August was a very full month, as they all seem to be lately. We had many international family members visiting from Israel (see FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM BELOW), lots of friends at the house and in the area, and want to welcome our third great-grandchild, Honey Ruth, who arrived on August 8th.  She’s our third “great,” but the first girl, and so aptly named – what a sweetie!!!

Our granddaughter Randi with great-granddaughter Honey Ruth (Honey with daddy Avery below)

Michael has been extremely busy with our first-ever audit of the King of Kings Ministries US entity.  It’s a positive thing and will help with our good stewardship, but very demanding and can be intense at times.  We have it on good authority (Eccl. 3) that Fall is coming, and with it, cooler weather and hopefully some much-needed rain. We are busy preparing for the Fall Feasts, and if you’re in the area, we hope you can join us as we celebrate the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) at our home.  Please let us know if you can be here.

THE FALL FEASTS ARE APPROACHING

The month prior to the Jewish new year is a time of introspection and personal stock-taking. Elul is the last month of the Jewish year and the final month prior to Rosh HaShanna, the Jewish new year. This is a month in which to spiritually prepare for the High Holiday season of reflection and repentance. As part of the Jewish Heritage, the customs associated with Elul are all intended to help cultivate the proper mindset for this preparation. You might hear the shofar being blown in your neighborhood more often than usual; this is because the best-known Elul tradition is the blowing of the shofar every weekday after morning services. As on Rosh Hashanah, the daily shofar blasts are intended to rouse us from complacency and jolt us into repentance. It is also customary to recite Psalm 22, which speaks of the assurance of God’s protection and includes a plea that God not forsake his people daily during the month of Elul. The Torah portion Re’eh, read at the beginning of the month of Elul, begins with God enjoining the Jewish people thus: “See, this day I set before you blessings and curses: blessings, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin upon you this day; and curses if you do not obey the commandments o“f the Lord your God, but turn away from the path that I enjoin upon you this day and follow other gods, whom you have not experienced.”

The first step in taking an account of one’s life is to look, to see clearly the possibilities laid out in each moment and to choose the path of blessing. The Torah portion Shoftim, which instructs the officers of the Jewish army to release from battle anyone who has built a home they have not yet inhabited, planted a vineyard they have not yet harvested, or betrothed a woman but not yet married her.  The point being that those with unfinished business, whose attention may be compromised, are a danger to themselves and others. At a time of year when we contemplate our lives and our mortality, this serves as an invitation to consider what unfinished business is tearing at our hearts.  The Torah portion Ki Teitzei continues with the laws of war and our behavior. These laws demand that rather than impulsively giving into our desires, we watch them and see what deeper truth reveals itself about our attitude and morality so that we can address them. Song of Songs is understood to be an allegory in which the lovers are God and Israel.  Elul is thus understood to be a time of recommitting to our relationship with God.  During Elul, the king comes out to the field/world and can be approached by any of his subjects/people.  The High Holy Days are a time of divine closeness, a period where connection to God may seem to come easier than at other times of the year.  As such, it is an auspicious time to do the inner work of repairing and deepening one’s relationship with God. I encourage everyone to begin to prepare to meet with the King as he invites us to meet with him in the upcoming Holy convocations.

JOIN US IN PRAYER

• Please pray with us for Michael’s continuing medical condition.  Necessary medical treatments have been resumed, but we believe the report of the Lord!
• Please pray with us for our planned upcoming ministry trip to Israel in November.
• Please pray with us for a cessation of the terror attacks against our Jewish people in Israel and against the rise in Anti-Semitism worldwide.
• Please pray with us for a righteous resolution to the issues of Judicial Reform which are currently dividing Israel.

 

JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL TABERNACLES CELEBRATION

PARTNER WITH US IN FINANCES

We are grateful to receive a partial salary from the King of Kings to help with the work of ministry, and as God opens new doors for us, we know He will supply the needed resources to enable us to minister from America to Israel and to the Nations.  May God continue to bless you as you continue blessing us and Israel. There are a few options if you are prompted to partner with us financially: If you don’t need a tax deduction, you can send funds to us via the INTERNET directly through PayPal.  Use [email protected], which is Michael’s account.  Send as a friend, and there is no cost to you or us. If you don’t need a tax deduction, you can send funds to us by check, payable to Michael Bryan.  Mail to Michael Bryan, PO Box 255, Magnolia, MS 39652. Tax-deductible donations via the INTERNET can be made through the KKCJ website, www.kkcj.org.  Engage the “Give” tab at the top of the page, select “Staff Support,” and select “Michael Bryan.” Tax-deductible donations CHECK can be made payable to “King of Kings Ministries” with a note “for Bryan family” and mailed to:

King of Kings Ministries Inc PO Box 30607 Phoenix, AZ 85046

You will receive a printed receipt and our eternal gratitude.

We want to wish you all a very Happy

& Healthy Jewish New Year 5784 and

all of God’s richest blessings, good

health, close families, and lots of ministry opportunities.

Michael & Patricia

 

AUGUST FAMILY PHOTOS

(l to r) Our son, Chad, grandson Elon (14), granddaughter Keturah (12) ,

granddaughter Ma’ayani (5), & our daughter Rebecca, visiting from Israel

(l to r) Chad, Michael, our eldest grandson Logan

our daughter Rebecca with Patricia

with dear ministry friends and co-laborers (l to r) Jim & Claudia Woodard, P & M).

(it was ‘be colorful day in Mississippi……….)

with our Taiwanese/Chinese spiritual children and grandson, (l to r) M & P,

daughter Rebecca, grandson Israel, and son Derek, visiting us from Israel, where

they live and minister

Derek (and his shofar) accompanied Michael as he ministered locally at Sweet

Home Missionary Baptist Church; our dear friend Pastor Martin Johnson

in the middle

our Grandson Avery with his daughter, our first great-granddaughter,

Honey Ruth