For example, when the Council of Nicea met in the 4th century, participants determined Yeshua’s death and resurrection would be celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar rather than the Jewish one. This effectively separated these pivotal events from the biblical holiday of Passover, which deepened the wedge that had grown between followers of the Messiah and the Jewish roots of their faith.
But God never ordained that separation. Yeshua died on Passover and rose on Firstfruits. That is an intentional and meaningful part of the redemption story that God tells throughout Scripture.
This is just one of many concerns that inspired the quest for a Bible translation to restore the scriptural links to the Jewish roots of our faith. A team of Messianic Jews launched a project that brought together some of the brightest biblical scholars – both Jewish and Gentile – to create the Messianic Jewish Family Bible and the Tree of Life Version (TLV).
The Tree of Life Version speaks with a “Jewish-friendly voice – a voice mirroring the Bible authors themselves – to recover the authentic context of the Bible,” according to the TLV Bible Society. Most Bible translations don’t reveal the Jewish consistency across the entire Word of God. The Messianic Jewish Family Bible recovers this set-aside continuity.
Not long after the Messianic Jewish Family Bible was published, the TLV was invited to join SIL International’s Translator’s Workplace. (SIL is a Christian organization, formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics.) The Translator’s Workplace is an impressive collection of reference materials chosen to aid the work of Bible translators. It provides cross-references of every Bible translation in every known language for accurately translating the original biblical manuscripts into a new language. Now, that library also includes the Tree of Life Version.
To effectively reach Semitic cultures with God’s Word, they reached out requesting the TLV be added to the Translator’s Workplace. Semitic culture is much different than
Western thought – even the best translators have a difficult time finding the right wording or phrasing to bring over the true meaning without paraphrasing (TLV Blog).
The invitation from Translator’s Workplace is a significant honor to the team who created the TLV and Messianic Jewish Family Bible. Its presence within the reference library will be extremely beneficial to translators in gaining a better understanding of how to translate the Scriptures into new languages while considering the original Jewish context.
Restoring
The Messianic Jewish Family Bible revives the Jewish essence of the Holy Scriptures by restoring eight important aspects:
· The Jewish name of the Messiah, Yeshua
· Reverence for the four-letter unspoken name of God
· Clarity between the Creator and creation in the text – returning capitalized pronouns for God
· Hebrew terminology that most translations overlook
· Key names within the biblical text to a more Hebraic expression that reconnects Messiah to His Jewish family
· The earlier work of translators by providing new terms for words whose meanings have become altered by language changes over the centuries
· The Jewish culture of Yeshua’s day through art and documented biblical holiday observance
Clarifying
The Messianic Jewish Family Bible also clears up four points of confusion common in other translations, such as terminology referring to:
· People who are not born Jewish
· The “synagogue” and “church”
· The “Jews” of the New Covenant
· The “law”
Meaningful Features
The Messianic Jewish Family Bible includes a variety of additional features to inspire Messianic Jews and other Believers and help them grow in their faith. These include:
· Weekly Torah Readings
· 83 Messianic Jewish illustrations
· Insightful introductions to each book
· Shabbat Family Prayers
· Hebrew Word Glossary
· Messianic Prophecy Footnotes
· Headings to reveal story topics
· Original Maps
The Messianic Jewish Family Bible is an exceptional tool for studying God’s Word and sharing our faith as Messianic Jews. For Gentile Believers, it opens the invaluable Jewish context of the Bible that, sadly, has been lost in most modern translations.
If you died tomorrow, who would determine how your estate would be divided?
According to a recent survey, 60 percent of Americans die without a Last Will and Testament – and that ultimately means that the government will decide how to divide their estates.
Don’t let this happen to your family.
To ensure that your wishes are carried out, it is essential that you make them known and document them legally – in a Last Will and Testament, or Trust.
Jewish Voice Ministries has recently teamed with Financial Planning Ministry* to offer each of our valued Partners the creation of a Last Will and Testament, at no charge to you.
There is no obligation. It’s our complimentary gift to you and your family, because we appreciate your faithful partnership in sharing the Gospel and care about your peace of mind.
For more information, call 1-855-550-1455 today and we’ll send your certificate entitling you to completion of your complimentary professional will or trust.
*Available in the US only.
Giving Tuesday is one day set aside for charitable giving to worthy causes. In a way, it is a partner to Thanksgiving, bookending the shopping frenzy.
This Giving Tuesday, we want to remind you what your gift will accomplish when you give to Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI).
Jewish Voice Medical Outreaches help communities of Jewish people in Africa who endure poverty, lack of access to basic medical care and safe drinking water, and sometimes open persecution. Medical professionals provide no-cost medical care while other Outreach Partners distribute water purifiers and teach patients how to use them to help prevent disease.
Those visiting the Clinics also have an opportunity to talk with trained volunteers who offer compassionate prayer and spiritual care. On average, 10,000 Jewish people and their neighbors are served at each week-long Jewish Voice Medical Clinic. The impact is tremendous and, when you give to Jewish Voice, you’re an integral part of it all.
Through your gift to Jewish Voice:
You bring a sigh of relief to an anxious mom as her child receives care for a life-threatening illness.
You put a smile on the face of a patient with cataracts when the bandage is removed and he realizes he can see again.
You give hope for a life without chronic illness caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene practices.
You help turn a community’s attitude toward its Jewish members from hatred, superstition and persecution to seeing them as a source of blessing.
