israel – A Grateful Grace-full Life

Hineni – Part 3: The Impact of a Mother’s Love

In continuing to research the word, Hineni, I read and have been thinking the story of the Prophet Samuel, and his impact on the nation of Israel.

I remember Samuel from the Bible story in Samuel 3:1-21 that I often heard as a child. It talks about Samuel being dedicated to God as a small child, and that one night (at about 12 years old) he was awakened by a voice calling several times and how he got up to answer it. He thought Eli the Priest was calling him, so he went to Eli and said, Here am I (Hineni). Eli recognized after a few times that it must be God calling and told Samuel that when he heard it again, to say, “Speak, Lord for your servant is listening.”

I think that’s where the Bible story ended back then, with the lesson being, if we were willing to say, Here I am, and to serve God, he would lead us. That’s a good lesson for a child, or for anyone to learn. But the story is so much richer if you take some time to look a bit deeper.

I read about Samuel’s mother, Hannah, in Samuel 1 & 2, and based on that I began to think about her impact on Samuel’s life. She only had him with her for 2-3 years, and after that she gave him to the Lord. Reading of her story and her faith, I can imagine her holding Samuel close during those years. Singing to him, praying over him and telling him of the God that had great plans for him. I can also imagine the love she poured into the garment she made and gave to him each year as he grew up in the service of God, and her joy in seeing him each year.

Think about it, God used Hannah to lay the ground work for Samuel’s faith and his willingness to listen to and serve the Lord. I believe God also hears our prayers, our heart’s cries, and He will use us if we will listen and say with a willing heart, Hineni Here am I.

Below is a condensed version of Hannah’s story, but I highly recommend reading it for yourself.

Hannah (whose name means, favored) was very was loved by her husband, but she was barren, distained and embarassed by her husband’s other wife, and desparately wanting to have a child.
During a yearly visit to sacrifice at the temple she made her appeal to God. Crying inconsolably she prayed and vowed: “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid and remember, and not forget your handmaid but will be me a son, I will give him to the Lord all of his life; no razor shall touch his head.”
Eli the Priest saw her praying and thought she was drunk, but when she explained she was praying, he said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” Hannah believed it! She took that as her prayer answered, now that’s faith!
Hannah was soon pregnant, and she named her son Samuel (Heard of God). When she had weaned him (estimated at 2-3 years old), she took both him and an offering to the Lord’s house at Shiloh, and brought him to Eli, saying: “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted my petition… therefore I am given him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is given to the Lord,” and they worshipped the Lord there. Before leaving Samuel to minister to the Lord before Eli the priest, Hannah prayed this wonderful faith-filled prayer:

My heart exults and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted up in the Lord. My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation. There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance go forth from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children languishes and is forlorn. The Lord slays and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He lifts up. He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked shall be silenced and perish in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them will He thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge [all peoples] to the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king (King) and exalt the power of His anointed.

Not only did Samuel hear the voice of God as a child, he went on to be a mighty Prophet of God and Judge of Israel. And, it was also Samuel that God used to anoint Saul (the 1st King of Israel) and King David. Here are some verses that speak about him:

Samuel 3:19-21 Samuel grew; the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the word of the Lord.

Samuel 7:8-15. And the Israelites said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines. So Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and smote them as far as below Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he called the name of it Ebenezer [stone of help], saying, Heretofore the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and came no more into Israelite territory. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The cities the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel rescued [the cities’] territory from the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. And Samuel judged Israel all his days.

My prayer is that I will hear whenever He calls, and that He will hear me say, Hineni. Here am I. Whatever He may ask, I know that He is good, He is faithful, He is kind, He IS LOVE. Oh how HE loves YOU and ME!

I am back! I’ve been really busy for the last few months, getting ready to retire, writing work instructions for a job I did for 12+ years, and then training my replacement. I officially retired a few days ago, so now I can get back to writing. I am grateful.

One American Praying for Israel

I am one among many American Christians praying for Israel.

Will you please join me in praying concerning Israel, its people, leaders, and the IDF (Israel Defense Force) — and against the enemy’s plans?

Father, I call for your angel armies to be released for the safety/protection of Am (the people) and Eretz (the land) Israel. Strengthen and give godly wisdom, insight, and understanding to their leaders, and hearts to hear and heed Your will. Grant unto them grace, help, and victory.

I cancel every assignment and plan by the enemy for harm, I command them to be exposed and undone now! All funding dries up now, and any assistance of the enemy from the inside is exposed, confused, and ineffective. I decree equipment fails, guns jam, and the fear of the Lord falls upon the enemy!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

In writing this, I am reminded of:

Proverbs 16:6 KJV
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: And by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Luke 1:67, 69-75 KJV (the declaration of Zacharias, the Father of John the Baptist)
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied, saying,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

How thankful I am for prayer! For a God who is faithful, who hears and answers, and whose Word reveals His grace, mercy, and His will!

