Rabbi Loren’s
Story
I'd like to
begin my story at the time of my great-grandparents,
most of whom
lived near the city of Kiev, in the Ukraine, around
1900. At that time, life was
becoming increasingly difficult for many of the
Jewish families in Russia and the
Ukraine, including my own. My family left the
Ukraine, and came to the United
States during the first decade of the 20th century.
In the generations since we left
Russia for America, my family never showed a deep
faith in God or His Word.
Consequently, growing up in the Chicago area in the
1960's, I was immersed in a
culturally Jewish, but otherwise secular and
materialistic world view.
Few, if
any, of my Jewish friends, family, or teachers at
synagogue, believed in a
God who could create the universe in six days,
intervene in human history, or
perform miracles. The idea of having a personal
relationship with God, like
Abraham, Moses, and David had, was unheard of. The
Holy Scriptures were
regarded as good for teaching morals and ethics, but
not to be taken "literally."
Matters concerning the supernatural - such as heaven
and hell, angels, demons and
the Messiah, were not acknowledged.
We
celebrated the holidays as a part of our Jewish
tradition, but the living God
played a very little role in our day-to-day affairs.
As I result, I sensed that
something was missing from the Judaism to which I was
exposed, and I began
investigating other philosophies and religions. I
started by reading some of the
great Western philosophers such as Plato and
Aristotle. Then I began drifting
toward Eastern philosophy. I took up Transcendental
Meditation, repeating my
"mantra" over and over, every morning and evening,
for more than a year.
During my
first year at Northwestern University in Illinois, I
took a course on
Medieval Philosophy. Little did I know that the
greatest minds during this
thousand-year period in Western Civilization spent
most of their intellectual labors
attempting to prove the existence of God! The
philosophers reasoned, "How else
do we explain the evident order and design in nature?
Why else do we all have an
inward sense of right and wrong? And why, throughout
all cultures and societies,
has there been an intuitive awareness of God or
gods?!" As I studied their powerful
and persuasive arguments, I became convinced that God
had to exist.
Shortly
after that, I began reading the Holy Scriptures for
the very first time. After
attending a seminar on Biblical prophecy, I read the
entire New Testament portion
of the Scriptures within a week! Then I began
discovering prophecies in the Jewish
Scriptures which predicted the coming Messiah, the
Anointed Ruler and Savior sent
by God. I was amazed to discover that the prophets of
Israel had told us that a
descendant of the tribe of Judah, from the royal
family of King David, would be
born in Bethlehem. According to these prophecies, He
would come before the
Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, accomplish
miracles, then suffer, die, rise
from the dead, and yet fail to be recognized by the
majority of our people!
Through the Messiah, God would also establish a New
Covenant with the Jewish
people (see Jeremiah 31:31-34). To me, the evidence
was overwhelming - Yeshua
was the promised Messiah of Israel who would
reconcile us to God.
In coming
to know the Messiah, I discovered a dimension of
Jewish spirituality that
I never dreamed possible! Messiah Yeshua enabled me
to develop an intimate
personal connection with the God of Israel that is
still going strong twenty-five
years later! When I came to believe in Yeshua, I
began rediscovering my Jewish
heritage. I transferred to Moody Bible Institute,
changed my major to Jewish
studies, worked with Jews for Jesus for eight years,
and was ordained as a
Messianic Rabbi by the Union of Messianic Jewish
Congregations. I married Martha
Brickner, who is a fifth generation Messianic Jew!
Together, we have drawn closer
to our Messiah, our God, our Land, our Holy
Scriptures, our people and our
heritage. God, in His mercy, has enabled us to start
Congregation Shema Yisrael,
which is about ten years old.
Rabbi Loren’s
Challenge
Like me,
there are many Jewish people dissatisfied with the
Judaism to which they
have been exposed. They sense that something is
missing, and are longing for a
deeper sense of spirituality. Perhaps you are
searching for something more. I know
that Messiah Yeshua is the answer to your spiritual
need. Yeshua is the key that
removes the barriers to peace, joy, a personal
relationship with God, and eternal
life.
