In three weeks, two events are overlapping each other:  the Christ At The Checkpoint (CATC) conference in Bethlehem, and a day of praying and fasting preceding the beginning of Purim.  I have been invited to be present at both; I will only be at the Esther’s Fast day on Mar. 13 at Yad HaShmonah, organized by Revive Israel.  I will be leading the final prayer session for the hour before we conclude the day with the Lord’s Supper.  The focus will be God’s providential  protection of His wayward people, despite their unbelief and the continuing threats to destroy them.  (Remember:  the laws of Persia can not be changed; they are still ‘on the books’ sealed with the King’s ring, both to destroy the Jews, and for the Jews to defend themselves.)

With this, we stand in the gap as those who have been saved by the grace of God through repentance and faith in the gospel, knowing that we, too, were once alienated and exposed to the enemies’ schemes to destroy our lives through sin and God’s righteous judgments against us before we came under the blood of Jesus and the new covenant.  The Lord’s Supper expresses our thankfulness and our unity among all believers, for whom God is our Father through Messiah/Christ.

With respect to the CATC conference, I have communicated with the director from the Palestinian hosts, and with the primary leader from the Israeli Messianic contingent about my not endorsing the conference nor my participation in it.  The mandate of the conference is not one which I can approve by being there:
http://www.christatthecheckpoint.com/index.php/about-us/manifesto

While we can work on some projects together, and we do, I am not able to work together on this one.  I do pray that God will have His way at the conference, and that the Holy Spirit will continue to bring forth whatever good can come through this ‘process’.  There is not at all a consensus among the Messianic leadership here in Israel regarding this conference.  Reconciliation goes on, but not necessarily through any particular organization or conference.

It is the burden on my heart that we will see a breakthrough from God to set things right and in order on many levels and areas in our personal, congregational, and Kingdom-wide lives; that the sheep will come together in the truth, in a truer expression of unity and love for one another, all for the glory of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (in whatever language His name is great!), as we look to that glorious day of His return.  Then, there will be peace within and without and between.  Until then, for the believer, our Savior says:  “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ . . . .”