** A Jewish man, his wife, and older son came by the booth. I asked him if he was from NY like me, and he said, “No, Boston,” - so we had an immediate connection since their sports teams are rivals. We laughed about it. We had a good conversation about growing up on the East Coast, and then I spoke about the Messiah and what a Messianic Jew is. I offered him a testimony book, and he took it and said, “This is the first time a Yankee fan has ever given me anything.”
** A Christian woman came by, and seeing our booth with the Israeli flag up, said, “It is very brave of you to be here” in an encouraging way.
** A girl about 19 comes up with an attitude of ‘you got 60 seconds’ and asks, “Are you a Jew for Jesus? Tell me more.” So I explained the simple facts that we are Messianic Jews and she said, “Ok, that’s what I wanted to know.” I offered her a prophecy sheet, and she took it and walked away. All under 60 seconds.
** Two high school girls stopped to look at the Jewish necklaces we have. The one who was Jewish said she really wanted one, but because of anti-Semitism at her high school, she would not dare to wear it. She said that she already suffers persecution just because she's Jewish and most of the students are pro-Palestinian.
** At the start of the fair, a police officer came over and asked if we were having any problems with protests. I said no. He then gave me a phone number, which he said would work faster than 911 to get him or the fair police over here if we ever needed them.
** Two young men in their 20's, holding hands, stopped to look, and I asked if they were Jewish. One said he was, so I explained that I was a Messianic Jew and what that meant. I offered him our gospel card (bookmark), which he took, and then just walked away.
** A couple with their teenage son stopped (only the wife was Jewish), excited to see everything. They said their son was just Bar-Mitzvah. I asked the wife if she knew what a Messianic Jew was, and she said yes. "My sisters are." I replied, "Well, they are waiting for you." I offered her a book of testimonies, which she gladly took.
** A young Israeli girl vendor comes up with a big smile on her face, seeing everything, and says, “Am Yisrael Chai!” She was so excited to see things from her homeland. I told her we were Messianic Jews. We had a good few moments of talking.
** A woman stopped and was looking at all the books. I asked if she was Jewish, and she replied, “No, but my husband is.” She also mentioned that he was a believer, but not really strong. I asked how old he was in the Lord. She said three years. I encouraged her and gave her a testimony book for him which she gladly received.
** A Jewish man and his girlfriend came up, attracted by our Israeli airplane model. He said he was a pilot and practices on that plane in a flight simulator. I explained about Messianic Jews and he said he knew of them and used to even golf with one. He bought the plane and I put Messianic literature in his bag.
** A man from the Muslim booth came over, and we had a very respectful discussion for at least 20 minutes. He said Muslims respect Jesus and believe in all the Old Testament prophets, but the Bible has been changed and the Quran is preserved perfectly. I said the Bible has not been changed, as the Dead Sea Scrolls prove. Also, even if the Quran was preserved perfectly, that is in no way proof that it is correct. I explained the Biblical principle that Muslims do not have, and that is one of ‘blood atonement.’ He said they do slaughter lambs in Islam. But I said a lamb cannot really be our substitute since it is not equal to us. That is why the Messiah came in a human body, to be our equal substitute. That is why we uphold the cross as so important. It was a good discussion, and I hope that I planted some seeds of the gospel in his mind.
** A Christian woman came to the booth, and we had a good conversation about the Jewishness of Jesus. I gave her our card (bookmark) as her teenage daughter (about 19) stood nearby. A few hours later the woman came back asking for another card. She said after they left the booth, her daughter grabbed the card away from her and tore it up into pieces saying “genocide”. So, I gave her another card and she also bought a “My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter” bumper Sticker. As she was paying the daughter showed up and gave her mother this look. I felt so bad for the mother as she said to her daughter, “What? I love Jesus and He is from Israel.” The daughter said something about Jesus does not support genocide. As they walked away, I could see they stopped about 25 yards away again in deep discussion.
