Over the years, God has taught me many things authenticating the ‘Jewish heart’, AND…its importance for every believer!!! Here are two examples!
   First, I found Dr Blizzard’s declaration(see last tidbit): “You ought to go to Israel, you will never read the Bible the same again!” --to be prophetic!! After my Jewish heart experience, my understanding of the Word of God definitely blossomed! One area in particular that began to
open up to me is God’s nature. Incredibly, I found that God revealed Himself, or identified  Himself…with Israel! After over 40 years of study and research, this revelation remains one of  the greatest God has ‘ever’ given me! Here we go!!
   The nature of God is defined as Who He is; or how He exists. Understanding the nature of God is the key to ‘ALL’ Bible hermeneutics (interpretation). When God speaks, He speaks from His nature or according to His nature. Psalms 138:2 declares, “…For You have magnified Your word  according to all Your name.”
   The greatest way God reveals His nature to us is through His names. When God speaks, He speaks according to His name, or from His nature. In Psalms 138:2, the word “name” refers to His nature. This means through the name(s) of God, we understand His nature, from which He speaks His word!
   For example, God reveals His name as holy (Qadowsh) in Isaiah 57:15. Through the revelation of His name in this verse, we understand God exists as holy, sanctified, sacred, or ‘separate’ (Lev20:7,8(NLT)). Therefore, God can never say anything, or do anything, apart from His holy nature! Why? Because another aspect of His nature is immutability, i.e.unchanging (Mal3:6), i.e. God cannot change! Therefore, everything God says and does—forever…must be holy!!
  Regarding God’s names, the Bible also declares: God is  righteous(Jer23:5); He is the Shepherd (Ps23:1); He is the banner/flag (Ex17:15); He is eternal(Ps90:2). These are a few of the scriptures that reveal the nature of God by His names.
   Therefore, because God is eternal and unchanging, nothing can be added to, or subtracted from Him—He has no potential. I repeat…our God is forever the same(Heb13:8)!
   As God revealed these wonderful truths about His nature through His names, I was completely dumbfounded one day, as I saw in the scripture the term: “the Lord God of Israel”!! Not once…not twice…but over 200 times the King James version describes God as: “the God of
Israel”!!!   For example, “And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants…” --2Chron6:14*
 
    Incredibly, in the context of God’s immutability(Mal3:6); and eternality (Ps90:2); which again means nothing can be added to or subtracted from Him—forever…the Bible declares God is the God of Israel! Why is this so profound? Because this means God has eternally existed as the God of Israel(Gen33:20)!! This certainly adds new and exciting meaning to the ‘why’ of the ‘Jewish heart!’
   If you are paying really close attention, you also better understand why Satan hates the Jew! Why Israel is hated by the nations of the world! And, why there is such a thing as anti-semitism!
              
 My second example of better understanding of the Bible through a ‘Jewish heart’ is:
          Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather
          through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to
          provoke them to jealousy.
              Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the
          diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more
          their fulness?
                                                                                    --Romans 11:11,12
 
   One of the rich revelations in Romans 11:11-12 is that non-Jews are not left out! God has  promised to bless the Gentiles too! However, Paul writes the blessing of the Gentile began with the fall of the Jew! Now, what is most intriguing about this is that one would assume that,
because the Bible declares we Gentiles are blessed because of the fall of the Jew, when God restores the Jew, the Gentiles will go back to our original places, which obviously was not a place of blessing!! Remember, if we Gentiles are blessed because of the failure/fall of the Jew,  either we were not in the place of blessing prior to the fall; or were in a less place of blessing  prior the fall!!!
   But amazingly, God is so good, that when He moves the Jew back in their rightful position, not only will He not send the Gentile back to his old place, but God promises to send a blessing, on both the Jew and Gentile, that has NEVER before been seen!!! Once again, Romans 11:12
declares:
               “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the
                 diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much
                more their fulness?   
 
   I repeat, through God’s marvelous goodness, mankind has been blessed!!! But you ain’t seen   nothing yet!!! When God restores the Jews back to their rightful position---we will see an  outpouring of God’s blessing on the earth like never before in human history!!!
     “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”   
​                                                -Is64:4
      “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for
​  them that love him.
                                                -1Cor2:9
 
   God is the God of Israel(Ps41:13), and the God of more(Eph3:20; Mat8:14,20)!!!
Yet…if we want God’s more---Israel is the key!!  The key is the Jew!
   HEY…let’s get to work taking the gospel to the Jew first(Rom1:16)!!!
 
*As a side note, 2Chronicles 6:14 furthermore reveals the God of Israel as the only God!! In other words, God reveals His uniqueness to the world through His association with Israel!!
 
