(Feast of Tabernacles)
Warm Greetings in Messiah!

"Life is Fragile!"

We have made this statement to many people over the years as we have heard reports of sickness, accidents, tragedies and death. Our perspective has always been: "Life is to be treasured today as a gift from God." He is found in the present, not in the past nor in the future. Today is the day in which we can encounter the Great "I Am" (Genesis 15:1). Today is the day to hear and obey His voice (Psalm 95:7-8).

The Bible clearly tells us that we must not boast about tomorrow: "Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1) This verse took on new meaning for us on August 22, 2000 when a urologist here in Fort Lauderdale opened a folder, glanced up at Neil and said: "You have cancer. I'm very sorry." That was it: something between a curse and a death sentence. The doctor found Neil's peaceful response disconcerting. When Jamie was called in, the doctor said the same thing: "Your husband has prostate cancer. I'm very sorry." Jamie's response was: "We have God." The doctor was not impressed. Outside the doctor's office, the love of God was waiting to embrace us both. Today we continue in that embrace as we seek God's plan for walking us through this trial.

The Faithfulness of God

By the time this newsletter is in your hands we will have spent the entire month of September detoxifying our bodies. As we write this letter, our temporary dwellings (bodies) are adjusting to large quantities of raw fruit, vegetables and carrot juice. We never expected to get back to the Garden this way! Nor did we ever dream that the only thing we would eat under our sukkah would be live plants. But our Father has shown us that this is the first step, so we are following His leading.

God was not caught by surprise concerning the cancer in Neil's body. He knows all things. We firmly believe that He revealed in order to heal. The cancer was there. It was hidden and God revealed it (Matthew 10:26). The cancer did not come from God. We live in a fallen world in which so many of God's instructions for life are ignored, even by His own children. Our eating habits may even give the enemy an open door! (Selah: Pause and ponder.)

Our God is merciful. He is a Healer. He forgives. He restores. And we believe that He gives His children (like Neil) wake up calls to make life-style changes in order to preserve life. On Neil's 60th birthday, the Lord gave him a promise from Psalms 128:6: "Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel." We stand on that promise, and believe that Neil will have a long, fruitful life.

Sukkot: A Celebration of God's Faithfulness

This year the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is from sundown Oct. 13 through Oct. 20th.

Sukkot is a celebration of the faithfulness of God during the Israelites' wilderness wanderings. For forty years, the Lord provided for His people in the desert. He gave them food, water, and made sure their clothing did not wear out. The food He provided ("manna") was perfect, but His children complained: "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumber, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." (Numbers 11:5-6)

Our conclusion: Let's consult God about what we eat. Let's acknowledge Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3:5-6). Then when we hear from Him, let's obey, and eat what He directs us to eat and be satisfied. Our Father wants what is best for us! "Beloved, I (we) wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." (3 John 2)

Sukkot: Just Passing Through

When the children of Israel left Egypt, they left their permanent homes. As they followed God in the wilderness, they lived in temporary dwellings or in booths (sukkot). Jewish people the world over dwell in booths during this feast in accordance with the Scriptures:

"But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra'el is to live in a sukkah, so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra'el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God." (Lev. 23: 39-43 Complete Jewish Bible)

We will put up our sukkah this year, as we have for the past twenty years. We will praise our loving Father for having sent us Yeshua, His only Son, who left the splendor of Heaven to take on an earthly sukkah so that He might identify with us. When Yeshua wrapped Himself in human flesh, He became our faithful High Priest. As such, He intercedes for us night and day, and is touched when we go through suffering: "For we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb. 4:15-16)

Sukkot is a feast for all believers, both "natural" and "grafted in" branches (Romans 11:16-24). It is a "harvest time" festival (the origin of our American Thanksgiving) in which we stop to thank the Lord for the abundance that He has given us. It is "Zeman Simchatenu," the "Season of Our Rejoicing," seven days of rejoicing in the goodness of God.

