No reason to be Surprised

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

NKJV

One of the most popular movies series in recent history is the Back to the Future series.  I believe this movie is popular for we all would like to know our future or be able to go back in time to change the past events.  Unfortunately, as humans, we lack this ability and live in the present with memories of the past and uncertainty of our future.  However, this is not the case with God and as Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us, God does know our future and His people can have peace knowing that no matter what we are going through in our present, God has a future of peace, hope, and the absence of evil in store for us. 

However, this promise is only for people who love God and have been called which means it is only for those that have accepted Jesus as their savior and dedicated their lives to following God and His Word (Romans8:28).  Therefore, the wisest decision any person can make is to accept Jesus as their savior for then, even though the future remains uncertain, we can have peace and hope knowing we can look forward to a bright future of eternity with God. 

I therefore want to begin this posting by giving anyone that does not know Jesus as savior an opportunity to do so now by praying this prayer.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

Unlike God who knows the future and is never surprised, we will encounter surprises due to our not knowing the details of future events.  However, we as humans can discern trends and alleviate some of the element of surprise.  This is why I am not surprised about the revelation that Planned Parenthood is involved in the trafficking of fetal tissues and organs and the meteoric rise of Donald Trump in the polls of GOP candidates for President.   

If we look at the actions of the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, we see someone with little regard for human life because, 

1)      She proposed allowing Congress to solve “population problems by appointing a “Parliament of Population.”

2)      She justified various methods of population control, including abortion, as “defending the unborn against their own disabilities.”

3)      She believed the United States should shut its borders to certain immigrants who she deemed as “detrimental to the stamina of the race.”

4)      She advocated a stern and rigid policy of sterilization and segregation of people in the population she deemed to be tainted with objectionable traits that could be passed on to the next generation

5)      She favored the sending of those deemed unfit to farm lands and homesteads where they would work under competent instructors for their entire lives.

6)      She was an advocate of the “American Baby Code” as a way of creating selective births.

7)      She believed that a marriage license provided couples with the right to a “common household” but not to becoming parents.  As such, she believed a couple should be required to acquire a permit to become parents as a way of creating selective births.

8)      She believed large families were detrimental to society

9)      She argued that motherhood should be efficient and said, “Birth control itself, often denounced as a violation of natural law, is nothing more or less than the facilitation of the process of weeding out the unfit, or preventing the birth of defectives or of those who will become defectives.”

10)   She wrote that population control would bring about the “materials of a new race.”

11)   She wrote that excess population must be reduced

12)   She said, “We do not want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro (sic) population”

13)   In an interview with Mike Wallace in 1957 she said, “I think the greatest sin in the world is bringing children into the world, that have disease from their parents, that have no chance in the world to be a human being practically.”  (1)

With the revelations that Planned Parenthood is trafficking in fetal tissue and organs it would appear the philosophy of Planned Parenthood has not strayed far from the philosophy of its founder and why we should not be surprised. 

When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States, he selected the theme “Making America Great Again.”  He began by expressing that he believed the country was in trouble because “We don’t have victories anymore.”  He went on to express the seriousness of the threat presented by ISIS and out of control illegal immigration.  (2)

It appears this message has resonated with the public as evidenced by Trump’s rise in the polls.  (3) (4) (5)  However, if one looks at the last three elections in the United States, Trump’s meteoric rise in the polls is not surprising.  That is because, with the exception of 2012 where the GOP ran a candidate failing to energize the GOP base causing many to stay home, (6) GOP candidates with a message energizing conservatives have created tremendous gains in both the House and Senate in the 2010 and 2014 elections.  (7) (8) (9) (10) Donald Trump, like the 2010 and 2014 candidates for Congress and the Senate, energizes the base with his message of making the nation great again and should not be a surprise to anyone. 

I advise the leadership in the Republican Party to seriously look at why Donald Trump resonates with voters and support either him, or a candidate like him with a message resonating with voters.  Failure to do this I fear will result in another loss in a presidential election and most likely the election of another liberal president who will continue the nation’s slide into mediocrity. 

As humans without the ability to see the future, we will experience surprises.  If these surprises are beneficial such as an unexpected gift we like them.  However, when these surprises alarm us such as the activities of Planned Parenthood, we are shocked.  However, a candidate that resonates with us as voters should not surprise or shock us but should be what we seek and want to support.  Therefore, as the election season launches, we must lend support to those candidates seeking to make our nation, and its citizens, great again. 

