Wednesday, December 31, 2008

REPORT INSIDE THE GAZA WAR: IDF says worst is yet to come

Last night, I received a report by email from an evangelical friend in the Israeli town of Sderot, located on the southern border with Gaza. “Yesterday was a day full of explosions on both sides [of the border],” he wrote. “I have temporarily moved out of my apartments [and] am staying with a friend with a bomb shelter maybe 30 feet away….I realize more and more that I am not in control of my life and I am thankful that G-d is. Between tank fire and jets flying overhead it is a bit nerve-wracking, but again I know who holds my life in His hand and I know I need to be about my Father’s business….We have been told that the worst is yet to come and we should plan on having enough food on hand until the end of March….Just as He has always been to His children in the past, I know once again He will be faithful — that’s who He is, the Faithful One.”

On Saturday, I received an email from a Jewish friend who also lives in Sderot. “I just finished reading the Flash Traffic you’ve sent today,” he wrote. “Being held here in Sderot since this morning under marshal law, it was one of the good things that I enjoyed today and your report was excellent. I also join you in prayer tha the leaders here will have the wisdom and courage to destroy terrorists…in Hamastan-ruled-Gaza….We are under fire, but we know that He will protect us.”

The Joshua Fund is doing everything we can to stand with these and other friends and to let them know that they are not alone. We are mobilizing evangelical Christians all over the world to pray for peace on the Israel-Gaza border and to show unconditional love and unwavering support. We are asking you and others to continue praying for wisdom and courage for Israel’s leaders as they seek to decimate the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and reacquire the deterrence factor lost during the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

* Please pray for the half million Israelis living within rocket and missile range of Gaza. They and their children have no idea what today and tomorrow hold. Pray for the Lord to comfort and calm their hearts.

* Please pray for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom find themselves trapped in the crossfire of a war that Hamas started but that they as individuals and families don’t want.

* Please pray for the wounded on both sides, and the families who have lost loved ones.

* Please also lift up the believers in Jesus in Israel and Gaza who are seeking the Lord’s strength to help them love their neighbors and their enemies in real and practical ways in the name of Jesus. Pray that the believers can be lights in the darkness, bringing good news and hope to those who feel hopeless and alone.

* Finally, please pray that the Lord would be gracious to provide our Joshua Fund leadership team with wisdom to know how best to help those who are now victims of war and terrorism, and sufficient financial resources to meet those needs quickly and wisely.

Hamas terrorists have shown no signs of surrendering their vicious, evil war against the Jews of Israel. As of 4pm Israel time (9am eastern) on Monday, at least 50 rockets and missiles had been fired from Gaza at the Israeli towns of Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod. Israeli military forces, meanwhile, continue to pummel Hamas headquarters, rocket launching pads, and other military infrastructure. The deputy chief of staff of the IDF is warning Israeli that, “We are just at the beginning of the battle, this will not be hasty. The worst is not behind us – it is still ahead of us, and we should be prepared for this. Our resilience will be determine by the functioning of the authority and the way the civilians are protected.”