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October 5, 2006 13 Tishrei 5767 Dear Praying Friends,
On the eve of Yom Kippur as all of Israel sat in deep national quiet with many truly considering the state of their souls, Yonit and I reflected on the events of the week before. In all of the times of personal shakings, shiftings, and dealings of the Lord throughout thirty three years of born-again life, these last days sit right on the top of the pile. It had been during the “Days of Awe”...the time between the wake-up call of the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement’s foreshadowing of matters concerning eternal destiny…that my soul was taken to its outer limits of endurance. Every earthly mooring, save personal health, had been removed. I learned anew what it meant to keep my eyes on the Lord and cling to the Rock of our salvation.
As there still remains a rush of swirling waters, my soul continues to be instructed in the meaning of being in the spirit. To look at the natural circumstances and give my emotions entrance into very real prospects and possibilities is to sink into depression and despair in the blink of an eye. Where is my hope? Where is my strength? Where is my life? Where is my security? Are they in God? The outcome...my testimony...is that there was grace. There is grace. Halleluyah! God is enough. Shall I wish this on you? Better now than later. Beloved, it’s a matter of principle. Never before have I been more able to track the instantaneous effect of lowering my thoughts from eternal reality to temporal existence. Vision or darkness, strength or paralysis, and hope or despair sit a hair’s breadth apart. My state was and is totally dependant on what I choose to look at, believe, and enter into with my mind.
During our first December in Israel, as I sat in the sun during a half-hour break in the torturous experience of daily five-hour immersion into the Hebrew language, I marveled at the warmth of the December air. The following day, at the same hour, I sat in the same place and felt how chilly the air was. I thought, “How interesting…the relationship between the sun and the earth has not changed.” What makes the difference? It was the winds...the air currents. So it is with our lives. The love of God is forever shining upon us, but the daily experience of our souls is so affected by the winds of the kingdom of the prince of the power of the air. The Holy Spirit is training us to not ascribe more than a fleeting glance to that which is today and will for-nevermore be.
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Those of you that have been walking with us for awhile know that for the last few years we have been in a struggle over the finances to exist and function according to the calling God has given us. Again and again, we have prayed, fasted, warred, wept, worshipped, and waited for the manifestation of the provision that is stored up for whatever God calls forth. Again and again we scrutinized how we have walked, in the hope of finding some point where perhaps we had left the main road. To find it would have brought sure relief. But to our chagrin, we always came out believing we were in fact on the right road. Why chagrin? Because we were then left without an explanation for a state of affairs that just didn’t seem to be according to the ways of the Lord.
Some months ago as the fire of purification and adversity increased significantly in our midst, there came an awareness of a serious relational breakdown within our team. It was something that had been growing unnoticed for a while. Perhaps it could or should have been flagged sooner, but it wasn’t. The root of the problem was in me (arni). Short of telling you a life story, the simple version is that the weight of financial pressures which naturally accompany the position I fill affected the way I interacted with the world around me...namely the team. More accurately, the pressure brought out something of the old man that was yet all too alive in my soul. It was a crisis that could have ended Emmaus Way as it currently is. In the end, God won...and we did too.
According to our understanding of spiritual principles, if the channels between us as individuals are not conducting the flow of God’s life and love but rather transmitting the opposite, then the prince of darkness has the right to likewise hinder the flow of God’s love and provision to the ministry as a whole. We wondered if we had finally found the cause of the blockage.
About the same time another matter of importance was calling for attention. At the beginning of 2005 we came to a point where we could no longer afford to pay the rent for the ministry’s space in Esther House in Tel Aviv. The plans of the Lord were not clear...neither to us as tenants or to our Swiss benefactor/landlord. He thought we should wait a bit and see what the Lord was doing. We still had faith that God would do something, since He had not yet said a word to us about leaving.
