She was just an ordinary girl.  Esther had no famous or well-connected relatives.  In fact, she and her people were living as a minority in a foreign land where they had been taken by a conquering enemy army; yet, today her name is synonymous with faith and courage.  The short book that bears her name tells a story of divine deliverance—a message that is very much relevant to our day when once again a plot has been hatched in Persia to destroy the Jewish people.

Esther became queen of the Persian Empire without the king or anyone in authority knowing that she was Jewish.  This was on the wise advice of her guardian Mordecai, who instructed her to hide her ancestry for the sake of her future.  Not long after Esther became queen, an evil man in a high government position named Haman, motivated by his hatred of Mordecai (who refused to bow before Haman because he would only bow before God), devised a scheme to destroy the Jewish people.

Haman presented the king with a distorted picture of God’s Chosen People.  He falsely accused them of disobeying the laws of the Persian Empire and suggested that destroying them would promote order and stability throughout the realm.  To further sweeten the deal, Haman offered to pay a large sum of money to the royal treasury to cover the expenses of exterminating the Jewish people.  The king went along with the plan, setting a date for the destruction of the Jewish exiles living in the 127 provinces that made up his kingdom.

When Mordecai received this news, he began fasting in sackcloth and ashes, along with Jewish people throughout the Persian realm.  There seemed to be no hope for them, but God was at work behind the scenes.  Mordecai sent word to Esther that the time to reveal her heritage had come and that she should use her position as queen to plead for the Jewish people to be spared.

When she pointed out that entering the king’s presence without an invitation was a capital offense, Mordecai made his famous declaration that God had put Esther where she was “for such a time as this.”  Esther courageously went before the king, and God granted her favor in his eyes, and he spared her life.

Esther asked the king and Haman to come to a private meeting.  Then she asked them to return a second time, and finally revealed to the king the evil that he had unknowingly agreed to support.  The king’s wrath was kindled against Haman, and he ordered the evil plotter to be hung on the very gallows that Haman had constructed to have Mordecai executed on—and provided the Jewish people the opportunity for self defense.  The Jewish people were spared from destruction.  Even to this day, this wonderful miracle of deliverance is celebrated as the Feast of Purim.  Esther remains a wonderful example of what we can do when we fully rely on God.

As I read this story again recently, I was struck by something that doesn’t often receive a great deal of attention.  Esther did not face her moment of crisis alone.  Here was her response:  Spiritual battles are not meant to be fought alone.  Before Esther entered the king’s presence, risking her life to plead for her people, there was a massive campaign of prayer and fasting on her behalf.  The deliverance of Israel depended on the power of God, and the people of God sought His face and His help together.  That is a perfect description of the work of the Jerusalem Prayer Team. 

In 1844, Willem ten Boom started holding a prayer meeting for the Jewish people at his home in Haarlem in the Netherlands.  His family home was also his place of business, a watch shop.  The tradition of making and repairing clocks and watches was passed on to his son Caspar.  So was the tradition of praying for God’s Chosen People.  Long before World War II began, the ten Boom family were noted for their love and generosity to the Jewish people.

When the Nazis began deporting Jews to the death camps, the ten Boom family opened their home, risking their lives to provide the famous Hiding Place.  Today that home and watch shop in the Netherlands is owned and operated as a museum by our ministry.  We are doing everything that we can to keep this vital story from being forgotten.

In 1944, the ten Boom prayer meeting came to an end when the Gestapo raided the home, arresting Caspar ten Boom, his daughters Betsie and Corrie, and his son Willem.  Because Caspar was 84 years of age, they offered to let him go if he would promise to stop helping and hiding Jewish people.  He refused, saying, “It would be the greatest honor of my life to die for God’s Chosen People.”  Two weeks later he passed away and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Betsie also died in a prison camp, but Corrie ten Boom survived Ravensbrück—released through a “clerical error” not long before all the prisoners in the camp were killed.  She traveled around the world telling the story of her family.  I had the privilege of meeting her in Texarkana many years ago.  I did not know who she was, but saw her carrying her luggage into a hotel and went across the street to help.  We shared a meal together, and I was able to tell her my family story and listen to her firsthand account of all that she endured.