** A man and his wife came up and I asked if he was Jewish. In an accent he said, “I'm not going to tell you. Is this Jehovah's Witness?” I said, “No” and explained who we were. Then I asked again, “Ok, so 'now' can you tell me if you are Jewish?” He said, “I am from Tel Aviv.” I explained a bit more using Hebrew terms and said, “I am sure Yeshua is the Messiah.” It wasn't a mountain moving conversation, but it planted seeds.
** On Thursday night as I was closing the booth a few minutes before 10PM, a whole group (maybe 14) of Orthodox men and women in their 20's (kippahs and tzit tzit) come down the aisle and saw our booth, Israeli flag and stopped. They said, “Thank you for being here. Are you from Israel?” (They did not realize who we were at that point.) I said I was not, but my father was. (I was caught off guard since I was closing everything for the night). All the tables, except for one, were already covered, but the sign was still up, and many read the sign. I was so sad that they did not get to experience the full booth and products. I said I was a believer in Messiah, Yeshua. I am not sure if they even heard it as it was a pretty big group and I spoke softly since I was caught off guard. After a minute they just sort of kept going.
** An Orthodox man who looked just like Tevye from Fiddler stopped by and asked if we were connected with the other booth. I said we are friends. He asked, “Are you Jewish? How did you get stuck with the Christians?” I said, “Not Christian, Messianic Jew.” He waved his hand as if to say nonsense. Then he used an F bomb and said, “Where were the Christians during the holocaust?” I said, “they were not Christians.... and you pray with that mouth??” He was walking away anyway.... . Not interested. The Messianic booth came over and said he did the same to them.
** Two unsaved Jewish guys who work for an electric company said, “Shabbat shalom.” They seemed very open. When one got our book on Jewish testimonies, he said, “It was the best present he got all day.” He said it seriously.
** We interacted with many Jewish people who told us all about the Jewish community in Milwaukee. Since it was our first year, people were thrilled to see us, and some were upset (LGBTQ+).
** A Jewish Jersey guy came up. He wanted a little Israeli pin, but he was short a dollar. I made a deal with him. He promised to read the messianic prophecy sheet if I gave it to him for $5 instead of $6.
** I had a lovely conversation about the Jewish birthright program for US kids to go to Israel. I told them we were messianic; they knew and talked to me as a Jew. That never would have happened before October 7th.
** There were two guys, one Ashkenazi, who was more Jewish, and the other was Sephardic, but raised Catholic-Jewish. The Catholic Jewish believer kept nudging his friend to take stuff. We left the unsaved Jewish guy with a prophecy sheet, and we left him with a lot of homework. I gave him my card.
** A guy came by who was a Jewish believer, but he came from his Hassidic background. (Ultra-Orthodox). He’s on fire for Jesus, and he was into drugs and alcohol, and the community kicked him out. He said several supernatural things that could only be explained by Jesus being Lord have happened to him. He had his little daughter with him, who was very encouraging. He bought several items. He told me many Hassidim are secret believers in Yeshua!!!! I have thought that for years.
** One Jewish woman was reform, and her husband was a believer. She seemed interested and promised to ask God if Jesus was the Messiah. To that, the husband gave me a sly thumbs up without his wife seeing him. I felt this woman might get saved soon! I gave her my card to keep in touch. She was seeking; I could see she was downloading the Gospel.
** A gentleman asked if we had menorah candles. Susan asked if they were Jewish. The man said yes; the woman didn’t say. Susan asked him if he was open to reading a book and a prophecy sheet, and he said yes. She told him there were over 330 prophecies about the Messiah and that Jesus fulfilled 300. He was amazed and curious. He agreed that the mathematical odds of probability and chance were incredible for one man to fulfill that. He took the Sid Roth book and prophecy sheet.
** One woman took a picture of our Jesus made me Kosher banner. I asked her what she thought. As she was running away, she said it was ridiculous. I told her and her entire family, if it is so ridiculous, why not read Isaiah 53?
