Departments Staff List Staff List MORNING STAR A Multimedia Christian Publication P.O. Box 7755, Nashua, NH 03060 Phone: 603-883-4624 Fax: 603-883-0466 EDITOR IN CHIEF Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH EXECUTIVE EDITOR Pastor Geoffrey Kragen - Roseville, CA SENIOR EDITORS Teresa Giordanengo - Canonsburg, PA Al Murillo III - El Paso, TX ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jerry Johnson - Modesto, CA Sharon Sanders - Jerusalem, Israel Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA Dr. Charles Wootten - Matoaca, VA CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jody Fauss - Lindale, TX Joseph A. Nigro - Oradell, NJ Jeannine Robinson - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Moishe Rosen - San Francisco, CA Clark Stephens - Huntington Beach, CA Pastor Dale Strand - Dublin, CA Rick Thrasher - Santa Clara, CA J.C. Trudel - Naples, FL SENIOR PUBLISHER - DOS and WINDOWS Editions Steve Paulovich - Pembroke, NH SENIOR PUBLISHER - MACINTOSH Edition Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH SENIOR PUBLISHER - Hard Copy Edition Ray Reed - Beaumont, TX OFFICE SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN Patrick Auriemma - Nashua, N.H. DIRECTOR OF BBS DISTRIBUTION Walter H. Bauer Jr. - Sugar Land, TX AMERICA ONLINE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION Jerry White - Germantown, MD COMPUSERVE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION Jorge Lopez - Lubbock, TX GENIE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA DELPHI NETWORK Rev. Vince Gonzalez - Naples, FL MORNING STAR is produced and published monthly, by a staff of born again believers in Jesus, located across the United States of America. Correspondence to MORNING STAR may be sent via the U.S. Postal Service or by electronic mail to one of several computer networks: INTERNET: mstarmac@aol.com (Toby Trudel) AMERICA ONLINE: MStarDOS (Steve Paulovich) GENIE: M.Wilkinson1 (Mike Wilkinson) COMPUSERVE: 70743,603 (Jorge Lopez) DELPHI: VINCEGSR (Vince Gonzalez) PRODIGY: xvsn02a (Vince Gonzalez) FIDONET: 1:106/3118 (Walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK: 8:3003/0 (walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK: 8:2013/0 (walter Bauer) POLICENET: 150:402/53 (Walter Bauer) To receive a free copy of the MS DOOR program, which allows viewers to read the magazine onscreen, contact: Alan Graff, P.O. Box 131, Wheelersburg, OH 45694 - FIDONET: 1:2260/50 Editor's Letter Editor's Letter Hello and welcome to our twenty-sixth issue of MORNING STAR. Our Feature area this month is dedicated to a Christian look at the Feasts of Israel. As I mentioned in the October editor's letter, you will find that we often present material in MORNING STAR which focuses on the Jewish roots of our faith. I hope you all find the material we have assembled on these Feasts to be interesting and informative. We are always looking for articles, stories and testimonies to publish. MORNING STAR does not have a large writing staff - we depend on our readers to submit material to keep us going. Some of the columns you might consider writing for are; Testimony, Education, Music, Mission Field and Ministry Focus. We can also reprint material from other sources - with permission of course. We need material for our Feature area as well. Upcoming topics are; Victimization, Messianic studies, Prison ministries, Deliverance from homosexuality, Women of/in the Bible, Prophecy and Bible study. Last month we began printing and distributing a hard copy edition. As with any new project, there are "bugs" to work out. (You can expect to see improvements, beginning with this issue!) If any of you are receiving multiple copies of the magazine, please write to us so that we can make an adjustment, thus enabling someone else to be added to our mailing list. Don't forget, donations are welcome and needed. We do not have any funding for this project - it is coming out of the pockets of a few individuals. Each 12-issue subscription costs us $18 to produce and mail. If you can afford a contribution, mail it to our publisher, David's Mighty Men Inc., P.O. Box 5093, Beaumont, TX 77726. Finally, I would like to revive our "Letter to the Editor" column, so feel free to write in with your comments, questions and suggestions! In service to Jesus - the Lord of All, Toby Trudel People Profile People Profile At the time of this interview, heavy rains continued to fall in the American midwest. The flooding thus far has claimed fifty lives, placed 17,000 square miles of land under water, caused 40,000 homes to be evacuated and $12 billion in damage to property and crops. MORNING STAR Editor-in-Chief, Toby Trudel conducted this interview over the America Online network, with Will Speaker, an evangelist and college student at William Jewell College in Missouri. Will grew up in Hannibal, Missouri which is on the mighty Mississippi River. Will now lives in the Kansas City area near the Missouri river. Toby: Will, how close was the Hannibal church and community to the recent flooding? Will: The church I will be referring to is the Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Hannibal. This is the church I grew up in and have had many contacts with them this summer of flooding. The town of Hannibal is right on the Mississippi. And the church was very close spiritually to what was going on. The physical building was away from the flood though. Toby: Was there any levee or flood wall to protect you folks? In recent years an issue of great concern arose in Hannibal concerning the opportunity to build a levee. The questions were of whether the levee would "look nice" or would it really protect and would it be worth the money spent to build it. But, the levee won out and was built. This is the first full year for the downtown are to have a levee protecting it. During the flooding the main area protected was the downtown area of Hannibal. Often though the surrounding farm land would simply have to suffer. Toby: What is the situation as of today? Do people feel the worse is over? Will: The worse is over as far as the water is concerned. The last time I was there they were able to take down the levee walls over the downtown roads. But, there is still much clean up to be done. Many feel that the worse is to come, that is the cleanup process, and they won't fully recover financially or emotionally for years after have such great losses. Toby: What did the people in the area do to help out those in need? Will: Pisgah Baptist church in Kansas City was very helpful, but it wasn't just the local churches and community that were helping out. There were people from all over the country that helped by sending sandbags, water and food. In the local communities there were homeless shelters provided by school systems who opened cafeterias and gymnasiums for people to sleep in. Community centers were transformed into soup kitchens. Often local businesses in Kansas City would allow people to take days off to help sandbag or to serve their fellow flood victims in any way possible. Most recently the Red Cross and Salvation Army have been picking up old mattresses and other furniture to give to those who were victims of the flood. Toby: Is there any specific situation you can tell us about where someone was very thoughtful? Will: Bayview Campers Park is a low lying campground just north of Hannibal that was quickly losing ground to the flood waters. Tom Boland Ford, a local truck dealer lent several trucks and several drivers to help move the trailers out as quickly as possible. I believe they only lost one trailer after working until 3:00 AM to clear them out . The people from Hannibal LaGrange College were also very helpful in this endeavor. Toby: How did the flooding affect the people in your church or any other local churches you know of? Will: The prayer opportunities increased dramatically of course and each church helped out with feeding and clothing and housing those without resources. Often the best help was having an arm to wrap around you as you watched your house or property go under water, helplessly. There were churches all over Missouri donating food. One in St. Louis served 500,000 meals in just the month of August. Toby: I can only imagine the increase in stress level among all the people having to cope. Did you find yourself busier than ever ministering to people? Will: The people in the churches really were wonderful. Everyone was a true leader. At times the stress went up when another levee broke and then someone would say, "Well, let's get to it." and everyone would somberly go back to work praying, feeding, clothing, and caring. The real stress is now, as people begin to return to the mess left behind. Often now is the time when they are forgotten because there is little coverage in the news now and the world thinks it is over ... but it has really just begun. Toby: What were some of the hardest situations to deal with? Will: Watching. I didn't personally lose anything, but those who lost everything and don't have insurance ... well, What can you really do but pray and hope. Toby: If people were to ask you "Where is God through all of this disaster", how would you respond? Will: I would have to say, "Look all around, see the people and even the country coming together ... God is showing us we can pull together for this situation, what about the rest of the time ... surely we can pull together to keep our kids off drugs, or help the always homeless or care for each other ... This is what God is showing me." Toby: Are there any final comments you would like to leave our readers? Toby, I would just like to remind readers that the flooding is not really over. In some places the water hasn't gone down yet or the cleanup has just begun. Winter will be upon us soon and there will still be misplaced families. The prayers are still needed and any help is cherished. To those who are praying, Thank you. From those who have lost it all to those who have held their hands, we say, Thank You. Ministry Profile Ministry Profile THE MESSIANIC JEWISH MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL The First Thirty Years of the Messianic Jewish Movement International May 1 1963 - April 30 1993 By Manny and Sandra Brotman In the middle 1950Os, there were only small numbers of "Hebrew Christians." They were in relatively few houses of worship. Gospel literature for the Jewish people was very limited. "Hebrew Christian" conferences were comparatively small. Hardly any Jewish believers were on radio or television. Jewish believers were being assimilated into Gentile churches, and often losing their Jewish identify. For the most part, born-again Christians were not well-equipped to share scripturally "as a Jew, to the Jews;" and, consequently, not many Jewish people were finding their Messiah. WHY ARE THERE NOW THOUSANDS OF JEWISH BELIEVERS? What part has The Messianic Jewish Movement International had in the move of God's Spirit among the Jewish people? 1953 - GEORGE AND DORIS GRUEN OBEY THE CALL OF GOD In 1953, George and Doris Gruen, with an old car, little finances, and no certain place to live, obeyed God's call and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. God had called them to bring the Good News of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) to Jewish young people. George established Young People's Fellowship where he coached basketball and baseball teams. After the games, he conducted Bible studies for the players (mostly Jewish young men). 1954 - MANNY BROTMAN IS BORN AGAIN Manny became the first Jewish teenager in George's program to find the Messiah. As Manny went to the Lord's House, he received a passion for souls and a world vision. His heart was so deeply moved, that he cried out to God with tears, "Father, please give us every Jew in the world for Messiah Jesus!" 1958 - MANNY BROTMAN AND AUDREY KITCHEN ARE MARRIED God had prepared a "helpmeet" for Manny. When Audrey Yvonne Kitchen was 6 years old, she was stricken with Bulbar Polio and was completely paralyzed from the neck-down. She laid in an iron lung with less than a year to live. She couldn't move her arms or legs, or even swallow her own saliva. Audrey's parents found the Lord and prayed for their dying daughter. God reversed the "incurable" Bulbar Polio, and completely healed Audrey. The Catholic doctor said, "This is a miracle!" God graciously gave Audrey another 44 years of life. While at Bible College, God gave Audrey a "Jewish heart" and called her into Jewish ministry with Manny. For almost 28 years, she faithfully served her Messiah, her husband and her children. 1959 - GOD LEADS MANNY AND AUDREY TO MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE At MBI, a school of over 1,000 students, Manny was burdened to discover there was no group praying regularly for the Jewish people. He and another student began meeting weekly at 7:00 am to pray and God raised up a Jewish Prayer Band. As Prayer Band leader, he contacted Jewish ministries world-wide for prayer requests. Manny learned there was only one missionary for every 25,000 Jewish people! He wondered, "How could every Jewish person in the world be reached for Messiah?" 1961 - "SHALOM BIBLE POLL" REACHES OUT I n answer to prayers of the Jewish Prayer Band to reach Chicago's 325,000 Jewish people, God led Manny to design SHALOM BIBLE POLL. Over 40 students went out weekly, even in 15­ snow blizzards! Thousands of Jews were contacted & hundreds requested free correspondence courses & Bibles. Multiplication was the answer! 1963 - SHALOM IS INCORPORATED MAY 1, 1963 Seeing these results, the Executive Committee of The Hebrew Christian Alliance of America, at its National Convention in Detroit, voted a literature grant of $3,000 for SHALOM (PEACE), Inc. God led Manny to enter the work full time with $10 a month in promised contributions, and a family of four (Manny, Audrey, Nathan & Joel). 1964 - SHALOM CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL LAUNCHED Manny began SHALOM CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL to service responses coming in from SHALOM BIBLE POLL and other Jewish ministries. Thousands enrolled, without cost, and scores of Jewish people got saved. Moody Correspondence School then worked 9 months with Manny to create A TRUMPET IN ZION Course written entirely from the Old Testament. Jewish people are still being saved through this course available through MJMI. 1964 - FIRST CATALOG OF MESSIANIC MATERIALS During 1964, SHALOM came out with its first pictorial catalog of products, perhaps the first such catalog of messianic materials ever produced. It offered, free of charge, Messianic Correspondence Courses, SHALOM BIBLE POLL materials & display racks. Since then, the ministry continues to create and research messianic products worldwide, issue catalogs & maintain the largest selection of messianic materials in existence. 1964 - THE DETROIT AND FLINT, MICHIGAN LITERATURE CRUSADES A group of Christian leaders from Detroit wanted to reach the nation's 5th largest city (2,500,000 people) with SHALOM BIBLE POLL. After prayer and with only $100-a-month promised for literature, we felt led to say "yes!" God miraculously provided. 34 churches and 500 young people took part. The American Bible Society also provided literature. Every home in Detroit was reached! Scores found the Lord right on their doorsteps. As many as 400 Jewish families a day enrolled in the SHALOM CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL! Flint, Michigan was also reached. 1965 - MESSIANIC TERMINOLOGY IS POPULARIZED The SHALOM SHARING CARD (now called "The Messianic Soul-Winner's Card") is probably the most important product ever created in the history of this ministry. That is because the messianic terminology it popularized is at the heart of the present, successful, world-wide Messianic Jewish Movement. Messianic terminology is central to becoming "as a Jew, to the Jews." In 1961, Manny was already teaching this terminology to the students of Moody using the SHALOM BIBLE POLL. 1965 - THE MONTHLY JEWISH PRAYER CARD MINISTRY BEGINS SHALOM began the JEWISH PRAYER CARD MINISTRY in the middle 1960's. Jewish-related prayer requests are printed on this Card to be prayed for each day when believers read their Bibles. The requests are for the salvation & needs of Jewish friends & many Jewish ministries. Believers use this Card daily in 49 countries. Jewish people have been saved and miracles have happened the very date the request was on the Card. When thousands pray, God moves! 1965 - THE YOUNG HEBREW CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE IS BIRTHED The Hebrew Christian Alliance of America Executive Committee authorized the late Joseph Pfefer, its President, and the late Nathan Stone, Professor of Jewish Studies at Moody Bible Institute, to ask Manny and Audrey Brotman to establish a youth Alliance chapter in Chicago. In answer to prayer, God performed miracles and The Young Hebrew Christian Alliance of America was born. Manny was elected its first President & appointed its Executive Director. Young Jewish believers who grew up in the Alliance have now matured and taken their places as spiritual leaders. 1967 - THE PRINCIPLE OF MESSIANIC CROSS-CULTURAL EVANGELISM IS DEVELOPED God's Spirit revealed to Manny that almost any "tool" the Church used for Gentile evangelism could be modified for Jewish evangelism (by the right terminology & sequence of Scripture). Applying that principle, SHALOM was first to successfully bridge the gap from "The Four Spiritual Laws" to "THE FIVE JEWISH LAWS" & other evangelism concepts. Many Jews & Gentiles world-wide have found the Messiah thru the 390,000 copies distributed. It's been asked, "Why wasn't such a simple principle used sooner? Apparently, it is now God's time. The Billy Graham Assn. orders MJMl's materials by the thousands for use by their 4,000 phone counselors. 1969 - TRAINING MANUAL AND THE JEWISH BIBLE APPROACH CREATED In 1969, SHALOM moved its National Headquarters to North Miami Beach, Florida. Manny continued to create messianic materials such as A TRAINING MANUAL ON HOW TO SHARE THE MESSIAH and THE JEWISH BIBLE APPROACH ("How to lead a Jewish person to the Messiah directly from The Jewish Bible"). This training has helped thousands of believers to become much more effective witnesses for the Messiah. It also gave impetus to the fledgling Messianic Jewish Movement & its messianic congregations. 1972 - SHALOM CHANGES ITS NAME TO THE MESSIANIC JEWISH MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL The leadership of SHALOM became convinced that good materials were only part of reaching the Jewish community. As long as Jews felt no other Jews believed this way, they didn't want to be "the only Jew that believed in Jesus." The Hebrew Christian Alliance had not yet changed its name and "Jews for Jesus" was just starting. SHALOM had already distributed over 1,000,000 pieces of literature. By putting this new corporate name on its literature, this tremendous Jewish psychological need was now being met. 1972 - BETH MESSIAH SYNAGOGUE OF NORTH MIAMI BEACH STARTED Manny & Audrey then began Beth Messiah Synagogue of North Miami Beach. The idea was to provide a synagogue environment into which Jewish people could come, feel comfortable and find their Messiah. A number of Jewish people found the Lord during this time in Florida, including a leading rabbi's secretary, a Jewish young man, Steve Fatow, (now pastor of a large congregation) and fourteen children, most of whom were Jewish. 1973 - SHARING MESSIAH SEMINAR SPONSORED BY THE HEBREW CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE The Washington, D.C. Chapter of The Hebrew Christian Alliance led by Sid Roth, Paul Liberman, Sandra Sheskin & Marc Sircus asked Manny to come from Florida to teach an All-day Seminar on "HOW TO SHARE THE MESSIAH." Monthly meetings of the HCA had been running only about 30 people. They prayed & worked very hard. Over 700 believers came from 10 states! It was the largest such seminar ever held. At the event, Manny challenged them to have a messianic synagogue like the one he and Audrey were pioneering in Florida. They asked, "What should we call it?" Manny suggested, "Beth Messiah Synagogue of Greater Washington, D.C." 1973 - BETH MESSIAH SYNAGOGUE OF GREATER WASHINGTON, D.C. IS BORN In 1973, Manny became the Founding Rabbi of BETH MESSIAH SYNAGOGUE with 17 people. Today, headed by Dr. Dan Juster, it is attended by hundreds & has planted congregations in the USA & abroad. Beth Messiah has been referred to as the first successful messianic synagogue in modern times, structured after traditional synagogues, not originating out of a Protestant denomination or Jewish mission. As a flagship, it has become a pattern for many congregations. 1975 - MESSIANIC YOUTH REVIVAL FLOURISHES AT MESSIAH '75 In 1970, Manny suggested the Alliance youth meet at Messiah College. He was asked to be HCAA Conference Chairman for 1975 and called the event MESSIAH '75 with the Exec. Committee's approval. This conference name pattern has continued ever since. At MESSIAH '75, hundreds of youth worshipped God in Spirit & in truth, representative of thousands of Jewish youth being saved world-wide! The late Al Adler, Conference Registrar, said he processed over 750 people, twice as many as any previous conference! 1976 - THE UNION OF MESSIANIC JEWISH SYNAGOGUES IS FORMED At the '75 & '76 Alliance Conferences, Manny called together leaders of the growing number of messianic congregations to form a loose association for growth and a unified voice. It was desired that The Union would be under the umbrella of The Messianic Jewish Alliance of America or closely associated with it. Manny was elected its first president; but the Union was postponed until 1979. It was re-formed using Manny's original By-Laws which were modified. The Union now has 68 affiliated congregations! 196O'S TO 199O'S - SEMINARS HELP BUILD MESSIANIC MOVEMENT The Messianic Jewish Movement International (MJMI) personnel are pictured at Melodyland (CA.) teaching "Soul-Winning & How to Share the Messiah" to over 1,000 believers who took off work on a Monday. MJMI has taught thousands of believers in churches, Bible schools, Jewish ministries and campus ministries how to successfully share the Lord with Jews and Gentiles alike. These seminars have birthed a number of congregations. 1950'S T0 1990'S - MJMI PIONEERS MEDIA FOR MESSIAH During the 1960's, Manny and Audrey hosted the weekly SHALOM HOUR heard by many Chicago Jews on secular radio. During the '70's, MJMI pioneered the nationally-syndicated MESSIANIC JEWISH HOUR on 22 stations. Sid Roth, whom Manny taught Jewish Evangelism, co-hosted MJMl's award-winning radio program. Manny appeared on the 700 CLUB & taught its Head Counselors from throughout the USA "How to Share The Messiah." Guest appearances were also made on PTL, Trinity Broadcasting, 100 Huntley Street, Channel 38 in Chicago and other TV stations to share messianic testimonies, messianic music, teaching and TV Specials on Israel. 1987 - MANNY BROTMAN AND SANDRA FRANCES SHESKIN ARE WED In the fullness of time, God began to reveal to many believers that He was bringing Manny & Sandra Sheskin together in a Kingdom marriage for Israel's salvation. Sandra is a Messianic Jewess who has ministered internationally including The White House, Russia, Israel, Korea, Europe & Africa as a concert singer, recording artist & prophetic Bible teacher. She has appeared on all the media listed above, THE TODAY SHOW and has often been called, "The Sweet Singer of Israel." On April 25, 1987, Manny & Sandra were wed in Washington, D.C. with 1,200 guests present including rabbis and Israelis. 1970'S TO 1990'S - SOME OF THE LARGER SPECIAL EVENTS GOD HAS OPENED EXPLO '72 in Dallas with over 90,000 believers in attendance: Campus Crusade asked Manny to head up the Jewish Training & exhibit of messianic materials. THE 1977 CHARISMATIC RENEWAL CONFERENCE in Kansas City with over 40,000 in attendance: Sandra was soloist & Manny was asked to teach & bring messianic products. WASHINGTON FOR JESUS '88 in Washington, DC asked Manny & Sandra to represent Messianic Jews in America. Sandra was the only Jewish soloist & Manny shared and prayed. He asked 1,000,000 believers to stretch out their right hand in faith towards the Flag of Israel as he led in prayer for Israel's salvation & peace with satellite television coverage! Afterwards, they both taught attendees Soul-Winning and Sharing Messiah. 1990'S - THE WORD OF THE LORD SHALL GO FORTH FROM JERUSALEM At SHALOM's first board meeting in 1963, Manny shared with the Board of Directors his conviction that one day the ministry would have its world headquarters in Jerusalem. When he gave Sandra her engagement ring on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, they both knew that their hearts and lives were forever inter-twined with that City and its people. Please pray with us that operations will begin in Jerusalem this 30th year of MJMl's existence, even as Yeshua's public ministry in Israel began in His 30th year. THE FUTURE OF THE MESSIANIC JEWISH MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL Now, there are no longer small numbers of "Hebrew Christians." TODAY, there are thousands of Messianic Jews! In Acts 14:27, Paul and Barnabas called together the Church to "rehearse all that GOD had done WITH THEM." Eternal fruit is the result of GOD & MAN being co-laborers. (1 Cor. 3:9) However longer Yeshua tarries, we need your help! God will do His part. Will you do yours? Will you pray for the peace of Jerusalem daily? (Psalm 122:6) Will you witness to your Jewish friends? (Rom. 1:16) Will you give financially and generously (Rom. 15:27) so that ALL Israel shall be saved (Rom. 11:26) "To GOD be the glory. GREAT things HE has done!" Thank you and God bless you! The Messianic Jewish Movement International "Jews and Gentiles Working Together for Israel's Salvation!" USA: P.O. Box 30313, Bethesda, MD. 20824 Phone: (301) 656-7575 - FAX: (301) 949-6367 CANADA: Box 2090, Prescott, ON. KOE 1TO ARGENTINA: Casilla De Correo 20 (1706) Haedo, Buenos Aires HOLLAND: Postbus 23053, 1100 DN Amsterdam Phone: (20) 696-0089 - FAX: (20) 691-6841 The Bookworm The Bookworm Browsing With The Bookworm This was a difficult review to write. This book probably won't make the best seller list. If you start it, you may not want to finish it. But you should, for this is one of the most important books to come along in years. FINDING GOD by Larry Crabb Zondervan Publishing House Grand Rapids, MI, 1993 Dr. Larry Crabb is the founder and director of the Institute of Biblical Counseling in Colorado. He also serves as a professor in the Department of Biblical Counseling at Colorado Christian University in Morrison, Colorado. He is the author of many books on Biblical counseling and Christian growth. In this book Dr. Crabb says nothing new. He does present questions and issues that are difficult for us to face. He identifies the basic problem of Christian life as faulty thinking about God. Much of contemporary Christianity, including "Biblical Counselors," sees God as the one we can depend on. He is expected to fix our lives, take away pain and provide comfort. Instead, Crabb returns us to the teachings of Scripture. We are created to know God, and to glorify Him. Today, people look to God as the source of answers and solutions to the struggles of life. It is this focus that leads us to so frequently ask: "Why would God let this happen?" Dr. Crabb correctly points out that we tend to use circumstances around us, and in our own life, as evidence of God's goodness. "If God is good, then He will fix my problem. Yes, He wants me to grow. But if I am obedient and trusting, He should make my situation easier to handle." This is not true. Crabb's position in "Finding God," can be seen in this quote from page 174: "Nothing matters more than developing a passion for Christ as we try to handle life's struggles responsibly and wisely. Our primary purpose is not to use God to solve problems but to move through our problems toward finding God. We must develop a confidence in God that keeps us going even when hard problems continue. And that confidence develops only when confidence in our strategies to make life work is shattered. For that reason we can welcome ongoing difficulties that make us question our ability to avoid or overcome them. ... Our passion for finding God is too weak. God reveals himself to people who want to know him more than they want anything else. As we struggle through the problems of life, the most important question we can ask in not, "How can I solve my problems?" but rather, "How can I develop a burning passion for knowing Christ that will overwhelm all other passions and reduce them to secondary concerns?"" Or as Thomas A. Kempis puts it: "If You'd ever really got inside the mind of Jesus, ever had a single taste of His burning love, considerations of your own loss or gain would mean nothing to you." In "Loving God," Larry Crabb identifies some of his own struggles in coming closer to God. He shares his own failures, his grief and his struggle with experiencing a sense of hopelessness. He helps us understand that, if we are honest with ourselves, we too all will have these struggles. Yes, we do need to face the damage in our lives. We need to deal with those problems that may require counseling. However, we are to seek help, not to stop hurting, but so we can move beyond our problems. We are to accept pain so we can know God passionately. And when we give up the need for life to make sense, and the desire for our struggles to end, then we can be truly free. We will know God's goodness, not because of what we see, but because we know that we will spend an eternity in His presence. As we seek to know God better, we will be able to trust in Him as our perfect and only resource. Life would be so easy if we could control it by applying certain formulas and patterns. However, Scripture tells us that because this is a fallen world, nothing will ever make sense until a loving God intervenes and restores His creation. The message of Scripture, and our only hope is: "Even so come Lord Jesus." "Finding God" is not a book of comforting platitudes. It will make us uncomfortable because it exposes just how sinful and selfish we really are. But it is also a book of hope. And the only real hope we have as believers is finding God our Savior. I pray that Christians will have a greater desire to know God than to be comfortable, and "Finding God" can help us in this process. Each of us as believers should not only pick up this book, but not put it down until the last chapter is read. May you be blessed through truth, not comfort. Your friend, the Bookworm. Praise and Prayer Praise and Prayer PRAISE AND PRAYER is our international prayer link column. Send your praise report or prayer request to MORNING STAR for publication in our next issue. Call on your brothers and sisters worldwide and together we will call on God! PRAISE REPORTS: Bonnie in Illinois praises the Lord for answered prayers concerning her Professor's mother from Pakistan. Jonathan in Florida thanks the Lord for answered prayer for a teaching job. Denise in Florida praises the Lord for healing Mr. Larsen of Legionaires' disease! Mike thanks the Lord for having been at