After two and a half months of waiting with no change, we were all constrained to consider the possibility that an amazing season was coming to an end. (We want to add that in the end, the Lord spoke to us all separately in the same evening watch that our time in Tel Aviv had been fulfilled). The way it all unfolded, however, left us with a debt equal to about three months’ rent. A question arose as to whether Emmaus Way, in the light of various factors, was actually owed more than it owed. Consequently we chose to wait and not address the repayment of our debt until the question was settled. When it became clear that there were no outstanding obligations towards us, we and our Board deemed it right before the Lord to consider our debt in the same way we relate to tithing, even though we were still limping along financially. We would pay from our first fruits and trust the Lord. The owners graciously accepted our proposal to make a monthly payment equal to ten per cent of our monthly contributions. Now comes the reason we have told you all this.
From the moment we cleared our relational issues and began payment on our debt four months ago, our monthly contributions immediately increased to comfortably cover our nothing-to-sneeze-at expenses, for the first time ever. This testimony of God’s faithfulness to His Word and ways concerning finances runs right along with what we related about our personal dealings of the Lord. There is no room for compromise. There is no room for worldliness. There is no room for relational breakdowns. There is no room to keep anything from God, or the prince of this world will get in. Let us not be as the foolish virgins, who failed to take note of the signs of the times. If we seek to save our life we will lose it. The grace of God and all His provision is freely available and given to everyone who seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. Do we want our life or His? Who are we really living for?
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During the Days of Awe, as we imagined the possibility of the Tabernacle ceasing to be, a profound sadness settled particularly over Yonit. It was not over the loss of what happens there, but for the loss of this unique expression of love being poured out and wasted on the Lord…the place itself. The Tabernacle is an alabaster flask that gets broken afresh every day. For me (arni) personally, maintaining a ministry like ours is not what I would choose to do. The joy of being in community with dear brethren is often close to being eclipsed by the weight of the constant administrative and financial challenges. But for as long as He wants, as long as He takes pleasure in having this little hideaway in the hills of Judea, we will do whatever it takes to preserve it for Him. So often when I hear the phrase “It’s all for Him”, I find it hard to really connect with what that utterance actually looks like. But in this instance, concerning the Tabernacle, I know exactly what it means. What we are doing is all for Him.
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We want to give glory to God for the support He has raised up for us in these last months. We have really been overwhelmed by the response to our call for people to stand with us in prayer. It feels like a new day has dawned. Praise the Lord!
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From Friday through Sunday, Bri, Stephen, and Arni will be on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee to witness for Yeshua among the thousands of festival goers attending the yearly gathering Beresheet. Please pray that God will help us remove His gentile clothing and pass through the negative historical connotations and manmade religious traditions that bedeck the King of the Jews. May multitudes come to know Him as He really is. Do please press in for our people at this time. Many congregations, including our own, are sending sizeable teams to share the Great News that He has come. We are excited to be a part of what God is doing. (Bri went early to help construct the camp and will stay a day longer to help take it down).
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If you are considering attending our next Emmaus Way School of Worship from November 3-14, please contact Terry at terry@emmausway.org. For information about the school, you can visit our website at www.emmausway.org.
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In closing, we have a personal prayer request. Our dear friend and partner Qaumaniq has been diagnosed with a tumor on her adrenal gland. Because of other health-related issues, even the simplest operation is a life-threatening matter for her. Many of you know her and Suuqiina and the amazing gift they are to the Body of Messiah. Please join with us in praying for the total supernatural removal of this tumor and the complete restoration of Qaumaniq’s health.
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If you requested to be a part of our Prayer Shield but did not yet receive a letter, please let us know, as we sent one out last week.
May God bless you from Zion!
Your servants… For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit
Let us invest what is temporal and passing away while on the earth that we might reap an eternal reward in the Kingdom of Heaven
For information on being part of our personal “Prayer Shield,” click here. For an update on Emmaus Way’s current financial needs click here. For information on making a contribution click here.
Emmaus Way is a faith ministry dependent upon the support of God’s people. |