December 2012

Shalom Dear Friends,

BobNL

Have a Great Holiday Season!
December is a time of expressing joy and appreciation for what God has done for us by sending His Only Begotten Son as a gift on our behalf. As I was preparing to write this newsletter, I was amazed at all the gifts God has showered upon us. We are His children and our loving Father loves to lavish His best upon us, just like we like to lavish gifts upon our kids. How wonderful! I thought it would be best to simply share with you some of my studies and research and let you be amazed as well. The following chart comes from The New Topical Textbook, by R.A. Torrey. Enjoy studying all the gifts God gave, is giving, and will give to all of us.

God’s Gifts

  1. All blessings are. Jas 1:17; 2Pe 1:3.
  2. Are dispensed according to his will. Ec 2:26; Da 2:21; Ro 12:6; 1Co 7:7.
  3. Are free and abundant. Nu 14:8; Ro 8:32.
  4. Spiritual
    1. Christ the chief of. Isa 42:6; 55:4; Joh 3:16; 4:10; 6:32,33.
    2. Are through Christ. Ps 68:18; Eph 4:7,8; Joh 6:27.
    3. The Holy Spirit. Lu 11:13; Ac 8:20.
    4. Grace. Ps 84:11; Jas 4:6.
    5. Wisdom. Pr 2:6; Jas 1:5.
    6. Repentance. Ac 11:18.
    7. Faith. Eph 2:8; Php 1:29.
    8. Righteousness. Ro 5:16,17.
    9. Strength and power. Ps 68:35.
    10. A new heart. Eze 11:19.
    11. Peace. Ps 29:11.
    12. Rest. Mt 11:28; 2Th 1:7.
    13. Glory. Ps 84:11; Joh 17:22.
    14. Eternal life. Ro 6:23.
    15. Not repented of by him. Ro 11:29.
    16. To be used for mutual profit. 1Pe 4:10.
    17. Pray for. Mt 7:7,11; Joh 16:23,24
  5. Acknowledge. Ps 4:7; 21:2.
  6. Temporal
    1. Life. Isa 42:5.
    2. Food and raiment. Mt 6:25-33.
    3. Rain and fruitful seasons. Ge 27:28; Le 26:4,5; Isa 30:23.
    4. Wisdom. 2Ch 1:12.
    5. Peace. Le 26:6; 1Ch 22:9.
    6. All good things. Ps 34:10; 1Ti 6:17.
    7. To be used and enjoyed. Ec 3:13; 5:19,20; 1Ti 4:4,5.
    8. Should cause us to remember God. De 8:18.
    9. All creatures partake of. Ps 136:25; 145:15,16.
    10. Pray for. Zec 10:1; Mt 6:11.
  7. Illustrated. Mt 25:15-30.

 

The Gift of a Volunteer Staff Evangelist

We are very pleased to announce another “gift” that God has given to HaDavar. Lynn Cline has been a student in our classes for many years. She has also been a dependable and enthusiastic member of our Bible book table at the University of California Irvine for the entire five years we have been sponsoring the book table. She is a spiritually gifted evangelist and has led many students to the Messiah and the gift of eternal life. Recently, in recognition of God’s gifting, I felt led to ask her to become a Volunteer Staff Evangelist. She was thrilled to do so.

Lynn was born into a non-believing family in Beckenham, Kent, England, in May 1959. At thirteen years of age she went to a private girls school in Sevenoaks, Kent. One day, she decided to go to a Christian fellowship group. There she heard the Gospel for the first time and immediately asked Jesus into her heart! She felt a sense of Joy. She had been born again!

Thanks for your partnership and have a Merry Christmas!

Remember, all gifts to HaDavar must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2012 in order to be included on your 2012 receipt.

Chanukah – The Festival of the Lights

The word Chanukah is the Hebrew word for “dedication.” The title in English is the Feast of Dedication. The word refers to the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the Greeks in 164 B.C. The Book of Daniel predicts the desecration of the Temple in chapters 8 and 11.

Alexander the Great acquired control of the Land of Israel in 332 B.C. Upon his death his empire was divided up among his four generals. Two of these generals founded dynasties – the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria. In 198 B.C. the Seleucids took over control of Israel. Early Seleucid rule was tolerant of Jewish culture and Jewish faith.

In 175 B.C., Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to the throne. He desired to infuse everything with Greek culture and Greek religion. As a result, he attempted to eradicate the Jewish faith. He prohibited Jewish spiritual practices. He attempted to destroy all copies of the Bible, and he required everyone to worship the Greek god Zeus. His crowning outrage was to erect a statue of Zeus and sacrifice a pig in the Jerusalem Temple itself.

Opposition to Antiochus was led by Mattathias and his five sons. Mattathias destroyed a Greek altar established in his village of Modin and killed a representative of King Antiochus. Mattathias and his sons then fled to the Judean hills and formed a guerrilla army. This triggered the Maccabean revolt.

The word “Maccabee” comes from the Hebrew word “Macab,” “hammer.” Maccabee was a nickname given to Mattathias’ oldest son Judah. Judah became commander of the guerrilla army. Eventually, Judah became known as Judah Maccabee because he “hammered” on the Greeks.

In time, Jerusalem was recaptured. The Temple was cleansed from its defilement exactly three years to the day from the time it was desecrated. This rededication of the Temple for worship was celebrated with great rejoicing that lasted for eight days.

Another traditional name for this celebration is the Festival of the Lights. This name is based on a tradition found in the writings of the rabbis. The legend states that a miracle occurred during the rededication of the Temple. The miracle centers around the Temple lamp stand. A lamp stand was located in the outer room of the Temple. As the priests cleansed and prepared the Temple for the resumption of worship, they could only find one bottle of sacred oil for the lamp stand. One bottle of oil would keep the lamp burning for only one day, but it would take eight days to secure a new supply of the oil. However, they chose to rededicate the Temple anyway. The miracle occurred when the oil that should have burned for only one day burned in the lamp stand for eight days, long enough for the regular supply of oil to be resumed. In response, the rabbi’s felt we should remember the miracle that occurred by celebrating for eight days. The eight day celebration would be accompanied by the lighting of candles or oil lamps. Today, lamp stands with locations for eight candles are burned in remembrance of the miracle. A ninth candle is included on the lamp stand to light the eight other candles.

In addition, a traditional game is played with a top called a dreidel and foods fried in oil are prepared in remembrance of the miracle of the oil. The most well known Chanukah treat is potato pancakes known as latkes. Sending Chanukah cards has become very popular in recent years.

There is great Messianic significance attached to Chanukah. First, Jesus celebrated the feast in John 10:22-42. Second, Jesus dedicated Himself to the task of redemption in John 6:38. Finally, Jesus is constantly referred to as the light (Matt. 4:16; Lk. 2:32; Jn. 1:49, 3:19-21, 8:12, 9:5, 12:46; 2 Cor. 4:4-6).

Take the opportunity afforded by this season of the year to send your Jewish friends a Chanukah card. They will appreciate your recognition of the holiday and perhaps spark a question or two. God may just give you the chance to share about the Jewish Messiah, the Light of the World. In 2012, Chanukah falls from sundown on December 8th to sundown on December 16th.

Happy Chanukah!