Hitting the Ground Running

Hey everyone! First of all, I cannot tell you how joyful I am to be back in Israel. I hit the ground running, taking Thursday night and all day Friday to prepare to preach on John 13 in Hebrew on Saturday morning.

Thanks to jetlag, I woke up at 4:30 AM on Shabbat, which gave me several extra hours to get ready. I was feeling very insecure and ill prepared. However, by the time 9:30 AM came around and I reviewed my notes one last time, actually delivering a message to an empty room in a foreign language, it finally came forth smooth, and I left the apartment with a sense of peace.

We had a great service and despite my mistakes, it appeared people were blessed. I received many encouraging words. I cannot tell you how good this feels—not in a proud way—God forbid. For eight years I have longed to preach in Hebrew and now I can do it. In the spirit, it’s like being given a double-edged sword for battle, but it takes you nearly eight years to learn how to use it in warfare. Once you are trained, your confidence in battle soars. And knowing what you went through to learn how to use it, causes you to appreciate it even more.

And the best part was that after the service was over, I was asked to talk to a young man from India who is here on a work visa. Some Israeli believers had been sharing with him and he was ready to receive Yeshua. We prayed together and it was clear from his countenance that he had been born again.