peace with his decision to leave his previous job of 14 years for a new career. Robert in North Carolina praises the Lord for the salvation of two family members. Chuck from Massachusetts praises the Lord for his aunt who was totally broke but discovered funds she had left in a pension plan to pay her debt to The Internal Revenue Service. Dale in Maryland thanks the Lord that his efforts are noticed at work. He also praises the Lord that his friend Larry found a job after being unemployed for a year. Praise the Lord for the revival going on in Russia, as reported by Joe from New Jersey who just returned from there. Dennis in Massachusetts praises the Lord that he has been free from alcohol for 8 years. Vince in Florida thanks the Lord that 2 seventh graders accepted Jesus as their Savior in his church recently. Margo in California thanks the Lord that she quit smoking 27 years ago. Steve in California is thankful that many Christians work at his grocery store. Gregory in Georgia thanks the lord that his wife is finally getting hired on a full time job. Pray for his new Christian radio station WJCK. Praise the Lord for Ron in California who was baptized recently. Pray for his mother, who is Jewish, that she may know Jesus as her Messiah/Savior too. Bonnie in Illinois reports that her daughter Gwyn found a teaching job and they will pay for her schooling so that she can get her Master's degree! Peggy in Missouri thanks the Lord that she has finished the radiation treatments of breast cancer and is doing well! Craig in North Carolina thanks the Lord for a positive outcome in a recent court appearance involving traffic violations. Bruce in Georgia praises the Lord for a promotion on his job. Jonathan in Florida praises the Lord for a teaching job. William in Texas praises the Lord that he has been clean and sober for two years. Dale in Maryland thanks the Lord for answered prayer on his wife's job. Geoff in California thanks the Lord for the increased support to Sepher Ministries. Stephen in Kansas thanks the Lord for the joy of hosting a Christian music radio program on a local secular station. Praise God for 900 people being baptized in Tanzania, Africa, including a village witch doctor, who now preaches Christ. Pray for another missionary in the Philippines who needs encouragement. Lucinda in Georgia reports that after prayer, a child named Will in Georgia, is down to only one insulin shot per day and his blood sugar is under remarkable control. Praise the Lord! Another praise report is that Winnie Mainor had surgery due to an aneurysm. It was done just in time, for it burst on the operating table. She is stable now, thank the Lord! Margo in California praises God that last week her husband Mark acknowledged Jesus as Lord and Savior. Janet in Indiana praises the Lord for improvement in her eyesight and wonderful neighbors! PRAYER REQUESTS: Will in Texas requests prayer for Kevin, who needs deliverance from narcotics. Pray also for his friend Greg, who is going to Japan for two years to teach English. Robert in North Carolina asks for prayer for his uncle who has a kidney disease. Continue to pray for a Pastor for Faith Baptist Church in Cuthbert, Georgia. Joe asks us to keep him in prayer as he begins his first year of medical school. Continue to pray for Dr. Charles Stanley of Atlanta, Georgia. Pray for Toby in New Hampshire. He is having problems with nerves in his arm following an infection and surgery on his elbow. Pray for Dominic in California concerning his job. A.M. asks prayers for the salvation of her husband's 83 year-old Jewish grandmother, Dolly, and 74 year-old Jewish father named Bob. Belinda in Kentucky asks prayer as her husband has been sent to Somalia for six months. Pray for Charles in Virginia as he resumes his job as a public school teacher this week. Pray for a German exchange student in Texas. Pray for Geoff, on the staff of Morning Star, who needs the touch of the Lord on his back. Pray for traveling mercies, for Paul in Maryland, as he goes home to be with his family and friends for a weekend. Pray that the Lord will open doors for the correct job for Emma's husband. Pray for Tom's father in Ohio who has a bone infection and also his mom who is under much stress. Keep in prayer our online brother Danny in Texas who has diabetes type two. He also has financial needs and asks our prayers for this. Pray for Leona in Florida with liver cancer. Pray for Don in Ohio who was fired from his job. SW asks prayer for her mother who is going to Russia in October to minister to the people. Pray for the Smith Family in Wilmington N.C. Pray for Mr. Boatman who needs a bypass surgery. Lee in Rhode Island asks prayer for his son, Mark who is having seizures. Eddie in Michigan asks us to pray for all involved in the UAW talks in the auto industry. Robert in North Carolina asks prayer for his Bible study teacher, Mary Pierce, who is recovering from eye surgery. Pray for salvation and deliverance for S. F. She is searching and needs the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Pray for protection for the Jewish family in Georgia, who found a cross burning in their yard and for those that are behind this terrible action or condone it. Pray for Reid who is at MIT in Massachusetts, and feels depressed. Pray for Dee in Texas who is depressed. Pray that the Lord will make His will more clear concerning P.D.'s job. Pray for guidance for Amy in Alabama as she goes for an interview with a temp. job service. Pray for Geoff's client in California who is very depressed. Pray for Denise in Florida who is having surgery next month and won't be able to work for 6 weeks and will have no sick pay. Her husband, who is out of work, still has faith that the Lord will provide. David in California asks for prayer for a brother in the Lord who is going deaf and doesn't know why. Marlin in Georgia prays for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church and community! Pray that the Lord will lead Wendy to a place of worship and put Christian friends in her life in Memphis, Tennessee. Pray that the Lord will take care of a behavioral problem concerning John in Pennsylvania. Pray for Dianne from Massachusetts who had a nervous breakdown due to abuse from her husband. Pray for salvation for the entire family. Pray for Bill Weaver in Arkansas; that the Lord will provide him a place to live. Pray for the Lord's will in the career path of Chuck in Massachusetts. Pray for Lori who is very depressed after her divorce. Pray for Steve in California, that the Lord will intervene on his job situation. Pray for Brother Vince Gonzalez in Florida as he recovers from knee surgery. Pray for sister Mae Trudel in Florida as she recovers from back surgery. Anita in Ohio asks for prayer for her father-in-law Frank's health. Pray for Krista and her husband from New York, who would like to have a baby. Leon in Georgia asks for prayer for protection of the school children from all evil and harm. Pray for Dan who is not feeling well. Leslie in Florida asks for prayer for strength from the Lord. Margo in California asks for prayer for Mark, her non-believing husband. Pray also for Fauez who is a Moslem and wants to know about Christianity. Pray for Robert who is suffering from cancer. Pray for Don who struggles with his health. Lyle in Connecticut asks for prayer for the new pastor who will be moving into his church. Steve in Mississippi is starting Seminary soon and asks for prayers. Kerry asks for prayers for salvation and guidance for Don. He also asks for prayer for himself since he will be starting college soon. P.M. asks us to be in prayer about his finding a new church to pastor. George in Pennsylvania asks us to pray for a friend who is a single mother. Her youngest child came down with scarlet fever. Russell in West Virginia asks prayer for his cousin, Greg; a good Christian man, who has been diagnosed as having cancer on his tongue. Robert in Louisiana seeks help from the Lord as he feels very lonely and would like to meet a nice Christian girl. Howard in California asks prayer for finances for his ministry as it is having some very rough times right now. Pray for Kevin in Houston as he embarks to bring more students at his high school to Jesus. Pray for Crystal in North Dakota who is depressed. Pray for salvation for Shelly's sister Cicily. INTERNATIONAL REQUESTS: Frank in Virginia would appreciate our prayers as he and others begin a church planting team to go to Thailand. Pray that the financial support will come in for a 3-week trip of Russian Messianic Jews to Israel. Pray for a 14 year old girl in Sula, Honduras that the Lord will lead her. Joe in New Jersey asks for prayer for a man from Moscow who is traveling the East Coast raising money for Bibles in Russia. Pray for the Christians and other groups in Saudi Arabia who are being harrassed since the Gulf War. Now more than ever, Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim. - Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6a) S.C.U.D. Warnings! S.C.U.D. Warnings! S piritual C ounterfeits U ndermining D octrine W A R N I N G S By Jerry Johnson DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS OF THE FIRST PRESENTATIONAL CHURCH 1. We believe and support all of the doctrinal statements in the Apostles' and Nicene Creed. 2. We believe that in order to show proper respect for God you must dress up when attending church on Sundays, men in suits, women in dresses. Wearing tennis shoes is a sign of spiritual disrespect, rebellion and depravity. We won't even begin to tell you what wearing shorts or blue jeans is a sign of. 3. We believe that we must be an example of all that is good in Christianity, so when you are asked, "How are you?" you are to respond, "Fine" regardless of how you are doing lest you cast dispersions upon God's workings in your life. 4. We believe that King James English is for the devout. Common English may be used for matters not pertaining to spiritual or church issues. Slang is the tongue of the heathen and will not be tolerated in these anointed halls. After all, if King James English was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for us. 5. We believe that all members of all families must verbally acknowledge and attest to the fact that they love attending our church. To do less would deny the effectiveness of God's power within the members of our church. 6. We believe that a prominent evidence of the call of God to the ministry is the gray, three piece suit. We also believe that since our staff have obviously been called of God (as evidenced by said suits) we are to trust in them implicitly, as we would the God who called them. 7. We believe any outward confession or admission of sin or human failing proves to be a stumbling block to those who look to the church for guidance, so all personal problems must be kept secret, to be revealed only to mental health professionals that have no religious affiliation. 8. We believe that any attention paid to doctrinal or Biblical issues that are not crystal clear and free of any dispute or debate is destabilizing to the believer and such topics are to be wholly avoided upon fear of reprisal from the pastor, who shall possess sole and final interpretive say on all such matters. 9. We believe that if we live according to the above doctrinal statements our church shall stand as a shining example of what God can accomplish in the lives of his people. Right. And people in the Mississippi Valley have no idea what a sandbag looks like. I showed this intro to one of my co-workers and she said she thought she knew a couple of churches that would probably be willing to adopt the above doctrinal statement verbatim. I decided to check, but they wouldn't let me within 100 yards. (Just kidding... they let me in, but then kicked me out). This column, the Church and "First Date Syndrome," was born out of a mistake I made during a singles Sunday School class I was teaching. You see, the way I write is pretty much the way I teach, a bit on the edge. Well, while I was teaching I used some slang that didn't sit well with two visitors who happened to be from another large church in town that has a reputation for being legalistic and performance oriented. Over the course of the following week I got a gentle rebuke from not one, but three different representatives from my church following a letter the two people had written protesting my language. Now, first of all, I freely admit that I was in error. My singles group is used to my delivery and are very tolerant of my style. However, I also know better than to sacrifice the message to my method and on that particular Sunday, the two visitors heard absolutely nothing but three uses of slang. But the more I thought about it the more I came to realize that my church, like most churches, has "First Date Syndrome." Before I explain what that is, I have to preface myself by saying that this topic is not truly a Spiritual Counterfeit as much as it is a nuisance. It doesn't undermine doctrine as much as get in its way. We now return to our regularly scheduled column: No doubt almost everyone that is reading this column has gone through the process of a first date. You know what I mean: You dress nicer than you usually do. And, you act different than you usually do. You talk about things differently than you usually do in order to impress someone doing the same thing to you. It always amazed me that we acted that way in the guise of "getting to know each other" when we weren't even acting like ourselves. Yet that is pretty much how most Christians have learned to approach church, like a first date. We dress differently than usual. We talk and act differently than usual while interacting with people acting equally differently. And then we get upset when the outside world accuses us of being hypocritical and phony. We're not exactly being up front and vulnerable! If I work with someone in a secular setting and then, by some odd circumstance, they happen to see me in an ecclesiastical (church) setting, will they recognize me by anything but my face? Will I be the same person I am at work, or at home, or when I'm out with friends? "Then that means you're failing to behave properly in the world, while you are behaving properly in the church!" You may choose to believe that, but the simple fact is, if I act like I have it all together and I'm sweet all the time, I'm faking it. After all, I John 1:8 states that if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Oh, that's the difference! At church we aren't deceiving ourselves, just everyone else! "So we act and dress better at church, what harm is there in that?" Unfortunately, probably a lot more than we would care to admit. "What?! Has some study come out saying that wearing suits and being polite causes cancer?!" In a sense, yes. I got into trouble because someone attending the church had certain expectations regarding what a Sunday School teacher is "supposed" to talk like. My church decided to agree with the assessment. I now have to adjust my teaching style for two people who will never attend the group again. "So what's wrong with that?" Expectations. They can kill. Over the past few years alone a number of televangelists, preachers and even a very balanced pastor/theologian have come into public disrepute because of sin that was hidden for a number of years... from everyone but the rumor mongers. Why? Probably because everyone knows that pastors and church leaders are to be shining examples of all that is good and perfect and flawless in the church. And leaders who are supposed to be examples of all that is good and perfect and flawless CAN'T admit that they are tempted or, dare we say it, actually human enough to fail and sin! In that squeeze play they must find it hard to find someone that they can be safely vulnerable with enough early enough in a problem area to help them avoid it, rather than be forced to hide it. And that extends beyond the pastors into the congregation. If everyone in the congregation seems to be doing so well, I must be the only one struggling or sinning or being tempted. So, if I am so bad and everyone else in this church is obviously doing so well, they couldn't possibly be able to relate to my struggles. And if I revealed them, I would probably be cast out since I am the only sinner in the church! "Now you're really stretching for a point here!" I don't think so. It is a very sad but real fact that the rate of incest and molestation among church attenders is NO DIFFERENT than the population at large. Why should that be in the single greatest area of potential healing and change? I believe people who struggle with these sins feel forced to hide them, until caught. This is because of the sins' severity, combined with the fact that we in the church are functionally taught to hide rather than to confess them. "So it's our fault and not theirs?" The sin is their fault, the lack of help is ours. "But there are psychological and mental health systems available to help these people!" Probably, because the church never created the opportunity for people to confess their sin and receive help within the church. When the Pharisees complained that Jesus had a bunch of misfits and weirdos around Him, He stated that it was the sick that need the physician, not the healthy. Well, many churches right now act like we're health clubs for the perfect rather than hospitals for the needy. And then we wonder why so many people are hurting. I really am uncomfortable about the artificiality of church. I am put into a position where I must try to second guess the leadership's reaction to any revelation about my humanity and not yet perfected spirit, before I can share something that might offer some hope and encouragement to someone who feels like they are the only one who is not succeeding. Even within this column, if I overstep a boundary, someone might reject my column (which would be no big deal), but also reject Morning Star and all the other writers who contribute and miss a real opportunity to be ministered to by this medium. But for this column to have any reality at all, I must not do what I am criticizing the church for. I cannot omit my own failings, leaving the impression I have it all together... I don't. My personal inclination was to reveal a couple of areas of struggle which I have. At this point the staff of Morning Star, (myself included) debated the wisdom, wondering whether the revelation would overwhelm the message. (Just like it did in the Sunday School class.) In light of that we'll take the more conservative course so we won't unnecessarily offend. But, to be dead honest, if you knew all the details of my private life you wouldn't read the column. And, if I knew all the details of your private life, I wouldn't want you reading it. Sin is sin. They don't have to confess it to thousands of readers; maybe just a close Christian friend, pastor or lay leader. If we in the church would be more honest about the fact we need the help of the Lord, maybe believers and unbelievers both would come to see God and the church as a place to come for help. Also, if my editors actually printed this column intact, don't blame them if you consider this column inappropriate. All they did was allow me the privilege of trying to have integrity within the topic I was addressing. I appreciate that. Next time (if there IS a next time): White Noise Prayer Commentary Commentary Guest Editorial WISDOM By Arno Froese From MIDNIGHT CALL magazine, July 1993 When reading 1st Kings 4:34, And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom," we are reminded of the words of our Lord Jesus, "...behold, a greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). This soul-piercing statement was made in answer to the request by the religious authorities [the Scribes and Pharisees) wanting to experience a sign from the Lord. It is needful to emphasize here that Jesus had already performed many signs such as healing the leper, and the centurion's servant grievously tormented with palsy. He also healed Peter's mother-in-law who was sick with fever. He even commanded the wind and the waves to cease, "And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" (Matthew 8:23-27). This is exactly in accordance with the prophetic Word found in Psalm 107:29, "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still" To the inquiry of John the Baptist who had sent his disciples to confirm that Jesus was the Christ, our Lord stated, ". . . Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me" (Matthew 11:4-6). But these miraculous events were not enough to satisfy the inquiring minds of the religious people. They persistently asked, "... Master, we would see a sign from thee" (Matthew 12:38b). Without hesitancy, the Lord identifies the spiritual and moral condition of the people at that time, "... An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas" (Verse 39). Why, some may ask, did the Lord not simply show them an additional sign and therewith prove beyond a shadow of doubt His authority as the Christ, the Messiah of Israel? The answer is vividly displayed in the Lord's choosing of the words "evil," "adulterous," and "sign." An evil person does not think he is evil but has permitted himself to be deceived and therefore has become blind to the truth. Take an adulterer: does such a person in reality believe in the seriousness of the sin? Of course not! Such a person has decided in their heart to disobey the clear commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14). Subsequently, the truth cannot enter their heart and therefore they are enticed by their own fleshly lust and desire a special sign. Is it therefore surprising to read here and see in our news media the excesses of crime and brutality on a daily basis? The farther men slide away from God, the less their spirit and soul are receptive to the things of God. As a result, they need the "gospel" of destruction, of immorality, of crime, and chaos. The media only reflects what men really desire! The average American, we are told, is eager to digest an increased amount of sensation, mystery, and the miraculous no matter where it originates. Therewith, their mind is guided towards the occult which is exploding worldwide One would think that, for example, our politicians or the intellectual elite, would continuously be occupied with God's miracle, the miracle of the end time, the nation of Israel. That, however, is far from the case. People in higher places, our intellectuals who continuously teach and study, are no longer capable of understanding the truth of God's miraculous work regarding the nation of Israel. Would the political leaders, for example, read what the Holy Word of God prophesied thousands of years ago about the Jews going back to Israel they would be forced by such facts to acknowledge God's mighty miracles! The land is being revived; a dead language has been restored, and a primitive band of escaped refugees has established a military force that strikes fear in the heart of the Arab nations surrounding them. Yet, in reality, no politician, no government leader, and barely any intellectual today admits that God is performing a miracle through the nation of Israel! Just as the confusion climaxed under the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus, we witness today increased turmoil and confusion the world over. What is the reason? The world will soon see the second coming of Christ! The simplicity of the Gospel is so plain that no special wisdom is needed to understand it. Anyone can easily grasp the words such as, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). It is this message which the Lord has entrusted to us to present to the world, but it is contrary to the wisdom of the world. Therefore, the Bible identifies the wisdom of the world as "foolishness." The Apostle Paul writes, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Here too, we experience the fulfillment of the precious prophetic Word, because the next verse reads, "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (Verse 19). May I ask you a question: Is your life guided by the wisdom of God? Have you come to know the wisdom in person, the Lord Jesus Christ? Then and only then will you experience the reality of verse 24, But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (verse 24). Invest your time in wisdom and not in the foolishness of the world. The latter will perish but the wisdom of God will endure for all eternity. The Apostle Paul continues in 1st Corinthians 2, and concludes in verse 9, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." Therefore, be not slack in doing the will of God while here on Earth because this promise is very personally directed to you! Features The Feasts of Israel The Feasts of Israel Editor's note: In this month's Feature section, we present several articles about the Feasts of Israel. The following piece by Moishe Rosen outlines the seven "major" feasts from the Bible. Following this are articles on four of these feasts, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Succoth. We have also included material on two "minor" feasts - Purim and Hanukkah. THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL By Moishe Rosen Many Christians do not realize that the seven feasts which God commanded in Leviticus 23 are still observed by their Jewish neighbors. The feasts, as given to Israel, bore a three-fold significance. First there was the seasonal aspect of each holiday; then the feasts were to be a memorial of God's dealings with the Hebrews; and finally there was the prophetic symbolism of God's dealings with His Church, which is made up of believing Jews and believing Gentiles. A study of the feasts of Israel will not only bring a greater understanding of the Jewish roots of our faith; it will teach the Christian much about God's plan of redemption throughout the ages. Leviticus 23 lists these seven feasts in order of their seasonal observance: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Booths. Passover, the first and probably best known feast, comes in the spring, in the Jewish month of Nisan, also called Abib. Passover commemorates the redemption of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery. On the first Passover each Hebrew household sacrificed a perfect yearling lamb and sprinkled the blood on the crosspiece and side posts of the door. The "Angel of Death" passed over the houses which were protected by the blood of the lamb, but where there was no blood, the first born was slain. Even so, we are all slaves, in bondage to sin. We are redeemed and set free by the blood of Jesus, the Messiah, the pure and spotless Lamb of God. (l Peter 1:18,19) The Feast of Unleavened Bread occurs simultaneously with Passover. It begins the day after the Passover eve, and lasts for seven days. Because they are so closely related in time and purpose, the names are often interchangeable. During Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread the Jewish people put away all leaven from their houses and eat unleavened bread, or Matzo. Leaven in Scripture is usually a symbol of sin; the unleavened Matzo graphically portrays the pure and sinless Messiah. It is pierced, even as our Lord was pierced by the nails in His hands and feet and the Roman spear in His side; and it is striped in the baking, reminding us that Isaiah said, ''But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities .. and with his stripes, we are healed.'' Isaiah 53:5. The Feast of First Fruits is directly related to Passover and Unleavened Bread, for it is to be celebrated on "the morrow after the Sabbath," which means the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread. In Bible times this holiday was a feast of thanksgiving for the barley harvest, the first grain of the season. The first harvest is viewed as a promise of the larger harvest to come because the conditions which brought about the first harvest will also bring the rest. Jesus the Messiah is the First Fruit whom God raised from the dead. Just as the barley harvest was the promise of more to come, He is our promise of resurrection and eternal life, through faith in Him, for He has conquered death and the grave. Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, also is calculated from the first feast, Passover. It comes 50 days after the Passover sabbath, thus the name Pentecost, which means 50. This is a Greek name, but the Jewish people call it Shavuot, which is the Hebrew word for "weeks." Shavuot, too, is a harvest festival, thanking God for the wheat harvest. According to oral tradition, it is also the day that Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai. On Shavuot, the priests offered two loaves of bread made from the newly harvested grain. Unlike other offerings, these loaves were baked with leaven. We see in the two loaves a type of God's people, both Jews and Gentiles, given eternal life and made one in the Messiah, Jesus, at the birth of the church on Pentecost. After Pentecost, a long time elapses before the next feast. We see in this, our present age of waiting for the return of the Messiah Jesus. Then in the autumn, on Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, comes the Feast of Trumpets, more commonly called Rosh Hashanah. This marks the beginning of the civil year and is the Jewish New Year's Day. In Leviticus 2:24 God commanded the blowing of trumpets on the first day of the seventh month to call the congregation of Israel together for a very solemn assembly. According to Jewish teachings, Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of ten days of judgment when all the children of men pass before the Creator. The righteous are written into the Book of Life, the wicked are condemned, and those who are not wholly righteous nor wholly wicked are given ten days to repent and thus escape judgment. We who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life do not fear judgment, but rather we look for His return when He shall come with the trumpet sound and the voice of the Archangel to bring us into His sabbath of rest. The ten days of repentance and introspection lead into the most solemn day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It has become a time of fasting and prayer. It was the only time in Bible days when the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies. He went in before the Lord with the blood of a sacrificed animal to beg forgiveness for the sins of the people. Today there are no animal sacrifices and no Temple. The Jewish people rely solely on repentance for forgiveness of sins, but they have no assurance that God has heard and forgiven, for the Scriptures teach in Leviticus 17:11 that atonement is in the blood. When Christ offered His own blood as our atonement or covering, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, signifying that He had opened the way into the I Holy of Holies. By His sacrifice all who believe now have access to God and a covering for sin. We look forward to that great and final day of atonement prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 and 13:1 when all Israel shall mourn for the Messiah and accept the atonement He has made. The seventh and final feast is the Feast of Booths, known in Hebrew as Succoth. In Bible days this was the final fall harvest festival, a time of ingathering at Jerusalem. The Jewish people built booth-like structures and lived in them during this feast as a reminder of the temporary dwellings the Israelites had in the wilderness. Even today many Jewish people build open-roofed, three-sided huts for this festival. They decorate them with tree boughs and autumn fruits to remind them of harvest. Everyone in Israel who was able, came up to Jerusalem for this harvest festival every year. The Temple worship for the holiday included the ritual pouring of water from the Pool of Siloam, symbolic of the prayers for the winter rains. It was at this time that Jesus cried out, ". . .If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." (John 7:37-38) After Israel's final day of atonement the Feast of Booths will be celebrated again in Jerusalem. (Zechariah 14:16) Booths speaks of the final rest, as well as the final harvest. John wrote in Revelation 21:3: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." It is our prayer that soon there will come the fulfillment of all which He promised, saying, "... I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." (Revelation 21:6) A Believer's Passover A Believer's Passover A BELIEVER'S PASSOVER by Steven Mark Klugman Los Angeles, California As a Jew, I have had the unique opportunity of experiencing Passover from both the Jewish and Christian perspectives. My first Passover as a Christian was a mind-blowing experience. I could not believe that the holiday that I was celebrating was not and had not always been a Christian holiday. As I read the Seder Haggadah, I thought that some Christian had snuck in and added pages to my prayer book. Had this always been there? I asked myself. As a Hebrew Christian, I began to see that the Passover was the most Jewish and the most Christian of the holidays. This had been the case until the gentiles outnumbered the Jewish believers in about A.D. 325. The unfortunate, even tragic, split that occurred between Jewish and Gentile believers left a permanent scar on the face of the body of Christ. The Nicene Council outlawed the celebration of Passover on threat of excommunication. This helped start the process of severing the wild branch (the gentile believers) that had been grafted into Israel from their natural and historical roots. This division became so great that people in the Year of the Lord 1993 are actually surprised to find out that the Bible has two testaments. If you are a Jewish believer in Yeshua, you will no doubt be asked at least a hundred times a year, How could a Jew be a Christian? -- as if Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, and of course our Lord himself, had not been Jewish. Even sadder is the state of affairs where our Jewish brothers, who should be the natural heirs of God's promises, can ask, How can I, a Jew, be a Christian? Perhaps in studying the Passover as the Jews have observed it for countless centuries, gentile believers can gain a deeper insight into their own roots. The Passover is the most direct foreshadowing of the coming of the Messiah of any of the Jewish festivals. Studying the Passover we can see how the Messiah was to come and how it leads us to see Yeshua. First we see Moses. Next, if you believe God is true, we see Yeshua. Moses was a great (though not the greatest) deliverer of God's people. Moses delivered Israel from physical bondage. As a man of God, he longed to see a greater deliverer who would come. The one who would deliver Israel from a greater bondage, the bondage of sin. What is so striking about the Passover is that Moses used the same means to deliver Israel that Jesus would use hundreds of years later -- the blood of a spotless lamb. In the latter case, it was not only a spotless lamb, but a perfect lamb. Yet, both deliverances came about not because of man's actions or beliefs, but because of the blood of God's lamb. Israel's first-born were not spared because of works so men might boast, but it was through believing God's Word and obeying God's command to paint the doorposts with the blood of a lamb that Israel was redeemed. As a young Jewish boy, Passover meant lots of things to me. In honesty, the most important was that I could stay home from school. For my mother and sister it meant lots of hard work. The Passover is considered so special and holy that a separate set of dishes is used for the eight days of the Passover feast. These dishes are not used at any time other than Passover. And of course, they include not one but two sets of plates; one for milk and dairy products, and one for meat. During the rest of the year, two sets of dishes were kept, but they were not considered holy enough to be used on Passover. Passover called for the highest degree of commitment and required the entire family to clean up their act. Before the coming of the first night, a night that would see the first of two Passover Seders, or ritual meals, the entire house had to be searched from top to bottom to rid the house of chametz (anything that was leavened or unkosher). Traditionally, the night before Passover the parents and children would go room to room with a feather and a wooden spoon, to search for and collect any crumbs that may have been missed during the earlier cleaning. The family would then recite a special blessing: "May all leaven in my possession which I have not seen or removed be regarded as nonexistent and considered as mere dust of the earth." As time went by and more Jews assimilated, or became "Americanized" if you will, the rituals, especially the Kosher dietary laws became more relaxed. Yet these assimilated Jews would often keep Kosher for the eight days of Passover to honor the God of their ancestors. The preparation for the Passover feast may very well be where we get the tradition of "spring cleaning." The Jewish mother would see to it that the house was shining like new. The mother would set the table with the special Passover plates and silverware, with her best tablecloth and the finest of ornaments. Everyone settled down expectantly for the coming of that special bride, the Passover Sabbath. This holiday was so important to the Jewish people that it was celebrated with a Seder on two consecutive nights. The Old Covenant finds Passover significant enough to have God speak of it three times. The first reference is in Exodus: "This month is for you to be the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor... Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast... This is how you are to eat it with your cloak tucked into your belt, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste: it is the Lord's Passover. On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn. Note God himself and not an angel contends for Israel... The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:1-12). At a later date the day was changed from the 10th of Nisan to the 14th. Again in Deuteronomy, chapter 16, the Lord commands: "Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name. Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste ... so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt (do this as often as you remember me)" (Deuteronomy 16:1-8). In Leviticus, chapter 23, God commands Israel to celebrate Passover and declares the command to celebrate to be "a lasting ordinance for the generations to come wherever you live" (Leviticus 23:14). Only if we understand the Passover from the Jewish perceptive can we fully understand Christian communion. Knowing the liturgy and order of the Passover Seder, we can identify which piece of bread Jesus chose to use as a symbol of his body, and which glass of wine he chose to be his blood. The blood that would be shed for the many as a "new covenant." (See Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20.) The leader of the Seder, usually the father, makes use of three special pieces of matzah (unleavened bread) during the Seder. As a young Jewish boy, I had no idea why three pieces. As a believer in Yeshua, of course, I now realize that the three pieces symbolize the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of the three members of the Trinity it is the middle matzah, the second piece, that represents the Son. It was probably this that Jesus broke and consecrated as his Body. The broken piece of middle matzah is called the "afikomen." The middle matzah was originally placed in a position of honor. But when broken, the afikomen is removed from the place of honor. For the children, the ransom for the afikomen is the most important part of the Seder. The Seder cannot end until the afikomen is redeemed by the father from the children, who have stolen it. The children vie for the honor of stealing the afikomen while the father happily looks the other way. Just before the end of the Seder, the father will buy back the afikomen from the child for whatever price the child asks. Clearly, this middle piece stood for Jesus and His redemption from sin for all God's children. Thus, when it came time to pay the ransom, Jesus broke the afikoman and told his disciples the true meaning of Passover. The glass of wine Jesus drank was undoubtedly the fourth cup of wine, the cup put aside for the return of Elijah. For thousands of years, the Jewish people have celebrated the Passover and have set aside a special glass to be drunk by Elijah when he returns. This special glass shows the deep Messianic longing of the Jewish people. The Seder starts with the words "Let all who are hungry come and eat." and among the awaited guests for countless centuries has been the prophet Elijah. In Jewish legend the ubiquitous Elijah is the champion of the oppressed. He brings hope, cheer and relief to the downtrodden. He performs miracles of rescue and deliverance. His name is clearly associated with the coming of the Messiah. When Jesus picked up the cup of Elijah he was without doubt proclaiming himself the Messiah. Can you imagine the thrill and awe the twelve must have felt when Jesus emptied a cup rightfully belonging only to the Messiah. Not all Messianic Jews would agree that Jesus drank the cup of Elijah. A very good argument can be made that the cup referred to by Jesus as his blood was the third cup drank during the Seder, the symbolic cup of redemption. The symbolism of the lamb is striking and obvious, no doubt it is well known to most readers, so we will pass quickly through it. Jesus of course is referred to by Paul as our Passover lamb. We are therefore enjoined to keep the feast (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). God in the exodus showed man clearly how he would redeem him through the Messiah. With the sacrifice of a blameless creature, with the washing of the blood, and by faith. Even from the very beginning of Jesus' ministry he was called the lamb of God. John first proclaimed "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the world" (John 1:29). The traditional Seder is comprised of 15 steps: 1. The sanctifying of the name of God (The Kiddush). Praised be thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us in life and sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. 2. Washing of the hands (u-r'hatz). Perhaps it was at this point in the Seder that Jesus knelt down and washed his disciples feet. (See John 13: 4-10.) 3. Eating the green vegetable (karpas). The green vegetable symbolizes rebirth. It is dipped into salt water to remind the people of the tears shed by the oppressed. 4. Breaking of the middle matzoth (yahatz). This is the piece discussed above that is broken and use for the afikomen. 5. The telling of the Story of the Exodus (Maggid). Let all who are hungry come and eat; all who are needy, come and celebrate the Passover with us. In this section we find the famous "four questions." These four questions are asked every year by the youngest male child in the household A. Why is this night different from all other nights? B. Why on all other night do we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat especially bitter herbs? C. Why on all other nights we need not even once dip our herbs in any condiment, but on this night we dip herbs twice: one herb in salt water, and the bitter herbs in Haroset? D. Why on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we recline? The main portion of the night will be taken up by the father answering these four questions. 6. Washing the hands before the meal (Rathza) 7. The saying of the HaMotzi. 8. Reciting the blessing for the Matzah. This is perhaps an early form of a communion. A piece of the uppermost matzah and a piece of the broken middle matzah is distributed to each participant. After salting the two pieces the father says a blessing while reclining to the left. 9. Eating the bitter herbs (maror). Each participant is given a bitter radish to dip into the haroset (horseradish) and it is eaten by everyone at the Seder. This is done to remind the people of the bitterness of slavery. 10. Eating the matzah and maror sandwich (korekh, sometimes called Hillel's sandwich). This sandwich is meant to symbolize the brick and mortar the children of Israel had to produce for Pharaoh. 11. Eating the festival meal. The meal traditionally started with the eating of an egg. 12. The Ransom and eating of the afikomen. Interestingly enough, Jewish present-day theology holds that the afikomen is a substitute for the Paschal Lamb. Hence, even Jewish thought acknowledges the afikomen as the lamb of God. 13. Reciting the blessing after the meal. The third and fourth glasses of wine are filled and the Seder is stopped long enough for everyone to stand as the door is opened and Elijah is invited to come in and partake of this cup. 14. Reciting the hallel. 15. Concluding the Seder. The Seder always ends with these words "Next year in Jerusalem." It ends with those three words UNLESS you live in Jerusalem. Then, it ends with the words "Next year the temple rebuilt!" The Seder table was set beforehand with a symbolic plate containing a roasted egg, green vegetables, bitter herbs, a lamb's shank bone and haroset, a mixture of nuts, apples, cinnamon and wine. In the center is place a large cup that serves as Elijah's cup. Each participant, usually even the children will have their own wine glass. The glasses are sipped, on three occasions during the Seder. With an optional sip for the Jewish martyrs of the Holocaust. Now that we have an outline for the Seder meal, let us briefly examine some areas of particular interest to a Christian viewing the Passover Seder. In the answering of the four questions, the father draws on a parable about four sons; the wise son, the rebellious son, the simple son, and the son who does not know how to ask. The moral of the story is twofold; first the father has the responsibility of educating and dealing with his son, and second, no one can be a true Jew who does not see himself as personally freed by God from bondage in Egypt. The celebration of Passover instituted by God as a memorial for all time is an affirmation of what God did for us, not for them, not for you, but for me. This again is a clear foreshadowing of the personal relationship each believe must have with the risen Lord. We are saved because of what God did for us, not for them, not for you, but for me, personally. It was my sins that sent Jesus to the cross. It is my sins that were forgiven by God. And it is I, who am made free from Sin by Jesus's death and resurrection. Without this personal acknowledgment of sin and personal repentance, the gentile or Jewish sinner remains just that -- a sinner. I would not argue that a non-Jewish believer should or should not celebrate the Passover feast. This is a matter of personal conscience. What I would suggest is that the believer read the scriptures for themselves and decide accordingly. If after consulting God's word the reader decides to celebrate the Passover, a great deal of free material is available. Often supermarkets will start giving out free Seder Haggadahs a few weeks before Passover. More detailed information can be obtained from a book located inside of your local synagogue. Many Messianic Jewish groups have Haggadah's that are from a believing perspective and can be used for your Seder if you decide to have one. It is our hope that through this short examination the reader can understand why of all the Jewish festivals Passover gives the most complete picture of the sacrificial work of Yeshua in his paying the price for our sin. We must also admit that we hope all who read this article will decide to experience the blessing of a Born-Again Passover. Next Year in Israel! Hearing the Sound of the Shofar Hearing the Sound of the Shofar HEARING THE SOUND OF THE SHOFAR By Joshua Moss From THE JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER The ritual most frequently associated with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year (in most English translations of the Bible called the Feast of Trumpets*), is the sounding of the "shofar" (ram's horn) in the synagogue. By Jewish tradition, a person who has not listened to the shofar has not observed the day. Hearing the shofar means obedience to one of God's 248 positive commandments to Israel found in the Pentateuch, or Torah. Rabbis have said that the mitzvah (commandment) is not fulfilled by merely hearing the shofar, as if by accident, but that the hearer must listen with the specific "kavanah" (intention) of fulfilling the biblical commandment. To enhance this observance of Rosh Hashanah, various rabbis have suggested kavanot, or ideas implied in the sounding of the shofar, upon which to focus. The biblical command to hear the shofar is expressed in Numbers 29:1: "And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work, For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets [shofarim]." The word "trumpets" does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied. Nor does the word shofar ever appear in the Hebrew text of the Torah in connection with the holiday Jewish people call Rosh Hashanah. In the passage quoted above, the holiday is simply called "Yom T'uah", a day of blowing. However, it means more than simply "blowing" a trumpet or ram's horn. Three basic trumpet calls are sounded in the synagogue during the Rosh Hashanah service. The first is the simple OtOkiyahO, one long, sustained blast. In ancient Israel, the t'kiyah was a reassuring sound. It signaled that the watchmen guarding the city were on duty and all was well. That sound periodically divided up the watches of the day and night. The second trumpet call sounded on the shofar consists of three successive blasts called "shevarim". In ancient times shevarim signaled some significant event the changing of the guard, the arrival of an important person such as a king, or a call to assemble and hear welcome news. The sound of shevarim was less routine than the t'kiyah, but it was welcome because it meant good tidings. The third trumpet call, however the one mentioned in the Bible in reference to the Feast of Trumpets is the sound of alarm. It consists of nine rapid bursts on the shofar, referred to as "t'ruah." The sound of the t'ruah alerted Israel that they were under attack and that all the fighting men were needed to draw together immediately for battle. The t'ruah might also be sounded for some other calamity that required the immediate and urgent convocation of all the people. Thus in most of the Bible texts where t'ruah appears, the word is translated "alarm." A simpler, better translation of the Hebrew phrase Yom T'ruah, usually rendered "Feast of Trumpets," would be "Day of Alarm." It has the advantage of being a very literal translation, and it also communicates more of the flavor and intent of the holiday. To use the Bible's own terms, then, Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Alarm. The question arises: Why should Israel be alarmed? The summer harvest season had ended. The barns were full of grain and the storehouses were filled with fruit. What more could be wanted or needed? The Torah (Pentateuch) gives the answer: "When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them... and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage... then you say in your heart, "My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth." And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you... forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods... l testify against you this day that you shall surely perish... because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 8:10-14; 17-20)." By instituting the fall festivals consisting of the Day of Alarm, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths (forsaking of secure homes to live in flimsy huts), God taught Israel an important lesson: With God on her side, she need not fear earthly calamities or earthly enemies. Likewise, she must not seek security in earthly things but in her relationship with Him. Rosh Hashanah (Yom T'ruah) was a preparation for "Yom Kippur", the Day of Atonement. It was intended to turn minds away from the secular affairs of the summer season to focus on spiritual issues: God's holiness, the people's sin and the atonement God had provided. Ancient Israel needed to be periodically alarmed by the awareness of sin that separated her from God, and by her need for atonement. In the synagogue today the shofar sound of t'ruah should still alarm people. It should still register as the sound of an alert that points to the danger of remaining in sin without atonement. The Hebrew Bible says, "Your iniquities have separated you from your God" and "The soul who sins shall die" (Isaiah 59:2; Ezekiel 18:4). For us Jewish believers in Y'shua (Jesus) the kavanah, or central theme upon hearing the shofar, is joy in the knowledge that we have already allowed the seriousness of our sins to alarm us; we have heard and received the good news that God has atoned for sin, and that He delivers us from calamity through the sacrifice of our righteous Messiah. * In the Bible this holiday is never called Rosh Hashanah (the New Year). It falls on the first day of the seventh month as Moses reckoned time. Biblically, the Jewish religious year began in spring, in the month of Nisan (the Passover season). The Prayer That Is Not a Prayer The Prayer That Is Not a Prayer THE PRAYER THAT IS NOT A PRAYER (A Messianic view of Yom Kippur) By Joshua Moss The most well known of all of the melodies of the synagogue, and perhaps the most beloved of the passages of her prayer-book, is the haunting melody of Kol Nidre. Yet this most significant passage of the liturgy is not, properly speaking, a prayer at all. Kol Nidre marks the performance of a Jewish legal ceremony, performed in the synagogue at the beginning of the Yom Kippur ritual. Although it marks the beginning of the "evening service" (ma'ariv), traditional practice demands that Kol Nidre must be recited before sunset, because a legal annulment of vows cannot take place after dark. Before the haunting melody is chanted, a religious court is formally convened: "biy-shi-vah shel ma-lah uvi-shi-vah shel ma-tah," with the permission of the heavenly court and the permission of the court beneath." Then the Kol Nidre itself is invoked. "Kol nidrei dindarna al nafshatana miyom kippurim zeh ad yom kippurim haba, kulhon y'hon sh'ran." All vows which we bind ourselves with, from this Yom Kippur until next, may they be annulled." Kol Nidre contains wisdom, central to the ancient Jewish tradition, which has been lost to the thinking of most of us who are modern Jews. Many of us tend to come to synagogue on the high holidays thinking that the Days of Awe are the occasion for religious "New Year's Resolutions." We think of the things we don't like about ourselves and make a promise to ourselves to be different. We are mistaken if we think that such resolutions are the repentance that God requires from us. In fact, in Kol Nidre, we ask forgiveness in advance not only for the fact that we inevitable break such promises, but we say that we are sorry for having made them at all. "All of our promises cause us grief," "Kulhon, icharatna v'hon." The idea that our well-intentioned, but ill-conceived promises of self-reformation somehow atone for our sins, flies in the face of the teaching of scripture, and the noblest strains of the siddur as well. When we pray, "avinu malkeinu, chaneinu ki ein banu ma'asim," "Our Father, Our King, have pity on us because we have no righteous deeds," we are casting ourselves upon the grace of God. If our deeds are of no merit before the King of Kings, of how much less value are our empty promises. Our natural human tendency is to rely on our own resources, to think that we can solve our own problems, even in our relationship with God. But the Bible shows us the better way. In the book of Leviticus chapter 16 we read about the elaborate ritual Moses commanded for the Day of Atonement. From the complex observance we can distinguish three major themes: 1) Confession of Sin. Leviticus 16:21 tells us that the ritual involved the High Priest, who represented the people before God, confessing the sins of all Israel. Since confession was an integral part of the Yom Kippur ritual, and since all Israelites were commanded to participate (Leviticus 23:29), we may learn from this that all people are guilty and in need of confession. 2) The Sacrificial Offering. The High Priest would offer two goats as the special offering of the most holy day. One goat, the scapegoat, would be driven away into the wilderness, symbolically removing the guilt of the people. The other goat would be slaughtered and offered up in fire. And the high priest would take some of the blood of that sacrifice and do something he never did on any other day of the year. He entered the Most Holy Place, the part of the Holy Temple, hidden by a double curtain, which was the Dwelling Place of the Glory of God. He entered with the blood of the sacrifice. The blood of the spotless substitute that, in a symbol, paid the penalty of the children of Israel. For we deserved to die, but God extended his pardon to us. He did not pardon us by ignoring the consequences of our sins. But he acquitted us by visiting those consequences upon the substitute he appointed. 3) Personal appropriation. The children of Israel were not commanded to fast, nor to wear long faces, nor to make New Year's resolutions. Rather we were commanded to confess our sins, to witness the sacrifice of our substitute, and to appropriate that sacrifice in our own hearts. "The priest shall make atonement ... you shall humble your souls ... if there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people." (Leviticus 16:29-34; Leviticus 23:26-32) There were no meritorious acts of self-abasement. We were not asked to compensate for our sins by punishing ourselves. We were commanded to humbly appropriate what God had done. To acknowledge that when God offered a substitute to atone for us, that such a sacrifice was what we needed. Rather than to seek to atone for our sins by our supposed merits, we renounced any conception of our merits, in order to receive God's mercy. When the Holy Temple stood, the Day of Atonement, though certainly a solemn day, was also a day of joy. When the High Priest entered the chamber of God's presence with the blood of the sacrifice, there was a hush of anxiety. People feared that the Holy One might be displeased with his people. That he might strike their representative dead in the Holy Place, and not grant the people atonement. But when the High Priest emerged alive from the Most Holy Place, the people let up a great shout, for the joy of knowing that their sins had been atoned for. Before Yeshua went to die be executed, he sat at a passover table with his disciples. He explained to them that He was God's lamb: or rather, that all the sacrificial lambs of the ancient rituals were symbols of the reality which He fulfilled. His disciples were grieved when He spoke of His own death, but He told them, "You now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you." (John 16:22) When Jesus died, his disciples were filled with anxiety. They had heard Yeshua's statements that he was about to suffer on their behalf, but they had not comprehended his meaning. Until three days later, when Yeshua, our great High Priest, emerged alive. Then his followers had occasion for a shout of joy. And in the strength of that joy they turned the world upside down. And in Yeshua's name they proclaimed the forgiveness of sins to people of all nations. And if you and I will follow the lessons of the Hebrew Bible as they point us to Yeshua, we can have that joy as well, the joy that no one can take away. Hallelujah! Our High Priest has emerged alive. Our sin has been paid for, our guilt has been removed. If we will not appropriate the Lord's sacrifice, we will be cut off, but if we will humble ourselves and accept his grace, God will accept us. Let us rejoice in His love and His mercy. Succoth - The Feast of Tabernacles Succoth - The Feast of Tabernacles SUCCOTH - THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES OR BOOTHS by Victor Buksbazen from the book THE GOSPEL IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL "Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. "And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. "And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statue for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: "That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:39-43). An Agricultural and Thanksgiving Festival The Feast of Tabernacles comes on the 15th of Tishri, the seventh month according to the Bible calendar. This usually coincides with the end of September or early October. Jews the world over, from Bombay to Brooklyn, and from Jerusalem to San Francisco, are busy erecting booths, according to the prescription the Lord gave to them through Moses in Leviticus 23:33-44. The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the three great occasions upon which God commanded the Children of Israel to assemble in the Temple of Jerusalem, and present their sacrifices and offerings unto the Lord. "They shall not appear before the Lord empty" Deuteronomy 16:16. The Feast is primarily agricultural in its character. It is a joyous occasion. The harvest has been brought in from the fields, the groves and the orchards. Barns and sheds are full. Hearts, too, are full of praise and thanksgiving for God's bounties. It is "The Feast of Ingathering," or Israel's Thanksgiving Festival - "The Feast," as the Gospel of John 7:37 calls it. The Rabbis say, "He who has not seen Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles does not know what rejoicing means." With a little imagination one can see God's people streaming toward the Holy Temple, from every town, village and hamlet in Israel, and from distant lands abroad. They bring their tithes and freewill offerings, and fulfilled vows. At that time the emptied Temple treasury was opened, to be filled again by the gifts of the faithful, so that the poor and the needy throughout the land might be satisfied. The Feast of Tabernacles - Commemorative Apart from its agricultural character, the Feast of Tabernacles also commemorates God's mighty deliverance of His people from Egypt and their 40 years of wilderness wandering, when they dwelt in tents and tabernacles. Israel must never forget