- God's WORD Shlom! My the grce of our God give you pece nd strength in Messih Yeshu until the dy of His return! One of my gretest privileges is leding tours to lsrel. Not only do I get to tech from the Word bout Yeshu nd my homelnd, but I lso get to witness the incredible rection of people seeing plces they've only dremed of. One of my fvorite such plces is FROM the Mt. of Olives. I love looking t the fces of my brothers nd sisters in Messih when they see the mzing view ofthis for the first specil plce time. The emotions, the ters, nd the smiles re incredibly touching. When I tech t this loction, red from Mtthew 24:3, which sys, "And s He ws sitting on the Mount of Olives..." Just the mere thought tht my Messih ws sitting nd teching on MORAN tht mountin is mindboggling nd mzing to me! Reding prophecies bout the Mountin itself, such s Zechrih 14:4, "And in tht dy His feet will stnd on the Mount of Olives, which is in front ofjeruslem, on the est..." is stonishing to cn close my eyes for moment nd just imgine tht glorious nd mzing dy. me. I And then, I look t Jeruslem tody nd my hert grows hevy. Jeruslem, the city I love city, the city tht He - put His nme on is full of spiritul drkness, religious oppression, nd despertion. i see gret deception ofjeruslem s fmous t some sites, such s the Temple Mount. This is deception tht mny even dmire, continued on pge 5 925 Courteny Prkwy Merritt islnd, FL 32953 321-449-8671 Visit our website t www.hope4isrel.org
lthoutheruslem hs been liberted nd united cityfor 50 yers lredy, there is one wy in whichjeruslem remins especilly cptive: in the medi. In the medi,jeruslem is n occupied city oppressed by n unjust militry violent, bckwrds nd rcist city in which Jewish cops kill innocent Arb youth. Even in pro-isrel medi, cts of terrorism in the city cn become the min focus. ontrry to wht the medi hs often portryed, the Isreli Police re not nd cnnot be rcist towrds Arbs. Mny of the police officers shown in the medi s n exmple of Isreli ggression towrds Arb youth hve themselves been Arb police. In fct, the second highest rnking officer in the Isreli Police, hedqurtered injerusiem, is n Arb Muslim. The hed of the Isreli Police, though Jewish, is himselfvery fmilir with Arb culture s he is the son of YemeniteJewish fther nd MoroccnJewish mother (his prents re from Arbic speking Muslim ntions). he truth is tht fr fewer people re ffected by violence ech dy in Jeruslem thn in lmost ny big city in the US. In fctjeruslem is sfer thn mny of the worlds biggest cities. Rther thn being rcist city or city tht is dngerous for Arb youth,jeruslem ctully serves s model of how mximum pece cn be chieved in spite of complicted relities. Although constnt negtive medi ttention hs mdejerusiem out to look like bckwrds nd oppressive city, the opposite is true. People from every ntion come to this city to shre in beutiful experience of culturl diversity nd technologicl excellence tht is unique to the Jeruslem of our dy. I've never met someone, who upon visitingjeruslem for the first time, ws not surprised by how sfe they felt nd how developed the city is tody. ne of the first nd most cptivting things for visitors to Isrel (s well s mny Isrelis) is the beutifully forested lndscpe on the wy intojeruslem when coming from the irport in Tel Aviv. Throughout Jeruslem greenery bounds. Isrelis invest in lndscping nd in the workplce, so both t home tht this rid city is full of life throughout the yer. love going for wlks in this city becuse the frgrnces of the different trees, bushes, nd vines throughout the city re most plesing rom. During most times of the yer, it is possible to dmire ny of vriety of fruit trees, olive trees, or lmond trees when they re in seson. Throughout the yer, s I wlk long the pths ofjeruslem, I love to pick rosemry or lvender nd smell it s I go on my wy. lthoutheruslem is the lrgest city in Isrel, wlking on the trils long the vlleys tht led to the Ded Se, I often see sheep nd gots grzing on the hillsides, their shepherds nerby. In the vlley tht ws referred to in the New Testment s "Gehenn", I often see the horse owners of tht re offering rides to children in the plce tht in ncient times served s plce to scrifice children to Molech. Wht beutiful picture of God s bility to tke wht ws once used for wickedness nd insted turn it into plce ofjoy. Well cred for nture trils nd prks (free of trsh nd full of life) bound in the city of Jeruslem tody. Tody, there re more thn 1,500 public prks nd grdens in this city, most of them built or renovted since 1967! These prks re strtegic plce to promote pece, pece tht I hve hd thejoy of personlly experiencing time nd time gin. Mny times hve I enjoyed open dilogue in these prks with Muslims,Jews nd visitors to Isrel ll t the sme time s we enjoy these well cred for spces together. ctully live in the prt ofjeruslem tht the medi presents s occupied nd I cn testify to the relity tht this prt ofjeruslem is not occupied", but rther free. In my neighborhood, I enjoy regulr nd positive interctions with neighbors from every bckground: Arb Muslims, Arb Christins, Jews, nd visitors to Isrel. They come over to my house nd I go over to theirs in pece. This freedom to live in close proximity to ll of these groups in pece is freedom tht I m confident flows from the libertion ofjeruslem 50 yers go! cn t begin to convey to you the relief I feel ech dy, when I forget bout the news for moment nd tlk with my neighbors nd find tht things re still oky with them. Does terrorism 2
threten Isrel every dy of its existence? Yes. Is tht terrorism successful in mkingjeruslem frightening plce to live? No. People re cutious in Jeruslem, nd situtionlly wre, but Isreli security relly is mong the best in the world nd so most of us enjoy life of surprising sfety in spite of the threts. Another wonderful plce to meet people from ll different bckgrounds injeruslem is in the museums. Isrel is the ntion with the highest number of museums per c pit of ny ntion on erth mny of the most renowned of museums in Isrel re bsed injeruslem. One of the most renowned museums in the world for rcheology is the Isrel Museum injeruslem, which mong other outstnding collections, fetures the mnuscripts of the Ded Se Scrolls long with items found in the Qumrn settlement to which the scrolls belonged. Art museums re lso in no short supply injeruslem. Museums feturing every culture nd period in Isrel s history Jewish, Muslim, Christin, nd others my be found cross the city. long with museums, Jeruslem is home to number of eductionl nd culturl centers tht offer life-giving opportunities for those living in or visiting Jeruslem. Theters nd culturl centers such s those found in the vicinity ofjeruslem s "First Trin Sttion" offer meeting point for people to explore gret diversity of ctivities together. Every week t the First Trin Sttion, ctivities such s folk dncing, culinry shows, nd music performnces rejust few of the bundnt culturlly enriching opportunities vilble in Jeruslem now fully 50 yers since its libertion. One of the most touching things to see is how quick Isrelis re to help when they see someone with n injury or disbility. Just few months go, I sprined my nkle. People who sw me were quick to give me their set on the bus or even py for cb to mke sure tht I got where I needed to go without stressing my sprined nkle ny worse thn I hd to. eruslem tody is leder in developing innovtive trnsporttion solutions for everyone who needs to get round. Some of the most exciting innovtions coming out ofjeruslem right now re those of Mobileye, compny tht ws recently purchsed by Intel. Mobileye is very close to relesing the next genertion of systems for crs tht will llow for hnds-free driving using highly ccurte nvigtionl technology. nother innovtive trnsporttion solution for which Jeruslem is known in Isrel is its light ril trin, which hs been in opertion since 2011. Jeruslem s light ril trin ws the first of its kind in Isrel nd hs since led to drop in the ir pollution of the city to fifth of wht it ws previously. More thn 150,000 people tke the Jeruslem light ril trin every dy! s with other cities in the world, Jeruslem lso offers more loction specific trnsporttion within the city. Two excellent bus compnies s well s qulity txi services offer esy nd quick trnsporttion to every prt of the city. One of the bus compnies in the city even hs del with the light ril trin compny so tht those who trnsfer between them cn py for single ride rther thn pying for every trnsfer. ne more thing tht mkes Jeruslem especilly nice tody is tht it is the center of ll government offices In Isrel. Access to ll government services is offered in both Arbic nd Hebrew, long with mny services even being offered in English nd