The Holocaust: Where Was God? Part 1November 5th, 2011 THE HOLOCAUST: WAS THERE GOD? This week is Holocaust Education Week* here in Toronto. I went to one event where a Holocaust survivor was sharing his sad yet touching story of survival. The gentleman was there with his family, including an infant great-grandchild whom he was holding in his lap before and after speaking. He was a very gentle man, with a good sense of humour. He made it very clear how atrocious the Nazis were; how evil and ruthless were the things that they did. There was no question in the minds of anyone there, including our speaker, that what went on during those dark years in Europe was evil. At one point, we had the privilege of seeing a video clip of his story, and in it he declared that he did not believe in God. I found that very sad. Interestingly, later on in that same clip, he made a declaration about something and swore to God that it was the truth. It got me thinking. This man could not live in accordance to what he claimed to believe. If he did, if he truly believed there was no God, he could not then maintain any moral judgment against the actions of the Nazis. I say this because, if God is not real, then there is no basis on which we can make moral judgments. The truth of the matter is that, according to Nazi ‘docrine,’ the torture and killing of the Jewish, Roma, Slavic, disabled and homosexual people were morally acceptable actions. If there is no God, on what basis do we maintain that they were wrong and that these acts were heinous? If you are going to say that one can judge something as morally wrong, then there must be some absolute morality from which to draw that conclusion. If there is absolute morality, then there must be an author to that morality – there must be God. If there is no God, then we can judge nothing and no one. We can only give our subjective opinion, and give recognition that we might be wrong. Can anyone in their right mind say that the Holocaust wasn’t wrong? The holocaust survivor to whom I listened is mistaken, I think, if he says he believes in no God. He might deny God, but deep in his heart he knows there is God, because he lives according to that premise. Many survivors came out of the Holocaust denying God, yet they continue to make moral judgments that point to the absolute truth of God. The prophet Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the First Temple during the Babylonian conquest in 586 B.C.E. If you read his Book of Lamentations, you will read about horrors reminiscent of the Holocaust. Jeremiah knew that what the Babylonians had done, and the way they had done it, was wrong. But he never gave up hope in God. Quite the opposite, in fact:
Instead of giving up on God, why not know Him better? Contact us and let us help you do that. *The Holocaust Education Week (Nov. 1-9, 2011) is sponsored by the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and there are a series of events all over the Greater Toronto Area. The last of these events occur on Wednesday, November 9. For more information about the events click here. Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum. You can now go to PART 2 of this series. Posted in Daniel Muller, Following God, Knowing God, Personal Stories, The Bible, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » Making Sense of BirdsOctober 31st, 2011 I was travelling home last night. My wife was driving and so I had leisure to look around me: at the waning colours of autumn, the picturesque farmland that we were passing and so on. I looked up and noticed some geese flying in formation. It suddenly struck me. Why are there birds? Certainly, life did not start in the air, flying about. The Darwinian answer, of course, is that they evolved. Take some specie or other, presumably a reptile one, which develops vestigial type wings; add the laws of natural selection, over tens or hundreds of thousands of years, and many incremental mutations – and voila! Bird! Simple, isn’t it? Just one question: at what point do vestigial wings become evolutionarily beneficial? Presumably, these proto-creatures were eating food on the ground as always. What “evolutionary” pressure could there be to make vestigial appendages useful enough to be favourable for natural selecion? Listen, I’m no scientist I admit. But the idea that a land animal ever came to “evolve” into a flying animal seems extremely far-fetched and unnecessary. The fact that anything came into existence by chance is, to my mind, far-fetched. If you are an evolutionist and you are reading this, I would love to hear an explanation that makes sense. To me, this makes sense:
This is a simple explanation, and perfectly reasonable if you accept a God who created. I see no reason not to believe in such a God. In fact, I see a number of reasons to believe:
God creating is a simple explanation that makes sense. Chance creating is a complex explanation that doesn’t. As always, I am happy to hear from those who disagree. Just comment on this article. Or contact us, whether you want to disagree or you want to know more about our Creator God. Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum.
