In Touch Quarter 4 - 2016

יְ‏ הֹוָ‏ ה יִ‏ רְ‏ אֶ‏ ה
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with
what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake
you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
(Hebrews 13:5-6)
Do you feel disqualified from God’s provision because of
past mismanagement of finances? The story of the Prodigal
Son offers amazing hope for even the most despairing of
situations (Luke 15:11-32). Despite the fact that the younger
son had squandered half of his father’s money – he is
immediately welcomed back and given the family’s signet
ring. He is not shamed, punished or condemned by the
father upon his return. Do you trust that your Heavenly
Father will do the same for you, if you humble yourself in
his presence?
If you are experiencing hardship in the area of provision,
then call upon the Lord to show you why. We serve the God
who sees and cares about our needs, spiritual, financial or
otherwise – and he sees to them! Do we believe that the Lord
has already provided for us? That we are seen by him? Are
we trusting that he has enough and is enough for all our
needs? Are we willing to forsake any love of money to fully
trust him – our generous Adonai Yireh?
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his
riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
If you are interested in learning the Hebrew language through online
tuition (or in person if you are local to Berkshire), or if you are interested
in hosting a Hebrew language day for a group in your area, please contact
Melissa for more details at: hebrew.explore@gmail.com
1. Note: The LORD our Yireh is famously rendered as ‘Jehovah Jireh’ in
certain Bible translations and songs, but the word Jehovah is a misnomer. It
is a muddle of two Hebrew names for God (the consonants from YHVH and
the vowels from Adonai). More information regarding Jehovah is available
in the Hebrew word studies section of CFI’s Kesher course.
Shalom Initiative
The Shalom Initiative is the outreach of
the UK Jewish community to Christian
friends in support of Israel and in defence
of the persecuted across the Middle East.
This newly-launched initiative is supported by
the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the
Jewish Leadership Council. Heading it up is
Steven Jaffe.
Belfast-born Steven will be familiar to many
Christian Friends of Israel supporters from his
speaking at ‘CFI’ events across the country and
his appearances on Revelation TV. Steven is
grassroots consultant to the Board of Deputies
whose work has embraced Christian friends
across the UK.
Steven says: “the last three or four years
of my life has been a tremendous journey. I’ve
visited parts of the country I scarcely knew
existed! More importantly, I deeply value my
many friendships with Christian supporters of
Israel. We are living in an age of unprecedented
co-operation between Jews and Christians
across the world, to defend what we hold dear
and in order to face common challenges.”
The Shalom Initiative is the Jewish
community’s response to the Shalom
Declaration (www.shalomdeclaration.org).
The declaration has been signed by over 200
UK ministries, prayer groups and churches as
a public act of solidarity with Jewish brothers
and sisters.
CFI Trustees signed the declaration and the
initiative was supported by area representatives
and activists across the country (see In Touch,
2nd Quarter 2015).
Steven describes the Shalom Declaration as “a
very public act of friendship from our Christian
friends in the face of growing anti-Israel
extremism and anti-Semitism. It touched the
hearts of many in the Jewish community. Hence
the desire to deepen friendships and to create
a new platform to encourage working together
both nationally and locally.”
He explains: “the Jewish community values
those who wish to stand with us in defence
of Israel from extreme and unfair criticism.
Given our own history of persecution, genocide
in Europe and expulsion from Arab lands, the
community also has a key role in exposing the
persecution and genocide of other minorities
across the Middle East, including the ferocious
genocide against the Christian communities.”
The Shalom Initiative will work with
Christian Friends of Israel and other ministries
to provide mutual support and encouragement.
Steven says: “CFI’s long-standing prayerfocused
advocacy work and practical support
for Israel is hugely appreciated by the Jewish
community. I remember former and current
directors, Geoffrey Smith and Jacob Vince,
receiving standing ovations at the plenary
meeting of the Board of Deputies in Brighton.”
“Part of the job of the Shalom Initiative
is to ensure the Jewish community knows
we have friends in the Christian world. Too
many headlines in the Jewish media focus on
boycott resolutions debated by various Church
denominations. Few hear about the Nights to
Celebrate Israel which are taking place around
the country or the Christian contribution to
various regional Friends of Israel groups.”
SPECIAL REPORT
The parliamentary advocacy day organised
by Christian Friends of Israel and the Zionist
Federation is the absolute model of our
communities working together.
The Shalom Initiative’s first campaign is
Postcards for Jerusalem, allowing Jews and
Christians to express their appreciation that we
can visit a remarkably safe and free city in the
Middle East.
The distance between Jerusalem and
Damascus is only 150 miles but the differences
could not be more stark. There are huge areas
of the Middle East which are unsafe to visit but
in Jerusalem residents and visitors alike enjoy
a large measure of security and freedom of
worship.
The postcards - which are to be sent to
the Foreign Secretary - have a stunning view
of Jerusalem on the front. On the back is a
printed message to the Rt Hon Boris Johnson
MP. The message requests him to pass on to
his Israeli counterpart our appreciation that we
can visit a safe and free Jerusalem.
Steven is delighted to say that several
thousand of these postcards have been
distributed to Christian supporters from every
corner of the UK. We take the opportunity
to enclose a postcard for you to use. Should
you require more they can be obtained free of
charge from: shalomdeclaration@yahoo.com
PLEASE NOTE: We at CFI UK consider it
wise not to send details openly on a postcard,
so recommend you enclose in an envelope,
address by hand as on the postcard, then stamp
and send accordingly.
facebook.com/cfiuk twitter.com/cfi_uk 4 th Quarter 2016 • IN TOUCH 5