Searching for Shalom?
“Where do I go to find your teaching?” asked the rabbi.
Investigating what it means to be a follower of Yeshua can be a challenge for any Jewish person. But for those living within a close-knit community it is especially daunting.
Our team members acknowledged we had no such resource that could be accessed anonymously – but recognized we needed to! Thus began the discussions which resulted in In Search of Shalom, Life in Messiah’s evangelistic website.
Over the last decade LIFE has invested a good deal of time, focused energy, and financial resources into building the platform. From the beginning we wanted this to be a cooperative effort. Like-minded ministries and individuals have encouraged and educated us. Some supported the project financially; others contributed team members who helped with designing the website and developing content.
We have also been blessed to have outside assistance on the technical and marketing sides of this ministry. Rather than simply waiting for Jewish people to stumble across our site, we have been actively promoting material for Jewish holidays, such as A Different Passover. During the two weeks around Passover 2021 the video had 90,000 views and 29,000 have watched the video to the end!
We are so very grateful to all who have had a part in launching and sustaining this outreach! And we’re especially grateful for the ISoS team members serving with two other agencies who join us weekly to pray, ideate, and create new material for publication. How Many Mitzvahs Make a Mensch and The Jewish Superman are examples of creative “hooks” designed to draw Jewish eyes to the website.
And they are coming, by the multiplied hundreds.[1] Our prayer is that while visiting In Search of Shalom, Jewish hearts and minds will encounter our Messiah, the Prince of Peace.[2]
Our great joy, naturally, is to interact with genuine seekers after truth. Some who engage us with the “live chat” feature have been on a spiritual search for some time. We rejoice with the angels of heaven when a hungry heart comes to understand how Jesus of Nazareth meets the portrait painted by the Hebrew prophets.
Not everyone who visits our site is searching for shalom, however. Some who are offended by our content quickly exit. Others leave messages expressing their disapproval or disgust. Visitors are anonymous and thus may feel free to use vulgarity and profanity.
Some guests wish to engage us on the live chat to show us the error of our ways. We’re glad for the opportunity to interact with them, encouraging the free exchange of ideas. We always prefer to focus on biblical texts but often extra-biblical sources and historical events get inserted into the conversation. Some see us as “proselytizers seeking to destroy Jewish souls – worse than Hitler who only killed us physically.”
We’re grateful when we can meaningfully present the gospel even when our correspondents “agree to disagree.” We trust God’s promise that His Word will not return void[3] and rely on the reality that “the gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.”[4]
And when we have to exit a chat because a guest chooses vitriol over dialogue, we recognize the enemies of the gospel are not our enemies; they are the victim of the Enemy. We pray the Spirit of God will remove their spiritual blinders just as Saul experienced on the road to Damascus.[5]
What a joy to look back at how God has led in developing In Search of Shalom! The learning curve was steep in the beginning – and we’re still “on the growing edge” as technology advances.
We realize our world is also changing quickly and we often are racing to catch up. COVID has driven many more to search online for answers to life’s challenges and peace amidst the storms of troublesome times. We are so grateful that in God’s perfect timing In Search of Shalom was in place for seekers to find.
Please pray with us that many will come to find the true shalom that only the Prince of Peace can give. In His words, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”[6]
Wes Taber, LIFE Global Ambassador
Have you visited In Search of Shalom lately? You’ll find video testimonies of Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus, thoughtful articles, and Bible studies. Perhaps you’ll find answers to questions you or someone with whom you are sharing your faith have been asking.
Please pray with us for God’s blessing on the creative team as well as those who respond to chats.
Most of all, please ask the Lord to help hearts seeking shalom to find their rest in Yeshua. Perhaps you can point such a searcher to Him today!
And of course we’d be delighted if In Search of Shalom would be a useful tool for you in your efforts to share the good news with your Jewish friends.
Endnotes:
[1] In 2020 we had close to 8,000 visits to the site; from January to April 2021 we saw 4,000. We aren’t able to discern in total how many are Jewish, but a significant percentage is. We’re also finding increased engagement with live chats: 68 in 2020 and already 64 in the first third of ‘21. Last year we had eight extended evangelistic chats; this year we've already had 14. Within the last month alone, we've had 26 chats, nine of which were extended evangelistic chats.
[2] In the familiar words of Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
[3] Isaiah 55:11.
[4] Romans 1:16.
[5] Acts 9.
[6] John 14:27.