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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Prayer and Blessing

On May 27, 2010, the dean of White House correspondents and employee of Hearst Newspapers, Ms. Helen Thomas made the following statement: “The Jews should get the hell out of Palestine and go back home.” When asked, “Where was their home?” she replied: “Poland, Germany and America and everywhere else.” Amazingly, she made this comment to a Jewish rabbi by the name of David Nesenoff who interviewed her at the White House Jewish Heritage Conference that day. Thankfully, on June 7, she abruptly resigned amid terse reactions from the White House’s Press Secretary and some fellow journalists.

Unfortunately, Ms. Thomas’ comments only reflect a growing sentiment being heard in our nation’s capital – and even from the White House! That sentiment is anti-Semitic in nature. It represents a complete disdain for Israel and a reversal of our nation’s previous stance since 1948. The recent events regarding the alleged humanitarian aid flotilla and the Israeli Gaza blockade have only exacerbated things around the world. As prophesied, Israel has become a stench in the world’s nostrils!

At this moment, the USA is teetering very close to relinquishing its role as Israel’s biggest supporter and strongest ally. Our nation’s leaders have begun snubbing Israel and now have promised $400 million in aid to the Palestinian’s president. And the erecting of a mosque almost adjacent to "ground zero" in New York is being pursued with a desired grand opening date of Sept. 11 of 2011 belive it or not! Wow! All at once many things are changing -- and drastically!

But (don't you just love that word) the Word of God still says regarding Israel and Abraham’s descendants: “I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3). Our blessing of Israel is not contingent upon whether or not we agree with Israel’s policies or not. Our job is to be obedient and bless them in some manner, even though the Bible makes it clear that there is coming a day that every nation will come against Israel (Zechariah 12:2-3). Should we curse Israel it will surely bring trouble upon America.

So what should we as believers do? Before I answer that, let me ask these questions. “Do you need a blessing? Could your family use a blessing? Do our churches need a blessing?” Obviously, we all need God’s blessings! We should therefore seek to bless Israel and honor God’s word in some manner. It may not sound too politically correct. But it is certainly biblically correct One of the best ways to bless Israel is to pray in their behalf. Here are some ways to pray.

1. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6-9)
2. Pray that America’s leaders would continue to support Israel even if we as a nation have to do it alone
3. Pray for the Lord to show us tangible ways to bless Israel
4. Pray for the Lord to open a door to bless a Jew in America. One quarter of the world’s population of Jews reside in America! Choose to bless them with Messiah Jesus.
5. Stand upon God’s promise of blessing for your self, our families and our churches. I don’t necessarily think we need to ask for a specific blessing. Let’s just allow the Lord to bless us in a way that would honor Him most. Then let him bless us as He chooses!

So pray and be blessed! Should our nation turn its back on Israel, stand by kneeling. Long ago, even in the midst of His impending judgment on Israel, God gave this encouraging word to His righteous ones:

“Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.”
Isaiah 3:10 (please read the context of this passage, as it important to understanding)

Walk by faith and be encouraged brothers. And enjoy the Messianic music!