Bad news everyone, the pre-order sale (with free shipping) will be ending on February 14th. Hurry up & order yours now.

The reprints of “The Jewish Roots of Acts” have arrived. We will be mailing them this week to those that have ordered them.

The Acts of the Apostles is the second part of Luke's masterpiece history of the life of Yeshua and the first generation of the Church and its leaders such as Paul and Peter. Besides being a book of history, however, it is also a Spirit-inspired work that contains many important lessons for the Church of today, especially for those believers seeking the Restoration of the Church with its Jewish Roots. This commentary will help the scholar or layperson seeking to navigate the colorful cultures and contexts of the ancient Mediterranean world to which the apostles spread the message of Yeshua and understand the "how" and the "why" of their methods of spreading an essentially Jewish faith to a pagan world. Shulam and LeCornu especially highlight the importance of the Diaspora Jewish context and its influence on the early Body of Messiah through comparing the beliefs and statements found in Acts to other ancient Jewish sources and ideas. As the reader journeys through the complexities and cultural contexts of the ancient world portrayed in Acts, he discovers that it still contains a wealth of parallels and lessons for our own time and culture. A deeper and richer understanding of the first followers of Yeshua the Messiah awaits those who truly investigate the Acts of the Apostles in this two volume set that will stir anyone's thirst for greater knowledge of the Bible and its Jewish context.

We are in California with Danah and Noaam our daughter and granddaughter. It was very nice visit with our family, but it was also very nice to have an opportunity to share Good News from God's Word with people who are interested and anxious to learn. My health is good. I feel good after a few days of recovery things are back to normal with my health. The Lord willing, tomorrow we continue our trip in the United States and fly to Nashville. On Sunday I shall be with the North Boulevard church of Christ in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I shall preach in both services on Sunday morning and again on Sunday night. The topic for Sunday morning will be an interesting one, “Are you willing to be a donkey?” There is much to learn from the different donkeys in the Bible, and I have given whole seminars on the issue of donkeys. William Foxwell Albright the great scholar and archaeologist called our Biblical fathers, “Donkey Caravaniers.” Donkeys play an important role in the Scriptures and it is no accident that Yeshua came into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Everyone needs some means of transportation, everyone needs someone to carry him into the pages of history. The donkey who is humble but willing to serve both kinds and prophets, merchants and patriarchs. Jose Feliciano wrote in one of his songs: “Nobody wants to play second guitar behind Jesus, everyone wants to be the lead singer in the band.” The Lord's Body is drastically in need of people who are willing to be donkeys who are willing to serve humbly because this is their calling from the Lord. Today the churches have ten different titles for preachers who specialize in one aspect of the Lord's work. The churches have pulpit preachers, and involvement preachers, and family preachers, and religious professionals, and workers in the religious industry, and more and more, but there is not too many donkeys who are willing to carry the Messiah through the gates of our cities and especially call on Him to come back to to New Jerusalem.

קרא עוד...

By Joseph Shulam – 33,000 feet in the Air, American Flight 0001

On the road again, just like Willie Nelson! The last 72 hours have been dramatic. We left Tel-Aviv on Flight LY 0001 and half way through the flight in the mid-atlantic ocean, I started to feel bad with sever upper-back pain and some chest pain, cold sweat, and general feeling bad. The El-Al stewards called for a doctor and a very nice doctor with a portable heart monitor came, hooked me up, get the medical kit of the airplane and checked me. His conclusion was sever. He ordered an ambulance to be waiting for me at the door of the airplane when we landed. So it was! As soon as we landed the JFK police and medics with two ambulances were waiting for me. We were rushed into the ambulances and taken to the Jamaica Hospital in Queens, NY. E.R. Procedures and some very fine Pakistani and Indian doctors took good care of me, and their first diagnosis was that I had a blood clot probably traveling through my aorta or in my lungs. The reason for this was because I had a hard time breathing. Barry, our son, got on an airplane and came to New York City to help me, and especially Marcia. My first cousin Nissim and his wife rushed to the Hospital too. Every one was ready to help. Barry sent a message to my whole mailing list and started a prayer chain. It was amazing how effective this prayer chain became. I really believe that there was divine healing going on as soon as thousands of people all around the world started to pray for my healing. We got messages from South Africa, Korea, Japan, Israel, Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, Finland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Bulgaria, and even from some Arab countries. People mobilized and prayed for my healing. Although I was really feeling bad and had strong pain in my chest and back and upper abdomen, I knew that God is going to heal me. As the doctors started the more serious tests, and the prayers started to go up from all around the world, my feeling started to improve dramatically. By 11:00 p.m. I was already feeling much better and ready to run out of the hospital, but the doctors said that I could not fly anyway since the airline has put a message on my docket that I had a medical emergency. So, I had no choice and stayed in the hospital. The next day from early in the morning the test continued, but so did the wonders of our Lord and the Kingdom of God. In the morning the director of engineering of the whole hospital came to see me and pray with me. He heard it from his sister-in-law who heard it from someone else. David Sedaca from Chosen People Ministry came to pray with me. One of the chief doctors of the hospital came and said that one of the trustees and board-members of the hospital called him and told him to take good care of me and do their best. The doctor wanted my permission to share the medical information with this board member. Richard Glicksteing came to see me in the hospital. My phone, Barry's phone, and Marcia's phone did not stop ringing. Marcia and my whole family is so grateful to all of you who have been praying for my healing. The whole thing was not an easy experience, and I was stuck, and connected to pipes and lines, and monitors, but all the time I felt the hand of the Lord over me. The medical evidence came out inconclusive and the scans and echo and stress tests came out good. I really believe that God intervened. I also believe that when the Body of the Messiah is working and being what it ought to be, and stressing the unity of the whole Body of the Messiah across denominational lines and across continents and across races the power released is truly capable to move mountains. Thank God for His mercy and grace, and healing powers, and above all thank God for creating such a wonderful brotherhood that knows how to love, and care, and pray, and serve the King and His Kingdom.

