Greetings, Dear Friend,
… and shalom in the name of the Lord!
The approaching Father’s Day in America and my recent significant (read: “getting old”) birthday got me thinking about those who preceded me in the Messianic movement. Many who came to faith during the renaissance of Jewish Believers in the late 1960s and early ’70s are now leaders, ministering around the world. The pioneers who heard the call of Messiah to establish a new presence in Eretz Yisrael now lead many of the Israeli congregations.
My earthly dad died when I was 19 years old. He and I were estranged,
yet his death sent me into a long period of depression with the
attendant self-medication and spiritual wandering. While I was on my
“Magical Misery Tour” (so-coined by my New York friends with apologies
to The Beatles), a genuine spiritual revolution occurred among my
Woodstock-generation peers. When I reached age 33, Yeshua blessed me
with His presence and faith in His Word.
For Jewish young people, two of the luminaries who revived Jewish belief in Yeshua were Zola Levitt and Moishe Rosen. They were this generation’s Fathers in the Faith.
When trying to explain the influence of Zola and Moishe, I often tell friends and family… well, anyone… that God is calling His people to Himself. Zola and Moishe were giants in faithfully teaching Bible truth and calling gentile Believers to love the Jews and Israel.
I characterize their Gospel-spreading efforts thusly: “Zola took it to the airwaves and Moishe took it to the streets.”
When this “new” Jewish roots movement started (after all, it is only 2,000 years old dating from Yeshua and 4,000 years from Abraham), it exclusively comprised Jews. A remnant of Jewish Believers in Yeshua has existed in every generation, but toward the end of the 20th century, a revolution exploded. Now we Messianics are everywhere, and many of us (especially in the Western world) felt the effect of Zola and Moishe profoundly.
When Katharine and I travel and minister, people sometimes recognize us from the Zola Levitt Presents weekly TV program. We repeatedly hear:
These statements gratify Katharine and me. We count it a privilege to
carry on the tradition of teaching, Bible-study tours, and quality
television programs. Zola’s ministry began as a “voice crying in the
wilderness” mission. While there were a few TV programs with similar
Gospel messages, none, in my estimation, was as influential. Zola’s
ministry partnership with producer Ken Berg — a truly talented artist
— has brought viewers more than three decades of informative and
sometimes transformative television teaching. Consider how many
Israel- and prophecy-oriented programs air on TV today. Zola was a
forerunner! Even our signature end to each program, “Sha’alu shalom
Yerushalayim — Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), can now
be heard on many other programs!
Moishe, (below) the bookend giant to Zola, began Hineni Ministries in
the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970s. Hineni (pronounced
hee-NAY-nee) translates as “Here am I” (from Isaiah 6). After a number
of Hineni’s tract-handout “sorties,” the locals and the media found it
convenient to say, “The Jews for Jesus (JFJ) are here again,” and the
name stuck.
As part of the next generation of Believers, I went on a New York City campaign with JFJ six months after I came to faith.
I had enrolled in Bible College and wanted firsthand interaction with my people in the “old country,” NYC. I got it. Through that experience, I grew in boldness and decided that reaching out to my people would be a life-work. Turning the Church toward Israel is the heartbeat of my calling and Zola Levitt Ministries’ mission. Displacing Replacement Theology is paramount!
Moishe gave me an effective lesson one day. When a local congregation honored him, he and I chatted during the requisite food and fellowship. Knowing that I was in graduate school studying to become a family therapist, he suggested with wry wisdom: “If it’s not the Bible, read it with a pencil!”
I have kept that sage advice — that others may be wrong, but God never is!—in my heart, and it has profoundly influenced my counseling for decades.
As spokespeople for Zola Levitt Ministries and as leaders in the
Messianic movement, Katharine and I are standing on the shoulders of
giants, no doubt. And there is good news for all who join with us.
Predecessors like Zola and Moishe were human, like us, and their
frailties give us hope that we too can each be part of something ever
so much greater than ourselves.
Our ministry’s upcoming television series Beauty for Ashes will awaken an entire generation to the horrors of Nazism followed by the grace of God’s restoration. While our production crew worked at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, I joined the young Israelis as our Hebrew guide recounted the nightmare of the genocidal spirit. Then he quoted a rabbinic Talmudic teaching: “He who saves a life—it’s as if he saves the entire world” (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5). I was astonished and blessed by this life-affirming capacity that survived in the hellhole of the Nazi concentration camps!
Would you kindly mail us a check or click on “Donations” at www.levitt.com as we face ongoing production invoices for the Beauty for Ashes TV series along with our regular six-figure airtime invoices? You also can call 1-800-966-3377 (1-800-WONDERS) anytime. The summer months are often quite lean for tax-exempt non-profit ministries like ours, so we could use some extra help from you if you’re prayerfully inclined.
To witness firsthand the rebirth of Israel and the Believers, join our
study tour in Israel! We would love to host you in the Holy Land.
Please call Sandra, our Zola Tours manager, to discuss tour options at
214-696-9760. You may also email her at , or visit
www.levitt.com/tours.
Israel Sep 18–27 $4,288 Israel & Petra Sep 18–30 $5,288 Greece & Israel Sep 12–27 $6,988 Greece, Israel, & Petra Sep 12–30 $7,988 Prices include tips, taxes, & fuel surcharge (subject to change).
Just announced—Spring Tour 2017 dates:
Israel Mar 12–21 Israel & Petra Mar 12–24
In June, Zola Levitt Presents continues the re-broadcast of
We break for a special program about the Feast of Shavuot. This program will air to coincide with the week of the observance on June 12.
We then resume our Zion Forever series.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support. Together we can be salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13–15). And please remember: Sha’alu shalom Yerushalayim! — Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem! (Psalm 122:6).
Your brother and messenger,
Myles
P.S. This month, don’t forget to bless a spiritual Father and/or an earthly dad.
Dear Myles,
I believe we Believers need to honor the past and look to the future, focusing on Bible study and supporting Israel.
“Here’s my contribution for June. Please use it to educate the next generation, inspiring future Messianic leaders with high-quality Bible teaching.”
Countering claims that the Bible’s Creation “fantasy” is incompatible with dinosaur bones, fossils, and carbon dating, nuclear physicist Dr. Gerald Schroeder explains time dilation—how time has shrunk since the Big Bang—and bridges the perceived differences between science and Scripture.
God’s creation took 15 billion years, but also six twenty-four hour days as Scripture states. The answer lies in time dilation in our universe. This study booklet is a transcription of the first two programs from the Evidence of God TV series.
The Lord appeared to the Apostle John on the island of Patmos and dictated the dramatic Revelation of Jesus Christ. His commentary on seven churches of the time has remained an object lesson for all generations — the Seven Churches of Asia as seen by the Head of the Church.
A personal work of art and a visually fresh Messianic poster. The leaves include Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and spaces for you to write in your family members, grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel.
