Common Questions about faith and the Bible.

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The Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl asserted that humanity’s primary motivation is to find meaning in life. While other psychological theories present people as driven chiefly by a desire to gain power or pursue pleasure, Frankl maintained that our deepest need is meaning, to know that our life has purpose. Finding meaning in the events of life is more crucial than the circumstances of life. Even in the darkness of a concentration camp, he said that the most basic question was not whether or how to survive, but why to survive, survival for something. Frankl’s work affirms people’s capacity for self-transcendence, the ability to look beyond our immediate desires and be part of something greater.

The idea that, as humans, we not only can but must connect with something beyond ourselves testifies to our creation by a loving God. Indeed, the Bible confirms that God created humans with purpose—to love him, each other, and the earth (Genesis 1:28). He created us in such a way that we are not satisfied with only fulfilling our physical or emotional needs. Unlike plants and animals, we are endowed with a fundamental longing for something more, ultimately for God himself.

The first humans lived harmoniously in close companionship with God, but then they rebelled. Ever since that sad moment, humanity has chosen to live life on our own terms instead of living the kind of life God intended. This includes our search for meaning. We grapple for a sense of purpose in our studies, careers, and relationships. In such a competitive, technology-saturated society, it is all too easy to feel a sense of emptiness or to just go through the motions, focusing on getting things done instead of knowing why we do what we do.

Frankl, whose words ring even truer in the age of social media, referred to the widespread “existential vacuum,” a sense of meaninglessness primarily brought about by boredom. 3 The video-streaming programs, memes, and funny cat clips vying for our attention speak for themselves. We have easy access to more forms of entertainment than any other society in history, but they often leave us feeling even emptier than before. A constant need for diversion masks a deeper longing that denies superficial remedies.

The good news is that God has provided a way to fulfill our need for meaning, a need he gave us in the first place. He sent Yeshua, the hope of Israel and the nations, who lived in perfect obedience to his Father, died for our wrongdoings, and rose from the dead to bring new life to all who believe in him (Isaiah 53:5; John 3:16). Through Yeshua, we can enjoy the loving relationship with God we were meant to have. Our very purpose as human beings—to love God and love each other—is realized in him. When we devote our lives to Yeshua, we have the assurance that he will never leave us (Matthew 28:20). Rather, his loving presence helps us grow in knowledge of God and compassion for other people. Whatever the circumstances, we who follow Yeshua know why we are living.

Ultimate meaning can only be found in a relationship with the God who created us. We were made to love God and love others. Still, we face daunting questions that profoundly affect our daily lives: what kind of job should I pursue? Where should I live? Do I want to raise a family? Each one of us is endowed with unique talents, interests, and stories, and we yearn to live life well. Finding answers for our individual purpose in life can be a long struggle, but the struggle is made much easier when we place God at the center of everything we do. He gives a deeper, eternal sense of purpose, even when our careers or family lives are less than ideal.

The Bible is not a magic eight ball, providing supposedly clear-cut answers about our future, but it does provide perspective for grappling with these questions. Whatever our job, family, and income level, our meaning is given by God and fulfilled in Jesus. Living for him gives us a sense of purpose that can never be extinguished or replaced (John 14:6).

The Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl asserted that humanity’s primary motivation is to find meaning in life.

How Can I Live a Meaningful Life | Blog | LaOmek

How Can I Live a Meaningful Life?

Some have argued that the God of the New Testament is different from the God of the Hebrew Bible. If you were brought up in a Jewish home, this may have been a common notion. For some, the God of Israel is known through the Hebrew Scriptures, whereas the God of the New Testament was invented by Gentile Christianity. Others say that the God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old Testament. So, do the two Testaments teach about the same God or not?

From our perspective, the answer is that both Testaments teach about the same God. Jesus and most of his early followers were Jewish, and in his teaching, Jesus constantly speaks of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In sermons like the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5–7) and in casual conversations with his disciples, he sought to point Israel to her Creator.

For example, when Yeshua was asked which commandment was the most important, he responded by quoting the Shema, perhaps the most foundational expression of Jewish faith: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:29–30; cf. Deuteronomy 6:4–5). He affirmed that, despite the claims of societies such as the Romans who worshipped a number of deities, there is only one true God, the God who created the universe and made Israel his people. Moreover, this relational God who made all things and wants us to know him is deserving of our love and praise. All of our heart, soul, mind, and strength is another way of saying with everything that we are.

Jesus personally affirmed the faith of his Jewish followers, and encouraged his non-Jewish disciples to leave their pagan deities to follow the God of Israel. Once, when Jesus was traveling through a predominantly Gentile area, crowds came to him seeking healing. As they saw this Jewish teacher enabling the blind to see and the lame to walk, “they glorified the God of Israel” in response (Matthew 15:31). In both word and action, Jesus sought to honor the one true God who revealed himself to Israel. It is clear, at least in Jesus’ mind, that the God of the Hebrew Scriptures was the Father he prayed to and promoted in his preaching.

