Jul 31 2015

Come Stay celebrate! The story of the Shelter Hostel in Eilat Israel book by John & Judy Pex

DSCF8620

During my two week break in Israel, I got the opportunity to relax on my friend’s balcony and read this book I got a few weeks ago.

DSCF8621 It took me a long time to find this book in the UK, eventually, it resurfaced on Amazon UK after being out of stock for a while.

The story of John Pex a Dutchman and his wife Judy who is an American Jew traveled around as hippies and found Jesus and later founded a hostel in Eilat, the far-off obscure city at the very bottom of Israel past 5 hours of desert, which as Judy puts in, is to Israel what Alaska and Hawaii is to the US.

The Pexes are really some of the most pioneering members of the modern Messianic Jewish community of Israel. As well bring Jewish and Arab people to the Lord, they have shared the gospel to African immigrants and to construction workers from Romania and China that built the modern hotels that have transformed Eilat into a busy Red Sea resort for vacationers. A few people who accepted Jesus in the book I now recognise as leaders of congregations now.

The hostel itself has a welcoming atmosphere and bunk rooms, and an outside seating area, on Fridays they do a Shabbat service with food, and praise and worship in English Hebrew, Spanish and Russian songs.

I’ve stayed here twice now and love this place and the people there. Regardless if you are Jewish, Christian or not at all religious but visiting this city especially if you are about to pop over to Egypt or Jordan which are so close by, I would highly recommend this place.

If you have stayed here, or would just love to hear how the gospel has been brought to Jewish people in Israel so effectively I would get this book. I would recommend to the authors if you can find more places to stock this book, it would be better if I could buy it from a retailer in Israel run by believers 🙂

http://www.shelterhostel.com/

The outside lounge under a Sukka type structure with a palm trunk, is a great place to make new friends and discuss travel stories. I visited here in 2009

Jul 29 2015

Surge in interest of French Jews wanting to move to Israel

I started writing this particular blog article in 2012 but never finished it – since then much has happened, with Islamic terror and harassment towards Jews in France earlier this year.

Interesting article on big interest in Aliyah (immigration to Israel) on the excellent Elder of Ziyon blog today: http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2012/05/french-jews-interested-in-aliyah.html

There was a wave of people coming out of Russia and the ex-Soviet states, the US, seeing as France has the large number of Jews and Muslims in Western Europe, its logical there will be new immigrants soon.

France has about 600,000 Jews. On this year’s trip (July 2015) I saw a lot of construction happening ready for an expanding population and different friends of mine have heard more French being spoken in the last year. Exciting times I think.

Not all the French Jews may move to Israel, I think some have already left for UK, US and Canada. I think the Israel government should hire a exhibition centre in France and set up a dedicated event with stands and people speaking to really sell the idea of aliyah for French Jews.

This shop I saw in Jerusalem has Tanakhs (jewish Old Testaments) and Jewish books and Judaica in French.

May 27 2015

Jeremiah 31 – The Tanakh’s warm up to the New Testament

I forgot to mention that verse from the Joshua Aaron worship song I posted a short while back.

This is by far one of my favourite passages from the Tanakh (Old testament) its like a kind of ‘warm up’ to the New Testament of what’s planned through salvation through Yeshua (Jesus)

Jeremiah 31 : 31

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

This bit is mindblowing, soon even atheist Jews in Israel will have God revealed to them!

35 This is what the Lord says,

he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the Lord Almighty is his name:
36 “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”
declares the Lord,
“will Israel ever cease
being a nation before me.”
37 This is what the Lord says:

“Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.

Here, the Lord is abundantly clear that the Jewish people have a part to play, with the modern nation of Israel, with Jesus’s return in the new future.

This completely trashes the concept of “fulfillment theology” (or replacement theology, or supercessionism) common opinion that says that God’s covenant with the Jewish people is finished. Jesus fulfills the law but one of the biggest revivals will happen back in the land where it all started.

Interesting sign, turn around left and you can see the Golden Gate where Jesus will return (blocked up with Muslim cemetery in front) to the right the Mount of Olives where he will stand.

Aug 10 2014

Evil reincarnated from the past

Haven’t felt like doing much writing, despite much going on the middle east and my new life in London.

