New Year in 2006

Another chance to start over. I used to love getting my two #2 pencils and going to school. A fresh start. I used to enjoy New Year's Eve and the chill in the air (in the North) and wondering what a new year would bring. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year and it happens in the Sept/Oct period, and like the rest, brings a sense of wonder and possibilities.

What then will 2006 bring, what will 1 January ring in for us as a world, and in my world?

Peace between peoples and nations will continue to be the #1 concern, with technologies competing for abilities to bring peace and medical ease, at the same time bringing better war machines into operation. But bottom line, people want to know how to get along in this broken world.

Terrorism will only increase no matter how much war is waged. It's almost impossible to fight an 'ism' with a bomb.

I believe that the only answer to war is not another peace demonstration, but the demonstration of God's love in the death and resurrection of His Messiah Y'shua. He died for us, took our place that we might not experience the 2nd death of separation from the Almighty. What love! And what peace ensues to those who trust Him to remove our war, our enmity, our hostility between us and God. And our war with others. And within ourselves.

Only God can calm our fears and our hatred.

May your 2006 bring you much joy and peace in believing, and in personal relationships. And real answers when the world is really asking questions.

Without Jess

I'm already sad that my older daughter will be in New Zealand during Christmas and during Hanukkah. It doesn't seem fair that she had to leave country to sort out her immigration status and to apply for things overseas so she can return to work and school and home in Sydney. But that's the way it is.

Even though it's the way it is, I don't like it. I love my daughter and want her home for the holidays. It's just not going to be the same without her.

God watch over her.

Twas the week before Christmas

All around Sydney are fears of riots and anger about closed beaches. A group of 45 pastors (so far) have signed onto the press release blog I wrote last week. And so far, no one has even mentioned it, as far as I can figure. How sad is that! (see the blog titled "Cronulla Riots") The list of the pastors is at JFJ website

But now it's the week before Christmas and the weather is beautiful and the police in full force. I doubt the racial antagonism is over, just delayed.

Evil is in the hearts of people, and is overcome by the Grace of God, not by government regulation. Police show our evil, they never cleanse us of it.

Cronulla Riots

Cronulla Riots: Consider This

We are citizens of Sydney and committed to the peace and freedom that we enjoy in our city. As leaders in a number of religious communities within the city, some have looked to us for spiritual guidance in the wake of the racial and cultural tensions that have erupted on our beaches.

We believe that the overwhelming majority of Australians deplore violence, especially racial and religious violence. Most of us want to give each other a ‘fair go’, and most of our ethnic minorities are composed of fair-minded Australians.

We believe that Christmas is a time in our national calendar for giving and for peace with God and one another. We want our neighbours to know and experience this spirit of giving and peace.

We believe that Jesus was a Middle-Eastern man who was called the “Prince of Peace”. He wants all people to know the peace that He gives. Jesus Christ promises us a new identity that transcends our racial and religious backgrounds and enables us to share with others from every race His love and compassion.

As a man of Middle-Eastern appearance, Jesus could have easily suffered violence in these last few days in Sydney, even as His family fled violence at the time of His birth. As Christians we believe that the violence done to Him, especially on a Roman cross, was God’s plan to redeem all of us from the hate and the violence that can erupt in every human heart.

The only hope for true peace was born in the Middle East. Christmas reminds us that it was a Middle Eastern man, Jesus the Messiah, who holds the key to resolving the strife that bedevils our world.

May we all experience a very blessed and peace-filled Christmas.



Bob Mendelsohn
National Director
Jews for Jesus

Dr Peter Barnes,
Lecturer in Church History
Presbyterian Theological Centre
Sydney

David Thomas,
Pastor
Beachside Vineyard Christian Fellowship
Cronulla

The Rt Rev Bruce Christian
Former Moderator General
Presbyterian Church of Australia

The Rev Peter Hastie
Minister
Ashfield Presbyterian Church
Editor, Australian Presbyterian

The Rev Richard Humphrey
Senior Pastor
St Andrew's Anglican Church, Cronulla

Rev Neil Dawson
Senior Pastor
Thornleigh Community Baptist Church

Rev Andy Arthurs
Senior pastor,
Forest Alliance Church
Frenchs Forest

The Rev Nello Barbieri
Minister of Riverwood Presbyterian Church
Australian born Italian

The Rev Ian Millican
Senior Minister
St Mark's Anglican Church, Berowra

The Rev David Milne
Liverpool South Anglican Church
Casula

Rev Martin Lau
Senior Pastor, Sydney Chinese Alliance Church
Chair, Alliance College of Australia

More are signing on as we read this... Stay tuned.

What's a CLIM?

Co Labourers in Messiah are a volunteer group of folks who help Jews for Jesus make Jesus known worldwide. Here's a photo of the latest CLIM training class in Singapore in November 2005.


photos

Actually you will find lots of Mendelsohn photos but the most recent are from Singapore. Enjoy!

Da Vinci in December?

Some are looking in book shops for the books by Dan Brown to buy for loved ones. I don't recommend it. Have a read at why...


Da Vinci article




God bless and happy ...everything!


bob

December Dilemma

What will you do this December? Will you celebrate a Jewish holiday like Hanukkah? Like Christmas? Or nothing or all of them? I love the holidays... remember what God did in sending His Son to die for us. That's what Christmas (maybe we should call it Messiah-mas) is all about.

Bob Mendelsohn
Sydney

Van Nguyen hanging

I am in Singapore as I write this. All day yesterday I thought of this sentenced man. He was 24 or so, and guilty as charged of trafficking drugs. He was caught in Changi Airport and was put in Changi prison. He was hanged this morning at 6 a.m. I rang the jail yesterday; may I see him? May I come to pray with him? The authorities would not allow it; I could write if I wanted, so I did. And all night I hoped they would ring my hotel and ask me to come, maybe Van would ask for me to come.

But he didn't and they didn't. And now he's dead.

Each of us will die, most less publically and with much less publicity than Van. Will you be ready to meet your Creator? Will you look forward to that day today?

Bob Mendelsohn Sydney

Safran again

On Monday night, 9 pm on SBS TV, John Safran begins a new 12-week series called "Speaking in Tongues." Bob Mendelsohn will be a guest on the opening show in battle with Imi Weinstein, a local Orthodox Jewish man in Melbourne. Stop in for a watch, and let's see who else will watch it with us.

Yom Kippur

Wednesday night we begin a new Sabbath of Sabbaths, the holiest day in the Jewish year. In Sydney we will celebrate at Jubilee Church, in Waverley. In other cities, members of Jews for Jesus will pray with their friends and families and join in with the Jewish people worldwide in fasting and trusting in the Lord Y´shua. He is our Messiah. He is our Atonement.

Have a read of my commentary for the week at Yom Kippur talk

We wish you an easy fast and a joyful 5766.

New year

Shalom friends, and may you experience the greatness of our Almighty God in this day, the 1st day of 5766. He offers us forgiveness and relationship with Him, and we have opportunity to know Him. Awesome, eh?

For a detailed understanding of How to approach God, have a read of my commentary on Yom Kippur. clicking YK .

And for information about our Yom Kippur event (Kol Nidre) in Sydney, call our office. 02.9388.0559.

Taking heed to warnings

Hurricanes have come and gone in the US this last month. Any big differences? Certainly the 'direct' hit on New Orleans by Katrina is different than the hit on no city by Rita. And the category number was a bit lower in Rita. But think about how folks responded earlier to Rita. Think about how some evacuated Houston and Galveston and other areas days before the landing and sea swelling. What caused the difference?

Maybe when we see blue skies and only a bit of weather forecast, we deem it unlikely that a hurricane or a tornado or a storm or anything will land on us or crush us or even slow us down. Perhaps the reality of Katrina caused people to re-consider when the same blue skies overlooked Houston and Galveston. And they this time, listened to the weathermen. And this time no one was killed, compared to the 1,000 of Katrina's murdering ways.

So what will it take for you to listen to the warnings I issue about eternity? What will it take when skies are blue and things are going your way, and you don't believe there is an eternity out there, or that you have anything to worry about?

God's justice is real and if we don't turn from our sins and accept Y'shua as our Messiah, we are in trouble. We are destined for punishment and pain. We are going to be stuck in the 9th Ward of no-man's land and that's not a good place.

