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Because the vision of JCFI is to raise a greater awareness of Israel in the churches of Johnson County, we want to connect you to some of our friends who work to bless Israel.
This month I have an update concerning
Efraim Goldstein with Or HaGalil (Light of the Galilee) &
the Syrian Refugee Issue
Pastor Efraim Goldstein and Congregation Or HaGalil are partners in a Bridge of Hope with Pastor Brian McClure and Friendship Baptist Church. Efraim also works with the CJF Ministries. Efraim is leading a great work in Nahariyya, close to the Israeli-Lebanon border. Due to recent world events, Efraim, Or HaGalil, and CJF Ministries have been reaching out to neighboring countries to help with refugees. Here is a brief report and prayer request from Efraim about this issue.
"CJF is launching a new phase of Redemption 2000 - Aid to Syrian and Kurdish Refugees. For more than two years the Syrian Civil War has been raging and causing turmoil in the Middle East. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled the Syrian forces and now the forces of ISIS. In CJF Ministries we want to extend aid to some of these people. Reports strongly indicate that many of these Moslem refugees are open to the Gospel of Yeshua.
This has been a burden of ours here in Nahariyya since the beginning. The conflict is less than 100 miles for our homes. Wounded Syrians are brought to our local hospital on a regular basis. Finally, I am glad that we can offer something in addition to our prayers.
In early October I will be traveling to Turkey with an Arab pastor to see first-hand how we can supplement the aid that is going to the Kurdish refugees. This Arab pastor has been involved in directly aiding these Kurds both evangelistically and in humanitarian aid.
Pray that we can help further the Gospel to these needy people during these crucial times.
While I am busy and focused in various directions, our burden continues for our Or Hagalil Congregation.
Pray for revival in our Land and openness to the Gospel to the people in the Nahariyya area. Pray for Jeannie as she plans to start a new season of Bible Clubs in our area."
Pastor Efraim Goldstein
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Jewish History's Greatest Archaeological Crime
In 1999, thousands of years' worth of fragile and irreplaceable Jewish archaeolo
 gical antiquities were surreptitiously and violently dug up by Arab bulldozers at Judaism's holiest site, Jerusalem's Temple Mount, to build an entrance to a subterranean mosque.
The resulting thousands of tons of invaluable debris - believed to contain over 1 million artifacts dating back to the First Temple period - were then carted off in dump trunks and discarded like garbage to a nearby landfill in Jerusalem's Kidron Valley.
According to internationally recognized archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, PhD, who is the co-director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, located near Mount Scopus, the removal represents perhaps the greatest archaeological crime in history.
"Approximately 400 truckloads saturated with the history of Jerusalem were illicitly removed - barbarically removed - from the Temple Mount by the Islamic Wakf in November 1999 to promote a political agenda," says Barkay at the sifting projects headquarters earlier this month.
The professor emeritus from the Hebrew University and recipient of the 1996 Jerusalem Prize for Archaeological Research says the debris was taken from the southeastern section of the contested holy site without the knowledge of authorities, including the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
"All of that was dug up with bulldozers in a place where even a toothbrush is too large a tool to carry out excavations," he says.
"The Temple Mount is the most delicate and the most important archaeological site in this country, and it was never ever excavated because of politics."
As a result, Barkay says, the historic plateau where the First and Second Temples once stood has become a "black hole in the history of Jerusalem."
"Jerusalem may be the most excavated place on earth, but the most important place in Jerusalem is totally unknown," he says. "It's terra incognita; a piece of unknown land."
Although Israel technically regained sovereignty over the Temple Mount after reunifying Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War, the government's concession to allow the Jordanian government to oversee the coveted holy site has resulted in what Barclay terms a "catastrophe."
"This is part of a cultural war that has been launched against every civilization that is non- Muslim... that continues now in Iraq and Syria with ISIS," he says.
Although the IAA is supposed to have oversight of all excavations in Israel, Barkay laments that the Temple Mount - which is home to Al-Aksa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site - is considered "extraterritorial."
"Though the Temple Mount is part of the capital, it is the only place in the State of Israel in which the authorities are not working normally," he explains. "The antiquities authority does not have full jurisdiction on the Temple Mount, and therefore cannot fulfill its legal task."
by Daniel K. Eisenbud
Please, PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM !
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Bridge of Hope Update...
