I was born in Brooklyn, New York.  My family lived there until I was two years old and then we moved to the South Shore of Long Island. Both my parents are Jewish, I attended Hebrew School for five years and was Bar Mitzvahed after we moved to the North Shore of Long Island. When we moved to the North Shore, my father lost his job, and it was difficult for us to afford the six bedroom four bathroom house we were living in. My mother had to go to work, and my parents constantly fought about money. My childhood was unhappy because of difficulties with my father. When I was old enough, I went away to college and learned how to drink alcohol. My life was miserable. After college I started a business but was so far in debt and drinking so much that I had to close the business and take a temporary job.

At the temporary job, a co-worker told me if I didn't believe in Jesus, I would burn in hell! I thought she was crazy, couldn’t believe she said that to me, but I also thought if she was right I would have a problem. For seven months she told me Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, He died for our sins and rose from the dead so we could have eternal life. She told me He is real and personal and He wants to fill our lives with love, joy and peace.

I filed for bankruptcy and came home from bankruptcy court feeling like a failure. I cried out to God and asked Him what I was supposed to do with my life? The next day, another co-worker took me to breakfast and challenged me to read Isaiah 53 in the Hebrew Scriptures. "We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."-Isaiah 53:6   I thought this might be talking about Jesus, so I began reading the bible.

Two weeks later, on August 5, 1992, I cried out to God and asked Him if everything they had told me about Jesus was the truth? I saw a vision of two Jewish faces on my ceiling with a praying mantis in my window pointing to it. I knew the God of the Universe had spoken to me. I knew the faces represented Jesus coming the first time and then coming back! I felt this incredible sense of love, joy and peace. I started crying because I knew God had forgiven my sins and my life would be changed forever!

Shortly after meeting Jesus, I was able to forgive my father and had my last alcoholic drink on October 25, 1992.   I followed Jesus to Atlanta, Georgia and many miraculous things happened.  Here is just one of many testimonies about my walk with Jesus:

While standing in my kitchen trying to open a can of soup, my hand-held can opener broke!  I tried and tried and tried, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the can of soup to open.  I walked into the living room and picked up a mailbox stuffer advertisement for an electric can opener.  It cost $8.95, but at the time I was working a $6 an hour job and every penny counted!  I went back into the kitchen and tried to open the can of soup again but couldn’t.  I prayed to God and asked Him if I should use my money to buy the electric can opener in the advertisement?  I tried again, and as I turned the broken can opener, there was a knock at the door.  I put the broken can opener and the can of soup on the counter and answered the door.

When I opened the door, there was a UPS man standing there holding a brown box!  I said to him, “If there’s a can opener in there, I’ll die!”  I ripped open the brown box and reached into the packing peanuts and pulled out a gift-wrapped box!  I expected to find an electric can opener!!!  I ripped off the wrapping paper, reached into the top of the box and pulled out an electric…frying pan???  I didn’t want an electric frying pan; I wanted an electric can opener!  I took the frying pan, stuffed it back into the box and threw it across the room!  I couldn’t believe it!  I prayed for a can opener and got a frying pan!  I thought, “God, what an awesome testimony this would have been if you had given me a can opener.  Why did you give me a frying pan?”  I just sat there and stared at the mess in the corner for at least 10 minutes!

Finally, I just laughed!  My friends were generous enough to send me a present, and I should be thankful and I was!  I walked over to the mess and started putting all the packing peanuts back into the brown box.  As I was cleaning up, I noticed another gift-wrapped package in the brown box.  This package was small.  I took it out of the box, and took a deep breath!  I started to tear off the wrapping paper, and sure enough, it was a hand-held can opener.  I just fell to my knees and started weeping!  I asked the God of the Universe for a can opener, and He loves me so much that He will answer even the smallest of requests!!!

I asked, “God, what are you trying to teach me”?  God answered me with a verse of scripture: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.”-Psalm 118:22  You see, God promised the Jewish people a Messiah (a capstone to hold everything together), and they (the rabbis or builders of Rabbinic Judaism) were wanting a conquering hero Messiah to bring about world peace.  But scripture and even rabbis tell us there will be two different comings of Messiah:  Moshiach ben Joseph (the suffering servant Messiah) and Moshiach ben David (the conquering hero Messiah).

When Jesus came the first time as Moshiach ben Joseph, many people were wanting the conquering hero Messiah (an electric can opener), and they rejected Jesus, the suffering servant Messiah, just as scripture says “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”-Isaiah 53:3 Scripture also says that we are all sinners, and God provided Jesus the suffering servant Messiah (a frying pan to burn off all our sins) “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;  and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”-Isaiah 53:6

When Jesus comes back, he will be Moshiach ben David the conquering hero Messiah (a can opener), and He will usher in the new millennium of world peace!

God wants the best for your life!  Why do you keep rejecting Him?  Confess your sins and let God fill your life with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.