TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON...
Eccl. 3:1 – To
everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…. “A
time to; a time for”…. Some explain the
repetitiveness as a reminder of the relentless monotony of life!? Conversely, I’m reminded by this Scripture
that life is bustling with activity for God’s glory!
During the summer the Jewish ministry seems to
reveal additional purposes. While
deadlines are always in the picture, there seem to be less between May and
August. Consequently, at this time,
ministry aspirations grow as I prayerfully and excitedly ponder. The result…either new thrusts and/or undeveloped
layers are added onto existing ministry adventures!
In May I arrived at one of the retirement centers hours prior to the weekly
Bible study. This has been my pattern
since 2005 which has afforded opportunities to visit Jewish residents in their
apartments. Of late, however, fewer have
responded to my knocking on their doors.
Where are they? On this day in
May 2019, when I walked into the retirement facility, I had a mission…to locate
the leader of a new group, ROMEO: Retired Old Men Eating Out. Where would I find him? Eating out!
It was noonish…time for lunch. I
poked my head into the dining room. I
spotted Jerry who leads the ROMEO’s. I
received my answer and invited all who were at the table to the Bible study
that afternoon. Interest was
expressed. Frieda began waving to me
from her table. She was sitting with
Martha, Ronnie, and Janice. As I walked
toward the ladies, Frieda announced that the “girls” were going to join us for
the Bible study that day. Ronnie
mentioned that she last attended the class when I taught her the popular
Israeli song, “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena,” on the guitar. I told Ronnie, “We sang Am Yisrael Chai at class last week.” On the spot we broke into the well-loved song
in Hebrew. Janice looked at Martha and
asked, pointing at me, “And she’s not Jewish?”
Faye and Harold occupied a
nearby table. They didn’t beckon me,
however, I approached them and conveyed that we have been missing them at the
study. Fanny began waving at me from her
table with Esther, Pearl, and another woman whom I’d not previously met. Devorah is Israeli. I explained my relationship with her
tablemates and then shared that I teach the connection between the Hebrew
Scriptures and the New Testament. Esther
and Pearl were interested in our topic that afternoon.
Spotting other friends, I
moved toward Laura and Peggy. “We missed
you last week.” Laura and Peggy gathered
with us that afternoon.
Across the room I noticed
Stan and Candace who faithfully attend the Bible study. Maggie was their tablemate. After inviting her to the study, Maggie
responded with, “I went to a Bible study here last year. It was very Jewish.” My reply: “I’m a believer in Jesus. Jesus is
Jewish. The foundation of the NT is in
the OT.” Maggie repeated, “That’s very
Jewish!” I encountered Maggie two weeks
ago and invited her again.
Dining room evangelism! I love it!
More people are attending the Bible study.
This past week I sat with Janice and Martha for nearly an hour as they
enjoyed lunch. The conversation jumped about.
“Do you want some onion rings, french fries, half a hot dog? How do you know so much about the Tanakh?” I shared my testimony.
Thank You, Lord, for the
times You have set before me for Your glory!
I’m smiling as my mind goes back to pre-salvation days when my high school
friend and I strummed our guitars and sang to a group of retirees, “To
everything, turn, turn, turn…there is a season, turn, turn, turn…and a time to
every purpose under heaven.”
God turned me to Him and He has occupied my heart with joy (Eccl. 5:20).
Beautiful post! The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, thank you for your tireless efforts to reach our Jewish friends.
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