November 1999: Volume 21, Number 11



Contents




ZOLA LEVITT
ZOLA LEVITT
Moishe Rosen, the Founder of Jews for Jesus, is a dear friend of this ministry and perhaps the most powerful witness to the Jews since Peter and Paul. His many years of street witnessing and heartfelt conversations on spiritual matters with Jews and Gentiles alike have made him wise indeed. Below he shares with us his very original and very spiritual thoughts on the festival of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is an Event

By Moishe Rosen

Moishe Rosen, Jews for Jesus
Moishe Rosen,
Jews for Jesus

Thanksgiving should be a special event, but for many it is reduced to a ho-hum, hum-drum knot in a string of otherwise endless days. For those people, Thanksgiving merely means ingesting and digesting another traditional turkey before watching another traditional football game. Either might cause indigestion, but neither will be remembered beyond the leftovers and instant replays.

Praise God, we have more to look forward to than plastic zip-lock bags that seal in the memory of too much food! In Jesus, the Thanksgiving holiday becomes a thanks-giving event.

Holidays have rituals of intensification to remind us of our commitments and thus become occasions to strengthen those commitments.

For those who lack commitments, holidays mean little more than a few decorations and a fuller-than-usual stomach.

Perhaps most of all, holidays provide opportunities for that most important of all human endeavors: worship. But unless we are in touch with the Creator of all, holidays become the occasion to adore and worship ourselves and our own.

The Ever Living God designed thanksgiving (the act, not just the holiday) so we could show how much we love and appreciate our Creator and Provider. In order for us to be properly thankful, might help to reflect upon the quality of the soul that we call "thankfulness."

Few seem to realize that acts of true thankfulness transform us. To the beginner, GIVING THANKS is an entrance to a new and deeper walk with God. To the mature believer, each act of thanks-giving is a step upward to the higher life —a giant step forward toward the delightful destiny God has for each of us who love Him. The true celebration of Thanksgiving will last forever because no matter where we are in our walk with God, it dramatically changes us.

HOW DOES THANKFULNESS TRANSFORM US? THANKFULNESS BRINGS US FACE-TO-FACE WITH GRACE.

To be truly thankful, we have to acknowledge the source of every good thing: we have to realize that our health, our family, any abundance, even luxuries we may have are from God. Moreover, we have not earned His blessings, but He lovingly chose to bestow them. Each gift from God, whether it is a new house or a new friend, shows that the Giver knows who we are and what has meaning and value to us. When we are truly thankful, we can't help knowing and declaring that God is so much better to us than we deserve. And that leads to the second change.

THANKFULNESS HUMBLES US.

There is a strong link between grace and humility. Perhaps God gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34 and 1 Peter 5:5) because humble people are thankful people who know how to recognize grace. Why give a person something they can't understand or appreciate?

Pride fades when we sincerely believe that everything good comes from God. (Have you noticed that pride flares when we expect people to take note of us instead of looking to God for the attention and everything else that we need?) And pride pretty much disintegrates when we realize that God has given us much more than we deserve. (Have you ever noticed how many of our prideful comments begin with the unspoken but implied preface, "I deserve better ...?")

Thanksgiving also humbles us because, strive as we might, in the balance of fairness we are forced to admit that we depend upon God for every good thing in our lives. Pride is closely tied to a spirit of independence. Thankful people realize that our independence is an illusion and our real strength is in the fact that the Almighty invites us to depend upon Him.

Thankfulness humbles but never humiliates us. We gain humility by acknowledging all we have, all the good we are, all the good we might accomplish is due entirely to God's enablement. True humility produces a dauntless dignity — because it is based on an unshakable understanding of who God is and how He values us in Christ.

THANKFULNESS MOTIVATES US.

When I go to a church to speak, I spend time with the pastor of the congregation before the service. I frequently ask the pastor, "When you are alone in prayer, what do you find yourself asking God to do in your church?" The answer to that question helps me know how to prayerfully approach the congregation with the message of the worship service. Often pastors tell me they pray for their congregations to have a "higher level of commitment," "willingness to witness," or "more love for one another."

