[This page is for Messianic Jews (or Gentiles in Jewish Missions)
who have read our Triennial Messianic Devotional Bible page]

Writing TMDB Devotions (the short version)

Shalom, haverim!

Della, here, the secretary of HIT and the Australian rep for “Israel and the Bible” Bibles in Hebrew, plus the founder of the Kedesh Ministries Network. I’m also a member of Lausanne Consultation Jewish Mission (LCJE).

Looking for Contributions

We are endeavouring to compile a Bible of devotions by Messianic Jews (and Gentiles in Jewish missions) so I’m writing to ask if you would like to contribute some Jewish insights for a new reading plan called the Triennial Messianic Devotional Bible (TMD Bible). The plan includes a Tanakh and a Brit HaDasha (New Testament) portion for each day, plus a Torah portion on Shabbat, and “a Psalm-a-Sunday”.

If so, can you please submit a short (250-275) devotion / sermon / snippet / testimony / teaching or summary of a teaching (please include link to your full teaching ) based on verses from a particular passage to explain that Scripture from a Jewish/Hebraic perspective?

Which verses?

Please go to TMDB-plan online document to see which passages still need devotions and submit your devotions or teachings.

What to submit

In your submission, please include your:

Name and your organisational title (eg CEO of <organisation>)
Name of Mission / organisation / ministry
Country
your 250-275 word devotion which includes an application question or challenge and short prayer
a short bio (50-100 words) about you (including your testimony) and about your organisation
your mission website and logo, and a
photo of yourself for your bio, if you wish

How to submit

When you are ready, please email it to us. You can also include a link to an audio / video version in English.

For more information about any of the above, read the “long version” below or contact me.

Todah raba!

Della

Guidelines
(the long version)

The TMDB Reading Plan

We have divided the entire Bible into 1,096^ portions (OT ~ 585 words/day plus NT ~ 230 words/day) to be read over three years. We would be grateful for some Messianic Jewish insight into each of these portions.

(Feel free to forward the TMDB link (www.kedesh.net/TMD-Bible) to other leaders in your organisation and other Messianic Jewish missions, anywhere around the world.

We are looking for “devotions” or “mini-sermons” or “snippets” from the Jewish perspective to help us Gentiles, who don’t know the language or culture, to get a clue about the Hebrew nuances of each passage.

—–

^ 1096 = three times 365 days, plus one day for a leap year

How many words?

Ideally, each devotion should be about 250-275 words long and cover something fascination about your chosen passage – enlighten us with some Hebrew lessons or Jewish insights into the Scriptures about which most Gentile believers have no clue!

Picking a Passage

Please go here and choose a passage. The ones with no devotions yet are in red. When I hear from you we will change it to orange to indicate your intentions. Once your devotion is submitted, we will change it to green.

How many devotions?

For now, can each leader in your organisation submit two to ten Tanakh devotions and two to ten New Testament devotions? If we still need more devotions (and you are willing to submit more) we will message you.

What to write about?

Perhaps,

Explain Hebrew words which have a deeper or different meaning to the traditional English connotations (or that are outright wrong in translation!)
Explain how a particular person, event, theme connects with other passages in the Bible.
If it’s a genealogy, tell us about the various people listed – give us flesh and colour to these black & white names.
If the Tanakh is quoted in the New Testament, how verses from the Tanakh are / will be fulfilled in the Brit HaDashah.
Messianic Prophecies – how Yeshua fulfilled them.
Include tips on Jewish evangelism if the passage is particularly helpful. How can Christians share the Good News more effectively with the Jews?
Is this passage part of your testimony? If so, share how God revealed to you that Yeshua is indeed the Messiah.
Tell us the traditional Hebraic interpretation of these verses.
Any other insights us ignorant Gentiles have no idea about!

Supporting Media

Please also attach maps, illustrations, photographs, drawings, charts, or graphs to help illustrate the point of the passage.

Also, if you already have teaching videos/audios or a more lengthy in-depth teaching on this passage, add links within the devotion to appropriate external multimedia.

Messianic Artists

We would also like to promote Messianic artists, so if you know any songs or paintings or something else (jewellery, clothing) based on your passage (or other passages), please share links so we can get permission to use their work.

Bible Book Introductions

We hope to use The Bible Project videos as an introduction to each of the Books of the Bible. However, if you know of other resources (text, media) which we could add, we would like to hear about them.

Teachings on Jewish Festivals and Nativity

Most Gentiles have no idea when the Jewish festivals are and how they are celebrated (or why, for that matter) so if you’d like to also write teaching specifically about them (max 500 words), we will include them as appendices, along with a table of dates when to read the appropriate passages (e.g. Esther during Purim). However, the first priority is devotions from the Bible proper so please focus on that first.

Aim

In 2006, I went to Israel for the first time and volunteered with Jacob Damkani (a Messianic Israeli). I was enlightened to find out that sharing the Gospel with Jews is more effective if shared from the Tanakh, the Jewish perspective, about which I (an active Gentile Christian) was completely ignorant.

