A little child shall lead them
A divorce tore little Sarai’s world apart! She felt lost and hopeless, searching for comfort and security now that the life she had known was gone forever. Thankfully, Sarai has loving grandparents, and they brought her along to Sabbath dinner at the home of some of your Chosen People Ministries missionaries.
They have a daughter a bit older than Sarai, and they had suggested she offer to tell Sarai about Jesus if she had the chance. The two girls had fun playing together, and soon they did begin having a spiritual conversation. Sarai said she wanted to know Jesus better!
Our missionaries and their daughter told Sarai the gospel message, and she chose to pray for Yeshua to become the Lord of her life that very evening!
A dramatic change of heart
Stephen is among the millions of Jewish people in the US and around the world who, although Jewish and might attend services on the high holy days, are minimally observant and don’t have a deep, spiritual grounding in the faith. He believed that it was strange for his Jewish friend Ari to follow Jesus.
It was so strange to him, whenever he met up with Ari, Stephen was sure to make a joke about the Jewish Christian and laugh at Ari’s faith in Yeshua—and especially Ari’s work for Chosen People Ministries! He was downright scornful about it. Yet, Ari was always caring and good-natured with his critical friend.
Then it happened—Stephen seemed to have a change of heart. It began with questions about his Jewish heritage . . . but instead of asking his more religious family members about the meaning of the Jewish holy days, he asked Ari! There was no more joking or ridicule.
Then came the day Stephen asked Ari to explain, “What do you believe, and why do you believe it?” He received the entire message of Messiah! He continues to be curious about Yeshua, and we are praying that soon this change of heart will lead him to place his faith in Jesus.
They have questions—we have answers!
Raising Orthodox Jewish children in the modern world can be challenging, especially when they have questions about the foundations of their faith and what their gentile friends and neighbors believe.
Caleb’s children are smart and thoughtful. Their questions weren’t just, “What do Christians believe?” They wanted to know the reasoning Christians use in reading the Torah—why was there an original covenant if God knew it couldn’t be kept perfectly? Why did God create the law knowing only Yeshua would save people? Why wasn’t the law enough to save people if they did keep it?
Why, why, why—they were good questions, but Caleb could not answer. Fortunately, he’s friends with a Chosen People Ministries missionary. He called Michelle, put the kids on speaker, and had them ask their questions. They were amazed as Michelle, a messianic believer, answered them from their own Scriptures!
Finally, after answering the last query, he made sure, “Does that make sense?”
“Yes! That was very clear!” cried Caleb’s daughter.
We are praying that these two Jewish children and their whole family will choose to follow their Messiah, Jesus.
No running from the truth
Neta was amazed to be introduced to a messianic believer at a friend’s party. They live in Israel, where the vast majority of people are Jewish, but to meet a Jewish person who is also a follower of Jesus, was a novelty! Neta spent two hours talking to Robin about Messiah and what she believes.
Robin is a Chosen People Ministries missionary, and she was happy to talk to Neta about Jesus. After the party, they kept in touch, talking and texting about spiritual topics until Neta met a new boyfriend who had NO interest in Christianity or spirituality at all. Neta quickly stopped responding to Robin’s texts or calls.
Two years went by, but Neta never forgot about Robin and their deep conversations. She broke up with her controlling boyfriend . . . and by happenstance, she ran into Robin one day on the street! She confessed she had continued to wonder about God and eagerly accepted the invitation to dinner and discussion exploring some of the words of Jesus.
We pray that Neta will keep seeking the Messiah and soon come to faith!
