Good news on Yom Kippur by David Brickner, executive director S undown October 3 begins the holiest day of the Jewish calendar: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It’s the time to seek God’s forgiveness for all our sins over the past year. Those who observe the day will fast from sundown to sundown, many attending three different synagogue services throughout the day and night. Whether God even exists, much less listens and responds to us, is a question in many hearts and minds. Even the concept of sin—apart from great crimes that most people don’t commit—is often a point of confusion. Within the liturgy of the services a prayer, often chanted by the cantor or sung by a choir, opens a biblical window of understanding into what seems an inscrutable mystery to many Jewish people. The song, titled “Mi Chamocha,” or “Who is Like You?” poses a question asked by Moses in Exodus 15:11, as well as by the prophet in Micah 7:18. The question: “Who is a God Like You?” is rhetorical. We’re not looking to compare others with Him, but rather to fix our eyes on Him, to understand His uniqueness and His greatness. This was a lifelong passion for the prophet Micah, whose very name means, “who is like the Lord.” The prophet’s name was a constant reminder of his passion for God and his quest to know Him more deeply. There is no greater quest because there is no one greater than God, as the prophet and the prayer so beautifully illustrate: Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob And mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers From days of old. (Micah 7:18–20) Micah’s closing hymn of praise reflects back on the previous “Mi Chamocha,” the Song of Moses from Exodus 15, which emphasizes God’s power and strength. This picture points out the uniqueness of God’s forgiveness, mercy and grace, both in terms of who He is and what He will do. Many people find forgiveness very difficult indeed—not so with God. It is the natural outworking of His nature. It is part of His character. Knowing In this edition October 2014 What can this traditional Jewish prayer mean to you? . . . . . . . . 1 onlinextras, Jewish facts of life, cartoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Bits from our branches in New York City, Budapest, San Francisco and London . . 4 Mission (not) impossible . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The other “S” word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Pop stars, parades and you! . . . . . . . . 8 that God wants to forgive our sin is a powerful truth that can set us free from bondage to fear and a whole host of other pains and sorrows. But that forgiveness comes in a specific context—a personal relationship with God. Micah tells us the forgiveness He extends is to the “remnant of His inheritance.” Israel is God’s inheritance. They belong to Him, but have strayed from Him. Only a remnant of His inheritance is willing to acknowledge their sin and accept God’s terms for atonement, and they are the ones who receive His mercy and forgiveness. John’s gospel tells us: “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11–13). As it is with Israel, so it is with the rest of humanity. God will forgive those who repent and receive forgiveness on His terms. The fact is, God is passionate; He is angered by sin and rebellion. But it is not His intention to stay angry. God actually delights, takes pleasure in showing mercy—and He has made a way to do it without compromising His righteousness. So when we ask for God’s mercy we are not struggling to persuade God to reluctantly stay His hand. Rather, we are acknowledging and calling upon this marvelous aspect of His character. What else can we know about what God is like? He will again have compassion on us: in Hebrew, yashuv yerachamenu. He will return his rachamim, His grace to us. The Hebrew root word rechem means “a mother’s womb.” God’s love is like the love that a mother feels for the child of her womb. enemy and He has promised to defeat it. I believe that God has done this on a personal level for all who trust Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Forgiveness and pardon from the Lord do not merely lift the burden of guilt and sin, they bestow the fullness of God’s blessing, the riches of His love and the resources of His kindness to us. Without those resources we are empty vessels without much to give. But once we receive his rachmones, we are overflowing with spiritual strength and fulfillment that can bless others and change the very world we live in. Jesus died in our place. He shed His own blood to pay the penalty for our sin. He has broken the power of sin. But one day He also will forever banish the presence of sin. I look forward to that day, don’t you? But will it really happen? Micah also points out that our merciful God will defeat sin. This is a powerful promise mentioned in many books of the Bible. God will wage a war against sin, and will defeat sin as surely as He defeated the armies of Pharaoh. He promises to tread sin under foot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. What a marvelous picture! Do we look upon sin as our enemy? Going all the way back to the story of Cain and Abel, God warned Cain concerning his worst enemy: “sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you” (Genesis 4:7b). So it is for us; sin is a rapacious, vile disease that threatens to hurtle us into an abyss of darkness and despair. Yet how often do we give in to