Blog – ISRAEL CHRISTIAN NEXUS

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The Pool is Still Providing Healing

In May 2025, a retinal artery occlusion stroke struck without warning, leaving me completely blind in my right eye. From mid-May until the end of the month, darkness covered my vision. On May 27, Dr. Jennifer Turcott at Jacobson Eye Care in Cumberland, Wisconsin, confirmed the diagnosis: my artery had blown apart. She offered only a 20% chance of recovering even 5% of my sight and warned that if it did not return within a month, the loss would be permanent. The artery, she said, does not regrow in this type of instance. Yet I clung to the promise of Scripture: “By his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Just days later, I was scheduled to travel to Israel with Bishop Robert Stearns, the founder

July 2, 2026 No Comments

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From Jerusalem to Rome: How the Church Became Detached From Its Jewish Roots

Christianity did not begin in Rome. It began in Jerusalem, among a Jewish people, with a Jewish Messiah, Jewish apostles, Jewish Scriptures, and a church that understood itself within the continuing story of Israel. Jesus was not separated from the covenantal world of Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets. His first followers worshiped in the temple, observed Jewish rhythms of prayer, and proclaimed that Israel’s promised Messiah had come. The earliest church did not imagine that it had founded a religion detached from Judaism. It believed that the God of Israel had acted decisively through Jesus for Israel and, through Israel’s Messiah, for the nations. That makes the church’s later detachment from its Jewish roots one of the most important historical developments pastors should consider.

June 29, 2026 No Comments

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Mary’s Song and the God Who Remembers Israel

Mary’s song in Luke 1:46–55, known as the Magnificat, is one of the most moving songs of worship in the New Testament. Many Christians rightly read it as Mary’s own outpouring of praise, and it certainly is. She is filled with gratitude because God has looked upon her with mercy and set her apart for something holy. But this song is not only about Mary’s private feelings or her personal spiritual journey. It is woven into Israel’s story, Israel’s Scriptures, Israel’s promises, and Israel’s longings. Mary does not sing as someone disconnected from her roots. She sings as one of Israel’s daughters. Her words carry the tone and texture of the Hebrew Scriptures, echoing the prayers of those who trusted that God would lift up

June 16, 2026 No Comments

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An Unlikely Dinner in the Nation’s Capital

Twenty or thirty years ago, a dinner like this would have been nearly impossible to imagine. A rabbi, an evangelical pastor, a Catholic theologian, and a 12-year-old boy walk into a kosher restaurant in Washington, D.C. It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke. But on the evening of Israel Advocacy Day, it felt more like a glimpse of what can happen when people of faith gather around truth, covenant, and friendship. After a full day walking the halls of Congress, advocating for Israel, and speaking with leaders about the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship, we found ourselves gathered around a table at Char Bar, a kosher restaurant just blocks from the center of American power. Outside, the city was busy and loud. Inside,

June 4, 2026 No Comments

Nathan Bonilla - Why reading Dead Sea Scrolls Moved Me So Deeply

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From Qumran to Washington: Why Seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls Moved Me So Deeply

There are moments that stay with us not because they are loud or dramatic, but because they awaken something deeper than words can easily capture. My recent visit to Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., during Israel Advocacy Day was one of those moments. Before our event officially began, there was a brief window of time to visit the museum, and I knew almost immediately where I wanted to go. I made my way to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition, knowing I was about to stand before one of the most important archaeological witnesses to the trustworthiness of the biblical text and to the ancient Jewish connection to the land of Israel. What made this visit so meaningful was that I was not approaching

May 15, 2026 No Comments

Article

When Jewish People Are Afraid to Be Seen

One of the most troubling moral realities of our time is that society increasingly makes Jewish people feel unsafe simply for being visible. A person wearing a kippah, a Star of David, speaking Hebrew, or simply being perceived as Jewish may be mocked, stared down, cursed at, or ridiculed in ordinary public spaces. Restaurants, sidewalks, campuses, neighborhoods, and community events have become places where some Jewish families feel exposed rather than protected. This should deeply concern the church. This issue is not only about Israel as a nation. It is about Jewish people as human beings made in the image of God. No person should have to hide who they are in order to eat a meal, walk with their children, attend school, or move

April 30, 2026 No Comments

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Are Jews Colonizers to the Land of Israel?

In today’s debates about Israel, pastors are hearing phrases that sound persuasive but often carry serious historical problems. One of the most common is the claim that Jews are “settler colonizers” with no true connection to the land of Israel. In a time when war, protests, rising antisemitism, and global arguments over Israel’s legitimacy fill the news, pastors need more than slogans. They need careful, truthful, and pastoral clarity. The question of Jewish indigeneity is not merely political. It is historical, moral, legal, and for Christians, deeply biblical. To say that the Jewish people are indigenous to the land of Israel does not mean every modern Israeli policy is beyond criticism. It does not mean Christians should ignore Palestinian suffering or the complexity of the

April 28, 2026 No Comments

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If Israel Was Israel When God Judged Her, Why Is She No Longer Israel When God Promises to Restore Her?

A growing refrain in Christian teaching today is that ethnic Israel belongs to the past, while spiritual Israel belongs to the present. The Jews of the Old Covenant are often reduced to misrepresentations of Pharisees and failure. They disobeyed and therefore inherited judgment. The Church, we are told, succeeded where Israel failed and therefore inherited the promises. It sounds clean. It sounds theological. But when you read the Bible, a troubling pattern emerges. Israel is treated as one people when she is judged, scattered, and disciplined, yet suddenly becomes two different Israels when God begins to speak of restoration, mercy, and future hope. That shift is difficult to locate in the text itself and seems to arise more from our interpretive assumptions. Scripture itself does

April 21, 2026 No Comments

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Why Zechariah Helps Christians Think About Jerusalem

In a season when Jerusalem is again appearing in headlines because of war, missile threats, diplomatic strain, and public debate, many pastors are asking how the church should think and speak about the city. Some believers respond with strong certainty, treating every development as though its meaning were obvious. Others avoid the subject altogether, assuming it is too controversial or politically charged to handle with care. Zechariah helps the church take a better path by teaching us to think about Jerusalem with hope, seriousness, and humility. Zechariah spoke into a time of restoration after exile, when the people of God were small, vulnerable, and uncertain about the future. Jerusalem was not a symbol of worldly strength. It was a city marked by weakness, fragility, and

April 15, 2026 No Comments

If You’re Tired You Might Be Out of Sync Blog

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If You’re Tired, You Might Be Out of Sync: Finding Rest in the Rhythms of Heaven

The modern Church is exhausted. We’re scrambling for relevance, clinging to dwindling numbers, and watching in grief as the next generation deconstructs their faith. Pastors fall. Movements fade. Parents and grandparents whisper desperate prayers, hoping Sunday school and VBS were enough to anchor their children in a faith that no longer seems to hold their attention. In response, churches turn to strategy. Sleeker videos. More lights. Better marketing. Cooler music. But what if the solution isn’t about getting younger or trendier? What if the deepest ache in this generation isn’t for relevance — but for rhythm? People aren’t leaving the Church because they’re looking for innovation. They’re leaving because they long for something ancient. Something authentic. Something sacred. The world doesn’t need another performance. It’s looking

July 29, 2025 No Comments

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