“And
God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency
in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. Now He who
supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your
seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be
enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing
thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:8-11)
2001 will always be a
memorable year for us as we purchased a beautiful piece of
property, established a new home and base for ministry, and changed our name to
Beit Tikvah, House of Hope. God has been good to us and we have
in turn tried to be a blessing to others. We once again joined Chuck Colson’s
Angel Tree Project in December and supplied 30 presents to children of men and
women incarcerated, and we continue to help the needy in our community through
our Benevolence Fund. We support worldwide missions through Foursquare
International and also give directly to about a dozen ministries in Israel.
I believe this is “producing thanksgiving to God.”
Last month our Worship
and Dance Teams performed at a Martin Luther King Celebration
sponsored by the City of Bellevue Cultural Diversity Department. The choir
scheduled to start the event was late so they asked us to take their place. On
stage and ready to go, we did six traditional Jewish and Israeli songs, all in
Hebrew. I believe the Lord gave
me our mission for the day. We were not to witness, but to be a witness. Even
though a few local Jewish organizations were not happy that we were
“representing the Jewish community”, I can already see much fruit from this
event. God supplied and multiplied our seed for sowing and will
“increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
Messianic Judaism is
coming of age. This sounds a bit strange to some of us, when
we think of 2000 years of Messianic history. However, the gentile church has
dominated the landscape with a sordid anti-Semitic past. According to recent
statistics, there are approximately 250 Messianic congregations in the
United States and about 450 worldwide. Messianic Jews total somewhere between one to two
million worldwide. Thirty years ago you could not find a Messianic
congregation in Israel. Today there are about 75 in the Land. We are
growing and here to stay. The following is a quote by Rabbi Dan Cohn-Sherbock
in his recent book, Messianic Judaism, page
212. He is not Messianic, but he represents a segment of Jewish society that
is beginning to see us as a viable, legitimate form of Judaism. All glory to
God.
"Jewish
pluralists argue [that] Messianic Judaism should be seen merely as one among
many expressions of the Jewish faith. Alongside Hasidism,
Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist
Judaism, and Humanist Judaism, Messianic Judaism offers a pathway through the
Jewish heritage. Admittedly, unlike the other branches of Judaism, this
movement is firmly rooted in the belief that Yeshua is the long-awaited
redeemer of Israel. Yet such a belief is in principle no more
radical than the Reconstructionist and Humanistic rejection of a supernatural
deity. Indeed, as we have seen in many respects Messianic Jews are more
theistically oriented and more Torah-observant
even than their counterparts within the Conservative and Reform
movements."
We recently honored our
volunteers at Beit Tikvah.
We decided to give each of them an appreciation certificate and a
little sack of chocolate hugs ‘n kisses. When
we added up the people, we discovered we had 65 men and women, including some
teenagers, who volunteer their time and talents for the sake of the
Kingdom of God. It was
beautifully overwhelming. Some people think I do too much, and oftentimes they
are right. But it was a refreshing revelation to see so many people stand up
in front of our congregation and acknowledge their service for the Lord.
We are truly blessed. “And God is
able to make all grace abound to you.”
This He has done, and we are the grateful recipients of His grace.
As you plan your
priorities this year, don’t forget to join us for our holiday
services coming up. Check out the Calendar of Events included with this
newsletter. Our children’s Purim Carnival is Sunday, March 3rd.
Our Annual Men’s Retreat is March 22-24, with Messianic Rabbi Bruce Cohen as
our featured speaker. Our Community Passover Seder in Thursday night,
March 28th.
You can also find all this and more information on our website.
This is truly an exciting time to be alive.
Hylan Slobodkin
Messianic Rabbi
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