that for 40 years they were led by the hand of God, nor that they were pilgrims to a better land where God abideth. And so for the last 3500 years Jews have been observing Succoth, the Feast of Booths, building little tabernacles or booths, with walls of plaited branches and with thatched roofs, which afford shade by day, but permit the stars to gaze down by night upon the Children of Israel as they faithfully fulfill the ancient command: "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days." The Lulav and the Ethrog In ancient times there was a controversy between the Sadducees and the Pharisees concerning the booths. The Sadducees held that the "boughs of goodly trees" pertained to the building of the booths. The Pharisees on the other hand were of the opinion that the branches were meant to be carried in the hands by the celebrating people. This they called the lulav. Eventually a compromise was reached. The booths of branches satisfied the Sadducees. In addition the people used in their celebration a lulav which is made of branches of palms, myrtles and willows, all fastened with a golden thread. These branches of palms or "lulav" were waved in the Temple during certain parts of the service. Beside the lulav, every Jew came to the Temple holding an "ethrog," or citrus fruit, symbolic of the fruit of the Promised Land. The booths, the lulav, and the ethrog, or citrus fruit, are basic symbols of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Prophetic Character of the Feast of Tabernacles Numerous sacrifices were offered in the Temple bullocks, rams and goats for a sin-offering. The first day of the Feast thirteen bullocks were offered, twelve the next day, eleven the third, diminishing every day until seven bullocks were offered on the seventh day, making a total of seventy. The Rabbis explain that this number of seventy bullocks was a sacrifice on behalf of the seventy nations of the world, looking toward their conversion to the God of Israel and their gathering under the Shekinah glory. The Feast of Tabernacles, like the other feasts of Israel, focuses the attention of God's people both on the past, on what God has done, and on the future, on what God will do. The prophetic message of the Feast of Tabernacles is that there is shelter in the Tabernacle of God under the wings of the Shekinah glory, for the Jew first, and also the Gentile nations. Wells of Salvation There were two outstanding features which characterized the Temple service of the Feast of Tabernacles. (1) The pouring of water in the Temple. (2) The brilliant illumination of the Temple. A specially appointed priest was sent to the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher to bring water from the Pool. This was poured by the high priest into a basin at the foot of the altar. From another pitcher wine was poured into the same basin. These mingled together and flowed through special pipes back to the Brook of Kidron again. The significance of the pouring of water was twofold. First, it was a symbolic and ritual prayer for abundant rain. Summer was at an end. Winter and the rainy season was about begin. Upon abundant rain Israel then depended as now for her daily bread. Hence the prayers for the gates of Heaven to open and for abundant rain. Even today in the synagogue much prayer for rain is offered at this time. The pouring of water was a visual interpretation of God's grace in sending rain. Secondly, the ritual of water libation went beyond the merely physical; it was prophetic and Messianic in its hope, looking toward the outpouring of the Holy Spirit not only upon Israel, but also the believers of all the nations under the reign of Messiah King. The Day of the Great Hosanna The ritual of water pouring lasted six days, climaxing on the seventh day, which concluded the Feast of Tabernacles. This day was called Hoshana Rabba, The Day of the Great Hosanna. It has a special messianic significance. The pouring of the water from the golden pitcher took place amidst the blasting of the trumpets by the priests and the singing of sacred music by the Levites, while the people, waving their lulavs, or palm branches, chanted the Hallel, Psalms 113-118. The closing words of Psalm 118 are these: "Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee." From the words "Save Now" (in Hebrew "Hoshana"), this day was known as the "Great Hosanna." It was peculiarly Messianic in nature, a prayer for the speedy salvation through the Messiah. This is why our Saviour was greeted on another occasion with the waving of palm branches and the words, "Hosanna to the son of David," meaning, "Save us Son of David." This is important for the understanding of what happened when the Lord attended the Temple service on the day of the "Great Hosanna." It was while all this was going on, the pouring of the water from the Pool of Siloam into the altar basin, the blasting of the trumpets by the priests, the singing of the Psalms by the Levites, and the prayers of the people, "Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord," when the Messianic fervor was at the highest pitch, that the Lord Jesus stood in the Temple crying: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). What our Saviour said by implication was: "I am the answer to your prayers." The Messianic claim of our Saviour was clearly understood by all. It must have come like a bolt from the blue. Here was the One claiming to be the answer to the fervent hope and prayer of long centuries and many generations. Could He, the carpenter's son of Nazareth, be the long expected Messiah? "So there was a division among the People" (John 7:43). In modern times the Jews observe on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Day of the Great Hosanna, the custom of striking "The Arba'ah," the branches of the willow, three times in an effort to shed all the leaves, which represent sins. A Messianic Prayer At this time special Messianic prayers are said. Here is one of the prayers for the day: "A voice heralds, heralds and saith: Turn unto me and be ye saved, today if ye hear my voice Behold the man who sprang forth Branch is his name David himself Stand up! Be buried in the dust no longer! Ye who dwell in the dust Wake up and sing. Glad will be the people when he ruleth The name of the ungodly shall perish But to His anointed, the Messiah David, he giveth grace Grant salvation to the eternal people To David and to his seed forever The voice heralds and saith." Upon the completion of this prayer the leaves of the willow branches are struck three times on the benches of the synagogue. With each falling leaf a sin falls away from the one who prays. But "The Man who sprang forth, the Messiah David," who alone is able to bring forgiveness of sins, is still unknown in Israel. Temple Lights and the Light of the World Another central feature of the Feast of Tabernacles was the illumination of the Temple in Jerusalem. The festive pilgrims came to the Temple bearing lights and torches, while in the Temple itself the golden candlesticks were lighted, transforming the Temple into one brilliant focus of light which illuminated most of Jerusalem and surroundings. What an eloquent symbol of the Sanctuary of God which was to be a light of the world! Amidst all this splendor and the brilliant lights of the Temple, our Saviour stood proclaiming: "I am the light of the world." Without true knowledge of the rites and symbols of the Feast of Tabernacles, we miss the profound significance of our Lord's pronouncements in the Temple. Thus the three aspects of the Feast of Tabernacles stand out boldly: A harvest Thanksgiving, a national commemoration of redemption, and faith's leap into the future, when Jehovah shall gather the nations in the Messianic Kingdom of His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus. With this in mind we understand the vision of Zechariah: "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain" (Zechariah 14:16, 17). Now we can understand why the punishment for the non-attendance at the Feast of Tabernacles was to be the withholding of the rain. The Feast of Tabernacles was preeminently the season when God vouchsafed to His people abundant rain. But beyond that, we see even further that the punishment for willful refusal to come and worship the Lord must be the withholding of the outpouring of the blessed Holy Spirit from those who were invited to come but would not. The Apostle John looking toward the greater Feast of Ingathering writes: "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands: "And cried with a loud voice, saying, salvation (Hosanna) to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9,10). The Hidden Meaning of Hanukkah The Hidden Meaning of Hanukkah THE HIDDEN MEANING OF HANUKKAH By Rich Robinson From the JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER Everyone who ever grew up in a Jewish home knows the meaning of Hanukkah. It is the celebration of the heroic Maccabean victory over the wicked oppressors of the Jews. As children we loved to hear the story retold every year. It was the time to spin the "dreidl" and maybe win a little money, or maybe lose some! No matter. Who cared about winning or losing when a batch of fresh latkes (delicious potato pancakes that no two people ever made the same way) was waiting in the kitchen? But even when momentarily the latkes seemed the most important part of Hanukkah, we knew that above all it was time to think about the "miracle" of the Hanukkah lights, the reason we lit the menorah: After three years of fighting, the Maccabees regained the Temple that had been captured and defiled by the madman, Antiochus Epiphanes, and his henchmen. Legend says that ironically, in spite of the astonishing victory, there was not enough oil left to keep the sacred lamp stand burning for more than one day. It would take a messenger a week to bring fresh supplies, but who wanted to wait that long to rededicate the sanctuary at a time like that? Miraculously, the story goes, they lit the lamp stand and the oil amazingly lasted a full eight days until a new supply could be obtained. This is the Hanukkah we all knew and loved as children, and it is the Hanukkah most of us Jews know today. But hidden within the very word "Hanukkah" lies a meaning almost no one considers. Hanukkah is not only the Festival of Lights, the joyous celebration of the Maccabean victories but, in a sense, a Jewish New Year! There seem to be several new beginnings in Judaism. Jewish people celebrate the first of Tishri as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which generally falls in September or October, depending on the lunar calendar. In Exodus 12:2, Nisan, the month of Passover, is called the "first month" but it has not been celebrated that way for thousands of years. Another verse (Exodus 23:16) implies that the agricultural year ends in the fall . To make things more confusing, the rabbis spoke of four different new years: for kings, for the tithing of animals, for the general calendar and for trees. (1) And finally modern Jews from Western cultures join the rest of society in celebrating the first of January as the time to "turn over a new leaf." With all these new beginnings, why would anyone want to add Hanukkah as a Jewish New Year? The answer lies in the Hebrew word "hanukkah". Most people would translate it "dedication" or "consecration," and that is partly correct. But the word does not stress dedication to God or to any one as much as it emphasizes a new beginning. A better translation of hanukkah would be "inauguration." The word is found in the Old Testament in its verbal form, ''to inaugurate." We can also translate it ''to dedicate" if we use the term in the sense of dedicating a given thing to a new use instead of "dedication to God." Of course. it is understood that everything should be dedicated to God, but that is not the main idea of this word. We encounter "hanukkahs" (inaugurations) throughout the Bible. A new home that was built and not yet put to use not yet "inaugurated" or "dedicated" entitled a soldier to a military exemption. The completion of the Tabernacle called for the dedication or inauguration of the altar, as did the completion of Solomon's Temple and that of the Second Temple, which was completed upon the return from captivity in Babylon. In these cases, Israel's worship system was beginning anew. The altar and the temple had their hanukkahs, not with lights and dreidl games. but with joyful .sacrifices and presentations of gold and silver utensils. In the Book of Hebrews we are reminded by the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew hanukkah that the Law of Moses was inaugurated with sacrificial blood, and that under the New Covenant, the sacrifice of Y'shua inaugurates a new way to God. We see then that hanukkahs mentioned in the Bible have to do with new or renewed ways of worship and approach to God. This renewal is the hidden meaning of Hanukkah, "hidden" because the holiday is not very often thought of in this way by those who celebrate it. The lights, the games and the food remind us of the joy that always accompanied the renewal of worship in Bible times. For believers today, it is a joy that should accompany our realization that in Y'shua, God has inaugurated a new way of approach to Him, just as He did when He inaugurated the Law of Moses. Of course, salvation is, and always by God's grace even in Old Testament times. But the specifics of worship a approach to God sometimes changed. At other times, it was enough to renew the old way of worship, as when the Second Temple was dedicated. Whether the miracle of the oil real happened, no one can say for sure. Certainly God can perform miracles whenever He pleases, but this one miracle is not found in the Scriptures. As for the Maccabees, certainly their victory was real, but if we make them the victors rather than God, we miss the point. As for the dreidl games and the latkes, well, there's always time for fun and games. But Hanukkah celebrates the renewal of the nation's worship by the cleansing of the Temple and restoration of the altar in a new era of worship. Hanukkah is the Festival of Light but it is also the Festival of Renewal don't know that anyone will start calling Hanukkah by that name, but as believe we can certainly make it a time of spiritual renewal as we rededicate our lives to God. The traditional Jewish New Year the first of Tishri is a contemplative holy day in which we mingle the hope for sweet new year with the need to repent and make our hearts right before God. The secular new year on the first of January is another time to ask how we can serve God in the coming year. And if we think of the hidden Hanukkah as a Jewish New Year, the season of our renewal, we have a third opportunity to rededicate our lives to the service of God. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God. and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). As the Maccabees gave the Temple a fresh start and renewed the spiritual life of the nation, let us rededicate our own lives and serve God with a renewed commitment, even in this season. (1) Bloch, Abraham P., "The Biblical and Historical Background of the Jewish Holy Days" (New York: Ktav, 1978), p.20. A Messianic Look at Purim A Messianic Look at Purim A MESSIANIC LOOK AT PURIM (Adapted from an article by Mark Stover) The Jewish holiday of Purim entails an atmosphere of merriment. Plays called "Purimspiels" enact the story of the book of Esther. Young Jewish girls participate in Queen Esther beauty pageants. During the plays and at the synagogue readings of the Megillah (Scroll of Esther), children drown out every mention of Haman's name with greggers (noisemakers) while adults stamp their feet, boo and hiss. Some people send gifts to the poor, and everyone enjoys the traditional three-cornered poppyseed or prune pastries called harnantaschen. Yet behind all the feasting and merriment lies a somber message: the near destruction of the Jewish people. Purim reminds us that Jewish survival often hangs by a thread of circumstance but the matter is in God's hand. The events recorded in the book of Esther took place in fifth-century Persia. Though they are real, the court intrigue, dramatic confrontations, heroes and villains could be a plot for a melodrama: Esther, the beautiful Jewish teenager, becomes queen of Persia. Haman, the ambitious, arrogant bureaucrat, turns his envy of godly Mordecai into a vendetta against the entire Jewish population of Persia. Mordecai, Esther's cousin, appeals to her for help. She cautiously agrees to approach the king, but she has kept her religious and ethnic identity a secret. After hosting two banquets for Haman and the king, Esther reveals her Jewish identity. In the presence of Haman she tells the king of Haman's treacherous plot to destroy the Jewish people. Haman and his sons are taken away and executed. Mordecai becomes prime minister and receives great honor. Esther remains queen, and the Jewish people are spared from extermination. A Minor Holiday? Purim is classified as one of the "minor" holidays in the Jewish calendar, but that is not the assessment of the ancient rabbis. Many believed that the book of Esther was intended to illustrate God at work behind the scenes. That interpretation makes sense in light of the biblical text that neglects to mention the name of God or the concept of religion, and merely hints at the ritual of prayer. (1) More than one sage compared Purim to the "major" holiday of Yom Kippur. (2) The Hasidim (an Orthodox sect of Judaism) interpreted Purim as a classic case of Kiddush Ha-Shem (the sanctification of the Name) where individual Jews were willing to die rather than forsake their faith. (3) The theme of preservation under severe hardship and genocidal threats runs throughout Jewish history. Thus at Purim Haman is seen as a metaphor of evil like Pharaoh, Antiochus Epiphanes, Chmielnicki (who conducted the pogroms), or even Adolph Hitler. (In a speech in 1944, Hitler actually said that if the Nazis were defeated, the Jewish people could celebrate "a second triumphant Purim.") The Curse of Amalek The rabbinical interpretation of Purim that lies at the heart of the book of Esther, however, is the Amalekites curse. (5) In Esther 3:1 Haman is referred to as an Agagite, a descendant of Agag, King of Amalek. Israel's first encounter with the Amalekites is recorded in Exodus 17. (6) After the Exodus, as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness prior to settling in the promised land, the Amalekites were the first of the Canaanite nations to attack them. For this arrogance, God punished the Amalekites with the ultimate ignominy of the ancient Near East: the blotting out of their name. . hen the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." "...the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Exodus 17:14,16). In Numbers 24:20, the disgraced prophet Balaam states, "Amalek was first among the nations, but shall be last until he perishes." The shame of the Amalekites was memorialized in Moses' farewell speech to Israel: Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt.... Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you... that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget (Deuteronomy 25:17,19). At Purim the idea of blotting out the memory of the Amalekite descendant Haman has taken many forms. The Jews of ancient Persia and Babylon burned an effigy of Haman. In the 1800s Jews in Eastern Europe wrote the name of Haman on the soles of their shoes, and at the mention of his name stamped their feet, erasing the writing into the ground. Modern Purim customs include the use of noisemakers, cap pistols and the like to drown out Haman's name. Cursing or blotting out the names of evil men is found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. The verb most often used in this context is machah, which means "to blot out" or "to obliterate." It occurs 35 times in various forms, often describing the actions of God to "blot out" the name or the memory of particular individuals or nations. Sometimes it refers to the "blotting out" of sin. It is the word used in the Pentateuch for God's promise to blot out the name of Amalek, but it is also used several times in reference to God's anger toward the people of Israel. What's in a Name? Names were much more meaningful in ancient times. They symbolized who a person was, not merely what he or she was called by others. We find a striking illustration of this in Exodus, chapter 33, where Moses asked God to reveal Himself in a more personal way. And he said, "Please show me Your glory." Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you" (verses 18,19). In other words, to receive an illuminated knowledge of God, Moses would hear God's name proclaimed in his presence. In ancient times people were given names to illuminate or illustrate their character. A name could invoke honor, respect, fear, pity, scorn or ridicule. For example, when Jacob's name was changed to Israel, he went from being known as the supplanter (one who took his brother's birthright) to being the one who wrestled with God and prevailed (Genesis 32). One of life's most important objectives was to pass on a good name to one's descendants. The good name would endure through many generations. It meant honor even after death. On the other hand, if a name was forgotten or blotted out, it brought shame. Against such a background, we can see the severity of God's curse on the Amalekites in consigning their name and memory to oblivion, so that the only mention of them is one of ignominy. Yet despite Israel's attempts to forget this arrogant nation, the name of Amalek came back to haunt them several hundred years later. Agag, King of Amalek Israel's problem with the Amalekites was aggravated during Saul's reign as the first king of Israel. Saul had severe character flaws that eventually destroyed the monarchy he established. One such flaw was his tendency to disregard complete obedience to God's decrees. I Samuel 15:9 records that Saul ignored God's command to destroy the entire city of Amalek. Its inhabitants were the biological and spiritual descendants of the nation God had cursed in the wilderness. Yet after Saul and his army won the battle, they spared King Agag and the best of the livestock and all that was good. This refusal of Saul to carry out God's judgment on Agag not only cost Saul his throne, but brought grief to a future generation of Israel. Haman the Agagite It would seem that the enmity between Mordecai and Haman in the book of Esther was the dramatic climax of a feud that had lasted almost a thousand years. Not only was Haman an Agagite, but Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin and a descendant of Kish, who was the father of Saul. First there were Moses and Amalek, then Saul and Agag, and finally Mordecai and Haman. In the book of Esther the curse on Amalek and the obliteration of his name recurred. In the celebration of Purim we Jews, along with all of Israel, join Mordecai in blotting out the name of Haman and, by transference, the names of Agag and Amalek. It is no coincidence, then, that at Purim we make noise and try to drown out the reader's voice every time Haman's name is mentioned in the reading of the Megillah. Like those Jews who follow the ancient tradition of writing Haman's name on the soles of their shoes, every time we stamp our feet, boo and hiss and make noise at the mention of Haman, we obliterate the name that God has cursed and judged. The name of Haman is shameful and should be blotted out, if only symbolically, for it stands for evil, hatred and rebellion against the God of Israel. In contrast, the names of Esther and Mordecai bring joyful remembrance, and are to be honored. Haman ended up on the very gallows he had constructed for Mordecai. For us moderns, hanging conjures up the image of a limp body suspended by a rope with a noose around the victim's neck. However, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, (7) in ancient Persia hanging was a much more painful form of execution. The condemned person did not hang from a noose, but was impaled on a stake and lifted high in the air, an early form of crucifixion. Thus Haman's crime and punishment remind us of the passage in Deuteronomy 21:23b: "...he who is hanged is accursed of God." The Triumph of Good over Evil Purim reminds us of God's faithfulness and the quintessential triumph of the righteous victim over the evil oppressor. There are those today who see the meaning of Purim only in terms of good deeds overpowering the Hamans of this world. Yet reality tells us that despite our many good and noble efforts to work within social and political frameworks, there are too many evil Hamans for the Esthers and Mordecais of this world to handle. The only way to rebuild the world is for it to be turned upside down once again then finally it will be right side up. Y'shua, the innocent Messiah, willingly took the place of the guilty, and the weight of such a sacrifice was enough to swing the world back to an upright position where people could face God and ask forgiveness. Instead of an evil Haman hanging from the gallows, Y'shua, the innocent one, made that sacrifice. And though He was hung on a tree, His name is not blotted out or cursed. It has become the name that brings life and salvation a name that is above all other names, before which some day all will (in the words of the Hebrew Aleinu prayer) "bend the knee and bow down." (8) This Purim, as Jewish people follow tradition and blot out the name of Amalek, Haman and their kind, may they also consider the claims of Y'shua, whose very name means "salvation." He offers life and peace to all, both Jews and Gentiles, who trust in His name. And all who follow Him according to the New Covenant will have their own names inscribed in the Book of Life, where they can never be blotted out. (9) Cursed be Haman and his kind! Blessed be Mordecai and Esther, and all those who are faithful to the God of Israel! (1) Fox, Michael V., "The Religion of the Book of Esther," Judaism 39:2 (Spring 1990), p. 137. (2) "Purim," in Encyclopedia Judaica, edited by Cecil Roth, New York: Macmillan, 1972, p. 1392. (3) Lowenthal, Tali, "Early Hasidic Teachings: Esoteric Mysticism, or a Medium of Communal Leadership?" Journal of Jewish Studies 37:1 (1986), pp. 58-75. (4) New York Times, 1/31/44, p.4. (5) Berg, Sandra Beth, "The Book of Esther," Ph.D. dissertation, Vanderbilt University, 1977, pp. 67-68. Also see Birnbaum, Philip, translator, Daily Prayer Book: Ha-Siddur HaShalem. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1949, pp. 727-730. The traditional Hebrew liturgy for Purim includes an alphabetic acrostic poem that describes Haman as a "hateful branch (netzer) of the seed of Amalek." Cf. Isaiah 11:1, which speaks of the righteous "branch (netzer) of the seed of Jesse," a prophetic reference to the Messiah. (6) Exodus 17:8-16 is the Torah portion read on Purim morning. (7) Herodotus 3.125, 1229;4.43. (8) Bimbaum, pp. 413414. Cf. similar passages in Philippians 2:9-11, and Isaiah 45:23. (9) Revelation 3:5. Studies New In Christ New In Christ The NEW IN CHRIST column is dedicated to the basic teachings of Biblical Christianity. In this month's column, we continue our article from volume 3.1 on what it means to be "born again" into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The editorial staff at MORNING STAR encourages all readers to use this information to witness to those who don't know the Jesus and to help new Christians grow in their walk with the Lord. In this month's column, we continue our article from volume 3.1 on what it means to be "born again" into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Future issues will deal with other topics. The editorial staff at MORNING STAR encourages all readers to use this information to witness to those who don't know Jesus and to help new Christians grow in their walk with the Lord. WHY DO I HAVE TO BE "BORN AGAIN"? (Part 2 of a 2-part article) By Toby Trudel God's Word teaches that as soon as you make a true commitment to God in your heart to turn from all sin and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are saved (will be going to heaven). It's important to realize that you are NOT saved by the number or quality of good and bad things you do or don't do in this life. Some religions teach the idea that one can get to heaven by fulfilling certain religious obligations, partaking in special sacraments, or reciting specific prayers. This is simply not true, according to the Bible. The born-again Gospel of Jesus Christ makes it perfectly clear THROUGHOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT that you are saved by faith only, not by anything that YOU can do yourself. A few places you can find this critically important teaching are: Acts 13:38,39, 15:11, 16:31; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:17, 3:28-31, 4:5, 9:32, 11:6; II Corinthians 3:6; Galatians 2:16, 3:2-5, 3:11,12, 3:22-26, 5:4; Philippians 3:9; I Timothy 1:9; and Titus 3:4-7. You can't earn the right to go to heaven, it's a free gift. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). If you are truly born again, then good deeds and sinless behavior will naturally FOLLOW from your commitment. To put it simply, a good life does not result in your being saved. Rather, being saved results in a good life. "You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" (James 2:20). You can be the most generous, kind, humble and lovable person around, but if you don't have the commitment to Christ that HE DEMANDS in His word, you're not going to heaven (John 3:3-7). It is a good idea to study the books of Romans and Galatians for a better understanding on being saved by faith. Then read the book of James to understand how real faith produces good works. True repentance FIRST involves asking Jesus Christ to come into your life as your very own Lord and Savior. This is an absolute necessity in order to be forgiven of your sin and enter into heaven (John 3:16-18; Romans 10:9; Acts 16:31). Remember, the Bible says that every one of us has sinned at least once in our lives. It also tells us that so much as a single sin disqualifies us from entering into Heaven with God. "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it" (James 2:10). We are all guilty, and in need of a Savior. Christ is the Savior who paid that debt for all those who believe in Him. BELIEVE IN HIM - NOT ABOUT HIM. There's a huge difference between these two concepts. If you believe that Christ came to Earth from heaven, performed miracles, and was the Son of God, you only believe ABOUT him. It's the same as "believing" that George Washington was a great leader and the father of our country. The Bible shows us that Satan, as well as his demons, also believe these facts about Christ to be true (Mark 1:23, 1:34, 5:7; James 2:19). They are certainly not going to heaven! To believe IN Christ means to commit yourself to obeying ALL that He commanded in the Bible and to pattern your life after His (Acts 5:32; Matthew 12:50; John 14:23; I John 2:3-6, 3:6; II John 1:9). This includes His personal commandment that you MUST be born again (John 3:3-7). This is not the same as a passive acknowledgement of His existence. Even non-Christian religions agree that Jesus in fact lived. Believing in Christ means an active commitment to KNOWING AND DOING His will. Jesus said that it is possible for someone to say they believe in Him but actually be far from Him in their heart (Matthew 15:8). If you claim to believe in Him but deliberately disobey His word, you are either fooling yourself or a liar. "They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good" (Titus 1:16 - Also see James 1:22; I John 1:6 & 2:4). If you truly confess that you are a sinner and believe IN Christ, which is to believe with all your heart that He died for your sins and was resurrected AND to commit to follow all the Bible's teachings in your life from this day on, you will go to heaven. You have God's word on this (John 3:16; Acts 16:31)! The Holy Spirit will enter your life and give you the desire and the power to turn from sin and live the life God wants you to live. Don't expect to see "instant miracles" as proof. God deals with facts, not feelings. This is His perfect equation: Born again = Eternal Life There is no other equation. The important thing is to make a REAL and total commitment to God, not to yourself or anyone else. You can't deliberately leave any sin in your life. You can't put anything else ahead of God's Word, no matter what it costs you. Remember, you CANNOT fool God. He knows your heart. "Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his'" (2 Timothy 2:19a). New Testament Studies New Testament Studies This issue features the twelfth in a series on the Epistles of John. This is the second study in 2 John. On some occasions this column with be called Old Testament Study. In either case, studies will include Psalms and books from both the Old and New Testaments. LOVE CAN MEAN SAYING "NO!" (Part 2) By Pastor Geoffrey Kragen 2 John 7-13 "God will bless those who give." His white suit reflected the spotlight, giving the wearer the appearance of glory and purity. "We read in the Old Testament," he went on, "how God promised to meet the material needs of all who obey Him. You are told to give to the work of the ministry. God promises you that if you give to his work here at 'Light and Prosperity Ministries,' He will make you rich. After all, you are children of God. And He certainly doesn't want His obedient children to walk around in rags. No, He wants you to have furs, swimming pools, Cadillacs, anything you want." "I know that God has laid it on the heart of ten of you to each send a thousand dollars. And when you send your money, also send your prayer requests and we'll pray over each and every one. Remember that God will answer every prayer. He told me this morning that some of you aren't sending enough to aid the ministry so, no money, no answers. Remember, when you hear me, you hear God, so give and God will bless." The old woman was down to her last ten dollars and should have gone to the store for food today. She said to herself, "The Reverend Dinero said that God was unhappy with me because I haven't sent enough money. I know the Reverend loves me because he said so, and he speaks for God. I guess I will send this last ten and I know God will bless me with much more. I guess the reason He hasn't blessed me for the money I sent before is because I didn't have enough faith ..." The walk of the Christian is to reflect God's sacrificial love. We are to look for opportunities to express God's love to those around us. In point of fact, the demonstration of that love is the clearest witness of God's presence in the midst of a fallen world. The church, and by extension the individual believer, represents the visible presence of Christ until His return. The call to love has been abused on many occasions. When we discriminate against sinful behavior, individuals will accuse us of being unloving. Christians are condemned for being unloving when, in expressing the truth of Scripture, they state that only Christ can save. We know that to reject Christ is to ensure an eternity in Hell. Some would say to express this truth is to be unloving. Finally, some will attack God outright, saying that a truly loving God could not judge anyone. Sometimes we allow this type of manipulation to cause us to compromise. We "soften" the truth to avoid hurting someone. We allow ourselves to be coerced into doing something we really shouldn't. After all, if we don't give in, we aren't loving. Nevertheless, the point of this second epistle of John is to help us understand that being loving doesn't mean that we can't ever say "no." John is concerned with the manipulative behavior of some false prophets. These individuals presented themselves as believers. Because of their teaching, it was clear they weren't. Using their claim of being part of the body, they were trying to live off the love of believers. vs. 7: Again, John identifies the incarnation as the touchstone upon which is grounded the valid confession of faith. The Doctrine of the Incarnation describes the teachings of Scripture related to God coming in the flesh. Those who claim to come in Christ's name but reject His incarnation are not believers. Stott notes that John doesn't say these individuals teach against the incarnation. They simply don't teach about it at all. (1) This is a subtle practice of many false teachers today. They reject the incarnation, but they don't let anyone know. They try to hide this rejection, knowing that it would expose them as heretics. As we examine their words carefully, we can uncover their lies. John warns that these people are of the world. This is certainly true of our contemporary situation. The denial of the incarnation is the message of the cults. Unfortunately, this message is also being expressed by some within the mainstream of Christendom. John, who apparently wasn't known for being subtle, stated these individuals were liars and antichrists. These people were out to sow discord among believers, leading them away from the truths of Scripture. They were also trying to mislead the lost, preventing them from accepting the truth that would save them. vs. 8: John was also concerned that believers could lose what they had striven for, based on how they responded to these individuals. What does he refer to when he warns not to lose that which they had worked so hard for? The loss here is related to rewards. Remember that everything believers do will be tested based on whether their efforts were done for Christ or not. Paul describes it this way: "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames" (1 Corinthians 3:15). Even believers can be misled. Our unfortunate old woman, mentioned in the introduction, sent her last ten dollars to the Reverend Dinero. Her motive may have been good, but her act was meaningless. Dinero was a false prophet. If we support the work of this type of antichrist, our work will be burned up. God does judge the motive and doctrine of the teacher. Rejection of God's truth results in this condemnation, regardless of how much "love" is thrown around. vs. 9: Our daily relationship with God is dependent on holding fast to the truth that He has given us. This is called abiding. We will not see God working in our lives if we are not functioning in His truth. John isn't referring to the eternal relationship based on the work of the cross. He is talking about our daily walk. We know this because he is writing to believers. John is warning those who run ahead of the teaching of Christ. This is somewhat unclear, but Stott identifies the concept this way: "They had indeed 'gone ahead.' They had advanced so far that they had left God behind them!" "Many want God without Jesus Christ. They say they believe in God, but see no necessity for Jesus." (2) vs. 10: The specific problem John was concerned with related to the practice of hospitality. How does the requirement for hospitality fit into all this? During this period, Christian teachers traveled from town to town. The local believers would put them up while they were in the area. This was proper, but John didn't want the local believers to house the false prophets by mistake. vs. 11: John says that to help someone who is in the spirit of antichrist is to become an accessory to evil. When we give support or comfort to false teachers, we advance their work. Those who come up with all kinds of arguments to justify supporting false prophets don't understand that they might as well be propagating the false doctrine themselves. Jesus Himself said, "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30). Those who deny the incarnation, no matter how much they talk about Christ, are against Him. And even believers can work against Christ when they aid those who function in the spirit of antichrist. It is vital that we never compromise truth. We must judge all that we hear and see. We must discern if what we are being taught is of God or of Satan. Ignorance is no excuse. As we saw in the previous letter, we are individually responsible to stand for and understand truth. "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). John makes it clear: First, believers can advance the work of Satan, by supporting, no matter how ignorantly, those who carry out his work. When we have been supporting someone whose testimony was sound but who later turns from the truth, we are not accountable. Of course, we must no longer give aid once we have learned the truth about their deception. I remember an example of this situation. A woman left a large amount of money in her will to a local church. At the time she made the will, the church was relativity sound. She gave with good intent. The amount given was so substantial that it has aided the church in its work for many years. Unfortunately, today this church is heretical. And this good Christian woman's money is still being used there today. I believe, however, that since she donated while the church was still serving the Lord, the fact the church is no longer sound today doesn't invalidate her gift. Second, when we do aid the antichrists, we damage our relationship with the Lord and risk losing that which we have done for him. We don't lose our salvation, but our rewards. John's warnings to believers can be identified in two simple statements. (1) Don't be deceived by false teachers. (2). Don't give aid and comfort to the enemy. And so, John closes his second epistle. He notes that he has more he would like to say. But he wants to speak to them face-to-face. Apparently, his concern over this issue took precedence and therefore couldn't wait until he arrived at the church in person. What is the source of John's joy? How can we find it? John's joy came from fellowship with believers. Sharing with them in person was much more satisfactory than simply sending them a letter. He completes this epistle by sending greetings from others. As already noted, we believe the lady to whom this letter was sent represents a local church. So it is safe to assume these children are believers in another local congregation having close ties to this church. A very practical way that we carried out this need for care was shown by the board of our old church on the peninsula. When anyone representing a ministry came to us, asking to speak to the body, we had to have a referral from someone we knew. It wasn't enough that they presented a sound doctrinal statement. Either we had to have heard them ourselves, or they had to be recommended by someone we trusted. Sure, we probably turned away some who were sound, but our primary responsibility was to protect our flock. God would hold us accountable if we provided false prophets with a platform to speak from. We need to be wise. As Jesus said: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). We are to use godly sense. We are to think, and then act out of sound judgment. As with the First Epistle of John, the message of the Second Epistle is the exercise of Truth in Love. If these two are lived out together, we will not be in danger of losing our rewards. We will not fall into the trap of working hand-in-hand with antichrists. John calls us to separate ourselves from those who don't do the work of Christ. This is not a call to reject those with whom we have differences over issues not affecting salvation. The foundational doctrines of Christianity, however are nonnegotiable. As Paul said: "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil" (Romans 16:19). Shun those that are the enemies of Christ, and sacrificially minister to those who serve Him. And one day, all confusion will end. EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS. 1. Stott, John R. W., THE EPISTLES OF JOHN, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1983, p. 209. 2. Ibid., p. 211. Messianic Studies Messianic Studies Through out the history of the Church, there has been aberrant teaching which has become accepted as Biblical. One of the most incidious has been the view that the Church is "Spiritual Israel." This position holds that Israel, because of the rejection of Christ Jesus, lost its place as God's chosen people. All the promises made to Israel now belong to the Church. This is not the teaching of Scripture. And this teaching has done great damage. It needs to be refuted because it is bad theology. It is non-biblical because it gives an inaccurate view of God, Israel and the Church. It is dangerous because it has been used to support Anti-Semitic attacks on Jews individually and as a nation. Over the next three issues of Morning Star we are going to present this false theological system, its problems and the true position of Scripture. The Jewish people are still the Chosen People. THE CHURCH AND ISRAEL An Explanation of Replacement Theology Part 1 of a 3-part article by Wayne Hilsden A transcript from an address given at the I.C.C.C. Shalom Israel Conference Hyatt Hotel, Jerusalem - 13th June, 1992 Exactly a year ago in the May/June 1991 issue of "Restoration Magazine" there was a special edition on the subject of Israel and the cover page carried the heading "The Truth about Israel." Then in smaller subheading captions it said, "Apartheid, Oppression, Injustice, aggression." These are quotes from a few of the articles in this issue: "it is a mistake for Christians to exalt Israelis to the position of being God's chosen people." Second quote: "the progressive revelation of Scripture makes it clear that today God has only one people and it is the Church. We must not apply Old Testament prophecies to the State of Israel when Jesus, Peter and Paul have radically redirected our thinking concerning the Covenants of Promise. They are now directly to the Church." One final quote: "the Israeli claim to Palestine as a Jewish State by Divine right is incorrect and their continued enforcement of this claim by military oppression is unjust." These quotes from "Restoration Magazine" are actually typical of what is taught by Replacement Theology. In a nut shell Replacement Theology is "the Church is Israel." Now how could anyone come to that conclusion? Because the nation of Israel did not receive Jesus as here Messiah she has forfeited her pre-eminent position in the purposes of God. She has been cast off, she has been forsaken, rejected by God and so the Church has become the rightful heir to the blessings once promised to Israel. (Now it is an interesting thing that the Church has become the rightful heir to the blessings once promised to Israel ... that the Church inherits the blessings but Israel keeps the curses!) They say, from God's perspective the Jewish people today are no more significant than any other racial group whether they be Italian, Chinese or Indian unless the Jews repent, come to faith in Jesus and join the Church they have no calling, no future in the purposes of God. REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY IS NOT NEW Now Replacement Theology is not some new doctrine that has just surfaced in recent years, in fact this teaching concerning Israel can be traced back at least to the third century. Although you won't find the actual term Replacement Theology in most theological text books, the idea that the Church is Israel is a foundation stone of what is more commonly known as Covenant Theology which is a teaching which is a teaching which has dominated the theology of the Church for nearly its entire history. So, how did Replacement Theology (the Church is Israel) ever become the dominant teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ? ... Firstly, Replacement Theology is the natural by-product of the allegorization of Scripture, the method of interpreting the Scriptures employed by the Church for much of its history. ... Secondly, Replacement Theology has come to dominate the teaching of the Church because Replacement Theology seems to be backed up by historical facts. ... Thirdly, Replacement Theology appears to be logical and consistent with God's justice. As we look at these three arguments for Replacement Theology, I hope we will discover that they are not very strong arguments, but arguments that somehow have deceived the Church over many, many centuries. I have said that Replacement Theology teaches that the Church is Israel. How could such a belief ever catch on? Actually quite easily. If you interpret the Scriptures according to the method of allegorization, then you could easily believe that the Church is Israel. ALLEGORIZATION Now what do I mean by this term "allegorization"? I hope most of you know what the word allegory means. There are a number of examples in the Scriptures of allegories, for example, "I am the vine, you are the branches the Father is the gardener. Every point in that description corresponds to a reality of some sort. Was John saying that Jesus was the vine in a literal sense? No he wasn't. Is God the gardener? Not in a literal sense. Are we the branches, well, not in a literal sense, I have some flesh and bones here but this isn't made of wood, I'm not a branch. The idea of looking at the Scriptures from an allegorical stand point is to look at the words of Scripture not in their literal meaning but to look at these words as merely symbols of a spiritual reality, a spiritual meaning. Here is an allegorical interpretation of a particular passage of Scripture that our brother Guner Olsen used during this Conference. Guner Olsen has become a friend of mine and he won't mind me talking about this I am sure. Donkeys seem to be a theme of this Conference. So we need to address this. The story of Jesus coming down to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives in that final triumphal entry into Jerusalem is found in Matthew 21. He rides upon a donkey and upon a colt of a donkey. Now at the beginning of the third century, a man by the name of Origen, a Church father, a very famous Church father and theologian, looked at that same passage of Scripture and got a different interpretation. Origen was convinced that the colt in this story actually symbolized the New Testament. That donkey, that stubborn animal, that Old Testament so rigid, strict and hard, and the New Testament so much more gentle, God is love and we find peace in Jesus. That was his interpretation. Was that really the original meaning of that story? The two apostles that went to get the donkey and the colt, Origen said these are the two moral senses. Now there is such a thing as proper allegorization of Scripture. Unfortunately Origen took it quite literally, he actually believed that the original meaning of the story was that the donkey was the Old Testament and the colt is the New Testament. The real object of that story though is to talk about Jesus. Jesus is the one riding on the donkey. He is the one exalted. He is the one they shouted "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna" and laid down their clothes, and palm branches, That is the real issue here. ALLEGORIZATION CAN BE DANGEROUS I want to point out to you that allegorization of Scripture is a very dangerous thing. When it gets really dangerous is when we start talking about central doctrinal truths of Scripture. Allegorization of the Scriptures came to be dominant method of interpretation used in the Church by the third century and it prevailed up until the Middle Ages. If allegorization can determine that a donkey is the Old Testament then it is not hard also to believed that the Church is Israel. In fact if you try hard enough using this interpretation you can make the Bible say anything you want. Eventually this allegorization method of interpretation was shown for what it is, a very dangerous and deceptive interpretation. By the 16th Century, Martin Luther, the great Protestant Reformer began to question the validity of this kind of interpretation of Scripture. He argued that the safest and best way to interpret the Bible is according to its literal meaning unless it is very clear in the context of a passage that it is to be taken symbolically. Usually, it is very clear if that is the way it is to be taken. LITERAL FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY Luther said first look at the Scripture according to the normal rules of grammar, the syntax of the sentence, its speech, its context and to regard the historical events and the predictive prophecies as literal even if sometimes expressed with poetic and figurative language. How can we be sure that interpreting the Bible in a literal fashion is the right method? The best proof is the fact that hundreds of Bible prophecies have already been fulfilled literally. Let me give a few examples concerning the Messiah Himself. Isaiah 7:14 predicted that the Messiah will be born of a virgin. You would be tempted to allegorize that but it happened literally. Micah 4:2 claimed that he will be born in Bethlehem. How can we narrow it down to one little town, an insignificant town, but he literally was born in Bethlehem. There are religious Jews today who believe that the Messiah is Lubavitcher Rabbi of New York. He wasn't born in Bethlehem! Yet somehow, they are able to look at the Scriptures in a way that it doesn't have to be literal. You see banners all over Jerusalem "Prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Many of the people who hang out those banners believe that Rabbi Schneerson is the Messiah. We believe Jesus is the Messiah because he was literally born in the town of Bethlehem, the same place Micah Chapter 5:2 said He would be born. Isaiah 53 goes into great detail to show how the Messiah will suffer at the hands of men. Isaiah 42 also details His suffering, His death, that Messiah would be buried in a rich man's grave and then come to life again. Did that happen literally? Yes it did! So if the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Jesus were fulfilled so literally and in such detail, then why shouldn't we expect that the prophecies concerning Israel and the Jewish people will be fulfilled just as literally and in just the same kind of detail? Replacement Theology says "no, it cannot be." Whatever the Old Testament prophets predicted concerning Israel and the future has already been fulfilled symbolically in a spiritual sense by the Church, but I ask you to consider the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Israel. Has the Church ever in her history been scattered and sent into exile among the nations as the prophets predicted? Has the Church ever been promised restoration to the land and the mountains of Israel? Did the prophet really have the Church in mind when he says "they will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob and the land where your fathers lived?" The only way one could conclude that the Church is Israel is to interpret the Scriptures not literally but allegorically, a method that has left too much room for subjective and speculative interpretation. Why has Replacement Theology become a dominant teaching in the Church over the past hundreds and hundreds of years? Because theologians and scholars of the Bible used the method of allegorization when they looked at the Scriptures. But you might ask me, didn't you say a few minutes ago that the Protestant Reformation showed that allegorization is no longer a proper method of interpreting the Scriptures so that now the scholars look more literally at the text? Why haven't they rejected Replacement Theology? Part two of Wayne Hilsden's address will be presented in next month's Messianic Studies column. Special Studies Special Studies In this column we see many examples of Old Testament prophecies which were fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus the Messiah. We have included New Testament references which are not inclusive. These will give you a place to start in your own exploration of the miraculous fulfillment of God's Word. GOD IS REVEALED IN HIS PROPHECIES AND FEASTS By Doctor Charles Wootten God's teachings, preaching and working of wonders are enough to reveal His existence through the Lord Jesus Christ. However, this series of articles would not be complete unless we glance briefly at how Jesus Christ was revealed in the Messianic prophecies as delineated in the Old Testament. The Old Testament contains several hundred references to the coming Messiah. All of these were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, establishing a solid confirmation of His Messiahship. One of the earliest prophecies is found in Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (NIV). It is written in fulfillment, Galatians 4:4: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law" (NIV). That which was predetermined in the heart of God came in the right and proper time to cement a personal covenant with Him. This prophecy forms the foundation of the Scriptures in which we see the true cornerstone, Christ. The Genesis passage begins the chain of prophetic utterances which were specifically fulfilled beyond any human control. The following are a few of the many examples found throughout the Old Testament: Place of Birth ... "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:2). Fulfillment recorded in Matthew 2:1-6. Time of Birth ... "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes ..." (Daniel 9:25); "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his" (Genesis 49:10). Fulfillment recorded in Matthew 1:17. Manner of Birth ... "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Fulfillment recorded in Matthew 1:18-23 Betrayal ... "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9). Fulfillment recorded in Matthew 26:23 Manner of Death ... "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet" (Psalm 22:16). Fulfillment recorded in John 20:25 Attitudes of Others ... "I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting" (Isaiah 50:6); "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him" (Psalm 22:7-8). Fulfillment recorded in Matthew 27:27-40. His Piercing ... "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son" (Zechariah 12:10). Fulfillment recorded in John 19:34, 37. His Burial ... "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:9). Fulfillment recorded in Matthew 27:38 and John 19:38-42. Next, we will consider a few examples of the Feasts of the Lord and how they were specifically fulfilled in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 5:7 shows the death of Christ as shown in the Passover. "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast -- as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." 1 Corinthians 5:8 display's Christ's holy walk in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. "Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth." In 1 Corinthians 15:23 Christ is seen the fulfillment of the Resurrection in the Feast of First Fruits. "But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him," Acts 1:5 and Acts 2:4 record the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as foretold by the Feast of Pentecost. "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." and, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them," Israel's Regathering, foretold in Matthew 23:31 is presented in the Feast of Trumpets. "So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets." Romans 11:26 shows Christ's cleansing work modeled by the Feast of Atonement. "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob ...'" Zechariah 14:16-18 talks of the Rest and Reunion with Christ as seen in the Feast of Tabernacles. "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles." While we have not listed all the prophecies concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, we should mention that in genuine prophecy, according to all Biblical conceptions, the fulfillment constitutes an integral part. In this issue's Feature area, we cover the Feasts in much more detail. "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die." "The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death." "You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?' If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him" (Deuteronomy 18:15-22). Such prophecy, whether it be in a contemporary or other setting, is the word of the living God to mankind. All the rays of Old Testament prophecy have found their common center in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Various prophetic words were uttered and recorded in the Bible. All of them came true. The events not yet fulfilled are those tied to the Second Coming. The purpose of these prophecies reveal the Supremacy of God. Detailed events in the Divine Plan concerning the Messiah had for their purpose the absolute establishment of the Supremacy of God throughout the entire world. The WORD for Today The WORD for Today In Hebrews 10:25 we read, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The responsibility of all Christians is to encourage one another. This series is intended to help provide some guidelines in the process of encouragement. The book, "Encouragement, the key to caring," by Lawrence J. Crabb Jr. and Dan B. Allender, is recommended reading with the series. Each message can be read in conjunction with the related chapter in the book. The series can be used as the basis of a group study in your church. Please let us know if you find the material helpful, or if you have any questions or suggestions. The article presented here is the eleventh of fourteen messages given by Pastor Geoff Kragen. They were presented at Foothill Bible Church in Lincoln, California. CAN WE LISTEN? "Encouragement is the kind of expression that helps someone want to be a better Christian, even when life is rough." (1) Before I got into counseling, I was involved in small group ministries. On one occasion I received a call from a young lady who was a member of one group. On several occasions, she and a friend had been over to our house for dinner. We had known her for a while; she was our friend. On this occasion she shared her struggle with her faith. The basis of the struggle was primarily due to a developing lesbian relationship with her friend. While she knew this was contrary to Scripture, she had no intention of doing anything about it. I tried not to come across as being shocked, but I was. Apparently, however, I succeeded at hiding my reaction. I was in way over my head. I tried to answer the best I could while not destroying any chance of future contact. I tried to let her know that while I could not approve her choice, I still cared about her. If you want to care for people, you should be prepared. You might hear something that may surprise or even shock you. As seen in earlier articles, in order to encourage others, we need to first allow the Lord to make us sensitive to the needs of people around us. We must be expectant, looking for the opportunities the Lord will put in our path. Then, when these times arise, we need to depend on the Holy Spirit to listen to the person's words and be aware of nonverbal clues as well. As our desire to encourage grows we will be amazed at the opportunities the Lord will give us. The result of our availability will be not only many encouragement opportunities, but also challenges. We will hear confessions we are not prepared for. We will find out just how much pain there is around us. We will see just how serious our brothers' and sisters' struggles are. We will need to trust the Lord for the sensitivity not to respond with a judgmental spirit. We must not give the impression that we condemn the person. Remember, if we are opening the door for someone to share, we open the door for the Lord to heal. Dr. Crabb identifies this first principle as: "The essence of Encouragement is Exposure without Rejection." (2) I don't remember ever rejecting anyone in a counseling context. But, much to my regret, I certainly have rejected people in a teaching situation. When I was younger and less gentle, I would allow my hot buttons to be hit by people in my Sunday School class. In a specific case I'm thinking of, I made my point. But the person who I tromped on never returned to the class. If memory serves me, he may not have returned to the church either. Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't be shocked when we hear shocking statements. What I am suggesting, however, is by depending on the Lord we should be more concerned with the need to love that person, than the need to be comfortable. As encouragers, we are to provide a safe place to share. We must be willing to hear what we hear. If someone takes the risk to open up, we must not become the reason for them to regret that vital step. (There may, however, be situations when we can't maintain confidentially, such as when we learn of child abuse.) Generally, people will only share if they believe it is safe to do so. We need to provide a sense of security for them. Sometimes someone will share their victimization with us. We will be shocked because we can't comprehend how so much harm can be done. In this case, our shock may come out of compassion. We can freely let the person know we hurt for them. However, sometimes we are shocked when a person shares their own sin. Then we may chose to respond, at least internally: "Why, I would never do anything like that." This is when a judgmental spirit rears its ugly head. We must never forget the words of Paul. "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). The fact is that we are no better than anyone who could ever share with us. The message of encouragement we have to share is: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). We know that we are not condemned because we are saved. We can encourage those who have repented and are still suffering guilt that they too will not face condemnation. The bottom line of our response to others should be grounded in our own accurate self-image. If we truly see ourselves for who we are before a righteous God, then we will never reject other people. Instead, if they are believers, we will want to help them experience the peace of God. If they are unbelievers, we should desire to help them find the way of peace between themselves and the Lord. This can only be done in a loving spirit. Crabb's second principle is: "Understanding is Sometimes Better than Advice." (3) The importance of simply coming alongside cannot be overemphasized. I suspect that many husbands have experienced this truth. I know that I have an overwhelming need to fix whatever Janette (my wife) shares with me. What I really need to do is just listen. She doesn't always need me to fix something. She isn't asking for my words of wisdom. She simply desires my loving listening. Whether out of true compassion, or our own need to fix problems, sometimes we may find it difficult to keep our mouths shut. Even if our motive for advising is proper, we don't always have to speak. Remember, if we are trying to create a setting for safe sharing, quick advice-giving doesn't help. In fact, nothing will shut down someone faster than a quick solution to something they have struggled with for years. What we can do is ask questions. We can try to get the person to clarify his thoughts so we are sure that we understand what is being said. This sends the message, "I care about what you are saying." Also, sometimes by expressing something aloud, the speaker may hear something he or she needs for a better understanding. I know that many times just being able to hear my thoughts aloud gives me greater understanding of issues. If we listen instead of speak, we give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to speak to the heart of the person who is sharing. Dr. Crabb's third principle says: "The More Precise the Understanding, The More Encouraging the Words." (4) This should be an obvious point. It is only through listening to people that we can respond intelligently when the time comes. This reinforces the truth that the most important action we can take when actually dealing with someone on a one-on-one basis is to listen carefully. I heard an interesting report that came out several years ago. An association of psychiatrists took a survey. Much to their surprise, they found that clients would have a better chance of recovery going to an English teacher rather than a psychiatrist because English teachers know how to communicate. And we too can communicate, but we must do so from knowledge. We only gain knowledge about someone by being with them over time. We only gain an understanding of someone by listening to them. If we are going to encourage people, we need to listen. Then we can confirm they are children of God, assuming they are believers. Consequently, they have worth, not in and of themselves, but worth imputed to them because they are loved by God. People were created for relationship and impact. It is only in relationship with God that we can come close to experiencing this adequately. And it is only in dependency on Him that we can move into relationship with one another, even though we will sometimes be hurt. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, we will have true impact. As you encourage, you will see the Lord work through you. And, as we see the Lord work, we will enjoy the freedom that comes from letting Him be responsible for the results. As we understand our own need for relationship and impact, we can also understand that these needs are universal. We can have the joy of seeing hurting people come to recognize their need and move toward the Lord to have their needs met. Let us pray to learn how to listen effectively. Then we can convey safety and caring. When the time comes, the Holy Spirit will provide the words that meet the deep need of the person we are loving. In the next two articles, we will deal specifically with the techniques for encouraging found in the supplemental text book. 1. Crabb, Jr., Lawrence, J. and Allender, Dan B., ENCOURAGEMENT - KEY TO CARING, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, p. 10. 2. Ibid., p. 104. 3. Ibid., p. 106. 4. Ibid., p. 107. Columns Anee M'Amin Anee M'Amin Anee M'amin is Hebrew for "I believe". Each month this column presents the testimony of a Jewish believer in Yeshua (Jesus). MY SEARCH FOR TRUTH by Jack Sternberg From THE JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER At the age of 33 I was a Jewish physician living in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had finished my medical oncology training at M.D. Anderson Tumor Institute, Houston, Texas, and was already board certified. I had been in private practice in medical oncology for more than three years, and my practice was successful beyond my wildest dreams. I was happily married to an incredible woman (who was also Jewish) and we had two terrific children, a girl and a boy. We lived in a large, beautiful new home with a swimming pool. My wife and I both drove new cars, and we had been accepted in our new social environment. Financially we were solid, and we had "everything" one could want. We were as happy as any couple we ever knew, and our lives were almost storybook perfect. Why, then, did we keep asking each other, "Is this all there is? Isn't there something more that we're missing? What in the world could it be?" We tried to get more involved in the social life of the medical community and the Little Rock community, but that didn't bring fulfillment. We tried disco dancing and advanced disco dancing along with its associated night life, but that was empty. We tried getting back to our Jewish roots and being active in the temple and Jewish organizations, but that, too, seemed empty. The Jewish traditions did little for me. In fact I felt hypocritical, since I was an agnostic/atheist and didn't know who, what or if God was! In my three years of practicing medical oncology I had seen much pain, suffering and death. I couldn't explain why bad things happened to so many seemingly good people. It began to affect me and take its toll on my emotions. To compensate, I became as unemotional as I could, both professionally and personally. About that time I developed optic neuritis in my right eye, and overnight I lost most of the vision in that eye. I feared that it would spread to my left eye and my career would be over; my life as I knew it would dramatically change. I became angry and cursed God, if there was a God. "Who are you? What are you like?" I asked. "Why are you doing this to me when so many people to whom you gave cancer depend on me? You must not exist!" That night I abandoned God. I told Him that I could never believe in Him until I could understand His ways and the reason for all these terrible occurrences. Little did I think that I would find answers. Little did I think that God was listening and would later answer my questions (prayer). My life and health stabilized. During that time I met many patients who seemed to have answers for their difficult circumstances. They didn't seem to have the anger toward God as I had that I would have expected. They trusted Jesus, now and for their eternity. They tried to tell me about Him, but I rarely listened. If He existed, He had allowed terrible illness to happen to them, yet they still worshipped, loved and followed Him. How ridiculous! Yet I envied my patients for their faith. Anyhow, what did it matter? Jesus was not for Jews, only Gentiles. I was searching for truth, but I didn't know or even realize it. I desperately needed answers. My wife was going through a similar process, but I was unaware of her struggle. Who ever talked about such things? Who even knew the words to ask the appropriate questions? God, in His sovereignty, waited two years until we were both ready to hear His answers willing to hear the truth and act upon it. One Saturday evening we heard from our 1l-year-old daughter that a Jewish friend of ours (also a physician) and his family were attending a church. I was outraged at his turning his back on his Judaism, although by that time my family and I had quit the temple and all Jewish organizations. (Oh, the hypocrisy of spiritual blindness!) I immediately called this friend to confront him. He kindly told me that he had found his Judaism and the God of Judaism at that church. He was now, for the first time, truly proud and excited to be Jewish. I was shocked but curiously intrigued. I asked if we could attend church with him the next day. Of course we could, and we did. I so vividly remember that Sunday morning, October 19, 1980. I remember the anxiety I felt as I walked into the worship service. It was a new church and was meeting in the gymnasium of a local private school, so it didn't seem so "churchy." I expected that we would stand out somehow and be identified as Jews and outsiders, but people only noticed that we were newcomers and seemed genuinely thrilled that we were visiting. What a pleasant surprise! The service began with a baby dedication, and we heard, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one." What was the Shema, the holiest prayer of Judaism, doing in a Christian church? Soon the preaching began, and the sermon was totally from the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures). Psalm 73 was being explained. It was about a pious Jew, Asaph, asking God why good people suffer and evil people prosper. Why did evil seem to win out over good? What purpose was there in keeping God's laws and ways? I couldn't believe the topic. How did they know that I had the same questions and no answers? I sat there and listened as God explained the seeming paradox. The answer was that God sees all from an eternal perspective, and we see everything from an immediate, present viewpoint. Those who believe and belong to God will have prosperity for eternity (but not necessarily during the present or the immediate future), while those who do not belong to God will spend forever with nothing. What they have now is all they will have for all eternity. I can never adequately explain what happened to me that day because it was supernatural. I walked into that church an agnostic/atheist/skeptic, and I left knowing that God was real, good and worthy to be loved and worshipped. Now all I had to do was discover who He was. Could it really be this Jesus? I hoped it wasn't. I wanted so desperately to discover that the God I now sought could be found in normative, modem Judaism. I knew that I wanted to know this God and to follow Him, and I would, no matter what or where I found Him. It would just be so much easier if I didn't have to become a Christian. We left church and spent the next three hours with our Jewish Christian physician friend and his wife. They explained to us how ancient Judaism and Christianity fit together how Jesus Christ (Y'shua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah) had fulfilled all the ancient prophecies from the Old Testament concerning the future Messiah of Israel how Christianity today considers itself to be worshipping the Messiah of Judaism. My friend tried to explain the Trinity, that it was not three separate gods which, of course, as a Jew I could never believe) but one God manifesting Himself in three different ways or forms. These friends also made me aware of another problem I knew nothing about sin. Modern Judaism had long ago stopped teaching about sin, sinfulness and separation from God due to sin. My friends clearly showed us that throughout the Old Testament, God was very much concerned with personal sin and the sins of the Jewish people. He had given very explicit rules and means for us to be cleansed of sin. The trouble was that we had long ago stopped following His prescription, and now we were sick. The cure was in following His Son Jesus, because He could cleanse us of our sin. He was our medicine, our antidote, our permanent cure. We were astounded at how logical and factual his presentation was. It all made so much sense so much that I visited with several rabbis, hoping that they could show me the fallacies of the Christian argument. They tried valiantly and desperately to explain away Christian theology as it would apply to a Jew, but I found their reasoning and explanations flawed and shallow. For the most part, rather than addressing the issues and my questions, they tried to make me feel guilty about considering Christ. The more my wife and I studied, the more we read and the more we spoke to Christians and went to church, the more we wanted to have this oneness with God. But they said we could only have it if we first had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To have that, we had to confess that we were sinners and repent (turn away from our sins). Nothing we could do (such as good works and deeds) could rid us of our sins before God. Only believing in Jesus and His death for us was capable of cleansing us of our sins. We had to believe that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel and God Himself (who had taken the form of a man). We had to ask Jesus, through the Holy Spirit of God, to come and live within us, to change us into the people He wanted us to be, and to be Lord of our lives forever. Finally in December of 1980, my wife and I both made our separate personal decisions to follow Jesus as our Lord, Savior and Messiah. It was the best decision we ever made. Now we had truly found our Judaism and felt complete. Now we not only knew the God of our forefathers, but we also knew His Son and His Spirit. That changed our lives, our marriage, our relationship with our children (who now also know the Lord) and my practice of medicine. Our perspective on everything is different now. Our lives have meaning, fulfillment and contentment. Jesus has filled the enormous void that we previously had a void that money, possessions, position, status or power never could and never would fill. Jesus was the answer to our questions. He is and always will be the answer to all of humanity's needs, wants and desires. He is your answer, too. If you don't know Him, I pray that as an intelligent, rational individual, you will not reject the answer before you even ask the questions! Editor's Note: Dr. Sternberg, a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and board certified in medical oncology, continues to practice in Little Rock, Arkansas. Testimony Testimony I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FOOL By John Goetsch From the Salvation Online Network. It has been said that "everybody is somebody's fool". I am not any different than anyone else. I have always been a fool for something. On July 31, 1967, I was sitting in the auditorium at Camp Chetek in Northern Wisconsin, listening to Dr. Eric Folsum preach a message from the Bible on Hell. He read scripture throughout the message that told about Hell being a place of everlasting torment prepared for those who never personally ask Jesus Christ to save them. At the close of the service he asked those who wanted to be saved to come forward and have someone show them from the Bible how to be saved and go to Heaven. I felt very uneasy, and those scriptures on Hell were really convicting my heart. But, I couldn't walk down that aisle, why everyone knew that John Goetsch was a Christian. I had grown up in a Christian home, had gone to church and Sunday School all my life. I went to Vacation Bible School and Youth Camp every summer. I had been baptized and was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Watertown, Wisconsin. In fact, I was president of the youth group in my church. But as I walked out of that auditorium that night, I could not get away from those scriptures on Hell. That night and the next day I was miserable. I kept asking myself, "Am I going to Heaven or Hell?" Everyone else seemed to think I was going to Heaven, but I wasn't sure. The following night, I couldn't listen to the preacher. I didn't hear a word he said. I kept asking myself over and over; am I really going to Hell? Again at the close of the service the invitation was given, but I couldn't seem to move. Something inside kept saying, "You're good enough. You're better than most of these other people. They are the ones that need to be saved," and I listened. Later that night we watched a gospel film. In the darkness of that room that night God began to speak in plain, simple terms to me. He said, "John, if you don't get saved, you are going to go straight to Hell, no matter what anyone else thinks, you are not saved!" Right then I realized I had been a fool for the devil. He had tricked me into thinking that I had been good enough. As the film ended, I turned to a pastor who was sitting behind me and asked him if he would help me. Pastor Don Phaffe took me to a small room and there on my knees on August 1, 1967, at 10:30 p.m. I personally asked Jesus Christ to save me. I claimed Romans 10:13 which says: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," and Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in ..." The Lord didn't trick me that night like the devil had. At that moment Jesus Christ forgave my sin and gave me everlasting life. No longer was I a fool for the devil. I went back to high school that fall with real joy and peace in my heart knowing I was on my way to Heaven. During those high school years I became very active in athletics playing football, basketball, and track, and was achieving some success in all sports. By the time I reached my junior and senior years, I was completely wrapped up in sports, with little time for anything else. One day in Sunday School my Youth Pastor asked us to write down some goals for our lives. My goal for High School was to make all-conference in football. For my College goal , I wrote down that I wanted to play College football, and for life my goal was to get into some facet of professional sports. Things went well and my senior year I captained the football team to a 5 win and 3 loss record, quite respectable since our high school had not won a single football game in three years prior to that. Offers began to come from various colleges asking me to play football. Our basketball team was ranked 7th in the state of Wisconsin, and I was looking forward to breaking the school record in the shot put in track that spring. Sports was my god and I just didn't have time to serve Christ too. On January 20, 1970, in the middle of my senior year, I was sitting in one of my classes and my chest began to hurt. I had never felt any pain like it before, but I put off thinking about it because we had an important game that night. The pain grew steadily worse that afternoon and evening and that night I played the worst basketball game I had ever played in my life. I disgraced myself and the team. Physically hurting and emotionally upset, I went home to bed. However, as soon as I laid down flat on my back, the pain became sharp. It seemed as if someone was taking a knife and cutting inside my chest. At 3:00 a.m. the next morning my parents took me to the hospital. They put me in a bed and I stayed in that bed, unable to move, for the next 3 months. I had a virus of the heart sac. My heart sac was filled with poisonous liquid and was the size of a basketball. I missed the rest of my senior year, the rest of basketball, and all of the track season. All of the time I was in that hospital I never read my Bible or prayed once. I was bitter against God because He had taken everything I had dreamed of away. For the next two years I ran from God and rebelled at even the thought of surrendering my life to Him. I gradually worked my body back into condition until it was strong and completely healthy. Three weeks prior to my first college football game, I felt the same pain in my chest I had felt two years before. The doctors, after two weeks of tests told me that I had an enlarged heart, almost two times the size it was supposed to be. They informed me that I would never play sports again. I was crushed. All I had ever worked for was gone. I went back and told the coaches that I would never play again. As I walked across the practice field that morning I looked at the footballs lying there and walked away knowing I would never pick one up again. At that moment my heart broke and I gave my life to Christ. I told the Lord I had run from Him long enough and if He wanted my life, He could have it all. I drove home and parked the car in the garage. My mother came running out and said, "John! John! you can play football!" I said, "No, the doctors told me this morning that I would never play again." She replied, "I know, but they just called. The tests were read wrong. You are perfectly healthy and can start playing tomorrow!" I bowed my head and thought, "If only I had been willing to give God my life two years ago when He wanted it." Though God allowed me to play 3 years of college football and 4 years of college basketball, I never again let myself be a fool for sports and put anything before Christ. I went to Maranatha Baptist Bible College and it was while I was there that God called me to be a preacher and into Evangelism to help others, like you, find Christ as your Savior and serve Him. 1 Corinthians 3:18 says, "Let no man deceive himself, if any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool (for Christ), that he may be wise." Today, friend, don't be a fool for the devil any longer. Right now in simple faith ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart and life, repent of your sin, and ask Him to give you eternal life. If you have been saved, don't be a fool to the temporal things of this life. Dedicate your life to your Saviour and be a fool for Him. Education Education CAN YOU TRUST GOD FOR YOUR CHILD'S CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TUITION? By Dr. Paul A. Kienel, Executive Director Association of Christian Schools International My wife Annie and I are blessed with three wonderful daughters; Sandi, Colleen and Cheryl, all of whom are married to outstanding Christian men. We now have four remarkable grandchildren! You will notice that sixty-year-old fathers and grandfathers like me tend to use adjectives like "wonderful," "outstanding" and "remarkable" when describing their family. But the truth is we are blessed. We are blessed because every member of our family, including our grandchildren, are strong believers in Jesus Christ. We are blessed because all of our adult children, including our sons-in-law, are active in the churches they attend and most of them hold leadership positions. We are blessed because their education prepared them for the professional positions they hold. We are blessed because our two older daughters, who are the mothers of our grandchildren, along with their husbands, are raising their children in a Christ-honoring way. We are blessed, indeed. Yet, if I had in my possession all of the Christian school and Christian college tuition my wife and I have paid over the past thirty years and the tuition subsidy we are currently paying for our four grandchildren, I am sure we would be substantially better off financially today! There is no question about it! The figure is staggering! Has that "mountain of tuition" we paid these past thirty years been easy to pay? I have to tell you there were times when it was very difficult, especially in our early years. As our girls began their schooling, my wife worked part-time outside the home to make Christian school tuition possible. Thankfully, we trusted God and He always provided. Now, more than ever, I can identify with these words by Dr. Roy Lowrie, Jr.: "Let this be clear: Parents can trust God to finance his will for the lives of their children. Such trust in this area of tuition money is a remarkable growth experience for parents and for their students alike. The children need to know that it is God who is supplying the money for them to attend the school. This will encourage them to trust God for money in their subsequent years, a great lesson for a Christian to learn." Rarely does God provide the tuition money through some large gift to the family. Usually He provides by allowing the father, and many times the mother, to have jobs to earn the money. In God we live and move and have our being so the salary earned is because of His goodness. Most tuition money is accounted for by the priorities established by the Christian school family. They could easily spend that money on something else, but they put the Christian school toward the top in their system of values and spend less money on other things. Their titles and offerings are followed by their tuition in order of importance. (1) A long-time Christian educator, Ezra Wolgemuth, often said, "Christian school education doesn't cost - it pays." If you were to ask me if I think that statement is true after paying Christian school tuition for thirty years - the answer is a whole-hearted yes! Take a look at the alternative! William K. Kilpatrick wrote the following in his syndicated column: In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a 15-year-old is accused of murdering a college student during a mugging, then bragging to his two high school-age accomplices that the knife went all the way through the body. After the boy's arraignment, some of his classmates cried... not for the loss of a promising life, but for the high bail that had been placed on their friend. When a reporter asked one of them what the appropriate punishment for murder should be, he responded, "counselling." Said another, a girl, "What's the big bleepin' deal? People die all the time. So what?" Many of today's young people have a difficult time seeing any moral dimension to their actions. There are a number of reasons why that's true, but none more prominent than a failed system of education that eschews teaching children the traditional moral values that bind Americans together as a society and a culture. That failed approach, called "decision making," was introduced in schools 25 years ago. It tells children to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. It replaced "character education." Character education didn't ask children to reinvent the moral wheel; instead it encouraged them to practice habits of courage, justice and self-control. (2) It is the height of naivete, of course, to blame every crime committed by criminals on the nation's public schools. But it is equally naive to assume that twelve years of non-Christian education is going to produce a generation of spiritual giants! The Word of God placed at the center of the school's curriculum makes all the difference in the world in the student "product" of that school. As a father and grandfather of two generations of Christian school students, like Ezra Wolgemuth, I can tell you that in the long run, "Christian school education doesn't cost - it pays!" I am grateful to God we trusted Him for our children's tuition. (1) Dr. Roy Lowrie, Jr., "Trusting God for Tuition Money", Christian Schools Today. Dr. Lowrie is the nation's foremost Christian school educator. (2) William K. Kilpatrick, "Turning Out Moral Illiterates," syndicated column. Prison Ministry Prison Ministry L.A. GANG LIFE OFFERS MEMBERS NO EASY EXIT From INSIDE JOURNAL a publication of PRISON FELLOWSHIP Juan had good reason to be afraid when he landed in the Nelles School - a tough, high-security California Youth Authority joint that houses 835 male juvenile offenders, from petty thieves to murderers. On the streets, he had piled up some debts - blood debts that would follow him on the inside. The grapevine at Nelles had warned Juan about something he already suspected: Felipe, a hard-core gang member with a well-earned reputation for violence, was out to get him. "When I was on the street," Juan explains, "I saw Felipe's road dog in my neighborhood, crossing us out (spray-painting over Juan's gang graffiti). So I jumped out of the car with a gun and started shooting. I hit him in the back. When he dropped the can, I took off." An invitation for a violent payback. Although Juan was able to duck Felipe for several months, he knew the day of reckoning could come at any time. And it did. In the chapel. "I went to see my homeboys - to communicate," says Juan. "But at church I saw Felipe up front talking about Jesus and reading his Bible. That really startled me." Felipe spoke about an inner quiet he'd found in Jesus Christ. For a year he had met with Christian volunteers, ex-gang members who came in week after week to talk with convicts like himself. They didn't want to talk about "war" stories. They just wanted to talk about the peace of mind they had found in Jesus. Knowing that his days of drinking, drugs, and violence would be over, Felipe had accepted that peace when he stood up for Christ at a special chapel service. Now it was Juan's turn. Listening to Felipe, Juan got a glimpse of the peace he had never experienced. Tired of the violence, tired of living in fear, "I wanted what (Felipe) talked about," says Juan. "I started thinking, 'maybe this is what I need to change.''' But Juan's desire to change would face a severe test. Robert, a member of yet another rival gang, showed up at Nelles. Juan had nailed him once on the streets, and knew Robert would want revenge. "Me and my homeboys stabbed (Robert) in an alley," Juan remembers. "We stomped him and beat him up real bad. For all I knew, he was dead." But Robert wasn't dead. He was in Nelles, and he was moving into Juan's cottage. As Robert carried his boxes into the cottage, his eyes met Juan's. "He just looked at me." Juan recalls, "and shook his head like he was going to get me." They said nothing to each other, and for the next three days, Juan watched his back. Knowing the situation was dangerous, Juan decided to make the first move. Accompanied by a Christian friend, Juan approached Robert one night. "I walked up and apologized for all the bad things I'd done to him," says Juan. "I talked to him about God. But Robert didn't want any of that.'' Meanwhile, Robert had another score to settle. He started asking around about Felipe, who had murdered his cousin years back. He found out that Felipe was a Christian now, that he had left his gang. Robert couldn't believe it. It seemed that the gang code he had always lived by, the never-ending cycle of violence and payback, was unraveling. It didn't make sense. It took a cassette tape to help Robert understand what had changed Juan and Felipe. Nelles group supervisor Willie Garcia, a former singer with the Midnighters, gave Robert a music tape - Christian music. "That tape really beat me up," says Robert. "It talked about begging for some powder to give you peace, some bottle to give you joy. Begging men and women for love and understanding. But those things were never meant to fulfill your life. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy your soul. I started crying. I needed something and I knew it was Jesus." So Robert went to Juan and Willie Garcia and said he wanted to accept God into his life, but didn't know how. "All you gotta do is ask Him," Juan replied. Robert and Juan had settled the score, not according to the old gang code, but according to God's code. In fact, they eventually became roommates, best friends. Now there was just one relationship to mend - the one between Robert and Felipe. Felipe recalls, "Robert sent me a letter telling me that he wanted to talk to me - that he wanted to stop his gang membership. He wanted to go to church. "At first I was happy," Felipe continues, "then I hesitated. This guy might be playing a little game to get near me and take me out." But when they met, Felipe knew that Robert had changed, that he wanted Christ more than revenge. "I could see Jesus in him," says Felipe. Juan, Felipe, and Robert, once enemies to the death, have become active members of the Christian community at Nelles. "We're just a body of believers in Christ," Felipe explains. "We pray together, we worship with each other, we love each other." Some of the old homeboys they used to run with have seen the change and ask them what happened. "I just tell them it's because of Jesus," Juan says. "And they ask, 'Well, who's this Jesus guy?' And I try to explain the best way I can." There are others who would like to drag them back into the web of death and blood battles. But these young men hold on to the life and peace that is theirs in Christ, because - as Robert knows - "Jesus is the one who is going to fulfill what you're looking for." Music Music There is so much more we can learn about music and worship as in the following article taken from the Christian Church of North America publication "Vista". Psalm 100:1 says, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord ..." Teresa Giordanengo Morning Star Senior Editor MUSIC AND WORSHIP - USHERS IN GOD'S PRESENCE By Rev. Frank Baio Music has become a major part of our church service. Sometimes it is loud or soft and sometimes fast or slow. Have you ever considered why music plays such an important part? Music stirs the people to give thanks, to praise and ultimately enter worship. David says, "Praise the Lord with harp, sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto Him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise." (Psalm 33:2, 3 KJV) He is telling us that music and praise with singing works hand in hand to glorify God. ENTERING GOD'S PRESENCE Many of us enjoy the chorus, "I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter His courts with praise." I often wonder, do we really understand what we are saying when we sing this chorus? This chorus is based on Psalm 100:4 and is patterned after the tabernacle. Thanksgiving allows us to enter by the gate, praise allows us access into God's court, but worship allows us to enter His Holy presence. Jesus shows us this in the Lord's Prayer. "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed (Holy, most worthy to be praised) be Thy name." (Matthew 6:9 KJV) As a close to this prayer Jesus said, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever, Amen." (Matthew 6:13 KJV) HOW DO WE ENTER INTO WORSHIP We begin by giving thanks. Thanksgiving is nothing more than saying thank you for that which God has already accomplished on our behalf. Remember, God repeatedly told the children of Israel to remember how He delivered them, provided for them, and kept them during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. As we give thanks in everything, (I Thessalonians 5:18A KJV), this will lead us to praise Him, and to arise in faith. Praise, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, means, "The act of glorifying or extolling God." David says, "Seven times a day will I praise Thee," (Psalm 119:164A KJV), and tells us that worship is a willful act. He said, "Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation." (Psalm 111:1) A relationship with God cannot exist without praise. There is no impersonal way of expressing praise to the Almighty. Satan knows that "God inhabits the praises of His people," (Psalm 22:3), and will do all he can to stop you from praising God. What does it mean "He inhabits the praises of His people?" In the Japanese Bible it states, "...to create a seat upon which He (God) sits on." So actually our praise creates a throne in our midst upon which we enthrone Him King of Kings and Lord of Lords. WORDS OF PRAISE We must understand that in scripture there are many meanings for this word praise. The most often used word in praise is HALAL. In the Strong's Exhaustive concordance, the meaning of HALAL is: to shine, to make a show, to boast, to rave, to be clamorously foolish. HALAL is the root word for Hallelujah. The Italian Bible, Ossia Revised Version 1961 Societa Biblica Pritannica E Forestiera, translates praise in Psalm 138 as celebrare or festeggiare, which means to celebrate or be festive as at a feast. Many times we become critical of those who demonstrate their praise in this manner. We must be careful not to condemn them but search out the scripture to see what God's Word has to say. We are to boast of God's exploits and extol His greatness with enthusiasm and excitement even if others would think it's foolish. Peter tells us, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises (virtues) of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) The next word is YADAH. Strongs says "Extension of hands to worship with a throwing motion." A better meaning is, "to acknowledge in public." 2 Chronicles 20:19-21 shows us that YADAH/Praise was used by Jehoshaphat and the children of Israel. As they entered the battle with YADAH/Praise, God began to work on their behalf by setting ambushments against the enemy. The enemy was smitten. If you want to experience this kind of victory in your life over your enemy in battle, begin to YADAH worship and praise the Lord. The next most common word for praise is BARAK. BARAK means: to kneel, to bless God, as an act of adoration as to royalty with your face to the ground. Psalm 103:1, 2 says "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all (or any of) His benefits. We bless the Lord by not forgetting Him, and not forgetting His blessing. Psalm 103 then goes on to enumerate those blessings: lovingkindness, satisfaction, redemption, honor, renewal. There is a sense of kneeling and blessing God as an act of adoration in the word BARAK. Our next word for praise is ZAMAR. ZAMAR is defined as: to pluck the strings of a musical instrument, to make music, accompanied by voice, to celebrate in song and music. Psalm 57:7 says, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. The latter part of this verse should read I will sing (declare) and give ZAMAR, I will make music (accompanied by voice) to celebrate in song and musical instruments. Our next word is SHABACH/Praise. It means to laud, to speak well of in a high and befitting way. SHABACH also means to address in a loud tone, to command, to triumph, to glory and shout. In Psalm 63:3, 4, we read, "Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee (SHABACH). Thus I will bless Thee while I live" There are times when it is appropriate to give a loud shout unto the Lord. When Israel shouted, the walls of Jericho fell and God received all the glory. God takes pleasure with a holy shout. This type of holy shouting makes the devil and his evil hosts to be silent, and to tremble. SHABACH also will cause them to scatter in all directions in disarray. Another word for praise is TOWDAH. TOWDAH means thanksgiving and it involves the extension of the hands in adoration. Psalm 50:23 "Whoso offereth praise (TOWDAH) glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright I will shew the salvation of God." TOWDAH gives the connotation of sacrifice, as in the sacrifice of praise. Many of our people and churches enjoy the chorus, "We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord." Great spiritual power is released as God's people enter His presence with hands extended in surrender and yieldedness. Miracles, healings and deliverances have occurred during these times of praise. The final word that we shall examine is TEHILLAH. This word means to sing our thanksgiving, adoration and the singing of unrehearsed praise. In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Paul says, "I will pray in the Spirit and I will pray in my understanding also: I will sing with the (TEHILLAH) Spirit and I will sing with the understanding also." Many have asked how can we learn to worship? Does God's Word give examples of true worship? It certainly does. In Revelation 4:10, 11, "The four and twenty elders fall down before Him, that sat on the throne, and worshipped Him... saying,... Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for Thou hast created all things and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Also in Revelation 5:12, "Saying with a loud voice (SHABACH and BARAK), Worthy is the Lamb (Jesus) that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:13 ". . . Blessing, honour and glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb (Jesus) forever and ever." Paul says in Philippians 2:10, 11 "... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (of Lords and King of Kings), to the glory of God the Father." Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us not grieve the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit by not approaching God in thanksgiving, praise and worship. "Let us make a joyful noise unto the Lord." Let's not come to church to get pumped up, but rather let us come together prepared to minister worship unto God. For we were and are created to give praises unto God. Our highest form of service to God is to worship Him with all our heart. Let our voices declare His greatness. Let the music sound forth His splendor and glory and majesty. "Let everything that hath breath (the Breath of God) praise the Lord. (Psalm 150:6.)" Amen. Chef's Corner Chef's Corner TRADITIONAL ISRAELI DISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR, HANUKKAH, SHAVUOT AND PESACH HOLIDAYS! HOMEMADE NOODLE FARLEL (EGG BARLEY) - It is a tradition to have circular food during the days between ROSH HASHANA AND YOM KIPPUR. It signifies the desire to have a well-rounded fulfilled year, therefore Hasidic Jews often eat "round" (barley-shaped) farfel in soup. Also, there is a play on the word "farfel"; it represents a hope that any misdeeds of the past year will "fall" away in the future. These tiny noodle dumplings are very tasty and surprisingly easy to prepare... a good project to do with children. Serve them with soup or stew. Combine 2 cups all-purpose white flour, preferably unbleached, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Break 2 large eggs into the well and beat with a fork. Gradually beat in the flour from around the edges of the well until the dough is too stiff to use a fork. Work with your hands until a very stiff dough is formed. Roll the dough into a thick log; then let it air dry for at least 1 hour, or until it is stiff enough to grate. Rub the dough across a coarse grater to form pieces the size of barley. If the farfel is at all sticky, toss it with a bit more flour. Then spread on a dish towel to dry until you are ready to cook it. Cook the farfel in salted boiling water or soup for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Yield 8 servings. STUFFED ZUCCHINI WITH APRICOTS - It is said that in King Solomon's palace there was a room painted with murals showing apricot trees in full bloom. Their fruit was so golden and lifelike that guests could smell their sweet aroma as soon as they entered. Known as "golden apples", apricots were first brought to the Middle East from Armenia at the time of Noah. Today, in Lebanon and Syria, apricots are still a living treasure, not nearly as expensive as they are in the United States of America. It is only natural, then, for Jews in these countries to celebrate the New Year with apricots in their symbolic dishes. The following zucchini, stuffed with meat and rice and cooked in dried apricots, is a sweet seasonal start to the NEW YEAR, both in the Middle East and in the United States, with our often bumper crop of zucchini. 1. Using an apple corer, scoop out the pulp from 6 to 8 medium zucchini, making sure to keep the outer skin intact and to leave one end closed. Reserve the pulp for another use. 2. Combine 1 cup rice, 1 pound ground meat, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional), and 2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional). Blend well. 3. Stuff the zucchini 3/4 full. 4. 1 cup or about 30 dried apricots, soaked in water overnight. Then, open each apricot and place face down in a heavy casserole. Cover with the stuffed zucchini and top with the remaining apricots. Add juice of 1 one lemon, or to taste. 5. Pour 1 cup of the reserved water from the apricots over the zucchini. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the zucchini are tender. If needed, add more of the apricot water. Yield 6 to 8 servings. GOLDENE YOIKH (Chicken Soup) - Chickens have always been important in Jewish life. They have been symbols of fertility and prosperity for ages. In early Israel, a cock and a hen were carried in front of the bride and groom as they were escorted under the bridal canopy. In the fifteenth century the bridal pair broke their pre-wedding fast by eating an egg and a hen after the ceremony. For the NEW YEAR AND WEDDINGS, it was customary in Eastern Europe to serve goldene yoikh, or the fattest chicken soup possible. To poor people, the goldene yoikh evoked images of wealth and success. Today, backs of chickens can be substituted for the whole chicken to make leaner soup. 1. Place one 4 to 5 pound soup chicken, cleaned and washed, into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and skim broth thoroughly. 2. Add 2 large celery stalks with leaves, sliced, 2 large carrots, scraped and sliced in 2 inch strips, 1 onion, quartered, 3 sprigs parsley, salt to taste, and white pepper to taste. Cover and simmer slowly about 3 hours. When done, strain the soup. Yield: 8-10 servings. POTATO LATKES (Potato Pancakes) for the HANUKKAH celebration - 1. Pare 6 large potatoes; shred coarsely directly into a bowl of cold water. (This removes the starch and keeps the potatoes white.) Drain; rinse in cold running water. Squeeze firmly in toweling to remove as much water as possible. 2. Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Add potatoes, 1 medium-size onion, grated, 1/3 cup unsifted all-purpose flour, and 2 teaspoons salt; stir to blend. Drop mixture by 1/4 cupful into hot vegetable oil; flatten. Brown both sides. Serve hot, with applesauce. Yield 24 four-inch pancakes. MANDELBRODT (for the HANUKKAH celebration) - Beat 3 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar until thick. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and add 1/2 cup finely chopped blanched almonds. Combine mixtures and pour the batter into a well-greased narrow loaf pan. Bake in a moderate oven 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees. When cold, cut into 1/2 inch slices. Yield: 24 servings. CHEESE "COINS" (Savory cheese wafers) - During HANUKKAH, it is a popular tradition for parents to give their children small gifts of gelt (Yiddish for "money"), usually in the form of shiny coins. The following recipe produces golden disks of edible Hanukkah gelt. With them, one is sure to get a good return on any "dough" invested in the project. And the holiday game of chance played with a dreidel (spinning top) will take on an added dimension when the winnings are so tasty. This version is made in a manner similar to sliced refrigerator cookies. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the following: 8 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups packed), 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened, 1 cup all-purpose white flour, preferably unbleached (may be half whole wheat flour), 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons instant minced onions, pinch of cayenne pepper (optional). Mix well by hand (or heavy-duty mixer) until a dough is formed. Divide in half and shape each half into a log, 1 inch by 12 inches. If desired, roll the logs in sesame seeds to coat the outside. Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap; then chill for several hours or overnight. To bake, carefully cut each log crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices on greased, lightly floured baking sheets and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned and firm. Yield: about 7 dozen small wafers. MITZAPUNY (Meaty split pea, bean, and barley soup) - In a 6-quart pot over high heat, bring 12 cups water to a boil. Add 2 to 3 pounds soup meat cut into large chunks, and lower the heat so the water simmers. Gently cook the meat for 30 minutes, skimming off and discarding all the foam that rises to the surface. Meanwhile, prepare the following ingredients: 1 medium-sized onion, halved through the root end, 4 to 5 medium-sized carrots, cut into 1/2-inch chunks, 2 celery stalks, sliced, 1 1/2 cups dry green split peas, sorted and rinsed, 1 cup dry baby lima beans, 1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add all the above ingredients to the pot with the meat, cover the pot, and simmer the soup, stirring occasionally (especially during the end of the cooking period), for about 3 hours longer, or until the split peas have disintegrated, the meat is very tender, and the soup is thick. If it becomes too thick, stir in some hot water. Remove and discard the onion before serving. Adjust the seasonings. The Yiddish word, Martzapunis, means anything special and extraordinary. A big bowl of Mitzapuny is the perfect one-dish dinner to commemorate the feast of SHAVUOT since the story of Ruth occurs during the barley harvest in the spring. RACHAL (Fish with sour cream and potatoes) - Rachal is a delicious Hungarian fish dish which Jews prepare on the Friday night of SHAVUOT. This dish is very reminiscent of my friend's grandmother's fish recipe. She added onions and sliced tomatoes and used reconstituted dried cod fish. 1. Boil 6 medium potatoes in their skins and peel. Slice thin. 2. Butter liberally a baking-serving casserole, such as an oblong gratin dish, with 1/4 to 1/2 pound butter. Fill the bottom with potato slices. Sprinkle with salt and paprika to taste. Continue until all the potatoes are placed in the casserole. 3. You will need 3 pounds carp, rockfish, or haddock (1/2 of a 6-pound fish with head removed, bones intact, and cut into 6 steaks). Place the fish on top of the casserole. Sprinkle the fish with about 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon bread-crumbs and 1 tablespoon fresh dill. Dot with butter. Cover with 1 cup sour cream and bake for 1/2 hour, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. This dish can also be made with green pepper and tomato slices. Yield: 6 servings. PESACH SPONGE CAKE - This is probably one of the most popular cakes made on PESACH by both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews. The latter call it "pan de Espagne" ( or a variant of that), which means "bread of Spain" and harks back to pre-Inquisition days. In this version, the egg whites and yolks are beaten separately, to produce a delicate, light cake that requires no leavening of any kind. The citrus juice gives it a delicious flavor and moistness. Have an ungreased 10-inch angel food pan handy. If it is not the two-piece type with a removable tube insert, grease the bottom only and cut a doughnut-shaped piece of wax paper to cover the bottom of the pan. (This will make it easier to remove the cake from the pan.) In a very large mixing bowl, beat 9 large egg whites until foamy; then gradually add 3/4 cup sugar while continuing to beat the whites until stiff peaks form. In a medium-sized bowl, with the same beaters, beat the 9 egg yolks with 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons (preferably fresh) lemon juice, 1 tablespoon grated orange rind (colored part only), and 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (yellow part only), until very light. Pour the yolk mixture over the whites, and gently fold them together, leaving a few streaks of white. Sift 1/2 cup sugar, 2/3 cup potato starch, and 1/3 cup matzo cake meal over the batter, and gently but thoroughly fold them in. Pour the batter evenly into the tube pan, and smooth the top. Tap the pan once against a countertop so that any large air bubbles in the batter will rise to the surface. Bake the cake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 1 hour and 5 to 10 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Remove the pan from the oven, and immediately invert it on its "legs", or fit the tube over the neck of a bottle, to cool upside down. When the cake is completely cool, run a knife around the edge of it, and remove it form the pan. (If the pan was lined with paper, peel it off the bottom of the cake.) To avoid squashing the cake when cutting it, use a serrated knife, and cut with a sawing motion. Yield: 12 servings. Prayer Guidelines Prayer Guidelines THE TEMPLE OF GOD by Michael Wilkinson "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16) This is an amazing verse, no doubt about it. As a Christian, you are God's temple. In the Old Testament, the Temple was the main place where God was worshipped. This was considered to be the God's palace, the house of the Lord. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus referred to it as a house of prayer. And it was a place of sacrifice. If you sinned against God, you would go to the Temple to offer a sacrifice. The Temple also served as a symbol of God's presence among His people Israel. Since God lives in us through the person of the Holy Spirit, each of us is a temple of God. Therefore, how careful we should be to keep the temple holy and dedicated to the Lord's service. God did not come to dwell in us because He has no place else to go. He came to have be worshipped and honored in our lives, and to reach out to others through us. Just as the Temple of the Old Testament was dedicated to worship and prayer, so should we spend time in praise and prayer. No one would be spiritually uplifted at a church where there is little or no worship and prayer. People would soon lose interest and go elsewhere. Likewise in your own life, if you are not devoted to the Lord, you may love the world more than Christ and forget that you belong to Him. Since it is the Spirit of God that dwells in you, the signs of a spiritual temple are the fruits of the Spirit. "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Fill the temple of your life with these things in honor and obedience to the Spirit who lives in you. Finally, the temple is a place of service. We need to bring forth God's love and wisdom to the people around us. He has given us His wisdom, truth and love, not only so it should fill our own lives, but so we should share it with others who need the Lord. And we must live careful lives so as to honor the Lord as we serve Him. "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:26-27). Classifieds Classifieds PARTICIPANTS NEEDED Proclaim Publishing is asking help with a national questionnaire for married Christians. The comments will be compiled and examples given to indicate the keys to a happy (successful) marriage from a biblical point of view. The idea is that the best marriages are those where both partners are committed to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and where they practice God's Word. Confidentiality is guaranteed if desired. If you wish to help with this study, weOll send you a questionnaire. Write to: 1117 Marquette Ave., Suite 2303 Minneapolis, MN 55403 E-mail: calliesmom@aol.com Fax: (612) 673-0866 Salvation Message (Italian) Salvation Message (Italian) ITALIAN TRANSLATION Hai capito sono lei uno bambino del Signore? Deve parentela personale con il Signore? Anche se sentirato questi interrogativi e non comprende, ecco i condizioni da salvezza vivere in vita eterna con il Signore. Ognuno hai fatti uno salvator. Perche? Tutti hanno peccato. "Tutti hanno peccato e son privi della gloria di Dio," (Romani 3:23). C'e uno salario pagare per i peccati. "Poiche il salario del peccato e la morte," (Romani 6:23). E lo prezzo deve pagato. "E come e stabilito che gli uomini muoiano una volta sola, dopo di che viene il guidizio," (Ebrei 9:27). Questo guidizio fare la separazione quello che e una vita eterna nel fuoco eterno. Iddio dice a tutti qui ha non recevuto di Signore pagamento per peccato, "Allora dira anche a coloro dalla sinistra: Andate via da me, maledetti, nel fuoco eterno, preparato pel diavolo e per i suioi angeli!" (Matteo 25:41). Ma Iddio ha molto tanto amore verso lei, "Poiche Iddio ha tanto amato il mondo, che na dato il suo unigenito Figliuolo, affinche chiunque crede in lui non perisca, ma abbia vita eterna." (Giovanni 3:16). Iddio hai fatto il dono in questa maniera per mezzo di pagamento per i peccati di molti specialmente lei, "cosi anche Cristo, dopo essere stato offerta una volta sola, per portare i peccati di molti apparira una seconda volta, senza peccato, a quelli che l'aspettano per la loro salvezza." (Ebrei 9:28). "...ma il dono di Dio e la vita eterna in Cristo Gesu, nostro Signore." (Romani 6:23). Il Paolo Apostolo spiegare il pagamento di Cristo Gesu, "poiche io v'ho prima di tutto trasmesso, come l'ho ricevuto anch'io, che Cristo e morto per i nostri peccati, secondo le Scritture; che fu seppellito; che risuscito il terzo giorno, secondo le Scritture," (I Corinti 15:3,4). Si lei comprende e accettare queste verite, allora c'e soltanto uno bisogno di accusare ricevuta la salvezza e si diverta eterna vita con Il Signore, "se con la bocca avrai confessato Gesu come Signore, e avrai creduto col cuore che Dio l'ha resuscitato dai morti, sarai salvato," (Romani 10:9). Pregare a confermare, "IL Signore, capisco io sono uno peccatore. Io ricevuto Il Signore fare pagamento per peccato mio Grazie per suo dono da mia salvezza. Io capisco che tutto peccato mio avendo perdonato. Grazie Iddio. Grazie Il Signore." Se noi possiamo aiutare, scriva a Rivista Morning Star. International International Staff List International Staff List INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION INTERNET DISTRIBUTION Stephen Price 304 Hubert St., Webster, TX 77598 INTERNET e-mail: steve@kn5f.jsc.nasa.gov MORNING STAR is available on Internet via: anonymous FTP at kn5f.jsc.nasa.gov ISRAEL - Sharon Sanders c/o Christian Friends of Israel P.O. Box 1813 - Jerusalem, 91015 Israel Tel: 972-2-894-172 / 894-187 FAX: 972-2-894-955 CANADA - Jeannine Robinson PO Box 45094, Postal Station 81 Lakeshore Road East, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5G 4S7 Tel: 905-271-7371 Fax: 905-271-3617 - The Future BBS: 519-657-7237 - Cinfex BBS: 604-738-2447 - Miff Crommelin - M.O.U.S.E. BBS: 403-460-0541 - Rob LIndemann - Pentecom BBS: 514-425-4001 - Roger Raynor MEXICO - Eric Aguayo Aldama # 3506 Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico, 31350 4:971/7@fidonet MEGALINK BBS: 52-14-10-3629 NORWAY - Lars-Toralf Storstrand Garnesstolen 24, N-5234 Garnes, Norway Fax: 47-5-317106 - Greg Lewis Guttersrud VN 31, 1920 Sorumsand, Norway Tel/Fax: 47 63 881643 FINLAND: - Leo Meller PO Box 1 00501 Helsinki, Finland - Other BBS: 964536132, 964536133, 964536134 PHILIPPINES - Roger J. Obe P.O. Box 191 Iloilo City, 5000 - Philippines FRANCE - Peter Cunliffe 5 Allee A. Croizat, F-77186 Noisel, France UNITED KINGDOM - Tony Clatworthy "HIS" Shareware & Public Domain 38 Scotland Bank Cograven, Nottingham, England NG12 3JZ Tel: 44 602 893344 - TRINITY BBS: 44-392-495899, 412370, 410210 - John Burden NORTHERN IRELAND - Red Star BBS: 44 247466189 GERMANY - Hans-Juergen Thiess Angermuender Str. 12 1000 Berlin 49, Germany Phone: 49-30-7457796 INTERNET: 75470.3261@cis JAPAN - Deane Hibbard PSC 80, Box 12416 APO AP 96367-2416 OKINAWA RANGER BBS: 81 98 6372788 NEW ZEALAND - Shane Haney BBS: 63562058 - Errol Thompson Christian Ministry BBS: 96368409 AUSTRALIA - Mark Smith 4 Third Ave, Macquarie Fields, NSW 2564 Cross Beat BBS: 61-2-605-9438 TAIWAN - Tim Tyler Christian Service Center Chung Ching Road. Chung Mei Ln #87 Taichung, Taiwan 407, Republic of China INTERNET: timt@misgate.gmi.org - Taiwan Missionary BBS: 886-4-292-4455 SOUTH AFRICA - Santie Vandenplas 5 Hillary Street, Eversdal Cape Town, South Africa 7550 INTERNET: svdp@sunvax.sun.ac.za "The Mutant Pencil's Pad BBS: 27 219190300 - Unisa Editorial BBS: 27 124292882 - Steve Hayes Mission Field Mission Field "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him ..." (Genesis 17:20) In this month's MISSION FIELD column, we present three reports from missionaries working among the Muslims. The first, "Fishers of Men" is excerpted from a letter sent to MORNING STAR. Next is a report on "Project Snow" which involves work being done in the country of Oman. Finally, "A Church Of One" is a story of a lone believer in Tunisia. We encourage all of our readers when praying to remember the Muslims in the world. Jesus died for them too. FISHERS OF MEN Greetings in the wonderful & powerful name of Messiah Jesus ("Yesuua Al Maseeh"-- Arabic)! "Salaam Aleekum!" Peace be upon you. We trust that you and your family are well and prospering in every way. My family and I are called by our Lord to go to the Sons of Ishmael. There are 1,000,000,000 Muslims entrapped by Islam which is 20 percent of the World's population. Yes, l out of every 5 people on earth are to varying degrees under the lies and deception of this antichrist Islam. Only 1 missionary per l,000,000 Muslims has been sent out by our churches and denominations. I think we will all agree that this is a shame. My wife and 2 sons and I finished a 2 year volunteer tour with MAPS of the Assemblies of God in Southern Spain and North Africa reaching out to Arabic & Berber Muslims. Our interdenominational house church (Church in the Home) and other friends sent us out and we traveled extensively teaching, preaching, baptizing, encouraging and putting isolated believers together to form infant house churches. It is illegal to preach the Gospel in North Africa to Muslims. We had to smuggle in Bibles, tapes, and other Gospel materials. I was arrested 3 times in 2 years but never saw jail as God delivered my friends and me each time. Our brothers and sisters who come out of Islam are highly persecuted (physically beaten; shocked with electrodes; denied food water for 3 days on occasion; head forced under water; jobs taken away; houses taken away; made objects of scorn with their neighbors, etc.). But God has been very Faithful to these faithful. We have many wonderful testimonies of how God has blessed these infant churches and these individuals. We would like to share some of these testimonies with your magazine as well as some witnessing techniques which subscribers can use with Muslim acquaintances. The USA has many Muslims as do Canada, UK, France There are more Muslims in France than Evangelical Christians - 2 or maybe 3 million are in Paris with another 750,000 on the French Mediterranean coast), in fact all of Europe has a Muslim presence. In fact there may be Muslims who tune in to your network so it would be wonderful if we could run a monthly witnessing segment to them. We have materials especially prepared for this. Because we desire to return to our work in North Africa and the Middle East and because we must protect our persecuted brethren, our articles have to be vague as to locations, and names will have to be changed. We will write under a pin name (Yehia Abu Amiin) so that our future visas and access will not be compromised. We must be "wise as the serpent but innocent as the dove." Thank you so much for your very excellent ministry. We appreciate Morning Star and all of you who labor so that the world can know the BRIGHT & MORNING STAR: OUR MESSIAH JESUS! On behalf of the 1.000,000,000 Sons of Ishmael Who Deserve to Hear the Gospel of the Messiah, Yehia Abu Amiin and family PROJECT SNOW The goals of PROJECT SNOW is to place a portion of Scripture into every home in the country of Oman along with an opportunity to enroll in a Bible Correspondence Course. For this mailing, colleagues in Oman suggested that we include a special copy of the Gospel of Luke. We affectionately refer to this edition as "Skinny Luke" because it is the complete Gospel printed on special light weight paper. It is less expensive to mail and less likely to attract the attention of postal censors. Statement of Purpose: The goal of Project Snow is to distribute the Gospel of Luke to every household in Oman. Opportunity is also provided for enrollment in a Bible Correspondence Course. As a result, we trust that God will bring to the surface people in whom his Spirit is working; these men and women can then be contacted by resident Christian workers. Strategy: Volunteers are asked to prepare mailings, pay for postal costs, and pray for the recipients of those mailings in Oman. Mailings are prepared by using the materials furnished by the Project Coordinator. The Omani household names are provided in multiples of ten names. As the mailings are prepared and sent to Oman, volunteers are asked to pray for the recipient households by name, asking God to prepare them to receive the mailing and consider its contents. The Omani reader is told that their name has been selected from the Oman telephone directory for this mailing. This is designed to alleviate suspicion and fear about Christians living in Oman having provided their name to a Western and non-Muslim organization. The reader is encouraged to read the Gospel of Luke and enroll in a Bible Correspondence Course. When an Omani requests a Bible Correspondence Course as a result of the mailing, the volunteer is notified so that intercession can continue for that specific individual. The Gospel of Luke: This particular Gospel was chosen for the mailings into Oman because of its appeal for Muslims. Luke begins with the birth of Jesus, including events and ideas already familiar to most Muslims from their reading of the Quran (Islam's holy book). Throughout the Gospel, Luke emphasizes the nature and character of Christ; the themes of Jesus' sinlessness, power over Satan, and provision of salvation are developed in the context of his unique claims. Muslims react very strongly to the idea that Jesus is the Son of God. But their reaction begins with confusion over what Christians mean by the title; Luke patiently lays the groundwork necessary for Muslims to understand Christ's unique relationship with the Father as the eternal Son of God, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. A Muslim who reads the Gospel of Luke may continue to deny the Good News, but that rejection will flow out of a refusal to accept the message rather than out of confusion and ignorance. Project Costs: The costs of mailing materials to Oman are paid by the volunteers; postal charges are currently $0.95 per letter plus the cost of the envelope. Donations to defray the costs of materials are appreciated; all gifts are tax-deductible and will be used specifically for Project Snow. Administrative help is provided on a volunteer basis. For more information contact: Amy J. Saal - Project Snow Coordinator Project Snow Post Office Box 733 Drexel Hill PA 19083-7733 Phone: 215-352-2003 Fax: 215-352-2652 Internet: arcbird@aol.com A CHURCH OF ONE Reprinted with permission from NEWS BRIEF a publication of OPEN DOORS Ministry The Open Doors team sat at a sidewalk cafe in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. The scene before them looked just like a busy southern European street, except for the persistent shoe shiners who offered to buff their sandals for only one dinar - a reminder that they were truly in North Africa. The young Tunisian friend looked up and said simply, "It's just impossible." A convert who had returned home after 10 years in France, he was referring to living the Christian life in this strictly Muslim society. One could sense the pain and discomfort as he silently admitted he had given up. The casual tourist could not be blamed for seeing Tunisia in a different light. Some young girls even wear jeans and seem like teenagers from any part of the world. But as an experienced Christian missionary explained, 'Western influence is just paper thin. Below is a solid bedrock of Islam that chokes life from any Christianity that happens to be sown." After 107 years of missionary work, there is still no Tunisian church. Other than a handful of churches for foreigners - where a Tunisian wouldn't dare show his face - no group of believers regularly worships together. There are perhaps 30 or 40 converts among a population of seven million. Islam reaches into the identity and culture of the people, although actual religion is superficial. But even the nominal Muslim cannot picture someone abandoning his faith. While the Islamic jihad (holy war) wiped out the North African church in the eighth century, it is now pressure from family and friends that does the job. This doesn't make headlines, but it is just as effective. As the Open Doors team talked with him, the young man was enjoying perhaps his first Christian contact in the four years since his return. While they talked, a small flicker of warmth appeared, as if a dying fire was being rekindled. It seemed like a lot to hope for. At the end of the meeting, the team prayed for him, then left him with a devotional book. As their train pulled out, they thought back to all the churches they had visited in Eastern Europe over the years of communism. This time, the persecuted church was in the form of just one lonely Christian. For more information contact OPEN DOORS P.O. Box 27001 Santa Ana, CA 92799-9961 Partners International Partners International WORLD PARTNERS An Exciting New Program of Partners International Linking Christians in America with their own grass roots ministry partners on the other side of our world. For 50 years Partners International has worked in partnership with outstanding Christian leaders of international caliber. People like Calvin Chao, Paul Chang, Chris Marantika, Elizabeth Javalera, Caesar Molebatsi, Anand Chaudhari, Gus Marwieh, Virgilio Zapata and others. But for every well-known leader, there are scores of unknown Christian workers who are equally impressive leaders in their own settings but invisible to the rest of the world. They usually don't speak English, and they wouldn't necessarily know how to present their work to an American church audience. People like Liu Kwai-Chi in Northern Thailand, for example. Liu Kwai-Chi and his wife, Yen Ping-May, are from Myanmar (Burma). They are church planters, working among the very traditional Akha mountain people whose lives are dominated by fear of evil spirits. The Akha are so poor that parents often sell their own daughters in the cities, where they are forced into prostitution in the huge international sex industry. Soon after they were married, Kwai Chi and Ping-May "bought" two Akha girls in order to rescue them, raising them as their own. They now have their own son, but such is their compassion that they recently purchased another Akha infant because they couldn't bear to see her abandoned by the roadside. People like Kwai-Chi and Ping May are some of God's true heroes - out on the front lines, at the end of the road and beyond, living on next-to-nothing, suffering ridicule and often risking their lives because of the love Christ has put in their hearts for their people. They are lay pastors, Bible women, itinerant witnesses, and those who are giving compassionate help to the poor and suffering. Most Americans wouldn't even recognize the names of the places and peoples they serve. But collectively they accomplish far more than all the famous pastors and evangelists combined. They are the grassroots leaders of the greatest expansion of the Christian faith in all of history. And it's taking place right now. Many of these front-line workers are completely self-supporting. Others could multiply their effectiveness with a little assistance - an average of only a dollar a day in many countries. That's where Partners International comes in. We know how to find these front line workers. We know how to check them out. We can link you in partnership with them. That's our specialty. We are barely scratching the surface of need and opportunity. Thousands of other highly effective front-line Christian workers could have their ministries enhanced and multiplied through a partnership with a Christian in the West. MY BEST TEACHERS NEVER FINISHED THE THIRD GRADE By Chuck Bennett President of Partners International I've attended lots of schools in my day. In fact, I studied for my graduate degrees under the best known men in their fields, Peter Drucker in management and Donald McGavran in missiology. But I learned my most valuable lessons from barely literate farmers who plant their corn and beans with pointed sticks. That was more than thirty years ago, down in the steaming, stinging swamps of Tabasco, in southeast Mexico. When Mexican Presbyterian ministers first entered Tabasco over a century ago, most of the people there still practiced the magic and spirit appeasement of their Maya Indian ancestors. These Presbyterians - outstanding men, well versed in theology and Greek - sweated and suffered and gave their lives for the people of Tabasco. After forty years they had established a dozen small congregations. In 1925, a militant Marxist governor took control of this isolated state and ruled it for a decade. He outlawed religion, destroyed the churches, burned religious books and abolished the religious names of all the towns and villages. His secretary's business card read "Personal Enemy of God." All pastors and priests had to leave. Few of the believers left behind could even read or write. Four decades of valiant work destroyed - or so people thought. When the dictator was overthrown and church leaders again ventured into Tabasco, to their surprise they found 42 flourishing congregations of believers. By the time I arrived, there were 150. When I left, nine years later, there were 248. Today more than 900 Presbyterian congregations dot the countryside, plus hundreds more belonging to other denominations that arrived later. Clearly neither Mexican pastors nor American missionaries started most of these churches. Even today there are about twenty congregations per ordained minister in Tabasco. God dropped me into the middle of this dynamic movement of His Spirit, and it blew away all my previous assumptions about churches. It simply didn't fit what I had been taught. Yet I could not deny that God was in control of what I was seeing all around me. And I could not deny the maturity and wisdom of the farmer-evangelists and village lay leaders with whom I was working. People who had never traveled nor finished the third grade, yet knew their Bible better than I did. That was my real education. That's where I began to understand how God works in our world through believers of many cultures and backgrounds, including people with little formal training or sophistication. That's where I learned that wisdom, commitment, maturity and effectiveness are not limited to people who have education and status. Prominent leaders have their place, of course, but it is God's unsung front-line heroes who are quietly changing our world. And that's how it has been down through the ages. What a privilege we have here at Partners International to be able to link you in partnership with some of God's choicest servants on the other side of our world. That's why I am so excited about our new "WorldPartners" program, because it will multiply the number of such partnerships. For more information contact: Partners International 1470 North Fourth St. San Jose, CA 95112-4787 Tel: (408) 453-3800 FAX: (408) 437-9708 CFI Reports CFI Reports CFI REPORTS is our monthly column dedicated to the ministries of CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL in Jerusalem. Our October, 1993 issue of MORNING STAR (Volume 3.1) presented a summary of the various CFI ministries and explained the foundational principles and objectives of CFI. In this month's column we present the September edition of the WATCHMAN'S PRAYER LETTER from Jerusalem and information on FORSAKE THEM NOT, a CFI ministry to the Holocaust Survivors. WATCHMAN'S PRAYER LETTER - September 1993 by Penny Valentine Jerusalem, Israel "I will take my stand to watch, and station myself on the tower." Habakkuk 2:1 Peace is a word that is often heard on people's lips these days. A war-weary people long for peace and security, the chance to get on with earning their living, bringing up their children and living their lives without fear of sudden danger and destruction. This is true in Israel, in Lebanon, and in many parts of the Middle East. People are sometimes willing to make great sacrifices for the sake of "peace". However, as praying people, we know that the only way to true peace is through the Messiah, the Prince of Peace. He has His plans for Israel and for all nations and only when all are under His sovereignty will there be true peace. We have the vital task as intercessors to give the Lord no rest until His will be done and His plan be fulfilled, according to His word. (Isaiah 62:7). Let us stand with Yeshua, the Great Intercessor, as Watchmen on the Walls of Jerusalem, faithful to lift the nation of Israel constantly before God's throne and to seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to pray through us according to the mind of the Lord. The month of July has seen the need for peace underscored in people's hearts as Israel, through operation Accountability, sought to deal a blow to the Hizbullah terrorist movement based in Lebanon. In previous weeks, terror attacks had been escalating against civilians in the north of Galilee as well as against soldiers guarding the northern borders. "Basically, We're In The Hands of God" read the headline in the Jerusalem Post, quoting the response of civilians the day after two Israelis were killed and more than a dozen wounded in rocket attacks against the Northern Galilee area. "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:" (Psalm 146:5). "For the Lord is our defence..." (Psalm 89:18). * GIVE THANKS that in times of crisis, the Lord is acknowledged, and people look to Him to "deliver me from the hand of mine enemies..." (Psalm 31:15). Even though hundreds more rockets fell, we know of no more serious casualties and damage to property was minimal. "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow (rocket?) that flieth by day." (Psalm 91:5). * INTERCEDE for families in the north who fled the rocket attacks, or who evacuated their children to relatives or summer camp and then spent days and nights in cramped shelters. Pray they might be free from any spirit of fear as they continue to live under constant threat of attack. "...be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." (Psalm 31:24). * CONTINUE IN PRAYER for protection for the soldiers who guard Israel's borders and who are constant targets of terrorism. Many of them are very young. They need strength, wisdom and strong courage as they deal with difficult situations. This can only come from the Lord. "With Him is wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding." (Job 12:13). "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Deuteronomy 31:6). * STAND BOLDLY AGAINST untruthful reports and an ongoing misinformation campaign waged against Israel in the world media. "They are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:3). Pray that Christians have understanding hearts to judge and discern "propaganda." "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart ... that I may discern between good and bad: (1 Kings 3:9). May we seek the Holy Spirit's help to discern the truth of what we hear, so that we can have our "senses exercised to discern both evil and good." (Hebrews 5:14) "... the Spirit of truth ... will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13). * EARNESTLY INTERCEDE that the true motives and spirit behind radical Islam, (to destroy Israel and the Jewish people, as well as Christians), will be revealed to the world. "Thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them." (Jeremiah 33:24). * LIFT UP Arab Christians within Israel who are constantly under threat from Islam, for the Lord knows who belongs to Him. "The Lord knoweth them that are His." (II Timothy 2:19; also Nahum 1:7). * FERVENTLY PRAY that Israel will become the "praise among the people" that they are called to be to the nations and that all unrighteousness and transgressions against the Lord God of Israel and to the people will be brought to light and dealt with in a correct way before the Lord . "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." (Proverbs 14:34). Pray that the Lord will remove any corrupt officials and raise up others to take office who will lead the nation in a spirit of humility and selfless service. "Let his days be few, and yet another take his office." (Psalm 109:8). New immigrants continue to stream steadily into Israel, and absorption is often difficult. The recent arrival of Jews from Yemen has highlighted religious and political divisions in Israeli society, as these deeply religious families have been wooed by various religious and political groups, and have struggled to come to terms with the secular elements surround them. * SEEK GOD that these preserved ones will truly have a heart to know the Lord and that they will turn to Him with whole hearts. "And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole hearts." (Jeremiah 24:7). Among immigrant from the former Soviet Union, there is a very high incidence of mental distress and tears, mainly due to lack of appropriate employment and uncertainty about the future. * DECLARE GOD'S PROMISES that the Lord may give meaning to discouraged lives as they realize they are here in response to His call and in fulfillment of His word. "Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD ... and there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 31:16,17). The Holocaust has been in the headlines again after the recent acquittal of John Demjanjuk, who has been on trial in Israel on charge of Nazi war crimes. * PRAY that those who, by their actions, are seeking to deny and discredit the Holocaust may not use these circumstances as ammunition for their cause. "... let not arrogance come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed." (I Samuel 2:3). * IMPLORE TIE LORD to heal the deep wounds in the hearts and minds of Holocaust survivors, and be merciful to those who lost their families, still deeply painful after fifty years. "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3). May they experience the Lord's promise that "The people which were left of the sword found grace ..." (Jeremiah 31:2). FORSAKE THEM NOT A CFI ministry to the survivors of the Holocaust "For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord, because they called thee an outcast ..." (Jeremiah 30:17) In Israel the Jewish people have different programs for caring for the elderly, the orphans and widows. However, many older survivors of the Holocaust need help. They have endured suffering during their lifetimes from incredibly cruel hatred for no other reason except that they were Jewish. Compassion Puts Love Into Action Are you moved deeply when you become aware of tragedy such as the Holocaust? Do you hurt for others? If you are, then you can help. Sometimes one can only pray. But others can give financially. If you really feel compassion for those who hurt and have suffered, you will want to do something as a Christian friend of the Jewish people. It may cost you, but in a small way you can help heal the hurt. An Opportunity to Demonstrate Our Concern ... There are many Holocaust survivors in the Jerusalem area. Many still have physical and emotional problems from their experiences in concentration camps. A large number live modestly with only an old age pension to cover their living expenses. Help from various places remains inadequate and reparations have been less over the past few year. Through a local Holocaust organization we as Christian friends of Israel are able to be a channel of giving to many survivors. Will you help us to let them know that they have Christian friends around the world who care and desire to help? An impact will never be made unless they know your concern. Many of the survivors are now old and alone in their last years and they really need to know who cares. God cares about His People and wants us to also care. May it not be said that because of our self absorbed lives or unconcerned attitudes that a survivor feels "forsaken." We believe we can draw from the Father's endless treasure and bountiful goodness to us; to give without gain, to care without counting the cost, and help to comfort His ancient covenant people. (Isaiah 40:1) What You Can Do as a Christian to Personally Be Involved in Blessing a Holocaust Survivor(s) ... (1) Send a check in any amount to Christian Friends of Israel designating it for "Holocaust Survivors." (2) Pray for these precious people that they would be healed from their wounds and scars of the past. (3) Pray for Israel that she will "never again" have to go through another Holocaust. Let This Be Our Prayer as Christian friends of Israel ... Lord, help me to feel the hurt that survivors feel Because the world inflicted its bitter pain; And use us in some loving way to heal The wounds that still remain. Christian Friends of Israel P.O. Box 1813 Jerusalem 91015 ISRAEL Tel: 972-2-894172 / 894187 Fax: 972-2-894955 Newsdesk Newsdesk MORNING STAR NEWSDESK - November 1993 FORESHADOWINGS OF EZEKIEL 38 Clinton administration officials are increasingly fearful about war on the borders of the former Soviet Union. Their concern: Turkey, Iran and Russia being drawn into the bloody conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus Mountains. Pentagon sources say Iranian military units have moved across the Azerbaijani border, supposedly to secure a bridge that might be used by refugees fleeing the fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces. The worry is that the Iranian move puts them in position to clash with advancing Armenians, who have captured several Azerbaijani towns near the border. Such a development could then bring Moscow - whose troops still defend Armenia's borders - into the fray. And at the same time, Turkey, a backer of mostly Muslim Azerbaijan, warns it will not "sit with arms crossed" if its traditional Armenians foes, who are Christian, continue to press their successful military campaign against the Azerbaijanis. (U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT) THE REST OF EZEKIEL'S GANG The governments of the more moderate Arab countries of Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia fear a possible alliance between Iran, Sudan and Lybia. The leaders of these countries actually look to a strong Israel as a buffer against Muslim fundamentalist forces in these three countries. (LANCE LAMBERT - MIDDLE EAST UPDATE) MAN'S RELIGIOUS CODE The second Parliament of the World's Religions was held in Chicago this September and included over 6,000 leaders of 125 different religions. The meeting culminated in the signing of a "Declaration of a Global Ethic", a nine page theological document which identifies universal ethical behavior. No part of the document contains any mention of God. (U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT) STUDY TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED? Researcher George Barna says his studies indicate that in a typical week, 75 million people, or 34% of the U.S. population, read the Bible outside of church service, down from 42% several years ago. (NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL RELIGION REPORT) TIME'S "GOOD NEWS" Time magazine's "Health Report" under the caption "The Good News" (TIME 9/20, p. 21) reports that the National Academy of Sciences says the FDA should begin the approval process for RU-486, the so-called French abortion pill. IN GOD WE USED TO TRUST A stone monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments and the phrase, "I AM the LORD thy God" must be removed from the state-owned Lincoln Park across from the state Capitol in Denver, according to the Colorado Court of Appeals. (RELIGIOUS RIGHTS WATCH) CLINTON APPOINTEE FORESEES GLOBAL GOVERNMENT Strobe Talbot, named ambassador-at-large for aid to the former Soviet Union, is being honored with the Norman Cousins Global Governance Award from the World Federalist Association. Talbot, a former TIME magazine editor, once stated in the July 10, 1992 issue of TIME, "... I'll bet that within the next hundred years ... nationhood will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority. A phrase briefly fashionable in the mid-20th Century - "citizen of the world" - will have assumed real meaning by the end of the 21st." (HUMAN EVENTS) THE "FREEDOM" CARD Amsterdam's Schiphol airport is to introduce a 100-million guilder smart-card system for members of eight other European states that have agreed to scrap identity checks from December 1 under the Schengen Treaty, writes Keri Goldenhar in Amsterdam. The plastic cards, to be issued on planes or with boarding cards, will allow free movement for travelers through a special gate without having to show passports or ID cards. Although the system will eradicate lines, there is concern over lost or stolen cards which may be used by terrorists or criminals. As there are no photographs of travelers, passport numbers or any other safeguards in the card's microchips, critics are asking whether the new gate will be as easy to jump as turnstiles on the Metro. (THE EUROPEAN) POSSIBLE ISRAELI - VATICAN TIES Israel's Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau left Sunday for Italy for a visit with Pope John Paul II amidst optimistic reports in Jerusalem that Israel and the Vatican are on the verge of establishing diplomatic relations, Israel Radio said. The meeting between the Pope and Rabbi Lau, the highest level meeting between leaders of the two faiths in nearly fifty years, is scheduled to take place on Tuesday in the Vatican, a spokesman for the Chief Rabbinate confirmed Sunday. Quoting diplomatic sources in the Vatican, Israel Radio reported that formal ties between Israel and the Vatican were imminent, following months of intensive negotiations. Gil Heskel, a spokesman at the foreign ministry, said that Lau's visit to Italy, which includes his participation in an interfaith convention in Milan, was planned already months ago, before negotiations between Israel and the Vatican had developed. Heskel said there was progress in negotiations between the Jewish state and the Vatican, and that a "fundamental agreement" between the two was likely to be reached soon. (UPI) BUILD - FOR THEY WILL COME According to Natan Sharansky, head of the Zionist Forum in Jerusalem, the recent events in Russia could spur many Jews there, hesitant thus far to leave, to come to Israel. "Masses of Jews could decide to come to Israel before the flames spread. The government must be ready to set aside resources to absorb a mass aliyah. This is the time to show the Jewish people and the world that Israel is the only safe and open home for the Jewish people." (JERUSALEM POST) Resource Resource MORNING STAR INFORMATION AND PRODUCT GUIDE November, 1993 ******* READING ******* The CHRISTIAN WORLD REPORT (Prophecy and current events newspaper from Peter LaLonde) ($29.95 annual, 11 issues per year) US: P.O. 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