Answering the Call
Two millennia ago, God sent His Son, Jesus, on a mission of redemption that Jesus successfully completed on the cross at Calvary…
Steve Herzig
Do You Believe in Miracles?
It was dubbed the “Miracle on Ice.” On February 22, 1980, the United States Olympic hockey team defeated the…
Under the Chuppah
The decision to marry is one of the most important decisions anyone can make. The Torah (Pentateuch) clearly states that God made Eve as…
It Pays to Talk to the Right Person
You may recall my mother, the five-star kvetch, from the previous issue of Israel My Glory. She perfected the art…
Conquering our Kvetching
My beloved mother was a five-star kvetch. This Yiddish term describes a habitual complainer—and my mother was…
Why Do You Love Israel?
Picture this: A Jewish man who has embraced Jesus as his Messiah waves the flag of Israel and sings…
Meet AI Jesus
“Welcome, my children! I’m AI Jesus, here to answer your questions 24/7. Whether you’re seeking spiritual guidance, looking for a friend, or simply want…
It’s Not Luck—It’s Providence
In June, I returned from ministering in Colorado on a red-eye flight, scheduled to arrive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…
Dying to Live
Marcus is dead. His lifeless body lies on a hospital bed. The doctors attending him look down on his corpse. Only minutes ago they were busily monitoring his vitals…
‘Moshiach Is Here!’
“I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the moshiach [Messiah], and though he may tarry, still I await him every day.” So states the Jewish sage Maimonides’…
Doing the Right Thing
Within hours of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s midgame cardiac arrest in January, sports writers, reporters, and analysts around the country prefaced their remarks with…
God & Money
The popular musical Hello Dolly! had many memorable lines; but my favorite is this one: “Money,” said Dolly Levi, “pardon the expression, is like manure…
Let’s Nosh Some Hamantaschen!
A humorous quip describes most of Jewish history: “They tried to kill us. They failed. Let’s eat…”
Finishing Without Regrets
When the apostle Paul sat in a cold, dark Roman prison, he chose his final words carefully as he took inventory of his life…
The Fallacy of Fictionalism
Scott Hershovitz is a philosophy professor and director of law and ethics at the University of Michigan…
My Threescore and Ten
Birthdays, like mile markers, disclose the distance traveled but not the distance remaining on our lives’ journeys…
A Memorial and a Name
I recently ran across a Pew Research study that sought to discover what Americans know about the Holocaust…
Shalom! Welcome to First Friday!
On the first Friday of every month, something unusual takes place in Richmond, Virginia. It’s a Shabbat (Sabbath) service where…
My Seven Chapters
Last summer I spoke at a family Bible conference. As I began preparing the messages for the ministry there, I decided to try something unusual…
The Giant: A Preview of Revelation 13?
Giants have always fascinated me. That’s probably why I reacted so quickly when Laura, my administrative assistant, asked me…
Happy New Year!
Fireworks. Noisy parties. Large quantities of food and drink. That’s how many people welcome the new year. Observant Jewish people, on the other hand…
We Stand With Israel!
There is no authority on Earth except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. That may seem like a strange statement in view of…
A Conversation with Joel Rosenberg
As part of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s mission to teach about Israel and the Jewish people, our North American…
Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah
Growing up, I had an annual August ritual of asking my parents two questions: When is the first day of school? Are the…
The Real Friend of Israel
Many Americans are still reeling from the results of the 2020 presidential election. According to two surveys, between 76 and…
A Letter to My Dad
Another Father’s Day is just around the corner. My dad passed away in 2008; and at age 97, my mom still misses him. Perhaps that was why she showed me…
No Place Like Home
A bump on the head and a trip to Oz was all it took for Dorothy to realize there’s no place like home. Dorothy is the main character in L. Frank Baum’s children’s book…
Meditating on God
Health experts agree that walking 10,000 steps a day is a good thing. So I do this “good thing” regularly, and I can tell you that my Oy veys grow louder every time I start walking. But I can also tell you that…
A Christmas to Remember
During the Christmas season, the popular children’s animated television show Bob the Builder and Hallmark…
From Moses to Jesus
Eclectic is how I would describe my mother’s taste in furniture. Nothing really matched when I was growing up. Furniture was not her thing…
Israel’s Will to Remember
I am more of a doer than a thinker. It takes discipline for me to think before I act. Spending two weeks in Israel…
Frame, Reframe: The Battle for Truth
I witnessed an attempt to reframe theology during our Canadian Friends of Israel Prophecy Conference…
How to Relieve Stress in 3 Steps
Unless you’ve lived in a cave for the last four years, you probably know 2020 is an important presidential election year…
A Jewish View of Christmas
“Where were you on Christmas?” The unexpected question from U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to Elena Kagan…
Where Was God When…?
