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To be a supporter of Israel these days is to go against the norm. This world seems to take delight in bashing this country to no end.
Despite this, I am here to say that I am a Biblical Zionist. I believe in the right for Israel to exist and I believe in the right for the nation to defend itself against an enemy hell bent to destroy it.
Sure, not all they do is right as they are governed by fallen people like you and me. And I’ve also heard of the so called “conspiracy theories” about the Jewish nation.
But all this is nothing new. Even at it’s conception, was a conspiracy to get rid of a favoured son…
“They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” Gen Gen 37: 18-20
But later in the story, it is declared..
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Gen 50:20
The Zionist movement is seen with contempt by many. And like Joseph’s brothers, many have contributed to the birth of modern Israel with ulterior motives and continue to do so.
But through it all, is my good and great God, working out his purpose through the actions of mankind and allowing the nation of Israel to be reborn and to grow in strength and number.
You see, God is the ultimate Zionist and it is the desire of His heart to see the nation of Israel reborn and to gather it’s people back to it. There are numerable Scriptural references to this and an example of which is..
“As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.” Eze 34:12-13
Make no mistake, God is the ultimate Zionist and for any Muslim or Westerner to point his finger against the nation of Israel, is for him to stand opposed to the will of the Creator – somewhere I never want to find myself in.
I celebrate in the fact that God has caused this non Jewish heart of mine to be a Zionist and I delight in what He is building into this country. Below is a video which gives but a glimpse of the reality of Israel despite it’s opposition.
And to further set myself against the trend of the western world, I present to you a music video by UK Jewish rapper “Antithesis” – who has recently made the aliyah to Israel – further proof that God is at work gathering His own.
I celebrate at what I see God is doing with His people. And I look forward to stage two of His plan – the day He introduces them to His Son. This is what I am looking forward to seeing once the regathered eyes are opened..
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” Zech 12":10
This world is a broken place. When I venture out into nature and marvel at the beauty of what I see, the thought that never evades me is that what I see has been under a curse and has been decaying for a long, long time.
As I watch mankind pursue new knowledge and achieve awesome things, I often wonder what would be the fruit of his labours if he wasn’t a fallen creature.
As I watch human behaviour on my day to day existence, I see so much anger, greed, and self exultation and I wonder where is that place in man’s heart to remember to be still and know that God is God.
As I watch the value of human beings being determined on how they contribute to a nation’s GDP or a return on shareholders investments, I wonder how we miss this reality that we are so cherished by our Creator that He stepped into our world to die for us.
As I watch the animal world devour itself based on the hierarchy of the food chain, I wonder if these things were meant to be. So much violence. Life is broken and yet needs to be this way to survive.
If one was honest with ones self, one would come to a realisation that the norm actually sucks – and sucks quite bad. It’s like what we experience today is but a shadow of what we were designed to experience. The advances in technology gives us the false impression, a deceitful veneer, that all is well and progressing forward as planned on planet earth, populated with human.
And yet, scratch beneath the surface, beyond the number of Facebook friends you have, or Twitter followers, whether you like PC’s or Mac’s, iPhone’s, Toyota’s or BMW’s or some other brand in any industry and just about anything else and you will find it.
Tucked away in some “do not disturb” part of your existence, you will find a yearning, a groaning of a reality you were designed to experience and yet fail to realise. And because it’s in that “no go” place that you have that “itch has not yet been scratched” and you have failed in this area of fulfilment at it’s most basic and primitive level, you, and the vast majority of mankind simply ignore it as we pop more antidepressants into our mouths to numb our failures.
No. There is something fundamentally wrong with our existence and to turn a blind eye to it is a stupid thing to do. It’s like this whole earth of ours is waiting for things to be restored – and man taking dominion over it once again. But not just any man – mankind redeemed by God – son’s of God. Us in our restored reality.
Next time you walk around nature, society and culture, keep this in mind…
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” Rom 8:19-22
Freedom from bondage and corruption – sounds awesome. God’s heart is to restore all things. He is a jealous God and I get the sneaking suspicion that His heart breaks in seeing things not where they should be on some many facets. He will restore and He will redeem – in all of creation.
One of which is the natural world – and this is so beautifully captured in the following..
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Isa 11:6-9
Imagine a restored world where a wolf, lamb, leopard, young goat, calf, cow and bear all hang out together with a child in their midst as he plays with snakes with no risk to his, or any animals safety? This world will be restored one day and the scenes described above are just part of this restoration.
And to give but a glimpse into this reality, you need to check out the following clip and just imagine if this was the norm for all the world.
Mosab Hassan Yousef – the son of one of the 7 founders of Hamas, Sheikh Hassan Yousef. Born in a world of violence in Israel and thrown into the middle of Islamic radicalisation, he now spends time surfing the shores of the west coast of the USA as a follower of Jesus.
But in the years between, Joseph, as he is now known in the West, was exposed to things no child should. Imitating his father, he rose to become the President of the Islamic Youth Movement which eventually led to his arrest, beating and torture by Shin Bet – Israel’s Internal Security Service.
Whilst in custody, Joseph learned of the torture tactics Hamas carried out on their own people and this was the catalyst to him becoming a spy for Shin Bet – The Green Prince.
