Israel Update (October)

Posted by Rice on Oct 19, '08 4:58 PM

First of all, we all miss Nashville and our wonderful Church, Bethel World Outreach Center. We pray constantly for our Church and our city. I am convinced that as we sow into this critical part of the world in this season God will bless Bethel and Every Nation Churches as well.

The month of October has been nothing short of amazing. We have now been through the season here in Israel where the Jewish New Year is celebrated, (Rosh Hashanah), followed by 10 days of awe and reflection culminating in the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. On that day the majority of the country neither eats nor drinks, but seeks the Lord for forgiveness of sins.  There are no cars on the road and we literally walked the streets of Jerusalem.

 Immediately following is the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a week-long celebration that draws people from around the world. We were blessed to see so many friends that came to Jerusalem to worship Yeshua the King during this time. The week ends with the celebration called Simchat Torah. It is the celebration of the giving of the law to Moses as well as the conclusion of the yearlong reading of the Torah (first five books of Moses) in all the Synagogues around the world. There is much celebration including literally dancing in the streets.

 At the beginning of the month was the Day of Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. This was hosted by a great friend of Bethel’s, Robert Stearns of Eagles Wings. This special gathering was broadcast worldwide by God TV and had over 200,000 churches participate. I was honored to help pray in this event and got to prayer for Nashville in the midst of it.

 Also this month was the All Nations Convocation hosted by Tom Hess, founder of the Jerusalem House of Prayer. Tom has lived in Jerusalem for over 20 years and brings together over 150 nations at this event. I was one of the speakers and talked about the state of the American Church and the highlighted the points for prayer for our nation. Remember, as important as the elections and the economy are, it is the condition of the Church that will ultimately decide the prosperity of a people.

 Next week I am speaking at another conference here in Jerusalem, hosted by Josh Reinstein of the Kinnesset’s Christian Allies Caucus. All in all it has been an unbelievable time to be able to focus on Israel and God’s work here. As much as we miss home, we are reminded of Psalm 137: “If I forget you O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget it’s skill, may my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I don’t exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.”  Thanks for your prayers for continued open doors here. We are praying that every individual and family will experience God’s supernatural help in their time of need.

 Pastor Rice