Newsletter - Jews for Jesus

Bits from the Branches

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Toronto Richard Muller reports, "Marc is engaged to a Christian who has been telling him about Jesus. Since he is Jewish he decided to check out our website, and was interested enough to leave us his contact information. I met with him and his fianc�e last December, and then I met again with just Marc the following month. He had already begun attending church. His main objections to faith seemed to be the problem of evil in the world and Jesus being God -- and we addressed both those issues from the Bible.As we studied,Marc came to understand who Y'shua is. He now believes Jesus is the Messiah and has been continuing to attend church. Please pray that his faith will grow and that he will understand the importance of baptism and discipleship. Israel Morgan Rapp, who is currently interning with our Israel missionaries, has had opportunities to accompany them on some visits in the Upper Galilee region. One man, Gozal, was so excited to study the Scriptures that he prepared for their...

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Added: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Bits from the Branches

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Israel Yarden has been meeting with a woman named Ruth, a contact from last year's Tel Aviv Behold Your God campaign. Ruth is from an Orthodox background and has been searching for the truth for a long time. Yarden studied the Scriptures with her and Ruth began to see that the only way one can be forgiven is through our Messiah, Y'shua. She began attending church and now wants to be baptized. Ruth is very passionate about her new faith and shares the gospel with unbelievers in her community. Please pray for her faith to continue to grow and be strengthened. Peter has been meeting weekly with Amit, who has been curious about Jesus ever since his ex-girlfriend shared the gospel with him. He recently prayed with Peter to receive the Lord and has been attending church regularly, growing in his walk. Please pray for Amit to have courage and wisdom as he tells his family about his decision to follow Jesus. Chicago Heather Blecher reports, "Mishpocago (the name of our Midwest...

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Added: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

HaTikvah

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Are you familiar with the word in the title of this article? HaTikvah is the contemporary Hebrew for "the hope." It is also the title of the Israeli national anthem. Ironically, these days don't seem very hopeful to many Israelis, or to many others for that matter. These are perilous times. War in the Middle East. The global economic crisis. The threat of a nuclear Iran. The world is gripped by a storm, and the storm is not likely to abate any time soon. Though we might see occasional, momentary breaks in "the weather," the Scriptures tell us that the storm will ultimately rage out of control. All around us, men and women will be reduced to utter despair and absolute hopelessness. We believers in Y'shua (Jesus) have the only genuine word of hope in the midst of this storm. We don't need a global crisis to remind us of that truth. I remember visiting a young Jewish woman named Leslie some years back. She was dying. The doctors told her that she had perhaps another month to live. As I...

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Author: Avi Snyder
Added: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Moishe's Musings on Nuclear Christianity

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The first time that I heard the term "Evangelism Explosion," I was confused. It seemed to me that explosions cause destruction. Then, I pictured another kind of explosion: that which takes place in the motor block of a diesel engine or a gasoline motor. The explosion in the chamber pushes a piston, thereby moving a rod and turning an axle. And the result is power. This is not the power to destroy, but to restore and to build. Everything I heard about "Evangelism Explosion," I liked. It was based on personal evangelism that was organized so that a small church, or even a Sunday School class, could reach out to personally tell people the Good News about the Messiah. In recent times, we've seen many shrinking churches and yet there's much talk about church planting. It seems to me that it's a waste of energy to plant churches where many already exist.Why not use that energy to develop and grow the...

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Author: Moishe Rosen
Added: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Promises of Hope

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Bible pulls no punches in describing the state of hopelessness that our sin causes. But neither is it stingy in making promises to those who take hold of the hope God has offered. Below is a small sprinkling of the promises that God has made to us in His Word. He tells us how He will bless us for putting our hope in Him, and He tells us about the hopes we can have in what He will do. Old Testament "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD."(Psalm 31:24) "Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy."(Psalm 33:18) "For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O LORD my God."(Psalm 38:15) "O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption."(Psalm 130:7) "For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off."(Proverbs 23:18) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a...

