I am not a Jew. I feel I should make that clear from the beginning. I don’t keep kosher. I don’t like gefilte fish. And the first time someone called me a “mensch,” I thought he was insulting me. No, I will never be mistaken for a Jewish man…
It is now the time of year when Christians celebrate the Lord’s birth and sing, “Joy to the world! The Lord is come.” In Israel, people are celebrating the feast of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights…
Have you ever heard of the Yazoo land scandal of 1795? Apparently, it is considered “the most corrupt deal in American history,” according to historynewsnetwork.org…
Claustrophobia is the fear of being confined in a tight space. It’s an anxiety disorder that can make someone feel like he is alone and suffocating. A woman who suffers from claustrophobia once told me…
Isaiah 49 says, “You are My servant, O Israel. You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (vv. 3, 6). Many Hasidic Jews believe they are the servants of God, chosen by…
I grew up in a Catholic town. Most of my friends attended either one of the many Roman Catholic churches in the area or the First Congregational Church downtown. Had you asked me…
Recently I was waiting for the bus to Jerusalem when two young men asked me for directions to a synagogue. I gladly told them the way…
Once every two months, I take my wife to the hospital for an eye checkup following a cornea transplant. The last time we were there, two Russian-Orthodox priests sat next to us. We began conversing, and our discussion quickly turned to…
When invited by the Embassy of Israel to Washington, DC, to attend a prerelease screening of Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List in 1993, I filed into a theater crowded with viewers…
Every year Christians pause to remember an event that changed history. Whether you call it Easter or Resurrection Sunday, it is a day of rejoicing, when we gather together in churches around the…
I was in 10th grade U.S. History class when we got to the chapter on World War II and learned about Hitler and the Nazis. To me, the Second World War was just a misty history that happened…
Over the years, the Lord has taught my wife and me to freely welcome people into our home. Guests are always coming and going, and some even sleep here. Once each year an elderly Christian gentleman..
In October I read about the stealthy removal by night of the Ten Commandments monument from the grounds of the Oklahoma Capitol in Oklahoma City after the state’s Supreme Court…
A few miles from my boyhood home, just off a dusty country road, sits a little orange brick church. The tattered curtains sway in and out…
Christians should live according to God’s universal guidelines of conduct through the power of the Holy Spirit. Part one examined the fi rst guideline. Here are three more.
A few years ago, I learned that a well-known rabbi was going to speak in one of Jerusalem’s big synagogues on the topic of life after death. Naturally, I was curious about his…
Christmastime is my favorite time of year. Perhaps it’s because I never celebrated Christmas when I was growing up. I was probably 10 before I even learned Jesus was Jewish.
Tears streamed down Sandy Yao’s face as she stood by her mother’s bed. God felt so far away. She had trusted His Son as her Savior. She believed God had opened the door…
At a bus stop recently, I noticed an old man who needed help boarding. I assisted him and sat next to him on the ride into Jerusalem. I asked how…
A few months ago, the husband of one of my dearest friends died of a heart attack while eating lunch. One minute he was alive; the next, he wasn’t. My friend told me the ambulance arrived…
Imagine a Jewish father singing to his children, “My help comes from the Lᴏʀᴅ, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber…
According to an old saying, “You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” When it comes to Israel…
Living in danger was nothing new to my late colleague Zvi Kalisher. He lived in Israel for nearly 70 years and witnessed countless dangers. He often described his situation as…
Mayhem is everywhere. This motto is used by one of America’s biggest insurance companies. The television commercial portrays “mayhem” in the form of a man running amok…
Situated at the midpoint of the Psalms of Ascents, Psalm 127 is didactic, or instructional, and is attributed to King Solomon. Confronting the reality of daily existence, it motivates readers to…
A steady stream of families paraded across the stones and steps that marked the path to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. I sat nearby as they carried canopies, banners, and balloons…
From their sojourn in Egypt to their days in Europe during Hitler’s Third Reich to today, the Jewish people have been afflicted. Yet against all odds, this tiny group of people…
If there is one thing we all share, it’s trouble. My Jewish friends often use the Yiddish word tsuris. I remember one day in 2010 that dumped a tremendous amount of tsuris on me. I learned…
Psalm 131 is a song of humility. This Song of Ascents was composed by King David. Though one of the shortest psalms, it is also one of the most poignant. David composed it while experiencing severe challenges and inner turmoil, perhaps when…
Psalm 132 is the longest of all the Songs of Ascents and focuses on worship, which the nation of Israel modeled after the experience of its greatest king and worship leader…
Hine ma tov u’ma-nayim, shevet ach-im gam ya-chad. These Hebrew words are familiar to anyone who attends synagogue regularly. “Behold, how good and how pleasant…
When God blesses something, He bestows on it life and goodness. During creation, God only blessed living things; He did not bless the sun, moon, or stars. After He created Adam and Eve…
