A DEAF JEW ACCEPTS THE MESSIAH
I have been a very strong Jew all my life. The rest of my family and relatives are conservative Jews. Until March 1978, my niece who is deaf also, gave me some revelation from the Bible. I was definitely shocked at first, but she did seem to make sense. I guess you could say she planted the first seed.
My good friend and Christian brother, John Ritter, worked on my shift and I noticed him giving testimonies to other deaf co-workers. It sounded similar to what my niece had told me. I asked him some questions and then gradually he blessed me with verses and testimonies of the "Jews for Jesus" movement. He gave me some tracts and good books, Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth, Leo Bates' Projection for Survival, and many other books. All of these especially hit me hard. I understood it all completely, which seemed a great mystery to me all my life. I realized with clear understanding that there is everlasting life after death. John led me to our Messiah (Christ) at lunchtime in June. After work, at my house, I prayed for the first time, kneeling to my God for my salvation. John and his wife Connie became my best friends and have helped my growth.
The verses, which mean much to me and help me understand Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah are: Isaiah 53, Romans 1:16, 2:28-29. My favorite verse is Philippians 1:21.
It took me a little while to let that strange salvation story sink in, but when I did finally understand I was about to take a vacation out West in the summer of 1978, visiting some of my old colleagues. I did not want to go unprepared so I got immersed right away and arrived well supplied with some more reading and I loved giving testimonies whenever I could.
I have been to Israel four times: 1976, 1980, 1985 and 2000. My second trip to Israel in 1980 was made after my salvation. I realized both of these trips were much different. In 1976, my purpose for the first trip to Israel was to understand my Jewish roots but I was not saved. My deaf Jewish friend and I joined with a hearing group. We were without any interpreter, which was difficult for us. It forced us to depend on guide books and notes from hearing tourists.
Until I became a Messianic Jew I did not study the New Testament and realized how much I had missed from my first trip in 1976 because I did not accept my Messiah and did not bother to learn more about the things He did for us in the Holy Land. For this reason, I decided to go to Israel once more in 1980, joining Dr. Harold Willmington. Now I see how much benefit and experience I have gained from this trip with two especially excellent interpreters. I saw the places I did not see in 1976; the Mount of Ascension, Garden of Gethsemane, St. Peter's Church, Fields of the Shepherds, and most important of all, Garden Tomb with Golgotha (Skull) Hill. Megiddo did not impress me in 1976 but with my knowledge of Revelation, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and other books in the Old Testament, I understand why Megiddo is very important now.
Since I promised my daughter a trip to Israel, I went again in 1985. My deaf sister, her husband, my niece and her husband joined us in Willmington's tour trip.
There are many deaf Jews across the U.S.A. who still have never heard what I have. I would love to go and feed Yeshua's words to them. Nowadays, most Jewish people refuse to believe that Yeshua can make them a complete Jew. (Romans 2:28-29.) The New Testament was written by men who were Jewish, but Jewish people are taught not to read the New Testament at all. Ever since my salvation in 1978, what I am now is due 100% to the cooperation and power of the Holy Spirit, the mustard seed. (Luke 13:18,19).
For the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly;
true circumcision is not only external and physical. On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal; so that his praise comes not from other people but from God (CJB) Romans 2:28, 29.
