“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55: 6-7

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Yahweh is Not a Puppet on a String

A few years ago, while Katie and I were in Israel, our Israeli daughter, Noam, took the bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to spend a Monday with us. We took her to the City of David for 2 tours — one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Early in the morning, we met Noam at the central bus station on Jaffa Street and walked to our hotel on King George Street. Along the way, I told Noam that we would see the pope in the city of David.

While we were in Israel that year, Pope Francis visited Jerusalem. We planned our trip long before he announced his plans. If I had known when the pope would be in Jerusalem, I would have scheduled our trip for another time, because life in the city changes dramatically when high-ranking dignitaries arrive.

In Jerusalem, security is always tight, but it morphs into something very different when bigwigs are in town. I knew that we would have trouble getting to the City of David while the pope was in Jerusalem, because store owners in the Old City had posted signs telling people that their hours of operation would be changed while the pope was there.

Israeli security people announced that they would randomly open and close gates to the Old City on Monday, but they didn’t provide other details. They simply wanted people to know that it would not be business as usual while the pope was in town. From a security perspective, uncertainty is a must.

For Katie, Noam, and me, that presented a problem. Our tours had starting times. If we were late, we would miss them. For us, being late was not an option.

The shortest, easiest, and safest route to the City of David is through the Old City. There isn’t another good option, so on Friday before the pope arrived, I decided to visit the priest in charge of the pope’s security. His office is in the Vatican compound in the Old City. I told the priest that we needed to avoid the pope and make our tours on time. He told us how to do it. That was a big help.

I did everything I could think of to avoid the pope. Even so, I knew that we would see him, and we did see him in the City of David, just like I told Noam.

It’s a long story. I wrote about it in detail in “The Pope and Me: A True Story”. Everything in the story is true. I hope you will take the time to read it, because it’s about Yahweh performing a miracle for Noam’s benefit. Katie and I were part of it, but Yahweh was sending Noam a message. He used me to deliver it. Yahweh’s plan required split-second timing, and it involved Pope Francis and Prime Minister Netanyahu. I was amazed. So were Katie and Noam. We could not have seen the pope unless Yahweh made it happen, and that’s exactly what He did.

A few days later, Katie and I were with Noam and her father, Ishai. Yahweh told me to deliver this message to Noam:

There is an Elohim in Yisrael, and His Name is Yahweh.

As you will see when you read “The Pope and Me: A True Story”, Noam lived with Katie and me in Virginia while she was in high school. I was busy writing His Name is Yahweh the whole time she was with us. Since Hebrew is Noam’s native tongue, she was a tremendous help to me. Noam knows exactly who I am talking about when I say “Yahweh”. If you haven’t read His Name is Yahweh, you should.

When we saw the pope, I was thrilled and a little frightened. I knew that Yahweh had used me to deliver the message to Noam and that it involved a miracle. That was thrilling. I was a little frightened, because I did not want to get a big head. That’s not allowed. In fact, getting a big head is the quickest way to shut the door on future opportunities to serve Yahweh.

Yahweh is not a puppet on a string. He doesn’t dance to my tune. I dance to His tune. I am not special. Yahweh is. He could have delivered that message to Noam through anyone or anything. He delivered a message to Balaam through a donkey. He chose me to deliver the message to Noam, and He set the stage for the miracle many years earlier in Virginia. I was simply the conduit through which Yahweh performed a miracle.

Being human, it’s easy for me to think I am special, because Yahweh allowed me to announce a miracle in advance. He even allowed me to try to make it impossible for Him to perform the miracle in much the same way that Elijah did when he told people to douse wood on the altar with water before Yahweh sent down fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice. (See 1 Kings 18: 20-40.) There was no stopping Yahweh from getting His message through to Noam.

I don’t know what Yahweh has in store for Noam, but I know that it’s something special. I know some of the things He has planned for me. They are special, too. If I want to do the things that Yahweh has planned for me, I have to avoid getting a big head. This thought has to be front and center in my mind all the time:

It’s Yahweh, not me.

I am just an instrument in Yahweh’s hands. If I forget that, He will use someone else.

I have known people who got a big head because Yahweh used them. As quickly as they did, He moved on to someone else.

Actually, I know that I will complete my mission. Yahweh told me that I would, and He doesn’t make mistakes. No one and nothing can snatch me out of His hands, not even me.

I’m just stating a fact. It’s not my strength that will get it done. It’s Yahweh’s strength. With each passing day, I become more aware of the reality that Yahweh is in complete control of everything, including me. All I have to do is have faith in Him and follow the leading of His Spirit. For a stubborn person like me, sometimes that is difficult, but with Yahweh, all things are possible.

I want to give a shout-out and a big thank you to my daughter, Melanie. She is responsible for arranging Noam’s visit with Katie and me in Virginia. When you read “The Pope and Me: A True Story”, you will understand why I call Noam my Israeli daughter.

Yahweh has something special in store for Melanie, too. I don’t know what it is, but Yahweh does. The same is true for Rebekah, Ted, and Winter. Yahweh is going to use them. When it’s time, they will be ready.

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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

John 10: 14-18

See “His Name is Yahweh”.