THE PROBLEM I MOST OFTEN NEED TO ADDRESS FROM SCRIPTURE IS LACK OF SPIRITUAL MOTIVATION.

Lack of spiritual motivation is at the root of most problems in the life of a church or an individual. People who are not spiritually motivated usually lack one thing: the ability to sense God's reality. That's right, the one thing that can spiritually motivate, mobilize and empower us to feats of faith is sensing the reality of God. The best possible path to gaining that reality is the path of praise and thanksgiving.

In order to know that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, we need to see the many acts of God in our lives. We need to number, mark and be aware of the manifold benefits He has bestowed upon us. A simple song phrased it this way:

Count your many blessings,
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings,
See what God has done.

THANKSGIVING IS AN ACT THAT SPRINGS FROM AN ATTITUDE OF THANKFULNESS. WITHOUT THE ACT OF THANKS-GIVING, THE ATTITUDE OF THANKFULNESS EVENTUALLY DRIES UP AND DISAPPEARS.

It's one thing to sing songs of praise and thanksgiving or to stand up in public and say, "I thank God for..."

But songs are easy to sing and statements are easily uttered. Both can soon be forgotten because they cost us little. If the act of thanksgiving costs us no more than the breath we expend to utter, sing or speak words of thankfulness, it just won't go very far in showing us the reality of God that we so urgently need to sense.

IF A PERSON WANTED TO INTENSIFY THE ACT OF THANKSGIVING, WHAT COULD SHE OR HE DO? WHAT COULD YOU DO?

God gave us something to do. We don't even like the word that describes the act, because it points to the high cost. Regrettably, many of us shop for bargain basement spirituality— something that looks good enough to be acceptable and can be gained at a cheap price. But God has provided a more authentic way to intensify our thanks to Him.

The best way to exercise thanksgiving is through SACRIFICE. If God seems remote and you want to draw close, maybe you need to make a sacrifice.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PLEASED THAT WE CARE TO GIVE TO HIM. IT IS AN AWESOME THING TO PLEASE HIM.

I remember the first real gift I ever gave. It was a birthday present for my mother. I didn't get a weekly allowance, but I earned pennies for doing errands for neighbors. I saved those pennies and bought her a gift with my own money—a potato peeler that cost me a big 15¢.

My mother realized that was a lot for a nine-year-old. She knew I could have bought 15 pieces of candy, and the fact that I had bought something for her with money I had earned made her grin with approval and enjoyment. That smile was worth the sacrifice of 15 small candy bars or the toy I might have bought!

Years later I learned that flowers or a handkerchief or something more personal and less suggestive of kitchen drudgery might have been more appropriate. Yet my mother had been totally appreciative. She had been thrilled to have a son who wanted to do something nice for her on her birthday.

I believe the heart of the Almighty is truly touched by our small tokens of love. He could create mountains of gold for His treasuries, but the widow's mite means more to Him than those mountains of gold because it comes from a person who, in the midst of her need, says, "I love you Lord. I trust you to take care of me. So, here ... take this."

I think that's what Thanksgiving is all about. It involves acknowledging God's goodness and care by taking the occasion to say, "Father, I love you, I trust you. Here, take all that I have, and again—thanks!"

SACRIFICE IS A TANGIBLE GIFT, WORK, OR DEED THAT SPRINGS FROM A THANKFUL HEART. Sacrifice brings us into fellowship with the Almighty. It realigns our hearts, it reassigns our priorities, it helps us realize a deeper plane of existence. Sacrifice gives us a sense of the reality of God.

When we sacrifice something, it isn't the size of what we give that matters—it's how much we deny ourselves and what we want. For some, $100,000.00 is no sacrifice because they deprive themselves of nothing. They can still have and enjoy whatever they desire. For others, to give $100.00 would cause them to miss meals, and the missing of meals is the sacrifice.