Give God a humble listen. Accept God's Messiah Y'shua. Be born again to a living hope. Nothing else will matter. In eternity, whenever that starts, or today.

Blaming the government

The news media are all over the US government for the delay and sloth in helping the hurricane victims in Louisiana. They charge President Bush with mismanagement and incompetence in not helping those who suffered under Hurricane Katrina. Blame is an even harsher sound when applied to John Howard and our Aussie officials in not sending consular staff to help stranded Aussies.

So who is to blame? Sure, sure, there was a hurricane and certainly the hurricane did some damage, they say, but really where is the US when her citizens are in need? The mayor is angry at the state, the state is upset at the feds, and blame shifting is not ever satisfying, certainly to the victims.

But it does seem comfortable. It seems so self-completing. It seems to make some sense of a senseless situation.

Or does it?

Blaming the US government for the situation is not only simplistic, it's simply wrong. The hurricane knocked out the electricity and the rails and the phone lines and the travel paths for millions of citizens and tourists. You cannot blame government for that.

The residual effect of the wind and the rain will leave the costliest bill in American weather history, billions of dollars so far, and they are just now getting to half the homes. How many will lie dead? How many will need surgery and replacements of homes and farms and property and goods and ...? Where will it end?

So where to look? How about government? That's easy, but it's simply ill-founded. And blaming a government 9,000 miles away in Canberra for the inefficient or slow response to the aching 40, the travellers from Australia who were holidaying overseas. What sense does that make? Why should Mr Howard be responsible to send people of government stature to a state without any basic services? What would those people have been able to do there? How could they have communicated with the folks who were in harm's way?

It's so easy to blame. It's often so wrong.

Listen, things happen. Hurricanes happen. Who blamed the Thai government for the situation in December last year when the tsunami hit on Boxing Day? Didn't the world simply reach out to help? Didn't everyone feel the pain of the victims and gather resources to help? Why would the world be so angry and blaming today?

Think about it. Write if you want.

Houston sounds terrific

I'm reading about the people of Houston taking in tens of thousands of refugees from hurricane torn New Orleans and I'm very happy to know so many there. I'm actually travelling to Houston Texas on Friday this week to preach in 11 places in 8 days, and hope to have a similar welcome. God bless the Texans.





_______________________
Bob and Patty Mendelsohn
Jews for Jesus PO Box 925 Sydney 2001 AUSTRALIA
Phone: 1.800.988.077 FAX 02.9388.0545 Mobile: 0414.754.180
(If ringing from outside Australia the free.call 800 will not work. So you have to ring +61.2.9388.0559. And ordinarily you must change the opening "0" for our country code "61")

http://www.jewsforjesus.org.au
or personal
http://members.aol.com/bobmendo

Ask the rabbi

On Thursday evening 1 September, Harold Vallins will be featured in an "Ask the Rabbi" session in Bondi Junction.

6:30 pm start time
576 Oxford St
at the Jews for Jesus Books and gifts shop

Harold was raised in the UK, got smicha (rabbinic ordination) there, and moved to Australia 20+ years ago. He came to faith in Jesus in 1998. You will want to hear his story and listen to the interaction.

Easy walk from the train/bus station. Also there is ample free parking after 5 pm in the Westfield car park

A free will offering will be received for support of the book shop ministry. Seating is limited; please call 9388.0559 to register your attendance. Thank you.

Gush Katif withdrawal

Will the withdrawal be good for the Israelis? This video highlights some of the pain of the settlers there.



Click here to view.





It may take a long time to open. But it's worth the wait.

Jewish Evangelism Seminar

This Saturday morning, 6 August, in Bondi Junction, we are conducting a Jewish evangelism seminar. From 10 a.m. (come at 9:30 if you want) a good class for serious Christians who want to learn how to share with others, specifically Jewish friends and colleagues. Cost is $15, ($5 for CMP members). One hour break at noon for lunch, ending at 3 pm. Morning tea includes bagels.

Address is: Church in the Marketplace
Corner Newland and Oxford Streets
Bondi Junction

9:30 for 10 a.m. Start.

