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So
You Want to be Blessed? |
If
you are like nearly everyone else your answer
to the question posed above is “Yes, of
course I want to be blessed.” A short and
right to the point answer to this question is
then: “Pray
for and support Israel!!!”
Israel is the
only nation ever referred to in Scripture as “the
Apple of God’s eye.” [1]
Contrary
to what we Americans think and would like the
world to believe the favored nation in God’s
sight is that tiny spot of real estate that we
know as Israel, not the USA.
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This
is not to say the God has not blessed our nation. However
we as a nation have been blessed, I believe, because
of our support of and standing with Israel.
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Modern
day Israel is the only nation on earth that was
born in a single day. It happened in May 1948
after nearly two thousand years of having been
displaced from the land that God had originally
promised and given to them. Then it happened.
May 14th, 1948 suddenly the State of Israel was
once again a sovereign nation in its own right.
The Jews who had been disbursed throughout the
world finally had a place to return to that was
rightfully theirs.
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Contrary
to what some theological liberals and Muslims say Israel
did not take this land from those who were living there.
The media as well as many theological liberals have
declared that Israel is occupying of the land of Palestine.
This is a falsehood. There has never been a separate,
sovereign nation known as Palestine.
What
we know as Israel today was originally known as Canaan.
It was not until the Romans sought to displace all Jews
from their land that the land was renamed by the Romans
as Palestine. This name was given to the land as a slap
in the face of the Jews. It was named after the archenemies
of the Jews, the Philistines. The land belongs to the
Jews. It was God who gave this land to the children
of Israel.[2] This however does not mean that they are
to disperse the other inhabitants.[3] The secular Israeli
government does not always act in accord with the will
of God in its treatment of its Arab residents. In fact
it seldom acts within God’s will and plan. However,
God’s will and plan will ultimately come into
fruition. As disciples of the Jewish Messiah: Yeshua
of Nazareth, we are obligated to bless the Jews.
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God
promised Abraham, the father of the children of
Israel long ago:“I
[God] will make you [Abram and descendants through
Israel and Jacob] into a great nation, and I will
bless you; I will make your name great and you
will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and
all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
(Genesis 12:2 & 3)
In
the annals of history no ruler or nation that
has ever come against the Jews has been blessed.
In fact, each one has been cursed and has fallen
by the wayside.[4] Nations and people who have
blessed the Jews have been blessed.
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Above
photo taken of an anti-Jewish
demonstration
by Christians(?) in Russia |
As
I mentioned earlier I am of the conviction that
one of the reasons that America has received
blessings from the Lord is that we have stood
by Israel when nearly the entire world has either
turned its back on Israel or is blatantly coming
against this special nation. As believers we
must pray that our national leaders will continue
to support Israel in these days of growing anti-Semitism
throughout the world in which we live.
It
is not only the Muslim militants who hate the
Jews and Israel but Satan himself has hated
and continues to hate this special people from
the beginning of time.
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Mark
my words: “When and
if our governmental leaders
turn their backs on Israel we will be doomed as
a nation!”
Our
responsibility to the Jews:
The
apostle Paul in writing to the church at Rome
declared, ". . . For if the Gentiles
have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings,
they owe it to the Jews to share with them their
material blessings.” (Romans 15:27b)
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Some
politicians and many Americans resent the fact that
our nation has literally poured millions of dollars
into Israel. We, American Christians, realize that as
Gentile believers we have a debt to pay to Israel. I
pray that our nation will not turn its back on Israel
as the majority of the European nations appear to be
doing today. As Christians it is vital that we stand
by and with our Israeli friends.
What
the Jews have given us:
The Church of Jesus Christ can never repay what we have
been given by the Jews. Yeshua [Jesus] declared,
“Salvation
is of the Jews!”
The
Jews have also given us:
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Jesus
was fully Jewish:
It
appears that there are some Christians and some churches
who have forgotten the Jewishness of our Lord. Yeshua
was not a Christian, He was a Jew. He was a rabbi (teacher).
He regularly attended synagogue on the Sabbath. He was
circumcised according to the law on the eighth day.
He had his Bar Mitzvah on his 13th birthday. He kept
the law of Moses. He wore a talit (prayer shawl) that
Moses commanded all Jewish men to wear. The Romans wrote
the inscription over the cross of crucifixion of our
Lord which read: “King of the Jews!” Jesus
alone is the King or Lord of the believer’s life.
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Pray
for Jerusalem and Israel
The
Scripture exhorts God’s People to diligently
pray for the peace of Jerusalem. In fact, Psalm
122 promises God’s blessings upon those
believers who are faithful in praying for the
shalom [peace] of Jerusalem. I believe that this
prayer is not solely for the city of Jerusalem
but for the entire land and its people as well.
In my praying for the peace of Jerusalem and for
Israel I not only pray for the children of Abraham,
through Isaac, but I also include in my prayers
the other children of Abraham, through Ishmael,
the Arabs.
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As
Gentile believers we are recipients of the spiritual
blessings of Abraham. In our hearts we are to love with
the love of God both the Jews and the Arabs. Sometimes
I fear that we who love Israel and the Jews neglect
praying for those other children of Abraham.
The First Gentile Convert:
Some
may wonder, “Why did God select the house of Cornelius
in Caesarea (Acts chapter 10) to be the first Gentile
house in Israel to receive the Gospel?"
The answer to the above question is found in Acts 10.
“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius,
a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.
He and all his family were devout and God-fearing: he
gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.”
(Acts 10:1-2)
Then we are told in verse 4, “Cornelius stared
at him [an angel] in fear, ‘What is it, Lord?’
he asked. The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and
gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering
before God.’”
Then in verse 31 we are told, “Cornelius,
God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts
to the poor.”
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What
is taught in the above passage is that God heard
the prayers and saw the expressions of a godly
Gentile who expressed his love for the Jewish
people in a practical way. This man was ready
to receive the Gospel and was among the first
to receive the outpouring and filling of the
Holy Spirit. Remember, God blesses those Gentiles
who bless the Jews and cures those who curse
the Jews.[5]
So
do you want to be blessed? Then bless the Jews
and bless Israel and God’s promises will
come to fruition in your life.
We
pray for and bless Israel because the Land was
given to Abraham and his seed through Isaac
and Jacob with an everlasting and unconditional
covenant. See – Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-18;
15:1-21; 17:4-8; 22:15-18; 26:1-5 and Psalm
89:28-37.
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[1]
See – Zechariah 2:8-9
[2]
See – Genesis 17:7-8
[3] See – Isaiah 14:1
[4] See – Deut. 30:7
[5] See – Deut. 30:7
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