The Obama administration has dropped demands for a Jewish construction freeze in eastern Jerusalem, according to a report filed by Ha’aretz on Thursday. The news comes as a result of a meeting held this week in London between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

While rejecting a total freeze in settlements and stressing the need to guarantee “normal life” for Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, Netanyahu proposed a nine month halt to settlement construction in the West Bank. Besides Jerusalem, the agreement would also exclude about 2,500 Jewish homes in disputed territories already under construction.

Netanyahu is reportedly seeking an ‘exit strategy’ in the form of a guarantee from the U.S. not to protest a continuation of new housing starts if the Palestinian Authority and Arab states do not reciprocate the move.

Mahmoud Abbas demanded a total freeze in settlement activity, including in Jerusalem, before resuming peace negotiations with Israel. Abbas is reportedly now willing to meet informally with Netanyahu on the sidelines at next month’s United Nations General Assembly.

[International Christian Embassy Jerusalem; ]

Pnina Pie is a successful baker in Tel Aviv, Israel. But when authorities discovered she is also a Messianic Jew, they revoked her kosher license, told other Jews to boycott her bakery and started a campaign to close down her establishment. Pnina took her case all the way to Israel’s Supreme Court and won. But that’s not the end of the story. To learn why Pnina and others like her suffer for their faith, click below to watch the video.

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Do you treat God like your “holy hobby,” someone you spend time with on the weekends, but you don’t know Him intimately? Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, challenges believers to develop a life-long obsession with the Father in her new book The Magnificent Obsession. She says our relationship with God is rooted in love not religion, but we must be willing to follow the Creator of the universe wholeheartedly. To listen to the new SpiritLed Woman eMagazine podcast with Anne Graham Lotz, click below.

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The Sea of Galilee is one of the most popular tourists spots in Israel. This historic body of water is home to 27 species of fish, but in biblical times, Yeshua stood on its shores—and sometimes on the sea—and performed many miracles. He saw Peter and Andrew casting their net into the water and said, “‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men'” (Matt. 4:19, NKJV); He walked on water (see Matt. 14:22-33), and fed more than 5,000 people with five fish and two loaves of bread (see Matt. 14:13-21). To learn how to cast your net in this ancient sea, click below to watch the video.

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Several years ago my friend mustered up the confidence to tell me about her struggle with lust. Even though she wasn’t dating anyone, she was afraid her fixation would eventually seduce her into having premarital sex.

Thinking about her problem made me want to blog about premarital sex, a topic I believe the church often shuns. But why? Christian singles have sex or want to have sex too. And though the Bible prohibits such behavior, that hasn’t stopped believers from going too far.

Sadly, some Christian singles behave as if there are no consequences to sex outside of marriage—but there are. Dr. Freda McKissic Bush, a Christian, a board-certified OB-GYN and co-author of Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex Is Affecting Our Children, says premarital sex and extramarital affairs can unleash a host of psychological and emotional problems in a person’s life.

Dr. Bush says hormones are released in the body that “knit” couples together and “complement the biblical vision of two becoming one flesh.” In females, she says, oxytocin is released in the brain when a woman experiences “meaningful touching.” And in men, vasopressin is released when a man experiences meaningful touching.

But Dr. Bush says dopamine, the other brain hormone, also “rewards” the body. “The God-given gift of sex is exciting and when the bonding act of love is rewarded with dopamine, we become ‘hooked,’ even addicted, to this bonding activity with our mate. Within the confines of marriage this is healthy and in accordance with God’s intent.

“When an individual begins to search for extramarital opportunities to satisfy their natural desire for a dopamine fix, the consequences include a chemical bond that literally addicts that person to sin.”

Are you addicted to sin? My friend was, but she confessed her problem and got counseling. With all the scandals happening in the church today, we can no longer afford to keep quiet about sexual issues. Let’s start talking about it now.

Former Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said it is “virtually unrealistic” for a Palestinian state to be placed “in the middle of the Jewish homeland” and that Israel should be able to build settlements where it wants, according to the Associated Press (AP).

While on a three-day tour of Israel this week, the former Arkansas governor and one-time Southern Baptist pastor told reporters on Tuesday that the international community should consider establishing a Palestinian state elsewhere.

“The question is should the Palestinians have a place to call their own? Yes, I have no problem with that,” Huckabee said. “Should it be in the middle of the Jewish homeland? That’s what I think has to be honestly assessed as virtually unrealistic.”

Huckabee’s view puts him at odds with President Obama, who has called for a freeze on Israeli settlement activity on lands the Palestinians claim. To a lesser degree, he also veers from conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has expressed support for some form of demilitarized Palestinian state.

In a posting on his blog, Huckabee said he was “amazed” that some would justify a policy that “would force Jewish settlers to not live in some areas of their own nation.”

“I can only imagine what an American would say if someone suggested that Baptists wouldn’t be allowed to live in some neighborhoods, while Catholics would be banned in others,” he added.

Huckabee, who is viewed as a possible 2012 presidential candidate, was being hosted by the Jerusalem Reclamation Project, which seeks to block efforts to divide Jerusalem as part of any peace deals. The trip was to end Wednesday.

Huckabee plans another trip to Israel in February with Mat Staver, founder of the Christian legal group Liberty Counsel.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our struggles are not with other human beings but with the devil and his demons. Satan, the enemy of our souls, attempts to defeat us with strategy and deceit through well-laid plans and deception.

