By Ariel Blumenthal

The Lord is opening up a spiritual window over Iwaki, Fukushima.  The radiation scare has kept much aid and reconstruction away; and the usually well-organized and hard-working authorities seem totally confused about what to do.  Yet, the radiation here continues to be remarkably small, even smaller than in Tokyo—160 km further south!  (Iwaki is the largest city near the reactors, just 50km south).  All this adds up to a unique position for the Taira-Iwaki Church, one which reminds me of Paul’s shipwreck in Acts 27.  

Paul was one among hundreds of unbelieving pagans on the ship—more than the ratio of Christians in Japan relative to the overall population.  Yet, the Lord’s hand was upon him, and because of his intercession, everyone was saved, even though the ship was destroyed.  We are seeing the Lord’s hand on this church and the leaders (Pastors Mori and Ikarashi). Trucks of Christian volunteers arrive on a daily basis, and they are doing the work that the government cannot do.  Pastor Ikarashi has the ear of the mayor and others.  In the midst of the storm, bridges of love and outreach are being established for thousands of people. 

We believe the next step is to start daily revival meetings at the church.  The usually very busy Japanese have nothing to do but wait.  Pray for a spiritual breakthrough for revival in Japan.  

Lastly, a medical team of 60 Israelis along with 60 tons of material arrives tonight to the Sendai area.  I may head north to work with them for a few days as a translator.  Please continue to follow us at: http://reviveisrael.org/japanblog/

Justice

By Mati Shoshani

Bombing in Jerusalem

Wednesday afternoon the peace and security that Jerusalem had enjoyed since 2004 was brought to an end as a bomb went off in the middle of a crowded bus station. The attack left one dead and dozens injured. The single casualty of this attack was Mary Gardner, a Christian Bible translator.  Several Messianic school children were on or near the bus as well.

In addition, 50 mortar attacks were launched from the Gaza strip this past week, and several rocket launches aimed at major cities in southern Israel.

The intense spiritual warfare in the land has been manifested in these recent attacks. There are many Messianic believers in the security forces. Pray for the terrorists to be brought to justice.

Upheaval in Syria

Syria has recently joined the list of Arab nations whose population has risen against the corrupt regime in a call for freedom and democracy.

Syrian president, Bashar El Assad has responded to the demonstrations with violence and brutality. Snipers have been used against demonstrators resulting in high casualties. Assad is aware of the frailty of his regime and has made several appeasing moves towards the dissidents, such as releasing political prisoners and raising wages for public servants.

Katsav Sentenced

On Tuesday Moshe Katzav, former Israeli President, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on charges of rape, sexual harassment, and obstruction of justice. The crimes were committed while he held the office of the tourism minister, and later the President. The Presidency is the highest ceremonial office in Israel, yet it is non-political.

This case held enormous public interest, as people debated whether or not a person of such high office (Katzav was forced to resign during the trial) should be tried as an ordinary citizen. The punishment ruled was the median average for the type of crimes committed.

The Connecting Thread

The underlying message of recent occurrences in the Middle East has been justice. The Bible speaks of this happening in the latter days, especially in relation to Israel, as it is written in the book of Isaiah 1:26-27, and in Micah 4:2-3. A certain fear of God is coming across Israeli society as there have been such harsh verdicts against political leaders.

In past weeks we have seen the eyes of the world turned towards Israel, waiting to see if judgment will be dealt equally in the land. All around Israel, the many Arab nations are calling for this type of justice; they are yearning to see justice dealt equally in their countries.

Congregational Family

By Asher Intrater

The Bible describes the local community of faith as an extended family. The qualifications for an elder are based on family values, not administrative capacity.

I Timothy 3:5 – If a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?

As we are committed to building relationships in the family, so should we be committed to building relationships in the congregation. The congregation is our second family. As there is authority in the parents of the home, so is there authority in the elders of the church. That's what it means to be an elder: to have authority in the spiritual family.

I advise young ladies not to marry a man who is not committed to the congregation, because the reverse of I Timothy 3 is also true. If a man is not faithful to the congregational family, how will he be faithful to his nuclear family?

Prayer Requests

1. Sarah Palin – visited Christian sites in Israel this week with her husband Todd, and met with Prime Minister Netanyahu. She is a true believer, a sensitive and humble woman with a call on her life.
2. Television – The show about persecution against Messianic believers that has been postponed is now rescheduled for this Wednesday.
3. Local evangelism – Pray for Ilana, Yossi, Geulah, Shaul, Vered, Zilpah, Tanya, and many more.