Jews for Jesus

Rarely do matters of serious religious debate become central to discourse in today's society. Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ," has afforded one such rare opportunity for public discourse even before its release. From the cover of Newsweek magazine to the lead story on ABC television's Prime Time, this cinematic portrayal of the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth has propelled the ancient story into today's public eye.

It's not that simple." This phrase is a commonly used argument to chip away firmly held convictions. You voice your convictions about the Bible and God's plan of salvation and someone tells you, "it's not that simple." They usually mean what you believe is simple and therefore unacceptable. Often the phrase is used to create an atmosphere of intellectual ambiguity. In today's postmodern world, such ambiguity is a warm blanket to cover those who wish to hold on to their own uncertainty.

The phone rang. It was Dan Sered calling from Israel, and he sounded very discouraged. Dan leads our Jews for Jesus branch in Tel Aviv. We were in the midst of our third Behold Your God Israel campaign and the opposition was heated.  But that wasn't why Dan was discouraged.

Pentecost. Is it a denomination? A supernatural experience? A date on a liturgical church calendar? Perhaps it is the surname of a beloved Bible scholar? Actually, Pentecost is first and foremost one of the most important and least appreciated Jewish festivals in the Bible. And since it is coming up in just 2 weeks, May 28, I think it would be helpful for RealTime readers to become better acquainted with this Feast of the Lord.

Shalom from New York City where I am presently taking part in our annual summer witnessing campaign (SWC)! It always energizes me to be here, out on the streets, telling people about Jesus. Since our ministry’s inception in 1973, every single summer but one, we've campaigned to reach New York City with the gospel. No one campaign is exactly the same but they all share the following features:

A media dust-up has been blowing over political commentator Anne Coulter's recent remark on the Donny Deutsch cable television show. Coulter told Deutsch, Christians want Jews to be perfected." He responded by labeling her an anti-Semite and various people began hurling verbal grenades in earnest.

If we assigned a word that's been overused and undervalued to each letter of the alphabet, A" would have to be for "awesome." This superlative is commonly used to express ordinary enthusiasm over just about anything: a favorite song, band, book or even a piece of clothing.

This month I postponed the Miami Behold Your God campaign that was scheduled to begin in just a few weeks. It was a difficult decision and I want to explain it to you, because it involves a principle that goes beyond a single evangelistic campaign.

A little boy approached me with brightness in his eyes, excitement in his voice and proudly announced, My birthday is next month. I will be five years old!" I smiled as he told me of his much-anticipated birthday. He was counting the days.

Have you ever heard radio commentator Paul Harvey's engaging teaser, The rest of the story"? The first part of Harvey's story always provides a bit of mystery, always leaves us hanging until he tells, "the rest of the story." Life is often like that. We hear something. We wonder what it means or how it all will work out, but we are often left hanging. Much of the Christian life is lived in that "in between" zone. The first part of the story does not always appear hopeful or encouraging. That is why we need to live by faith and not by sight; faith gives us confidence to trust God for the rest of the story. Faith assures us that He knows what is best, that He wants what is best and that He will do what is best. Eventually, in His time, we will understand the rest of the story.

In this season, primaries and playoffs dominate the media, captivating people's attention and passion. There are winners and losers for each and every one of these contests.

Did you know that May 16th is Yom Yerushalayim, in English Jerusalem Day? Should you care? How is it significant to believers in Jesus?
This day commemorates the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967. It is a national holiday in Israel, a symbol of the historical connection between the Jewish people and the ancient city. In one sense it is the government's declaration to her citizens and to the world, Never Forget, Jerusalem is ours!"

What would you think of a newspaper article titled, Jews for Jesus criticizes Evangelicals"? The Washington Times recently published such an article, which was quickly picked up and reported by other media. (We last accessed this on 1/15/04. If it is no longer available when you receive this, you may need to search in the Archives section (link in left column of Washington Times web page).

You know that Jews for Jesus has opposition but did you know they are clever enough to try to drive a wedge between us and those who would be most likely to stand with us—our brothers and sisters in Y'shua (Jesus)? They know we can't do the work of evangelism without you. I'm not talking only about financial support, I'm talking about the way you let us encourage you to witness to your Jewish friends, the way you let us talk to your Jewish friends when opportunities arise. I want to give you three examples of the kind of wedges I'm talking about, but we want to keep all our Real Time articles brief, so this month I'll just give you one:

I wonder why courage is so often stereotyped as a male trait. For many, the word conjures an image of the lone man, defying odds, standing tall, leading the charge. John F. Kennedy’s Pulitzer prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage” profiles only men. Yet the most courageous people I have met were women.