As the former executive director, I sometimes felt bad to see people depriving themselves of things I felt were essential—things myself and my family had not given up—in order to give sacrificially to Jews for Jesus.

Once, I was so touched, I felt compelled to send back a sizable donation from a pensioner because I feared that he was doing without food and heat to give it. In a letter, I told him that we were far from desperate, and that he needed the money more than us.

I received back a correctly indignant letter reminding me that the gift was not to Jews for Jesus, but to God. The fact that I was in comfort was irrelevant to this man. He told me that he had given such sacrifices to God on many occasions throughout his life, and suggested that if I was uncomfortable with that, maybe I should examine what I could sacrifice.

That man taught me something: One must look to God and ask Him what He would allow us to sacrifice. God does not receive great sacrifices from just anyone. He prepares the hearts of those He loves and who love Him to give big and deny themselves.

The important thing is, whatever we sacrifice must be entirely in agreement with God and His provision for our lives. Otherwise, we might give beyond our means and then be tempted to try manipulating God into intervening on our behalf. He does not like us trying to force Him into doing miracles.

But what a sweet, stirring thanks-giving event is possible when you approach God with your all, your everything, your life—and with a smile, say: "What will you allow me to present to you as my token of appreciation and love?" And the Almighty smiles back and says, "If you really mean it, this (and He indicates something to you) would be nice."

TRY IT; YOU'LL LIKE IT!

***


Return to Index


MessiahCam

Recently in the Wall Street Journal there appeared an article saying there would be a webcam to capture the second coming of the Messiah!

It was put in place by a Richmond, VA, evangelical Christian group called Daystar International Ministry. It is called the "MessiahCam" and is trained on Jerusalem's Eastern Gate to capture the Messiah's entry into the city. Christine Darg, President of Daystar, said, "Virtual watchmen can call up our website and pray for the peace of Jerusalem, right over the computer." She says she was inspired by a passage in the book of Isaiah that calls for watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem, who won't rest until the city is at peace. She also said it is designed for armchair pilgrims who can't be there for the real thing; they can call up our website and pray for the peace of Jerusalem, right over the computer. . . just a mouse click away.

Ms. Darg said the MessiahCam has been set up in the vicinity of the Mount of Olives but the exact location is secret for security reasons.

MessiahCam
http://www.olivetree.org/registra.htm

Scripture tells us "every eye will see Him..." when He comes!


Return to Index


An article came out recently in THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, usually not a source of much information on true Christianity, which defines a subject we have discussed in this newsletter. Readers have noted that I am criticized by Catholics, Protestants, and Jews for what they take to be my views but are actually purely Scriptural views. The writer below tries desperately to invalidate Scriptural Christianity, but the definitions presented through the article are very clear. By the way, I don't know that any evangelicals are divided over how literally to take the story of Creation.

Editorial

Evangelicals issue joint doctrinal platform

By Richard N. Ostling
The Dallas Morning News

New York — Leaders of evangelical Protestantism, who rarely speak with one voice, have issued a joint statement of doctrine defining what unites the movement and what distinguishes it from other forms of Christianity.

Among other things, the statement reaffirms the evangelical belief that Jesus Christ "is the only way of salvation. . . . The Bible offers no hope that sincere worshippers of other religions will be saved without personal faith in Jesus Christ."

Some other Christians have promoted a more liberal and universal concept of salvation.

Evangelicalism—a conservative wing of Protestantism representing, by some estimates, one-fourth of Americans—is a network of denominations, congregations and independent ministries. Evangelicals generally share the same outlook, but the movement rarely takes joint action.

Many of evangelicalism's best-known figures, including religious broadcasters Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy, Pat Robertson and Charles Stanley, endorsed the statement. The 129 signers also include Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and prison evangelist Charles Colson.

Billy Graham did not sign, but one of his top aides was on the 15-member drafting committee.

The text—which appears in the June 14 issue of Christianity Today magazine—was also endorsed by leaders at four of the most important evangelical seminaries.

Christianity Today executive editor David Neff said that evangelicals "have never put forth a large-scale defining document about the gospel."

