Prayer Update

Dear friends, Our beautiful Meera had her second surgery this week, after a first preparatory surgery. When the doctors first saw the extreme complexities of her heart, I remember thinking: Will there be something they can do to help her? So really praise God that the cardiologists and surgeons have been able to save her life, and that she… Read more »

Dear friends, Since last week’s Shevet Prayer we’ve received eight new Kurdish families. Yousif, Lia, Yousef, Samaa, and Meena crossed by land from Jordan into Israel on Monday: And Salwa, Khanda and Maili arrived this afternoon also by land, following a warm welcome in Jordan by new Shevet friend Elizabeth: Because of a deterioration in her condition while traveling, Khanda was taken straight to… Read more »

Dear friends, In John’s gospel Jesus asks a twice-recurrent question which bookends his crucifixion. “Whom do you seek?” he asks the guards who came to arrest him on Passover night in the garden of Gethsemane. He asks this same question of Mary, his disciple, friend, and first witness to his resurrection, in the garden of… Read more »

Dear friends, In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says something quite well-known: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” This may seem commonsense or even trite; of course this is how we should be treating others. But is… Read more »

Dear friends, As this week comes to a close Paul’s letter to the Colossians has been a consistent prayer through the very busy and long days: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven… Read more »

Dear friends, At the beginning of the week, the likelihood of our six discharged Kurdish children traveling through Jordan home to Iraq seemed very small. Their flights through Ben Gurion airport for this week and next were canceled, and we were trying to plan how to deal with the impending arrival of six new Kurdish… Read more »

Dear friends, In the ninth grade my English class read The Pearl, a novella by the American author John Steinbeck. I still remember my teacher belaboring a specific passage in which the protagonist watches an ant caught in a trap. His cool observation of the doomed creature is described as him watching with ‘the detachment of… Read more »

Dear praying friends, Thank God that he is with us, and thank you for praying for us. It is very encouraging to know that there are always people holding not only the needs of our families, but also us as a community in prayer. We have at our Jaffa house many families waiting for the… Read more »

Dear friends, Georgia and I brought three families to Jerusalem for the day this past Sunday. While they were visiting the mosque on the Temple Mount, we spent a few minutes in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher: Usually the enclosed courtyard is full of people milling around before entering the church but… Read more »

Dear praying friends, Thank you for supporting us all here.  As our coworker Amar reminded me this morning, we are in a spiritual battle, not against flesh and blood, so to know that there are others across the world faithfully standing with us and our families is encouraging and important. Our staff numbers are quite… Read more »

Dear friends, There is a Shevet tradition for new volunteers to share the story of how they became followers of Jesus, and while the five of us now in Jaffa have been here for months and years, we have started one day a week to share in the morning meeting the story of how the… Read more »

Dear friends, As I wrote this letter word came that the Gaza baby Besan, who came urgently last week, died in surgery. As we waited with her for the death certificate the mother told us her baby’s life story; how Besan’s name was chosen, how she was after her birth but before she went to the… Read more »

Dear friends, Looking back at the end of every week there is always so much that has happened; while we see in part what God is doing, his mind is such that we are only ever partially aware of what He is doing in ourselves and those around us. The total significance of events and… Read more »

Dear friends, In the morning meeting this week we read from the end of Luke chapter ten, together with a Gaza mother staying with us. This well-known story tells of Martha opening her house to Jesus and his disciples. At some point she asks Jesus to tell off her sister Mary for sitting at his… Read more »

Dear praying friends, As we studied the scriptures together this week, we meditated on these words in James: But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. James 3:17 Please pray with us that we would receive this wisdom, and be… Read more »

Dear friends, After John the Baptist was imprisoned, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah. Jesus replies by quoting Isaiah: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are… Read more »

Dear friends, Thank you so much for praying for the Shevet community. Since I am in quarantine in Jaffa for the next week, Georgia and I have talked about what God has been doing in their lives amidst five new families coming, bringing us to a total of nine Kurdish families. She says that God… Read more »

Dear praying friends, Thank God for the great promises of life with Jesus: The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—… Read more »

Dear praying friends, Thank you for joining with us this week in intercession. Firstly for Alaa, who returned unexpectedly this week to Israel, very unwell following his heart surgery. He is in critical condition and on life support (the ECMO device) for four days now. Doctors report very slight improvement in his heart function, and will… Read more »

Dear praying friends, Our new German coworkers Sebastian and Sabrina are about a month into the fullness of life at Shevet Achim. As we, the three Europeans, discussed the idea of a “hot Christmas,” away from everything we have been familiar with at this time of year, Sebastian described it as feeling like living in… Read more »

Dear friends, In our community today we are celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s not a familiar holiday for many of us, but as members of God’s family it is a joy to have a holiday specifically centered around gratitude. Just as an ungrateful heart is a marker of those who are ungodly and unrighteous (Romans 1.18-21), so… Read more »

Greetings from our Jaffa community, and thank you for praying with us. We have been working our way through God’s designs for the tabernacle in the book of Exodus. Today we read in chapter 30 about the holy incense to be offered on the altar, which led us to think about how we should be… Read more »

