Every night on the news, they honor those who have fallen in battle. It is absolutely gut-wrenching to watch. Virtually all of them are young men in their early 20s, some even just 19. There are clips from funerals where parents and siblings weep over their loss. Last night, we watched as four more soldiers were buried and a 70-year-old American immigrant, who was confirmed to be dead in captivity in Gaza.
A sliver of light in the midst of darkness has been loving on soldiers. And we love that we have created a way for you to show your love to them. They feel it! Like I said yesterday, a battalion commander told me they could not fulfill their mission without private help from people like you. Below is a video from a group of soldiers you sent winter clothes to. They want you to know how grateful they are!
We are only $200,000 away from our goal of $1 million to bless Israel. Please consider a generous year-end gift to help us reach our goal. And to be clear, the goal is not to raise $1 million, the goal is to shine the light of Yeshua in Israel during her darkest time. In addition to words, which we use on Shelanu TV, God is calling us to action.
Jacob, the brother of Yeshua, said that having faith without good deeds is empty (James 2:17). As much as I love what we do on Shelanu, it is not enough. We must back it up with true love expressed through radical generosity. Together, we can show Israel who Yeshua really is!
He’s Orthodox and Doesn’t Understand
The other day, when I was touring Kibbutz Nit Oz, one of the soldiers—an orthodox Jew from New York who moved here—asked me where we were getting these funds from. I told him that it was from Jesus-followers all over the world. He wanted to know how I, a Jew, was able to raise money from Christians. Something didn’t add up for him. I turned him and asked, “Have you ever heard of Messianic Jews?” He had.
“I am one of them!” I told him.
It’s hard to get mad at someone who’s just bought everyone in your unit life-saving helmets and bulletproof vests :-). But now he knows that Messianic Jews are people who love Israel and want to help. I was curious how he would act towards me the rest of the evening, and he was so nice. As we left, he thanked me again and told me how grateful he was for the equipment.
That is the goal! To show them the true face of Yeshua. For 2,000 years, the only Jesus they have known has been a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Swedish version of the Jewish Messiah. And what’s more, they were told that he hates Jews (even though he himself came to this earth as a Jew!). Now they are seeing that true believers love the Jewish people, and it’s making an impact.
I want to thank you once again for partnering with us. Everything we’re doing here is an extension of your love. You are changing lives here. You are changing the way that the Jewish people view Yeshua.
And we’re going to continue into the new year. We invite you to come with us, and we invite you to partner with us so that together, we can bless God’s unique nation.
PS. Please pray for me as I am preaching this afternoon at our congregation in Tel Aviv. Thank you!
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