** A Jewish man was interested and lingered for a while. He bought Michael Brown 60 Questions about Christians. I shared the gospel with him. He brought his father and his grandparents to the booth to read the sign. The father read the sign, but he did not comment.
** A Christian brought his Jewish friend and asked, “Can you give me a short answer: how you are Jewish and believe in Jesus?” I did. I got to share the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus! The Jewish man listened but walked away.
** A Jewish guy spent a lot of time at our booth. He’s from a unity church, which means all roads lead to heaven. I gave him a gospel tract, and the Sid Roth book. He also came back later. I shared the gospel with him. I also gave him a card, and another gospel tract. He bought a Jewish calendar.
** There were two Jewish camps here. They all loved the Israel bracelets. I let them know that we were Jews who believes in Jesus. They kind of were stunned. They didn’t say anything, but they were happy that we loved Israel. The counselors watched. One was an IDF soldier that listened to our faith. He said he would check it out. Susan and I prayed that many might be curious and go to our website.
** So, encouraging — a Jewish woman who just got saved last month. She was Israeli and on fire. I gave her my card, letting her know that being Jewish and believing in Jesus is not easy. She is already plugged into a great group of believers.
** I met one guy who was Catholic and another Jewish. He was fascinated that there were other Jews who believed in Jesus; I encouraged him to reach out to find his Jewish roots in the Christian faith. He was generally intrigued and took a bookmark.
** I had an Israeli vendor come by; they’re usually unsaved and very secular however, she just became a believer in Jesus. Her boyfriend, I believe, is a firm believer, living in Brooklyn. She was on fire. She took a book and told us what booth they were at and that we should visit her. How encouraging that she is a believer in Jesus from Israel.
** Two Jewish girls are looking very far away. They saw the Jewish star David and stuff, and they came over. They were very excited, looking at everything until they saw the Jesus bracelet, then they got skittish and started to walk away. Susan offered a prophecy sheet and a book. They took only the prophecy sheet.
** One nominal Christian guy came back to the booth the next day to buy a ring for his Jewish girlfriend. We talked with him all the previous night, gave them prophecy books, tracts, etc. This time we gave him another gospel book, my business card, and shared with him what the Shema meant. He took a picture of it to share with his girlfriend.
** It finally happened after 27 years. I ran into a buddy from my Jewish fraternity. He was a doctor, but I got to share that I’ve been a believer for 27 years. I told him that my dad was also a Jewish doctor who came to faith in Jesus. We talked about the pictorial Torah. I also reminisced about other people that we knew; it was good to plant a seed.
** One other story from the Jewish day camp. One Jewish kid came back with his camp counselor and a few others. He asked Susan, “I have to know WHY you believe Jesus is the Messiah?” She shared resurrection, atonement, and prophecy for about 10 min. They listened. He obviously is going to be thinking about the claims of Jesus.
** A Jewish woman who reminded me so much of Fran Drescher (TV’s ultra Jewish “The Nanny” show) came up and said her daughter was just Bat-mitzvah. She said she watches TBN now because they're so pro-Israel. So I assumed that she was a Messianic but she was not. She was a nonstop talker also peppering her conversation with the f-word about college kids and their anti-Israel stance. Definitely a Jew with a New York attitude.
** A Persian (Iranian) man stopped and said “Persians, we love Israel. We hate our govt.” Took a pray for Israel band. He said, “We have a long history together back to King Cyrus who allowed the Jews to return to the land.”
** A Jewish woman pushing her baby carriage came up and bought a children's Bible. She said she was Jewish and I said I'm a Messianic Jew and she says (with a right attitude), “How do you know?” I said by the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. She said she worked in statistics so I said the math all points to the fact that he fulfilled the prophecies. I gave her a book of testimonies she said. “Yes, I'm very interested” and she was thankful for it.