I honestly can’t remember when the news was more depressing than this, with war between Israel and Gaza, Iraq and Syria having their own citizens murdered, victims mostly Christian. Meanwhile naive one-sided white middle class people who don’t know much about middle east history put on kefiyah scarfs and join pro-Palestinian rallies with Muslim people in UK and Europe, and make a nuisance of themselves outside Tescos, but choose to ignore the bigger picture of the often turbulent middle east.

“Boycott Israel” says your average liberal, leftist, vegan for Palestine, from their iPhone which contains memory chips and 3G technology developed in the only democracy in the middle east. During the time of the Nazis, Hitler’s Germany had a similar idea to boycott the Jews of Europe.

This got me thinking about the names of today’s enemies of decent civilisation.

HAMAS the terrorism group who run the Gaza strip, their name comprises of an acronym in Arabic. When transliterated into Hebrew, these five letters are pronounced “חמס” the word for violence.

ISIS is the group currently wiping out the Iraqi Christians at the moment, which bizarrely also a pagan god of Egypt long before Islam.

I was reading a while back also that some churches in Norway were set of fire by members of some heavy metal bands. Most heavy metal music I have heard has a lot of lyrics about revenge, bitterness, anger, darkness and hatred towards God. I want to Finland about 11 years ago, the Nordic countries seem to be the metal capital of the world. Some of the more extreme metal bands contain lyrics and culture related to Norse gods like Thor. This got me thinking this part of the dominant religious system in this region over a thousand years ago.

Its ironic how evil can be around in society for millennia only to come back with a similar legacy that the world has forgot.

Dec 3 2013

Sneak preview of Christian television in Bethlehem

Well, last year I was ready to fly home and see family for Christmas. I am trying to pack in getting lots of things done before going, in particular, getting someone to check my mailbox and pay any bills, buy presents, host a party at my house with some of my other single friends for shabbat.

In addition to that, I wanted to meet up with my friend Peter Friedlander who is a photographer and video producer, he was at my church which runs a training school for students looking to enhance the work of the Christian ministry they work for by producing video content. Once qualified, Peter has used his skills to do video work for a Arab ministry to witness to people in Bethlehem, Jesus’s birth town which today is a bustling Arabic city which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

As tourism is probably the life blood of the economy of Bethlehem, of course you will see more Christmas decorations out in the street than anywhere else in this part of the world, however just like commercialised western Christmas there maybe little in common with celebrating the birth of the Jewish Messiah, regardless of what time of the year he may of arrived, and more like a giant Woolworths in the middle east. 🙂

http://peterfriedlander.org/no-room-for-christ-in-bethlehem/

May 18 2013

Cannibalism in Isaiah?

The civil war that’s been happening in Syria has meant 40,000 people died in 2012 alone, and tragedy continues on a big scale this year.

This was most disturbing, an act of cannibalism between one Syrian man and another. Fortunately this link has nothing too unpleasant shown.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/14/video-syrian-cannibal-rebel-eating-dead-soldier-heart-surfaces-leads-to-outrage/?intcmp=trending

Normally I don’t report on this kind of thing, the reason being is that I have just read this week in Isaiah this reminded me of this:- (blue text is mine)

Isaiah 49:26
I will make your (Israel’s) oppressors eat their (Arab Muslims) own flesh;
they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.
Then all mankind will know
that I, (Jesus) the Lord, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Syria remains a huge worry for Israel as a massively unstable neighbour which has been confirmed to have chemical weapons. Are there recent Christians converts in Syria? I’d like think so, but I don’t know any ministry brave enough to go there.

In a perfect world with these troubles over, I think Damascus, Homs and Aleppo would be great places to visit, the history there seems fascinating, but I’m not hopeful this will ever happen.

Mar 22 2013

Bats in Jerusalem

After a day of cycling past workman set up decorations and security arrangements for the US President visit, go to work, read in a coffee shop (normally do this from 5pm to 7pm on certain days) then go to a bible study, then head to a bar and have a beer with some friends afterwards, I grab my bike and head back past David HaMelech Street, I see a bat fly in the street in big circle, quite different from a bird.

I then saw it disappear into a small tree, thinking to myself there was no way I can ever spot this creature in the branches, I walk my bike underneath it, I quickly grab my camera and shoot directly up above me, as I am right under the tree, thinking it would probably get spooked by the flash.

Can you see him?

There is plenty of old buildings they can roost in as well as a trees. I have seen them hover around palm trees, not sure if they are attracted to palm dates or insects there.

