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Finding The Faith of Abraham I
was raised in a traditional Jewish home. From the time I was nine years old
until I was fourteen I attended Hebrew school, which stirred a desire to know
God, and the truth about Him. At my Bar Mitzvah something ‘deeper’ occurred
to me. I remember while looking into the ark where the Torahs were kept, I
sensed I was missing something. There was a lot of religion, but there didn't
seem to be any real faith. As I came to this conclusion, I made a promise to
God, “Someday I will find the truth about who You are, and what You would
require of me.” Within a few months, however, I forgot my promise to God, and
began to seek after the pleasures of the world. Although I was still practicing
“being Jewish,” God was the furthest thing from my mind. A couple years later through a dating relationship with a Gentile believer in Jesus, I was challenged to consider what the Bible says about God and the purpose for my life. Plus, I had just lost my job, so I had lots of time on my hands. Over that year, we spent the majority of our time together reading the Bible. However, because I grew up believing that the New Testament was cursed, we focused only on the Hebrew Scriptures—specifically the Messianic prophecies. After a year of study and considering what I had read, I decided to visit a church. The pastor preached about the faith of Abraham (Gen. 15:6) and how Abraham was the ‘father’ of Jews and Christians, specifically the father of all those who believe in Yeshua (see Romans 4:11). I thought about this “faith”, something I had pondered so long ago as a child, and realized in my heart this was something I didn’t have. Soon after
this I took a look at the New Testament for the first time. Upon reading the
very first verse, “A record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah
(Jesus Christ) the son of David, the son of Abraham…”, I became
convinced that if the Jewish people were going to have a Messiah, it had
to be Jesus! It was then that I prayed to receive Yeshua as my Messiah and Lord,
and I placed my trust in His atonement for my sins. Shortly after this, I sensed
God working in my heart, and two things became very evident to me. First, I
realized it was sort of an all or nothing deal—I had to love Him with my whole
heart and live my life for Him, and second, I was going to bring the Good News
of Messiah to my people. Eventually, I met my wife Shoshannah, and God has
blessed us with two wonderful children who love the Lord. To this day I continue
to praise His Holy name for the privilege of knowing and serving Him, and
for the opportunity to proclaim His name to my people. |
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I
grew up in a middle-class Jewish family and by all outward appearances, my life
has always been pleasant. But like many people, I found that the ‘good life’
was a myth. I was lonely in a family of six. My parents fought all the time, and
I never remember them ever saying that they loved me. Eventually my mother left
so I took the role as ‘mom,’ but none of us were ever close. There was a
haven for me, though: my great-grandfather’s house. I would spend my summers
there. His whole life revolved around synagogue and God. Though he didn’t
speak English, and I didn’t speak Yiddish, I knew he loved me, and I knew God
was in his home. After
high school, I went west to ‘find myself.’ I launched into a successful
career at a high profile job with a computer related firm in California. Still,
I was very, very lonely. I felt this big empty hole in my inner being that
nothing could fill. I kept trying to fill it with relationships which ended up
with me hurt and depressed. I pursued spirituality, knowledge, and philosophy,
filled my hours with dancing, business, choreography, but I felt like I was
being swallowed alive. People who saw me thought I had it all together. I looked
busy and happy and successful. But I knew better. I knew I was dying. Then
things began to change. I found a Bible that someone had left in my apartment,
and began to flip through it. For the first time, out of everything I had read,
this made sense. I began to do what it talked about: turning the other cheek,
humbling myself, etc., instead of beating people over the head. And it worked. I
couldn’t believe it! When I did things the way God said to do them it worked
out for my benefit. This was real. Not only that, I was finally finding peace in
my life. Then
one day as I was reading the Scriptures I realized there was a struggle going on
inside of me, a power struggle, if you will. Could I commit my life to Yeshua? I
got down on my knees by my bed and said, “God, if this is true—if Jesus if
the Messiah—you’ve got to prove it supernaturally. It goes against
everything I have been taught, and I can’t do it on my own.” Within
24 hours my prayer was answered.
When I went to pay my rent my landlady invited me in and initiated a
conversation about the gospel—something she had never done. When I
left—several hours later—I bumped into my neighbor, who for the first time
began to share with me her beliefs that Jesus is the Messiah. Later at work I
overheard some customers talking about Jesus. I spoke with them and they put me
in touch with a Jewish believer. After we met to study the Scriptures a couple
of times, I knew what I wanted. I wanted to please God. I wanted to belong to
Him and have a relationship with Him. And I got what I wanted, and more! All my
life I had wanted a husband devoted to me, and children. God has fulfilled the
longings of my heart. I am truly amazed because there was no one further from
God than me. But He forgave me, loved me, saved me. He’s given me a family, my
husband Stewart, and my children Melissa and Jonathan, and a life filled with
Himself and His love. It’s a life-long dream, and I’m living it every day!
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