** A man from a distance (I could read his lips) told his girlfriend that our Hebrew shirt (hanging up on the curtain) says ‘Yeshua loves you’. When he arrived a few seconds later, I asked him how he knew Hebrew? He said, “I'm from Jerusalem.”
** A Hebrew speaking family came up. They were excited to see everything. The man saw the little El-Al airplane we have and he said, “I live Israel, but I don't like them.” He said he's an airline pilot who works for another airline. He was excited to see the old Israeli currency. He said he has pounds and pounds of the old coins at home. I said, “We’ll buy them from you. LOL” I also told him we were MJ’s.
** A young Jewish man about 20 years old stopped and said, “May I ask you some questions?” in a non-confrontational way. He had some good questions about what we believe and at the end he said ‘Thank you for answering them’ and then walked away. I told him about Isaiah 53 and that he should go home and read it. Sadly, I did not have a prophecy flyer here to give to him.
** A Jewish woman bought a Mezuzah and said, "It will be hard to convert me. I said, "I can't convert you; only God can change your heart. She continued walking, but I prayed that she thought about how God is the one who can change you.
** Autumn, engaged to the Jewish guy with her, was intrigued by how we can be Jewish and believe in Jesus. He said he prays every morning, but he took a Sid Roth Prophecy book.
** I had a lengthy discussion with two women, one of whom was Jewish. As we left, one friend returned and said, " I am a believer in Jesus, and I will keep working on my friend."
** Another Jewish lady said that Jesus was not God, I quickly picked up a prophecy sheet to give her and said this is what the paper shows that he can be both God and man predicted in the Torah.
** One Jewish woman bought the mezuzah but did not know the prayer for this. I shared Deut 6:4-9. As soon as I said that it embarrassed her, and she got skittish and ran off. Was it because I knew more about the Hebrew Bible than she did?
** A young Jewish man who had never had his Bar Mitzvah, he was very open to the Gospel. He listened and pondered how I explained that the resurrection best explained the empty tomb. When I gave him the prophecy book, he said his last name was the same as the authors, so he would read the book.
** Israelis came up, excited to see us. I tried to give one an Israel book. He says we have a bunch of you in Israel. I know what you’re going to say.
** Two college students refused to take the bookmark because they said their parents were religious. They did ask why did the star have a cross in it. We explained the hope we have in Messiah. Ultimately, they were happy we were here.
** On a busy day, with the aisles crowded, while I was talking to a man at the booth, a Jewish man came up and flipped our table runner over (it says Rock of Israel – Proclaiming Jesus as Messiah) and walked away into the crowd! Well, the NY Chutzpah in me rose up and so I yelled towards him, “Excuse me!!” and left the other man at the booth and fast walked after him. I tapped him on the shoulder in the aisle and angrily said, “Excuse me, may I ask why you did that?!!” He turns and says, “You know damn well why I did that.!” I didn't want to escalate the situation, so I let him go. Then the vendor across from us who saw it came over and said, “I just want you to know, you did the right thing.”
** A woman stopped and loved all the items. She said she was Jewish and that she believes in a 'higher power'. I said, “Would you be opposed to that higher power being Jesus?” She had to stop and think. I said, “Let me give you a book of stories of Jewish people who are believers in Messiah.” She took it and said, “But I already do feel close to my high power.” So, I replied, “Maybe this is the higher power calling you closer to Him, through the Messiah?”
** We had a great conversation with a Reform Jew who genuinely wanted to hear why we were at the CNE. It turns out he is originally from Rockford, Illinois. I explained the gospel to him.
** An unsaved Kabbalah follower loved our stuff. I talked to her about Zohar 12, which predicts the Messiah will cleanse those of sin. She also quizzed us to see if we knew the scriptures on the Shema. She was impressed that we knew.