1. Scanion, Kate. 13 Things You Probably Don't Know About Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger. www.dailysignal.com. [Online] The Daily Signal, July 22, 2015. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] http://dailysignal.com/2015/07/22/13-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-planned-parenthood-founder-margaret-sanger/

2. Staff, Time. Here's Donald Trump's Presidential Announcement Speech. www.time.com. [Online] Time, June 16, 2015. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] www.time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/.

3. Mchugh, Kate. Poll: Donald Trump Leads GOP Field By Double-Digits, With Double the Support of Jeb Bush. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, July 25, 2015. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/25/poll-donald-trump-leads-gop-field-by-double-digits-with-double-the-support-of-jeb-bush/.

4. Basu, Tanya. Donald Trump Surges in Latest Republican Polls. www.time.com. [Online] Time, July 26, 2015. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] www.time.com/3972455/trump-polls-leading-republicans/.

5. CNN. Trump tops CNN poll of 2016 Republicans, says he leads 'movement'. mobile.reuters.com. [Online] Reuters, July 26, 2015. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0Q00MF20150726?irpc=932.

6. Griffin. What went wrong in 2012? The case of the 4 million missing voters. www.redstate.com. [Online] Red State, November 14, 2012. [Cited: July 12, 2015.] http://www.redstate.com/diary/griffinelection/2012/11/14/what-went-wrong-in-2012-the-case-of-the-4-million-missing-voters/.

7. The New York Times. Election 2010. elections.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/house.

8. New York Times. Election 2010. elections.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] elections.nytimes.com/2010/results/senate.

9. —. Election 2014. elections.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] elections.nytimes.com/2014/results/senate.

10. —. Election 2014. elections.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York times. [Cited: July 26, 2015.] elections.nytimes.com/2014/results/house.

Consequences and Benefits of Being Pro-Israel or Anti-Israel

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Genesis 12:3

I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

NKJV

History is full of examples of nations deciding not to lend support to the Jews and the Nation of Israel and not coincidentally, in my belief, this decision is followed by the fall of these nations from power.  For example, the Nation of Spain in the later part of the fifteenth century was the world’s prominent power.  In fact, Christopher Columbus sailed and discovered the New World under the Spanish flag.  However, at the same time of Columbus’ journey, Spain was committing atrocious acts against the Jews during the Spanish Inquisition.  Less than 100 years later, the Spanish Armada, the most powerful navy in the world, was rendered utterly powerless, completing Spain’s fall from power.  (1)

After the Holocaust, the nation of Germany was a divided nation.  Its agricultural production was 35 percent of what it was prior to World War II and Germany was required to cede 25 percent of its pre-Anschluss territory to Poland and the Soviet Union.  In addition, both Western Allies and the Soviet Union used German POW’s in forced labor.  (1)

However, the Nation of Germany has experienced reunification and financial prosperity in recent years.  In what many believe is not a coincidence, this reunification and prosperity occurred soon after Germany’s Christians made repentance and restitution for the atrocities of the Holocaust.  (1)   The question we must ask ourselves is this, do these two examples of the fall of a nation and the example of the turnaround of a nation provide examples of the validity of the prophecy of Genesis 12:3.  We also must ask ourselves whether Genesis 12:3 is a guideline for how nations of the world should treat Israel and the Jews. 

The nuclear deal with Iran is complete (2) and thanks to the recently passed Corker bill, instead of the Senate voting for the agreement as a treaty requiring 2/3 vote for approval, the agreement will take effect unless Congress disapproves it.  In other words, with the cloture rules in the Senate, passage of legislation disapproving of the deal will require 60 votes and should they attain the 60 votes, 67 votes will be necessary to override a promised presidential veto.  (3)  

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel came out and condemned the deal claiming it was a “bad mistake of historic proportions” that would allow “aggression and terror” to continue.  (4)  Prime Minister Netanyahu went on to say that the deal provides “a sure path to nuclear weapons,” (4) nuclear weapons in the most dangerous part of the world.  It is understandable that Prime Minister Netanyahu has concerns for Iran has repeatedly chanted death to Israel (5) and if they acquire nuclear weapons, is rightfully concerned Iran will not hesitate to use these weapons on Israel. 

