Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
A new survey shows that a majority of Israeli Jews, while identifying as “secular” or “traditional,” are nevertheless interested in gaining a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Bible.
Conducted by the Motagim Institute on behalf of the religious website Maimonides Daily, the poll revealed that 54 percent of Israeli Jews feel they only have a “basic grasp” of their national faith, and that 57 percent would commit at least five minute a day to reading the Bible.
On Hanukkah 2014, the Israel government launched a three-year nation-wide Bible study under the banner of Project 929, named after the number of chapters in the Tanakh (or Old Testament).
The Project 929 website will let visitors know the current daily chapter, which they can read or listen to in Hebrew.
The obvious aim is to get all Israelis to read the Bible. But the array of associated commentaries by celebrities and other contributors has been a source of controversy among religious authorities.
The February 2015 issue of Israel Today Magazine examines this issue in greater depth.SUBSCRIBE NOW to read it all
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Here is an interesting tidbit you might not have known: the ‘honey’ that Israel is blessed with does not refer to bee’s honey, but according to Jewish tradition, refers to date honey which was a rich delicacy in Biblical times. From hardly growing any food 100 years ago, miraculously, Israel today is an agricultural exporter and in fact, produces over 50% of the world’s Medjool dates. For the first time in centuries, it is truly the land flowing with milk and honey! A fascinating new book, "The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel," traces the biblical Seven Species from Biblical times until modern day, and delves deeply into their mystical and medicinal properties, while offering pages of wholesome recipes for each.
In honor of the upcoming Sabbath Torah portion describing the epic 10 Commandments, we present pro-Israel Pastor Keith Johnson's 10-part film series, Scripture Bytes.
As we are now in the biblical Sabbatical year of rest for the Land, this begs the question - how can we celebrate the New Year for the Trees if we cannot actually do anything with the trees this year? Find out here.
The Bible refers to the land of Israel as a 'Land flowing with milk and honey' (Exodus 3:17). Bring a bit of Israel home with this authentic and delicious Israel honey.
Yesterday's photo featured Jerusalem’s Old City walls. The walls and its 8 gates were built in 1538 by the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Suleiman mistakenly excluded an important site: the City of David and David's Palace were later discovered close to, but not within, the Sultan's walls.
Dear Rabbi Tuly and Team, I want to share that I am enjoying the Israel Bible virtual classroom. I read the weekly portions in both English and Hebrew and this is really enhancing my learning of Hebrew. In the classroom (also daily Israel365 email) there was a reference link regarding the 10 Commandments (10 matters, 10 things, 10 words) by Pastor Keith Johnson. Today I listened to the first 4 commandments. Pastor Johnson's insight and explanation of the these 10 words of the Lord is wonderful and an added blessing is the Hebrew pronunciation and Hebrew lessons he provides when discussing the commandments. Though a bit technical for the uninitiated, I look forward to the next six and hope that I might take the words of the Lord deeper into my heart. Shalom, Ken in Michigan
The New England Patriots' Malcolm Butler intercepts a pass meant for Seattle Seahawks' Ricardo Lockette. (Reuters/USA Today)
When the Seattle Seahawks made their "miraculous" comeback against the Green Bay Packers, it looked like God was with Russell Wilson, the openly Christian quarterback of the Seahawks who was in tears of praise after the game.
Two weeks later, in the aftermath of their heartbreaking Super Bowl loss (and the infamous "worst play call in Super Bowl history"), it looked like God was with the New England Patriots rather than the Seahawks—or is talk like this complete folly?
Here are four points for consideration:
1) Our God completely transcends football, but He is at work in the big things and the little things worldwide.
It is absolutely ludicrous to think that Almighty God has any interest in the score of a football game any more than He cares about who wins when I play cards with my 92-year-old mom or play basketball with my 11-year-old grandsons. I'm quite sure that the courts of heaven did not shut down Sunday night to watch the game.
At the same time, if God knows the number of hairs on our head and not a bird falls to the ground without His knowledge (or involvement; see Matt. 10:29-30), it's silly to think that He has no involvement in an event of this magnitude watched by countless millions worldwide.
I don't mean that His concern is in the final score. I mean that He might have a million different purposes at work in and around the game. Why not?
Perhaps He wants to raise up one and put another one down. Perhaps He has other lessons to teach. Perhaps He will use the events surrounding the Super Bowl to lead people to Himself in His own inscrutable ways.
Why not? Let God be God.
2) The idea that God is orchestrating the outcome of sports games points to the idolatry of sports and entertainment in our culture.
