Friday, January 12, 2024
Greetings to All,
We at Alpha and Omega Ministries pray that you are all well and pursuing the Lord every day. As the world continues on the path of chaos and war, more than ever we need to be calling for the Messiah to come. He is our hope. Our hope and our deliverance will not come from man.
*John 14:1-2 Yeshua specifically tells us: Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And one day we will join Him at His Father’s house and be in His glorious presence forever. Dwell on this day and rejoice!
The month of Shevat brings us to the heavy rainy months of winter in Israel. Rain is a blessing. And Shevat is a month when we think about the trees. Though in Shevat, many trees are bare and leafless and the are not producing fruit, the rains of winter begin to be soaked up from the roots causing the sap in the tress to begin to ascend into the branches bringing the life that will again produce fruit. Cloud filled, rainy skies can evoke feelings of despair or hopelessness, but really, they are days to both enjoy the solitude and soak in the life-giving Word of G-d, and know that it will produce fruit in us that will bring glory to G-d. In every season, G-d will produce good in our lives when we seek Him with all of our hearts.
We know that there is a religious year and a civil year on the biblical calendar, but do you know there is also a new year of trees? We celebrate this new year of the trees in the month of Shevat. It is celebrated with the custom of planting trees, and eating a meal with family and friends which revolves around fruit and nuts which are the produce of the trees. Some of the fruits and nuts we enjoy are special produced in Israel such as: wheat, barley, olives, dates, figs, pomegranates, walnuts, almonds, etrogim, carobs, and pears. These are some of the fruits Israel is famous for, but you can include other fruits and nuts also.
It is written: Deuteronomy 8:7,8 'For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains, land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey, land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it.
THIS YEAR:
As the war goes on in Israel and attacks continue in the North and on ships in the Red Sea, as well as the hostages still being held captive we want to continually pray for Israel. We pray for their leaders to ask the Lord for wisdom and for His strategies. We pray for unity and love among the people and for their lively hoods, which have taken a big hit. And we pray the following prayer for the soldiers who fight the war:
TRADITIONAL PRAYER FOR THE IDF
He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.
May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.
May our roots grow deep during these winter months, and as we seek Him with all our hearts may the oil of the Holy Spirit be filling us daily so our light never goes out.
He is a Good! Good! Father, and He never leaves us!
Shalom and Blessings to All