Why doesn’t God always intervene to prevent terrible tragedies? If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “Where were You, Lord?” you’re in good company…
How God Turned the Foolish Into Fantastic
As a frequent traveler to Israel, I know enough to go to a specially designated area for taxis located outside the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv…
Who is a Jew?
For centuries, Jewish people have been asking themselves, “Who is a Jew?” Today a new wrinkle has developed, and it involves Christians…
The Hate That Won’t Die
A friend of mine told me a story recently that I think you’ll appreciate. A few years ago, her daughter Andi attended an event at Disney World that called for audience participation…
Who Doesn’t Want a Blessing?
Nostalgia. That’s the emotion fans of the iconic 1960s TV series Star Trek feel when they hear the words live long and prosper. The character of Mr. Spock…
O Jewish Town of Bethlehem
This Christmas season, as we gather in our churches to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and sing the carols of Christmas, we no doubt will sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” one of the most beloved hymns of all time…
The Man Who Believed in Miracles
If you hold an American passport and were born in Jerusalem, this might be the time to get your document updated. Perhaps now, 70 years after Israel gained its independence, the U.S. State Department will finally print “Jerusalem, Israel” on your passport…
If I Forget You, O Jerusalem
Among the many things God cares about, three stand out: Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple. During my Hebrew-school days, I learned about these things in multiple ways. From the Jewish Scriptures, I learned God set Jerusalem in the midst of the…
Happy Birthday, Israel!
For years I had a dream. I wanted my hometown baseball team (the Cleveland Indians) to play the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. I had adopted the Cubs when I lived in Chicago. Both teams excelled at losing…
Someone to Believe In
My wife enjoys watching Antiques Roadshow, a popular television program where appraisers provide the monetary value of something you may have had in your attic…
Upside Down
Surveying the current geopolitical landscape can give me a headache. The world is embroiled in a spiritual battle. Right is made to look wrong; wrong is made to look right; security threats loom large; and if we don’t keep our eyes on the Lord…
A Wow Moment
The beat goes on as the Arabs pick up where the Ammonites left off. Have you ever read a Scripture verse you had read many times before, but suddenly it seemed brand new to you? I have. I call it a Wow! moment. My most recent Wow! moment came after reading Judges 11: “And the…
FOI Canada Goes Up to Jerusalem
A look at the first-ever FOI Canada Up to Jerusalem trip to Israel and some of the wonderful experiences God provided. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. Sounds simple enough. Forty years later…
Ma’ale Adumim: It’s Not What You Think It Is
Before we arrived in the spring of 2000, I asked the 16 members of our Friends of Israel Youth Adventure team (now called ORIGINS) to describe what they thought a settlement would look like.
The Great Invalidation
“Next year in Jerusalem!” As they have since the Jewish people were scattered around the world in AD 70, these words will ring out on the evening of April 10 at the close of Passover seders everywhere. Yet, if the United Nations…
Still Dreaming
To some, it may have seemed like an odd pairing. But not to Natan Sharansky. As he sat with Martin Luther King III on a Sunday morning in Jerusalem, he felt like they were colleagues sharing the same goals Being with King in Israel…
What’s In a Name?