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Added: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Ruth's Ramblings

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Since Moishe wrote the cover article for this month's newsletter, I hope you don't mind if I take the column usually reserved for "Moishe's Musings." I wanted to write to you, not so much as the Jews for Jesus Newsletter editor, but as Moishe's daughter. I think Moishe was pleased that David Brickner asked him to open his heart to you about some of what he is experiencing these days -- but at first he hesitated a little regarding the article. It might seem odd, but he couldn't help wondering, "What if I write about dying and my life lasts longer than I expect it to?" Well, I think he realizes that if God should prolong his days, you'll rejoice with us, and not wonder why he is still around. But there was another hesitation that I don't think he'd mind my sharing with you: his sensitivity to the feelings of my mother and the rest of our family. He was concerned about how we might respond to the article, but also how we might feel when others respond. I'm sure that many of you know...

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Author: Ruth Rosen
Added: Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Adversity Brings Opportunity�

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Now that I am 77 years old, I think it is safe to say that my lifelong belief that I would die young was an illusion. When I was 15 I knew I wouldn't reach 20. When I was 20 I knew I wouldn't make it to 25, and so on. Some might think it was a morbid illusion, but the idea that I didn't have very long to live always pushed me to take advantage of as many opportunities as I could. Well, I missed my opportunity to die young. I've even missed the opportunity to die semi-old, though I've had some close calls. But in February of 2007 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had metastasized to the bones. So, unless God intervenes, my latest illness is terminal. I may or may not be here next year, but in any case, this illness has become an occasion for me to seek out opportunities. Maybe you are facing illness or adversity and are looking for similar opportunities. Here is a bit of what I'm learning. Adversity is an opportunity to gain perspective. Do you remember being a kid on a...

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Author: Moishe Rosen
Added: Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The most proactive group of ambassadors in New York City this month are not representing foreign governments; this despite the conspicuous presence of the United Nations. Instead, they are representing the Creator of the Universe, offering His peace plan: "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jews for Jesus has a couple dozen such ambassadors handling street duty right now, and despite the heat and the grime it is a royal responsibility of great nobility and import. There was a time when this task was understood; every Christian recognized his or her responsibility to be a soulwinner. Not so these days. Recently I watched a television pundit interview a well-known pastor. Said the...

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Author: David Brickner
Added: Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Featured Broadsides

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Please find of our broadsides (gospel tracts), written by Moishe Rosen, who created this form of gospel literature in the late 1960s. We hope this broadside will be a fun reminder for you to pray for our summer witnessing campaigns in New York City, London and Paris. We will be handing out hundreds of thousands of broadsides like this one! What's Your Rush? Print | Read It's the 4th of July Print |...

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Added: Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Jewish Factoids: The Yarmulke Or Kippah

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

People often ask us the reason behind the traditional Jewish yarmulke (skull cap), also called a kippah (Hebrew for covering). The following information comes from a catalogue that sells a variety of kippot (plural for kippah): "The sources for wearing kippot (Jewish skullcaps) are found in the Talmud [rabbinical commentary, also known as the Oral Law]. In tractate Shabbat 156b it states, 'Cover your head in order that the fear of heaven may be upon you. 'As well, in tractate Kiddushin 32a it states, 'Rabbi Huna the son of Rabbi Joshua never walked 4 cubits (2 meters) with his head uncovered. He explained: "Because the Divine Presence (Shekhina) is always over my head."' While there is a minority opinion that wearing a kippah... is a Torah commandment, most... agree that it is merely a custom. The prevailing view among rabbinical authorities is that this custom has taken on the force of law (Shulkhan Arukh, Orach Chayim 2:6). From a strictly talmudic point of view, however, the only...

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Added: Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Spiritual Fitness on Campaign

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Jews for Jesus witnessing campaigns have always stressed spiritual preparedness. In the early days, Scripture memorization was part of the rigorous routine of campaign. Each morning the verse(s) were posted and each day we were tested on the previous day's Scripture. The verses were carefully selected to minister to us and help us minister to others. About once a week, we had a cumulative test on all the verses we had memorized to date.We were expected to have the verses down, word and punctuation perfect. Memorizing Scripture definitely helped us in the spiritual warfare that intensifies around every effort to make the gospel known. On the other hand, memorization is strenuous for some and campaigners were already being tested in other ways, facing rejection out on the hot streets and inside the even hotter subway stations. So we continued having daily...

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Added: Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A New Outlook