Again, let God be God, and if He chooses to give someone success who honors Him and who will make His name known, so be it.
This seems to be what happened with David Tyree, the New York Giants receiver who made the "miraculous" helmet catch against the Patriots in Super Bowl 42 and who has used his fame to spread the gospel, to give one example of many.
And if the Lord has some sovereign purpose in arranging the score of a game, who are we, puny mortals that we are, to argue with Him?
On the other hand, how much money is bet on sports every week?
How many hours are spent with sports and consumed on sports?
How many churches adjust their schedules so as not to conflict with the Super Bowl or other major sports events?
And for all the sports fans reading this, what grips your heart more, a burden for the lost or your interest in sports?
What plays on your emotions more? What dominates your thought life more? What occupies your conversations more?
Is your joy in sudden victory or your agony in sudden defeat greater than your joy in Jesus and your pain for the world?
Sports can be invigorating to play and fun to watch, and there's much that can be learned from it in terms of character and discipline and teamwork and the like. But it is plainly an idol in our culture today.
That's why I tweeted out after the game, "For Christian Seahawks fans: God is just as wonderful when you suffer an agonizing defeat as He is when you make a 'miraculous' comeback."
On another note, since the game was the most watched TV show in American history, how did the Lord feel about Katy Perry singing "I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It" for all those millions of viewers, including lots of children?
3) Our theology of sports reflects our superficial theology of "divine blessing = winning."
I embrace and affirm the many promises to the godly in the Scriptures, including the promise that for those who focus day and night on God's Word, whatever we do will be blessed (see Ps. 1:1-3; John 15:7). And I believe that when the Lord is with us and we are doing His will, His blessing will be evident.
At the same time, I recognize that obedience to Him often costs us dearly in this world, that His blessing doesn't always amount to winning, that many times we grow far more through adversity than through success, and that He often takes us down paths that we would never choose for ourselves.
Implicit in much of our shallow thinking is that, since God is with Tim Tebow (or Russell Wilson or Kurt Warner), his team should win.
Of course, godly living has benefits, and the Lord often smiles on us in tangible ways as a sign of His favor.
But following Jesus does not always mean winning and success, and at times, it is quite the opposite (see, for example, 1 Cor. 4:9-13).
If we are loyal to the Lord, we will be richly blessed, but that doesn't mean we will always "win" in this world.
4) Let's keep things in perspective.
From God's point of view, I do not believe that the big event of last week was the Super Bowl, even though it was a fun family event at my house and at the houses of many.
I believe the beheading of the Japanese journalist by ISIS terrorists was a bigger event.
I believe the murder of thousands of babies in the womb last week was a bigger event, not to mention the death of countless starving infants worldwide or the ongoing suffering of the destitute and poor.
I believe the salvation of lost sinners was a bigger event.
I believe the praise and worship of God's people was a bigger event.
And I believe we would do well to ask our Father for the perspective of heaven and for a heart in tune with eternity, lest we get caught up with the idolatry of this age.
As our lives are filled with the love of God and the presence of the Spirit, everything else will fall into its proper place.
Can You Believe Which City Is the Most 'Bible-Minded?'
Birmingham, Alabama (Jessilyn Justice)
After three years of having the most Bible-minded city in America, Tennessee has relinquished the title to Alabama. Birmingham moved up from the second spot in 2014 to the top spot in 2015 in American Bible Society's annual ranking of America's Most Bible-Minded Cities.
As in past years, the Bible Belt performed strongly in the 2015 rankings, while East Coast cities once again brought up the rear of the list. Small cities also generally performed better than did large cities. Just one of the top 10 Bible-minded cities ranks in the top 25 media markets. American Bible Society's Bible-Minded Cities survey, conducted by Barna Research, uses Nielsen media market rankings as a proxy for city size.
The 2013 list topper, Knoxville, Tennessee, dropped out of the top 10 for the first time. America's largest city, New York, entered the bottom ten in 2015 for the first time, ranking 91st on the 2015 list. One surprise this year was Dallas' dropping out of the top 25 most Bible-minded cities, coming in at number 26.
The rankings are calculated using data collected by Barna Group. Each city's Bible mindedness is determined by analyzing survey respondents' Bible reading habits and beliefs about the Bible. The most Bible-minded respondents said they had read the Bible in the past seven days and believe strongly in the accuracy of the Bible. Nationally, only 27 percent of the population was considered Bible minded.