The project began as a bid to define conservative Protestant views of salvation in contrast to those of Roman Catholicism. But it quickly took up other topics, including disagreements with more liberal strains of Protestantism.

The text states that the Bible is infallible but says little about how to interpret Scripture. Evangelicals are divided, for example, over how literally to take the story of creation.

The evangelical movement differs with Catholicism on the role of faith and good works. Both groups teach that all people are sinful, but the evangelical platform denies that people have any inherent righteousness. Catholicism has a slightly more optimistic view of humanity.

***


Return to Index


PA Offers Jerusalem Housing Loans

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is offering loans from $20,000-$50,000 on extremely favorable terms to Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, to encourage them to purchase new homes or renovate existing ones.

According to the Hebrew weekly YERUSHALAIM, the PA now has a $30 million annual budget for purchasing Jerusalem property, contributed by a Saudi Arabian bank. This PA activity in Jerusalem has been all but ignored by Israel, but when wealthy American Jews have contributed large amounts of money to purchase land in East Jerusalem for Jews, it has brought loud, and sometimes violent protests by the Palestinians, not to mention international condemnation.

According to the Oslo Agreement, the Palestinian Authority is not allowed to operate in Jerusalem, but because of the extremely delicate political situation in the city, Israel usually looks the other way to avoid confrontation.

***


Return to Index


Zola's Bulletin Board

YELLOW ALERT

You won't be able to recall a time when Zola cried, "Wolf!" or "Crisis!" Fortunately this ministry has had neither, though we have had some brushes with Satan and have paid a few bills late occasionally. We recently committed to broadcasting Zola's primetime prophecy special on New Year's Eve on the Family Channel at midnight on both coasts, 11:00 PM CT and 1:00 AM MT. To put it bluntly, this will cost us an arm and a leg but will reach more people at once than we ever have in our twenty-year history. Please tell your friends about this special program, entitled Is This the End ...or Just the Beginning. And please know that this is one of those very special times when we truly need your gifts. Thanks.

AIRING UPDATE

In Pensacola, FL, WHBR will now be broadcasting "Zola Levitt Presents" at 10:30 PM Fridays. In Columbus, OH, WSFJ-51 will resume our 5:00 PM and 9:30 PM Saturday broadcasts on November 27.

DUPLICATES, MOVERS, CLIPS

If you're receiving duplicate copies of your newsletters, PLEASE let us know. Also, if you're moving, please tell us at least a month before to save us return fees and allow you to receive your newsletters uninterrupted. Last of all, our letter opening machine chokes on paper clips and staples, so we prefer loose items instead of paperclips or staples. Thanks for making it easy to serve you — and Him.

CYBER BUDDIES

If you don't have access to the Internet, but know someone who does, then here's a special opportunity. Ask him to use his computer to help you visit Zola's web site at www.levitt.com. You will see an incredible variety of interesting pages compiled entirely by volunteers. You may want to allow an hour or two to sample Zola's music, see our slide show of Israel, browse through our newsletter archive or use the word search feature that transforms our web site into a magnificent research vehicle. You'll have a terrific time and expose your friend to something wonderful, for which he'll be grateful.

EMAILS FROM ZOLA

If you would like to get our newsletters so fast that they aren't even hot off the press yet, then visit www.levitt.com and give us your email address. Of course we will keep your email address confidential, just as we do your snailmail address. You will get a short email each time we add a new newsletter to our web site so that you can read your Levitt Letter before the hard copy even leaves Dallas.


Return to Index


A Note From Zola

Dear Friends,

I almost have the month off in this column because Washington and the media are concerned about the election campaign, and they have temporarily stopped tormenting Israel about the peace process. Notice how little news there is about the "emergency" of creating "peace" over there when we have pro-wrestlers, Hollywood stars, and Pat Buchanan to think about. Of course, everyone is calling the new route connecting Gaza and the West Bank a "safe passage" for the Palestinians. That's a term of propaganda. Palestinians move safely throughout Israel and always have. The only unsafe people were the Israelis they occasionally blew up.