Yeshua’s early followers maintained the same goal. For instance, one of them, Peter, said that “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers” had honored the Messiah Yeshua (Acts 3:13a). Again, from our reading of the biblical texts it is evident that the God who made himself known to the forefathers of the Jewish people (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is the same God who sent Yeshua to save Israel and make God known in all the world (Luke 2:27–32).

Indeed, Yeshua not only sought to honor the God of Israel, but to also identify himself as that very God in human form. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Yeshua walked the earth more than two thousand years after Abraham lived, so there is no way he could have existed before Abraham if he were only a human being. Rather, Yeshua is God’s Son, who is eternal and equal to God the Father. His statement, “I am,” confirms this. The phrase has nothing to do with ideas such as “I am American” or “I am happy.” Yeshua was referring to the name God claimed for himself when he appeared to Moses: “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:13–15). Yeshua applied to himself the very name of God, a striking assertion. With these words, he presented himself as equal to the God who through Moses liberated the Israelites.

Jesus never intended to begin a new religion or introduce a new deity. He, along with his followers, taught Israel to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the one true God and king of the universe. His teaching and actions consistently exalt God and spur his audience to do likewise, whether Jewish or Gentile.

Some have argued that the God of the New Testament is different from the God of the Hebrew Bible. If you were brought up in a Jewish home, this may have been a common notion.

Is the God of the New Testament the Same as the God of Israel? | Blog | LaOmek

Is the God of the New Testament the Same as the God of Israel?

When you start more about Jesus, you will almost certainly run across the term “Messiah.” Most of the time, this word will be used in reference to Jesus as a title or as a description of who he is. This word holds great value throughout the Bible, and it is no small matter to call someone by this name. But what does it actually mean, and why would we apply it to Jesus?

Messiah comes from the Hebrew word mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ) which means “anointed one.” Its Greek equivalent is christos (χριστός), from which we get the word “Christ.” Anointing was common among the ancient Hebrews, and it literally means to pour or smear oil on someone. This “anointing” could be done for a variety of reasons and usually had a significant event attached to it. High priests were anointed (Exodus 29:29), sacred things were anointed (Exodus 30:26), the dead were anointed (Mark 14:8; Luke 23:56), kings were anointed (1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 2:4), and prophets were anointed (1 Kings 19:16; 1 Chronicles 16:22; Psalm 105:15). Essentially, anointing people or objects means to make them holy. For kings, anointing was the equivalent of being crowned.1 It is not uncommon for the Bible to refer to a king or a priest as an “anointed one.”

The noun Messiah, however, when used regarding the ancient hope of Israel’s Redeemer and when applied to Yeshua, has a more profound meaning. It still means “anointed one,” but it carries with it more significance. In the first half of the Bible, God, through his prophets, predicted an “anointed one” or “Messiah” that would come to fulfill a host of prophecies and predictions in the Old Testament. The expected Messiah would take on the roles of prophet, priest, and king, the so-called anointed offices within the ancient Israelite governmental and religious structure. The promised Messiah would combine these roles in one person to lead the Jewish people in what can only be called a theocracy—a nation under the rule of God himself.

Yeshua fulfilled these offices as he was anointed by God to be a prophet (speaking for God), a king (ruling for God), and a priest (interceding on man’s behalf before a holy and righteous God). It is for these reasons that we call him our Messiah.

When you start more about Jesus, you will almost certainly run across the term “Messiah.” Most of the time, this word will be used in reference to Jesus as a title or as a description of who he is.

What Does Messiah Mean? | Blog | LaOmek

What Does Messiah Mean?

Can you be Jewish and believe in Jesus? I’d like to introduce you to Jordan, Ronit, and Johnny.

Jordan grew up in a Jewish home, but he hated Hebrew School and flunked out before his bar mitzvah. He was infatuated with the arts and pursued a career in theater. He became involved in Eastern religions, which he found fascinating. However, he still felt empty, despite success in his career. One day, a friend told Jordan about Jesus and gave him a Bible. Soon thereafter, Jordan accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Is Jordan still Jewish?

Ronit grew up in a Conservadox family, kept a kosher kitchen, and loved being Jewish. She felt God’s presence in synagogue but would pray and would not hear back from him. She felt empty and distant from God. Then her cousin became a believer in Jesus, leading Ronit to investigate the Messiah more. Her sister challenged her to learn more about Judaism and put questions about Jesus aside, so Ronit decided to become more religious. During that time, she discovered the prophecy in the Torah that Messiah would be “a prophet like Moses” (Deuteronomy 18:15). After reading the New Testament, Ronit came to the conclusion that no one fit that description better than Yeshua. Is Ronit still Jewish?

