Shalom from the Galilee! It is wonderful to write you from the very place that Jesus taught. I’m a biblical archaeologist who came to know Jesus supernaturally and Revive asked me to write a monthly blog. My husband and I lived in the Netherlands many years, and God called us back to Israel two years ago. We are now living in the beautiful Galilee, where Jesus did many miracles and brought hope into a fallen world. I pray this blog will inspire you and plant hope in your hearts.
We are living in perilous times.… We just got out of the pandemic and are now hearing rumors of wars and financial difficulties. We hear about earthquakes, heatwaves, and tidal waves of sin going across the world. In the midst of it all, some prophets are calling for revival, and others are prophesying judgement, and telling the world to repent… What do we need to do? Will there be revival or judgement? Should we repent or have hope in the last great harvest?
Yesterday, someone told me we need to stop giving the world hope, because Gods judgment is coming. I was shocked. He said only then will people will become desperate and fall on their knees and repent. Indeed, most people callout to Jesus only after they have lost all their pride and hope is gone. We call out to Him, when we are desperate. That certainly happened to me. As an archaeologist I had denied Him for thirty years. But then, I was attacked by darkness and came into a situation that I could never come out of myself. I called out to Him, repented andby His grace He saved me. At the time I didn’t know there was hope, but thankfully there were people around me who knew, and they told me about Jesus. Their hope helped me to repent.
So should we stop giving hope to bring people to repentance?Absolutely NOT! Jesus did the opposite. In a world that was lost, He brought hope by showing people the way to God and He told His disciples to do thatas well. When Jesus walked these beautiful Galilean hills, He called people to “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). This was a message of both repentance and hope at the same time. He first told them to repent and then He gave them hope for the Glory of God was about to come upon them.
In the Old Testament we also read that God promised that if people will turn to Him, he will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). Isaiah prophesied judgement, but he also gave the people hope by telling them about the Messiah (Isaiah 53, 66). In the New Testament, Peter also prophesied repentance and hope at the same time. In Acts 3:19-20 he says:“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you…”
After Jesus miraculously saved me, I had a dream and saw His hand come out of the sky towards me and He said: “Go! Plant hope in the hearts of men.” It was so beautiful because my husband works with plants and we were called to plant seeds of hope in people’s hearts. What does it mean to plant hope?It means when the world is a disaster, and all hope is lost, weshould go out and tell people there is still hope, because Jesus already defeated death. He broke through the impossible and made it possible. This was His commission to sow seeds of hope in this fallen world. Especially now when it becomes harder to see the light.That means that even when we see a looming financial crisis, or a threatening war.. There is still hope…Because Jesus is alive and defeated the devil and He already has the victory!
Here in Israel, we are in the season of the Biblical fall feasts, which reveal a pattern for repentance and revival, judgement and hope. The Feast of Trumpets calls us to wake up because the King of Glory is coming, and Yom Kippur represents God’s judgement. During this time we fast and pray for 40 days and repent deeply. Repentance in Hebrew is “Teshuva” meaning to return to the Lord with our whole heart. “Come back to me with all your heart with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning – and rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love…” (Joel 2:13). Real teshuva (repentance) involves the deepest depths of our hearts and we receive forgiveness through the blood of Jesus, that cleanses us and restores us to the Father. Afterwards, comes the seventh Biblical feast: The Feast of Tabernacles. Itsymbolizes the greatest revival ever and the last harvest. Biblically, repentance comes before the great revival. So let’s prepare our hearts today. Because we have great hope! The King of Glory is coming.
I challenge you… Plant hope in people’s hearts and let them know God is real. When I was desperate and without hope, I was thankful that there were people who had the courage to tell me about Jesus and that there was a way out of the darkness into the light. The world needs to know there is hope, now more than ever.So tell people that Jesus is the hope in this world and that the enemy has already lost! As a believer in Jesus you carry His hope in you,so don’t be afraid to pass it on to others. How will they know that there is hope if you don’t tell them? No matter what happens in this world, or which crisis people are facing,let people know that there is hope because Jesus rose from the dead and is alive today and He loves them.
Jennifer Guetta
Jennifer Guetta is a writer, speaker and biblical archaeologist who had a supernatural encounter with Jesus. In her book “Awestruck by Glory” she tells her incredible testimony. She founded Plant Hope Israel and speaks throughout the world to glorify her savior. www.awestruckbyglory.com, www.planthopeisrael.com