Posted in Daniel Muller, Knowing God, Personal Stories, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » God’s Love is the StandardOctober 27th, 2011 I must say, I have never been very good at anything. I play bass guitar, but I wouldn’t say I do it really well. I write, but not particularly well. I am a husband and a father, but I could certainly be better at both. I am a pastor and a missionary, but I can’t say I’m stellar at either. It’s not that I don’t want to be better at these things – I do. I can certainly make all kinds of excuses: the lack of time to practise, the busyness of life that prevents me from being focused, or the distractions of things that keep me from being “on the ball.” There may be elements of truth in all these things, but when I come right down to it I have to face the fact that I do not live up to the standards I have set for myself. Maybe I’m over-reaching, but there you have it – I have fallen short of my expectations. What about God’s expectations? Are they not higher? Consider the words of Ezekiel: “The soul who sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4)” Who hasn’t sinned against God? Or consider Isaiah’s words: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment (Isaiah 64:6)” If even our best deeds do not stand up to the Lord’s inspection, how can we? Yeshua said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)” The truth is that, as the Apostle Paul wrote, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). How then can we expect to enter the Kingdom of God? “Thanks be to God through Yeshua haMashiach [Jesus Christ], our Lord! (Romans 7:25)” The fact that God expects us to be perfect, doesn’t mean that God anticipates us being perfect. He knows our inability to bring ourselves to His standard. That is why he has provided a means of atonement. In the days of the Israelites in the Land, he gave a means of atonement through the sacrificial system. These days, however, he has given us a greater atoning sacrifice: Himself. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)” That is God’s standard, to believe in Yeshua (Jesus) who is God in the flesh. This should not be a surprise – God promised it in Isaiah 53 to bring about the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34. God’s love is the standard by which we enter His Kingdom. Want to follow God by His standard. Then check it out in the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) and the B’rit Hadashah (New Testament). We’d be glad to help you with any questions you might have if you contact us. The Kingdom of God is at hand! Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum. Posted in Atonement, Daniel Muller, Following God, Knowing God, Messiah, Messiah in the Tanach, Personal Stories, Salvation | 1 Comment » A Question of Integrity: an Interlude at Snowden StationOctober 18th, 2011 A number of years ago, I was leading a team of evangelists outside of Snowden Station in Montreal, where a number of the Jewish community lives. We were trying to engage people in conversation about Yeshua (Jesus) and offering them some materials about him. After a time, I looked across the street and noticed that there were some people from Jews for Judaism surrounding one of my helpers. Jews for Judaism is an organization dedicated to preventing the message that Yeshua is the Messiah from reaching the ears of the Jewish community. In this case, they were trying to keep us from speaking to individual Jewish people, and tried to take our literature out of their hands and put their own literature in its place. I decided to cross the street to help my friend. When I reached her, she was in tears. She had been having a conversation with a Jewish lady who came from Russia, when a couple of Jews for Judaism people interrupted their conversation preventing my friend from speaking. They were speaking to this lady, even as my friend was lamenting the situation. I comforted my friend with the fact that the Russian lady still had the information she had given her, along with whatever information she gleaned from their conversation. I reminded my friend that no one can turn off what the Holy Spirit of God has turned on. Not long afterwards, I had an opportunity to speak with the same lady, and I was glad to see that, along with the materials that Jews for Judaism had given her, she still had our information. She told me she was open-minded and not easily swayed, either by us or by them. This was the gist of my response:
It’s interesting to me that when you talk to those arrayed against us, like Jews for Judaism, they will tell you not to read, not to speak, not to consider – basically, not to think. We don’t ask you to put your mind on a shelf. We don’t ask you not to read the materials that Jews for Judaism puts out. We don’t ask you not to talk to your rabbi about it. What we do ask is that you simply consider the message of the Gospel – that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel promised by Moses and the prophets – and check the truth out for yourself. Read the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures). If you’re willing, read the B’rit Hadashah (New Testament). Consider for yourself, and then ask God to reveal the truth. What can be a more reasonable than that? Contact us, will you, and let us help you to hear the message. We would be happy to give you the Sciptures, old or new (or both). We would be happy to answer any questions you might have. We are happy to help in your search, but in the end we will leave you to do with the information what you will.
