Powerful testimony of Marty Goetz who grew up in a staunch Jewish neighborhood in Cleveland and through a series of circumstances decided to read the New Testament and was surprised to read the genealogy of Matthew and was met with Jesus who he said was more Jewish than me!

I ran into his testimony while I was searching for hymns about Psalm 8 this morning. To top it off, you’ll want to listen to his wife’s testimony as well. So wonderful.

Marty’s testimony:

Jennifer’s testimony:

Periodically when we are reading a passage of Scripture and come upon lists of persons or places which are difficult to pronounce we look to Alexander Scoursby who is an excellent reader and trained to properly pronounce words. Here’s our suggestion. When listening repeat each difficult word as Scoursby enunciates it. Although the passage moves quite rapidly, you will over time begin to more accurately pronounce names of people and places which we don’t normally use.

Note: We have secured permission to utilize Alexander Scoursby’s recordings, but at present need to find an audio engineer to work on editing them to fit in with the daily readings. In the meantime until we find someone to take on that task, we will access others postings of his recordings. Unfortunately as you will hear in this recording, it is not without reverberation and not as clear and crisp as desired. But it at least provides a helpful tool.

TORAH  – Bereshit (In the beginning)

TORAH  – Bereshit (In the beginning)

Situation: An Antifa member viciously attacks Christians and seconds later as he runs to block the highway gets seriously hit by a truck.

Q: What would our LORD Jesus do for this young man?

A: First, take care that the angry young man is physically cared for. Secondly, He would say ‘pray for those who persecute you.’ If your enemy is thirsty, give him water to drink. His prayer for His enemies which treated Him so severely still was, ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do.’ His standard is the highest standard possible. It is to be our standard as His disciples. Did you know that Israelis actually have hospitals in Israel near the battle zones and care for wounded enemies as well?

When you know God, as Father, as Abba, He is constantly protecting His own from the assaults of the enemy. When Saul(who was later renamed Paul, the Apostle)was persecuting, imprisoning and killing Christians, God knocked him off his high horse and said, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Jesus had already been crucified, buried and resurrected and ascended to His throne, but He in His glorified state as omnipresent (present everywhere), omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) knew His people, His sheep, His lambs, His children were being persecuted and appeared at that place to deal directly with Saul. Any attack against His flock who He lovingly watches over is taken as an attack against Him.

So back to the young man. This morning, we read in our daily portion a passage from Proverbs 1:24-31, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded: But you have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock, when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as a desolation, and your destruction as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; for they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD; they would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.”

Charles Bridges comments, “The Saviour calls by His Word, His Providence, His Ministers, conscience. But you refused. Not til his calls have been refused, does He thunder forth His warnings. Man alone resists his yoke.”

“Does this unmeasured wrath seem inconsistent with a God of love? The Lord our God is a consuming fire. And think of His knowledge, instead of being a delight, being hated; his fear not chosen; none of his gracious counsel regarded; all of his reproof despised.

“Is it not just, that the sinner, this obstinately bent on the choice of his own way, should not only gather, but eat the fruit of it?”

“We must not, however, soften down God’s own words by a misplaced presumptuous tenderness…there is a knock, which will be the last knock; that a sinner may be lost this side of hell; intreated, pleaded with, wept over–yet lost!..It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I pray for the young man that he may live and know the true and living God. May this incident be a wake up call for him and for his community. Christ did not come to save the righteous, but sinners and as Paul said, of which I am the foremost.” Would you pray in agreement with me? And that God would send him compassionate Christian doctors and nurses to help him recover? Since God said in His Word that He does not rejoice in the death of the wicked, should we also not grieve for these lost souls as deceived and destructive as they are, that they may repent and turn from their wicked ways? That he would bring home the prodigals of our lives?

Proverbs 1:24-28