Mendelsohn witnessing on the streets

Mendo NYSWC 05
Originally uploaded by bobmendo.

Shalom friends... I don't remember adding a photo to our blogsite before. Maybe this will help you to know us a bit, and want to be one of those folks who interacts with and questions us, either on the streets, or here on the blogspot.

It's that question again

It's a great time to consider Jesus as your messiah. If you want to talk to someone, we are willing to do so, but you can just talk to God about him. Who is Jesus?, that might be your question. Go ahead and ask ... you never know.

Broken Glass in Sydney

Some enemies of Jews for Jesus vandalized our Book shop again on early Sunday morning, throwing rocks through our plate glass window.

I have heard it said that to some it hearkens back to Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass [For more information on this German/Nazi event click here ]

We are not saying it is Kristallnacht at all. We don't think a skinhead revolution is next. However, this is now the 3rd time in 5 months these youth have done this damage to our shop. We continue to be in operation and so are the police. They have suspects; we have video footage. Some justice is sure to happen, soon, we hope.

We hope for these youth to find their bearings, to find their way in life, without criminal activity, without illegal actions against their neighbours. You can be angry, sure, for whatever reason, but you cannot be illegal in your activity of smashing glass. May God forgive them.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Photos from Melbourne

www.flickr.com bobmendo's Jews for Jesus photoset

Bookshop in Sydney

Hi friends,
Not sure if you have been by for a visit at our bookshop, but it's well worth it, stocked well with books, Judaica, music, cards, even sale items. Come by and browse, get a free coffee or tea, sit and have a chat with one of us. We're happy to discuss the person of Y'shua in light of the Jewish Bible with you.

Lots of witnessing materials and tshirts along with shofars and talitot, kiddush cups and menorahs... whatever you need, we can probably get it for you. Stop in, won't you?

576 Oxford Street
Bondi Junction

In the shadow of Westfields where there is 2 hours of free parking. We are near VideoEzy and Bose, near Adelaide/Hollywood streets.

JFJ Rapper?

50 shekel is a nickname of a world-famous Jewish rapper. The rabbis are warning people not to listen to him anymore. Not because of rap music. but because of his faith. Weird, eh? Rabbis on thought-police patrol. Seems bizarre to me. for full story see JFJ website on Rapper

He lives in the US.

Muslim clear plans

This video is pretty forthright. It's from a couple weeks ago, probably filmed in Gaza in 2005.

Buckle your seat belt.

http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ClipMediaID=60227&ak=null

Love that country music!

Can you hear this?

Thank God I'm a Jewish boy.

Corby in Indonesia

What do you think about Schapelle Corby, the 27 year old Aussie who was convicted of drug smuggling? Is 20 years right for her sentence? Should she have gotten off free?

Of course, you have to think like a person who runs his own country. You have to think as an Indonesian, and as a judge, looking at court evidence. You cannot think as a private citizen. You cannot be mindless of the drug cartels and the hundreds or thousands of deaths every year in Indonesia caused by drugs.

Can you think outside your own box?

bob

Mary, Nice Jewish girl or Queen of Heaven?

The Sydney Morning Herald published an article, trumpeting the agreement between Catholics and Anglicans, calling Mary, "not a Saviour." Well, that's good to know! The report does say, however, "an international ecumenical body has reached a historic agreement about the role of Mary, Mother of Jesus: she is the Lord's handmaiden and sinless, but not the source of eternal salvation."

Wait a minute, whoa cowboy! Who thought this 'sinless' thing up? Who said Mary was "sinless?"

"The committee of 18 bishops, clergy, religious and laypeople from 10 countries" says the article.

Oh, I see, but did anyone ask a Jewish believer? Of course, we are very proud of Mary. She was a nice Jewish girl, destined to lead a quiet and peacable life in Israel in those days. She was a woman of noble and historic heritage, from the tribe of Judah, but 'sinless?' I don't think so.

"The committee says certain papal teachings governing the Assumption - Mary's ascension to heaven "body and soul" - and the Immaculate Conception - Mary's state of original sinlessness - can be seen as consistent with scriptural teachings."