Recently I was in Hebron where I met many Swedish tourists. Their guide was giving them false information that was unsympathetic to Israel, and many of them believed him…
2 John 1:1–4: A major problem in the first-century church was the proliferation of false teachers. Under the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, the apostle John…
Recently I found work in a Jerusalem hospital as a handy-man. The day after I started working, something happened that was a clear sign of the Lord’s guidance. When I walked into…
As this issue of Israel My Glory goes to press, I’m excited to report we have just launched our new radio ministry, “The Friends of Israel Today.” Since our previous program host retired…
Many years ago I had a wonderful friend who truly loved Jewish people. She was a devout Christian who had come to Christ later in life from a Greek Orthodox background and…
The great American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but…
As a child, I had a favorite teacher who skillfully arranged biblical characters on colorful backdrops of desert sand, tents, or a palm-covered oasis. Drawing our attention to…
I was recently asked to visit an elderly man whose son is my friend. When I arrived at his home, I could see he was extremely sick and that I had arrived in the last hours of…
“To be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). I thought of that verse when I received word that our beloved and longtime colleague, Zvi Kalisher, had passed away…
When I was reading the book of Obadiah awhile back, I felt it offered so many good principles for everyday living that I thought you might enjoy an entire issue on it. Many months later, as I was preparing…
Pride is a matter of the heart. In both Hebrew and Greek, the languages of the Old and New Testaments respectively, the words pride and proud denote an arrogance, a puffing up…
1 John 5:1–12: The apostle John used the word overcomer more than any New Testament writer when speaking of the Christian’s victorious life in Christ (1 Jn. 5:4–5)…
In a life spent traveling and meeting hosts of people from all walks of life, I’ve found that few individuals leave an enduring legacy. Such a legacy was left by a person of small stature but…
I first met Zvi Kalisher in 1977 on The Friends of Israel’s first tour to Israel. We had just arrived in Jerusalem, and that evening Zvi shared an hour-long testimony. I left the meeting saying…
I was privileged and blessed to have two believing parents in the Lord Jesus. The most important heritage they gave us was a biblical and spiritual education and guidance…
Considering all of the difficulties he faced as a Holocaust survivor and a moneyless, unemployed immigrant in a precarious Israel, Zvi Kalisher had every reason to become…
My wife and I first met Zvi in 1978 at a Friends of Israel (FOI) banquet in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He was the highlight of the evening. His life story, ZVI, by Elwood McQuaid, had just…
1 John 4:7–21: If one thing is glaringly missing in the life of many Christians today, it is the expression of Christian love. Throughout the First Epistle of John, the apostle John emphasized…
I have been visiting many people lately, sowing the seeds of the gospel. It is interesting to see how different people react. Some receive the gospel with joy. Others are like stony ground…
Christmastime is the season of love, friends, and family. A time to host large gatherings and hope your favorite gravy boat doesn’t end up a casualty. Or a time to go to the store…
Now that the Six-Day War [June 1967] is over, I was thinking the Arabs may leave us alone. But it is not so. They are preparing much trouble. I was away for three days with…
There is continuous shedding of blood in the Middle East. This is the blood of hate and vengeance, not like the blood of love that our Savior shed for our salvation. Now, because…
We must hold on to this land, otherwise they shall completely drive us into the sea. The Lord has promised this land to our people, and there is no power in the world that…
A 45-year-old man who came to Israel from Hungary some years ago would visit our home frequently. He lived nearby, and his children played with our children. However…
After eating His last supper, Jesus and His disciples crossed the Kidron Valley and came to a familiar garden of olive trees known as Gethsemane. Called in Hebrew Gat Shemanim…
January 30, 1965, was a cloudy day in London. Silent crowds lined the streets to watch the gun carriage leave Westminster Hall, bearing a coffin. Millions more viewed…
Twenty-five years ago, when my son was 8 and my daughter 10, I nearly traumatized them. We were relaxing at home, enjoying one another’s company, when I looked at the…
Was Jesus crucified at Calvary or Golgotha? Would it be shocking to hear it was at both? Both names point to the same location outside Jerusalem. The word Calvary in…
The day I was scheduled to return home by plane after my military service in the Sinai desert, a terrible sandstorm broke loose. Our tents were blown away like so many…
In days gone by it was common for parents to resort to washing their children’s mouths out with soap as punishment for using foul language. Gutter talk, locker-room jokes, bathroom humor…
Recently I was again called up for a term of military service. There were a number of fellows with me who knew me personally. Out of sheer boredom, one of them tried to start an argument with…
On Friday nights, when Shabbat begins, many people go into the Old City of Jerusalem to pray at the Kotel, the Western Wall. Some seem to spend most of their lives there because they believe God hears them better when they are close to where the Temple once stood.
