Dear friend,
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and an early prayer for His blessings to fill your home in 2025!
I am more convinced than ever that the gospel is our only hope! Jesus rose from the dead, burying our sins at Calvary, and because He conquered death, we will overcome the world through Him. The apostle Paul reminded the believers in Corinth—and us—of this great truth when he wrote,
But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:54–57)
I am warmly comforted, knowing that because Jesus was fully human, yet without sin, He endured the personal pain we feel when this world disappoints or hurts us deeply. He understands us and is our only hope.
One of the reasons I love the Christmas season is because of all the focus on the person of Jesus the Messiah. These days are supposed to cause us to reflect on His birth, yet for me, Christmas rekindles my hope that Jesus will return soon and establish His throne, removing the curse of sin forever (Romans 8:2)!
In fact, I cannot think about the first coming of Jesus without yearning for His return!
Our hope is in the One who overcame the world, and because He did, we will as well. As followers of Jesus, we have something this world cannot give—a certain and sure hope for today and tomorrow! He is the God of hope, as Paul described our loving Father, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Hope is refined by suffering. As believers, we are not exempt from the troubles of this life. Jesus Himself teaches this by example. One of the most moving moments in the life of our Savior was when He wept after hearing about the death of His friend Lazarus:
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” (John 11:33–36, emphasis added)
We are in a season of monumental suffering for so many around the globe. Wars, hurricanes, floods, famine, and other disasters have exacerbated personal difficulties like health challenges, financial woes, and grief. When I pray for you, myself, my children, our country, Israel, and Jewish people, I ask the Lord to strengthen us through this gift of hope!
We see sparkles of hope every time God answers a prayer for healing or for deliverance from some type of bondage. Yet, it is clear that suffering in this life is one step along the pathway to hope as we follow the Savior and we walk in His footsteps. He never lost hope, and neither should we.
Permit me to tell you a story about one of the early lessons the Lord taught me about hope.
They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. (Ezek 37:25–27, emphasis added)
The book of Psalms has been a source of hope and comfort for Israelis through all these hardships and uncertainties. The psalms are full of examples of rejoicing, praising God, seeing His beauty, as well as lamenting, crying out to the Lord, and relying on Him as an anchor in times of trouble. In one extreme example, Israeli worshippers turned to the book of Psalms after being spared from a terrorist attack. A suicide-bomber was on his way to detonate a bomb in Tel Aviv, but it malfunctioned and went off early outside a small synagogue. The blast killed only the attacker and not those meeting inside the synagogue for nightly prayers. Once police arrived, the congregants went back into the synagogue and opened the Psalms to read out loud how good and merciful the Lord is to have spared their lives!
One of our staff in Israel commented on how significant it is right now just to find a moment of safety.
I became friends with a pastor, who later became the president of a Bible institute. After several years, I heard this pastor was very ill with cancer and in a great deal of pain because the cancer had spread to his bones. I went to visit this wonderful man, who was living with his daughter. When I saw him lying on his bed, he was obviously in some discomfort.
I very much wanted to pray with my pastor friend, thinking, of course, that I was ministering to him. I could tell he was at peace but in pain, and he asked me to pray with him. When he began praying, the presence of God was palpable in the room, and I felt as if I had come face-to-face with God Himself. The prayer did not last long, but I think this experience forever changed my life, as I had never sensed such peace and hope before as a believer.
As we were saying goodbye, I perceived that his entire countenance spoke of the hope in his soul. His parting words to me, as you might expect, were something like, “I am ready to go be with the Lord, and that is all I want. I cannot wait!” I will never forget my dear friend, his faith, or his parting words. I left the room filled with hope and a holy confidence imparted to me by someone in great pain who was dying yet fully aware the Lord was with him and that he would be with the Lord forever.
I held back my tears because I did not want to upset him. As I was about to walk out the door, his daughter came running after me saying, “Hold on one second. My dad wants to give you something.” She came back with a hand-scrawled $1,000 check for our ministry. My friend relayed to me—through her—his burning belief in the importance of reaching Jewish people for Jesus Christ. As Paul said, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation”(Romans 10:1).
I was stunned and grateful.
I will never forget his face, the sparkle of his eyes, the hope he exuded, and his generosity. I am so grateful that the Lord enabled me to get to know this dear man. Decades later, I still remember this experience. It is one of the ways the Lord infused hope within me during my early years of ministry.
Today, I am confident Jesus overcame death and lives forever and that, one day, I will join my pastor friend and live forever with the Lord. This is the Christmas message. It is not simply that the Lord has come, but that He died, rose, ascended to the Father, and will return so we will live with Him forever. This is our hope. He is our hope!
A Quick Word about Hope in the Midst of War
I am also encouraged by the faith and courage of our workers in Israel, who continue to serve the Lord in wartime. For instance, I recently spoke to one of our dear staff members in Israel about how he was doing during this avalanche of missiles falling throughout Israel. He said to me that it was terrible. He reflected on his coming to Israel to help build the Holy Land and stand with His own Jewish people.
He admitted that he had never experienced such disappointment and concern regarding the safety of his wife and children. But he reminded me of the unshakable hope he had in the promises of God. He declared that nothing on this earth could keep the Lord from fulfilling His promises to Jewish people. He had no doubts about God’s faithfulness and ability to keep His promises.
I was moved by the clarity and power of his expectations and willingness to struggle each day with the current conflicts in light of the hope of tomorrow. We know that, according to God’s word, all wars will end one day and the Lord will reign. We do not know when, but until that great day, we will proclaim the hope we have to friends, family, and all who need to know the salvation our Savior purchased through His perfect sacrifice.
Our hope for the future is gloriously described by the prophet Isaiah, who paints a picture of the future God has prepared for those who love Him,
And He [the Messiah] will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. (Isaiah 2:4, emphasis added)
Meanwhile, we are coming very close to completing our new Tel Aviv ministry center. We need less than $400,000 to finish the $6.5-million effort without debt. I hope you will consider a gift as an investment in the future of God’s work in Israel. The 4.7 million Israelis in the Tel Aviv area need a place to find out about Jesus and grow in faith, so help us finish the task as God enables you!
During this wonderful season of hope, please remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the release of the hostages.
Thank you.
Yours in our common hope,