You share the Good News of Yeshua (Jesus) with people who don’t yet know Him, and help them understand that He is their long-awaited Messiah.
Each Jewish Voice Medical Outreach touches thousands of individual lives. When you give to Jewish Voice, you share in the hope and healing, and you are delivering the Good News.
Giving Tuesday – don’t let the day go by without making a significant difference to those who need it most.
You still have time to do your part to leverage a $400,000 Matching Grant that will multiply your generosity to meet spiritual and physical needs in Zimbabwe.
Here’s what you need to know to HAVE YOUR GIFT DOUBLED …
Our team of skilled and dedicated medical professionals is heading to Chitsungo, Zimbabwe, early next year. We’ll host a 5-day Medical Clinic for thousands of impoverished people from a community called the Lemba, as well as for their neighbors.
The Lemba are Jews who, according to their oral tradition, migrated to Africa from Israel about 2,500 years ago. We call them “Lost Tribes” – pockets of Jewish people scattered around the world, many of whom struggle in poverty and isolation.
It’s heartbreaking to see the depth of suffering these people endure every day. That’s why I’m convinced our work in Chitsungo can have such a dramatic and lasting impact.
Will you help by sending the most generous gift you can to care for these struggling, isolated Jewish people?
Normally, each $30 you send would provide care and the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus, their Messiah, to one person. But right now, whatever you give will be DOUBLED to care for TWICE as many people!
Most important, though, your gift will provide the chance to share with them the motivation behind this ministry of compassion: our faith in Yeshua (Jesus), the One who died for them and wants them to receive the gift of eternal life. That’s what we want to do above all else.
During our recent Medical Outreach – in Buhera, Zimbabwe, just a few months ago – we treated 9,610 people. An amazing 315 accepted Yeshua as Messiah for the first time! Let me tell you about just one …
A 44-year-old woman named “Memory” was brought to the Clinic on a stretcher, suffering from many serious medical problems, including paralysis that kept her from walking or talking.
After she was examined by our medical team, we prayed for her. In a miraculous display of His limitless power, the Messiah healed her. Memory stood up, walked and talked! She was so happy, she asked our counselors to lead her in a prayer of salvation.
Miracles like this are why I hope you’ll give as generously as you can now. When you give by November 30, you’ll reach TWICE as many people with help and hope!
As Thanksgiving draws near, we might be tempted to try and catch up on giving thanks to God. But with all the gifts He’s given us throughout the year, it can be like visiting a vast warehouse of overlooked blessings. Where on earth do we start?
It may seem best to give “bulk” thanks for entire “pallets” of good things – like family, health, friends, ministry and work – and leave it at that.
It’s impossible to go back and thank Him for the daily surprises God had for us all year. Still, marvelous things await us if we pause to offer more than thankful generalities.
Sometimes, it just takes a few questions to call out the treasures of God’s gifts in our lives. Here are prompts to help you unpack some of the pallets in your storehouse of blessings. When you use these to reflect on God’s gifts – and perhaps even record your thoughts – you’ll uncover rich details to fuel intentional prayers of gratitude.
Family
Sometimes, the closer we are to people, the easier it is to take them for granted. But each one is a collection of blessings to us.
Name something you love about each of your children, your spouse, your parents, your siblings.
What is the most recent act of kindness you’ve seen each of them do?
What funny moment have you shared with each family member?
Identify a special characteristic each one possesses and how it contributes to your family, their circle of friends, the world.
Health
Our bodies are miracles. Things go wrong – especially as we age – but there are countless functions operating smoothly at every moment. And those moments allow us to experience more of life and the miracles it holds. Consider your five senses.
What is one of your favorite aromas?
What sounds make you happy? Relax you? Make you laugh?
List sights that warm your heart, exhilarate you, or fill you with awe.
Name one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever tasted?
What illness or other health problem has been resolved for you or someone you love during this past year?
Ministry
Using your skills and talents for God’s purposes is rewarding. He wants to use each of us to serve others and glorify Him in our circles of influence. And it doesn’t have to be in a formal program to qualify as ministry.
What acts of giving to others do you enjoy? Have you offered words of encouragement? Led someone to the Bible’s truth and shared the Good News of Yeshua?
Name some ways you have been blessed by serving others.
Work
It is truly a blessing to find meaning and purpose in your employment. If you are among the fortunate people who love their jobs, you are undoubtedly very grateful. If your current employment is less than satisfying, look for God’s gifts hidden inside the daily tasks of your job.
Name one thing you really like about your job.
Who is a coworker you enjoy seeing each day? What makes that person pleasant company?
How has your current employment helped you grow as a person or in your relationship with God?
Friends
We laugh and share our hearts with them, enjoy hobbies together, and lift one another other up. Each friend is a gift from God.
Name the most meaningful thing you share in common with your best friend.
What qualities drew you to each of your friends? What makes you feel comfortable with them?
List a specific example of how one of your friends helped you through a challenging time.
Name a memory you’ve shared with each friend – an adventure, a funny moment, or a heart-to-heart conversation
Whether we schedule a period of solitude to unpack our blessings all at once, or we reflect a little each day, taking time for intentional thankfulness can open our eyes to the “gifts within the gifts” we receive from God.
May your adventure in thanksgiving bring you much joy as you unpack God’s gifts. As you lay them out and examine them, may you thank Him from an overflowing heart and draw closer in sweet fellowship to the One who loves to give.