Posted in Daniel Muller, Evangelism, Jesus and Jews, Jews and Jesus, Messiah, Personal Stories, The Bible, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » Anecdote from the 2011 Walk With IsraelSeptember 26th, 2011 On May 29th I had the great pleasure of walking in solidarity with my fellow Jews in support of Israel. I was walking with my wife Esther and others, wearing T-shirts with “Jesus Loves You” written inside a large Star of David. During the walk, I had the opportunity of a long conversation with a young man, which started when he asked “How do I know Jesus loves me?” He was Jewish, did not go to synagogue, and did not believe in religion or God. His next question was why did he need any one to make the rules for him? He was a good person, even if he sometimes made mistakes? He felt it was enough to do the right thing most of the time. This is a very common belief among many people today, not just Jews. I told him that, once upon a time, I used to think like him (a response I used often during our conversation). I too once felt that I lived up to the rules and mores of society – since I made them up for myself. From time to time I even changed the rules, so I could still be within them. This is the platform from which we began our debate, all the time walking. I asked him where he got the parameters for his morals? I also asked, since he lived in society and had to follow laws, where he thought those laws came from? Why did he not just do whatever he wanted? I went on to point out that much of civil law is based on the biblical law. I found him very receptive and sincere in his questions while all the time trying to work out some flaw in my argument, but he always seemed to back himself into a corner. We were walking at a good pace, all the time talking, and I was beginning to get short of breath. I knew that the Lord was with me when he asked if we could stop and get water. Boy did I need a drink at that time! He then wanted to know how a mere man (meaning Jesus) could be “right” and “the one”. As I shared with Him about the gift of salvation Yeshua (Jesus) brought and the Ruakh HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) that dwells within us when we put our faith in Him; as I showed how these things were pictured in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures), I saw a change in the young mans countenance – one of understanding. I went on to share with him how Yeshua changed my life. The joy I feel in walking with God and knowing that the principles I was following were not just “made up.” I challenged this young man to read the Bible. I asked him to take a moment and go to the New Covenant Forum web site and read some of the stories I had posted. I parted with him feeling I had delivered a message to him from the Lord at a time he needed to hear it. Two of his friends he had been walking with caught up with us and asked what we had been talking about? And I responded “I gave him a free express ticket to heaven!” I pray he uses that ticket.
Contributed by Alan Friesner: a Jewish believer in Yeshua on the staff of New Covenant Forum. Posted in Alan Friesner, Evangelism, Following God, Jesus and Jews, Jewish Identity, Jewish Objections to Jesus, Knowing God, Personal Stories, The Bible, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » Call to Me!May 18th, 2011 “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” This verse of Scripture had a profound impact on my early walk with God. First of all, if God will answer me, it means He can hear me. This made God very real and approachable to me. I can have a conversation with Him. I can ask questions and He will answer. Secondly, He is asking me to call on Him and to look to Him for answers. This is an outright invitation to engage in a relationship with Him. To me the way one calls on God is to pray to Him. Last, but not least, this verse says my prayers will be answered and He will reveal to me things that I do not know. That’s very exciting! This image of God makes it very easy to see Him as a Father. He is someone you can look up to and to whom you can go for answers. God wants us to come to Him with the things we do not know; to seek Him in prayer when we need answers. He promises to reveal the answers to us. How often do we try to figure things out on our own, believing we know better? We only turn to the instructions as a last resort. Usually this is after we have exhausted all other means and ways. Why not ask the question first? It is so simple: stop and think, pray and wait, expecting an answer. Do you have unanswered questions about the Messiah? Have you ever thought about asking God? When you pray, do you have an expectation of an answer? If you are reading this, I would suggest that you are being led to investigate the claims of the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus). Do you have unanswered questions about Him? Have you ever prayed to God to reveal to you His truth about Yeshua? We here at New Covenant Forum would like to hear from you with this or any other questions you might have about Yeshua or the Holy Scriptures. All you need to do is contact us. Contributed by Alan Friesner: a Jewish believer in Yeshua, a business man, a volunteer for the work of New Covenant Forum and a great story-teller. Posted in Alan Friesner, Knowing God, Personal Stories, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » Another Moral DilemmaMarch 23rd, 2011 Not long after coming to know Yeshua as my Messiah I traveled to Israel. I am not sure what I was seeking, but I was seeking. I was fortunate enough to be the guest of a family who had moved there just a few years before. The son had worked for me in my bicycle store and had since went on to be “religious;” a follower of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. He had attended yeshiva and immigrated to Israel. I rented a car while there, and we traveled to the four corners of Israel. We traveled from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea; from the Golan Heights to Eilat on the Red Sea. I saw and did many things. The story I want to share with you occurred on our way to Eilat to snorkel in the Red Sea. This was towards the end of my trip and one of our longer drives. We had been driving most of the day and were about an hour out of Eilat when it happened. It was late, we