In the Sight of El Roi

Shalom Friends!

I am writing this from England, but will be heading back to Israel for a few weeks soon and then on home to plan a wedding!!  I have definitely missed Israel, it really has taken hold of a portion of my heart and it refuses to give it back.  But I am embarking on a new journey and it promises to be a wonderful one full of surprises.  

I have been getting reports from friends in Israel and they are consistently mentioning an increase in violence. One report says that 250+ rockets etc. landed in southern Israel over the last year and it doesn’t seem to be slowing as we enter 2011. There have already been several people wounded from such attacks this year. Some fear this will lead Israel to organize another mission into Gaza in an attempt to debilitate these areas as far as shooting rockets into Israel.  I say fear because any time Israel tries to protect their people from attack the rest of the world gets angry with them.  We must be praying that the leaders of Israel would come to a true relationship with their God, and subsequently lead the people as He wants and trust Him for protection.

They are still in desperate need of rain. The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is less than one centimeter above the “red line”. Past this line they are uncertain how healthy it is for the people to consume the water. God is calling to His people, and we must (as the branch that wasgrafted in) cry out for the root to become whole again and produce life. This year could be a very rough one for them.  We also need to continue to pray for our believing brothers and sisters, both Jewish and Arab. I read a report today that says believers in Gaza and the West Bank are the most persecuted believers in the Middle East.  They are paying a great price for the Truth they have received.  Persecution is increasing in Pakistan and Egypt as well. We are one body so it is essential that we pray for and encourage one another.

On that note I would like to include a few clips of words from a song off Corey Russell’s CD, Eyes Opened, the song is called “Behold God is Great”. (It is taken from portions of Job, good book!).

“Behold God is great and we do not know Him, He’s so much bigger than any image I’ve made in my head So lift up your eyes to the heavens and behold your God, he’s so much bigger than, he’s so much greater than. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth, where were you when I spoke and commanded the morning, where were you when I gave the sea its boundary and said no more?”

On a personal note…I felt like God highlighted circumcision to me several weeks ago. So I’ve been mulling over it and asking Him some questions about it. Why would God ask His chosen people to do this? What is the purpose?  I felt like He pointed me back to Genesis 2:25 where it says “they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were unashamed”. Why does it make a point of saying that?  They were in a state of complete one-ness with Abba and with each other, they hid nothing.  Their immediate reaction to eating of the fruit was to cover their nakedness, to hide it both from each other and from El Roi – the God Who Sees (specifically - me).  From that day on man has been trying to hide from God.  It then hit me that when a male is circumcised, that which was hidden is uncovered.  I have not been able to think of any other body part that happens to have an extra layer of skin which if removed will not harm the functioning of the body.  Is God trying to say something?  Then I remembered Jeremiah 4:4 which says, “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart…” 

Circumcision was meant to be a physical picture of what God was wanting to take place inside of us, therefore circumcision applies to all of us. The question is how do we circumcise our hearts?  I don’t think I’ve reached to complete understanding of this, but I think it begins with us purposely choosing to remove those things we have hidden behind.  The layers we have placed around our hearts in an attempt to keep the God Who Sees from seeing (which, by the way, is impossible).  We were created to be naked before Him and be un-ashamed.  I want to return to that place, to function fully as God created me to be, naked before Him.  He sees everything, regardless of whether I choose to be naked before Him or not.  The difference is that if I choose to hide I live ashamed, if I choose to be naked I can live unashamed and in unity with Him.  There’s my thought for the day!

Hugs to you all and looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible when I return to Arkansas! 

Sorry, no pictures this time! I will be sure to include some next time.

Prayer/Praise:

1.       Thank you for praying for my grandfather. The last report I received was that he was recovering well.  Please continue to pray for them.

2.       PLEASE pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who currently have it much worse than we do.

3.       Pray for the U.S., we are hanging in the balance.  This year could determine the future of our country in a major way.

4.       Please pray that I never forget how great my God is, and how small my needs are in comparison.

~Lydia