New neighbors have moved into our area in Jerusalem, and they think their duty is to fight against people who want to share their faith in Christ. It is not difficult for them to find…
Many people here know I believe in Christ. So they come to me wanting to know why I changed my faith. I tell them I have not changed my faith. I am still a Jew, but I believe in God according to…
This week I was preparing to visit an ultra-Orthodox synagogue when my wife, Naomi, said to me, “Zvi, you know I have much trouble with my feet. Please…
For several years Google has displayed on YouTube, its Internet video platform, an end-of-the-year review in images, photographs, and news…
I want to wish you all the best as we approach the great days of Passover. This is a holiday to remember how God delivered the Jewish people from their bitter bondage in Egypt. Today we are free, but many people would like to see us return to bondage and remove us from the land God gave to us as the descendants…
Love is a tremendous motivator. I was reflecting on that thought recently as I considered the founding of The Friends of Israel. In 1938 Jewish people lived in tremendous…
Living in Israel is like living on a volcano. We are surrounded by enemies who want to destroy us. Those of us who believe in the mighty Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ, even have…
Over the centuries, God’s Word has penetrated many nations and cultures through translations that have made it available to people in their native languages. The Septuagint, from the Latin word…
A rapidly rising tide of aggression is aimed at Israel, and the West seems impotent to stem it. But there is One who is omnipotent, and He has made promises He intends to keep.
A few miles from the hubbub of Bethlehem, you can visit a spot where the message of Christmas remains pure and undiluted. Relax, and let this wonderful article take you there!
Sometimes silence is a welcome friend. Sometimes it can be deafening because of what it conveys, such as disapproval. With the final verse of the book of Malachi, the Hebrew…
A few months ago, a young ultra-Orthodox man whom I did not recognize came to our home with some of his friends. He was not nice or friendly. In fact…
It was Sunday afternoon, and my grandmother and I were seated comfortably in the high school gym waiting for the movie to begin. I was 9 years old and had no…
Is life getting you down? Don’t be discouraged. This life is not all there is. Read this, and take heart.
I have lived in the same neighborhood in Jerusalem for 37 years, and now I am becoming important to my Arab neighbors here. Why? Because I speak Arabic and am willing…
I am always looking for a chance to speak with people about our Savior, Yeshua Hamashiach (Hebrew for “Jesus the Messiah”). And often people are looking for me, but they…
Many Orthodox people here in Jerusalem have known me a long time. Sometimes it seems they almost have a competition to see who among them can put me down and become …
Living in Israel is like living on an active volcano. It has been this way ever since I came here more than 65 years ago. More than 150 million Arabs…
I have lived in the same neighborhood in Jerusalem for 37 years. Most of the people here know me, and we are good friends. But some people do not like me because…
Miracles do not happen every day. But one happened recently while I was in a clinic waiting to see a doctor. Usually there are long lines, and it is difficult to speak to people.
Anyone who remembers our War for Independence in 1948 knows about Latrun. It is an area in Israel located on a hilltop on the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem…
I look forward to meeting Dr. Haldor Lillenas in heaven someday. This pastor/evangelist was a prolific writer of some 4,000 hymns and sacred songs extolling the Bible as God’s Word…
One of my favorite sites in Israel is the Sea of Galilee. It’s a great experience to take a boat ride across its calm and quiet waters. Although we know…
The Bible is not merely another book. It has the power to transform lives. If you don’t believe it, this article is definitely for you!
Throughout history God sounded the alarm to His people to be on guard for false teachers. The Torah warns of false prophets (Dt. 18:20–22). The Gospels warn of wolves dressed…
Something happened recently that was hard even for me to believe. But as we say here in Israel, “When God wills it, everything is possible.” Not long ago my wife was in the hospital.
This May it is 63 years since Israel became a state. I remember it well. Much time has passed, and I have grown much older. After everything I endured in my life…
Early on New Year’s Day a car bomb exploded outside a church in Alexandria, Egypt, killing 21 worshipers and seriously injuring dozens more. The next day was Sunday, and Christians throughout…
All was quiet except for the windshield wipers swishing vainly back and forth as heavy snow reduced visibility to zero. It was a good time to pray—for many reasons
It was to be a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy (2 Ki. 19:3). Assyria, the most powerful military force on Earth, invaded Judah. King Sennacherib demanded Jerusalem’s surrender, all the while mocking…
It’s easy to thank God when things go right. But what about when things go wrong? Scripture has lots to say on the subject of thanksgiving.
Did you ever wish you could speak with Jesus face to face? Many times I’ve longed to see His face, hear His voice, look into His eyes, and simply share what…
How often do you go to the throne of grace on behalf of others? This excellent article explains why doing so may be one of your most important ministries.
Some sat on the floor, others in camp chairs, and a few reclined on the stairs. The students, ages 14 to 22, listened curiously as I posed five simple survey questions.
Never has anyone come to our church to investigate those attending. Yet so it was recently. An elderly woman came because she had heard about me and that I am a Holocaust survivor.
“I’ve rarely felt such fellowship and trust among Christians and Jews.” That’s how Jewish author Dr. Stephen Spector reflected on a remarkable event held recently at Ohev Shalom in Richboro…