However, the question citizens of the United States must ask themselves is that with the United States leading the charge to make this deal, is the United States going down the same path as Spain and Germany.  Like Spain prior to the Spanish Inquisition, the United States is a world power with the most powerful military in the world.  Much of this rise to power is the result, in my opinion, of the godly founding of the nation as seen in the Declaration of Independence.  (6) In addition, the United States has traditionally been a supporter of Israel and seen by many as Israel’s last remaining ally.  (1)

With the signing and almost certain congressional failure to disapprove the deal, we must now wonder if the United States will lose the blessings it has enjoyed from God and instead fall under the curse promised in Genesis 12:3 as a result of ratifying this bad deal.  Since Scripture is always true and reliable because it is the Word of God, sadly the answer is yes.  However, as we observed with Germany, it is not too late to reverse course and once again fall under the umbrella of God’s blessing by praying and urging lawmakers to overwhelmingly disapprove of this deal. 

Even though this may seem impossible, we have a God that can perform miracles and we must pray for one here.  The Corker bill passed with an overwhelming majority demonstrating that at times this divided Congress can agree.  Next year is also an election year with many congresspersons and senators coming up for reelection.  By expressing our disapproval of this bad deal, we may sway enough Senators and Representatives into voting to disapprove this deal and override any veto out of fear of losing their reelection bids. 

Genesis 12:3 is clear, God blesses those nations that bless Israel, and curses those that do not.  Let us insure the United States does not change sides on this issue by flooding the phone lines and email servers of Congress with calls to disapprove of this bad and dangerous deal. 

1. Bernis, Jonathan. A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days. Bloomington MN 55438 : Chosen Books, 2013.

2. Sanger, Michael R. Gordon and David E. Deal Reached on Iran Nuclear Program; Limits on Fuel Would Lessen With Time. mobile.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times, July 14, 2015. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/15/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-deal-is-reached-after-long-negotiations.html.

3. Thiessen, Marc A. Kill Corkers Disasterous Iran Bill. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, April 27, 2015. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kill-corkers-disastterous-iran-bill/2015/04/27/643be5ba-ecdd-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html.

4. Dearden, Lizzie. Iran Nuclear Deal: Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu Condemns 'Bad Mistake of Historic Proportions'. www.independent.co.uk. [Online] The Independent, July 14, 2015. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-nuclear-deal-benjamin-netanyahu-condemns-bad-mistake-of-historic-proportions-10386944.html.

5. AP, Times of Israel Staff and AFP. Amid Chants of 'Death to Israel,' Iran Leader Calls for 'Win-Win' nuke deal. www.timesofisrael.com. [Online] The Times of Israel, February 11, 2015. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] http://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-chants-of-death-to-israel-iran-leader-calls-for-win-win-nuke-deal/

6. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] Ushistory.org. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm.

Choices and the Sanctity of Life

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 10:10

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

NKJV

Jesus is all about life.  In fact in response to objections from the religious leaders of His day Jesus said he had the power, granted to him by God the Father, to give life to whomever he desired (John 5:21).  To Jesus and God, life is important and God even grants eternal life to anyone professing a belief in His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

Unfortunately, the secular world in which we live does not hold to the same high regard for life.  We find an example of this low regard for life in the recent allegations of the selling of baby parts by Planned Parenthood.  (1)  Of course Planned Parenthood was quick to attempt to justify this illegal practice by citing it was in the interest of medical research. 

Dr. Ben Carson, GOP candidate for President spoke of being disturbed at the apology of Planned Parenthood stating “What’s really disturbing is the fact that we have become so callous that a lot of people don’t even realize that this is shocking.  To see the callousness with which we are treating human life… [T]here are so many people who are concerned about little spiders and things, and yet, the human being inside the mother’s womb… is much more sophisticated than many of these creatures that they’re trying to preserve.”  (2)  It appears once again we have an example of upside down priorities with the value of human life, by humans, placed below the value of some small animal. 

In Genesis 1:26, God gave humanity dominion over all the animals.  The Hebrew word translated as dominion here is radah, which means to have dominion, rule, or dominate.  (3)  Let me make this clear, I am not calling for the needless killing of animals for they are a part of God’s creation as well.  However, for people to place a higher value on the life of an animal over the life of a fetus is in essence surrendering our godly dominion, rule, or dominance over to these animals.  God values every human life, even life in the womb (Psalm 139:13) and instead of destroying humanity completely, promised a redeemer (Genesis 3:15), his only Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16) to save humanity. 

