Shuttering the Past and Moving Forward in Love: Part 2

Communion reminds us of the Father's great love in sending His Son and of our union with Christ as members of His body. From that place of remembrance and union, the discussion turned toward how we are to walk forward together—leaving the past behind, pursuing holiness, listening to the Holy Spirit, and reflecting the love of Christ in how we live and respond to one another.

Our emphasis here is not to repeat the meaning of Communion, but on living out what Communion represents. If we are united with Christ and are members of one body, then what we do matters—not only individually, but to the family as a whole. The call is therefore to move forward in holiness, obedience, kindness, and love.

From this foundation of union, holiness, obedience, and love, the conversation moved into the new season before us—what it means to shutter the past and move forward into what God is revealing.

We were honored to have Rabbi Bob Wolf with us. Bob described a life shaped by both his Jewish heritage and a Spirit-filled Christian influence. He grew up with wonderful Jewish parents and was also raised by a nanny, who he referred to as simply Amanda, a Spirit-filled believer who modeled a life of faith before him. Bob described his childhood as an environment where his Jewish roots and the life of the Spirit were present together. “I grew up as in this one new man environment that I was dropped into, to prepare me.”

On a business trip to East Los Angeles, Bob found himself in an old motel that felt completely out of place to him. He turned on the television and encountered an evangelist whose identity he did not know. Feeling that he was way over his head and needed help, he got on his knees and reached out to Jesus. This became the beginning of his personal encounter with the Lord.

Bob also reflected on the influence his nanny had on his life. She left that decision to the Lord while continuing to model the life of faith before him.

Bob later came under the ministry and church of Jack Hayford, where he said he realized his Jewishness in a new way. He described his ministry as reaching internationally, including work connected with Israel and First Nations communities.

Bob described a year and a half marked by the illness and death of his wife, Wendy, followed twelve days later by the death of his close friend Earl. He also shared about a powerful experience during the Palisades fire and how Psalm 91 became part of that experience, while Psalm 23 later became an important part of his healing and writing process.

Two months before Wendy died, Bob and Wendy were evacuated from their Malibu home during the Palisades fire. There were eight houses on their street, and the other seven were destroyed. Wendy had placed a Psalm 91 placard in the garden, and their house was left untouched even though the fire went around it. Bob said that a Jewish neighbor also believed the Psalm 91 sign had helped save their adjoining house.

Twelve days after Wendy died, Bob’s best friend Earl took his own life. Bob described the following year and a half as a difficult but deeply healing period. During that time, he spent significant time with Psalm 23 and developed a devotional in which he wrote a response to each verse of the psalm. He then included space for readers to write their own psalm, devotional, and proverb.

The discussion presented intercession as something that should be spoken aloud rather than kept only as silent thought. The group was encouraged to use the Word, the name, and the blood of Jesus as the authority represented by a badge, and to speak the Word over their circumstances and against what they believed was operating against them in the spirit realm.

The discussion then moved from the broader principle of speaking the Word in prayer to several specific examples of how the group was encouraged to apply that authority. These examples included responding to negative narratives about the nation, understanding the name, blood, and Word of Jesus as authority in prayer, and praying specifically concerning states and congressional districts discussed during the election cycle.

The teaching called the group to change the rhetoric when negative predictions about the nation were heard and to speak a different declaration rather than simply accepting the reported outcome.

“No, it will not turn out that way. The righteous will rule in this nation.”

The teaching compared the name, blood, and Word of Jesus to a police officer’s badge. Just as a badge represents authority when an officer tells a car to stop, the group was taught to speak the Word and use that authority in prayer.

The group also discussed specific competitive states and congressional battlegrounds as subjects of focused prayer during the election cycle. The transcript identified Georgia, New Hampshire, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada as the five competitive Senate states discussed. The speakers prayed concerning those races and described the desired outcome in terms of righteous leadership.

The discussion also included Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, and Minnesota as House battleground areas, with prayer directed toward those districts.

The discussion then shifted to the Ten Days of Awe and Yom Kippur. The group was encouraged to recognize this as a special season for repentance, fasting, seeking the Lord, and growing in intimacy with Him. The invitation was to ask the Lord what He wanted to reveal about each person's life and family, as well as what might need to be addressed on behalf of the nation and Israel.

The discussion also connected this season to the movement from Elul into Tishrei. During Elul, the King was described as being in the field and readily accessible. In Tishrei, the King is in His castle, and there is a protocol for approaching Him: “We enter into his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.” The change in the season was therefore presented as a reminder to approach the Lord intentionally, with thanksgiving and praise.

Yom Kippur was described as the highest holy day in the Hebrew calendar, associated with the high priest entering the Holy of Holies. The Jewish world traditionally stops its labor on this day, with fasting, seeking the Lord, and repentance. The group was encouraged not simply to treat the day as an ordinary day, but to ask the Lord personally how He wanted each person to fast and what He wanted them to pray about.

The Ten Days of Awe were presented as an open time for repentance and greater intimacy with the Lord. The group was encouraged to ask, “Lord, is there anything that you want to show me?”—including matters concerning personal life and family. The discussion also extended this invitation into identificational repentance: praying on behalf of family, the nation, and Israel. Personal repentance was acknowledged as something that should happen whenever needed, while this season was presented as a special opportunity to set aside focused time with the Lord.

The discussion then turned specifically toward prayer for Jewish friends during Yom Kippur. The group prayed that, as Jewish people search the Old Testament and the Torah during this season, Jesus would be revealed to them. The prayer asked God to open the Scriptures and remove the veil from their eyes so that they would see Jesus in those Scriptures.

These themes brought the meeting toward its closing emphasis: responding to what had been shared through prayer and moving from discussion into active participation.

The meeting concluded with a corporate prayer of activation.

Father, we thank You for Your love and for teaching us to walk in greater unity, holiness, and intimacy with You. Help us to leave the past behind and go forward rather than rehearse failure or fruitlessness. We ask You to show us what You want us to repent of and what You want us to do. We pray for our families, our nation, and Israel, and we ask that You reveal Jesus to our Jewish friends as they search the Scriptures during Yom Kippur.

Father, open the Old Testament and Torah to them and remove the veil that keeps them from hearing and seeing. Reveal the Messiah. Teach us to hear Your voice, treasure the revelation You give us, and walk it out. We thank You for Your Word, Your love, and Your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.