Johnny grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family in South Africa. He “davened” daily and considered the existence of God to be a given. He began a career in advertising, which caused him to become cynical and discouraged by life. He began partying and focusing on becoming wealthy. This led nowhere, and Johnny became more and more dissatisfied. But one day, he started reading a Bible a friend gave him. He found his soul resonating with the words of Jesus. As tears streamed down his face, he thought, No man spoke like this man. He began studying the Bible and found prophecy after prophecy that Jesus fulfilled. He began to believe in Jesus as his Messiah and found his life transformed. Is Johnny still Jewish?

Consider the different backgrounds and experiences of Jordan, Ronit, and Johnny. At various points in their lives, they were religious, irreligious, looking for God, not looking for God, attending synagogue, or following after some very non-Jewish expressions of religious belief. If you would have asked them at any of those points, “Are you still Jewish?” they would have responded with, “Are you kidding me? Of course!”

Each of these three courageously took a step of faith that was counter to the way they were raised. Even so, they were compelled to believe in Jesus anyway. They discovered he was the door into the presence of the God of Israel.

If you were to ask Jordan, Ronit, or Johnny about their Jewish identity today, they would tell you that their Jewishness has been deepened, completed, and fulfilled more through Jesus than through anything they had previously experienced.

What else would you expect? If Jesus is the Jewish Messiah of Israel, what could be more Jewish than following him?

Can I be Jewish and Believe in Jesus? | Blog | LaOmek

Can I be Jewish and Believe in Jesus?

Do you believe in God? This is not a question that can be answered by declaring yourself a Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu. This is not a religious question—it is personal. Assuming you are searching for a deeper spiritual reality in your life, the question of belief in God is important and should come before all others. If we want real answers to the deepest questions of our souls, then we need to put all our belief cards on the table.

Laying aside complex religious arguments or philosophical proofs for the time being, this question challenges far more than our intellectual capacities alone—it plumbs the depths of human nature itself.

Why should I believe in God? I can think of one important reason to get us started. It is this: the existence of God is the most likely explanation for the rest of existence. This is not unlike reasoning that, if there is water in a river downstream, then there is most likely a source of water upstream. Is this proof? Of course not. It is belief.

But what does it mean to believe something in the first place? C.S. Lewis, the great British author who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia and much more, spelled out the difference between believing and knowing with a very practical example. It goes something like this: I saw Joe leave my house and observed him from the window walking down the street. Then my brother entered the room ten seconds later and asked, “Where’s Joe?” I would say, “He just left,” not “I believe he just left.” The first is a statement of certainty—I saw it for myself. It would not occur to me to say, “I believe I saw him leave,” because there is no possible alternative. I do not just believe it; I know it.

But belief in God is in another category, because this belief does imply a kind of knowing. There is a kind of experience of knowing God when we believe in him, similar to observing Joe walk down the street. But there is much more at stake in this case.

Why should I believe in God? Blaise Pascal, another profound thinker, spoke of the “God-shaped void” that cannot be filled by any created thing. Without God, we are unfulfilled and can never truly know peace. Lewis also made the argument that just as thirst naturally draws us to water and hunger toward food, our longing for meaning draws us toward God. That is, there is no longing in us that is not directed toward its fitting object of longing, including our longing for God. It is inherent in our nature to be drawn to the divine. It is how we are made.

There are two other more immediate reasons for belief in God that we should consider. The first is the statements of others. For many, no reason is enough in itself to call forth belief, but the words of a credible witness can be a weighty piece of evidence in considering the merit of a case. If your story commands my attention, am I not likely to at least listen to you and try to either verify or discount what you say? The Bible provides us, in both Old and New Testaments, with witnesses of God’s acts and power that deserve our attention. Beyond the words on the page, many Jesus-followers today can also attest to God’s mighty works in their lives.

Finally, some things are too important to take at face value from someone else. We must find out for ourselves. So, we encourage you to entertain the possibility of God’s existence and see where it leads—or as the psalmist suggests, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). What can it hurt to simply ask God to show Himself to you in ways that are convincing? There is a rational element to belief in God, but the Supreme One also created the heart and the soul. We can get part of the way in our faith journey by using our minds, but we also need to be gripped in the depth of our soul – to know by experience as well as by rational argumentation. So, ask, taste, and see if God answers and breaks through to you.

Do you believe in God? This is not a question that can be answered by declaring yourself a Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Hindu. This is not a religious question—it is personal. Assuming you are searching for a deeper spiritual reality in your life, the question of belief in God is important and should come before all others.

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Common Questions

How Can I Live a Meaningful Life?

September 11, 2022

Is the God of the New Testament the Same as the God of Israel?

September 9, 2022

What Does Messiah Mean?

September 8, 2022

Can I be Jewish and Believe in Jesus?

September 7, 2022

Why Should I Believe in God?

September 4, 2022