Women and those appearing before a camera often use blush or rouge to create a healthier glow. And though makeup, and in particular foundation, can be used to cover up skin imperfections, only the blood of the Lamb can cover all our inner imperfections – the sin that separates us from a holy God. Along with Paul, we boldly proclaim the Good News of Messiah’s atonement as our foundation for both Jews and Gentiles. Embarrassment or shame may bring on a blush we might not want to show, but there is no shame in declaring that Messiah’s blood is the only way to a restored relationship with God. As we fearlessly and faithfully face the future, let us share the gospel of Messiah Yeshua, our inner transformation being the true base for our faces shining with and for His glory.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” II Corinthians 3:18
One team went out tonight to finish the distribution at an apartment building from last week. By the grace of God, a great number of sets were given out! As we started walking toward the door of the building, we saw the elevator open and out walked a woman with two children. She headed straight for the front door which allowed us to entrance into the building.
The first thing we did was to deliver a Bible we promised for the sister of the woman we met during last week’s door to door. At the first door, a man in his 50’s answered. As we offered him the Scriptures, he asked us if we were Jewish and if the book was the Torah. We answered him by saying that it was the Torah, the prophets and the writings. We encouraged him to read it explaining that prophecies were written about the Messiah of Israel so we can recognize who He is. He took the set and thanked us.
A set was given to a young Jewish woman in her late 20’s with a young girl standing beside her. She was French speaking and accepted it with joy. As the door closed, we both thought that she might be from the Lubavitch, an ultra-orthodox sect.
Right next door, a woman in her 30’s opened her door. As we proceeded to speak, we could see that she was suspicious, but as soon as we said that the set was a gift to be offered to Jewish people, she took it with joy and thanked us.
Later on, another young woman was also suspicious at first and asked us what we were doing at her door. Yet as soon as we offered her the set, she happily thanked us. At another apartment, an elderly woman answered her door . We saw she was wearing thick makeup and thought that it was hiding a heavy weight of loneliness and sadness. As we offered her the set, a conversation started about the end times and she agreed that it was not a time of peace. We said that we had to be first reconciled with God through the Messiah of Israel and we also talked about the Day of the Lord, the Messianic Kingdom, and the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10. She then asked us to come into her home.
We were blessed to have a long conversation with her for about 25 minutes. We bless His Holy Name to have had the privilege of talking about Him! We went over the prophecy from Isaiah 9:6 with her, as well as the place of Messiah’s birth in Micah 5:2. We emphasized the fact that we need to be reconciled through the Messiah and that only blood can atone for sin. We said that God had provided the atonement for sin through the Messiah of Israel. Another topic we discussed is the fact that there is no good work that we can do to approach a holy God. We spoke about the Messiah being the Son of David and showed her Matthew’s genealogy. We encouraged her to read Isaiah 53, too. When we left, the Tanach remained open on the table for her to read. The whole time we were talking to her, she kept on saying things like, “It is wonderful what you are doing. How long have you been doing this?”
We request you join us in prayer for M. because we have it in our hearts, God willing, to visit her again.
May the Lord bless you all for your support and participation through the Spirit!
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”Romans 1:16