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 Dear praying friends, Thank you for your faithful intercession for the health and lives of the patients we receive here, and for the wellbeing of our little community. I returned this week to Jaffa after almost three… Read more »

Dear friends, Over the past few months I’ve gotten into the habit of waking up early to go for a run as the sun rises, not chiefly as a regimental requirement but because watching the sunrise communicates the beauty and the goodness of God. There is something addictive about starting to run when it is… Read more »

Dear friends, It feels like it is a season of waiting, and we ask that you would join us in prayer for trusting in God’s perfect timing. The hospital is at full capacity, caring for children in need of critical care, including Ziad and Fayez who are currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at… Read more »

Dear friends, Yesterday the few of us in the morning meeting discussed how our conception of God must be shaped by the Bible, rather than by presuppositions we impose on Scripture as to how we think God should act. This was such a good way to start the day, rehashing truth that should continually reorient… Read more »

Dear friends, Maybe for the first time I’ve realized that in all the critiques I’ve heard of our faith, “it’s too good to be true” isn’t one I’ve come across (which of course doesn’t mean it isn’t out there). But this week I’ve been sitting with how in Jesus “all the fullness of the deity… Read more »

Dear friends, I want to start by saying thank you for praying for Ziad, pictured here with me a week and a half ago: Ziad’s surgery a week ago today turned into an endless night. It started at 8:30 in the morning, and his mother was only able to see him at midnight. The surgery… Read more »

You are God alone from before time began You were on Your throne You are God alone and right now In the good times and bad You are on Your throne And you are God alone Unchangeable, unshakable, unstoppable That’s what You are (You are God Alone) For God alone, O my soul, wait in… Read more »

I coined the word “eucatastrophe”: the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears (which I argued is the highest function of fairy-stories to produce). And I was there led to the view that it produces its peculiar effect because it is a sudden glimpse of Truth, your… Read more »

With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my… Read more »

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the… Read more »

Dear friends, As we write the ten Kurdish families, long stranded in Israel by coronavirus travel restrictions, are in the Cairo airport and awaiting one last flight to finally bring them home to their loved ones late tonight. We have just heard from them after eight hours of silence since they landed in Cairo, and all… Read more »

Dear friends, In chapter 27 of Matthew the gospel writer goes into specific detail of the events of Jesus’ death. In particular he mentions accessories with which the Romans sought to mock Jesus: the scarlet robe, the crown of thorns, the reed in place of a scepter, and the plaque above the cross which read… Read more »

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not… Read more »

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will… Read more »

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect… Read more »

Dear friends, As we continue through Genesis in our morning meetings, an excerpt from C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces has summarized a key plot theme of the book thus far: “The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing–to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from…Do you… Read more »

Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are God Who Sees”; for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?” Genesis 16:13 Dear praying friends, This morning our coworker Amar opened our community Bible study… Read more »

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Dear friends,  I am writing to you after a hard week for Shevet Achim. Our main prayer request is that God will open up the way for our weary Kurdish families to return home. It continues to be difficult… Read more »

Dear friends, In “Letters to Malcolm” C.S. Lewis writes something that has been invaluable in my prayer life. The chapter is a recollection of one friend to another when they were walking in a forest: “You first taught me the great principle, ‘Begin where you are.’ I had thought one had to start by summoning… Read more »

I thank him who has given me strength, Messiah Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith… Read more »

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Then God said “Let there be light,” and there was light. Dear friends, We started the book of Genesis this morning in our… Read more »

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Psalm 61:1-3 Dear friends, When I read this psalm immediately… Read more »

Dear friends, As we read through Acts this month it’s almost impossible to miss the theme of community. It seems like every time there’s a move of the Holy Spirit, you find believers naturally come together–meeting, eating and sharing everything they have. In fact, the whole operation of the early church depends on this. The… Read more »

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease. Dear friends, The ministry of John the Baptist was decreasing, and that of Jesus was… Read more »

Dear friends, At the Jaffa base we’ve been studying Acts as Pentecost Sunday nears; the Greek word used to describe the Holy Spirit is worth examining. The word is parakletos, which in extra-biblical literature was used for a legal assistant, someone who pleads the cause of a defendant before a judge. (It’s something similar to… Read more »

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Messiah. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Messiah Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Messiah and… Read more »

Dear friends, On my laptop I have a piece of paper taped by the keyboard, with a quote from the Chronicles of Narnia: “But even a traitor may mend, I have known one that did.” These words were spoken in the third book by Edmund, speaking of himself–mended because the true king of Narnia went… Read more »

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this… Read more »

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The voice of your watchmen – they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see… Read more »

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and… Read more »

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit… For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give… Read more »

Dear friends, Today Ruth, Anna, Markus, and Colin organized a painting activity with the families. They sent pictures to our group chat and as I flipped through there was one that deeply moved me: it was Maryam’s mother holding a painting with the words, “if the god was with us who can be against us.”… Read more »

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Dear friends, As Jesus teaches the crowd on the mountainside, as recorded in Matthew 5, he completely changes the idea of what it is to be blessed. Jesus introduces his upside-down kingdom in… Read more »

Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Dear friends, The women going to the tomb on Sunday morning were expecting a body, not angels telling them that Jesus was not… Read more »