Can someone rejoice who has cancer? Absolutely! Our God is greater than cancer. One dictionary defines cancer as, "any evil condition or thing that spreads destructively." Through our Faithful God, we overcome evil with good. We trust our Father to root out all evil, contain it, and eliminate it in Yeshua's name. We rejoice at Sukkot because we have already passed from death to life. Our temporary sukkah (body) perishes, but our inward man is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The Lord is our light and our salvation. We are not fearful. Our God is in control. He can be trusted!

Sukkot is a time to focus on the things that really matter: our walk with God, our loved ones, God's love for all mankind, and the coming kingdom when all nations will go up to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot! (Zech. 14:16)

Yeshua: Our Undefiled High Priest

The Friday following Neil's diagnosis, he felt led to preach at Temple Aron HaKodesh, our home congregation. God had been birthing a message in Neil's spirit that God's people needed to hear. We want to give you the kernel of the message so that you too can be blessed and edified. In brief: We find in the Torah very definite, strict regulations concerning things clean and unclean. Uncleanness meant separation. Women separated themselves during their monthly cycle and following childbirth. Lepers were sent out of the camp. Anyone, even the priests who ministered to the Lord, became unclean by touching a dead person or anything else unclean (Leviticus 5:2-3).

Then God sent Yeshua, the New Covenant High Priest, the mediator between God and man who presented God with the perfect sacrifice _ His own life. Yeshua did not avoid unclean people; He welcomed them! The astounding fact about this High Priest is that when He came in contact with the unclean He did not become defiled, but rather they became clean. Consider His contact with the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:40-48), or the little girl who had died (Luke 8:53-54), or the leper whom He made clean (Luke 17:14). In every case, Yeshua's touch brought healing. In His presence, the unclean became clean.

Following Neil's sermon, the mishpocha (family) at our Messianic Synagogue gathered around Neil to pray for his healing. Yeshua in us pronounced him clean. We are trusting that the cancer (the unclean thing) will be totally purged from Neil's body. Will you join us in faith as we claim this total cleansing? Thank you so much!

Defeating Goliath

As we have been dwelling in the secret place (sukkah) of the Most High (El Elyon), abiding under the shadow of the Almighty (El Shaddai), the Lord has given us another truth from Scripture to apply to our lives at this time. Jamie was reading the account of David and Goliath in her daily Bible reading and was arrested by the Holy Spirit at the following point in the story: "David answered the P'lishti (Goliath, the Philistine), "You're coming at me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I'm coming at you in the name of Adonai Tzva'ot (the Lord of Hosts), the God of the armies of Isra'el, whom you have challenged. Today Adonai will hand you over to me. I will attack you, lop your head off, and give the carcasses of the army of the Phishtim to the birds in the air and the animals in the land. Then all the land will know that there is a God in Isra'el, and everyone assembled here will know that ADONAI DOES NOT SAVE BY SWORD OR SPEAR. FOR THIS IS ADONAI'S BATTLE, AND HE WILL HAND YOU OVER TO US. ...DAVID DEFEATED THE P'LISHTI WITH A SLING AND A STONE, STRIKING THE P'LISHTI AND KILLING HIM..." (1 Sam. 17:45-47,50). We believe that God wants us to use a SLING and a STONE to kill the Goliath we are facing (prostate cancer).

We are asking the Lord for wisdom. "What is the sling? What is the stone?" We covet your prayers on Neil's behalf! We want to defeat this cancer God's way, according to His perfect plan. We await our Father's direction. He is our Healer (Ex. 15:26). By Yeshua's stripes, Neil is healed (Is. 53:5). The effectual fervent prayers of God's people avail much (James 5:16)! God's love never fails! (1 Cor. 13:8)

P.S. We have found dealing with this cancer situation to be very time consuming. Jamie needs help in the house 4-5 hours/week during Oct., Nov., & Dec. A seasoned intercessor would be our first choice. Call Jamie at (954)915-9899.