Today we are carrying on in the spirit of love for the Jewish people that motivated the ten Boom family to risk and sacrifice so much.  We are continuing that 100-year prayer meeting.  The Jerusalem Prayer Team has united millions of Believers together to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the protection of Israel.  The largest prayer army in the history of the world has its headquarters at your Friends of Zion Center located just 600 meters from the Temple Mount in the Holy City.

From this place we are not just praying, but like the ten Booms did we are putting feet to our prayers.  We are delivering food to thousands of poor Holocaust survivors each week.  We are welcoming those who have suffered injury and loss in terrorist attacks to help them heal.  We are hosting elderly Holocaust survivors as they come to the Holy City, showing them Christian love in a way most of them have never experienced.  We are bringing all the members of the IDF—the Israel Defense Forces—to the Friends of Zion Museum as part of their training.

The list goes on and on.  But it is all made possible by the generous support of friends like you…Friends of Zion who are truly making a difference.  Thank you so much for being part of this vital ministry, and for all you are doing for the sake of God’s Chosen People.

”Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” – Corrie Ten Boom

At a crucial moment in the history of the nation of Israel, God gave a vision to the prophet Isaiah.  After a long and peaceful reign, King Uzziah had died, and the people were very uncertain about the future.  They did not know what was coming, and they needed to hear from the Lord.

The call that Isaiah heard and answered—“whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”—is not a one-time call.  God is still asking that question, and you and I need to give the same answer that Isaiah did: “Hineni.”  When we say “Here am I, send me,” we are accepting a challenge and a commission that has life-changing consequences.

I know because I experienced this first-hand.  I heard this call of God at a very difficult time in my life.  I was struggling to find direction and purpose, knowing that something needed to change, but I was completely unable to see what I should do.

Then God called me to go to Israel and meet with Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

After decades of ministry to and with and for the Jewish people, it is easy to take for granted today the relationships I have with the leaders of the nation.  Back then, however, there was none of that.  There was no reason to expect anything from my obedience except mockery.  Friends told me I was delusional.  The idea that the prime minister of Israel would meet with an unknown minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from America who had no connections, no influence, and no particular following was beyond human belief.

I ignored the doubters and the skeptics 

and my own fears, and went to Israel because I heard the call of God and said “Hineni.”  

Everything in my life and ministry changed as a result of that trip.  God miraculously opened doors, and I found myself sitting in the office of Prime Minister Menachem Begin…and a door to minister to bless God’s Chosen People in ways I had never imagined before opened.  Please understand this vital truth: Everything that we are doing—the Friends of Zion Museum, the outreaches to feed hungry Holocaust survivors, and the new Friends of Zion Ambassador Institute we are working to launch—is the direct result of that one single moment of obedience.

I am sharing my heart and my vision with you because you are such a dear partner to me as a member of the Jerusalem Prayer Team.  The work that we are doing together is having a huge impact in Israel and all around the globe, and I want you to know not only how God is using us today, but what He has in store for us tomorrow.

The story that you and I are part of—the fight for Israel’s future—did not begin in our day, and the response that we must make does not begin with us.  The willingness to respond to God’s call goes back through the centuries.  It is the call that was answered by Abraham…and Moses…and David…and Nehemiah…and by so many others.  It is a call to service, to commitment, to sacrifice.  It is a call to accept the anointing of God for His work.

Living in the Anointing

The rebellion of King Saul led God to make a choice: to choose a young man named David to lead His Chosen People.  God sent the aged prophet Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the next king over Israel because He knew that while David was not perfect, he was set on following God’s heart as a guide for his steps.

Understand this: the anointing oil that Samuel poured on David’s head would have served no purpose if David had spent the rest of his life tending his father’s sheep.  He had to live in that anointing, and he had to do it even when those around him did not believe he was worthy.

To see how David was viewed by others, return in your mind with me to the day the prophet Samuel showed up in Bethlehem.  To avoid the wrath of Saul, Samuel had taken a sacrifice with him so that it would look like a normal religious observance, but the purpose of his trip was to find the man who would replace Saul.

