"The US State Department in 2014 condemned Israel as one of the most “unacceptable” countries in the world, just behind North Korea.

According to an article published last week by Foreign Policy, over the past year the Obama Administration State Department cited Israel for "unacceptable behavior" more times than Pakistan, Russia, Egypt, China, Afghanistan and Iraq. The article examined how many times a country’s actions were condemned as “unacceptable,” and Israel came in fourth, right after Syria, Iran and North Korea." [Israel Today]

"The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’ Zechariah 12

Keep your eye on Iran.

RAPHED ON LEBANON-ISRAEL BORDER: The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has published a report documenting photographs of Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers "killing time" at the Lebanon-Israel border. Preliminary information suggests the pictures were taken in October, but were released only recently, along with verbal threats against Israel. Several photographs published contain the caption: "We have arrived to the cursed Israel." The Twitter account linked to the Revolutionary Guards uploaded a number of the pictures on Thursday, with the headline, "The Islamic Republic soldiers are on the border of occupied Palestine." The Iranian military's websites showcased photos of soldiers taken in the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek in south Lebanon. "We have come close to the motherland of corruption - the cursed Israel. With Allah's help, we will trample over their bodies" the website writes. (INN)

And still hatred rages.

"The people will be oppressed....     The child will be insolent toward the elder, and the base toward the honorable....     Because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord....  For they have brought evil upon themselves....     As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them.     O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths."  Says the Lord God of hosts...." Isaiah 3:5, 8-9, 12

May your day be merry and bright with the fullness of our Saviour and LORD.

May this Christmas the true Joy in 'your' world, be the Christ of Christmas.

May your heart yearn to know Him better, love Him more deeply, serve Him with abandon and determine to let His Light, the Light of the world shine through you.

The FiscalTimes reports:

The war against ISIS is taking a dangerous, perhaps inevitable turn. The terror organization has been keen to expand to southern Syria and the Syrian capital of Damascus. Now it says it has recruited three Syrian rebel groups operating in the south of the country in an area bordering the Israeli occupied Golan Heights — that have switched their loyalties to ISIS.

This switch means that Israel, the U.S.’s closes ally in the Middle East, could be threatened from the southwest by the Egyptian ISIS group of Ansar Bait al-Maqdis in Sinai and by ISIS in southern Syria.

The ISIS war is not going well at all for the US-led alliance in Syria. ISIS and al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, are still the dominant rebel groups in the country. The U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army is still not a reliable fighting force.

“The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against His anointed.” Psalm 2:2

It has been a most difficult few days for tiny Israel on the stage of world politics and diplomacy, with the tide of opinion, especially in Europe, turning squarely in favor of the Palestinians at the small country’s expense. In Geneva, world powers gathered to condemn Israel’s actions in Judea and Samaria; in Luxembourg, the EU Court of Justice removed Hamas from its terror blacklist; and back in the United States, a draft resolution was introduced at the United Nations demanding an Israeli withdrawal from lands wanted for a Palestinian State by 2017.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quoted as saying -

“It seems that too many in Europe, on whose soil six million Jews were slaughtered, have learned nothing.”

The Bible warns that the destiny of the nations cannot be separated from Israel and Jerusalem. The Bible teaches that God would one day re-gather the children of Israel back into their land from among many nations around the world, which He has done. The Bible says they would be re-gathered in unbelief ... God has not re-gathering the children of Israel into their Land because they deserve it, but because His Name and His Word are at stake...  and because He loves them. They are His chosen people. The Bible warns us that  God will make Jerusalem a world trouble spot, which indeed it is.

The Bible says all nations of the world will turn against Israel but we His remnant must remain vigilant in our resolve to support Israel, not because they deserve it, but because they are His chosen people and the apple of His eye. Faithfully writing as the Holy Spirit directed, these Jewish prophets and apostles preserved His Word and from this tiny nation, we have Salvation through Yeshua our Messiah, our Jewish Messiah.

We are all precious to the Lord. It doesn’t matter from where we came; what matters is will we repent and trust Yeshua for the forgiveness of our sins? God’s plan from the beginning was that salvation would be offered to the whole world. Reading about the partial hardening of the Jews in Romans 11 makes it clear, the hardening was to make way for the Gentiles to come into the Kingdom. We are all blessed!

As nation after nation condemns Israel, as churches around the globe stand against Israel and as John Hagee preaches Israel is saved because they are Jews - saved "without accepting Yeshua"  we who know the truth must stand up, speak up and support Israel in these last days.

 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." Malachi 3:6

A leading, and somewhat controversial member of Knesset earlier this month stated that those in positions of authority in the Jewish state must not rely on God alone when making decisions regarding the governance of Israel.

