I have always had a great love and really just an interest in the Jewish people and culture. And the Holocaust has always been a topic of particular interest for me. I remember writing my first report on it in the 5th grade and reading The Diary of Anne Frank around the same time. For me as a young girl, it was as if I had befriended sweet Anne and had then lost her to this frightening war through the pages of the book. From then on, I became nearly obsessed with immersing myself in this period of history, and in doing so, falling more and more in love with this precious people of the Lord's. To this day, certain particularly powerful books such as Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place and Elie Wiesel's Night have played a central role in solidifying that passion of mine and tying me that much tighter to the Jewish people.
Over the years, as I have studied the history of these people from the time of Abraham in the pages of the Bible to the Holocaust and even to today, and as I have grown simultaneously in my walk with the Lord, I have come to realize and acknowledge this impermeable truth:
To love God is to love the Jews.And as I watched this documentary today, I was reminded yet again of the responsibility, the calling and the need of the church to stand by Israel as much today as ever. Germany had Adolf Hitler. And today, Iran has Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Hitler wiped out 6 million Jews. If Ahmadinejad has his way, he will far exceed that number, not to mention what he hopes to do to the United States, a nation he refers to openly as the Great Satan.
Though not expecting it, this movie, which was focused on World War II and the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer to stand against Hitler, stood out for me today as an eerily accurate description of the kind of revival and revolt that needs to occur today in this country. I just started reading Joel Rosenberg's new non-fiction book Implosion this week, and I could not have chosen a more perfect pairing for it than this movie.
After watching the movie, I recorded this prayer in my private journal and feel that a part of it must be shared with you here. I pray that it would become your prayer as well:
Lord, we need a revolution in this country as much today, if not more, as we did in the days of Hitler. We need a return to You and to Your ways. We need to be awakened to the dangers facing Israel yet again today and we need to stand firmly with her as you have commanded us to do. (Genesis 12:3, Genesis 27:29)
Lord, please effect a revival in this country. Please wake up the sleeping church. So many Christians are just barely getting by in their walks with you, much less thriving.
Lord, please light a fire in the hearts of every true believer in this country, to get up, to take their marching orders seriously, to be bold in their calling...
Lord, let the church wake up and GO and tell the lost about you! (Romans 10:14-17)
Lord, please ignite a new fire in the homes of true believers everywhere, that they might not be satisfied with "good enough", but that they might be voraciously hungry for true repentance and revival within their own homes.
Lord, may you call our little ones to you at the earliest possible age, that they may never be far from you. And may you strengthen and fortify our marriages, that Satan may never have even the slightest foothold on this sacred and irreplaceably key element to the survival of our society.
Jesus, call your church back to you. Oh, Holy Spirit, move in this country. Jesus, prepare your church for your imminent return! Get us ready to meet you in the air. You are coming back, Lord, and you are coming soon! (John 14:2,3)
Maranatha! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen!
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