were tired and I pulled over in the middle of nowhere in the desert so my friend and I could relieve ourselves. Upon returning to the car I realized that I had locked the keys in the car with the engine running. We were hundreds of kilometres from Tel Aviv where I had rented the car and I assumed that we could get help from the rental company. There had been nothing for many kilometres and I had no idea how far it was to anything. My friend said, “God is testing us, to see what we will do.” I then realised that we were opposite an army base. I thought help was not far away. The soldier we talked to said there was not much they could do; they could not leave the base. He offered us use of a phone and phonebook and so my friend spoke to a locksmith in Eilat who said, “just break the window. It will cost less than my time to travel out there and open the door.” We had now ascertained that we were about 120 kilometers from Eilat. The car was a hatchback and the smallest window was a triangular one behind the door. My friend went about trying to pry it out. I remembered how expensive the moulding can be – more so than the glass itself – but it was too late. He had already torn the rubber moulding. I looked down and saw a suitable piece of iron rod in the ditch. One good blow and the problem was over, we were in the car and on our way to Eilat. I should say the problem had just begun, since we still needed to get the window fixed. Upon arrival we checked into a hotel. Since the car was a hatchback, there was no trunk, nor any way to lock our stuff up, so we had to unload it all. We then found an auto glass place. The man there said that original glass would be expensive and days coming from the dealer in Tel Aviv. The moulding would be even more difficult to get and would take even longer, but he could get aftermarket glass tomorrow and “silicone glue it in” so that the rental company would not know. After much diliberation I made the choice and agreed to return the following afternoon. I recall $150.00 dollars as the cost. A dilemma ensued as my friend and I engaged in a moral discussion of right and wrong. A moral debate began between the “Orthodox Jew” and the “man of the world,” as he saw me, since he did not know I had come to know Yeshua as my Messiah. I was not concerned that the rental company would be a problem. I’m the handyman sort, and I knew the repairs would go unnoticed. For me it was about doing the right thing: not causing any additional damage to the car. I was sure the rental company would charge good for all original parts and labour. Under my insurance contract, I would be responsible for a maximum of $500.00. The real issue was about living truthfully, doing right by God and being a good witness of godly conduct to my friend. It was not about what was best for me. Then again I guess it was about what was best for me: for my conscience, for my soul, and for my eternity. So first thing in the morning I called the repair shop and cancelled. I then proceeded to the rental company and told them what had happened. They said I should have called them; that they would have come and opened the car. It was included in my rental, even in the middle of the desert. They took the dirty broken car and exchanged it for a clean fresh one. We continued with our trip with little interruption and went back to Jerusalem that afternoon. My friend commented that I was different. When I turned in the car they said they did not know how much the repairs would be and that they would bill me. I left Israel in peace knowing I had done the right thing. When I got the credit card bill 6 weeks later I had been charged $67.00 for the repair. I knew I was different and had changed; and I continue to change, all in the name of Yeshua my Messiah. Contributed by Alan Friesner: a Jewish believer in Yeshua, a business man, a volunteer for the work of New Covenant Forum and a great story-teller. Posted in Alan Friesner, Following God, Israel, Jesus and Jews, Jewish Identity, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, Personal Stories, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » A Word to my Jewish Brothers and Sisters in YeshuaMarch 23rd, 2011 Dear Mishpokhah, I can’t imagine that there is one among you who hasn’t got Jewish family and friends who have not received Yeshua as their Messiah and Lord. We all have people we care about and who we would like to see receive the living water that brings eternal life. If your family is anything like mine, you are the least likely to be listened to when it comes to the Gospel. It was Yeshua who said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household. (Matthew 13:57)” That is why, when praying for my family, I ask God to bring believers around them who will speak the Gospel message into their lives. I also try my utmost to live the Gospel before them – to help them to see the power of God in my life. I have seen little to encourage me. Indeed, I do not humanly expect them to come to faith. But with God there is hope. I believe that what Yeshua said about the rich getting to heaven is true of everyone: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)” We at New Covenant Forum would like to come along side you in your efforts to see your loved ones come to eternal life in Yeshua Hamashiakh (Jesus Christ). If you have a Jewish family member or friend that you are reaching out to, then feel free to contact us. There are a number of ways in which we can help:
Like the Apostle Paul, my hearts desire and prayer for Israel is that they might be saved. If there is anything we can do to help you to reach even one person, we are here for you. We can’t do everything, but God be praised, He can! Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum. Posted in Daniel Muller, Evangelism, Jesus and Jews, Jewish Identity, Jews and Jesus, Personal Stories, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » Faith must be free!March 10th, 2011 I regularly receive the Caspari Media Review , which reports on Israeli news items about Christianity. Recently there has been demonstrations by the Ultra-Orthodox community in the Ciry of Ashdod. In the recent CMR report dated March 9th, I read this response from an Israeli writer with regard to these attempts to condemn Messianic believers in Ashdod (and presumably the rest of Israel).
