newsletter – Page 9 – Blessing Israeli Believers

Blessing Israeli Believers December 2017

December 16, 2017 by BIB Admin

A look back at 2017 from Co-Founder Dov Schwarz

I find it truly breath taking that 2017 is closing and before it does, I think we should look back together at a snapshot of this year’s fruitful work.
For those who prayerfully and financially support our lives and work here in Israel I want to remind you that this is your fruitful labor as well!

Gospel Sharing
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 1:16

Our gospel sharing is exploding in Israel! Through our Israeli believing partners, and myself, we have had unimaginable gospel sharing opportunities in 2017. One example is my Hebrew language teacher, a young secular Jewish man who is teaching me the New Testament in Hebrew. I am able to choose the passages and so far we have gone through much of John 3, Romans 1:16, Luke 4:18, and more. He is asking good questions and hearing the gospel over and over through the scriptures. Please pray for him to come to Messiah Yeshua, along with so many others who have heard the gospel this year!

Discipleship
“…Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.” John 21:17

Benevolent giving is one of the central monthly works of Blessing Israeli Believers. The list of Israelis we have been able to come alongside and help is too long to mention in this letter. But, here are some categories: An elderly pensioner, single mothers (who chose life instead of abortion), Israeli soldiers, believing immigrants to Israel, holocaust survivors, and many more!

Israel Protection Dog Program
The wicked prowl on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men. Psalm 12:8

Amazingly, we have been able to donate three protection dogs in 2017. A German Shepherd, a Belgian Malinois, and a Dutch Shepherd! Two are now deployed in high terror risk areas in Israel. One of them, a puppy born in a litter from our own dogs is living with his new family while in training.

To some in Israel—Israeli believers in Messiah Yeshua (like me) are thought of as very controversial. However, these precious families, who have received these incredible dogs, are very thankful for Zionist Christians who donated the funds to provide them. This program has also empowered me by forming a new perception. Some now see me in a very different light than what they have been taught to believe about Messianic Jews—such a blessing! These dogs cost about $5,000 each fully trained.

Watch Therefore Television
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19)

It is good to remember that the first disciples were commanded to go out from Israel to the nations with the gospel. Blessing Israeli Believers helps me do just that! Our program in 2017 aired twice weekly and in 2018 we believe it will expand! Our program blankets North America and goes out on a satellite to 75% of the world. You can see archived “Watch Therefore” programs and find how to watch new programs in your area at our website: WatchTherefore.tv

To all those who prayerfully and financially partnered with us in 2017 we close this letter with these words that come deeply from our hearts:

“THANK YOU and MAY THE BLESSINGS OF ABRAHAM, ISSAC, AND JACOB—IN MESSIAH YESHUA (JESUS) REST UPON YOU IN 2018!”

Don't forget: Watch Therefore Television Program
Saturdays - 10pm EST/9pm CST,
Mondays 7:30am EST/6:30am CST
CTN-Christian Television Network, available on DISH NETWORK, DIRECT TV, & ROKU.

Romans 15:26-27 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal (material) things.

Blessing Israeli Believers November 2017

November 18, 2017 by BIB Admin

An update from Efraim & Jeannie, Northern Israel:
Shalom and blessings to you - !שלום רכהוב לכם
As we write this, the first rains of the season are falling upon Israel. Finally the long hot summer is over and blessing is being restored to the Land. It is a very good feeling. Even the earth has the expectation of being productive and fruitful. “ Then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and trees of the field will bear their fruit.” Leviticus 26:4

In Israel the High Holidays are over and the season has changed. That period of time from after the High Holidays until Passover is the most productive time in Israel. Everyone is back in school and there are no distractions.

Here in Nahariyya at Or Hagalil Congregation, we are trying to engage the hearts and minds of those who worship with us. It is a small community but very diverse. We have native-born Israelis and Arabs, immigrants, Holocaust survivors, children of righteous Gentiles who saved Jewish children during World War II and interesting and beloved visitors from all over the world. Pray with us that we can be used of the Lord in helping our congregation bear the fruit of the Spirit. Pray that we will all be a testimony of the love of Yeshua to the people of Western Galilee.