In 2015, I started travelling with another Messianic Israeli, Omri (Jacob’s friend) and I came to realise that, though I had been reading & studying the Scriptures for myself since I was 13 years old, I had no idea really because I’d been taught by my Gentile parents and pastors, who’d been taught by their Gentile parents and pastors. As learnéd as they were, they didn’t know the Jewish culture, customs, nor language, and they have never been to Israel so do not know the geography or topography. The first time I heard Omri teach, many lightbulbs went on in my mind and heart as he connected the OT with the NT. My aim for this devotional is to do likewise for my fellow Gentile believers.

The purpose of this Triennial Messianic Devotional Bible is five-fold:

Motivate – To encourage and challenge all people to read the Holy Scriptures daily
Means – To give people a plan to read the Bible in its entirety through short daily readings over 3 years.
Hebraic Perspective – To give Gentiles a revelation that this book was written by Jews and for Jewish people first, is based on Jewish culture and language, in the Jewish homeland.
Advertise – To promote Jewish missions and Messianic ministries and artists, worldwide.
Tips – To give tips on Jewish evangelism to help Christians share the Good News with their Jewish friends and contacts more effectively.

The Format

Basically, we envision that it will be in a somewhat “normal” Bible order but having both testaments parallel, with each day’s passage on a new page and a devotional beside it. Weekdays will cover around 1 chapter (1000 words) per day and weekends about 500 words per day. It will not be dated, however “weekday” and “weekend” devotions will be different.

There are 5 books which have a special location in this TMD Bible:

When I was a teen trying to read the Bible right through, I got stuck in Leviticus, Numbers and Deutoronomy which I felt were “dry” books. So, we have portioned these books to be short readings on Shabbat over the 3 years. Therefore, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are not between Exodus and Joshua – they are throughout this Bible in order, every 6^th page, on the Shabbats (Saturdays).
The Psalms will not be in the centre of this Bible. In this plan, we have set aside “A Psalm-a-Sunday” to read the Psalms so they will be spread throughout the Bible in order, facing the Shabbat pages.
We have also allotted a “Word of Wisdom” meme for each weekday from Proverbs. These will not be devotionals (though if you want to submit a devotional on a proverb, we can add it as an appendix. We are looking for artists to illustrate each proverb with a meme. Therefore, the Book of Proverbs will not be found in the middle of this Bible either, because they will be, in order, throughout the whole book, every weekday.

Audio and/or video version of your devotion

It would be great if you could also include an audio and/or video version of your devotion. Statistics show that people are more likely to watch a video than to read. We will include a link to your audio of the text for each day.

If English is not your native language (or even if it is!) please speak every word, slowly and clearly.

Start by saying “Shalom” and stating your name and your title in your ministry (if applicable), ministry name, and your city / country. Then state the passage your are focussing on – if it is only a few verses, feel free to read from the version of the Bible which you prefer. Share your devotion. Finish with a challenge or application and a short prayer.

Eg “Shalom! My name is Della Steen. I’m the secretary of the HIT network – Hosting Israeli Travellers. Today, I’ll be sharing with you from Proverbs chapter 31, verses 10 to 31, entitled “The Noble Wife”. [Read your Devotion slowly]. Father, I pray that You will continually show us how to be men and women of noble character. Grant us opportunities every day to share Your love and Word with others. In the name of Yeshua, Amen.”

Other languages

If English is not your mother tongue (or if you know other language/s fluently) please also send me the devotion in your native / other languages. This includes the written and audio/video versions of your devotion.

Your Bio (including Promoting your Jewish Mission)

The reason I have asked you, is because I believe that you are a wise, insightful person and because you are involved with a Jewish mission. At the bottom of your devotion/s I would like to add your name, mission, logo and website. I will then add an appendix of contributors with your bio, and information about your ministry. So, please write a short bio about yourself, a brief testimony, and a description of your mission. Approximately 50-100 words.

Please send a photo of yourself too, if you wish.

Other Contributors needed!

Can you forward this link (www.kedesh.net/TMD-Bible) to others in your mission who may also like to add a devotion/s? Every time you (or someone from your ministry) writes a devotion, your mission will be promoted.

Do you have any suggestions of other sound Jewish missions who may be interested to write devotion/s? Please let us know so we can contact them.

The Vision

It is our dream that the Triennial Messianic Devotional Bible will be published as both a hard copy book (I prefer New King James Version but feel free to use whichever version you prefer) and as an eBook (where people can choose whichever translation they read). I also hope to add it to platforms like the YouVersion Bible app too.

Another dream is that the TMD Bible may be translated into many languages, one day. If you know another language or, if you know a superb translator who may like to translate all the Triennial Messianic Devotional Bible devotions into your/other language/s, please let me know.

Thank you!

May the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, inspire you as you contribute your insights regarding His Word, in this Triennial Messianic Devotional Bible.

With great appreciation and anticipation.