We Are Growing !
One way JCFI raises awareness of Israel's role today is through building a Bridge of Hope (BOH). A Bridge of Hope is a "bridge" built between a Church or organization of Johnson County and a Congregation, Home Group, Faith-Based Organization, or Individual within Israel. At JCFI we currently have 23 Congregational BOH's and 5 Organizational BOHs that are up-and-running with
MANY in the process. The BOH project is blessing people both in Israel and here in Johnson County as it provides connection through fellowship, prayer support, educational exchange, and more. (Click
HERE
for more info)
We would love to hook you up! I am Skyping almost weekly with those in the Land who are eager to link up in a "sister" relationship with a congregation or organization in Johnson County. Be in prayer for us as we establish new connections with ministries in Israel that desperately need our support and prayer.
If your church would like to know more about becoming a BOH to a congregation in Israel, click HERE or contact me by phone at 817-556-1061 / by email at [email protected].
Let's build a Bridge together as we stand For Israel!
Listen to this testimony by Mottel Baleston about becoming a Jewish Believer in Messiah:
Until we are all ONE! (Eph.2:15) !
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ISRAEL RANKS #4 FOR BEST PLACE TO RAISE CHILDREN
According to a recent international poll, Israel is a wonderful place to raise children and ranks #4 above England, the U.S., France and Canada. Reasons cited were the level of education, attractions for children, level of self-confidence and just an individual sense of well-being. The poll checked issues such as access to education, expense and quality of education, health services. One poll respondent, a mother of two children, age 6 and 8 living in Israel for the last two years stated, "Israel is a country where anything is possible. There are wonderful things like the great weather, the fabulous food and the rich culture. These are great things to experience together as a family." (Translated from Yediot Ahronot, Aug. 30, 2015)
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Recom
 mended Reading
This month JCFI encourages you to get a copy of:
by Alfred Edersheim (One of the best known and important references on the life of Christ)
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As we work to build a greater awareness of Israel in Johnson County and continue to connect to Believers and Jews in the Land,
we are often ask, "What does that word mean?". So, each month at JCFI we will ad to a glossary of terms to help broaden our Hebrew vocabulary. Please, enjoy this Hebrew Help and
contact us
with any definitions you think we should ad.
This month's Hebrew Help definition is:
Yom Kippur (yôm kiˈpo͝or)
known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Based on Leviticus 16:29, its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with an approximate 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.
Previous Month's Definition
Rosh Hashanah (rōSH (h)aˈSHōna)
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. The Biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah or the Feast of Trumpets. It is the first of the High Holy Days, which usually occur in the early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration, which begins on the first day of Tishrei. Tishrei is the first month of the Jewish civil year, but the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year.
Click HERE
t
o see the entire Hebrew Help Glossary!
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Read this month's
FEATURED ARTICLE
"Who Can Hear & Not Listen?!"
by David Lazarus
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HOW CAN I STAND FOR ISRAEL?
Since the Banquet, many have ask me, "What can I do for Israel?" While this is certainly not an exhaustive list, here are a few suggestions I hope you find useful:
1. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem (Psa.122:6)
"For Zion's Sake I Will Not Be Silent" by Rebecca Brimmer is an excellent guide on
prayer for Israel. Click HERE for more info.
2. Learn more about Israel-related ministries
There are wonderful Israel-related ministries doing a great work to support Israel. Click HERE to learn more about a few of them.
3. Learn more about the Hebraic Roots to Christianity
The Bible often takes on deeper meaning in the context of its Hebraic Roots. The
Ancient Hebrew Scroll project at the CHF is a testimony to this fact. There are
numerous writings about Hebraic Roots. A good place to start is the book by
D. Thomas Lancaster entitled Grafted In.
4. Take a trip to Israel I've been blessed to travel to Israel many times. It has
changed my life. I baptized my daughter, Lauren, in the Sea of Galilee during my trip
there in 2011. She had accepted Jesus as her Savior 3 days before we left. This
should be at the top of any bucket list!
5. Be an Israel contact person for your church
The vision at JCFI is to increase the awareness of Israel within the churches of
Johnson County. Maybe you could support your pastor by volunteering to be the
church's Israel contact person for JCFI.
6. Build a Bridge of Hope
Speak with your Pastor / Church Leaders about building a BOH. Feel free to
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