It is comforting to know that while there is are those who would persecute believers in Israel, there are also those who are supportive of their right to express there faith. Israel, after all, claims itself to be a pluralistic society allowing both freedom of religious belief and expression. Another interesting report regarding these demonstrations was by a believer and can be found at this link. A reminder once again that hatred and prejudice is not excluded among Jews. It is a human condition that only God can uproot at its core. To know him rightly is to know the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), who reminded us that God told us to love our neighbour, and then explained how everyone is our neighbour (Luke 10:25-37). Yeshua is the way to love and peace! Contributed by Daniel Muller, General Director of New Covenant Forum. Posted in Daniel Muller, Evangelism, Following God, Israel, Jesus and Israel, Jesus and Jews, Jewish Objections to Jesus, Jews and Christianity, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, Personal Stories, This, That, The Other Thing | No Comments » A Sudden Shaking: are you ready?March 2nd, 2011 Here in British Columbia we are on earthquake alert. At least we are supposed to be. At first one thinks of preparing, perhaps even gathers a few things in readiness to evacuate quickly. And then life continues and, of necessity, we focus on our daily tasks. But, how quickly things can change! Just ask the survivors of the February 23rd earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, the second quake in a few months. On February 23rd Colin Perkel of The Canadian Press quoted a survivor: “It was like a giant had picked up the house and was shaking it, and not just up and down but side to side.” “Everything that could fall down did fall down – it looked like a bomb had gone off in there.” Another survivor said the quake made such a deafening sound when it struck, he didn’t even realize it had knocked over his refrigerator. On March 1st Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) said that three young Israeli men, ages 22 and 23, died in the earthquake, and 2 others remain missing. Those young men didn’t know that day would be their last in this life. Our prophet Isaiah said,
Our prophet Zechariah said,
Before He returned to Heaven, Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah – the pierced one – spoke about the days before his return to the Mount of Olives, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many … There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:4-5, 7-8)” He said there would be persecution of believers, and false messiahs and false prophets would do great signs and miracles in order to deceive.
Yeshua said that at that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). When Yeshua rose from the dead after being crucified, He was seen by many people (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). One disciple, Luke, recorded the words of two angels after Yeshua was taken up into the sky, saying that Yeshua would return to the Mount of Olives in the same way he went up (Acts 1:11). Wonders in the sky and shaking on the earth below. Our prophets spoke about this centuries before Christ (c. 700 B.C. and 500 B.C.). Zechariah knew that one day all Israel would recognize her Messiah and that when He returns to the Mount of Olives there will be a massive earthquake (Zechariah 14:4). Then our Messiah affirmed these prophecies for us. He might return today or tomorrow or many years from now. But we can be sure that His coming will take most of us by surprise. So isn’t it wise to get ready now? How can you do that? Open your heart to Him. Look into the Scriptures to see for yourself what He has revealed. Pray and ask Him to show you the truth. Confess your need of His mercy; then receive His forgiveness and love. Contact us so we can help or go to this link. Accept Yeshua as your Saviour and Lord. You’ll be in good company when you do! Noah, Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Daniel all had a personal relationship with the living God of Israel. The Messiah is coming! His reward will be with Him, and He will give to everyone according to what he has done. He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:12-17). Come, take the free gift of the water of life, and when the sudden shaking comes, you’ll be ready. Contributed by Cynthia Sugar, a Jewish believer in Jesus Posted in Cynthia Sugar, Following God, Jesus and Jews, Jews and Jesus, Knowing God, Messiah in the Tanach, Personal Stories, Resurrection, Salvation, This, That, The Other Thing, Uncategorized | 3 Comments » |
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