Written by Dr. Jay Rawlings
Shalom Dear Friends and Partners,
Early last Saturday morning my phone started beeping. I instantly knew what it was. Meridel and I started to pray and intercede.
I have an App on my phone called “Red Alert” and it sounds an alarm whenever Israel is being hit by rockets. It kept ringing and hardly stopped. Continuously the southern part of the nation was hit by hundreds and hundreds of deadly explosive-laden missiles from Gaza. My phone alarm sounded for hours.
This morning , May 6th, the current total is 700 rockets that struck the population areas of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot, Beer Sheva, and many other population centers even reaching to Beit Shemesh just 12 km south of us. The destruction and carnage is criminal. There have been 150 Israeli citizens injured, some critically while leaving 4 dead and 1.5 million people severely traumatized seeking refuge in their bomb shelters.
Israeli jets responded taking out scores of Hamas rocket launch sites killing 23 terrorists and operatives. Sadly some collateral damage occurred because the terrorists hide right in the middle of Palestinian, homes, hospitals, kindergartens and schools. They do this on purpose so that the news portrays the Israelis as the cruel aggressors. The opposite is true.
Please join us in prayer for this madness to stop and that a permanent solution will be found in Gaza. Most of the Palestinian citizens there want out. However, they are held as captives by their own Hamas leaders. Meanwhile Israel supplies, electricity, water, fuel, food and medicines to them, Israel’s sworn enemies. The world press never reports these facts.
The Word of God is our only comfort.
You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Matthew 24:6
Go, my people, enter your rooms (shelters) and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. Isaiah 26:20,21
Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. Psalm 57:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Psalm 112:7Your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. Colossians 3:3
‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ John 16:33
Thank you for praying for our youngest son Daniel. Ten days ago he was suddenly admitted with speech difficulties, to the hospital where I had my open heart surgery, They gave him many tests including one CT scan and 2 MRI’s as well as a spinal fluid tap and blood tests. They decided that he had an inflammation of the brain. The cause was unknown. He is now home on anti-inflammatory medicine and prayer. We see an improvement every day. But he must go back to the hospital in one month for another MRI exam and a consultation with one of the leading neurologists in Israel. Thank you for your prayers.
We are your feet on the ground here, reaching out to our fellow citizens at such a time as this.