“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country,

and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you;” Genesis 12:1

As I wrote in my blog entry, God’s Word: “In the Beginning…” , I like to refer to the book of Genesis as “the Book of Beginnings,” because I believe that this book lays the foundation for our faith.

One our desires at Hope for Israel is to facilitate true reconciliation between the Jewish and Arab people. In fact, for many years, I was heavily involved in reconciliation, and much of my work was focused on this topic. Until today, part of the work of the ministry is in this area of reconciliation. However, one of the main things that I have learned over the years is that you can’t bring true reconciliation without addressing the real issues.

For example, when my children have a fight, my wife and I explain to them that they need to ask forgiveness for what they have done and the hurt they have caused. On many occasions, they only say, “I am sorry” and we gently remind them that just saying, “I am sorry” is not enough. We explain that they must ask for forgiveness for what they did, since it is only when they name the offense that they are really exhibiting true repentance, and allowing the truth to come to light.

I often hear statements from people who are involved in Jewish & Arab reconciliation that the Land is not important, and that the only important issue is the souls of people. While I agree that salvation is absolutely paramount, so much so that I devote much of my life to reaching out the lost (Jew and Gentile alike), I also believe that we cannot ignore the truth from God’s Word. From the first verse of God’s call to Abram (even before he became Abraham), we see that the call included not just leaving his home, but also about receiving a new Land that God would show Him.

My brothers and sisters, as we will see in my future blog entries, part of God’s call and promises to Israel included a physical land; there is no way around it!

In closing, if we desire to see true reconciliation, we have to stand on the entire truth of God’s Word without compromise. While I believe that true peace can only come through faith in the Prince of Peace, Yeshua, I also believe that an essential part of making disciples is teaching the entire truth – not just the parts that sit well with us and are easy for us to accept.

Let’s be open for God’s truth no matter what, so that we may receive a deeper understanding of who He is and all that He has for us.

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran