October 1, 2003

Greetings from Vero Beach!

Can you believe that another month has rolled by already? It seems like I just put one newsletter in the mail and it is time to begin another one. Time just seems to fly on by me!

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to write or call me this month. It is so nice to be able to chat with each of you for a few minutes, especially those of you I have never met before. Many of you make copies of the newsletters, and then share them with others, so a lot of those people are calling me to ask to be added to our mailing list, and I don’t really know them. It is a wonderful opportunity for me to meet with them via telephone. Thank you so much for sharing.

Others of you often call to ask if you can share your newsletter with another, or make copies of them to send to your family or friends. Please know that anything I send out is sent because the Lord ordered it, so therefore you feel free to share it, or copy it, and send it on, just don’t take any part of it out of context, please. Many pastors tell me they share it with their congregations, and we send multiple copies to many home fellowships. Any way we can help you in the building of His Kingdom, just let us know. I constantly hear the Lord saying, “Myrna, feed My sheep!” As you take what I share with you, and share it with others, you, too, are feeding His sheep. Hallelujah!

I want to thank those of you who were covering me in prayer as I traveled to Washington, DC this month. We had three days of really intense meetings with members of the 106^th Congress as they came back to the capital. We were there to ask them all to reassess the “Road Map” to destruction. They received all of us very well., and at the end of the three days we were able to honor all those who have stood so strong with Israel, despite all of the wavering of our leadership as well as  Israel’s leadership. I believe they were all strengthened and encouraged to stay on the wall, but they need to hear from us. All of the self interest groups are always there applying untold pressure.

Our group was made up of Jews and Christians alike. Toward the end of the second day, I had just finished sharing with one of our Congressmen, Bible in hand, pointing out various Scriptures, when a Jewish man walked up to me and said, “You know, we watch you Christian Zionists as you stand strong and present the Scriptures, and let me tell you, you provoke us to jealousy!”

Well, I’ll tell you, I was so blessed to hear him say that, for he was quoting Scripture, and he didn’t even know it. Then, the very next day I had two more Jewish men pull me aside to thank me for supporting and defending Israel as I do. They, too, complimented me on my boldness in presenting the Scriptures to the Congressmen. One of the two said it made him ‘jealous”. He went on to say that we have made the Jews so jealous because of our stand for Israel, and our travel back and forth to the Land, even in dangerous times, that many of them are going to brave it and go to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles this year. He told me that they began making their plans and reservations in early July. I must tell you that I just marvel at the wisdom of Almighty God! If we will just yield ourselves to Him, go where He tells us to go, do as He tells us to do, and speak what He gives us to speak, He will get the job done every time. His purposes will be accomplished, for His Word never returns void, Church!

While we were there, Bill Koenig brought in more than 27,000 petitions for President Bush concerning the “Road Map”. Bill is a Spirit filled White House Correspondent strategically placed for such a time as this. He is a bold mouthpiece for God, and he encourages other Christians in the White House Corps to speak when the Lord’s voice needs to be heard. He is a precious brother, and a man of integrity.

The petitions were so powerfully anointed that it brought tears to our eyes as we prayed over them. The Presence of God was so strong and so real! We prayed that it would be so as President Bush took them in to his hands. Please keep our president in prayer for they were hand delivered to him.

After the intense meetings over the “Road Map” were all over, I was able to speak with Marilyn Musgrave, who is spearheading the drive for a Federal Marriage Amendment to our constitution, which will preserve the sanctity of marriage as a union solely between one man and one woman. Bless her heart, she has 80 co-sponsors. It must be approved by 2/3 of the House, and ratified by 38 states. She told me that 36 states already have laws prohibiting same sex marriage. She said that she firmly believes that if the Christians will truly pray, it will be done. 

It was also my privilege to interview Bill Frist, Republican Majority Leader from Tennessee. I had heard him share some of his testimony at President Bush’s first National Prayer Breakfast, but I had never had the opportunity to speak with him one on one. Well, this man truly blessed my heart. My heart has always been in missions, and he shared with me that he takes all of his vacations, and recesses from the House, to go down in to the Sudan to perform surgeries, free of charge, for the poor and needy there. He told me how horribly the Christians were being persecuted and tortured in the Sudan. Bill Frist has Jesus’ heart of compassion. He is a tremendous witness on Capital Hill.