Believing
in Messiah Yeshua doesn't mean departing from our
Jewish heritage.
Rather, faith in Yeshua is the fulfillment of true
Biblical Judaism! Many people don't
know that the first followers of Yeshua were
Messianic Jews, that the New
Testament was written by Messianic Jews, or that
there were Messianic
synagogues in Israel until 500-700 AD. In the past
twenty-five years there has
been a rebirth of Messianic Judaism, and today there
are over 200 Messianic
Synagogues in the U.S. and another 80 in
Israel!
Why do I
believe that Yeshua is the Messiah? Because God
clearly communicated
to the prophets of Israel what the first and second
comings of the Messiah would
be like. Scattered throughout the pages of the Jewish
Bible are ancient predictions
about the Messiah. Let me quote just one messianic
prophecy found in the 53rd
chapter of the prophet Isaiah who lived around 700
BC. This prophecy describes
the sufferings and rejection that the Messiah would
endure from His own people to
reconcile us to the God from whom we have been
estranged:
He was
despised and forsaken by men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with
grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He
was despised and we did
not esteem Him. But He was pierced through for our
transgressions, He was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment for our
well-being fell upon Him, and by
His stripes we are healed. Remember that this amazing
prophecy was written 700
years before Yeshua came!
I believe
this one incredible prophecy (and there are many more
like it) is talking
about Yeshua, and the sufferings that He endured to
make full and final atonement
for us, and to bring us into an intimate, personal
relationship with the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the One who the
Jewish prophets foretold would
come; first to atone for sin and end our alienation
from God; then He would come
a second time to fulfill God's plan to bring peace to
the entire world.
If you are
not a Messianic Jew, or a true Christian, and you
want to know more, I
have five suggestions for you:
First,
pray: ask the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to
reveal Himself to you.
Pray that He would help you to know if the New
Testament is true, and if Yeshua
really is the Messiah. Pray that He would give you
the courage to follow the truth,
no matter what it costs. You might want to pray this
prayer: "God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, please reveal Yourself to me in a
deeper way than I have ever
known You before. Please show me whether or not the
New Testament is true,
and if Yeshua really is the Messiah. Please give me
the courage to follow Him if He
is the Messiah, no matter what the cost.
Amen."
Second, I
suggest that you do what I did twenty-five years ago
- get a copy of the
Bible and simply begin reading it. It is the truest
and most powerful book ever
written. The simple act of reading this book can be a
powerful spiritual experience,
and often authenticates to the reader the incredible
truth of what it says.
Third, you
can also contact us for More Than A Carpenter by Josh
McDowell. Josh
McDowell was a skeptic who was convinced that anyone
who believed in the Bible
was out of their mind. After intensive research he
realized that the Bible is 100%
reliable and faith in it is intellectually feasible.
More Than A Carpenter is the result of
his research. It examines the Bible's claims about
itself, about God, the Messiah,
and the resurrection. If you live in the United
States, we will send this fascinating
128-page book to you for only one dollar. [If you are
already a believer in Messiah
Yeshua, and want More Than A Carpenter, I ask that
you send in five dollars to
cover the cost].
Fourth, I'd
like to invite you to visit our synagogue,
Congregation Shema Yisrael.
Services are held Saturday mornings at 10:30 A.M. at
the facilities of Highland Park
Baptist Church, on the corner of 12 Mile and Lahser
in Southfield. We have a
Shabbat School program for the children, and a
nursery that is available for infants
and toddlers.
Fifth, I
have found that many people often want to meet with
me to talk further
about Messiah Yeshua and Messianic Judaism. If you
live in the Metro Detroit area,
I would be happy to meet with you to discuss these
all important matters. I hope
to hear from you!
Faith & Reason Forum would like to
thank Rabbi Loren for kingly providing his testimony
for this
website. If you would like more information about
Messiah Yeshua or Messianic Judaism we highly
recommend you visit Rabbi Loren’s website:
Shema.com. Rabbi Loren ministers to the people at
Congregation Shema Yisrael, P.O. Box 804,
Southfield, MI 48037. You are more than welcome to
give h