The past month we distributed a number of “Shai Hag” holiday packages to soldiers passing through Nahariyya. It was a bag with some sweets and a greeting card with a Bible verse. One soldier even wrote us a thank you note telling us that we made her day!

The most remarkable occurrence right now is the ads on social media for Israelis to order the Isaiah 53 Explained book translated into Hebrew. Since September 25th, there have been over 700 requests for this book and orders are coming in daily. This overwhelming response has surprised us all. If it
weren’t for the help of our two wonderful, dedicated volunteers, it would be hard to mail out these books. Please pray for those that read the book to have open hearts and minds to Yeshua.

We appreciate you partnering with us in prayer and support – we are encouraged to have you standing with us, Thank you!

Yours in the Messiah Yeshua,

Update from Steve Flores, Beit Tfilah, Golan Heights:

Sharing the Love of the LORD
Join us as we praise the LORD for the seven holocaust survivors who received Yeshua as their personal Messiah. Many others have stated that they are jealous about our faith and have asked for prayer that they might believe.

We were also blessed to baptize Valia who received the Lord a couple of years ago in one of our meetings. Since receiving the Lord she has faithfully been in attendance and continues to grow in faith. Now Valia is part of our team who ministers to the Holocaust survivors sharing what God has done in her life.

Golan Heights
Blessed to have Pastor Drew Macintyre come and teach the Gospel of Mark and what it means to live the life of a disciple. The students were challenged and encouraged in their walk with the Lord. Presently they are studying Proverbs and the book of Acts during the week and sharing their faith as they travel every week. We are blessed to see them reaching out to the Jewish and Arab youth whose hearts are open to talk about Yeshua.

Jerusalem
We were blessed to have Pastor Brian and Dave come and teach our Tuesday night service in Christ Church. They taught on the Appoint feasts of the LORD recorded in Leviticus chapter 23. I was blessed to teach the morning devotional study in the garden behind the church. Our text was “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Ps.34:8

Don't forget: Watch Therefore Television Program
Saturdays - 10pm EST/9pm CST,
Mondays 7:30am EST/6:30am CST
CTN-Christian Television Network, available on DISH NETWORK, DIRECT TV, & ROKU.

Blessing Israeli Believers October 2017

October 16, 2017 by BIB Admin

Dear Friends and Partners,

The Fall Feasts are upon us, specifically the Feast of Succot (Tabernacles). There is much more to this special Tabernacles season that I will not be able to share due to the brevity of this letter. But here are a few thoughts: First the Old Testament introduction and then some New Covenant fulfillment.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. (Leviticus 23:33-36)

The Israeli calendar was a lunar calendar, much different than ours today. In these passages we see a holy appointed time when the LORD’s people are gathered to meet with Him. There is to be no work on the special meeting days —they truly are holy days. We also see an animal sacrifice—the shedding of blood.

And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’” (Leviticus 23:40-43)

The children of Israel were to make booths to live in for seven days. This was a reminder of how the LORD faithfully took care of them in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. They lived in temporary dwellings on their way to the place of promise. In this New Covenant we are to rest in the Lord and bring to Him the sacrifice of praise! This is because Messiah Yeshua offered the blood sacrifice to provide forgiveness for our sins! He is the reason we meet together for a holy convocation.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)
There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

The LORD faithfully led the Israelis through the wilderness to the Promised Land in temporary dwellings, so He will also do with us today! We live in these temporary bodies flawed by sin—yet our faithful Savior will keep us and lead us to our eternal Kingdom destiny. Hallelujah—and glory!

VERY IMPORTANT: The LORD is by no means, finished with Israel. To the contrary, the world is experiencing Israel’s birth pains today. Soon and very soon King Messiah Jesus will be sitting on His throne reigning over a redeemed and Messiah Yeshua worshipping Israel. Until that day, may we praise King Jesus in the wilderness and prepare to celebrate this Feast when He tabernacles amongst us.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah 14:16

Thanks to all of our Blessing Israeli Believers prayer and financial partners. We pray for you often and trust you are blessed according to Genesis 12:3. Happy Succot!

