I have, and many other Christians have, been struggling with what is happening in Israel and Gaza. I understand, and agree, that the nation of Israel has a right to defend itself and was justified in responding to the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. However, I also believe, that the Israeli military response was excessive and that the current military operations and potential operations in Rapha endanger the lives of millions of innocent people, thousands of which are Palestinian Christians (all Palestinians are not Muslim or Hamas).
I disagree with the tactics of the government of Israel, and I don’t equate those tactics or the government of Israel with all Jewish people. There is a distinct difference in the nation of Israel and all Jewish people, whether inside the geographic borders of Israel or outside them.
1 John 4:7-10 NLT [7] Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. [8] But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9] God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. [10] This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
All people have value, and God loves them, no matter who they are or where they are from. The proof of this is that Jesus Christ came to this earth, to sacrifice His life for the forgiveness of sin for all people no matter who they are or where they are from and yes that includes people of every race and ethnicity.
Galatians 3:26-29 NIV [26] So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, [27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Yes, you must believe in Jesus as your Savior to obtain eternal life but even if you don’t accept the gift, it was and is offered, and it is offered to everybody no matter who you are or where you are from or what religion you practice.
Romans 10:9-13 NIV [9] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. [11] As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” [12] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, [13] for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
A clear example of Jesus’ love for all mankind is seen in His encounter with a Samaritan woman.
John 4:4-10 NLT [4] He had to go through Samaria on the way. [5] Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. [6] Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. [7] Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” [8] He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. [9] The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” [10] Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
Editor’s Note: The following is a devotion written by Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor of Harvest Ministries, Riverside, CA
No Orthodox Jew ever would go to Galilee by way of Samaria. In fact, Jews went out of their way to avoid it altogether.
The Jews did not want to associate with the Samaritans, and the Samaritans did not want to associate with the Jews. This prejudice had been passed on from generation to generation.
Jesus, however, had to go to Samaria. He had an appointment with a lonely, hurting, and searching woman, and He was about to bring God’s love to her.
The love of God knows no racial, economic, or sinful boundaries. It had been determined long before, in eternity, that Jesus would meet with this Samaritan woman on that day.
We see from the example of Jesus that we must go where people are. We need to go into our culture and be salt and light to the people with whom we have contact. Each of us has a sphere of influence. And in that sphere of influence, we can touch people in a way that no one else can.
As Christians, we should seek to share the gospel in an authentic, loving, culturally relevant way without compromising the integrity of it. We want to let people know who Jesus is. And we need to care about the people we speak to.
People can tell whether we care. No one is beyond the reach of God, no one should be left out, and no one should be written off.
The Samaritan woman was surprised to see a man sitting at the well that day when she came to draw water. And she was even more surprised when she saw that He was a Jewish man. She probably braced herself for a confrontation at that point, believing it was only a matter of time until He said something insulting to her.
Perhaps she could tell from His clothes that He was a rabbi. The legalism of the day dictated that when a rabbi saw a woman, he had to cover his eyes. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for some of them to bump into walls or trip and fall because they didn’t want to make eye contact with a woman.
This wasn’t from God. It was cold, dead, legalistic religion. And just to show you that Jesus wanted nothing to do with it, He went out of His way to reach a Samaritan—and not only a Samaritan but a woman (and an immoral one at that). She was someone to whom you’d never expect Jesus to speak. And it’s why the disciples were shocked when they came back from town with food and saw Jesus talking with her
John 4:27 NLT Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”
But Jesus loved her. He was reaching out to her and would appeal to her curiosity, her inner spiritual thirst.
Are you willing to leave your comfort zone and take the gospel to someone? Are you willing to go to people who are different from you and tell them about the love of Jesus Christ? That is what Jesus modeled for us. Every generation needs regeneration. Ours is no exception.
I disagree with the tactics of the government of Israel, and I don’t equate those tactics or the government of Israel with all Jewish people. There is a distinct difference in the nation of Israel and all Jewish people, whether inside the geographic borders of Israel or outside them.
1 John 4:7-10 NLT [7] Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. [8] But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [9] God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. [10] This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
All people have value, and God loves them, no matter who they are or where they are from. The proof of this is that Jesus Christ came to this earth, to sacrifice His life for the forgiveness of sin for all people no matter who they are or where they are from and yes that includes people of every race and ethnicity.
Galatians 3:26-29 NIV [26] So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, [27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Yes, you must believe in Jesus as your Savior to obtain eternal life but even if you don’t accept the gift, it was and is offered, and it is offered to everybody no matter who you are or where you are from or what religion you practice.
Romans 10:9-13 NIV [9] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. [11] As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” [12] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, [13] for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
A clear example of Jesus’ love for all mankind is seen in His encounter with a Samaritan woman.
John 4:4-10 NLT [4] He had to go through Samaria on the way. [5] Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. [6] Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. [7] Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” [8] He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. [9] The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” [10] Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
Editor’s Note: The following is a devotion written by Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor of Harvest Ministries, Riverside, CA
No Orthodox Jew ever would go to Galilee by way of Samaria. In fact, Jews went out of their way to avoid it altogether.
The Jews did not want to associate with the Samaritans, and the Samaritans did not want to associate with the Jews. This prejudice had been passed on from generation to generation.
Jesus, however, had to go to Samaria. He had an appointment with a lonely, hurting, and searching woman, and He was about to bring God’s love to her.
The love of God knows no racial, economic, or sinful boundaries. It had been determined long before, in eternity, that Jesus would meet with this Samaritan woman on that day.
We see from the example of Jesus that we must go where people are. We need to go into our culture and be salt and light to the people with whom we have contact. Each of us has a sphere of influence. And in that sphere of influence, we can touch people in a way that no one else can.
As Christians, we should seek to share the gospel in an authentic, loving, culturally relevant way without compromising the integrity of it. We want to let people know who Jesus is. And we need to care about the people we speak to.
People can tell whether we care. No one is beyond the reach of God, no one should be left out, and no one should be written off.
The Samaritan woman was surprised to see a man sitting at the well that day when she came to draw water. And she was even more surprised when she saw that He was a Jewish man. She probably braced herself for a confrontation at that point, believing it was only a matter of time until He said something insulting to her.
Perhaps she could tell from His clothes that He was a rabbi. The legalism of the day dictated that when a rabbi saw a woman, he had to cover his eyes. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for some of them to bump into walls or trip and fall because they didn’t want to make eye contact with a woman.
This wasn’t from God. It was cold, dead, legalistic religion. And just to show you that Jesus wanted nothing to do with it, He went out of His way to reach a Samaritan—and not only a Samaritan but a woman (and an immoral one at that). She was someone to whom you’d never expect Jesus to speak. And it’s why the disciples were shocked when they came back from town with food and saw Jesus talking with her
John 4:27 NLT Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”
But Jesus loved her. He was reaching out to her and would appeal to her curiosity, her inner spiritual thirst.
Are you willing to leave your comfort zone and take the gospel to someone? Are you willing to go to people who are different from you and tell them about the love of Jesus Christ? That is what Jesus modeled for us. Every generation needs regeneration. Ours is no exception.
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