The right way to love Israel. (9-10-09 unedited script-used with Jan's permission.)
My name is Jan Spence. I am a Jew who believes that Jesus is
the Jewish Messiah who was prophesied in the Tenakh/Old Testament. To me the
greatest blessing has been to find Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus).
To truly love, it takes more then church attendance or singing hymns. It
takes a new birth. Christians loving people is a supernatural thing.
Christianness is measured by Jesus. Because they love and have been blessed
by the Jewish Messiah, Christians have a special place in their hearts for
the Jewish people. They wish to bless and support the Jewish people and the
land of Israel. As a Jew, I am pleased that Christians wish to bless and
support my people since so many are against the Jewish people and the land
of Israel.
Christians United for Israel has a policy that anyone who would dare to
share the gospel of Jesus with the Jewish people will be asked to leave.
Christians are asked not to talk about the greatest blessing Christians have
to give the Jewish people. David Brog is the executive director of CUFI. In
his book Standing With Israel he says, “While there is no evidence
that the Christian-Jewish alliance in support of Israel [ aka CUFI]
facilitates the conversion of Jews, there is evidence that the alliance
actually works to impede efforts to convert Jews” (David Brog, Standing
With Israel, Lake Mary, Fla.: Frontline Publishers, 2006, 188-189). In
an article published by Jewish Telegraphic Agency/July 8, 2006, “If rabbis
would put more emphasis on putting Jewish kids into Jewish schools, young
Jews would never want to become Christians," Hagee said.
I applaud Christians who love and support Israel, but not at such a great
cost to the Jewish people or to the Christianness of Christians. Christians
should not compromise in order to love and support the Jewish people and the
land of Israel. Throughout the ministry of Paul, he yearned for his fellow
Jewish people to come to know Jesus as their Messiah and savior so in each
city, he went to the synagogues to tell them about the Messiah.. Love and
support is wonderful but Christian love should include the desire for the
Jewish people to hear about Jesus, and the greatest blessing a Christian
could give to Israel is the good news that the Messiah has come.
Acts 4:18 "And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak
or teach at all in the name of Jesus. (v.19) But Peter and John answered and
said to them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you
rather than to God, you be the judge; (v.20) for we cannot stop speaking
about what we have seen and heard.'"
I believe Christians can and should support Israel and the Jewish people but
without compromise, so not with Christians United for Israel. The cost is
too high. That is not the right way to love Israel.
Blessings,
Jan Spence
Home phone (802) 434-3508
GNPedestrians@aol.com