“I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you…” (Gen. 12:3).
As I sat down to write my weekly newsletter, I had a subject in mind to compliment what I have been teaching at OTC. My heart was gripped with a different subject, as I prayed for the right words. I was reminded this morning about how important it is to let the ministry of OTC know that blessing Israel is vital. I am going to tell you part of my personal story regarding the support of Israel.
TBN AND MINISTRY
In the month of December 1997, 10 months after my family and I moved to Nashville, TN, by invitation I attended a leader’s meeting in the auditorium at Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) at their Hendersonville, TN location. After the meeting, I was invited to come back the next week and lead the weekly meeting. Two months after that, I was asked to join the staff of Trinity Music City Church at TBN. Immediately after that, a platform was given to me to teach weekly in the facility’s conference center during the “revival.” Groups of people from all over the world would attend my meetings, which were known as the “The Karen Johnson Prophetic School of Ministry.”
The LORD in His mercy, sent a woman to one of my weekly meetings who invited me to a conference in Atlanta, Ga. One of the speakers was teaching from an “Hebraic perspective.” I had never heard anything like this and was immediately awakened to something I sensed was spectacular. After I left that conference, I was never the same. I had grown up in a neighborhood of Jewish businessmen, but the only thing I really knew about the Hebrew culture and language was from my Jewish schoolmates. I was invited into their homes where I was able to see things such as a Menorah and a dreidel. A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. These were used for children’s games at Hanukkah. I also was aware that my Jewish classmates were able to get out of school on various days throughout the year to observe the Hebrew Feasts. Many of the Jewish boys were required to attend Hebrew school after school.
On my return from the conference in Atlanta, something life changing began to happen to me. The best way I can describe my experience is that I felt as there were two rocks in a tumbler inside of me. If you know anything about rock tumbling, it is a process used to smooth and polish rocks to bring out their beauty. In the natural, it can take many weeks to get a desired shape out of the stones. When the personal process began in my life, I didn’t realize that the Spirit of the LORD was going to do a work in me to combine 2 different anointings…. The prophetic, which I had had from childhood, and the Hebraic. Many of the people who were close to me, including other ministers that were part of the TBN family, began to wonder what was going on in me. Most agreed that I seemed to be going through a struggle. This was an extremely painful season in my walk with the LORD that took quite a bit of time.
As I became aware that I was being taken into a whole new way of thinking, I began to cry out to God to send people into my life that could help me, teach me and guide me. At about that time, the LORD sent a man into my life who is considered to be one of the most respected Hebraic scholars in the world, a God fearing, Spirit filled man of God. All of this led to the critical awareness that I could not ignore Israel’s and the Jewish influence in my life, along with the study of the scriptures from their Hebrew roots.
THE FAVOR OF THE LORD AND ISRAEL
As I look back over the years since then, I see I have walked in divine favor. I attribute much of this favor to my support of Israel and His people. I have shared some of my personal story with you to bring to your attention our need to reach out through our giving. Most ministries raise money for themselves, but I want to ask you to join me in giving into a very special ministry that is caring for the elderly Holocaust survivors, the impoverished, the sick and isolated senior citizens that daily fight to survive. This ministry is called International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Last year, IFCJ provided more than 50 mobile bomb shelters to protect Jews who were caught in the crosshairs of terrorism. Over 5,000 meals were provided to those in bomb shelters during rocket fire in May, 2021. Working with THE FELLOWSHIP, over 760,000 Jewish immigrants made Aliyah, returning to Israel, their ancestral homeland. Aliyah is the immigration of Jews scattered throughout the world to life in the land of Israel. Their Isaiah 58 program is providing food, medicine, heating fuel, clothing and other essential elements to over 90,000 destitute elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union. This is part of what this great ministry is doing.
I attest that time after time I have seen the hand of the LORD move on my behalf, sometimes immediately, because I sowed into the land of Israel and His people. As recently as last week, I had to have an emergency wisdom tooth extraction. Before I left for the early appointment, the Spirit of the LORD prompted me to sow into Israel. I knew I needed to do this before I went to the appointment. What could have been a time-consuming dental process took less than 10 minutes with no complications. After everything was over, I realized in my quiet time of prayer, that the seed I had sown out of obedience had an immediate and greater reward than I could have imagined.
I very much want ALL of you to be blessed as I have been. If you sense God urging you to give, do know that you may be stretched. Your tithe, of course, goes to the house where you are fed. Giving above that is how the special blessings are born. Please do not send your donation through Olive Tree Connections. If you will go to the website of ICFJ, you will receive information on how to financially support their work, as well as start receiving educational materials and updates on what is happening in Israel. God will bless you.
To give to ICFJ go to: ifcj.org. This will lead you through various ways to give.