Names mean a lot to God. That’s why He specifically chose the Messiah’s name to reflect His mission on Earth. “What’s in a name?” Juliet asks Romeo, adding, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Well, not exactly…
In Need of Therapy
The United Nations is obsessed with Israel. So obsessed that, if it were a person, it would need therapy. If it were a sports organization like FIFA (the soccer world’s governing body prosecuted for corruption last year), its representatives…
Kudos to Canada
When Canada’s parliament condemned the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel in February, Israel advocates worldwide probably sighed with relief. BDS is a vicious, anti-Semitic movement that is…
Eye on the Middle East Mar/Apr 2016
The Israel Defense Forces recently detained 90 Birzeit University (BZU) students, teachers, and employees for association with terrorism. BZU, near Ramallah, probably the most prestigious and liberal of the…
Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2016
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has revealed why he believes so many Israeli Jews are being stabbed, slashed, and shot by Arabs. It is due, he said…
Mission Impossible Romans 9:30–10:21
On my first day of college many years ago, I met a Gentile who was “born again.” He presented Jesus Christ as Savior and the only way to heaven and told me…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2015
Seventy percent of all the children living in the southern Israeli city of Sderot suffer from at least one symptom of post-traumatic stress, and 50 percent continue to relive…
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2015
The UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry in June released its 183-page investigative report into the 2014 Gaza war, blaming both Israel and Hamas for possible violations of…
Psalm 124: Our Defender
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…
Psalm 133: Our Unity
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…
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2015
“It’s the economy, stupid!” That was the phrase coined by James Carville, chief strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, to help his team focus on the recession…
Eye on the Middle East May/Jun 2015
French and German leaders have criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for saying Europe is no longer safe for Jews and encouraging them to move to Israel.
Abraham’s Three C’s
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…
My Memories of Zvi
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…
Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2015
In baseball, it’s three strikes and you’re out. In Gaza, it’s three strikes and keep the money coming. In October, about 50 diplomats pledged $5.4 billion to rebuild Gaza. Strike one took place…
Jerusalem and the Muslims
Most people know Jerusalem is important to three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. What many may not know is that the city is referenced in the holy writings of Christians…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2014
Do a computer search for “ISIS” and “Christians” and prepare to gasp in horror. ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or simply Islamic State) is slaughtering Christians in the Middle East…
The Great Admission
Messianic fervor hit a high throughout the Orthodox Jewish world in the early 1990s. Banners trumpeted messages like “Messiah Is Coming,” “We Want Messiah Now,” and…
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2014
It is no coincidence that Hillary Clinton’s book Hard Choices was released in June, two years before the American presidential election. She is without a government job, so the…
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2014
It doesn’t matter what you’re doing––bathing your 2-year-old, fixing dinner, or sleeping. You have only 11 seconds to run for safety from an incoming rocket when the siren…
Eye on the Middle East May/Jun 2014
Sometimes it boggles the mind to see who some of the people are who withhold support from the State of Israel. The controversy is starting to die down now, but New York City Mayor…
Mount Carmel
When most Jewish people hear the name Mount Carmel (“Vineyard of God”), they think of the wine used to celebrate Jewish holy days. The triangular-shaped, wooded…
The Temple Tunnel
Above ground the Western Wall, or Kotel, measures around 187 feet long. But it actually runs another 1,350 feet underground, beneath homes in Old City Jerusalem. For centuries…
The Western Wall
Many people journey to Israel as pilgrims to visit the only place the Lord calls the “Holy Land” (Zech. 2:12). Others go there to see the reality of the Zionist dream birthed…
Eye on the Middle East Mar/Apr 2014
When members of the American Studies Association (ASA) voted to boycott Israeli academic institutions in December 2013, they probably had no idea their plan would…
Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2014
“Iran poses absolutely no threat to the world or the region.” Or so Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani assured United Nations members in September 2013. His words may have impressed many…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2013
