Dear Friends, Shalom in Y’shua,
Update on Eddie: He pled not guilty to the charge of assault. The Judge asked him if the police wrote his charges down correctly and Eddie said, “No.” So the Judge scheduled a hearing for the 20th of May and until that time Eddie is not allowed to go to Arad and must remain under “house arrest”. The pastor of the Beersheva congregation came to the court house and offered to let us stay at the congregation complex, so that is where we are now. I had to sign for him so I am not allowed to leave either. Our lawyer is trying to get that amended. We are going to ask for permission to leave the country and a postponement of the hearing date so that we can both travel on our scheduled speaking tour in the United States. So please pray that the Judge will agree to that. Thanks for all the letters of encouragement! We appreciate them!
So many secular citizens are offering their support and some are writing letters. The chess players are upset at the police again. Please understand that the average Jewish citizen in Arad supports us. They don’t like the Haredim (an ultra-Orthodox group who call themselves Pharisees) and they don’t like what they are doing to the city. This small group of Orthodox Jews is like the mafia, blackmailing people into submission. They are no different than the Hamas or the Fatah among the Palestinians, and they use the same tactics. The Lord has harsh words for them and does not even consider them to be Jews. Matt. 12:14; Jn. 16:1-4; Rom. 2:28-29; Rev. 3:9. They are not only against believers in Y’shua, but against anyone not in their group—even other religious Jews. They have firebombed secular businesses for not paying protection money or for not seeking kosher licenses from them if they have restaurants.
So why do we stay here?
All the believers were one in heart and mind. Acts 4:32
After Paul and Silas preached Jesus, look at the result: But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here. Acts 17:5-7.
Paul witnessed, “… in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.” Rom 11:14
If you want to know what is happening in Arad, read the book of Acts. Many people are like those who prayed for Peter’s release from prison and then didn’t believe it when their prayers were answered. God is doing some marvelous things here!
Don’t pray for revival if you are not willing to accept what goes with it – disturbance, prison, court cases, and a lot of criticism, especially against Y’shua and His followers.
In the time of the advent of Y’shua, the priests and the captain of the Temple guard and the Sadducees (the spiritual leaders of Israel) came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming, in Jesus’ name, the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. Acts 4:1-4
People are getting saved!
Hallelujah!
Without the opposition, the Word would not go forth. For too long, believers have been satisfied with the status quo here in Israel. For example, “I won’t bother you with the Gospel if you don’t bother me. We’ll just be friends….” I, Lura, met a believer not long ago who lived next to another believer for 11 years. Both were praying for Christian fellowship with another believer. We encouraged the one to share her faith with her neighbor. After a lot of fear, she finally did and to her surprise, the neighbor embraced her and told her she was also a believer. Now they enjoy sweet fellowship and Bible study together and have invited others to join them. All those years wasted!
Recently Rebekah and I were sitting at an outdoor café when two orthodox Jews came along and began harassing us. The shop owner steered them away from us, and then a Russian immigrant came up to us and asked why we were being harassed. We shared with her about Y’shua and the fact we believe He is the Messiah and Savior of Israel and the world. She became excited and said, “I, too, believe in Y’shua and I didn’t know there were other Christians in Arad!” Out of opposition comes victory!
We appreciate the notes of concern for our safety and we appreciate the prayers. A few of you have suggested that we leave Arad. We don’t feel comfortable with doing that, since we have no confirmation of that in our spirit. Plus, it would mean leaving the flock to the wolves. We are not the only ones at risk here. Many believers in Arad are being harassed on a daily basis. Eddie and I have been the Lord’s lightning rod diverting a lot of attention from the other believers because we have the only open “Christian” witness in Arad—the King’s Men Chess and Bible Shop. There are a few others who are willing to stand with us, such as Rebekah and Barry, Avi, Shimon and Svetlana and a number of the Russian congregation. Yakim, pastor of the Hebrew-language congregation, and his wife, Debbie, are being harassed several times every week with loud demonstrations in front of their home. Children of all believers are special targets.