This year's rankings from the America's Most Bible-Minded Cities study show many differences from usage statistics for American Bible Society's Bible search engine,bibles.org. Louisville, Kentucky, registered the largest number of searches onbibles.org while Syracuse, New York, registered the fewest searches of any of the top 100 markets.
"Online rankings consider only one data point—Bible search behavior—while American Bible Society's Bible-Minded Cities survey examines both behavior and attitudes about the Bible to harvest a more authentic survey of each city's population. This provides a more three dimensional view of a city's Bible mindedness,"said Andrew Hood, managing director of communications at American Bible Society.
Most Bible-Minded Cities (previous year's ranking) 1. Birmingham, Alabama (2) 2. Chattanooga, Tennessee (1) 3. Tri-Cities, Tennessee (n/a) 4. Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia (3) 5. Shreveport, Louisiana (5) 6. Springfield, Missouri (4) 7. Jackson, Mississippi (9) 8. Charlotte, North Carolina (6) 9. Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina/ Asheville (7) 10. Little Rock, Arkansas (8)
Least Bible-Minded Cities (previous year's ranking) 91. New York (89) 92. Phoenix, Arizona (93) 93. Buffalo, New York (95) 94. Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut (94) 95. Las Vegas, Nevada (90) 96. Cedar Rapids, Iowa (96) 97. San Francisco (97) 98. Boston, Massachusetts (98) 99. Albany, New York (99) 100. Providence, Rhode Island/ New Bedford, Massachusetts (100)
"This study provides us with a great starting point to understand where people are interacting with Scripture and what their views are of the Bible," said Hood. "We want to help people continue to grow their engagement with the Bible. Ultimately, we want people to know that, whether they live in one of the most or least Bible-minded cities, the Bible can speak to their needs and challenges and help them make sense of life."
Methodology: The data reported is based upon telephone and online interviews with nationwide random samples of 62,896 adults conducted over a 10-year period, ending in August 2014. The top 100 cities were determined based on the 100 largest media markets in the continental United States as ranked by Nielsen. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample is ±0.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Respondents who report reading the Bible within the past seven days and who agree strongly in the accuracy of the Bible are classified as "Bible-minded." To view the full list of city rankings, follow this link.
About American Bible Society: Founded in 1816, American Bible Society works to make the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so all people may experience its life-changing message. One of the nation's oldest nonprofit organizations, today's American Bible Society provides resources across a variety of platforms enabling first-time readers and seasoned theologians alike to engage with the best-selling book of all time. For more information, visit americanbible.org.
The owners of a bakery in Oregon are being ordered to pay "damages" to Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman, a lesbian couple, after declining to bake a cake for their same-sex wedding.
A hearing is scheduled in March to determine how much the owners of Sweet Cakes Bakery will be required to pay.
The judge says the Aaron and Melissa Klein discriminated unlawfully against the lesbian couple by denying them full and equal access to a place of public accommodations.
The owners say they don't have a problem serving gays and lesbians, but they cannot make a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding because of their religious beliefs.
"First Amendment, Constitution. Freedom of religion. I'm free to exercise my religion however I see fit," Aaron Klein said. "If I'm told to make a wedding cake for a same sex marriage, I feel that I'm violating my beliefs. I don't think I should have to do that."
The Kleins had to close their shop and work from home after gay rights activists organized protests and threatened vendors against doing business with them. Their children were subjected to death threats, Fox News host Todd Starnes reported.
Investigators for the State Bureau of Labor and Industries recommended each of the Kleins pay $75,000 in damages.
The prophet Isaiah assures the people that just like birds may appear as if from nowhere, so can God's help arrive suddenly. A foundation of Jewish belief is that redemption, both on a personal and a universal level, can come in 'the blink of an eye.' Take part in protecting God's beloved Jerusalem by supporting Israel's national blood bank, Heart to Heart.
In honor of the upcoming Sabbath Torah portion describing the epic 10 Commandments, we present pro-Israel Pastor Keith Johnson's 10-part film series, Scripture Bytes.
This unique line of seven soaps is called “Shivat”, which means “The Seven” in Hebrew. Every one of the seven species contains healthful nutrients that benefit the body and promote wellness.
Igor Farberov's photo depicts Jerusalem's Old City walls, but just how ancient are these walls and who built them? Send me an email or post your answer on Facebook!
Hi Rabbi, Greetings from Belfast. I have recently been added to your mailing list, only wish I had done it earlier. So much positive and many informative facts in the emails, and some great links. Shalom, Colin Magill
Hi, thank you for the wonderful Bible verses you sent today! I'm from the Philippines. I love listening to Israel music, its so inspiring! God bless Israel!