** A Jewish man took forever to buy a Mezuzah. He kept asking my opinion. At first, he was not interested in the Prophecy sheet. However, we could share prophecies when he took the hardcover Tenach. He was excited to get the entire Bible.
** Katrina, a fantastic believer, has a Jewish husband who became a new believer. She is eager for me to disciple him. I gave her my card, and I hope he contacts me. If he wants discipleship, it would be worth the entire day for me.
** A Jewish man said he believed in nothing. I did express how Yeshua fills us with hope and forgives us of our transgressions. At the same time, his wife took a Prophecy book, which I told her to share some of the stories before they went to bed. You could see the desire in her heart for him to be saved.
** A young Jewish couple took the Sid Roth book, saying they could never have too many books. Her boyfriend read the back cover and gave it back to her.
** I struck out with a Jewish guy on the Prophecy sheet. The next thing I see is Susan offering him the book and the one for Israel pamphlet. She said check out these Jewish professionals who have come to Jesus. Then the guy took a book and said he would give it to his grandmother. Susan said to read it first and then give it to your bubbie. It was such a pleasant exchange of love and respect. He said he would read it and discuss it with bubbie.
** A Jewish woman from Australia was so excited to get the Prophecy sheet. She said she loves checking on spiritual things.
** One bad thing was that a customer called the police because a young woman came by four times yelling, “Free Palestine.” She asked Susan if the Mezuzahs said, “ Genocide.” The police took this seriously and took a report. They said if she enters the booth, let her know that the police have been contacted and get her photo. We have not seen her lately.
** A Jewish guy bought an Israeli flag to put up in his home. He was very nervous because his house was on a busy street.
** One particular woman that I talk to, a Jewish nonbeliever, but her boyfriend was a gentile believer. I asked her what her thoughts were on Jesus being the Messiah. At first, she was quite adamant that, “No, he’s not.” But as I continued to talk to her, she admitted that she was maybe uncertain. I offered her some literature and the book “They Thought for Themselves” and she took them and said she would read them.
** A Jewish woman and her gentile husband came up. She said grew up Orthodox (not anymore) and they bought a mezuzah. I said being a Messianic Jew is the best of both worlds. You can meet in the middle! They laughed and he said he used to be Catholic, but now he's a Protestant.
** A Jewish girl in her early twenties said she was raised in New Jersey. I said I was born in NY to make a connection. She was looking at the heavy Tanakh on our book table (we got them free) and I said you could have it - for free. She was surprised. I explained what a MJ was, and I offered our Sid R book as well. She gladly took it and said, “I'm open”.
** A Jewish lawyer about 65 has been coming to our booth for many years. We are like old friends for the short time he visits with us. He is not Messianic, but still buys something from us every single year. This year I turned around, and Jerry (not his real name) was there at the booth. I had a big smile on and asked, “How are you?” to an old friend. He looked nervous and said quietly, “I have cancer.” Of course that changed the conversation. I mentioned how God can heal and that if we know Jesus we don’t need to be afraid. He said kindly, “I could never be a Messianic Jew, but I respect your views. I respect all views.” I said I would pray with him after he finished looking at our items. And so before he left, I prayed with him for healing, and he received it, bowing with me in prayer. Afterwards he was touched. He also said sheepishly, “I know you had to pray in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name.”
** A Jewish woman and her Catholic friend came up to the booth; she said, “I'm Jewish, but I don't believe in any messiah.” I asked, “Would you be open to some evidence?” She said sure. Then the Catholic woman with her started affirming what I was saying. The Jewish woman accepted a book of Jewish testimonies and then went over and looked at our jewelry. She said, “I would love to wear this Star of David necklace, but I would be too afraid to because I work at a university and they would react. I could be in danger.”
** An Iranian (Persian) woman came up, and she was very gentle and nice, but had questions. When speaking about Jesus, she said, “God sends a prophet for each generation. Jesus was only for that generation" (implying Muhammad was the last for all generations). She added, "Muslims believe in Jesus", and I said, “Well, here's what separates faith in Jesus from every other world religion - the payment for our sins on the cross.” I gave her a prophecy sheet, and I mentioned that she should go home and read the gospel accounts. It ended as a very good conversation.