QuoteBit
"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be." - David Viscott

          For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of           God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,                  and  also to the Greek.
                                                                        -Romans1:16
 
  This passage declares evangelism ‘begins’ with the Jew. Because the Great Commission (Mat28:18-20) is so critical to our God, and our relationship with Him, to be effective, we must obey God’s word---and not our feelings. This tidbit is not racial, but declares God’s system of order! If we want to be effective in reaching the lost(Mat28:18-20), we must begin with reaching to the Jew! This is my story on how Romans 1:16 became forever alive!
 
   After graduating from Georgetown University in 1978, the Lord called me to play basketball for Athletes in Action, an athletic arm of Campus Crusade for Christ in Southern California. We used basketball as a means to proclaim Christ all over America, and in many nations of the world.
   During my second year, as I had done from childhood, I was sitting in church preparing to hear the Sunday morning sermon—there was nothing out the ordinary that day. After a vibrant worship time, the guest speaker stood to preach. He was a Hebrew scholar, named Dr Roy Blizzard from Texas. He preached from Psalms eight, and Genesis one, entitling his message “What is man that thou art mindful of Him?” I was thoroughly enjoying the sermon, and taking furious notes, when about one quarter of the way through, in the middle of writing a Hebrew sentence on the chalkboard, He suddenly turned to the congregation and pointed at us and said 15 words, “You ought to go to Israel, you will never read the Bible the same again!” Just as suddenly, he turned back to the chalkboard and continued writing, and preaching. However, the moment  Dr Blizzard finished that sentence, I experienced what I now call: 'being born-again, again!' In that moment, God gave me, what I had never heard of, and didn’t know existed--a Jewish heart! I immediately found myself loving Israel, and the Jewish people!  In short, I was instantly and forever changed! This was not a salvation experience however, because my mother led me to Christ at four years old in our kitchen after I disobeyed her warning not to touch a hot pot. I repeat, ‘this’ experience was something entirely new! 
   Interestingly, I was not aware of ever meeting a Jew; nor did I currently have any Jewish friends. I was unaware of the existence of something called a Jewish heart; nor was I aware a Jewish heart was something that I should pursue from the Word of God! All I can say is—this thing just happened! It was a sovereign move of God—at a providential moment!
   Furthermore, for at least a year and a half, I told no one--not even my parents; I thought, “I’m Black” What is a Black man doing loving the Jews! And what does loving Israel and Jews have to do with anything! I had been raised in the church, and could not remember ever previously hearing one sermon on Israel or the Jews! At that moment, I literally  felt I was the only Black person on earth who loved Israel, and the Jews!
   I even started doing crazy things I had never before considered. For example, I began taking Hebrew classes; and paid nearly $3,000 to go to Israel, when I was making less than $12,000 in a year! I thought, “I think I’m losing my mind! But it sure is fun!”
   However, and probably worst of all, I went out and had a necklace  created with my name written in Hebrew letters--in gold! The necklace was absolutely the most amazing part because I hated wearing jewelry—of any kind! To this day--40 years later--I still don’t wear jewelry!
  As I look back now--in the providence of God--the miracle of my ‘Jewish heart’ established the call of God to ministry in my life! Very simply…it was the providence of God that inspired me to abandon my childhood NBA dreams, to play basketball for Athletes in Action, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ!! It was the providence of God that led me to a small starter church of 80 believers in Southern California, where tens of millions of people lived, and thousands of good churches were located! It was the providence of God that set-up a divine appointment for the pastor of that small church to both meet and invite Dr Blizzard to preach that morning! It was the providence of God that inspired Dr Blizzard to preach a particular message on that Sunday morning! It was the providence of God that moved Dr Blizzard to stop in the middle of his message to speak 15 words that the sovereign God used--at the appropriate moment--to give me a new heart…a heart of flesh…a Jewish heart!!!
 
          Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the ‘time’ to 
          favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
                                                            -Psalms 102:13
 
 
Quotebit
The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, "If you will take care of me, I will take care of you." Now I say, "I will take care of me for you if you will take care of you for me.  -unknown

 
 
Quotebit
The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, "If you will take care of me, I will take care of you." Now I say, "I will take care of me for you if you will take care of you for me.  -unknown

                “…O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky; but                         can you not discern the signs of the times?”  -Jesus (Matt16:3)
 