With that said, I would like to devote this column to a surprising letter I received in regard to an upcoming speaking engagement.

Dear Ruth [my events planner]:

As per our conversation this morning, we would like to cancel our meeting with Zola for the dates of December 4 and 5. Unfortunately, we have had some unexpected issues arise. One such issue has been the difficulty in locating other congregations to share the cost of the weekend. Initially, we did not think that this would present a problem, but to date we have been unsuccessful in finding any congregations to split the fees. Financially, we are not able to do this ourselves.

Secondly, we have been increasingly concerned by the letters in Zola's newsletter. Zola's posture regarding traditional Judaism has made us increasingly uncomfortable, and his viewpoint is certainly not one which we embrace. The letters, along with several phone calls we have received and the initial problem of finding supporters, has led us to reevaluate the prudence of continuing with our December date.

Tikvat Yisrael Messianic Synagogue sits in the middle of a community of approximately 120,000 Jewish people. Needless to say, we have had our struggles. But even so, Yeshua has called us to be sensitive to where He has placed us. We believe that to continue with the date would place us in an adversarial position within the community; certainly not a position that we accept.

It is in light of the above that, regretfully, we are canceling the dates of December 4 and 5.

Sincerely, C.A.B.
Special Events Coordinator
Copies to Rabbi W.L. and Rabbi R.D.

I wasn't too clear on whether it was a lack of funds to fly me a long distance or the objections to my criticism of such Messianic congregations in past newsletters. I answered as follows:

Dear C.A.B.,

I understand your letter to say that you prefer traditional Judaism to my coming to preach Christ and Him crucified. Shame on you!

My "posture regarding traditional Judaism" is not a posture. It's simply Scripture. Traditional Judaism, as you well know, has strayed from Scriptural Judaism so far as to make the synagogue service almost un-recognizable from a Biblical standpoint. I'm well aware that my "viewpoint" makes those trying to practice rabbinical Judaism "increasingly uncomfortable," but it is not my viewpoint in question here, but again Biblical standards. If you want to have a service of singing and dancing, a "let's pretend" sort of rabbinical Judaism, slipping in the message of the Messiah in some subtle way, I am the wrong speaker for you.

I'm not surprised at your problem of finding supporters. I suppose you're aware that God endows plentifully that which He prefers.

The name of your congregation means "The Hope of Israel," and yet you prefer to try to please 120,000 unsaved Jewish people by being "sensitive to where He has placed us."

You believe that my coming to speak to you would "place us in an adversarial position within the community; certainly not a position that we accept."

Well, why not? Don't you think that worshipping Christ ought to put you in an adversarial position with the unsaved anywhere, Jewish or Gentile? Do you think that Paul tried to fit in when he went to Corinth or Ephesus or Rome? Did you read somewhere in the Scripture that Christians are supposed to be the nicest people in town, getting along well with the unbeliever and pleasing him while he goes to Hell?

Jews for Jesus, a very well-endowed ministry which has no financial problems, does just the opposite of what you are doing. They cause all kinds of consternation in the Jewish community. They follow the example of our Lord in choosing to die first rather than to please unbelievers. A middle-Eastern missionary on my radio program some years ago told me that the American church is weak and flabby because it does not get enough exercise. The proper exercise of the church is persecution, he said. Are you getting enough persecution?

How will you explain to the King of the Jews in the Judgment Seat your failure to make an impact where you are? If He says, "I gave you 120,000 unsaved Jews to work with," are you going to say, "and they hardly noticed us?" Why are you hiding your light?

I do sympathize with your financial problems. When you are ready to hear me preach the gospel that has the "power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first," then get in touch with me. There will be no charge.

But my subject will be Romans 1:16: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel."

— Zola

P.S. I'm not aware of whether the rabbis you copied are Messianic or those whom you are trying to please, but would you kindly circulate this letter to them?