It was merely a handshake. But it was no ordinary handshake. It was one of a kind, seen by millions around the world. It was proclaimed as the event that sealed the deal that would alter the…
NFL Hall of Famer Raymond Berry Speaks of His Love for Jesus and Israel
In football lore, it is the Greatest Game Ever Played. On December 28, 1958, in front of 64,185 freezing spectators who filled Yankee Stadium in New York City and another 45 million television viewers…
Eye On the Middle East Sep/Oct 2013
Though lacking the pizazz of typical rags-to-riches stories, the saga of the thousands of Ethiopians who have immigrated to Israel is one worth telling. In many ways, their experience is…
The Arab Riots of the 1920s
A prevailing sentiment around the world seems to be that if Israel had never gained its independence, the Arabs would be happy; and there would be peace. But Arab terrorism started…
The Hadassah Hospital Massacre
In November 1947, the UN General Assembly passed a plan to partition what was left of British Mandate Palestine and establish separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem an international…
Jewish East Jerusalem
Is a ruin still a ruin when it is rebuilt? It is when the ruin is a synagogue located in the Old City in what today is called East Jerusalem. The Hurva (Hebrew, “ruin”) Synagogue was dedicated on…
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2013
Moral equivalence is a tricky device often used by people who want to remove the focus from an obvious wrong and put it somewhere else. Commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict…
Eye on the Middle East May/Jun 2013
How often have you seen a household appliance create an international commotion? Apparently, when an Israeli company manufactures it, people…
Eye on the Middle East Mar/Apr 2013
In November 2012 the Czech Republic voted against a UN resolution to make “Palestine” a non-Member Observer State. It was the sole European…
Looking for Elijah
Every seder table has an extra place set for the prophet Elijah. A specially designated wine cup, Elijah’s cup, is filled to the brim for him. Malachi 4:5 says…
The Marvelous Afikomen
One of my most vivid childhood memories of celebrating Passover with my family is of finding the hidden afikomen and demanding my reward…
Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2013
Going Up to Jerusalem with The Friends of Israel is never the same twice. I’ve been on our tour more than two dozen times, but our recent fall trip was unique. Here is a…
Molding the Next Generation of Anti-Semites
Incoming freshman Ariel Kaplan and his parents had no idea what they were walking into when they arrived on the campus of the University of California (UC), Berkeley….
Ariel and Israel Advocacy
Ariel is a native Californian. He considers himself moderately religious, though he possesses a strong Jewish identity due to his family’s affiliation with “modern Orthodox”…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2012
In an attempt to comply with the U.S. State Department, an Israeli Knesset member has proposed legislation to let Christians and Jews pray on the Temple Mount. But the bill has ignited…
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2012
Have you ever heard the expression “the elephant in the room”? It was used first in a 1959 New York Times article about school finance that pointed out how ignoring…
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2012
Jive talk is slang for deceptive or insincere speech. Los Angeles Lakers basketball forward Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) was jive talking when he said in April, “It was unfortunate…
Eye on the Middle East May/Jun 2012
According to a poll taken in November 2011 by the European Commission—the executive body of the European Union—15 European countries believe Israel is the greatest threat to world peace. The Organisation…
Eye on the Middle East Mar/Apr 2012
For nearly all of its 64 years, the State of Israel has faced constant threats to its survival as a democratic, Jewish nation. The courage, tenacity, ingenuity, and determination…
Who Is Like You, Eternal One?
Do you have trouble or heartache in your life? Does the world situation worry you? Then the book of Isaiah should be a great comfort because it makes clear there’s a God…
Eye on the Middle East Jan/Feb 2012
Did spring really come early for Arabs in the Middle East last year? Many believe so. Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak was forced out after decades of ruthless rule…
The Megillah Begins Esther 1—3
Almost 2,500 years ago, a Persian official wanted to wipe the Jewish people off the map. Sound contemporary? It’s in the book of Esther, where the story begins.
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2011
The late Golda Meir, fourth prime minister of the State of Israel, once said, “If Moses had turned right instead of left when he led his people out of the Sinai desert…
Israel Through the Prophets’ Eyes
Israel’s economy is booming. Every year thousands of evangelicals around the world contribute to that economy by traveling there. Israel’s demography is growing. Every year evangelicals donate millions of dollars to organizations…