It has been said that God reaches different people in different ways. For me, it was during a major life crisis that God reached down and touched me, and brought me to the saving knowledge of His Son. In English, He is called Jesus Christ, and in Hebrew, He is called Yeshua Ha Maschiah (which is interpreted as “Jesus the Messiah”).

 

 

Nearly fifteen years ago, I began experiencing an extraordinary amount of physical pain which warranted a visit to the doctor. By the time the doctor had finished his physical examination, he said, “Son, I think you have cancer.” I prompted him further and asked him, “Do you really think it is cancer?” He said compassionately, “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it is probably a duck.” I sensed I was reaching a turning point in my life that day.

 

 

In retrospect, I see that my Jewish background had always placed within me a sense of right and wrong. I knew I had led a life that was very far removed from God’s laws and commandments. The Spirit of God began to bring to my remembrance all those things I learned from my early youth, about breaking the Sabbath and the solemnest of the Jewish High Holy Days, and that whoever would break these laws would surely be cut off from His people. It is not just the New Testament that talks about Hell, but the Old Testament as well. I was without excuse. I realized I must go back to the beginning and ask myself some very basic questions, because I knew that what I believed would determine where I will spend eternity. So I asked for God’s help.

 

 

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I knew I had led a life that was very

far removed from God’s laws and commandments.

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The first question I asked myself was, “Do I truly believe God exists?” As I contemplated the question, I thought about the complexity of the universe and the rotations of the planets. I thought about the complexity of the atom, and how, even to this day, scientists are still discovering further parts to the atom, and also how, from the infinitely large to the infinitesimally small, God is there. And, perhaps something just as important, I realized that God was always with me, and that I had sinned against a Holy God who loved me. I then asked to be forgiven.

 

 

The second question I asked myself was, “Do I believe the Old Testament is the word of God?” I thought, surely, if there is a God (and there is), He would certainly leave us His written word. I also thought about the history of my people, the Jewish people, and how God has remained faithful to us. And, in spite of the most inhuman persecution, and against odds that are too numerous to calculate, God has preserved His people to this very day. And He has not just preserved them, but has brought them back to their very own land, just as the Bible foretold three thousand years ago. Yes, the Old Testament is the word and the very breath of God.

 

 

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...if one is honest with himself,

Jew or Gentile, he must admit there may be something not quite right with his life.

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Does the Old Testament talk about a Messiah? Within the heart of most Jews, there is a sense that there is something not quite right with the world. The thousands of years of anti-Semitism and irrational hatred toward them is a sad reminder of that fact. And, if one is honest with himself, Jew or Gentile, he must admit there may be something not quite right with his life. There is an emptiness there that can only be filled by God. And there are numerous prophecies concerning His coming back to Earth. I was somewhat familiar with the prophecies concerning who He might be, because I had been witnessed to many times before. So I said to the Lord, “If this is true, help my unbelief.”

 

 

In the days and weeks that followed, I read the Bible (both Old and New Testaments), and books about the Bible, and, little by little, I became convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. Through the story of the Passover, the simplicity of the Gospel message became alive to me. I read how every Hebrew home had been ordered to place the blood of a slain lamb on the doorpost of each home, so that the angel of death would “pass over,” and the people in the house would be spared. I thought about how even those that eventually rebelled in the wilderness were spared that night because they placed the blood over their homes. And I thought about how even Moses himself, a man who spoke to God face to face, was also required to do the same. It always has been, and always will be, about the blood of the lamb. I asked God to forgive me for my sins and I asked Jesus into my heart and life. I now know for certain that Jesus really is who He says He is, not just the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world, but of mine as well!

 

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Through the story of the Passover,

the simplicity of the Gospel message

became alive to me.

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Subsequent visits to the doctor proved that his diagnosis was wrong and there was no cancer. Ever since I asked Jesus into my heart and life, I cannot tell you it has been easy, but I can tell you it has been worth it. I now have the privilege of helping to lead two family members to Christ.

 

May God richly bless you in all your endeavors in Christ Jesus. Amen.