It Took A Miracle
Testimony of Jess Pincus
The Bible says, “… my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Isa.55:8). How true it is!
My dad obtained a position in a shoe store, but the working conditions there were uncomfortable, and this resulted in his becoming dissatisfied with life. One day a Jewish lady walked into the store and requested to see my father. My dad did not know her but asked, “Lady, do you want to buy some shoes?”
“No,” she replied, “I don’t want any shoes. I saw you through the window, and I feel that you have some genuine needs in your life. I would like to talk to you about them.”
“Lady, there are other people working here. Talk to them,” my father replied. “No,” she said, “I would like to talk to you about your spiritual needs.”
Finally, Esther convinced my dad to have lunch with her. She told him to call Mr. Brown, an attorney, who was her close friend. My dad called Mr. Brown and made an appointment to visit him.
“Rubin, we have a Bible study for Jewish people every Thursday night. I would like you to attend.”
STUDYING GOD’S WORD
My mom, dad and I attended the Bible study and were very impressed with the genuine love that Mr. Brown and his family had for the Jewish people. He taught in the Bible study that God wants each of us to have a personal relationship with Him. He said that many of us do not experience this personal relationship with Him. He pointed out that many of us do not experience this personal relationship because of the sin in our lives. We were shown Isaiah 59:2 which says, “. . . your sins have hidden his face from you, that he will not hear.” It was further explained that all of our mitzvahs (good works) cannot remove our sins, not even fasting on the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 17:11 states that sin can only be removed through a blood sacrifice.
Finally, Mr. Brown shared with us that there has been no blood sacrifice for over 1,900 years -since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. However, in God’s perfect timing, He sent His Son, Jesus, to be the ultimate blood sacrifice.He also showed us Old Testament verses which told where the Messiah would be born – when He would come – how He would be both God and man – how He would die -how He would be resurrected – and how He would come again. Every one of these verses fits the life of Messiah Jesus.
Even though everything the Brown family and others shared with us made sense, we still had the feeling of being traitors if we received Jesus as our Jewish Messiah.
WE MET THE MESSIAH!
After attending the Browns’ Bible study for about a year and a half, my parents accepted Jesus as their promised Messiah and Savior, believing that He placed their sins on Himself. They could now see that their faith in Jesus made them more Jewish, rather than less, because He is the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies.
The question still existed, Jess Pincus, what about your personal relationship with God? In my head, I believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah and the ultimate blood sacrifice, but I was afraid to make it known to anyone else.
At the age of twelve in Miami, Florida, I was confronted by a Jewish evangelist with the question, “Would you like to settle your personal relationship with the Lord Jesus once and for all?” My answer was, “Yes!” At that moment I prayed, “Lord Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner, that You came as my ultimate blood sacrifice, and I am now receiving You as my personal Savior.Amen!”
WALKING WITH THE LORD
Since that August day in 1959, the Lord has guided me every step of the way. He directed me to Miami Christian Junior Senior High School. How exciting it was to be learning from the Word of God. Then he led me to Florida Bible College and William Jennings Bryan College, from which I graduated. I later received graduate degrees from Florida Atlantic University and Nova University. In 1977 I married Penny Hawk. She has been a great encouragement to me through the years. Truly, the Lord’s directing power has been seen in every step of my life while preparing me for full time service with The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.
For fourteen years I was preaching and teaching the Word of God in many Bible believing churches on a part-time basis, while being full-time in the field of education. Then the Lord showed me that He wanted me to be a full-time witness to my Jewish brethren as well as to all mankind. In June, 1983, God’s call to me was confirmed when I was appointed a staff member of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry to serve in Tampa and Central Florida. My wife, Penny, helps in various areas of my ministry.
There is a song which summarizes my personal experience with the Lord. It says, “Thank You Lord for saving my soul, Thank You Lord for making me whole; Thank You Lord for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free.”
