Building godly marriages is so important to help build the kingdom of God, but navigating love and relationships can be a minefield! ONE FOR ISRAEL is teaching believing young adults the biblical principles of love and marriage which lead to healthy relationships and families. We recently held a conference on this subject for young Israeli believers who are serving in the army, and it was a wonderful time together.
Many said that gained a better understanding of this important topic, sharing how they felt built up and how relevant it was to their lives.
”The conference spoke and emphasized important topics and drew my attention to questions that I need to consider before entering into a relationship. I was given helpful advice about choosing a partner and encouragement that I am not alone in my faith within the army. I also saw that there are many believers worth getting to know!”
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“It was really good to learn the parallel between the relationship of marriage and our relationship with God — the qualities that two people share (loyalty and respect, sacrificial love, trust, deep true intimacy and security), and the examples in Scripture of these qualities.”
For most Israelis, the army is the first time they are living away from home, and many struggle to keep walking with the Lord in purity with all the pressures of being in the army. Most will be the only believer in their unit, and the expectations of those around them are so different to the ones laid out for us in Scripture. Yet God knows best. The team explained why God’s laws are worth following, and how they lead to healthy relationships.
“I really enjoyed the part where they broke down and explained about the world’s lies on the subject of relationships, love and marriage… They showed how exactly believing relationships bear positive fruit rather than just being full of restrictions as we tend to automatically think.”
The soldiers were also given time to ask a panel all kinds of questions, and workshops for men and women to deal with the subjects in a safe environment.
“The panel was perfect – the choice of people was excellent, very direct and honest – exactly as it should be.”
“The panel gave new perspectives on such relevant questions and doubts that we have about relationships and how to act and respond and how to deal with difficulties.”
“The girls’ workshop was amazing and gave us the opportunity to talk and be open with each other and really understand that we are all dealing with the same things and that we have each other and Jesus.”
“The boys/girls workshop was amazing and blessed mainly because we were able to ask questions upfront and receive an answer. Thank you so much for your honesty and openness. It helped a lot!”
The prickly issues around dating non-believers were tackled in a frank and open way — a real challenge for many young adults in a land where there are not so many believers. Yet the importance of following God’s word on the matter was emphasized. One of the delegates summarized what they learned about the need to trust God’s wisdom on that matter, and what it means when we don’t:
“It is essentially saying that you know better than God what is good for you and do not believe that He is faithful and knows our desires.”
Overall, the conference was an important time of great blessing!
“This was my first time attending one of these types of conferences and I must say I learned a lot.”
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“This is the most burning issue in our time of life, a super topical, important and meaningful issue for me at this age and in combination with military service it is very important to raise awareness on the topic, expose the lies of the world, and guide us on the right path to a relationship In faith.”
