JEWISH VOICE BLOG

June 07, 2019

Political Stalemate in Israel Forces Unprecedented Re-Elections I watched as the news broke late last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to form his government coalition by his midnight deadline last Wednesday. After rising victoriously out of a heated, difficult election season to serve a record fifth term, parliament voted to dissolve – a first time event in the history of Israel. As a supporter of Israel and the Jewish people, it was difficult to watch Prime ...

June 06, 2019

The green and white bus lumbered over the bumpy dirt road as it eased to a stop. Through its windows, the passengers could see that the Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI) Medical Outreach in Ambo Meda, Ethiopia, bustled with thousands of patients. There were people everywhere – inside tents in makeshift examination rooms, under canopies in waiting areas and in lines that stretched as far as the eye could see. Inside the bus were our special guests – the Beta Israel Jewish people fro...

June 05, 2019

A Shavuot Devotion When you daydream about your life, what’s on your list of desires? A first draft may likely include wishes for such things as a nicer home, newer car, better-paying job, travel adventures or more time to develop your interests. Go a little deeper for a second draft, and you’re apt to list more intangible things like happiness, freedom, love, good relationships, health and the same for your loved ones. Dig further still, down deeper inside, and your list will probably...

June 05, 2019

Yeshua (Jesus) said that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). When He said this, He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 in which Moses shared with Israel God’s words about why He provided them with manna. The Jewish Feast of Shavuot (SHA-voo-ote) celebrates God’s gifts of both food and His Word. Shavuot is one of the biblical Feasts that God commanded Israel to keep annually. It is the last of the spring Feasts and usually falls in May...

June 05, 2019

Fear has no place in the life of a Believer in Yeshua (Jesus). We know that the power of His Spirit lives inside of us, and we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. However, life’s challenges often seem overwhelming. Debt, sickness, and in some places of the world, persecution, can make us feel less than powerful, even vulnerable. In a tiny village in Northern Ethiopia (you won’t even find it on a map), Beta Israel Jewish people know this vulnerability well. Each day in this pl...

June 01, 2019

Palestinian Authority Poised to Reject President Trump's Peace Plan Before It's Unveiled Next Month With Memorial Day earlier this week in the United States, and the hearts and prayers of many Americans turned towards the soldiers and families who have given so much – even their lives – I can’t help but be reminded of the cost of peace. And it’s in this spirit that I’m writing to you today with our Middle East Update. Amidst the violence unleashed this month along Israel’s southern bor...

May 28, 2019

Empty Threats? Or is War With Iran Inevitable? As I write, the situation with Iran is still unclear. And the potential threat of war is significant. After the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement, the rhetoric has only intensified. More sanctions – stronger sanctions – have been promised by the Trump Administration. And Iran officials have responded with resounding threats. Israel Caught In The Middle Tensions within the Middle East have already been high in recent ...

May 28, 2019

You helped deliver HOPE in Masvingo Zimbabwe has recently been wracked with increased hardship – through political and social upheaval, escalating economic downturn, and devastation in certain areas caused by tropical cyclone Idai. When we went to Masvingo, Zimbabwe, earlier this year, our desire was to bring hope. And the Lord was faithful to allow that hope to break through. The care He enabled us to offer was outstanding, breaking a record for the most patients we’d ever served in Zimb...

May 22, 2019

June 1‒7 Prayer for Israel Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day Jerusalem Day (beginning at sundown June 2) celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli control. Prior to the Six-Day War in 1967, Jordan controlled East Jerusalem containing the Old City and the Temple Mount. When Jordan attacked, wanting to seize West Jerusalem as well, Israel defended and won the eastern portion of the city. It was a brief but fierce war in which 777 Israelis lost their lives and thousands more were...

May 22, 2019

Christians know it as the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. But for Jewish Believers in Yeshua (Jesus), Shavuot has an even more special significance. You see, just as God poured out the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) at Pentecost, He is pouring out His Spirit today. With signs, wonders and miracles, He is calling His Chosen People to embrace their Messiah. You and I get to be part of that. We’ve been chosen to carry His message to His people scattered among the nations - to many, like Asteld...