The Messianic Jewish movement is unified by one distinguishing commitment, that Jews who come to faith in Jesus the Messiah are called to live and identify as Jews. Our very existence is a challenge to the church concerning its own self-identity as one organically connected to the Jewish people from whom it was born.

The challenge is to pursue an understanding of the Bible in its original Jewish context. I do not mean by this a superficial approach that seeks to make the churches look like Messianic synagogues. This is a superficial approach and offensive. Getting the issue of Jewish rooting in balance is important for our partnership for the salvation of Israel and the nations.

Secondly, the Messianic Jewish movement is called to greater maturity. Some in our movement are defining maturity as commitment to and deep understanding of Rabbinic Judaism. We should honor our heritage where it is good; but true maturity is conformity to Yeshua, His teaching and knowing how to walk in power of the Spirit.

It is crucial that we approach the Jewish heritage through biblical emphases. We now have a growing Russian movement in Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe and Germany. In Israel we have more than 100 congregations. The Israeli congregations are not Rabbinic in orientation but find their Torah rooting in being Israeli, living in the land, speaking Hebrew and making a contribution to our society. Bridging the gap between the Israelis, Russians and Americans will be a key for the future. I believe that unity will be connected to the center of our movement being in Israel.

When we share the message of Jesus with unbelievers, we are fulfilling the Lord’s command to Peter to “feed My sheep” (John 21:17). But to genuinely win others to Christ, we must somehow drive home the most basic message of the gospel: God loves them. It’s simple, but when sinners experience agape love, their hearts become pliable and open to the truth. If you know Jesus, spread the love and watch the Holy Spirit use you to draw spiritually hungry people to the Lord. Watch the video below.

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If you’re a mom, by the time you get your children ready for school, go to work, then come home and cook and clean, you’re probably too drained to pay attention to your own needs. But single mom Danette Crawford is helping mothers of all types feel appreciated, whether they’re married, single, separated or pulling double duty because dad is deployed. To find out what Danette is doing to make motherhood in her community a little less stressful, listen to the podcast below.

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To purchase Don’t Quit in the Pit by Danette Crawford, click on the book.

It’s true that when I went to Israel last year, I “walked where Jesus walked,” sailed the Sea of Galilee and ate wonderful cuisine. But more importantly, I worshiped Jesus in song and dance. The music was unfamiliar to me, but the Holy Spirit’s presence was evident in the praises I offered up to God. Want to worship Him Messianic style? Click below to watch a video of Gethsemane Ministries.

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The Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA) has launched an aggressive campaign to protest U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s condemnation of Israel last month for announcing plans to build 1,600 apartments on disputed land in east Jerusalem.

MJAA criticized Clinton for giving a “43-minute tongue-lashing to Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu,” and slammed the presidential aides who denounced Israel in the news media, blaming the Jewish state—and not terrorists—for blocking peace talks.

Christians and Messianic Jews alike have signed the “I Stand With Israel” petition calling on Clinton to retract several statements she made, including demands that “Israel ban Jewish citizens from building within its own borders” and that the country “negotiate from a position of weakness” with Palestinians.

“Muslim terrorists who control the Palestinian Authority don’t want the state of Israel to exist-and they demand that Jewish Israelis stop building homes, which the terrorists call ‘occupation,'” MJAA said in a statement. “Now our government is trying to appease the terrorists, which will only lead to more aggressive behavior.”

The petition also called on Clinton to recognize Jerusalem as the “undivided capital of the Jewish state” and to acknowledge that “Islamic terrorism is the primary barrier to peace.” The group wants Clinton to “condemn terrorists rather than Israel.”

In a letter sent this week, MJAA CEO Joel Chernoff called on Israel supporters to get involved. “The U.S. government just launched the most bitter, shocking-and utterly misleading-condemnation of Israel in our nation’s history,” Chernoff wrote. “All who love Israel and the Jewish people need to take action today.”

To sign the “I Stand With Israel Petition” to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, click here.  To help spread the word to other concerned citizens, click here. And to help Jewish families in Israel, click here to give a financial donation.

A Christian-owned company exploring for oil in Israel plans to expand its drilling operations through a partnership that includes the purchase of a 2,000-horsepower drilling rig.

In a deal announced this week, Zion Oil & Gas will form a subsidiary tentatively called Zion Drilling Inc. through a partnership with Aladdin Middle East Ltd. (AME). The arrangement includes the purchase of $7 million from AME and a series of $1 million payments that are expected to coincide with Zion’s drilling of seven additional wells in Israel.

AME will be responsible for the drilling, but Zion Oil & Gas will have 51 percent ownership of Zion Drilling and AME will have 49 percent ownership.

Zion Oil & Gas, based in Delaware, holds two petroleum exploration licenses and explores for oil and gas in areas located on-shore between Haifa and Tel Aviv. AME, incorporated in 1962, has drilled more than 130 exploration and development wells in Turkey and Egypt for oil companies such as Exxon, Mobil and Wintershall AG.

“We are looking forward to establish Zion Drilling Inc., as this will help us to drill as many wells as it takes, in order to recover the ‘treasures of the deep that lie beneath,'” said John Brown, founder and chairman of Zion Oil & Gas, referring to Deuteronomy 33:13-16, one of several biblical passages the company believes point to oil reserves in Israel.

Several companies, both Christian and Jewish, believe the Bible points to vast amounts of petroleum deposits in Israel that could enable the Jewish nation to become energy independent.

In December, an Israeli company, Givot Olam Oil Exploration, announced that it found “significant quantities” of oil at its drill site in Rosh Ha’Ayin, about 10 miles inland from the Tel Aviv coastline, though it was unknown whether the well contained a commercially viable amount of oil.

The previous year, Israel announced the finding of a rich natural gas field 55 miles west of the Haifa port. With initial estimates at $15 billion, the gas field could meet Israel’s natural gas demand for 15 years and reduce its dependence on imports.

Zion Oil & Gas found those discoveries encouraging, along with a recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report that said there might be 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable undiscovered oil in the Levant Basin, an area within Zion’s exploration rights.

The Jerusalem Post reported that in 1979 a former chief geologist of Shell determined that Israel has a potential of up to 2 billion barrels of recoverable oil. But large foreign fuel companies won’t drill in Israel due to threat of a boycott by Arab oil-producing nations. A vast, confirmed oil reserve would likely attract to Israel more foreign oil companies that currently avoid the Jewish state.

“If they [Israel] become an oil producer tomorrow it would change the Middle East,” Brown told Charisma earlier this year. “It will bring an economic opportunity that will be unparalleled. … Israel has a unique place in history where God is going to do a lot for the Jewish people.”

In an effort to help Christians understand the spiritual, historical and prophetic significance of Israel, pastor Jack Hayford will teach a biblical online course about the Holy Land.

Israel: His Land, His Word is a six-week course that will run May 3 – June 13 at HisLandHisWord.com. Hayford says he wants to help others recognize the relationship between Israel and the Bible.

“I am so very excited about this set of studies I have prepared, Israel: His Land, His Word, in order to assist brothers and sisters in Christ to understand how the land and Word of God dynamically fit together geographically in the land of Israel,” said Hayford.

The course costs $89 and Hayford will cover content that focuses on 12 sites in Israel that include:

· Week 1: Mount of Olives & Kidron Valley (Valley of Jehoshaphat)
· Week 2: Dominus Flevit & Garden of Gethsemane
· Week 3: House of Caiaphas (St. Peter in Gallicantu) & The Upper Room
· Week 4: Via Dolorosa & Garden Tomb
· Week 5: Pools of Bethesda & Pool of Siloam
· Week 6: Southern Temple Steps & Western Wall

To register for the course, click here.

On a bone-cold night in January 2000, Kristen Anderson made the impulsive decision to take her own life. She walked to the railroad tracks not far from her Chicago home, lay down on the ground, and 33 freight cars roared over her body at 55 miles per hour. The botched suicide attempt left Kristen in piercing pain and with no legs, but she says God would not let her die. She accepted Jesus in her life in 2003, and today she offers hope to people struggling with depression and suicide. To hear Kristen’s moving testimony, listen to podcast.

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To purchase Life, In Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson, click on the book cover.

Bob Segal learned early on from his father what it meant to be Jewish. But the elder Segal believed Judaism was a heritage, not a religion, and he passed down his beliefs to his son. Bob was taught that there is no God and that the Bible, even the Old Testament, is a bunch of fairytales. So years later, when Jews for Jesus showed up on Bob’s college campus sharing the message of Christ, he says he was infuriated. But what happened next altered the course of his life, and today, Bob has a testimony. To hear his story, watch the video below.

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Some say Joel Osteen’s sermons are too soft and that he doesn’t address the reality of sin. But Osteen, pastor of the more than 30,000-member Lakewood Church in Houston, says he will remain true to the message of hope given to him for this generation. He is taking his ministry to the streets with upcoming stadium events where he will inspire attendees and lead them to Jesus. To discover why he’s unwilling to change his compassionate approach to reaching others, listen to the podcast below.

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