 “…when we trusted in God alone, we lost out.”

Not only will Jerusalem grow beyond historical memory, but the Lord “will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” (Zechariah 2:5). No longer will Jerusalem be the pawn of other nations, no longer will she be subject to the whims of rival nations and competing religions. The Lord Himself will become a wall around her similar to the way God protected them as they fled from Egypt (Exodus 13:21-22).

The Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution supporting Israel and denouncing Hamas. The timing of the move suggests it’s a reaction to rumors that the Obama administration is considering sanctions against Israel over their settlements in Jerusalem.

The Cruz-Gillibrand-Manchin Resolution supports Israel’s right to defend itself and condemns the use of human shields in Gaza.

“The Senate has sent a united signal that we denounce Hamas’ barbaric tactics and unequivocally support Israel’s right to self-defense,” said Sen. Cruz. “Even though Republicans and Democrats may be divided on many issues, there should be no daylight between us when it comes to standing up to radical Islamic terrorists including Hamas. I hope the international community will join America in condemning their deplorable use of human shields, which is a war crime. I thank my colleagues for their affirmation of our unshakable bond with the nation of Israel. We look forward to the passage of this resolution in the House or Representatives, where it has been led by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida and Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Florida and has 102 co-sponsors.”

But the White House quickly spoke up with the Obama administration denying reports that the U.S. was weighing sanctions on Israel over settlement expansions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, dismissing such speculation as “completely unfounded and without merit. Reports that [we] might be contemplating sanctions against Israel are completely unfounded and without merit.”

Since there is no love lost between BHO and the PM of Israel, between America and Israel, all I can say to that is - Yeah, Right.!!!..

Not only in Israel....

ISRAELI STABBED IN BROOKLYN SYNAGOGUE: Levi Rosenviat, 22, an Israeli student, was stabbed in the neck at a Brooklyn synagogue at the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters early Tuesday by a man who yelled, "I want to kill the Jew." The attacker, Calvin Peters, 51, was shot and killed after he lunged at a police officer with a knife. (NY Daily News)

Israel Today reports:

A growing number of Western Christians have started to collaborate with the Muslim fight against Israel, primarily via support for anti-Israel Palestinian Protestant organizations like Sabeel and Kairos. 

Christian support for Hamas has grown virally after the summer’s Gaza war. Non-denominational movements like Tony Compolo’s Red-Letter Christians continue to be counted among those trying to help Hamas to "free Gaza." 

Films such as With God on Our Side by Porter Speakman, Jr, formerly of Youth With a Mission, and Little Town of Bethlehem, produced by Oral Roberts University chairman Mart Green, are much more than run-of-the-mill anti-Israeli propaganda. By romanticizing Muslim expressions of hate for Israel, such films have effectively become recruitment tools. 

Though Christian support for Palestinian violence has thus far remained nonviolent, to think this will remain the case is unrealistic.  

Hamas welcomed the collapse of PM Netanyahu’s coalition and hailed it as a sign of the terrorist group’s “victory” over Israel.

"The collapse of the Israeli coalition is another example of our victory and of Netanyahu’s defeat in Gaza," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. The statement was made hours after Netanyahu fired Finance Minister Yair Lapid as well as Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, effectively disbanding the government. Approximately two hours after he fired Lapid and Livni, Netanyahu held a press conference in which he officially launched his election campaign, telling voters who wanted a strong government to vote Likud, noting that the formation of the government was determined "because the party under my leadership, the Likud, didn't get enough mandates, so there were in the government contrasting angles." In addition to Hamas, another comment on Netanyahu's decision to disband the Knesset came from the US, where Secretary of State John Kerry said that whatever government will be formed, he hoped it would be able to "negotiate and move towards resolving differences between Israelis and Palestinians." (Israel National News)

A Jerusalem District Court has rejected the appeal of the Messianic village of Yad Hashmonah and has ordered it to pay compensation to the tune of USD $15,000 to two lesbians for refusing to allow a wedding reception on its premises.

There are many guest houses and businesses in Israel that are owned and operated by Messianic or Christian organizations. The ruling comes as a warning to all faith-based establishments in Israel that they cannot refuse use of their facilities once they have opened them up to the public.

As Kurds fight ISIS, they wonder, "Where is Israel, WHERE is the USA.??.

May the Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist in the land given to the Jewish people by the God  of Israel.  Please pray that Israel will turn back to their God.  Do not be silent at this most strategic time, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to.  Please also pray for a major breakthrough in the Muslim world. Please remember to pray for all of the soldiers in the IDF - they are defending and fighting for the soon coming of Messiah and the Kingdom of God.