“SPEAK MY WORD. ENCOURAGE MY PEOPLE. DON'T TURN BACK.”

 

This is what was spoken to me over 25 years ago before. Ever since, although not always diligent, I have endeavored to do this. Today I'm an ordained minister through National Association of Christian Ministers. 

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My testimony started when I was in my early 20s. I was on the path to a bright, successful future by the world’s standards—a happy, enthusiastic young lady who had recently completed her college degree and worked in Manhattan. However, for whatever reason, which I now understand as someone probably praying for me, my heart was stirred to seek God.

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I was very curious as to what happens to the intangible part of humans when they die. I reasoned that even with the most successful life, we all will die at some point, and what then is the point of it all? These questions caused me to wonder if there was a God. I was agnostic and thought, if I saw God, then I will believe.

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In my own attempt to discover the reason behind it all, or the supernatural, I explored the New Age, psychics, etc. I knew there was a supernatural realm, yet these attempts to discover it left me empty and now with anxiety that I never had before.

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One day after work, on my commute home on the Long Island Railroad, I prayed very intensely—I remember it well—and said, “God, if You are real, I want to see You.” I repeated it, emphasizing that if I saw You, God, I will believe, but I really need to see You.

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Right after praying and looking into the aisle on the train, with my head slightly tilted up, expecting to see something, I fell asleep and had the most unusual dream—as a Jew. I saw Jesus.

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I never thought of Jesus before. I had only seen depictions of Him on a cross in a Catholic friend’s house. In the dream, I saw Jesus sitting at a rock behind a fence at a distance, but even though He was far away, I knew it was Him, and I was scared at what—or who—I was seeing, as if I was awake and seeing this awesome sight in real time.

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In my fear, I backed away from the fence, but I was also curious, so I approached the fence to look again. Then I backed away once again. At this moment, Jesus drew me by His power over to Him through the fence, and suddenly I was sitting with Him by a large rock. He put His hands on top of mine and said, “Don’t be afraid. It is Me, and I’ll be with you always.”

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I woke up from that short nap and never felt more excited in my life. I knew something monumental had happened and wanted to shout it to the whole train, yet I was confused about seeing Jesus as a Jew. I had never thought of Jesus once in my life. That just seemed so odd to me.

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I did not know I had received a visitation, and that my life was about to dramatically change.

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As I exited the train at my stop, I remember wanting to do something for someone, so I went home and gathered items to donate to a women’s shelter.

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That weekend, I went to the beach to walk, as I always would on a Sunday afternoon. I remember the water looking extra blue, and colors were so much more vivid. I was in an unusually good mood, which was rare for me on a Sunday.

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A man approached me and gave me a Christian tract with the gospel message. Since I was in such a good mood, I was open and read the tract. A few things stood out, but I didn’t understand it. The name of the church was printed on the back, and I thought, I must go.

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I went that night and was amazed that church was so lively and good, although I felt funny being there as a Jew. The follow-up at that church was good, as the pastor introduced himself, and when I said I was Jewish and probably shouldn’t be there, he smiled and introduced me to other Jews.

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The young man who had given me the tract saw me and said he wanted to give me a Bible. That night, I read the New Testament—specifically the book of Matthew (and Proverbs)—for the first time and knew this was the truth I had been searching for.

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In the coming weeks, I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Most of my Jewish family came to the Lord over the next several years.

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Since then, Jesus has been faithful to His word.

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Several years after getting saved, God spoke to me as His presence entered my living room in the most profound, unforgettable way. He simply said, “Speak My word, encourage My people, don’t turn back.”

This was the beginning of receiving prophetic words, words of knowledge, as well as a heart to encourage God’s people and reach the lost with the good news.

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As in Jeremiah 20:9, His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

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God has been faithful to His word and seeks to reveal Himself to all who desire to know Him. I hold the responsibility of being faithful with all I have been given very seriously.

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If my life had not been transformed enough, it was only a portion of what God wanted to show me, as He has so much more. In 2024, I had an experience of seeing heaven, and since then have had glimpses of the eternal hope that awaits every believer.