Russin s well. As the cpitl of Isrel,Jerus em serves s the plce where Isrel hosts ll of its biggest celebrtions nd ceremonies in the course of ech yer. Agin, it's becuse of the libertion ofjeruslem 50 yers go nd its sttus s the undivided cpitl of Isrel tht ll ofthis is possible tody. hile the medi pintsjeruslem out to be plce of continul conflict nd oppression, those of us who live here (Jew, Arb nd other) enjoy n unprecedented level of ccess to the best this flourishing ntion hs to offer. Rther thn being underprivileged, Jeruslem is home to some of the most privileged people in the world: we hve the privilege of living in the holiest city on erth; we hve the privilege of enjoying some of the best services nd ttrctions Isrel hs to offer; nd we hve the privilege of seeing pece in spite of hostility. In the highly cultured nd free tmosphere ofjeruslem tody, genertion is growing up tht hs not seen the trgedies of the Six Dy Wr nd tht hs hd ccess to every prt ofjeruslem since their birth. U nfortuntely, UN resolutions nd the medi often concel these outstnding relities in Jeruslem tody, insted preferring to present Isrel s n "occupied" city in need of libertion. This distorted view of Jeruslem not only ffects foreign views of Isrel but lso complictes the security sitution in Isrel s mny Arbs of Isrel re led to believe tht (in spite of the privileges they enjoy), Isrel is out to destroy them nd tke wy their homes nd their livelihoods. ck in July when the three terrorists killed those two Druze police officers on the Temple Mount, I remember chtting with one of my Arb neighbors bout the sitution. At the time, Muslim leders hd instructed Muslims to pry on the Mount of Olives insted of on the Temple Mount in protest of metl detectors tht were set up to prevent further use of guns by terrorists on the Temple Mount. My neighbor ws given the impression by these leders, however, not tht they were prying elsewhere becuse of protest but tht they were no longer prying on the Temple Mount becuse the Jews wouldn't let them. This misinformtion ws the result of Muslim leders sying one thing to Isrel nd the world, but nother thing to the poor people who just wnted to go bck to norml. All of these lies of Muslim leders re reinforced when orgniztions like the UN nd populr medi sources promote the portryl ofjeruslem s being n oppressed nd occupied city. The result is tht people like my neighbor re led to tke offense ginst Isrel bout n issue tht ws never Isrel s fult to begin with. As we continue to celebrte 50 yers since the libertion nd reunifiction of this city, I encourge you to pry with us for the continued increse of pece in this most holy city! Although the Arbs of Isrel re still subject to the lies tht re especilly prevlent in Muslim medi nd in much of western medi s well, God is on our side nd He's redy to do new thing in the lnd of Isrel tody.join us in celebrting the good things tht hve lredy been ccomplished here.join us in prying especilly for those who hve dred to serve in Jeruslem to mke this city sfe nd secure plce for peoples from every tribe, tongue nd ntion to come nd worship our God. And most of ll, pry tht everyone in this city will come to the sving knowledge of Messih!.z
,,v, ), l 7 211% :H i m" E Ilm yew» 5 u,. 'IwH-wwliiuzflil 2!!!ng, ll 7 :Y:v,rf:.xlnr:7:1; l 7 {5! 5 7 C'r: l?m:":,/k,/l 80d; Week This week in syngogues throughout the world, the nnul cycle of Torh redings begins (the Torh is lso known s the "Books of Moses" or the first five books of the Bible). In this series of blogs, I intend to follow the weekly portion (prsh) of Scripture s they re being red in the syngogues, nd to write short commentries on them. This is notjust pertinent tojewish followers of Messih; we cn ll -Jew nd Gentile like- gin gret del of insight in these Torh redings! I m writing to ll of us, since it is my sincere desire for us to understnd tht Yeshu the Messih, the Son of the Living God, is not some type of "n ew (two thousnd yer old) ide, but rther existed from even before the cretion of the world! I wnt us to see Him for who He ws, is, nd will lwys be. I lso wnt us to hve renewed love ofthe living Word! As lwys, I desire to point out the gret perls of wisdom tht re in the weekly Scripture redings; these re the "hidden tresures" found in the Word tht cn enrich our lives nd bring us closer to Him every dy: My son, ifyou receive my words nd tresure up my commndments with you, mkingyour er ttentive to wisdom nd incliningyour hert to understnding; yes, if you cll out for insight nd rise your voice for understnding, ifyou seek it like silver nd serch for it sfor hidden tresures, then you will understnd the fer of the LORD nd find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5 There is nother importnt spect tht I wnt to focus on in the coming yer of this blog series, nd tht is wht Rv Sh ul (Pul) refers to s "the mystery' found in the Word of God, which ws reveled to him (Rom 16:25-26, Eph 3:3, etc). And tht mystery is Yeshu Himself, who ws the Word mde flesh nd cme to dwell mong us: "In the beginning ws the Word, nd the Word ws with God, nd the Word ws God. He ws in the beginning with God. All things cme into being by Him, nd prtfrom Him nothing cme into being tht hs come into being. In Him ws life, nd the life ws the light of men. And the light shines in the drkness, nd the drkness did not comprehend it. "John 1 :1-4 "The Word becme flesh nd mde his dwelling mong us. We hve seen his gioiy, the glory of the one nd only Son, who cme from the Fther, full ofgrce nd truth. "John 1 :14 This week s reding describes the Cretion of the World nd everything in it. It opens with the words, "In the beginning God creted- (Genesis 1:1 ). God is the Cretor of the world; this world belongs to Him nd, s His cretion, we re to bide in Him nd ccept His will. It then goes on to describe how God ctully creted, which is by His word. It is written numerous times tht, God sid..."(genesis 1 verses 3,6,9,1 1,14,20,24 nd 26) nd indeed within the first 25 verses of the Bible, we lern of God s mzing nd perfect cretion of this world nd everything within it. However, in verse 26, we find the gretest mystery contined in the Scriptures: "Then God sid, Let Us mke mn in Our imge, ccording to Our likeness; nd let them rule over the fish of the se nd over the birds of the 1sky the cttle nd over ll nd over the erth, nd over evely creeping thing tht creeps on the erth."" Who did God spek to, sying "Let US mke mn in Our imge, ccording to Our Iikeness? This is topic of intense debte mongjewish scholrs, nd the generl consensus mong those who do not believe in Messih Yeshu is tht God speks here to ngels. However, this nswer does not mke sense since they bsiclly sy tht God is equl to His ngels, which re lso His creted beings. How cn this be? God clerly speks to someone of the exct sme imge (figure, identity nd chrcter) nd likeness (shdow or shde). God cn be the only one who is equl to God. So, who could it be? The nswer is found in Genesis 3:8: "And they herd the sound (voice) of the LORD God wlking in the grden in the cool of the dy, nd the mn nd his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God mong the trees of the grden." In the "Onkelos Tirgom" (n ncient Armic trnsltion of the Torh), it trnsltes this verse s, "And they WWW h0p84/5 fd org herd the voice of the Word of God wlking in the grden..." (emphsis mine) Who is the Word of God? Yeshu, His Son, our Messih! Yeshu ws present t the Cretion of the world; not only tht, but He is the conduit by which the Fther brought ll things into being. He is the Word through which the Fther spoke the world into existence. And through Yeshu, Adm nd Eve hd fellowship with God, just s it is tody for us who hve fellowship with the Fther through Yeshu, our High Priest. In closing, Iwnt to remind us of the wisdom found in the Word of God, which contins gret "hidden tresures." (Proverbs 2:1-5) His word gives us the only tools we'll ever need for bundnt life. It is my hope nd pryer tht ech of you reding these blog entries will discover new the nswer to the "mystery in the only solution tht God Himselfgives, in His Son, the living Word. Only in Him will we find true knowledge of God. ; 4