MOSCOW: Sixty Jews for Jesus missionaries who distributed over a million fliers in a five-week campaign in Moscow and St. Petersburg provoked a backlash of violence and abuse—not from the hundreds of thousands of Jews they were targeting, but from Russian anti-Semites incensed by their pitch that Jesus was a Jew. "They tried to grab the literature away from our people," says Irina Schnitzer, of the group's Moscow office. "Sometimes they hit them." In one instance, she recounts, a member of the neo-Nazi Russian National Union came up to a girl and asked her: "Are you a Yid?" When she said yes, he started to strangle her. A bystander intervened and she escaped with a bruised neck. (from THE JERUSALEM REPORT)

Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews for Jesus, told me that the Russian police look the other way during such demonstrations.

Perhaps the following letter, an example of the most respectful attitude toward traditional Judaism, might present a commentary on the above. Here is a writer who simply loves rabbinical Judaism to a degree that makes her call the Great Commission "insensitive and wrong-headed." If indeed she loves the Jewish people, why would she want to be separated eternally from them? The Bible is full of promises to the Jewish people, but it clearly says that the Jews must accept Jesus for salvation like everyone else, otherwise they will be separated from God forever.

Wrong-headed campaign
Letter to the editor of The Dallas Morning News
By Mary Blye Howe

The Southern Baptists' latest campaign to convert Jews, particularly during their High Holy Days, is insensitive and wrong-headed. I am a Baptist who deeply loves and respects the Jewish faith. I have, for several years, studied classic Jewish works with a group of devoutly religious and scholarly Jews. Occasionally I worship with them at their synagogues and temples, both Reform and traditional. Jewish commentaries and books are scattered throughout my library. My knowledge of and love for God have been deepened by being with and learning from Jewish people.

To say that the Jews must "accept" Jesus for "salvation" is to ignore an enormous portion of the Bible. The Bible is literally full of promises to the Jewish people and these promises are said to be eternal.

The God of the Bible was revealed by and to the Jewish people, not by and to Christians, and His love was extended from the Jewish people to us and to all others. It is astonishing that Christians have the audacity to turn this around!

Rabbi Eric Yoffie said that the Jews would like a little less love from us and a little more respect. From me, they have both. My life is richer and my faith more meaningful because of the influence of the Jewish religion. Thank God that religion will never disappear!

While this country is busy with its collection of presidential campaigners, why don't you slip off to Israel and see what's really happening in this world? There may not even be an American election next year—not because there's no one of interest to elect, but because the government of the Antichrist may well be in charge by then! If we are even half right about prophecy, the end can't be far off.

Remember to view our special on New Year's Eve on the Family Channel (FAM) at midnight ET and PT, 11:00 p.m. CT, and 1:00 a.m. MT. Get an unsaved friend to watch; don't just try to please him by making little noise about Christ.

And as to that trip to Israel, please know that you can still get on our Christmas tour (Deluxe is Dec. 11-21, Grand is Dec. 11-26) if you immediately call Diana at 214-696-9760. Our next tour after that will be April 24-May 4 for the Spring Deluxe Tour (which visits all the major Biblical sites in Israel), and April 19-May 4 for the Grand Tour. The Grand Tour visits the same Biblical sites as the Deluxe tour, and it has an extension to Greece, where we visit the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and Mars Hill in Athens, tour Corinth, and cruise to the Greek islands of Patmos, Rhodes, and Mykonos. We also visit Ephesus, Turkey, where Paul preached to the Ephesians. Spring in Israel and Greece is too beautiful to be missed! Join us if you can.

And remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Your messenger,


Return to Index


Jerusalem — The Headline of Headlines

Israel Today

Nothing is as old as yesterday's newspaper! Headlines that rocked the world are soon forgotten. Who still thinks about the dramatic overthrow of the Shah of Iran or about the men who walked on the moon? Princess Di's death shocked the world but it has passed. Dr. Martin Luther King's nonviolent revolution and the bloody Vietnam War have become history. Sportsmen such as Muhammad Ali and Joe Montana, and movie stars like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean moved thousands of people to ecstasy. Today, others take their places.

