Transformed before our very eyes!

 

It truly is miraculous, the changes that take place when a person comes to saving faith. Ezekiel describes the process for us:

 

Ezekiel 36:26  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

 

The Lord and His angels see that miraculous transformation in us. Before that actual transfer from the darkness to light takes place, we can sometimes witness visible changes as an individual begins to open up to the truth. Recently, one of the teams saw a man’s hardened face transform into something soft and gentle, as he chose to listen to what we had to say. He went from a flat refusal of the Word to a grateful reception of the gift. In all, a total of 22 sets were given by ten teams over the last few weeks.

 

We are excited to share some of the wonderful stories with you from our last four outings to Jewish homes!

 

One woman thought we were Jehovah’s Witnesses, so she did not want to open the door. She finally did, though, and took both the Isaiah 53 and Rising anti-Semitism leaflets.

 

One couple was so welcoming. As soon as they saw that we were giving the Tanakh and B.H. (New Testament), they asked us to come in and talk. The man was a teacher of the Word (or different religions maybe) so he said they had all the books, even the Bible, because he had to know it to talk about it. When we said we believed Yeshua was the Jewish Messiah, the wife said that they stop at Jesus, that it is all the same except for “Jesus”. The conversation lasted for a long time, but the man left the room after having received the Isaiah 53 and anti-Semitism pamphlets, and a bookmark. As we continued speaking with the wife, we got to the question of blood atonement. We told her that no animal blood could provide for eternal redemption. Then the Spirit opened a door for us to read the whole chapter of Isaiah 53 with her. We could see that she was touched, even though she kept saying, “poor man, poor man” during the reading, as a way to get off track, or rationalize. But we saw that something was really shaken inside of her. After initially refusing both books, she received a Tanakh. She thanked us and blessed us abundantly as we walked off… the same as we did for her. Such a touching moment! She invited us to come back.

 

Another woman started by talking to us through the door. But when she heard “Tanakh”  she opened the door right away. She was so happy to receive a whole set in French. She said that we were doing a great work. We blessed her, she blessed us, and while closing the door, continuing her conversation on the phone, she happily told the other person, “They gave me a New Testament!”  That was amazing. She also said that if we needed any help, we could come back and ask her. Does she have a calling? Maybe!

 

Another man did not want the Tanakh. We had a short conversation about “truth and religion”. We said that no one has or is Truth but God alone and that His Word will not pass away. We shared how God is offering a direct relationship with us in His Word and through His work.  The  gentleman finally took the pamphlet about antisemitism, the bookmark, and the Isaiah 53 leaflet.

 

A young woman around 18 years old received a set with simplicity and gladness. At another door, a 20 year-old man was also thankful to have the Scriptures.

 

We were pleasantly received at one door by a man named *R. and immediately followed by his wife *B, both in their 90s. As we presented them with the set, he said he was nearly blind and his wife had problems, too.  He was about to close the door when we asked if he had children who would receive them. They exclaimed YES so they took 2 sets! That opened the door to their history.  He was a Holocaust survivor who fled after a hard time at the age of 12.  They lived in the Ukraine where they married, and together moved to Canada in their 40s.  They listened as we spoke of the Messiah coming, and how to have a relationship with God.  R began to ask many more questions.  His wife was so thankful, and he asked why we had waited so long before coming. Then we asked if we could pray with them and they said yes again! After a sweet and thoughtful prayer we left them still standing at the door exclaiming, “Goodbye, goodbye, hope to see you again!”

 

Though the days are now bringing nightfall sooner, this past week we encountered another kind of darkness. Many people refused to even open their doors to see what we had to offer. Even so, we always see at least one home receive the Word. This past Monday, at one of the doors, the man immediately exclaimed, “No, absolutely not!” when we first spoke to him. His face was hard, and his heart seemed closed. But we began to speak about prophecies from Isaiah 53 and the choice we all have to make as seen in Daniel 12:2. He slowly began to listen. We continued, speaking about Israel in prophecy. By the end, it was such a blessing to see his hardened face become soft as he thanked us for the gift of the Scriptures! May he receive Messiah’s atonement and be totally transformed by the Holy Spirit!

 

May our merciful God bless them, protect the seed, and cause it to spring to life. Thank you so very much for your continued prayer for our outreach. You are truly valuable members of the team!

 

*For privacy reasons, we choose not to share their full name.