Dark Days – October 2015

Shalom Mishpochah,

Bad Decision Spiritually

While we always try to choose to walk in the Light, focus on the Light, and rejoice in the Light— Yeshua—the Lord strongly impressed on us this month that we must expose the darkness as well. We do not please God by ignoring what is happening around us, nor by neglecting to educate those entrusted to our care. We do please God by acknowledging that He has the solution to every problem!

We asked the Lord what issues were on His heart, and He pointed out four: The BDS movement concerning Israel, the Iran Deal, the teaching of evolution in our schools, and legalization of gay marriage. There are more crucial issues as well, for example, abortion, but that merits an entire letter.

As we pondered the first issue, BDS, we realized that BDS as well as the other three issues were all Bad Decisions Spiritually. But God always has Bible Directed Solutions!

BDS

The initials BDS stand for Boycott, Divest and Sanctions. The focus of this movement is Israel. It is actually an anti-Semitic epidemic spreading in a viral fashion throughout the world. What was born in 2005 by the Palestinian Authority, is being nurtured today on college campuses, in corporations, in the media, and even in churches worldwide. BDS is based on the lie that Israel is an aggressor nation, stealing Palestinian land, oppressing innocent Palestinian people, and basically violating Palestinian human rights. Therefore, any products from Israel should be boycotted and no investments should be made in the country, or with those who support the country. BDS does not want you to buy Israeli hummus, Jaffa oranges, or Ahava cosmetics. We buy all three.

BDS is, according to Shira Sorko-Ram of Maoz Ministries, a “worldwide hate movement focused once again solely on Israel and Jewish people.” It is akin to the hatred of Jews in Germany that spurned the horrific intended cleansing of an entire ethnic group. In their July 2015 newsletter, Shira mentioned that every year 200 campuses host an “Israel Apartheid Week” during which Israel is accused of being an Apartheid nation, meaning that Palestinians have no rights, no say, no vote, no protection from the legal system, AND THAT’S NOT TRUE! The Arab population of Israel enjoys more freedom than Arabs in any Muslim nation. Arabs serve in the Israeli Knesset, vote, sit on the Supreme Court, attend universities and even receive substantial financial aid for further education from the Israeli government.

BDS is actually anti-Zionism. The enemy of the Jews, HaSatan, is the one behind it, the one who portrays Israel as a “racist” state. The ultimate aim of BDS is the destruction of the Jewish state, replacing it with an Islamic Palestinian state.

BDS is especially dangerous on college campuses where “social justice causes” are at the forefront. Students wear T-shirts that say “Free Palestine” and “Boycott Israeli Goods.” The younger generation is being bombarded with this anti Israel rhetoric. The goal on US college campuses is to delegitimize Israel and Israeli institutions. Unfortunately, with BDS comes persecution of Jewish college students. A recent poll showed that in 2014, 54% of Jewish students said that they had witnessed or experienced an anti-Semitic incident on campus. [What would happen to a college that allowed this to happen to black students?]

Artists and musicians who were booked for concerts in Israel have canceled due to pressure from BDS activists. Worse still, “Christian” participation in BDS has increased in recent times. The following churches have bought into the BDS movement: The United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, and the United Church of Christ. The Mennonite Church USA voted in July to delay a decision on divesting for two years.

As would be expected, the mainstream media in the U.S. is BDS friendly. They do not mention the Palestinian children that Hamas has used as human shields, nor the 160 Palestinian children who died while building tunnels for Hamas in Gaza. Israel is always portrayed as the “bad guy.” The Palestinians are indeed an oppressed people, but Israel is not the one who is oppressing them. The Palestinians are being oppressed by their Arab brothers. They are still “refugees” because the Arab League made a decision in 1959 that no Arab State in the Middle East would grant citizenship to Palestinian refugees—even though the Palestinians are Arabs who speak the same language, have the same culture, and are also predominately Muslim.

The Palestinians could easily be absorbed by the Arab nations, but instead are treated as secondclass human beings by the Arab nations in which they live. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority receives more than €1 billion per year from the European Union, the USA, and other nations. But the Palestinians see little of this money. Calev Myers, a Messianic Jewish lawyer residing in Jerusalem, summed up the Palestinian situation as follows: “By keeping them as permanent refugees, the Arab states use them as pawns, promising them a return to their grandparents’ homeland after cleansing the state of Israel from its Jews. By keeping them in a transitory impoverished state, together with indoctrinating them with propaganda that the Jews stole their land, these hopeless Arabs are kept in a perpetual state of turmoil and rage.”