Testimony of Bill Pellatt
Having been brought up in a Jewish home, I was trained in the customs and traditions of Judaism – such things as not eating pork, not drinking milk with meat, observing the Sabbath on Saturday, not having a Christmas tree and, of course, not believing in Jesus. These were the major differences between me and my Gentile friends when we were growing up. Oh, I had a bar mitzvah, like every other Jewish boy, and I made the occasional trip to the synagogue for the high holidays, but these were merely customs or traditions as far as I was concerned. There was no spiritual urge or desire to go to the synagogue. And, after having been there, I experienced no satisfied feeling that l had been in God’s presence. Somehow,I had always believed that there was a God, but I did not know who or what He was, nor did I know if I could communicate with Him – or how to, if I could. So it was that, in this area of my life, I felt a great emptiness. As I grew older, and even into my 45th year of life, I continually thought about God, but I had no answers. I couldn’t even answer the few questions my children posed concerning God. I didn’t know what I believed anymore.
Well, my answer started to come about eight years ago. A family crisis created an opportunity for my daughter, Carol, who had already become a Christian, and her two friends, to talk to my wife and me about Jesus Christ. I don’t have to tell you how skeptical two Jews in their forties were about the fact that Jesus Christ could be the answer to their problems and the answer to the emptiness in their lives.
But some things they told us concerning Jesus disturbed me very much. They said that His manner of birth, His place of birth, His purpose while here on earth, His death, and even His resurrection were all prophesied in the Old Testament. “If these things are true,”’ I asked, “why don’t all Jews believe in Jesus as Messiah?” My daughter and her two friends challenged me to see for myself. They gave me a list of the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning these things, along with an English Bible so that I could look them up. I promised them that in the next two weeks I would check it out.
And I did! I couldn’t believe my eyes. Imagine, in the Old Testament, the “Jewish Bible,” I found the prophecy of the virgin birth, the prophecy of Bethlehem being the place of Messiah’s birth, the prophecy of how Messiah was to suffer and die for our sins, the prophecy of how Messiah’s body, when in the grave, would not see corruption but would be resurrected. Every passage I read was a picture of Jesus. I asked myself, How can my people not believe this? The answer to this question was revealed to me when I read Isaiah 6:9-10, where the Lord said to Isaiah, “. . . Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed.”
By this time, there was no doubt in my mind that Jesus was really the Messiah spoken of in the Scriptures. I didn’t need any rabbis or scholars to interpret the verses for me. They were perfectly clear, even for my limited intelligence. The words just jumped right out at me.
If I thought I had problems before, now I had a real problem. What should I do with this information? Had I, as a Jew, missed the boat? If the Messiah had come to His own people, and His own people had rejected Him, where did that leave me? Was it too late to accept Him? Could I alone accept Him? I began to tremble. I was really scared.
I asked these questions of my daughter and her two friends. They understood why I felt this way, but they assured me that if I really wanted to be obedient to the Word of God, it was not too late. God is a loving and forgiving God. They told me that if I, a Jew, acknowledged Jesus as Messiah, God would rejoice. Believe me, this was the only hope I could grasp onto at that time.
I sat down, put my head in my hands and prayed -truly prayed -for the very first time in my life. This was the first personal, private conversation I had ever had with the Lord, and I never doubted for a moment that He heard me. I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life. In obedience to all God had planned for me, I acknowledged that I believed Jesus had died for my sins and that I was forgiven of all my sins – past, present and future. I believed with all my heart that Jesus rose from the grave and lives today so that He can intercede for us with God the Father.
Wow! What a fantastic feeling. It was as if a weight had been lifted from my head. After 45 years, I was in complete obedience to the Creator. I never felt more a Jew than at that moment.
I started going to Bible studies, reading the Scriptures and fellowshipping with other believers. As I began to grow spiritually, I found I had a love for people that I never had before. I was more patient with everyone.
Most importantly, I had a new standard of living. I now had Someone to answer to regarding my thoughts, my words and my actions. Sometimes, I’m not too crazy about that idea, but, praise God, He gives me strength to overcome temptation.
The Lord has helped me to get through the rough times, both financially and emotionally. He has taught me to give thanks for those rough times, as well as for the good times. He has blessed me with a loving and God-fearing wife, three wonderful children and two beautiful grandchildren. He has recently placed me in a job which has brought me nothing but happiness, joy and contentment. For all these things, I give Him all the praise and glory.
The Lord is so good, and I thank Him daily for having chosen me to come to know Him.
If God is speaking to you, if you feel Him tugging at your sleeve, please LISTEN TO YOUR HEART. If you open the door to your heart, He will come in.