Another problem would be, “Where would we go?” The Lord has not opened any doors elsewhere and no matter where we would move to in Israel (this is our home), the Yad L’Achim (a strong, militant, anti-Christian organization that operates throughout Israel) will harass us, as they are already doing to every other believer they find in Israel. Just last week, they put a big ad in a major newspaper asking the people of Israel to help find “missionaries” so they can do something about it. Arad is not the only place where the buildings of Messianic/Christian ministries were burned. It has happened in Jerusalem, Haifa, Tiberias, Eilat, Tel Aviv, Beersheva and Arad, as well as others. We have just been far more vocal about it, but many believers feel reluctant to disclose the bad behavior of the Orthodox Jews for fear of spreading anti-Semitism. The New Testament is full of what happened to the believers at the hands of the religious leaders. It is no different today. Please support the believers here!
Is there a solution other than waiting for the Messiah to come and set things right? Yes!
We believe that God has given us a solution—and only He can implement it.
Part of that solution is staying the course. We cannot give in to opposition. It may cost us financially in court, fines, etc., but, with the Lord’s help, we will win. Believing lawyers are winning more and more cases against the corrupt government agencies and those who oppose the Messiah. One such agency lists its case record on its website. To date, they have won every single case and that agency now commands a great respect among the people of Israel and all court officers all the way to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem.
Another part of that solution is the Christian school that our ministry is sponsoring, which is scheduled to open on Sept. 1st. This will be the first Christian school in the northern Negev. Many families, who are not yet believers, have asked us for several years to establish such a school. Right now this is our number one priority. The potential of reaching Jewish and Muslim families for the Messiah is enormous.
Still another part of the solution is the continual prayers of the saints around the world. We praise the Lord for you, who back us up in this fight for eternal souls for His great Kingdom. Please don’t let up even for one minute. We depend on your prayers far more than you will ever know this side of heaven.
When the Haredim move into an area, the city always suffers a loss of finances. Property values decrease because the Orthodox do not think that keeping up the property is a worthy thing to do. These people never pay taxes to anyone, but expect the State, businesses and others to pay tribute to THEM.
We have noticed that whenever the Haredim picket a money-making organization or business, (hotels, factories, etc) the police move in and disperse them immediately. For instance when a huge Christian choir from Holland came to Arad, the Haredim began to picket the hotel in which they were staying. In five minutes, the police had scattered the Haredim and forbade them to interfere with any of their performances. The city benefited economically from the presence of the tourists. Arad has always depended upon tourism for much of its income. The tourist trade has decreased dramatically since the Intifada began in 1993. It has never fully recovered. However, the volunteers and tourists who have begun to visit and work with us have helped to begin to reverse that trend here in Arad. Believers in the Messiah are moving into the area, increasing the value of their homes, and are contributing to the local economy.
Therefore, we propose a Community Center which would house the congregations and the chess club, as well as a number of shops and rooms for tour groups, meeting halls for events, our Christian School, etc. Toward that end, we have established a non-profit business organization here in Israel, which would provide jobs for believers and an outlet for their handcrafts, a place for Christian tour groups. The Lord has confirmed this in a number of ways, which we would love to share with groups on our upcoming trip. We expect Him to do something miraculous to bring it about. This can be a solution to the problems we have been facing in Arad. Pray for unity of the believers. Pray for the Lord to make a way.
The persecution is nothing new! It’s an old story. Y’shua was treated in this way and we can expect to be treated no differently. It’s all about surrender. Eddie says that if he goes to jail, it will be because God wants to reach the hopeless in prison and he is ready to serve. I am proud of him and his attitude of humility and his willingness to reach out to the lost. There are many who have suffered at the hands of the corrupt police and spiritual leaders of Israel. The solution is Y’shua! Nothing less than God’s salvation will do, even though it may take a martyr, it will be worth it all when we see HIM! A seed that dies brings forth, 30, 60 or even a hundredfold. Praise the Lord! His Kingdom is being established and you have a part in it!
We thank you very much! God bless you in Y’shua! Lura (and Eddie)
If you would like to write to the Israeli Embassy, go to www.Israelemb.org . Click on 'Contact Us' and secondly (down the lower middle of the screen) click on 'interreligious issues: e-mail'. This brings up their email format. Insert your letter; and finally click 'send'.