Update from Ariel & Shayla:

Salvation in the middle of a Suicide Attempt
Adrian, who came to faith after watching our Isaiah 53 video and is now in our homegroup, went out with me last week to share the Gospel and pray for the sick. God did some wonderful things and a man named Chen physically felt something leave him when we prayed for him, then was very open to the Gospel, repented of his sins and gave his life to Yeshua! It was so exciting to help someone whom we helped to bring to faith to also learn how to share the Gospel and pray for the sick himself.

A few days later we met with Chen again, then afterwards I was on my way to another event, but I heard the Holy Spirit tell me, “Don’t go yet. Just keep walking straight ahead.” I continued to an area where there weren’t many people, then saw a lady sitting down. When I offered her prayer (her name is Amalyah), she started telling about how horribly depressed she was and how life wasn’t worth living. She shared that she is divorced with four young children, works hard as a nurse, and is a Muslim Bedouin.

I shared with her that there is great hope and beautiful meaning to life in Yeshua, then shared the whole Gospel with her. She decided to repent and receive Yeshua as her Savior.

Then immediately afterwards she said, “Oh no, I made a mistake.” She opened her bag and showed me all the empty packages of pills she had taken in order to kill herself. She had already swallowed 120 pills and was just sitting there, about to die!

I immediately called an ambulance and sent out some prayer requests quickly. Before the ambulance arrived, she started to go unconscious and handed me her suicide note and told me what to tell her children. It looked like she was going to die right in front of me, but I was crying out to God to have mercy on her and redeem her life.

I rode with her in the ambulance to the hospital, and when the doctors understood how many pills she had taken and how long it had already been, they were shocked that she wasn’t dead already. It was a miracle!

If the Lord hadn’t led me to her right at that moment, she would have been dead a few minutes later – not just physically, but also separated from God for eternity. Not only was she made alive spiritually through Yeshua, but because people were praying for her in Yeshua’s name, she was physically healed and was able to be released the next morning!

The next day her Muslim Bedouin family invited our family (we were also together with my parents) to come visit them and celebrate. They were extremely grateful for what happened. We made a good connection with them and heard their stories, then we offered them prayer. Yeshua healed Amalyah’s father, mother (of quite severe pains all over her body), her sister-in-law, and aunt. Then we shared the Gospel with them and they were very open. They are very close to coming to faith, but need more prayer and follow-up.

Praise be to our God, who does the impossible! “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD” (Psalm 118:17).

Don't forget: Watch Therefore Television Program
Saturdays - 10pm EST/9pm CST,
Mondays 7:30am EST/6:30am CST
CTN-Christian Television Network, available on DISH NETWORK, DIRECT TV, & ROKU.

Blessing Israeli Believers September 2017

September 14, 2017 by BIB Admin

Update from Sandy Shoshani – Be’ad Chaim, Israel ProLife: As I write this letter, my eyes tear, my knees wobble and my heart beats faster. It is amazing to witness the mighty works of God as we
save lives.

At Be'ad Chaim's annual Board meeting recently, I reported the number of babies saved through our Operation Moses project since its humble beginning in 2006. As of today, we have saved over 2,000 lives. That's 2,000+ beds, bathtubs and strollers, and over 72,000 bags of diapers and boxes of baby formula. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of baby onesies and booties distributed by our clothing boutiques.

The finances to provide 2,000+ babies with basic needs for a full year has gone up and down like the ocean tide. It has been astounding to watch God provide faithfully. Surely, He cares for the unborn and blesses our work.

The most deeply touching part of reviewing our lists are the thousands of names: Names of moms
whose lives have been deeply touched and changed; and names of babies who are alive today
because of the ministry of Be’ad Chaim.

The first Operation Moses babies were born Autumn 2006. I can easily recall each of the 15 moms and babies whom we serviced that first year. We became integral parts of each other’s lives. I attended several births and visited each home, often spending hours with the families.
Our first OM baby, Michaella’s life was saved by an SMS who told her mom she was a gift from God. Her mom was a single, new immigrant from South America, who later found a great job.
Orian’s mom was young and wild from a dysfunctional family, but who dearly loves her daughter.
Ben Zion’s mom was a lovely new immigrant from the U.S. She now has a good job and recently invited us to her wedding.
Or’s mom came to Israel through trafficking. She married his dad and now has five sons.
Eitan’s mom was an orphan who became pregnant when traveling in Thailand. Despite her fears, she learned to support herself and her son.
Anat’s mom was alone, a new immigrant from Siberia, but has now discovered her Lord and is one of our precious Be’ad Chaim counselors.

