.jpg "The Palestinian Bride")
"Many of My people love Israel
and they pray for her often—
for her safety, peace, and prosperity.
They are proud to 'stand for Israel':
they preach it in their gatherings,
participate in conferences about it,
and assemble to protest and rally for it.
They support Israel's politics;
they pray for Israel's army,
for her military objectives,
and for her to be victorious.
They are attentive not only to the past
and present sufferings of Israel,
but also to potential sufferings that Jews
could experience under speculative scenarios.
But they cannot see the great sufferings
of their Christian brothers and sisters
in neighboring Gaza and the West Bank.
My Palestinian bride suffers,
but they do not mourn with her,
comfort her, encourage her or support her.
They do not 'stand with' her.
My bride in Palestine is an inconvenience
to the great devotion of many to Israel;
hearing of her suffering only interrupts
their unceasing prayers for Israel.
Many of My people in their hearts have sold
their suffering Palestinian brothers and sisters,
trading them for the hope of being rewarded
for unconditionally 'standing with Israel.'
Although many in the church abroad
have forsaken My Palestinian bride,
yet I have not abandoned her,
and I have raised up a remnant of My people
to pray for her and support her.
Though she has not been loved
by many of her family—My people—
she shall be honored and called 'My beloved'."
*****
Art: "Forsaken By Family"
May the Church abroad stand with her Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters, at least as much as she had tried to "stand with Israel",
ReplyDeleteMay their prayers become as many and their sound become as vocal in support as those who "stand with Israel",
May the Palestinian church become more than an "and also pray for" footnote on the Pray For Israel agenda,
May the voice of the Palestinian Church be as welcome in evangelical churches as the voice of Benjamin Netanyahu,
May the faith of the Palestinian church (which the gates of Hades has not overcome in almost 2000 years) elicit as many hallelujahs among evangelicals as pictures of praying or dancing Israeli soldiers,
May Palestinian expats living in America never have to worry again about sharing where they are from or what they believe when sitting in an evangelical church,
May Palestinian Christians' prayers and writings for peace be published and circulated among evangelicals as widely as the volumes of books about supporting Israel,
May Facebook pages like Come & See and the Tent of Nations receive as many "likes" as Christian pages supporting Israel,
May Christian sites and Bible reference tools online make banners and advertisements for resources to support and protect Palestinian Christians just as much as they do for supporting and protecting Israel,
May conferences be organized, T-shirts and bumper-stickers be printed saying "I stand with Christ and His Church in Palestine and Israel",
May names like Yohanna Katanacho and Sami Awad be as well-known and their teaching as listened to as names like John Hagee,
May the ways of Palestinian Christians like Musalaha and Daoud Nassar be as esteemed as "the way to pray for the peace of Jerusalem" as the multitude of preachers preaching "stand with Israel" from their pulpits,
May a prayer for Palestinian Christians be spoken for every Star of David waved in evangelical churches,
May as many prayer nights and meetings be organized and attended in churches to pray for Palestinian Christians as there are to pray for Israel,
May the plight of Palestinian Christians be as studied and known in evangelical churches as prophecy theories about Israel,
May as many Christians organize to help Palestinian refugees return home as they do to encourage Jewish people to move to Israel,
May as many Christians that hail the creation of the state of Israel as being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies & promises also hail the two millennia-long survival of the Church in Palestine as the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy and promise in the New Testament that Hades would never overcome His Church,
May as many funds as are donated to Israel by evangelicals be matched by donations to the Palestinian Church,
May as many Christians that visit Israel as tourists also visit their Palestinian brothers and sisters to encourage them...
...and more.
Amen Ramone, Amen.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this Ramone. It's encouraging to me.
ReplyDelete