Apples of Gold Mar/Apr 2026
Some of the ultra-Orthodox, mostly young boys, come to my house to persecute my family and me because of our faith in Jesus. Because these inciters are only children, the police say they can’t help us; so the boys are free to fight against us.
But recently, one of our neighbors, whose children are active with the ultra-Orthodox, called me to ask for help. He wanted me to come to his home and help fix some electrical issues.
“It’s very dangerous,” he told me. “Can you help us?”
I was happy to help him, as I had made many house repairs for people over the years. I went to him quickly. My neighbor knew I could fix his problem, but he also knew that I speak with people about my faith in Christ. He asked me, “Can you tell me why you believe in the One that we Jews oppose?”
“You’ve asked a good question,” I replied, “so I will give you a good answer. You must understand that I am not following a false god, like your sons believe I am. My faith is based on the Holy Bible. As it is written, ‘Fear the LORD your God and serve Him’” (Dt. 6:13).
“I am with you there,” he said.
“But the trouble is that you are far from the Lord, like those around you,” I told him.
When I finished fixing his electrical issue, I said, “Now we have enough time to continue discussing your question of why I came to believe in Jesus. Please call your family here, for this is the best time to explain to your sons how I came to know my Savior.”
He called for his family; and when everyone arrived, they were very interested in what I had to say. Many people who live nearby often seek to speak with me about my beliefs. That is why I always bring my Bible with me when I meet with people like this man.
Before I began to read from my Bible, I gave it to the family to assure them that it was the same Bible from which they read. Once they found my Bible acceptable and returned it, the man called his neighbors to come listen to him so that he could look like a hero by making me look foolish.
I opened my Bible to Isaiah 53 and gave it to the father, and he began to read before them all: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (v. 5). When he finished reading, he was filled with questions.
“Who is the One who was wounded for our transgressions?” he asked his neighbors. They looked at him as though he had lost his mind. No one answered his question. So one of the neighbors said, “Ask this man who told us to read from Isaiah 53.”
Now, I could give them the right answer—that Jesus is the One. I returned to Deuteronomy 6, the chapter they read each morning in their synagogues: “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you” (v. 14). Then I said, “You are following other gods.”
This accusation was too much for them. One yelled, “How can you say that to us?”
“Because you do not believe in God’s truth concerning His Son. It is clearly written in verse 16, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ Are you not tempting Him now by denying His truth?” I replied.
Everyone grew angry with me. “I am only reading what is written here,” I said. “This is good enough for me. Look around yourselves. Whom are you following? I follow Jesus, the mighty Son of God.”
“But how can you say that we follow other gods?” the father asked.
I explained how his sons were spending their lives studying the fictitious stories of their rabbis, who consider themselves holy. All the people the father had invited began to understand me. They said to him, “You have told us these stories, which are good for your children, but not for us.”
It had taken a few hours, but the truth of the Holy Bible had penetrated their hearts.
From The Friends of Israel archives