The abortion debate is divided into two sides, the pro-choice side, and the pro-life side.  I personally do not like these labels and actually consider myself both.  Let me explain.

I am pro-life in that I, as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ hold a high value of life.  However, I am also pro-choice and believe we all have the right to choose our direction in life.  Even though this may seem like a conflict in values in my life, it is easily explained. 

God also values and respects an individual’s right to choose.  In fact, this respect for humanity’s right to choose allowed Adam and Eve to choose disobedience of God in the Garden of Eden.  God has not changed since then as evidenced by the requirement of one to choose to believe in order to accept God’s gift of eternal life (John 3:16) so God to is pro-choice. 

However, the pro-choice aspect of God is balanced by His value of life, including life in the womb.  Therefore, a choice to end a life, including life in the womb, through murder is not a choice God or I condone.  However, what about a mother’s right to choose?

With the exception of rape or incest, an issue I may discuss at a later time, a woman makes choices prior to getting pregnant.  She chooses to have sex with a man and chooses not to use any contraception.  Therefore, should she become pregnant, it is the result of choices she has already made that did not involve the termination of life.  I am therefore pro-choice for women and encourage them to not make careless choices with their body that could result in an unwanted pregnancy.  

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Proverbs.  For those unfamiliar with the Bible, this is a book of wisdom written by King Solomon.  If one reads one chapter of this book per day, the book can be finished in one month.  However, it contains so much wisdom that if you are like me, you will most likely find yourself reading repeatedly in order to digest the godly wisdom the book contains.  I encourage people to fill themselves up with godly wisdom so they can make wise and good choices. 

Wise choices promote wise decisions, decisions that preserve the sanctity of life instead of needlessly destroying it.  Let us as believers begin promoting wise medical decisions that preserve life before it becomes ethical to end the life of someone deemed beyond their productive and useful years in the interest of medical research.  If you doubt the culture could devolve to that level, remember it was not too long ago that we believed legal gay marriage would never occur, transgenderism was weird, and the selling of aborted baby organs was unthinkable. 

Time to pray and act my fellow believers. 

1. McLaughlin, Steve Almaxy and Eliott C. Planned Parenthood exec. fetal body parts subject of controversial video. www.cnn.com. [Online] CNN, July 15, 2015. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] www.cnn.com/2015/07/15/health/planned-parenthood-undercover-video/.

2. Inquisitr. Ben Carson: Planned Parenthood's Apology Over Selling Aborted Baby Parts is 'Disturbing'. www.inquisitr.com. [Online] Inquisitr, July 18, 2015. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] www.inquisitr.com/2262714/ben-carson-planned-parenthoods-apology-over-selling-aborted-baby-parts-is-disturbing/.

3. Bible Hub. 7287 radah. biblehub.com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: July 19, 2015.] biblehub.com/hebrew/7287.htm.

Communicating the Gospel to Jewish People (Part 2)

By Dale Weckbacher

Romans 10:14-15

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

NKJV

As we observed last Saturday, Jewish people have a resistance to the Gospel based upon their upbringing.  We discussed how we must be careful with the language we use when speaking to them because what they hear based upon their beliefs is not what we are actually saying.  In this posting, we will be looking at what we as believers can do to communicate the Gospel to Jewish people. 

In his book “A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days,” Rabbi Bernis gives believers seven things we can do to communicate the Gospel to our Jewish friends.  We can,

1)      Help our Jewish friends to learn who Yeshua is and that He did not commit the atrocities committed against the Jewish people – Jesus taught His followers to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).  Therefore, the atrocities committed against the Jewish people by Christians went against what Yeshua taught.  Just as Jews have violated the teachings of the law in their history, Christians too have not been perfect and therefore have sadly violated the teachings of Jesus in their history.  However, this does not change the fact that Jesus, Yeshua, is the promised Jewish Messiah and as such is someone Jews and Gentiles should follow.

2)      Share the Gospel from the Hebrew Scriptures – To the Jews, there is no New Testament, only the Tanakh or what Christians refer to as the Old Testament.  Two of Jesus’ followers were walking on the road to Emmaus when the resurrected Lord joined them.  However, these men’s eyes were closed and they did not realize they were talking to Jesus.  On the way Jesus expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:19-27).  Since the New Testament had not been written yet, the Scripture Jesus was referring to must have been the Tanakh.  The Apostles also used the Tanakh to share the Gospel (Acts 28:23).  It has been said the New Testament is contained in the Old Testament and that the Old Testament is explained by the New Testament.  Therefore, when sharing with a Jewish person we must begin with Scripture about Messiah in the Old Testament and show them how Yeshua fulfilled them in his ministry.  However, as with many Christians, not all Jewish people have studied the Scripture.  Their unbelief is therefore not based on Scriptural facts but what someone has told them.  By expounding on Old Testament Scripture, something they will accept, we can actually begin teaching them about their own Scriptures, and show them that Yeshua is their promised Messiah.