This is a small sampling of some of our babies. We are now servicing 500 moms and babies nationwide. I can’t say that I know each one personally anymore. We have a fantastic group of counselors who befriend each mom and show her love, kindness and respect. Miraculously, through
our Operation Moses project, we provide the practical needs for each one of them.

I believe the traditional Jewish prayer on special occasions is appropriate:

Blessed are you, Oh Lord, King of the universe, who has given us life,
sustained us and enabled us to arrive at this occasion.

May the Lord richly bless you for partnering with us in this life-saving work. Through our lives together, God has done far beyond all that we could have thought or imagined. To Him be the Glory for all that He has done.

A Note From Dov Schwarz, Co-Founder Blessing Israeli Believers

Our BIB staff is located in the Houston, TX area. Our prayers and love go out to them and all those
affected by Hurricane Harvey. Please pray as my wife and I will be traveling to Houston next month.

Please prayerfully remember that we have precious Israeli Believing Partners in Jerusalem, Haifa, the Sea of Galilee, Netanya, and others. We trust our Messiah Yeshua to continue raising up precious
partners in the Nations to Bless Israeli Believers. And we continue to thank our Father in Heaven for all those who pray and give—we know that Genesis 12:3 is alive and well. “I will bless those who
bless you…”

May the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rest upon you in Messiah Yeshua!

Blessing Israeli Believers August 2017

August 16, 2020August 20, 2017 by BIB Admin

Update from Efraim & Jeannie, Northern Galilee:
Shalom - שלום. Blessings and peace to you all this summer. Here in Israel there is just one type of summer weather - hot and dry. The only change is from hot to hotter.

The Land of Israel has very few perennial springs and rivers. Most of the river beds or wadis are dry stream beds most of the year. In the height of the summer there is almost no moisture or condensation to be found. The words of Psalm 42 were well written for the dry parched land:

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.

A deer didn't just stumble upon water, these animals know where to look for water or else they die. The sharpened instincts of these nomadic creatures lead them to the most likely places to find water. The spiritual application is simple to grasp. Yeshua told that we must hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). We too, as followers of Yeshua, should know where to turn in order to sustain our souls and thrive in the new life in the Messiah. My prayer for you dear friend is that you too will seek the comfort and provision only the Lord can provide.

On a sad and disturbing note; on Friday, July 14th there was another terrorist attack in the Old City of Jerusalem aimed at Israel security forces. This horrendous attack killed two Israeli policemen on duty at the Al-Asqa Mosque. Both of these young policemen were from the Druze community here in Western Galilee. One of them Kamil Shnan, a 22 year old man, was from the neighboring village of Horfesh.

The murder of these two police officers wasn't a matter of two Druze men being killed, but two of Israel's finest cut down before their time. In solidarity with the family, I went to join them during their time of mourning. I sat and wept with the family along with dozens of other people. Since I am not familiar with Druze customs, a friend in the village accompanied me and introduced me to the family.
The Scriptures encourages us to "mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15).

There have been some fun times this month as well. As is the custom, I spent a day with the Massah Project that my niece, Liz, and some others are leading. This is a group of American college age Jewish believers who come to Israel to learn the Land and prepare for a ministry trip to Israeli travelers in northern India. Together we toured around Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights. Included in the day was a swim in the Hermon River, one of the tributaries to the Jordan River.

Here in Nahariyya, Jeannie and I continue to see our ministry expanding. The Or Hagalil Congregation needs prayer as we seek the Lord's direction regarding renewal of the rental contract for our meeting room and activities center. The current lease expires in October.

As we continue to preach the Gospel and encourage the believers through His Word, we thank you for partnering with us in prayer and support. It is such an encouragement knowing we are together in preaching the Gospel to those who need to know Yeshua here in Israel.

We want to thank Blessing Israeli Believers for their faithful and generous support of our ministry work here in Israel. We appreciate you partnering with us as we further the Kingdom of God and look for opportunities for many to hear about the Messiah Jesus.

