English: "A symbol that Messianic Jews be...

English: “A symbol that Messianic Jews believe was used to identify the first Messianic congregation, led by Yeshua (Jesus)’s brother Jacob in Jerusalem” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In my last post, THE REPLACEMENTS, I looked at Romans 11 and 12.  My intention was to remind those of us who are believers that we share in the blessings of God’s people only by His grace.  We are not His chosen people.  The Jewish people are God’s chosen people.  They were the ones who received God’s blessings from the time of Abraham.  And it was through them that Christ was born into this world in human form.  Because God intended to make the Jewish people jealous, He offered the salvation through Christ to us, the Gentiles, and gave us the opportunity to become sons of God.  How grateful and humble we should be to acknowledge the God of the Jews as our Father!!!!

Today I come to you with an extension to that post.  In Romans 15: 25-27 (NCV) Paul says this to the believers in Rome:  “Now I am going to Jerusalem to help God’s people.  The believers in Macedonia and Southern Greece were happy to give their money to help the poor among God’s people at Jerusalem.  They were happy to do this, and really they owe it to them.  These who are not Jews have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, so they should use their material possessions to help the Jews.”

Did you notice the distinction between the two groups of people?  God’s people and the believers.  The Jewish people had rejected the Messiah, but they were still (and are still) God’s people, God’s chosen people.  We are the side-liners who reap the benefits of being in their shadow.  If you are standing on the street corner in a downpour, and the person next to you allows you to stand under their umbrella with them, you show gratitude.  You smile, and say thank you, at the very least.  You owe them that much.  In the same way, Paul tells us that, as believers we owe a debt of gratitude to God’s people for the spiritual blessings that we receive because of them.  Obviously, the shared umbrella and the spiritual blessings don’t exactly match up.  God’s people didn’t offer to share their blessings, but it is still through them that we are blessed.  So our gratitude is not directed toward the Jewish people, but toward God.  He is the source of the blessings, and it is His grace that extends those blessings to all people.

How do we express our gratitude to God for this grace?  We can start with the obvious, praise and thanksgiving.  But Paul goes further.  He tells us that we should gladly give of our material possessions to help the Jews.  Anyone who follows the news or is a student of world history knows that the Jewish people have always seemed to struggle in some way, shape, or form.  There is no end of opportunities to show support for them.

When I read Romans 15: 25-27, I felt an immediate call to step up to the plate in demonstrating my gratitude to God.  I began searching for ways to give to God’s chosen people.  It is important, of course, to be careful when choosing a charity.  I watched for a couple of good indicators.  One was the BBB, Better Business Bureau.  The other is the ECFA symbol.  ECFA is a Christian organization “committed to helping Christ-centered organizations earn the public trust through developing and maintaining standards of accountability that convey God-honoring ethical practices.”  Basically, the Christian version of the BBB.  I found several organizations that are either Christian, Christian-Jewish, or Christian and Jewish together in its base, and backed by either the BBB or the ECFA or both.  I will list several of the ones I found below.  I encourage you to pray about what you can do to support God’s people.  Check out some of these organizations, or do your own search.  But please use caution when donating, do the research and make sure you are working with a legitimate group.  My husband and I will be doing the same.  May God bless you for blessing His people!

Genesis 12: 3 – “I will bless those who bless you, and I will place a curse on those who harm you.  And all the people on earth will be blessed through you.”

1.  International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
http://www.ifcj.org/

2.  CJF Ministries
http://www.cjfm.org/

3.  Ebenezer Operation Exodus
http://www.ebenezerusa.org/

4.  Messianic Jewish Israel Fund
http://www.mjif.org/

5.  Jews For Jesus
http://www.jewsforjesus.org/

6.  Chosen People Ministries
http://www.chosenpeople.com/main/

ADDED NOTE:

 At the bottom of the list of curses promised to the Israelites if they disobey God’s commands is the following verse:  Deuteronomy 28: 48 – “…You will be hungry, thirsty, naked, and poor….”  Does this ring any bells for you?  Jump to Matthew 25: 44-45 where Jesus is talking about the time of judgement.  “Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or alone and away from home or without clothes or sick or in prison?  When did we see these things and not help you?’  Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you refused to do for even the least of my people here, you refused to do for me.'”

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