Last but not least, I want to thank all of you who were praying for me when I had some serious dental surgery done. All went well, and I’ve been healing nicely. Please know that both the doctor and I were grateful for all your prayers. He is a very sweet Jewish man, and he kept saying to me, “God bless you!” We had some neat conversations about Israel. He loves the Old City, and so do I.

Since the Lord brought me back to Vero Beach, for a season, it seems as though each time I am out in the Market Places I end up in conversation with Jewish people. I’m so grateful for the opportunities the Lord gives me to love them and bless them. I just thank God for His favor!!!

By the time you receive this newsletter, the fall feasts of the Lord, the High Holy Days, will have begun with Rosh Hashanah (Feast of the Trumpets). This begins their civil new year, and it is a time of inner reflection for them. The shofar is blown to warn the people to repent and turn to Yahweh before Yom Kippur the (Day of Atonement). One of my Jewish friends told me that the blowing of the shofar should awaken Jews everywhere to fight against their evil inclinations, and passions, as well as the devil. 

Ten days after Rosh Hashanah is Yom Kippur, which is the most solemn of all the feasts days, with absolutely no work permitted, and with total fasting. On Yom Kippur in Jerusalem, you can hear a pin drop any place. Nothing moves on that day but ambulances. The fast is broken at sundown.

The very next day each family begins to build their sukkah in preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) which begins five days later. You can hear the tap, tap, tap of the father’s hammer, and the joy of the children as they anxiously wait to begin decorating their sukkah. It is a happy time to be in Jerusalem.

Sukkot is celebrated for eight days at the time of the fall harvest. The Torah is read, and a sukkah with palm branches is built outside in which their meals, sleeping and fellowship are enjoyed for the week. I love hearing them pray, sing and rejoice in their sukkahs. A lulav is waved before the Lord. It consists of willow, palm, myrtle, bough of leafy trees, together with an etrog (fruit), which represents the stranger who joins himself to Israel. It is a time of great rejoicing with dancing, and singing the Hallel Psalms, (120-134). It was at this time, when the Temple was lighting up all of Jerusalem, that Yeshua declared that He was the Light of the world. It was also during the customary water pouring ceremony, on the seventh day, that He claimed to be the Living Water, as the people sang, “Mayim,”  saying, “With joy we will draw water out of the well of salvation.”

Simchat Torah is celebrated on the eighth day. This is a time of rejoicing in the Law. The Rabbis take the Torah Scrolls out of the Synagogues and dance them all the way through the streets until they reach the Western Wall. Then there is real rejoicing over the Word of the Lord. This is the last day of the annual Torah reading cycle, and also the beginning of the new one. It always blesses my heart to see how they revere and rejoice over the Holy Word of God.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) celebrates how God sustained the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt. When the Jews move in to their sukkah, (temporary tabernacle or booth), they are reminded that their survival is 100% dependant on God’s protection and mercy, just as it was for their ancestors in the desert.

When they build their sukkah, it should not be lower than 3 to 4 feet. Because the sukkah must stand under the open sky, many balconies in Israel are built without roofs, making them ideal for this holiday. Usually palm branches are used for a leafy canopy. By day this provides light, and at night the stars can be seen. They tell the story of the exodus from Egypt to the children while in the sukkah.  

The Feast of Tabernacles is one of my favorite times to be in Israel. There are many Christians and Jews going up to Jerusalem this year to celebrate the fall feasts with the Israelis. Let us pray that God bless them all with traveling mercies, and a wonderful holiday season. May the dear Lord protect them all, and make them a blessing to the Israelis.

To all of our Jewish brothers and sisters here in the states, we wish you and yours a Happy New Year, (Shana Tovah), and Happy Holidays, (Hag Semeach)!  We love you all and rejoice with you!

“Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, May they prosper who love you!”

Psalm 122:6