its potent desire? But here is the wonder of it all. God does not leave us alone to battle the sin that would overtake us. Sin is God’s Well, yes it will because our God keeps His promises. Micah ends his hymn by reflecting on that fact. It is so important to know what God has promised. Otherwise, we live by mistaken notions of who God is and what He will or won’t do. Or worse, we just pretend He is not there at all. How sad, how foolish, and yet this is how most people live, both Jews and Gentiles. My heart breaks especially for my own Jewish people; so many will sit in synagogue this month without a shred of understanding about who God is and what He is offering. That heartbreaking fact propels and compels me—and all my Jews for Jesus colleagues—to be His witnesses so that our people will hear: “The good news this Yom Kippur is this. God is ready to love you and forgive you and cleanse you and heal you. And He does it all in the person of His Son the Messiah.” Please pray with and for us that the gospel seeds we are planting will penetrate and grow in the hearts of many Jewish people in the coming days. We exist to make the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide. Jews for Jesus international headquarters: 60 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-5895; phone: (415) 864-2600; email: [email protected]; web: jewsforjesus.org; also working in: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom; editor: Ruth Rosen; art director: Paige Saunders; design and illustration: David Yapp; ISSN 0740-5901 Volume 2:5775, October 2014; ©2014 onlinextras Check out the expanded edition of our newsletter at j4j.co/extras1014 to find: prayer prompters • “I’m Good,” the broadside mentioned by Lyn Bond (it’s a good one to pass on to a Jewish friend this month) Please pray for: • a cool story of how God answered prayer to show His attention to life’s details Jewish seekers to attend and be drawn to Jesus at our Yom Kippur and Sukkot services • Regular online features: “Hello Israel” (your Holy Land fact-of-themonth) and “So What?” (to help you apply this month’s newsletter to your own life and walk with God) God’s blessing on the next generation of Jews for Jesus and God’s wisdom for us as we invest in them Jewish Facts of Life As David mentioned, this month is Yom Kippur, the most Holy Day of the year on the Jewish calendar. Also Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, begins at sundown on October 8. grace and strength for new Jewish believer Gregory in New York (p. 4) Sukkot, the last of the last annual festivals found in Leviticus 23, is like a bookend to the Feast of Passover, the first of those holidays listed. Passover is but one day, but combined with the Feast of Unleavened Bread it lasts for eight days; Sukkot lasts seven days, and is followed on the eighth day by what the Bible calls “a holy convocation.” Passover focuses on how God redeemed us out of Egypt, and Sukkot reminds us that after the redemption He blessed us with His presence and provision. salvation for Klári in Budapest, Larry in the SF Bay Area, Jacob and his family in London (pp. 4–5) Find out more about Yom Kippur at: j4j.co/nlyk and discover the joys of Sukkot at: j4j.co/nlsk. You’ll find great articles, videos and all kinds of resources; plus, you’ll be able to see if we are holding holiday services near you at both these links! courage and wisdom for God’s people to include the issue of sin in a way that people understand when presenting the gospel God’s comfort for Rochelle, Angela and Ken (people Karl is ministering to in Montreal) (p. 7) This month's banner photo of Sarah Ascher, leader of our NYC summer outreach, was taken by Rachel Friedlander. meetings, but she had not been able to come. She expressed, though, that she was not satisfied with the synagogue services, finding them lifeless, especially since the prayers are in Hebrew, which she doesn’t understand. She had told me about her Catholic grandmother, who was proud of having a Jewish daughterin-law, since Jesus was Jewish. “From this mixed background, Klári had developed a special mixed religion. ‘The God of the Old Testament is cruel,’ she told me. ‘He had Abraham sacrifice his son. Jesus, on the contrary, is cool. He is cheerful and forgiving.’ When I reminded her that Jesus served and fully obeyed the same God revealed in the Old Testament—who is actually His Father—it just made it worse. She said she would not believe in a God who is able to sacrifice his own Son. She liked Jesus, but without taking seriously that she can approach God only through Him. And while she prayed to God, she hated Him for the Holocaust and for sacrificing His Son. Stewart blowing the shofar Budapest From Kata Tar: “‘I don’t need a mediator. I speak to God directly,’ Klári stated during our recent meeting. This 62-year-old Jewish lady works in a Jewish home for the elderly. We met her a year ago during our summer campaign. I kept phoning her and inviting her to our 4 BRANCHES thanking the Holy Spirit for giving her such a good idea. ‘The Bible is just like a protocol. If you follow it, you can be certain of the good outcome.’ Klári was pleased about her insight and promised to come again. Please pray that God would give her more and more understanding into why she needs a mediator—the Messiah, Jesus.” San Francisco From Alan and Lyn Bond, as reported by Lyn, “We began serving with Jews for Jesus here in the Bay Area in 1975. We have since served in Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago. This year we were given the opportunity to come back to San Francisco and make a full circle move to where it all began. The following is a small slice of life as we readjust to our ministry here. “‘Listen, Klári!’ I said. ‘You can be like Abel, who approached God the “Alan and I backed our blue PT way He required, or you can be like Cruiser out of the garage of the Rosen Cain, who approached God the way he wanted, then got offended for God not accepting him.’ Suddenly a light came into her eyes. ‘I have recently learned a protocol, a detailed instruction of how to handle a client,’ she said. ‘I can set it aside and do it the way I think is best, but then the result is uncertain. However, if I follow the protocol, I can be certain of a good outcome.’ Lyn ‘Exactly!’ I exclaimed, inwardly PHOTO ©JEWS FOR JESUS/PAIGE SAUNDERS he didn’t want to pray over the phone, but he would think about it. Shortly after that call, I received a text from Gregory’s brother-in-law John,* who has also been witnessing to him. He told me that Gregory had called him up and told him that he received Yeshua as his Savior.” “‘Oh dear Holy Spirit,’ I sighed inside, ‘Please talk to her.’ bits from the home where we were temporarily living with my Mom. I dropped Alan off at the freeway exit close to AT&T Park where the San Francisco Giants play baseball. Tract bag slung over his shoulder, he had hundreds of pamphlets titled, “I’m Good,” spoken, in the cover illustration, by a woman with her palm raised as if to refuse something being offered to her. Alan headed off to where people were gathering to watch the game so that he could distribute the gospel seeds. “I drove across the Bay Bridge where I had an appointment to bring a Bible study to a Jewish man in his early 40s. Larry can see how Jesus just might be the Messiah, but he has determined to read the entire Bible before he will decide whether he believes. He has faith in God and he says he has prayed and seen God answer his requests. “Our lesson this particular week was on Jonah. Larry acknowledged that disobedience to God’s Will leads to unpleasant consequences. He promised to read the book of Job for the following week. “I drove back across the Bay Bridge to find Alan waiting, his tract bag empty and a smile on his face. We can’t be sure what impact those brief gospel pamphlets will have, but they had scripture: Isaiah 53:6 and 1 John 1:8–9—and we know that God’s Word does not return void. Please pray for us, that God will give us opportunities to meet and have one-on-one Bible studies with many more seekers in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the number of Jewish residents has more than doubled since we lived here last.” and a righteous man. But he was no more the Mashiach than he (Jacob) was. Then I asked him, ‘How do you know Jesus is not the Mashiach?’ Jacob changed the subject and asked me a question about myself. This gave me the opportunity to tell him my testimony. We had a good interaction. It ended as Jacob told me that he appreciated me telling him what I believed before I came into his house. But now, as it was the school holidays, he really needed to spend some time with his London Simon Lissak reports, “I was recently in North London with a volunteer, when we passed a house and noticed two parked cars, both of which had bumper stickers that said, “We want Mashiach (Messiah) NOW!” I decided to see if the owner of the cars was willing to have a conversation with us. “When a lady answered the door I said, ‘I noticed your bumper stickers and I’d like to talk to someone about how we can recognize the Mashiach when he comes.’ Her husband Jacob, a religious Jewish man, invited us in. I thanked him and said, ‘Before I accept your kind invitation I need to tell you that I am Jewish, but that I believe that Jesus is the Mashiach and I want you to know that before we come into your house!’ “Jacob looked thoughtful for a moment, and I expected the door to close on us, but then he said ‘Sure . . . come in,’ and we did. The living room contained a huge bookcase with many books on the Talmud and even a large photo of Jacob with Rabbi Schneerson, the Lubavitcher leader who died twenty years ago, and whom many Lubavitch Jews believe to be the Messiah. I asked Jacob what he believed about Jesus. “Jacob explained that he thought Jesus was a real man, a Jew, a rabbi PHOTO ©JEWS FOR JESUS PHOTO ©JEWS FOR JESUS/MELISSA MOSKOWITZ New York City Stewart Weinisch reports: “I met Gregory* (Jewish) at his sister’s funeral. His sister, a Jewish believer in Jesus, had told him about the gospel many times, but he never believed. Following the funeral, I met with Gregory a few times as he was awaiting a major and potentially dangerous surgery. I called him up the day before the surgery and asked if he was ready to receive Yeshua. He asked, ‘What do I have to do?’ I explained that he needed to believe in his heart what Jesus has done for him, repent, and pray to surrender his life to the Lord. He said Simon children. As we got up to leave, I asked if I could come back. Jacob said if we were in his area, it was fine to come back and see him. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal to Jacob that Jesus is the Messiah and he will come to faith in Him.” * (not their real names) onlinextra alert Use the onlinextras link on p. 3 to see the “I’m Good” pamphlet Lyn mentioned, and to read the amazing thing God did for the Bonds when they moved back to the Bay Area. 55 Mission impossible A Muslim once asked me, “What do I need to be saved from?” I’ve been asked the same question by Jewish people. To which I reply, “We have all sinned, and defied a holy God. We need to be saved from our sin and the judgment it brings. The good news is, God wants to be your Saviour. All you have to do is confess your sins, repent and say yes to Jesus.” But repentance isn’t easy. It’s letting go of living the way we want, and allowing ourselves to be directed by God. Many people don’t see themselves as sinners because they haven’t committed a crime. They don’t know that sin is falling short of God’s standards, not just the standards we humans set for ourselves. We tend to judge ourselves by whether we are better or worse than other people. But a friend described it like this: We’ve all taken an exam, and we all failed. Some get 49% and others get 1%, but even the higher scores do not pass. However good or bad we are compared to one another—in the end we are all still sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Imagine you rent out your house, and your tenants never pay you. They tear the house apart and use your property for purposes that break the terms by which you allowed them to 6 live there. That’s how we can look at sin. We are all tenants in a world created and owned by God, but we behave as though we owe God nothing. We don’t give the reverence and obedience that is due Him. God has every right to cut us off, throw us out—but He paid what was due by Many people don’t . . . know that sin is falling short of God’s standards, not just the standards we humans set for ourselves. sending His son, Yeshua, to live a perfect life, and then take the penalty for our sin. Sin is an important topic. I got in touch with a contact called Matt, and learned that two women had prayed with him a year ago to receive Jesus. I asked what the prayer meant. He could not answer. “Did these women talk to you about sin?” He said that they didn’t. Whether they did and he forgot I don’t know. But when witnessing to others, it’s essential to have a sin conversation. If we don’t, we may well be inoculating people against the gospel—as they mistakenly think PHOTO ©JEWS FOR JESUS E xplaining sin is easy, isn’t it? Well actually it isn’t! I find myself continually having to explain to people that I am not judging them. The truth is, we are all sinners, and God is the Judge. by Ziggy Rogoff they understand it, when actually a huge part of the story is missing. Another man prayed to receive Jesus during our Wimbledon outreach, but when Julia Pascoe talked with him several months later, it was evident that he knew nothing of sin. This is often the case for Jewish people coming to Jesus. They understand that He is the Messiah, but can’t seem to grasp that He is also the Judge of sin as well as the atonement for sin. Many don’t really understand what sin is, and that’s why they don’t see their need to be saved from it. Sometimes it can take a while for their eyes to be opened. One Jewish believer said that after inviting Jesus into her heart, it took another three years before she realized Jesus is Lord and Judge. We must be patient with people. At the same time, we must do our best to explain, not only who Jesus is, but why we all need Him. Ziggy Rogoff (see below) is a missionary with our London branch. Find out more about Ziggy at: j4j.co/nlzr The other “S-word” no one likes W e live in a hypersensitive culture where people are careful about what they say, and most try to avoid the “S-word,” (sin). This word is often associated with “religion” (we don’t hear many atheists or secular folks speak of it). Many hear the S-word as an unpleasant intrusion or indication that their attitudes, behaviour, and actions are being judged by others who have no right to point a finger. There’s another S-word that no one likes, though we don’t mind talking about it. That word is “suffering.” In this case it’s not saying the word, but having the experience, that we try to avoid. Suffering involves pain, distress and the loss of shalom (peace). Most of us, if given the chance, would like to alleviate the suffering of others, as well as avoid suffering ourselves. I have the opportunity to visit many Jewish people who are going through one form of suffering or another. One man I meet with went through the Holocaust, losing his family and barely surviving one of the worst concentration camps. Many I meet with suffer from ill health. During my visits, I try to frame the problem of suffering in the context of that word no one wants to talk about: sin. Not that all suffering is the result of a sin committed by the sufferer. But in the larger sense, suffering is a result of sin. God originally made everything “very good” (literally, “exceedingly good”: Genesis 1:31). Suffering and death are the results of sin, spoiling God’s perfect world. And yet it is through suffering that we can be restored. I don’t mean that we seek out suffering, but we need to seek the only hope and sure resource that can help us: the Messiah, the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13–53:12). The Old Testament describes the suffering He would experience by us and for us: We despised and rejected Him (He suffered socially; Isaiah 53:3–4). He was acquainted with emotional suffering as He wept with friends over their loss (as in Lazarus’ death; John 11:35). In the “ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us . . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:18, 37) garden before He was crucified, Yeshua declared: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” (Matthew 26:38). He understood loneliness and abandonment. He was “oppressed” and suffered physically at his trial and crucifixion. I point out that this Messiah not only experienced and understands suffering, but was also victorious over the ultimate cause of all suffering, which is sin. That is why He alone can offer comfort, shalom, strength, His presence and power to be victorious through all that we may face. PHOTO ©KAREN MYERS by Karl deSouza It is a godly desire to want to alleviate the suffering of others as best as we can. The best way I know to do that is to point people to the Messiah. Please pray for God’s grace, help, salvation and health for the people I minister to, some of whom are Jewish believers. Please pray for these people I meet with who are suffering: Rochelle, Angela and Ken. But there is another side to suffering: “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). Many have lost family or friends who reject them because they follow Yeshua the Messiah. Some who live in lands without religious freedom have lost more. Sometimes God allows suffering in order to help us depend on Him (Romans 5:1–4; James 1:2–18), and to display His power in action. We have a message of hope for this suffering world. This message doesn’t hide or minimize the awful realities, but points to suffering’s origin (sin) and to the Saviour, who can carry us through as we trust Him with our lives. Karl deSouza (pictured above), whom you may remember as leading our work in Montreal, has been transferred to Paris! Find out more about Karl at j4j.co/nlkd 7 Lynn McCoy, with our Washington, DC branch, wrote: “My husband Wayman is a musician. Recently we attended a concert featuring a violinist who has toured with a particularly infamous pop star. After the concert we had a wonderful opportunity to chat with her (the violinist, not the infamous pop star!). “I don’t know how we got on the subject of Jesus, but my husband has a way of turning conversations with strangers into opportunities to talk about our Lord in a matter of seconds. Judy was particularly excited to hear about my work with Jews for Jesus. She told us about her church, and that her own pastor was from a Jewish background. I was impressed by Judy’s choice to work in such a dark world for the love of sharing her faith. She admitted that it had been difficult, but she tried very hard to let her light shine in that dark world. She saw it as her mission field. “Not long after, I was handing out gospel tracts at a concert featuring that very pop star whose violinist we had met. Many of her fans wore costumes that showed quite a lot of skin, the people who were wearing them appeared spiritually lost. “Two young men who were also handing out gospel tracts approached me. It was a blessing to meet others “I mentioned the violinist who had been on tour with this star, and how she’d had opportunities to share her faith. One of the men’s responses surprised me. ‘I highly doubt that any true Christian would actually perform with her!’ “I reminded him that Jesus ate with tax collectors and prostitutes, and that if we are going to reach the lost, we have to walk, and sometimes work, among them. He agreed, and we parted. “I thought of Mark 2:16–17, ‘And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”’ “Jesus commanded us to go into the world and proclaim the gospel. He didn’t think it shameful to walk among sinners, and neither should we!” Lynn’s report reached our headquarters right around the time that our Israel team was doing an outreach at the annual Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv. We told our friends about this outreach via RealTime.* Many friends promised to pray and were glad that we were reaching out at this event. A few chided us. One man wrote: PHOTO ©JEWS FOR JESUS Pop stars, parades, sinners . . . and you! who were planting gospel seeds among the thousands waiting to get into the concert that night. “There are some things that are just so vile and disgusting that believers should be nowhere near it. This is one of those things. The abominable acts that go on at such events are no place for followers of Yeshua. He saved the woman caught in adultery from being stoned to death, but He didn’t go into the bedroom to save her. There are other ways to get the message out without defiling yourself.” What can we say? Wisdom requires any believer to examine him or herself honestly to avoid situations that might cause temptation. But believers are not defiled by mere proximity to those who are defiling themselves. Not as long as we remain in even closer proximity to God, His Word and others who know and love Him. We need to approach people as the forgiven sinners we are, offering the same salvation we have received! *RealTime is the most up-to-date Jews for Jesus news; you can find it on our website at j4j.co/nlrealtime where you can expect to see new stories every week. If you subscribe to RealTime you will get email reminders to check the latest stories on this site. You can also follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/JewsforJesus) or Facebook (facebook.com/jewsforjesus) to be notified of each new story. Below: Sarah Danor at the Gay Pride outreach
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