OUR VISION
Saltshakers is run by a Jew and a Gentile. We both believe in Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. We are aware of the need for the Church to learn more of the Jewishness that was lost in the early centuries of Christianity. We are also very aware of the need for Jewish people to find salvation in Yeshua. While aware of the varied views and positions of our Christian and Messianic brothers and sisters, we believe in balance and tolerance and our eyes are fully set on the passage in Pauls's letter to the Ephesians. "For he himself (Yeshua) is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility" Eph 2:14-16. We are simple folk really with a simple vision. We exist to teach the Church and reach the Jewish people.
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TEACH THE CHURCH
Those who have followed our progress over the last six years or so will know that we had done our best to offer the widest range of messianic teachings to our visitors.
Unfortunately, on reflection, we don't feel this has necessarily been the best approach. By offering links to a huge variety of teaching and other sites we had been often accused of condoning the views of these other websites and had also been criticized when bad links occured, things that were totally outside our control. So we have decided to remove Olive Treeand Olive Oil, ensuring that we are totally responsible for everything you see and link to on our websites.
We are happy, though, to retain Library Messianica, where you have access to a large collection of historical messianic writings and the Gospelsprovide you with a growing commentary of the Gospels from a Hebraic viewpoint.
Potentially we will also be offering lively and educational discussions in ourMessianic Forum, as soon as we find moderators for it. WIth Midnight Oilwe are creating a unique collection of articles, teaching our perspective on the messianic world and providing a lot of source material about Israel, the Jewish people and what the Church needs to do to get back to its Jewish roots.
We have removed the extensive question and answer format of 'Ask the Messianic Rabbis', because it took so much time to update, time we simply don't have. Instead we are hoping to introduce a more oprn format to answering people's questions. But if you want the ultimate teaching resource then go no further than our CDROM, eMESSIANICA.
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REACH JEWISH PEOPLE
Jewish people need the gospel but they don't need it aggressively thrust down their throats - they've had enough of that in the past 2000 years. There's a lot of baggage that needs to be addressed before you can hope to engage the attention of Jewish people, they've suffered far too much at the hands of 'the Church'.
Without an active awareness of this situation, evangelism is always going to be an uphill struggle. Although we believe totally in the work in the Holy Spirit in regenerating hearts of both Jew and Gentile, we believe that the mind is often overlooked. The mind asks questions like, the Crusades? Blood Libels? Ghettos? The Inquisition? Pogroms? Anti-Semitism? The Holocaust? We can't ignore these questions, they won't just go away. Jewish people must see that there's a MAJOR difference between the 'Christianity' that brought these horrors and the 'Christianity' taught by Jesus and laid out in the New Testament.
We have started to try and explain these things to Jewish people, with encouraging results. Our Tapestry of Gefilte Fish was written to introduce Jesus to Jewish people without the trappings, 'Why don't you?' is designed to provoke (in a nice way) and our 'Dear Joseph' letter poses a few things for the open mind. But these are just beginnings, we need to do more.
Please keep an eye on us, we intend to do more, soon.
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STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
A: CORE BELIEFS
- We believe in the Bible, both the Tenach (Old Testament) and B'rit Hadashah (New Testament), as inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), as the infallible and completely authoritative word of God.
- We believe that the one God exists eternally in three distinct, but not separate persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as expressed in the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) as Echad (a 'multiple oneness')
- We believe that man, through his sin, is separated from God and needs to be regenerated by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) for salvation.
- We believe that Yeshua Ha Maschiach (Jesus Christ) is God, was conceived by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), and born of a virgin, died at Calvary, shed his blood as man's substitutionary sacrifice, rose bodily, and ascended to heaven. He is presently exalted at God the Father's right hand.
- We believe that only by repentance and by faith in Yeshua's sacrificial death can we, both Jew and Gentile, be cleansed and reconciled to God and given the free gift of eternal life.
- We believe that the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is God and is the source and power of all acceptable worship and service. He is our Comforter and Helper, enables us to live godly lives and empowers us for the exercise of all biblical gifts.
- We believe in God's eternal unconditional covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We therefore believe that the survival of the Jewish people and the establishment of the State of Israel are not 'historical accidents' but are part of the outworkings of God's plans for mankind.
- We believe that Jews and Gentiles equally need Yeshua as Saviour and that there is no other way that people may be saved. We therefore believe in Jewish evangelism.
- We believe that Yeshua will be returning soon as King and, in the meantime, we're put on earth to do God's will to the best of our ability and in line with our specific calling, as prompted by the Ruach HaKodesh.
- We believe that anti-Semitism is demonic and should be countered through education and prayer.
- We believe in unity and balance in the Body of Messiah (the Church). We believe that God's purpose is to create in Himself "one new man" (Ephesians 2:15) and that Jew and Gentile have equal standing in this relationship.
- We believe that all believers should be free to celebrate the Jewish Roots of their faith for educational reasons or through personal conviction but should, at the same time, be sensitive to the needs of others, whether believer or unbeliever, Jew or Gentile.
AND FINALLY ...
We are not a major ministry or a ministry initiative, we do the best that we can with the resources that we've been given. We are blessed by the growing active worldwide community of helpers who share our vision, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, actively sharing their God-given gifts, whether in teaching, prayer, evangelism, or just supporting us with their encouragement and enthusiasm. We also thank God for those who have been moved, on occasion, to support us financially. It all helps and we feel privileged to work alongide you all.
If you agree with our vision and wish to be a part of it, why not become aChaver (friend)? For just £7 ($US 10) a year you will not only help us keep our ministry going but you will, in return, receive a tempting package of benefits. Click here for more information.
May Yeshua bless us all,
Steve and Kit
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