When Jesse was told to bring his sons and present them to Samuel, he didn’t bother to call David in from the field!  I know what it is like to be disrespected by my father.  For most of my life, he hated me and held me in contempt.  It was only late in his life that I finally heard words of approval and blessing from his lips.  The opinion of his father didn’t stop David from becoming what God wanted him to be.  (The opinions of others don’t have to stop you either!)

David had to believe in his anointing even when no one else did.  When Jesse sent David to take food to his older brothers who were fighting in Israel’s army, they did not welcome him.  In fact, they accused him of deserting his responsibilities just to see the fighting.  When the giant Goliath came forth and challenged the Israelites to battle, while the others cowered in fear, David wanted to fight.  They mocked him for his youthful zeal, not realizing yet how God planned to use his life.

When David was brought before Saul, the king had no confidence in his ability to face the giant, but David knew something that mattered far more than the opinions of men: he knew God had placed him in that spot for a purpose.  He confidently strode out onto the field of battle with nothing but a sling for a weapon.

Goliath laughed and mocked the young shepherd.  He believed he had nothing to fear, but David said, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45).  David killed the giant, and Israel won a great victory over the Philistines.  It all happened because David was living in the anointing—even before the results became apparent to anyone else.

Over and over throughout his life, David would have to continue to believe his anointing.  He had to believe it when Saul was trying to kill him, and he was running for his life.  He had to believe it when the nation was divided, and many did not accept his leadership after the death of Saul.  He had to believe it when his own son Absalom turned against him.

Long before he became a king, David thought like a king.  He fought like a king and led like a king and carried himself like a king.  Why?  Because he was arrogant?  No!  Because he was anointed!  When we believe the anointing and do not allow anyone’s opinions to contradict the leading of God, we can do great things for Him just as David did.  Today, God is calling you and me to live in His anointing and be part of the deliverance of His Chosen People from destruction.

“But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.”
—Psalm 92:10

Why the Ambassador Institute Matters so Much

We are running full speed ahead with the launch of the Ambassador Institute as our answer to the increasing threats facing Israel.  God has called us to raise up, train, equip, and motivate thousands of leaders in the fight for Israel’s future.  We are going to bring together a great host of Believers across the globe to stand in the gap for Israel and the Jewish people.

That is what the Ambassador Institute is all about.  I have been standing for Israel and calling Believers together for this great cause for decades.  Often, I have been the only Christian minister at gatherings of world leaders who was willing to take a stand for the Jewish people and Bible prophecy.  The threats are great, and they are growing.

God has spoken to my heart that one ambassador is not enough.  There must be thousands of ambassadors in every country who support the nation of Israel.  The Ambassador Institute will find, enlist, instruct, equip, and inspire these future leaders.  We will train them in what they need to know, and we will anoint them to carry the work of leading the fight for the sake of God’s Chosen People.

God has blessed us greatly by making it possible for us to purchase the buildings that will be home to this wonderful new outreach.  We are working on developing the content and delivery systems that will bring the Ambassador Institute to life.  All of this is taking place even as we continue to reach out in Christian love to meet the needs of poor Holocaust survivors and Jewish orphans and stand with and for the Jewish people.  This is the most vital cause of our day.  This is God’s calling on our lives.  We must not fail to hear and answer.

“For Such a Time as This”

Everything we are doing together through the Jerusalem Prayer Team is for the fulfillment of prophecy.  Right now, the battle of the ages between light and darkness is being waged before our eyes.  The battle over Israel’s future is a spiritual battle.  It is a conflict between good and evil that has been fought through the centuries of human history.  Today, it is our turn to join this fight.
We are not observers!  We are participants…and the only way this battle can be won is if God’s people hear His call and make the choice to stand in the gap and defend God’s Chosen People from destruction.

If we do not say “Hineni” now, it will soon be too late.

Don’t think for a second that what is happening and the coordinated attacks against Israel right now are a coincidence.  Demonic spirits are at work.  We are not fighting against flesh and blood.  The only hope for the future is if we respond in the spirit realm in faith and obedience.  Do you believe in God’s call for your life today?  Do you believe that we are called to anoint thousands of Davids who will lead the fight in coming days?  Will you say “Hineni” today?