** Several people came by the booth filming us.
** Some Palestinian Christians (I believe) came up to the booth. The family was reluctant to come up, but the father came up first and the rest followed. He was intrigued, looking at all the books. Their teenage children were very uneasy, you could see. Almost grabbing their parents away. However, I started talking with them and stressed that I'm a follower of Christ and I gave a little bit of my testimony. I also made a quick joke and by the end of the conversation, we all had a laugh together; even the teenagers.
** In Toronto, we talked to a Pakistani believer. Her Jewish husband occasionally went to a Baptist church with her and her mother. She said he was open, but he viewed Jesus as just a major figure, not the Son of God. He believed Jesus connected the Old and the New Covenant, but he needed to know theologically why. Jesus was just an amazing man to him. A week later, on a Zoom call made with the wife’s help, I explained to him that Jesus was much more than a great figure. I shared that He was God incarnate, our Messiah, and He paid for our sins on the cross. He nodded in agreement. I asked him if he wanted to make Jesus his Lord and Savior, and he said yes. I led him in a prayer of repentance right there on the Zoom call, and all the angels in heaven rejoiced.
** At the New York State Fair, we had many conversations with Jewish people, but we also had several encounters with either Palestinians or Pro-Palestinians (anti-Israel). One lady said point blank: "I hate Israel, I love Hamas!" Another encounter was with a “Christian” Palestinian woman (and daughter) who kept saying she was ashamed of us. She didn’t believe Christians should support Israel, whom she said was committing genocide. Not only that, but she also said that Jesus was a Palestinian, and that she and He had the same DNA! I asked if she read the New Testament. There is no mention of Palestine, and Jesus was born to a Jewish girl named Miriam (Mary). After she left, I thought to ask her if she knew what was written on His cross in three languages: Yeshua, King of the Jews. Needless to say, I never convinced her, and she went away angry.
** A Catholic woman came over from the Catholic booth (wearing a Harry Potter shirt) and I said, “I can't find my glasses anywhere. I know they're here.” She said St Anthony would help me find my glasses and I said, “No, not St. Anthony, Jesus!”
** A Jewish woman in her forties was looking at everything when she said, “You know, some Jewish people find this offensive.” I could tell she was really meaning herself but wanted to be polite so I asked why. She said, “Because many Jewish people are comfortable in their beliefs and you're trying to change that.” I said, “Comfortable in a belief doesn't make it true. I want to proclaim truth. She said, “How can how can you know truth?” I said, “Through God's word.” She said, “But that's been changed.” We went on for about 15 minutes in conversation after that.
** An Israeli man stop by looking very confused at all the items. He said, “What's the purpose of this all?” I said well it's all about either Jesus or God or the Bible or the Messiah. He said, “Why?” I explained I want Jewish people to know that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and I want Christians to know about the Jewishness of Jesus. He smiled and took a gospel bookmark in Hebrew and walked away.
** A Jewish family came up and were amazed to see everything. One of the men spoke Hebrew to me. They're soon to be daughter-in-law was just amazed to see everything she just moved from Paris and she said they would never be anything like this in Paris due to anti-semitism. And she was getting married to their son next week. They bought a Kiddush cup and she was just amazed and the mother-in-law to be paid for it and they were all hugging and saying thank you and I said Mazel Tov on your wedding and I gave him a card and explained I'm a Messianic Jew and they didn't seem to care.
** The fudge couple across the way of the woman is a little older than me and she said we talked about anti-Semitism because she's the administrator for one of the largest synagogues in the area and she was telling me how this county is an extremely Jewish County and when she grew up in West Palm in Palm Beach it was very anti-semitic in the 60s and 70s. And we were talking about Paris and she said it was very anti-semitic there when she visited.
