“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matt 6:19-21

We all know what has been taking place in Israel during the past two weeks; Hamas provoked Israel to enter a military operation in Gaza, and it was a very stressful and scary time for us all. Many are disappointed that Israel agreed to a cease-fire (that may not last for long, but only time will tell…) No doubt, the pictures of the celebrations that are taking place in Gaza are hard to see, and Hamas’ declarations of victory are hard to hear, but I want to encourage us followers of the One and only true God to keep our eyes focused on Him.

As humans, we can easily allow our fleshly reactions – our feelings and emotions – control us.  While this is not a sin, in and of itself, what results is us taking our eyes off the Lord.  This, in turn, often results in sin, due to the mere fact that we are now operating from an earthly perspective and not a Kingdom perspective.

God is in control. Period. This is a fact, whether we acknowledge it or not.  We need to let Him be God, instead of trying to take His place.  He will judge those who are attacking His children; and believe me, His judgment will be much more severe than anything we humans could do. I am not justifying, nor do I take sides, but want to encourage all of us to keep our eyes on our Messiah during these times. We all need to spend more time in prayer for God’s will to be clear, for the salvation of the people of Israel as well as the salvation of Israel’s enemies, for direction for our leaders, etc. We should also spend time bringing the Hope that we have in our Messiah to this hopeless world!

“Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matt 6:34

During these past two weeks, I have learned once again that I need to trust God on a daily basis. I was away from my family when rockets were exploding near them, and it was heartbreaking for me to hear my son crying from fear, to hear my friends struggling as their homes were being bombed, but I had to “let go and let God”.

He will bring justice to Israel’s enemies.  It is my responsibility to remember this, to trust that He will do it, and to pray for my enemy’s salvation. After all, I, too, was once His enemy before I came from darkness to light.  How grateful I am for His mercy!  May He have mercy on us all…

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran