Shalom Dear Friends,
UCI Update
It has been quite a while since we shared some UCI Bible Book Table results with you. We were quite amazed when we reviewed what the Lord has done using our humble outreach. I just dug out my UCI files and was shocked to see that this is our fifth year hosting the book table.
The Team set up and ready to go the morning of May 11, 2011. From left to right, Lynn, Bob, Scott, Cindy and Clay.
Since the beginning of 2012 our Statistics look like this:
- Salvation decisions — 28
- Seed planting and conversations — 144
- Christian students encouraged (and vice versa) — 21
- Counseling/prayer sessions — 6
- Bibles/Gospels of John distributed—so many we lost track!
Lynn engages a student in conversation about the Gospel.
Please be praying for each incident that comes across our path. We are putting our emphasis on quality rather than quantity. We attempt, with the Lord’s help, to get the maximum amount of interaction out of each person whom God brings our way. Just for fun, I added up the number of students who have prayed to receive Jesus the Messiah over the years: 60. PTL! Pray for us!
Report from Germany
Georg recently informed me that he has completed the raw translation of our book Messiah and the Tabernacle into German. He is now busy working on the proofreading and the layout and formatting process for distribution in Germany. Please pray for the successful enlargement of HaDavar’s borders into Europe through this book. Thank you, Georg, for becoming part of our ministry team.
HaDavar Messianic Ministries Information BoxIt has been a long time since we have included our Jewish information feature in our newsletter. It’s time to present the material again so that you can be better equipped to witness to your Jewish friends. Sharing Seychel is the first installment. “Seychel” means common sense, wisdom, or sharp thinking. When you are witnessing to a Jewish person, you must be sensitive to the fact that you are involved in a cross-cultural ministry. During the upcoming months, we will be sharing some cross-cultural bloopers to avoid. Please do not be intimidated by this information. Just keep it in mind as you witness. The more religiously observant the Jewish person is, the more these items apply; the less religiously observant the Jewish person is, the less they apply. Go for it! With that in mind, here is our first bit of “Seychel.” If you know the pronunciation of God’s personal, memorial name (YHVH) please do not pronounce it in public. Only use it during your personal devotions. The Jewish view of this name is so high that it is never pronounced at this time. Instead, “Lord,” “HaShem (literally, “the name” in Hebrew),” and “Adonai (literally “Lord” in Hebrew) are substituted. When the Temple is rebuilt, God’s name will again be pronounced by the High Priest. At that time, all the worshippers in the Temple will prostrate themselves before God. When talking about God, it would be advisable to use the phrase “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” When doing so, you positively identify who you are talking about and who you worship. It is not unusual for a Jewish person to view Jesus as the “Gentile god.” They think, “We have our God (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and they have their god (Jesus).” Jewish people want to be aligned with the one, true, living God. It is important to identify Jesus as the Holy, righteous, Jewish Messiah promised to Israel by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If you use the generic term “God,” a Jewish person may not know who you mean and will assume you are talking about some other god. Thanks for taking the time and effort to improve your Jewish witnessing skills. However, remember that God is also intimately involved with every encounter. You do not have to make the perfect presentation. Leave that to God. He will work through you to touch your Jewish friend’s heart. Relax and have fun! |
Thanks for being part of our ministry team.