The Missionary Column

--- Does not the Scripture say: "For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Are we busy trying to evangelize the world, while neglecting our own souls? Do we truly know Messiah in our lives? ---

My Personal Testimony Of How Messiah Became A Part Of Me

by Rebekah J. Coover (This is a letter that I wrote to one of my penpals.)

Greetings in the Name of our precious Saviour Yahshua Messiah, from Rebekah Josepha, an handmaiden of our Set-apart Ruler. Yahweh, our marvelous Creator and Elohim shed His peace in your heart this day. He who has saved us by His remarkable and beautiful mercy ought to be highly praised! May we praise Him with deepest adoration, with our lives, with the words we speak, through the things we do; all in all, may we declare Him in truth. For the scripture saith, THEREFORE, WHETHER YE EAT, OR DRINK, OR WHATEVER YOU DO, DO ALL TO THE ESTEEM OF YAHWEH. 1 Yea, and may we abide by this command. What a challenge! I beseech you, dear sister, remember that there are many more commands given by Yahweh than "The 10 Commandments". We, that is, you and I and all believers, ought to remember this. There are many commands all through the Scriptures, scattered across Its precious pages, commands for us to follow wholeheartedly; and they are found in more places than "The Books Of The Law". The whole Book of Scriptures is the Book of the Laws of Yahweh, of the Requirements For Life In Messiah, of the Recompense For Sin, of the Reward For Righteousness, and... and, my dear sister, this Blessed Book shows the Way of Salvation. And thus to proceed to what you asked of me, that is, my personal testimony of how I found the Ruler Yahshua Messiah, of how He became a part of me. And yea, I AM CRUCIFIED WITH MESSIAH, NEVERTHELESS I LIVE, YET NOT I, BUT MESSIAH LIVETH IN ME; AND THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE IN THE FLESH, I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF YAHWEH, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME. FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GLAD NEWS OF MESSIAH, FOR IT IS THE POWER OF YAHWEH UNTO SALVATION TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH, TO THE JEW FIRST AND ALSO TO THE GENTILE. 2 And how marvelous that He expanded the faith to all nations, not only to the literal seed of Israel, but yea, He also maketh us His spiritual Israel. Not only recently, but back in the days of the Israelis, the tabernacle, the animal sacrifices, etc., it was said of Yahweh, ONE LAW, AND ONE MANNER SHALL BE FOR YOU, AND FOR THE STRANGER THAT SOJOURNETH WITH YOU. 3 How beautiful! And we were strangers, but now ARE A CHOSEN GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A SET APART NATION, A PECULIAR PEOPLE, THAT [WE] SHOULD SHEW FORTH THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO HATH CALLED [US] OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT: WHICH IN TIME PAST WERE NOT A PEOPLE (We were the strangers, the Gentiles, the aliens.), BUT NOW ARE THE PEOPLE OF YAHWEH: WHICH HAD NOT OBTAINED MERCY, BUT NOW HAVE OBTAINED MERCY. 4 And regarding mercy, the scripture doth say, HE THAT COVERETH HIS SINS SHALL NOT PROSPER, BUT WHOSO CONFESSETH AND FORSAKETH THEM SHALL HAVE MERCY. 5 Yea, and when we come to the knowledge of our Ruler and Saviour, we are to forsake the world; as the song goes, "I have decided to follow Yahshua... The world behind me, Yahshua before me... Though none go with me, I still will follow, No turning back, no turning back." 6

Thus the preliminaries are over, and I would like to speak of that which you mentioned in your most recent letter. You asked me for my personal testimony of salvation. How great the Elohim of Israel has been to me, and I have eagerly anticipated giving my testimony to you. Consequently, here it is.

For a bit of background, my wonderful parents were both raised in unrighteous homes, and received little spiritual instruction. Yahweh, however, through His marvelous mercy, picked them up and put them on "the HalleluYah line, on the [blest] old [glad news] train", 7 and they embarked on a marvelous journey of searching for truth. And now He has brought them to where they now stand, and He will take them farther; but the point of this is to say that He picked them up out of sin, and I must say that He has blessed me with a fine set of parents. I have always been home schooled, thus being saved the horrors of public education, and thus being protected in mind and heart and spirit from many evils that could have otherwise defiled me. My parents are not afraid to shelter us from the evils of the world, and they have been marvelous. I owe my gratitude to my parents, and ultimately to my Elohim, for the peace that I have in my heart and for the fact that I am held in the Hand of the Almighty.

I remember well that one afternoon, dad came out in the side yard, and with the love and concern that only a parent can have, he told us that he was going to take us to a stream to be baptized. That was when I was eight years old. He showed us how he would take us down in the water, demonstrating on us so that we would understand, and then we went to the stream where my parents were baptized. He did not force baptism on us. My dear mother, who was very sick, so sick that she had thought she might even die, permitted dad to immerse her in the water, as an example to us. My precious mother! How can I thank you? There my brother and I were baptized. (My sister was baptized several years later.) I was baptized, immersed in the water, as a sign of my dying to the flesh and putting on Messiah. Only a child, yes, but did not Messiah say, SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME, AND FORBID THEM NOT: FOR OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF YAHWEH? 8 Yes, and I was baptized by my own dear father. He took me up from the water, held me and kissed me. Precious father! Thank-you for caring, for leading, for loving. He told me that we would receive the Set-apart Spirit baptism, and that we would know when we received it. I do not particularly remember feeling a special Set-apart Spirit baptism, but I know that little by little, grain by grain, He has entered my life, making me fuller, and He will continue to enter me more fully as time progresses. I have grown immensely, and will continue to grow more. How great the Father is! I have much to learn, many faults, many weaknesses; but at the same time, I love my Ruler dearly. Oh, may I love Him with all my heart and soul! He is here for me. I can call on Him any time. He knows that I need to work on many things, and He cares. Thank-You, Heavenly Father.

[closing paragraph - not part of testimony; not printed]

1. First Corinthians 10:31 2. Galatians 2:20, Romans 1:16 3. Numbers 15:16 4. 1 Peter 2:9-10 5. Proverbs 28:13 6. "I Have Decided To Follow Yahshua" 7. "I Am Traveling On The HalleluYah Line" revised a bit 8. Mark 10:14

Would you like to share your personal testimony? I'd love to hear it, and to publish it in Road of the Pilgrims if you like. Should you decide to send your personal testimony, please do not include any specific details of a sinful former life. Give the glad news and let that suffice. Blessings to you all. The editress, Rebekah