and they are doing well.
  • David is working on catching up in school and is making great progress.  He is hoping to graduate, Lord willing next year.  He really enjoys learning Hebrew and has shown great maturity in his attitude working his way into a new culture.  David is a big help around the house and in the ministry as he, like his brothers, is a bold defender of the faith.
  • Beth is heading to Florida for a couple of weeks to see our little granddaughter Juliet.
  • Thomas is preparing to leave at the end of the month as he too heads back to the US to find work and pray for God’s leading in his life.  We will miss him as he has been a big help to our ministry.  We hope he and the other boys will be led back here to help in the service of the gospel.   
Live field reports:

For individuals or churches who would like to set up a time to take advantage of our modern technology and setup a Skype, FaceTime or What's App video call we would enjoy the opportunity to give a report from the land.  Please let us know if you are interested and we can set up a day and time.   

"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God" — William Carey


Bl essings,

Scott, Beth, Thomas, Abigail, David, Mark, Levi
לוי   ,מארק    ,דוד    ,אביגיל    ,תומאס   ,ג'יין    ,סקוט  

Prayer Requests, Praises & Updates 

As someone recently told me we need to learn more about “Kneeology” – the power of being on our knees in prayer.  Oh, how we need to learn more faith through dependence on prayer! Thank you all for your much needed prayers.

  • Continue to pray for us to have patience as we learn the language and work with others in the church and the community. 
  • Continue to pray for Abby and David as they prepare to serve in the IDF for safety, boldness and the opportunity for the gospel. We recently attended a conference for believers who are in the IDF.  It was very encouraging to speak with others who are lights for the Messiah. 
  • Continue to pray for our adult children in the US --  Robert and Ashley as the raise their new born baby girl Juliet and Casey and Annie's wedding preparations.
  • Pray for Thomas as he heads back to the US on January 22.  
  • Pray for David, Mark and Levi that they will have the time and the concentration to catch up in school. 
  • Pray for those we will and already have had the opportunity to minister the Word to, that they may have prepared hearts to receive the gospel.  
  • Pray for me as I have opportunity to preach the gospel and teach the breathern that I would accurately divide the word of truth and lean on the Spirit to deliver the message of God's wonderful word.
  • Pray for the other believers in country that we would be unified in truth and not compromise no matter the cost.
  • As always, pray for the peace of Jerusalem -- Sha’alu Shalom Yerushaliim Psalm 122:6 but especially now with prospect of a new president and ambassador moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.  I am in favor of the move but I know many of our uninformed neighbors may not think so which could cause a spike in violence.  

    Isaiah 62:6-7

    I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

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