Dear Mishpacha (family),
As I am writing this newsletter, I am sitting at my dinning room table on the closing of the Eighth Great Day. This concludes the feasts for this year, and now we head towards celebrating Hanukkah at the end of December. Sometimes, I feel that my life is a dream I am living out, and there are numerous events taking place around me. We just survived two hurricanes in the State of Florida; Milton being the worst hurricane to hit the Tampa Bay area in over a hundred years. I have lived in Florida since I was at least two years old, yet have never experienced a hurricane as destructive as Milton. We should be thankful that our Heavenly Father has protected us and the church. Hurricane Milton made landfall during the ten days of awe, on October 9th; it was a Wednesday night, and there were Mikvahs scheduled for that day and the following day. Well, it seems the State of Florida received both a Mikvah and a wakeup call.
In spite of the power outages, flooding, and damage caused by Milton, we were still able to come together as a community to observe Yom Kippur. I want to personally thank all of you that attended the Yom Kippur service outside on the patio next to the Fellowship Hall. We had hand washing and personally reflections for corporate forgiveness as a community. We were without power for a number of days, but what a blessing it was to have our power restored on Sunday morning around 3:30 AM. I have to say, this storm left a serious impression on me. I am happy, however, to see the community of Beit Tehila helping each other as we recover from the storm. I believe Beit Tehila is a model congregation, and will gain more influence in the days ahead.
Beit Tehila had the opportunity to dance at Christian Retreat for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, and I was asked to give a message. We had an awesome time; the atmosphere was very celebratory and spiritual. Pastor Phil Derstine invited us all to fellowship over a barbecue meal after the service. We all know our heavenly father created the original barbecue dinner, and Yeshua loved to share meals with others.
In last month’s newsletter, I shared about Yeshua’s parable regarding building your house on a strong foundation. We not only have to know the words of Yeshua, but act upon those words in obedience. Yeshua tells us to forgive others; in doing so, our house is built on a firm foundation. When we neglect to forgive, our house will be built on sand, and will not stand when the storm comes. How many people are full of unforgiveness, and don’t realize their house is built on sand? This is just one example of properly building your house on solid ground, but there are countless lessons to be learned; such as turning the other cheek or going the extra mile.
We are headed for another presidential election, so please vote biblically, and remember every vote counts. No matter the outcome, we should always be living for the Kingdom of God and hold strong to the truth that the government will one day rest on His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6).
Right now, there is a war in Israel and in the heavenlies, but we overcome the dragon with the blood of the lamb and the words of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). We need to continue praying for the hostages in Israel to be released, and for the enemies of Israel to be defeated. The administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with the IDF are literally taking out the leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah; the head of the snake is the regime of Iran, and its only a matter of time before that head is cut off. I am grateful for the Lord’s protection and provision for the whole community. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s remember to give thanks with a grateful heart.
~Pastor Nick
