Greetings from near Jerusalem.
 

A CALL FOR RIGHTEOUS ZEAL MOTIVATED BY LOVE

Ben: The Torah portion this week recounts the story of Pinchas (or Phineas) in Numbers 25. During the period of wandering in the wilderness, the Hebrews were ensnared by the Moabites — the women of Moab seduced the men of Israel and brazenly beckoned them to engage in ritual sexual acts and to offer sacrifices to false gods. The Hebrews got worked up into such a frenzy that they didn’t even try to hide their blatant sin against God. One such man caroused with a Moabite women right in front of Moses and the people. A plague started, and the Hebrews who committed these idolatrous acts started to fall by the thousands. Pinchas witnessed what was happening and, filled with righteous zeal, ran the fornicating couple through with a spear. Only then did the plague stop - but 24,000 were left dead in wake of the judgment.

I am grieved and provoked by the stories that fill the news today. Though we agree with the healthy call for justice for the black communities and stand alongside those pursuing positive change, many others have hijacked the moment and become agents of demonic power. Revenge, bloodlust, looting, and anarchy are resulting in billions of dollars of damage. But that isn’t all. There is a renewed brazenness in the push for sexual liberation, the deconstruction of the nuclear family, and the promotion of alternative genders. It is not sufficient to foster these behaviors in secret, but many are demanding agreement and conformity to this worldview — it is a culture war against biblical values that is being fought right out in the open.

Though we do not know the level at which the Covid-19 pandemic also represents a judgment on the world, God is surely using it to beckon the body to deeper repentance and intercession. It is an occasion to reevaluate ourselves and to determine whether or not we have been truly living the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is a call for righteous leaders like Pinchas to rise up to engage the spiritual battle, and to act with intention motivated by love and godly zeal. It is certainly not a call for violence - a modern day Pinchas does not carry out corporal punishment. Let me challenge you to live out of a deeper place of genuine purity and to demonstrate a testimony of the transformative power of God in your life. Because of Pinchas’ righteous actions, God established a covenant of peace with him (Num 25:12).  We pray for God to release a season of peace following repentance. We pray that you will be one of the many righteous ones that rise up in this hour!

At this time of challenge, your prayer and giving  support is valued more than ever!

BEN'S MOVE UPDATE

Wow! Lorena and I are so moved by the generosity that has been poured out in support of our family’s relocation in just a few weeks (about three more weeks as of this email)!  We have also been sharing with the children about your outpouring of support, and this has been a wonderful testimony to them - they are so amazed.

We are still in need of your prayers ... we learned that our flights with El Al may or may not happen due to the internal financial struggles within the airline brought on by the coronavirus. Though we have looked into alternate airlines, none of them fly direct to Florida (or even anywhere within a 10 hour drive).  This is important because we are transporting three pets (two dogs and a cat).  So, we are praying that the flights with El Al will move forward as planned.  International travel is still very tenuous in general, and new restrictions could delay the trip.  But our shipment leaves Israel at the end of July, so we are hoping that the shipment and our move can be coordinated so that we don’t have to store the container at the docks for any amount of time.  Even so, Lorena and I feel abundant peace and are taking the challenges step by step as we put our trust in the Lord.

Of the total $17,701 that we estimated we needed for the most expensive costs of the move, you have donated $10,165!  This means that our flights and the rental car are fully covered — and we are well on the way to paying for the shipping container. There is only another $7,536 needed to cover the rest of the shipping container.

From Dan and Patty:  Patty and I continue to be fully involved in eldership work here.  We had one particularly intense meeting with a leadership person undergoing an immense struggle.  It was a good result.  This last week we had meetings for the Tikkun International Board and Tikkun Global which networks all the connection ministries in Israel and America.  We do so much in Zoom.  We do want to do more face to face meetings.  The indications are that our congregational meetings in the park are going to be more restricted.  The government here is returning to more severe restrictions.  One of our great commitments is our gym three times a week.  It looks as though the gyms will be shut down again though we know of no transmission of the virus in our gym or many others.  Why not have restrictions on the basis of evidence?  But the fear is so great here.  I will write more on my official Facebook page about this.  We long to travel to meet our leaders in the North and will look for the opportunity to do this as soon as feasible.  With the delay of our U. S. trip we are doing our mentoring by Zoom for America related congregations as well.

We are so grateful for all of your love and support.  

The Justers