People perish for lack of knowledge. We must help the younger generation understand the lies and anti-Semitic intentions of BDS. They can check out the following sites on the Internet, www.stopBDS.com, www.campus-watch.org, or go to www.facebook.com/fightingbds

BDS = Bad Decision Spiritually!

Why is boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning Israel a bad decision spiritually? Because it is based on lies, not the truth. Because cursing Israel is always a bad decision based on Genesis 12:3. Because God has chosen Zion as His dwelling place (Psalm 132:13). Because Israel is neither a racist nor an apartheid state. Because Israel is the Land given by God to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15:18, Psalm 105:8-11). Because anti-Zionism is an attack on the place that God has chosen to be the future capital of the world.

BDS = Bible Directed Solutions

Bless Israel. Bless the Jewish people (Number 6:24-26). Buy Israeli products. Visit the Land of Israel (Psalms 122:1-2). Educate others, especially our youth, about Israel. Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Pray that our nation continues to be an ally of Israel (Psalm 122:6)! Say “Judea and Samaria” instead of “West Bank.” Affirm the fact that Israel is not an “occupier,” nor a “thief”—that Israel is God’s Land, and He chose to give it to the Children of Israel. Encourage legislation against the BDS movement, both at the state and federal level.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty with Iran. Bad Decision Spiritually

By the time you read this newsletter, the issue of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty with Iran will have been settled by a vote in the United States Senate. Whether or not it is approved, it is a bad treaty for a variety of reasons, including some that are spiritual.
First of all, the negotiations that led to this treaty have dragged on since June of 2006. During those nine years, Iran repeatedly broke agreements that it made with the negotiators. They also pushed forward with development of substantial quantities of Uranium which could be converted to atomic weapons grade in a short period of time. They regularly hid their work from the Atomic Energy investigators, and denied them access to the sites that were supposed to be available for inspection. Iran also pushed forward with the development of long range missiles capable of delivering an atomic weapon, while constantly telling the world that they desired to “annihilate the Zionist State” (Israel).

While the treaty was being ratified, there were demonstrations in the streets of Iran’s capital with thousands chanting: “Death to the United States.” Once the treaty had been presented to the United Nations and accepted, the president of Iran told the world that they would not be bound by the treaty’s clause for independent inspections with 24 hour notice.

The treaty is a Bad Decision Spiritually for several reasons. First, Iran is the major sponsor of worldwide terror, and allowing them to continue to develop the atomic bomb threatens the existence of the entire world. Remember – this is the same Iran that held our embassy employees hostage for 444 days. It is also the same Iran that was behind the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Lebanon that killed 242 marines in 1983. Secondly, Iran has never hesitated to tell the world that its ultimate goal is the subjection of the entire world to the leaders of the Muslim world (read, leaders of Iran). Iran is the modern name for ancient Persia, which introduced the inhumane form of punishment known as crucifixion, and nurtures the “Haman Spirit” that still seeks to annihilate the people of Israel.

A better and Bible Directed Solution would be to recognize that Iran has repeatedly lied and would not abide by any treaty it signed. We should have continued the economic sanctions until they were willing to sign a meaningful treaty. This would have restricted the funding they are able to provide to terrorists all over the world.

Teaching Evolution in the Public Schools. Bad Decision Spiritually

We recently visited the Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Museum owns the largest collection of fossil horse skeletons in the world. They are on display in the Hall of Advanced Mammals. The display is organized to show the “evolution” of the horse over millions of years. As we studied the display, we came to the conclusion that they all looked like horses. True, there were differences in size and some physical characteristics, but they all looked like horses. There was clearly “adaptation” to changing circumstances, but we couldn’t see any “evolution.” In fact, as we thought about the THEORY of Evolution, we became overwhelmed by the odds that a mutation from one life form (perhaps a swimmer?) to another life form (a crawler?) could happen in the exact same place at the exact same time, with one of the mutants being a male and the other a female so that they could propagate this new life form. This borders on the impossible, yet this is what evolution teaches! That led us to think about how the Theory of Evolution came to be taught as scientific fact in our public schools.