But the devil is a liar. Jesus called him “the father of lies and of all that is false” (John 8:44, The Amplified Bible). He tells us things about ourselves, people and circumstances that are just not true. He does not, however, tell us the entire lie all at once.

He begins by bombarding our minds with a cleverly devised pattern of little nagging thoughts, suspicions, doubts, wonderings, reasoning and theories. He moves slowly and cautiously. He has a strategy for his warfare-he has studied us for a long time.

He knows what we like and don’t like. He knows our insecurities, weaknesses and fears. He is willing to invest any amount of time it takes to defeat us.

Through careful strategy and cunning deceit, Satan attempts to set up “strongholds” in our minds. A stronghold is an area in which we are held in bondage (in prison) due to a certain way of thinking (see 2 Cor. 10:4-5).

The apostle Paul tells us in these verses we have the weapons we need to overcome Satan’s strongholds and that we are engaged in spiritual warfare. Verse 5 shows clearly where the war is waged. The Amplified Bible translation of this verse says that we are to “refute arguments” with these weapons. The devil argues with us, offering theories and reasoning. All this activity goes on in the mind-the true battlefield.

One weapon is God’s Word received through preaching, teaching, reading and private Bible study. But we must continue in the Word until it becomes revelation given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Continuing is important.

Jesus said, “The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you” (Mark 4:24). We must continue using the weapon of the Word.

Praise and prayer are other available spiritual weapons. Praise defeats the devil faster and more efficiently than any other battle plan, but it must be genuine heart-praise, not just lip service or a method being tried to see if it works. Also, praise and prayer involve the Word. We praise God according to His Word and His goodness.

Prayer is relationship with the Godhead. It is asking for help or talking with God about something that bothers us.

To have an effective prayer life, we must develop a good personal relationship with the Father. Know that He loves you, that He is full of mercy, that He will help you. Get to know Jesus. He is your friend. He died for you. Get to know the Holy Spirit. He is with you all the time as your Helper. Let Him help you.

Learn to fill your prayers with the Word of God. Even Jesus used the weapon of the Word in the wilderness to defeat Satan (see Luke 4:1-13). Each time the devil lied to Jesus, He responded with, “It is written,” and quoted the Word to him. The truth is always revealed through the Word.

Unfortunately, people don’t always accept it. It is a painful process to face our faults and deal with them. Generally speaking, people justify misbehavior. They allow their past and how they were raised to negatively affect the rest of their lives.

Our pasts may explain why we’re suffering, but we must not use it as an excuse to stay in bondage. Jesus will walk us across the finish line to victory in any area if we are willing to go all the way through it with Him.

Satan knows well that if he can control our thoughts, he can control our actions. If you have any major strongholds in your life that need to be broken, let me encourage you by saying, “God is on your side.”

There is a war going on, and your mind is the battlefield. But the good news is that God is fighting on your side.

Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers. She has written more than 70 books, including the popular Beauty for Ashes and Battlefield of the Mind and I Dare You (all FaithWords). She is also the founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc. and the host of “Enjoying Everyday Life” radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide.

Are you expecting God to use you to do marketplace ministry, reach wayward teens or whatever else He’s called you to? If not, you should be. He wants to reveal Himself in unprecedented ways and empower you for purpose, but unbelief can keep you bound to a life of mediocrity.

We look at women such as renowned Bible teachers Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer or a powerful preacher like Cindy Trimm and think God will never use us like that. So instead of acting on what He has said, we retreat to our comfort zones, never to pursue our spiritual calling. I know this because I’ve experienced it.

I attend a Pentecostal church and for years I struggled with not being able to minister like some of the women in my denomination. The rhythm and cadence in black preaching is an art form, and I wasn’t endowed with the ability to rev up a crowd. God instead told me to “power teach.” That’s when the Holy Spirit anoints you to speak the Word with confidence, but without pressure to stir a crowd into an emotional high. What a relief.

I traded my insecurity for ministry and today God empowers me to teach with authority. It’s a humbling place to be, relying on the Holy Spirit when I’m standing before a congregation or witnessing to someone in private. But I trust Him.

The reality is when we believe God and act on His instructions, He will show up and convict sinners of sin, baptize them with His Spirit, heal, deliver—whatever He wants to do. It’s actually not about you or me; it’s about Him. But unbelief and depending on self can destroy our effectiveness.

Acts 2:18 says God will pour out His Spirit on women who love and serve Him, and He will equip us for purpose. We don’t have to make things happen, but we must be willing to come out of hiding and obey His leading.

I hope you are expecting the Father to breathe afresh on your ministry, whether that means preaching to the masses or reaching neighborhood children. He wants to use you to do His bidding in the earth, but it’s going to take faith, not complacency or doubt, to walk with Him in this new season.

Valerie G. Lowe is the editor of SpiritLed Woman eMagazine and associate editor of Charisma.

The Menorah is a seven-branched candelabrum used in ancient synagogues long before the birth of Jesus. It is a symbol of Judaism and remains an emblem of the nation of Israel today. To learn more about the Menorah and the Star of David, click below to watch the video.

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Marriage is a covenant created by God, but today half of all Christian couples end up in divorce court. The success of the family depends on the health of a marriage, and husbands and wives must work hard to preserve the bond.

J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine and author of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, talks candidly about the challenges couples face in the new SpiritLed Woman eMagazine podcast. He says husbands hold the key to strong, loving relationships. Click below to listen now.

Valerie G. Lowe and J. Lee Grady

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