   Over the past several weeks I have attempted to drive home one particular ‘sign of the times’: Man cannot curse what God has blessed! Balak, the king of Moab, attempted to persuade Balaam, the prophet of God, to curse Israel(Num23:7,11), whom God had already blessed (Gen12:1-3; Num22:12; Num23:8). In the end, the disobedience of both, did not bode well for either the prophet or the king!
   In my recent tidbit series, ‘Miracles of America’s Founding’ I contend--what should be very obvious—the Almighty God has blessed America!* There are few, if any nations in the history of the world that have prospered like America! How did it happen? The favor of God (Ps5:12; Pro14:34)! Or, the blessing of the Lord(Ps33:12)!
    Because of God’s favor,* i.e.God’s blessing on this nation—one should be very carefulspeaking against what God has blessed! God protects His own(Ps34:7; Deut28:7), and returns the curse on the head of those who curse what He has blessed(Gen12:1-3).  The Bible clearly warns: “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” (1Chron16:22; Ps105:15). The principle that God protects His own is not limited to Israel; or to an individual; or to a prophet, but extends to anyone or anything with His calling, i.e. His blessing, i.e. His approval!

   Following are just a few examples of God’s hand of blessing upon America:
               1.There has been no other nation in the history of the world
                  that has facilitated prosperity for so many of its people!!
               2.An Unprecedented number of minorities, including an
                  unprecedented number of Blacks, have achieved, in many
                  instances---wild prosperity; more so than in any  other
                 nation on earth— including Black African nations!!!
               3.Electing a Black president for not one, but two terms of office;
                  something no other  predominantly White, Hispanic, Asian, or
                   Arab (etc.) nation has ever done in the history of the
                   world!!!!
               4.Although slavery has been a blight on the past record of every
                  culture, nation, and ethnicity, America is the only nation in the
                   history of the world to willfully elect a descendent of the
                  enslaved group as its leader(president)!
               5.America is the only nation in the history of the world to elect
                   a former member of  the enslaved group as president in less
                  than 150 years after ending slavery!
               6.America was the second nation in the history of the world
                  (England-1833) to end slavery not by a slave uprising, but by
                  the conscience of the slave-holder!!!
               7.The conscience of America was changed by the
                  Judeao/Christian ethic, which created  Western culture, which
                  for the first time in the history of the world has led to many
                 nations abolishing slavery!!! America is the leader in exporting
                  the Judaeo/Christian ethic!!
 
   In spite of all these unprecedented accomplishments, according to liberalism, America is not only a racist nation, but THE MOST racist nation in the world! Sadly, even the NFL and NBA have fallen prey to this invented liberal myth!
   Interestingly, the NFL players, beginning with Colin Kaepernick, cite White police brutality (murder of young Black men) as their number ONE evidence*** for America’s racism. Every national video I have ever seen ONLY shows police shooting Blacks---in spite of the fact that police shoot nearly double the number of Whites!****
                                                       
2015                               2016
Whites -494                 White -466
Blacks -254                   Black – 233
Hispanics-172                Hispanic-160
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings/
 
  Liberalism declares America is racist, and police are racist, in spite of the fact that Black deaths by police do not even make the top 7 ways Blacks die:
            --Police shootings -233 (2016)                                                          
                      2011   
           7.HIV deaths-4,138
           6.Firearm Homocides-6,100 (over 6000 annual homicides of Black
               young men)
            5.Diabetes death-12,771
            4.Accidental deaths-12,299
            3.Cancer deaths-66,158
            2.Heart disease-90,888
             1.Abortion-Over 300,000 Black babies aborted annually!
                     (Toomanyaborted.com)
 
   Liberalism declares America is racist, and police are racist, in spite of the fact that on 9/20/16, Black man Keith Lamont Scott was killed by police, which ignited several days of rioting in Charlotte, North Carolina!!! Incredibly, there was not one word from the SAME media over ‘five’ White men who were killed by police on the very same day!!! http://killedbypolice.net/
 
Liberals, and especially the liberal media, purposely suppress truth!!! (Rom1:18)
 
  It is obvious to all but the willfully ignorant that God has blessed America! To curse what God has blessed…reverses the curse on the head of the curser! The Sovereign, eternal God will not be mocked:
               There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the
​                LORD  –Pro21:30
 
  
 
* I offer the miracles at America’s founding as evidence of God’s hand irrevocably upon this
nation! In other words, what God has called…no man can negate(Rom11:29)!
**America’s Declaration and Constitution have facilitated freedom not only for America, but for
the world!
***https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka0446tibig&t=457s  (1:36; 6:02)
****Liberals, particularly liberal Blacks and Hispanics, continually claim that “people of color”
(by which they mean Blacks and Hispanics) are being targeted by police, when the facts
indicate that more Whites are shot by police than Blacks and Hispanics combined!!!
 
Quotebit
"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be." - David Viscott