A Five Minute "History" of Christmas...

The Amazing History of Christmas~How Many of These Customs Did You Know About?

We Begin Our Christmas Music Countdown~Enjoy!

A Beautiful Assyrian Christmas Song~Al Bethelkhm Werwale by Suaad Elias

Renewal: A Short Video Message from Jay

In journalism one always strives to make the complex simple. 

Certainly the prophet Ezekiel succeeded in summarizing a long and complex history of the Jewish People in Chapter 36 of the book named after him.

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh

and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes,
and you will keep My judgments and do them...Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NKJV) 

I suggest for those of you who are interested to take time to read the entire chapter 36 of Ezekiel.

Last week a group of 250 Ukrainians made Aliyah to Israel! When they landed at Ben Gurion Airport, Jay and Daniel were there to greet them. They filmed the excitement of the new citizens and were able to speak to some and get their first impressions of their new home. Daniel has been working on the film and it will be up for viewing in a few days.

Meanwhile, Here is Jay's message...

A Short Message from Jay and Meridel...

An Update to Our Partners and Friends

Shalom and warm greetings from Jerusalem!

One of the greatest privileges of living in Israel for the last fifty years has been to watch and be part of the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy. Nearly all of the hundred and fifty documentaries and literally hundreds of TV Talk Show segments that we have produced during these five decades have in various ways shown the Bible to be coming true today. As someone once said, Israel is the greatest audio-visual aid to the Bible. Daily, it shows the words of the prophets coming to pass. What a privilege it has been to be involved in this modern day miracle. 

All of our productions, newsletters, books, booklets, power points and lectures have aimed at showing this miracle to a world wide audience. Thank God our partners have seen the value of our work. Today we are standing at a crossroads. Nearly all of our faithful partners have retired, or have gone on to their heavenly reward. This means that our income has fallen off very sharply.

We do not want to continually ask for help. It seems that with our current cash flow crisis we should consider closing down our ministry. This is a hard decision because Jerusalem Vistas / Israel Vision has served a very noble cause, being at the right time, in the right place, saying the right thing.

Meridel and I and our sons and team are praying to know the wisdom of God in all of this. Would you please pray to see what the Lord says to you about helping us. Even if we close our doors we need a large amount of money to pay ongoing bills, approximately $100,000. We are trusting the Lord to Help us over this hump or to make the decision to close down our ministry.

We are not sad because Jerusalem Vistas / Israel Vision has accomplished its goal over these many years by educating a huge audience of Christian Zionists. They have continued to help Israel in countless ways. So we look forward to your prayers concerning these issues. Thank you...

In His Love,

Jay and Meridel

Germans Are Not In Agreement About Immigration...

The Truth~Thirty Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Some Germans Want a New Wall!

Why Israel Can't Withdraw to Her Pre-1967 Borders

If Israel Were To Withdraw It Would Be A Disaster! Please Watch and Listen to The Facts!

The Borderline Bar and Grill: A Tale of Men and Masculinity

A Story We Should All Take to Heart~An Example to Our Boys Who Will Soon Be Men...

Double Honour

Jay on Path to Eastern Gate of Jerusalem's "Old City"

Dear Friends:

Today I received this email from our dear Canadian friends, Ralph Rutledge and his sister Norma Jean Mainse. David Mainse, of blessed memory, founded and hosted 100 Huntley Street, Canada’s nationwide Christian TV network. David was a great friend of Israel and of ours. Meridel and I have followed David’s anointed daily blog 100 Words.  

Now, since David’s graduation to Heaven last year his son, Ron Mainse continues to send out his Dad’s blog at the request of many. 

Meridel, Jay and son David~1969

We first met David on a Saturday morning in Sept 1969. Norma Jean served us coffee at their kitchen table, while Ron and Ren pranced through the house, slamming the screen door as young teens do! Maybe they thought we were cool because of our Corvette parked in their drive way. Jay and I had recently been shown the left foot of fellowship by well meaning Pastors, when we prayed for their young people to receive the Baptism of the Holy spirit. Hurt, but not deterred; reading the Friday paper, Jay said, “I have to find someone I can speak with.” That was how he found the Rev. David, Mainse, who hosted at 15 minute TV show in Hamilton Ontario at the time.  

We told him of our rather unusual call to ‘sell everything and go to Israel.’ David listened intently and later challenged his entire church to pray that we would sell the Corvette Sting Ray in order to be debt free.

Our departure date for Israel was October 20th 1969. David said very carefully looking directly into our eyes: “I do NOT understand your call, but I know this, you are both called by God!”  

“My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me.

And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand:

I and my Father are one”...John 10:27-30 

As David mentions in his article below, he and Norma Jean were our pastors in 1969 when the Lord called us to leave Canada and to do two things. First He said to Meridel, “If you love Me, Love My People,” and secondly He said to me,

"Declare among the nations; Proclaim, and set up a standard;

Publish~do not conceal it”... Jeremiah 50;2a 

So with these brief instructions we gave away our belongings and began a lifetime of blessing Israel. We first began to ‘fish’ for the Jewish people by visiting the heads of Jewish Communities around the globe, 120 nations and seven years later, we made Israel our home. No Jewish soul ever turned us away. The solemn message is even MORE relative today than it was back then:

“Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall fish them:

and afterward I will send for many hunters and they shall hunt them from every mountain

and every hill and out of the holes of the rocks”...Jeremiah 16:16 

Dear David Mainse did not elaborate…since that photo was taken (see above), both Jay and I completed our earned doctorates: his in history and mine in psychology. We are citizens of Israel and very much at home with our Jewish heritage, which we knew nothing of prior to coming to Israel.

Left to Right~Chris, Daniel, David & Josh Rawlings

Over the last forty years, Jay and team have produced 150 documentaries  on the unfolding of Israel’s Biblical, natural and prophetic history with our son David working along side of us for twenty years. 

Because we were are no longer able to support him financially he has taken a position at Media Line in Jerusalem. 

Chris is a Product Designer and team leader working in Finland as a design specialist at Digitalist a company that creates digital solutions & innovations for companies such as Samsung, Intel, Nokia, Time Warner and more. 

Josh is also a web designer working for high tech start ups in Israel and New York.

Daniel is our cameraman/editor for Jerusalem Vistas. This spring and summer he has been miraculously healed of inflammation of the brain. Thank God! All of our men contribute their expertise to the work. Amen!

October 20th will begin our 50th anniversary from the day we left Canada for Israel. We will be rejoicing greatly with Jerusalem and with all who love her! Now we will see what the LORD will do with our sons!

You might remember Meridel's first books; Fishers and Hunters, then; Honour Thy Father???  

Together Jay and I (Meridel) wrote: Love My People~Volume 1 Timeless Secrets. 

Jay and Meridel in Greece

I have been blessed to counsel privately and present seminars with instructive workbooks for survivors and educators who attend my seminars on sexual abuse.  We are in the process of publishing my latest work: Healing the Indelible Stain.

Jay and I are presently building a summer home in Greece, a place of rest and recreation for our tribe. 

Seven of us live in Europe and seven of us live in Israel. We delight in hand picked encounters day by day as we go about the business of the Master in this new outreach for the Lord!

Jay’s favourite scripture is:

"Love, never fails!”...1 Corinthians 13:8

With love and thanksgiving, 

The Rawlings Family

UN Human Rights Chief Called Out for Coddling Terrorists

Unending Bias Against Israel~Failure to Criticize Terrorists~What Does UN Stand For?

Jay's Live Stream for Tisha B'Av

Sorry We Are Late Putting This Up~Technical Difficulties~Enjoy!