WORD continuedfrom pge 1 such s the Golden Dome of the Rock, which is monument to flse god, the temporry prince of the erth nd his rmies. I see the voltile center of conflicts, nd of lies nd deceit. But I do not despir. I m reminded tht this is only temporry, tht ll I see here nd now isjust for period of time. The truth is tht it will ll be gone one dy, nd will be mde new. I look fon~rd to the dy when the Groom will come for His Bride, nd gretjoy will fill her streets. It will be dy when the ters of sdness will be replced with gret ters of joy! The Comforter will bring His everlsting comfort, His Kingdom to new heven nd new erth: And I sw new heven nd new erth;for the first heven nd the first erth pssed wy, nd there is no longer ny se. And I sw the holy city, newjeruslem, coming down out of heven from God, mde redy s bride dornedfor her husbnd. And I herd loud voice from the throne, sying, Behold, the tberncle of God is mong men, nd He shll dwell mong them, nd they shll be His people, nd God Himself shll be mong them, nd He shll wipe wy every terfrom their eyes; nd there shll no longer be ny deth; there shll no longer be ny mourning, or crying, or pin; the first things hve pssed wy. And He who sits on the throne sid, Behold, I m mking ll things new. And He sid, Write, for these words refithful nd true/and He sid to me, It is done. I m the Alph nd the Omeg, the beginning nd the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the wter of life without cost. He who overcomes shll inherit these things, nd I will be his God nd he will be My son. Reveltion 21 :1-7 As I look forwrd to tht dy, I understnd how crucil our obedience to proclim His Kingdom is. Lboring for the Kingdom is one of the gretest privileges, but with tht comes gret responsibility. My der friends, for the pst few ye rs I devoted most of my ministry to exhort the Body of Messih in two res: to be prepred nd to prepre others. For ye rs, mny looked t me like I hd lost my mind, but tody we see devsttion - ll round us wrs nd rumors of wrs, erthqukes, hurricnes, mss shootings, etc. I believe tht we ll understnd tht our time on this erth is borrowed, nd how we live mtters. Let us continue to redy ourselves for His return, but not forget to lso prepre others. Until the Dy of His Return! 7710mm PROJECT UPDATE FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAITH Discipleship Book We t Hope for Isrel strongly believe in the importnce of mking disciples; it is centrl prt of the work we do every dy. Over the yers we recognized need for discipleship book in Hebrew, written from Jewish perspective tht ws esy to understnd, yet fithful to the biblicl foundtions of fith in Messih. So, we decided to do something bout it! During the pst five yers, Morn nd our longtime friend nd ministry prtner, Bruch Kormn, met to study together nd write wht would ultimtely become, The Foundtions of the Fith. This book is especilly imed t helping Isreli believers gin clrity bout the foundtions of fith in Messih Yeshu, while hving the dvntge of being written entirely by Isrelis. The Foundtions of the Fith explores questions such s: Wht is the Word of God? Who is God, nd wht does it men for Yeshu to be the Messih? Grounded in Scripture, the book clrifies wht it mens to be follower of the Messih within Jewish context, nd ech chpter concludes with thoughtprovoking questions to help the reder reflect nd engge with the mteril. The completion of this book mens hving reder-friendly resource tht is well suited to provide much needed encourgement nd guidnce to believers in their wlk with Messih. Although originlly written in Hebrew, the book hs now been trnslted to Russin nd English nd is now being trnslted to Spnish s well! This book is not just forjewish believers in Messih, however. It is lso wonderful tool for Gentile believers who wnt to get more uthentic understnding of fith in Messih Yeshu. And of course, it is gret tool for our Jewish fmily nd friends who do not yet know Messih, to get to know Him from Hebric perspective. If you re interested in getting copy of the book, or wnt more informtion, plese check out our website under the "Resources" tb.
join Morn on Life-Chnging Trip! For more detils contct Mg; m infpéimpeéiismeifiwig,... "k h. FEBRUARYG- 15, 2018 SOLIDARITY TOUR PASTORS - (3636813 @0)? @QJEB [DEW] (BEBE) DWDIBGJWBED MBBBD UBU WWW impeéiismel org We hve revmped our site to be more user friendly to keep you updted on our ministry nd current events in Isrel. We lso hve numerous resources to educte nd equip on issues of fith, discipleship, nd the Word to keep your wlk with the Lord strong! Visit us tody! FINQL IWQRD In order to ccomplish the gret work the Lord hs for us, we do need your pryer nd finncil support. Plese pryerfully consider supporting the Hope for Isrel ministry. Plese mke ll checks pyble to Hope for Isrel or donte online t www.hope4isrel.org. 6