Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2024
I recently had an encounter that was hard even for me to believe. But as we say here in Israel, “When God wills it, anything is possible.”
Recently, I visited my wife when she was sick in the hospital. While there, I spoke with the people around me. In Israel, you cannot speak about your faith right away; you have to do so carefully. Orthodox Jews often visit the hospitals to prevent people from sharing the gospel.
So, as I sat among the people in the hospital, I gradually began to speak with them about my faith. This time, the people around me were open-minded and eager to listen.
I spoke with a man who was a patient who wanted to learn about Jesus Christ. Our conversation lasted a long time and ended only because it was time for me to leave.
“Please come back so we can continue our conversation,” he said.
“I will do my best,” I told him.
Soon my wife came home from the hospital. But I tried to think of how I could return and visit the sick man with whom I had spoken. I knew it would be difficult to share my faith there, but I wanted to keep my promise to return and finish teaching him about the Savior. But if God wills, He can accomplish anything for His glory. I was determined to share the Good News despite the attempts by the Orthodox to stop me.
One day I became very sick. My wife called for an ambulance, which took me to the hospital. And to which of our many hospitals was I brought? To the same hospital where I planned to visit the sick man who wanted to learn about salvation through Christ. And into which of the hospital’s many rooms was I placed? His room!
The man was amazed to see me.
“You said that one day you would visit me, and here you are!” he said. “But I am sure this is not how you wanted to come!”
We could hardly believe it. I never dreamed that I would return by ambulance to finish our conversation about Christ, but I was happy for the chance to speak with the man again.
“Now,” he said, “we have enough time to continue our conversation! I spoke with others, but they were not brave enough to speak about their faith in Christ. It is very important for me to learn more about your faith.”
I knew God had given me an opportunity to share the gospel without the Orthodox chasing me away. He first asked me, “How did you come to know the Lord?”
“I came to know Him by reading the Holy Bible, not by following false gods and the fictitious stories the Orthodox teach,” I said. “It is clearly written in the Bible, ‘You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you’” (Dt. 6:14).
“Now look around,” I told him. “Most of the people here worship their rabbis and do not realize it. They respect their rabbis so much that they listen to them instead of following what is written in God’s Word.”
“So where is it written in the Bible about this one in whom you have believed?” he asked.
I opened my Bible to Isaiah 53 and read, “But 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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (vv. 5–6).
We had a very long conversation about Jesus the Messiah. The man listened closely as I told him everything he wanted to know. I pray the Lord uses our conversation to draw this man to Himself.
From The Friends of Israel archives