Darwin proposed his theory in 1859, but until the late 19th century, CREATION was taught in nearly all schools in the United States. In fact, many states had laws which prohibited the teaching of evolution. This changed in 1968 when the Supreme Court of the United States began a process of judicial activism in which the judges no longer were ruling on the law, but were creating law. Instead of just prohibiting laws that established a State Religion (which was the intent of the writers of the Constitution), the Court ruled to prohibit laws that furthered religion in general. From this point on, the Law of the land became antagonistic to all religion. This included prohibiting the teaching of Creation, since it is based on the Holy Scriptures. A Bad Decision Spiritually!

Bible Directed Solution: Parents must teach their children about Creation as contained in the Bible. An excellent source for additional material can be found at www.Creationism.org. We must all pray for the younger generation to have the strength to stand against peer pressure and the antibiblical bias which has infiltrated our schools. May they stand up for the truth of God, our Creator.

Gay Marriage Legalized: Bad Decision Spiritually

The legalization of gay marriage is a bad decision spiritually. Marriage was God’s idea, and He defined it in His Word. The biblical definition of marriage is one man and one woman. This is the only combination that can bear fruit. The “fruit of the womb” are children (Psalm 127:3). They are the result of a “one flesh” relationship (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5, Ephesians 5:31). God told the first man and woman to “Be fruitful and multiply…” Two women or two men can not fulfill this commandment.

Marriage has traditionally been the foundation of society. Marriage and the family. Once marriage is redefined, the family is redefined. This took place in our country, years before the July 26, 2015 Supreme Court Decision. “Modern Family,” as portrayed on TV and in the media, can be any number of combinations. “Family” in the US is no longer a father, a mother, and children. Children’s books are now written to include boys and girls who have two mommies or two daddies.

The legalization of homosexual marriage redefines the institution of marriage. If marriage is no longer one man and one woman, what stops those who spurn the Bible definition of marriage from declaring that marriage can be any group of people or animals that “really love each other.”

God saw from the very beginning that man needed a companion, a helper. He created woman for a distinct purpose (Genesis 2:18). Together, a man and a woman are a special unit, stronger together than either alone (Ecclesiastes 4:12, Ecclesiastes 4:9). Maleness and femaleness have now also come under question. Children as young as four or five years of age, are being given the opportunity to decide if they are male or female. Then, they can decide if they want to use the boys bathroom or the girls bathroom in school. The day may come when our country follows the example of some European countries who, in an attempt to erase gender, have developed a word that is a combination of “boy” and “girl”—a “neutral” word—so that children are not “stereotyped.”

God loves homosexuals. But He also calls homosexuality a sin. So is fornication. So is adultery. No better nor worse. Gay marriage takes our country away from its foundational Biblical values, from its Judeo-Christian ethic. This is a bad decision spiritually. It places us in the position of opposing the will of God, at the deepest level, since marriage is ultimately designed to be an earthly picture of a heavenly reality: husband and wife/Messiah and His bride (Ephesians 5:23-32). This could never be portrayed in a homosexual marriage, which, according to Romans 1:26 involves activity that is “against nature” and “shameful.” Sin. Nevertheless, God loves the sinner. He deeply desires that every homosexual come to know His love for them and experience freedom and fulfillment.

BDS = Bible Directed Solutions

Pray for those in your life who are homosexuals. Some may have been born with homosexual tendencies, since we live in a fallen world. Some grew up in environments that predisposed them to homosexuality. There may also be demonic influence. Whatever the case may be, Yeshua is the answer. It is His will to set all captives free. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Stand up for traditional, biblical marriage. Show the world what a godly marriage looks like! If it is within your power, stay married to the person you married! Don’t give life to the “D” word (divorce). Pray. “Lord, change me!” if your marriage is not the way you want it to be. Set a good, godly example for the next generation. Let them see real sacrificial, selfless love, lifelong commitment, men and women who submit to one another in love, and in the fear of the Lord.

Love in the Messiah,

P.S. We feel that celebrating Halloween is a Bad Decision Spiritually, and encourage you to seek the Lord about it.