Cities like Athens and Rome that yesterday were world-class cities, are today attractions for tourists who want to see the ruins. Jerusalem, on the other hand, remains the center of the world, the focal point of revelation, the city of the great King, making headlines yesterday, today and forever.

***


Return to Index


Israel: No Regrets

Having led more than sixty Israel tours, we have yet to hear a single pilgrim say that he was sorry he went. To the contrary, each day spent in Israel amounts to some of the most precious our passengers have lived. When you look back on your life, if the Lord tarries and you get to visit the Holy Land, you will thank God that He allowed you to eat, sleep, breathe and pray in the Land of the Bible. If you call immediately, you can still get on our Winter Tour (Dec 11-21/26). Our next tour is April 19/24-May 2. For your free color tour folder, please call Diana during office hours at (214) 696-9760 or 1-800-WONDERS (966-3377) anytime. [or click here]



Return to Index


Travels & Talks

Tikvat Yisrael Messianic Synagogue
* Cancelled *
Click here for more information
December 4-5, 1999

Israel Winter Tour
December 11-26, 1999

Calvary Chapel
Finger Lakes
January 14-15, 2000
Year 2000 Prophecy Conference
1777 Route 332
PO Box 25099
Farmington, NY 14425
716-398-3550

Shalom, Shalom Messianic Congregation
Every Friday Night 7:30 pm,
Biblical Arts Center,
7500 Park Lane at Boedeker,
Dallas, Texas 75225
214-691-4661


Return to Index


Letters to Zola

Dear Zola, Family, and Staff,

Yesterday I returned home from open heart surgery. Today I am 56 years old. Each day is a new day, every day is a special day, all days are a gift from God.

We received the May newsletter and were reading and I felt impelled to write.

With a name like mine I have been asked if I were Catholic and I have been, and have been involved with a lot of other denominations in my 56 years.

Today I am happy to say that I am a Christian and Jesus Christ is my Savior and I am his church.

If you have to defend a denomination, shouldn't that tell you something about yourself and your priorities?

We only have one hope and I don't believe you can spell it but one way: CHRISTIAN; Christ in me and me in Him. Folks, Christ is our HOPE, not a denomination. Did the denominations of the world save us? I think not. Christ saved us and that's all there is to that.

Thanks Zola,

P. and S.O.


Dear Zola,

I read the Letters to Zola in the May 99 issue of the Levitt Letter. People will staunchly defend their religion (church) and I for one think it's a shame they don't defend Jesus Christ and the Word of God with the same enthusiasm. What a wonderful world we'd live in. You do a fine job of telling the truth and since Jesus Christ IS the way, the truth, and the life, it shows He lives in you.

God bless, A.J.


Dear Zola,

As a former Catholic and now born-again believer, I want to thank you for your honesty about the Catholic church. You are one of the only evangelical teachers that I've heard who will tell the truth about that phony religious system. The Catholic leaders are like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day who try to keep the people from the Lord Jesus and any kind of a relationship with Him. The leaders of that "church" specifically try to discourage Bible study. They are pagans who give lip service to Jesus but want the people to bow down to their pagan and superstitious beliefs. The Lord bless you, your co-workers and your ministry. Your shows are great and have been a blessing for me and my wife.

P.J.M.


Dear Zola,

Enclosed are our gift cards for March through July 99. We have been and will be continuing support, having started with you November 1989. This is "our" 10th year anniversary with you and Dr. McCall. (We plan to be, however, "more regular" in the future!) We send $20 each month. Enclosed is $100 plus $25 plus $11 for our two materials orders or $136. (We have already ordered all the other materials, etc., you have over the past ten years.)

Keep up the "good works!" We read your paper and letter each month, and have not found or heard anything in the ten years from you or Dr. McCall or Rev. Seif that we do not agree with!! And, that's quite a statement of our belief in your works!

Our prayers are with you always. Thanks for the Institute Course also, and may God continue to bless you. He, with the Lord, must surely be happy with Zola Levitt's efforts in his service!!