3)      Share Messianic prophecies – Contained in Tanakh are prophecies regarding Messiah.  This is a great place to begin but we also must keep in mind that Jesus is coming again and therefore there are Messianic prophecies yet to be fulfilled.  However we can point out prophecies such as Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 that speak of the suffering Messiah and graphically depict death by crucifixion.  Since the writing of both of these prophecies occurred before the invention of execution by crucifixion, the prophets had no historical basis from which to concoct a story.  We therefore must believe the prophets were writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about the brutal death of Messiah as a sacrifice for the sins of all humanity including Jews.  We can also cite how Messiah would be born in Bethlehem as Yeshua was (Micha5:2-5) and how Messiah had to come prior to the destruction of the second Temple (Daniel 9:24-27) which occurred in 70 A.D.

4)      Address the Trinity and Yeshua’s divinity – The Jewish people believe in one God and thus have objections to the Christian theology of the Trinity.  As such, they believe Messiah will be nothing more than a special anointed man sent from God to save His people.  However, Isaiah 48:16 says the following,

 "Come near to Me, hear this:

I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;

From the time that it was, I was there.

And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit

Have sent Me."

NKJV

This scripture speaks of the Lord God, His Spirit, and the One sent by Him who has existed from the beginning.  In other words, the trinity is contained in Jewish Scripture.  However, this does not mean there are three gods but three manifestations of the one True God.  In another one of his books, “A Rabbi Looks at Jesus of Nazareth,” Rabbi Bernis provides further proof Jesus is Messiah.

5)      Show that you really care – All of us whether Jew of Gentile have struggles in our lives.  In fact, much of the religious persecution and oppression in our world targets both Jews and Christians.  We therefore must show anyone, Jew or Gentile that we care about them.  However, with Jewish people we have a common struggle with religious oppression.  We must therefore let them know how much we as a Christian relate to their persecution and oppression and care for them in spite of what flawed Christians have done to them in the past.  Jesus came and demonstrated his love by ministering to those in need.  We must let our Jewish friends know that we also are approaching them in love with the desire of introducing them to Yeshua, their Messiah.

6)      Believe for Miracles – Jesus performed many miracles during His ministry.  In fact in the Gospel of John we are told that there were many more miracles performed than are not contained in the Gospels (John 21:25).  Jesus is still in the miracle working business so we must believe He can get through all the obstacles in the way and reach the hearts of our Jewish friends.

7)      Pray – There is power in prayer, a fact to which all of us who are believers can attest.  However, we tend to become impatient wanting God to answer our prayers now.  This is why we must continually pray for our Jewish and Gentile friends who do not know Yeshua as their Messiah knowing that in His perfect timing, God will answer our prayers.

Jesus came for all humanity, Jew and Gentile.  Unfortunately, however, 2000 years of erroneous teaching have taught Jewish people that Jesus is the God of Christians and not Jews.  There have also been atrocities committed against the Jewish people by people professing to be Christians that have created obstacles to acceptance of the Gospel.  However, using the Tanakh, the Hebrew Scriptures, it is possible to show them that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. 

Next Saturday we will look at how blessing the Jewish people brings blessing and cursing them brings a curse.  

A Slap in the Face of God

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

NKJV

God has wonderful plans for each of us.  In fact, when we were still in the womb, we were being created to fulfill God’s plans for us (Psalm 139:13-14).  God created each of us to be male or female so that we would be prepared to fulfill his unique plan for our life (Genesis1:27).  Therefore, since God does not make mistakes, the way He created us is the way He wants us to be.  It is therefore a slap in the face of God to believe we were not meant to marry someone of the opposite sex or be the gender with which we were created. 

However, a secular world void of any reverence for God the Creator can be made to accept marriage between members of the same gender or even supporting and rewarding someone changing the gender with which God created them.  So powerful can be the pressure to accept the new societal norms of gay marriage and transgenderism that those speaking or acting out against it are soon vilified.  However, even though the pressure to accept these new norms is powerful, Jesus death, burial, and resurrection overcame the world and its new norms.  In addition, upon Jesus return to establish his millennial kingdom, the world will experience a restoration back to the state to which God intended it. 

What the secular world continues to underestimate is the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word in the life of believers.  This is nothing new for Roman oppressors underestimated even the early church.   As with today, the Romans believed persecution would cause Christians to shut up and the movement would be stopped.  However, instead of stopping the spread of Christianity, the persecution facilitated rapid growth and the spread of Christianity and prompted defenses and explanations of Christianity (the “apologies”).  (1)

However, is persecution necessary for church growth?  The answer to that is no for growth in Christ is not the result of oppression or persecution from outside but a change of heart on the inside.  However, as humans, we have a tendency to become complacent.  At times like these, God may allow some outward persecution or oppression to come with the purpose of drawing us closer to God and His Word.  As we look at the oppression and persecution now occurring against Christians in the United States, we must face the reality that God is allowing this to occur in order to wake the church up from its stupor.  

In the 2012 Presidential election in the United States, we had the case of missing white voters.  (2)  As we continually hear how racist white voters in the United States are, we would think they would have shown up in massive numbers to oust Barak Obama.  However, this did not occur.  One reason theorized is many Christians stayed home because the Republican nominee was Mormon.  Mitt Romney was also the first governor to sign gay marriage into law and until his 50’s when aspiring to the presidency, Mitt Romney also was pro-abortion.  (3)

Christians, focusing in on the faults of Mitt Romney and who could not vote for Barak Obama due to his abysmal record in office, therefore stayed home believing they did not have a dog in the fight.  However, looking at what has transpired in the nation since 2012, we must seriously question this strategy by some and come up with a strategy for victory in 2016 in order to reverse the downward slide of the culture in the United States.  In preparing for the 2016 election we must

1)      Realize that candidates for President of the United States are flawed human beings - Even though Mitt Romney signed gay marriage into law as governor and had pro-abortion beliefs, he also believed that marriage is a union between a man and a woman based on his Mormon faith.  Romney also believed the issue of marriage is a state issue so even though he may have signed legislation legalizing gay marriage as governor, his strong belief in states’ rights would have prohibited him from supporting it as President.  As we begin considering our next president in 2016, we must keep the humanity of candidates, with its flaws, in mind and vote for candidates that adhere to the rule of law (i.e. states’ rights).  I believe that under a Romney Presidency, the issue of gay marriage would not be front and center and instead President Romney would be focused on the number one duty of the federal government, keeping the nation safe.

2)      Realize we are not voting for our pastor, priest, or rabbi – As an Evangelical Christian, my preference is a candidate that shares my faith but should both nominees be of some other faith, or no faith at all, I do not believe staying home is an option.  Evangelical Christians staying home in 2012 might have believed they were making a statement of faith by staying home but in essence, they were practicing a form of complacency for their decision insured the reelection of Obama and continued the rapid ungodly slide of the culture.  Comparing the Mormon values of Romney against the Alinsky values of Obama, I prefer the values of Romney and is one reason he received my vote in 2012.

3)      Realize God is indeed in control – No matter what occurs in 2016, we can have assurance knowing God is in control.  However, I believe God would want every evangelical Christian that legally can, to vote and participate in the process.  This, I believe is the best way for we as Christians to take a stand for godly values and not staying home in the shadows.  God is in control so even if the decline in the culture in the U.S. slides and persecution and oppression of Christians increases, I can have confidence knowing God is with me.  However, I will continue to vote for candidates I believe more closely share my values as I did in 2012. 

The secular world continues to distance itself from God and now even slaps God in the face with its support of gay marriage and transgenderism.  However, we as believers in the United States still have a voice and have the privilege of voting for our leaders.  I therefore want to urge all my fellow believers to participate in the coming presidential election in 2016 and not stay home even if neither candidate professes to be a believer.  Instead of staying home, speak out at the ballot box and vote for the candidate whose values most closely adhere to godly principles. 

1. ReligionFacts. Persecution in the Early Church. www.religionfacts.com. [Online] ReligionFacts. [Cited: July 12, 2015.] http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/history/persecution.

2. Trende, Sean. The Case of the Missing White Voters. www.realcleapolitics.com. [Online] Real Clear Politics, November 8, 2012. [Cited: July 5, 2013.] http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/11/08/the_case_of_the_missing_white_voters_116106-2.html.

