“Search me, O God, and know my heart. Examine me, and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there be any offensive way within me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

―Psalm 139:23‒24

At Rosh Hashanah (ROSHE Hah-SHAH-nah), Jewish people around the world spend time in reflection and repentance. The Jewish New Year offers the opportunity to examine our lives and our relationships with God.

David laid his life open before God asking Him to search his heart and show him where he fell short (Psalm 139:23‒24). God sees us as righteous through the cleansing blood of Yeshua (Jesus); self-examination, confession and repentance keep our fellowship with Him clear and close. As you spend time this Rosh Hashanah taking stock of your life, here are five things to consider.

1. Consider Your Ways

“I have considered my ways and turned my feet back to Your testimonies.”

―Psalm 119:59

Examining your “ways” is an obvious starting point for any period of self-evaluation. Consider your actions, habits, thoughts and attitudes. As you do, keep in mind that all of us fall short in countless ways. Take care that you do not become overwhelmed with every single flaw. God calls us ever upward, and until we meet him face to face, we will not cease to need improvement. Each of us is a work in progress dependent on the Holy Spirit for change.

Ask God to show you what to focus on during this time of reflection. In confession and repentance, lay before Him the areas He reveals to you. Acknowledge your need of His life-changing power, and ask Him to transform you and guide you to pursue growth in each area.

2. Consider What God Has Done

"I will meditate also on all Your work and consider Your deeds.”

―Psalm 77:13

As you take stock of your life, also consider what God has done for, in and around you. We sometimes forget God’s many provisions throughout the year. The busyness of life can make it easy to overlook His many graces and gifts. He is a God who works wonders – in the earth and in our lives. Rosh Hashanah provides us the opportunity to look back and remember all the ways God has met our needs and shown us His love.

God is always at work to strengthen and mature you into the image of His Son, and He reveals His love in countless ways each day. As you examine the past 12 months, look for God’s handiwork. Rediscover the gifts He gave you and how He has moved in your life and in the lives of others. Thank Him for His blessings this past year, and determine to be on the lookout for His gifts in the year ahead.

3. Consider How to Encourage Others

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds. And do not neglect our own meetings, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another – and all the more so as you see the Day approaching.”

―Hebrews 10:24

Most of us would agree that we want to encourage people. Still, how many of us intentionally ponder ways to accomplish this? Aside from our children and families, do we take the time to think about how we can encourage others and “stir them up to love and good deeds”?

In the year to come, consider how you might encourage the people you encounter in the various areas of your life. Reflect on how your life and words could inspire others and spur them to be their best, and most loving and giving, selves.

4. Consider Suffering Differently

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

―James 1:2‒3

No one likes to suffer. Despite what James exhorted, hardship is something we earnestly try to avoid. And that’s natural. But what if suffering opens a way to discover the deep joy and unflappable peace we genuinely crave? We’d much prefer to gain those without the affliction, but in God’s kingdom, our trials are often the tools He uses to shape and complete us.

As we trust God with our challenges and pain, we discover His faithfulness and compassion toward us. The various difficulties we endure in this life are opportunities to move another step closer to living with the contentment and joy we so long for. Walk with Him through your suffering, embracing Him, trusting Him, and letting Him produce in you the fruit that satisfies.

5. Consider the Value of Knowing Yeshua

“But whatever things were gain to me, these I have considered as loss for the sake of the Messiah. More than that, I consider all things to be loss in comparison to the surpassing value of the knowledge of Messiah Yeshua my Lord.”

―Philippians 3:7‒8

What would your life be like if you did not know Yeshua? Consider all you have gained from placing your faith in Him. The assurance of the world to come ‒ hope for an eternity spent with no more sin or sorrow ‒ is a future blessing that can help us get through the toughest of times in our lives. Of course, God’s riches are for this life as well. He gives us wisdom to guide our decisions, comforts us in our affliction, and gives us strength when we are weary. He meets our needs, intervenes with answered prayer, and nurtures us with unconditional love.

As you review the previous year and your relationship with God, spend some time meditating on this: Can you say with the apostle Paul that all other gain amounts to loss compared to knowing Jesus? Take your answer into your prayers for the new year.

May your Rosh Hashanah reflection and the coming year be sweetened by deep fellowship with Messiah Yeshua.

The Bible tells us that, throughout history, the Jewish people have been repeatedly driven out of Israel and scattered to the nations of the world.

Many migrated to the land known today as Ethiopia.

Called the Beta Israel, this “Lost Tribe of Israel” is believed by many to trace its lineage as far back as the time of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

This community of Jewish people still lives in Ethiopia, enduring unimaginable suffering, including isolation, persecution and poverty. Conditioned to our Western comfort, many of us probably can’t even comprehend their living conditions.

Many in the Beta Israel community have been abandoned because they’re identified as Falash Mura – Jewish outcasts who have adopted orthodox Christian practices. Today they’re rejected by both Israel and their Ethiopian neighbors.

But God hasn’t forgotten them. And neither should we.

That’s why I hope you’ll stand with Jewish Voice and give now to help bring a large-scale Medical Outreach to help them and show them the love of Yeshua (Jesus), their Messiah.

You see, many in their community have never even seen a doctor or a dentist. Disease runs rampant. And pain is a way of life. Because they have so little access to medical care, common ailments that would be easily dealt with almost anywhere else go untreated and often lead to death.

You would never want anyone you know to endure these conditions. Certainly not your family. These Jewish people struggle just to survive. And, sadly, many don’t.

Relief, hope and the miracle of healing

So imagine the relief and hope they’ll feel when a huge Medical Clinic arrives in their community to serve them. It’s a real-life miracle. They line up by the thousands, their broken hearts filled with expectation. Maybe now – finally – they’ll meet someone who cares and wants to make their lives better.

Through the generous commitment of our partners, thousands have been helped already. But so many more need us. They’re suffering and dying every day.

They have almost no one to help them but you and me. After all they’ve been through, we must stand together and bring the help they need.

The Beta Israel people have suffered terribly. But we can still make a difference. Just imagine …

• After a lifetime of blurry vision, or even complete blindness – you could see again.
• After believing you’ll never get over the chronic illness that has robbed you of your life – finally experiencing healing and a tiny glimmer of hope that the future will be better.
• After weeks of excruciating pain – having your abscessed tooth repaired by a competent dental surgeon so that you can talk, eat and drink without agony.

You can help heal their bodies, lift their burdens and bring a sense of genuine peace to their weary souls. For many, this will be the first time in their lives someone outside their community actually cared.

Share what they need most: the love of Jesus

I believe that right now, deep in your heart, you agree with me. These impoverished Jewish people have been through unthinkable anguish: persecution, sickness and years of desperate struggle. They need to know someone cares.

But most of all, they need to meet their Messiah – to finally have someone explain in a way they can understand that Jesus cares, that He can bring them peace and – most important – that He can bring them eternal salvation.

Now – in the midst of their terrible suffering – it’s time for us to do our duty and bring God’s love to them. Together, we can provide life-transforming help and hope to these people.

Today, every $30 you give – not TO, but THROUGH Jewish Voice – will reach one Jewish person or their neighbor with medical, dental or vision care, as well as an opportunity to be surrounded by prayer and to hear the Good News of Jesus.

So please do your part to help the Beta Israel of Ethiopia – and Jewish people the world over – experience new health and new life.

A blessing from God … and a thank you from Jewish Voice

As you give today, you’ll share God’s love with the Jewish people. And I truly believe He will bless YOU by pouring joy into your life, just as you have poured life into His chosen people (Genesis 12:3).

Why Now?

Ten years of Israel’s sanctions and blockades have deteriorated humanitarian conditions in the Gaza strip. Gazans are protesting, and the world blames Hamas.

The Washington Post reported that, “The 140 square-mile strip of land, under partial blockade by Israel for more than a decade, suffers from chronic unemployment and a lack of infrastructure and services.”

Hamas’ desire to terrorize Israel “and thus be relevant, and the fact that Iran is also funding Hamas and wants it to be a thorn in Israel’s side,” is part of a larger struggle, wrote Seth J. Frantzman in The Jerusalem Post on Friday. Frantzman, a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies, added, “Each side seeks some strategic gain from Israel, Hamas and Gaza.”

Timeline of Escalation

Hamas’ escalation appears to be a carefully orchestrated strategy to pull Israel into nearly constant fighting. But this scheme failed in Hamas’ goal to turn the world against its rival, Israel.

March: Following a bungled assassination attempt against the Palestinian Authority (PA) prime minister and the PA reducing aid to Hamas, Hamas launched weekly “Great March of Return” riots against Israel’s security fence. In these protests, Hamas used civilians to hide their activity. The protests resulted in hundreds of Gazans dead and thousands more injured.

April–June: Hamas ratcheted up tensions by firing rockets and mortars into Israeli communities and using incendiary kites to burn thousands of acres of farmland and national parks.

July–August: Amid many warnings of impending war by Israel, Hamas continued to escalate its attacks against Israeli communities and soldiers. U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor on the Middle East co-authored an op-ed in The Washington Post suggesting the best path to peace would be an end to U.N. humanitarian aid to Hamas.

These events culminated in last week’s attack by Hamas and Israel’s defensive strikes.

Where It’s Headed

As part of a cease-fire agreement, Israel demands that Hamas stop its rocket launches, sniper fire and launch of incendiary kites and balloons over the border.

The Washington Post reported that Hamas and Israel have opened channels for indirect talks on prisoner exchanges, although the talks are stalled.

“We’ve said all along that, in order to reach a comprehensive peace agreement, we need to somehow figure out how to resolve Gaza, not just from a humanitarian level,” an anonymous senior Trump administration official told The Washington Post. “You have 2 million Gazans suffering there because of Hamas.”

Ynet News reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his cabinet on Sunday.

“We are in the midst of a campaign against terror in Gaza,” Netanyahu said at the meeting. “It entails an exchange of blows; it will not end in one strike.

“Our demand is clear,” he continued. “Our objective is to restore the quiet for residents of the south and for the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip. This goal will be achieved in full.”

Please join us in praying for:

• Wisdom for those taking part in peace talks

• God to intervene against those who use violence to promote their anti-Israel agendas

• Humanitarian aid to reach Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians

Nothing is too big for God.

Nothing is too complicated, crooked or broken for Him to remedy.

He is El Shaddai – The God Almighty.

In a world that often seems wild and unchecked, it’s reassuring to know that the all-powerful, all-knowing God is in control. And as majestic as He is, He knows your name and is interested in your every care. He is able to provide for your needs and work everything together for your good.

Do you want the peace that comes from greater trust in God?

Faith grows by hearing His Word.

Expand your peace and enlarge your faith in God’s all-sufficient care. Receive encouragement and strength from proclaiming key Scriptures magnifying His astounding power, goodness, and provision.

With El Shaddai – The God Almighty, you’ll learn:

• What biblical confession means
• The Hebrew concept of Scripture meditation
• The significance of speaking in the Hebrew language

With the accompanying CD, you’ll listen to and easily pick up Hebrew pronunciation. You’ll soon be able to confess the Hebrew Scriptures on your own.

Beautiful photographs accompany each Scripture, creating an inspiring resource for the coffee table or your study desk. Confess God’s Word and watch your faith grow.