** A Jewish older man came by, and you could tell he was trying to become a woman. He said Deuteronomy 22 and 23 were horrible because they banned women from dressing as a man. He was walking away, but I said, “God’s way is always the best way.”
** An unsaved Jewish woman said she was buying a Jewish star from us because she didn't want to support Amazon. This was a first as an unsaved Jewish person who wanted us to be blessed financially.
** A Jewish woman had a Christian boyfriend. Susan said, “I have so much to tell you.” The Jewish woman said,” And I want to hear all you have to say.” She had a long conversation for about 20 minutes, covering many topics. However, she seemed to be intently listening.
** An unsaved Jewish woman came back to our booth who came last year. Last year, she got the Sid Roth book but did not read it. I offered her the prophecy sheet, but she said no. I said, “Three strikes, you’re out. I will provide you with this tract. This is my last thing.” She took it.
** A Jewish student who is president of her Jewish club bought a Jewish star. I asked her if she would look at a prophecy sheet. She said she had seen it on another table. She took the sheet.
** There was a young man who I asked did you have a Bar Mitzvah. I wondered what portion of the Haftorah he read. He said he didn’t know, but it had something to do about God creating a new heaven on earth. I said that’s amazing. I had Isaiah chapter 66, which discusses how God brings forth a new heaven and earth after Jesus comes again. I explained the first time he reconciled those who believed in him to God after his resurrection in his second coming part 2. He will judge the world.
** A pagan witch said she was in the process of converting to Judaism. She had some crazy ideas about God. That when the Muslims defeated the Christians, they absorbed their power. Also, Judaism believed in many gods. She also explained to me the three different kinds of Pagans. I pointed out that the prophecies predicated on Jesus and his rising from the dead validated his claims as the Son of God. She seemed to bring up more nonsense about paganism.
** A Jewish woman said she had her truth, and I had mine. I told her I was pretty sure that truth is just truth. She was getting a bit frustrated, and her voice had an edge saying,” That is my opinion, and leave it at that” All I could do was pray, as she wanted nothing from me.
** An Israeli woman asked me if I spoke Hebrew. I asked her if she believed in God. She said, " No, I am an atheist." I gently asked how something could come from nothing. The woman's face became agitated, and she said, "I don't want to debate." I told her that I just asked her a question. She walked away, but I wish we could have had a conversation.
** A Jewish man came by and said, "What is your deal?" I explained to him the Gospel. He said he could not believe a person could atone for his sins. I shared that this model is easily seen in the Temple sacrifices that an animal took on the unintentional sins of national Israel in the Bible. Then he said that this atonement is not in the Bible. I told him maybe this is not there in his mind, but this model of atonement is clearly seen in the Bible. Then I quoted Leviticus 17:11: "That the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God has given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes and atonement for your souls." He did not have an answer and walked away. I did not want to slam-dunk the guy. My goal is a conversation, not debate.
** I met a woman who was a flat-earth person. She tried to tell me that God does not make people that spin around the globe. She wanted to know my opinion on that observation. I did not want to debate such elementary subjects, so I just said that I believe God made the heavens and the earth. She still asked me for my opinion, but I kept telling her my views were interesting. I argue enough about God; I do not want to waste my time debating that the world is really round.
** I thought a woman was Jewish because she was looking at our Jewish rings, but she was married to a Jewish man, and she was a Christian. I gave her the messianic prophecy book. I also gave her my card, asking her if her husband was ever interested in giving me a call.
** We spoke with a man who said he was Orthodox, but not a regular Orthodox. That he follows Judaism only because of his ancestors. He reads Tanach, but not the prophets. We said that is how you will find Yeshua, in the prophets. He was very laid back. His small son was dancing around his legs the whole time. The Jewish man said if Jesus is the Messiah, then, “Oh boy...” It was a great conversation.