3. Griffin. What went wrong in 2012? The case of the 4 million missing voters. www.redstate.com. [Online] Red State, November 14, 2012. [Cited: July 12, 2015.] http://www.redstate.com/diary/griffinelection/2012/11/14/what-went-wrong-in-2012-the-case-of-the-4-million-missing-voters/.

Communicating the Gospel to Jewish People

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Romans 10:14-15

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!"

NKJV

Jewish people are very resistant to the Gospel due to their upbringing and almost 2000 years of teaching that Jesus is the God of Christians and not the God of the Jews.  However, this is no different from secular resistance to the Gospel by people seeing Jesus as someone depriving them of enjoying the pleasures of this world.  Therefore, reaching Jewish people with the Gospel is not impossible but does require different methods.

Some things to avoid when sharing the Gospel with a Jewish person are to

1)      Not to speak of convert or conversion (1)  – Many of the common terms Christians use when speaking of their faith, what I like to call Christianeze can mean something totally different to the person with whom we are speaking.  This is a fact not only for when we are sharing the Gospel with a Jewish person but for also when we are sharing with a Gentile.  For a Jewish person, the mention of convert or conversion means stop being a Jew and become a Christian.  God never intended Judaism and Christianity to become separate religions.  When we are sharing the Gospel with a Jew, we are not asking them to quit being a Jew for that is the nationality into which they were born.  Instead, we know that Jesus or Yeshua is their Messiah and we simply want to introduce them to Him.

2)      Not to speak of the Church (1)  – To a Jew, the Church is another religious institution, an institution that unfortunately has a history of oppression of the Jews.  Parents teach Jewish children how the church oppressed them during the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition and more recently signs in Nazi concentration camps telling Jews they were being murdered in the name of Christ.  We must assure them that true Christians, like ourselves, love the Jewish people and want to introduce them to their Messiah.  We also demonstrate our love for them by supporting them and Israel’s right to exist as a nation.  

3)      Not to speak of Baptize (1)  – To a Jew, baptize or baptism speaks of conversion to Christianity and ceasing being a Jew.  When in Israel in 2008, we had a church service on the south steps of the Temple area.  Located in this area are several mikvahs.  A mikvah looks similar to the baptisteries in many Christian churches today and has a similar purpose for the mikvah was a place where someone would immerse themselves in water prior to entering the Temple area as a way of ritually cleansing themselves.  We can tell our Jewish friends that Christian baptism is like the mikvah and is how we identify with the work of cleansing by Messiah in our lives. 

4)      Not to speak of Christ (1)  – As Christians, we understand the power in the name of Jesus.  As such, we hold the word Christ in high esteem.  However, once again, when a Jewish person hears the word Christ they think of the God of Christianity and having to stop being a Jew.  The word Christ comes from the Greek word Christos and means anointed one.  The Hebrew equivalent of this word is Maschiach or Messiah.  When sharing the Gospel with a Jewish person refer to Maschiach or Messiah instead of Christ remembering that we are not asking them to convert to another religion and cease being a Jew but are introducing them to their Messiah, Yeshua.

5)      Not to speak of the symbol of the cross (1)  – The cross was not always a positive symbol in the Church for many early Christians were martyred by crucifixion on a cross.  It was not until later in Church history that the cross became a positive symbol of salvation.  To Jewish people, the cross remains a negative symbol for it reminds them of crusaders who carried a banner with a cross.  Jews remember how they were also forced to convert to Christianity or die during the Spanish Inquisition in the name of the Cross.  They also remember Nazi soldiers having a cross, all be it a broken cross, on their uniforms.  Instead of mentioning the work of Jesus on the cross, when speaking to a Jewish person, mention the atoning work of the Messiah who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) and yet shed his blood as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of humanity. 

Language is how we as human beings communicate with each other.  However, sometimes the listener does not interpret well-meaning words we use with the same meaning we intended.  We therefore must avoid using convert, church, baptism, Christ, or the cross when sharing with Jewish people.  Instead, speak of introducing them to Messiah, and accepting the atoning sacrifice of Messiah’s shed blood for their sins. 

Next Saturday we will look at what we can do when sharing the Gospel with Jewish people. 

1. Bernis, Jonathan. A Rabbi Looks at theLast Days. Bloomington MN 55438 : Chosen Books, 2013.