What a bunch of narishkeit! Somewhere along the line, there is impurity. Now I understand that these 18 people are trying to determine how Jesus could be sinless, and pure even though there is shmutz somewhere back in his ancestry.

I guess they are trying to sort out the Incarnation. This is the tenet that Christians believe that God became human in the person of Y'shua. So what to do with sin, and a sinless Saviour like Y'shua. How did he come to be 'pure?' Problem is they have to figure out how a sinful person like Anne, the grandmother of Y'shua had a pure child, like Miriam. See, somewhere back in the pack is someone who is not sinless, someone with sin. Sin is the real problem for these 18, for the multitudes, for Miriam, for you and for me. Sin is a disease that has crippled millions throughout the world. And it's to deliver us all from sin that Y'shua came into the world. (Daniel 9.24, John 3.16)

He died for our sins, to remove the shmutz and to give us eternal life. No need for a female Saviour, no queen to take a message to the King on our behalf. We have access to the Father now; he loves us and sent Y'shua to sort out the sin problem. Thanks be to God for Y'shua. No substitute necessary.

To see the whole article click Mary

Hostages in Australia

From the website http://members.aol.com/bobmendo/thisweek.html



Hostages (Hobart prison, Wood in Iraq, Willis new movie)



Hostage situations are front and centre in the news in Australia. 63 year old Aussie engineer Douglas Wood is in jail in Iraq, held by extrremists.


Canberra responded to the Wood abduction by sending the emergency taskforce to Baghdad and by enlisting the aid of governments around the world. The Wood family in Canberra has begun a campaign of media messages it hopes are being picked up by Arab television so that their appeals will reach Wood's captors or move would-be intermediaries to action.



It was Sheik Hassan Zadaan, a tribal chief and former general of Saddam Hussein, who said he established contact with Wood's hostage-takers, an insurgency cell calling itself the Shura Council of the Mujahideen of Iraq, by last week. Intimating that he had seen the Australian hostage, Sheik Zadaan said Wood was alive, was in good health and was being well cared for about 30 kilometres outside Baghdad.

The Rev Fred Nile, CDP Senate candidate, has condemned the silence of Muslim clergy, so that the blood of the innocent hostages is on their heads in Iraq.


"The Muslim clergy must speak up loud and clear as they condemn the brutal beheadings of innocent hostages who are engaged in humanitarian aid to the people of Iraq," said Nile. "If they remain silent then the blood of these innocent hostages is on their heads".

The Muslim Muftis of Iraq must issue an Excommunication Order against these murderous terrorist, that they will be banned from entering Paradise and condemned to hell," said Nile.


Perhaps that is why Senior Aussie Islamic leader Sheik Taj El-Din al-Hilaly is on his way to Baghdad today to meet with the captors and hope for an appeal. He is taking with him some bad press and cash from the Wood family. They say it's not a ransom, but rather a donation to a charity. The bad press came from an ABC report, as al-Hilaly told the hostage takers "we value your jihad and your efforts".
But the President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, who was present during the appeal, dismisses the former translator's criticism, saying Sheik Hilaly simply wanted to express sympathy with those trying to liberate Iraq, not their tactics.


Meanwhile in Hobart, over the weekend a hostage crisis lasting 40 hours ended at Risdon Prison. Prisoners took hostage one prison guard and three inmates in an effort to improve prison conditions. But the siege ended when prison officials fed the hostage-takers.

Mr Barber agreed to a list of demands by the inmates, which included providing more job opportunities inside the overcrowded prison.

There would also be possible increases in prisoner pay, he said.

But the final sticking point in negotiations between police and inmates last night was the delivery of pizzas to a group of inmates who were occupying the jail's reception centre.


Bruce Willis stars in a new movie a la "Die Hard" this time entitled "Hostage" which opened in the US in April. When three delinquent teenagers follow a family home intending to steal their car, they get more than they bargained for. The trio finds themselves trapped in a multi-million dollar compound on the outskirts of town with no way to escape. Panicked, they take the family hostage, placing the Willis character in a situation that he never wanted to face again. He is forced to take on a role he abandoned where the stakes quickly evolve into a hostage situation far more volatile and terrifying than anything he could imagine.