Sincerely,

B. and M.A.


Peace of Christ to you,

I have enjoyed reading your newsletters recently. I find now that I make myself sit down within a day or two to read it cover to cover when it comes. I may not always agree with everything you say, or every way you say something, but I commend you on a great, informative newsletter. What a boring world it would be if we all agreed on every jot and tittle.

It enlightens me on many issues much more than I'd ever learn from any other source, i.e., I will definitely write my senator about the NPR's erroneous reporting of Israel/Jerusalem after reading this month's newsletter [July, 1999]! It is appalling how the liberal-based, biased media get their views blatantly spewed out, but we have to often fight against their huge bureaucrats tooth and nail to do likewise. But fight the good fight we must!

We hope to be able to visit your offices sometime when we travel to the Dallas area to visit family. Thanks again for your faithful reporting and great TV program, also. Money is tight, but we will try to give as best we are able, and will keep your ministry in our prayers as well.

Shalom,

S. and R. M.


Dear Friends at Zola Levitt Ministries,

A few weeks ago I ordered all of Zola's music on CDs. I want you to know how deeply meaningful this music has become to me. My heart has hungered to worship my Lord with the beauty of Israel and my Jewish roots. I feel transported HOME when I listen to Zola's wonderful music. Tell him for me. I'm deeply moved and touched by the power of the Spirit as I worship through this marvelous musical marathon!! Thank you, Zola, for using your spiritual gifts to enhance and encourage the bride of Christ. God bless you and Shalom Alechem.

K.S. BSF Teaching Leader


Alechem shalom—Peace to you to, KS—and please know that the music came from God and I am honored to be his stenographer. I was especially heartened to hear from a Bible Study Fellowship teaching leader, because I believe that this kind of study, along with the Precepts group of Kay Arthur, is the only hope for those stuck in unbiblical churches. Some people simply cannot change denominations, and therefore remain ignorant of the Bible their entire lives. But these teaching ministries, available in almost every city, fill this absolutely crucial need. Thank you for your compliments.

Sincerely, Zola


Dear Zola,

Please don't leave Prime Time Christian Broadcasting (God's Learning Channel)! I was watching Al Cooper on UPDATE yesterday, and he said that you had only received 12 letters from us! . . . I never in my wildest dreams knew how you chose which stations you were on by the number of letters you receive! I can just imagine how discouraged you must feel not knowing whether anyone is out here listening or not! Believe me, I have heard many people quote you and write in with questions about something they had learned from your programs...

You know that you have the most professional program on the air! (My favorite has been Dr. Gerald Schroeder—I'm crazy about him and have learned so much. Also, I love the way you did "Love Stories from the Bible" and everything about Israel! You know that you were the first to alert us to "Replacement Theology," and we discuss that all the time ...

Love,

B.W.


Dear B.W.

It is unfortunate that we have often find ourselves caught between TV stations charging much more for their air times than the too few donors in their audiences can afford. Of course, that doesn't indicate anything about the people in those areas who love and support our program except that there aren't enough of them.

When we ask in our newsletters to tell your friends and family about Zola, we aren't kidding. To survive, we must continually reach more people where we are already broadcasting because air time prices are on the rise as are all the invoices we pay. We are just too small of a ministry to keep broadcasting where there is a problem such as a weak signal, a disinterested public, an excessive rate or a poor air time.

To those like you who have done all you can to keep us afloat only to see Zola disappear from your television, may I suggest that you ask a friend with cable to tape our programs from FAM (Sunday mornings 6:30 CT), TBN (Saturday afternoons 5:30 CT) or TNIN (Friday 9pm CT)? Believe me, we would broadcast everywhere if we had the budget.

In His service,

Mark Levitt
General Manager

***



Return to Index

Return to Levitt Letter Archive Index

Return to Home Page


Copyright © 1999 by Zola Levitt Ministries, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All rights reserved. Brief passages may be quoted in reviews or other article. For all other use, please get our written approval.