Excerpt from Rock of Israel

God's Promise

All people feel lost deep down in their hearts. They wonder why they are here, why so much evil happens in the world. The Bible explains why: we want to run our own lives and do not accept God's help when we need it. This selfishness affects every person, every family, every nation, the entire human race. But God cares. He promised he would send his servant, the Messiah, to free us from ourselves and give us new and joyful hearts. God made this promise first in the Torah, the books of Moses: a promise not only to the Jewish people but to everyone around the world.

That promised Messiah is Jesus -- Yeshua in Hebrew -- who has has transformed the hearts and lives of millions of people. What is more, God has a plan for his people, Israel: to draw them to their Messiah and help change the world. Everyone is included in this plan: Jews and Gentiles, Israelis and Arabs, Russians or Americans or Europeans or Africans: for Messiah obliterates all the dividing lines between people and unites them in God's love.

Rock of Israel
P.O.Box 15443
Philadelphia, PA 19149

Pastor Ilya Berdichevsky
Phone: (215) 333-7242
Email: ilya@rockofisrael.com

Fred Klett
Phone: (267) 679-2671
Email: chaim@chaim.org

Excerpt from Voice of the Overcomer Ministries

Jesus looks different than I expected!

Speaking the truth sometimes discomforts people. We are much more comfortable with the way things are, and when Truth comes and disturbs the way we are use to believing, the turmoil in our souls can be extreme. But if we truly are seekers of Truth, we will wrestle with it even as Jacob did and not let go until it makes itself known to us.
Many in the church are having this wrestling going on in them today. They hear the voice of their Beloved crying out to them, but He sounds a little different than they thought. He sounds a little more Hebraic than they pictured Him, and who are all these Jewish looking people with Him? So they are frightened, even questioning if this is really Him. Then they remember, if even for a fleeting moment… Wasn’t there something about Him being a Hebrew? … of the Tribe of Judah, … of the House of David? But that so conflicts with the picture we have had of Him, it’s hard for our hearts to not question. But Yeshua is Truth and He will prevail in the hearts of those who are seeking Truth.
Lord, thank you that even if things look a little different than I expected, thank you that you will not quit wrestling with us until we receive your blessing.


Voice of the Overcomer Ministries
P.O. Box 7646
Bend, OR 97708
info@voiceoftheovercomer.org
www.chavah.org

Excerpt from Hebrew for Christians

The Prophet Like Unto Moses

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you,
from your brothers - it is to him you shall listen. (Deut 18:15)

In this pasuk (verse) we find the only passage in the entire Torah where Moses explicitly identifies himself as a prophet of the LORD. Moreover, this is also the only passage where Moses identifies the coming of the Mashiach as “a Prophet like me” (Deut 18:15; cp. John 6:14).

In the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) we read that the soferim (scribes) had sent a delegation to question Yochanon the Immerser (John the Baptist), asking him two questions:

* "Are you Elijah?" (John 1:21) - This referred to Malachi's prophecy (Mal. 4:5) that Elijah would come as a messenger before the appearance of the Messiah. To this day Jews around the world still set out a cup of wine for Elijah at Passover - in anticipation of the his arrival as the forerunner of the Messiah.

* "Are you the Prophet?" (John 1:21). This referred to Moses' prophecy that God would send "a Prophet like me" (Deut. 18:15-19).

We further read that when Philip encounterd Nathanael, he said, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:45). After Jesus fed the five thousand, the people began to ask if this was "the Prophet a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.' " (Acts 7:37-38). who is to come into the world" (John 6:14). Peter identified Yeshua as the Prophet (Acts 3:22-23), and in his apologetic before the Sanhedrin, Stephen the martyr declared that Yeshua was the promised Messiah: "This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'The lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.' " (Acts 7:37-38).

John Parsons
Hebrew for Christians
PO Box 27061
Golden Valley, Minnesota 55427-0061

Email: info@hebrew4christians.com

Excerpts from Ayts Chayim

Jesus and Jewishness

Over the past 2,000 years, a majority of Jews and Gentiles have accepted the misconception that Jesus and Jewishness have nothing in common. Nothing could be further from the truth!

According to the New Testament, which was written by Jews, Jesus was born in the Land of Israel to Jewish parents. He was a descendant of the royal family of King David. He was given the Hebrew name "Yeshua" which means salvation. As Israel's Messiah, Yeshua would save his people from their sins.

Yeshua is the most famous Rabbi of all time. He traveled throughout Israel, teaching the Jewish people and bringing mankind closer to God.

Yeshua demonstrated that he was the Messiah by displaying miraculous power. He fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread, healed the hopelessly sick and disabled, and brought the dead back to life!

Ira Brawer
P.O. Box 811323
Boca Raton, Florida 33481

Phone: (561)487-3839
Email: rabbi@aytschayim.org

Excerpt from Beth Emunah Online!

Are Messianic Jews "Jews for Jesus"?

Due to the very visible presence of the organization Jews for Jesus, there is a common misconception in the Jewish community that all Jewish believers in Yeshua are “Jews for Jesus.” However, this is not the case. Jews for Jesus is a specific Christian evangelistic organization that employs paid workers and volunteers to actively convert Jews to Christianity.
The difference is that Messianic Jews fundamentally believe that Jews are obligated to remain Jews, and live Jewish lives in obedience to our covenant relationship with God; through the redemption of Yeshua the Messiah. Another difference is that Messianic Jews are not seeking to convert Jews to Christianity or away from Judaism. As a Judaism, like other forms of Judaism, we desire to see Jews who have left their Jewishness return to Judaism and live covenant faithful lives. From a Messianic Jewish perspective, faith in a Jewish Messiah should lead one to a greater sense of Jewish identity, not away from it.

Rabbi Murray Silberling
Beth Emunah Messianic Synagogue
5312 Derry Ave. Suite N
Agoura Hills, CA. 91301
Office: 818.597.9700
Fax: 818.597.8969
e-mail: office@bethemunah.org