THE GONIF My grandparents escaped Bolshevik Russia, by floating down the Volga River on a log. They arrived here in the United States and settled in Kansas City. They had to learn English after arriving here, and I remember that my Bubbie (grandmom in Yiddish) never could speak English well. So she and my dad would converse in Yiddish. When there were subjects that they especially did not want us four kids to know of, they spoke Yiddish, and it is amazing what words a small child can learn! One of the words they used was gonif, the Yiddish word for thief. The Hebrew word for thief is ganav (gah-nahv). We read in John 10:10a: the thief comes only to steal, and to kill and to destroy. The events that have shaken our country and our world on and since September 11, 2001, were caused by our adversary, the thief who came to steal, to kill and to destroy. Our enemy, ha-satan, satan, also slanders, accuses and tries to get us to deny God. Satan is not an evil principle, a disease, an abstract power, or a being with a tail, hooves and horns. Satan is real, he knows God and converses with God (Job 1). Satan is described in Isaiah 14:12-14 - "I will make myself like El Elyon - the Most High. He was perfect in beauty (Ezekiel 28:12) he was in Eden, he was an anointed cherub of God, he was blameless in his ways. His heart was lifted up because of his beauty. God cast him from heaven (Ezekiel 28:13-19) satan opposes God, and anyone who takes a stand for God. He has demons who do some of his work, he desires to destroy, he seeks to destroy families, and any relationship, he wants us to curse God and deny Him, satan brings forth disease and sickness (Acts 10:38, I Corn 5:5, Luke 10:9,17) Satan has many names - lucifer, devil, beelzebub, belial, adversary, dragon, serpent, god of this world, prince of the power of the air, enemy, tempter, wicked one. satan has a kingdom (Mark 3:24) he controls principalities and powers in the heavenlies (Eph 6:10-12). satan deceives, he had control over death until Yeshua Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave. satan tempts us, provokes us to sin, he hinders the gospel, he can even work miracles (2 Thess 2:9), he causes our attention to be diverted as we pray, he causes weakness, he causes compromise. However, we are not powerless! We have Adonai Ts-va-ot - The LORD of armies, the LORD of Hosts on our side. God has come through for His people, the Children of Israel in times past. The list includes just from Genesis through I Samuel: Babylonians - twice Egyptians - twice Philistines - nine times Syrians Edomites - twice Canaanites - five times Amelekites - five times Amorites Bashanites Midianites - three times Jericho Ai Gibeon's armies 31 Canaanite kings Jebusites Bethel Mesopotamia Moabites - twice Zidomites Maonites Amonites - twice Zobah Geshurites Gezerites Adonai Ts'va-ot - the LORD of armies, the LORD of hosts is going to give us the victory, Have no doubt, have no fear. Have faith. God is calling us to seek Him, to pray, to focus our attention solely on Him. Turn off the talking-head newscasters, delete the talking-head prophets who scare you. READ YOUR BIBLE. Read about the past victories that Your God gained for the Children of Israel. Get in a quiet place and look back on your own life and recount what He has done for you. Yeshua HaMashiach is the same - YESTERDAY TODAY AND FOREVER. We are called to carry His light, we are His lights in this world of darkness, if not us, who will tell them Yeshua Jesus is the Only Hope? We sing a contemporary song - He's done it before, and He'll do it again. Thank You, Father, for Your ways are higher than ours, Your thoughts are higher than any of our thoughts, THANK YOU. Father, in this world of darkness, Yeshua Jesus is still the Light of the World, Or HaOlam, help us to be about Your business, sharing this truth. Oh, give us divine appointments. Hast not Thou Thyself, O God, rejected us? (of course, not!) And wilt Thou not go forth with our armies, O God? (if that is the case, of course He will) O give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain. THROUGH GOD, we shall do valiantly, and it is HE WHO WILL tread down our adversaries. (Ps.108:11-13)