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Montreal was a
‘messianic marathon’ of outreach and joy!
The night we arrived we had quite a gathering of believers and
non-believers. At first I hoped
it was to meet me, but I soon realized it was for Rhonda's
marinated brisket!
Faith in God
vs. Fear of Man
Across the table, *Irv, an outspoken orthodox
Jewish man, sat questioning why we believe in Jesus as Messiah. I responded, “Because it's true: both in the Scriptures and
our hearts, Irv.” He then said, “God will have to force me to believe
it so I'd have no choice!” “Irv,” I mentioned, “as much as God
loves you, He respects you even more.” “What do you mean by that,
Sam?” “Well,” I continued, “His love for you is so great that to
demonstrate it, Messiah, the Son of God, died for your sins. And with such
a sacrifice, you would think God would force it upon us, lest He be seen
as wasting Messiah's life by your not accepting Him. God respects you so
much that He doesn't force you to believe. Irv, He wants
you to respond to His love and trust Him.” Irv was quiet, and
then said, “I see that. And you're right: I have to have faith and not
expect God to force me to believe.” Later on I discovered that Irv resisted believing because he
feared the anger and rejection from his family. I hugged him and said to
him, “Irv, let your life be led by faith in God, and not fear of man.”
“Yes, he said, pray for me.” Please,
join me in praying for Irv to trust in His Messiah.
Men's &
Women's Ministry
On Saturday members and leaders from the four
messianic congregations in Montreal
gathered in true unity and love. I spoke on the importance of discipleship
for messianic believers at the morning service. That afternoon I taught
the men (1 Timothy 3:16,17) and Miriam taught the women (Titus 2:3-5) the
necessity of the word of God as the only authority for growing us into
mature believers. Jewish
tradition alone can never provide what the Jewish Scriptures, the eternal
Word of God provides: the inspiration and profitability making us
“adequate for every good work”!
Russian Jews
Join Conference
On Sunday, Russian translation was the norm as many more Russian Jews
became a part of the conference. What
joy to see people respond to the Good News, but none as dramatically as
Svetlana, weeping as she trusted in Messiah Yeshua as her Savior. Percy
Johnson, messianic leader in Montreal, sent this note of appreciation
after Miriam had thanked him & his wife for allowing us to stay in
their home:
“Shalom Sam and
Miriam;
We are the ones
that are indebted to both of you. You ministered to us in a way that was
beyond the call of duty. Our L-rd has been magnified because of you. Our
congregation in particular and the whole messianic community in general
have benefitted because of you ministry to us. I am looking forward to
next year. Please keep us in your prayers.
In Messiah's Name, Percy”
Let’s keep these
wonderful messianic believers in prayer as they courageously share the
Great News with the 100,000 Jews in Montreal, Canada. Shalom. Y
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