May the Lord continue to bless you, encourage you, bring you closer to Him and enrich your lives daily.

In Him,
Efraim and Jeannie

Blessing Israeli Believers July 2017

August 16, 2020July 10, 2017 by BIB Admin

A word from our co-founder Dov Schwarz:

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:42-44

Our Watch Therefore television program is airing weekly now with
two different time slots. I am praising King Yeshua as He truly has been faithful in directing my steps regarding the broadcast. What a joy and treasure to live with the view of the Sea of Galilee right out my back door, which also serves as my television recording set! We prayed for about a year for an affordable studio background to record the program. Now we have a place to record that is exceedingly and abundantly better than I could have asked or thought of-why am I surprised?

Watch Therefore airs from Israel across North America through the Christian Television Network (CTN) on Dish Network, Direct TV, and ROKU. It also is beamed by satellite to 75% of the world-Hallelujah!

The primary goal of the program is to help make authentic "faithful servant" disciples of Messiah Yeshua who are watching and ready for His soon coming. The faithful servant in Matthew 24 is watching for his Master's return and doing what his Master commanded.
I share about Blessing Israeli Believers on every broadcast and also the gospel at the end of most programs. This television airtime is so very expensive, but please pray and remember, "My help comes from the LORD" that He may raise up faithful partners who will come alongside to help!

Now is the time like never before to Watch Therefore and Be Ready!!!

Update from Ariel & Shayla

Sharing the Gospel with 16 Israelis from "Harvest" Village
A group of 16 Israelis contacted Kehilat haCarmel and asked if we could share with them about who Messianic Jews are and what we believe. Eliel and I (Ariel) had the privilege of sharing with them on Friday.
They were a group of older native-born Israelis - traditionally one of the groups that has been most closed to the Gospel - yet were incredibly open, and actually ended up staying with us for almost two hours because they kept wanting to hear more! They were all from a village called Katzir - "Harvest" in Hebrew - how appropriate!
We shared about the congregational life, the ways we reach out to the surrounding community, then about what we believe and how Yeshua has transformed our lives and many others' lives.

On the way there, I asked God if there was something He wanted me to share that I don't usually share. I saw a picture of an ultrasound and knew He wanted me to talk briefly about abortion. A huge portion of Israelis have been involved in an abortion at some level, and responses to any statement against abortion in Israel can often be violently negative, but I knew He wanted me to speak about it. So when I shared about what the Tanakh says about sin and our need for atonement, I briefly talked about abortion as well.

Soon afterwards, one lady interrupted, "But you're just laying guilt on us!" (I'm almost certain she had had an abortion). I responded, "My intention isn't at all to just lay guilt. Any good doctor has to first diagnose the disease before he can give the treatment. That's exactly what God did in the Tanakh, telling us clearly about our disease of sin, and then offering the solution." Then we repeatedly came back to the theme of Yeshua becoming the "guilt offering" (Isaiah 53:10), and how He removes the burden of shame for all the evil we've done, for all those who believe in Him.

The same lady who objected earlier came up to us afterwards and said, "Wow, you all are so full of love! Keep up the important work you're doing! This was marvelous!" Praise God!

The leader of the group stood up at the end and said, "Friends, I think the next step is for us to really experience this for ourselves, first-hand," implying that he wanted them to come to a service the next time. He told us afterwards that he loved the meeting so much that he wants to keep bringing groups!

Several people asked if I really believed the stories about Yeshua's miracles. I answered that He didn't just do miracles then, and shared about how Yeshua has healed over 200 people on the streets over the past few months, then offered them prayer if they had any pain. One lady had intense pain in her shoulder (7 on a scale of 0-10), but Yeshua healed her when we prayed. The word started spreading about this to all the others as well. Interestingly, her name is Ge'ulah, "Redemption!"

Quite a few of them took New Testamentsand the "Supernatural or Just Remarkable" booklet, as well. They all thanked us profusely and one lady even said, "This really opened my eyes!"Praise God!
Let's pray that God would open all their eyes to full revelation of Yeshua and bring them to Him, leading to an even greater harvest here in Israel!

Many blessings in Yeshua,
Ariel and Shayla (with Anayah, Amalyah, and Uzziel)