For us who live in Australia, hostage taking is illegal and just plain wrong. We want a world where people can live in peace and harmony. We want a messianic age of tolerance and kindness and as such, stealing people is over the top. But how do we get such a world?


For those of us who know the Messiah Y'shua, this 'next world' reality of kindness will be ushered in by Y'shua's return. The last days began when Y'shua was taken hostage by some thugs in Rome-controlled Israel about 2,000 years ago. It was Passover and after the seder some soldiers arrested him and tossed him in an overnight holding cell.


Without anyone's paying his hostage price, Y'shua (Some call him Jesus) paid it himself, in dying for us. And freeing all those who are slaves of sin to live in righteousness and kindness, in a better world which he initiated by rising from the dead three days later.


And that's the GOOD news from Sydney this week.

Jews don't do that

I've been asked lately more often than usual about Jewish culture. Do Jews believe this.... do Jews think that... do Jews act like... and so let's ponder this for a bit.

What Jews do is really an accumulation of what some Jews do and some other Jews don't do, but there are fewer of them who don't do it. In other words, there is not a universal rule of law for all Jews to which all Jews are compliant. But GENERALLY, most Jewish people ...

1) are kind and gentle and don't want harm to come on others. The value of ethics is high.
2) are generous with resources. The value of money is regarded as high.
3) are studious and want to learn about things. The value of books is high.
4) care about family almost more than any other relationships. The value of loyalty is high.
5) have a hard time thinking about Jesus because it SOUNDS out of the Jewish box. The value of social maintenance is high.
6) make great followers of Jesus because they are so loyal to things which they find TRUE. Truth is the high value here.

Does this ring a bell for anyone?

bob

Media gone wild

Today's Herald Sun in Melbourne wrote a fairly pathetic article filled with misinformation. Have a read, and hey, why not write a letter to the editor?

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15094523%255E2862,00.html

Thanks!

Sunday Night 1 May in Sydney

Friends, on the radio on 103.2 FM on Sunday night the 1st of May, you can hear for 30 minutes an interview with Phil Lamb and Bob Mendelsohn. It's about the opposition we have been getting of late and the excellent response of the Jewish community in Melbourne and a bit of my own testimony as well. Have a listen!

New Zealand Jews for Jesus

Bob Mendelsohn, national director of Jews for Jesus, will be speaking in New Zealand, South Island, from 1-8 May . All information is on the JFJ Aussie website. (or will be this afternoon). . Christ Church Apostolic, Rangiora Baptist, Faith Family Centre, Timaru Trinity Assembly (AOG), Central Baptist in Invercargill, Gore New LIfe, Ashburton Baptist, among others. Bring a (Jewish) friend, or come along yourself to hear this once in a few years opportunity. Messianic resources like books and videos are available too.

Website of Jews for Jesus

Shalom!

www.jewsforjesus.org.au

This website has information for anyone who seriously wants to search this issue further. It's informing without being too didactic; it's available 24/7 and it's easy to navigate. Have a go and enjoy.

Korean elephant

Anyone ever had a close encounter with an elephant?

bob



___________

Bob and Patty Mendelsohn
Jews for Jesus, Australia
PO Box 925
Sydney NSW 2001
AUSTRALIA

Phone +61.2.9388.0559 (Inside Australia ring free 1.800.988.077)
FAX 02.9388.0545
Mobile: 0414.754.180

Remember it's 14 hours difference NY to Sydney.

Check the website: www.jewsforjesus.org.au
or the blog: http://aussie-jewsforjesus.blogspot.com

God bless!
Colossians 3.17

Opposition to Jews for Jesus

Some young vandals have been doing some damage to our vehicles and book store in Sydney. Some different groups have been damaging our sister organization in Melbourne and also damaging our billboards there. May these criminals find God's kindness and also appropriate behaviour in a multi-religious society.

Passover in Sydney

Tuesday night in Ryde, in Sydney's northwest, Jews for Jesus Australia will be conducting a banquet in celebration of Passover. Reservations required. Awesome music and great teaching about Jesus and the Passover. Ring in Aus, 1.800.988.077. Hundreds are already coming, and there's room for you.