1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

    Psalm 23

    • Thank You Lord for who You are.

    • Your goodness and Your mercy are beyond understanding.

    • You are a mighty fortress and a solid rock we can stand on.

    • You are the same yesterday, today and forever.

    • You are our good shepherd who keeps us safe and brings us to the place of truth.

    • Nothing takes You by surprise.

    • You restore our souls.

    • You send Your angels to protect us.

    • You are the Captain of a mighty army.

    • Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days, all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And I'll feast at the table spread for me.

      - A hymn

  2. Rain

    We gave thanks this morning for the rain which has been falling in Israel over the past days.

    • Thank You Lord, that You have been filling up the lakes and the aquifers.

    • Thank You that You send rain upon the righteous and upon the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)

    • Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.

      Zechariah 10:1

    • Thank You that there will be enough water for the land because You are our provision.

    • Thank You for giving although we do not deserve it.

  3. Gaza

    In recent days there have been volleys of rockets fired at Israel from Gaza and Israeli responses. It appears that last week's capture by Israel of a ship bringing arms from Iran to Gaza, in addition to Egypt cracking down on Hamas is provoking a response. Israel does not want an escalation in the violence at this stage. Pray:

    • for Israel's government and particularly for Prime Minister Netanyahu, Chief of Staff Gantz and Defence Minister Yaalon to have wisdom regarding the right response to the rocket fire. Give them wisdom rather than knee-jerk reactions.

    • May they know if it is the right time to re-occupy the Gaza Strip.

    • Surround our leaders with good counsel.

    • Provide Israel's security forces with accurate information regarding what the enemy is doing and planning and capable of. May they know where supplies of arms are being stored and the best way to destroy them.

    • Strengthen and encourage the soldiers on the Gaza border at a time of uncertainty and fear.

    • Meet the civilians in Southern Israel whose hopes are dashed by the ending of a time of relative quiet. May they look to You, o Lord! Use the leaders of the nation to bring words of hope.

  4. Prime Minister Netanyahu

    This man is constantly facing pressures which humanly speaking would be impossible to deal with - an almost constant parade of foreign leaders coming to persuade him towards a two-state solution, internal divisions over the drafting of haredim into the army, arms seizures, security issues over Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan, etc. He needs our prayers more than ever:

    • Give Benyamin Netanyahu wisdom, courage, rest, grounding in God's word.

    • May He have the wisdom even to change his mind when necessary.

    • Thank You, Lord that Netanyahu is our Prime Minister for such a time as this. Surround him with wise counselors and wisdom also within his family. Give him the discernment to know whom to listen to and when.

    • Anoint him with the gifting to lead the nation, to listen to You and set Your agenda rather than just steering a way through a host of outside pressures.

    • The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

      Proverbs 21:1

  5. "Peace Process"

    The nine month period of negotiation is due to end next month. American Secretary of State, John Kerry said this week that it is a mistake for Netanyahu to insist that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. This is a "red line" for Netanyahu and has its foundation in the word of God.

    And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.

    Exodus 6:8

    • Pray that Israel's Prime Minister would not budge from his red line and give him the anointing to articulate this position to the world.

    • Equip him to be pro-active on this issue and not simply reacting to the statements of others.

    • Expose John Kerry's motives as he seeks to achieve a solution at any cost.

  6. Prisoner Releases

    Part of the "Peace Process" has involved the highly controversial requirement by Israel to release a certain number of prisoners who have much blood on their hands, have spent many years in prison and mostly have the intent to continue their violent path when they are released. Cabinet minister Yaakov Peri (Yesh Atid) has suggested that the fourth and last agreed prisoner release may not take place because the Palestinians are planning to end the negotiations anyway. This whole process is hugely painful for Israel. Pray:

    • Lord, have mercy on Israel for the undermining of the principles of justice which take place when murderers are allowed to go free.

    • Meet with the families of the victims of these murderers. Protect them from still greater emotional damage through this process.

    • Raise up opposition even among the Palestinian people opposed to such injustices and opposed to violent men being returned to society.

  7. Ukraine

    The present crisis seems to have been used by God to distract the leaders of the world from putting even more pressure on Israel. However, it reveals a shifting in the balance of power in the world away from the USA and European nations who have been unwilling to take any substantive action, and toward Russia. It seems no-one is willing to stand in the way of Russian President Vladimir Putin getting whatever he wants. This has powerful implications wherever in the world Russia has interests, notably Iran and Syria. Pray:

    • Lord, hedge in Putin and hold him back from precipitating any events in the world outside of Your perfect will and timing.

    • But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

      Mark 13:7

    • Protect us in this increasingly dangerous and unprotected world!

    • Speak to the Jews of the Ukraine to come home to Israel. Put it on their hearts to make Aliyah.

    • May the Israeli government with the Jewish Agency prepare the way for an emergency air-lift of Ukrainian Jews - aircraft, places to stay on arrival in Israel, suspending the paper work usually required for Jews to make Aliyah.

    • Speak to the Jewish communities in the other nations for the former Soviet Union who also need to recognize the possible threat of Russia's increased aggression.

  8. Christ at the Checkpoint conference

    This conference in Bethlehem has been taking place this week and finishes today. It is an attempt by so-called Bible believing Christians to blame Israel for every hardship of the Palestinian people, focusing particularly upon the security barrier which has been successful in helping to drastically reduce the dangers to Israel from suicide bombers. Pray:

    • May many attending the conference and the body of Messiah worldwide have their spiritual eyes opened to the truth of God's word and the deceptive hidden agendas of this conference.

    • Prevent the lies being put out by the conference from having an impact on the body of Messiah.

    • Give discernment of the truth.

    • Prompt and anoint the leaders of the congregations in Israel to speak out boldly and clearly from their pulpits this weekend to proclaim, declare and affirm Your purposes for the Jewish people and their inheritance in this land.

  9. Hodu l'Adonai ki tov, ki le'olam chasdo.

    • Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

      Psalm 118:1

Shabbat Shalom!