Second Blog

 

 

 

Hi all.  This is my second blog.  I appreciate your hanging in there with me.  I am hoping you are finding hope in G-d at this time.  Even if you do not believe in G-d or the Messiah, that is okay.  Keep reading.  I also want to write again for my Jewish brothers and sisters.  Specifically to let them know why I, a Jewish woman, came to believe in the Messiah of the Christian faith; and I will give three reasons for why I came to believe in Him (or why my faith strengthened in Him).

 I came to believe in the Messiah without having read most of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament; perhaps this is an unusual way.  I slowly came to believe in the Messiah when I started reading a book by Dr. Charles Stanley (title in my first blog).  In my reading of this book, I noticed my life experiences seemed similar to what was described in the book (I would not have guessed this since I had not read the New Testament; I would have felt very guilty about doing so).  The first reason, therefore, for my coming to faith in the Messiah is because of the way trials were looked at in the NT; that we will have trials and G-d will use these for good (Romans 8:28); this resonated with me.  

In times of suffering I could see that my suffering had a purpose in G-d’s plan and helped me to get closer to Him.  Dr. Stanley says people can suffer from circumstances because of the sin of others or our own sin; or we can suffer because of tragedies. G-d does not cause tragedies or the sin of other’s to happen but at times they do happen; and these unfortunate situations can help us grow in faith and forgiveness; if we keep our eyes on Him.  

In the NT; the Messiah says “blessed are the people who are poor in Spirit and who are mourning” (Matthew 5:3). It is because their humility helps them get closer to G-d.  I have felt on many occasions when I was in grief; I got closer to Him.   I reached out to Him many times for comfort and He was always there.  Even when we do not feel Him; it is promised in the Bible that He is there.  Also when I suffered from my trials, they made me stronger and put me more in line with G-d’s will for me. We are part of a broken world,  and our suffering can also help us give to other’s the comfort we received from the Messiah; this fits the principle that the suffering, in this case, is being used for good.

The second reason has to do with why my faith in the Messiah strengthened; it is because I started feeling His peace when I was spending time with Him.  I have suffered with anxiety in this world; the peace I felt in my heart from knowing Him I had never experienced before my relationship with Him.  Having a relationship with Him brings us joy as He is our comforter, our helper, and and our teacher.  In my faith in Him, I am never alone; knowing this brings me a feeling of security, as He is my rock, which is important to feel in the world we live in today.  

The world looks at suffering differently than G-d does; the world wants us to believe we have to feel good all the time.  But this is one of the lies of the world; and is not true.  We cannot feel good the way the world wants us to feel (I hope to write more about this) but we can feel good in the Messiah; it is written in His Word that the peace we receive from Him is not the peace we receive from the world (John 14:27).  

I want to add, so no one compares themselves to my experiences; His peace did not happen quickly for me (and is not all the time but is more than how it was before my faith in Him).  I had to be willing to wait for Him and also to give up my old life; meaning give up the unG-dly things my flesh was drawn to.  In my experience this is a constant process.  If I give up those things in my flesh I am drawn to; I am greatly rewarded.  The reason is I now have a friend and a comforter in the Messiah.  He has helped me with some difficult times; I discussed in my first blog I went through a break up of a 12 year relationship.  This was very difficult for me.  Now I am happy it happened because I got closer to Him and it caused me to turn to Him for comfort.  This is one of the many cases He used my suffering for good.

My third reason, also for my increasing faith in Him, is because in reading the word of G-d, in particular the Old Testament (I started reading it in full recently ), I am further convinced the Messiah is who He says He is.  There are many references in the Old Testament to the Messiah of the Christian faith; particularly through the Word of the prophets who speak about Him (I will talk about the ways reading the Old Testament helped me strengthen my faith in the Messiah, in my third blog).  In addition, I had some practice using the Word of G-d before then; I had an experience where I would say a particular scripture before I went to an internship I was doing (I read the scripture to give me strength to be able to complete a goal that was set as I was concerned I would not complete it). The scripture I said gave me the strength to do the work and to complete it.  

G-d can and does open people’s eyes; there are a lot of references in the Bible that people may be blinded to the truth.  I know I was in a lot of denial before I came to faith in Him; and I am grateful He opened my eyes.  This can take some time; and my eyes are still being opened; as I can still have denial.  I pray in all my heart that you will seek G-d.  You can talk to him and ask Him to open your eyes.  In His word He says, “call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Blog

 

 

 

Hi welcome to my first Blog Post.  I am very happy that you are here.  On the first Blog I want to let you know who I am and why I started this Blog.  My hope is that this Blog will give people comfort in the difficult days we are going through.  And that people can find faith or strengthen their faith in my story.  I would like to particularly reach fellow Jews; and encourage them there is hope to find peace within.

I am going to discuss my faith (not an easy topic to discuss) but I want to let you know why my faith helps me in times of crisis.  I am a Messianic Jew; a Messianic Jew is someone who believes in the Messiah of the Christian faith. Some Messianic believers, like myself, also believe in following some of the laws of the Old Testament, e.g., keeping the Sabbath.   I do consider myself Jewish; although I know there are many who would debate this label.  As a Jew, I would understand if by now you have tuned out or decided not to read my blog because of the mention of the Messiah.  I pray you will give me a chance as I get it, I have been in your shoes.

 Talking about my faith; particularly to Jews is not something I generally do.  I am a reserved person and I have always allowed people of other faiths to express their own religious sentiments.  So why am I choosing this time to talk about it?  I believe the times we live in are going to be very difficult (I hope to write more about this) and I believe G-d wants me to encourage other Jews to have faith in the Messiah.

 How did I come to faith in the Messiah?   I will first discuss briefly my Jewish background. I grew up in a Jewish household; a reformed upbringing.  We went to Sunday school and upheld the religious holidays.  As an adult, I believed in the G-d of my Jewish faith and I was very uncomfortable when Christians spoke to me about the life and death consequences of believing in the Messiah. I had guilt about not believing in Him; yet I also felt guilt about the possibility of believing in Him.  I felt if I believed in the Messiah; I would be punished by G-d.  This struggle was constant in my adult life.

 No one was more surprised than me when five or six year ago, I became a believer in the Messiah.  Three years prior, I was in a bookstore and I was drawn to a book by Dr. Charles Stanley called “Finding Peace, G-d’s Promise for a Life Free of Regret, Anxiety, and Fear”.  I was struggling with life and needed the comfort the book offered; and was willing to overlook the part of the book on the Messiah. Three or four years later, during a time when I was desperate; I chose to believe in Him.  Feeling desperate was the only way to get me to believe because I was so scared about it.  I am very happy now I made that decision as it changed me for the better.

What have I gotten from believing in the Messiah?  Strength and hope and amazing comfort.  I could write a lot about my struggles as my life has not been easy; in some ways it has but in other ways it has been very difficult.  In the last few years, I went through a break up of a 12-year relationship and did not feel I could be alone.  Throughout my life I always had trouble being alone. 

 My testimony of faith is that I live alone today and I am doing well despite being alone in my home (during the quarantine).  I am not really alone though because I find strength in G-d through the Messiah; He gives believers His peace and this gives us great comfort.  He has transformed my heart in ways I would not have thought possible. He wants us to be in His image.  Oh my gosh, I am not there yet but I am closer than I have ever been. I used to focus on others to be my peace.  That does not work.  Now I feel peace through Him. 

 I pray in reading my story you will find some comfort (in my second blog I will let you know in more detail why I came to believe in the Messiah) and you will come to know it is possible to have joy and peace in the Messiah. And even if you are not ready to believe, that is okay too.  I am just glad you are here so that you can know there is hope.