Week of August 6, 2024

Israeli Olympians have been on a winning streak in Paris—winning three medals all in one day. Tom Reuveny’s win on Saturday in men’s windsurfing secured Israel’s fourth-ever gold. Also on Saturday, Sharon Kantor won silver in the women’s windsurfing final, and Artem Dolgopyat won silver at the artistic gymnastics men’s floor exercise final.

The Israeli Olympic team earned their other three medals in judo, one of Israel’s top sports. Raz Hershko and Inbar Lanir took medals (silver and bronze respectively) in women’s judo, and Peter Paltchik took bronze in men’s judo. Reuveny, whose brother has been fighting in Gaza since October 7, said:

I hope that I made everyone proud . . . I’m glad I did it especially during this difficult time for our people. . . . So many soldiers have sacrificed their lives for the country, I knew that the only thing I could do, that I could give back to the country was to hear the anthem being played. There are still hostages in Gaza and it was difficult training when the whole country is burning. . . . thank you to all the soldiers and all of the heroes who lost their lives. They are the real heroes.

Offer a thanksgiving prayer to the Lord for these historic and encouraging victories for Israel during the Olympics. Please pray for the Israeli team’s safety as they receive ongoing threats in Paris. Pray for the soldiers and hostages they seek to honor.

On Sunday morning, a Palestinian terrorist went on a full-fledged stabbing spree in Holon, a borough of Tel Aviv, on Sunday morning. The terrorist’s victims were a twenty-six-year-old young man walking his dog, a husband and wife in their sixties walking together in the park, and an almost-eighty-year-old man waiting for a bus in a parking lot down the road. Emergency paramedics at the attack site pronounced the sixty-six-year-old wife dead. The elderly man succumbed to his serious injuries and died at the hospital. Emergency services transported the husband to the hospital in critical condition, and the young man was also hospitalized.

Holon police neutralized the terrorist, who shouted and ran toward the officer. Locals from his West Bank Palestinian town say he completed drug rehabilitation and was in prison several times. He apparently entered Israel without a permit. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We will hold accountable anyone who cooperated with the terrorist.” An investigation is underway.

Pray for the families of those who were injured or killed last week, for the injured, and for people across Israel to seek and find the One who gives life now and for eternity.

Last Wednesday, a sophisticated, remote-controlled bomb killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a prominent Tehran guesthouse run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to sources, Israeli intelligence personnel hired IRGC agents to smuggle and plant the bomb over two months ago, and carefully monitored the status to only detonate it when Haniyeh was present. The explosion was precisely planned to eliminate Haniyeh—the chief Hamas leader responsible for the October 7 massacre.

The strike in Tehran came hours after another precisely targeted strike in Beirut, which killed Hezbollah’s militant senior commander Fuad Shukr. Israeli officials eliminated Shukr—who was also wanted by the United States—because he was responsible for the Hezbollah rocket strike, which killed twelve children in the Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams the previous Saturday. This meticulous precision shows the Israeli goal is not mass obliteration but strategic elimination. However, Iranian and Hezbollah officials have vowed to retaliate.

Please pray! Israel anticipates a full-scale Iranian attack any day, similar to the 300+ missiles and attack drones they launched in April, possibly even a simultaneous multi-front attack combined with other forces. Pray for supernatural protection for the people of Israel, for wisdom for leaders who make decisions about the war, and for strategic, precise, and effective Israeli military action.

Teaching Bible studies is both a humbling responsibility and a privilege for which our staff is thankful. The reward is seeing the participants’ hunger and appreciation as they grow in their walks with the Lord and in Scripture literacy.

One lady recently questioned the exclusive nature of salvation through Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) alone. Behind her question was the underlying emotional pain of losing unbelieving loved ones. Our staff paused discussing the passage and spent twenty minutes addressing her question. Our staff was thankful she felt comfortable bringing it up and for all who were present.

Submitting one’s feelings to Scripture is sometimes a hard but necessary process. Hopefully the woman understood and accepted this. These questions are a reminder of how dependent our staff are on God’s grace and wisdom as they seek to respond graciously with salt-seasoned words to sensitive subjects, while conveying the uncompromising truth and transcendence of God’s Word.

Please pray for God’s continued grace for all our staff as they teach and cling to Scripture’s solid truths. Especially in the middle of this world with its ever-shifting definitions of right and wrong, and the changes, struggles, and uncertainties we all face, we need to know the goodness of God’s unchanging nature. Only in His matchless care and unfathomable knowledge can we rest with peace which passes understanding!