We should all wake up and harness the power that God has given us to pray for each other and to mobilize across the whole globe and pull the strings of heaven to change the world to renew the church, to revamp the vision, and to take back what selfish religious spirits and false teaching, and division, party-spirit, gossip, backbiting, false accusations, and ignorance of God's Word, have taken from the Lord's Body. Let us all work for the Restoration of the church, the restoration of Israel, the restoration of the Kingship and Kingdom of God. I thank you all for pulling for me in heaven and praying for my quick recovery. There is no lasting damage to my heart, or lungs. I am going to take it just a little bit easy in the next few days, but I am now full of energy and a new zeal to do the will of God. My family thanks all of you who prayed for my healing. I know that many of you think that I am special, but the truth is that all of us are special and we ought to really pray for each other and for healing and learn to knock, knock, knock, on heaven's door every day for everyone that we know needs God's mercy, grace, and healing. The power of God is there, available to all and for all, we need to tap into it more often and for more good causes and with more good deeds for each other. The Lord's church can and ought to put to shame every wordly charity and ministry and wave high the name of Yeshua not as a religious symbol but as Good News for humanity. We ought to be Good News ourselves. When we step into a place, even E.R. In the hospital, even when we are sick ourselves and feeling bad, in a few minutes doctors and nurses ought to say, Good News has come. I am not talking to bring a bible and tump on it and start preaching, I am talking about smiling and saying a good word to the sick around you, to the nurses who attend you, and thank you to the doctors who are treating you. Say something good and encouraging to all when you enter the room, any room and all rooms, people will be happy to see you and serve you. Well, enough preaching. Thank you all and keep praying for Marcia and I, our family, and the work of Netivyah and Roeh Israel congregation in Jerusalem, and for every place that we will visit on this six weeks trip in the United States and Brazil.

Please pray for Ms. Hannah Kovner who is going to travel to Holland on Sunday to minister with TWR Netherlands for a week. Please pray for David and Martha Stern who will also be traveling and joining us in Brazil. Please pray for Victor E., who is also going to be traveling to France and joining us in Brazil. Please pray for Barry and Beth Shulam who are going to join us in Brazil. Please pray for our dear brothers all around Brazil who will be participating in the conference in Belo-Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Please pray for the whole Marcelo Guimaraes family that is leading the conference. Please pray for our brotherhood in Brazil. We have dear brothers and sisters in Vitoria, ES, in Curitiba Parana, in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Salvador of Bahia, Amazonas, Uberaba, Porto Alegre, and other places. The vision of Restoration is spreading and growing and we all need to mobilize and act like an army ready for battle protecting and spreading the Good News that has been intrusted to us. This is true not only in Brazil, but all around the world. Like Pharaoh's dream during the days of Joseph in Egypt, the seven fat years are coming to an end, and the seven lean years are around the corner, it is time now to prepare for those seven lean years, and I am not talking about finances, wheat, or barley. I am talking about the church of our Lord and the future of faith in the God of Abraham, and in Yeshua, on the face of the Earth. We start by praying for each other and for each other's ministries and families. We continue by learning to sacrifice for each other, start with time, continue with money, and turn to much more serious sacrifices for God's people, for the Kingdom and for the King.

Please continue to pray for all the sick people whom you know. Some of the ones that I know and agree to have their name mentioned are:

In Israel: Ahuva, Leah, Ilana, Sarit, Zvi D., Zvi and Sara, David S., David K., Merav in Jerusalem, Marcia S., Neryah.

In the United States: Liz J., Ruby L.,

In Finland: Tim Tucker, Sister Anna.

In Japan: The Ishiida family, the S. Abe, Mrs. Sadako, Ms. Watanabe.

In Brazil: Paulo A.

I am sure that you know more people and my list is not so long now. Please when you pray for the sick add all those whom you know to the list. I ask you to pray for the progress in our building project. We are seeing progress every week and it is wonderful, but with each consultant, and engineer, there is big expenses involved. We need to mobilize as many people as possible and if each will give what he can there will be enough for the building. This is really a test of our faith and faithfulness. This is not just a question of a building in Jerusalem it is a question of the place and future of the Jewish Disciples of Yeshua our Messiah in the land of Israel. This building has implications far above and beyond the issue of space, and cement, and comfort for a group of Jewish Disciples of Yeshua in the 21st Century. Please pray about it and ask God what your part will be in this great challenge. Netivyah has been faithful for many years and with a little it has done much. We have a very dedicated crew of young people working and sacrificing for the Kingdom of God. We are doing radio broadcasts every day, feeding the poor and needy of Jerusalem both Jews and Arabs, we are publishing books and material that are both special and of high standard, we are being Good News in a city and land full of bad news. I think that it is important for you to be a part of God's Work in Jerusalem. We will be landing in L.A. California, in just a few hours. Noaam our grandchild in California is going through some medical tests today. Please lift her up in your prayers and pray that all the test will come out negative. Pray for all those whom you know that need work and financial support and social help. In Israel, we pray for Jonathan, Laural, Victor, David L., Manalush, Shaul, Sonia, and Ammikam. Netivyah is doing all that it can and any funds that we have we put to use to help, but it is all limited and only God can provide help for everyone. I will stop now and wish you all a wonderful Shabbat and a good rest and refreshing. Joseph Shulam