Lisa McQuery, Linga Reporter

The women’s Christmas conference, which was sponsored by “Grace” organization, was held on December 6th, 2014 in Nazareth, Israel at the Church of the Nazarene.  It was not only a great success but an enjoyable and inspiring experience for all who attended.

Rose Obaid is in charge of the Mother's day celebration and training women servants of the Lord

Starting with an introduction by the head of the organization and conference, was Rose Obaid, who gave a simple yet poignant message, and a foreshadowing of what the Pastor would later touch on, regarding changes in our lives. She illustrates her inevitable point, first with the story of Hannah who begged God for a son (1 Samuel Chapter 1), every year prayed and prayed for a child. Rose highlights, that just like in Hannah’s case, sometimes we pray and pray and yet nothing seems to happen. However, if we go to God with joy and praise, we can allow something to happen. Don’t think that what we have now is all that there will be in the end - she encourages us to look to the new year. God wants us to go through difficult times. She continues by saying that we should all be praying that we can love Him more and that this coming new year can be that of glory. 

If one tells Jesus they want a good heart, He will bring His sheep good things, and He will deliver you - He will come to give you rest. 
Rose then closed her introduction by introducing the worship band who gave of themselves generously with powerful music and uplifting rhythm.

Immediately proceeding the worship music, Pastor  Endrawis Abu-ghazaleh gave a thought provoking message on the changes that we face in our lives, and the way we should respond to them appropriately. He began by touching on Isaiah 43.

The Pastor begins his message by saying that God gives us new beginnings.  He knows what’s in our hearts and knows our needs. These verses in Isaiah are for people who are actually far from God. He doesn’t give us our human wishes, He gives us spiritual water, which is what we thirst for. The Lord longs to give us new beginnings.  The Pastor cautions the listeners to not let the trials that we face in our lives bring us down. The new beginnings will challenge everything in our lives.  God is looking for people to say “Lord I will love what you give me.” When there’s a path in the wilderness, you can’t get lost - because God is our path. The story of Ruth in the Bible (Ruth Chapter 1), tells us that she is sad and bitter, but behind the scenes God is actually creating a new beginning for her.  And not just in Ruth’s case, but in all our lives, our new beginning needs faith.

He encourages us not to dwell on the past - for you cannot hold onto something new unless you let go of the past, including pain and glory - but with the power of the Lord’s Holy Spirit, we believe God can change us.   Why does God want us to let go of the past? Because we as humans, tend to put God in a box: We expect Him to do in the future what He’s done for us in the past and what He’s doing in the present. The past is limited and God is stronger than the past.  Our lives are limited on Earth, and Paul warns us to watch how we walk.

If you know God’s will, don’t waste time on the past, but rather walk with God, making it a priority. We need faith to let go of the past.  God will not tell us what our new beginning is because we need to have faith and not have expectations. We can’t put God in a box - because God is limitless. God will not tell you when the new beginning is.  This is partly due to the fact that God loves surprises.  In His love and goodness, He wants to surprise us.  A new beginning means a hope and a change. To shape our lives spiritually so that we may be like Jesus. Just like a potter and his clay, we are put into His  hand, and He shapes us spiritually. We need to give our life to Him so that He may shape it. We should be of the mindset of wanting everything around us to shape us - for the better.

Sometimes we reject Him and the shaping becomes deformed. Thee Pharisees, for example, asked Jesus why He didn’t make His disciples fast. The reason they asked him this and were confused, is because they were expecting Him to mimic the past - instead of anticipating a new beginning. The Lord wants to give us joy and singing we’ve never experienced before.  This new beginning will help us know God. He won’t give you joy due to external factors, but an internal joy - one which will help you sleep joylessly and wake up joylessly.

Prayer was held after the sermon, and those who wanted to be prayed for were asked to approach the podium. During this time the worship band continued with their performance, and those who were ready for lunch were welcomed in the lobby with refreshments, pastries and an array of salads and casseroles from which they could choose. There was also a “Secret Santa” gift exchange for all the ladies who brought gifts. Some friendly chatter capped the event outside on the warm sunny December afternoon, and in general the event was met with great success and praise by those who attended.