Calling all Intercessors!
I am calling for your prayers in light of the latest attack on Gratefully Grafted Ministries and the body of Messiah throughout Israel. We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers and spiritual forces in the heavenly place. Still that schemer, the devil, who is known to us all as the Accuser of the Brethren, uses real live people to do his dirty work as he wages war against the Kingdom of God and those who by grace walk in it.

In this case it is a group of rabbis and others who have formed an “Anti-Missionary Campaign” in Israel in order to conceivably see a law invoked through the Knesset that would ban all Christian and Messianic believers from preaching or even sharing the Gospel of Yeshua anywhere throughout Israel. If the proponents of this law get their way, Christians could even be banned from visiting the holy land. In many ways this reminds me of the Apostle Paul before his encounter with Yeshua. As you know, he was actively persecuting the Church and helping to throw believers in Yeshua into prison. His zeal was so enraged that he even stood watch over the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen, the first Messianic martyr.

It would be ignorant of us all to just sit idly by, thinking that God would never allow such a thing in our time. No, “ . . . the Kingdom of God suffers violence and violent men take it by force.” (Matt. 11:12) What kind of force am I suggesting in this hour? I am calling first of all for self-examination in order to check our hearts to see if we are walking in Christlikeness; love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the number one thing that we must display, especially in the face of accusation. Secondly, that all believers would begin a lifestyle of fasting with prayer. I’m not just talking about another prayer initiative, but a lifestyle. Jesus said, “. . . this kind comes out only by prayer and fasting…”
(Matt. 17:21). Did Jesus, in a time of crisis, just do a quick fast and shoot up a prayer in hopes that His Heavenly Father might hear His voice, see His piety and answer His prayer? Of course not, Jesus lived a life of fasting with prayer.” He was . . . “ready in season and out of season to preach, reprove and rebuke those who oppose the Gospel, yet with meekness and gentleness” (2 Tim. 4:2) Should we offer any less? How can we defeat a foe and thwart his plans any other way?

The web of terror that entraps much of the Jewish population is two fold. One is the terror of losing their lives and the lives of their loved ones to suicide bombers and other terrorists; the other is a fear of Christians. Many believe that we “xtians” (or Christians) whether Gentile or a Messianic believer; are out to steal their souls and the souls of their loved ones. Ludicrous you may say; but true nonetheless. We must learn what they think and believe. Much of the belief system of many Jews is based upon the history of the Crusades and the Holocaust. Why should they trust us? Why should they believe that Yeshua is the Son of God and that the God that we worship is a God of love?

Below is a link to the article in Aretz Sheva entitled “Missionary Warning in Jerusalem.” If you scroll down below the article, you will find a section called “Comments.” As you read these comments, pray and ask God how to pray. Ask how you can live your life in such a way that you might be a true light to the nations and in this case, more importantly to the Jewish people? Will you seek the Lord with fasting and prayer with me?

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=75456