Mar 21 2013

Obama’s first visit to Israel

This week, there is a lot of buzz around Jerusalem as US President Barack Obama comes to visit.

The logistics in handling a guest like this seems mind boggling. The above big poster was torn a short time after this was taken.

On Monday, I go past the famous King David hotel to go to work on my bicycle. There are rows of tents with air conditioning set up, as Obama is staying here.

Large chunks of the centre part of town are cut off as Obama and 500 of his staff are here, requiring a mammoth security set up with police and military people all over, closed roads (at one point Highway 1 – the 35 mile motorway that goes from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was shut) I don’t think at any given time in modern Israel’s history has anything has to be planned quite like this.

This is what the King David normally looks like:-

On Tuesday, I go to a bible study a few hundred yards from here.

Today I heard on the news that during talks, Obama can call Netanyahu ‘Bibi’ – seems that the US Pres ought to be a bit more savvy with being formal than this. Wonder if its ok from Binyamin Netanyahu to called Obama ‘Barry’ or ‘Bazza’ or something. 😉 although I pray that the Lord would speak to him and reveal to him to continue to stand alongside this nation.

For me, I’m looking forward to when another great leader comes to town to visit; our Messiah Yeshua, or Jesus is more familiar to the English speaking world, Jerusalem is due for a return from the Messiah of the world one day soon.

Mar 9 2013

shopping at my local Arab corner shop

As I mentioned previously, where I live is in between a Jewish community and an Arab Palestinian community, there is a local Arab corner shop you can buy supplies when most shops are shut on Shabbat. As I dislike boycotts and think small businesses of all types are important, I sometimes go out and get stuff if I run out of anything at the weekend.

Here is some Marmalade, actually its called ‘orange jam’ and its made in 6th of October city (strangely a real city!) in Egypt. Jam seems to vary a lot in quality, some is excellent, and some is fruit flavoured liquid sugar. This particular stuff is really nice actually.

I wanted to make some couscous for lunch using Chicken I had left over from yesterday, but then I realised as I was cutting up vegetables I had run out of couscous, so off to the store, I had to ask the man there (they usually speak a small amount of English) if they had any, he grabbed me a bag, and I gave him 12 shekels.

When I got home, I was kind of surprised at the very political (Dome of the rock) packaging! actually its not really couscous its a similar wheat type product which is I think popular in Africa, however it came out quite nice anyway.

I got some non alcoholic beer, I am not driving or on medication, its just they didn’t have any proper beer. This stuff was actually quite pleasant really. Please don’t hate me, real ale clubs!

The previous week I got some of this fruit flavoured malt drink with the branding of a popular beer manufacturer, kind of odd, as was just malt and mango soda to be honest. A good way of using beer brand names to a mostly Islamic audience I suppose. Don’t remember now where this stuff was made.

This was a surprise, this box which presumably contains boxes of noodles, is made in Saudi Arabia! I would of thought the wealthiest Arab state in the world would be exporting food more exciting than this! 🙂

Please “slicha” (excuse) the poor quality of the pictures, I took them discretely on my phone in the shop, don’t think they would of been pleased with me using a camera in their shop!

In all honesty I think there is a lot of similarities between Jewish and Arabic food, especially with humous, pita and falafel being massively popular throughout the middle east, no one can agree who invented it, like politics here in general, but at least the tastes are the same 🙂

Of course the shop has nuts, Turkish delight and other Arabic made candy and usual other things I see, as well as a bakery making their own bread on a ancient squeaking conveyor belt oven behind the counter too!!

It sad and pathetic that the anti-Israel and BDS bandwagon are quick to boycott different food products here, I will write an article on food manufacturing soon and destroy some common myths the west has been force fed.

Nov 19 2012

Hamas in Hebrew

A local Israeli I work with told me something interesting today:-

The word Hamas, the political movement that controls the Gaza strip, has eerily similar word in Hebrew.

I am not going to tell you, you have to find out for yourself:- 🙂

http://translate.google.com/

here is the text you need to copy and paste into:

חמס

Here is Psalms 140 in Hebrew which it also occurs in. Click on above link or click here http://study.interlinearbible.org/psalms/140.htm (if you have a Windows XP computer you might need to add Hebrew support to read this)

Brit In Jerusalem

A Christian discovering the roots in the holy land….

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