Jerusalem Day Memories

I enjoyed watching the dancing and singing taking place today in Israel (on Facebook) in celebration of Yom Yerushalayim – Jersulsalem Day. I was reminded of my trip there 5 years ago. I was blessed to be in the old city on Jerusalem Day then, and I took this short video of some young men in their way to Ha Kotel – better known to us,as The Wailing Wall.

As I reflect on this tonight, my prayers as always with and for God’s people and His land. And I am grateful fhat:

‭Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
Psalm 121:4 NLT

I am learning some Hebrew through a free class on Facebook, so let me practice a bit on you.

Yom Yerushalayim Sameach, which means Happy Jerusalem Day. And laila tov, which means good night.

I pray you will receive and take hold of these words from Psalm 3:

[But in the depths of my heart, I truly know that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield; You take me and surround me with yourself. Your glory covers me continually. You lift high my head. [4] I have cried out to you, Yahweh, from your holy presence. You send me a Father’s help. Pause in his presence [5] So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby— then I’ll awake in safety, for you surround me with your glory.

How and why I love Israel

Its been a year since my last trip to Israel, with Kenneth Copeland Ministries. The people I met and heard from were precious and unforgettable, as was every place we visited. And I expect to go again some day. If you want to learn more about my 2019 trip, check for the series reviewing each day that I posted over several months after returning.

However, both the land (Eretz Israel) and the people (Am Israel) are always in my heart and often in my thoughts. You may wonder why, so let me share how my love for His land and His people came to be.

It started with music. In the late 90s I was at a bookstore looking through a bargain bin for some new worship music. I found “Under His Wings” by Jonathan Settel. I was intrigued by the song titles, some in Hebrew, so I took a chance. Well wow, the rich voice and anointing on this Messianic Jew’s music blessed me so. Within a few months, I also heard Marty Goetz (another Messianic Jew) perform songs from “He is My Defense.” I listened to this music over and over again.

Fast forward to the 2000 Southwest Believers Convention in Fort Worth, Texas. It’s where Billye Brim shared about The 2001 Solidarity Mission to Israel which would take place in November. It’s purpose was to demonstrate the love of God and Christians to Israel in a 12 day tour. Well, I didn’t know how… but I felt I must go and I made plans. Little did I know that it would be just a few weeks after 9/11, and that we would be the only tour in the land at that time. And although I went alone, I would make some precious friends and hear from some amazing people, like Raanan Levy. It was a privilege to go, a joy to walk where Jesus walked, and to show support for the people of Israel. Our tour guide Michael was visibly moved as we said goodbyes on the last day and I pray his life was changed by the love of God sown while we were there.

I knew when I left that it wasn’t just about the tour, or the people we met. It was about changing my heart forever. It made me hungry to learn more. More about Jesus, more about his Jewishness, more about the old testament and more about my Father. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David…. and because of Jesus I am His.

Since that trip in 2001, God has continued to keep me hungry to learn. I took a class at a local Messianic church to learn the Hebrew Alephbet and bought a book titled, In His Own Words, by L. Grant Luton. It’s amazing, each letter has a meaning, a number, a root word…each is important. I also purchased several books (available from artscroll.com), to name a few: Chofetz Chaim: A Lesson A Day (the laws and sanctity of speech), and commentaries including Mishlei – Proverbs and Tehillim – Psalms, and Chumash – 1st five books of the Torah/Bible.

One of the most impactful learning opportunities has been through Moshe Shorashim. I asked Moshe for permission to share this with you and he agreed as long as I let you know that he is an Orthodox Jewish friend. All these years I have been receiving an email from the Shorashim Bibilcal Book Shop (which I visited on both trips, in the old city of Jerusalem — they have an online store with lots of wonderful items!). And for some time I have been following Moshe Shorashim on Facebook. Moshe is an Orthodox Jew and a wonderful teacher. He has been sharing video teachings for several weeks now, and I hear the heart of the Father in his teaching. Quite often I find myself pondering how what is shared applies to me as a Christian. He also writes for Israel National News.

Another wonderful learning opportunity was through the 2019 Kenneth Copeland Ministries tour last year, and also through Eagle Mountain International Church. Pastor Greg Stephens (who was on the 2019 tour) has a wonderful knowledge of Hebrew and teaches quite often at Faith Foundations on Sunday mornings. I am blessed to watch it via Youtube on the Victory Channel.

So, I love Israel because the Father loves them, and because praying for, loving and learning about Israel helps me to learn about and love Him.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love her prosper. Psalm 122:6 NET

I will take you to myself for a people and I will be your God… I will bring you to the land I swore to give Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob – and I will give it to you as a possession, I am the Lord. Exodus 6: 7a-8 NET

I will walk among you, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Lev. 26:12 NET