But I needed to know more about this fascinating character and have begun digging the web to find more. What intrigues me is that he stated that he spied for Shin Bet not so much to help their cause, but to further his own. Have a listen to his interview with the BBC to learn more..
And what is his cause? Interview after interview, he sets out to expose the god of Islam as a liar and a sham. Joseph has not turned his back on his people – he simply wants to expose the lie of Islam to his people. Have a listen to the following interview for a typical example.
This has of course greatly angered those he has left behind. Even his father, one of the seven founders of Hamas has now disowned his son – knowing full well that by doing so exposes his son to an assassins bullet.
“I, Sheikh Hassan Yussef… my wife, sons and daughters announce that we have completely disowned the man who was our oldest son and who is called Mosab”
This has now been confirmed to be the case in a statement by the al-Qaida-affiliated Global Islamic Media Front released a statement written by Abu al-Harith al-Ansari. Read up on the story here for more information, but the crux of it is captured in the following quote:
“If he comes back to Islam great, but if he does not, his fate is as an infidel without honor. The prophet Muhammad said, “Whoever alters his religion, kill him [Ansari’s font changes].” He should not have proper burial rights and he should not be buried with Muslims.”
Joseph escaped the hatred of Hamas – even though he is the son of Hamas. Fox News Channel ran an excellent expose on how the son of Hamas escaped hatred of the region…
Baptised in 2005, Joseph was drawn to Jesus by the words uttered by Him…
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:27
These words must have been living water to a soul dying of thirst in a land that quenches anything good and nourishing. Jesus, reached down and grabbed the attention of the son of Hamas by the words He uttered 2000 years ago and, in doing so, has completely reversed the life of an individual who has the ability to create shockwaves.
What follows is a couple of interviews Joseph has had with Christian groups – explaining his faith and, time and time again, attacking the god of Islam in light of what he is now contrasting to the God of the Bible.
Below is the audio from the official Son Of Hamas page – but considerably reduced in size for easier streaming or download (right click and save). Compelling listening!
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What I like is a post script Joseph put in his book. It goes like this…
“So if you meet me on the street, please don’t ask for advice or what I think this or that scripture verse means, because you’re probably already way ahead of me. Instead of looking at me as a spiritual trophy, pray for me, that I will grow in my faith and that I won’t step on too many toes as I learn to dance with the bridegroom.”
Mosab Hassan Yousef – I for one, welcome you as a dancer to the bridegroom instead of a dancer to Hamas. I welcome your simple steps with the bridegroom over any expertise in your dancing with Hamas.
Next time someone asks the question, “If Christ came today, are you ready?” I’m gonna vomit. Not because it’s a bad question. But because it’s bad theology.
The question implies a religious reaction to the work of Jesus. Because Jesus did this and that, what are you doing in return to make yourself more holy?
Nope – I can never, ever subscribe to that mentality because, if I do, I set myself up to be a walking tampon – Isa 64:6.
Instead I aim to have my Sabbath in my Lord and His finished work. He knew that I, on my own, can never, ever amount to anything. And that’s why He paid my price for me.
If I thought I can “ready myself”, it’s akin to me walking up to the cross, tapping Jesus on the shoulder as He is suffocating, and choking to death and saying, “step aside padre – this one’s on me.”
“For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says,
“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says..
“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Rom 10:5-13
Am I ready? Nope. But in my defence, I call upon the Name of Jesus. Does that mean I live a dodgey life and let Him take all the blame. Nope. His love for me and His calling out to me should motivate me to live a life sold out to Him.
But this has nothing to do with salvation – that’s His work. When it comes to my salvation, I rest in Jesus. When it comes to working out my salvation, I am troubled and in fear – my sanctification has a lot to do with me and I perplexed at how easily I am the prime stumbling block to this process. The last thing I need is for religion to point its ugly finger at me and demand, “Are you ready?”
Every single one of us on this planet are on a journey. This is not our final destination for any of us. We fool ourselves on a daily basis that this is all there is.
But when you truly think about it, our beautiful earth is but a canvas on which our lives are played out. This earth provides us the context and structure for our minds to grapple with the reality of existence.
And in this discovery, it’s God’s Will that all find Him – far above all the noise and clutter the world throws at us. Far superior to the barren idols the world sticks in our faces unashamedly – be it money, possessions, accomplishment, greed, power or influence.
These are real idols – but they are also fleshly and carnal – and of the devil. Our journey through life will teach us and train us to see things as things as they truly are – that in our pursuit of chasing after the “grass is greener on the other side”, we end up truly miserable and dead on the inside – and in desperate need of a Saviour
But to reach this conclusion on our journey, we will need wisdom. One of my favourite passages in Scripture has to do with this journey. It’s found in Psalm 90:12..
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom”
To me, this screams practicality. As I journey through life and have my head and heart messed up by all the rubbish life throws at me, it’s easy to lose track of the bigger picture – that I was put in this place to find God and to live a life in His will. In doing so, He will be glorified, and my life will be full of joy.
Not the silly, short founded, tacky joy that the world gives. I’m talking about a joy that obliterates the question, “What is the purpose of life?”
To be “taught to number my days in order to get a heart of wisdom” is another way of saying that I really need God’s perspective on my journey in life instead of relying on my own. The above verse is but 1 out of 17. I give you the other 16…
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
in March 2010. It’s become a New York Times best seller and I’m currently reading this fascinating book.
